Month: June 2006

Cambridge Film Festival fun

Originally uploaded by BillT.

On July 14 the Arts Picturehouse has a live Q&A with US photographer and director Bruce Weber as part of the Cambridge Film Festival. I’m doing a daily podcast for them, but also helping out with other technotrickery including the linkup.

A year ago this would have meant something like a satellite dish on the roof, or at least some dedicated equipment. Now it means by Powerbook G4, iChat AV and a consumer-quality camera at our end, a nice MacBook and a proper camera at their end, and the Net in the middle. We have the advantage of a serious display, of course – the Cine2K digital projector – but even so, it’s frightening.

Of course, we’ll see if it works on the night – I have a phone line and a still picture of Bruce as a backup!

[Read this on the BBC News website too]

As I write this a message has just arrived in my email Inbox. That brings the total up to 6,559, though if it wasn’t for the junk mail filter it would top seven thousand.

It’s an absurd situation, especially since a year ago I would ruthlessly prune my email if there were over two hundred messages sitting there.

But a year ago I was using Microsoft Outlook on a Windows PC.

Continue reading “To tag or not to tag”

[As ever, this is on the BBC News website]

The news that Bill Gates is giving up his role as Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect was the second item on Radio 4’s Today programme on the morning it was announced.

While Gates will stay at Microsoft for the next two years, and even then will work part-time and remain the major shareholder in the company he founded, the announcement marks the end of an era. Continue reading “One gates opens…”

[As usual, you can read this on the BBC News website]

The computers know everything. They know what you look like, where you go and who you meet. They know everything you say, can read every message you send and even know what you are looking at at any particular moment. If you raise your left hand, the computers know – and they know whether you’re holding a sword or a pen.

Continue reading “Every bit you make..”

but are some more equal than others?  As ever, you can read this piece on the Technology pages of BBC News online.

The Federation Against Software Theft, FAST, was set up over twenty years ago to raise awareness of software piracy and lobby Parliament for changes in the law to help software companies protect their business.

Continue reading “All bits are equal..”