My HP 48gx calculator was the top-of-the-line for years and years. I sometimes wondered if it would be the last calculator ever made, but HP recently announced a new line of calculators based on and ARM9 processor [hpcalc.org]. PC's are so much more powerful, and Mathematica or MatLab can do far more complicated calculations far faster. However, the keypad on an HP calculator is specialized for entering computations and is far more efficient than any PC interface. The added ARM processor will make this generation of HP calculators far more powerful than its predecessor. 10:34:55 AM    comment []  

"They used to say 'home taping' was killing music, now it's meant to be internet downloaders. But the real pirates these days are crime bosses - and the rewards are plentiful" [BBC News]. It's an interesting point that the selling of pirated CD's is robbing the recording industry of more revenue than the sharing of MP3's. I can say this, when I lived in Venezuela you could find a vendor on nearly every street corner selling pirated media. I would guess that the vast majority of media sold in countries like Venezuela is pirated. 10:27:50 AM    comment []  

Novell buys Ximian [ArsTechnica]. I really don't know what to think about this. Ximian has been doing some innovative work and I would hate to see that come to an end at Novell. Now, it's not that Novell would intentionally stifle innovation; as a matter of fact, I'm sure they bought Ximian to bring some of that innovation into their doors. However, ever since Windows stomped on Novell's network server business, the company hasn't done a whole heck of a lot. On the other hand, Novell has the potential to do good things with Ximian. 10:21:43 AM    comment []