No Agenda

I've talked about the No Agenda podcast before. It's entertaining.

They run a listener-supported (as opposed to ad-supported) model for the show and I contributed to them yesterday. I also asked if they wouldn't mind plugging my story OFF, which deals with subject matter that's popular on the show.

They obliged, and I am much obliged.

Here's the snippet from yesterday's show where I got the shout-out.

So for $100, I got to hear John C. Dvorak read my name, and Adam Curry's velvety tones say "okay" in reference to posting a reciprocal link to my story on their site. Well worth it.

If you like the kind of stuff that I like, you'll like No Agenda. I urge you to support them.

And if not No Agenda, I urge you to take this opportunity to reach out and support at least one donor-supported organization out there in the world that appeals to your interests. Do it right now.

Here's a good one from my friend Amanda.

My basic thinking on the torture debate

This CNN article got me thinking about how best to express my feelings about our government's involvement with torture since 9/11.

All countries will do whatever they can when threatened. And I believe any country would occasionally go "over the line" in doing so. Pretending that that's not true is naive (respectfully).

As long as we allow voices inside our country to try to keep us honest, and as long as we reaffirm our ideals and our morality when we've had some time to adjust to the threat, then I think that's what we want. And I think that's what we have now.

Bush and Obama have been an effective yin and yang.

We should learn about what happened, and we should change our policies where necessary as a result. We should investigate situations where brutality seems to have been perpetrated for the purpose of sadism above all else.

We should apologize to those we harmed who were innocent.

We should do all of this, and we should make these lessons a part of our moral fabric as Americans as we move forward through all of the threats that remain.

And we should do this in a quiet, dignified manner, politely in the background, while the brunt of our efforts are on the moving forward part.

OFF

A short story I wrote about what things might be like in the aftermath of an EMP attack.

Leo Laporte

Time to give a shout-out to Leo Laporte.

I've been a regular listener of a number of Leo's technology podcasts- including This Week in Tech, MacBreak Weekly, Windows Weekly, FLOSS Weekly, and scattered others- for years.

When I'm out and about in the world, I've usually got my headphones on, and when I've got my headphones on, more often than not I've got one of Leo's shows going.

Leo's a smart guy when it comes to computers. He knows his stuff and knows how to get experts to talk about tech in a way that's approachable to non-experts.

He's also a natural showman. He's got real talent as a performer and radio personality and is a natural, warm host.

Sometimes his shows get a bit silly and inside-baseball with regard to the network of tech folks who orbit around the Leosphere- but that's okay.

Leo runs things from a teched out bunker in Petaluma, California, where he hosts a parade of experts and pundits who join him for topic-focused podcasts that are recorded regularly and simulcast live in video.

At any given moment, you can hop over to live.twit.tv and see Leo doing his thing (live or reruns). Go ahead and do it now- you'll probably dccide to stay a while.

What I'd love to see from Apple at their September press event

Theme: "Let's take it up a notch"

• New iPod touches, with cameras, announced. 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, priced $199, $299, and $399.
• iPod nano with camera announced. 8GB or 16GB model only (not sure which one, but not both). $149.
• iPod shuffle remains, drops to $49.
• iPod classic discontinued.

Leads to...

The new "iPod tablet" (maybe it has a different name):

• 8, 9, or 10 inch iPod touch-like device.
• Unibody enclosure design.
• SSD hard drive.
• HDMI and DisplayPort out (in addition to headphone / audio out).
• 802.11N WiFi.
• Bluetooth.

Runs a new variant of OS X that is essentially a merger of Snow Leopard and iPhone OS technologies- a system for a new class of device. Supports running most iPhone apps and a new category of apps designed specifically for the tablet platform, based on extended versions of the iPhone app frameworks.

Designed to provide the best portable media experiences available, including native apps from content providers like Amazon and Netflix.

Designed to integrate with home stereos and widescreen TVs with included audio/video out ports, as well as over a WiFi network with Apple TVs and potentially other unannounced Apple-centric network appliances (in the spirit of AirPort Express and Time Capsule, etc.).

Does not support running Mac OS X apps.

Includes a sophisticated remote desktop app (perhaps marketed as "Back to My Mac" or "My Macs") that enables the device to connect to another Mac and seamlessly view its screen and control it from the tablet device. This would possibly be integrated with new functionality in Snow Leopard.

Includes support for Bluetooth keyboards and potentially mice (including cursor support for when a mouse is connected).

Includes advanced graphics hardware and an improved API for developing games, to be sold through the App Store (along with other apps for the new platform).

Includes seamless Internet tethering capabilities with iPhones (depending on service provider support), as well as support for regular Internet through WiFi.

Includes a native Google Voice app, developed in partnership between Apple and Google.

No network provider restrictions on apps (unlike iPhone App Store).

$499 for 64GB model.
$699 for 128GB model.

Snow Leopard announced and available for sale immediately.

And before everyone goes, Apple ties it all into their Mac business for a few minutes.

Slides focus on incredible speed and battery life performance improvements on Snow Leopard systems.

"Snow Leopard is what made the new iPod tablet possible."

Videos from Mac partners demonstrating new categories of apps available on the Snow Leopard platform.

The entire new Apple platform is reviewed.

The iPhone and iPod touch, clearly the best mobile platform.

The new iPod tablet platform- we've taken it up a notch. The best media, the best games.

The Mac with Snow Leopard. "The world's most advanced operating system. Finely tuned."

And while we're on Macs (we're beyond the scope of just the September announcement by now):

MacBook (white) model drops to $899.

MacBook Air low-end model drops to $1199. High-end MacBook Air goes to 4GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD hard drive. $1499.

One more Snow Leopard / iPod tablet thought:

For Macs running Snow Leopard, iPod tablets will be able to seamlessly connect to the computer and serve as a secondary display and/or touch input device.