Volume 6 -- 2002
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The Top Themes of 2002
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SIGPC
Vol. 6, No. 13
Dec. 31, 2002
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by Scott Tilley
The year 2002 felt like a year of waiting for things
to change, for new developments to happen, and for the economy to improve.
Very little in the pervasive computing world seemed to make any real impact;
perhaps 2003 will be the year the logjam breaks and innovation burst forth.
Even in such a blasé year, there were a few items that stood out. The top
themes for 2002 were Apple's rebirth, recordable DVD, and Web services. |
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COMDEX 2002
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SIGPC
Vol. 6, No. 12
Dec. 12, 2002
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by Scott Tilley
I last attended COMDEX in 2000, when the dot.com
boom was in full swing and tradeshow attendance was at its peak. At this
year’s COMDEX, there were significantly less people, and the number of
companies displaying their wares had dropped to less than half. However, I
still thought the event was quite enjoyable, even though the CEO of
Key3Media (the producer of COMDEX) seemed rather downbeat. For me, the most
notable new development was the TabletPC, which made its debut at COMDEX a
few years ago, but really seems ready for prime time this year. |
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The Space Shuttle "Endeavour" Launch
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SIGPC
Vol. 6, No. 11
Nov. 24, 2002
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by Scott Tilley
It's been a dream of mine ever since I was a young
boy to see the Space Shuttle launch. Heck, I would have settled for a Delta
IV rocket, but the Shuttle is special. Last night my dream was realized: I
watched "Endeavour" blast off from Cape Canaveral, carrying seven people up
to the International Space Station. It was a truly awesome sight, made
all the more spectacular by this being a nighttime lift-off. |
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SIGDOC 2002
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SIGPC
Vol. 6, No. 10
Nov. 16, 2002
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by Scott Tilley
The 20th Annual International Conference on Systems Documentation (SIGDOC
2002) was held from October 20-23 in Toronto, Canada. The
theme of SIGDOC 2002 was "connect", a reflection of desire
to bridge the gap between the different stakeholders in any documentation
project (e.g., technical writers and software developers). I thoroughly enjoyed
this year's conference; the program was strong, the people were pleasant,
and Toronto was great!
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WSE 2002
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SIGPC
Vol. 6, No. 9
Oct. 14, 2002
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by
Scott Tilley
| The 4th International Workshop on Web Site Evolution (WSE 2002) was held
on October 2 in Montréal, Canada. The
theme of WSE 2002 was "Migrating to Web Services", a reflection of the
potential of the Web as a vehicle for offering a variety of services between
applications in a peer-to-peer manner. WSE 2002 was again co-located
with the IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance (ICSM 2002).
As with last year, I personally consider WSE 2002 to be a resounding success
-- but then again, I would, since I was
the General Chair ☺. |
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Jaguar Unleashed
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SIGPC
Vol. 6, No. 8
Sept. 19, 2002
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by
Scott Tilley
| Mac OS X Version 10.2, aka Jaguar, was released to the public at 10:20pm
on August 23, 2002. I've been using it on a PowerBook and an iMac for almost
a month now. Overall I've found it to be a solid upgrade for Macintosh users
-- and a further enticement for Windows users to make the "switch". Apple
claims there are over 150 major new features in Jaguar. I was specifically
hoping for improvements in two areas: better font anti-aliasing, and easier
networking with PCs. I'm pleased to say that Jaguar delivers the goods. In
fact, Jaguar is
nearly purrfect. |
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Book Review:
Macintosh ... The Naked Truth
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SIGPC
Vol. 6, No. 7
July 31, 2002
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by
Scott Tilley
| I admit it: I’m a relatively new Macintosh user. For a variety of
reasons, I still use a PC more than a Mac for my daily work. I guess this
makes me a member of the not-so-loyal opposition, according to Scott Kelby.
He’s the author of the book Macintosh … The Naked Truth (New Riders,
2002). My comments on his book may not appear to be totally objective, but
really they are. In fact, most of my comments on this book are to support
Mac users – not to denigrate them. After all, I’m one of them now too. |
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Internet World Spring 2002 &
Streaming Media West 2002
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SIGPC
Vol. 6, No. 6
May 6, 2002
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by
Scott Tilley
| This is the third time I've been to Spring Internet World. This year
there were several co-located events, including the very interesting
Streaming Media West 2002. The scale of the conference was much reduced from
2001, reflecting the increased financial pressure on Internet-related
companies. There were three themes that ran throughout the week: Web
services, subscription-based streaming media, and wireless networks. While
there were some talks and a few presentations of interest, I was rather
disappointed with the show as a whole. I hope that the 2003 edition will
revive the success of this flagging event. |
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My iPod
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SIGPC
Vol. 6, No. 5
April 23, 2002
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by
Scott Tilley
| A digital hub isn't complete without a digital music player. One of
several extra goodies that I bought with my iMac was an iPod. While it's a
bit late to the party, Apple's iPod is the best digital music player I've
seen or used. It's about the size of a pack of cards but packs a giant 10GB
hard disc for music storage. It plays MP3 files beautifully, sports a
wonderful ergonomic design, and has a FireWire connection for fast music
transfer. What's not to like? The steep price for one thing, and the
Apple-only compatibility for another. The iPod synchronizes in a flash with
iTunes on my iMac, but it won't work at all with my PC. |
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My iMac
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Volume 6
Number 4
Mar. 29, 2002
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by
Scott Tilley
| A week ago today I bought a new Apple iMac. For those that know me well, this
is a major event. I've been a PC user for many years, and have generally
avoided the Mac. However, this changed with Apple's recent introduction of
the new iMac, a machine that I consider to be a technical and design marvel. It may be
disparagingly known as "The iLamp" by some, due to its unique design, but I
think its form factor is excellent. But there is significant room
for improvement with Apple's "digital hub". It may be some time before I replace My Computer with My
iMac. |
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The 2002 Consumer Electronics Show
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Volume 6
Number 3
Feb. 28, 2002
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by
Scott Tilley
| Consumer electronics is big business, and one of the driving forces behind many
innovations in pervasive computing. New gaming consoles, home appliances,
and PC-oriented audio-video equipment all continue to sell well, even in the
current economy. However, there is more to consumer electronics than games. At the
2002 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, the most popular
item was a new wrinkle on an old format: satellite radio. |
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The 2002 Los Angeles Auto Show
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Volume 6
Number 2
Jan. 23, 2002
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by Scott Tilley
| What's SIGPC doing covering an auto show? Simple really -- today's cars
are complex, mobile, embedded systems that are chock full of information
technology. They epitomize pervasive computing here in Southern California,
where cars reign supreme.
In fact, modern automobiles are one of the hottest areas right now for
IT, with add-ons like DVD players for the kids being
mounted in the back of seats and voice recognition software used to direct
the satellite navigation system in the front. Where better to get a
first-hand glimpse at all this than in Los Angeles, arguably
the driving capital of the world! Detroit may be the center of the industry,
but LA is the center of the driver. |
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A Preview of 2002
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Volume 6
Number 1
Jan. 12, 2002
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by
Scott Tilley
| What does 2002 have in store for information technology and pervasive
computing? The truth is, no one really knows. However, certain trends that
began in 2001 seem destined to make an impact this year. There are three
things that I see as having the potential to be significant new developments
in 2002: digital convergence, recordable DVDs, and Web services. |
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