Posts

James Fallows reports that Microsoft has laid off the team that works on Flight Simulator. I was never much of a player of Flight Simulator, but it should be recognized as one of the most important games in the history of personal computing. It was one of the very first games to offer a first person perspective on the action, it was one of the first games for the IBM PC platform, and I think it’s likely that it’s the oldest continually developed computer game on the market. ...

Tyler Cowen makes a good argument for increased civility in the debate over economic stimulus, but it could apply to plenty of other subjects as well. I’m in favor of not treating the people you’re debating as though they’re stupid or dishonest (even if you suspect that they are) simply because such treatment inevitably turns persuadable people on the other side away from your arguments.

Foreign workers in Dubai have abandoned thousands of cars on the side of the road near the airport, catching one-way flights back to their countries of origin. I’ve often said that Dubai is to Las Vegas as Las Vegas is to everywhere else. Looks like that counts double when it comes to the real estate bust.

Threat Level reports on the Obama administration’s decision to fall in line with a Bush administration request to keep evidence classified in a wiretapping case involving two American lawyers. Obama has taken a strong stand against torture, but his positions on surveillance have been less encouraging. It would be ideal if the Obama administration would clearly outline its philosophy on the government’s right to spy on Americans. The actual mechanisms can stay secret, but we should know how much power the executive branch is claiming to possess. ...

Tom Armitage explains how to think like a programmer. I would recommend this article to some programmers I’ve interviewed.

Robert Reich once said that defense procurement is what passes for industrial policy in America. Here’s that idea made plain. I think I’m going to stick with Eisenhower on this one.

A lot of people have made fun of Google’s informal corporate motto – “Don’t be evil – since it was originally disclosed in 2001. And clearly it’s a motto that they’ve failed to live up to at times, but what I really like about it is that it sets the standard to which Google expects to be held. If Google is evil, every critic can say that the company doesn’t live up to its word. That’s a powerful thing. ...

MacWorld surveyed a panel of Mac experts on which model was the best in the 25 year history of the Macintosh. Three out of five voted for the Macintosh SE/30. It looked like the original Mac but was blazingly fast in comparison. It also happens to be the first Mac I used on a day to day basis, when I had a job writing thank you letters to donors to the University of Houston. ...

Bruce Schneier argues that data breach notification laws are a good idea. I’d agree. I was working on an application that stored personal information when the ChoicePoint breach was reported, and it changed the way I thought about how much data we should archive. As Schneier points out, most identity theft results from computers belonging to individuals being compromised, but companies that deal in bulk amounts of user data should be particularly responsible when it comes to safeguarding that data. Without such laws, I don’t think they’d be as careful. ...

Paul Krugman illustrates why many knowledgeable speech-watchers found Obama’s speech yesterday somewhat pedestrian. That said, I found the speech to be quite good. My guess is that Obama felt like soaring rhetoric would put the nation in the wrong mood for what’s immediately ahead. What I get from Obama is that for him, being elected President was not mission accomplished but rather mission accepted, and he’s not going to take any victory laps or speak from an aircraft carrier anytime soon. ...