Sunday 23 May 2010

bumptop is no more


For those who do not know about it, Bumptop is software to create a three dimensional desktop on your computer. There are windows and mac versions, well there were. At the start of May the company was bought by Google and the software has now been withdrawn and is no longer being supported.


The mac version lets me lasso together files into piles, pin up material on virtual cubicle walls, and employs a physics engine so that items 'bump' into each other. Though I have never found the 'bump' effect to be particularly noticeable.


There was a ted talk on bumptop, and they have clearly had a lot of venture capital funding as they have been working away for a while now, with only a discretionary charge for the pro version.


Bumptop is a marmite product. You either love it or hate it. It will inevitably slow down your computer and it is just a metaphor on top of the desktop metaphor. It only applies to the very top-most desktop, so you don't actually see or work with it much. Personally I find it a useful way to organise my desktop and to date have been happy to live with the inevitable slowing of initial boot-ups.


It is difficult to figure out what Google have bought, presumably they are not going to keep Bumptop going as the same sort of product, a desktop enhancement, but it seems unlikely that any existing patents would be so wide ranging as to cover entirely new devices on which it could be installed. Even if Google think it is the best thing since sliced bread, why buy it when you could just copy it.


In any event a lot of mac users hate it, and mac users are far more attracted to eye-candy than PC users, perhaps Google think that this is the way to add an iPhone like tactile appeal to their devices?


Anyway, I am sorry that Bumptop is no longer being supported, I enjoy using it, and would have liked to see it develop further.

Saturday 22 May 2010

The girl who kicked the hornets' nest by Stieg Larsson

The third and probably the final book in this sequence of books.


Of all the books it was probably the hardest to get into, I was struggling to get caught up in it, but the plot hit me a curve-ball and I was hooked. As before this is an unconventional thriller, which takes an unusually uncynical view of those in high office. As soon as many of these senior politicians have the circumstances explained to them, they immediately agree that the rights of a girl cannot be infringed thereby joining the side of the good and smug.


Probably not quite as overpoweringly smug as the second book, but once against Blomkvist proves sexually irrestistable to women, while Salander effortlessly hacks and fights her way through a ruthless set of conspirators.


Having said all that, it is good escapist fun, well enough written not to be annoying and plotted with all the precision of a swiss watch.


I will miss Salander, she is an engaging heroine.

Saturday 1 May 2010

The girl who played with fire by Stieg Larsson

Book two out of three in this series. Incredibly readable, one of those books that is hard to put down, so it seems to just read itself. A slightly different beast from the first book, the story develops itself while remaining true to the earlier one.


I would not defend this is the greatest book ever written, it is shallow and at times incredibly smug, the lead characters never seem to doubt themselves or let anyone down. For me the end dragged a bit, oddly I was most gripped when the least seemed to be happening. Also you really do need to read these books in sequence.


Highly recommended despite all these caveats, though judging by the bookshops and all the people with copies, there cannot be many folk left who have not read it. Also by far the best cover of the series!

9 basic principles of biomimicry




credited to http://www.fontshop.com/blog/?p=2286