Posts
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TED.com bloat
If you're a TED.com user, I'm pretty sure you've noticed the slow page loads compared to ... Well, just about any other site out there. I've sent some feedback (below), and I'm hoping you'll help out as well by suggesting general and specific improvements.
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Properly formatting <del> and <ins>
Here are some alternative ways to format <del> and <ins>, with explanations. I'd love to hear your own improvements.
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Throw the fucking switch, Igor!
What would you like to have said, if it were you behind the "big green button" when the LHC starts in 2008? It's the world's most powerful particle accelerator, said to be the most complex machine ever built, and will most likely set the stage for the next level of theoretical physics, so it had better be in the "One small step" category.
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L’esprit de l’aéroport
Ever wanted to register your protest against the baggage check insanities at the airport? You know, the one where blunt, sharp, wet and flammable things are taken away from every passenger, for ridiculous reasons*? Unless you're a high-ranking U.S. politician, there's not much you can do to influence directly, and using other transport is out of the question for most people.
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5.1 optical audio out in Ubuntu Gutsy
Finally, the moment has arrived! After trying on at least five GNU/Linux distributions and FreeBSD, 5.1 surround sound via S/PDIF (aka. IEC958) finally works, on the latest stable version of the new wunderkind of distributions, Ubuntu Gutsy. The instructions were easy enough, and what follows is a version you can pretty much copy to the command line. Note that these are for ASUS P5K-E motherboards (which have the Analog AD1988B sound chip) - they may not work for you.
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Morning sight
One more reason for walking to work: The strange things you may encounter. Like this morning, when I saw a tree from which black little birds were flying, like autumn leaves, in the hundreds, all in the same general direction, perpendicularly across the fence, not as one, but in a steady stream, out of sight, and then returning in a parallel stream.
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How to switch keyboard layouts on the Windows XP login screen
Do you use several keyboard layouts in Windows XP? Ever been annoyed that the layout at the login screen is locked to the installation default? Here's how to fix it, with a simple registry hack.
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Scientific American sells customers' addresses!
I dislike paperwork, despise advertising, hate spam, and loathe companies trading addresses without my consent, which is why I'm seriously pissed off after finding a "special" offer piece of snail mail from New Scientist in my mail box this evening.
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How to be (almost) paperless
The paperless office has become the poster child of a stagnated IT revolution. I won't say "failed", because there are ways to get rid of almost all your paper, and gain a lot of efficiency at the same time. It works. Virtually the only time I print is when someone requires a written signature.
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FreeBSD vs Linux - A home user's perspective
Short version: If you'd like more control over your software (compiled and binaries), try FreeBSD. It's got the latest apps, and is a lot more predictable than Linux.