Rui CarmoLike I predicted, most of my time has been devoted to post-Xmas errands, so there hasn't been much time to spend in front of a computer. There are, however, a couple dozen photos to process, and which will find their way to my photo album during the next few hours.
In terms of Xmas presents, this year was pretty well-rounded:
- 2 pairs of socks (again, I beat Bruno).
- A 150-piece Magnetix set (coincidentally, I gave a few smaller ones away this Xmas, and believe me, it's the best way to completely paralyze an Engineering team for an entire afternoon).
- A few books (including The Brooklyn Follies, which a few people had recommended in the past).
- A couple of CDs (yes, people still give away music on platters).
- A few other trinkets (a foam throwing toy, an USB pen disk, the geekiest corkscrew on the planet, etc.)
- An outdoor sweatshirt...
- ...and a Nike+iPod kit (yes, I will freely admit I just came back from buying the requisite shoes and three more pairs of socks).
Which brings me to one of my current musings: Whoever designed the Nike+iPod had to be some sort of idiot-savant.
Why? Well, the savant part is easy: because the out of the box experience is great, it integrates wonderfully with the nano, and might even get me to use Tangerine.
But whomever dreamed up the sensor as a non-user-serviceable device (i.e., a throwaway that you have to replace when the battery goes dead) is an unmitigated idiot.
No matter what the KB Article says about its "1000 active hour" lifetime, the concept behind it rankles. Environmentalists are sure to have a field day with this, and I'm betting that some enterprising geeks will eventually hack it to run off a standard disc cell.
Incidentally, I feel the same way about iPod batteries. Not having a removable battery is the main reason why I've lost interest in the larger-capacity iPods.
Oh, and please don't be moronic and post about the so-called security issues.
Anyone close enough to pick up your sensor data will have plenty of other ways to find you - most people are born with a complete set of eyes and ears, and a brain that evolved for tracking both prey and predators in the savannah.
I full expect that sort of wetware to remain fully functional after only a few millennia of "modern" civilization - which is more than I can say for that sensor.