Comments for Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

Comment on Timeless Wisdom by The GOP 2012 Presidential Field « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

The GOP 2012 Presidential Field « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:54:59 +0000

[...] Paul–I have already written one post criticizing Texas US Congressman Ron Paul, so I will expand on those sentiments only briefly. Ron [...]

Comment on Timeless Wisdom by clarerosean

clarerosean — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:19:12 +0000

Not to defend Ron Paul because I think he IS somewhat dangerous for the Republican Party, but how is he a “sham-libertarian”?

Comment on And the Rock Cried Out, “No Hiding Place” by 草榴社区呀

草榴社区呀 — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 19:46:10 +0000

That was a truly good article..

Comment on Obama’s Tax Proposals by Clare Rosean

Clare Rosean — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:19:28 +0000

Would it work right now to have a flat income tax, while also hiking the capital gains tax rate?

Comment on Proof is the bottom line for everyone by How terribly strange to be seventy (part 2) « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:26:06 +0000

[...] Simon attacks and partially dismantles this case for faith in the next song on the album, “Proof“, I (myself a Jew from a major northern US city–Chicago) have always been left with an [...]

Comment on How terribly strange to be seventy (part 1) by Clare Rosean

Clare Rosean — Wed, 25 May 2011 02:11:14 +0000

So every time I hear Dylan praise I’m a little irked that my personal favorite, Joni Mitchell is not equally lauded. Perusing through the wikipedia entry on Joni, I noticed an interesting snippet at the end, which I have pasted below and may or may not be true, given it is wikipedia. The paragraph was quoting her from an interview she gave with the LA times in April 2010:

“In the same interview, Mitchell made the statement that singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, with whom she had worked closely in the past, was a fake and plagiarist. The controversial remark was widely reported by other media.[35][36] Mitchell did not explain the contention further, but it may have related to the allegations of plagiarism surrounding songs on Dylan’s 2006 album Modern Times.[35]
[edit]

I find that very interesting, although I like Bob Dylan. Just something to chew on, but personally I think
Joni > Dylan, to put it mathematically.

Comment on Apologies for the lack of posting by alemiuppoluer

alemiuppoluer — Mon, 23 May 2011 00:17:01 +0000

When the age of the modern tablet was ushered in just over a year ago with the introduction of Apple’s iPad, tablets were called a “third class” of personal gadget to complement the laptop computer and the smartphone. The implication was that a tablet will be just as essential as those other devices have become — but is that really the case? Do tablets do anything you can’t already do if you already have a laptop or a smartphone? Let’s go over the facts to find the answer.
A unique angle?
Does a tablet do anything a laptop or smartphone can’t do? There are plenty of things laptops do that smartphones can’t, such as word processing, software and web development, tasks that require a ton of multitasking, and anything that demands a lot of processing power, a physical keyboard, or a large screen. Likewise, smartphones offer functionality your laptop will never offer — GPS directions when walking the streets of New York, entertainment on the train, and the ability to receive emails at a bar with no wifi.
Tablets are another story. There’s not much basic functionality they can offer that’s not offered by either smartphones or laptops. Tablets can give you GPS maps on the go, a full-featured web browser that’s comfortable to use, and if you’re accustomed to touchscreens, they can even handle word processing or photo editing.
If the $500-$1,000 cost of a tablet is only justified to you by new abilities and functionalities, you probably won’t want to buy one. Other than a very strong battery life and the ability to surf the web on a large screen from anywhere — both of which are absent from most but not all laptops — there’s nothing new here.
The performance advantage
Does a tablet do anything better than a smartphone? The answer to this question is a strong “yes.” Even though a tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab doesn’t do anything you can’t do with either a smartphone or a laptop, it does so many things so much better than either of those devices.
Take GPS maps as an example. You can take your iPhone or Android phone with you on a trip and use it as a GPS navigation device, but you’ll be squinting to see the maps. The large screen on the iPad makes apps like Google Maps that much more powerful. The same goes for anything with a strong visual element, like movies and games.
Even productivity apps are better on a tablet — more screen space means more real estate for options and features. That doesn’t give a tablet an edge over a laptop, of course; laptops usually have even more real estate to work with.
Tablets vs. laptops
Does a tablet do anything better than a laptop? Surfing the web is better on a tablet. This doesn’t make a lot of sense, since most websites are designed with laptops and desktops in mind, but it’s true.
The physical form of a tablet is more comfortable to hold and interact with in almost every environment, and we can’t say enough in favor of the multi-touch interface used by most tablets. It’s that interface that sets tablets apart from laptops or desktops, in most cases. It’s more powerful, making a mouse or a trackpad seem like a limiting relic of the past. Touching is more intuitive anyway, and a mouse only gives you one virtual finger with which to interact with the digital world; a tablet gives you 2, 3, or even 5.
Laptops are better at multitasking than tablets are, but focusing entirely on one application or task has its advantages, especially for creative types. Sure, multi-touch trackpads are becoming more common on laptops, but since they’re not integrated with the screen, they’re used only for gestures. That’s nice, but a multi-touch tablet lets you interact with the content directly.
We’ve already noted that tablets have better battery life. Between that, their always-on internet (on 3G models, anyway), and their comfort of use on the sofa, in bed, or on the bus, it’s clear that tablets are more fun to use for light computing tasks.
Should you buy a tablet?
Tablets won’t add anything new to your life that you don’t already get with your smartphone and laptop. If you can afford one, though, it will make your life a little more pleasant. They’re more fun and powerful than smartphones across the board, and they do light computing tasks like web surfing better than laptops.

Comment on Remark of the week by Roxy

Roxy — Thu, 05 May 2011 17:59:48 +0000

Great common sense here. Wish Id tohhugt of that.

Comment on Is DRM on its way out? by Macco

Macco — Thu, 05 May 2011 17:44:00 +0000

Youre the one with the brains here. Im wcathnig for your posts.

Comment on Remark of Two Weeks Ago by Xantara

Xantara — Thu, 05 May 2011 17:28:10 +0000

What a joy to find such clear thinking. Tnakhs for posting!

Comment on Remark of the week by Issy

Issy — Thu, 05 May 2011 16:43:11 +0000

Posts like this brighten up my day. Thanks for tnakig the time.

Comment on Remark of Two Weeks Ago by Joan

Joan — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:47:44 +0000

You have shed a ray of susnnhie into the forum. Thanks!

Comment on Remark of the Week by Velvet

Velvet — Wed, 04 May 2011 10:37:15 +0000

Posts like this brighten up my day. Thanks for tainkg the time.

Comment on All About Strikes by Keshawn

Keshawn — Wed, 04 May 2011 09:22:57 +0000

Wow, thats a really clever way of thniikng about it!

Comment on US economy less bad than it seems? by Caelyn

Caelyn — Wed, 04 May 2011 08:56:43 +0000

What a joy to find semoone else who thinks this way.

Comment on And the Rock Cried Out, “No Hiding Place” by Clare Rosean

Clare Rosean — Tue, 03 May 2011 02:25:19 +0000

Ditto that, “you’ve got to go to the lonesome valley… by yourself”

Comment on Anecdote of the week by Festival of Links: The Best of March « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

Festival of Links: The Best of March « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 03:59:49 +0000

[...] Economist Steven Horwitz, whose writings on cell phones I have previous blogged, cites telephone service as an example of an industry where cost has fallen [...]

Comment on Leigh Van Valen (1935-2010) by Remark of the month « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

Remark of the month « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 03:27:45 +0000

[...] biology than to physics. I find this argument particularly appealing because, as readers of my post on Leigh Van Valen will recall, evolutionary biology was my first intellectual love. At this point, I can’t [...]

Comment on Five-Year Blogaversary by Robert

Robert — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:38:34 +0000

This is really late in coming, but happy blogoversary, and thanks for the nice words about me & my blog.

Comment on William Shatner on politics by Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:57:43 +0000

[...] of Glenn Beck, by far the most viewed post in the entirety of my solo blogging career is the one in which I discuss William Shatner’s political views, as revealed in an interview with Beck on Headline News (back when Beck worked for CNN). I was [...]

Comment on Paul Ryan is not a fraud by Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:57:39 +0000

[...] The Telharmonium « Paul Ryan is not a fraud [...]

Comment on Agreement with Me and Gintis RE: Krugman by Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:57:35 +0000

[...] politics and rhetoric of two prominent economists, Paul Krugman and Herbert Gintis (see here and here). Although the conventional wisdom would hold that Gintis is farther to the left than Krugman, I [...]

Comment on Remark of the Week by Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:57:33 +0000

[...] the politics and rhetoric of two prominent economists, Paul Krugman and Herbert Gintis (see here and here). Although the conventional wisdom would hold that Gintis is farther to the left than [...]

Comment on Ben Bernanke nominated to replace Greenspan by Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem

Five-Year Blogaversary « Chicago, Athens, and Jerusalem — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:57:27 +0000

[...] entry from early in my blogging career of which I am particularly proud is my post about George W. Bush nominating Ben Bernanke to replace then-Fed chairman Alan Greenspan (see also here). Although at the time Mankind Minus One did not have a huge readership, I was one [...]