luddite
Latest
Internet Explorer 10 preview coming to Windows 7 semi-Luddites in mid-November
For all of Microsoft's talk of Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8, we've heard precious little about the Windows 7 version beyond the certainty that it was coming. Eventually. Someday. The company is partly putting that anxiety to bed with word that IE 10 should be available for the Metrophobic in mid-November, but only in a preview version -- a possible sign that Microsoft's Windows 8 RTM deadline prevented the concurrent platform releases we've grown accustomed to in recent years. The team in Redmond is hinging its launch of a finished Windows 7 build on the feedback it gets, so we'd suggest that those willing to experiment with a new browser (but not a new OS) still give IE 10 a shot next month.
Thinix RetroUI lets Windows 8 users step off the Metro, stick to the classic desktop
More than a few people are upset that Microsoft's latest OS might require booting to Metro -- sorry, the Windows 8 user interface -- no matter little they care for that touch-optimized home screen. Hacks might already exist to revisit the conventional desktop, but Thinix is catering to that inner Luddite on a truly polished level through its just-launched RetroUI. The app skips more than just the sea of tiles: it can lock out certain Metro features altogether and push out to everyone on a network in the event that new UI is just too much for the office to handle. At $5 for every three PCs ($5 per PC in offices), it's a cheap way to pretend that all of Windows 8's changes are under the hood, and there's still a fallback if you've decided to embrace Microsoft's vision after all. Just don't let Steve Ballmer know what you've done.
The Daily Grind: Are you a keyboard luddite?
So controlling your MMORPG characters with console peripherals is apparently the new hotness. Whether it's because of the brawler-style button mashing of DC Universe Online, the controller-friendliness being programmed into TERA, or the various Kinect-flavored projects in the works, the traditional keyboard/mouse setup is looking anxiously over its shoulder right about now. Where this leaves those players who prefer the gameplay depth and control complexity afforded by the keyboard and mouse is anyone's guess, but there's no doubt that as MMO design is shifting increasingly towards action-heavy lobby games, control schemes are following suit. Today's Daily Grind is all about your comfort level with a console-style controller. Do you like the feel of a gaming peripheral with an MMO? Does it depend on the MMO? Are you a keyboard luddite? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Letterman lists 'Top Ten signs you've purchased a bad iPhone'
The iPhone's ongoing technical issues made it to David Letterman's Late Show last night, as he presented a "top ten signs you've purchased a bad iPhone." It's as funny as Letterman usually is -- I especially liked the Pop Tart one, and you even get a nice less-than-sincere apology to Larry King for a previous top ten inserted right in the middle there. I wonder what kind of cell phone, if any, Letterman carries around. The guy's not exactly technically inclined, and while the iPhone would probably appeal to him if he tried it (how could it not?), he might just be too much of a luddite to even bother. In other late night show host iPhone news, Conan also tweeted about the iPhone 4's reception issues -- apparently the design flaw in his iPhone is that "people get angry when I talk on it during a funeral." I wouldn't worry too much about that, though, Conan -- Apple will probably fix it in the next OS update.
Amazon Kindling wooden e-book is a luddite's dream of the future
E-readers aren't for everyone, apparently. Clever hands fashioned this Kindle out of wood -- cutely called the Amazon Kindling -- using a laser cutter. You might only be able to read the same page of The Count of Monte Cristo so many times, but at least the battery will never punk out on you! One more shot of this wooden beauty after the break. Hit the read link for the whole set. [Via Boing Boing]
Canadian valley fights to stay "cellphone free," yet plans VoIP-friendly MuniFi
The luddites have evidently busted out of the early-1800s and resettled in the Slocan Valley up in rural British Columbia: an "economic development group" of residents in this opposite-of-silicon valley has asked a company not to erect a cellphone tower that would provide access to the valley, claiming that the move will in some way attract people by detracting cellphone owners and their tendencies to be loud and anti-social. If their demand is successful, they hope to go on and promote the valley's "cellphone free status": personally, we'd be cowering in shame. The ultimate irony is that the same authority is putting up a WiFi network to give residents access to the internet, and -- how do we put this -- VoIP. Hey, they can always claim health concerns when and if that "issue arises."
