Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of a device we all consider a central part of our computing experience, the mouse.
This BBC article is an excellent tribute to this small creature.
It is amazing how such a seemingly casual idea was the herald of a revolution in the way we use computers.
Update
This article also shows some light on this guy who was so forward thinking.
The video link near the beginning is over an hour but is very interesting in what it indicates.
You have to think that at this time computers were rooms full of equipment and that input was typically cards, paper tape and if you were very lucky a teleprinter, and the output was paper tape, paper and on occasion a screen. The idea of the average user interacting via a console was rare and the interactive interface which is second nature to us these days was thought of as a nonsense at the time.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Hp Giveaway at Jake Lunding's Digital Lifestyle
It has been a while since I posted but this is a great contest. This month HP toghether with 50 sites are giveawaying US$6,000 of computer equipment.
One of the sites is Jake Lunding's Digital Lifestyle. Head on over to Jake Ludington’s HP Magic Giveaway to enter and check out the other sites involved.
One of the sites is Jake Lunding's Digital Lifestyle. Head on over to Jake Ludington’s HP Magic Giveaway to enter and check out the other sites involved.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Replacement Weather Station
At last my replacement weather station has arrives and is in the process of being installed.
It is a Lacrosse 3600 wireless and seems to be working fine except that it is purportedly susceptible to stray RF which there is plenty in the computer room where the base station is located. It has to be reasonably close to the server so that I can connect it to the server's RS-232C port to collect the data. I need to provide a longish cable so that I can move it elsewhere.
The data is here and the graphs are here. They do not look particularly pretty yet and I will be working on the layout. I am also going to upload the data to the Weather Underground, but the data is not loading. I am waiting until the quality issues are addressed and the scripting is finished.
I also need to make a Stevenson Shield to house the temperature and humidity sensor. A rudimentary shield is provided but it is not immune to radiation and it tends to read several degrees high in direct sunlight. In short a Stevenson Shield prevents direct sunlight from distorting the readings by providing a shelter for the sensors. It is no more than a ventilated box but needs to be designed so as to allow the sensors to read the characteristics of the surrounding air without bias from the radiant heat from the sun or the influence of surrounding structures. I have been looking at shield designs and most people tend to use layered rings from largish white or painted flower pot bases. From what I can see these may be more or less successful bur are never as good as the louvered wooden boxes as seen in the official weather stations. I have searched unsuccessfully for blueprints for one of these so it looks like once again I will be designing and building one from scratch. I will try to remember to take progress photos for reference and to assist anyone else who wants to make their own.
I will post some pictures for the voyeurs amongst us later.
It is a Lacrosse 3600 wireless and seems to be working fine except that it is purportedly susceptible to stray RF which there is plenty in the computer room where the base station is located. It has to be reasonably close to the server so that I can connect it to the server's RS-232C port to collect the data. I need to provide a longish cable so that I can move it elsewhere.
The data is here and the graphs are here. They do not look particularly pretty yet and I will be working on the layout. I am also going to upload the data to the Weather Underground, but the data is not loading. I am waiting until the quality issues are addressed and the scripting is finished.
I also need to make a Stevenson Shield to house the temperature and humidity sensor. A rudimentary shield is provided but it is not immune to radiation and it tends to read several degrees high in direct sunlight. In short a Stevenson Shield prevents direct sunlight from distorting the readings by providing a shelter for the sensors. It is no more than a ventilated box but needs to be designed so as to allow the sensors to read the characteristics of the surrounding air without bias from the radiant heat from the sun or the influence of surrounding structures. I have been looking at shield designs and most people tend to use layered rings from largish white or painted flower pot bases. From what I can see these may be more or less successful bur are never as good as the louvered wooden boxes as seen in the official weather stations. I have searched unsuccessfully for blueprints for one of these so it looks like once again I will be designing and building one from scratch. I will try to remember to take progress photos for reference and to assist anyone else who wants to make their own.
I will post some pictures for the voyeurs amongst us later.
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