Archive for May, 2007

Apple are Green - will the campaigners please shut up?

Posted by David Hurst in Apple, Issues, Technology on May 6th, 2007

Every time I attend a Mac Expo, I get accosted by campaigners/activists from some “green” group or other who do their level best to convince anyone stupid enough to listen that Apple are single-handedly destroying the globe and that Steve Jobs is the devil himself. The reason for this has been as a result of Apple’s corporate policy of non-disclosure, not as a result of any damning evidence the greens have uncovered. But, since when have the facts ever got in the way of these people?

Apple have finally decided to bend their policy and provide information of the efforts to reduce the nasty chemicals used in their production process, and of course we see that they have not been destroying the globe at all. Apple’s green efforts, in keeping with all aspects of the company, are industry leading.

Perhaps the campaigners can now naff off and bug Dell customers.

You can read Steve Job’s statement here.

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Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo - Part 3

Posted by David Hurst in Fiat Coupe, Motoring on May 4th, 2007

I’ve clocked up another 4,000 miles in my coupe since my last post and it has been on the whole great fun. The clutch finally gave up and Roy at Auto Italiana in Exeter put in a new one for me. This did mean driving his yellow Cinquecento loan car for a couple of days, which had some good comedy value. The performance now without the slipping clutch is blinding.

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That music from the Saab BioPower advert…

Posted by David Hurst in Personal on May 2nd, 2007

It keeps going around my head - such a beautiful voice. Sounded very much like Cerys Matthews (formerly of Catatonia) to me, but it isn’t. The song is called Release Me and is by a Swedish group called Laura. You can buy it on iTunes now. Very nice song.

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Dell to sell PCs pre-installed with Ubuntu

Posted by David Hurst in Technology on May 2nd, 2007

Now this really is good news. I read on the BBC website this morning that Dell will shortly begin shipping PCs with Ubuntu pre-installed. UK-based Canonical (lead sponsors of Ubuntu) will ensure seamless hardware support.

Ubuntu has done an excellent job of bringing Linux to the masses. It’s easy to use, easy to install, and everything just works. Software support for Linux is still not brilliant, but more and more software houses are producing Linux versions and, thankfully, most hardware vendors now offer Linux drivers. If you haven’t tried it out yet, whizz along to www.ubuntu.com and nab yourself a free copy.

BBC article is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6610901.stm

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Ripped off by AA insurance

Posted by David Hurst in Motoring, Rants on May 1st, 2007

So I sold my Saab 900, bought a Honda Accord. The Honda has the same power, but is a little slower. It’s harder to steal as it has an alarm and immobiliser. It’s a safer car than the Saab and it is cheaper to repair after an accident. It has a smaller engine and a lower insurance group. Despite all this it has cost me an extra £75 for the remaining 8 months of my policy. So, I am paying £445 per year to insure a bog standard family saloon on insurance group 8 which will be driven less than 4,000 miles per year.

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