The alpha and omega of the web

Twenty years ago, the Mosaic web browser was released into the wild. There'd been earlier browsers used by Sir Tim and others, but Mosaic was, to many, their first glimpse of what the web had to offer.
The Register marks this milestone with a brief history and a few tests of Mosaic 1.0 against the modern web. (Imagine a 1963 36-HP VW Beetle on the Mass Pike.)
Mosaic was my first browser. We had to compile it ourselves from a kit that we downloaded from the University of Illinois servers. It ran on the DEC workstations, both VMS and, if I recall correctly, Ultrix (DEC's versions of UNIX).
There wasn't a lot of content at that time, mostly engineering documents and related geekery. Nevertheless, you could follow a trail of links from morning to night. The most famous coffee pot in the world, the one in the Trojan Room at the University of Cambridge came to the web later in 1993.

The Trojan Room Coffee Pot

From then until now, we've heard every breathless, hyperbolic phrase used to describe how the web and its communications underpinnings are ushering a new era of human existence. Those ejaculators are probably right, at least in part.
After all, look how far we've come, from a program that allowed nuclear scientists to share research to a video of a cat in a shark costume, sitting on a Roomba, chasing a duckling, with a dog in another shark costume in a stellar cameo performance.

Ubuntu eats Windows driver

Each time I install Ubuntu on my Thinkpad T420S in a dual-boot configuration with Windows 7, the driver for my Ricoh multi-card reader goes missing. The error shows up as an error for "Base System Device in Device Manager.

The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)

I tried re-installing several devices drivers that purport to handle this device. No joy.
The fix is to a) fix the MBR so Ubuntu isn't available or b) ?. After removing the dual boot configuration, there is no error.

Java hates users.

In preparation for a class that I'm teaching, I perform a Java update on my Windows 7 system. After avoiding the installation of the crapware Ask.com toolbar, I complete the installation.

A browser window opens up.

I click the button. Another window opens.

I click the link to resolve the problem. (Yes, the plug-in is enabled.)
I'm brought to a page where I can download and install the latest version of Java. Although I've just done that, by way of the update, I humor them and download and run the kit.
I'm rewarded with this:

My solution: I've uninstalled Java and refuse to use websites that require it.

We have the right to remain silent

Respecting Hakkarainen's Law of Great Events, this may be a good time not to read too much of what other people are posting on the Intertubes. Lots of people, including people I like, are saying things for, against, and "I was for it before I was against" last week's events in Boston. Much of what I've seen has been disappointing, both in what's been said and by whom it was said.
I certainly don't need to add to that pool of unhelpful commentary. (Ref. the corollary to HLGE.)

Published on the Friday before the world of Boston went a-scramble, this Guardian (UK) article shows that reading news is toxic to our minds and bodies. Among other things,

News inhibits thinking. Thinking requires concentration. Concentration requires uninterrupted time. News pieces are specifically engineered to interrupt you. They are like viruses that steal attention for their own purposes. News makes us shallow thinkers.

An Elvis impersonator sends ricin-laden envelopes to the President and members of the Senate.

via Google Trends on 4/22/13

The lethal mail doesn't even outpace news queries about the Kardashians. We're dealing with a news wave that's too big to ride, let alone analyze with any coherence.

Happy Birthday, Adam

Adam (front) with Mike and lunch - PEI