On Silver Wings

I enjoyed this one.  It is good old fashioned military space opera, complete with enigmatic bad guy space aliens, mysterious technology, and heroic characters.  5/5 stars.  I cannot wait to read the next one in the series.

smarter, faster, better

I enjoyed this one.  It's a little long and dense but a fun read and very compelling. 4/5 stars.

dark matter

despite the bad science and absurdity I was willing to suspend disbelief and go along for the action-packed ride.  It's a fun story with some interesting turns.  I found some of the action / decisions unmotivated and trite.  Some of the characters and situations were also very thin.  But it was enjoyable.  3/5 stars.

The Internet's Own Boy

Fantastic film, 5/5 stars.  I was crying.  Don't miss it.

Microsoft bricked our computer so I switched to Linux

When we installed our home theater in 2010, the only device attached to the 1080p projector and the surround sound system was a 2009 Dell Zino.  At the time the Zino had enough graphics to play high-end Windows video games, enough processor / memory for high-end apps, a blueray optical device, ethernet for fast Internet stuff (streaming) and a tiny form factor to fit unobtrusively in our home theater.  We added a wireless keyboard and mouse and life was fantastic.  It is still the only device attached to our projector and sound system.  The 15 foot screen and huge subwoofer are still very impressive.

Microsoft's latest "cumulative patch" for windows-10 bricked the Zino last week.  The Zino was completely unrecoverable, locked up tighter than a drum at the "which keyboard?" prompt.

The Zino now runs Ubuntu with the Mint desktop, VLC for media and streaming, and life is better.  Linux has come a long way since 2009.  It is a viable consumer OS.

It may be time to short Microsoft's stock.  They are pushing us consumers away from their products and services in a concerted effort of self-destruction.