Charcoal Design ArticlesCharcoal Designhttp://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/weblog2010-01-04T10:02:57ZSingularity-Shmarity (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About a Robot Apocalypse)
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/singularity
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/singularity2010-01-04T10:02:57Z
<p>AI isn't just around the corner and it isn't going to bring about the end of humanity.</p>
Defending the Indefensible
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/opera
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/opera2007-12-15T20:07:22Z
<p>Many users and developers alike would like to see Microsoft improve its
browser, or replace it with something better, but should this really be a
legal matter? Is it right to force them to do this in a court of law?</p>
An Unachievable Goal?
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/ai
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/ai2007-07-23T20:07:22Z
<p>According to Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple), "we never will see a robot
that makes a cup of coffee". Could he be right? Is it possible that AI is
an unachievable dream? That we will never see robots that can even perform
basic household chores, let alone outsmart us?</p>
The Forecast for Broadcasts
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/broadcasts
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/broadcasts2007-07-20T19:21:56Z
<p>Just as video killed the radio star, the Internet is set to
kill radio, TV, and telephone, or at least change them beyond recognition.
It's just a matter of time. This article details why scheduled broadcasting is
about to fall hard, and what we can expect to replace it.</p>
Where are the Widgets?
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/widgets
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/widgets2007-07-19T21:12:31Z
<p>When Steve Jobs announced that Apple had provided a 3rd party development
environment for the iPhone, he was met with rapturous applause. This soon
turned to scorn when he revealed that the "development environment" was really
just a web browser. But was this scorn justified, or are web apps the
future for the iPhone?</p>
The Drive of Progress
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/stross
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/stross2007-05-17T13:11:23Z
<p>Acclaimed science fiction author Charles Stross has published his
predictions for how our future will be shaped by technology. In his books he
describes a fabulous utopian future, but his vision of how imminent
technologies will change our lives demands a sacrifice of personal
freedoms that I find difficult to stomach...</p>
It's a Mini Adventure
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/mini
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/mini2007-05-11T01:20:57Z
<p>When Apple released the new line of Intel Minis a year ago I decided
to take the plunge and buy one for use as a media
centre or
<em>living room PC</em>
. In some ways it has surpassed
my expectations, and in others I've been bitterly disappointed.
Here is the good, bad and ugly of the
<em>Media Centre Mini</em>
...</p>
How the Mighty Have Fallen
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/microsoft
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/microsoft2007-04-11T19:55:01Z
<p>According to Paul Graham, Microsoft is dead. So if he's right, what killed them?
And what conclusions can we draw from this? Was Microsoft just too slow to keep
up with the advances around them, or was their vision of the future fundamentally
flawed from the start?</p>
Spacial Awareness
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/spacial
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/spacial2007-03-20T18:13:02Z
<p>Mozilla has been used as the basis of a revolutionary web browser and email
client. Now it seems set to take on the operating system too. But is the Mozilla
brand of innovation really what is needed to inject new life into desktop operating
systems, or do we need to look backwards, not forwards to make progress...?</p>
Patently Ridiculous
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/patents
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/patents2007-03-07T20:07:19Z
<p>For 500 years the patents system has protected innovation by allowing
inventors to capitalise on their ideas. But with the changing pace of technology,
and the rise of patents for software concepts and algorithms, are cracks
appearing in this venerable institution...?</p>
The Next Big Thing
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/printers
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/printers2007-03-05T20:07:19Z
<p>In the last 25 years we have seen a number of key technologies emerge that
have revolutionised how we work, play and interact with each other. Could these
innovations be part of a grander design? And if so, what's the next piece
in the puzzle...?</p>
Standard Bearers
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/playsforsure
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/playsforsure2007-01-29T21:48:11Z
<p>For most of its history, Microsoft has relied on a mix
of secrecy and litigation to protect the workings of
its software and file formats. In light of mandates prohibiting
the use of proprietary formats for government documents, Microsoft
has pledged to change its ways... but has it?</p>
Viva Amiga
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/amiga
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/amiga2007-01-23T10:46:21Z
<p>The Amiga, a cherished computing platform from the 80s - 90s era, which
was finally killed off by the dominance of the PC market, may be
about to undergo a revival with the release of
Amiga OS 4. But is a new OS release really the best way to continue
the Amiga legacy?</p>
Just Say No!
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/ie7
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/ie72006-11-09T21:14:08Z
<p>When Microsoft announced that they were finally updating the
aged Internet Explorer with a new version, many were initially
skeptical. Could this be a glorious turn in the road for the world's
worst (and most popular) browser, or would this be just another
rushed-out bodge job like IE6 before it...?</p>
Six Word Limit? That's Easy, I'll...
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/sixwords
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/sixwords2006-10-26T06:13:37Z
<p>Wired recently ran an article in which they challenged some
contemporary sci-fi and fantasy authors to produce interesting
literary works in a maximum of six words, with some amusing
results. I thought it might be fun to join in, so here are my
efforts...</p>
A Hard(ware) Act to Follow
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/hardware
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/hardware2006-10-23T21:48:13Z
<p>Gartner, a prominent industry analyst believes that Apple
would be better off if it abandoned the hardware business
and concentrated on selling OS X to the established PC user
base. Is this really the way forward for Apple? And if not, why
do people keep thinking they know how to run Apple better than
Apple does...?</p>
Read it and Weep
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/reader
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/reader2006-09-27T19:02:01Z
<p>Sony recently unveiled its new e-book reader, imaginatively
entitled the
<em>Sony Reader</em>
. I have to admit that when I
saw it my first thought was that this was the coolest thing
I'd seen. Sadly, a closer examination reveals a lack of
design forethought - a shame because it is clear that the
technology has real potential...</p>
So Wwwhat's the Point?
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/www
http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/www2006-09-14T21:32:49Z
<p>No-www.org have taken a stand against the largely redundant
requirement of many websites that you prefix their domain with
www. While I applaud their efforts to save us all several
characters worth of typing every day, I believe that they
have missed out on some more subtle benefits of the www
prefix...</p>