Dowbrigade

The Lindos Corporation today introduced the world’s least
expensive internet capable computer, at an incredible $167 (as pictured,
no monitor).

Currently, the lowest priced store brand computers start at $399.  Microsoft
X-Boxes, which include a hard drive, sell for, coincidently, $167, can
be hacked to run Linux for about $30 in parts and know-how.

However, the Lindos Web Station has no hard drive and runs their propriatary
OS Lindos 4.0, a sort of Windows emulator running on Linux, off of a
CD.  The
machine ships with an MS-compatable office suite which can handle Word,
Excel, PPoint, etc. Also a web browser, music/video player, email and
IM.  Could
be a monster, or another bust…...

One of the coolest things I learned at my first Thursday
Night meeting
at the Berkman Center was how to set up and use the News
Aggregator built
into Radio Userland’s Manila blogging software.  Manila is the server-based
tool used by the blogs at Harvard, and it incorporates RSS 2.0, a Real
Simple way to recieve and read a custom blend of your favorite news feeds
and blogs.

And one of the coolest things I learned about the articles which appear
in my aggregator, specifically those from the New
York Times, many of which
end up in my blog, is that the links provided BYPASS THAT PESKY LOGIN
SCREEN. Now, I know that registration on the New York Times site is free,
but I assume that some of my hypothetical readers (the stats say you’re
out there, although I have trouble imagining that you are real) are registered,
and that some are not.  Now everyone can read the articles without bothering
to log in.

As an extra special bonus, when the articles disappear from the Times’
free, on-site archives in two weeks, entering the relm of pay-per-article,
THEY WILL STILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE BLOG LINKS.FOR FREE.

I truly LOVE my news
aggregator. I now understand what the commotion over
RSS is all about. Every news junkie absolutely needs this service.