I recently opted to replace my first generation Asus EEE 701. It's very convenient and mostly functional, but I decided I wasn't finding it the best thing in the world for really Getting Stuff Done™ outside of sending a few emails.

I chose to get one of the new Samsung NC20s. I highly recommend it - it's really on the netbook/laptop border, but the larger screen size and resolution is worth that little bit extra weight (and at just under £400, it's a bargain too).

When I was selecting my new ultra-portable, the kind of things I had in mind were battery life, weight and form-factor (for carting it around to events), the specification (can I code and run photoshop?) and reviews of it's performance. The one thing I wasn't particularly interested in was whether it went with my handbag or shoes.

So why exactly have Dell opted to create their new "Della" site, which appears to be about specifically that one aspect?

The site is clearly aimed at women since it features lots of glossy photos of groups of ladies chatting over coffee and standing in fields staring thoughtfully off into the distance (or on the beach - because sand and cooling fans go so well), but it appears to assume that they're not interested in the specifications or technical features of the laptop - merely how pretty they look and how they'll help you lose weight or some other inane Heat magazine-esque topic. I'd call this patronising at best.

Perhaps they could be making a bigger deal of their "nipple" cursor controller and getting a few more blokes buying their mini range, just to be fair?

Oh, and my NC20 is an always classic little black number.

Update: Sounds like Dell have had a turn-around on the marketing campaign, pulling the name "Della" just days after it's launch (although a sneaky look at the website's mark-up still shows the della references throughout).

Jay Jay Pistolet

An unassuming man in a jumper far too warm for the tiny venue and hot lights, but a mesmerising acoustic set with 50s tones and twee lyrics.

Slow Club

Energetic, heart-felt and as good-humoured as ever. I genuinely can't watch them for long enough. Chair percusion and the occasional screw-ups add to their charm.

Slow Club at The Enterprise, 20th April 2009

I was lucky enough to get to attend Rewired State's "National Hack the Government Day" last weekend. It was a really good day and probably the best Hackday I've been to.

Things that really made it work:

1. It was focused. Having a very specific set of goals makes it easier for people to come up with ideas, especially when it's only over the space of a day.
2. It was in an office. Swanky new Guardian ones at that. As much as I like beanbags, they just don't fit for getting much work done. Having desk space just really felt productive and comfortable and felt more conducive to code.
3. The group was small and selected. It might sound kind of pretentious to be selective about the attendees, but it worked. I've been to so many events where anyone could sign up, and the tickets have been taken by people who simply don't show up because there wasn't much incentive to (or they just weren't that committed in the first place) or the people that did show weren't necessarily relevant. RWS managed to get a busy group of people who were good developers and interested in the topic. Turn-out was excellent (350 applied, there were 100 places, and 80 attended).
4. The atmosphere was friendly, productive and helpful. Everyone seemed really positive and interested in what everyone else was doing, and offered help and advice when asked. It was a good mix of skill-sets too.
5. There was beer and pizza.

I think what would work really well at something like that is mixing it up with some of the BarCamp methods. A great thing about BarCamp is seeing the 2 day schedule go up on the wall, and it being filled in with hand-written (often decorated) cards of ideas and names - as soon as you stick up your own card, you feel a bit committed to actually making sure you get your talk done. Perhaps what Hackdays need is to get all the ideas written up on cards, stick them up somewhere, then let people move them into "Doing", "Would like to do" and "Rubbish/Off-topic" groupings etc. Then it'd be easy to see what's up for grabs, or if there's some people who want to do something but need a bigger team to get it done, and just generally get a buzz around what's going on in the room.

Cool things did come out of RWS though, and you can check most of them out on the project page. Work seems to be continuing on many of the projects, and quite a few were offered further funding at the end of the event too. Kudos to James and Richard (and everyone else) for such a successful event.

Just a quicky - wanted to help link-love this to help out the bug squashing cause. Jake has found a rather fun IE8 bug: IE8 layout - Javascript / innerHTML bug.

For no other reason than to have something to blog at the end of the year, I kept a list of films I've seen and books I've read from Jan 1st 2008 until the end of the year.

Films (at the cinema, in seen order)

1. I Am Legend
2. Sie, Jie (Lust, Caution)
3. No Country for Old Men
4. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
5. Sweeney Todd
6. Cloverfield
7. The Savages
8. Juno
9. There Will Be Blood
10. Be Kind Rewind
11. My Blueberry Nights
12. 10,000 BC
13. El Orfanato
14. Funny Games U.S.
15. [Rec]
16. In Bruges
17. Deception
18. Iron Man
19. Smart People
20. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
21. Gone Baby Gone
22. The Incredible Hulk
23. Kung Fu Panda
24. WALL-E
25. The Dark Knight
26. Elegy
27. Persepolis
28. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
29. The Strangers
30. Pineapple Express
31. Taken
32. How To Lose Friends and Alienate People
33. Burn After Reading
34. Easy Virtue
35. Choke
36. What Just Happened?
37. The Fall
38. The Day The Earth Stood Still
39. The Reader
40. Blindness

Favourites:

Least favourites (or just plain terrible films):

The Day The Earth Stood Still deserves special mention. I was willing to give this film a chance if it stood up as a film in it's own right, rather than as a remake, since they couldn't really make an accurate one set in today's world. Such an utter disappointment.

This film is remarkably not ruined by Keanu Reeves. He actually suits his role. The film is ruined by an incredibly bad screenplay that makes half-hearted references to the amazing original, includes terrible dialog and unbelievable situations which lead all the main characters to constantly and whimsically change their allegiances so as to suit the ridiculous "human beings are wonderful" love-fest and unnecessary patriotism. Oh, and the CGI sucks too.

Books (fiction and non, plus some graphic novels - in finished order):

1. The Unteleported Man / The Mind Monsters - Philip K. Dick / Howard L. Cory
2. Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4 - Bryan O'Mally
3. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
4. Star Maker - Olaf Stapledon
5. The Penultimate Truth - Philip K Dick
6. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
7. A Handful of Darkness - Philip K Dick*
8. Dr Bloodmoney - Philip K Dick
9. Love and Limerence - Dorothy Tennov
10. Ubik - Philip K Dick*
11. Dark Stars - ed. Robert Silverberg
12. Bonjour Tristesse - Francoise Sagan**
13. Lost at Sea - Bryan O'Mally
14. Through a Glass, Clearly - Isaac Asimov*
15. The Gryb (and other stories) - E. A. van Vogt
16. Fear and Trembling - Søren Kierkegaard
17. The Game Players of Titan - Philip K Dick**
18. On The Genealogy of Morals - Friedrich Nietzsche
19. Watchmen - Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons***
20. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck****

I've certainly been on a short-stories kick this year, having read 5 collections. I really like the medium, actually, and it's a shame that the form seems to be dying. I only tend to come across good short stories, especially of the sci-fi variety, in now out-of-print editions in musty second-hand bookshops. The Blackwells and Foyles seem to push and stock mostly the latest full-length pop novels and not a whole lot else. Shame.

The other clear trend is my continuing appreciation for Philip K Dick. The man was prolific, but I find almost all of his books interesting to read. I really do recommend him if you're interested in concepts of alternative realities, trust and philosophy of the mind.

I wanted to read as much as I saw, but, as pointed out to me, a film is just a couple hours out of the day, but a book is a lot more. Maybe next year I'll do better (or watch less).

Happy 2009!