The Times Literary Supplements in Trouble?

Following Rupert Murdochs sale of the TES and the THES
John Sutherland, prof. em. of English at UCL, speculates that it bodes ill for the future of the TLS in his recent column "Final Chapter for the TLS" in the Guardians online edition. According to the article the review magazine is running in the red and its owner, having sold off its profitable educational siblings, is supposedly looking to get rid of it.

It will be a sad day the day the TLS goes.

Tinderbox

While Tinderbox is a one-of-a-kind-tool I think it can be discussed if it is underpriced as some people believe. As a mac user I am hesitant to use an expensive tool that isn't Cocoa. Sometimes there aren't any alternatives, but that is not the case in the thriving outliner market.

Why is Cocoa so important? In three words: look and feel! I'm suprised that a company that is aware of the importance of texture and sensuality for writing and creativity makes no attempt to use Cocoa in their software. If you sell Moleskines and handmade italian leather journals why not use the corresponding electronic user interface?

Also the reluctance to port Tinderbox to Cocoa makes me wonder about the future development af the mac version of Tinderbox in view of the planned Windows version. I get the feeling that my $165 (not to mention the yearly $70 for updates) will be used to develop a windows version which will further reduce the likelyhood of a Cocoa version.

I feel so dirty

I watched Steve Jobs keynote from Macworld yesterday. I never thought I would sink that low that fast. Before I switched some months ago I've always been amused at the childish excitement of the Mac zealots, and now I've become one myself. In retrospect it wasn't worth the time, an infomercial is an infomercial even if it's from Apple.

That said, I've waited a long time for the Mac mini, I've even considered buying a used Cube, and the iPod shuffle seems to fit my needs perfectly—cheap, well designed and can be used as a USB-drive.

Bestiaire du Moyen Âge

Wonderful pictures of real and imaginary beasts taken from medieval manuscripts. Complete with commentary in English, French and Spanish, go to the Bestiaire du Moyen Âge to see them.

Learn everything...

...you will see later that nothing was superfluous. Wisdom from Hugh of St Victor.