The Final Touch

Heads down, they tap, squeeze and slide
Themselves through equally zombified crowds, thumb-
Typing away, doomscrolling; some
Just stop and stare, horror-happy-eyed
At the wonder of this, their talisman.  It’s
A wallet, camera, map, clock, translator,
TV, computer, torch, calculator,
Ebook, calendar, and boom box in one, which fits
In your pocket.  Twenty years ago, much
Effort was squandered on styluses, wheels and knobs
That failed to turn phone into platform.  It took Jobs
To add that “one more thing”: a god-like touch.
Today’s ubiquitous, magic, confab-
ulating wand is not a stick, but a delicate slab.

(14.3.26) v 1.0

Moody Sonnets

Microsoft the Translator, Microsoft the Traitor

Since I sank to the (oceanic) depths of linking to a fisheries story on the basis of an irresistible headline, I don't see why I shouldn't do the same for this post, winningly entitled "Traduttore, Traditore" - Italian for "Translator, Traitor".

It's an interesting examination of the reality behind Microsoft's much-ballyhooed support for ODF, but what really grabbed my attention was the fact that this translator/traitor word pairing is always close to the surface of my mind whenever I use either: I'm always teetering on the brink of swapping one for the other. Which would be unfortunate. (Via Bob Sutor's Open Blog.)