So I went back to using a window manager rather than a desktop manager

If you want an extremely light window manager packaged up with a good collection of programs then choose lxde desktop IMHO.

However if you only want a window manager rather than an entire ecosystem then there are a few alternatives like fluxbox and icewm. I have gone back to icewm which I feel I have complete control of, with wicd for networking and pcman for a file manager, and a dropdown terminal guake. You can also pull in whatever KDE / Gnome / XFCE programs you might like.

The nice thing about icewm is that all your window manager settings are stored in easy to use text files in your ~/.icewm directory, and you can back these up and use them in your other PCs so you only have to set it up once.

Icewm, the cool window manager

That was the problem I had with the format. The only reason that I bought the unit is was for quick recording in the field, mainly for my wife's work. It would have been handy for her to be able to record hour long interviews and then transfer them to our computer for editing down to an interesting 10 minutes or so. However having to import the recordings through the the analogue input made the unit a real hassle to use.

I sent some query emails to Sony because I was sure that this must be a mistake, why would a company make the process of using their device so awkward? Eventually I got a reply from Sony asking me why I wanted to circumvent their proprietary system, as if I was trying to break into their property!

I have never bought anything from Sony since.

1) Digital preparation. The cost of changing the digital formating from original format to an ebook format. That is what computers are for it should not be an expensive task.

2) QA. Yes that is needed. Automatic convertion should manage the conversions. Ebooks are not the same as physical books, the text / diagrams / and footnotes should flow differently for each ebook magnification and for each different type of ebook. Setting the layout and typesetting exactly is for physical books, ebooks should be done automatically. However having someone give the book a once over is needed.

3)Distribution and updates. These should again be achieved using software and limited human involvement. This again should be automated via software.

I think the writter Michael Hyatt is so bedded with the process of the physical book that he is applying the same techniques to digital. I like physical books. A well prepared physical book is beautiful, each page layed out optimally on the page, great care taken that any illustrations and notes look good, typeset so that even the shape of the writing is a pleasure.

However that is not what an ebook is about. The ebook just has the material, formated for the convenience of your device. That an illustration lands on page 75 rather than 63 is of no consequence. So Mr Hyatt is either creating a smokescreen to cover the high cost charged for Digital Books, or there is a more serious problem and he does not understand what an ebook is.

And if he takes more money than is needed to produce an ebook, then his business will not survive.

Barry: This is a critical point. There’s a huge data set proving that digital books are a price-sensitive market, and that maximum revenues are achieved at a price point between $.99 and $4.99. So the question is: why aren’t publishers pricing digital books to maximize digital profits? Joe: Because they're protecting their paper sales. Barry: Exactly. Joe: It's awfully dangerous for an industry to ignore (or even blatantly antagonize) their customers in order to protect self-interest.

This is one thing that puts me off buying ebooks. At the moment they are overpriced.

Another problem is that they come with DRM, and running a free operating system I cannot read them and have to resort to other methods to obtain a free copy. I would much rather purchase a reasonably priced ebook with no DRM so that some money goes to the author.

We are left with the same untenable situation with ebooks as there was with the music industry, that is that you get a better ebook for free which is flexible and can be read on any ereader than you get by purchasing for £12 from an official ebook retailer.

Uh... "for future disruption"? What does that mean?

I think he means disruption as in disruptive technologies i.e. technologies that make present tech redundant. So the iPhone was a disruptive technology in that it changed the market for mobile smart phones.

I think that the statement is meant to imply that Meego was being kept so that they can produce a product in the future that was disruptive to the competition in the mobile market

Whether that is a genuine possibility or a carrot to retain staff is open to speculation

Re: All immediately after the N900 gets Android apps

That's what I was thinking. Access to Android apps gives the phone access to the wider ecosystem that Nokia seeks. Now they have to start to build from scratch with W7. I think they made the wrong jump.

governments should make sure that the two forms of software compete on a level playing field and can comingle efficiently. One way of doing this would be to promote open standards to ensure that proprietary incumbents do not abuse a dominant position.

I believe that open standards would certainly help break certain proprietary software monopolies.

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I have found most of the courses pretty enjoyable, and the most recent section on computers is very well set out and a pleasure to do.