I already use my Android phone to do some light remote work. I use ConnectBot http://code.google.com/p/connectbot/ to SSH into a remote workstation. For graphical apps, I set up port forwarding for VNC (there's a menu option for it in connectbot) and use AndroidVNC http://code.google.com/p/android-vnc-viewer/

I have my VNC server set to only accept connections from localhost (and it's firewalled, too), so that only connections which are forwarded and encrypted via SSH wind up being accepted. This way I get secure remote access, the VNC protocol tends to be less bandwidth-intensive than raw X, and it preserves my session in case I get disconnected.

Don't get me wrong, an X server on Android is a cool technical achievement, but existing SSH and VNC clients for Android are a more practical and secure way of accessing your workstations/servers on the go.

Nethack confirms it, EA is dead

I had the pleasure of meeting the champion from spellbound, Nupur Lala, when we were both undergraduates at the University of Michigan. We became great friends and, along with another friend, shared an apartment our senior year. Although she is undoubtedly a genius, Nupur is far from the stereotype of the over-achieving Indian kid. She loves her family and is proud of her heritage, and her parents are likewise very proud of her. Her parents didn't, however, force her into academic competition or drill her with thousands of words per day. They did instill in her a love of learning and gave her a great deal of gentle encouragement when she showed a passion for language.

I think Nupur's example shows that very high-achieving young people, Indian or otherwise, need not be humorless robots driven by overbearing parents. She's a fun-loving, friendly, and extroverted woman who has the support of an engaged family that values academics without pushing too hard. She attended public schools her whole life (on through UM, go wolverines!) and likewise found teachers and peers who inspired her to further develop her talents.

In the end, what I'm driving at is that my experience with an Indian spelling bee champion contradicts a lot of stereotypes about Indians and Indian families, as well as those about high-achieving students. In her case, triumph is all about passion, inspiration, and love, not ethnicity.

Sliced up for organ and tissue transplants. I'm not using them anymore, why not give someone else a chance?

So I have to buy the hardware, then I have to buy the right to use the hardware in a way that I want to? I call BS.

So many people are playing the "FSF is Looney" card. I fully support them in this effort to raise awareness.

Dear Geek,

I recently traveled to Spain for 2 weeks and left my laptop at home and left my iPod buried in my carry-on. There was so much to see, eat and do that I didn't even think about missing it...

Oh, you said England? Bloody hell, bring your laptop and a few spares.

this sounds like a project in home automation.

I saw District 9 this Friday, and I have to agree that it was a great piece of cinematic sci-fi: an allegory for apartheid with a very human unlikely hero and some great popcorn-fodder action sequences. I'd like to remind everyone, though, that it still has some competition for year's best sci-fi movie in the form of Moon, which is a drama of isolation, loneliness, and ethics set in the stark, cold beauty of space, very reminiscent of 2001. While it doesn't match the action of D-9, it makes up for it with its emotional intensity and thoughtfulness. I highly recommend any Slashdot movie fans out there see both.