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Talking Past Each Other

By Ed Hurst | Jan 03, 2009 at 6:40 PM

It's always the same. I publish my views on rolling release; immediately, comments began to appear, as I had hoped. That means people are reading it and thinking about it. Most people who responded to it contacted me separately without using the comments function on our site. The majority understood it, and thanked me for targeting the issue. It seems the few who weren't happy preferred to use the comments section.

Fewer Bars in More Places: AT&T Network Upgrades Degrade Service for 2G Phones

By Timothy R. Butler | Jan 03, 2009 at 4:45 AM

In an act affecting owners of 2G cell phones on AT&T Mobility’s network, including the highly visible, and originally highly expensive first generation iPhone, Open for Business has learned that AT&T has been quietly sacrificing 2G signal strength in an effort to speed up the build out of its next generation 3G network. The first generation iPhone was trumpeted by the company as recently as seven months ago; many 2G phones continue to be sold by the Dallas-based company today.

The View from Mudsock Heights: Let’s Celebrate the Regional Idioms While They're

By Dennis E. Powell | Jan 02, 2009 at 4:25 AM

Modern communication offers many wonderful advantages. But it might be a mistake to forget that these come at a cost. This came to mind the other day when I happened onto a conversation with a fellow from Amesville, whose way of saying things — accent and usage — are what we might have found here a century ago.

The Disaster of the Rolling Release

By Ed Hurst | Dec 31, 2008 at 5:11 AM

I’ve always enjoyed exploring. Every time I’ve moved from one residence to another, I’ve always wandered around my new neighborhood, simply to see what was there. It’s the same with computer technology. I love poking around operating systems. Lately, one aspect of this has gotten tiring in every Open Source operating system: the rolling release. The phrase refers to the sometimes feverish effort to add new features, long before the old ones even work properly. Thus, every day sees sometimes radical changes in various projects, new features and new bloat.

The View from Mudsock Heights: The Old Saw

By Dennis E. Powell | Dec 28, 2008 at 5:32 AM

Did you hear the old saw? If you live near me, you did. People have asked, so I suppose it’s right to tell: yes, the woodstove got installed and yes, the ornery old locust tree that had been the bane of my timber disassembly efforts has gotten cut and stacked.

Gifts of Christmas (Procrastinator's Edition)

By Staff Staff | Dec 23, 2008 at 8:12 PM

Have you put off your Christmas shopping just a little too long and now you are panicking what to get those still on your shopping list? Never fear; the editorial team at OFB has gathered some of our favorite gift ideas, starting at under $5, and have even noted a few that you can still get shipped online if you'd rather avoid the holiday bustle of brick-and-mortar stores.

The View from Mudsock Heights: With One Delicious Recipe, Brooklyn is Redeemed

By Dennis E. Powell | Dec 18, 2008 at 3:52 PM

The holiday season can be a little bit of a minefield, especially in a place where everyone is a good cook and many are great cooks. Let me tell you what I mean.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Culture War

By Timothy R. Butler | Dec 17, 2008 at 5:53 AM

Few gestures can be as delightful as a hearty “Merry Christmas” this time of year. Yet the phrase has become embroiled in a “culture war,” the most recent salvo of which came from the pro-Christmas American Family Association, which sought to get its members to turn against retailer Costco, after Costco started favoring “holiday” over “Christmas.”

The View from Mudsock Heights: A Miner's Carol

By Dennis E. Powell | Dec 11, 2008 at 6:40 AM

Wisdom and depth are often found in quiet country folk.

We live in a world where it is common for total strangers to confide in us the most intimate details of their favorite subject: themselves. This isn’t necessarily a good thing, I think, and it wasn’t always the case. Once upon a time, a degree of genteel reserve was thought to be one of the fundamentals of politeness. Now it’s all but extinct.

Perception Is Everything

By Ed Hurst | Dec 10, 2008 at 6:26 AM

In a recent commentary at ZDNet, software developer Jeremy Allison considered one of the most problematic issues with adoption of the Linux operating system: even in cash strapped parts of the world, people don’t want it. I'm not too deeply disturbed those poor souls in Africa don't want Linux. What strikes me so deeply has to do with perception.

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