I realize that my fascination with ink cartridges isn’t shared by many of you. I work with them on a daily basis, you probably give them a thought every few months when you have to replace them. Then they’re “out of sight and out of mind” until they run dry again. Not for me.

I see and handle them 40 hours a week. They’re quite interesting, complex electronics in a thin metal strip tacked onto a plastic box. Their designs are unique and their shapes suggestive. I frequently wish some could make better use of them once their productive life is over.

Faith Pearson has realized my imagination. She literally saw outside the box. Here are some shots of her assemblages, courtesy of Make: Online.

And yes, I can name every cartridge in each of those constructions.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Old Ink Cartridges used for Sci-Fi Artwork (geek.com)
• Starship Enterprise made from ink cartridges (makezine.com)

I have found my favorite OS/browser combo for doing what I usually do on the web, Ubuntu Linux and the Opera web browser.

My fight with Vista has gone on for over a year now and at best the struggle has been  a draw. Every time I get Vista configured to work the way I like, it finds another way to slow down, freeze and generally piss me off. Just booting into Windows is a lesson in patience. I have maybe 8 programs that run at startup, nearly all of them security oriented (sadly, a necessity with Windows). To use today as a typical example, it was 12 minutes before Windows was ready to go to work. Compare and contrast with Ubuntu, ready to go 20 seconds after starting its boot.

I installed Ubuntu in a dual-boot configuration planning on reviewing it then installing a real Linux OS for daily use, SUSE or maybe PclOS. In the past I’ve preferred KDE over Gnome, so I was prepared to dislike the basic version of Ubuntu. Well color me surprised. I not only liked Ubuntu with Gnome, but have decided to keep it and make it my default OS.

Much of the complaining I encouter in discussions about Linux center around useability. “I can’t do what I want to do in Linux” is a common refrain. That’s no doubt true for gamers, Photoshoppers and those addicted to their Windows-only applications.  That doesn’t describe me.

The primary uses I have for an operating system involve writing for the web, creating and maintaining websites and blogs, a limited amount of shopping at sites like Amazon for MP3s and keeping up with email and forums. There isn’t one of those activities that Linux can’t handle just as well, if not better, than Windows. Add the stability and security inherent in Linux and you can understand why I dread those times I have to boot back into Vista.

Lately Firefox has been a disappointment. Perhaps it’s because it seems to be approaching the level of bloat and sluggish response found in Internet Explorer with each new version. Granted, Firefox in Linux is vastly superior to its Windows countetrpart. Still, it’s just not the same browsing experience it was back with Firebird and Firefox 1.0.

Since Linux offers a host of browser types, I figured I’d do a comparison test. The clear winner was the browser I’ve long had installed in Windows but used infrequently, Opera. Since it renders web pages strictly according to web standards, pages that aren’t coded well look like crap. Firefox is more forgiving and I.E. doesn’t even pay attention to standards. Opera is fast, can import Firefox/I.E. bookmarks and has the usual options for type styles and security. The biggest obsticle to using Opera for everything are sites that are “best viewed” in Firefox or I.E. Some banking sites won’t accept Opera as a browser. So it’s still worthwhile to have the latest version of Firefox installed and on standby.

But for pure speed and ease of browsing and general web work, I don’t see how you can beat Opera in Ubuntu (unless maybe it’s Safari in OS X).

Why should you join Friendfeed and/or Twitter and subscribe to the tech-bloggers in the know? Because you might stumble across tantalizing little tidbits like this:

Robert Scoble - Twitter

“Microsoft has something cool coming out tomorrow night. Will it make me cry? No, but it might get me to sing its praises.”

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Amazing! What will Jobs think of next? Maybe a mouse with no buttons?

Sure, this could be accomplished with technology. But take a moment to appreciate the human, artistic talent of this man who cannot read or write but can create sculptures that are nothing short of amazing. I love technology, but I never cease to be impressed by humanity.