antoin@eire.com

I just bought a new laptop, to replace my aging Toshiba. I bought the Medion MD 96500. ‘The what?’ I hear you ask. It’s a budget laptop sold by discount retailer Aldi. I got it because it was really high-spec, it wasn’t too expensive and I just couldn’t see the point in forking out a few hundred extra extra for a branded version of the same thing.

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I’m speaking tomorrow (Tuesday) at GIS Ireland 2005 on the topic of international practice around postcodes. Should be interesting to talk to to this specialized audience on the topic.

Martin Varsavsky writes about his experience launching FON, a network for wi-fi users and AP owners that allows them to share their bandwidth. Check Technorati, he’s gotten great coverage on Spanish-language websites. Martin is a great telecomms engineer and I think this is going to be something really big.

Well, according to evidence Ethan has put together from UN sources, it looks like things are definitely getting worse.

Joi Ito has spent three weeks playing animated 3-d online role-playing games. He says he has seen the future, and he says it has depth.

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John Kennedy writes about the foundation of Digital Rights Ireland. (I am on the board of this organization.)

Some of the issues around identity, authentication and personal on-line security explained in this entertaining presentation by Dick Hardt

(via edwardtufte.com)

Silicon Republic tells thesad story of the payroll system that went bad on the Irish Health Services Authority. Basically, it was supposed to cost EUR 8 million, and has ended up swallowing EUR 120 million so far. They will need to spend that much again to finish the project.

Why do these things go so badly wrong?

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