New Flash

FlashMacromedia officially announced the next version of Flash today called Flash MX. I guess it’s pretty much impossible to launch a new product these days without including an “X” in its name somewhere. It looks great nevertheless, and I’m actually onboard with Macromedia’s ambitions to make it a full-fledged development platform. The product has come a long way from its beginnings in the pen computing market, as detailed in this historical account by creator Jonathan Gay.

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Scan Lines

CanoScan N1240UThis is a detail from the very first scan from my brand new Canon CanoScan N1240U, now sitting cutely in my home office. Though it’s not the speediest scanner (as mentioned in this PC World roundup of current models) it’s ideal for my tiny apartment; first it’s remarkably thin and second it keeps things dead simple by using just a single USB cable for both power and data. That’s real progress.

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Lens Crafters

Though its promise is greater than its reality, the movie rating and recommendation engine MovieLens is at least a lot of fun. Users rate a slew of movies (I was able to quickly rate about sixty-five) and MovieLens returns a list of recommended current features and recent video and DVD releases. It’s a project from the University of Minnesota, but it’s practically begging for a deal with Amazon or Citysearch.

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Good Concept, or Not

Intel Concept PCsMany Wintel fans may insist that what matters in computing is specs and not looks, but deep down they all wish their hardware looked as good as Apple’s — and now here’s proof. Intel’s “Concept PC Gallery” gets an A for effort, but it ultimately amounts to a motley showcase for some of the ugliest hardware designs ever seen, real or hypothetical.

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