This really sucks! We wants it!

Absolute Gadget - LG launches world's first dust compression vacuum cleaner

Absolute Gadget was at the launch of the LG Compressor, which will no doubt be hoping to steal Dyson's thunder as king of the bag-less dirt destroyers. Judging by what we saw today the big ‘D' has some serious competition.

Being billed as ‘The World's first dust compression vacuum cleaner the LG Compressor is hoping to break new ground in the dust eating market.

Instead of simply storing dust in a container the LG's unit compresses it into small triangular wedges. It does this via the ‘RotaBlade' which rotates from side to side squeezing the dust into small clumps.

(via Gizmodo, who add: "Shipping in May, it's tricked out in three different models that LG has dubbed Compressor, Compressor PetCare and AllergyCare, dolled up in red, silver or white and priced between $200 and $300.")

My main interest in this thing is that it looks easier to empty than existing bagless vacs, plus it looks like it will probably be easier to store and easier to tote around than uprights like the Dyson. The fact that it's also cool-looking and significantly cheaper doesn't hurt, either. I'll wait.

Hasta la Vista: Dell offers XP again

Free Go-Backs: Dell to Reintroduce Windows XP - Gizmodo

After pulling XP from its desktop and laptop lines, Dell changed its mind and announced that it would offer it on new Inspiron 1405, 1705, 1505 and 1501 notebooks, and Dimension E520 and E521 desktops. The decision was driven by an overwhelming outcry on Dell's IdeaStorm feedback center, which at the moment reads like a meeting of the He-Man Vista Hater's Club...

It's apparently only available on a few models favored by business users, but it's a step in the "right" direction.

Meanwhile, you can get the latest release of the OS Michael Dell uses on his desktop machine right here from Ubuntu.

It cuts both ways

I was out walking a couple of days ago and the phrase "Moebius Bandsaw" popped into my head. Turns out you don't always need a double edge to cut both ways.

The rings

here we have chaoswolf and selkit showing off their engagement rings, and here we have a close-up of the rings themselves.

What's Orkish for "two rings to bind them"?

Thoughts

It was the evening of the Virginia Tech shootings, and I was on the phone with my brother, who teaches at another college in Virginia (ODU). He said "Somebody's going to lose their job over this", and then added, "But I hope not. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail." I agreed -- the campus cops did exactly the right thing under the circumstances. When you come across two shooting victims in a dorm room you start looking for a jealous ex, not a demented mass-murderer.

And as for whether anyone should have seen it coming, or could have prevented it... Doubtful. The only things that might have prevented it would have been teaching young kids not to tease or bully people who are different from them, and a health care system that provides decent mental health care, and a culture that makes it easier for an asocial loner to seek out care than to avoid it. Good luck.