Here’s a useful hint. If you’re executing a command which is going to take a while, rather than minimising the terminal once you’ve started it, you can reduce the font by repeatedly pressing Cmd minus. That way you can leave the window somewhere visible on your desktop and keep glancing across to it. Your subconscious mind will usually let you know that it’s finished within a few minutes of the event, because it will pick up on the fact that the text has stopped moving. Here’s an example Linux kernel compilation over ssh:

Apparently, some researcher at BT is saying that, in the future, breast implants could be fitted with MP3 players. How many songs can they hold? That depends on the size of the mammary. Badum-tish. Thank you, I’m here all week.

I think the algorithm used by the “Just For You” feature could use a little more work. How do they get from Strauss to Bon Jovi?

TUAW reports:

The Sims 2 1.0 rev b has been released, and includes the following changes:

<ul><li>Fixed problems using the in-game content browser to connect to Sims2.com.</li><li>Improved stability related to sound.</li><li>Added support for Japanese character input .</li><li>Package installer now localized in Japanese and Italian. </li></ul>Unfortunately, it looks like the "it is very boring" issue is yet to be addressed.

Their last comment is so true! Number of times I’ve played The Sims 2 since I last blogged about it? Zero. Total number of times I’ve played it since I bought it? One. I wrote to Aspyr Support, saying how disappointed I was with the performance of The Sims 2 on my G4 Powerbook, and asking if I could swap it for a copy of The Sims 1. Their answer: it works fine, and no, you can’t swap it. If I ever buy another game again, it will be for a Playstation or an XBox (which I will have to purchase at the same time because I don’t own one at the moment).

According to the Universal Currency Converter, the Sterling to Dollar exchange rate at the moment is 1 GBP = 1.74676 USD. iTunes UK sells singles for £0.79, the US store sells them for $0.99. This means that singles bought from the UK store cost $1.38, making them 39% more expensive. Music videos from the UK store sell for a massive £1.89 ($3.30), compared to $1.99 which Apple charge for videos on the US store. i.e. UK customers are charged 66% more for videos. If the rates were the same (according to UCC) the cost in the UK for singles and videos would be £0.57 and £1.14 respectively.