Last Mile update from March 2003

Top 11 Ways the world would be different if OS/2 had won the operating systems race

11. PCs would be beige

10. With no bugs, legal troubles and vaporware to write about, the tech press would be reduced to a single, one-page monthly newsletter

9. BSOD would be BBSOD (Big Blue Screen of Death)

8. An army of IBM Certified Config.sys Engineers (ICCE) would have emerged

7. Networks would run SNA instead of IP6. XP-OS/2 emulation would have hit the market, promising a "Better OS/2 than OS/2"

5. Paul Allen would own the minor-league Redmond Reboots

4. Software alpha testing would happen at IBM instead of on your desktop

3. You wouldn't have to answer your kids' questions about why there isn't a Windows 96 or 99

2. You wouldn't need a Pentium 4 with 256 MB of RAM to play Solitaire1. You would no longer be "the only moron" at your company who has not seen the light

We invite you to visit our extended, 32-bit version of the OS/2 list.

Thanks to Allan Alton, Marvin Duran, Matthew Ellsworth, Bob Jones, Douglas Lancaster, Harry Levinson, Mike Moody, Michael Paschal, Roger Philipps, Scott Reimers and JJ Seely for their submissions.

Get Your Hack On

Things that glitter are not always golden -- even online, even at eBay. An auction titled "Hacking Cracking Computers Hacker Spying Hack" certainly sounds promising. For just $5.95 via PayPal, registrants will receive topnotch training in the fine art of hacking from an underground lair, complete with pool table, lava lamps and disco ball. Here's a selection of the finest lessons:

Unfortunately, the purveyors of this fine course forgot to include perhaps the most important lesson plan:

Caveat Emptor!

Alternative Fuel

In honor of Toshiba's newly announced methanol fuel cell for laptop computers, we challenged our crack technologists to create their own alternative fuel sources for mobile computing. Here's the winning bid:

Presenting the Mr. Osterizing Hummus Home Energy Converter (OHHEC for short). Relying upon the readily available delicacy hummus, the blue laser-powered OHHEC can power any laptop via its six interface options--chop, liquify, emulsify, whip, crush and puree. Sure, it generates nearly 1.21 gigawatts of power, but with its automatic radar-gun-throttling technology and built-in satellite uplink, you can easily store extra kilowatts off-site. Plus, it makes a mean frozen mango martini.

Find more Last Mile items and submit your entries for upcoming issues at www.nwc.com/go/lmile.html.