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Jan 27 2003
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Why do you need a word processor?

Posted by | software design | No Comments

Apple gear up further to removing their reliance on Microsoft products with a rumored word processor, back to the old days of Claris then. Why follow the same product breakdown as Microsoft at all? Do you really need fully fledged applications for ‘word processing’, spreadsheets, presentation? I rarely use a fully fledged ‘word processor’ and would rather see a completely different view of software, built around a modular framework with a plugin architecture for developers. These plugins could be local or distributed, like locally cacheable web services. I.E. you could remotely load a French spellchecker on demand whilst editing text. Why not take the principal activities of desktop computing: editing (text, bitmaps, grids, video etc.); publishing (to HTML, XML, PDF); retrieving (a full text database filesystem) and make them modular components of a universal framework application, an extension of the operating system. Microsoft tried this a way back with OLE,…

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Jan 24 2003
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Dancing with cats

Posted by | crime | No Comments

More books from the minds of the criminally insane: Dancing With Cats other related titles include “Cat Artists and their Work” (Shouldn’t that read ‘Con Artists’?) and “Test Your Cat’s Creative Intelligence: Eighteen Easy-To-Use Test Cards to Verify Your Cat’s Artistic Ability” Thanks Nick

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Jan 24 2003
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The Economist sees a light at the end of the tunnel for the tech/telecom bust

Posted by | predictions | No Comments

There is renewed optimism about the potential of the Internet and digital technologies. My prediction: its a good time to invest in innovative technology, but for the Telecoms and Media companies investors haven’t yet faced up to the fact that they are companies that are based on business models stemming from the world of fixed circuit phone calls and analog media. This is gone forever. “most dotcoms have failed, and the telecommunications industry, which raced to build the infrastructure for cyberspace, is staggering under $1 trillion of debt. Yet it would be wrong to conclude that this is the end of the internet revolution. Boom and bust often follow the introduction of radically new technologies. In the 1870s America’s railroad industry boomed in much the same way as the world’s telecoms industry in the late 1990s, only to collapse in a similar heap of bankruptcies, accounting scandals, stockmarket losses and…

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Jan 24 2003
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The iPod and Sony’s dilema

Posted by | technology | No Comments

Wired reports on the internal ‘civil war’ at Sony, where the company that invented the Walkman needs to deal with the fact that the iPod is its 21st century equivalent. The development of products that play digital media competes directly with Sony as a media company. If companies like Sony try to stifle product development to try and preserve the status quo between media and media players that existed with analog formats they will lose. If they don’t, they will also lose. Wired 11.02: The Civil War Inside Sony

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Jan 23 2003
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Creative Commons’ trademark application

Posted by | trivia | No Comments

This is kind of like the paradox of the library catalogue that doesn’t contain a reference to itself. Is the trademark ‘tm’ symbol trademarked, I wonder? Word Mark CREATIVE COMMONS Goods and Services IC 042. US 100 101. G & S: Providing non-downloadable softwarefor use by artists and other authors of creative works to producedocuments and “metadata” regarding the terms of dissemination of theirworks; providing information regarding the dissemination of creativeworks Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Serial Number 76381094 Filing Date March 11, 2002 Filed ITU FILED AS ITU Owner (APPLICANT) Creative Commons Corporation CORPORATION MASSACHUSETTSc/o Berkman Center for Internet & Society 1587 Massachusetts Avenue,B205 Cambridge MASSACHUSETTS 02139 Type of Mark SERVICE MARK Register PRINCIPAL Live/Dead Indicator LIVE trademark search registration obtain trade mark

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Jan 23 2003
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Blair caught between Scylla and Charybdis

Posted by | politics | No Comments

“Mr Blair now finds himself perilously close to his nightmare scenario – sandwiched between a US administration bent on war and the rest of Europe either openly hostile to military action or passively resistant.” Bush people claim to have evidence that will justify war and will show it after weapons inspectors give their report on Monday. They call it the Adlai Stevenson moment. Blair needs an Adlai Stevenson moment. Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | The message from the Bush camp: ‘It’s war within weeks’

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Jan 23 2003
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Jeremy Allaire on RSS

Posted by | metadata | No Comments

Jeremy Allaire’s Radio “Lots of industry analysts have commented that ‘public web services’ (e.g. web services that can be accessed and used through Internet-accessible public APIs) haven’t really happened. When one looks at RSS aggregation sites such as Syndic8.com it’s quick to see that there are thousands of “web services” out there for people today.” Like most things on the web the grass roots phenomenon is often the more successful.

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Jan 23 2003
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The diplomatic mess over the war with Iraq

Posted by | politics | No Comments

Russia joins China, Canada, France and Germany as the latest country to oppose any rush to war with Iraq, furthering the diplomatic mess for the Bush administration. But, as they say, war is the continuation of diplomacy by other means. Putin Calls Bush, Sides with France and Germany in Resisting War (washingtonpost.com)

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Jan 23 2003
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Kevin Bacon isn’t the most linked Hollywood star, here’s who is…

Posted by | trivia | No Comments

Q. So what should we really be playing instead of ‘six degrees of Kevin Bacon? A. Six degrees of the recently deceased Rod Steiger. In fact Kevin Bacon doesn’t even make the top 10: 1. Rod Steiger 2. Donald Pleasence 3. Martin Sheen 4. Christopher Lee 5. Robert Mitchum 6. Charlton Heston 7. Eddie Albert 8. Robert Vaughn 9. Donald Sutherland 10. John Gielgood a links link!

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Jan 23 2003
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Macromedia is not just ‘flash’

Posted by | design | No Comments

Macromedia care about software design, and there are not many companies that do. The software industry is maturing and customers are beginning to care about well designed products. A few months ago, Macromedia looked like an acquisition target for Adobe, perhaps today’s 20% surge in value will help propel them out of Adobe’s reach. Forbes.com: Macromedia shares up 20 pct on analyst upgrade

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