b.cognosco
Where leaping to conclusions is my primary form of forward motion.
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Orrin Hatch -
Four-Part Harmony
Physiological Effects of Display Monitors
SCO Claim Against IBM's AIX
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Don DeHart Featured on Recomendo
My friend Don Dehart at DeHarts Printing Services gets some kudos from Kevin Kelly's Recomendo. DeHart is a long-time book printer and an excellent resource for small publishers.
Editing in the Browser
Here's something nice -- WYSIWYG browser-based editing for Conversant. If you're a blogger on the Mac, or use any browser other than MSIE on Windoze, WYSIWYG editing has been a pipedream. Even simple blog entries required some HTML coding for links and such -- a real nuisance for people who don't want to learn HTML. (This is a problem for all the blogging tools, not just Conversant.)Seth Dillingham at Macrobyte is preparing to release a Conversant plug-in that will give Mozilla users on any platform access to WYSIWYG editing. As Clark notes below, this is a big step forward for Conversant. HTML coding is an issue for lots of people, and tearing down that barrier is a real advantage for new users.
What You See Is What You Get--literallyAt last, I can write weblog entries right in the browser. I've been jealous of Windows users in this one regard for some time now (this, and the plethora of pop-up windows their browsers allow which give access to a rich assortment of products and services). Thanks to their suppor for Midas, either Mozilla or Internet Explorer can be used to edit entries in WYSIWYG mode.
For Conversant, this is big, as it opens the ability to do some more interesting things in weblog posts even for those who don't know hmtl (which is, like, everyone I know save three people), and is yet another reason new weblogger should consider Conversant (once Seth makes Midas-support generally available--but don't wait for that).
Can't wait to test more of this out and to see what html it actually inserts. [via Clark Venable]
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Weblog Post Index
Wow! This is super handy. Clean, simple, straightforward. There is now a complete index of all posts to this weblog since it's inception. I can stop manually updating my archives. Woo Hoo!
Creating an index of weblog posts in RadioCreating an index of weblog posts in Radio. Inspired by Rob Henerey's suggestion, I've written a Radio script that displays an index of weblog posts for the main weblog or a category.
Looking at the output of the scripts, I wish I had started writing post titles earlier than February. [Rogers Cadenhead: Radio Userland Kick Start]
If you use Radio as your blogging tool of choice, run, don't walk to get Rogers' latest goodie here. It took me about 3 minutes to download, install, and test. I can already see how this will help me extract more value from the posts I've been making here over time.
This is also an excellent example of the extensibility built into Radio. Radio may have its warts, and its user interface leaves a bit to be desired, but that's often true for industrial strength power tools.
Thank you Rogers! [via McGee's Musings]
Orrin Hatch -
Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. I haven't checked the Congressional Record, but it appears the alleged remarks were made during a Senate hearing on copyright. (Senators routinely amend their remarks in the CR anyway.)
Orrin Hatch: clueless and malevolent. "'If we can find some way to [stop file sharing] without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that,' Hatch said. 'If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines. If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think people would realize' the seriousness of their actions, he said." [WashingtonPost.com] [viaalgorhythm]
This kind of outburst is what we expect from junior Congressmen who don't know any better. But it is not something that should come from the mouth of a ranking official in our government. This is pretty close to the stupidity publicly demonstrated by Trent Lott (racist laws) and Howard Coble (Japanese internment). Let's hope this gets lots of exposure and generates some serious feedback to those moral compasses inhabiting Congress.
This issue no longer affects a few kids. What Hatch is supporting is wholesale, unrestricted vigilantism against private, ordinary citizens by a tiny handful of mega-corporations. Remember that when you go to the polls.
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Four-Part Harmony
Straight from the horse's mouth.Tip: Click on the horse.
Physiological Effects of Display Monitors
A very small-scale Japanese study, published in the May 2003 issue of American Journal of Physiology, reports that nighttime use of a bright display terminal causes physiological changes in the body which contribute to insomnia. Among the reported effects were:-
a decrease in salivary levels of the hormone melatonin
increased body temperature
elevated heart rates
decreased sleepiness
Though small, this study supports the general conclusion of physiological variations between viewing on screen and in print. As noted previously, brain wave studies reported by Dr. Robert Restak indicate important differences in brain activity between digital and physical viewing. This particular study focused on the effects of bright monitors and "exciting" activity such as gaming, but such findings could eventually provide a scientific basis for determining the best method of delivering certain types of information.
SCO Claim Against IBM's AIX
The latest skirmish between SCO and IBM, reported via c/net News, is a real doozy. The SCO representative, Chris Sontag, is looking more and more like the Iraqi Minister of Public Information every day:
"We have terminated IBM's right to use AIX in their business, development, distribution and sales," said Chris Sontag, head of the SCOsource effort to derive more revenue from the company's Unix intellectual property. And in an amendment to the company's March complaint against IBM, SCO is "seeking a permanent injunction from IBM's continued use of our software in their business."
This sounds like something from the RIAA, or the WW<strike>F</strike>E. No sane person is going to open a can of whoopass on a 2,000 lb gorilla's favorite possession.
Tora! Tora! Tora! Die with honor!
This is a company begging for death; taunting its executioner; longing to become part of some attorney's retirement fund. This is almost as entertaining as watching Al Sharpton run for Congress.
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