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Well,

someone else can do that if they like. Certainly not my bag.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

Here's the Danny Wool post that Calacanis mentioned in this week's TWIT. It certainly looks like Woods has been planning on this for quite awhile.

My take on ebooks and readers:

http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/2007/11/ereaders-and-ebooks.html

Summary:

You need a great reader at a great price.

eBooks should be way less than regular books people.

Have every regular book come with an eBook in a sleeve in the back or have a code printed in it that allows for a free download of the book.

A bit more at the link and a place for more permanent comments.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

My take on ebooks and readers:

http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/2007/11/ereaders-and-ebooks.html

Summary:

You need a great reader at a great price.

eBooks should be way less than regular books people.

Have every regular book come with an eBook in a sleeve in the back or have a code printed in it that allows for a free download of the book.

A bit more at the link and a place for more permanent comments.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

And for those that still think WIFI is the go, check out your free options in Australia here:
http://mye65.blogspot.com/2008/01/free-wifi-hotspots-around-australia-see.html :) Note to ericcson, phones without WIFI features are the ones being extinct :) The Nokia E65 is lapping up the European market because of its WIFI connectivity. Ahh stuff it, let nokia get all the kudos.

Hmm, this "crouch in your basement" thing sounds intriguing. Is there a newsletter published pertaining to this?

"not true, stubs are welcomed at citizendium."

If that is so, they could explain things better:

http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/CZ:How_to_start_a_new_article

What should you write?

An encyclopedia article, first of all, and one that is accurate, neutral, coherent, comprehensive, well-written, pitched at the university student level, not original research, family-friendly, and legal and responsible.

The word stub is nowhere to be found on that page.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

Here's the proof that Hoard is faster than jemalloc. In the thread the author of Hoard discusses his findings with the Mozilla developers.

Slashdot moderation has hit an all-time low.

First, let me say that you have some real nice ideas in your post.

As to Citizendium's problems, you may be right, but I think another part was their stated need for complete articles. That is probably what stopped me the first time around. It is certainly what stopped me the last time I went by to see about contributing.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"Seems vaguely reminiscent of slashdot around the time they introduced moderation. Reading the Fringe could someday be seen as browsing at -1."

I have been thinking more about it. I like your terminology of core. Perhaps edge might serve better than fringe, perhaps not. I think a third category of incomplete might be needed. Or another metric to serve that purpose.

Core incomplete. Do you need an edge incomplete?

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

I think that is a part of it. But I can tell you that even when encouraged to switch, by someone who now knows linux better than windows, many resist but still want the free support.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

Given the law as it stands today, surveillance with T-rays may not be as legally risky as other forms of surveillance. http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/03/robots-as-keepers-of-legal-records.html

What is the problem with unsourced statements exactly?

What if I personally know how many FM stations broadcast in Nassau, but don't know where to find a writeup on that fact.

Do I need to write up an original blurb and host it elsewhere and then use the article I myself have written as a source?

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"They are the noise that is in danger of drowning out the knowledge and there simply isn't the people to tidy them. Far better they were removed."

No. Far better that you have some sort of approved article status and don't give them such.

Look, I put up better information about radio stations in the Bahamas several years ago than I could find on there today. My stuff got deleted. I had other missing info that I put up info on, It too got deleted.

I would have no problem with my stuff getting deleted if the "INFORMATION" was still there but in a more suitable form. I had a problem when it got sent to /dev/null only to leave a gap in the information available.

I gave up.

I was likely to never contribute a complete and well written article on anything. But I was likely to add interesting and useful bits of information that were lacking from time to time. Things that had the potential to grow with the help of others.

Not gonna happen. Other fish to fry.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"What frustrates me lately is the attitude of a large number of editors who follow the mantra "Either facts are sourced or I delete them on sight, and if an article has fewer than x sources, it gets the axe one way or another". To me, that's a destructive attitude and non-condusive to covering the wide spectrum of knowledge."

Especially when a person is writing from first hand knowledge. What do they need to due. Write up the information and host it on another site and then quote it for wikipeida?

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"I'd agree with that; just because something's "trivial" doesn't mean it's not credible. The compromise is to allow articles on anything, but to hold all articles to the same editorial standards."

I don't think that is a good enough compromise. Accurate information should not be deleted due to the writing quality found in the "article" - certainly when there is no other information on the topic to be found on the site.

That is my take.

So, tag such articles as incomplete, or lacking in writing quality if need be, but don't dispose of information from the site.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"Based on the difficulties Wikipedia has had to raise money lately, I'd say most people don't like their stand. Fork wikipedia already, I say, and create an all inclusive wiki, before there is only a handfull of articles left which reference Britannica as their only reliable source. Sigh."

Yup, there are some interrelated problems from my point of view.

I think a possible solution would be to leave stuff in, but somehow promote "good" articles to some sort of "official article" status.

I gave up trying to add to wikipedia a long time ago due to info I added getting deleted. Granted, I never added or tried to add complete essay articles. I added more like bulleted info on areas I knew something about and where I could find no info on the matter on the site.

My take is that some info is better than no info. And it might inspire someone to add a bit to it and things can grow.

So I came across Citizendium again the other day and decided to check if I could perhaps add something there. No, they only want complete articles it seems. That is not my bag. They are going to get nothing from me. I would like to contribute, but they are ruling my contributions out before I begin. Which, I guess is better than after I have spent and wasted time trying to contribute.

( http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Main_Page )

I think the dual status idea could help both sites.

Info can be added and remain even if not up to par. (Not talking seriously inaccurate here, just not complete and finished articles.) It can stay this way as long as it takes. When and if an article reaches a certain level of quality or completeness, it can get some sort of official article status.

Give viewers a toggle switch to limit views to only official articles should they so choose.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

That is the only way this could have happened! Everybody knows that Vista is the fastest OS our there no matter what some stupid test after test say! http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com/

MS has redefined quality and anything else does not matter! http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com/

"For what it's worth, not everyone misunderstood your point."

I did see that and thank you for noticing, but either most did, or I misread most responses.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"At best, a geeky friend who can fix the problems."

Yes, but surely linux would be easy enough with a geeky friend as well...

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"Actually yes, the argument you're making"

Not the argument I am making... The argument I see people make when they want to say linux is too difficult for the average person but windows is easy for the average person.

People make the other argument I put down in other circumstances of course.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

Yes, they're obsolete, which doesn't mean there are millions of files in thos formats. I said they should standardize the binary formats using the fast track process, since that's what that process is meant for. Using that process for a new format doesn't make any sense at all.

On your comments on Gary Edwards, if he's so brilliant and enlightened, how come did he end up making that comment about CDF being the true format for office documents, which is clearly completely off? For me, he just made an ass out of himself with that. He just proved that he didn't know what he was talking about. Although I accept that SUN might be refusing to accept Office compatibility, after Gary's comment on CDF, I don't credit him anymore.

By that same rule, this data should not be converted to OOXML either. For instance, see the comparison made by Stéphane Rodriguez here and look for "13) Document backwards compatibility subject to neutrino radio-activity". You'll see that charts look different in Office XP and Office 2007.

The argument that bugs should be kept for archival is a great argument for the standardization of binary formats (fast track would be ok for them). In no way standardizing OOXML will help that. OOXML is not the same as the binary formats. There's no confusion about that, the only confusion is Microsoft trying to imply that they are the same thing, when they clearly are not.

[sarcasm] Oh, yeah... and Microsoft is playing really clean to get OOXML approved... they're the victim of this whole process! [/sarcasm]

Yes, Microsoft's competitors will lose (by one side), but the customers will gain. They'll start having the possibility to migrate from one Office suite to the other if their vendor decides to stop improving the product or changing its behaviour completely in a way you have to relearn everything or if they make it work only on the latest version of the OS that forces you to buy a new machine to run it. Of course the opposite is true as well, Sun and IBM will have to shape up and improve their Office suites greatly to compete with Microsoft Office, but that all will be good for us, the customers. We'll finally have a free market and the advantages it brings. The end of vendor lock-in is good to everybody, except of course to those that are profiting from it.

I do some admin work for friends and family myself. These days, I try to do as little gratis support as possible for those who will not give linux a serious try.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

I was obviously unclear, but it surprises me.

Didn't you see:

"Which is it? Do you need expert skill and knowledge to run windows properly and safely or not?"

Didn't you see that I put forward two opposing claims that people make about windows ease and linux difficulty?

Not saying you or anyone else who didn't get my post are at fault. With so much misunderstanding, I figure I was unclear even though I thought I was.

Can you help me pin down where the lack of clarity was so I don't make the same mistake again.

I have pointed this issue out more than once in the past. This is the first time with so much misunderstanding involved iirc. And the funny thing is, I thought that I had done a better job this time before all the confusion popped up.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"Windows is easier than linux if you started with it, and most people started with windows."

Personally, I find linux easier and I did windows before linux. Of course, I was doing fortran on punch cards to start and my first personal work was on a TRS-80 Model I. 16K ram 4K rom iirc.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

Got it.

But when it comes to virus and spyware issues, claims bubble up that you may need to be expert to safely run the thing even.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"So the million people that bought Eee PCs are all above average?"

I guess I wasn't clear enough. People seem to be taking it as if I were making one of the claims in my post. No, those are conflicting claims I see windows supporters or linux detractors making. I say they can't have it both ways.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"Users are not a problem."

Just to be clear, I was not making that claim, just pointing out that I see it made when it suits certain people.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"Which version of Windows is this? And when is it coming out?"

Don't ask me, I see the claim made on a regular basis though.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

"They are NOT meant to administrated by users. What marketing says is one thing, reality is another."

Fine, so again:

Which is it? Do you need expert skill and knowledge to run windows properly and safely or not?

And, if you do need the experts, who should the administrator be for the average home user?

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

Depending on the situation:

Linux is too difficult for the average person, they will need outside help. But windows is so easy the average person can handle things themselves, no need for outside help.

Whereas other times we see things like you put forward:

"Now what are those people complaining about? That they didn't research what "Vista Capable" entails? That they have no clue on how to do IT?"

Problems with windows really aren't windows problems, they are due to clueless users.

Which is it? Do you need expert skill and knowledge to run windows properly and safely or not?

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

The problem of government corruption is just too complex to confront head-on, and it's okay to admit that.

In 1978 two pivotal bills were passed by a heavily "purchased" US Congress. First, the bill allowing corporations, via lobbyists and other methods, to buy off Congress, whereas previously they hadn't been allowed to contribute to political campaigns due to legislation created and successfully lobbied for by President Teddy Roosevelt.

The second bill, thanks to a bought-off Black Congressional Caucus, gave tax breaks to corporations for laying off American workers and offshoring their jobs - they created and passed this in the name of "diversity" - evidently they considered "diversity" only to apply to foreign Asian workers and not Black American (and other American) workers.

These bills, especially when examined together, have brought us (along with soooo many other corrupt practices - please see sites below) to where the USA is today.

Of course, others have influence as well over US elections. Please read this excellent article blog as well as this outstanding blog.

I concur totally; I think the freedom to be able to speak up when you have something to add is a beautiful thing. Sure, it also means you have to be careful of all the crackpots and misinformation out there. So what? If you believe everything you read, then there's something wrong with you anyway.

Information technology changes the balance of power with authority figures. It levels the playing field. See http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2007/12/people-in-authority-sometimes-abuse.html

State law already enables individuals to achieve much of what the originator of this thread wants. The state law to which I refer is not constitutional law; it is contract law. See legal arguments at http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/02/some-fear-law-will-not-accord-adequate.html and http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2007/11/privacy-advocates-such-as-nyu-professor.html

State law already enables individuals to achieve much of what the originator of this thread wants. The state law to which I refer is not constitutional law; it is contract law. See legal arguments at http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/02/some-fear-law-will-not-accord-adequate.html and http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2007/11/privacy-advocates-such-as-nyu-professor.html

If the robot makes video or audio records of people without getting their consent, the owner could have legal issues. http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/03/robots-as-keepers-of-legal-records.html

Just wait for the real thing people! http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com/

Bit Torrent is the realm of phisher, thieves, stalkers, hackers and Mac users! Nothing good can come of it! http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com/

Hello all. David Brin checking in. Author of The Transparent Society and the target of Bruce Schneier's article. I have (naturally) a few quibbles and downright snorts at things that my friend Bruce said -- and blitheringly misunderstood -- in his piece. I am submitting a response to WIRED. It will eventually run at: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/ .. . . . A few quick responses. . . . . First to "Inevitability" who said: "If you haven't read (Brin's) book, basically the argument that Brin makes is that the complete loss of privacy is inevitable given technology, and thus we shouldn't delude ourselves in thinking we can preserve it, but rather embrace it and fight for transparency on both sides. I don't buy the inevitability argument..." .. . . . Well, um, neither do I. In fact, "Inevitability", you are wrong and clearly never read The Transparent Society. The book contains a long chapter about how important privacy is to human beings and necessary! Though freedom must come first. .. . . . My point is that freedom, and thus privacy, cannot be defended by people who are disempowered... or who have handed all protection duties over to some secretive elite. The enlightenment is an experiment in empowering citizens to make their own minds about market and political matters and to thus argue them openly. But in order for this to happen, most of the people need to know most of what's going on, most of the time. . . . . That still leaves room for some privacy... yes, it will be more narrowly defined in a transparent society. But in an open society, we will better be able to defend what's left. . . . . Supersnail makes a key point. The parts of the Patriot Act we should be fighting are not those parts letting the government see better. What, you plan to blind the mighty? When did THAT ever happen? HOW do you think you'll blind the mighty? . . . . No, the parts of Patriot we should be battling against are where our "protectors" get to do it all in secret, unsupervised. I am not harmed by what the NSA knows, but I could be harmed bigtime by anything they might DO to me... and preventing that means supervision. It means "sousveillance" (look it up!) . . . . See http://www.davidbrin.com/suggestions.html where I discuss the "Inspector General of the United States" and other means of stripping the veils. . . . . Geoff Landis (hi Geoff!) gets it. Watch for my response to Schneier (either on WIred or my blog). Poor Bruce veers and reverses and ultimately shows us an example of transparency evening the odds! Already police are much more careful, since the Rodney King episode. We can keep this trend going, WHILE not impeding the good cops from doing their jobs. . . . . Nine-times, the People CAN be organized! That's what NGOs are for. Join the EFF or ACLU and your dues help watch the cops. Have clear evidence you were abused? Any tort attorney will gladly help you "get organized." We need more equalizers, but the precedent is there. and some exist. . . . . redelm, privacy is dear and needed, but it is a secondary right, after freedom to know and speak. Without those, all other freedoms are useless. That is why freedom to know and speak are fiercely spelled out in the US Constitution. . . . . Shieldwolf get that a transparent society will demand that at least a critical mass of citizens... maybe a third be truly mature and active and connected with events and technological change. In contrast, node3 is blind. We can all participate without becoming a lynch mob. on 9/11, citizens did a myriad great things, on the day when the Professionals all Failed. . . . . BTW Marx was a great science fiction author and changed the world by scaring the West into reforming. (He'd hate that characterization.) But Hegel was simply a monster. All the time I can afford. If you folks want to see

Linux matters as part of client side apps.
Maybe if we used Linux to its full potential we wouldn't be talking about web applications, but still be talking about server/client systems. Few admins, server side applications, central security models, true roaming profiles, single backup and redundancy systems. Heck even 3d desktops http://davelargo.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html (City of Largo Blog). Yes, the OS matters, and currently the best one for flexability, reliability, and cost is Linux, just not in the way most people are using it.

If the robots are outfitted with video or audio recorders, then they will be subject to privacy issues. http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/03/robots-as-keepers-of-legal-records.html

I have previously argued that the owner of a social networking page could post legal "terms of service" to prevent employers or prospective employers from viewing the page. http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2007/11/privacy-advocates-such-as-nyu-professor.html By the same token, a student might post legal terms of service that forbid a professor or college administrator from observing the content of the page. This idea is privacy by contract. It's not legal advice for anyone (or a substitute for counselling by a lawyer), just something to think about. --Ben

"They're beginning to make compromises. With this controversial section removed, it's just that much closer to becoming a law, which is bad for everyone."

Bingo! Bingo! BINGO!

Mod parent up!

Which is why I say we need a copyright offensive:

http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/2007/04/some-thoughts-on-copyright-offensive.html

That way, after we are done compromising, we are in a better state than when we started, not in a worse state.

Your comments very much appreciated.

all the best,

drew

Ok, I went to UofT when Ryerson was still a technical college, but what is with them?

- From what I hear, they have to push really hard in their engineering classes since they need to build their rep., which in the short/medium term is unfair to their students since they don't get the same reputable degree from say Waterloo.
- That whole Dragon's Den publicity crap ( http://canentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2006/11/hot-times-in-dragons-den-long-post-but.html )
- Now this.

I do understand your sarcasm, but trusted computing was never really implemented except in vista. People balked at the idea pretty hard when it came around, and as you can imagine, people have had many problems with media in vista due to the "trusted DRM's content protection". Things such as downgrading HD content quality if it wasn't on an approved monitor, and this is not new. This stuff goes back before 2003 even .

Note even in 2003 people knew what was going on as far as slashdot (See article comments).

So tell me, how do you like the wonderful work microsoft, adobe, and the likes have done? Since Adobe has purchased shockwave hasn't it done a wonderful job of keeping up the shockwave name! How about Microsoft with Vista? Surely everyone loves that too.

Sheesh. I know you know quite a bit, but I truly pity the people who don't see the wool in front of their eyes and just how much it affects them.

"Dude, /dev/random is so much better when you crank it."

Especially if you amp goes to 11.

all the best,

drew
http://zotzbro.blogspot.com/

The shortage of RoR developers after years of buzz and hype is interesting. I ran across this phenomenon last year and blogged about it.