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... but as a paid-up marketroid who goes to far too many meetings, I wrote a little guide: How to do meetings Hope it raises a smile (or grimace) - damn, got to go to a meeting now

The social interface BOB, the paperclip's accursed ancestor, tried to introduce a virtual valet that did this sort of thing- and flopped utterly. Like to know what happened to the MS executive dealing with the project?

Bill Gates married her.

Chris @ chrisworth.com

Apparently the software will even read your email and try to schedule appointments for you, etc. Of course this is somewhat beyond the state of the art - but who'd want it anyway? I haven't even let human secretaries make appointments for me; let's face it, our time is one of the few things we can't increase, and I take issue with anyone who'd (inadvertently) waste it.
Chris @ chrisworth.com

Open Media - and let's face it, the Internet in general - is based on a simple premise: say what you like, but be prepared to have people talk back to you.

It's this point that old media doesn't get. I've worked in ad agencies for years, and not one of them accepts that to be part of the Net, you've got to play by the Net's rules.

Chris @ chrisworth.com

I find this amazing - so open source doesn't submit itself well to a closed-doors 'expert review' where the experts are usually appointed through a political process rather than a skills one?

Open source's strength is that it's Darwinian. Yes, a program can start off full of holes, but the whole point is that these holes become evident through the development process, and get plugged.

Hell, even I get this, and I'm not even a developer/techie. (Read The Microsoft Matrix" to see what I've learned.

Recently I spoke to Activision's lawyer (Activision own Infocom, who made the classic 80s text adventures) George Rose, and he said that they've recently started a deal with Nokia to offer these classic games on phones.

(The reason I was talking to this guy was that I was inadvertently offering these games as warez on a page of mine... but that's another story.)

Chris of chrisworth.com

Recently I spoke to Activision's lawyer (Activision own Infocom, who made the classic 80s text adventures) George Rose, and he said that they've recently started a deal with Nokia to offer these classic games on phones.

(The reason I was talking to this guy was that I was inadvertently offering these games as warez on a page of mine... but that's another story.)

Chris of chrisworth.com

You've chosen to try and execute a great idea. Like all great ideas, it needs demo'ing to possible investors and customers before it can really fly.

My question: is HavenCo in Sealand simply a flashy demo for a planned 'public beta' somewhere in Asia or the Carribean later on?

Thank you.
Chris Worth

Oops, I forgot to shower this morning - Microsoft just emailed and asked for a $2 license fee to cover 'Armpits 2000'. Just hope they don't find out about that spicy burrito I had last night.

Chris Worth (not an AC; just on the wrong PC)

chrisworth.com
Read The Microsoft Matrix and tell me what you think

Oops, I forgot to shower this morning - Microsoft just emailed and asked for a $2 license fee to cover 'Armpits 2000'. Just hope they don't find out about that spicy burrito I had last night.

Chris Worth (not an AC; just on the wrong PC)

chrisworth.com
Read The Microsoft Matrix and tell me what you think

I think I actually WANT a Darwin Award - at least my death would've made someone laugh, and that's valuable. I shall henceforth stick my fingers into as many electric sockets, play with as much traffic, and use as many Microsoft products as I can find.
Chris Worth

Hey BearPaw - yup, you almost hit the nail on the head: I wrote the review to get some facts into the debate. But it's principally to appeal to regular geeks who might be interested - after all, a lot of geeks have done the same for me. (See The Microsoft Matrix)

I think Bruce made an error in his last answer: yes, a quantum computer would reduce the difficulty of forcing a key by a square root - but that applies for every qubit you build into the system. It's not the limit for any quantum computer.

Granted, these things decohere easily, and it's possible even a ten-qubit quantum computer will never be built. But it'd be dangerous to assume that...Chris

One thing that doesn't seem to be evident in the book is Clark's sense of beauty - the way the Hyperion, Clark's 155-foot sailboat, was designed. I've seen it, and it's possibly the most beautiful yacht ever built, an oversized sloop with a fully-furling mast. The photos I've seen of the interior also point to great design sense on a human scale (Clark designed the interior himself.) I couldn't stand the guy until I saw his boat, then I thought "anyone who can cause that thing to come into existence is worthy of respect." It'd be almost worth giving up Linux for. (See The Microsoft Matrix.)

Most interesting thing is how it blurs the line between PC and devices yet further. This is good news for devices - and bad news for companies writing everything-but-the-kitchen-sink OSs that don't strip down well to device needs.

Chris Worth

Is it possible these efforts to patent Homo Sapiens's source code, along with "patent parasitism" from companies that don't make anything, overbroad software patents, and patenting ideas rather than products will actually hasten the death of the patent system?

All the above just demonstrate, to more and more people, that offline laws aren't right for the Net. In the sense that efforts like Celera's convince more people that it's wrong, it may lead to a complete overhaul of world legal systems sooner rather than later. And that would be a Good Thing.

Chris

I met Ted Nelson a few months back and, like nanotechnologist Eric Drexler who documented the effort in a chapter of "Engines of Creation", he's a fascinating guy - neural connections just chaotic enough to create something like this.

What I really want to know, though, is will it layer well over the web infrastructure? Its technical superiority won't win it users; it's not enough of a paradigm shift on its own. Let's hope it plugs into today's web and lets the networked society truly get a grip.


>>>>>>>>>
Read a Linux newbie's musings in The Microsoft Matrix.

The "collapsings" the article talks about are also collapsings of distinctions - the disctinctions between hardware and software, and the distinctions between mechanical and electronic. When your information's patterned as shapes of molecules, the hardware is the software and the software shapes the hardware. And when 0s and 1s are represented by flipping the shapes of molecules, you're performing mechanical work with electronic computation. Of course, this is exactly how it works now - EXCEPT that the mapping is far less precise.

Perhaps this is the destiny of computers: to shape not just the Net, but also the physical world. There's a lot of sand in the Sahara I'd like to pattern my MP3s into.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Read The Microsoft Matrix at chrisworth.com for a newbie's struggles towards Linux.

The "collapsings" the article talks about are also collapsings of distinctions - the disctinctions between hardware and software, and the distinctions between mechanical and electronic. When your information's patterned as shapes of molecules, the hardware is the software and the software shapes the hardware. And when 0s and 1s are represented by flipping the shapes of molecules, you're performing mechanical work with electronic computation. Of course, this is exactly how it works now - EXCEPT that the mapping is far less precise.

Perhaps this is the destiny of computers: to shape not just the Net, but also the physical world. There's a lot of sand in the Sahara I'd like to pattern my MP3s into.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Read The Microsoft Matrix at chrisworth.com for a newbie's struggles towards Linux.

...Yes, governments worldwide are scared of the web, and cracking down. But it's like nailing jelly: the tighter you try to grip it, the more of it will slip through your fingers.

Their desire to keep the vast syrupy organism of government alive will only hasten its demise. Yes, many of us will be hurt in the process; many martyrs will be created. But in the end, the net will win and government will die, irrelevant, unneeded, and unloved. Give it ten years.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Read The Microsoft Matrix at chrisworth.com

...Yes, governments worldwide are scared of the web, and cracking down. But it's like nailing jelly: the tighter you try to grip it, the more of it will slip through your fingers.

Their desire to keep the vast syrupy organism of government alive will only hasten its demise. Yes, many of us will be hurt in the process; many martyrs will be created. But in the end, the net will win and government will die, irrelevant, unneeded, and unloved. Give it ten years.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Read The Microsoft Matrix at chrisworth.com