From the top post: "BumpTop seems to be Windows-only"
Where did you get that idea? If you read the paper (PDF file), you'll see that BumpTop is written in C++, OpenGL and GLUT. No mention of Windows at all.
"I mean where is the use in having a dozen equally looking pdf icons?"
Again, if you actually read the paper, you'll see that they didn't put filenames on because this is a proof-of-concept about physics, piles and pen-based computing, not a finished OS. They can put filenames on the icons if need be.
"Why don't do the really intuitive thing instead and present the document itself instead of an icon to abstract it?"
Again, not the point of the demo.
"there seems to be a completle lack of zooming"
Because you didn't see any in the demo video?
Same in Canada. Liberals are red, Conservatives are blue. The socialist NDP is orange, but the U.S. got rid of all their socialists in the '50s, I think.
...and that chiropractic does have a pretty big lunatic fringe, which purports that chiropractic can treat anything from ADHD to bacterial infections and is against such things as immunization.
...and one of the conditions of his release is, naturally, that he not have access to the Internet. That's where these ids all get their ideas, y'know.
Another is that he can't read "any written material that mentions bombs or weapons."
I guess the paper's out, then...
I've been following this story, over the radio, mostly. I'd never read his story before (thanks, Dragon). It's so innocuous. The main character doesn't even blow up the school! The ending is left open.
I'm embarrassed that this is happening is Canada. But I think the kid will get off, and the cops and crown will have a lot of questions to answer.
It's inconceivable that this kid had to spend a month -- his birthday, Christmas and New Year's -- in jail for something that he wrote.
I agree with you about the ballot design. The design for Canada's election ballots has remianed unchanged for most of the 20th century. It's boring, uncreative and extremely clear. Name on the left, a white circle on a blank background on the right where you put your X.
But it doesn't have to be an X. That's the recommended mark, but you can put a check mark or a dot or a caricature of John Diefenbaker in that white circle and it still counts. It's the voter's intent that's important.
I think making the X the only legal mark is crapricious. What's so special about an X?
If it really bugs CmdrTaco so much, he can easily break out of frames with a bit of Javascript:
if (window != top) top.location.replace(location.href);
JohnnyB
"Advertising as it evolved on the Web was thus tightly targeted and highly informational, to a degree where it could be argued that it provided useful content to the Web as opposed to littering it with noisesome clutter." p.324
OK, obviously Rowland has never heard of spam, and if he hasn't heard of spam, he hasn't been on-line much. Spam is exactly what Rowland says doesn't happen on the Web: "noisesome clutter." It is unsolicited junk email and it is the bane of every netizen. If you publish your email address on your website or on a newsgroup, a computer program will pick up your address and add it to a list. The lists are sold to spam producers and soon you find your inbox full of messages proclaiming "EARN $$$$ BY SURFING FROM YOUR OWN HOME" or "HOT TEENAGE CHEERLEADER LESBIAN SLEEPOVER CLICK HERE."
Seasoned users intentionally misspell or otherwise mangle their published email addresses to avoid spam. They include manual instructions on how to remove the "spamblock" so that only other humans can contact them.
On the other hand, there are situations in which Rowland assertion that advertising is valuable content is true. If you register yourself with mp3.com, it will keep track of all the music you download and in their monthly email newsletter will let you know if any of those artists -- or any artists _similar_ to them -- have released any new songs. Similarly, on a lot of Web sites, you can sign up to receive updates on software or web content by email. And some Web sites will give you free space on their server in exchange for the right to fill your inbox with ads. In all of these cases, the commercials are content that you _choose_ to receive.
We used this text in Journalism school.
on
Spirit Of The Web
·
· Score: 2
I read this book as part of a course on the history of media at journalism school last year.
Katz is right; this is a good review of infomation technology and a great read. But the author has some odd views about advertising on the Web.
I can't remember the details, but I wrote an essay about it and maybe I'll post it on my site. The jist of it is that the author seems to think that advertising on the Web will be so customized and personalized that we will welcome it as content. He doesn't seem to get the idea of 'spam.'
He has a very idealized view of what the Web can be (as Katz does). I'm not sure I share it.
I clicked on a link on the front page and got a new window. Then I clicked on another one. New window. I kept going. Four clicks, four new windows. Two of which had the menu, buttons and status bar removed. If I were IAM, I'd be pissed too. JohnnyB
I honestly can't believe I just read that. (And I really can't believe it got moderated up.)
Can you really not conceive of any way that computers could be working better? Do you really have such a lack of imagination?
Personally, I think it's ridiculous to stick a typewriter keyboard in front of a TV screen and call it a computer.
because the telephone is fine as is.
No, the telephone is not "fine." It's just that we're so used to its terrible user interface that we resist any change to it. The fact that the use of telephones hasn't changed since the rotary dial was stuck on it is not a good thing! It just goes to show how much inertia human behaviour really has.
If in 2015 I'm still staring at a screen and poking at a keypad designed to work best on a clumsy 19th century mechanical device, I'll be muchly disappointed.
This is very interesting. I wonder if George Lucas might be disqualifying himself from the Oscars or some other award because he's shooting Episode II on ditigal media, not film.
Actually Anne Murray really likes the song. _Some_ people actually do have a sense of humour. She turned down the offer to sing "Blame Canada" coz she's going on a golf vacation that she'd planned beforehand.
Slashdot Mirror
From the top post: "BumpTop seems to be Windows-only" Where did you get that idea? If you read the paper (PDF file), you'll see that BumpTop is written in C++, OpenGL and GLUT. No mention of Windows at all. "I mean where is the use in having a dozen equally looking pdf icons?" Again, if you actually read the paper, you'll see that they didn't put filenames on because this is a proof-of-concept about physics, piles and pen-based computing, not a finished OS. They can put filenames on the icons if need be. "Why don't do the really intuitive thing instead and present the document itself instead of an icon to abstract it?" Again, not the point of the demo. "there seems to be a completle lack of zooming" Because you didn't see any in the demo video?
Same in Canada. Liberals are red, Conservatives are blue. The socialist NDP is orange, but the U.S. got rid of all their socialists in the '50s, I think.
Quebecers _is_ the English word. It's CP, CBC and, apparently, CTV style.
Woo hoo! I got slashdotted!
John Bowman
CBC.ca
It's comic-book movie realism. Evil doers never _think_ they're doing evil. So why would they call their organization by that name?
Well, I think Ming Na is perfect fan-boy material all on her own. It was kind of a tease hearing her voice without seeing her. *sigh*
The word is remuneration.
Odd that you would end your advertisement with the words "have a pleasant ad-free day"...
Why are you apologizing to Heisenberg? It was Schroedinger's cat, poor thing.
Who's going to stop them? The fragmenting right or the disintegrating left?
on holisticonline.com
on straightchiro.com
Another is that he can't read "any written material that mentions bombs or weapons."
I guess the paper's out, then...
I've been following this story, over the radio, mostly. I'd never read his story before (thanks, Dragon). It's so innocuous. The main character doesn't even blow up the school! The ending is left open.
I'm embarrassed that this is happening is Canada. But I think the kid will get off, and the cops and crown will have a lot of questions to answer.
It's inconceivable that this kid had to spend a month -- his birthday, Christmas and New Year's -- in jail for something that he wrote.
I agree with you about the ballot design. The design for Canada's election ballots has remianed unchanged for most of the 20th century. It's boring, uncreative and extremely clear. Name on the left, a white circle on a blank background on the right where you put your X.
But it doesn't have to be an X. That's the recommended mark, but you can put a check mark or a dot or a caricature of John Diefenbaker in that white circle and it still counts. It's the voter's intent that's important.
I think making the X the only legal mark is crapricious. What's so special about an X?
JohnnyB - johnbowman.net
Poland's TLD is .pl and I guess the coder geeks like it coz it's the same as the file extension for Perl scripts.
Personally, I think .fx is pretty cool. It's the TLD for "Metropolitan France," whatever that is.
JohnnyB
If it really bugs CmdrTaco so much, he can easily break out of frames with a bit of Javascript: if (window != top) top.location.replace(location.href); JohnnyB
Rowland also says,
"Advertising as it evolved on the Web was thus tightly targeted and highly informational, to a degree where it could be argued that it provided useful content to the Web as opposed to littering it with noisesome clutter." p.324
OK, obviously Rowland has never heard of spam, and if he hasn't heard of spam, he hasn't been on-line much. Spam is exactly what Rowland says doesn't happen on the Web: "noisesome clutter." It is unsolicited junk email and it is the bane of every netizen. If you publish your email address on your website or on a newsgroup, a computer program will pick up your address and add it to a list. The lists are sold to spam producers and soon you find your inbox full of messages proclaiming "EARN $$$$ BY SURFING FROM YOUR OWN HOME" or "HOT TEENAGE CHEERLEADER LESBIAN SLEEPOVER CLICK HERE."
Seasoned users intentionally misspell or otherwise mangle their published email addresses to avoid spam. They include manual instructions on how to remove the "spamblock" so that only other humans can contact them.
On the other hand, there are situations in which Rowland assertion that advertising is valuable content is true. If you register yourself with mp3.com, it will keep track of all the music you download and in their monthly email newsletter will let you know if any of those artists -- or any artists _similar_ to them -- have released any new songs. Similarly, on a lot of Web sites, you can sign up to receive updates on software or web content by email. And some Web sites will give you free space on their server in exchange for the right to fill your inbox with ads. In all of these cases, the commercials are content that you _choose_ to receive.
Katz is right; this is a good review of infomation technology and a great read. But the author has some odd views about advertising on the Web.
I can't remember the details, but I wrote an essay about it and maybe I'll post it on my site. The jist of it is that the author seems to think that advertising on the Web will be so customized and personalized that we will welcome it as content. He doesn't seem to get the idea of 'spam.'
He has a very idealized view of what the Web can be (as Katz does). I'm not sure I share it.
JohnnyB
I clicked on a link on the front page and got a new window. Then I clicked on another one. New window. I kept going. Four clicks, four new windows. Two of which had the menu, buttons and status bar removed. If I were IAM, I'd be pissed too. JohnnyB
I honestly can't believe I just read that. (And I really can't believe it got moderated up.)
Can you really not conceive of any way that computers could be working better? Do you really have such a lack of imagination?
Personally, I think it's ridiculous to stick a typewriter keyboard in front of a TV screen and call it a computer.
because the telephone is fine as is.
No, the telephone is not "fine." It's just that we're so used to its terrible user interface that we resist any change to it. The fact that the use of telephones hasn't changed since the rotary dial was stuck on it is not a good thing! It just goes to show how much inertia human behaviour really has.
If in 2015 I'm still staring at a screen and poking at a keypad designed to work best on a clumsy 19th century mechanical device, I'll be muchly disappointed.
JohnnyB
johnbowman.net
This is very interesting. I wonder if George Lucas might be disqualifying himself from the Oscars or some other award because he's shooting Episode II on ditigal media, not film.
Actually Anne Murray really likes the song. _Some_ people actually do have a sense of humour. She turned down the offer to sing "Blame Canada" coz she's going on a golf vacation that she'd planned beforehand.
Jakob Neisen would say something along the lines of users spend most of their time using other programs. Do what the other guy is doing.
The reality is most users are using Windows. Monopoly. Unfair competition. Whatever. That's the fact.
The author here has it dead right.
Most users are not programmers. That doesn't mean they're stupid or clueless. They just aren't programmers.
And they don't want to be.
I saw a post on Slashdot along the lines of "Educate the user. Make the user a programmer and everyone will understand."
Users don't want to be programmers. They want to write letters. Or publish a magazine. Or mix some sound.
The only people who care what's going on behind the scenes are other programmers.
I remember hearing about plants making hydrogen in a plant physiology course way back when.
The algae is able to split 2 H20 --> 2*H2 + O2
And the plant doesn't even need the hydrogen. It's after the oxygen. Sounds like a good plan to me...
Sorry, should've said I'm on a Win98 machine using the Windows Media Player.