File Format Interoperability is Worth Sponsoring
Portland-area hacker Eric Wilhelm recently received a generous $10,000 grant from UK-based Xara to continue to develop a converter between multiple vector graphics formats. Eric's passionate about this and has worked on it anyway, but major credits to Xara for recognizing and promoting the idea that connectivity and interoperability drives competition and invention. News4Neighbors has more information.
- chromatic [03:22:55 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Does Vista Really Matter?
Microsoft will ultimately spend many hundreds of millions of dollars developing and marketing Vista. But does Vista really matter?
- Preston Gralla [01:50:29 PM | Discuss (2) | Permalink]

Surgical pins
Today I got to see some x-rays of the area where I recently had surgery to reattach my torn pectoral muscle. I took a picture of it with my camera phone...
- David A. Chappell [01:37:18 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

A pedal effects unit with lots of knobs. Sheesh!
Silly design of red Roland pedal requires both foot and hand contact. So I fixed that with a throttle cable from a lawnmower.
- The Fat Man [01:07:55 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Google Smackdown, Yahoo takes the day with superior usability
Google turns heads with technological innovation, but Yahoo leaps ahead with usability innovation. And isn't usability the bottom line?
- Sid Steward [10:05:50 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

IronPython 0.9.2 Released
IronPython, a .Net implementation of Python, released version 0.9.2 yesterday.
- Jeremy Jones [07:30:03 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

7 opposing choices in the future of the Internet
A discussion of some opposite paths that could be taken in the near-future of the internet.
- Dan Zambonini [04:59:11 AM | Discuss (1) | Permalink]

Enough with Copyright
I'm fed up with endless discussions about copyright, theft and intellectual property. Instead of procrastinating on a topic that is hundreds of years old, couldn't we focus on building something?
- François Joseph de Kermadec [04:21:18 AM | Discuss (1) | Permalink]

I'm wikied out
I love wikis and forums - or rather used to. Traditional documentation seems to have died a horrendous death lately and I can't help but cry over this loss.
- François Joseph de Kermadec [02:10:54 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Hurricane Rita information formatted for mobile devices
Bev Howard put together a useful low-bandwidth Hurricane Rita information page optimized for mobile devices (phones and PDAs).
- Todd Ogasawara [01:40:09 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Again with the emacs
I am a text editor window shopper extraordinaire. With as much time as I spend either hacking config files or writing text, having a good editor in my toolbelt is a must. I'll download pretty much any new one that has any promise, just to give it a shot. Sometimes, against my better judgment.
- Robert Daeley [10:37:33 PM | Discuss (9) | Permalink]

"I've Personally Heard Steve Say They Would Never Do That..."
It's entertaining to take a trip in the time machine every now and then -- even if it's to a time that's not all that long ago. Try to guess what other significant event happened in 2000 besides Y2K.
- Matthew Russell [05:48:17 PM | Discuss (5) | Permalink]

One... no... Two Things Linux Has That Windows Doesn't (Yet)
Modern prevailing GUIs lack the ability to get down and dirty. For some reason, the character-based user interface has gone the way of the teletype... that is, save for *nix users. Oh yeah, and the other thing Windows doesn't have....
- Brad Fuller [11:49:53 AM | Discuss (4) | Permalink]

First BBC RadioPlayer. Now BBC iMP. The "iTunes of Internet Television"?
The BBC will begin testing a means for distributing their television programming over the internet. The service is based on their wonderful Internet RadioPlayer. Except it uses P2P and DRM.
- Sid Steward [10:32:47 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Why You Should Lie To Google Maps
Is it really lying if you're talking to a web server?
- Matthew Russell [09:35:58 PM | Discuss (3) | Permalink]

You know "Citizens Against Government Waste" is a corporate front group, right?
Despite advertising itself as a "grassroots" organization and as an organization whose mission is "eliminating waste" in the US federal goverment, the Microsoft-funded entity known as "Citizens Against Government Waste" is neither. Not by a long shot.
- Michael Smith [09:11:51 PM | Discuss (1) | Permalink]

Towards a better dongle
Steve has something up his sleeve. He's so confident about it, he's telling us in advance. And that doesn't happen often with Apple technologies.
- Giles Turnbull [04:42:47 PM | Discuss (6) | Permalink]

Email client spleen venting
Nothing earth-shattering, just a few things I had to get off my chest
- Giles Turnbull [03:52:20 PM | Discuss (17) | Permalink]

IBM's SOA/ESB Announcement - Pattern or Product?
During the press flurry that resulted from IBM's recent ESB announcement, I got interviewed by a couple of journalists...
- David A. Chappell [12:09:47 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

The Short-Term Allure of the Proprietary Trap
Citizens Against Government Waste released a press release today criticizing the Massachusetts plan for migrating to open document formats. I don't follow one argument...
- chromatic [12:08:41 PM | Discuss (2) | Permalink]

A Video Interview at Web Services Edge
Earlier this year I was on my way back from grabbing a cup of coffee when Jeremeny Geelan of Web Services Journal pulled me aside for a video interview, which recently got published. I guess I was thinking about SOA and ESB at the time because that's what most of the discussion is about. Dave
- David A. Chappell [12:03:36 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

On the Joys of Primitive Computing: The AlphaSmart Neo
In which I wonder whether intentional simplicity in computing devices is a wave of the future, all while extolling the virtues of AlphaSmart's Neo -- a device so dumb it's beautiful.
- Kendall Clark [11:02:06 AM | Discuss (3) | Permalink]

Scruffies versus Neats: There are Two SemWebs, Not One!
In which I respond to various responses to my claim that Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web are converging, and that the convergence may be centered on SPARQL.
- Kendall Clark [10:38:02 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

GIS and URISA GISCorps Respond to Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi

- Glenn Letham [10:00:23 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Is Firefox Less Secure than IE?
Symantec's newest Internet Security Threat Report claims that Firefox has twice the number of vulnerabilities as Internet Explorer. Does that mean that Firefox is twice as dangerous as IE?
- Preston Gralla [09:52:21 AM | Discuss (3) | Permalink]

[Part 3] Assets, Atom Feeds, and AspectXML - The Triple Threat of Web Development?
While quite a bit later than originally anticipated, this is the first portion of part 3 of this series, with updated AspectXML transformation files and an explanation of where we go from here.
- M. David Peterson [06:29:58 AM | Discuss (3) | Permalink]

It's all in the marketing - TurboGears' cool demo video
Well, maybe not entirely "all". But it certainly helps.
- Jeremy Jones [06:24:54 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Has Nintendo saved computer music?
Could Nintendo's Revolution Controller Revolutionize Desktop Music-making?
- Eric Bell [07:10:44 PM | Discuss (2) | Permalink]

Talk Like a Pirate Day - Arrrrr!!!!!!!!
Monday, September 19th. In addition to that being my birthday, it also happens to be "Talk Like a Pirate Day". There's a web site and everything! Arrrr!!!!!!!
- David A. Chappell [04:31:04 PM | Discuss (2) | Permalink]

Backup 3 QuickStart Guide
My first day with Backup 3 went well, although there were a few bumps in the road. Here's my quickstart guide to get your feet wet until I publish the full article this coming Friday on Mac DevCenter.
- Derrick Story [04:25:30 PM | Discuss (2) | Permalink]

JavaScript hack gives bookmarklet authors all the room they need
Brad Neuberg has devised a JavaScript hack for allowing huge, arbitrarily sized bookmarklets (IE limits their length to 508 characters). "The essential idea is that we dynamically insert a new script element into the DOM through our bookmarklet."
- Sid Steward [04:02:47 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

What Programmers Should Learn /Somewhere/
I've often wished that there were some field of higher education between the theoretical computer science and the practical IT/IS degree programs for people interested in careers in software development. James Shore suggests five design skills that students ought to learn before they graduate.
- chromatic [01:33:42 PM | Discuss (3) | Permalink]

Free Opera ticket
Is Opera worth downloading, even for free?
- Giles Turnbull [01:05:20 PM | Discuss (1) | Permalink]

CherryPy - a project worth keeping an eye on
There is a new release candidate for CherryPy 2.1.
- Jeremy Jones [11:56:40 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

First Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC out the gate? Dell Axim X51v
Looks like Dell is the first one out the gate with a shipping Pocket PC running the new Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 platform.
- Todd Ogasawara [11:37:00 AM | Discuss (2) | Permalink]

Google Bombs at War
A Google bomb is an effort on the part of webmasters to distort Google search results by intentionally linking terms to sites. The most current notorious Google bomb is a Google bomb war, between those linking "failure" to George Bush, and those linking "failure" to Michael Moore.
- Harold Davis [11:18:16 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

The difference between XML and RDF
A simple explanation of the difference between XML and RDF
- Dan Zambonini [10:41:15 AM | Discuss (7) | Permalink]

Respect to the Electricians
A recent tangle with an electrical outlet in my new basement office (currently under construction) leads me to sing the praises of professional electricians.
- Niel M. Bornstein [09:20:44 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

XQuery launches for the Java Platform
DataDirect launches XQuery for the Java platform
- Jonathan Bruce [06:52:02 AM | Discuss (1) | Permalink]

Opera Web Browser Now Ad-Free and Sans License Fee
Opera sofware makes an unexpected announcement. No ads or fees!
- Robert Daeley [04:46:51 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

.Mac is back, bigger, brighter, bluer
.Mac, Apple's online suite of services made a much needed comeback today: it is bigger, brighter, bluer and seems to bring .Mac right back to what it once was. Oh, and it has become collaborative too.
- François Joseph de Kermadec [03:35:27 AM | Discuss (1) | Permalink]

A Better MP3 Web Browser
Those 30-second previews on digital music sites are frustrating. Here’s an elegant alternative that lets you “drop the needle” wherever you want. And there’s no annoying DRM copy-protection.
- David Battino [12:54:04 AM | Discuss (2) | Permalink]

HttpListener and non-Admin
HTTP.SYS in Windows 2003 and XP SP2 allow to host HTTP endpoints in arbitrary processes. This only works out of the box with admin privileges. Make sure you understand this concept to avoid headaches upon deployment.
- Dominick Baier [12:50:42 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Continuously Preview Albums in the iTunes Music Store
Sometimes you really do have to take matters into your own hands -- at least I did when iTunes 5 still didn't offer continous preview for albums in the music store.
- Matthew Russell [08:30:47 PM | Discuss (5) | Permalink]

Recruiting Pitch for Computer Science Majors
Five recruiting pitches for Computer Science majors in colleges and universities.
- Ming Chow [08:25:27 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

The Tell-Tail Heart
The simple tail command can be a powerful monitoring tool. Here are some tricks for getting the most out of your text files.
- Robert Daeley [05:29:41 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Is That a Synth in Your Pocket...?
Microbe - Musical fun in the Palm of your hand.
- Scott Snyder [03:56:21 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Katrina maps and photos via open source tools
Up-to-date maps and imagery are key to the rescue efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Armed with a handful of online mapping tools, plenty of enthusiasm and access to more data than most of us would know what to do with - a band of developers puts the data onto the web for all to see and use. It's available in a variety of formats, including web pages, an Active X viewer and the open standard web mapping services.
- Tyler Mitchell [03:34:28 PM | Discuss (3) | Permalink]

Gtk2-Perl Study Guide
Via zentara on Perl Monks, Dirk van der Walt has just revised his Gtk2-Perl study guide. While Perl's arguably more popular for data munging, server-side coding, and system administration, you can make useful and attractive GUIs with it. It's always nice to see better documentation and tutorials, too. (Now someone write a nice graphical test runner around Test::Harness::Straps...)
- chromatic [02:12:54 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Cellular Music Booming in Japan; U.S. Next?
The cellular music market is rocking in Japan, so WSJ reporters look to see how America's fledgeling cellular music market might develop. Also, RealNetworks and Sprint has teamed up to bring streaming music to mobile phones.
- Sid Steward [01:36:36 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

How Firefox Can Beat IE
Firefox doesn't have to be squashed by the IE juggernaut. Here are seven steps that need to be taken if Firefox is to beat IE.
- Preston Gralla [11:59:04 AM | Discuss (6) | Permalink]

Linux Desktop - An Analyst's Nightmare
Analysts who deny Linux's place in the enterprise as a desktop have either failed to interrogate the system thoroughly or have a bias.
- Tom Adelstein [10:59:21 AM | Discuss (7) | Permalink]

Successful Surgery!
The recent surgery I had in order to reattach my pectoral muscle tendon was a success! After opening me up and seeing the extent of the damage, it was the best case scenario...
- David A. Chappell [10:16:23 AM | Discuss (2) | Permalink]

Open source components fall short of the quality metrics?
I agree that Open Source software enjoys a development time advantage in terms of speed and product evolutions.
- Jonathan Bruce [10:15:36 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Good Service Is Hard To Find These Days
From my experiences, I've found the services menu to often be more of a disservice than a service -- well, that's if I even remember that it exists. What about you?
- Matthew Russell [09:55:43 AM | Discuss (6) | Permalink]

Real World nano Battery Life
Seemed like my nano was requiring a charge every few days. I don't listen to that much music, so I thought I'd do a little testing. Here's what I discovered.
- Derrick Story [08:12:13 AM | Discuss (2) | Permalink]

A Camino user gets unreasonably excited
Version 1.0a1! Life is good!
- Giles Turnbull [07:16:57 AM | Discuss (8) | Permalink]

Getting the Windows Groups of a User in .NET 2.0
.NET 2.0 finally makes it possible to retrieve the Windows groups of a user without using Win32 APIs
- Dominick Baier [11:59:36 PM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

What's In Your Programming Toolbox These Days?
After some recent reflection, I decided to stop being such a Java drinker and instead try to become more of a Python wrestler. When's the last time you took an inventory of what's in your programming toolbox? It might be time to swap some things out.
- Matthew Russell [08:22:52 PM | Discuss (7) | Permalink]

TurboGears, a slap-it-together-web-framework for Python
TurboGears is not just another web framework for Python. It's a megaframework.
- Jeremy Jones, Jeremy Jones [11:22:09 AM | Discuss (4) | Permalink]

Opening the potential of OpenOffice.org
With OpenOffice.org so important in the adoption of Open Source on the desktop, a shorter release cycle and more contributors is essential. Anyone can open up the potential of everyones favourite office suite.
- Jono Bacon [07:02:10 AM | Discuss (16) | Permalink]

Updated ShowContexts and Request.LogonUserIdentity
In ASP.NET you have to deal with several security contexts. This little tool makes it easier.
- Dominick Baier [01:37:26 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Working With Hardware Is...Well, Hard
Troubleshooting hardware issues during the development cycle has been adding a whole new layer to my repertoire of debugging skills...and it's also been eating up a lot of my time lately.
- Matthew Russell [08:40:04 PM | Discuss (1) | Permalink]

Blogging Backlash? What Blogging Backlash? Oh, That Blogging Backlash!
Hype about blogging? Say it ain't so!
- John Adams [02:16:32 PM | Discuss (1) | Permalink]

Podcast on open source geospatial
A podcast about geospatial stuff: "We discuss Open Source GIS (obviously), the Canadian government's role in supporting OGC and Open Source tools, and the hurdles to data access in both the US and Canada."
- Tyler Mitchell [10:35:08 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

The beauty of Python: a silly quasi-Markov analysis of text files
I was wondering the other day if there would be any benefit to doing sequence analysis of text files, specifically log files. This is what I came up with. I'm still not sure yet how useful it'll be.
- Jeremy Jones [04:44:53 AM | Discuss (0) | Permalink]

Coding a Smarter RSS Podcast Button
Those little RSS and XML buttons popping up on podcast sites are confusing, because they don’t behave like buttons. Here’s a clever JavaScript that helps visitors subscribe to your feed.
- David Battino [02:07:32 AM | Discuss (4) | Permalink]