Friday, April 12, 2002

Webmonkey Michael Calore: Getting Paid on the Internet.  [Scripting News] Several people have suggested I visit Webmonkey as a source for instruction and information about HTML, web design and the like. Now Dave points to them. I guess I need to find out more. 5:12:36 PM     Comments[]

For Katie! Massive coral bleaching strikes Great Barrier Reef. On New Scientist [News Is Free: Popular Items] 5:07:20 PM     Comments[]

The search for Osama & those like him has energized anyone and everyone with investigative powers in government! Accounting Cops Target Bosses [Wall Street Journal] 4:59:14 PM     Comments[]

Dane's either got a slow day or he's dreaming about Winnemucca life! How to Clean Anything: "compiled by industry professionals... quality information on household cleaning methods. Data arranged by house exterior, interior, pets, auto, recreation, and stains. Also included is a glossary of cleaning terms and articles about topics submitted by readers." [From the Desktop of Dane Carlson] 11:09:12 AM     Comments[]

Russ Documents Radio Why shouldn't we use our (Google) Boxes for the sheer whimsy of it? I feel a tutorial coming on .... if I can do this in ten minutes, so can you. [Russ Lipton Documents Radio] This is where I'm missing the big picture. While the steps I took to create a Google Box were easy and straight forward - I followed Dave's instructions to the letter - I'm not sure how to apply it for every day use. Do I go back through the steps in the instructions and redo them for a new topic every time I want to change? I hope Russ answers some of these kinds of questions! Oh, yeah...anybody know how to make the Google Box narrower or with smaller type? Dave has done it at The Scripting News site. How do I change the attributes of the box? 9:20:49 AM     Comments[]

Web Services John does an excellent job of building the business case for web services. For years, I've been involved in complex application integration projects involving the disparate distribution systems of dealers and distributors. "Importing" an invoice into the dealer's software from the distributor's software when a purchase order was filled and shipped to the dealer was complex and cumbersome. If I understand what is really happening when an application called Radio "talks" to an application called Google, then I have to agree with John that Userland is truly on the cutting edge of what the internet can become. This is great stuff: Desktop webservices and composite applications.  One of the most exciting aspects of desktop webservices is that I can build pages on my desktop that automatically aggregate data from across the web and from webservice enabled corporate applications.  This is effectively a personal portal that could include search (Google) of the Web/LAN/desktop, financial info from a place like Yahoo finance, corporate sales data, corporate financial data, corporate inventory data, news (RSS),  and even data from peer web services (data entered or auto-aggregated by co-workers in a structured format -- contact lists, bookmarks, calendar entries, spreadsheets, etc.). Better yet, I have complete control over the presentation of that data.  With a little programming effort, I can incorporate business rules (with tools that can be automated for me) that do things for me based on that data.   I could also attach a post button to all the data I collect so its easy for me to share it with co-workers via my weblog.  It puts me in control.  This is the ultimate composite application.  A borg that consumes all others.  I don't want to learn or interact with hundreds of different websites or application specific clients.  I want it all on my desktop, running in my browser, where I can modify, manipulate, and publish it. [John Robb's Radio Weblog] When you put it this way, I can understand it! 9:09:56 AM     Comments[]

Last night's reading included the latest Wired Magazine. This is the one with the Long Bets article and the picture of Dave. I need to read the article more carefully and learn more about the projects that Jason points to here: I went to see Kevin Kelly and Stewart Brand speak at the Commonwealth Club last night. They talked about their new endeavor, the Long Bets Foundation, which provides a "public arena for enjoyably competitive predictions, of interest to society, with philanthropic money at stake". Accountability and continuity are the keys here, two things largely missing from society these days, especially when you look online. Overall, I'm a big fan of the Long Now projects that Kelly and Brand are involved with (like the 10,000 Year Clock, the Rosetta Project, and the All Species Foundation). Getting people thinking about these long term projects might help stimulate new thinking and perspectives about some long term projects we're already involved with (raising a family, building cities, living a lifetime, building societies). [Kottke.org] 8:54:15 AM     Comments[]

IBM SEC Probed IBM, but Took No Action [Wall Street Journal] The New York Times corrects the prior impressions it left as well. IBM's Annual Report arrived yesterday. Lou Gerstner's final letter to shareholders is worth the read. 8:27:52 AM     Comments[]

© Copyright 2002 Steve Pilgrim.