So Radio 8 came out just a little over a month ago. I'd previously never tried using it or anything else produced by Dave Winer. It's hard, though, not to notice the legions of fans he had accumulated over the past few years who absolutely rave about his software. And since I try to keep an open mind regarding technology, I decided to download the trial version of Radio 8 to see what the fuss was all about. This is all despite my negative view of Dave (and, hence, his software). 29 days later, however, I had yet to make my first post.
With only one day left in my trial, I figured I had no choice but to purchase a license. Why not? I can afford it. And Dave no doubt deserves it. See, I don't hate Dave. How could I? I've never met him. I only know him through the technology he's produced. I'm talking about RSS, OPML, XML-RPC, and more. Being a software engineer slash XML instructor slash all-around nerd, I'm constantly looking at other people's work and thinking that I could do better. Yes, it's a disease. Some people call it NIH (Not Invented Here). I call it NIBM (Not Invented By Me).
To top it all off, Dave's a very in-your-face type of person. I'd seen some of his work, rolled my eyes at it, and then read in amazement (once I started recognizing his name) the letters he would write to the technical mailing lists I subscribed to and also the columns he would write for the XML-related magazines I would read. Who does this guy think he is?
But XML (and even technology in general) isn't just about the elegance of your design. It's about how you make use of it. Dave has this uncanny ability to get people excited about technology and that leads to the kind of spontaneous, creative innovation that people like me can only dream of.
Needless to say, I've started warming up to him. I read Scripting News regularly now and really appreciate his insights and all he's done for the community at large. Sure, he can still learn a thing or two about markup design but I can learn a lot more from him. I'm hoping that using his software to maintain this blog will give me just a little bit of insight into what it's like living in his world. It doesn't seem like such a bad place to be.
This post's for you, Dave.
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