One Canuck's Radio Weblog

  Thursday, 11 March 2004

.< 10:54:42 PM >
Kentucky.com: Bush alienating some military voters
"I voted for Bush in 2000, and I'm not going to vote for him again," said Jean Prewitt, a group member from Birmingham, Ala. Her 24-year-old son, Kelley, was in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division when he was killed on April 6 just south of Baghdad. "I just feel deceived. He just kept screaming, screaming, weapons of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction, we've got to get in there. We got in there and now there aren't any."

.< 10:34:37 PM >
Glad to Be (Primarily) a Mac User

This column by Walt Mossberg perfectly captures the problem with all of the many different warnings that a properly protected Windows user receives all the time -- and why I'm glad to be a Mac user. I use a Mac most of the time for most of what I do as a desktop user, and I don't get warnings, alerts, errors, etc. [GlennLog]

< 10:30:45 PM >

Former Apple fellow and design guru Don Norman has been influential on and offline. He tells Jack Schofield why products should now start making us smile
The Guardian: Emotional about design. The sequel, Emotional Design, is based on the idea that there are three levels at play in design: visceral, behavioural, and reflective. It's still true that, on a rational level, products should be functional, but now he explains why they should be beautiful and have an emotional impact as well. [Tomalak's Realm]

< 9:03:34 PM >

A taxing proposal to solve the music download dilemma [GAM-Technology] 'Canada has recently become the world's test case for an alternative model of dealing with music downloads.'

< 8:39:02 PM >

Well that settles that!

< 7:33:29 PM >

Dave Pollard: What's This 'RSS' All About? [Scripting News]

< 7:30:47 PM >

Stephen P. Teplansky, a Sony stalwart, has spent three decades promoting recorders that have nothing to do with music. [New York Times: Technology]

< 7:29:13 PM >

The Canadian government demands that Hewlett-Packard pay back $120 million in defense department contracts or prove that it delivered at proper billing rates. [CNET News.com]

< 7:25:51 PM >

As the debate continues, opinions are divided on the merits of allowing online drug purchases from Canada. [New York Times: Technology]

< 7:25:10 PM >

The first highway to use digital cameras and license-plate-reading software rather than toll collectors opened in 1997. It still inspires a mixed reaction. [New York Times: Technology]

Never been on the 407 myself.

< 7:10:30 PM >

High-speed internet connections put music teachers within reach of talented faraway students. [New York Times: Technology]

More about this story at my main weblog.

< 3:53:14 PM >

Some simple precautions can help ensure that a Wi-Fi network is secure as well as convenient. [New York Times: Technology] 'As David Garrison, chief executive of STSN, a company that provides Wi-Fi access to business travelers, says of the typical Wi-Fi hot spot, "It's still like the Wild West."'

< 3:48:20 PM >

[GAM-Technology] 'Instead of bringing optical fibre into every home, which is generally considered the only way digital subscriber line (DSL) technology can compete with Internet by cable, Bell has developed a new strategy. Rejecting the optical-fibre-to-home idea as too expensive, Bell says it can achieve similar results if the optical fibre is brought to a kilometre or so from the home.

This strategy is based on two new technologies now ready for rollout. The first is OPI-DSLAM, which is a device that sits at the other end of the DSL system used by Bell through its Sympatico Internet service; it replaces the older DSLAM, which is limited to about six megabits a second. The second is the Nortel 6500, a technology that can deliver and manage fibre optic lines close enough to the home to realize superhigh speeds. [snip] Mr. Roman figures we can see 16 megabits a second in early 2004, and 22 mbps as early as next year. [snip] Very high speeds make it possible to deliver just about all content. When Mr. Roman and Mr. Lee talk about the world of broadband IP, they mean things like telephones using the Internet protocol (voice over IP, or VoIP), interactive video, multimedia content delivery (TV, music and other entertainment), push-to-talk (a kind of walkie-talkie system using cellphones), and a string of other services still fermenting in people's imaginations.'

< 2:48:31 PM >

Women may replenish their egg supply throughout life, if a study successful in mice holds true for humans. The finding would cause a dramatic shift in fertility research. By Kristen Philipkoski. [Wired News]

< 2:47:21 PM >

In a sign that the wireless Internet is coming of age, Nokia, Vodafone, Microsoft and six other companies proposed Wednesday the equivalent of a .mobile Internet address category. [New York Times: Technology]

< 2:45:21 PM >

Apple-served? [The Register] 'The Apple connection is provided by HP, which will this summer launch branded iPods and an online music store that is basically ITMS with an HP-branded front end.'

< 2:32:17 PM >

Canadian Mac users seem to be getting shortchanged in the digital music market. [MacInTouch]

< 2:15:56 PM >

According to a knowledge base article you can enable any AAC format music file for bookmarking (continues playback from where you last left off), by changing the type code of the AAC file to "M4B ", including the space at the... [macosxhints]

< 2:15:22 PM >

With the Notes capability of newer iPods, I thought it would be nice to be able to quickly copy emails to my iPod. After searching this site and googling a bit, I decided to try my hand at AppleScript. A lot of this script is... [macosxhints]

< 11:53:11 AM >

In response to a report and recommendations on the implementation of the 1995 European Union Data Protection Directive, the European Parliament has overwhelmingly reiterated its finding on airline reservation data that: National and European laws on the transfer of personal... [The Practical Nomad]

< 11:46:13 AM >

BBC: "Pop star George Michael abandons the music business in order to release his songs online for free instead." [Scripting News]

Interesting but it has nothing to do with the current argument about where the music industry is going.

< 11:39:16 AM >

Spanish train blasts kill at least 173
At least 173 people died when 10 bombs ripped through commuter trains arriving in central Madrid during the morning rush hour Thursday. F U L L S T O R Y
[CBC News]

< 11:36:39 AM >

The bombings are a monstrous assault on democracy. We must unite against terror, says Denis MacShane. [Guardian Unlimited] 'Those who find ways of justifying terrorism, who can talk of understanding the motives of terrorist actions, need to think hard and think differently. No progress in human affairs will ever be built on the blood of innocent people. Today, we are all Spanish.'

< 11:34:06 AM >

The blasts, which came just days before elections, killed more than 170 and injured over 600. Officials suspected Basque separatists. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

< 11:33:49 AM >

3pm: At least 173 reported dead · Spain's deadliest-ever bombing · 'Explosives of type used by Eta' [Guardian Unlimited] 'The Basque regional president Juan Jose Ibarretxe said Eta did not represent the Basque people. "When Eta attacks, the Basque heart breaks into a thousand pieces."'

< 10:37:18 AM >

The police raised questions about why they were held for two years, and a lawyer for one of the men denounced their captors. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

< 10:36:19 AM >

The Pentagon awards reconstruction contracts worth $130m to consortia led by US companies. [BBC News | World | UK Edition]

< 10:32:15 AM >

European markets fall sharply as investors react to falls on Wall Street and worries about the world economy. [BBC News | World | UK Edition]

< 9:59:55 AM >

UK: Remaining four Britons held in UK custody are freed without charge. [Guardian Unlimited]

< 9:59:23 AM >

· At least 173 reported dead · Spain's deadliest-ever bombing · Eta 'not to blame' - political wing [Guardian Unlimited]

Damn.

< 1:35:56 AM >

The US military absolves its forces of blame for an air raid that killed nine Afghan children last December. [BBC News | World | UK Edition]

< 1:35:12 AM >

Bertuzzi offers tearful apology for attack
Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi broke down in tears Wednesday night as he spoke publicly for the first time since an on-ice attack that left another player with a fractured neck. F U L L S T O R Y
[CBC News]

< 1:34:45 AM >

Ottawa tries to trace millions in computer deal
The federal government is scrambling to deal with another multi-million scandal, this one involving the Department of National Defence. F U L L S T O R Y
[CBC News]

< 1:33:39 AM >

InterVideo WinDVD 5 Software with DVD-Audio Pack Supports Intel HD Audio
FREMONT, Calif., Mar. 09, 2004 -- InterVideo, Inc. announced today that WinDVD 5, its award-winning software for playing DVDs on a PC, supports playback of Intel High Definition (HD) Audio, Intel's next-generation audio standard (formerly known as "Azalia"). Read more [Digital Pro Sound News]

< 1:27:35 AM >

Bias Releases Peak 4.1
Mar. 08, 2004 -- Bias has released Peak 4.1, which the company previously announced back in January. The new version includes Roxio Jam and SFX Machine LT. It's available now for Mac OS X. Read more [Digital Pro Sound News]

< 1:25:30 AM >

Apple Computer Inc. made it known on Wednesday that they have plans for the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show being held in Las Vegas, Nevada next month. In an invitation sent to select media, including MacCentral, Apple said they would be having a special event on Sunday, April 18, 2004. [MacCentral]

< 12:41:54 AM >

The BBC offers a commercial-free version of RealPlayer. [Scripting News]

This solves a big problem for me. I'm not keen on Real's technology but I do need to use the player now and then. The problem has been that Real's own web page for downloading the OS X version of their player did not open properly in Safari. It would just endlessly download an image file on the page and I'd never see the download instructions.

< 12:23:04 AM >

Dan Gillmor posted chapter 1 and the intro, in draft form, of his upcoming book "Making the News." [Scripting News] 'Why am I'm telling this story? Because journalism hit a pivot point that March morning.

Consider, first, the sequence of news flow: a feedback loop that started in an Arizona conference session, zipped to Orlando, came back to Arizona and ultimately then went global. In a world of satellite communications and fiber optics, real-time journalism is routine; but now we journalists had added the expertise of the audience. [snip] Tomorrow's news reporting and production will be more of a conversation, or a seminar. The lines will blur between producers and consumers, changing the role of both in ways we're only beginning to grasp now. The communication network itself will be a medium for everyone's voice, not just the few who can afford to buy multi-million-dollar printing presses, launch satellites or win the government's permission to squat on the public's airwaves.

This evolution -- from journalism as lecture to journalism as a conversation or seminar -- will oblige the various communities of interest to adapt. Everyone, from journalists to the people we cover to our sources and the former audience, must change their ways.