Cookie Monster Learns to Program

No.  Really !  And the topic, cookies, makes perfect sense. 

Netscape extensions to CGI. The way cookie work is that webserver give "Set-Cookie:" header with information on cookie, and browser keep track of cookie. Then, when browser access page on same site, it send back list of all cookie for that site. It make me sad that W3 Consortium does not have good final Cookie spec. Me think it never really baked into HTTP standard and Netscape standard is only good definition me can find.

From Kuro5hin.

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New Kazaa ?  No - Kazaa Lite !

If the new Kazaa 2.0 has you interested in Kazaa then you may want to try Kazaa Lite.  Although it doesn't have the 2.0 features, it is spyware free which is very cool.

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8 Reasons Why Google News Is a *Good* Thing

Dave writes how he's not impressed by Google News.  Exact post:

Google PR sends a message that they have a new News service.  Maybe I'm slow this morning, or maybe I'm spoiled, but what's the big deal. I thought they already had this. My personal aggregator is better, it shows me what I'm interested in, it's not one size fits all.  Help me figure this out. I'm sure there's something innovative here, I just don't see it. 

Permalink

From a technical perspective I'm not sure that there is a lot that's new here.  I still think this is huge though:

1. My aggregator is just that mine -- I heavily tilt it in favor of tech / blogging / highly ecclectic stuff.  I don't get general purpose "What's Going On" news -- and, sure, that's my fault.  So what?  A personal aggregator is always or at least often going to be this way.  Google is giving me a much more balanced viewpoint.  That's huge.
2. Google is integrating foreign and U.S. feeds into one composite display.  Given that there are differences in how U.S. media report stories versus foreign media, this makes it very apparent and that's good.  The U.S. media is not always right.
3. The user interface is highly functional -- I could easily see my Mom using Google News.  I couldn't see her using a "traditional" aggregator be it Radio, AmphetaDesk, Drupal or another.
4. The concept of aggregation is fundamentally important and one of the very real contributions that UserLand made to us all.  Still aggregation doesn't mean squat beyond a small group of folks.  Google News will introduce the concept very widely. 
5. Everything is very clearly time stamped i.e. "55 minutes ago".
6. It's not going to get confused when someone re-edits a url they've already posted so the same thing shows up as new repeatedly.
7. A Caveat.  Google's reputation is such that I feel that they did a good job of picking the news sources which is particularly important for foreign information.  When I caught the Indonesian bombing news this morning, I trusted the sources that Google chose to show me since they're from Google.  Now that may be naive and perhaps it is but a lot of us will do that.
8. They aren't relying on XML feeds so they aren't dependent on news sources that lack feeds like Voice of America.  And while there are lots of ways to build these, it's generally non-trivial.

Google News isn't going to replace my aggregator any time soon but it is a good tool that I can see myself using regularly.

Visit Google News

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Great iPod for Windows Review

I've been debating an iPod for Windows for some time and when I saw that Joe picked one up, I added a comment to his blog asking for a review.  And, lo and behold, he wrote one -- and it's good with lots of practical advice.  Recommended.  Over IM he also pointed out to me that the Samsung Yepp looks like an iPod alternative.  On a pure specification basis I'd agree but on a style and elegance basis?  I'd stick with the iPod. 

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FOAFomatic

An easy way to build a friend of a friend file.  Go.  Not sure that I'll bother just yet but looks moderately interesting.

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Extreme Programming / Extreme Mowing

Neat article.  Recommended.  From The Perl Review.

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Microsoft Outlook Security Patch Blocks Windows Help Files !

I tried to email a .CHM file to someone and he kept not getting it and not getting it.  Finally we realized that the MS Outlook security patch (which I don't run and is way overzealous, imho) blocks .CHM files.  Wow.  I guess a .CHM file must be insecure (makes sense because of embedded macro commands).  Still it makes you wonder....

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Old But I Just Ran Across It Again: Google and Weblogs

A good explanation of why Google gives high ranks to weblogs.

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Have you helped a spammer today?

Yikes!

According to operators of spam-filtering lists, an alarming number of people are unwittingly helping junk mailers shuttle spam, or unsolicited bulk e-mail. Those unassuming victims are running software meant to allow multiple connections over a LAN (local area network) to the Internet through a single line, or what's known as proxy servers.

More from news.com

 

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An Example Of Why Politicians Are Hated MORE Than Lawyers

Please note that if you are going to read this story then follow the link and then read ALL of it.  And understand it.

What is it with state attorneys general trying to stamp out Internet vice around election time?

...

Michigan's Jennifer Granholm, who leads her Republican rival by about 12 percentage points in a recent poll, ordered Internet billing companies not to collect money for purported child porn sites.

"While it is unfortunate that it took this type of action to sever the funding from these appalling Web sites, their compliance is definitely a step in the right direction," Granholm said in a statement.

Sounds good, right? After all, what person of good character would be in favor of child porn?

Well, the story's not that simple. It turns out that in Granholm's yen for headlines, she targeted sites that feature only adult erotica--and their operators are seeing red, not blue.

...

News.com 

Absolutely a pathetic example of a stupid, headline chasing attorney with not a clue as to the 1st ammendment -- despite having been required to take at least 1 constitutional law class to graduate law school and pass the bar.  It's absolutely no wonder that voting is at an all time low -- we look at our politicians and say "Ick.  They suck.  It's not even worth the effort".

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Marketing 101: The Rolling Stones Business Model ????

I know that none of us think of rock bands as "businesses" but the fact remains that they are -- and a damn big business in fact.  Apparently the Rolling Stones have produced $1.5 billion in revenue (not a mistake) since 1989. 

Fortune Article 

Slashdot Discussion   

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MIT Open Courseware ?  Not Yet Dead.

Back in the dot com era, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, MIT promised to make its courseware freely available over the net.  Despite the changes in the Internet world since then and the trend towards charging for, well, everything, it looks like they are holding to the promise.  More.  One note -- they aren't giving away degrees -- just courseware.

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Google News is News !

A friend pointed out that Google News is, well, new i.e. it's News!  Well that's news to me (ouch; bad pun even for a Monday) since I never was a user but it looks plenty good to me.  Although there isn't anything about RSS 2.0 which makes me wonder which "4,000" news sources they are searching.  Don't they know what's really important?  And, if that last comment meant nothing to you?  Just ignore me...

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Photo of the Day: The Lemon Tree

When I was in San Diego for the O'Reilly OSCon, I stayed in a cheap hotel (and you can correctly interpret that as "The crappy side of town").  One day when I was wandering the streets after the conference on a day when I didn't stay late for sessions, I saw this:

That's right -- it's a lemon tree.  And it is just growing on the street in the midst of the concrete jungle that is a quasi bad San Diego neighborhood.  Having grown up on the east coast all my life, the concept of citrus that grows in your back yard is just astonishing to me.  And to have it not in your back yard but on the sidewalk?  I was floored.  And, in closing, this is where the California bloggers go "So !".

 

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