Monday, August 05, 2002

This article from The Register www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26517.html is another example of why I'm so anti-Windows XP and anti-Microsoft right now. They've got to be kidding. Like I'm going to sign this: "You acknowledge and agree that Microsoft may automatically check the version of the OS Product and/or its components that you are utilizing and may provide upgrades or fixes to the OS Product that will be automatically downloaded to your computer," Bottom line - I want the freedom to control my computer, or designate who I give that control to. That's true whether I'm an individual or a corporation. What the MSerfs propose is absurd, and irritating. This might be the thing that pushes me to Apple and/or Linux. But what about the masses...? The whole DRM thing has got me worried. The Internet has done great things in freeing up public expression and making rational thought available to people across the world's antiquated boundaries. If MS-style digital rights management gets into the hands of Congress, I really fear for our future. Two hundred years of progress toward free speech could be lost, in Internet time. comment []9:44:58 AM

Navigation now working - only took 30 minutes of research/debug. Next task is to get the Life/Tech category templates to either look just like ASVL homepage, or with a unique look/feel. But that can wait. Thanks to The Shifted Librarian www.theshiftedlibrarian.com for good Radio tips. comment []8:58:34 AM

Trying to add categories back in on the Navigator bar on left. I've got the XML rendering properly, but don't have the file references working. Radio's file structure is still pretty opaque to me. Arrrgh! Back to the RU discussion group for help. comment []8:25:29 AM

For well over a year, I've struggled to finish a screenplay idea called Emergence. I made some real progress during this year's Cabo trip, but lost momentum (again) upon returning to reality. The problem is a strange one - the idea is just too big, too rich for me to fit everything into script format. Getting all the ideas I have for the story told in just pictures and dialogue in 110 pages doesn't seem possible. Or perhaps I'm just not a strong enough scriptwriter, but that's another story... Every week I look at it, make some half-hearted notes, and despair of putting it down on paper. The right thing to do is to jump in and restart the story as a novel, wherein I can be as verbose as I like. But that's an intimidating leap. But I've got to make it. comment []7:46:16 AM

© Copyright 2002 Jeff Nichols.