Universal Rule

Book Reviews

Monday, September 9, 2002

Web not built to last -- Comment()
99.9% of Websites Are Obsolete: "Though their owners and managers may not know it yet, 99.9% of all websites are obsolete. These sites may look and work all right in mainstream, desktop browsers whose names end in the numbers 4 or 5. But outside these fault-tolerant environments, the symptoms of disease and decay have already started to appear." [ranchero.com] [Mac Net Journal]

So, don't be on the cutting edge. Focus on content, not on the appearance. However, you could also argue that most of the web sites are never intended for staying up long - they are build to last a certain period, and then disappear before the next big fad.

Skip the skins -- Comment()
On Being Skinned: "Paradoxically, skinnability reduces the expressiveness of a user-interface. It does so by restricting the vocabulary of the interface to those things that can be expressed compatibly with all existing skins. This is a minor problem for applications, and a huge problem for platforms." [kuro5hin.org]

I agree: the user interfaces should allow for adding new functionality and new tools, but the basic behavior should be fixed. Much time is wasted by modifications which make the user interface less efficient than before the skinning.

Future of copyright -- Comment()
How should copyright be enforced online?: "Spiked Online, a UK tech site, is hosting a debate about the appropriate way for copyright infringement to be dealt with online." [Boing Boing Blog]

This is a discussion which should be higly prominent in media, but so far there hasn't been too much of discussion, just arguments. Of course, within a few years we'll see what the decision were and what kind of world we'll live in. A prisoner cage, or a creative paradise?

Bioinformatics Blog -- Comment()
Bioinformatics Blog is available for discussing topical subjects. There are about 4000 members, so this seems to be a big thing. Not too bad at all. Perhaps this kind of thing would be useful for many other kinds of research topics as well. Probably many such things already exist.

Watching over you -- Comment()
Feds plan cybersecurity center. The world of Big Brother and Brave New World is getting close. Some day the authorities will know better than you what you have done today? Where do you want be watched today? Is this the world we wanted to build with our technology?

The Brain as a User Interface -- Comment()
The Brain as a User Interface. Would you like Microsoft to install their new YQ terminal in your head? It seems that the world of science fiction (see The Last Rebel Coders) is increasingly becoming a reality.

Promises of nano -- Comment()
What Can Nanotech Do for You?. Nanotechnology for computing, for human bodies, for everything. Perhaps this all is hype, perhaps not. However, I believe progress is achieved with small steps, so it is not much use to speculate about the promises of nanotechnology in a 5-10 years timescale. Those of use who are then alive will see fascinating things, and usual things, but nobody now knows what will be the big new thing.

Big Bad Thing of the World -- Comment()
Tech firms urged to aid security efforts.

Is USA preparing for a lasting war? (Like in the Haldeman book Forever War.) After the collapse of the Soviets, perhaps the world situation is such that there has to be a Big Bad Thing for the superpowers to stay super.

But if there are only Small Bad Things left in this world - is there a need for superpowers? Anyway, people and nations want to demonize those they fear and hate, so the current preparations are nothing new.