lundi 3 mars 2003

Afropulse A long-established, highly professional African news portal has recently taken another initiative by becoming host to Afropop. It's a nice job, but US-oriented, particularly on concerts and tours. A wider spread for the eyes and the ears can be reached via the African music webring (beware pop-ups), which is inviting more participant sites to add to a list of around 60. The portal I mentioned is allAfrica, daily imbibed with several others and the morning coffee. If anybody has more good world music gateways, I'd be delighted to hear from you. Oh, Emsie: remember that 3-volume CD I picked up during our mini-spree at the FNAC last year: The continent of one thousand drums? I've listened to all of it now. Twice indeed! A curate's egg, but the best bits made it worthwhile. Whether the neighbours agree is another matter... 8:13:20 PM  link   your views? [] Techsurvivors (1) While I'll undoubtedly post more about my choice machine and Apple-related phenomena, this won't be yet another Mac weblog. There are dozens of those, just as there are more Mac sites than I can count. Now when it comes to Macs in trouble, come some wet weekend I'll tell what I dare of the tale of Techsurvivors, how the phoenix arose from the ashes of a forum called NoWonder. The "Friday massacre" occurred on June 16, 2000, when people found that their favourite friendly computer help board had been bought out overnight by sharks who planned henceforth not only to charge for services freely rendered, but were poised to pillage and claim as their own a data base built up by numerous volunteers. Yup, that place was swiftly dubbed "NoLonger"! The title of the e-mail that got the ball rolling in the direction of TS still makes me smile: "I'm hoping you won't find this an intrusion..." No, Richard, it certainly wasn't! Last year, after a tour of absence abroad and shifts in domestic and working priorities, I decided on a back seat on the TS Executive Committee (or maybe the Exec opted for that!), but I still treasure ring-bound copies, no less, of the hundreds of e-mails which fuelled the fire under the phoenix. The evidence against us all, me included, remains intact. The people behind TS and many of the hundreds who have joined the community since are in part responsible for this blog. "What's that?" they cry. "Don't blame us for your ramblings!" Yes, but. But if it hadn't been for you folks, I doubt I'd have a Mac that runs like a Rolls most of the time, I'd be far more ignorant of its mysterious workings than I am, and life on the net would be much less fun! Should any Mac-user stumble on from here for the first time to the Techsurvivors forums, don't be put off if occasionally the site loads a wee bit slowly (for me, it usually comes up a darned sight faster than MacFixit) . A warm and multinational welcome awaits inside for the newcomer and the old hand alike. Rare is the problem that hasn't been solved. If it's not new, there's a good chance you'll find it in the archives. And it's no secret that far more competent minds than mine are tackling the software and server issues right now, a job best done well. A little patience is all it takes. Oh, and "OT" means "off topic". That's where people hang out their hair, though nobody's supposed to wash the linen as well. Give it a whirl. I used to be nervous of bulletin boards too, but not among this amiable crowd. 7:01:07 PM  link   your views? [] Now look what you've done! Truly, I'm chuffed. Thanks! Encouragement for this little enterprise from four quarters (and I can even say from Austria to Zimbabwe, no kidding). Well, now that the beta blog's been "tested", I shall venture further abroad with the ... with the, er, beta. Long ways to go yet and so little time. There's also TS to catch up with again, not to speak of the weblogs that inspired me, while my weekend is over tomorrow. As my long-suffering beta-testers already know, once you've sussed out my interests, the occasional interesting tip or offbeat snippet would be welcome and, of course, acknowledged if used. I've only received one of these so far (don't knock it, it took me more than an hour to do this with GraphicConverter and AppleWorks, so I don't see a future in graphic design): But I won't be surprised to get a few more. 6:27:55 PM  link   your views? [] Portable soap My cellphone gets used more by my daughter than by me, since I rarely have reason to spend all my monthly subscription, though I went for the cheapest rate. But since it undeniably comes in handy sometimes, she benefits, banishing me from the room when she calls her buddies. Not that she doesn't have one of her own, but it's a different system. I resisted pressure to get a mobile for as long as I could, only bowing to the inevitable after finding it virtually indispensable in Africa. Now there's a promising aspect of this technology. What to make of the 3G 'phones to be rolled out soon? I didn't know what 3G was until last month. I think it stands for the '3rd generation' technology; somebody will tell me if I'm wrong. "3G is all about customizing your personal mwallet and sending popular musical tunes as mobile ring tones." Or "3G is viewing video from your favorite soap or football game on the train or bus." Good heavens! The 'phone nuisance is bad enough on public transport, in the supermarket and meetings. Now I worry about what next Christmas's stockings might unleash. Will it really catch on? 10:50:59 AM  link   your views? []

nick b. 2007 do share, don't steal, please credit under artistic licence terms; contributing friends (pix, other work) retain their rights.