I'm wondering what legal relevance such a letter would have in Germany. Would that already constitute coercion? I find it interesting that a company seriously believes it has a chance of success if it thinks it needs to put pressure on its former customers by letter.
At heise online news there's the original article.
An interesting comment on what blogs are and how they differ from previous forms of communication: Blogs are an instance of "publicy" - the McLuhan reversal of "privacy" - that occurs under the intense acceleration of instantaneous communications. Our notion of privacy was created as an artifact of literacy - silent reading lead to private interpretation of ideas that lead to private thoughts that lead to privacy. Blogging is an "outering" of the private mind in a public way (that in turn leads to the multi-way participation that is again characteristic of multi-way instanteous communictions.) Unlike normal conversation that is essentially private but interactive, and unlike broadcast that is inherently not interactive but public, blogging is interactive, public and, of course, networked - that is to say, interconnected. This characterization applies equally to diaries, link hubs, and every other variation on the blog theme. However, this classification only considers the topic from the direction of communication, not its outward form. But perhaps form is truly irrelevant - certain characteristics inevitably emerge, but the exact form of blogs is as diverse as the programmers of the software (and the users who modify the templates and thus the presentation). The way we communicate probably says far more about what makes blogs what they are than the way we present that communication visually. Here you can find the original article.
A collection of links to Bjørn Lomborg's book The Sceptical Environmentalist. This appears to be a fairly useful link collection that presents a wide range of opposing views. Here's the original article.
A website dedicated to flight simulators for Mac OS X. A bunch of links and info on the topic. Unfortunately, it stops with news in 2001, so they're more like olds. Is there anything newer on the subject?
And another thing about Lomborg: here is Scientific American's response to criticism of their issue that dealt with Lomborg's theses. As for the status of Lomborg's book: Many people claim to have scientific arguments when they do not: creationists, ancient astronaut theorists and the like. Being able to cite the scientific literature does not automatically confer validity on one's argument, nor does it make the argument genuinely scientific.
There are more pleasant problems to have. Really.
Interesting pages about camera technology for making medium format stereo images. Price-wise, though, it's a bit more hefty than with 35mm film.
... organized and firmly in the hands of Rotterdam. It was on TV, so it must be true. I always knew there had to be a mafia behind it. Surely also behind these blinking pins, the climbing, fat Santa figures and similar atrocities. The Christmas mafia. Organized crime against good taste. And the Dutch are to blame. How perfectly it all fits together.
And once again an opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry to rip off the health system and patients.
At tagesschau im Internet there's the original article.
20 megapixels - not bad. The sensor size is also great at 5.2x3.7cm. Ok, that's still quite far from full frame (even medium format APS is 6x4.5cm), but already pretty nice. But 2.4 million yen is quite steep - after all, almost 18,000 euros.
Currently running on 3sat. Honestly: a film that can afford to waste the first 15 minutes on almost no activity, go round in circles three times, bite its own tail, and end with the same sentence it begins with — I just have to like that.
The Americans and the missing ground contact ...
Do you know what's fascinating about the ticker? That it runs on a blogging platform, apparently with a userland tool, I'd guess Manila (or Radio on a Manila server). Didn't even know that WDR has blogs too. As a result, for example, there's an RSS feed and even a blogroll (though they only subscribed to themselves). Here's the original article.
Weird. Software patches for a battery? Well, nothing surprises me anymore ...
At The Macintosh News Network you can find the original article.
Of course, politicians will then find excuses again why all of this allegedly isn't true at all. But in the end, there's always more month left than money...
I found the original article at Der Schockwellenreiter.
Very interesting analysis of what politicians like to present as freedom for citizens.
I found the original article at DIE ZEIT: Feuilleton.
Great. A party is considering expelling its founder. Perhaps they shouldn't have founded themselves on the basis of this founder in the first place? Well, they'll sink into insignificance anyway after all this chaos now.
At tagesschau im Internet you can find the original article.
What bothers me about these increasingly frequent myth-debunking exercises: they always assume that every open source programmer is out to deliver production-quality code. But that's the biggest myth that all these analysts fall for. Most OSS programmers code on programs because they solve a problem they have. Or because they simply enjoy working on the topic. Or because existing solutions don't work the way they imagine them. So the reasons are usually quite selfish at first. In the process, the end user and other developers are inevitably ignored initially - and from these projects, larger projects may later develop. In rare cases does a project really start from scratch with the premise of delivering professional software. But it's this playfulness and egoism of OSS programmers that creates diversity. And of course, also chaos. Funnily enough, these same selfish programmers are extremely generous and eager to share, which is why larger projects can only emerge from these projects at all. But usually there's a selfish motive behind that too: the need for recognition. A key driver in OSS projects is the pursuit of fame.
By the way, I see the whole thing as absolutely not negative, quite the opposite. It's precisely what makes the OSS landscape so colorful and interesting. Ignoring projects that don't interest you is definitely easier than complaining that these developers should be working on other projects - after all, there are no obligations in OSS.
The jump to a major project often only happens through a broader user base, from which collaborators gradually recruit themselves. Nevertheless, many projects remain the personal projects of individual people for a long time - even if there's already a developer community. The Linux kernel is still Linus's project, which becomes apparent whenever he rejects maintainers, rips out subsystems, and unilaterally replaces them with other implementations. The question of why he can do that answers itself: it's his project, of course he can.
In many discussions about the advantages and disadvantages, it's repeatedly assumed that OSS projects are even comparable to commercially operated projects. They are - when there's a company with commercial interests behind the OSS project. But with pure OSS projects, factors are at play that can't be compared to anything commercial or semi-commercial. And these projects make up the majority of OSS.
Therefore, investigations of myths in OSS are often themselves falling for myths.
The madness continues. A teacher is being warned because he posted teaching materials online - which in this case included text passages from Kästner. I am certain that this use of Kästner's texts is entirely in keeping with the author's intentions. How low can heirs actually sink when they no longer accomplish anything of their own, except exploiting the achievements of an ancestor - and in a manner that would surely have provoked nothing but outrage and head-shaking from the author himself?
I found the original article on Kai Surendorf's blog.
As long as he makes way for another winner at the next tour, and as long as he doesn't start singing or acting, I don't care.
At RADSPORT-NEWS.COM - Nachrichten-Gesamtübersicht there's the original article.
A beautiful photo blog, unfortunately without an RSS feed. Ok, and in Dutch, but the images are understandable for everyone anyway. And simply beautiful.
And another SCO programmer has contributed large patches to the kernel. Particularly interesting: this programmer worked on SMP code, that is, multiprocessor capability, one of the areas objected to by SCO. And he has been working on it since at least 1998 - before SCO was acquired and before IBM entered the kernel.
Witty, informative and useful article about weblogs in Telepolis. So now I'm traveling as a blogonaut through the blogosphere, that's good too. Beam me up, Scotty, there is no intelligent life down here At Telepolis News you can find the original article.
That sounds very good - a printer that has an explicit pure B&W cartridge with black, gray, and light gray. This allows you to convert it to pure B&W operation without wild experiments with third-party cartridges, refill kits, tubes, syringes, open-heart surgery, and general anesthesia. It sounds like the right printer for me might finally be coming - something like the 7960 or 7660, but in a format for A3 prints. Until that becomes available, however, the 7660 with B&W cartridge could certainly be a good interim solution ...
When I look at typical managers and marketing guys, I'd say: Yes!
At heise online news there's the original article.
Even better: Tivoli Model Three is the same device, but supplemented with an analog clock and an alarm function. Since my clock radio is slowly giving up the ghost after over 20 years of service, I'll probably get this one. The thing is simply and elegantly brilliant - a subtly illuminated analog clock, alarm function and the Tivoli Radio from the Model Two - so even prepared for a second speaker. It'll probably make a hole in my wallet, but I finally want to have a decent clock radio. At Ligne Claire you can find the original article.
A transcript of the court hearing in which SCO was given a deadline until the end of January. What stands out to me is the chaotic argumentative structure and the frequent interruptions of the SCO lawyer (by the way, the CEO's brother - is it really a good idea to have your own family represent you?) by the court and, in contrast, the very straightforward and conclusive argumentation of the IBM lawyer. I would say there are clear weight class differences recognizable between the two.
Has Minolta finally woken up? No more stupid talk about the Dimage 7 series being a digital SLR? No more silly evasiveness when asked about digital SLRs from them? Or is this just a panic reaction? Anyway, for me the train has left the station. Contax not only built a full-frame digital camera, they've already discontinued it. Contax is simply ahead of its time.
At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) you can find the original article.
Well, now even the Schill party (ok, only the senate faction) is celebrating the Schill-out ...
At tagesschau im Internet you can find the original article.
Mainly a note for Jutta that she wants to have the book
At The Macintosh News Network there is the original article.
Let's hope it's not also the first crashed spacecraft and the first atomic catastrophe on a Jupiter moon - given NASA's recent track record of success, they should probably send less dangerous equipment on the journey...
At Spiegel Online: Wissenschaft you can find the original article.
SCO claims that its web server was once again crippled by a DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack. Two security experts express their opinion on Groklaw and provide brief analyses on why this claim from SCO should rather be viewed with skepticism.
Read, throw 5 euros in the Chauvi box, have a laugh.
At passe.par.tout you'll find the original article.
The right thing for today's hacker: writing file systems for Linux directly in Python. I could think about whether I should rewrite my suckfs to LUFS-Python. The current implementation via dnotify in any case has some strange effects and race conditions that under certain circumstances cause the data inventories to no longer be in sync. However, a LUFS-Python implementation would unfortunately also be realized through Python on read, and that would most likely be too slow for the intended use of suckfs (replication of static data contents on a Zope cluster). Here's the original article.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's doing well. He is a fantastic photographer and his images impressively showcase the effects of war, chaos, and famine. Outstanding is the book Inferno with a selection of his images from various crisis zones - I have rarely seen such impressive photographs. He always manages to show the suffering and agony of people without depriving them of their dignity. No sensationalism, no hunger for sensation - but a clear statement against war and abuse. He is certainly one of the great photographers of today. Here you can find the original article.
I've extended the Python Desktop Server with another module: Blogmarks provides a blog with mini entries. The idea behind it is to simply post links. For this purpose, I use a bookmarklet (a bit of JavaScript that opens a window and calls up a URL), which passes the current link and the title of the current window to the Python Desktop Server and asks the user for categories and a short description (which is stored as a title tag on the link element and displayed on mouse-over). The whole thing is converted into compact HTML and is available as a blog with RSS feed and everything that goes with it. In the long run, I'll probably add further features like caching of the original page (in case it goes offline) and a category overview of all links, but for now I'm starting as it is. Let's see if this isn't a useful alternative to private bookmarks.
The most interesting thing about this project is the juxtaposition of the Python and Perl source code. I like both languages, but somehow in this comparison I find that I should actually be ashamed that I like Perl too.
That doesn't sound bad at all. An AppleScript editor with an interactive AppleScript shell, various extensions and above all an interface builder. And the whole thing available for free download. And the description sounds like it would be a decent alternative to the much heavier (but also much more powerful) AppleScript Studio for small hacks.
Nothing has changed, the same old arguments, the same false conclusions, the same false demands. It's quite alarming how Die Freie Wirtschaft still fits like a glove, even after so many decades. The original article can be found at gnurps here.
Loch an Loch and yet (not) holds
At heise online news there is the original article.
Full agreement. I never understood all the fuss about Harald Schmidt when it was still new. He's quitting the show now. So what.
There's the original article at Nochn Blogg.
The programmer of JPython/Jython (a Python implementation for the Java Virtual Machine) apparently is working on an implementation of Python for the .NET Common Language Runtime. And first benchmarks look very good, better than some other attempts that were made at ActiveState. It looks like in the foreseeable future Python code can be used both within Java applications and .NET applications, in addition to the native implementation that already exists. I find that very pleasant, because it allows me to use my currently favored programming language even in silly Windows projects that we'll be dealing with in the near future.
In the Java environment I'm already using Jython as a convenient alternative syntax when I have to work with any foreign libraries in Java - Jython is much more comfortable there (and the interactive environment is absolutely great when you need to experiment with foreign libraries, because the documentation isn't sufficient again!).
Of course nothing new - just more FUD about Linux and hype about Microsoft again. What bothers me about the whole thing though: apparently an institute at the University of Münster let itself be bought for this study. Since Münster is my hometown, I take this kind of nonsense somewhat personally - I would have expected more integrity from the University of Münster. But money rules the world, nobody cares about facts anymore.
Confusion, anarchy, chaos!
Well, whether Microsoft releases patches or not doesn't really matter anyway - the security holes come faster than the patches anyway...
At heise online news you can find the original article.
According to the schedule, SCO has to provide a large amount of information, in particular exactly where the alleged patent violations are located (with file and line number specifications), as well as stating why SCO believes a patent violation exists, whether and if so who else had access, and some other information surrounding this whole matter. I'm really curious to see what SCO can actually submit to the court.
IBM, by the way, doesn't have to submit anything until SCO has completed their part, and that's also part of the judge's ruling.
Ok, I understand that the tree lobster needs to be saved. But is the approach of poisoning an entire island so that all rats die really the right one? Rats can adapt well - it's possible they won't catch all the rats, but then the survivors will have an easier time with the weakened other animals afterward? Or the Noah's Ark experiment doesn't work and the other animals die out - what does the tree lobster get out of that?
In the end it always comes down to the same thing: whenever man tries to fix something, it can almost only get worse...
Actually just blogging so I can find it again later. Medley Lisp is the successor to the Lisp that runs on Xerox Lisp machines. Two releases run on my Lisp machines: Koto Lisp and Lyric Lisp. Koto Lisp is a pure Interlisp-D environment (by the way, Rainer Joswig put the introductory manual online, and there's also a film about using Interlisp-D online), whereas Lyric Lisp additionally includes an implementation of Common Lisp. Medley Lisp is the direct successor release to Lyric Lisp, thus strongly Common Lisp centric, though the system basis still builds on Interlisp-D. Medley Lisp no longer runs on Lisp machines, but is instead brought to various platforms via an emulator. I still have a version of the emulator for DOS; only an old Solaris version and a Linux version (for Intel processors) are still sold. The software has a long history; the first releases date from the early 1980s, much code from that time is still found in the system (all of Interlisp-D, that is). But I'd guess that the TCP/IP implementation in Interlisp under the emulator version is no longer used; instead, it probably accesses the system's own TCP/IP stack.
At home I still have two functional Siemens replicas of the Xerox 1186 machines, and over a meter of documentation. It's fascinating what's packed into these machines and what performance they already had back then—and this despite the processor not being the fastest. The processor itself had loadable microcode, so the instruction set could be adapted to the system (Smalltalk, Lisp, or Prolog). In principle, that was also an emulator back then, just realized in hardware.