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Good post from my colleague Dick on how there will always be a need for reconciling different feed representations even if everyone agrees on a common syndication format.
Source: Burn This! - The FeedBurner Weblog: Syndication Myths, Part II
We've been hearing for a little while that Microsoft's next operating system (code-named "Longhorn") will have a "sidebar" where you can put all sorts of "tiles" ... kind of like a desktop dashboard. The article referenced below gives a quick overview of some of the different features found in the latest build of Longhorn released to developers.
There are some nice screenshots in the article. It shows that the sidebar could include an RSS reader and a mini "slideshow" tile. To tell you the truth, I'd like the functionality of both of those tiles in one: a tile that shows images distributed via RSS. I imagine there will be a nice market for tile developers.
I know that you can get similar functionality today with products like Samurize or DesktopX, but these customizations are still pretty fringe and appeal mainly to the mod crowd. Once you've got these capabilities delivered in the OS itself, I think you'll find much greater uptake.
Source: WindowsDevCenter.com: A First Look at Longhorn [May. 18, 2004]
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
What a prescient novel! The message from this book is as relevant today as when it was written in 1932 ... disturbingly so. It really causes you to question what qualities are truly valued by a culture or civilization. This story portrays a realistic scenario if "Community, Identity, Stability" were the core values of a world state. I think this book convincingly demonstrates that happiness at the expense of true freedom is a meaningless existence.
Original entry from 5/17
Somehow, I've gotten to this point in my life without having read this book. Currently reading.
For those of you who aren't living this syndication stuff every day (and I hope you're not!), the story of Atom (a syndication format) has taken an interesting turn recently. There seems to be a serious possibility that the W3C might charter a Working Group to standardize Atom. The article referenced here talks a little bit about what some of the advantages and disadvantages might be if such a "marriage" were to take place.
A few words about the article. Just so you understand the author's biases, he's definitely in the RSS 1.0/RDF camp. I personally disagree with a few of his statements: I wouldn't call Atom "insanely successful" quite yet, even given the author's definition of success. I also wouldn't call RDF as an extension mechanism "infinitely preferable" to RSS 2.0's extension mechanism, as I've mentioned before. Tone down the hyperbole a little, please.
Those reservations aside, however, this is a good article to read to get a handle on what's going on in the Atom universe these days.
A nice walk-through on how to unprotect the music you purchase from Apple's iTunes Music Store. The reason I found this interesting is I've been messing around with creating a Linux-based media station, and being able to take the DRM shell off music that I purchased will allow me to play those files in Linux with a normal AAC decoder.
Source: How to play purchased music on other systems- Engadget
Stupid, indulgent, and infantile ... and I haven't laughed so hard in months. The sketches are a little hit-or-miss, and some are truly revolting, but some are so frickin funny I couldn't stand it. So, on the basis of that alone, it's worth a watch for those with strong stomachs.
Nice looking site that's in the same "blog trends" camp as Blogdex, All Consuming, Technorati (when it works), and Daypop.
Source: Intelliseek's BlogPulse
This is actually a big deal, IMHO. Reuters is viewing its RSS feeds as a direct distribution channel to the end consumer -- something it really hasn't had to date. If one envisions a world where a "feed reader" is not just a three-panel glorified mail client but instead a pervasive part of one's desktop and mobile work environment, why wouldn't you go directly to Reuters for your news?
Things are hotting up now!
Source: Reuters picks up Web syndication technology | CNET News.com
The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
By Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
Wow, I felt positively slimy after reading this book. The authors did a fantastic job of describing the willful deception and naked greed that went on at the top levels of Enron. Really amazing stuff. Recommended.
Original entry from April 19
What better way to brush up on how to defraud your investors and stoke the fires of coroporate greed than to read about the masters?
I enjoyed this film, which is classic Tim Burton: an engaging blend of fantasy and reality, where the boundary between the two is not all that clear. Great performance by Ewan McGregor, a fun story, and a touching ending. I wasn't blown away, but this movie is certainly worth watching for just about anyone.