| |
 |
Thursday, March 21, 2002 |
"On the Fritz" has a new meaning tonight
The Shifted Librarian site has more good links tonight about the legislation that threatens to sell your digital rights to the entertainment industry, including some pretty pointed evaluations of the bill introduced by Senator Fritz Hollings and five others.
Interesting that in this case it is one Republican and five Democrats behind this latest push to censor and control the public.
11:02:12 PM 
|
|
Two new Mac Net Journal stories: A short history and sponsorship information
Tonight I posted two new links on Mac Net Journal. About MNJ offers a short history about Mac Net Journal, including a few details about how I started publishing it in 1995, and Sponsor MNJ offers some additional background about the site.
I am seeking sponsors in addition to voluntary user donations to help make this site something that I can continue to publish and sustain as part of my business, White Rabbit Publishing.
9:20:51 PM
|
|
Look quick to see Comet Ikeya-Zhang
I started reading about Comet Ikeya-Zhang over the weekend, and now there are a few Web pages about the streaking light in the evening sky, including this piece from Sky and Telescope. I haven't seen it through the cloud cover here in the Pacific Northwest, but it should be visible around sunset over the next week. Very cool!
For more comet and meteor shower news, check out Gary W. Kronk's excellent site.
9:15:40 PM
|
|
It sounds like time to make a stand
Wired: "The Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act prohibits the sale or distribution of nearly any kind of electronic device -- unless that device includes copy-protection standards to be set by the federal government" California Senator Diane Feinstein is one of the six co-sponsors of the bill, five Democrats and one Republican. [Scripting News]
I am pissed off to read this story, to see the disregard that these political leaders have for the rights of individuals to do what they want with their digital assets - products that I have purchased and that I should be able to use in any manner I see fit.
I just added a new Channel to the Mac Net Journal site: Digital rights...
7:31:45 PM
|
|
80211b News covers Apple's Bluetooth move
"The Apple message: Wi-Fi is wireless Ethernet; Bluetooth is wireless USB. A good clear message. Apple, in fact, won't be building LAN features into their Bluetooth stack, even where those might be available or implementable, because they want to focus LAN work onto AirPort, their Wi-Fi hardware." [80211b News]
5:16:28 PM
|
|
An intriguing and spendy "idea manager"
MacNN notes that Tinderbox 1.0 helps manage notes, ideas. I took a look at the site for this program from Eastgate Systems just yesterday, and it does look interesting. But note that it is not available yet for OS X (it does however run under Classic) and it carries a hefty price tag of $95. Still, this could be an good program if you need an outliner on steroids for your information management.
5:09:05 PM
|
|
Public access Wi-Fi continues to grow
Computerworld: New services spur growth of public access Wi-Fi. Public access wireless LAN service shared the center ring here at the annual Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association trade show with third generation mobile data, and one major carrier promised to deliver combined Wi-Fi/cellular services by early next year. [Tomalak's Realm]
4:03:02 PM
|
|
Do you or your business use Outlook? Beware...
Microsoft Outlook's so-so security. An Internet privacy researcher releases a list of four yet-to-be-fixed security problems with the software giant's mail program. [CNET News.com]
4:01:49 PM
|
|
Will the iPod make a good organizer as well as MP3 player?
The changing face of iPod. Apple Computer's digital music player could begin to mature into a handheld and maybe more, say analysts and Mac enthusiasts. [CNET News.com]
3:47:26 PM
|
|
PDA add-ons are catching on
Great Add-Ons for Your PDA. As the market for the latest tricked-out PDAs continues to grow, so does the number of
features and add-ons available for handheld organizers. The market is swelling with PDA
accessories, from digital cameras to mini-printers. But keyboards are the hottest add-ons. [osOpinion]
3:40:23 PM
|
|
JOE: The Java Outline Editor
JOE is a Java-based outliner that runs on Mac OS X as well as on Windows. I just downloaded and started looking at the open source project, which hasn't been updated on OS X since Oct. 2001, but it is apparently yet another outliner option for the year-old OS X
12:10:50 PM
|
|
Command-line POP client can cut SPAM
Paul Bissex: Using Mailfilter on Mac OS X. Mailfilter is “a command-line POP client whose only job is to kill spam. It connects to your POP account, compares the headers on waiting messages to its configurable list of rules, and deletes messages accordingly—before your e-mail client even downloads it.” [mac.scripting.com]
11:55:54 AM
|
|
More signs that the free ride is ending
Yahoo tacking on fee to e-mail features. The portal's e-mail service is no longer spared from efforts to impose fees around the site: People who want to keep using certain mail features will soon have to pay up. [CNET News.com]
9:08:58 AM
|
|
Writing in the Radio outliner
I wrote my latest story, A week of wireless, last night solely using the Radio outliner, and the experience pointed out some shortcomings in the OS X implementation of the outliner. Here are some things that are missing:
- Where is "Open recent" under the File menu? I love this feature on applications, and it would make opening a commonly-used outline much easier than digging through the www folder in my Radio installation
- Spell checking. I know that I mentioned this before, but if the Radio outliner becomes a useful writing tool, it needs to tie into the Apple spell checking architecture
- Keyboard shortcuts need to be more widely available in Radio's outliner. For instance, why do I have to use the mouse to insert HTML tags through a pull-down menu?
More and more I like the idea of using Radio as an outliner and writing tool - Radio itself and not just the Web browser interface. There are just a few small hurdles that need cleared to make the outliner more fun to use.
8:59:12 AM
|
|
Radio updated to 8.0.7
Radio UserLand 8.0.7. [Scripting News]
This update incorporates bug fixes as well as sets the stage for the new features tied in to the outliner functions of Radio, which Dave Winer has been teasing over the last week.
8:27:03 AM
|
|
A week of wireless
Read how my first week of wireless computing has gone in this story. I offer details about working with an SMC Barricade wireless router in conjunction with my Mac network of PowerBooks and desktop computers.
8:11:44 AM
|
|
Macworld Tokyo shows Japan as Mac bliss
Macs Macs Macs Macs Macs. Mac enthusiasts who haven't been to Japan's famed Akihabara district haven't achieved true bliss. Leander Kahney reports from Tokyo. [Wired News]
7:51:33 AM
|
|
Do you have an old Mac box around? It may be worth something
A Mac Box Worth Weight in Gold. An original Macintosh computer is now considered worthless. But the box it came in? It goes for hundreds of dollars on eBay. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News]
7:50:17 AM
|
|
© Copyright 2002 Rob McNair-Huff.
|
|
|
|
|
