Rants, Raves, Ruminations, and Referrals

Hospitality in the Middle East

2011-06-14T08:15:00.001-05:00

In the modern Western world, hospitality has taken on different connotations. Perhaps as religious traditions became uprooted from the Middle East, the primacy of this virtue—or at least its association with the compassionate treatment of strangers—was lost. Westerners tend to see receiving guests as part of creating relationships. We entertain family and friends and those whom we wish to cultivate as friends rather than opening our homes to strangers. Our care for strangers tends to be monetary rather than personal.

While there are things to be said for this approach, it lacks the moral centrality of the view of hospitality John Koenig traces to ancient Greece and the Near East. As he writes in New Testament Hospitality,"According to this tradition, which has virtually disappeared from contemporary Western culture, hospitality is seen as one of the pillars of morality upon which the universe stands. When guests or hosts violate the obligations to each other, the whole world shakes and retribution follows."

via scu.edu

Excellent look at hospitality from the perspective of the Middle Eastern culture of the Koran and Bible by Amal Barkouki-Winter.

Why light text on dark background is a bad idea « Tatham Oddie

2011-01-10T03:40:00.001-05:00

Why light text on dark background is a bad idea

with 9 comments

As this is a suggestion which comes up quite regularly, I felt it valuable to document some of the research I have collected about the readability of light text on dark backgrounds.

The science of readability is by no means new, and some of the best research comes from advertising works in the early 80s. This information is still relevant today.

First up is this quote from a paper titled “Improving the legibility of visual display units through contrast reversal”. In present time we think of contrast reversal meaning black-on-white, but remember this paper is from 1980 when VDUs (monitors) where green-on-black. This paper formed part of the research that drove the push for this to change to the screen formats we use today.

However, most studies have shown that dark characters on a light background are superior to light characters on a dark background (when the refresh rate is fairly high). For example, Bauer and Cavonius (1980) found that participants were 26% more accurate in reading text when they read it with dark characters on a light background.

Reference: Bauer, D., & Cavonius, C., R. (1980). Improving the legibility of visual display units through contrast reversal. In E. Grandjean, E. Vigliani (Eds.), Ergonomic Aspects of Visual Display Terminals (pp. 137-142). London: Taylor & Francis

Ok, 26% improvement – but why?

People with astigmatism (aproximately 50% of the population) find it harder to read white text on black than black text on white. Part of this has to do with light levels: with a bright display (white background) the iris closes a bit more, decreasing the effect of the "deformed" lens; with a dark display (black background) the iris opens to receive more light and the deformation of the lens creates a much fuzzier focus at the eye.

Jason Harrison – Post Doctoral Fellow, Imager Lab Manager – Sensory Perception and Interaction Research Group, University of British Columbia

The "fuzzing” effect that Jason refers to is known as halation.

It might feel strange pushing your primary design goals based on the vision impaired, but when 50% of the population of have this “impairment” it’s actually closer to being the norm than an impairment.

The web is rife with research on the topic, but I think these two quotes provide a succinct justification for why light text on a dark background is a bad idea.

(Tip: If you want to be really good, use an offset grey on a light background like #222 on #fff as it’s a bit nicer on the eyes.)

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Written by Tatham Oddie

October 13, 2008 at 08:58

Posted in Design, Web Development

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Hi,
I haven’t read any papers on this topic, but one thing that I know is that the reason for people to try and switch to white on black is the fact that the eyes get really tired by looking for 12+ hours at the white screen.
So, the arguments you give here are may be relevant for short term, but what those articles say about long use?

vvvlad

October 14, 2008 at 08:30

Reply

Black print on a slightly yellow background (see my blogsite) is very readable AND helps on the tired-eyes issue.

BTW: Follow-Me trucks at airports are black and yellow form aximum visibility.

Ole Phat Stu

October 15, 2008 at 03:54

Reply

Agreed with previous responses. As a developer with very bad astigmatism and keratoconus, I notice that I am only good with dark text on white background for about 4 hours before my eyes hurt.

I can code with bright colors on black screen all day without my eyes hurting.

Maybe the having only one forecolor has a detriment not noticed when multiple colors are used say with Netbeans editor?

Michael F

October 16, 2008 at 02:03

Reply

An interesting angle. One question I have: assuming it’s true that nearly 50% of the population has astigmatism, wouldn’t many (most) of them have corrected it? I’ve seen an estimate that 25% of American adults are myopic to at least -1.00 diopters; does that mean “make the letters bigger?”

References cited in the Wikipedia article on astigmatism suggest a prevelance closer to 30%. One of those references points out that refractive errors, including astigmatism, vary significantly among children in four ethnic groups, even controlling for age and sex.

Dave Ferguson

October 16, 2008 at 05:25

Reply

Yeah, I use light on dark as well. Although, regardless of the light on dark or dark on light, I never use full black or full white.

I’ll typically use a light gray and a very dark grey, as I find it a little easier on the eyes.

Alex

October 16, 2008 at 05:44

Reply

[...] were hard to read. Apparently not being able to read light text on a dark background is due do to astigmatism. This was one drawback of bad eyes I have never heard of. Since all four contestants had the [...]

And the winner is « Bajook's Blog

October 18, 2009 at 01:33

Reply

As a CAD operator, light colors on a black background is a de-facto standard. It’s better for seeing details for longer periods of time with minimal eye fatigue.

Which strikes me curious that MS has all but eliminated the ability to accomplish this in any of their software. See for yourself by setting your windows colors to make this occur by default – menus, text fields, title bars, and other items that should coordinate with your settings don’t, they want to be black on white, and therefore become the same color for both.

Thank you MS for not getting the user base.

Vince

December 11, 2009 at 09:21

Reply

I was under the impression that white on dark is easier on the eyes. I just was under the impression that staring into a bright source of light is tiresome.
Besides some people believe that dark background spare energy. And by the size and brightness of my LCD monitor, I don’t think that is far fetched.
It appeared logical to me that something that (supposedly) uses less power and throws less white-bluish light into your retina would be healthier.
Also, the white, paper-like background just looks sad and depressing.
But the thing about focus and the iris also makes sense, so I really dont know what to do now! I was all proud of having switched all my IDEs to sci-fi like dark backgrounds.

rolfen

August 1, 2010 at 00:16

Reply

I have recently had numerous conversations about dark versus light backgrounds. While there are several arguments in favor of light backgrounds (like those listed here), the only argument I have heard against light backgrounds is this notion of “eye strain”. I have spent a fair amount of time looking for any research that supports this argument and have not found any. If anyone is familiar with research on this topic, please post it.

presentationfacts

September 17, 2010 at 02:10

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via blog.tatham.oddie.com.au

I really do NOT like sites with light text on dark backgrounds. When I come across one I try the following...

1. I select the edit CSS option with one of my extensions.

2. I use another extension to turn off all styles.

3. I just leave the site.

We do not normally read light text on dark backgrounds! Please take note!

Don’t leave learning to the young. Older brains can grow, too.

2011-01-01T12:28:00.001-05:00

Whether it is by learning a new language, traveling to a new place, developing a passion for beekeeping or simply thinking about an old problem in a new way, all of us can find ways to stimulate our brains to grow, in the coming year and those to follow. Just as physical activity is essential to maintaining a healthy body, challenging one’s brain, keeping it active, engaged, flexible and playful, is not only fun. It is essential to cognitive fitness.

Oliver Sacks is the author of “The Mind’s Eye.”

Read the whole article at nytimes.com

Yes, there is hope for us ‘older’ folks! I have taking on a renewed interest in linguistics. —aps

How Good Is Your Password? | Faith & Tech Blog

2010-12-31T21:22:00.001-05:00

There seems to be an ever-increasing disclosure of cases of exposed passwords. Recently it was Mozilla and Gawker (the Gawker incident exposed quite a number of websites). Laptops are stolen containing databases with this kind of information. Hacks into web servers can compromise accounts (university servers seem to be especially vulnerable). While we can keep our personal computers and devices locked up, or physically secured, our online presence is especially dependent on passwords. Whenever we are online the device we are using is vulnerable (perhaps someone will address firewalls in a future column). How secure are you? Ask yourself these questions.

Do you use a password manager? If the answer is no, then you should get one. Most password mistakes are made because we are too lazy or find it too difficult to implement unique and secure User ID and password combinations on the number of sites we visit. The built-in password managers in browsers like Firefox only offer the minimal amount of functionality you really need in a password manager. I will address password managers below.

Do you use the same User ID and password combination at more than one site? If you have a password compromized on one site you will be vulnerable on the other sites. If you use the same password on more than one banking, financial, or shopping site, change them today! If these sites will allow you to change your User ID, consider providing a unique User ID for each site. For example, while I may use apswartz for most of my social sites, I might user other User IDs where security is really important: AlanTheSwartz, Here1am, 0My1User2Name (most sites allow letters and numbers only in User IDs, but other sites may allow other characters). By using a unique User ID AND a uniquely generated password for each of these sites you are making it difficult for others to even guess your User ID effectively doubling your security.

Do you use easy-to-remember passwords that might be guessable? Please note that simply adding a number to a word doesn’t make it safe. So-called dictionary attacks prepend and append numbers to words and names when trying to crack a database file. They also mix up the cases of letters and convert words to ‘leetspeak’ in the attack. Leetspeak is simply converting letters to numbers (or numbers to letters) so that a word like Superman might look like $up3rm@n or 5up37m4n or — well you get the idea. Variations of your name, your spouse’s name, your children’s names, or birthdays, etc., always make for guessable passwords. Please remember that we are talking about guessing using sophisticated cracking software that allows you to target someone’s password using that type of information.

So, what makes for a good password? It should not be a word or combination of words or a mixture of words and numbers. It needs to be long. The longer the password, the more computing time it will take to crack it. It should include letters (upper AND lower case), numbers, and nonalphanumeric characters, such as: !@#$%^&*()-+. (No that isn’t cussing, this isn’t the comic page!). A good password looks like this: fy{Q#Caz69L8&5t.

So, what is the best way to secure our online presence? I recemmend you get a good password manager to do this for you. There are a number of excellent managers, but the one I think stands heads and shoulders over the others is LastPass.[1] I like LastPass for the following reasons. First, it works in all my browsers. Second, it works on Smartphones and computers. Third, passwords are encrypted and stored on the cloud.[2] This allows you to have access to your passwords regardless of what computer or smartphone you are using. This last item was the deal maker for me. I can change a password while using Chrome on my laptop and have immediate access to the change on my Droid phone.

Using a password manager means you only have to remember two passwords. One to log onto your computer or device and one to log into your password manager. These passwords are critical to your overall security and should be carefully thought out and implemented. You don’t even need to worry about changing this two passwords if they are secure to begin with.[3] Here is one way to make a good, memorable password that should not be easy for others to figure out.

First, select a phrase. Don’t select your favorite phrase or one that people might associate with you, but one you can easily remember. For example, I will use a phrase from the Bible, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Now I will use the initial letters and punctuation from the phrase while capitalizing the nouns (or you can choose some other form of speech or reverse the process). This will give me BatPiS,ftitKoH. Now I will tweak it a bit. I will replace the word ‘are’ with the letter ‘R’ and the word ‘for’ with the number, and replace the period with an semi-colon so it now looks like BRtPiS,4titKoG; — but I really should have at least another number, so I will make the ‘o’ a zero — BRtPiS,4titK0G; and I now have a 15 character, seeming random mix of letters, numbers, and characters. So remember this and one other password like it along with a password manager like LastPass and you are good to go. Or, you can get a website to do the work for you.[4]

- – - – - – - – - -
1. “The Last Password You‘ll Have to Remember!” http://lastpass.com/; Accessed: Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

2. “Cloud Computing,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing; Accessed: Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

3. “Change your password? Maybe not.” http://blogs.computerworld.com/17549/change_your_password_maybe_not; Accessed: Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

4. “Hugh‘s Secure but Easy to Remember Password Generator,” http://www.hughchou.org/calc/pwgen.cgi; Accessed: Wednesday, December 29, 2010.

via faithandtech.nccumc.net

Texting while driving law not so straightforward - Road Worrier

2010-12-28T14:23:00.001-05:00

... The proof is piling up to show that cell phone use is a growing hazard that we can reduce, if we'll do it.

Researchers compare phones to alcohol in their power to distract attention and delay reaction times for drivers.

According to a University of Utah study, if you're talking on the phone while you drive, even a hands-free device, you're as dangerous as a driver with a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 percent. In other words, you might as well be drunk.

The National Safety Council figures that 28 percent of all crashes involve drivers who were texting or talking on the phone.

via newsobserver.com

I shudder to think about the times I have seen drivers reading books and newspapers while driving. I have ridden with drivers who got distracted changing CDs or radio stations. Then there was the bus driver I saw trying to steer, talk on his phone and hold a drink at the same time!

Terrorism: Can you really stop a bomber by asking, 'Are you terrorist?' | Mail Online

2010-12-15T20:06:00.001-05:00

Airport Body Scanners Fooled By Human Tissue -- Airport Screening Technology -- InformationWeek

2010-12-13T15:38:00.001-05:00

According to the report, "even if exposure were to be increased significantly, normal anatomy would make a dangerous amount of plastic explosive with tapered edges difficult if not impossible to detect."
Furthermore, the report assumes that machines will be operating at 100% efficiency, but that's unlikely, said the researchers. "For the kind of technology in use in this market, heavily influenced by number of units and budget, and little influenced by competitiveness and performance, the efficiency may easily be 50%."
What could sneak by scanners? Try a half-pound of PETN -- as they note, it's "easily picked up in a competent pat down" -- or 40 grams of PETN, which could be pancaked to the point where it's invisible to detectors. In other words, whatever else they do, don't expect full body scanners alone to stop explosives.

via informationweek.com

Lots of wasted money for expensive toys that can show a great outline of your naked body, but fairs to detects bombs.

A Techie’s Advent Devotional | Faith & Tech Blog

2010-12-06T13:19:00.001-05:00

via faithandtech.nccumc.net

I wrote a Techie Advent Devotional for our Conference's Faith and Tech blog. Check it out.

Body Scanners Coming to Trains, Subways and Boats, Homeland Security Chief Says | Popular Science

2010-12-03T19:22:00.001-05:00

By Rebecca Boyle Posted 11.24.2010 at 12:48 pm 41 Comments

Navy Archives Station, Washington, D.C. dnewman8 via Flickr

Brace yourselves, commuters — body scanners may be coming to trains, subways and boats, according to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

“[Terrorists] are going to continue to probe the system and try to find a way through,” Napolitano said in an interview that aired Monday night on “Charlie Rose.” She said as aviation security tightens, “we have to also be thinking now about going on to mass transit or to trains or maritime.”

No! No! No! No! Please say No!

Should TSA let airport passenger screening go to the dogs?

2010-11-30T18:21:00.001-05:00

via csmonitor.com

Yes, indeed! Let's put the dogs to work and get rid of the scans and pat downs.

Kindle ipad

2010-11-28T22:46:00.001-05:00

via latimes.com

The new color Nook, which I tested at my local Barnes & Noble, has a similar screen and the same shortcomings. That may be why the store takes pains to promote its suitability for children's books, in which color images play a bigger role than the printed word. Still, if you must read in color, the Nook is a cheaper, lighter, smaller device than the iPad, though lacking the big guy's vast array of digital applications.

The Kindle, by contrast, has been optimized as a reading device. The letters seem to sit on top of its matte black-and-white E Ink display, reducing eyestrain, their outlines razor-sharp. One good thing about the Kindle is it's distraction-free — there is a Web browser, but luckily it's almost useless. The iPad invites you to set aside your reading to play, Web surf, check e-mail, futz around in a million digital ways; the Kindle is solely for reading.

I must admit that I love my Kindle 2 and by Sony 600 and I am looking forward to my Kindle 3!

A Woman. A Prostitute. A Slave. - NYTimes.com

2010-11-28T22:27:00.001-05:00

Americans tend to associate “modern slavery” with illiterate girls in India or Cambodia. Yet there I was the other day, interviewing a college graduate who says she spent three years terrorized by pimps in a brothel in Midtown Manhattan.

Damon Winter/The New York Times

Nicholas D. Kristof

Those who think that commercial sex in this country is invariably voluntary — and especially men who pay for sex — should listen to her story. The men buying her services all mistakenly assumed that she was working of her own volition, she says.

via nytimes.com

It is indeed a shame that the appetites of the flesh still lead to slavery here in the US. :-(

Will Microsoft Go After Linux, Again? | John C. Dvorak | PCMag.com

2010-11-25T23:21:00.001-05:00

Microsoft managed to buy 882 patents this week from Novell. Maybe amongst this treasure trove is the elusive Holy Grail of Patents—the Linux killer.

Linux is the real thorn in Microsoft's side, and it's not because Linux is making a serious move against the Windows and Office cash cows, but because it just cannot be dethroned as the server OS of choice. The Linux-Apache stranglehold on servers is costing Microsoft money.

But wait, there's more. The entire Google search engine mechanism consists of millions of small computers linked together in an elaborate Linux network creating one giant search machine that, for this purpose, out performs anything ever invented. Microsoft would love to find a way to derail the entire Google operation if it could.

via pcmag.com

The Evil Empire continues it quest while the sheeple follow!

Bangkok Post : Open Source has won precisely because we no longer notice it

2010-11-25T22:42:00.001-05:00

Tech > Tech News

OPEN THOUGHT

Open Source has won precisely because we no longer notice it

Published: 24/11/2010 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: Database

Open source has won. Oh, how time flies. When I started writing in Database in May 2003, my first column was about how the ICT Ministry had got the budget PC programme all wrong. ICT Minister Surapong had announced his great success at negotiating the inclusion of Windows XP and Office XP at just 1,500 baht, a 90 percent discount. He saw it as success. I saw it as capitulation.

Back then, Thailand had a chance to lead the world in breaking the Microsoft addiction. Instead, we capitulated. Would it be considered a success to negotiate a 90 percent discount on cocaine?

In those days, Thailand was on the map in the open source movement. Mark Shuttleworth, head honcho of Ubuntu Linux and the world's second space tourist, came here a number of times to talk about how Ubuntu on the desktop was ready and talk with the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) on a number of things that did not end well.

Back then, we had Microsoft's Ballmer liking Linux to Communism. We had the Evil Empire sowing doubts about anyone allowing any GPL code in an organisation, telling its clients that it would spread like a tumour and that every piece of intellectual property it came in touch with would suddenly be property of the great unwashed masses.

No matter. Fast forward seven years and Linux has won. Open source is everywhere. The business model is well understood and no longer something for ultra-leftwing activists.

I was having dinner with the former regent of the Evil Empire the other day and his conclusion was totally the opposite. That the lack of headline news meant that the forces of convention had won.

Back in the day, Open Source was all about freedom. It had a "VW Camper van, make love not war" fuzzy warm feel to it. Today, that still exists, but so does a realisation that money can be made from it in a fair way.

The change in RedHat is a good story of what happened. RedHat was a very popular Linux distribution, but they found a business niche in providing support for what was inherently free. RedHat evolved into a big corporation with revenue from certification, training, support and management.

Personally, I think this writer has great insight in the larger issues of software usage and implementation.

Apophis Asteroid Impact - Asteroids Hitting Earth - Popular Mechanics

2010-11-25T11:15:00.001-05:00

via popularmechanics.com

But consider, for a moment, the following information regarding asteroids: In the previous 12 years—thanks to enhanced detection—the number of known near-Earth objects (NEOs) has grown from around 500 to upwards of 7000. Of those, approximately 20 percent are potentially hazardous to mankind, meaning that in the coming centuries, they conceivably could collide with the Earth.

Not exactly a cheery thought, is it? But there's more, says former astronaut and PM editorial advisor, Tom Jones, who recently co-chaired a NASA Advisory Council task force on the subject of defending our planet from such calamitous celestial bodies.

"Remember, there are probably a million near-Earth asteroids out there that can come all the way through the atmosphere should they strike us," Jones says. "Twenty percent of a million is 200,000. So we have 200,000 potentially city-busting near-earth asteroids out there, and we know of only a tiny fraction of them."

This is for those who have nothing else to worry about. ;-)

MIT Femtosecond Laser Camera Shoots Pics Around Corners, No Periscope Required | Popular Science

2010-11-25T11:04:00.001-05:00

By Clay Dillow Posted 11.17.2010 at 2:03 pm 9 Comments

Femtosecond Transient Imaging Camera Culture, MIT Media Lab

To most of us, seeing what’s around the corner before rounding the bend is known as premonition. For students and professors at MIT’s Media Lab, it’s called physics. The lab is working on a laser-based camera that can snap images around corners, imaging scenery that is beyond direct line of sight.

The camera works by incorporating complex computer algorithms with blasts from a femtosecond laser that issues ultra-short bursts of light lasting just one quadrillionth of a second. Those intense light bursts charge forward and illuminate a scene – even a scene around the corner from the source – sending photons bouncing around the area. Some of those photons make it back to the camera, which uses aforementioned complex computer mathematics to rebuild the scene around the corner, pixel by pixel.

Well, I know you can't slow the pace of technology, but be aware of possibilities of misuse on a cellphone!

Bishop Suspended Over Facebook Comments About Royal Wedding

2010-11-23T16:34:00.001-05:00

A Church of England bishop has been suspended indefinitely after posting a series of negative comments on Facebook about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s engagement.

Pete Broadbent, the bishop of Willesden, wrote that their marriage would last a mere seven years and that their wedding day would be full of “nauseating tosh,” according to The Guardian.

“We need a party in Calais for all good republicans who can’t stand the nauseating tosh that surrounds this event,” he wrote.

via mashable.com

Maybe he drank one of those beers before he posted!

SkyRider airline seats pack fliers into 23 inches of space

2010-11-18T10:46:00.001-05:00

via usatoday.com

Think your seat in coach is cramped? Take a look at the SkyRider. The new airplane seat, to be unveiled next week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas conference in Long Beach, would give passengers an experience akin to riding horseback. They'd sit at an angle with no more than 23 inches between their perch and the seat in front of them — a design that could appeal to low-cost airlines that have floated the idea of offering passengers standing-room tickets on short flights.

Maybe standing would be better!

Is there a ‘liberal gene’? | Need to Know

2010-11-07T16:30:00.001-05:00

The identification of a “liberal gene,” described as such in the study’s press release, suggests that our political orientation may be hardwired into our brains — an uncomfortable idea for those who believe in free will. But it’s not that simple, says the study’s head author, James Fowler, a professor in the School of Medicine and the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. He said the study’s significance is not derived from finding a “liberal gene” per se, but rather from establishing a correlation between biology and political ideology.

via pbs.org

Not really as fatalistic as some of the commenters fear. It just betrays a tendency and we all have different tendencies that can be linked to our genes.

Five Things Old Media Still Don’t Get About The Web

2010-08-21T19:55:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week, the New York Times company forced the iPad Pulse News Reader app to be pulled from the App Store. The reason? It took the Times’ RSS feed and put it inside its own app.

To be clear, the RSS feed in question was a headline, a one-sentence introduction and a link to the full story on the NYT site. That’s it. Worse? Steve Jobs highlighted the app earlier during his WWDC keynote – and the NYT itself wrote a glowing review of the app just a few days before.

As mystifying as the move seems from the outside, it’s yet another sign that established old media entities are still really struggling to understand the web. Time and time again, it feels as if old media companies, rather than embracing the massive potential of the web, seem to shoot themselves in the foot.

So consider this a public service. For all those people out there working in established media, here are five things you still don’t seem to get about the web:

1. People Never Wanted to Pay for the News

To an old media company, the concept of paying for news makes total sense. People used to pay for newspapers – and they still pay for cable or satellite – so they should pay for the same content online, right?

Here’s why they’re wrong. People used to buy newspapers because they aggregated information they needed. Sure, they would read the news, but you also had the weather, the sports scores, classifieds – and in a pinch, you could hold it over your head when it rained.

But now, web users can get all that information from a variety of places. Craigslist is way better than paper for classifieds, weather is everywhere, the web updates stock prices instantly, you can check sports scores on your phone – I could go on. To ask people to even pay a dollar a day to get that information seems like too much because, suddenly, a truth has been revealed: most people never wanted to pay to read the news. They just wanted all their daily information needs in one place.

With the web, no-one needs all that information in one place because that’s what their browser is for.

2. Paywalls Break the Web and Annoy Your Customers

Similarly, many news organizations seem to feel that paywalls are the way forward. But they’re not.

Picture this. A columnist for a newspaper writes a brilliant article explaining, oh I dunno, a forthcoming economic crisis, or an expose of the BP oil spill. A small, but influential group of people excitedly link to it. Tens of thousands of people click on it… only to be greeted by a message asking them to pay $5 a week to read articles such as these. A tiny fraction sign up – but the bulk of people who have spent years freely exchanging information simply click away.

This is the issue with paywalls: they break the fundamental way that the web operates. People can’t link to your stories, blog about them, tweet them or share them on Facebook when they are behind a paywall because, to put it bluntly, there’s no point. It’s like sitting at a bar and trying to start a discussion about a movie no-one there has seen.

It’s certainly true that business models for news are extremely hard to come by. No-one quite knows what to do. But breaking the fundamental nature of the web with a paywall is definitely not the way forward.

3. The Web Needs New Solutions, Not Digital Replicas of Print

So forget paywalls and other things – lets make people pay for fancy, shiny digital versions of newspapers, right? Nope. Here’s an example of why not.

Prominent Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail offers an iPad-friendly version of its paper for 2o bucks a month. Know what 20 bucks gets you? An exact digital replica of the print edition. It’s utterly mystifying as to why anyone would pay 20 bucks to read than on an iPad when they can simply open the browser and read the newspaper’s website for free.

This is what old media companies don’t seem to get: if you want people to pay for content, you have to offer something new and compelling, not simply a glorified PDF. Take the Wired iPad app. While it’s not ideal, it at least does things that print cannot. That is where media companies must go. It isn’t about ‘how to make the newspaper or the magazine digital’. It’s about what new forms can be invented that take advantage of the massive potential of today’s technology.

4. People Pirate Because They Get a Better Experience

Of course, it isn’t just print that’s struggling. The movie, TV and recording industries are also scrambling to deal with the web. And their primary flaw so far – other than, ya’ know, suing their customers – is that they can’t seem to recognize that customers who pirate get a better experience. Why?

Well first, there is no clunky DRM getting in the way. Download an MKV or AVI of your favorite show and you can take it anywhere and do anything with it. Stream it to your TV with standard equipment, quickly and easy copy it from computer to computer – easy peasy.

Similarly, while you can buy an ‘HD’ episode of Mad Men on iTunes for a few bucks, you can get a far higher quality version from BitTorrent. It’s wrong to pirate copyrighted material, sure – but why are the paid options lower quality than the illicit ones? Isn’t that just the tiniest bit crazy?

I’m not advocating piracy. But the fundamental principle of the market is that the better product wins. When you’re being outclassed by people in their basements, it’s clear you’re focusing on the wrong things – i.e. protecting content instead of making it compelling. If you want to compete in the web age, the old adage still applies: give people what they want.

5. Filesharing and Piracy Do Not Always Represent Lost Sales

Finally, old media folk love to talk about how piracy is eating into their business. But while the numbers are still fuzzy, one thing that’s clear is that a pirated copy of a file does not automatically equal “a lost sale”. Because someone downloads a copy of a film or TV show or album, it doesn’t mean they were ever going to buy or rent it later.

In fact, many albums and films get a boost from their widespread dispersal of file-sharing networks, such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

While not all piracy has such positive effects, what’s clear is that all the money poured into lawsuits trying to stamp out piracy might be better spent finding ways to market and distribute content.

“New Media” Needs the New

Overall, what old media companies are struggling with is that the web is not simply another medium like print or TV – it is an entirely new one, and with it comes a whole new series of cultural assumptions. It’s not just that things are faster or more convenient – it’s that the web is fundamentally changing how cultures think about information, media and their exchange.

To simply rest on your laurels and try and replicate the models of the past will get you nowhere. It’s like trying to peddle radio dramas after TV – you won’t appeal to the masses doing it. And that right there is key – stop trying to change how people have already learned to behave online (linking,sharing etc.) and start adapting to what your customers want.

Have your say: what other principles does old media have to change or abandon in order to appeal to the web generation?

334Share

via techi.com

Yep, this is the truth.

Al Franken Hates The NBC/Comcast Merger More Than Anyone Has Ever Hated Anything - The Consumerist

2010-08-21T19:45:00.001-05:00

Al Franken Hates The NBC/Comcast Merger More Than Anyone Has Ever Hated Anything

By Meg Marco on June 24, 2010 11:45 AM 0 views

Former NBC employee and current US Senator, Al Franken, has filed an 11-page letter of concern with the FCC stating that he "firmly believe[s] that the ComcastINBCU merger should be rejected. The harms caused by this merger are significant and long lasting. No set of promises or conditions, no matter how well-intentioned, can sufficiently mitigate those harms."

Having said that, however, he outlines a list of 9 conditions that should be met should the merger go through,because, let's face it, Comcast doesn't exactly have a history of sucking at acquiring other businesses.

via consumerist.com

You know...
I don't like the big media players (like NBC, ABC, etc.)
I don't like the big cable companies (like Comcast, Time Warner, etc.)
and.
I don't like Al Franken.

Gapers Block : Mechanics : Chicago Politics - Seven Crimes to Consider Before Music Piracy

2010-08-21T19:19:00.001-05:00

« Quinn to Sign FOIA reforms Let My People Retire »

Op-Ed Mon Aug 17 2009

Seven Crimes to Consider Before Music Piracy

Hey there Chicagoans. Go ahead and pause all your Kazaa, Limewire, and BitTorrent downloads for a second. I want the page to load quickly as this is something you're going to want to read.

If you haven't heard yet, it's "illegal" to download music online without "paying" for it. It's hard to believe, but being a fan isn't accepted as legal payment anymore. They call it "piracy," and the consequences for it can be very, very dire. Therefore, I've compiled a list of other crimes that I suggest you look into before you decide to download "Sweet Child of Mine" or "Poker Face."

First, let's look at the fines in the only two music piracy trials that have taken place to date. The first is the case of Jammie Thomas, a single mother of four from Minnesota. She downloaded 24 songs off of Kazaa. A jury of her peers decided that she owed the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) almost $2 million for her crimes, a ruling which the Obama Administration recently told a federal judge was constitutionally sound. The second is the case of Joel Tenenbaum, a young grad student at Boston University. He downloaded 30 songs and was slapped with a fine of $675,000. If the verdicts stand both will file for bankruptcy.

I know. Yikes. I was hoping to commit a crime today, but $2 million? Damn. Don't worry, my villainous friends. They may have foiled our evil plans to put Metallica out on the street, but there are plenty of other crimes you can commit here in Illinois that won't get you a punishment even vaguely that severe. Here is a list of 7 ideas to get you started, but first we should make a few rules. Some of these "crimes" have imprisonment as part of their sentence. That being said, I'm going to equate one year of prison with a $50,233 salary which is the median household income as of 2007. I.e. you would have made $50,233 each year you're in prison were you not becoming intimately acquainted with Wade, your cell mate.

That, of course, doesn't factor in the cost of "freedom." I tried to get into contact with Toby Keith to figure out how much freedom is worth in American dollars, but he was busy writing songs about how terrorists can kiss his ass or something.

One final thing to keep in mind here: Obama promised hope and change, and he certainly brought it in the case of piracy and the RIAA. In between stints of walking on water and saving us from ourselves, Barack has appointed five RIAA lawyers to positions in the "justice" department, in addition to upholding the federal limit of $150,000 per instance of piracy.

Here are the sources I'm using for crimes and their penalties:
The Illinois Criminal Code

Charts of Crimes and Penalties:
First one
Second one

Seven Crimes to Consider Before Music Piracy

1. Steal Music? No! Steal a child, preferably from a recording artist.
That's right, the fine for regular old, Class 4 Felony child abduction is $25,000. It can also include one to three years in prison. So, if you get spanked as hard as possible after ganking a silly named celebrity child, you'll be down $175,699.

2. Steal the actual CD.
Damn, that new Black Eyed Peas song is infectious, am I right? That chorus is so genius; "boom boom boom," who thinks of that? I want to steal it. So instead of Kazaa, I'm going to swipe it from Best Buy. Retail theft of less that $150 (which is like, what, 10 CD's?) is a Class A misdemeanor. The penalty? Up to one year in jail and/or a fine of $2,500. At most you'd be down about $52,500. Definitely manageable. If it exceeds $150 though, you're in for a Class 3 felony. That bad boy will result in two to five years in prison and/or a $25,000 fine, so you're risking approximately $275,000. Beats $2 million though, huh?

3. Rob Bryan Adams.
There's Bryan Adams next door, tooling around on his new John Deere riding lawn mower. That would definitely make mowing the lawn easier huh? Fun, even. Can't afford one, can you? No problem! Punch him in the face and take it! That's a Class 2 felony. The penalties come to a meager $376,631, which is a full $298,369 less than even the weakest RIAA judgment.

4. Set Lars Ulrich's house on fire.
Being a pyro sounds fun. You get to see lots of pretty flames, hear fun explosions, and watch things get destroyed. Plus, doesn't Metallica have a song about setting shit on fire? They probably do, it's Metallica. What could go wrong? Not as much as if you decided to pirate music. Arson is another Class 2 felony. ($376,631)

5. Stalk Reba McEntire.
Hang out in her front yard, take pictures of her driving and shopping, send her weirdo letters - you name it, stalking is awesome! And what's the penalty? It's just a Class 4 felony! Phew! Just about $175,000 and you're done.

6. Learn from Michael Vick: Start a Dog Fighting Empire
Dogs are pretty cool, huh? You know what's cooler than a dog? Dogs killing each other! That will get you a paltry $50,000 fine and one to three years in the pen. What does that amount to? A max of about $200,000! Not too big of a deal when viewed against the dire backdrop of music piracy, huh? Suck it PETA!

7. Murder Someone, Second-Degree style.
Basically all "Second Degree" means is that you were provoked in such a way that it would cause you to have an "intense passion," i.e. you downloaded a few songs and then you were fined an amount that has more numbers than most of us will ever see in our bank accounts. When that happens, if you sort of go Incredible Hulk and shiv somebody in the kidney, you may be found guilty of Second Degree murder instead of first. Second Degree murder is only a Class 1 felony, rather than a Class X, which stands for X-treme. Class X is like the Mountain Dew of crimes. Anyway, a Class 1 felony can result in a fine of $25,000 and/or 4-15 years in prison. So, according to our numbers, you could POTENTIALLY only lose roughly $225,932. If you have a real bastard of a jury though - kind of like Jammie Thomas did - then you might get the full 15 years, which would amount to $778,495. So that's worse than Mr. Tenenbaum, but still not even close to Ms. Thomas.

There you have it, my Chicagoan criminal friends. Stick with this list of crimes, and you'll be able to satiate your devilish desires and still come out hurting less than a music pirate.

— Conor McCarthy

Share | | |

via gapersblock.com

Great article to help put current anti-piracy laws in perspective. I am NOT in favor of taking something that isn't yours, but the current laws are outrageous, even sinful.

Warning: Five Things to Know Before Switching to Linux - Yahoo! News

2010-08-19T23:40:00.001-05:00

A happy customer might tell someone. An unhappy customer tells everyone. Converting to Linux before taking a dose of reality might make you a very unhappy customer. Let's be perfectly honest. Linux isn't for everyone-yet. However, Ubuntu, Mandriva, and a few other distributions come close but for now, Linux is a little more difficult to use than Windows.

That said, there are still

Although this one should fall under the "duh" category, you shouldn't expect Linux to be Windows. Linux has some striking similarities to Windows: the graphical interface, cascading menus, applications represented by icons, configurable desktop themes, and most of the desktop gadgetry you've come to expect from Windows. It looks and behaves like Windows, but it isn't. Its fans say that it's better because of its stability, its multi-user capability and its overwhelmingly cheaper price (free is hard to beat).

Yet, Linux still falls short of the Windows glory that it attempts to mimic--at least on the surface. Windows enjoys multiple advantages over Linux: thousands of paid developers, a giant marketing machine, third-party vendor support, several more years of existence, and a dedicated individual and corporate user base. It's no small wonder that Windows dominates the market for the world's available computing dollars.

In many ways Windows vs. Linux is like the old VHS vs. Betamax video format struggle. Betamax was the superior product, but it never caught on in the consumer marketplace. Linux is a more modern version of the Betamax format. Linux isn't Windows. It will never be Windows.

2. It Isn't Quite Unix Either

Linux possesses many Unix attributes, such as its filesystem layout, multi-user capability, stability, efficient resource utilization and security. Yet, Linux is very different from commercial Unix flavors too. It runs on commodity x86-based hardware, has full virtualization built into its kernel, has the ability to run embedded, and can operate from a USB pen drive.

This extreme flexibility makes Linux unique in the small business, enterprise, and consumer computing markets. Linux is a type of Unix, but not in the purest sense of the word. Its developers call it a

3. Printers and Other Peripherals

It's true that Linux doesn't have a large number of choices when it comes to peripheral support. And, if you've ever tried to set up printing under Linux, it's likely that you're missing a few locks of your hair. There are hundreds of supported printers in the list but if yours falls outside that list, good luck to you. After spending hours searching forums, you may find that your printer isn't supported at all and neither does it emulate any supported printer.

Linux creates more printer-shaped doorstops and sculptures than any other contemporary operating system. The solution to this problem is to check your Linux distribution's Hardware Compatibility List for printer and other peripheral compatibility prior to conversion. On the other hand, it's probably time to replace that paper-gobbling dinosaur for something newer anyway.

4. Documents and Files

This particular problem has more to do with the applications that run on Linux rather than the operating system itself. You will find general document and file compatibility with users of Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop and other popular software programs that run on Windows. General compatibility means that you can open, read and edit most of their attachments and file types. Files that won't work with the http://www.openoffice.org/">OpenOffice.org office suite, the Graphics and Image Manipulation Program (

5. Technical Skills Required

Linux requires a higher level of computer knowledge to make things work. That isn't to say that ordinary users can't use Linux, but to perform more advanced functions--such as setting up peripherals that aren't plug-and-play or installing non-packaged software--you'll need those higher level technical skills. Setting up Linux workstations is relatively simple, but Linux server services require a very skilled technical person to enable and configure them. If you're the type that likes to tinker with computers, to learn new things, and to celebrate a victory when you're successful, then Linux is for you.

Making the switch to Linux requires a dedication to the Linux platform,

via news.yahoo.com

Great article and a good remark about Linux.

Amazon still hasn't upgraded their Linux mp3 downloader

2010-08-18T16:30:00.001-05:00

Install the Amazon MP3 Downloader We recommend installing the Amazon MP3 Downloader before your first purchase. It is required for album purchases, and makes downloading songs fast and easy.
Click the appropriate Download button below for your distribution of Linux and follow the on-screen instructions, or read the detailed installation instructions below.
64-bit Linux distributions are currently not supported. We continue to work at expanding supported distributions and will update this page when a new Amazon MP3 Downloader version is available for additional distributions.

Download takes less than 90 seconds.

via amazon.com

Here it is almost a year since the upgrade and Amazon still has updated the downloader. The old version doesn't work since it is built with older libraries.

The new superbug — and the end of antibiotics - The Week

2010-08-17T18:58:00.001-05:00

Health and Science

Email

Buzz up!

The new superbug — and the end of antibiotics

A new "superbug" has surfaced that has the potential to make even the most minor infections untreatable. How worried should you be?

posted on August 17, 2010, at 7:30 AM

Tim Walsh, who discovered the bug, says this could be the end of antibiotic treatment. Photo: Corbis

A new strain of bacteria has been discovered that is impervious to almost all types of modern antibiotics, says medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. If that news didn't worry you enough, scientists warn that it may herald the end of the era of antibiotics. Here's an instant guide:

What is this "superbug"?
A bacteria that has a resistance factor known, catchily, as "New Delhi metallobetalactamase," or NDM-1 for short. It's actually the resistance factor we should be worried about, not necessarily the bacteria itself. (Watch a CNN report about the spread of the "superbug")

Why should we be worried about NDM-1?
Because of what it does to the bacteria that makes us sick. Modern antibiotics react with the cell membrane of such bacteria to destroy or control them. NDM-1 makes the cell membrane impervious to almost all of the powerful class of antibiotics called carbapenems — considered the drug of last resort for these infections — bringing "common bacteria... to the brink of being untreatable."

Surely doctors can come up with some treatment for it?
Apparently not. "This is potentially the end" of antibiotic treatment, says Tim Walsh, who discovered NDM-1, quoted in Britain's Guardian. "There are no antibiotics in the pipeline" that kill NDM-1. We have a "bleak window of maybe 10 years" where we must ration our existing drugs, but soon we must "grapple with the reality that we have nothing to treat these infections with."

What kind of infections would be untreatable?
Almost all of them, from pneumonia to septicaemia to E-coli. That would make simple operations — for appendicitis, for example — potentially deadly as untreatable bacteria invade the patient's body. Transplant surgery would become impossible, and tuberculosis untreatable. "It has the potential to become an extremely serious global threat," says Maryn McKenna, author of the SuperBug blog.

Why is it named after New Delhi?
It reportedly originated in South Asia, and thrived due to the "liberal non-prescription use of antibiotics" in India. The original Lancet report said that NDM-1's international spread was driven by "medical tourists" using India's cheap, yet sophisticated, health-care system. Doctors in the country have attacked the report, saying it is funded by pharmaceutical companies and designed to take business away from Indian hospitals. Indian officials called it "malicious propaganda."

Is it only found in India, then?
Unfortunately, no. NDM-1 has been found in the U.S, Pakistan, Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, and Canada. It is now widespread in India, and The Lancet urgently advises doctors not to let patients travel to the country for elective surgery for fear of spreading it further.

Is there anything we can do to combat it?
New antibiotics can buy time, provided drug companies come up with them. In the meantime, says says Sarah Boseley in the Guardian, "the game now is to keep bacteria at bay." Better cleaning in hospitals, bathrooms, and kitchens will help cut down infections. Beyond that, it's a matter of prolonging the effectiveness of the antibiotics we have. Cutting down on their use will slow the development of bacteria that are resistant to them, although scientists say antibiotic use is so prevalent worldwide that a significant reduction is unlikely.

Is it time to panic?
Not just yet, says Scott Hensley at NPR. Plenty of bacteria already exist that "evade the most common antibiotic bullets" — the "superbug" MRSA, for example, which caused a scare a decade ago. Hygiene has proved to be a successful weapon against that. "Mom was right about washing your hands well and often." Keep it up, and you'll probably be okay.

Sources: The Lancet, Guardian, NPR, Times of India, The SuperBug Blog

Get more from The Week! Click here to get 4 FREE issues!

via theweek.com

The Superbug has arrived. If antibiotics are useless, what will replace them?

What is a Hero?

2010-08-16T13:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday's sermon, What is a Hero? is now available if you wish to listen to it.

Ideological bigotry: Are you part of the problem? - CSMonitor.com

2010-08-15T21:49:00.001-05:00

I get e-mails every week from liberal friends and conservative friends – some calling themselves libertarians, some progressives – that shock me with their vitriol and the mean-spirited nature of their commentaries. In lieu of their own compositions, some of these friends forward content that drips with sarcasm and dismissive characterizations of people with whom they disagree.

- - -

We are better than this! We can do much better in getting along with one another. Let's stand for a higher road in reconciling our differences. If we insist on perpetuating this divisiveness, humans could be added to the endangered species list.
Join me in ending the cycles of incivilities, negativity, disrespect, and insulting sarcasms. Take a stand against engaging in conversations or e-mail exchanges that perpetuate these cycles and take us all down to lower levels of human relationships.
Stop listening to it; stop repeating it; stop encouraging this pattern of divisiveness. Instead of spouting our opinions and preaching to those in our silo, let's reach out to those who have different viewpoints. Nothing will change unless we do.

via csmonitor.com

Yes, not just friends. Family and church members as well!

Matt J. Rossano: Would Evidence for God Mean the End of Atheism and Christianity?

2010-08-15T21:43:00.001-05:00

But it's also the end of Christianity. For those who find Christianity to be a stubbornly abhorrent strain of the religion virus, this ought to be a moment of much rejoicing. How so? A fundamental tenet of Christianity is free will. It is no stretch to say that Christianity without free will is simply not Christianity anymore. The Christian God grants humans free will and will not interfere with its exercise. Humans are free to believe or not believe, free to follow God's laws or free to sin and separate themselves from God. God condemns no one. People condemn themselves. This is all standard, mainline Christian theology and it all gets utterly demolished by convincing scientific evidence of God.

via huffingtonpost.com

Has this guy read Augustine and Calvin?

Lawrence Boadt, Priest, Publisher and Bible Scholar, Dies at 67 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com

2010-08-12T23:36:00.001-05:00

The Rev. Lawrence Boadt, a Roman Catholic priest, publisher and Bible scholar who used his study of the Old Testament as a vehicle for promoting understanding between Christians and Jews, died on Saturday at his home in Mahwah, N.J. He was 67.

Enlarge This Image

Paulist Press

The Rev. Lawrence Boadt.

The cause was cancer, said Stefani Manowski, media director of the Paulist Fathers, Father Boadt’s order.
As a publisher, Father Boadt was long associated with the Paulist Press, located in Mahwah. Founded in New York by the Paulist Fathers in 1881 as the Columbus Press, the Paulist Press is one of the country’s most distinguished religious publishing houses, producing books by writers of all faiths. He was its president and publisher from 1998 until shortly before his death.
As a scholar, Father Boadt, who had been rigorously trained in Semitic languages, specialized in the Old Testament. In his writing, teaching and frequent public lectures on interfaith understanding, he invoked Old Testament Scripture to underscore the commonalities not only between Christianity and Judaism but also between antiquity and modernity.
His seminal work, “Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction” (Paulist Press, 1984), explored the Hebrew Bible for a Christian readership. In it, he wrote:
“It makes sense to begin the study of Bible through the Old Testament. But we run the risk that for Christians it may appear only as a long-past and nearly dead history. To prevent this loss of a living sense of the Old Testament, it helps Christians to experience firsthand the biblical faith of modern Jews.”

via nytimes.com

This is a quite good introduction to the Old Testament, especially for laity. Check it out...
At Paulist Press
At Amazon

Google Wave: Praising the Good - PCWorld

2010-08-12T23:27:00.001-05:00

Google Wave was a vast, ugly experiment, a one-man band of a collaboration tool that played piano, guitar and harmonica simultaneously with cymbals between its knees and a trained monkey keeping time on a garbage can lid. But it had worthy goals.

Google Wave was designed to be a collaboration tool that combined the best features of e-mail, Google Docs, instant message, and Web application development, and put them all in a single package. But it didn't work out, and Google pulled the plug on Wave on Wednesday.

To me, the promise of Google Wave was that it would tame the problem of too many communications channels. We all have multiple ways of getting in touch with each other: E-mail; several instant messaging accounts; messaging on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn; a couple of different phone numbers, and more. Transferring communications from one channel to another is problematic.

For example, I was recently planning to connect with a friend at Comic-Con. The plans were loose, I was just going to text her from the show and we'd meet up. But once I got to the show, I realized I didn't have her cell phone number. I have two e-mail addresses for her, two Twitter accounts, we're friends on Facebook, we're connected on two instant messaging services. But because I didn't have her her cell phone number, we never connected.

That doesn't happen frequently, but it happens often enough to be frustrating. What if there was a single tool to unify all of a person's different communications channels -- the "universal inbox" that's been a marketing buzzword for more than 15 years?

Okay. I tried it. I couldn't get the hang of it. Looks like I wasn't alone.

Android Gets Its First Ever Virus--You're a Mandroid, My Son (Updated) | Fast Company

2010-08-12T23:22:00.001-05:00

Nurse, the screens, please. Android's got itself a nasty little virus--its first. It goes by the name of Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer-A, says Kaspersky Lab, the firm that detected it, and it takes the form of a media player. A media player is most definitely what it isn't, however. Once on your smartphone, it fires off SMSes to premium-rate phone numbers, sending your phone bill through the roof, as well as a share of the profits from the line owners to the nasty bugmakers.

via fastcompany.com

I am sooooo glad I installed the antivirus software on my Android.

Many Americans don't want government to push fast Internet | Reuters

2010-08-12T23:20:00.001-05:00

The Pew survey, which was conducted between April 29 and May 30, found that:
* 26 percent say that expansion of affordable broadband access should not be attempted by government
* 27 percent said it was "not too important" a priority
* 30 percent said it was an important priority
* 11 percent said it should be a top priority
The survey also found that adoption rates in the United States have dramatically slowed as 66 percent of Americans have a subscription compared with 63 percent in 2009.

via reuters.com

Yes, let's stay in the dark ages!

Study: iPhone Users Have More Sex | Fast Company

2010-08-12T23:19:00.001-05:00

Forget Old Spice deodorant--the best way to get laid is to tote around an iPhone, especially if you happen to be female. And while iPhone users are screwing like rabbits, Blackberry and Android users appear to be relatively chaste.

The bragging rights for iPhone users come courtesy of dating website OkCupid, which crunched data on 9,785 users who took their profile pictures with smart phones to come up with the numbers. The top graph features data exclusively for 30 year-olds, while the second graph covers a wide variety of ages.

The result: iPhone users have more sex than Blackberry users, who in turn get it on more than Android owners. Female iPhone users are the big winners, with an average of 12.3 sexual partners. Compare that to 10 sexual partners for male iPhone owners, and a mere 6 partners for Android owners of both genders. As OkCupid says, it's "statistical proof that iPhone users aren't just getting fucked by Apple."(Perhaps they meant to say AT&T?)

No smart phone? No problem. OkCupid's study also reveals that more complex cameras take more attractive pictures. Panasonic's Micro camera takes ultra-sexy snaps, but steer clear of Nikon's Coolpix unless you want to be ignored by your fellow OkCupid users. And don't even think of snapping yourself on a Motorola phone.
The bottom line: the more you shell out on your gadgets, the more bounteous your rewards.

Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email.
Related Stories:
Can Smart.fm's iPhone App Really Teach You Brain Anatomy?
Apple Reforms App Approval as Facebook Developer Vows "Never Again"
Breaking Rumor: Two New iPhones, One Heading to Verizon [Update]
Topics:
Innovation, Technology, Ethonomics, OKCupid, oktrends, iphone, android, blackberry, cell phones, nikon, Panasonic, Consumer Electronics, Apple iPhone, Smartphones, Cellular Phones, Hybrid Electronic Products

via fastcompany.com

Okay. I have an Android phone. I have no other comment to make!

Oracle sues Google over Java use in Android - Computerworld

2010-08-12T23:13:00.001-05:00

Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems' Java technology when it bought the company earlier this year. Java is a software environment that allows applications written in Java to run on virtually any computer so long as it has a Java virtual machine installed.

via computerworld.com

Yep! Now that Oracle owns what was once Sun we can expect to see a whole new method of operation. Larry Ellison and company will continue until they catch up with Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and company.

Pea sprouts after taking root in man's lung

2010-08-12T17:20:00.001-05:00

Ron Sveden recovers after doctors discovered a pea growing in his lung. Photograph: Merrily Lunsford/AP
Doctors have found a pea sprouting in the lung of a 75-year-old man from Brewster, Massachusetts in the US.
They had feared the worst when they studied Ron Sveden's X-rays and spotted a small dark spot.
The former teacher had worked for years smoking fish and already had emphysema before he felt his health worsen this summer.
By the time Sveden reached the hospital, he had a collapsed left lung and pneumonia. Two biopsies came back negative for lung cancer.
Feeding a scope down Sveden's throat, Dr Jeff Spillane scraped away at an encrusted mass and discovered the pea sprouting. He said Sveden must have inhaled a pea that took root in his lung.
Sveden's health improved after the pea was removed.

via guardian.co.uk

Okay, I am going to stop shoving peas into my nose!

Turandot from Met Opera on NC PBS

2010-08-11T20:00:00.001-05:00

Turandot – Giacomo Puccini
Original transmission date: Saturday, November 7, 2009
Director Franco Zeffirelli’s breathtaking production of Puccini’s last opera is a favorite of the Met repertoire. Maria Guleghina plays the ruthless Chinese princess of the title, whose hatred of men is so strong that she has all suitors who can’t solve her riddles beheaded. Marcello Giordani sings Calàf, the unknown prince who eventually wins her love and whose solos include the famous “Nessun dorma.”
Conductor: Andris Nelsons; Production: Franco Zeffirelli; Maria Guleghina, Marina Poplavskaya, Marcello Giordani, Samuel Ramey

via metoperafamily.org

Watching now! One of my top 3 favorites along with La Bohème and La Fanciulla del West!

Wickles Sub and Hoagie Relish: Great for Firedogs!

2010-08-06T17:11:00.001-05:00

Wickles Sub and Hoagie Relish

We're pleased to present Wickles Hoagie and Sub Sandwich Relish! Spread this wickedly delicious relish on everything from cream cheese, submarine sandwiches, or black eyed peas.

You can mix this spicy thrill with any two-bit meal. From reubens, quesadillas, to that classic ham and cheese, you'd best break it out with those ol' mean & threes!

$4.95 per jar.

Exciting new product!
Wickles Hoagie and Sub Relish

via wickles.com

Wow! This stuff is great and HOT!

I like hotdogs. My normal dog is the mustard and onions variety. I occasionally enjoy a Carolina Dog (mustard, onion, chili, slaw). Sometimes I enjoy one with mustard and kraut.

Now I enjoy what I call a "Firedog" which has mustard, onions, and Wickles Sub and Hoagie Relish. If you enjoy fiery food come and have one with me.

The Free Liberal: Good to the Bone

2009-06-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

What is sad is to read the responses to this posting.

The Free Liberal: Good to the Bone:
Jared Gray is an 18-year-old high school student who works as a janitor for Southern Utah University. One day he found a bag of cash lying in the parking lot, obviously one of the school’s deposit bags.

The bag was labeled with the amount: $108,000.

Jared didn’t hesitate to return the cash, saying he was raised to be honest. To express their gratitude, SUU officials will give him a scholarship if he attends the university.

Most people would applaud Jared’s honesty. Sadly, though, not everyone. A number of people, posting to the CBS News website, called the young man a “loser” or “stupid” for not keeping the dough.

Apparently, they assume it’s reasonable to steal whenever one is unlikely to get caught. If so, wouldn’t it also be reasonable actively to pursue such opportunities — in short, to become a career criminal?

That makes we who work “suckers.”

If you’re going to live a moral life, it’s common sense to live it on principle. This means you don’t become an entirely different person, a crook, when it’s allegedly “easy” to do so. Easy, that is, for a person of poor character.

Starting life as a crook would have blighted Jared’s whole life. Instead, now he’ll always be able to recall his easy good deed with pride; and, happily, people who know him will be able to trust him . . . stuff that’s more valuable than money itself.

The Best Linux Web Resources

2009-06-04T19:08:00.000-05:00

Great list of Linux Web Resources...

The Best Linux Web Resources: "I have compiled a list of what I believe to be the best web resources for the Linux operating system. I have used all of these sites, or projects from these sites, over the years in my Linux ventures and continue to use some of them on daily basis."

A Peculiar Prophet: Advice for New Pastors, Part Three

2009-05-25T18:38:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Bishop Willimon!

A Peculiar Prophet: Advice for New Pastors, Part Three: "Try not to listen to your parishioners when they attempt to use you to weasel out of the claims of Christ. Much of the criticism that you will receive, many of their negative comments about your work, are just their attempt to excuse themselves from discipleship. “When you are older, you will understand,” they told me as a young pastor. “You have still got all that theological stuff in you from seminary. Eventually, you’ll learn,” said older, cynical pastors. Now it’s, “Because you are a bishop, you don’t really understand that I can’t….” God has called you to preach and to live the gospel before them and they will use any means to avoid it. Be suspicious when people encourage you to see the transition from seminary to the parish as mainly a time finally to settle in and make peace with the “real world.” Jesus Christ is our definition of what’s real and there is much that passes for “the way things are” in the average church that makes Jesus want to grab a whip in hand and clean house."

'Missing Link' Still Missing, Say 'Ida' Skeptics| Christianpost.com

2009-05-25T18:29:00.000-05:00

'Missing Link' Still Missing, Say 'Ida' Skeptics| Christianpost.com: "And that goes double for Young Earth Creationists, who believe God created everything as it appears today and did so over the span of six 24-hour days.

They say claims that a “missing link” has been found or a “critical gap” in evolution has been filled only prove one thing – that there still are missing links and critical gaps up to that point and thereafter as such discoveries have skeptics even among the scientific community.

“Evolutionists only open up about the lack of fossil missing links once a new one is found,” notes Answers in Genesis, a self-described apologetics ministry that believes in Young Earth Creationism.

“[T]he best ‘missing links’ evolutionists can come up with are strikingly similar to organisms we see today, usually with the exception of minor, controversial, and inferred anatomical differences,” the ministry wrote Tuesday on its website.

“If evolution were true, there would be real transitional forms,” it argued."

Please! There is no conflict between Science and Faith. Science informs us on how things came to be. Our faith informs us on why.

Hermeneutic: Finding an Appropriate Model for Making Disciples

2009-05-25T18:10:00.000-05:00

Hermeneutic: Finding an Appropriate Model for Making Disciples: "I like that word: metaforgotten. From the Greek work μετά in the sense of beyond and, of course, forgotten. It would be a word that has taken on a new meaning beyond the original. We see many examples of this in the Church and in the Bible. One of the most obvious for me is shepherd. What exactly is a shepherd and what is its significance as a metaphor in the Church? How many church people have even seen a real shepherd and sheep?"

Why The UMC Should Not Create Regional Conferences: Repost « Dancing on Saturday

2009-05-25T18:09:00.000-05:00

Why The UMC Should Not Create Regional Conferences: Repost « Dancing on Saturday: "My friend Tom Parkinson, fellow Duke Div student and candidate for ordination in the UMC, has written a thoughtful, insightful essay about the upcoming amendments to be voted on at Annual Conference this summer. He has asked me to post it on my blog as a means to encourage conversation surrounding this very important matter. If there is someone that would like to have an essay posted from a different perspective please email it to me and I will be happy to post it here. In the meantime, please feel free to comment below. Thanks, Tom!"

Baptist Press - FIRST-PERSON: Defunding Planned Parenthood - News with a Christian Perspective

2009-05-25T18:06:00.000-05:00

Baptist Press - FIRST-PERSON: Defunding Planned Parenthood - News with a Christian Perspective: "Despite its name, Planned Parenthood is all about preventing children from being born -- and you and I are helping to foot the bill. By law, taxpayer dollars cannot fund abortion. But organizations with privately funded abortion programs are eligible for public funds if they are used for other purposes. The truth is, Planned Parenthood is, by far, the nation's largest abortion provider, performing more abortions every year. In fact their 2007-08 annual report shows an increase of more than 15,000 abortions in 2007. Even though it turns a huge profit, the organization receives more than $300 million in federal funding annually. Its leaders say they keep the money on the contraception side of the operation."

Orang-utan short-circuits electric fence in Zoo 'escape' - Telegraph

2009-05-10T17:33:00.000-05:00

Orang-utan short-circuits electric fence in Zoo 'escape' - Telegraph...

An "ingenious" 137-pound (62-kilogram) orang-utan used a branch to short-circuit an electric fence and escape from an Australian zoo only to change her mind and return to her enclosure. The ape, a 27-year-old female named Karta, jammed a stick into wires connected to the fence and then piled up debris to climb a concrete and glass wall at the Adelaide Zoo. Peter Whitehead, the zoo's curator, said: 'You're talking about an animal that's highly intelligent.'

Yep, intelligent enough to realize what scary world it is out there!

I Bought My First Newspaper Subscription in 43 Years…. On Amazon Kindle 2 -

2009-04-02T09:38:00.000-05:00

Allen Harkleroad subscribes to his first newspaper in his 43-year-old life. I am currently subscribing to the New York Times and I am looking forward to the News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina) being made available through the Kindle. Perhaps this may represent a turning point for newspapers: quick, clean, easily accessible content that people are willing to pay for.

I Bought My First Newspaper Subscription in 43 Years…. On Amazon Kindle 2 -: I’ve never bought a newspaper or magazine subscription for several reasons. Namely they are bulky and take up too much space lying around the house or office. Many of today’s newspapers leave your fingers dirty from the cheap vegetable ink that is commonly used in newspapers. That and too many trees are wasted printing something that will be thrown away in a couple of day.

– – –

I went back to Amazon and browsed the available newspapers and magazines and for starters bought one issue of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a single issue Reader’s Digest so I could get a feel for how the Kindle displayed newspapers and magazines. After reading each, I had no reservations about purchasing a subscription to both. I am now contemplating subscribing to a couple more magazine and newspapers and the kindle makes offline reading so easy and comfortable.

But be sure to notice his caveat at the end where he advises newspapers to not come up with their own devices.

NJ girl, 14, arrested after posting nude pics

2009-03-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

Another case of prosecutors abusing the intent of a law...

The Associated Press: NJ girl, 14, arrested after posting nude pics: "TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child pornography after posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace.com — charges that could force her to register as a sex offender if convicted."

Verbing Weirds Language - LexiBlog - The Official Blog of Leximo, a World Social Dictionary

2009-03-19T22:12:00.000-05:00

An amusing look at language and our tendency to make nouns into verbs.

Verbing Weirds Language - LexiBlog - The Official Blog of Leximo, a World Social Dictionary: “The plain fact is, I don’t know. Fads and fashions come and go in English usage, just as they do with clothing; yesterday’s paisley shirt evolves into today’s Patagonia vest. I’m not an English teacher anymore, partly because I’m not sure I speak English anymore, at least not the English spoken by others, like the flight attendant. I feel a sense of disequilibrium when I watch TV cooking shows and food gets “plated”—not electroplated (like covered in chrome), but meaning, I think, that “a minuscule portion of food gets arranged artfully on a plate by a tony sous-chef.” Then, I know I speak a different tongue.”

Washington Post to End Book World as Stand-Alone Section - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com

2009-03-17T21:44:00.000-05:00

I love books. I love my hard copies and I love my Kindle. One of my favorite sections of The New York Times is the book reviews. I understand the decision of The Washington Post but, it is a sad day none-the-less.

Washington Post to End Book World as Stand-Alone Section - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com: "In another sign that literary criticism is losing its profile in newspapers, The Washington Post has decided to shutter the print version of Book World, its Sunday stand-alone book review section, and shift reviews to space inside two other sections of the paper."

Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable « Clay Shirky

2009-03-17T21:35:00.000-05:00

Clay Shirky's article on newspapers provides a common-sense look at the transition journalism faces during the second Gutenberg revolution...

Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable « Clay Shirky: "If you want to know why newspapers are in such trouble, the most salient fact is this: Printing presses are terrifically expensive to set up and to run. This bit of economics, normal since Gutenberg, limits competition while creating positive returns to scale for the press owner, a happy pair of economic effects that feed on each other. In a notional town with two perfectly balanced newspapers, one paper would eventually generate some small advantage — a breaking story, a key interview — at which point both advertisers and readers would come to prefer it, however slightly. That paper would in turn find it easier to capture the next dollar of advertising, at lower expense, than the competition. This would increase its dominance, which would further deepen those preferences, repeat chorus. The end result is either geographic or demographic segmentation among papers, or one paper holding a monopoly on the local mainstream audience.
---
Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism. For a century, the imperatives to strengthen journalism and to strengthen newspapers have been so tightly wound as to be indistinguishable. That’s been a fine accident to have, but when that accident stops, as it is stopping before our eyes, we’re going to need lots of other ways to strengthen journalism instead."

Chronicle workers vote 10 to 1 for concessions

2009-03-17T21:22:00.000-05:00

Will San Francisco lose its major paper?

Chronicle workers vote 10 to 1 for concessions: "Saturday's agreement came 18 days after the Hearst Corp., owner of The Chronicle, announced that it would be forced to sell or close the 144-year-old newspaper if it could not achieve significant savings 'within weeks' through a mixture of union and nonunion staff reductions and other cost-saving measures.

The newspaper lost more than $50 million in 2008 and is on track to sink deeper into the red this year, Hearst said. The private New York company, which publishes 15 other papers, said The Chronicle has been losing money since 2001."

Why the GOP Can't Win With Minorities - WSJ.com

2009-03-16T18:17:00.000-05:00

Some interesting commentary by Shelby Steele...

Why the GOP Can't Win With Minorities - WSJ.com: "So here stands contemporary American conservatism amidst its cultural liabilities and, now, its electoral failures -- with no mechanism to redeem America of its shames, atavistically resisted by minorities, and vulnerable to stigmatization as a bigoted and imperialistic political orientation. Today's liberalism may stand on decades of failed ideas, but it is failure in the name of American redemption. It remains competitive with -- even ascendant over -- conservatism because it addresses America's moral accountability to its past with moral activism. This is the left's great power, and a good part of the reason Barack Obama is now the president of the United States. No matter his failures -- or the fruitlessness of his extravagant and scatter-gun governmental activism -- he redeems America of an ugly past. How does conservatism compete with this?"

Seattle Paper Stops Printing and Shifts to Web - NYTimes.com

2009-03-16T15:54:00.000-05:00

Seattle Paper Stops Printing and Shifts to Web - NYTimes.com

Another newspaper goes web only. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer was a number 2 newspaper in a 2 newspaper town. When I moved to NC, Raleigh was a two newspaper town. The News and Observer ended up buying The Raleigh Times which ended up all but disappearing (some of the columnists from the Times continued their columns for their new master). But, like they say, that was then, this is now. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer follows The Christian Science Monitor (and PC Magazine) in going all online. I know many people bemoan the loss of traditional newsprint newspapers, but change is inevitable and newspapers must remember they are in the news and communication business and not in the printed newsprint business. Yes, there is something nice about the feel and smell of a fresh newspaper in the morning with your juice and coffee but for me that has been limited to vacation time and not a part of my normal routine. On the other hand I do subscribe to The New York Times on my Kindle. It is nice to have it available in that format as well as on the Web. I am still waiting for The News and Observer to be available for a Kindle subscription.

I do have The News and Observer on my Kindle, but I use my free and great ebook management software to download the RSS feed and create the paper for me. But, this version (which is free) isn't as good as the newspapers especially made for the Kindle. I love how the newspapers sections and articles are laid out for easy navigation. So, yes, I am willing to pay for this content. I will gladly pay for my subscription to The News and Observer when they make it available.

Oh, and I did send some money to the developer of the ebook management software I use. He may make it available for free. but it is fantastic and worth supporting its development.

Join the FSF in calling on libraries to eliminate DRM - Free Software Foundation

2009-03-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

We may be a little late to the show...

Join the FSF in calling on libraries to eliminate DRM - Free Software Foundation: "Join the Free Software Foundation and DefectiveByDesign.org this Saturday (2/9/2008) at the Boston Public Library to demand that they remove DRM technology from their collection! You may remember that two years ago we sent a letter to the Boston Public Library. This time around we are taking a more direct approach, by reaching out the public, and handing out flyers about DRM to concerned patrons. We will be gathering outside the entrance at the main branch of the Boston Public Library (700 Boylston St., Boston MA 02116) from 1pm until 3pm on Saturday, February 9th, 2008."

But do what you can to elimination DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) in your life. My greatest hurdle right now is Amazon! Yes, Amazon! The offer music in DRM free mp3s but their books have DRM. What's up with that!

1981 News Report on the Future of Newspapers

2009-02-21T14:07:00.003-05:00

In my previous post I mentioned the changing face of newspapers. Here is an interesting television news report on the “future of newspapers.” I love it. You have to keep in mind that while 1981 had the Internet, the World Wide Web (WWW) was still unheard of. I don't think anybody could really have imagined the impact of the Web and blogs and the tremendous glut of information (most of it useless and just plain wrong!) we are exposed to today.

Joe Wikert's Kindleville Blog: They just don't get it

2009-02-21T13:40:00.003-05:00

Here is a great article to read...

Joe Wikert's Kindleville Blog: All Kindle, All the Time: They just don't get it: "You'd think book publishers would have learned something. After seeing the recording industry ignore then dig in and fight new technology to the extent that now they're struggling to maintain their current business model, one would guess that book publishers and authors would see the folly and strive to avoid repeating it.

Not so much.

Before the floor of the Morgan Library in NY had even cleared after the press conference heralding the coming of Kindle 2.0, some in the business were already proving that they would not go gently into the good e-book night."

Great article! The book publishing industry doesn't seem to be learning any lessons from the music publishing industry. Folks, the world is changing whether you want it to or not.

We have to remember the lessons learned in the past. Just as the evolution of our society into the Industrial Age caused seismic changes in business, so does the transition into a Technological or Digital Age. Just as the transitions of the Industrial Age took decades so will our transition into the Digital Age. Even now, we see television moving from analog to digital. The whole telephone business is in a state of upheaval as we sort out our options with digital cellular, VOIP, and other options. The Christian Science Monitor and PC Magazine have moved to all digital formats, no longer printing “hard copy.”

Newspaper publishers are considering and experimenting with newer models of delivering news, including use of micropayments. You can subscribe to newspapers and magazines on your Kindle and have them automatically arrive on your device within seconds of their digital publication.

Amazon is getting it. Yes, the Kindle is still pricey, but they seem to taking a loss on the ebooks they offer for the Kindle because they understand that something is only worth what others will pay for it. Isn't this just one of the lesson publishers should have learned from Steve Jobs fighting the music industry to keep singles available at 99 cents per download. That is what people were willing to spend. When it comes to books, there is the “hardback audience” willing to spend a premium for having an early, hard bound copy of a novel. But, I imagine that most book buyers (especially of fiction) are those who, (1) wait for the paperback; (2) search the bargain bins for hardbacks that are sold for less than the paperbacks; or (3) get books from a book club. I will buy reference works (things like dictionaries or commentaries) that hardback so that I may refer to them again and again, but if it is a novel or a book that will likely only read once I will not buy it in hardback.

My personal library is rather sprawling. I have a study at home with 4 bookcases. My living room has 2 bookcases. My study at the church has 4 bookcases. Then there are the piles and boxes of books that don't fit. The bulk of these are nonfiction and I am in the process of weeding them out. I like to read fiction, but I tend to do so by (1) checking it out of the library, (2) buying the paperback, (3) buying the cheap marked down hardback, (4) ebook, (5) get a copy at a used book store, or (6) occasionally borrowing a copy of the novel. Once I read the novel, I rarely have an interest in keeping the copy. I give my read copies to family, friends, or the local library. That's my reality. My guess is that it is the reality for a great many readers of novels.

So, with that in mind, what is the worth of a new novel? If it is worth what people are willing to pay for it, how much is that? I would say that most people are going to willing to spend about what they spend on a paperback for an ebook. You might be able to sell it for a higher price the first few months after its release (to those gotta have it right away folks!), but if most people aren't getting their leisure reading at hardback prices now, why would they spend that amount for an ebook?

UK spends billions on high-tech IDs, forgets to buy card readers

2009-02-16T14:57:00.001-05:00

UK spends billions on high-tech IDs, forgets to buy card readers: "This has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve heard in a long time. The UK has spent £4.4 billion ($6.6bn US) on a controversial high-tech National Identity Card scheme for the whole country. The card, intended to be issued to government workers first and the general population soon after, would include biometric information such as facial scanning data and fingerprints, encoded onto the card. Sounds great if you’re into the whole Big Brother thing — but they forgot one thing. No police or border station, to say nothing of licensing and job centers, has a machine capable of reading the damn things."

UserFriendly Strip Comments

2009-02-15T21:18:00.002-05:00

UserFriendly Strip Comments

Microsoft deems 'linux' inappropriate - Rusty Lime

2009-02-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

Microsoft deems 'linux' inappropriate - Rusty Lime

Microsoft doesn't like like Linux. This isn't news!

Mordant Orange » Archive » Double The Fun

2009-02-15T17:54:00.000-05:00

Mordant Orange » Archive » Double The Fun
Bioethics!!!

Sign language: week 36 - Telegraph

2009-02-15T17:51:00.002-05:00

Sign language: week 36 - Telegraph

Hmmmmmm.... hikers! Good!

xkcd - A Webcomic - Security

2009-02-15T17:46:00.001-05:00

xkcd - A Webcomic - Security

The real value of encryption!

In-flight confrontations can lead to charges defined as terrorism - Los Angeles Times

2009-02-15T17:45:00.000-05:00

In-flight confrontations can lead to charges defined as terrorism - Los Angeles Times

Another reason the Patriot Act needs to be repealed. Its abuse is rampant. Ordinary people are being treated as terrorists to the point where the term is meaningless.

Crypto-Gram: February 15, 2009

2009-02-15T14:32:00.000-05:00

Crypto-Gram: February 15, 2009
Bruce Schneier is one of those rare voices of reason when it comes to security, electronic or otherwise. I encourage you to subscribe and read his newsletters.

What Our Top Spy Doesn't Get: Security and Privacy Aren't Opposites

2008-08-15T09:57:00.000-05:00

Bruce Schneier is certainly someone to take seriously in the security arena...

What Our Top Spy Doesn't Get: Security and Privacy Aren't Opposites: "Security and privacy are not opposite ends of a seesaw; you don't have to accept less of one to get more of the other. Think of a door lock, a burglar alarm and a tall fence. Think of guns, anti-counterfeiting measures on currency and that dumb liquid ban at airports. Security affects privacy only when it's based on identity, and there are limitations to that sort of approach.

Since 9/11, two -- or maybe three -- things have potentially improved airline security: reinforcing the cockpit doors, passengers realizing they have to fight back and -- possibly -- sky marshals. Everything else -- all the security measures that affect privacy -- is just security theater and a waste of effort."

I Can Has Linux? » Blog Archive » Linux and the most-wanted Windows applications, pt1

2008-08-10T17:16:00.001-05:00

I was browsing today and stumbled across yet another blog entry on "what applications are needed to enable me to switch to linux." Here is an excerpt...

I Can Has Linux? » Blog Archive » Linux and the most-wanted Windows applications, pt1:
"The list isn’t all too surprising, most of the big-ticket applications are listed:

1. QuickBooks
2. AutoCAD
3. Photoshop
4. iTunes
5. Dreamweaver
6. Visio
7. Lotus Notes
8. Quicken
9. Macromedia Studio
10. Act!

Nothing unexpected here, although you can tell this survey ended up with more business respondents than home users. Although with iTunes at number 4, you can tell that the home users still made a big showing."

People will try applications and then complain they don't work like so-and-so. My answer: so what! The point isn't to make a program work exactly like another program. If you must have iTunes (instead of the far superior Amarok) then stick with Windows or OSX. If the makers of these applications do not wish to support Linux, that's there business. The fact is that most Linux users are so used to the concept of Free or Open Source software that they wouldn't use proprietary applications like Photoshop or Quicken even if they were made available and I doubt that many people would make the switch to Linux just because they are available.

Cell Phones

2008-07-31T22:29:00.002-05:00

You know, I used to be opposed to any legislation that outlawed the use of cell phones while driving. Well, I have had a change of mind, I am so tired of people using their cell phones while on the road.

How many times have you been caught behind someone on a cell phone who SLOWS DOWN to talk on the phone? This is especially bad when they are in the left lane! What's up with these people?

I cannot count the number of times I've been behind someone who got a phone call and they SLOWED DOWN while they answered and talked on the phone!

Folks! If you are going to talk on the phone, get off of the road! Please!

Drivers Driving You Nuts

2008-07-28T13:58:00.002-05:00

Okay, there are the usual drivers who drive you nuts...

The cell phone talkers - especially when they slow down to talk!
The Make-Up artists - don't have time to do put on make-up at home?
The News Gatherers - reading newspapers and magazines on the road!
The Where-Am-I Map Readers - just pull over to look! Please!

Of course, there are the aggressive drivers who love to dart from lane to lane just to move ahead a car length or two. But, one particular group of drivers that can really drive you nuts may be either passive-aggressive or just plain clueless. These are the drivers who get in the left-most lane (the passing lane!) and just sit there blocking traffic and causing frustration. The National Motorist Association has this to say about the matter...

The NMA strongly supports the simple but significant concept of slower traffic traveling in the right lane of multi-lane highways and vehicles in the left lane yielding that lane to faster traffic. We refer to this concept as “lane courtesy.”

While most states have some sort of “slower traffic keep right"” laws, it is ultimately a matter of driving ethics. The slower traffic keep right laws are difficult and unpopular to enforce. However, the resulting advantages of lane courtesy are self-evident and should become second nature to any driver using public highways.

Finally, police are beginning to crack down on this obnoxious behavior. This is a news item from Seattle...

Even if you're going the speed limit it might not be enough to prevent you from getting a ticket if you're holding up traffic in the fast lane.

State troopers are on a mission to make sure the left lane on area freeways is used for its intended purpose: passing.

“We're doing 58, 59 miles an hour and they are just sitting there, traffic's passing them on the right hand side,” Trooper Keith Leary said while pointing out a car in the left lane of Interstate 5. “That's exactly what we don't want to see happen.”

The driver, Brasta Bonifcho, said he was surprised what he was doing was illegal.

“I didn't know that, I really didn't know that,” he said. “I am guilty, no question about it.”

Leary reminded Bonifcho that drivers need to stay in the right lanes unless they're passing another vehicle.

Everyone pulled over during Leary's patrol said they thought it wasn't a problem as long as they were going the speed limit. But the law says otherwise.

“It is a traffic infraction to drive continuously in the left lane of a multilane roadway when it impedes the flow of other traffic,” the statute reads.

The reason for the law is to help keep traffic moving and to diffuse potential road rage situations.

“It just takes one thing to set them off,” Leary said of frustrated drivers stuck behind slower moving vehicles. “If we can alleviate one of those things, maybe we can avoid an assault.”

The State Patrol said several recent collisions caused by slow vehicles in the passing lane have prompted increased enforcement of the law along area interstates.

Drivers in the HOV lanes are exempt from the rule, but anyone else could be facing a $124 ticket.

All I've got to say is that it is about time that this problem is being taken seriously. The fact is, slow drivers are just as dangerous as fast drivers. If you are going to drive slow, stay in the right lane. Please!

Your Life Sucks Because You Expect It To Suck (and 10 Ways to Improve It Right Now) | ijerad.com

2008-05-03T22:10:00.000-05:00

Here is some common sense advice...

Your Life Sucks Because You Expect It To Suck (and 10 Ways to Improve It Right Now) | ijerad.com: "The following list will help guide you through taking back control over your life. It’s a lot of information so I would suggest printing it out or bookmarking it so you can return on a regular basis and remind yourself what you are trying to accomplish."

Revisiting the Judicial Orthodoxy: Thomas Jefferson and the 'Wall of Separation' - Charles Colson - Koinonia House

2008-05-01T21:03:00.000-05:00

What did Jefferson mean by separation of church and state? Certainly not what you have been led to believe!

Revisiting the Judicial Orthodoxy: Thomas Jefferson and the 'Wall of Separation' - Charles Colson - Koinonia House: "In that letter, President Jefferson referred to the now infamous 'Wall of Separation' between Church and State. For years, this so-called 'Wall' has provided the pretext for restricting religious expression. But the FBI's examination of an early draft of the letter shows that what Jefferson really meant by that 'Wall' bears little resemblance to the way it is being used today."

Mind's Limit Found: 4 Things at Once - Yahoo! News

2008-04-29T12:56:00.000-05:00

Mind's Limit Found: 4 Things at Once - Yahoo! News: "I forget how I wanted to begin this story. That's probably because my mind, just like everyone else's, can only remember a few things at a time. Researchers have often debated the maximum amount of items we can store in our conscious mind, in what's called our working memory, and a new study puts the limit at three or four."

This is why I like the Getting Things Done (GTD) approach from David Allen. You files things away in a system you trust and they will be there when you need them.

How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail | The Art of Manliness

2008-04-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail | The Art of Manliness

Don't you just hate voicemail? Consider this advice...

Think through what you are going to say before you place the call. When men hear the beep, they often freeze up and forget what they wanted to say. If you want to be the go-to guy at work, then you have to exhibit competence on all levels. Don’t spoil your confident image by hemming and hawing and filling your messages with “uhhhhs,” and “ummmms.” If it’s a really important call, consider writing out what you want to say beforehand. If the person picks up, great, you now have some notes to remember what you wanted to talk about. If they don’t answer, you can leave a clear and concise message.

State your name first. You would think this would be so basic that it shouldn’t even be mentioned. However, I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten voicemails where people go on and on and I don’t even know who’s talking to me until the very end. Pretty annoying.

State your number right after your name. Many people wait until the very end of the message to state their number. This will irritate the receiver of your message because if he doesn’t get it down, he then has to sit through the whole damn message again to hear it repeated.

Repeat your phone number twice. People seem to forget that the receiver of their message has to write the number as you say it. Don’t rush through it. Even when you say it slowly, it’s hard to get down the first time. So repeat it again, so they can check to be sure they got it down right.

State the purpose of your call. In as few words as possible, state why you’re calling. Is it in regards to an interview appointment? Are you following up on a previous meeting?

Find some common ground. If you’re cold calling someone, your voicemail is your 30 second chance to make a connection and leave a good impression. One of the best ways to make a connection in that short amount of time is mentioning a mutual acquaintance. You could also mention a shared affiliation with an organization.

Be brief. Don’t make your listener resent you for leaving a 5 minute long message. People are busy. Listening to 5 minute phone messages is not on the top of their priorities and wastes their time. Many callers seem to think they are the only person in the world leaving a voicemail for a particular person. Yet a dozen other people feel the same way and a man ends up holding the phone to his ear for an hour.

Leave a specific request. What do you want your listener to do? Sure, you want them to call you back, but why? To answer a question? To set up an appointment? People will appreciate it if you give them specific actions for their call back. That way they’ll know they won’t be wasting a lot of time on the call back trying to figure out what you want.

Consider leaving your e-mail in addition to your phone number. People like choices. Some people like to have conversations on the phone, while others prefer communicating through e-mail. You don’t know what kind of person your listener will be, so leave the option on the table. For many, e-mail correspondence is less threatening and might actually encourage them to reach out to you.

Be Brief. Did I mention be brief? Yeah? Make sure to do it.

Has the 'notion of sin' been lost? - USATODAY.com

2008-03-20T13:44:00.000-05:00

Has the 'notion of sin' been lost? - USATODAY.com: “Is sin dead? No, not by a long shot. Yet as Easter approaches, some pastors and theologians worry: How can Christians celebrate Jesus' atonement for their sins and the promise of eternal life in his resurrection if they don't recognize themselves as sinners?”

Here it is — Holy Week. The attendance at all our Holy Week services and activities combined do not equal the number of people we have on Christmas Eve. People seem to love to gather around a newborn baby. But the whole meaning of Christmas is lost without the events of Holy Week and Easter. Does the idea that Christ died for our sins mean anything to us today? These are some of the issues asked in this news article.

Linux News: Distros: Linux in the Mainstream: Why Does It Matter?

2008-03-17T20:04:00.000-05:00

Linux News: Distros: Linux in the Mainstream: Why Does It Matter?: "what kind of business discontinues a product that sells out?"

So, Walmart, selling out of their new Linux computers decide to drop them? Go figure. Could there have been pressure from other quarters?

PC World - Save Money, Take a Poll, and Send Notes to Yourself

2008-03-05T07:49:00.000-05:00

Steve Bass at PC World often provides links to neat services. In this column he provides links to some survey sites among other things.

PC World - Save Money, Take a Poll, and Send Notes to Yourself: "Free and Low-Cost Polls

The other day a buddy asked if I'd take a survey. It got me to thinking how effective these free online surveys are for getting quick and valuable feedback.

I've created polls and surveys a couple of times. While they're definitely not scientific (neither am I, for that matter), they give me a sense of what readers think.

For instance, I like to use PollDaddy--it's free and its latest iteration is a snap to use.

My buddy Suzanne L. likes polls that she can put right on her own site, so she uses Snappoll.com. I like it, too, because it's quick to produce a poll and easy to embed. Suzanne also uses Mister Poll.

If you're a member of the Twitter generation, my buddy Bill W. suggests you try StrawPoll. Me, I don't Twitter. (Never heard of it? Read 'The Right Social Network for You.')

For a more sophisticated survey, rather than a poll, you might want to try SurveyMonkey. The free version limits you to 100 respondents--but you can do lots with it, such as collect responses by e-mail, customize reports, and validate responses."

Open Source Software - Overview

2008-02-21T22:57:00.000-05:00

Open Source Software - Overview: "Even if you don’t know what Open Source software is, you have undoubtedly interacted with it in the last 24 hours. If you have been on the Web in that time, most the pages you saw were almost undoubtedly served by a Linux (Open Source) server operating system running Apache (open Source) software. If you looked at a blog (weblog), it was almost certainly presented to you by Open Source software, probably WordPress, although there are a number of other Open Source blog programs."

Weird History | The Best Article Every day

2008-02-21T22:28:00.000-05:00

Weird History | The Best Article Every day: "Next time you’re washing your hands and the water temperature isn’t just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s.

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children — last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”"

101 Ubuntu Tips, Tricks and Tutorials : lxpages.com blog

2008-02-18T14:04:00.000-05:00

101 Ubuntu Tips, Tricks and Tutorials : lxpages.com blog: "In this article we’ve compiled 101 list of Ubuntu tutorials. If you’re thinking of switching to Ubuntu from Windows, don’t waste your time thinking too much. Switch to Ubuntu now and you’ll never think about going back. Windows maybe more popular but Linux isn’t too far behind and Ubuntu distro is one of the main reasons. Ubuntu is the simplest, easiest, and a very stable Linux distribution to switch to from Windows."

Personally, I recommend that you start by installing Kubuntu, the KDE desktop version of Ubuntu.

Best Restaurants In Raleigh-Durham | Where The Locals Eat

2008-02-18T13:43:00.000-05:00

Best Restaurants In Raleigh-Durham | Where The Locals Eat

A good list of highly rated restaurants in the Triangle.

An Amazing Mind: Why Linux Doesn't Spread - the Curse of Being Free

2008-02-17T19:14:00.000-05:00

An Amazing Mind: Why Linux Doesn't Spread - the Curse of Being Free

An interesting insight into the mindset of a consumer...

Linux isn't very popular on the desktop. It's a far third behind OS X, which is a very far second behind Windows. Most people cite pre-installed operating systems as the reason. But as a student of psychology, I see something most people don't. There's one big factor in why Linux isn't popular on the desktop. Linux is free. I know this sounds like complete dog's bollocks, but hear me out before judging my sanity.

What is the coolest thing you can do using Linux that you can't do with Windows or on a Mac

2008-02-13T23:39:00.001-05:00

Copied from the website...

Someone asked me this recently. I don't have just one answer. I compiled a list of things I thought of and emailed it to my friend...then I thought I would post it here for future reference. Feel free to add to the list! There is also a forums thread on the same topic, that I remembered as I complied my thoughts, so I stole some of the ideas posted there.
1. Upgrade to the newest version legally and without paying money
2. Have the latest version of the operating system run faster than the previous version on the same hardware
3. Easily install and run different graphical interfaces if I don't like the default setup
4. Install twenty programs with one command
5. Have the system automatically update all my installed programs for me.
6. Install the same copy of my OS (Ubuntu) on multiple computers without worrying about license restrictions or activation keys
7. Give away copies of the operating system and other programs that run on it without breaking any laws, governmental or ethical or moral, because it was all intended to be used this way
8. Have full control over my computer hardware and know that there are no secret back doors in my software, put there by malicious software companies or governments
9. Run without using a virus scanner, adware/spyware protection, and not reboot my computer for months, even when I do keep up with all of the latest security updates
10. Run my computer without needing to defragment my hard drive, ever
11. Try out software, decide I don't like it, uninstall it, and know that it didn't leave little bits of stuff in a registry that can build up and slow down my machine
12. Make a major mistake that requires a complete reinstallation and be able to do it in less than an hour, because I put all of my data on a separate partition from the operating system and program files
13. Boot into a desktop with flash and effects as cool as Windows Vista on a three year old computer...in less than 40 seconds, including the time it takes me to type my username and password to login
14. Customize anything I want, legally, including my favorite programs. I can even track down the software developers to ask them questions, contribute ideas, and get involved in the actual design/software writing process if I want to
15. Have 4+ word processor windows open working on papers, listen to music, play with flashy desktop effects, have contact with a largely happy community and have firefox, instant messaging, and email clients all open at the same time, without ever having had to beg someone for a code to make my os work, and without the system running so slow it is useless
16. Use the command "dpkg --get-selections > pkg.list" to make a full, detailed list of all software I have installed, backup my /etc and /home directories on a separate partition, and you are able to recover your system any time, easily
17. Run multiple desktops simultaneously, or even allow multiple users to log in and use the computer simultaneously
18. Resize a hard disk partition without having to delete it and without losing the data on it
19. Use the same hardware for more than 5 years before it really needs to be replaced...I have some hardware that is nearly 10 years old, running Linux, and still useful
20. Browse the web while the OS is being installed!
21. Use almost any hardware and have a driver for it included with the operating system...eliminating the need to scour the internet to find the hardware manufacturer's website to locate one
22. Get the source code for almost anything, including the OS kernel and most of my applications

I could go on, but that's long enough. :)

Tesseract OCR How-To, by Dr Stupid; Scripts by Fred Smith

2008-02-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

Groklaw - Tesseract OCR How-To, by Dr Stupid; Scripts by Fred Smith

I have recently discovered Tesseract, the OCR software used by Google for its books.google.com offerings. I have used a number of open source OCR packages in the past, but this exceeds them all. I believe Tesseract will become the main stream de facto Linux OCR program once some GUI interfaces are written for it. Perhaps the Kooka team will incorporate it.

Remember??

2008-01-05T17:21:00.001-05:00

dscn1444.jpg
Originally uploaded by apswartz

One of the hardest things for me to do at church is to get people to take and share pictures. We have so many events where a photographer would come in handy and yet people are reluctant to either take pictures or share the pictures they have taken. PLEASE! Share your photographs. We have created a Flickr account for the church for members to share the pictures they have taken. These pictures can be used for the newsletter, the web site, and any other means of communication by and for the church.

Beer runners' trail a recipe for trouble - Criminal Peculiarity - MSNBC.com

2007-09-15T08:40:00.000-05:00

Beer runners' trail a recipe for trouble - Criminal Peculiarity - MSNBC.com

Yet another stupid over-reaction blamed on terrorism threats. Has common sense just disappeared?

The Declining Intelligence Around Us

2007-05-29T19:48:00.001-05:00

You have all heard of clerks who can't figure out change without a cash register. Well, it could be worse.

WorldNetDaily: Man arrested, cuffed after using $2 bills

A man trying to pay a fee using $2 bills was arrested, handcuffed and taken to jail after clerks at a Best Buy store questioned the currency's legitimacy and called police.

Read the article. Even the cops thought the 2 dollar bills might be forgeries. (I wonder what the profit margin would be on forging 2 dollar bills). After being cleared by the Secret Service the best the Baltimore PD could offer was "It's a sign that we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world." Please. How much can we blame on that excuse?

Picnik: Great Online Photo Editor

2007-05-26T19:40:00.001-05:00

Picnik Screenshot
Originally uploaded by apswartz

Have you ever wished you could just edit a photo you have on Flickr or Picasa (or even Facebook)? Well, you can with a great (and free) online photo editor, Picnik. I uploaded a photo from my hard drive, edited it, then saved it to Flickr without any problems. I also loaded and edited photos from Flickr and Picasa.

I have to admit that I am getting sucked into this Web 2.0 stuff!

Technorati Tags: web2.0, utility, photos, editors

Back Up Your Blog - Neat Web App

2007-05-26T19:01:00.001-05:00

BlogBackupOnline Snapshot
Originally uploaded by apswartz

Here is a rave for you. I stumbled across this great web app while looking through, well, webware.com...

Save your blog with BlogBackupOnline | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone

If you're the owner of a blog, there's a chance that, come one day, you might lose some or all of your posts. In order to avoid this, there's BlogBackupOnline, a free solution that will grab everything you've ever done and make a backup of it off site.

It is free. It is easy. All you do is create an account and enter your blogs and the backups are scheduled for each day. And did I mention that it is free?

Technorati Tags: blogs, blogging, backup

Trying Out a New Blogging Editor

2007-05-26T12:55:00.001-05:00

ScribeFire (previously Performancing for Firefox) :: Firefox Add-ons

I have installed a new Firefox extension that is an editor for blogs. It allows you to configure multiple blogs and select items you wish to blog about. For example I selected the page that listed this extension and wrote this little note about it.

Last.FM Too Slow: Users Create Their Own Facebook Application

2007-05-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

Last.FM Too Slow: Users Create Their Own Facebook Application: "Last.FM Too Slow: Users Create Their Own Facebook Application"

Michael Arrington explains where to find a way to include Last.fm on your Facebook page. I haven't done this yet. I do use Facebook widgets on this page and on my MySpace page.

Questionable Taste

2007-05-25T20:21:00.000-05:00

There is one restaurant my Jo Anne and I really enjoy dining at which is close by. I have noticed the last few times that there are a number of cars parked askewed. At first I thought maybe it was due to a number of patrons who just couldn't park. Tonight I saw someone pull up, park across the line and get out smoking his stogie and swaggering toward the entrance.

All I could think of was how I was attracted to the same eatery as a number of self-centered jerks!

Tagging Opera

2007-05-17T07:08:00.000-05:00

It seems that I completely missed the OperaTrackStyle guide on MusicBrainz. Perhaps, because it is still unofficial and there is no link to it from the main page or the Classical style guides. Basically it says that tracts should be tagged as follows...

opera_name[, catalogue ###]: Act XX[, Scene XX]. [performance_type] "name_of_the_song" [(character1, character2, ...)]

With an example being...

Don Giovanni, Op. 500: Act I, Scene III. Duettino "Là ci darem la mano" (Don Giovanni, Zerlina)

You know, finding the information and trying to do this the "right" way can be pretty complicated!

Cleaning Up the Music

2007-05-12T10:52:00.001-05:00

I am in the process of updating my collection of music files. I have about 5 to 6 gigs worth of music spread over several computers. I have deciding to begin copying them all to one old laptop for organizing and editing tags. I started ripping my CDs around 1999, but I no longer have those earlier files. A hard disk crash took them out. At the time I didn't have a backup because of the size of the files. Now I back them up on an external hard drive.

After weeding out the duplicate files I set out to organize the tags. I usually edit the tags in whatever software I am using to listen to the music (iTunes on my Mac and Amarok on my Linux boxen). I am running Linux on the laptop where I am doing the work and I am using Amarok, Picard (a tag editor from MusicBrainz) and Kid3. I am trying to follow the Classical Style Guide from MusicBrainz since that is what the folks at Last.fm like to see.

I had been tagging my files with the composer in the composer field and the performer(s) in the artist field. Well the Classical Style Guide says to put the performer(s) after the title in parentheses and put the composer in the artist field. The folks at MusicBrainz acknowledge in a FAQ that this is a violation of the id3v2 spec. The reason they give is...

Although the id3v2 spec does say that artist is for 'Lead artist/Lead performer/Soloist/Performing group' most pieces of software will only use this field and ignore the composer id3 field. With classical you are usually more interested in the composer of a work than the performer. Until there is enough software that allows you to use the composer field in any way it seemed least damaging to do it this way round as otherwise it becomes very hard to use the composer info at all.
Classical Music FAQ at MusicBrainz

While tagging can be a touchy subject with disagreements abounding, I have decided that I will try to use the MusicBrainz scheme.

Pogue on Web 2.0 at its Possibilities

2007-05-11T07:52:00.000-05:00

This is how David Pogue starts off a recent entry on Web 2.0...

“Web 2.0,” as I understand it, refers to Web sites whose contents are supplied by us, the people. What would Flickr be without its photos,YouTube without the videos, Craigslist without the ads, eBay without the auctions, TripAdvisor without people’s travel reviews? These mega-sites would be only empty white pages if the audience didn’t supply their materials.
From Pogue's Posts: Asking the Crowd to Spread the News

Most church web sites are Web 1.0 in nature. It is not that churches haven't tried to be more Web 2.0 in features, it is just that most people tend to look to a church web site for news and information. At Horne UMC we have tried things like forums in the past with little participation. Even our youth's site suffers from the same affliction. Our most popular offering on our church's web site are the mail lists. Mail lists, which have been around longer than the Web itself, still prove to be a quick and convenient way for people to receive and exchange information.

Tag! You're it

2007-05-08T17:10:00.001-05:00

What links were to Web 1.0 Tags are to Web 2.0 (Wikipedia article). Tagging is also a central component to Social Networking sites such as MySpace, FaceBook, Digg, and Last.FM. All of those sites are about social networking, but they serve different purposes and, likely, different audiences.

Since tagging is such an important part of the process it can become rather controversial. For example, ow do you tag your music? On Last.FM, which is a network based on music listening preferences it is significant and can be a source of contention. Consider the following reply I made in a forum on this matter.

Correct tagging explanation?
evilangela said:
The thing is, correct tags are the only way to identify the artist and song you're playing. If your tags are incorrect, then you're missing out on what Last.fm could be giving you. With track tags it's not as big of a deal, but if you've got the artist tags wrong, then you're missing out on a lot.
I understand that much. The problem for me is understanding the underlying philosophy for tagging. For example, I have noticed that in instrumental classical music the artist field usually contains the name of the composer and not the orchestra, conductor, etc. The composer field seems to be ignored by last.FM. In vocal pieces, such as arias or duets, the singers tend to be lists in the artist field. For people who collect classical music it is not unusual to many different recordings of the same work. If only the composer is identified in the artist field it would seem to make it impossible to differentiate between recordings. It seems to me that using the artist field as a performers field and making use of the composer field for the actual author of the piece makes the most since IMHO ;-)
jPeMelin said:
Occasionaly I got a reprimand for som minor error in my writing, but I respect such things and I have learned the style now, but I don't understand the rigid policy on the subject of ID-tags with argument already presented above. That's what I'm trying to get an understanding about.
Is there an explanation of this policy somewhere. Is is there some place where it is cleary detailed? I have taken the time to go through the bulk of my collection to replace the 'various artists' with the actual performers.

"Clean your tags" fascism! - General Discussion – Last.fm

Also, what is classical music? Most dynamic lists of tagged stream lists will include songs that have been tagged as “Classical Rock” or “Classical Country” in with music most people would consider classical. Don't get me started on how opera lists will include “metal” or “goth” opera in the mix. Streaming by tags can produce quite unexpected results.

Purpose

2007-05-08T08:02:00.000-05:00

I decided to start a separate blog for postings I didn't consider appropriate for my blog Hermeneutic.

Rants, Raves, Ruminations, and Referrals

Hospitality in the Middle East

Why light text on dark background is a bad idea « Tatham Oddie

Why light text on dark background is a bad idea

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