Get out of Yahoo now?

I'm actually very worried about Microsoft getting my email. I'm wondering if I can and/or should decommission my Yahoo email before Microsoft is able to scoop up Yahoo. I really don't want to do it if I don't have to, and really, I'm not sure I can - I just have too much tied up to my yahoo email account. Not just all of those contacts, but my email address is used to get into any number of online services, bank accounts, etc.

Not a good situation.

All Your Data Are Belong to Microsoft

That's right - if Microsoft manages to buy Yahoo - they get all of that information you have trusted to Yahoo for the past several years. All of your email. All of your contacts. All of your bookmarks and photos and comments and contacts and notes. All of it:

We transfer information about you if Yahoo! is acquired by or merged with another company. In this event, Yahoo! will notify you before information about you is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

I know this is America and we're only supposed to care about stockholders, not stakeholders, but the thought of Microsoft having all of my data is not something I take lightly.

Until we see tears in her eyes

Watching LSU vs. Tennessee, 2008 women's college basketball semi-final. Candace Parker, who plays for Tennessee, has an injured left shoulder, but she's still playing.

The female sports announcer just let us know the strategy that LSU should employ - run Candace Parker through pick-and-rolls (which bangs the defensive player's shoulder) "until we see tears in her eyes".

...what a game. Feel bad for LSU.

Free software sucks

That's been my contention for a while, now. There are exceptions to the rule. For instance, there are very simple, commodity pieces of software that have evolved over years that do a decent job - like Apache web server. But there are myriad other pieces of free software - that is free of charge, free to use - that just suck.

Take Drupal or the myriad other free content management systems in existence. Take Firefox extensions. Or Open Office. Or Linux - which is only now making inroads into the enterprise because of the massive amounts of money that corporations have poured into it - paying for development and infrastructure. And Linux on the desktop continues to be a catastrophic failure, or worse - a never-was. The list goes on and on. They suffer in quality and lack of features because everyone who works on them is only a volunteer - they don't charge for their software - and this has included me.

Granted, most software sucks, including non-free software, but I think the best model is one in which people can do good work and be able to feed themselves - and nobody deserves to be exploited like most Silicon Valley tech workers are - working countless hours of overtime for free.

37Signals started charging for their software, and people started to think differently. Developers started to realize that an honest living was possible if they started charging for their software. And users appreciated having full-featured software that actually worked.

I don't believe that VCs are soley to blame, but they play a big part. So, on that part, Hank Williams is right.

People with money, like Mike Arrington, love VCs and the VC mentality - which is 'those with money should be able to exploit those without money' - it's the Ayn Randian view of the world. If you grow up relatively-privileged, then you should feel free to own and control everybody else - in fact, it's your moral responsibility to own, control, and exploit as many people and things as possible. So, to Arrington and Objectivists everywhere, the free software model is great.

I'm not suggesting that we should do away with good will and charity and the like - just the opposite. By charging a fee for your software, non-profits and non-commercial users can get the quality software they deserve, and they don't have to spend their limited resources - time and money - fixing crappy software. And commercial users can get quality software, too. And you can build great software and still be able to eat. Everybody wins.

...bounties are a good idea. i rediscovered Express Engine yet again. there were a few things that kept me from buying in the past, but i'm def going to check it out this time. thankfully, it's not free. :D

"It's bigger than the personal computer"

So said this guy at the recent Apple Developer get-together on March 6th, 2008.

I really fell for the iPhone when I was outside a bar and was chatting to some dude, and asked him where another cool bar was. He took out his iPhone and pulled up Google Maps - it looked awesome - just like on the web - but it was better, in that it geolocated us on the map, and it even seemed faster. He then got directions to this other bar he was telling me about. I was floored. Too easy. Too fast. Too cool.

Then I saw that video above. It's incredible. A 3-axis accelerometer? You've got to be kidding me.

Next - I just want a barcode-reader built into the iPhone - that will be so legit.

It's Official: April Fool's Day Is Dead

And it's about time.

This holiday used to be OK when we were kids - it seemed harmless enough - make a few people cry, whatever. But now it's out of hand. It's nothing more than an excuse to be cruel to people just to be able to say, "Ha! I got you!". It's cruel people trying to be more sinister than their cruel neighbors. Everyone wants to be Ashton Kutcher, it seems. It's all an ego trip - nothing more.

April Fool's Day is based on cruelty - not humor.

You want to have fun? Have fun. Drink a beer. Have some crazy sex. Do whatever - having fun does not require cruelty - I promise.

The past day and a half has seen the blogosphere filled with April Fool's jokes - so much so that nobody knows what is true and what is false. GM buys a bicycle company? Home defibrillators are useless? What's true and what's false? Where does the ridiculousness end? It's as if the world doesn't constantly produce ridiculous headlines of its own. Greenwashing? Never heard of it. GM buys streetcar companies? Of course, not - never happened - you can't prove it - unless you can.

Next year - if the annoying and evil April Fools' Day should rise from the dead - I will set a hopefully-capable Google Reader to start ignoring all new posts made from March 31 through April 2. I'll resort to Google News and serious news sources to get my news and information.

April Fool's Day is dead. Good riddance.

OpenID a good thing?

I dunno. The privacy issue worries me. Our IP address and (site and ad) cookies and whatnot already track us to lots of places on the internet, but using an OpenID seems like a good way to close the loop - to help corporations and governments really keep close, accurate tabs on everything you do online.

For all the OpenID stuff I've read about over the past few months, not once have I read anything about privacy. I actually don't understand the technology at all, so it's possible that I'm missing something - but any technology that is draped in buzzwords like 'centralization' and 'single sign-on' seems like a bad idea for anyone worried about privacy.

U.S.=Killers; Canada=Baby Seal Killers

I've posted on the topic of the Canadian baby seal hunt before, but it's worth another look - I guess it's that time of year again.

There's no doubt that the U.S. government is the worst purveyor of violence in the world - and much of that violence is directed at civilians - slaughtering humans like sheep.

But Canada has its own little thing going on. Even America can't be chastised for slaughtering baby seals, like Canada can.

I was reminded of this the other day when I must've made some kind of 'clubbing baby seals' remark to a friend. I was like, 'no - really - they actually do that in real life in Canada'. Shown some video from PeTA, they became believers. I think most people think it's just a figure of speech - I used to think that.

Part of the shift just needs to happen in our thinking - awareness of this stuff. So, when I think of Canada, I still think 'less brutal existence than in America', but I need to also think of this seal hunt nightmare.



Can't say I've really emailed or called anyone this year, but will do something and update here.

More at furisdead.com.

...ok, i signed this petition. i think a phone call might be the next best option. phone calls suck for those receiving them for a number of reason - #1, they're so intrusive, and interrupting - so they're a good way to get your point across - it shows that you care enough to call. and if that's true, you might be willing to do other things.

Kick ass

...as Cartman might say.

I'm kind of excited about WordPress 2.5.


...tried it out actually, it looks like I did not try it out - my upgrade was basically some half-assed upgrade. upon installing from scratch, i got a bunch more new features. guess the 'upgrade plugin' won't get you there.

...ok - we're back on track. fresh install = new features! yes, the multi-file uploader works well. very very cool. that's a big step towards making wordpress a more complete content management system. as originally stated, the admin interface still needs to be ajaxified - ideally, completely, but all in all, a goodish release.


it's ok. it's just sorely lacking in a couple of departments:
1) need AJAXified everything. i'm used to using 37signals stuff lately, so everything is a lot quicker - i'm a lot more productive when i'm working in 37signals stuff.
2) the media upload area is hurting. no progress meter. and there should be a separate place to manage all of your uploaded media - someplace outside the context of actually writing new content. not sure how easy it is to find a flash-based progress meter, but i'll check it out.

Amy Goodman Pwns Barack Obama

This is the best reporter on the planet, doing it like it should be done:

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, I don’t want to replace those contractors with more US troops, because we don’t have them, alright? But this was a speech about the economy.

AMY GOODMAN: The war is costing $3 trillion, according to Stiglitz.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: That’s what—I know, which I made a speech about last week. Thank you.

$3 what? 3 who? where? how did...?

Yes, Barack - you've just been questioned by the woman, the myth, the legend - Amy Goodman.

WTFMFWTFAYT, or Jim's Big Ego

Just found out about these fools from Boston. Awesome.

MySpace. Website.

Lots of good songs.

:D

The Peace Sign

Kinda cool to know its history.

Twittering invented before blogging

This cnet.com article shows why techcrunch is no cnet. burrrrrn.

ok - who cares.

so, if you read the cnet article you stumble upon the finger protocol - which I actually used back in the day, on DEC workstations, son! and i remember updating my .plan - i thought it was the coolest thing. and i remember google-stalking people and computers using finger - though, google-stalking back in the early days wasn't much fun - you might find out what some other engineering dork on some other workstation typed into his .plan.

but, if updating your .plan was a very quick and lightweight way of letting folks know where you were and what you were up to, then that's not early blogging - that's early twittering.

therefore, i invented twittering, and now i get to act self-important with the rest of the web2.0 crowd.

:)

this also means that Zuckerberg stole my 'finger' idea, and just modified it to 'poke'.

where's a t-shirt when you need one?

...Twitter in Plain English.

The Western Civilization

SXSW - you get spoiled, apparently - speaking from experience.

If you can't get into the club where your favorite band of the moment is playing, you stroll down to the next club - and they kick the shit out of it.

If a band is less than awesome, you think, "eh". But, I haven't seen much of that.

The Western Civilization.

You decide for yourself.

Personally, I think these folks are the shit. Just amazing. Unreal.

SXSW - DeVotchKa

SXWS - aka - 'south by'.

damn - it's an explosion of music. it's coming from everywhere. i don't know that i've ever seen/heard anything like it before. bands playing on street corners and shit - kinda crazy.

so, DeVotchKa (wiki) have a funky name - and I've seen their name travel in respectable indie circles. and tonight some dude told me to go check them out, even though it'd be sold out - he said, "there will be hoards of people outside, so you won't be alone". so, i went - it was pretty legit, if a bit difficult to hear - too far away.

they're definitely worth listening to, especially if you want something different. made me think 'greek' and 'arabian' and it would definitely be a good time if you could watch them all playing their funky instruments live and up close. can't say it's the type of stuff i'd buy, though.

Austinist censorship?

I've complained about SXSW before - and apparently I'm not the only one.

There's a note from the editor saying they pulled an unfavorable piece about and old rich dude down here who apparently leaned on the bosses at Austinist. It included some damning evidence from the columnist, who says he was an eye-witness to what was probably a federal crime:

While Mr. Black is no doubt emotionally shielded by such complaints, I cannot express how offensive I find this. Why? Well, first a quick confession: Despite this column's opening, I have actually met Louis Black. Not that he talked to me. I was leaning against a wall, outside a Red River bar, weighing my odds of hailing a cab amid the Sx tempest. I'd been chatting with the Sx door girl, when suddenly this sweaty old man who looked like Bukowski's little brother shuffled up in a wrinkled guayabera holding a bulging bank bag, escorted by a uniformed Austin police officer. He grabbed the cash from the till, hastily checked the girls' people counter, and then shuffled off to the next honey pot.

I was awed that Big Man collected the door money. That a head of the organization, one that depended upon the hard work of volunteers, would personally ensure the take. Then it occurred to me: at the height of Sx, when so many high-profile shows and parties were just hitting their climax, one could easily discern the priorities of the festival's organizers, simply by pin-pointing the location of their most public face. And that place was, apparently, collecting the cash.

And that's when I learned the true meaning of SXSW.

my comment:

let's see if this comment gets deleted, too.

well, i didn't read the article until just now - it's still up:
http://austinist.com/2008/03/10/the_accidental_12.php

but, why did you really pull it?

i mean, we know why - just don't lie to us. wtf? are your readers a bunch of imbeciles? do you have that much contempt for us?

if that Louis Black dude - or whatever rich, fat, white, old guy - is skimming cash out of the registers to keep it out of the hands of the IRS, then don't you think that's something Austinist readers should know? or do we have to go to a real newspaper for real news?

just asking.

so, i'm not sure what to make of it, if anything at all, but it does seem fishy. It's one thing for the US government or GoDaddy or whoever to censor, but Austinist and the entire Gothamist network?

and if this story was actually able to make it to the web, did the editors not do their jobs? or is the columnist just too powerful? there's definitely some power struggling going on there. and what stories are being spiked on a regular basis? has this rich, old, fat dude had other stories spiked?

the whole thing is definitely a bit off - definitely pathetic - and makes gothamist and austinist and the rest of the -ist network look really bad.

Wikipedia and Valleywag

Wow, Jimmy Wales messed up bad. He does need to quit, or be fired.

It's pretty bad. Getting straight-up payed to rewrite history.

I'm a huge Wikipedia fan, and we know it's not perfect, but this dude's been going bonkers. Not to burn him too much - the question is, would have Wikipedia existed without him, and would it have gotten as far as it has without him?

And further, are any of Wales' payola schemes any worse than things that Encyclopædia Britannica does every day, just hidden from public oversight completely? Probably not.

But the question then becomes, if Wales has been involved in payola and bribery and extortion, who else at Wikipedia has been involved?

Hey - I edit Wikipedia. Best gimme some cash, else I'm gonna mess up your Wiki, yo!

:-)

And seriously, what's up with that weird-ass 'æ' character in Encyclopædia? Is that new? They didn't have that when I was in grade school.

And we really have to rely on Valleywag to get this info? Shit, man. In a way, Valleywag really is a terrorist organization - they're not quite on the level of Scientology yet, but could they get there? Probably. Will they go there? Maybe.

Do I feel threatened when I write this post? Not too much, but there are reasons for that. I don't have a lot to lose - financially or otherwise, and I'm pretty open about all sorts of things, on this blog and others. I have no big-wig position to protect, no marriages or anything like that. Still, would it be fair for Valleywag to go after me and print everything that every tipster sent to them? Whether something is true or not is largely irrelevant. Would I want it to happen?

No.

And that's pretty scary. Imagine - if a veritable nobody in Silicon Valley - me - would not be happy about getting Valleywagged, what does that mean for people who actually do have things they'd like to keep on the low - like their fetish for Hershey Sundae Pies, maybe? Are they entitled to that privacy? Are they - we - entitled to any privacy at all?

If Valleywag decides to attack you - could you handle it? There's nothing that Scientology could do that Valleywag couldn't. Is everyone 'fair game'? They could hire private investigators to trail you. They could harass you and your family. They could do whatever they wanted to, and what could you do in return? Not a lot. You're left with very few options - either take it, or lose it - buy yourself a gun and go for the people at the top - the people giving the orders. The Church of Scientology does it. Paparazzi do it. Valleywag does it to a certain extent, so far - are they getting more aggressive? Will you be next?

Valleywag has already attained a level of inhumanity that puts it right up there with health care companies and other major corporations. You know how environmental firms go after environmental activists? Well, that's what Valleywag does, and can do. I don't know this to be fact, but I suspect there are plenty of people who would love to be critical of Scientology and Valleywag, but just won't do it - they're scared. And they have good reason to be scared. Valleywag operates using the same 'Fair Game' policy that the Church of Scientology uses.

I'll admit, it's not easy for me to feel sorry for folks like TechCrunch's Mike Arrington - someone whose writing exudes a lack of compassion that even Newt Gingrich could be proud of - but that still doesn't make Valleywag's attacks right or moral or ok.

On the other hand, there does seem to be a need for some truth telling in any power center. We used to have Uncov, but they went away, and now we're left with Valleywag. They add value sometimes - but they're pretty evil, too.

Maybe it's not that big a deal. Maybe only the tech titans get Valleywagged? Like any other gossip rag, the news hits, people jabber, and then someone else is getting crucified tomorrow. Life goes on. Probably easy for us to say - those of us who haven't get been Valleywagged.

Man - the more I think about it - the more I think that analogy works. Scary.

Are you next on Valleywag's hit list?

...removed the FBI ref. I actually am scared of them.

The Work Less, Do More Party

I thought of something while commenting on the 37 Signals blog about a shorter work week - the Work Less Party is real, but it has a marketing problem:

Work Less == Lazy

So, I propose a name change:

The Work Less, Do More Party

People will kind of get it, but will want an explanation just to make sure - and that's fine, and even good, because it will pique their interest. And it immediately casts off the 'laziness' connotation.

Of course, by 'work less, do more' we mean:

Do less industrial, for-profit, soul and community and environment-destroying work, and instead do something useful like help your kids with their homework, go visit your elderly parents more often, babysit for your friends, organize a weekly community gathering to hammer out better and safer transportation options for yourself and your family and friends and community.

:)

Moss staying with Pats, so Favre retires

I'm just calling it like I see it.

Moss decides to stay with the Pats. Favre retires.

Coincidence?

I think not. We wrote about how Favre wanted to play with Moss so they could try to win a championship.

I do believe Packers management displayed a good bit of racism in this entire situation - similar to how any group of rich old white dudes treat any disobedient black dude. Favre, for his part, looked good - he never bought into the racist remarks that we'd see everywhere - from ESPN to the most popular corporate papers and websites - the framing was always that of 'the angry lazy black man' - it never had anything to do with the incompetent players and management and ownership surrounding Moss.

That the Packers org was too racist, and possibly cheap, to get Moss is tought to swallow for lots of Favre and Packers fans.

That said - did Favre have his best year ever last year? What was different? Was he on The Clear? Just asking.

Psychopaths

This article has been getting a lot of attention in the bicycle blogosphere.

I can certainly see the mystique.