Friday, October 12, 2001

>>>> There seems to be a conflict of interest problem at the W3C.  One thing left out of the policy is:  a motivation to gain from patents.  Booo!  Bad form.  Most of these guys are academic.  They make money from patents.  The rise of the Web left them on the sidelines, and boy, that must have hurt.  I bet most of them hate the idea that their "great" ideas will be stolen again. 9:39:03 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

>>>> Scripting.  Potential Anthrax attack on NYT and NBC.  Asymmetric warfare is our future.  Here is a quote from my section on Asymmetric warfare: ""In that in that scenario, the nature of conflict changes.  We can't assume that the other side has any desire to survive the conflict (we are very lucky the Russian leadership DID want to survive in our last big conflict).  The attack could come from both within and outside our borders without warning (the classic attack is from a basement lab built with common technologies that cost little).  The attack could be devastating, and result in tens of millions dead before it is known that an attack occurred (a new virus or self-replicating nanotechnology).  The institutions of our open society could be used against us (Fedex packages to multiple locations around the globe that contain a virus/nanotech or a AI that infest and corrupts computer controlled infrastructure).  We will also will have no idea who wants to attack us or why (at the individual level delusion, a loss of a job, or misdirected passion is enough)."" 12:43:42 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

>>>> NYT.  Verizon uses panic to keep rivals from using its facilities.  It was bad enough that the regional bells, singlehandedly stunted the growth of broadband Internet access.  Now they want to kill it entirely.  Every day we wait to break up the bell's control over broadband and phone service, is a day we delay a broadband future. 12:12:03 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

>>>> Craig Burton points out the value of iFolder which keeps files in sync across multiple desktops/laptops through replication.  This is a big reason people use Groove.  However, the big advantage with Groove is that it allows ad-hoc workgroups to sync up folders of documents without support from an IT department via P2P.  That in my mind is much more a redirection than iFolder's centralized architecture.  This capability can also be part of a Weblog.  My Weblog is my organizer.  When I post a document to it, it should show up on all the other machines I use or on the machines of subscribed workgroup members via  P2P or cloud-based downstreaming.  What makes this much more powerful than either Groove or iFolder is that my Weblog posts provide information on context and time neither of these competitive products do.  It answers the questions:  when did I last modify this document, what did I do to it, and why did I do it?  Answers to these questions become particularly relevant in a group workflow situation.  See K-Logs for a discussion on this. 8:33:35 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

>>>> I saw Bush last night in a press conference.  It was badly done.  A couple things they might do to improve things at the White House: 1) Don't give any more press conferences.  People need to get a clear message.  Fireside chats are a better medium for that.  Let Powell and others handle the press interactions.  2) There should be a strong gag rule in effect for all administration personnel.  There should be little talk of bombing Iraq, Syria, and the Sudan.  Follow Powell, its his strategy after all.  A wider conflict may come, but everything in due time.  Get your teams act together. 3) Stop the FBI and CIA from giving blanket cover-your-ass warnings of impending attack.  Everytime a warning goes out, economic activity slows.  Warnings provide no added benefit and only serve to worsen the economic slowdown.  7:21:48 AM    Comment_ Trackback []