June 2004

Dashboard vs. Konfabulator

June 30, 2004

John Gruber does a great job of discussing the current controversy that surrounds Dashboard vs. Konfabulator. Maybe if the Konfabulator folks do follow-through with a Windows version they can follow the model Apple has used for Dashboard. It would be fantastic to be able to write cross-platform widget-gadgets.

Original Work?

June 29, 2004

Dave Winer poses the question What to do when the platform vendor "validates" your product by copying it and announcing it will bundle the copy with the OS[?] He is not alone as there is also a thread running on Tidbits Talk asking similar questions. I have a bit of a different take. The current hoop-la is over Konfabulator whose snazzy "widget" applets bear a strong resemblance to the "gadgets" in Tiger's Expose.

A personal background. I have used Konfabulator and I believe that if I were to plow though the many e-reciepts on the computer I'd find a payment for it at one point. I say this because like many applications of its ilk I've tried it, played with it for a bit and decided it wasn't for me. Will I find Tiger's Gadgets equally flashy and then wander away. We'll see.

Safari RSS

June 29, 2004

Dave Winer comments on Apple's announcement of Safari RSS today. He mentions a wish that they had respected the orange-on-white XML icon that represents RSS feeds. I'm not certain I agree. I know what the icon means but is it clear to users. If I'm trying to educate somebody about blogs then it should be simple.

Although the browser is named Safari RSS it also supports the Atom format. Should it use a different icon for each format or the white on blue text that it uses?

It would be nice to see Apple give credit to the folks who came up with the RSS spec.

Sunny San Francisco

June 27, 2004

Greetings from the Pickwick Hotel in downtown San Francisco. The city by the bay is as beautiful as I recalled it. In the past I've always stayed in the San Jose area and made day trips to the "city" which popular music accuses of collecting left-behind hearts.

We made a mistake on this trip. Staying in down town it is not necessary to rent a car. In fact it is better NOT to rent a car. A pass on the local mass-transit system will cost less than a day of parking. This does not include even the convenience factor of not having to locate scarce parking.

Las Vegas airport to implement RFID baggage-tag system

June 24, 2004

This really isn't a new article but it is interesting as the library at the law school is undertaking an RFID experiment at the same time. I didn't notice RFID tags when I left Las Vegas last week. We'll have to see this week if they are evident. What hyjinks could be played by taking an "old" tag and putting it inside a bag....

Uplinked

June 22, 2004

We got the satellite internet setup this morning. It seems to work pretty well. In the few minutes I played with it the latency was noticeable but not terrible. We'll have to try some video and see how it goes. More to come I'm sure...

A DIY-IT Conference

June 22, 2004

Doc Searls comments today about the idea of doing a DIY-IT event. He suggests a conference along the lines of BloggerCon. I'd love to see about hosting something like that here at UNLV. The thing would be finding the right time. A good time for the school (with space available) is in the summer though the thermometer might indicate a different time of year. Spring break is one possibility though it is always tied to Easter so some folks won't want to be gone late in the week. Possibly the end of Winter Break? Just before the spring semester starts? It will be a cooler time in many parts of the country and a nice time to visit the warm Southwest.

University of Washington

June 19, 2004

As the CALI conference draws to a close I feel compelled to comment on the University of Washington. The Law School at UW has been the host. As a member of a family with a long-standing history at Washington State University I may have arrived with an unduly negative preconception of the school. However, everything I have seen and experienced has shown that the school is among the best of conference hosts around. It is quite remarkable how attentive the caterers are with nary a need unmet. The quality of the food as well is very good.

Wireless access in the hallways at first proved somewhat spotty but by changing the wireless setup in the powerbook to use 'g' instead of 'b' or 'g'.

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