There’s a fair bit of buzz over Gareth Halfacree‘s article for thinq_ “Microsoft bans open source from the Marketplace“, which doesn’t give a fair accounting of the situation. I’m not a Microsoft fan by any stretch. I’m an advocate of open source software (as an author, and a user of it), but this time, Microsoft…
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Category Archives: Opinion
On the Creation of Art
A Bit of Background I am something of a compulsive creator, and this has manifested over the years in a variety of formats, though the medium itself is largely unimportant. Rather, the act of creating something is what drives me. In this adventure, I have tried my hand at several art forms, discovering new passions,…
On Limitations and Self Doubt
“Qui audet adipiscitur.” “Who dares, wins.” – Unknown More than one person has suggested I take on too much. Despite the elements of truth in such claims, I hold no intention of stopping. Why? I dislike limitations. Not to say I don’t believe in them, but at any given time I can make a guess as…
Shoemoney Xtreme Internet Marketing Program – Free Lunch or Not?
I posted on Twitter earlier about Shoemoney’s new Xtreme Internet Marketing Program, and I’m surprised at the amount of cynicism I received via comments (on Facebook, which pulls from my Twitter feed) and direct messages (on Twitter). Paul Cross summed up the general response well when he said: TANSTAAFL That’s “There Ain’t No Such This As…
Usenet Indexing and Search Engine Accountability
There has been some controversy lately over at Newzbin. Seems the MPAA is extending their witch hunt into Usenet. Through the debacle, community members have drawn parallels between torrents and NZBs, which is inaccurate. There is a fundamental difference between torrents and NZBs. Torrents need the tracker to connect the swarm, to know who has…
On the Benefits of Self-Taught Skills
There are those who hold the view that being self-taught is a disadvantage. As an individual of this sort, my views will be inherently biased. Please forgive me for this, and look past it. If you disagree (or agree) with my rationale, add a comment. I will respond to all comments. The situation is such…
On Writing Quality Code.
I’ll fix it later… We’ve all done it, and its bad enough when you’re maintaining your own code… but if you are working with other developers (or if someone may one day be working with your code), the ‘dirty hack now, fix it later’ way of coding is simply not acceptable. Source is for human…
On Copy Protection and Use Reporting
The topic of copy protection, and how much is too much arose on Marc Hughes’ blog today. Where is the line drawn, then? He asks about software phoning home, and the sorts of data that are proper to report, specifically inquiring about license keys, version reporting, and installation identifiers. Responding to each… License Keys A…
On the (ab)use of netspeak.
Language, then, like everything else, gradually transforms itself over the centuries. There is nothing surprising in this. In a world where humans grow old, tadpoles change into frogs, and milk turns into cheese, it would be strange if language alone remained unaltered. – Jean Atchison, Language Change: Progress or Decay?, p. 4 Many communities have…
On the benefits of forums vs instant messaging.
Someone inquired why one would choose to use a forum over a chat medium such as MSN. Regarding public discussion Forums encourage more people to engage in discussion, by exposing the topic of conversation to a wider audience than MSN could target. Allowing for the use of group chats, each person must still be invited to take part. IRC…
How Full is the Glass?
So often we hear this classic metaphor used to describe a person’s outlook on life, or a specific event. More often than not, the outlook being discussed is neatly placed in a box, and attached a tag marking it as pessimistic, or optimistic. Some views however, are not so neatly packaged. The glass is not…
