Category: Blogosphere

So much for "Web 2.0"

Great rant by Zeldman on the Web 2.0 meme:

But nothing, not even the rants of political bloggers, was as exciting as the scent of money. As the first properly valued “Web 2.0” properties began to find buyers, a frenzy like the old one popped hideously back to life. Yahoo spent how much? Google bought what? Here was real blood in the water.
But how to persuade the other sharks in the tank that this blood feast was different from the previous boom-and-bust? Easy: Dismiss everything that came before as Web 1.0.
[…]
As for me, I’m cutting out the middleman and jumping right to Web 3.0. Why wait?

(Via Slashdot.)

YAOUL (Yet Another Obviously Unconstitutional Law)

It’s official, even if is is unconstitutional. As reported in CNET, it is now illegal to intentionally annoy someone using anonymous Internet-based communications. From Section 113 of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act:

“Whoever…utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet… without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person…who receives the communications…shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”

Rest assured that if anyone posts annoying but anoymous comments on my blog, I won’t press charges. And if anyone has a chance to speak to Arlen Spector, you might ask him why he wastes taxpayer money by passing laws that even Clarence Thomas would strike down in a heartbeat.
CLARIFICATION: The actual Sec.113 of the cited bill simply amends the Communications Act of 1934; the “quote” from CNET claims to represent the result of this amendment. The language about “annoying” and “identity” comes from the original bill, as (multiply) amended.
FURTHER CLARIFICATION: Discussions over at BoingBoing seem to suggest that the infamous DMCA already codified much of this, and that this new language is 100% redundant. (I don’t know which is more depressing….) Moreover quite a few lawyers say we’re misreading the statute (though others disagree). In any case, nobody seems particularly surprised by any of this nonsense, and that may be the saddest commentary of all.

This time last year

As you may have noticed, I’ve added a section to my blog that shows what I was blogging about a year ago. Of course the big thing I was facing back in January 2005 was my upcoming Philosophy of Mind course at Tufts. Since I finished that course in May, I haven’t written much on the subject. But here are my thoughts, just for the record:

  • I had a blast. I enjoyed it tremendously. I’m going to do more. Eventually.
  • It was more time-consuming than I expected. There’s no way I can regularly double up academic and professional work.
  • It helped with my work. It’s good to think in different, and challenging, ways.
  • And with all of that, it still can’t replace the enjoyment and satisfaction that I get from my day job. I’m not one of those who feels, “Oh, if only I could retire from my work so that I could devote myself to my real interests.” So realistically I’m not going to take more formal courses until I find that I have to slow down a bit.
  • And finally, I’m still on all of the philosophy-related email lists, and I’m staying in touch. And reading – of course!

Writer's unblock

I’ve been blogging less frequently over the last few days, not because there was nothing I wanted to say, but because I felt that I wanted to treat each subject at greater length than I had time – or inspiration – for. But that’s silly: there’s nothing wrong with dashing off an abbreviated blog entry. If comments suggest interest, it’s easy to follow up. I’ll think categorize them as “Quickies”….

The Meme of Four

I found this over at 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera:
Meme of Four
Four jobs you’ve had in your life: Software engineer,…. Hmm: that’s it, I think. Different employers (government, academic, commercial) in the UK and US, with many variations on the theme; but basically I’m a one-trick pony.
Four movies you could watch over and over: The Lion in Winter; Lost in Translation; My Fair Lady; Kiss Me Kate
Four places you’ve lived: Brookline, MA; Chesham, Bucks; Newcastle-on-Tyne; London.
Four TV shows you love(d) to watch: Monty Python; House; MI5; Absolutely Fabulous
Four places you’ve been on vacation: Toronto; Paris; the Greek Islands; Florence
Four websites you visit daily: Andrew Sullivan; ongoing; AlecM;Majikthise
Four of your favorite foods: Sushi (actually sashimi); avocado; roast lamb with mint sauce; lemon zabaglione
Four places you’d rather be: Oxford; Tokyo; Barcelona; Sydney
Your turn….

Best blog design

It’s that time of year… the Weblog awards for 2005. I was tempted to visit by a comment in a political blog, and stayed to review the finalists for the Best Blog Design. I wasn’t familiar with any of them, so I took a few minutes to visit each site. The most stunning image was this photograph on Antipixel, and I almost wound up voting for it. However I finally cast my ballot for Coming Anarchy. I love the details of the design – the presentation of block quotes, for instance – and the way that all of the elements work together to create a distinctive and harmonious style.

But I don’t want to bias you. All of the finalists are worth a visit. Check ’em out, then vote often.