For many people the run-up to the 2004 presidential election and the way in which we gathered news was completely different than ever before. The advent of free-lance and amateur news sources on the internet provided a new source for information that was faster and more responsive (although not always accurate). The mainstream web news sources rarely reported news I had not seen somewhere else, and print media was sorely behind. For myself, I am still subscribed to numerous politically oriented blogs and news sites via RSS

Dan Gillmor recently departed the San Jose Mercury News to develop new projects, but his experiences as a professional journalist and technology expert shine through in his book. We the media documents the history of how media has changed over the centuries. He concentrating on the emergence of “new media” since 9/11. The changes in how media works that I have experienced are well documented and the potential implications are explored. He talks equally about the potential of the new media to expand the types of information available to every citizen as well as how those same citizens can become participants in the process.

We are seeing a change in progress; a tipping point that will likely change the way in which news is reported for decades to come. If that interests you, We the media will be a good read.

Note: Although Dan Gillmor defiantly would appreciate the purchase of the book, he is embracing the new model by releasing the whole book under a Creative Commons license so you can download the book in its entirety. Download from the book website here (online book, top left).

Well, the comment spam arms race continues. I have installed a captcha system which requires that you transcribe a numeric value from an image into a text box before your post will be posted (or even accepted). In addition to foiling spammers for a little bit (remember, when your party is being chased by a dragon, you don’t have to outrun the dragon, you just have to outrun the hafling), it will allow your posts to be placed online immediately without being moderated.

This system does have it’s drawbacks, most notably that you have to type in another thing before posting, but more concerning is that I am preventing anyone using a non-graphical browser (text, aural, etc.) from posting to my blog. It is unlikely that this will actually effect anyone, however it does bother me in principle as I try to develop pages that are fully accessible. But in this case I feel the benefits outweigh the problems and to a certain extent my hand has been forced.

I am sure that spammers will get around this eventually. I have seen it happen before. When I initially moved over to Wordpress from Movable Type, I saw a drop in blogspam. Then they caught up. I renamed my posting script to stop the hard coded bots who used the default script names. They updated their bots to parse the actual blog entries to find the posting script. So I know that the spammers will eventually catch up, but hopefully this will last a while. Next step is probably forcing the client computer to do math that takes a few seconds to process (i.e. Hashcash, Hashcash 2).

I have a project at work that is posing a sort of problem for our team. This project, let’s call it project FERRET, has been requested by a rather influential person. This is not a new project, it is making functional changes to an existing system that to a large extent works, albeit clunkily. He has indicated that, in his view, the requirements of the project are rather simple. And if you look at exactly what he wants, he is correct.

The problem arose when we talked to the users of the system and actually looked at the system itself. It is a mess. To really make a system that I could be proud of, it needs a ground up rebuild. Our team has come up with some great ideas that would result in a wonderfully flexible, clean system that would really take the drudgery out of dealing with this data for the people who use the system and let them actually do their jobs instead of paperwork and cutting and pasting. But that will take at least 9-12 months. We don’t have that kind of time.

So we have come up with a short term solution. It isn’t bad, and I am thrilled that one of my teammates came up with it, because I couldn’t think up with a way to cut this project down. I was stuck in my own head with doing it the “right” way.

In the end I hate having a situation where we can either do something that works, but isn’t the best answer in the required time, or do great work that we can be very proud of that will make our team look damn good with a powerful person on campus, but not in the time allotted.

sigh.

Is the sound of the head of every CEO of every flash based mp3 player company exploding.

Apple has joined the fray and no one else has a chance. Ever since the introduction of the iPod other manufacturers have been squeezed down towards the low end of the market. With over 80% of the hard drive based mp3 market cornered, Apple has decided it needs to take over the low end of the market. I almost pity the competitors, they don’t have a chance. Apple - iPod shuffle

In addition, Jobs also announced Apple’s attempt to stop the complaints that Apple doesn’t offer an entry level Mac. The Mac Mini seems to me to be squarely targeted at PC users. It doesn’t come with a monitor, mouse, or keyboard. PC owners can buy this relatively inexpensive ($499) computer, hook it up to their existing peripherals, and they will be all set to experience something they haven’t ever before. Not to mention the fact it is tiny! (6.5 x 6.5 x 2 inches. wow.)

So what does this mean for Apple? I think this is a big move for them. It is the first time in a very long time they are trying to compete on price. Since the return of Steve Jobs to Apple, he has positioned Apple as a high-end niche vendor that produces products that are the epitome of cool. Virtually every television show, movie, and teen idol has an iPod and show it off. Every issue of Wired has a section profiling a famous individual and what’s on their iPod. It has entered the culture. It appears that they are going to capitalize on that now. The perception of Apple has been cool, but I can’t afford it. But now that a whole new range of people can afford Apple products (and their wonderful simplicity and craftsmanship) interesting things will happen

I think this will be good for Apple. I look forward to them succeeding.

We are back!  Back from the nice warm sun to the cold grey twilight of winter.  You can tell I'm thrilled :)  We had a wonderful time.  The boat was nice, our room comfortable, the food scrumptious (and plentiful), the sea beautiful, the islands warm and welcoming.  And the trip was just the right length; we had enough time to relax and enjoy ourselves but were happy it was over at the end.

I am very happy Elizabeth talked me into taking a cruise and I have a feeling I may be more excited about the idea of going on another one than she is.  She did a wonderful job of documenting what we did every day and I expect she will post those at some point, but I can give you a glimpse via pictures.  Well more than a glimpse since we took over 800 of them.  Have fun!

Cruise Photos

I really don’t think most people want to hear what I have to say about the election. Elizabeth and my officemates have already had to endure that. So I will boil down my thoughts. I am truely disgusted by 70% of the people in this country. 30% of people who feel that Bush represents the direction this country should be moving. But far more so by the 40% of people who didn’t even bother to go and make a choice. At least Bush’s 30% believed what they believed (however stupid and misguided I may think it is) and did something about it. I hope that over the next four years I remember to ask anyone I hear complaining about the state of affairs if they voted; and if they didn’t I hope that I am only be moderatly rude to them. But we are we are now, however much I hate it.

So what do we do now?

I wish I knew. I am afraid of what this country will look like in 4 years. I am afraid that it will be changed so fundamentally that it will take decades to fix. I am afraid that an intolerant, past looking majority will continue to impose it’s moral views on me. Basically, I am just afraid. In conversation today, someone made the point that they thought this may be a point that in 30 years we look back on like McCarthyism. I hope we wise up sooner than that.

All we can do now is try to fight the good fight. I was waiting until after the election to make my annual donation to the ACLU. There are important fights that will be waged over the next years, and we can’t give up now. So I’ve made my contribution.

What happens next is really up to all of us. Don’t forget that.

OK, I know this is silly, but hey I want a new Palm that I can use to try some wireless stuff at home. But I sure am not going to actually pay for one. So, if I can get 8 people to sign up for this, I get a free palm. Am I going to do more than ask somewhat sheepishly? No.

Help Jeremy get a new Palmpilot

Updated: OK, nevermind, this is a lot more invasive than I originally thought.

After a long hiatus, William Gibson is blogging again. Apparently he just became so fed up with the current political situation he couldn’t help himself. I realized how much I missed his wit and insight into the world. I’ll leave you with a choice quote

Believing Bush is conservative in any traditional sense is like believing that a Formula One racer with the Perrier logo on its side is full of mineral water.

So go and read. It is good stuff

::sigh:: A real internet connection. At home even! wow.

After a little difficulty this afternoon due to a faulty DSL modem I am all set! Widomaker promptly replaced the faulty unit. This being a prime example of why I am going with Widomaker instead of Verizon. I can’t imagine the pain I would have had to go through with a big faceless company to get the $10 box replaced.

Why DSL? Well I could have gotten a cable modem. It would have been a faster connection, however I would have had to deal with Cox. And that is always bad. Not only that I would have had to share my internet connection with the pimply faced kid down the street who just realized there are naked girls on the internet. So now I have a DSL connection. It is my connection and the only person who I have to share it with is Elizabeth (and she already knows about the naked girls). I have a static IP address and a company I trust. That is worth it.

Pirates and Emperors