stargeek
KM, Beeb styleKM, Beeb styleKM, Beeb style 06/24/2005 09:58 PM Inside Knowledge devotes 2,300 well-written words (by Sandra Higgison) to the work of Euan "The Obvious" Semple at the BBC. Euan has been leading the BBC down the social software path before software was called social. Meanwhile, I'm trying to wrestle my 75+ pages of notes on the Beeb's digital make-over into 2,500 words for Wired. More words! I need more words!... This is a GrokNews Entry: (what is grok?)KM, Beeb styleGrok Headline matches for KM, Beeb styleThe Beeb On Your PodThe Beeb On Your Pod 04/15/2005 01:10 AM More podcasts from the BBC is coming soon... Gina at the BeebGina at the Beeb 02/01/2005 09:07 PM Hey, cool, Gina's post about fixing her mother-in-law's computer made the BBC website. I was spending those same few days doing some very similar tasks, so I'm glad to see that the unpaid IT department that actually subsidizes the tech industry is getting some press. I haven't finished my post... Auntie BeebAuntie Beeb 02/17/2004 11:55 AM The history of the BBC A chronological history of everyone's favourite broadcaster, from Guglielmo Marconi to Ricky Gervais. Beeb Under Apple's SwayBeeb Under Apple's Sway 04/29/2004 07:44 AM The independence of the state-run BBC has come into question after stories that gush so much about Apple, that they could have been penned by Job's Mob spinners have been appearing. By Nick Farrell, The Inqurier (via MyAppleMenu) Creative archive licence group at The
|
 If
you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that I'm
opposed to unregulated 'free' trade, very worried about the
extraterritoriality of the WTO, NAFTA, Davos and other corporatist
captives, strongly opposed to domestic corporations 'offshoring' jobs,
using influence with the Bush regime and other right-wing governments
to circumvent social and environmental laws and responsibilities, and
a
great believer in taking the pledge to buy local, and in community
self-sufficiency.At the same time, I'm a strong supporter of the UN and other multi-lateral NGOs, and I believe that we each have a responsibility for the well-being of all the people and creatures of this world. Some readers have said this view is inconsistent, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond to such charges. Fortunately, Peter Singer, in his recent book on global ethics, I'll have more to say next week about Bush's fraudulent and despicable Earth Day media blitz, and the major media's shameless lack of critical evaluation of the utter nonsense that his propaganda machine has been churning out this week on the environment -- newspeak of Orwellian proportions. The first part of Singer's book deals with environmental responsibility, and his prescription for increasing it -- immediate ratification of Kyoto by the US and other holdout countries, and introduction of an emissions trading mechanism to make the realization of Kyoto feasible (subject to the need for some oversight on the disposition of the proceeds of such trading when it involves autocratic governments). The second part of the book deals with the global economy, and Singer adroitly tears apart the Economist's (and other neocons') naive assertion that economic globalization somehow benefits both rich and poor countries. He then goes on to prescribe a substantial reform of the WTO and the GATT, which could actually lead to more equitable distribution of wealth and more efficient production of economic goods, while safeguarding human rights, labour and the environment. Unfortunately, the multi-national corporations and corporatists who hold sway in the WTO would never tolerate Singer's prescription, since it would entirely divert the benefits of economic globalization from their pockets to those of the world's poor. The third part of the book deals with international law, and Singer lashes out at Bush for his unconscionable refusal to ratify the International Court of Justice, and for the UN's continued hesitancy to accept a duty (not a right) to intervene in situations of genocide and other humanitarian crises, even within a single nation. Singer is sanguine about the limitations and dangers of 'global government', but supports strengthening the UN to enable it to act as a 'protector of last resort', and including in its mandate the responsibility to supervise elections in all member nations. The fourth and final part goes back to ethical principles and proposes that countries must, in this world where national boundaries no longer have any logistic meaning, set aside national interest and embrace, once and for all, global interest, impartially. That does not mean cultural homogenization, but imposes a responsibility for the reduction of inequality, both of economic resources and personal rights and freedoms. Always the pragmatist, Singer concludes by worrying out loud about how the responsibility for a global ethic could be managed: It
is widely believed that a world government would be, at best, an
unchecked bureaucratic behemoth that would make the bureaucracy of the
EU look lean and efficient. At worst, it would become a global
tyranny,
unchecked and unchallengeable. These thoughts have to be taken
seriously. How to prevent global bodies becoming either dangerous
tyrannies or self-aggrandizing bureaucracies, and instead make them
effective and responsive to the people whose lives they affect? It is
a
challenge that should not be beyond the best minds in the fields of
political science and public administration.
I'd like to believe that this was possible, because if it isn't, we're in serious trouble. We cannot expect national governments to set aside parochial interests, especially when this entails accepting a responsibility that would, for the richer nations, inevitably lead to a drastic redistribution of wealth to poorer nations and hence a sudden and sharp reduction in, at least, economic living standards (if not necessarily well-being). But as John Ralston Saul has so eloquently argued, larger organizations and institutions, whether public or private, are almost always, and inherently, less efficient, less agile, more resistant to change, more hierarchic, and less transparent than smaller organizations. So the challenge is to achieve the best of both worlds, having organizations of global scope and authority and responsibility, but broken up into sufficiently small, autonomous and dynamic units that they are sensitive, resilient, responsible and responsive to the people and communities they serve. We can only hope that "the best minds in the fields of political science and public administration", wherever they are, are up to the task. |
Style One has a chief characteristic of trying to make everything better. When they are healthy, they are morally heroic, making sacrifices for the greater good, balanced in their judgments, uncompromising in their principles. They are concerned about what is right in morals, sometimes in esthetics, and sometimes in other things like literary or movie criticism or even manners. They are objective in their judgments and utterly clear about what is right and wrong. They are prophets and reformers.
If they become unhealthy, the vision narrows and their concerns diminish. They begin to moralize, they can get picky about little rules and they always go by the book regardless of consequence or circumstance. They develop either/or thinking and pay little attention to anyone's emotions.
Ones you may know: Judge Judy on TV, Laura Schlesinger (Dr. Laura on talk radio), Hilary Clinton, Ross Perot, Ralph Nadar, St Paul, Martin Luther, Harrison Ford, Tom Brokaw, Pope John Paul II, The Lone Ranger, Martha Stewart and Miss Manners.
What is your enneagram?
(Via Marju t.)
homestarrunner.com/tgs9.html
track this
site | 4 links
Direct and Related Links for 'A style revolution'
“Our retro computers will dramatically alter the way you see your computer. No more unsightly beige boxes; Facade Computer aims to provide you with antique, high-quality cases. Our creations are not only stylish, but affordable, packing solid performance that won’t break the bank. We are currently accepting orders. Click here. Please note that our products do not come with mice, keyboards, or monitors. We recommend Swedx for retro-themed peripherals….
I was writing a column this month and mentioned the
upsweep of
solar-powered gear the last few months and my editor's editor (why do
I love blogging again?) was all huh?. And yes, okay, solar
power isn't anything new, but the new high-efficiency panels are
really starting to happen, like this entire new 'Solar Style' line of
gear called the 'PV Solar Chargers." You've got yer solar bag, yer
flip-out notebook charger, ya gotcher cell phone case with a
charger—this stuff is taking off.
The Solar style gear doesn't seem to be quite ready for retail yet, but you can order a 'sample kit' for 200 bucks, which I'm guessing includes a few different units to try out. The press release lists my arch-enemy AirWater Corporation, though, so these might be a force for evil. Be careful. (Thanks, Kelly!)
Press Release [Yahoo]
This photo is amazing.
I wonder if that cord provides power for the "blades" to move in some
way? Link (to
higher res image) (Thanks, Carlo!)Western Civilisation's flagship product, Style Master, is a CSS editor. You don't use it to create Web pages; you use it to create the look of Web pages - the font, size, color, and layout of the various elements that constitute your Web pages, as dictated though a CSS "style sheet." Style Master is my ideal of a program that knows a big complicated language so that you don't have to; you do see the actual CSS, but you can interact with it through pop-up menus and checkboxes that list the appropriate options and generate the correct syntax.
For years Wired Style was the guide for anyone writing about “new media.” In the early days of the internet the venerable Chicago Manual of Style and Strunk & White’s Elements of Style had nothing to say about new words and phrases like internet, World Wide Web, and email so Wired Style became the standard. Like thousands of others, I capitalized Web and Internet because Wired said that’s how to do it. (The current edition of The Chicago Manual of Style covers internet publishing extensively).
Today Wired News has decided that this is no longer to be done. They say that “a change in our house style was necessary to put into perspective what the internet is: another medium for delivering and receiving information. That it transformed human communication is beyond dispute. But no more so than moveable type did in its day. Or the radio. Or television.”
Just as I followed Wired Style, I shall follow this new style. Should you see me improperly capitalizing these words, please rap my knuckles with a yardstick.
Launch your own site and become master of your own domain for next to
nothing. Find out how in this week's episode of Freeloader Friday.
Like Pixels? Check out MacDesign
Checkout the Napkin L&F (look and feel) for Java. Interesting although the best way to use hand-drawn graphics is in contrasting combination with smooth lines and anti-aliased text. They have to be rougher too.
Although I've designed websites for years, I never enjoyed working with CSS style sheets. Whenever I could, I used tables or layers and avoided CSS like the plague. Along the way there have been a few CSS editors I tried but there was nothing I found that made working with style sheets any easier. Along came the new <a href="http://www.westc iv.com/style_master/index.html" target="_blank">Style Master 4</a> from Westciv and I am actually editing and designing style sheets.<p>
One of the reasons I decided to look at Style Master was the fact
it's cross platformed. You can work in the Windows version and
when you switch over to the Mac, you can work in Style Master for the
Mac. It's a $59.99 program in either the Mac or the PC version, but
we'll get to that a little later. The reason you need to purchase
Style Master 4 is because it will allow you to edit and design style
sheets even if you never looked at a style sheet in your life. Well
maybe you have to understand computer basics, but if you're new to
designing style sheets, you've got to have Style Master. If you know
CSS and need a good hand editor, Style Master can do that, but where
it really shines is in it's design mode. You will be able to view the
webpage your editing, click on any part of the webpage and see the CSS
code associated with it. All this in a WYSIWYG view with color pickers
and wizards, templates, and browser previews to allow you instant
gratification.<p>
sixapart.com/press/weblogging_software_leader_six_apar.shtml
track this
site | 4 links
ADVERTISEMENT
Reducing the Total Cost of Ownership
Learn how to reduce
the total coast of ownership in enterprise data
management in this case study.
So Six Apart have bought Livejournal after all. Here's a brief story about how I didn't find out about it... I was chatting to Mena yesterday about something else and couldn't resist querying her about the rumours. Very patiently, and I suspect with some kind of tiny smile just about visible on her concealed-by-IM face, Mena politely informed that she didn't respond to rumours and speculation. To which the only real response was, "If you won't respond, will Anil?"
I didn't get a direct answer to that question, but I did promise to let Mena know if Anil spilled the beans. I figure she'd want to give him a present or a bunch of flowers or something. She's so nice. But then I forgot to ask him anyway. And so it goes...
Anyway, the news was announced relatively late last night as far as I can tell, which means that those of us on this side of the Atlantic probably heard about it before most of the US webloggers. Mena's done a comprehensive write-up on Mena's Corner - as has Brad on his Livejournal. They're both pretty excited about the acquisition - and I think with good reason. There are people who aren't so sure about the whole thing - and I think their anxieties are pretty reasonable (Danah's post on the subject in probably one of the best), but I really think there are more opportunities here than problems. Bringing Livejournal into the weblogging fold (or bringing weblogs closer into the Livejournal fold) could be tremendously interesting. I'd be interested to see whether there was any further development of Livejournal-style networking and social networking stuff. It would seem to have lots of possibilities (and even webloggers love this stuff - check out their adoration of Flikr if you don't believe me). And if it was possible to bring some of that overt social stuff over into MT or Typepad - by cross-platform protocols or whatever - then I can't help but think that would be a good thing. I'm also really interested in the role of Typekey in all of this stuff.
The real threat is, I think, not that Livejournal's community is put under threat, but that their understated aesthetic has a kind of punk-cool and authenticity that could be polished out of existence by the really terribly good designers at SixApart. Livejournal has the feel of a grass-roots, bottom-up, wildly successful community project, where MT, Blogger et al kind of don't. The slightly ramshackle look-and-feel is a core part of that, I think.
Anyway, all in all a pretty interesting day for webloggery and Livejournalhood. I'm really interested in how Blogger fits into all this though. At the moment, it's pretty clear that the fire and the dynamism is with SixApart. They're the people innovating (at least publically). Which leaves me with two questions (1) are Blogger becoming also-rans or (2) what the hell are they planning?
PS. Latest rumour I heard was that SixApart were going to acquire the previously-public sector, non-weblog-producing national-broadcaster of the UK, the BBC. The move is expected to incraese their staffing levels from something like 70 people to something more like 35,000! Ok, maybe I made that last bit up...
livejournal.com
track this
site | 4 links
gigaom.com/2005/01/04/six-apart-to-buy-live-journal
track this
site | 4 links
Sorry I couldn't say anything before, but the rumors are true. Six Apart has acquired Danga, the company that runs LiveJournal.
See the press release, the FAQ, the post Mena's Corner and Brad LJ for more info. So I guess I better clean learn bml and make my LJ look a bit better.
Comment - TrackBacksixapart.com/log/2005/01/six_apart_acqui.shtml
track this
site | 4 links
LiveJournal has posted a bunch of demographic stats about its
user-community -- the age distribution skew (shown here) is
fascinating.
Link
(via Smartpatrol<
/a>)
Looks like the rumours were true: Six Apart has bought LiveJournal. Her e's LiveJournal's announcement about the acquisition, and here' s Six Apart's.
sixapart.com/press/livejournal_acquisition_faq.shtml
track this
site | 5 links
The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry: redact software decode iraq the nay jihad racy mp3 "style master 4" patch "jenifer morgan" comic-con s2 livejournal tutorial creation layout javascript intellisence plug-in .net tweak s2 livejournal layouts download "style master 4" livejournal tutorial style
