Another Column to Cringe About

Grok Headline matches for Another Column to Cringe About

cringe

cringe 07/07/2004 02:52 PM
THIS IS NOT WHY WE WANTED ROBOTS
tinyurl used so as not to ruin the joke, link is to gizmodo, safe for work, but may cause a freakout.

You Say Prosciutto, I Say Pro-SHOOT, and
Purists Cringe

You Say Prosciutto, I Say Pro-SHOOT, and
Purists Cringe 09/20/2004 03:03 PM
The Italian spoken by many New Yorkers or New Jerseyans makes Italian teachers, the purists who love the language just as Dante wrote it, wince.

'Music Moguls Will Cringe At iPod Hack'

'Music Moguls Will Cringe At iPod Hack' 08/05/2004 09:38 PM
Apple's threat of legal action over a RealNetworks iPod "hack" is entirely justified, market analysts say. By Macworld UK (via MyAppleMenu)

"column"

"column" 11/16/2003 05:08 PM

Text-Column-0.05

Text-Column-0.05 04/29/2004 04:29 PM

Read the column

Read the column 06/17/2005 03:19 PM
CIO Jun 15 2005 10:37PM GMT

"today's column"

"today's column" 01/12/2004 02:57 AM

today's column

today's column 01/11/2004 07:09 PM
about Turkey .. Tom Friedman .. To wit

nytimes.com/2004/01/11/opinion/11FRIE.html
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"column on bl0ggers"

"column on bl0ggers" 11/04/2003 04:10 AM

NewsForge as you like it, one column or
two

NewsForge as you like it, one column or
two 12/19/2003 03:43 PM
You can now choose several different ways to view NewsForge. The default will continute to be the single-column "narrow" layout you see if you're not logged in (or if you're logged in and don't know how to change it), but you can now have a two-column layout if you like, with NewsVac links appearing at the top of your main page, next to our own features. And there are other things you can customize, too.

Here's Dowd's column

Here's Dowd's column 01/18/2004 08:08 AM
what makes them angry .. Meow, b*tch.....Meow .. MoDo

nytimes.com/2004/01/18/opinion/18DOWD.html?hp
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gist of the column

gist of the column 01/18/2004 11:34 PM
What you get .. Maureen Dowd

nytimes.com/2004/01/18/opinion/18DOWD.html
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Worthwhile mag column

Worthwhile mag column 06/17/2005 04:25 PM
I write a column for Worthwhile magazine and occasionally blog there as well. The magazine has posted a pdf of my column in the current issue; it's on why "Don't be evil" doesn't do much for me as a slogan. Hey, I just realized that in the photo of me, they airbrushed out my moles! I knew I looked funny! [Technorati tags: worthwhilemag marketing]...

Eight column inches cut

Eight column inches cut 03/30/2005 01:12 AM
Im bedded backdoor reporter - I like it below the fold! AMERICAblog is soliciting suggestions for protest signs to commemorate the national Press Club's panel on blogging and journalism. Dirty cracks abound. Surely some of our resident wits can add to the ribaldry. (NSFW)

"in Molly's column"

"in Molly's column" 03/25/2005 06:44 AM

whole column for the lowdown

whole column for the lowdown 09/11/2004 03:36 AM

nytimes.com/2004/09/10/opinion/10krugman.html
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"Sunday column"

"Sunday column" 01/03/2005 05:15 PM

His column today is right on target

His column today is right on target 02/10/2004 10:36 AM
Brooks: Bush On Bush, Take 2 .. Bush really meant to say .. Brooks

nytimes.com/2004/02/10/opinion/10BROO.html
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"Paul Krugman?s column"

"Paul Krugman?s column" 06/29/2004 08:19 PM

David Brooks column

David Brooks column 05/05/2004 04:04 AM

nytimes.com/2004/05/04/opinion/04BROO.html
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David Brooks's column

David Brooks's column 06/20/2004 06:44 AM
among other things .. Brooks .. not

nytimes.com/2004/06/19/opinion/19BROO.html
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Column one: Of intellectual bondage

Column one: Of intellectual bondage 12/27/2003 04:20 AM
How depressing

jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Show Full&cid=1072326002827
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New York Times column

New York Times column 05/24/2004 03:55 PM
Frank Rich piece

nytimes.com/2004/05/23/arts/23RICH.html
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PBS | I, Cringely . Archived Column

PBS | I, Cringely . Archived Column 01/11/2004 03:51 AM
Bob Cringely says the problem with WiFi aggregators is there aren't enough of them .. his idea for a killer WiFi aggregator business model .. January 8, 2004 WiFi column by Robert X. Cringely .. Cringely's WhyFi: .. real industry

pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20040108.html
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"outstanding column by George Will"

"outstanding column by George Will" 05/04/2004 09:00 PM

"this column from the Boston Globe"

"this column from the Boston Globe" 02/11/2004 09:43 AM

Maureen Dowd's column

Maureen Dowd's column 01/11/2004 07:57 AM
just cold

nytimes.com/2004/01/11/opinion/11DOWD.html
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Brooks' latest column

Brooks' latest column 05/09/2004 03:28 AM
Crisis of Confidence .. expect

nytimes.com/2004/05/08/opinion/08BROO.html
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Agony Column on Cory's next novel

Agony Column on Cory's next novel 01/05/2005 03:58 PM
Cory Doctorow: Rick Kleffel's "Agony Column" has a fun piece on my next book, and the thing I'm working on these days:

Now however, Doctorow has taken a very different track. His forthcoming novel, 'Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town' (Tor Books / Tom Doherty Associates ; May 1, 2005 ; $24.95) is in the first place coming to town a bit later in the year. The early draft I first read of this novel was nearly three times as long as 'Eastern Standard Tribe'. But the big ch-ch-ch-changes come as Doctorow turns to face the strangeness not of a science fictional future, but instead a fantastically rendered present. Alan, the protagonist of 'Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town', is a middle-aged man who moves into a bohemian neighborhood of Toronto. He only barely fits in with the college-roomie types next door, and that's even before the gal who lives there reveals to him that she has wings that grow back even if she cuts 'em off.

Alan is a sensitive guy, and he understands, because, we're told, his father is a mountain and his mother is a washing machine. This is clearly the type of reproduction that will not be taught in your hygiene classes. So, you know, when one of his brothers, a set of nested Russian nesting dolls, shows up on his doorstep starving because the innermost doll has disappeared, you can imagine that the whole family relationship issue is a bit more complex than usual. Especially since brother Davey, whom Alan and his other siblings killed years ago, may have returned, bent on revenge.

What's a guy like Alan to do but hook up with a cybergeek who plans to blanket Toronto with free wireless Internet access? I've got to admit that under the circumstances set out by Doctorow, that seems like a more than reasonable reaction. Now as to how readers will react to the novel, well, that's a different matter entirely. I'm totally engrossed by this slight shift for Doctorow from the purely technological to the absurd and fantastic. That's because Doctorow writes with the kind of hardheaded humor and logic that makes one suspect this book will be a mind-boggling delight. And perhaps a bit of a revelation for Doctorow's audience, which could really grow to include a swathe of readers who enjoy literary fantasy.

Link

this interesting column by Kristof

this interesting column by Kristof 03/19/2003 10:46 PM
interpretation is wrong .. Baghdad and Troy .. New York Times .. separate .. helenic .. Troy

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Dan Gillmor's last Merc column

Dan Gillmor's last Merc column 01/02/2005 01:44 PM
Cory Doctorow: Dan Gillmor's final column in the San Jose Mercury News runs today, marking the end of a ten-year career in reporting on tech journalism -- Dan's leaving to start a company that will enable "grassroots journalism," capitalizing on a trend that he's very parrionate about. The final column is a lovely bittersweet end to an amazing run.

And, as always, the people and institutions currently holding the clout don't cede it willingly. Governments are clamping down on us in all kinds of ways. Incumbent business powerhouses are trying to hold back the tide as well, not just to keep their positions but also to thwart new innovation that might threaten them.

These reactionary encroachments and retrenchments are not surprising. They always occur in times of swift change and challenge. In the end, they are almost always unsuccessful, because progress ultimately finds a way around barriers, and because people challenge the reactionaries.

But we need to keep the pressure up, as citizens and people who want the freedom to use these new tools and live in liberty. The stakes are high, and liberty takes work.

Link (via Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism)

Tom Friedman's latest column

Tom Friedman's latest column 03/16/2003 11:07 AM
Friedman has given up .. Sunday's N.Y. Times .. Repairing the World

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"Here's a screenshot of the original
column"

"Here's a screenshot of the original
column" 11/02/2003 09:45 PM

A Final Newspaper Column, and My Thanks

A Final Newspaper Column, and My Thanks 01/02/2005 02:09 PM

(This is also my final Sunday column in the San Jose Mercury News.) Wow, what a ride. I moved to Silicon Valley a little over 10 years ago. I've been constantly amazed by what has happened here since then -- a furious rush of innovation and change. I'm not smart or wise enough to predict in any detail what will happen in the next decade. But I'm certain that, as always, it'll be interesting, because innovation and change are still the coins of this realm. It didn't take long to learn what made Silicon Valley so special. The combination of attributes was unequaled: the great research universities, an astonishing collection of talent, a pool of investors with enormous sums at their disposal and an ingrained culture of risk-taking. (The weather's nice, too.) The willingness -- no, eagerness -- to take risks has always been the valley's most special quality. In most places, business failure leaves an indelible career stain. Here, failure is often seen as an education, provided one fails the right way, which is to say not stupidly or sleazily. The rise and fall of Apple's fascinating but flawed Newton handheld computer, for example, helped spark the Palm Pilot, the true breakthrough in the genre. I won't forget the shiver of excitement I and others in a crowd of tech executives and journalists felt when we saw the first Palm on the 1996 Demo conference stage. We don't think of the Apple iPod or today's ever-smarter mobile phones as more modern handheld computers, but they are. They're also a result of the valley's relentless progress. The chips powering not just PCs but all kinds of everyday objects are making everything more intelligent. Even faster advances in storage mean that all these intelligent things are gaining memory. And the advent of faster data networks -- still retarded by cable and phone companies, unfortunately -- means that we're connecting it all. Those intelligent connections are bringing vast capabilities to the people at the edges of networks. The long-range importance of early Internet file-sharing was not the potential for copyright infringement. It was the heightened ability of everyday people to inform and help each other. Along the way, we went through the bubble years, a time when greed totally superseded all other principles and values. The prevailing Wall Street attitude, which also pervaded the valley, was sickening. When what's acceptable is what you can get away with, society has turned rancid. The bubble's deflation was hellish for those who became collateral damage. But it was useful in reminding us that even in such a fast-changing world, a few tried-and-true principles, economic and otherwise, still applied. In the past several years the valley has returned, in part, to useful roots. Innovation and building great companies matter as much to entrepreneurs as scoring big financially. And everywhere I look, I see innovation. But I also see competition where it didn't exist before. The rest of the world has learned some of the valley's lessons and can provide much of what we do here at a lower cost. This is the harsh dynamism of the modern world at work. The fact that other regions are rising economically is positive overall, even if it's not the best news locally. As noted, I'm not smart enough to tell you what's coming in any specific way. But we can look together at the trends and imagine some of what might be, if all goes well. We will see breathtaking leaps in medicine, environmental protection, and a variety of materials sciences and manufacturing processes. We can thank advances in biotechnology and the emerging field of nanotechnology. Information technology is at the heart of both as a tool, and it will remain so. The Internet and its progeny are still early in their development, meanwhile. The Net is nowhere near as universal as it will be when we enter an age of what some call ubiquitous computing, but the outlines of its value are obvious today. For example, all media will eventually move around the world in little digital packages, called packets, that are the basic units of tomorrow's communications. The importance of this -- in decimating old businesses while improving most people's lives -- has not been sufficiently appreciated. The risks are growing, too. When the ability to do great things spreads away from the center, so does the ability to do massively dangerous things. The power of one fanatic or small group to create incalculable damage -- assuming we don't do it simply by mistake -- should worry everyone. But we should not allow that concern to stifle progress. And, as always, the people and institutions currently holding the clout don't cede it willingly. Governments are clamping down on us in all kinds of ways. Incumbent business powerhouses are trying to hold back the tide as well, not just to keep their positions but also to thwart new innovation that might threaten them. These reactionary encroachments and retrenchments are not surprising. They always occur in times of swift change and challenge. In the end, they are almost always unsuccessful, because progress ultimately finds a way around barriers, and because people challenge the reactionaries. But we need to keep the pressure up, as citizens and people who want the freedom to use these new tools and live in liberty. The stakes are high, and liberty takes work. This is my last column for the Mercury News. Starting tomorrow, I'll embark on a new adventure, a project to help bring online grass-roots journalism to more people and communities. I leave a job that has been a constant challenge in the best sense, often an outright joy. I leave colleagues whom I like and admire. But this opportunity, to help create something truly new and valuable, is too exciting not to try. During these past 10 years I've enjoyed a privileged, front-row seat -- not on a roller coaster, even if it occasionally seemed that way, but a vehicle of exploration. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have taken this fantastic ride. Mostly, though, I'm grateful to you. This has always been about you, the people who read what I write. I've tried to be on your side. Even when you've disagreed with me, you've been on my side in a vital way. You've challenged me to think deeply about technology and the larger issues we must all ponder and deal with in this complex era. You've always known more than I do, and I'm fortunate that you haven't been shy about telling me. Our conversation -- which I hope we'll continue as my new project gets under way -- has been a constant source of inspiration. If it's meant something to you, that pleases me more than I can say. Thank you all.

"Washington Prowler" column:

"Washington Prowler" column: 08/10/2004 09:50 PM
two intriguing anecdotes .. The American Spectator

spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=6955
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Report column names

Report column names 08/12/2004 08:48 PM

Ebook column that gets it all wrong

Ebook column that gets it all wrong 07/29/2004 02:52 AM
Gizmodo has a new column called "Feature Creep," and they kicked it off with an editorial about the future of ebooks that is striking for its complete disregard for the actual marketplace experiences with ebooks. It's full of hoary chestnuts about ebooks that have been emptily mouthed for 10 years ("Call it digital paper or electronic ink, it's the future of eBooks.") and aside from the occassional iPod comparison, there's hardly a paragraph in there that couldn't have been written in 1997 -- nor one that takes note of any of the events since then (well, to be fair, there's also a lot of puffery stuck in there to promote an ebook company called Vertical that probably didn't exist in 1997, but that's beside the point).

Take DRM. The author asserts on the one hand that DRM can work, and that it won't be so invasive that it turns customers (which the author insists on calling "consumers," an odious buzzword that invokes Gibson's description in Idoru, "...a vicious, lazy, profoundly ignorant, perpetually hungry organism craving the warm god-flesh of the anointed. Personally I like to imagine something the size of a baby hippo, the color of a week-old boiled potato, that lives by itself, in the dark, in a double-wide on the outskirts of Topeka. It's covered with eyes and it sweats constantly. The sweat runs into those eyes and makes them sting. It has no mouth, Laney, no genitals, and can only express its mute extremes of murderous rage and infantile desire by changing the channels on a universal remote. Or by voting in presidential elections.") off.

This despite the actual marketplace fact that all DRM becomes invasive (ask any copyright policy maker in a country that allows parallel importing how he feels about the "lightweight" region-coding DRM on DVDs that reverses the laws he was elected to enact).

This despite the actual marketplace fact that DRM is generally broken within a few days of engagement with the public, often by teenagers, grad students, or people with ready acccess to sophisticated DRM-cracking tools like Google and the sinister Shift key (for more on DRM, see my DRM talk)

But the author goes further and asserts that without DRM, there will be no market for entertainment product ever again ("If publishers stop wanting DRM, it's the end of popular creative arts. Not as we know them, but period.") despite the fact that the software industry got bigger when it abandoned DRM, and despite the fact that no new medium has ever succeeded by appealing to the virtues of the medium before it (there're very few ideas more goofy than the idea that people will start buying ebooks just as soon as they have fewer features and more restrictions, provided that the ebooks can be played back on special-purpose devices with sharp screens). He cites Sony as proof of this ("Sony may be nuts, but they're not that nuts."), despite the fact that Sony was forced out of the walkman market by its failure to deliver the DRM-free devices that its customers demanded. Yes, Sony is that nuts.

He doesn't even touch on the marketplace experience of every published writer who's tried giving away DRM-free ebooks -- me, Lessig, Jim Munroe, the Baen authors, Orson Scott Card -- universally, the experience is that we sell more books (Lessig's latest just went into its third hardcover printing, for chrissakes). This of course echoes the experiences from elsewhere: the movie studios' box office revenues appear to be increasing as a function of the amount of movies being shared on P2P nets and the only quantitative study of music downloading and music sales concluded that the effect was usually neegligible, rarely negative, and sometimes positive.

He does, however, take time out to snidely dismiss blanket licensing schemes -- like the ones that enable radio, live performance, covers, lending, coursepacks, jukeboxes, rentals, etc etc etc all over the world -- as a kind of pipe dream ("When the visionary of all visionaries develops a model for all-you-can-eat media consumption that provides for the artists to actually eat, perhaps I'll change my mind; until then, we are what we are, and we'll have to play nice within the confines of the present system.") despite the fact that these systems have been employed to universal good effect whenever new technology makes exclusion too costly to work effectively. It's like he's totally missed the fact that trillions of dollars go right into the pockets of creators and rights-holders through these schemes.

Bizarrely, he asserts that people might buy periodicals that expire off their players in 60 days -- despite the fact that every one of us has a friend or relative with a giant stack of old computer mags, or National Geographics, or colorful Wireds, sitting on a shelf.

Really, it's as though he sat down and called an ebook startup's PR guy, then reasoned out all of his conclusions a priori, without reference to any of the activity in the field.

I believe fiercely and passionately in ebooks -- that's why I give talks like this one -- but articles like this do nothing to advance the discussion. They're echoes of the dotcom snakeoil that dominated the ebook discussion five or ten years ago, and it's a disappointment to see this kind of editorial-in-defiance-of-facts on a hip net-zine like Gizmodo. Link

"PBS | I, Cringely . Archived Column"

"PBS | I, Cringely . Archived Column" 12/02/2003 12:28 AM

Reactions to the Whither Mono? column

Reactions to the Whither Mono? column 03/19/2003 10:26 PM
Jacques Surveyer has posted a thoughtful response to my Whither Mono? column. His item, entitled "Mono is eerily like the disease," says in part:

Take a gander at http://gru nge.cs.tu-berlin.de/~tolk/vmlanguages.html and the number of languages that use the Java JVM - about 3-4 times as many languages that use .NET. But the really insidious notion is that .NET is "language neutral". As Visual Basic and Cobol developers have learned to their dismay - adopting a language to conform to the CLI/CLR/.NET Libraries means a number of Frankenstein-like cut and add operations. In the case of VB it is so bad that Microsoft's own enginers started to call VB.NET Visual Fred because it is so different from its predecessor, VB6.

Adds Kevin Altis, in an email quoted with permission:

We do have examples of other languages running in the JVM. Jython in particular works great, I don't know of any "scripting language" that works well in the CLR, only the early proof-of-concepts which aren't viable for real work. VB.NET is basically C# light, so maybe only one language works in the CLR.

...
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Another Column to Cringe About

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