Monday, February 10, 2003

Grok Headline matches for Monday, February 10, 2003

Minutes of the mozilla.org Staff Meeting
of Monday 2nd February 2004

Minutes of the mozilla.org Staff Meeting
of Monday 2nd February 2004 02/16/2004 06:48 PM

Minutes of the mozilla.org Staff Meeting
of Monday 9th February 2004

Minutes of the mozilla.org Staff Meeting
of Monday 9th February 2004 02/16/2004 06:48 PM

February 28, 2003

February 28, 2003 03/11/2003 09:44 AM

The social scientist Ray Oldenburg talks about how humans need a third place, besides work and home, to meet with friends, have a beer, discuss the events of the day, and enjoy some human interaction. Coffee shops, bars, hair salons, beer gardens, pool halls, clubs, and other hangouts are as vital as factories, schools and apartments ["The Great Good Place", 1989]. But capitalist society has been eroding those third places, and society is left impoverished. In "Bowling Alone," Robert Putnam brings forth, in riveting and well-documented detail, reams of evidence that American society has all but lost its third places. Over the last 25 years, Americans "belong to fewer organizations that meet, know our neighbors less, meet with friends less frequently, and even socialize with our families less often." [2000] For too many people, life consists of going to work, then going home and watching TV. Work-TV-Sleep-Work-TV-Sleep. It seems to me that the phenomenon is far more acute among software developers, especially in places like Silicon Valley and the suburbs of Seattle. People graduate from college, move across country to a new place where they don't know anyone, and end up working 12 hour days basically out of loneliness.

So it's no surprise that so many programmers, desperate for a little human contact, flock to online communities - chat rooms, discussion forums, open source projects, and Ultima Online. In creating community software, we are, to some extent, trying to create a third place. And like any other architecture project, the design decisions we make are crucial. Make a bar too loud, and people won't be able to have conversations. That makes for a very different kind of place than a coffee shop. Make a coffee shop without very many chairs, as Starbucks does, and people will carry their coffee back to their lonely rooms, instead of staying around and socializing like they do in the fantasy TV coffeehouse of "Friends," a program we watch because an ersatz third place is less painful than none at all.

In software, as in architecture, design decisions are just as important to the type of community that develops or fails to develop. When you make something easy, people do it more often. When you make something hard, people do it less often. In this way you can gently encourage people to behave in certain ways which determine the character and quality of the community. Will it feel friendly? Is there thick conversation, a European salon full of intellectuals with interesting ideas? Or is the place deserted, with a few dirty advertising leaflets lying around on the floor that nobody has bothered to pick up?

— Excerpted from my latest article, “Building Communities with Software,” which will only be sent to email subscribers. Please subscribe now to receive the article, which will be sent out on Monday morning.

February 25, 2003

February 25, 2003 03/11/2003 09:44 AM

The discussion forum for this site generates a lot of questions and commentary. As I said when I launched it, it's a bit of an experiment. Although it may seem simple, there are a lot of subtle design decisions and magic-behind-the-scenes in hopes of improving the quality of discussion that takes place there. So far, it has mostly worked.

Later this week I'll write an essay explaining everything, but because it's full of Heisenberg effects, the essay won't appear on this web site, it will only go out via email to email subscribers. You can subscribe here or at the bottom of any page on my site:

Email:

 

Don't worry, you can unsubscribe at any time; every email I send includes a single-click unsubscribe link. I will never sell your email address. Subscribe by Friday to be sure to get the essay. Once again -- the essay will not appear on the web and will be copyright so I'll ask you not to forward the email around. It's an exclusive benefit for email subscribers.

February 05, 2003

February 05, 2003 03/11/2003 09:44 AM
Dave asks: "When I get Slashdotted we get about 5000 reads. I've noticed that number is about what some Manila and Radio sites have gotten when they were Slashdotted. Now, according to Joel Spolsky he gets about 400,000 reads from a Slashdot link, about 80 times the flow. Now here's the question. Why?"

Actually, I said 500,000, not 400,000, and I was referring to hits, not "reads." I'm not sure what a read is, but a hit is a single file served by the web server. Even the simplest page on this site consists of four files: the header GIF, the Made with CityDesk GIF, the CityDesk logo, and the article itself. Articles with pictures have a lot more. The number of page views we get, which only counts HTML files, is about 120,000 on "slashdot days." Since the average day has about 30,000 page views, only 90,000 are "extra." Still a lot more than Manila sites, but not 80 times the flow.

Another difference is that I almost always get slashdotted on a day when I release a new article. This is coincidentally the same day I send email to 16,000 subscribers telling them about the new article. And on average a few dozen webloggers will link to me on the same day, bringing in their traffic as well.

Some percentage of those people say, "Aha! This precisely proves my point!" and forward the URL to their boss or underling to hit them over the head with it. "See? Nya!" So there's always a multiplier effect.

Finally, Joel on Software has enough old content that many new visitors stay a while and click around. That accounts for a lot of the extra traffic on Slashdot days.

"February 2003"

"February 2003" 01/03/2004 07:07 PM

February 04, 2003

February 04, 2003 03/11/2003 09:44 AM
I've moved Joel on Software to a new server, at a colocation facility operated by Peer 1 Network. In the process of finding a new home and getting it up and running I've learned quite a bit about how web hosting works, so I thought I'd describe a bit of it here and in the process provide a glimpse Behind The Scenes.

February 03, 2003

February 03, 2003 03/11/2003 09:44 AM

New Column

I just got the March copy of the Programmer's Paradise catalog, which contains the first installment of my new column, a review of VMware, on page 11. “By the twentieth time I'd installed Windows 2000, I could do it in my sleep, even though I don't know a word of Chinese.” The only way to read the column is to get the catalog, which you can do for free here.

I've already written the next two columns for the catalog: a review of ERwin and an article about user interface design. Also in the pipeline: reviews of LeadTools, Camtasia Studio, and DevPartner Studio. Unlike most software reviewers who write for the magazines, who spend just enough time with a the product to get 750 words worth, I plan to review things that we actually use on a daily basis here at Fog Creek and talk about how we use them.

Commoditize Your Complements

Remember when I wrote that “smart companies try to commoditize their products’ complements?” We decided to take some of our own advice, here, so as of today, FogBUGZ can be run on top of MySQL, which is free, in addition to Microsoft SQL Server, which is expensive.

We also support two more source code control systems: CVSNT and Visual SourceSafe.

February 14, 2003

February 14, 2003 03/11/2003 09:44 AM

Due to the poor sound quality of the previous CityDesk online demo, I decided to invest in a real studio quality microphone instead of using one of those cheap computer headset/mike combinations.

It took me a while to figure out what I needed. The mike itself is a Shure SM58, probably one of the most popular professional microphones in use today and generally available for about $100.

I bought the Mic from Sam Ash on 48th street, hoping that they would be able to get me the right combination of cables and adapters I needed to plug this thing into a standard sound card. The stoner DJ sales dude sounded very confident but he didn't tell me that I needed a preamp, and he gave me the wrong kind of cables.

If you're trying to do this yourself, here's exactly what I have:

1. the Shure SM58 microphone
2. A basic desk stand. The clip part that connects the mike to the stand comes with the mike.
3. a 3' mic cable (it only needs to reach the preamp). I bought a CBI LowZ Microphone Cable from Zzounds.
4. A preamp. This boosts the level of the microphone to something that is called "Line Level" which is what a computer sound card needs. I got an M-Audio AudioBuddy from Zzounds.
5. To connect the preamp to the sound card, you need a cable with a 1/4" stereo phone jack on one end and a 1/8" stereo "mini" phone jack on the other end. I assembled this out of two cables which I bought at my neighborhood Radio Shack. For some reason the professional music stores like Sam Ash and Zzounds think it is beneath their dignity to stock any parts with 1/8" jacks, but that is what your sound card needs.

The sound quality is really quite a bit better. Here are two MP3s, before (with the computer mike) and after (with the professional mike).

News : February 27, 2003

News : February 27, 2003 03/13/2003 10:20 AM
The Earthlink (NASDAQ:ELNK) board of directors announced on February 24th that it had authorized an additional $25 million for use in repurchasing its common stock, bringing the total authorization to $50 million.

Pro News : February 28, 2003

Pro News : February 28, 2003 03/13/2003 10:20 AM
Stop-motion animation app comes to OS X; Group aims to put Mac in home theater; Mask Pro gets X rating; Quark opens a Jaguar-lined kimono; Snowmint updates Budget, unleashes Planner; Ham radio apps get updated; iLink get tweaked; ODBC middleware moves to X; 4D gunning for Apache; Scrapbook apps finetuned; Online training app gets new features

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Tuesday, February 25, 2003 03/13/2003 10:23 AM
Through the Reeds

Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Wednesday, February 12, 2003 03/13/2003 10:23 AM
How to Make A Man Bloody

CodeBitch : February 24, 2003

CodeBitch : February 24, 2003 03/13/2003 10:20 AM
In which CodeBitch ruminates on the fate of Opera for Mac

The Parting Shot : February 28, 2003

The Parting Shot : February 28, 2003 03/13/2003 10:20 AM
Thirty days hath September...

Release Digest: KDE, February 14, 2003

Release Digest: KDE, February 14, 2003 02/14/2003 08:43 PM
Today's KDE apps: Licq 1.2.4, KSteak 0.9.3, PerlQt 3.006, Gwenview 0.16.2, KMySQLAdmin 0.6.2, KPilot 4.3.7, Kcube 0.61, krename 2.5.2, and KnetmonApplet 0.6.7.

Release Digests: KDE, February 12, 2003

Release Digests: KDE, February 12, 2003 02/13/2003 01:54 AM
Today's KDE apps: Digital Video Recorder 2.7.9.3, KSEG 0.351, KKeyled 0.8.6, Design Recovery Tool 0.2.5, Kile 1.4, KMuddy 0.4.1, KMySQLAdmin 0.6.1, and Kcube 0.55.

The Parting Shot : February 21, 2003

The Parting Shot : February 21, 2003 03/13/2003 10:20 AM
Connectix releases Version 7

Fresh Air: Monday - October 20, 2003

Fresh Air: Monday - October 20, 2003 05/12/2004 01:30 AM
Fresh Air: Bill O'Reilly - October 8th 2003 .. child having a temper tantrum .. a combative interview .. hilarious

freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?displayValue=day&todayDate=1 0/08/2003
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Archives | February 23-March 1 2003 |
Yourish.com

Archives | February 23-March 1 2003 |
Yourish.com 03/14/2003 12:58 PM
International Eat an Animal for PETA Day, .. Meryl Yourish .. Meryl

track this site | 7 links

Linux Advisory Watch - February 7th 2003

Linux Advisory Watch - February 7th 2003 02/07/2003 08:39 AM
- by Benjamin D. Thomas - Linux Advisory Watch is a comprehensive newsletter that outlines the security vulnerabilities that have been announced throughout the week. It includes pointers to updated packages and descriptions of each vulnerability. This week, advisories were released for cvs, mcrypt, slocate, qt-dcgui, bladeenc, cim, mysql, kernel, kerberos, php, OpenLDAP, windowmaker, xpdf. The distributors include Caldera, Conectiva, FreeBSD, ...

Linux Advisory Watch - February 21st,
2003

Linux Advisory Watch - February 21st,
2003 02/21/2003 07:28 AM
- By Benjamin D. Thomas Linux Advisory Watch is a comprehensive newsletter that outlines the security vulnerabilities that have been announced throughout the week. It includes pointers to updated packages and descriptions of each vulnerability. This week, advisories were released for mod_dav, w3m, cups, php, mysql, openssl, mailman, syslinux, nethack, bitchx, util-linux, apcupdb, pam, shadow-utils, and imp. The distributors include ...

CBS News | U.S. Presses For Decision On
Iraq | February 25, 2003 14:12:43

CBS News | U.S. Presses For Decision On
Iraq | February 25, 2003 14:12:43 03/13/2003 10:25 AM

Linux Advisory Watch - February 28th,
2003

Linux Advisory Watch - February 28th,
2003 03/11/2003 01:22 AM
- By Benjamin D. Thomas - This week, advisories were released for slocate, nanog, tcpdump, kde, openssl, WebTool, syncookie, webmin, acupsd, tightvnc, vnc, vte, hypermail, libmcrypt, openldap, mysql, postgresql, initscripts, krb5, lynx, and shadow-utils. The distributors include Conectiva, Debian, Guardian Digital's EnGarde Secure Linux, Gentoo, Mandrake, Red Hat, SuSE, and Trustix.

CBS News | Transcript: Saddam Hussein
Interview, Pt. 1 | February 26,
2003 20:31:07

CBS News | Transcript: Saddam Hussein
Interview, Pt. 1 | February 26,
2003 20:31:07 04/11/2005 03:50 AM
CBS News Transcript: Saddam Hussein Interview, Pt. 1 February 26, 2003 19:23:27 .. an interview with Dan Rather on CBS .. Complete transcript is here .. interviewed

cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/26/60II/main542151.shtml
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SI.com - NFL - Horn flagged for
cell-phone celebration - Monday December
15, 2003 1:32AM

SI.com - NFL - Horn flagged for
cell-phone celebration - Monday December
15, 2003 1:32AM 12/16/2003 07:41 PM
Football Player Phones Home after Touchdown .. en medio de un partido de futbol americano .. Can you hear me now? .. under the goalpost .. Joe Horn's

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/football/nfl/12/14/horn.cellph one.ap
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Update Fever! February / March 2003
Google Update finally arrives

Update Fever! February / March 2003
Google Update finally arrives 03/11/2003 01:22 AM
The long awaited, eagerly anticipated February, 2003 Google update finally arrives in March. The early returns say that the pre-update jitters were unwarranted.

"Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: February 01, 2004 - February
07, 2004 Archives"

"Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: February 01, 2004 - February
07, 2004 Archives" 02/10/2004 02:52 AM

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: February 15, 2004 - February
21, 2004 Archives

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: February 15, 2004 - February
21, 2004 Archives 02/17/2004 12:57 PM
This is the arsonist in your house telling you that stranger outside with the hose can't be trusted .. Democratswould threaten fiscal health .. ever .. Heh

talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_02_15.html#002565
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Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: February 08, 2004 - February
14, 2004 Archives

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah
Marshall: February 08, 2004 - February
14, 2004 Archives 02/10/2004 01:35 PM
sounding evasive, incoherent and out of touch .. Josh Marshall .. said

talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_02_08.html#002539
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Monday, 12/8

Monday, 12/8 12/08/2003 09:21 AM
techtv Dec 8 2003 7:58AM ET

Monday, 11/3

Monday, 11/3 11/04/2003 06:05 PM
techtv Nov 4 2003 5:31PM ET

"Monday. Ick."

"Monday. Ick." 06/25/2004 10:29 AM

W3C Talks in February

W3C Talks in February 02/11/2004 01:16 AM
2004-02-10: Browse upcoming W3C appearances and events, also available as an RSS channel. (News archive)

No PowerMacs in February?

No PowerMacs in February? 02/16/2004 09:30 AM
ThinkSecret updates with a number of small blurbs... the most interesting of which involves some information of PowerMac G5 updates. According to t...

"February 8, 2004 05:18 PM"

"February 8, 2004 05:18 PM" 02/13/2004 02:37 PM

February 17, 2005

February 17, 2005 03/14/2005 05:44 PM

Usability Time! When Microsoft AntiSpyware is running it displays this dialog:

... which looks, to me, like it's telling me that it detected spyware on my system.

Oh, wait! No, that's not it, it's just a lazy programmer who wrote this code:

10 PRINT "DETECTED SPYWARE ON YOUR SYSTEM:"
20 FOR I = 1 TO 1000000000
30 IF SPYWARE(I) THEN PRINT FILENAME(I)
40 NEXT I

I think I get it. It's the heading for a list which has not arrived yet because you're still busy scanning my harddrive searching for spyware which I don't have. The usual programmer mentality ("it's just a list with 0 elements, what's so hard to understand about that?"). Hey guys, next time don't use a message that's only one pixel away from telling me the exact wrong fact about whether or not there's spyware on my system.

So far, it looks like this is a nifty program, and consumers should be happy that Microsoft has announced it will be free, but it really, really would have been nice for us here in the software industry if Microsoft had set a price on this thing just to provide some air cover for the other companies working on spyware removal. This is not a software category where a monopoly monoculture will be a good thing.

Not only that, but I wonder if Microsoft can run an antispyware product without huge conflicts of interest. For example, will they block all the spyware that Real installs on your system? While Real is suing them? Especially when blocking spyware from Real will just give Real more ammunition to use against Microsoft in court? And the next time Microsoft needs a DRM favor from your friendly neighborhood media conglomerate, will the media conglomerate demand exemption from Antispyware removal for their adware in exchange for supporting Windows Media 37.0, with the new brain-zapping feature that prevents you from humming any song unless you bought the performance rights? (A sheet of tinfoil wrapped tightly around your skull is effective against this zapper, I understand.)

I understand that Microsoft wants to help customers who feel like a spyware-free operating system should be your right when you pay for WinXP, but it's a shame that by giving it away free they're likely to wipe out a useful industry and replace it with something that's difficult to trust due to conflicts of interest.

February 16, 2005

February 16, 2005 03/14/2005 05:44 PM
Jamie Zawinski on Groupware: “So I said, narrow the focus. Your ‘use case’ should be, there’s a 22 year old college student living in the dorms. How will this software get him laid?”

February 23, 2005

February 23, 2005 03/14/2005 05:44 PM

Phew! and w00t! Last night at about 7:35 FogBugz 4.0 finally went live, on the exact day we planned to ship it quite a few months ago.

 

I have put a lot of other things on hold while we got this major upgrade out the door, so I'll be spending some time in catch-up mode for the next few weeks. And now I'm going to take a nap.

The Large Print Giveth and the Small Print Taketh Away: What we shipped today was FogBugz 4.0 for Windows. The Unix & Mac versions are now in beta and will be shipping Real Soon Now.
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Monday, February 10, 2003

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