By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Various authors: Google Blogsearch, Google September 14, 2005

Google has launched a blog search tool. I gave it the usual test, searching for myself. I got 748 results, which is even lower than Technorati and a lot lower than other blog search engines. And the results - as is typical Google fashion - are chronologically disordered, making it difficult to find recent and relevant content. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Rob Abel: Why Higher Education Leaders Must Influence Google Print, Higher Education Insight November 8, 2005

I think this post serves as a useful caution. While we are quick to cheer programs like Google Print because it opens access to content, the author warns that Google's program is about commercialism, not content. "Google is all about capturing and monetizing the eyeballs of consumers, not getting better content to students." As an example of this, notes the author, take not at the "barrage" of advertising that accompanies any Google service. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Ina Fried: Gates Memo Warns of Disruptive Changes, ZD Net November 9, 2005

If the changes are disruptive for Microsoft you can count on them being disruptive to the rest of us. "Developers needing tools and libraries to do their work just search the Internet, download, develop and integrate, deploy, refine," [Microsoft employee Ray] Ozzie wrote. "Speed, simplicity and loose coupling are paramount." That's totally not the Microsoft way of doing things, of course, and Ozzie's memo, cited by Bill Gates, lists a bevy of missed opportunities for the software giant. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Parody: Google Announces Plan To Destroy All Information It Can't Index, September 8, 2005

A little humour to begin the day, and to wrap up blogging from the ALT-C conference. You'll notice the link to my summary of Etienne Wenger's talk just above; my own talk ran into a recording glitch, so MP3 may not be available until next week. Meanwhile, I'm losing my internet access (I have none at the hotel), so this may be the last of OLDaily until Monday. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. GoogleOS? YahooOS? MozillaOS? WebOS?
OK, this post is mostly speculation, but it's informed speculation, and even though it's a little out there, it is beyond neither comprehension nor reason. The idea, in a nutshell, is that the applications we normally store on our computer - things like MS Words, email, PowerPoint, and the like - will in the future be hosted on the web. This will mean that we're not bound to Microsoft, that our applictaions will work the same (and be the same) no matter what computer we're using. More...