How Microsoft Lost the API War
Two good think pieces on Microsoft. This first item is a little technical but a good read even if you don't follow it completely. Essentially, the author argues that, since Microsoft has changed its (mostly secret) application program interface (API) so frequently in various versions of Windows, developers have abandoned Windows as a software platform and are now programming for the world wide web. More...
I’ll Spend My Time Talking to Whom I Want, Thanks Very Much!
Nice observation here: “For the consumer, the ability to control the timing, method, and manner of a transaction is very attractive – particularly if it saves them time and effort. The attraction for the supplier is that they can off-load all the administrative costs of selling to the consumer and still give a better service.” Or, put another way: stop trying to tell me what amount and kind of interaction is right for me. More...
Credit Cards Could Offer Key to E-government Authentication
Here's a stupid idea - using credit cards to authenticate voters and participants in e-government. Why a stupid idea? Well if you knew how many years I was denied a credit card (the consequence of student loans) you would understand - I see no reason to be denied my franchise simply because I have a bad credit rating. More...
The Location Field Is the New Command Line
This is a follow-up to an item run here a few days ago, How Microsoft Lost the API War. It has me thinking a lot more about web applications. I have been touting the web as the source of content for a long time now (in contrast, say, to standards designed to accomodate local media, such as CD-ROMs). More...
Codec Comparison
Oh, I don't know. Maybe somebody, some day, will need a detailed description of video coder-decoders (codecs). Well, here it is, describing varions of AVI, Quicktime, Windows Media and MPEG (Real format forthcoming) in quite a bit of (technical) detail. More...
Copyright Criminals
I just have to say, if people find it easier to take pictures of book pages and read them that way, then the publishing industry is in trouble. Their solution: digital camera detectors in their stores. Sheesh. More...
I Want To Be A Cognitive Ergonomist
Robin Good turns a phrase about as well as anyone, and today's contribution - cognitive ergonomist - is no exception. A short item - but that's about the way it is today, one of the slowest news days of the year. More...
Cognitive and Logical Rationales for e-Learning Objects
I didn't particularly enjoy this paper - it was hard to follow, didn't really advance anything new, and where it did seem to be new and clear, seemed wrong. But it's being discussed by the IT Forum right now (and generated some dicussion last month on another forum) so I'm passing it along. More...
My Theoretical Overview of Instructional Systems
Nifty diagram that "represents an attempt to symbolize my own conception of instructional systems as a field of study and practice," the image followed by a detailed exegesis. More...
The Ocean, The Bird, and the Scholar
I couldn't help but think of Kenneth Clark as I read this text of the 33nd Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities. The author argues that the traditional cornerstones of the humanities, history and philosophy, ought to be replaced by the arts. More...
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