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Now I know how Perl programmers who abuse "chop" feel

Last update: 2002-01-13 23:17 UTC
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Aaron Swartz: Secret Agent

posted by AaronSw at 2002-01-13 23:15 (permalink)

AaronSw: Yeah, yeah, Radio came out. But you really want to see is my new Radio Weblog, right?
AaronSw: Apologies to Morbus and his AmphetaDesk, but Radio is seriously tempting. I might even buy it!

`Google effect' reduces need for many domains (1/12/2002)

posted by tav` at 2002-01-13 22:47 (permalink)

James Joyce Business School

posted by AaronSw at 2002-01-13 00:19 (permalink)

AaronSw: "Do you find it frustrating to write business letters and memos that say all that you want to say? Maybe it's time you considered a business writing course at the James Joyce Business School. James Joyce was one of the greatest writers of the Twentieth Century. Now you can use his principles to improve your own business writing."

Is Jabber's Chatbot the Command Line of the Future?

posted by AaronSw at 2002-01-12 23:56 (permalink)

AaronSw: talks about "frank, a meeting bot that helps with the mundane side of organizing and publishing meeting notes"
AaronSw: Bots are an interesting combination of command lines and Web services. I find myself using xena quite a bit.
tav`: aierus are the future!

How To Write Unmaintainable Code

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 20:21 (permalink)

sbp: I love the huge disclaimer at the top - as if anyone would take this seriously
sbp: Some great programming tips, including "Code That Masquerades As Comments and Vice Versa", and "Arbitrary Names That Masquerade as Keywords"
sbp: Of course, the easiest thing to do to make your code unmainainable is to port it to Befunge

Tales of a BeOS Refugee

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 03:22 (permalink)

sbp: """BeOS really was the promised land of operating systems, as far as I was concerned, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the world saw the light. Or so I thought."""

Norway Cracks Down on DVD Hacker

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 02:44 (permalink)

sbp: Yep, they indicted Jon Johansen, the guy who just wanted to get his DVDs to work on Linux
sbp: and in doing so, created DeCSS. But you know about that already, right?
sbp: """At LinuxWorld 2000, Johansen fans passed out bumper stickers that read "Free Jon Johansen.""""
sbp: cf. the DeCSS gallery

Radio killed the HTML star...

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 02:33 (permalink)

sbp: """Morbus says (via email) that while Perl and PHP are included in the standard Mac OS X install, Python isn't. I read on Usenet that Tcl is included, but not Tk."""
sbp: What's that all about? Come on Apple, Python should be on every machine!

Internet Modes

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 02:28 (permalink)

sbp: I've found that the way I use the Internet has changed a lot. At first, I thought of it as "read-only" - viewing sites, taking in information. Browsing
sbp: Then I decided that instead of just musing on the junk that I read, I could publish it too, so I started lots of Websites
sbp: And now I use it a lot for communication, via. IRC and email
sbp: And then, of course, there's collaboration: a blend of publishing and communication
sbp: I wonder: what next? What more can I get out of the Internet? People say that information access on the move will be useful, and I guess it will if you're on the move all of the time

The dumbest girls in the world

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 02:07 (permalink)

sbp: via. Kottke.org
sbp: Prepare to laugh loud and long
sbp: I wonder if one of those girls will ever get to read this article? I guess that reading is too "boring", though

Moby Interviews David Bowie

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 01:58 (permalink)

sbp: Moby Q: What shall we be excited about tomorrow?
sbp: Bowie A: To see heaven in a grain of sand and eternity in a wildflower. And 'Cops'
sbp: on Fox.
sbp: Oops, vice versa (Bowie Q, Moby A)

Plex

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 01:54 (permalink)

sbp: """The Plex is a decentralized network for sharing data.""" So, that means "P2P app."
sbp: """The Plex provides a simple to use database system for your applications. Plex-based applications can easily be used anonymously, securely, quickly, and easily. By providing a shared storage system the Plex can integrate protocols like email, newsgroups and the Web into a single system."""
AaronSw: Check out the new Plex FAQ for more info.

Euro notes 'only poisonous if you eat 400 at once'

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 01:13 (permalink)

sbp: Phew, that's a relief
sbp: """He [Eugenio Domingo Solans, European Central Bank] told reporters the ink only poses health risks if people eat hundreds of the notes."""

Why We've Embraced Mac OS X

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 01:05 (permalink)

sbp: Derrick: """over the last year, you've seen more Mac-related articles in our lead space. Now I don't know how you feel personally about this platform, but I want to tell you why we've been covering this stuff."""

Hackers are terrorists, says UK law

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 00:58 (permalink)

sbp: "cyberterrorists - known to you and me as hackers"
sbp: Nope. Known to me, and anyone else who knows anything about programming culture (or does five seconds of research on Google), as crackers. Just ask the Jargon file
sbp: Then again, it could have been worse - they could have appended "sw"
sbp: s/app/prep/

Scientists Paint Universe as a Vast Sea of Green

posted by sbp at 2002-01-12 00:53 (permalink)

sbp: """If it were possible to see the universe as a whole, from afar, it would appear pale green, between aquamarine and turquoise."""

Aaron Swartz and Sean B. Palmer
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