Georgia law dean discusses resignation. Departing University of Georgia School of Law dean David Shipley says that controversies over hiring at the law school and the selection of Clarence Thomas as graduation speaker helped prompt his resignation this past June. In other law school news... [JURIST's Paper Chase]

The cited article notes that Shipley made $226,000 a year as dean.  That's about half as much as it would take to get me to take such a thankless postion.

1:56:29 PM    comment []  

Architecture of the World Wide Web:"The World Wide Web is a networked information system. Web Architecture consists of the requirements, constraints, principles, and choices that influence the design of the system and the behavior of agents within the system. When Web Architecture is followed, the large-scale effect is that of an efficient, scalable, shared information space. The organization of this document reflects the three divisions of Web architecture: identification, representation, and interaction. This document also addresses some non-technical (social) issues that play a role in building the shared information space."

This is from the W3C site and provides a good background of principles and best practices for building websites, services, etc.

1:47:47 PM    comment []  

Microsoft brains take on Google brawn. The software titan hires top scientists and mathematicians in its quest for search algorithms that will allow Microsoft to compete directly with Google. [CNET News.com]

See what you can do with $46,000,000,000 in cash? Will Google be able to compete?  Can anyone?  Does MSFT own the PC and the Internet? 

Precisely how bad is it if MSFT has effective control over PCs, servers, and the Internet?  Well, how many of you were Wordperfect fans?  In many ways WP was a much better wordprocessor for a long time, but MSFT ground it down until it no longer is relevant.  Oh, you can still buy it, use it, but what happens when you want to share files?  You need to save them as Word docs.  MSFT owns wordprocessing.  If your formating (or your footnotes) doesn't convert properly, what can you do?  Switch to writing in Word? 

Now imagine if MSFT does the same with the Internet.  Sure you can use other search engines or other browsers, but if you want the full effect of the niftiest new features and the OS integration, you need to use MSFT products.  Developers will only build to thos eproducts because that's what most folks use.  Why bad?  Because we're talking about information here, knowledge.  MSFT is not exactly a trusted source for accurate information.  If access to information is controlled by a single entity, then we are in trouble.

11:20:21 AM    comment []  

Yahoo! News - Experts Say Hacker Hype Is Threat on Its Own - After a widely publicized hacking contest failed to cause as much damage as expected last weekend, computer security experts are advocating a novel response for Internet hackers out for a digital joy ride: ignore them.

As noted here, the article mentions that the hype around such predictions and rumors is often fueled by security firms looking to drum up business.  The thing to do is stay cool, practice good security all the time, and rely on your community to sort out the hype from the threat.

10:38:35 AM    comment []