Wednesday, January 07, 2004

Zawodny, who works at Yahoo and ought to know, says it's a bug. That reminds me of a story someone told on stage at Esther Dyson's conference in the heyday of Lotus 1-2-3. He imagined -- what if, at random, Lotus version 5.0 magically appeared on his computer one day. It's just a pattern of bits, it's improbable, for sure, but it could happen. Think of all the millions of dollars that he would have made, and all the millions that Lotus would have lost. So fast-forward to 2004, Yahoo has a bug that somehow makes it appear as if they have a built-in RSS aggregator. Hmmm. I suppose stranger things have happened? [Scripting News] 7:17:25 PM

New Software Will Be Available Feb. 16 (AP). AP - A few hundred thousand lines of computer code could revolutionize the way people interact with computers, say its unlikely inventor and his backers. [Yahoo! News - Technology] 7:12:01 PM

Adam Kalsey: "Yahoo is beta testing an RSS Aggregator." [Scripting News] 5:44:51 PM

opendocman 1.2rc2 released (OpenDocMan). Total project downloads to date: 6509 Project description: OpenDocMan is a web based document management system designed to comply with ISO 17025 and OIE standard for document management. It features fine grained control of access to files, and automated install and upgrades. Written in PHP [Download] [Release Notes] By logart@users.sourceforge.net (Stephen Lawrence). [SourceForge.net: Project File Releases (Site-wide)] 2:08:45 PM

[teknoids] Law related newsfeeds [Teknoids mailing list] Erich Markert is looking for a good source of law-related RSS feeds.  I would recommend http://www.virtualchase.com/resources/rss_law.html as a starting point.  I also find more obscure stuff by trolling other blawgs. 11:50:21 AM

dd if=/dev/zero of=linux.ars.img. Ever wanted to build a diskless distributed computing farm? Linux.Ars will show you how. [Ars Technica] 10:47:15 AM

[teknoids] Information about XP Svc Pack 2 beta; NSA Windows XP security guide [Teknoids mailing list] Ben Chapman let's us know about a good review of the new SP2 Beta, plus a good link to the NSA XP security guide: http://www.nsa.gov/snac/winxp/index.html 10:40:32 AM

How to participate in the OPML aggregator. I've been busy for the last week or so building a new aggregator, one that asks people for the OPML version of their RSS subscription lists, and uses them to build a top-100 ranking, and to let you view the lists for users, all of which is intended to help you and others find new stuff to subscribe to. It's working remarkably well. Yesterday, talking with Jim Moore, a fellow here at Berkman, he said he didn't know how to participate. I said I'd write a how-to that explains for a person with a weblog on the Harvard Law weblog server, how to find your OPML, and step-by-step how to enter it into the new Web app. These instructions can be adapted for any Manila site and you're welcome to use this, with proper attribution. Note the Creative Commons license at the bottom of the page. [Weblogs At Harvard] 10:37:46 AM

Radio Ready to Go Digital. In a rollout that's being compared to the birth of FM, traditional broadcasters will fill the airwaves with CD-quality audio and souped-up information services. And, unlike satellite radio, it's free. [Wired News] 10:37:07 AM