October 10, 2005

Winer thinks Google Reader is an “inside-the-bubble” product, too

I tried the Google news reader again, this morning, after it had loaded all my feeds (it seems to take quite a few hours to do that).This is the second blog-related product they’ve come out with recently that appears not to have been touched by human beings before it was introduced to the world (the other was the ridiculous blog search). I think they need to start using their own stuff before releasing it. And maybe look at the competition for ideas. When you’re first into a market there’s an excuse for being so wrong. But the first of this kind of software shipped six years ago…

Winer’s right about the software, but he’s missing the point. Google is deliberately trying to defeature the aggregator category to make it make sense for the 99% of end users who don’t know and don’t want to know what RSS is.

ESR | October 10, 2005 | If Dan Brown is right…: “Hanks’ own instincts in making the proper acting choices and choosing the right scripts have been so unerringly on the mark that it’s a marvel to watch him. He is, dear readers, exactly what he was in his comedies, and as he revealed a part of himself in his portrayal of Forrest Gump and in the brilliantly compassionate performance he gave in Philadelphia: he is America’s most romantic soul on the silver screen. Hanks’ soul is as perfect a one as can be found in Hollywood these days.

Unfortunately, urged on by Spielberg and Ron Howard, Hanks will be the mascot of the newly established Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). With the worldwide release of The Da Vinci Code, he’ll be assured of an Academy Award nomination, but his co-star Audrey Tautou will win the coveted ‘gold.’ This will help to ensure Hillary Clinton’s election as President of the United States.”

Elsewhere in the post, we learn that Moriarty likes Hanks:

I’ve met the man twice, once at an awards ceremony in New York where he was unexpectedly generous toward me and my talent while he was onstage; then again at the Emmy Awards at which I won Best Supporting Actor for my performance in James Dean: An Invented Life. At this second meeting, I was still drinking, so I wasn’t entirely up to par, so to speak. While walking with Steven Spielberg, he said firmly, “Michael, take care of yourself.”

Gee, I’m glad he likes Hanks. I’d hate to see what he’d say if he didn’t like him!

This image is also pretty hilarious.

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Posted by wfzimmerman to The Solomon Key and Beyond: Dan Brown News at 10/10/2005 10:43:00 AM

DEBKAfile - Moscow Arms Assad with a Top-Flight Surface Missile: “Two generals were in Moscow on the same day, September 26: the head of Israel’s National Security Council Maj.-Gen (Res.) Giora Eiland and the Syrian chief of staff General Ali Habib. Both also called on the Russian chief of staff, Gen. Yuri Baluyevski. The Syrian general came out of his meeting with a brilliant contract for the sale of the advanced Iskander SS-26 surface missile. The Israeli general ran into a blank wall when he tried to persuade the Russian to withhold the missile from the Assad regime. Last January, when the deal was first broached, the Bush administration stepped in and obtained a promise from president Vladimir Putin to call off the sale, as did Israel’s Ariel Sharon during the Russian president’s visit in May.

Putin has broken those pledges.

DEBKA-Net-Weekly 224 revealed in its detailed report on September 30 -

For a speedy delivery in the first quarter of 2006, the Syrians paid cash.

The value of the transaction is unknown but it certainly runs into hundreds of million dollars, given that Syria has purchased 26 of the most advanced missile of its kind in use anywhere in the world.

The United States and NATO have code-named the Iskander SS-26 “Stone.” They have nothing in their missile arsenal to match its unique attributes.

With a 400-km range and a 480-kilo warhead composed of 54 elements, the missile hits a target within a 20-meter radius. Two missiles with a range of 280km are mounted on each launch pad. The system can be used against small and large targets alike, easily overcoming air defenses. It is almost impossible for existing electronic weapons systems to prevent the Iskander’s launch because of its speed and high flexibility….

A Western missile expert says: “Even a small quantity of these missiles is capable of radically changing the balance of strength in local conflicts.” It is a strategic weapon for countries with a small area like Syria…”

Contrary to what DebkaFile says, this is not a strategic weapon unless it has a strategic warhead. If it did … then it would be really scary. But that’s what living in a proliferated world is all about.

Portsmouth Herald Local News: Big Brother gives back: “EXETER - The first time Colby met author Dan Brown three years ago, they played catch at Phillips Exeter Academy and climbed to the top floor of the library.

There were no cameras, no book signings, no autograph sessions. Just a simple game of baseball and a small history lesson of the academy for the-then 9-year-old boy from Exeter and his Big Brother.

Colby, whose mother requested both of them be identified by their first name, and Dan have been a match at Big Brother Big Sisters of the Greater Seacoast (BBBSGS) for roughly three years.

In addition to his relationship with Colby, now 12, Dan also recently helped to establish an endowment fund for the agency by giving BBBSGS a large financial gift.

Both Colby and Dan, however, juggle busy schedules. While Dan’s literary successes often keep him traveling, Colby is frequently booked playing football, basketball or baseball. But despite the hectic details of each day, they keep in touch, speak frequently, and hang out every chance they can.

Dan even sends Colby coded messages in the mail. His mother, Cheryl, even wondered jokingly if they were supposed to go to the library to figure them out. According to Colby, Dan tells him stories about the books he has written.

‘I’m very happy for him and his success as an author,’ Colby said.

But the kind of success Colby knows with Dan has nothing to do with fame, numbers or a book called, ‘The Da Vinci Code”.

Good on ya, Dan!

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Posted by wfzimmerman to The Solomon Key and Beyond: Dan Brown News at 10/10/2005 10:38:41 AM

The New Yorker: The Critics: Books

Exciting match of author and subject, but the essay’s nothing much, and, bizarrely, there are no illustrations.

The Man Booker Prize 2005 to be announced tonight: “

At 10:30 p.m. tonight (London time), the 2005 winner of The Man Booker Prize will be announced. The Booker Prize, established in 1969, is one of the most prestigious literary awards coveted by writers.

Tonight’s winner will be selected from the shortlist of six authors who were chosen August 7th. They are:

John Banville The Sea – scheduled for U.S. publication in 2006
Julian Barnes Arthur and George
Sebastian Barry A Long Long Way
Kazuo Ishiguro Never Let Me Go
Ali Smith The Accidental – scheduled for U.S. publication in 2006
Zadie Smith On Beauty

Last year’s winner was Alan Hollinghurst for The Line of Beauty.”

Winer thinks Google Reader is an “inside-the-bubble” product, too

I tried the Google news reader again, this morning, after it had loaded all my feeds (it seems to take quite a few hours to do that).This is the second blog-related product they’ve come out with recently that appears not to have been touched by human beings before it was introduced to the world (the other was the ridiculous blog search). I think they need to start using their own stuff before releasing it. And maybe look at the competition for ideas. When you’re first into a market there’s an excuse for being so wrong. But the first of this kind of software shipped six years ago…

Winer’s right about the software, but he’s missing the point. Google is deliberately trying to defeature the aggregator category to make it make sense for the 99% of end users who don’t know and don’t want to know what RSS is.

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Posted by wfzimmerman to Tech Fun at 10/10/2005 08:07:08 AM

DEBKAfile - Moscow Arms Assad with a Top-Flight Surface Missile: “Two generals were in Moscow on the same day, September 26: the head of Israel’s National Security Council Maj.-Gen (Res.) Giora Eiland and the Syrian chief of staff General Ali Habib. Both also called on the Russian chief of staff, Gen. Yuri Baluyevski. The Syrian general came out of his meeting with a brilliant contract for the sale of the advanced Iskander SS-26 surface missile. The Israeli general ran into a blank wall when he tried to persuade the Russian to withhold the missile from the Assad regime. Last January, when the deal was first broached, the Bush administration stepped in and obtained a promise from president Vladimir Putin to call off the sale, as did Israel’s Ariel Sharon during the Russian president’s visit in May.

Putin has broken those pledges.

DEBKA-Net-Weekly 224 revealed in its detailed report on September 30 -

For a speedy delivery in the first quarter of 2006, the Syrians paid cash.

The value of the transaction is unknown but it certainly runs into hundreds of million dollars, given that Syria has purchased 26 of the most advanced missile of its kind in use anywhere in the world.

The United States and NATO have code-named the Iskander SS-26 “Stone.” They have nothing in their missile arsenal to match its unique attributes.

With a 400-km range and a 480-kilo warhead composed of 54 elements, the missile hits a target within a 20-meter radius. Two missiles with a range of 280km are mounted on each launch pad. The system can be used against small and large targets alike, easily overcoming air defenses. It is almost impossible for existing electronic weapons systems to prevent the Iskander’s launch because of its speed and high flexibility….

A Western missile expert says: “Even a small quantity of these missiles is capable of radically changing the balance of strength in local conflicts.” It is a strategic weapon for countries with a small area like Syria…”

Contrary to what DebkaFile says, this is not a strategic weapon unless it has a strategic warhead. If it did … then it would be really scary. But that’s what living in a proliferated world is all about.

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Posted by wfzimmerman to Proliferated at 10/10/2005 07:44:51 AM