Saturday, March 05, 2005

Better Bad News on Google AdLink. They get it.  

Quote from this episode. "Better Bad News is a blogcast. That's the same as podcast, but without the misleading brand name." 

Rex Hammock: "Apple-free speech means I'm calling it blogcasting instead of podcasting."  

It was a gorgeous day here, clear skies high in the 70s, and being a Saturday the beach was full of people (it's relative, it's nothing like a full beach in NY). I didn't wear shoes on my daily walk, and waded in up to my knees, and loved the feeling. I'm better at managing sand than I was when I was a kid at my grandmother's house in Rockaway. Also more tired.  

Talking with a friend about prospects for starting a podcasting-related business, when he asked a challenging question. With so many others starting up, why not offer your services to the best of them? People with a real chance of success in the market, as it gets more competitive, as it heats up. Good question. I wondered how would I raise the question, and then I remembered Scripting News. Hmmm.  

Question. I have a frame in a page that I'd like to refresh periodically, say every five minutes. All the scripts and content are local, so it's really fast. When I use the meta-refresh element, it works great, but there's an audible click. I'm sure there's no way to disable this, but I thought I should ask. Is there a way to disable it? This is in MSIE 6 on Windows (actually the HTML rendering control baked into an app). Note: This feature is for users, not for me (only). So a solution that says "Go to a Control Panel and..." won't work. I guess this is more of a feature request for MSIE 7 -- some way to disable the refresh click, from HTML. 

TechWeb: "EarthLink's upcoming Enhanced Webmail is built using the Laszlo platform, which generates Flash-based applications." 

Channel 9: Microsoft-centered podcasts. 

John Robinson: "The Houston Chronicle, WRAL-TV, The Oregonian, The News & Observer and USA Today have called me over the past week to talk about blogging. Not for a story but to pick my brain -- what little crumbs are left -- about our experiences online." 

NY Times: "At spring training, it's possible to watch the baton of fandom pass among generations." 

Last night I wrote about wanting to pay $2000 for a hard disk loaded with all kinds of great music. Gerard Hughes sent a pointer to an offer for a hard disk full of podsafe music (no royalties, license fees) for $1995.  

Jeff Sandquist shaved the stache. He wants to know what we think. Here goes. What are you going to remove next? Your nose? Your eyes?  

Google disclaimers 

After so much to-do about Google in the last couple of weeks, it seems I should repeat the disclaimer that I own Google stock, purchased just after the IPO. It has almost doubled in value. I plan to hold the stock for the forseeable future, to me it's kind of like owning IPO stock in Microsoft, Xerox or IBM.

Further, I said what I said about Google because I believe it, and for no other reason. In the recent past I have praised Google, when I believed they were doing good stuff.

Cruel and unusual punishment 

Scott Shuda, a Republican, says I missed the point of his bit about killing people who comitted their crimes while children, but I don't think so. The point is that killing children is wrong, and it's doubly wrong when the government does it in the name of justice.

Further, there's nothing controversial about one court overturning another court's interpretation of the Constitution. And I don't care about the circumstances of the case, and have written extensively about why I believe that. I could repeat all I've written, or just point you to a couple of the pieces. I hope you read them, not with the idea that you're going to "prove" me wrong, but to try to understand that there are valid points of view, other than your own.

http://davenet.scripting.com/1998/01/29/myUncleSam

http://davenet.scripting.com/1998/02/04/forgiveHer

One important factor not mentioned in either of the pieces is that sometimes we kill innocent people in the name of justice. If I were wavering on the death penalty that would sway me. If you're opposed to people killing other people, something I think we agree on, how can you support it when it's done by the state?

PS: Sometimes I think we should put Republicans to death. What if a majority of the voters agree? That's another reason the courts exist, to protect the rights of minorities.