News and commentary from the cross-platform scripting community.
	Mail Starting 10/18/97

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From: swfuchs@unix.asb.com (Steven Fuchs);
Sent at 10/19/97; 11:06:46 PM;
Razor sharp focus

Thanks for Scripting News. Your unique bend on information provides a community feel along with the requisite information. I'm writing because I have a problem with Apples "razor sharp" focus on education and content creation.

As a web page writer of varying success I have experience in the first, and I can conject as to the second.

I spend tons of time making my pages look good on both Mac and Windows platforms. Anyone who says that the web levels the playing field is only partially correct. The different pallettes, the larger fonts, the odd window sizes all add up for major problems when rendering complicated pages.

My question is: Can Apple thrive soley based on content creation? If ALL of the browsers use Windows, at what point is it better to design on a Mac? Consider at that point I could save lots of time by designing on the system my pages are to be viewed on and ignoring Macs. Painful but a case worth considering.

Add to this the delays in platform ports (Java 1.1 and MSIE DHTML support come to mind) and working on a Mac almost as much of a hindrance as having to Windows 95 would be.

This can also apply to education. Years ago all but the geekiest kids were afraid of computers. Then Macs made huge sense. Introduce the kids to computers in the friendliest manner possible.

Now in today's world of Nintendo, calculator watches, Tama - whatever - chis. Kids are no longer afraid of computers. I would be waiting for a parent to complain his child is being taught how to use a Mac when the odds are overwhelming that when looking for a job after school the kid will need to know how to use Windows. I would hate to be in a position where I had to argue with that parent, I don't know what I would say.

To sum up, we know the ends can't hold without the center, but can the center hold without the ends? I'm not so sure that Apple can ignore the general users.

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From: jhiggins@dn.net (Justin Higgins);
Sent at 10/19/97; 2:52:50 PM;
Why Mac OS Rumors is switching ISPs

We used to host Mac OS Rumors. I offerred them a dedicated server at no cost to them. For a while everything was working out fine, but they were increasingly asking people here at digitalNation to fix things they messed up, to install something extra on their server, etc. And that is not to mention that they were taking up a lot of bandwidth. We were happy to try and help them out, but not to the point that they were taking advantage of us.

A lot of rumors have been made that Mac OS Rumors was shut down, or something like that, but that is not the case. They found a new ISP and everything is normal.

I hope this clears things up.

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From: fredb@compuserve.com (Fred Ballard);
Sent at 10/18/97; 2:04:23 PM;
Re:"New Orleans [Cadillac Desert]"

Did you see "Cadillac Desert", the PBS documentary miniseries?

Television at its best! So much incredible information packed into a television show.

Los Angeles, Phoenix, and what has become the agricultural basis of the United States rests on water piped in at high, Federal taxpayer-funded expense. Phoenix could sustain a population of something like 25,000 without it.

So many memorable scenes from the show:

The head of the Reclamation Project --that brought all the water in-- bitterly remembering how he was thwarted from perhaps damming the Grand Canyon by Sierra Club "lies" (his word). The Sierra Club was not going to be fooled again (their words to that effect). He was so powerful, the only way the project was stopped --and the only way it could have been-- was because he was out of the country when it was cancelled.

A representative of the San Joaquin Valley growers' association claimed that driving a tractor in California is such glorious work that it makes up for the workers and their families living in poverty --even with full employment-- while the growers live in splendor.

A valley grower railed against needless meddling from Washington: being charged a fair price for the water the grower and his family have been prospering from by receiving it essentially for free for decades.

The huge aquifer built up over geological eras under the San Joaquin Valley was exhausted in a matter of a years.

Seeing water being piped uphill over a mountain.

"Every drop of water that flows from the land into the Pacific Ocean is a drop wasted."

Talking to some farm workers, one calmly asked, "It's our water too, isn't it?" There was a short pause and then with an incredible smile on his face, to someone behind the camera, he said, "Did I say something wrong?"

And much, much more. I didn't even see all the episodes. I just particularly remember the one about the San Joaquin Valley.

I started by saying the documentary was wonderful, but I have to say I also found it discouraging. Once again, so many of our tax dollars being absorbed by the greed of an angry, powerful, fearful, and most of all, ungrateful few.

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From: mark@ncee.org;
Sent at 10/18/97; 12:37:03 PM;
Re:"Re: peering woes"

I finally received a response from ClarkNet, telling me that routing to Conxion was "fixed". They didn't elaborate so I'm not sure if this instance was a true peering issue or just a problem with their routing tables being messed up. I can't be the first person to have noticed it.

In any event I am happy that I can get there from here. We all need to keep up the pressure on our respective ISPs regarding peering issues.

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From: gnu@toad.com (John Gilmore);
Sent at 10/18/97; 9:25:43 AM;
Microsoft won't support customers who desire privacy

Try getting support from the Microsoft web site. They require you to register and accept cookies, to let them track your movements, or else sign up for high-priced support (which will also track your usage).

There are occasional incentives to install Windows 95 on my Linux box, but if I can't get my technical questions answered I guess I'll put it off again. The Linux web pages let me browse around to my heart's content.

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From: mark@ncee.org;
Sent at 10/18/97; 10:53:06 AM;
peering woes

Just to let you know I am banging away at my local dial-up ISP(ClarkNet) to restore peering to Conxion. But they have yet to respond to my emails. Monday, the CEO gets a phone call. Wednesday I get a new dial-up provider if I don't get any response.

A few weeks ago my leased line ISP (Digex) restored peering after users started making some noise.

This is really silly and annoying. How can anyone claim to be an ISP and yet not peer with other major ISPs?

Please keep us all updated on scripting.com (I'll see it at work anyway).

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From: jrusso@computerlaw.com (Jack Russo);
Sent at 10/17/97; 10:53:54 PM;
Re:"news.com"

I think there is a story about "Symbolism and Publicity-Oriented Litigation". I have been thinking about this awhile: Is most public company litigation really about symbolism (and not money)?

For SUN, the symbolism is: we defined it, we created it, we own it, we branded it, and we can contro l it in a way that is "best" (in our view) for the global JAVA community. We cannot be defrocked so easily - - at least not until a court tells us we have been!

But, the industry moves too fast and the symbols blur and the original intent for filing becomes les s clear over time and the innovators prevail - - sometimes even regardless of standards. (Though st andards sometimes prevent innovation, more times than not innovation just drives right over standard s and sometimes, rightfully so.)

How does the Court decide these fights over symbols? on fact? on law? Or, on other more political grounds: that open is good, and that anything aiding a growing monopoly is bad or that innovation i s good and that anything that stops it is bad?

Sometimes, I think this type of litigation is really just setting up the voter ballot informational pamphlet for those who really will make the ultimate decision: the developer and user community that has to decide which set of politics they like better - - or, what to do if they like neither.

Why doesn't SUN simply "donate" JAVA (and all of its components) to a non-profit comprised of develo pers and users who will determine its fate: wouldn't that be the BEST symbol (much better than litig ation) of its true intent to have JAVA unequivocally serve the developer and user community and then have that community boo down anything anyone does to disrupt the cross-platform compatibility goals of the community-owned JAVA "religion"?