plasticbag.org

Even though Anti-Microsoft Day is now well and truly over pretty much everywhere in the world, I just thought I’d add one more thing, gleaned from powazek this morning. There is a current discussion at Metafilter about an article at Macintouch that says:

“Macintouch is reporting that Microsoft has disbanded the IE for Mac team and is discontinuing development of IE for Mac. So much for a 5 year commitment….”

I’m really worried that when I move this weblog to a new domain, that you’ll all forget me and won’t link to the new site. Which would really upset me. Nothing I can do about it though really.

It’s Anti-Microsoft Day at Barbelith Towers today, as completely spontaneously I have come across several pieces of information about the many-splendored Macro-Company that have caused me to feel little white-hot daggers of outrage course through my body.

If you feel the same way about these stories, and all the other weirdnesses that Microsoft have done, make it Anti-Microsoft Day all over the web by putting this little banner on your site with a link to your favourite example of their bloody stupidity.

• Microsoft versus Slashdot [Wired]
  Less than 24 hours after I am singing Slashdot‘s praises, I stumble upon an article which says that they are being savaged by Microsoft. And I quote: “Microsoft ordered Slashdot to delete discussions of one of the company’s security products – Miller said he has not deleted the 11 messages that Microsoft claims are illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and is waiting to hear from legal counsel and readers. The response from Slashdot regulars was fast and furious. In the first hour, hundreds of readers weighed in, many condemning Microsoft’s action as another example of the company’s desire to crush free-wheeling discussion in general, and the Linux community in particular. “No matter what Microsoft threatens, no matter what they say, do not give in to them. This is not because it is Microsoft, but because free speech is far too important, especially on a forum such as Slashdot. Give them hell,” wrote one respondent.”

• Microsoft Security Great Big Joke [Peacefire.org]
  And the irony of it all is that on pretty much the same day, a huge and alarming security issue was revealed about Microsoft’s implementation of cookies. An article at Peacefire.org revealed: “By intercepting a cookie set by HotMail, Yahoo Mail or any other free Web-based email sites that use cookies for authentication, the operator of a hostile Web site could break into a visitor’s HotMail account and read the contents of their Inbox. (HotMail cookies do not contain user passwords, but they do allow a third party to access a user’s HotMail account for as long as that user stays logged in, since each separate login generates a new cookie.)” and “A user’s Amazon.com cookie could be used to visit Amazon.com impersonating that user, and access their real name, email address, and the user’s list of “recommended titles” — which can be used to determine what types of books or CD’s the user has purchased from Amazon in the past. (You cannot, however, access the user’s credit card number or their actual list of previous Amazon.com orders, since accessing this information requires a password that is not contained in the cookie.)” See also: Slashdot |
  CNet |
  Newsbytes |
  MSNBC.

[Current participants in the May 12 Anti Microsoft Day: Wanderlust, bluishorange, Dakota Smith (Shameless Self-Promoter), Atesque, L N B B, thegardencafe.com, she says, FrogBlog, Haiku the Blog, linkmachinego, gaylery, L/noleum, Zippyblog, Rasterweb, Golb, Digital Asylum] [People who think I am full of shit and don’t understand that the odd gesture of teenage rebellion never did anyone any harm, even though most of us are using Microsoft products: Ed’s Weblog]

So, I am sitting at work, having spent the day being shown how to force quark documents through extraction tools and sql databases, thinking about organising my travelcard, sending off replies to letters about preview screenings of films and wondering where I am going to stash my gym clothes when I go to the party that Nick, Toby and two other people are organising in a bar in Chalk Farm. It’s supposed to start around 7.30, which give me an hour to get there. It looks like my flatmates aren’t going to be able to make it as they both have work commitments. which means I have to put my chin in the air, down a few satisfyingly strong drinks, and try to find my inner chirpy fun person…

I have a theory that for a weblog to be popular, it must i) have a definite focus for its writings, ii) be written well, iii) have a clear and appealing visual presence and iv) fabricate some form of online personality that people actually like (or be famous). My theory can be extrapolated into explaining why some weblogs are less popular than others. Those sites that are based upon complete whim of content will therefore be at a certain disadvantage, unless the personality expressed is particularly effervescent. I present the following breakdown of the top eight weblogs (according to beebo.org, [Issued May 11, 16:42 GMT+10]) as proof or disproof that my theory holds water.

[NOTE: Half way through this rigorous process, I began wondering whether or not this exercise was turning into a weblog review kind of thing. Which really doesn’t interest me that much. But since the post was so bloody long already, I thought I should probably see it through. Make up your own mind as to its validity (if any) and worth (if any). I promise I’ll try and think of something more interesting to write about tomorrow…]

• http://slashdot.org
  Billing itself as “News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters”, Slashdot is the communal weblog that comments on all the latest trends in techworld. Because of the number of people posting to it, it doesn’t have the advantage of a highly individual and distinctive voice, but it more than makes up for that in a well developed community feeling. Also, it’s sheer wealth of information compensates for a clunkiness of design.
  Focus: 10 Well Written: 8 Visual Presence: 7 Famous/Endearing: 8 Additional: 8 (for depth of content)

• http://kottke.org
  Jason Kottke’s personal presence is something of a weblog anomaly. It manages to tread the fine lines between personal, cultural and tech commentary, without sacrificing integrity and without pissing off people interested in one element more than the other. Of course it helps that he is one of the focuses of elegant design on the net at the moment…
  Focus: 7 Well Written: 9 Visual Presence: 10 Famous/Endearing: 9

• http://robotwisdom.com
  Robot Wisdom’s allure is a relative mystery to me (Rocky Horror Quote: “I didn’t make him for you), although the huge amount of content that it contains is impressively picked apart and commented upon.
  Focus: 10 Well Written: 8 Visual Presence: 4 Famous/Endearing:6 Additional: 8 (for depth of content)

• http://memepool.com/
  Memepool is a stalwart denizen of the old school of weblogging – selectively providing links and commentary to many of the more interesting sites around. Content is mostly self(web)reflexive, in the sense that most the sites and news articles selected are about the net itself, but there is an intriguing sense of play and wit behind the scenes. Very little in the way of personal content.
  Focus: 7 Well Written: 9 Visual Presence: 8 Famous/Endearing: 8

• http://camworld.com/
  A site which is serious about commentary and the dissemination of information in a clear and intelligent fashion. The design pays short shrift to the idea of making the site pleasant to look at, concentrating on a more modernist aesthetic of total functionality. And it succeeds admirably. The content is laid out on the page in an incredibly clear and logical fashion. The same attitude manifests itself in the content of the log itself: functionality is the key, laconic clarity the style, and technology the subject. The few elements of HTML trickery reveal this to be a site for and by tech people.
  Focus: 10 Well Written: 7 Visual Presence: 6 Famous/Endearing: 7

• http://www.stormwerks.com/linked/
  Zannah takes a completely different approach to the weblog, drawing the personal diary-like aspects much closer to the forefront, while still revealing herself to be a serious commentator on the web and the people who live in it. She’s also the first of our ten heroic webloggers to make a picture of herself a prominant part of the site.
  Focus: 7 Well Written: 7 Visual Presence: 7 Famous/Endearing: 8

• http://www.evhead.com/
  One of the team at Pyra, and hence a stable of the blogging community, Evhead’s log looks good, mixes technical content with personal content as if there weren’t any difference at all (which for many of us, there really isn’t) and has an unselfconsciously playful attitude towards HTML, XML and DHTML trickery (without overplaying them).
  Focus: 7 Well Written: 7 Visual Presence: 8 Famous/Endearing: 8

• http://50cups.com/strange.html
  Strange log this one – designed with a certain elegance, written with a certain charm, with content that has a certain appeal. But I can think of almost nothing to say about it at all. Mainly traditional weblog format: links with short commentary and little personal detail, with occasional bubblings of a singular personality wanting to break through.
  Focus: 6 Well Written: 7 Visual Presence: 7 Famous/Endearing: 6

I’m always amazed that my favourite weblogs aren’t more well read – I guess it reflects a divergence of interests in the community as a whole. Where were: riothero, megnut, kitschbitch, powazek etc etc… [Later Note (13/05/00) Evhead explains everything]

I thought it would be interesting to come up with some really cool, and yet weird and fucked-up domain names – you know – ones that no one would ever buy, and then name them here and see if anyone bought them. I came up with a few really good ones, including my absolute favourite rabidrabbit.com. Shock of all shocks: they’ve all already gone…

Now with permalinks. I have been resisting this trend for quite some time now, because it would expose my weird habit of continually adding to an individual entry. I have used this technique to keep a certain amount of logical flow on a page, and to keep important entries that I make in a day right up at the top. But now, alas, no longer. The other reason I have resisted these things is that I have this horrible feeling that barbelith is beginning to look cluttered. Things are just not where they are supposed to be, and there is too much colour pollution in my beautiful serene web/site/pool. But hey. That’s a matter for another day…

Come on now kids, play nice…

Does anyone want to buy me a computer? In my two months of homelessness, I have used net cafe computers only. And now I finally set up my own computer and it seems like I have stepped back about eight years in time. I don’t think I can handle it. The most terrifying thing about it is how much I dislike it being a PC. I have been a PC user for nearly ten years now. TEN YEARS. I made all those Mac jokes about how they were crappy and shoddy and boring and pointless and ugly. And now I find myself desperately pining for the sexiest G4 on the planet. I mean just look at it. I can’t stop drooling!

It worked for k10k.net – they’ve got Apple sponsorship – so why can’t it work for me? I’m a shameless prostitute. I’ll have myself tattooed with the Apple insignia. I’ll do anything, goddammit… So this is a blanket call to the world out there: –

Oh Lord, Won’t You Buy Me an Apple G4
My friends all have PCs
I don’t know what for

I’ve built many websites
But now I’m in awe
Oh Lord, Won’t You Buy Me An Apple G4

God! I finally took the emode “What is your true colour” test that has been cycling around the blogs, and it came out with this, which is a bit of coincidence if you ask me:

“Vibrant and charming, ORANGE is the color of your personality.”

New blogs proliferate like some form of weird fungal infection on the net. There never seems to be an end to it (good). And along with blogs come blogmemes – viral ideas attached to the fungal media produced by relatively disease free human beings. The blogmeme of the moment is a design feature – the dotted-line. After the relative success of barbelith orange, I will come out and say that dotted lines will be the only thing to be seen in this summer. That’s so a good look…