Month: June 2001

Feedreader, an RSS file viewer. Toomas Toots has released a beta of Feedreader, a “good looking” viewer for RSS 0.9x and 1.0 headline feeds (including support for RSS 1.0 modules and RSS 0.92 tags). [xmlhack]

Pixar's New Digs Coddle Animators, Writers And Tech Heads : Steve Jobs stood just inside the main entrance to Pixar Animation Studios, gazing across the broad atrium, flanked by sandblasted-steel bridges, that forms the main artery of the building. Dozens of Pixar's 550 workers – animators, computer technicians, writers, accountants – bustled around him, chatting,… Continue reading Pixar's New Digs Coddle Animators, Writers And Tech Heads

What's this? Apple is trying to lay patent claim to themes. Excuse me, didn't anyone buy the “Plus Pack” from Microsoft back in 1995? I did, and it had themes back then. What the f+++? [scobleizer]

I passed the Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional certification exam (070-210) this morning! Yay!

ISPWorld – ISPs Say AOL Time Warner Refuses To Run DSL Ads. While small to medium-sized ISPs wait for the rollout of open access, and to see if they'll have a meaningful role in the deployment of high-speed broadband services over cable, several ISPs have reported that Time Warner Cable, a subsidiary of AOL Time… Continue reading ISPs Say AOL Time Warner Refuses To Run DSL Ads

Wall Street Journal – New Windows XP Feature Can Re-Edit Others' Sites. One key test of Windows XP will be whether its features do more to benefit consumers or Microsoft's business plan. Another will be whether the operating system favors Microsoft services over those of other companies. The company has said its software won't discriminate… Continue reading Wall Street Journal

Network ICE hits back over Gibson jibes. BlackICE Defender is not a firewall [The Register]

Web Review: Then, Now, Next: Five Perspectives on the Web Development Industry. Q&A with Jeffrey Zeldman, Jakob Nielsen and others. So dust off those old manuals, development how-to books, single pixel GIFs, and long-forgotten Web projects and renew your perspectives as these five industry leaders provide insight about where the Web has been and where… Continue reading Then, Now, Next: Five Perspectives on the Web Development Industry

I'm glad I'm not working today at MSN Communities. Man are forum managers livid. They hate the new look.They hate the fact that the site was down for 25 hours Saturday and Sunday.They hate the new “what's new” page (that you can't remove or move).They hate the new features. … Microsoft has screwed up their… Continue reading

I'm glad I'm not working today at MSN Communities. Man are forum managers livid.

They hate the new look.
They hate the fact that the site was down for 25 hours Saturday and Sunday.
They hate the new “what's new” page (that you can't remove or move).
They hate the new features.

… Microsoft has screwed up their upgrade process beyond belief.

First, they should have notified all forum managers via email BEFORE shutting down the servers for 25 hours. I didn't know about the changes in advance and that really sucks. (I run several MSN Communities with a combined audience of more than 15,000 members).

Also, their changes should be a warning sign for anyone who is excited by Microsoft's HailStorm strategy. When Microsoft wants to upgrade you, it will, and you'll have no choice (and probably no warning) in the matter.

Sure, MSN's stuff is pretty cool. It's free. For the most part it works better than a site that I could develop. And it's easy to manage. But, those advantages come with costs. Not financial ones, mind you, but you really aren't in charge of your site and there's nothing you can do when the owners want to change your stuff.

Be warned and have a good day!

[scobleizer

If you've been working in the software industry, you've probably seen zillions of good new product ideas quashed by some executive who asks, “what if Microsoft enters this space and makes all the profits go away?” More… [Joel on Software]