Author: Vince Kimball

Do Search Engines Suppress Controversy?

Do Search Engines Suppress Controversy?.  Thanks to The Virtual Chase for the pointer to an article entitled Do Search Engines Suppress Controversy? The study showed that very short search requests (like “distance learning” or “St John's Wort”) tend to produce more “mainstream” search results, and fewer dissenting views. The authors conclude “[A]nybody can find the… Continue reading Do Search Engines Suppress Controversy?

Google Triumphs & Travails

Google Triumphs & Travails.  beSpacific links to a Forbes article about the popular Google search engine. There are many postive indicators: In 18 months the company has quadrupled in size, now employing more than 1,300 people. Annualized revenues have sextupled, to about $900 million. Annualized pretax profits have grown by a factor of 23, to… Continue reading Google Triumphs & Travails

WiFi Best Practices

WiFi Best Practices.  Jeff Flax does not like WiFi. Not At All. He says: Placing a wireless access point (antenna) on a firm’s system reduces the security of the network to the “hackability” of the wireless system. This is like putting a wall around the White House, but then leaving open the backdoor of the… Continue reading WiFi Best Practices

An OK Use of Flash

An OK Use of Flash.  For reasons I've explained in detail elsewhere, Flash animations are nearly always a mistake as used on law firm web sites. Larry Bodine's blog points out one exception, Preston Gates' use to provide a “virtual tour.” What's different about this use? Mainly the fact that it's “optional.” While some people… Continue reading An OK Use of Flash

Winter Carnival Visit to Quebec City, Canada

Winter Carnival Visit to Quebec City, Canada. Last Thanksgiving Day I posted about the Ice Hotel in Quebec City, Canada, one of my favorite destinations from New York. Quebec takes its winter seriously. From January 20 to February 15, Quebec will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the… [cloudtravel]

The Battle of ICANN

Kevin Werbach: The Battle of ICANN. It's worrisome that ICANN insiders still think the best response is to insist that ICANN is just a boring technical coordination body. If that were the case, ICANN wouldn't have nearly the influence, visibility, and funding level it enjoys. [Tomalak's Realm]

When Good Design => Bad Product

AskTog: When Good Design => Bad Product. What a trained quality assurance professional brings to the software party is a knowledge of how to put together a test plan, one that systematically looks at the full range of every feature under all reasonably expected conditions, including edge conditions. [Tomalak's Realm]

Feedback about XAML wanted

Feedback about XAML wanted. Rob Relyea (program manager for XAML) asks “what is missing from or broken about XAML?”  [The Scobleizer Weblog]