re: Napster Thrives!
rob said:
I question CNN’s line:
“That made Napster the fastest-growing software application ever recorded by the Internet research company.”
CNN may have their ‘fact’ straight, but the hell is the “Internet research company.”
Author: Steven Garrity
The Open Directory Project: yahoo.communists
The Open Directory Project at dmoz.org is another wacky love child of the AOL-TimeWarner merger. Other bizarre offspring of the corporate mega marriage include Mozilla and Gnutella.
Basically an open-source version of the Yahoo editorial system, dmoz has the advantage of having actual human beings (of varying quality) decide which site goes in which category, without the disadvantage of possible censorship associated with a central system. Anyone can signup to be an editor.
Anyone can use the Open Directory Project data on their site. Sites using it include Google, Altavista, Netcenter, Lycos, and Hotbot.
Acts of Volition is proud to be listed under on The Open Directory Project under:
aov jumps on handheld computing mega-trend bandwagon
It’s true: You can now get Acts of Volition on your handheld (or PDA, or Palm, or whatever the hell you want to call it).
The handheld version of aov includes the 10 most recent posts to the site for your ‘waiting-in-line-at-the-bank’ reading pleasure.
The Acts of Volition AvantGo Channel works on both Palm and Microsoft PocketPC devices.
Add Acts of Volition to your handheld >>
popularity continues to eludes me even into adulthood
I’m not sure what this means but I’m sure you can deduce something from it. Here is a top-down view of the 50 most visited websites on the web.
The Viacom Music Video Awards
I know criticism is easy but that doesn’t mean you can’t be particularly good at it. Jeff Stark, the associate editor of Salon Arts and Entertainment, is very good at it.
Read his article Rock is dead and well at the MTV;; Video Awards at Salon. Sure, criticizing the MTV;; VMAs for being low class and artless is kind of like criticizing *Nsync for pandering to teenage girls, but this is still a fun article.
A representative sample (italics mine):
Durst of Limp Bizkit (do not follow this link) said something about being in “the world’s most hated rock band.” This is the same lame outlaw posturing Metallica specializes in. How unpopular can you be, Fred, if you’re up onstage getting an award from Viacom?
sites that do what we do, only better
- Signal vs. Noise – take a few minutes to read the many pages at their company site, 37signals, and wonder why you aren’t as smart as they are.
- dack.com – the sarcastic bastard and creator of such brilliant works as
Amazon 2001: A Navigation Odyssey - Jeffrey Zeldman Presents – for web people. this guy updates his site every morning for breakfast, literally.
- useit.com – for even webbier people
- kottke.org – some guy
- k10k.net* – the brave designers paradise
* k10k.net is down this week (Sept 3 – 10) but it will be up again on Sept 11, 2000
The Internet fried my brain
I remember reading an article about how the web and hyperlinks were going to change the way children thought. At the time I dismissed it as mumbo-jumbo about non-linear thought patterns and other such nonsense. I fear the hypothesis have been proven true in myself.
Sitting in an evening university class (a place which is both foreign and familiar to me), I found myself constantly wanting the professor to move on. I found myself ‘skimming’ the lecture and was incredibly frustrated when I couldn’t control the movement from topic to topic.
Clearly, part of the problem is my inability to interact with people who don’t exist on my computer. However, I think this points to a clear conclusion: The Internet has fried my brain.
file under: I can’t believe this even exists
Humankind Systems, maker of a fine webmail template I bought recently, seems to be diversifying.
Their product, The Flasher, occasionally flashes on your computer screen while you work with affirmative messages like:
- cigarettes taste bad
- smokers are ugly
- lung cancer is painful
- I like to exercise
- I love my body
- I Chew My Food Thoroughly
I did not make this up. However, I wish I had.
interactive media for the four senses
A fine demonstration of how to make a point with interactive media by the Laramara Foundation. Be patient and do what it says. Try It >>
Requires Flash and a set of speakers.
is ‘The Man’ designing your operating system?
From Jakob Neilsen‘s Alertbox column on Regulatory Usability at useit.com:
“I don’t like the Government telling Microsoft to make their software even worse by preventing them from integrating features into the operating system. I also don’t like the notion of user interfaces designed by the Justice Department.”
I don’t like Microsoft‘s bully tactics any more than the next guy (NOTE: I love Notepad), but I definitely agree with Jakob on this one.