Friday, December 19, 2003

 

FINALLY, there is a reliable, free solution for Blogger users wanting to be able to offer a self validating RSS feed. Even better is the inclusion of a script that allows for pingbacks to your server. This is truly a great day for Blogger users that upload content to their own servers.


[Lockergnome's RSS Resource]

 I wonder where this will end?

Pressure increases on Humberside police after the force's admission it destroyed critical information on murderer Ian Huntley.
[BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

Google Experiment Provides Internet With Book Excerpts

 

Humberside's police chief walks out of a BBC interview over questioning about errors that led to Ian Huntley being cleared to work as a school caretaker.
[BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

 

Frank Paynter interviews David Weinberger. A very good interview, absolutely worth reading when you have some time.

At some point ENT is mentioned:

The last time I looked, Paolo Valdemarin and Matt Mower - both of whom I not only respect but really like - were expecting users to categorize what they're writing according to some accepted taxonomy; I'm pessimistic about getting users to take that step. But if it works, it'd be fabulous and I totally support it.

I must say first that I really like David too. I'm looking forward to meeing him again somewhere in the world hopefully soon.

Then I'd like to say that when we first presented him the whole idea of ENT and K-collector in Vienna at BlogTalk 1.0, we did notice the skeptic look in his eyes and we have been working to solve this problem.

While at the very beginning we were expecting all users to use our tool to add topics to what they were writing (even back then we were trying to help users by suggesting appropriate topics for their posts), the system has evolved since then in a few ways.

What we are doing is separating the process of topics creation from the actual association of topics to content. While the possibility of adding topics to posts still exist and it's the best way of doing it, there are also other ways of associating content and metadata,

The first one is TopicMatching, which allows us to add topics to posts streaming through our servers automatically. Visiting our open w4 site, you will be able to see content from about 100 weblog grouped using topics created by about 15 "active users" (users with the k-collector client). In other words we are leveraging on the work of a few people to categorize a vast amount of content.

We are also investigating other ways of creating topics on our site. For example by analyzing words used in search engines that brought users on our sites. There are also other options we are testing which will allow to improve the results.

It's true, we have not resolved the whole problem, but we are definetly listening :-).

[Paolo Valdemarin: Paolo's Weblog]

The New Wave? 

India's leading software firm snaps up Australia's Expert Information Services in a $22.9m deal.
[BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

 

Microsoft's decision to withdraw older software from shelves will hit thousands of firms still using the programs.
[BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

Telegraph | Opinion | Defiant? He's a Ba'athist who won't bath

 

Rahul Dravid leads India to their first Test victory in Australia for 22 years.
[BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

 

The RSS 2.0 Framework. Enables .NET programmers to add syndication to their apps.


[The Scobleizer Weblog]

Desktop Dean Home Page THis is an RSS aggreagator specific to a US campaign. The tide is really turning on syndication.

Monday, December 15, 2003

 

Download examples of MCP exam question types and testlet exam format.
[Microsoft Download Center]

 

Police are trying to trace the owners of stolen goods worth £100,000 by using the internet. Burglary victims can be reunited with their stolen property through a website used by Sussex Police called Virtual Bumblebee. If more people were to use a security tagging system, like the one offered by securi-TAG-it, then there would be less of a need for the police to set up websites and schemes in order to return stolen goods.

 

Police are trying to trace the owners of stolen goods worth £100,000 by using the internet.

Burglary victims can be reunited with their stolen property through a website used by Sussex Police called Virtual Bumblebee.

The stolen items, which have been recovered in raids, are being kept at a secret location in the county, waiting for their rightful owners to identify them.

And now the force is promoting the website where people can search for their possessions online.

Scheme extended

Pc Tom Willis, project officer, said: "Everyone who has internet access can view stolen, recovered and seized items as well as found property.

"More and more items of property are being added to the site daily and in the last six months we have seen a number of people reunited with property from thefts several years earlier."

Detective Sergeant Stuart Hale said: "Some criminals travel to commit crime so victims may also come from all over Sussex, as well as neighbouring Hampshire, Surrey and Kent.

"We even traced one owner to the United States."

Virtual Bumblebee was piloted in Bognor but has now been extended to the whole of West Sussex.

Victims can type in a description of the item they are looking for and then see if any of the seized goods match.

Already nearly 30 people have come forward to claim their property but about half of the hoard has still not been identified.

In July there were 275 items on Virtual Bumblebee waiting to be claimed, all of which have photographs the BBC reports.

If more people were to use a security tagging system, like the one offered by securi-TAG-it, then there would be less of a need for the police to set up websites and schemes in order to return stolen goods.


[Securitag-IT News]

BBC NEWS | Technology | New chief for online government
Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate: "In a few years, a third-party candidate will be President. It is not politics, but technology that will cause the Dem/GOP duopoly to fail... more� "

Thursday, December 11, 2003

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Cartoon fame for Indian tech school

"At the Indian Institute of Technology, I learned to use my huge brain."

"But I try not to frighten ordinary people with any gratuitous displays of mental superiority.

"For example," says Asok, "I no longer reheat my tea by holding it to my forehead and imagining fire."

 

An article about news aggregators from a lawyer's perspective.
[Scripting News]

This BBC link is about Northgate. The company that grew out of SA’s involvement in Angola I believe. 

A UK company offers to seize indicted ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor and split a $2m bounty with any sponsor of the swoop.
[BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

Web Screenplay What more is there to day?
weblog archive | Creative Commons: "Project Gutenberg hits 10k, events in San Francisco

In celebration of Project Gutenberg's 10,000th book release, founder Michael Hart and CEO Greg Newby are planning a series of events to commemorate the milestone. Starting tomorrow with a lecture at the Golden Gate Club and finishing up this week with an appearance on TechTV.
Along with the annoucement they're offering all 10,000 books as a downloadable DVD disc image, ready for burning."