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Sir Tim | Web's inventor gets a knighthood...

BBC NEWS | Technology | Web's inventor gets a knighthood

Web's inventor gets a knighthood Last Updated: Wednesday, 31 December, 2003, 00:06 GMT

(photo caption)
Sir Tim says his invention was 'just another program'

The inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, has been awarded a knighthood for his pioneering work.

Dubbed the "Father of the Web", he came up with a system over 10 years ago to organise, link and browse net pages.

The famously modest man said he was "quite an ordinary person", and although it felt strange, he was "honoured".

Sir Tim was recently reunited with the machine he used to invent the web when he e-mailed 80 schools from the UN's summit on the information society.

Congrats, Sir Tim.. my favorite line of his in the story is: "There was a time when people felt the internet was another world, but now people realise it's a tool that we use in this world." Good New Year's thought...

Finally, in Bonds ball case, someone shows some class

Finally, in Bonds ball case, someone shows some class

Finally, in Bonds ball case, someone shows some class
Gwen Knapp, Tuesday, December 30, 2003

My picks for Sportsmen of the Year don't play a sport. They don't coach. They don't own a team.

Their ventures into the sports world generally cost them money, one to attend A's games, the other to see the Giants. They did have a chance to make some cash off a great moment in baseball history. But when it came time to collect their money, they ended up giving most of it away.

They are the lawyers who represented Patrick Hayashi, who was sued over Barry Bonds' 73rd home-run ball of the 2001 season. The case came to define the madness and crassness of modern sports. One fan, Alex Popov, got his mitt on the ball and then lost it amid a scrum of fans. Hayashi plucked the ball from the pile, without realizing that he'd entered a whole new ballgame.

Great story, end's the craziness of this battle royale on a high note, and kudos to the fine lawyers, rare of that breed, in this case.. good luck to Patrick, looks like he's landing in San Diego.. welcome to Petco Park :)...

The Village Voice: Film: Where the Boys Are

The Village Voice: Film: Where the Boys Are

Girl talk with Lord of the Rings screenwriter Philippa Boyens
Where the Boys Are
by Laura Sinagra, December 31, 2003 - January 6, 2004

"Yeah, I was one of those geeks," says Philippa Boyens, the member of the Lord of the Rings screenwriting troika who most often braves Tolkien Society conventions, though she speaks no Elvish. "The others, they're such cowards!"

On the phone from L.A., the New Zealander—who was executive director of the country's Writers Guild when invited by director Peter Jackson and co-producer/wife Fran Walsh to collaborate on Rings and now their remake of King Kong—exudes the spunky-librarian verve of her DVD commentary bits.

Great comment, have to listen to those DVD commentaries again...

Historic Shining Light (Old Point Loma Lighthouse)

Historic shining light

Historic shining light
By David E. Graham, December 30, 2003

California had just become a state a few years before the lighthouse went into operation atop a small Cape Cod-style house on the wind-swept promontory of Point Loma, overlooking San Diego's harbor.

A landmark to guide ships carrying gold and material for new industry, the lighthouse was an 1855 investment in the gathering promise of trade for the vast but sparsely populated western state, a continent away from East Coast power centers.

Great article, on the renovations ahead for the site.. includes good history lessons, and details. You can see more about the Cabrillo site and the lighthouse at the National Park Service site...

2003 in Review: Lists, Best of, Notable, Deaths and Events...

2003 Review
It's that time of year, when lists make their appearance in newspapers, magazines, on tv, on Web sites. What was the best of 2003, the most important events, the top ten movies, the best books, and so on. Below is a random and eclectic compilation of these lists and items, collected in the last days of 2003...

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2003: The year in review, San Diego Union-Tribune

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A year of spam, spyware and worms
Dark side of Internet boiled over in 2003, By Rob Pegoraro
(from Washingtonpost.com)

Updated: 8:32 p.m. ET Dec. 30, 2003 WASHINGTON - This is the year the Internet officially stopped being fun. The festering problems of spam, spyware, viruses, worms and pop-ups boiled over, making the online experience merely annoying at best, financially and emotionally destructive at worst.

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Gone, but certainly not forgotten
December 28, 2003, by Polly Anderson

They made the stages and screens of the 20th century shine. Their music burned with the heat of love or plumbed the soul of the common man. Their writings took us to faraway worlds, or deep within our hearts.

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Sunday, December 28, 2003
TV's best (and blondest) moments
By KEVIN WILLIAMSON -- Calgary Sun

It was a grim year with blond highlights. War coverage and reality-TV dreck dominated the first half of 2003, while the networks unveiled a fall season lineup that generated plenty of bombs and no real hits.

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Top Terms
What Were We Looking for on the Web in 2003?
By Gregory M. Lamb

Dec. 30 — Ever heard of KaZaA? How about Dragonball? OK, maybe not if you're over 25.

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Rich Kids, Gay Life, Hip-Hop: Pop Culture Trends of 2003
Sunday, December 28, 2003, by Jennifer D'Angelo

In 2003, if you were rich, gay, a celebrity with an interest in politics, looking for love on television, trying your luck on Broadway, or cutting carbs, dating a younger man or older woman, or listening to hip-hop, you were in touch with the zeitgeist.

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2003 began and ended with turmoil over Iraq
Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)

The situation in Iraq took an important turn when U.S. troops captured former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in mid-December. Still, there is no cause for optimism over postwar Iraq. There is a long way to go before the international community can transform the war-ravaged nation into a democratic and stable country. It feels as if this year dawned as the Iraq crisis gathered steam, and is now ending with a dramatic turn in the situation. The list of top 10 international news events in 2003, selected by Yomiuri Shimbun readers, provides food for thought: What did the past year mean to the international community?

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The Highs (and Lows) of 2003, Arts
NY Times, 12/28/03

Triumphs, Belly Flops and Also-Rans
In this week's year-end issue, the critics of The New York Times each mark 10 (or so) highlights in their fields. On the Web, these lists include links to related reviews, slide shows and audio clips. The critics also converse with one another about the year's missed opportunities and flat-out failures.
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Two on Technology... from 12/28/03

Dan Gillmor on the highs and lows of 2003.
News.com offers a year in review.

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NASA - Earthrise at Christmas

NASA - Earthrise at Christmas

Thirty-five years ago this Christmas, a turbulent world looked to the heavens for a unique view of our home planet. This photo of "Earthrise" over the lunar horizon was taken by the Apollo 8 crew in December 1968, showing Earth for the first time as it appears from deep space.

Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders had become the first humans to leave Earth orbit, entering lunar orbit on Christmas Eve. In a historic live broadcast that night, the crew took turns reading from the Book of Genesis, closing with a holiday wish from Commander Borman: "We close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you -- all of you on the good Earth."

For more on Apollo 8, visit:
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo8_xmas.html

For more on Christmas in Space, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/livinginspace/Christmas_in_space.html

It seems like only yesterday we were there on the Moon.. I think it's time to go back, and set up the moonbase, and live permanently on our orbiting satellite planetoid.. photo courtesy of NASA...

Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003 (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003 (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, December 22, 2003: Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003

Summary:

Sites are getting better at using minimalist design, maintaining archives, and offering comprehensive services. However, these advances entail their own usability problems, as several prominent mistakes from 2003 show.

Here's my list of ten ways that websites have been particularly annoying recently.

You can read the list online.. Jakob's #2 about linkrot (moving URLs when archiving) is a particularly notable disaster online, and seems worse these days.. good think list for Web designers and teams...

37 Years After His Death, Lenny Bruce Receives a Pardon

37 Years After His Death, Lenny Bruce Receives a Pardon

37 Years After His Death, Lenny Bruce Receives a Pardon
By KIRK SEMPLE, Published: December 23, 2003
New York Region, NY Times

Lenny Bruce, the pioneering, ribald comedian who died of a drug overdose in 1966, was given a posthumous gubernatorial pardon today for the obscenity conviction that some supporters believe hastened his demise.

Gov. George A. Pataki of New York said his decision to pardon Bruce nearly four decades after the fact was "a declaration of New York's commitment to upholding the First Amendment."

Applause, Pataki did a decent thing, didn't have to.. years late, but maybe it will help future comedians, comics, satirists.. Bruce is still funny, and makes you think, all these years later.. thanks also due to some of those behind the scenes on this one -- Robin Williams, the Smothers Brothers, and Penn and Teller...

TIME Magazine: Coolest Inventions 2003, Apple Music Store

TIME Magazine: Coolest Inventions 2003, Apple Music Store

Invention of the Year, The 99? Solution
Steve Jobs' new Music Store showed foot-dragging record labels and freeloading music pirates that there is a third way
By CHRIS TAYLOR

When Steve Jobs holds forth in public, it's usually to a mob of fawning Apple-ites—the true believers who still develop software and accessories for Apple products. Not so last month at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. This crowd was more mack daddy than Macworld. Bono, Mick Jagger and Dr. Dre made video appearances. Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart was in the audience. Sarah McLachlan sang her latest hits live. What was pulling these musical supernovas into Jobs' magnetic field? A software product that just might save their free-falling industry: the iTunes Music Store.

Pretty much my vote, too.. leading-edge, best-of-breed, lead follow or get out of the way.. the Apple magic redux...

36 Hours: Palm Springs, California

36 Hours: Palm Springs, Calif.

36 HOURS

Palm Springs, Calif.

By JANELLE BROWN, Published: December 19, 2003

IT'S possible to visit Palm Springs and never stumble across its stylish side. Palm Canyon Drive, the main drag, is still wall-to-wall with tourists wearing fanny packs, the soundtrack that blasts down the streets is unapologetically Sinatra, and the average age at many boîtes is well past retirement.

But hidden on the side streets is an entirely different town, one catering to young Los Angeles hipsters who have rediscovered the desert in recent years. Drawn by the modernism revival and the abundant retro irony of Palm Springs, design snobs are slowly making over the area's midcentury hotels, restaurants and shops. Just two hours east of Los Angeles, Palm Springs and nearby Desert Hot Springs are now dotted with chic little hotels where people like Paul Thomas Anderson, Baz Luhrman and Natalie Portman rejuvenate on weekends, even if "My Way" still echoes over the loudspeakers.

1,776-Foot Design Is Unveiled for World Trade Center Tower

1,776-Foot Design Is Unveiled for World Trade Center Tower

1,776-Foot Design Is Unveiled for World Trade Center Tower
By DAVID W. DUNLAP, Published: December 20, 2003

After fervent public debate over how to mend the New York City skyline and a five-month effort by competing architectural giants that was one part collaboration and two parts quarrel, the design of the first tower of the new World Trade Center was unveiled yesterday.

The torqued and tapering skyscraper, called the Freedom Tower, would rise some 70 stories, then dematerialize in its upper reaches among cables, windmills and antennas before piercing the clouds at 1,776 feet. At this height, it might be the world's tallest building upon completion in 2008 or 2009.

A good design that appears to satisfy many.. and windmills to power it.. Freedom Tower, a good name...

ResearchBuzz on Google Print...

ResearchBuzz

December 18, 2003
What (and Why) In the World Is Google Print?

Google doesn't want you to search inside the book at Amazon. They want you to search inside the book at Google! That's what they're working on, anyway -- get some more skinny about it at http://print.google.com/print/faq.html .

From the FAQ: " It turns out that not all the world's information is already on the Internet, so Google has been experimenting with a number of publishers to test their content online. During this trial, publishers' content is hosted by Google and is ranked in our search results according to the same technology we use to evaluate websites."

Results are delivered along with relevant Google AdWords ads and some links to buy some books. If you want to see what this content looks like, try this Google search: inurl:print.google.com site:google.com.

Sparkpod Debuts Easy-To-Use Blog Tool

Sparkpod Debuts Easy-To-Use Blog Tool

Sparkpod Debuts Easy-To-Use Blog Tool

Sparkpod's 100% web-based blogging service requires no software, no web hosting, and can be set up in 5 minutes, 100% no coding.

"Sparkpod was developed because we saw the beauty that blogging brings to the world. People everywhere can now share themselves to a huge audience, and learn from themselves and from others. Sparkpod makes the entire process even easier, and let's people focus on expressing themselves, rather than learning web programming or computer terms."
Scott Lopatin
Sparkpod. Founder

Web logs, or "blogs" are web sites where the creators (bloggers) frequently post writings about anything. The process is known as "blogging", and the most recent posts appear first at the top, so the blog reads like a chronological journal. Friends and colleagues can be alerted to new log posts — somewhat like your own personal news channel web site.

New blogging resource/tool/application.. similar to the Typepad I use.. I do like the e-mail alert feature for alerts to users/readers when a post appears.. I asked Typepad to add this months ago...

Google Print...

Google Print

Looks like Google branching out into searching more than just web sites. The Google Print FAQ says they're experimenting with "publications" (books? magazines?):

Google's mission is to provide access to all the world's information and make it universally useful and accessible. It turns out that not all the world's information is already on the Internet, so Google has been experimenting with a number of publishers to test their content online. During this trial, publishers' content is hosted by Google and is ranked in our search results according to the same technology we use to evaluate websites.

Google Print isn't referenced anywhere else on their web site so it's unclear as to whether it's a planned beta, an ongoing effort, or already over, but it sounds like an effort to counter Amazon's full-text book search efforts.

Update: Reader Xavier writes that Google Print is still working. A search for "1,000 knock knock jokes for kids" (with the results restricted to the print.google.com domain) yields this page for the book. A search for a common word like "the" reveals that around 8000 books are available, including Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, Crime and Punishment, and Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines.
16 Dec 03

Cool find, Jason.. I did a little digging, too.. I found a nice search at Google as site:print.google.com isbn that delivers a lot of the content.. you can also search for publishing houses, publishers with their name, e.g. site:print.google.com "random house".. more testing ahead, but looks interesting so far...

Iraq's 55 Most Wanted...

DefendAmerica News - Article - Iraq's 55 Most Wanted

Iraq's 55 Most Wanted

Click on a card for larger picture and more detail..

I counted 40 of 55 accounted for as of today.. including all the aces....