...more recent posts
Check out how much of Manhattan is covered by wi-fi (wireless internet access.)
Chandler is the code name for the Open Software Application Foundation's networkable PIM I mentioned a few days ago. (That's Personal Information Manager: mail, calendar, contacts, to-do, etc.) The buzz around this project is huge. Vista is a prototype for what Chandler might be like. It's not a product that will be released, but it's described in detail, with screenshots, in the hopes of focusing discussion. This looks very very cool. The idea that we could have networkable PIMs without a centralized server is very promising.
One of the coolest features of Vista is the ability to browse remote repositories using Jabber to convey the necessary data and meta-data. It uses Jabber extension messages to determine what views are accessible to the requestor, and to request and receive the relevant data items, via a simple UI described in the next section. More sophisticated users can address remote views and data items directly, by typing a URL that has a Jabber ID at the beginning, as described above.
Making good progress today, although there is a lot to do in very little time.
Here's my latest working theory. Probably this is obvious, but I don't think it's ever been implemented exactly the way I am doing it. The idea is that since all posts (and comments) are stored in a database, there is remarkable freedom in how I can serve them back up. And recently it occured to me just how similar weblogs, bulletin boards, email lists, and RSS feeds are. They're just different views of the same atomic data.
So I'm extending the system so that any page can be viewed in any of these styles. Making what are now weblog pages into mailing lists is my first task, because a mailing list is what we need. In this scenario the weblog becomes the mailinglist archive. Anything posted to the page gets sent as email to everyone on the list. Same with comments. This is working now, although you have to open a web page to reply (you can't just hit reply in your mail client, you have to click the reply link in the message which will open the proper page in your browser.) So that's a drawback, but I'll have this fixed up fairly soon.
I'll probably make the bulletin board view next, and then the RSS feeds. But I need the mailing list wow. I mean now. Almost there.
I wish I knew sendmail better. If I have to send out 100 identical emails, which is the more efficient way: build a 100 email long BCC: field and mail() it once from PHP, or make a loop and send 100 individual mail()s? I figure it shouldn't really matter, because sendmail still has to send 100 messages either way. Right? Or does the BCC: actually make things easier on my server?
Looks like Yahoo is moving to PHP. (via webseitz)
Spent all day going through my code making it compatible with PHP 4.2.x. What a serious pain. I also instituted one small internal change so that there is now only one file that needs to be modified when putting the system on a new site.
Tomorrow I'll put the new code base at the apocalypse wow site so we can have better messaging going on there. I forgot to mention that this is probably the "real" reason I've been so involved in this group: it gives me another great testing ground. Helping all of these organizers communicate is really fun.
And I've also put into practice some of the skills I learned watching these people take care of business. Number one being: you have to have a list of stuff to do, and then you just go down the list crossing things off as you do them. Under no circumstances are you to deviate from the list. Not surprisingly, this system works well. It's a pretty big joke that I used to not do this. How did I ever get anything done?
Oh, right, I didn't.
Met last night with the apocalypse wow! inner circle. Looks like there is plenty of momentum to keep going. Lots of work to do today. Hopefully we'll get another event together for election night. After that I'm pushing for a pro alternative energy agenda. Not sure if that will happen or not.
My dream is to hook such an effort into something like the Creative Commons (even though it's not set up to deal with anything like new energy technology.) We need the foundational technology for a new free society to be held in trust for the public. And then capitalism (and patents and copyright and profits) can work on top of this open infrastructure. But the base should belong to the people.
Obviously my idea is still quite fuzzy. The dream scenario is where the genius scientist, who makes the renewable energy breakthrough, places her research into the public domain instead of selling it to Mobil. Seems crazy, yet it has worked in the realm of computer software. Very smart people can be tempted by fame (the good kind) as much as by money. Maybe more so. But there has to be a structure set up to encourage this.
The war against Iraq clearly shows how important it is to get oil out of the picture as fast as possible. There's nothing good about war, but this one is so ridiculous maybe it can be a catalyst for real change. Yeah I know: maybe.
The shift.com top 10 defining moments in digital culture.
I lost my mobile charger cord on the DC trip, so it's dead right now. My email here is the best way to reach me until I fix this situation.
13 hours till blast off. I made a page here where I will attempt to photo blog (phlog?) the event. Theoretically I should have wireless data service the whole way. But who knows? This is my first experience with the sidekick outside of NYC.
Busy night tonight making final preparations. This has turned into a really big production. Complete with media on one of the buses. But you can get the scoop (almost) live if you check in here tomorrow.