July 28, 2005
How Much Would You Expect To Pay?
Looks like yet another excellent piece of software has been set free by the Big Boys. And it's all good news.
I've been looking at 'Konfabulator' for some time, because it's such a cool way of putting your computer to work in a multitude of small ways, rather than in one big way (like Windows or Office). You download whatever widget you need, for activities like checking the weather, or keeping an eye on some hidden part of your computer, and it does the job. Simply, elegantly, and in new ways you hadn't thought of before. Also, it's able to work with both windows AND mac computers, so everyone wins.
Having been a commercial product for a couple of years, today, it's been bought by Yahoo, and is now free. Free, I tells ya. Woo hoo!
It's the latest in a long line of products which the big internet companies have acquired with their own money, and have offered to you and I for free, as a way of driving people to their way of thinking about the internet. Yahoo did it with Flickr. Google bought Picasa and Keyhole. Microsoft occasionally offer tools and programmes for free as tests of things they're planning for new versions of Windows.
So, it's no longer the case that in order to work with a computer 'on the cheap', you needed to put up with tricky tech tricks and freeware. These are really useful, commercial-grade products which you can get for free.
I highly recommend Konfabulator.
Posted by bonwag at 01:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 09, 2005
This Invention Demeans Us Both
Looks like Unky Herb's Baby Translator from The Simpsons is finally on its way.
Posted by bonwag at 01:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 02, 2005
Redaction Continued
When I wrote this piece about how people inadvertenly reveal the truth while trying to hide it, I thought I was picking up a small, cute example as an exceptional occurence.
Seems the problem is not small, is not cute, and could be endemic to the US bureaucracy (via Slashdot). Seems if you want the full story on the shooting of an Italian Spy by US Troops in Iraq, you can reveal the censored sections with a little cut and paste. Will people get the message, soon?
Look! Your secrets aloft on the wind of your arrogance! - Cook
Posted by bonwag at 12:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 05, 2005
Dave's Theo-Tech: Redaction, Republishing, Redemption
It's been interesting to follow the recent trials and tribulations of the US Library of Congress as they struggle to come to terms with 21st century technology.
It occurs to me that there are some interesting spiritual parallels with their current problems.
The Big Issue is with the way they're handling electronic documentation attached to "Orphan Copyright Works". Without going into detail (like they do here) the office provided online documents which contained sensitive data relating to old copyright applications. Their solution was the cyber-quivalent of 'sticking white paper over it'. Naturally enough, the techies quickly found a way to steam the glue off and get to the information. (UPDATE: It seems the LoC has fixed the problem.) Here's an example of how NOT to hide a document's text.
The main problem here is that although the information is obscured from view, it still exists somewhere in the document, and will one day bubble to the surface. (Highlight the previous paragraph with your mouse to see what I mean.) There are many cases where companies have sent out documents containing 'hidden text' which communicates a very different message to the one the company intended.
The solution is to delete the information completely, or better still, republish the document from a source which doesn't reveal the information. (Instead of sending the document with the white squares on it, you print it again, or photocopy it. In the LoC's case, they should have just deleted the text.)
Uh, yeah. OK. So what's the spiritual parallel?
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
It took a while for me to start to understand that concept in relation to sin in my life. If you accept that teaching, it means that God 'redacts' you - he 'republishes' you - so that it was as if sin didn't exist in your life. There's no 'white stickers'. It's not like the sin of your former life is hidden away somewhere, to re-emerge some day, in some awful public expose. Like the LoC.
However, that republishing comes at a price. Just like it costs to reprint a book, your redaction comes at a set, flat fee. The price is exactly: Jesus. And the printer is prepared to honour that fee until you get it right. In most cases, we get our money's worth, and then some.
The 'new creation' is a powerful, popular concept that not many Christians - myself included - fully comprehend, much less take hold of. Once you can accept that your life is really washed clean by Christ's blood, and all things have become new, not just covered over, you can stand in the light.
You'll probably also end up with a smaller file size, too. But we'll leave that for another Theo-tech lesson.
Posted by bonwag at 08:24 PM | Comments (2)
April 01, 2005
In The Zone
I'd forgotten how long an hour lasts on radio.
Good to be back in the radio studio today - after a 10 year break - with Rodney for the first edition of Tech Zone. I've put a writeup on the official site, and you might even be able to listen to it on-demand one day.
I went in there armed with bucketloads of interesting background information about blogging, but ended up getting distracted talking to Rod and other folk on talk-back.
You see, I've been spoilt for air-time since leaving the radio announcer gig. As part of my current work, I'm called on to deliver hour-long presentations (and longer), which are basically one-man shows. Or one man and his PowerPoint. That's a solid hour of techno-speak.
Sometimes, it's in person. Mostimes it's a virtual presentation to a room of as many as a hundred people from around the world, which I normally do from home. Over the phone.
In the dead of night.
In my pyjamas.
So, when fronting up to the studio today, I was *well prepared*. I had facts and figures and press releases and backgrounders which I never got to talk about. In a conference call, it's very rare to have an ad break. You seldom play the Newsboys. You don't have news at the top of the hour.
I'm not disappointed; don't get me wrong. I'd rather be over-prepared than under-prepared. (That's the radio equivalent of showing up on stage in your underwear and forgetting your lines.) Very few people realise that in radio announcing, normally, you get to talk on-air for what - 3 minutes in a whole hour.
I'm actually privileged that Rod let me rabbit on for as long as I did. I'll be more succinct next week. There are some cool topics coming up, so have a look, see if there's one that interests you, and call up or email us with your perspective. It'll be interesting to see what this enterprise turns out like.
And before you ask - no; I did not do today's show in my pyjamas.
But I could. If I wanted to. Ah, technology.
UPDATE: April 2: The recording of the show is now available at the Sonshine FM website (link above).
Posted by bonwag at 05:25 PM | Comments (0)
March 30, 2005
Zoning Out on Friday
A new adventure starts on Friday, and no, this is not an April Fools joke.
Rod Olsen had the idea of talking about technology during his morning radio talk-back segment on Sonshine FM, and although he's not exactly a Luddite himself, he's called me in to provide a different perspective.
It's the third time Sonshine has let me into the studio. I was in the newsroom for a few years, went away, came back as an announcer, and then left to pursue fame and fortune on the internet. Now, I get to be a 'special guest'. I hope they've burned that old publicity photo they still have of me somewhere there.
The segment itself is between 10 and 11 on Friday mornings, if you want to tune in, or even phone in. It'd be great to talk to you live if you're in Perth. Or even if you're not in Perth.
To listen online, there's a 'live stream' available on the website. Oh, and if you have one of those old-fashioned radio thingys, tune to 98.5 FM if you're in Perth. There's a special page up and happening already.
If you have any ideas for special topics, or comments, let me know. And if you're a new BONWAG reader as a result of the program, a special welcome!
Posted by bonwag at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2005
In Jokes Out There
Don't you love those bumper stickers and t-shirts that only ten percent of the population is going to understand?
Seen on the back of a station wagon this morning:
There's no place like 127.0.0.1
Posted by bonwag at 09:21 AM | Comments (0)