Monday, February 01, 1999

News.com: McNealy says Microsoft is a Planned Economy. If so, there's a real good solution. Encourage Microsoft's continued involvement in an open distributed computing protocol, like XML-RPC. Even better, Sun could work with us too. Instead of cutting down Microsoft, let's build a new computing platform where monopoly power in operating systems is irrelevant. Some people at Microsoft get this. Are there any visionaries at Sun?

Microsoft's Bob Atkinson on namespaces in XML-RPC. Here's a turn in direction by Microsoft. As XML-RPC makes inroads it undermines Microsoft's lock-in, and Sun's too. This is not a random engineer acting on his own, Microsoft really struggled with this. In the end, I don't know how they made their decision to let Atkinson join the public discussion here, but they deserve our congratulations for doing so.

Fredrik Lundh: "XML-RPC is like HTTP/1.0, anyone can understand it, it can be used from all major scripting environments, and we're not even close to seeing the true limitations of the protocol."

Software AG: Tamino, the Information Server for Electronic Business.

News.com: Iona fortifies Java strategy.

InfoWorld: Gates promises more integrated products.

Microsoft: Office 2000 as a tool for project-based learning.

Eric Folley: suites.skyTel.

The Economist: Why Internet shares will fall.

NY Times: Web censorship raises its ugly head again, under the usual guise of keeping kids from exploring their sexuality (impossible!), and this time under cover of the President's own sex scandal. When Clinton talks about "Doing the business of the American people," is this what he means?

On Sunday I caught up on the political spin on today's Lewinsky deposition. What I didn't hear either side say is that in 20+ times she's testified none of it has been viewed by the public. That alone suggests that it's a good idea for her to testify, as fully as possible, and fully publicly.

Washington Post: Online site organizes against impeachment. www.moveon.org? Hmmm. Let's start www.reapwhatyousow.org. How about www.whatgoesaroundcomesaround.org? Even better -- www.amnestyforresignation.org.

MacWEEK: Connectix unfazed by Sony suit. Includes comments from UserLand board member, Jack Russo.

Wired: Nintendo clone released, yanked.

ZDNet: Angry Scenes at Apple UK.

Michael Ventura: Wired to What?