Wednesday, May 26, 1999

Now more than ever I wish Microsoft would improve the text editor built into MSIE. I've tried to explain this to them so many different ways. Here's the straight poop. The editor sucks. If you want to see what I mean, get a HotMail account and use it write all your email for a couple of days. You'll hate it. Make it so you don't.

Wired: "The government has turned Australia into the global village idiot", said Danny Yee, a spokesman for Electronic Frontiers Australia in a statement.

Standard: Perlman Steps Down at WebTV. "Microsoft plans to replace the core WebTV operating software with the Windows CE system, a move that will make WebTV a key part of Microsoft's high-stakes entry into the interactive-TV space."

InfoWorld: "XML.org will provide a registry and repository for the access and management of XML schemas, Document Type Definitions (DTD), and other XML-related information."

News.com: Taking Sides in XML. "What XML proponents fear most is that the major software makers will use their financial clout to hijack the consensus-building process, leading to proprietary and incompatible versions of XML schemas that favor a particular vendor's software and architecture."

I just got interviewed by Salon re Manila!

Why is it called Manila?

Sydney Morning Herald: Internet Censorship Passes Hurdle. "The federal government's crackdown on Internet pornography and violence passed the Senate today with key independent Senator Brian Harradine congratulating Communications Minister Richard Alston on a sterling job."

NY Times: AOL Volunteers Sue for Pay. "AOL is a for-profit business. What community leaders did was very essential to the service in terms of what they were selling to the public. The minimum-wage laws require people get paid a minimum wage."

Jude Wanniski: Let's Kill Some Civilians. "Senator Lieberman is such a sweet man, with such a sweet voice and demeanor. His colleagues all marvel at what a spiritual fellow he is.."

Publish reviews PhotoScripter 1.0, which adds scripting to Adobe PhotoShop/Mac. "But my biggest beef with PhotoScripter is its pricing. A single-user license is $299, while a workstation license (which allows the plug-in to be placed on a server and accessed by up to ten people) is $999."

Huh? $299 is a bargain! There's a huge need for this product, and Adobe has been unresponsive for eight years! What's the reviewer's reasoning? He doesn't say. That people's time is worthless? Scripting PhotoShop has been on the professional's wish list for eight years. Now an independent developer has delivered. They should have a parade for MainEvent instead of complaining about, of all things, the price! What do PhotoShop professionals earn?

Frontier 6 developers, there's a new release of prefs.root today. The demo site for the new features is kind of funky and interesting in a technical sort of way.