Fixed a bug in feedBase where if you upload an OPML file to a newly created account, it would lose track of its address. The View my OPML command in the Main menu would be disabled. It now works as it was supposed to. ✓#
I use Signal to communicate with any of my friends who will use it. I like that it's encrypted, and that it's open source. I'm not feeding Mark Zuckerberg. That's a plus. But today it's not working on my Mac desktop. When I launch the app it gets stuck in a loop saying it's optimizing the application. There is a thread on the GitHub project about this, but the fixes are expressed in terms of a beta, which I don't think I'm running. According to the About window I'm running v1.22.0.#
Ken Sedgwick from Berkeley: "Recently I became aware of keybase. It is also open source and end-to-end encrypted. It adds some really nice features authenticating your identity on twitter, github, reddit, http etc. It also has encrypted groups with file sharing etc."#
What could we do to prevent the kind of usurpation and abandonment of open formats and protocols so common among the big tech companies? I think there are some valid approaches. Including this from a thread on Twitter yesterday. "Let's talk about it. I think it involves patents and trademarks. And the equivalent of the GPL for intellectual property. Prevent open shared creations from being used in silos. You can't import what you won't export. Something like that."#
I was reminded of a story from Living Videotext in the 80s. We had a rule that every desk had to have a PC on it, which was somewhat radical for the 80s. That included our receptionist, Tammy, who was like my officemate, since my room was adjacent to the front entrance. We put a Toshiba desktop on the table next to her desk, and put a copy of ThinkTank on it, for notetaking, but she never used it. That was allowed too, the computer just had to be there. turned on and ready to go. #- One day we got a confidential demo of a new product from Data General, the first battery powered PC-compatible laptop. This was a huge deal. I brought groups of all the employees in to show it to them, including of course Tammy.#
- When she saw it she said "I would use that computer." I was puzzled. "But Tammy that computer does exactly what your Toshiba does." She replied, but it doesn't have all those wires. #
- I learned something memorable there. People find computers intimidating because of all the wires. I don't blame them, I would too. That's the great thing about iPhones I guess. No wires.#
- PS: While we were testing the DG/One we were also testing the first Macintosh. Both used 3.5 inch floppy drives. But the formats weren't compatible. I tried to communicate to both companies, without violating the others' NDA that there was an opportunity to be compatible, but neither were interested. #