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News and commentary from the cross-platform scripting community.
cactus Mail Starting 7/18/97

From: eburton@e-tex.com> (eburton);
Sent at 7/18/97; 2:45:43 PM;
Re:Do you have a Head?

Are you aware of SETI@home? The idea is to get thousands of micro- computers to analyze radiotelescope signals in search for intelligent life in space. They're seeking volunteers and sponsors.

http://www.bigscience.com/setiathome.html

From: philslade@worldnet.att.net (Philippe Dambournet);
Sent at 7/18/97; 1:34:22 PM;
Re:Moving into the Future

A very good piece.

Which makes me think -- why not offer Apple a free license to the core Frontier technologies for both MacOS and Yellow Box for a period of, say, one year on each?

The only requirement in return would be that Apple bundle Frontier so it can be installed as an option with MacOS 8.x and Yellow Box. This would phenomenally enhance UserLand's current business strategy and give Apple another argument in favour of its OS offerings on both PowerPC and Intel. For UserLand, that would be an unprecedented boost.

From: john@skunkmedia.com (John Bates);
Sent at 7/18/97; 12:16:41 PM;
Re:Healing

It's like a rollercoaster, but I am glad to have the happy and energetic and positive and stoked Dave that insoires me instead of scaring and bumming me out. Smile, it is summer and the sky is blue. Rock ON!

From: peckham@ns.net (Aaron Peckham);
Sent at 7/18/97; 11:50:14 AM;
Response to Mackido

Dave, congratulations on a very well thought out, mature, positive reply to the Mackido article. I hope you receive as positive a reply.

From: davidmck@microsoft.com (David McKinnis);
Sent at 7/18/97; 11:43:24 AM;
Re:Healing

Great piece! Hurrah for being willing to take a chance and open yourself up.

From: paul.beard@turner.com (paul beard);
Sent at 7/18/97; 2:32:34 PM;
My 2 cents: shame about MacKido

I'm not even sure what this MacKido stuff is, but I do know that you're a bit closer to the truth than whoever's behind that site.

I sense your frustration with Apple in each DaveNet and I see it other places: even Negroponte mentioned abandoning his PowerBook in his WIRED column. It's unfortunate that Apple's management -- leadership is the wrong word -- has missed out on so many opportunities to help people embrace technology. The timing is such that a company like Apple with its approach of years past could vault over a Microsoft. But they're not that nimble and while they hobbled themselves, they also helped Microsoft get stronger.

I still use the Mac, for hours a day, as well as Solaris and Linux. And I can't see not using it. Even with the room for improvement we all acknowledge, it's still better than the alternative.

I guess we'll have to see where the concept or soul of the MacOS ends up: maybe Gates will buy it, maybe Ellison, maybe they'll disappear like Commodore.

It's hard for me to understand how the authors of MacKido can claim their arguments are anything but personal: allowing unattributed quotes disparaging their enemy is part and parcel of the same technique.

We all have choices to make. Mr Spindler and the Apple execs made theirs, Gates made his, and the rest of us are more than pawns: we should actually be the kings in the game. Perhaps we should act like it and demand better. I'm reminded of Steve Jobs in "Triumph of the Nerds" referring to Windows as "the tyranny of mediocrity." We get, not what we ask for, but what we're willing to accept.

From: bens@MICROSOFT.com (Ben Slivka);
Sent at 7/18/97; 11:27:21 AM;
Re:DNS Failure

very nice. James has his finger on the pulse of Apple and other cult-like companies.

One of the reasons for Microsoft's continuing success is that we don't have much cult activity happening. We try to listen to customers and do our best to give them what the ask for as well as what they don't ask for but what we think they'll need in time. We don't always get it right, of course, but we keep plugging away!

I remember going down to Apple in the fall of 1987 on a lark to interview for a job in the Mac OS group (I had been at MS only 2.5 years, in the OS/2 team). I interviewed with the two guys who wrote multi-finder, and at one point they asked me "what does the OS/2 group think of Apple/Macintosh?" I said "we really don't think much about you at all." And that was about the worst thing I could have said to them, i.e., "we don't even aknowledge your existence." Not much has changed at Apple in almost 10 years...

It is tragic -- the first PC I ever bought was a 128K Mac in March 1984, as soon as they were released. It was a very inspiring machine in its day.... --ben "I'm an internet guy these days" slivka

From: clint@robotic.com (Clint Laskowski);
Sent at 7/18/97; 1:25:28 PM;
Re:Healing

Great response, Dave! I knew you had a great response in you... let the healing begin :-)

-- Clint

P.S. It is a great day here in Milwaukee too... sun shine, hot heat... my office is in a great park, with trees and green, green grass... my air conditioner is working great and the radio is playing great music... I'm busy soldering, building my creation... a next generation mobile robot... we are all artists.

From: chris@walrus.com (chris);
Sent at 7/18/97; 2:13:08 PM;
Funny Things to do To an Elevator

This was done late night in my dorm at Syracuse. Me and my friend went to all the elevators, and flipped the directional arrows, so when it was going up the down light would come on. This lasted a day then we put it back to normal.

From: dwiner@well.com (Dave Winer);
Sent at ;
Re:The Power of the Myth

It was the best thing I ever read.

Perfect timing too.

And look where it got me to...

http://www.scripting.com/davenet/stories/ResponsetoMackido.html

Dave

From: amy@home.cynet.net (Amy D. Wohl);
Sent at 7/18/97; 1:56:46 PM;
Re:The Power of the Myth

To James Curry, jcurry@colef.mx:

Dave Winer was kind enough to pass your wonderful analysis on to me and it is the best insight into the Apple Mess I've ever seen.

While every group of enthusiasts in the computer industry has its blind spots, I have found the Apple fanatics to be amazing in their inability to see the truth or even to participate in a civil dialogue.

How very sad, when one realizes that what attracted many of these Apple fans in the first place was the idea that the creativity and energy of Apple met their own creative spirits and high energy as they sought to use computers not because they were neat technology, but because they were tools that enabled work to be done in new ways or new work to be done at all.

I hope you will let me quote from you article in my newsletter, which you can see at www.wohl.com.

From: pholmes@ucsd.edu (Preston Holmes);
Sent at 7/18/97; 10:43:37 AM;
zooooom

I'll keep this short, since I'm sure your eyes are tired.

Although the word seems to have dissapeared from DaveNets, I hope you still have moments offline where you get to

Zoooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmm

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