Blackmoor Vituperative

The State of Massachusetts has reaffirmed its commitment to begin using the OpenDocument Format by Jan. 1, 2007, a move that has been welcomed by the ODF Alliance.

“We plan to implement ODF, using translator technology plugged in to Microsoft Office, in a group of early adopter agencies, including the Massachusetts Office on Disability, by January 1, 2007,” Louis Gutierrez, CIO of Massachusetts’ ITD (Information Technology Division), said in a mid-year statement on ODF implementation, dated Aug. 23.

(from eWeek, Mass. Back on Track for ODF Implementation)

And of course, anyone who does not depend on assistive technology can just use OpenOffice.

Yes, the prices for Windows Vista are ridiculous.

No, I won’t be buying Vista.

If I could run Photoshop CS2 on Linux, I would have switched my desktop OS to Linux already.

The flight recorder video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRgs-f6Niis

The Aircraft Occurrence Summary:

http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/dfs/docs/Fti/CT155202_e.asp

Apple Computer and Creative Technology have agreed to settle their legal dispute over music player patents for $100 million, the companies announced Wednesday.

The $100 million, to be paid by Apple, grants Apple a license to a Creative patent for the hierarchical user interface used in that company’s Zen music players. After months of hinting that it would be coming after rival music player companies, Creative sued Apple in May, claiming the iPod maker was infringing on its patents.

[…]

The patent covers an interface that lets users navigate through a tree of expanding options, such as selecting an artist, then a particular album by that artist, then a specific song from that album, said Phil O’Shaughnessy, a Creative spokesman. The patent applies to portable media players, which includes devices like the iPod or cell phones that have the ability to play music, he said. Creative filed for the patent on Jan. 5, 2001.

(from ZDNet, Apple settles with Creative for $100 million)

The real loser here is the American public, because yet another ridiculous patent has survived. Beyond ridiculous: Creative was granted a patent on hierarchical menus, for crying out loud!

I am too disgusted to even make a snide comment.

If you’re like the majority of Internet users, a good quantity of your e-mail is junk. Perhaps the amount seems like less than it actually is thanks to filtering, but it’s still there. The world is fighting a losing battle with junk e-mail — primarily because of weaknesses in the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) — and everyone knows it.

(from TechRepublic.com, Replacing SMTP: A proposal)

Spam is beyond ridiculous. We have needed a better email protocol for years. Yarden’s sugestion is as good as anything else that I have seen.

I’m currently prepping a whole new batch of stories for daily updates. In the meantime, check out the new themed story collections on our home page! Our first collection features some of our best vampire stories!

Michael D. Pederson
Publisher/Editor
Nth Degree
www.nthzine.com

There are all sorts of stories whirling around the Internet regarding the pros and cons of desktop Linux as well as its chances of adoption (or track record so far) that I thought I’d try to connect the dots to form a more coherent picture (well, perhaps a confusing picture).

(from ZDNet, The skinny on desktop Linux)

This is a really good article that touches on several issues (Linux, the next version of the GPL, DRM, the crashing of Apple laptops, the evil of iPods, and so forth), with lots of interesting links. You should read it.

Did you know that the automatic dishwasher was invented by a woman named Josephine Garis Cochrane? She received an award for her invention at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. The company she founded to market the dishwasher to hotels, restaurants and other commercial groups was purchased in the 1920’s by the Hobart Corporation. They introduced the “KitchenAid” brand name that is known today. Dishwashers under this name were introduced in 1949.

Deep Discount DVD is having a promotion on boxed sets: buy one boxed set, and get a second boxed set for free. Deep Discount DVD already has great prices on DVDs, so this is an extraordinarily good deal.

My recommendations:

Fright Pack: The Walking Dead
Profit
The Angel Collection
The Complete Musketeers

I still haven’t put the photos from our vacation online. Probably this weekend.

Thinking about our photos, and our vacation in general, reminds me what a beautiful country we live in. Geographically, culturally, politically, economically… the USA really is a great place to live. That’s not to say that it’s perfect: there are certain laws and actions of our government officials that I think could use a great deal of improvement, but part of the beauty of the USA is that we can hope to peacefully change the things that need to be changed. And if we don’t, well, we get the government we deserve. That’s ultimately what makes the USA a great country. We’re responsible: it says it right there in the Preamble, “We the people”.

I often veer into extreme hyperbole in my online diatribes, just to vent some steam from time to time about things that bug me. But seriously, I think these are minor issues. They only loom large in that they are such deviations from what the USA should embody: freedom to speak our minds, to pursue our happiness, and so forth. And it’s such a huge contrast because, in general, we do have that extraordinary freedom, and a darn good standard of living. It’s good that we call our officials on the carpet when they step over the line, but we should also realize just how lucky we are to live here despite the unusual things that remind us that our country isn’t perfect.

It really is a great country.