OpenDNS is an interesting idea -- take the basics of DNS,
add a bunch of features like caching servers, a phishing blacklist, and search engine fired off for misspelled domain names. Pretty handy and nice to see a service pop up where I thought browsers would someday fix (like typos). No software to install, just point your DNS at their IPs.
posted by mathowie
on Jul 19, 2006 -
53 comments
Artocracy is aiming to use the net to democratize yet another expensive thing in the world: the sale and distribution of art works. While the first works offered aren't that impressive and having to use your own inkjet is a limiting factor, I like the direction this is going in. From
their Gallery, you can purchase prints from a dozen or so artists, in the range of $20-50, and then print as many as you wish at home.
The Seattle PI has a full story. Perhaps this will spark a "
long tail" of small change art sales from folks used to getting several thousand per canvas sold, while at the same time allowing any Tom, Dick, or Harry to have some nice looking apartment walls at home.
posted by mathowie
on Jan 11, 2005 -
16 comments
This orthopaedic surgery site seems more like a design exercise than an actual attempt at an informative site. Imagine that someone told you to make the site using poor technology choices, couple it with non-professional content not conducive to trusting the doctors, and add a map to the office that does more to enable chuckles than get people to into the business. It's so bad, it's good, and most definitely do
not skip intro on this one.
posted by mathowie
on Apr 13, 2002 -
32 comments
AOL may buy AT&T broadband in a deal that could allow them to own the browser, net access, data pipes, and content for a vast majority of internet usage and users. How far will AOL/TW go to control any and all forms of media? Are hearings to break the company up far off?
posted by mathowie
on Sep 10, 2001 -
14 comments
SpamCon 2001 gets underway in one month. It's a meeting of the minds to crush spam and
guys like this. But it's probably too late. Can legislation ever make a dent in spam? Are technical solutions possible (no open SMTP ports allowed)?
posted by mathowie
on Apr 26, 2001 -
10 comments
New.net lauched today, with their attempt to create their own TLD registrar that seems like a bastardization of DNS. Most people will need to
download a plugin, is there any chance this could be successful? Is ICANN doing anything to stop them or will they just die on their own?
posted by mathowie
on Mar 5, 2001 -
8 comments
Oh great another "weblogs are stupid and they all suck" article came out, but what I really want to know is: why does
the other article running this week at
ALA acknowledge that "99% of everything is crap," but the weblog article doesn't? Comparing the cruft at the bottom of weblogs with the 1% best of writers (Ginsberg and Kerouac) seems unfair and pointless. And where are the solutions? Tell everyone to stop? Tell them to write better? What's so hard about ignoring the sites you don't like instead (I do that with most advertising)?
posted by mathowie
on Jul 14, 2000 -
96 comments
Porn on the net is not a problem. Readers chime in on
an opinion column with opinions of their own. My favorites "All one has to do if you don't want to read such garbage is to delete it when you first sign onto the Internet" (this guy obviously has no clue how the web works) and "Is there software I can buy to block out you?" In this article, Porn site supporters and detractors both seem to agree that users have to go out of their way to see pornographic content on the web. You
have to click on the link to see porn. Funny how the writer of the original article couldn't figure that out. Is porn really that much of a problem on the web, or are some people just too embarrased to admit that due to some curiosity, they
wanted to follow the links?
posted by mathowie
on Jun 24, 2000 -
11 comments
Yet Another Domain Name Dispute Develops (YADNDD):
chunkymunky.com gets a Cease & Desist from
chunkymonkey.com. One is a windows software site, the other a fan site about a cartoon character. Is there any cause for confusion on the part of users wanting to visit either site (actually, one would have to misspell "monkey" in order to get to the windows site)? Should the chunkymunky.com site owner have taken down his/her site? Who is going to protect domain owners from future things like this happening?
posted by mathowie
on May 23, 2000 -
21 comments
This new "FreeNet" sounds like a perfect utopia, where
all information is free like beer, and not just free like speech. Some of the provisions for the network, like
not being able to remove a file,
remaining anonymous, and
not even being able to track down where the files are really coming from make it sound like a anarchist's paradise. I'm wondering though, will it be a place to exchange banned books, or will it be clogged with porn, warez, and mp3s? Will it be populated with idealists against censorship, or AOLers wanting free stuff? Do things always go to the lowest common denominator right away, or does it take time?
posted by mathowie
on Apr 26, 2000 -
5 comments
We may be lonely, but at least we're enjoying it. Today, the results of a new internet use survey were released. The main finding is that 70% of users say that the internet is improving their lives, another notable stat was that over 50% of those polled had used the internet before. There was one odd thing they found, almost 60% said they enjoyed the idiot box (TV) more than the internet. Could it be because you actually have to participate to use the internet, and it's not a passive medium? Personally, I can find more enjoyable content on the web in five minutes than I can surfing a TV dial for a week.
posted by mathowie
on Feb 24, 2000 -
3 comments
Do we all need to get out more? Although they're putting the "too much time with computers, not enough social interaction" spin on this study's findings, there are actually some good results of it. Heavy internet users spend less time in traffic (because they
look up traffic before going anywhere?), less time in malls (shopping online instead, duh), and less time watching TV (this is the best news of all, I barely watch it anymore because it's mostly inane garbage, whereas on the internet, I can find
interesting things to
read and
enjoy). As for the less face time with friends and family, I have a growing number of friends online that I consider to be as close as any Real Life friend could be.
posted by mathowie
on Feb 17, 2000 -
11 comments
AOL jumps on the get-rich-quick bandwagon. "Every time you generate a new member for AOL who stays for 90 days, AOL will pay you $15. Imagine how much extra cash you could make! Make $20,000, $40,000, $80,000, $100,000 - the sky is the limit!" Wow, it almost sounds easier than working...
posted by mathowie
on Feb 14, 2000 -
1 comment
This article at zdnet is all about how wireless web devices aren't that handy, and how our lives would suck if wireless web access was everywhere. I heartily disagree. I have a wireless 2Mb LAN connection at work and it's liberating (it's possible to code, listen to shoutcast mp3 streams, and check email outside or down at the coffee house next door). My PCS phone is useful too, I can surf a few important websites when I don't have a laptop around, getting news, weather, and email. Wireless access is certainly a Good Thing, and should make our lives easier, but the article's author is blaming the possible deluge of information on wireless, instead of the user.
How would a wireless broadband connection make your life better or worse?
posted by mathowie
on Feb 1, 2000 -
8 comments
Flyswat is a crazy new app that adds metadata to any page you're viewing on the web. When you click on the newly hyperlinked words, it shows a popup with extra info about the word.
Here's this site,
Slashdot, and
prolific.org screenshots (notice it actually recognized "0sil8" as a word). I also thought it was kind of funny it uses the same link colors as this site for it's hyperlinks. If you thought weblogs were a huge time sink, just imagine when every page you see has all sorts of offsite related links...
posted by mathowie
on Jan 31, 2000 -
3 comments
GiveMeTalk.com is a portal of online talkradio. They also feature free-hosting of submitted shows. Will they spawn millions of new Rush Limbaughs? Let's hope not.
posted by mathowie
on Jan 24, 2000 -
0 comments
Kevin Mittnick is finally being released from prison today, but I wouldn't call what he's getting as being "free". Prohibiting Kevin from touching a computer for 3 years? This isn't like giving a toddler to a ex-con child molester, it's a computer. A person can do a lot of things besides hack into company servers. How does anyone expect Kevin to make the $125 restitution he owes each month, if he can't use a computer or get a job that requires a computer? Now that I think about it, what percentage of decent jobs are completely free of computers?
posted by mathowie
on Jan 21, 2000 -
5 comments
This page seems to be over a year old, but it's news to me. Did you know that cookies set on international domains (those ending in generic things like co.uk or co.nz)
can be read by other servers within those top level country domains? Scary stuff if you're using even the latest versions of Netscape on international sites.
posted by mathowie
on Jan 17, 2000 -
0 comments
Now this is something you don't see everyday. There's this
small Canadian airline that has an
interesting legal disclaimer you see right before you start ordering a ticket. Scroll down to the paragraph that starts 'PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS' which includes some compassionate nuggets like 'The WestJet® Web Site is not designed for use by persons with special needs.' What a warm, caring bunch of folks, eh?
posted by mathowie
on Jan 8, 2000 -
0 comments
Thanks to the scarcity of good domain names, we're stuck with stupid ideas like
piiq.com. Here's their deal: you put the letter 'p' and 'q' around anything you want, and their site will come up, like
pbookq.com,
ptoysq.com, and
pfoodq.com. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
posted by mathowie
on Nov 28, 1999 -
1 comment
Today on a web list I subscribe to, some members were complaining about spam and the need for sites to have privacy policies that promise not to sell your address. I have a hotmail address that I use whenever a site requires an email address and doesn't post a privacy policy. I hadn't checked my account in a month, but
I did today and look what was in it. 74 useless messages in 30 days. Thanks spammers.
posted by mathowie
on Nov 21, 1999 -
0 comments
Andrew's launched Diaryland.com. This is the same person that brought you
pitas.com, he's making easy web interfaces for all those things that people usually learn HTML for. It looks pretty cool for people just starting out. So he's done weblogs, and now diaries, I wonder what's next?
posted by mathowie
on Sep 23, 1999 -
1 comment
While I still work on my writeup of the event, let me share one URL I heard there for the first time.
eCompanies.com is a consortium of successful Netprenuers in the LA area that want to fund
your great idea. It looks like they will accept and review business plans and offer venture captial to those deemed worthy.
posted by mathowie
on Sep 3, 1999 -
1 comment
Earlier today, I attend the celebration of the
30th Anniversary of the Internet, which took place at UCLA. It was an amazing event that was attended by the web's brightest. I'm writing it up and editing my photos of the event and it should be running tomorrow at either
slashdot or
evolt, expect to see a link to it soon.
posted by mathowie
on Sep 2, 1999 -
1 comment
A great story on IBM.com's redesign. I have rarely used IBM's former site because it was so hard to find things. I just revisited, and I could find several products I own in only three links off the index page. It's
a lot better now.
posted by mathowie
on Aug 30, 1999 -
4 comments
