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July 09, 2004
Bluetooth Enabled Luggage Tags
This is just a concept, mind you, but its a good one. In response to an industrial design contest at IDFuel, Nathan Lynch and Lea Miller had proposed a Bluetooth enabled luggage tag that lights up when the cell phone its paired with is nearby and sends the phone a message. The tag also contains contact information for the owner of the luggage. Essentially, this is presence for physical objects and there are all sorts of applications that spring to mind.
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The Fools are Fools
The Motley Fool has an article on the INDUCE act and in reference to people claiming that the new bill would kill the iPOD, they say "Don't you believe it." Here's the quote:
Don't you believe it. While I'm normally not a fan of legislative remedies to technical problems -- and I've got the public ranting to prove it -- this bill doesn't seem all that unreasonable to me. Of course, I don't steal -- I mean, file-share.From Fool.com: Will Congress Kill the iPod? [Motley Fool Take] July 8, 2004
Referenced Fri Jul 09 2004 09:34:36 GMT-0400
This whole argument is a red herring. The question isn't whether Apple and other manufacturers will stop making MP3 players. They won't. The question is, if this bill had been in force 5 years ago, would any company have built an MP3 player? I think that reasonable people can conclude that businesses would have been more cautious and we wouldn't have the market we have now.
What opponents of the bill have argued all along is that it stifles innovation. Given that, I think it ironic that Sen. Hatch is sponsoring legislation that disadvantages the kinds of business that Utah has in spades (small innovative firms) in favor of entrenched businesses (which Utah has few).
09:43 AM | Recommend This | Print This
Learning PHP
Dan Olsen links to some Web-based tutorials, documentation, and books he's found useful in learning PHP.
Also, Jeremy Zawodny is arguing against abstraction layers in PHP, something that seems right to me. When I first read the title, I thought of Hibernate and other object-to-relational mapping tools. I'd argue that those abstraction layers are heaven sent. I don't think Jeremy would disagree since ultimately his argument comes down to the fact that PHP data abstraction layers don't really offer meaningful or useful abstractions--something that's not true of object-to-relational mapping layers.
09:12 AM | Recommend This | Print This
Doc Gives Lessons in PR Writing
Doc Searls has written an excellent rant about PR email releases over at IT Garage, including tips on how to write this kind of tripe. Since I started writing for InfoWorld a year ago or so, I've started to get these too. They are just short of SPAM. The example Doc quotes is not unusual or rare. There are a lot of companies who pay good money to PR firms to generate these and send them out to people who are subsequently annoyed by them. Go figure.
09:09 AM | Recommend This | Print This
Take Control of Your Airport Network
If you're setting up a wireless network for your Macs, Glenn Fleishman's new eBook may be what you're looking for. You can't go wrong with Glenn's expertise and the book's inexpensive price.
Also, Apple has put up an article about creating an extended Wi-Fi network using AirPort Extreme and Express base stations. I got a couple of the new Express units on order and am anxious for them to make their way to my inbox.
08:58 AM | Recommend This | Print This
Tom Malone Speaks on the Future of Work
Doug has posted Tom Malone's Talk about the future of work at IT Conversations along with a transcript. If you can't read the book, then listen to or read the talk. I think this is important perspective on technology's impact on the business.