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Internet. Intranet. Extranet. Portal. Search engines.
Web-based Applications. Ecommerce.
You know you need a web presence, but figuring it all out, and keeping
up with the changes, is a full time job. But you already have a full time
job - running your business. I can help!
Whenever I find something that I find interesting or useful, I like to let others know about it. Here's the latest...
Friday, March 07, 2003
Creating Multi-Player Gaming - It's Harder Than You'd Think
I've been playing The Sims since the very first version, and The Sims Online since the beta. As a gameplayer, it's an interesting experience, playing with real people on the other end. However, I think I am even more intrigued by what it must take to run a project like this.
I make my living as part of a team creating and supporting web-based applications, and before that standard software applications. User interfaces and information architecture are my specialties and games are great research - they have to work for novice and expert users, and they have to be intuitive, gamers don't want to take a 6-month course and read a huge user manual, they want to play - NOW. I've figured all along that EA/Maxis must be facing massive, endless "challenges." Not the least of which is getting the user base, the gamers, to understand why they need to charge a subscription fee for a game "they've already bought," why things work fine one minute and then don't the next, how to make the options rich yet not require a ten thousand page user manual, and so on. A report over at GameSpy gives a peek behind the curtain...
What *is* the Internet?
No, really...sure you use the Internet, heck you're here aren't you? But have you ever tried to explain it to someone? Not so easy, is it? Usually, showing someone what you can do on 'Net helps to give them some level of understanding, but as Internet-related issues are discussed in schools, courts, governments; the need to explain what it really is becomes much more important. "World of Ends" is a piece by Doc Searls and David Weinberger that does an admirable job of tackling this topic.
May You Live in Interesting Times...
The oft-joked about "curse" certainly rings true these days, to the point where we may see it adapted into a blessing: "May you live through interesting times." Regardless of where you stand on current events, Thomas Barnett's article in the March 2003 of Esquire, "The Pentagon's New Map," is an interesting read. Thanks to Tim for the tip!
posted 12:38 PM|permalink
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Wednesday, March 05, 2003
Colorblind Test for Your Web Site
The very fine people over at the Signal vs Noise site pointed me to this Colorblind Web Page Filter at the Color Laboratory. This tool gives you an idea of how you page will display to people with various "colorblind" conditions. An excellent idea!
posted 11:34 AM|permalink
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Tuesday, March 04, 2003
IBM Monitor Recall
IBM has put the word out that they are recalling about 117,000 G51 CRT and G51t Touch Screen monitors that may overheat and cause a fire due to a faulty circuit board. The model numbers involved are: 6541-02N, 6541-02E, 6541-02S, 6541-Q0N, 6541-Q0E and 6541Q0S with manufacturing dates between June and September 1997. Contact IBM Repair Center toll-free at (866) 644-3155 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday for details.
Macromedia Flash Player Security Flaw
Macromedia has posted a patch for Flash 6 that is supposed to fix a critical hole in Flash player. According to the Macromedia site, the patch: "addresses the potential for future exploits surrounding buffer overflows (read/write) and sandbox integrity within the player which might allow malicious users to gain access to a user’s computer."
posted 10:30 AM|permalink
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Monday, March 03, 2003
Encryption is Not a Crime
You put locks on the doors to your house and car, put mail into a sealed and stamped envelope, and taped close boxes you want to ship, right? Well, that's what encryption does - secures the your information so only you and people you authorize can access it. This is just common sense. However, there are people who want to criminalize encryption because "bad people can use it." True. They also eat, wear clothes, breathe, have locks on their doors...but no one is suggesting we make that illegal. Of course not, you say, that's silly! Yes, it is...
Job Seekers Targeted by ID Thieves
People who use Monster.com as a part of their job search have become the target of people looking to steal personal information. The scammers post fraudulent job positions, then contact people asking for "additional" information. It's a safe bet that other job sites will be next.
Plagiarized Writer Reacts
I was in 3rd grade when it happened to me. It was a story for English class. Thanks to alphabetical seating, my seat was right in front of the teacher's desk. On that desk I could see the stack of graded papers, I could see part of my story sticking out (back in those days, papers were handwritten, making is easier to spot your own). As she went to hand out the papers, the teacher asked me why I hadn't turned my assignment in. Surprised, I said I did and pointed to it on her desk. As she pulled it out I could see that my name was no longer on the page, someone had erased it, badly, and written his own name on it. Not really understanding what had happened, I blurted out - "who took my name off of that?" It's funny, I remember the sick feeling of that moment, and I know that I got the credit for my work, probably because it was handwritten and the teacher could see that it matched the other work I had done, plus the hand that put "new" name on the page certainly didn't match the rest of the page. But I can't remember what the teacher said or who it was that tried to steal my paper. But I remember being angry and confused about it.
In The Morning News today another author who's work was stolen on a much bigger scale wrote about his reaction. He seems more puzzled than angry, and pities the thief. But I have to imagine that there was some anger somewhere in the experience, but maybe I'm just projecting...
Not Getting Your Email?
It being reported on ZDnet and Silicon.com that Microsoft has not been allowing email from rival ISPs (for example: EarthLink and RoadRunner) to get through to MSN/Hotmail users.
posted 11:54 AM|permalink
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