inside the open source confessional
'Dear Father - It is 6 weeks since my last confession. Since then I have...'
- Installed Thunderbird 3 which handles all my work email. This upgrade went smoothly enough although there were some minor glitches with server authentication and message filters. Thunderbird 3 adds tabs, UI enhancements, IMAP synchronisation, much needed improvements to the address book in addition to faster searching.
- Upgraded my desktop PC to Linux Mint 8. Again, this went smoothly enough, mainly because I did a full blown install while carefully preserving my user data. Until Linux upgrades are 'rolling' and as easy as applying a Windows Service Pack, Linux will never succeed in the mainstream.
- Installed Google Chrome on Mint 8. This was probably the only software I missed from Windows and God, I had forgotten how much faster Chrome is than Firefox. Chrome is blindingly fast on Linux, staggeringly fast, unbelievably fast.
- Playing around with DokuWiki to replace Diigo and Google Notebook in an effort to use more open source software and get more of my data under my control.
- Installed Laconica 0.8.2 so Billy has his very own sandpit to play with spammers in.
- Upgraded this blog to the latest bleeding edge of Habari (0.7 alpha) and was relieved to see it still worked.
'Go in peace, my son. Admirable efforts but my sources tell me you are flagrantly continuing to use freedom hating, Microsoft TrueType Fonts to enhance your browsing experience on Linux, so please say three Hail Mary's and an Our Father as penance. Go in peace to love and serve RMS.'
where's your Google Shared Items ?
I have followed the development of Google Reader since it was launched in 2005.
Having used Thunderbird and then NetVibes, I have used Google Reader for the last two years to read blogs. The main reason I like Reader are the UI, the keyboard shortcuts for quick navigation and the fact I can also use it on mobile devices and multiple computers.
During that period, I have sporadically marked articles that interest, amuse or shock me on my 'Shared Items' feed and Google recently added improved support for the sharing of 'Shared Items'.
I normally try to use 'Share With Note' and annotate the entry as to why I found it noteworthy and I also mark items with a 'Star' as a private bookmark; normally as 'To read later' or 'Possible input for blog'.
Google have recently improved the sharing of 'Shared Items'. Happily for Google, the timing of these new these features just happened to coincide with FriendFeed's acquisition by FaceBook which prompted much fear, uncertainty and doubt amongst the FriendFeed community, some of whom are looking for viable alternatives if FriendFeed development comes to a halt (or worse, the service closes).
Louis Gray and Rob Diana have both adopted Google Reader which has helped to spark interest in the service and Google is already making additional tweaks and improvements in response to user feedback.
Personally, I have started to develop (yet another) network of people sharing content of interest and already I can see a change in the way I consume content in Google Reader. Firstly, I scan the 'Shared Items' of my group and I tend to find that, by the time, I get to my conventional list of feeds, most of the articles of interest have already been brought to my attention eariler by the 'Shared Items'.
However, there is a problem with de-duplicated posts and even with 50 'Friends' managing the signal to noise ratio promises to be an issue. The social features are relatively new and there are a few rough edges in Google Reader (people keep getting dropped from 'Groups, people can't comment on an article without being a member of a group) but for me, Google Reader has the potential to supplant FriendFeed as it focusses on the content (news, blogs etc) that interests me (rather than LOLcat pictures).
I also believe annotated shared items are much more valuable and than a plain, old, tired, outdated blogroll.
Here's my feed of 'Shared Items'. If you use Google Reader, it would great if you could share your 'Shared Items' feed in the comments below as I would be genuinely interested in seeing what you're currently reading and enjoying.
PubSubHubbub - faster than the speed of sound
There's been a lot of chatter recently about Feedburner's support for the PubSubHubbub protocol.
Apparently, it means that blog posts show up much quicker in FriendFeed, Google Reader and other services. I must admit I was fairly sceptical as my posts still take a couple of hours to appear.
However, I was wrong (again). Look at this recent example. The post showed up a full three and a half hours on Google Reader before I published it.
Apparently, the next release will read your mind, type the words in, link to relevant pictures and publish your blog entries automatically. It's called the 'real-time Web'.
product minimalism
Garry Tan, a developer for Posterous (a simple but powerful blog platform), wrote a brilliant post about product design.
Are there any questions? I said yes -- one last one: "When do we decide to remove features?"
In a similar vein, Amit Agarwal asks 'What’s Common Between an iPod and Google ?' Answer: Simplicity.
If I had a cube, I would print both articles out and pin them up.
in praise of Doug Burns
My longest standing and all-time favourite Oracle blogger is Doug Burns of Edinburgh, near Scotland.
In addition to his sharp, analytical Oracle skills, helpful attitude and easy going manner, Doug does a great deal of unsung, unpaid work for charity (although, obviously he doesn't like to talk about it) and is a fully paid up member of Amnesty International.
Doug is also passionate about the the causes of data privacy, security issues, the freedom of information and continues to fight an unceasing battle for the rights of the individual against the evil spectre of Google Corporation.
For example, when Google recently sent those little Smart Cars out onto the streets of Edinburgh to capture high definition images of the city for Streetview, Doug made his own personal feelings very clear.
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Doug Burns - we salute you.