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Cox Crow

Asking the Stupid Questions Since 1971
 Wednesday, July 17, 2002

Glenn Fleishman sees the ramifications of Rendezvous.

5:48:41 PM #

Lose the Attitude

802.3ah, Ethernet in the First Mile, is under development.

But remember, a T1 line can cost far more than $1,000 per month, and 802.3ah is many times faster -- and telcos are worried that the new, speedier technology will disrupt their pricing and market structure. At this point, it's not clear whether phone companies have any real incentive to offer lots of bandwidth for little money. Changing that attitude may be "real" broadband's biggest challenge.
"Broadband Horizon," Wayne Rash, InfoWorld

Yes, well, there is that.

1:29:05 PM # Google It!
categories: Industry

Simplicity

11:46:50 AM #

Do you have the time?

iSync: synchronize your digital life

  • sync calendar & address books with new GPRS GSM phones from Sony Ericsson, with Palm, with iPod
  • uses SyncML over Bluetooth, USB, FireWire — whatever transport is available
  • suggests syncing photos with phone
  • sync over .mac — will this work with any WebDAV server?

I never used a PDA because I would have to type the data in. I don't think OCR programs will recognize the scrawl in our phonebooks. I barely maintain the speed dial list in my phone for the same reason.

Nice Cingular advertisment, Steve, thanks!

10:33:14 AM # Google It!
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit

iPod prices drop, almost into my target range. And while it has more nifty features: music, contacts, calendars, clock, pong, books, it is still missing audio input.

10:23:02 AM #
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit

Jenny, iTunes3 supports Audible. d00d, you're gettin' a Mac!

Steve dwelled on the smart playlists, but the ratings may have the widest utility. Take the song ratings and pair them with Rendezvous and iChat, or with the simple XML-RPC/SOAP support of AppleScript. Find an attack-resistant trust metric with an exposed API. And what do you get?

10:14:24 AM #
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit

These are the Calendars of Our Lives

Aside from viewing multiple calendars, iCal can post calendars online, as HTML to WebDAV-enabled servers. But, Steve says, that's not cool enough. So, let's subscribe to calendars. iCal then polls for updates. But, Dave will say, that's not cool enough. Let's hook iCal into a notification service!

Couldn't tell from the demonstration, but it probably exchanges data over iCalendar.

Groupware? From Apple? Anybody remember AOCE?

10:05:53 AM # Google It!
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit

iTools .mac: $49/year (existing members), $99/year new members. Is it worth it? I have 75 days to decide.

  • imap, pop3, web mail
  • 25MB -> 100MB iDisk (AFP and WebDAV)
  • backup software
  • antivirus software
  • web space

Ditch the chrome UI. It makes the pages load slowly, and it's ugly.

10:02:33 AM #
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit

140 million AIM users. Bite that, Yahoo!, MSN.

iChat uses Rendezvous to build buddy lists. Now you know when your co-workers (who haven't talked to you in months) are online.

9:52:57 AM #
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit

Didn't we see this demonstration in every previous MacWorld?

Computer telephony integration is demonstrated every year. In 1996, IIRC, the demonstration had AppleScript tying incoming and outgoing phone calls together with Claris Emailer and FileMaker. This year it was Bluetooth phone dialing from the Address Book.

Incoming calls use Caller ID information to pull up address book entry (c.f. Big Island's YoYo). This would partially satisfy Bob Frankston's request for Caller ID that works — as much as one can when dealing with inappropriate data.

In the summer of 1992, looking for money, I interviewed for the AT&T operator pool in Peekskill. It wasn't for me. But I did see something I found astonishing: the operator sat in front of a computer console, with a headset connected to the terminal. As the call came in, data on the number was displayed, including line status and the billing party's name and address. The operator knew where the call originated, yet asked anyway.

In 1997, we were attempting to do the same thing in our call center, integrating data about the incoming call with our records on the customer.

In 2002, I sit in front of a computer that, while it has a sound card, has no microphone, and no speakers. Next to it is a phone. They do not talk to each other. What's changed?

9:49:50 AM # Google It!
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit

cat * | grep -v viagra | less

Adaptive Latent Semantic Analysis: Let me trash your boss's e-mail for you.

9:43:02 AM # Google It!
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit

The Ease of AppleTalk, the Ubiquity of IP

Rendezvous (zeroconf) is very important. Demonstrating w/ iTunes3, Mr. Jobs added a playlist automatically, and streamed the file over 802.11b.

Epson, HP, and Lexmark are adding zeroconf to printers.

9:38:10 AM # Google It!
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

Watching the MacWorld keynote. Started late.

Sherlock 3 == Watson. Karelia Software has an answer to this frequently asked question.

9:32:03 AM # Google It!
categories: Low-Hanging Fruit