Tim Bray on monopolies

Tim Bray: “[S]omebody should have said ‘Open Source and Open Standards aren’t the same thing at all, or even necessarily related, but they do have one thing in common: they are daggers aimed at the heart of Microsoft’s monopoly; there would be huge global business benefits if there were a free desktop marketplace, and Open Source and Open Standards would help get us there, and so Microsoft is against them.’”

I do have a lot of respect for Tim, but I think he is wrong on so many levels here. I don’t think the facts support any monopoly on applications (or OS for that matter) and I think that this is an excuse used by many that can’t seem to get traction with a competing product.

When I first used Office, there was a strong competitive offering from Lotus (I was a big Ami Pro user at one time). Later on, Corel had a competitive offering with the WordPerfect acquisition. In my first “real” job, we didn’t use Office. We used Corel. There were many other “Office-style” apps prior to Microsoft Office that came and went. There will be plenty more. Everyone (including Microsoft) will have to compete for customers as more apps end up online. I guess I just don’t see Tim’s post as being in the spirit of competing, but rather in the spirit of complaining.

Disclaimer- this is my opinion and not that of my employer. I’m just speaking from the heart while a bit frustrated with the dialogue.

Recorded audio in ancient pottery?

MAKE has an interesting (and almost disturbing) account of the computer analysis of ancient pottery and the extraction of sound based on vibrations in the tools used to create the pottery. Not sure what to make of this, but it seems like it is worth looking at.

Churn in the syndication community

It wouldn’t be a new year without a controversy in the syndication community. Lots of churn, little butter from what I can tell…

PSP spam

Kotaku: “I was tinkering with the Playstation Portable version of Fight Night Round 3 tonight when I decided to check out the online play. Imagine my shock when a message popped up telling me that I had to either pay $2 or give my privacy away to ESPN and whoever they feel like selling my details to, if I wanted to play online.”

The business of hacking

Washington Post: “The young hacker, who has agreed to be interviewed only if he isn’t identified by name or home town, takes a deep drag of his smoke and leans back against the couch to exhale. He smiles. This is his day job, and his work is finished in less than two minutes. In two weeks, he will receive a $300 check from one of the online marketing companies that pays him for his services.”

It’s sad that this kind of hacking has now just become a way to earn a quick buck off spyware and ad placements.