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Monday, April 15, 2002 |
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Thursday, March 14, 2002 |
"XML Web Services are a new standardized way of integrating disparate systems and applications connected through an Internet protocol (IP) backbone. The standard relies on XML as a language for tagging data; Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) for transferring that data; Web Services Description Language (WSDL) for describing the services available; and Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) for listing what services are available." ... [more]
9:21:16 AM Google It! 
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Saturday, March 02, 2002 |
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Dave Winer, President, UserLand Software
1:59:55 PM
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Friday, March 01, 2002 |
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A Blogger Manifesto
Why online weblogs are one future for journalism.
February 24, 2002, The Sunday Times of London.
"Peer-to-peer journalism, I realized, had a huge advantage over old-style journalism. It could marshall the knowledge and resources of thousands, rather than the certitudes of the few. ... This was getting to be a performance as much as a job. ... the very personal nature of blogs had far more resonance than more impersonal corporate media products. ... using their favorite bloggers as guides to what was interesting or what they might otherwise miss. Bloggers became Internet sherpas - experienced guides to all the information and wackiness out there."
" ... the golden question about so much online publishing remained: how would this ever make money? ... The genius of the blogging model, after all, is the lack of overhead. ... But if the goal of opinion journalism is not ultimately money but influence and readers ... "
" ... It's no accident that a good plurality of American bloggers, for example, are libertarian or right of center. With a couple of exceptions, the established newspaper market in America is dominated by left-liberal editors and reporters. ... by-pass this coterie and write directly to an audience." ... [more]
1:31:29 PM
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Thursday, February 28, 2002 |
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"Documents don't need to be found, they need to be marshalled.
As I work, I develop theories about what happened in a case and how the law applies to it. I often use outlining software to help me organize my thoughts about these theories. I make file folders and notebooks of the documents that relate to those theories.
Radio does outlines and hypertext. I assume I can make a Radio outline and link to the documents in the log that relate to that particular point in the outline. The outline then becomes the marshalling point for the documents that matter. With links from the home page of the log for the case or project to the outline, then I have not only an easy way to find the important documents in the case, I have a way to preserve and incrementally build my work product." ... [from Steal This Idea via The Shifted Librarian]
10:40:53 AM
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Wednesday, February 27, 2002 |
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[Slashdot community deals with site design]
"Too often, people get too gadgety when they design software. Keep it as simple and as direct as the functionality and purpose of the site allows you to. Gimmicks are worthless. The best web designs get out of the way and promote the presentation of their content. Once you've taken into account the structure of your content, half the battle is over."
"There is no such thing as good web design. There is only good user design. Who are you users? What do they want to accomplish by visiting your site? What do you want them to accomplish on your site? Once you answer those questions you'll be in a position to make some decisions about a design that compliments your goals."
"There's a huge split. If you ask the "Slashdot Community" what makes good web design, you'll hear... a lot of noise.
There's the progress camp:
www.webstandards.org [webstandards.org], that wants everyone to upgrade their browsers and live on the bleeding edge of style sheets (how ironic is it that their bleeding edge stance has been replaced with an "under construction" sign).
Then there's the compatibility camp:
anybrowser.org [anybrowser.org] that wants every web page to work in the old browsers.
There are probably a few things everyone can agree on, like Flash being worthless at best and extremely annoying most of the time.
Personally, I say: look at the successful dynamic sites. Google, Yahoo, Slashdot. Light HTML, very light images, strong dynamic backend. Don't get too caught up in the format details; it's the power of what's driving the web page, and the content, that matters."
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- Content is King - good presentation will bring in viewers, but good content will bring them in again and again.
- Cross-platform - don't rely on obscure plug-ins, Microsoft extensions or other technology that will unnecessarily limit your audience. Preview the growing website with multiple platforms.
- Intuitive Interface - frustration at not being able to navigate a site easily will drive away users."
"1. World Wide Web Consortium is thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods.
2. Flash is evil, and of the devil. Flash is blaspemy.
3. Javascript can be useful for on-page functions that don't necessarily require a server call, but remember your page still still fundamentally work with no javascript enabled.
4. Images should be used for illustrative purposes, not to show you found a neat image and *never* as a background.
5. Images should be small and reduced to webpage resolutions.
6. Content shouldn't be laborous to read. Black on white text is the best, but at least always make sure to use contrasting colors.
7. Style sheets should always be used (see number 1) but make sure that necessary style pairings (such as colored tables and the text within) are defined in the same scope. A page-declared table color and text/css file declared table text color could cause problems if your style sheet file doesn't load.
8. Design for non-compliant brower protocols *only* if your business depends on it. Private sites should *always* be written to the HTML specs (see #1) all browsers be damned.
9. Do not covet they neighbors hyperlinks. Links should be used in *context* and not in a random listing. Don't say "you can find a link about greyhound adoption *here*." Instead, write either "There is a lot of information about *greyhound adoption*" or "*Greyhound Puppies Inc* has a lot of information about greyhound adoption." All of this results in a page more useable by non-traditional browsers. (see number 1)
10. If you change the color of links, you should make sure that the default colors (blue, purple, red) will show up on your site. Another reason not to use picture backgrounds. Also, don't ever *ever* reverse the color scheme... cool (blue-like) colors for unvisited links, purple or red-like (hot) colors for visited links."
"Of course, content is king. But one of the tradeoffs is always nice graphics vs. load time.
To some extent, you can have your cake and eat it too- a fair number of graphics, as well as a page that displays quickly if you always use the "height" and "width" attributes in your IMG tags to manually specifiy the dimensions of your graphic. This way, the user's browser can go ahead and render the rest of the page quickly before the graphics are downloaded since you've alreay told it how big that image will be.
This is potentially a HUGE gain in the perceived load time for your site. I hate waiting for a bunch of graphics to load, but if I can start reading the page while the graphics load in the background I don't really mind." ... [more]
1:22:54 PM
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Friday, February 15, 2002 |
"Hi Jonathan, You might want to take a look at RadioExpress:" ... [more]
3:06:37 PM
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"Hi Jonathan, You might want to take a look at RadioExpress:" ... [more]
2:53:17 PM
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Sunday, February 10, 2002 |
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This is another test of the frameIt macro:
This is the first item.
This is the second item.
This is the third item.
This is the fourth item.
This is the fifth item.
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Well, well, well . . .
2:42:15 PM
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Thursday, February 07, 2002 |
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Further test of 8.0.4: Dave macro.
Tried 3 times. Still doesn't work. Read Mike Cohen's discussion. Deleted macros folder and ran "system.verbs.builtins.radio.thread.agents.watchMacros (). Didn't fix it.
Q: do I have to create the "Hello World" macro and put it into macros folder? Is Dave assuming that the macro is there? I remember a "Hello World Macro" in the early days with Radio. Did I delete it? Never create it? Need to get to documentation and see what's up here. Of course, none of my macro's work, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Why am I the only one having trouble with macros? Others on discussion list seem to be able to solve their problems. What is it that I don't get???? [Macro error: The server, 127.0.0.1, returned error code 7: Can't evaluate the expression because the name "helloWorld" hasn't been defined.]
2:01:26 PM
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Further test: add time to top of page below state name.
1:52:58 PM
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This is a test of the macro in the 8.0.4 SCNS Radio release with first and second macro's: South Carolina first, then random state.
1:43:50 PM
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This is a test of the macro in the 8.0.4 SCNS Radio release.
1:37:16 PM
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Wednesday, January 30, 2002 |
[Macro error: Can't call the script because the name "xmlCoffeeMug" hasn't been defined.]
2:49:48 PM
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This is a test of the <%frameIt%> macro.
<%frameIt ("This is the first item.<br>This is the second item.<br>This is the third item.<br>This is the fourth item.<br>This is the fifth item.<br>") %>
If the above is a list enclosed in a red box, I did it right!
2:43:37 PM
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Tuesday, January 29, 2002 |
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This is a test of making a bulleted list:
- Item one.
- Item two.
- Item three.
- Item four.
This is the end of the list.
5:08:14 PM
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Monday, January 28, 2002 |
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This is a test of the new myPictures tool in Radio8.0.2. I wonder what will happen if I have a sentence that goes to a second line, or maybe even wonder about a third line. Will it wrap? Will it push the picture down? Can I control that behavior?
12:51:38 PM
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Friday, January 25, 2002 |
Format of Future Posts
When I loaded "radio.root" update today I got a wonderful new tool! Radio8.0.2 now allows me to direct my posts *only* to categories (without also going to Home Page).
This allows me to discontinue putting headers on every entry (so that I could distinguish between different types of entries on Home Page) except entries on the Home Page, which are not consistently about a single subject, as are the entries to my Categories.
I went back and edited *every* entry to Radio8 from day one to direct entries to relevant categories, and eliminate from Home Page. Didn't remove headers--too much work. But, in future I will not use headers for each entry.
I will not use Home Page for anything for now. Maybe after I get the technology figured out here and configuration/appearance what I am comfortable with I will use Home Page for writing/opinions, or whatever emerges. I need to look around more to see how others are using their blog space. The "look into my life" and "this is my expertise" blogs don't really appeal to me.
Really neat that Dave and Radio gang picked up so quickly on the desire for this feature and were able to deliver almost overnight! If I had had a few more (hundred!) entries, I would never have had the inclination to go back and edit the Home Page category out of every single one.
4:04:09 PM
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Radio Log
Updated radio.root today.
3:20:33 PM
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Thursday, January 24, 2002 |
Radio Log
Successfully downloaded and installed Radio 8.0.2 today.
2:09:58 PM
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Tuesday, January 22, 2002 |
Radio Log
Modified #template to provide for "by (author)" following title. I assume that this template only affects stories.
Code:
<br>by <%authorName%>
Addendum:
Removed this modification when I discovered that "by (author) showed up on every page served except home page and categories pages (i.e. help pages, preferences, etc.). #templage is not specific to stories, although stories use #template, along with many other pages.
2:28:14 PM
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Radio Log
Added feature to #homeTemplate for macro call for radio.macros.mailTo. Code added three places on home page per Scott Loftesness' suggestion. Code:
<%radio.macros.mailTo () %>
Also used some " " where necessary for spacing and some "mail me:" text.
1:51:09 PM
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Sunday, January 20, 2002 |
Radio Log
Added to #homepageTemplate.txt Jake's macro to list stories by title, with date published, with link:
<%navigatorLinks%>
<hr size="1">
<%
local (s = "", pc = file.getPathChar ());
local (folder);
folder = user.radio.prefs.wwwFolder + "stories" + pc;
fileloop (f in folder, infinity) {
if file.fileFromPath (f) == "index.txt" {continue};
local (adrfile = @user.radio.settings.files.[f]);
if defined (adrfile^.upstream.url != "") {
s = s + "<a href=\"" + adrfile^.upstream.url + "">";
s = s + adrfile^.title;
s = s + "</a>";
s = s + " (" + date.shortString (adrfile^.postTime) + ")";
};
};
return (s)
%>
Works fine, but I would prefer same typeface and size as other navigation links. Will have to work on that.
3:18:20 PM
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Radio Log
New Category.
This is where I will record changes or customizations to my Radio8.0.1.
12:21:15 PM
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Friday, January 18, 2002 |
Radio Log
New Use for Categories
Great idea in today's Scripting News: a commonplace book. Definition: Commonplace book (n.): an edited collection of striking passages noted in a single place for future reference. Below is the first entry to this category.
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." --Alexander Graham Bell
2:05:56 PM
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Thursday, January 17, 2002 |
Radio Log
Finale to Opera Saga
Finally found out why such problems with trying to make Opera my default browser for my Desktop Website. It turns out that the new User Guide had what appears to be the answer.
Under the heading "WYSIWYG or HTML editing?" the guide states that "(due to restriction on the Microsoft browser WYSIWYG only works on windows)." So, it would appear that if you want to create any entries to your weblog you must be in MSIE! Thus, it would appear that Radio8 not only defaults to MSIE, but it requires MSIE.
However, there may also be an Opera problem. On the "Prefs/Enable the WYSIWYG editing tool?" page it states that:
"You may want to turn this (WYSIWYG tool) on even if you're using a system (browser?) that doesn't support WYSIWYG editing. Radio checks if the browser is compatible; if not, it uses a JavaScript editor instead. If the browser is not compatible with the JavaScript editor, it uses just a plain text area."
This statement is absolutely not true for me with Opera. When I call the Desktop Website from Opera the editing window is completely non-functional. Is this the "plain text area" that is referred to on the Prefs/Enable the WYSIWYG editing tool? page? Not at all clear just what is meant, or how the results I am seeing relate to the documentation.
Giving up now! Will reconcile myself to MSIE default browser until better documentation available.
What a waste of time this has been. Better user documentation of such a basic "feature" would have been much appreciated. My own fault for liking Opera so much, I guess.
1:35:34 PM
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Radio Log
This is a test of the world affairs category.
10:21:18 AM
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Radio Log
Successfully installed Radio8.0.1. Had some difficulties with zip extractor, but finally got it right.
Didn't notice any difference in installation.
Will try to work with app later and see if things are different.
Radio8.0.1 came up in MSIE, even though I had Opera running at the time.
9:26:18 AM
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Wednesday, January 16, 2002 |
Radio Log
This is a test of a category submission.
3:27:02 PM
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Radio Log
Want Opera to be my default browser when I open Radio8. Sent simple message to discussion list.
One reply (Opera employee?) said that Radio8 would open in whatever browser was running when Radio8 opens. Tested 3 times (after logging out and back in). Not true. Radio8 keeps opening in MSIE with Opera already running.
Will try more discussion and see what happens.
Also, new User's Guide today. Better read it before making fool of myself on discussion list.
12:42:59 PM
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Tuesday, January 15, 2002 |
Radio Log
No luck with frameIt macro, so spent lots of time reading discussion group looking for help on macros. No luck. Guess it's too soon.
I wonder why Dave would publish his "frameIt" macro so soon before release of Radio8 if it wasn't going to work in a release only days away?
Maybe I just don't understand the installation process???
Will wait and see what documentation/discussion comes up in next few days.
10:10:41 AM
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Monday, January 14, 2002 |
Radio Log
I want to test the macro called "frameIt":
#title "Test frameIt"
<%frameIt ("first<br>second<br>third<br>fourth<br>fifth<br>")%>
How did it do?
1:03:05 PM
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Radio Log
Thought I had a problem running Radio. Sent email to discussion group, got answer. Turns out there is a sneaky little icon at the bottom of my Win2000 screen that shows Radio is running. I tried to open it again and got a meaningless error message. Better documentation would have helped, but solution came quickly.
Now I have to figure out what to do with this thing! Do I really want the responsibility/visibility of a public journal? Why would I want that?
8:52:14 AM
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Saturday, January 12, 2002 |
First Post
First try at Radio. How did we do???
11:28:17 AM
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© Copyright 2003 Michael Jamison. E-Mail: 
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