Well, some of the readers of these pages will have noticed that, carefully speaking, my enthusiasm for Microsoft technology is pretty limited. “Limited” indeed is the right way of putting it: While I have a clear opinion about most of Microsofts monopoly regarding desktop and office software (which, in the end, makes me avoid both as good as I can, and thanks at the very least to Ubuntu GNU/Linux, right now I can do that pretty well… 😉 ), I then and now always considered Microsoft .NET, as a development and runtime platform, a pretty good thing, maybe the best technology the Redmond folks came up with to date, and definitely a technology that could have offer wholly new options to both Microsoft and the rest of the world if licensed and distributed a little more openly. Anyway, leaving licensing and personal considerations related to this aspect aside: These days I earn a living mainly off working with Java and overally am pleased with this as an environment. However, as “integration” is what I mostly deal with, I finally had the chance of dealing with Microsoft .NET and C#, and had a rather pleasant trip…
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a strange kind of cross-over: Botany Bay – “grounded”
Wow, looking at the timestamp of the last entry, it seems it’s been a while, vacations and project business included, since I wrote anything here. Anyway: As a regular follower / user of jamendo, I am by now pretty much used to stumbling across new and interesting music and average quality on jamendo.com seems pretty … Read morea strange kind of cross-over: Botany Bay – “grounded”
[german]’zeitgeisty’: Community für freie Lizenzen?[/german][english]’zeitgeisty’: free licenses community?[/english]
[english]Creative Commons licenses have been around for quite a while now, and by now there also is quite a bunch of followers who believe in the idea of using free licenses for publishing self-made content. Unfortunately, the existence of “free licenses” by now still is next to unknown among “mainstream” computer users, same as most … Read more[german]’zeitgeisty’: Community für freie Lizenzen?[/german][english]’zeitgeisty’: free licenses community?[/english]
flickr – yahoo = zooomr?
Most people by now knew that flickr, an incredibly popular image-sharing service which I also make use of once in a while has been acquired by Yahoo! quite a while (almost exactly two years) ago. Most of this time, flickr was usable to both those who were “old-school” flickr members who just had flickr authentication … Read moreflickr – yahoo = zooomr?
The Vision of Mozilla
For all those who like to read papers that range somewhere in between technology and society: Check this draft of an emerging Mozilla Manifesto, focused on pushing forth “the internet” as an open, accessible environment to be used for both commercial and public interests. Looking at this sort of tools as “cultural technology” rather than … Read moreThe Vision of Mozilla
DRM to face its end?
Surprising: Apple’s Steve Jobs has written a lengthy essay titled “Thoughts On Music”, pondering the options and caveats provided by severely criticized DRM technologies in the Apple iTunes shop and elsewhere where people sell and buy music online. Bottom line: Jobs blames the music industry for forcing shops like iTunes into selling DRM-polluted protected music, … Read moreDRM to face its end?
Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht!
Prinzipiell ist die heutige Entscheidung des BGH, nach der sich die seit einiger Zeit durch die Presse geisternde, viel diskutierte und zu Recht viel kritisierte heimliche Online-Durchsuchung von Nutzer-PCs mittels einer ohne Wissen des Anwenders installierten und wirkenden Schadsoftware per gegenwärtigem Recht unzulässig ist, ja ein Grund zur Freude. Indes, der Knackpunkt ist hier “gegenwärtiges … Read moreWas nicht passt, wird passend gemacht!
IT-Gipfel: Wir müssen draußen bleiben!
Nur der Verbreitung wegen: Am 18. Dezember 2006 findet der eher umstrittene nationale IT-Gipfel unter Vorsitz unserer verehrten Frau Bundeskanzlerin statt, der, einmal mehr, ein Konglomerat aus Politik und Wirtschaft zu werden verspricht, bei dem die Zivilgesellschaft und ihre Repräsentanten ausgesperrt unerwünscht übergangen worden sind. Ob dies “absichtlich” oder aus purer Unkenntnis geschehen ist, kann … Read moreIT-Gipfel: Wir müssen draußen bleiben!
Kohle für Kunst
Via golem bin ich auf Cash For Art aufmerksam geworden, eine Initiative, die mir irgendwie zu denken gibt… Einerseits, und grundlegend: Die Zielrichtung des Manifests halte ich für durchaus lesenswert – im Kern geht es darum, geltendes Urheberrecht und daraus resultierende Systeme der Entlohnung bzw. Beteiligung von Kunstschaffenden an den Umsätzen aus neuen Übertragungs- und … Read moreKohle für Kunst