Monthly Archives: May 2008

Facebook’s Trapdoor

I’m puzzled. I can’t understand this quirk in Facebook that means I can’t politely brush off someone requesting my friendship without giving them access to all my friends and a lot of my info.  Receive a friend request and you get this message: I have a rule that I don’t make buddies with people I’ve… Read More »

Google Killer? A Clip Around the Ears, Maybe

There’s a new search engine out there, according to the Guardian, and it sort of tries to figure out what you’re looking for. Which is good. Google searches are great so long as they’re simple. But is Powerset up to snuff? Here are some searches I did (betraying my interests): Pretty good stuff. And how… Read More »

Generating Meaning or Fluff?

I love this: a mashup that generates great-looking ads from Flickr pictures and a computer. The conclusion: We realise how easily affected we are by words and pictures together, but how the mix often doesn’t mean very much, especially when they’re ads. By remixing corporate slogans, I intend to show how the language of advertising… Read More »

Burma’s Firewall Fighters

Another good report on Burma’s failed efforts to stop information getting out, from the Commitee to Protect Journalists: Those fears are driving Burma’s undercover reporters to become more innovative. DVB’s Moe Aye said his in-country reporters now check in with editors by pay phone at predetermined times to mitigate the risk of communicating on lines… Read More »

Sleazy Practices Cont.

Fired up by Google’s move into the crapware domain by foisting an “updater” on customers who want to install (otherwise great) programs like Google Earth, I took another look at what was happening in the updater sphere. Apple drew some heat for its own bit of underhandedness recently, when its own Apple Software Updater automatically… Read More »