Proprietary Software Teachings

My frequency in mentioning open-source software may lead you to believe that I favor it over closed-source software, but that just isn't so. I believe that both have their advantages and that either philosophy only works in certain types of projects. An article at Newsforge explores the advantages of proprietary software, and it makes some great points. It started off well actually by turning me on to an application called Konfabulator that lets you use tons of widgets and it looks neato (I highly reccomend it). Anyway, its three tenets of good software are attractiveness, ease of entry, and addictiveness. I agree with them because Konfabulator has all those things and now I'm really excited about it. The more intuitive a program is, the more people will like it. Open-source software can sometimes provide too many features and bog down users. That's one of the things that turned me off about JBuilder and also off of Trillian. The article goes into more details that I support, but that I don't want to repeat so go read the article and check out Konfabulator.

Since I've spent so much time playing with widgets I'll be going rather quickly through the techie news. In the world of P2P the RIAA has gotten smart to Internet2 users and is now cracking down on file-sharing in that arena. What's funny about this is that I actually remembering thinking about this when I first read about Internet2 month ago. It's basically a very very high speed internet connection shared between different universities to share information and be able to show live performances and events and stuff on campus. Taking note of RIAA actions, an association for porno films is now asking ISPs to sign a code of conduct that would block sites consistently offering illegal downloads and even track your identity to be reported to them. Some European ISPs are agreeing and some aren't, but I don't think it would fly here in the U.S. of A. Speaking of that weird continent though, the French government is toying with the idea of making biometric cards mandatory. They're basically tech-savvy identity cards, but I wonder how they'll cover the costs. The NYC subway system is trying out computerized control over a couple of its lines and may expand if all goes well. It sounds cool but quite dangerous because the computers will require so much security. In an interesting move, some newspapers are banding together to help the bloggers fallen victim to Apple's wrath for leaking information on upcoming products. It's pretty unconstitutional to force them to reveal their sources so I'm glad that they're getting support. And lastly, I wanted to follow up on a post I made a very long time ago about a technology literacy test with a view from a Wired news reporter who sat it on a trial test. It sounds like it needs to be surprised, which shouldn't be a surprise.

Now to breeze through some movie news. In an extremely strange move, WB is remaking Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers from a Train. How can you improve a Hitchcock flick? Anyway, I mention it because the director is Ringu director Hideo Nakata, so at least it won't blow. There's a very shaky rumor going around that Christian Bale will be in a couple more Batman movies and a Batman v. Superman movie. I think it's too much to be true, but a Batman vs. Superman movie would be pretty sweet. Speaking of Superman, check out this shot of the shield from the upcoming flick:



The biopic about Christopher Reeves, Truth, Justice, and the American Way, is coming along in casting with quite a few big names including Adrien Brody. If you, like me, think that the Jurassic Park series has become rather lackluster you may be glad to hear that the fourth iteration is not in production yet because the script is still being revised to meet Spielberg's needs. This means that he really cares about it so hopefully it'll turn out well. And lastly, I have to ask why Ray Liotta has sunk to doing a family comedy called Comeback Season. He's such a good actor!

Just two random things real quick. If you want to read about someone really creepy, check out this article and see the dude's picture here. Let's just say that he's broken barriers in finding ways to scare women. If you like wasting time check out this site that regularly posts the latest pictures uploaded to LiveJournal. And check out my results to a dice quiz:

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

Now for the loveable Ten on Tuesday meme:

Ten Favorite Foods
10. Sushi
9. Terryaki chicken
8. Fried Rice
7. Kung Pao chicken
6. Toasted sub sandwiches (namely Quizno's)
5. Biryani
4. Boba (you chew something so I count it!)
3. Juicy steak
2. Samosas
1. Rocky Road Brownies