Microformats, the bigger picture. John Allsopp’s The Big Picture on Microformats is a great wrap up of where Microformats stand today. “In trying to climb the slippery pole of the network effect, new technologies often face a chicken-or-egg moment. … As I’m about to demonstrate, microformats have passed this chicken-or-egg moment in a number of areas.” And check out the blog.
Cpen source yet so close. Paul Brown on open sourcing Java: “Will “open source Java†prevent cruft from getting into the standard libraries for Java or evict some of the current dross and detritus? Will it save us from the next EJB or Crimson?”. I have to agree. The problem with Java is not that the source is hidden, it’s readily available. The problem with Java is that it’s closed, as in attempting to duplicate the operating system inside the VM. “Strip the Java standard libraries down to a minimal subset of what they currently contain, don’t put it back, provide a great package manager, and that’s open enough for me.”
Web Office needs to innovate, not replicate. Om Malik on Web Office vs MS Office: “Web Office should not be about replacing the old, but inventing the new web apps that solve some specific problems.” Most Web office apps strike me as nothing more than changing the delivery method from CD to HTTP, developing with AJAX instead of MFC and expecting some big windfall. I’m not impressed. There’s a lot of room for innovation, it you don’t just change the method of delivery, but change how people do things, for the better. Blogs do that for me, so do Wikis, GMail and Tracks. But most Web apps fails to offer anything new or better. And quite frankly, when did I ever feel the need to spreadsheet while not in front of my computer?
On REST and other stuff. Jon Udell interviews Roy Fielding. A must listen for my next commute. (Via Bill de hÓra)
Oops. Lucas Carlson over-engineers: How I processed a log file 20x SLOWER than before. And then goes to tell us all about it and how to avoid it. There are people who love their technology so much they end up dreaming about nails. Lucas steps back and keeps it real. I have high hopes for Starfish and where he’s going with that.