Thursday, December 25, 2003

Presents of Mind. On the first day of Christmas, we give to you seven puzzles puzzling. By Amy Goldstein, Robert Leighton and Mike Shenk. [New York Times: Opinion] 8:33:02 PM    comment []

American pursuits online. The Pew internet and American life project has just released a report entitled America's Online Pursuits:The changing picture of who's online and what they do.This from the conclusions the report makes."Technologies that facilitate ease of access appear to have played a considerable role in expanding the roster of activities people pursue online. Namely among them, the proliferation of high-speed access has changed the way people incorporate the Internet into their everyday lives; broadband transforms the Internet from being an occasional go-to reference and communication tool to an "always-on" information appliance."The project, which is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, began in March 2000. America's Online Pursuits [Smart Mobs] 8:30:45 PM    comment []

Open Source Software To Aid Poor Doctors, by Alfred Hermida, BBC. 6:25:57 PM    comment []

Taking Their Lumps of Coal (or Sugar). In the technology industry, some people and companies have been very good this year. But some have been very bad. By David Pogue. [New York Times: Technology] 4:38:32 PM    comment []

King Kaufman's Sports Daily. Salon's 2003 Sports Person of the Year: LeBron James. [Salon.com] 4:38:13 PM    comment []

Intellectual Property Day at isen.com (Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.). The United States Patent and Trademark Office officially registered the isen.com mark No. 2,788,689 on December 2, 2003. I've begun to use the "circle R" on the isen.com domain. In addition, I've begun to use a Creative Commons license with my blog and website. Cory Doctorow recently explained to me why using a Creative Commons license is a good idea. He explained that a general statement like this Redistribution of this document, or any part of it, is permitted for non-commercial purposes, provided that the two lines below are reproduced with it: Copyright 2003 by David S. Isenberg isen@isen.com -- http://isen.com/ -- 1-888-isen-com probably protects my work from uses I wouldn't want to see, but a Creative Commons license goes further, because it (a) publicizes the idea that you can reserve SOME rights, and (b) contains machine-readable code that registers my works as belonging to this larger body of works that do not have ALL rights reserved. [isen.blog] 4:35:53 PM    comment []

Viridian Design: Creating irresistible demand for a global atmosphere upgrade 2:24:19 PM    comment []

Yes, Virginia, Powerpoint Has a Rival. Speakers hoping to dazzle an audience with a professional-looking presentation have long relied on PowerPoint by Microsoft. Now the makers of a new alternative program, Live Presentations, are trying to carve out their own territory with a smaller price tag. By Thomas J. Fitzgerald. [New York Times: Technology] 11:49:46 AM    comment []

The BeneBlog The BeneBlog is a weblog by Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman, on issues and ideas that affect the application of technology to unmet social needs. 11:23:11 AM    comment []

The Unfinished Business Of Ensuring The Public Benefits >From DTV -- Commentary from Norris Dickard, via The Benton Foundation. 10:23:02 AM    comment []

Europe Weighs the Unthinkable: High College Fees. Europeans, led by Britain, are rethinking their long-held belief that university education should be financed almost entirely by the state. By Sarah Lyall. [New York Times: Business] 9:59:04 AM    comment []