Jim Roepcke's weblog have browser, will travel (est. 1999)

200% price increase for AC licence?

Things are stirring in the Frontier community...

Big thread on Frontier Discuss: 200% price increase for AC licence?

Frontier is now $299 for an academic license (up from $99).

(Me, on) Frontier Discuss: Has development ceased on Frontier for Macintosh?

Frontier is $899 for a full license.

I find it ironic that WebObjects is only $699, $99 for edu, because it's so much more scalable than Frontier. Admittedly, WebObjects doesn't come with a "CMS" and would cost you more than $200 to make one. Then again, a student with a $99 might be able to make one for less than $800!

I still like Frontier though, because it's just so unique and good at what it was meant to do when I met it. (I feel the same way about HyperCard)

John Robb says he's considering a $99 license for individual developers in non-profit/edu institutions... the $299 price would be for a non-profit/edu organizations.

Why not a $99 license for ALL developers, regardless of affiliation? I mean, wouldn't it be a good way to (re)increase the developer base? There was a thriving community around Frontier when it was free, and I don't think $99 is so expensive that it couldn't keep a worthwhile % of those who'd be interested.

Radio UserLand isn't as valuable to me as Frontier simply because they ripped the COM server out of it (Radio).

SF Bay 802.11b Access

San Francisco Bay Wireless 802.11b Internet Access

SQLGrinder

Advenio Software: SQLGrinder -- "Query. Browse. Be more productive."

I find development is easier when I don't have to write SQL at all. And no, that doesn't mean I use a GUI database editor/browser alongside my ASP/JSP/CFM/PHP code instead, it means I use something that writes the SQL for me. And no, that doesn't mean it puts the SQL into my source files for me, it means there is no SQL code in my source code, anywhere.

(the applications I work on use an Oracle database)

Enterprise Objects Framework one of the many things that makes it possible for me to get more done, faster, with WebObjects.

If you're as sick of writing SQL as I was you might want to give it a look. It's not a beginner's system, mind you, you need to be an experienced OO developer to grok it, IMHO.

WO also removes the need to encode and decode parameters in the URLs between your pages... and query your database for the same rows for every page.

Of course, you can do all of those things if you really want, but it isn't necessary 999 out of 1000 times.

Eartlink Mac support rocks

One of Earthlink's Radius servers is down which made it impossible for me to log in using my normal access numbers.

After 15+ minutes on hold I got to speak to a very competent person who explained the situation and gave me a working access number.

Now when you call their tech support line they ask you to press 1 for Windows, 2 for Mac.

Press 2 for Mac, even if you're a Windows user. Maybe that's the key to getting someone competent.

MacInTouch: Mac whining, bitching and conspiracy

I find I don't read MacInTouch much anymore. It's turned into some kind of whine/bitch/conspiracty-fest. (That's why I never read MacFixIt)

I wish they'd just put the NEWS first and the complaint section at the bottom.

Thank you Luke!

Luke Tymowski: Women and Men

This is related to a conversation started on Dave's site. There are links to the previous material from Luke's piece.

I want to thank Luke for writing this. I completely agree with him. I'll probably end up writing my own opinion on this too because I feel VERY strongly about it.

Eeeets ah rayce!

Just got back from seeing Rat Race. It's my favourite kind of comedy -- immensely silly, stupid comedy. I loved it. We were laughing ourselves ... stupid silly.

And I needed it.

The WIRED Rave Awards 2001

The WIRED Rave Awards 2001

The nominees for "Cultural Innovator - Changing the creative landscape; A talent whose work has a profound effect on our culture" are:

• Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

• David Chase and James Gandolfini, The Sopranos
• Evan Williams, Blogger
• Hironobu Sakaguchi, Final Fantasy
• Thomas Krens, Director of Guggenheim Museums Worldwide

Holy crap Evan! I mean, CT,HD, The Sopranos and FF are VERY cool, not sure if they're cultural innovations, but to be mentioned next to the Director of Guggenheim Museums Worldwide (and those popular movie creators too) is... well a massive honour.

Congrats!

Who’s in the fridge?

I'm at the office right now. (I'm the only one in the office right now)

So, I was a little surprised when I heard the door to our mini-fridge open in the corner of the office. I waited a few seconds, stood up, gophered over my cube wall, and there I saw...

...the building's entrance security guard with a Snapple Lemonade in her hand. Her eyes were as big as saucers.

"Can I have a drink?" she said, embarassed.

"Yeah, no problem."

It's times like this I remember how very lucky I am to have a good job and an employer kind enough to offer these things to me for free. I take it for granted sometimes I guess. I can't imagine having to work their twelve hour shifts without something to drink.

I'm embarassed to admit that my instinctive thought was "She's stealing a drink from our fridge!". If my employer is generous enough to offer us free drinks, I'm sure they're happy to extend that generosity to the people who keep our offices safe while we're gone. It's a thankless job with horrible pay. I sit here ashamed of my selfishness.

Sharing is good. It's the way it should be. And thanks for the Lemonade, boss.

New Scientist

New Scientiest: Principia Mathematica III, an interview with Stephen Wolfram.