Reasons not to use Flash

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=accnfh3pfb3_3628252qhd2

What I don't like about Google Sites

• No tags (or facets) on pages
• I can't create a page in a manner comperable to using CamelCase in a traditional wiki.
• For some reason, this makes pages much less representative of concepts.

Why I'm grumpy about apps that aren't browser based

Application implemented in the browser automatically have these feature (unless the designer actively disables them, which alas, they sometimes do):

• use anywhere - it's hard to find a computer that doesn't have a browser
  
• variable font size - really small fonts are really annoying
  
• text search - I expect it to be available - it it's not, it's annoying
• copy and paste from the text - with formatting
  
• multi-platform - Windows, Mac & Linux, obviously, but also, in may case, Palm
• spell check on text input
  
• view source - I like to know how things work
• save page - it's sometimes convenient to have a local copy
  

iTunes is a good example of this problem. I'd like the text to be larger. It's search is good, but being able to search the visible text of the screen would be even better.

IT Conversations | O'Reilly Emerging Telephony Conference | Alex Russell

IT Conversations | O'Reilly Emerging Telephony Conference | Alex Russell:

"Alex Russel, creator of the Dojo web toolkit, discusses the future of mobile phone development based on his experience in the mobile, security, and web development industries. He claims that although smart phones are increasing in power, they will not be a suitable platform for open source development. That, and restrictions by handset makers and network operators, mean that the web is the only viable platform for developing mobile phone applications in the future."

I'm pretty sure Alex refers to the lack of "thingification" as one of the the problem with the mobile network. Does that bascially mean the ability to attach a url to something and pass it around? I also missed other, possibly important terms. It's worth listening to again.

I think this a different sense of thingification that commonly used.

Critiquing Hugo

I'm saddened and sometimes amazed of the vehemence and pervasiveness of critiques of Hugo Chavez and the socio-political experiment going on in the relatively democratic Venezuela as compared with governments with whom the United States is, if not friendly, at least tightly allied, say Saudi Arabia or say, Nigeria. Avowedly unbiased NPR is not exempt. A case in point: the interview a few months ago with Joe Kennedy and his work with the Venezuelan government to bring less expensive fuel oil to low income people in the northeastern United States. Joe would point out the relative levels of democracy between Venezuela and most other major oil producing states, but the interviewer wouldn't hear it and kept insisting, well, I ought really go find the interview and reference it.

In any case, again, what's the real issue? Actually using Venezuela's oil wealth to benefit poor people?

Self critique: Is this really the same as the failure of American leftist to give up on Stalin as the reality of his rule became known? I hope not. I don't think so. I think the Venezuelan rich have not been had their wealth stripped or been imprisoned simply because of their wealth.

iPhone not having copy & paste is bad

According to Jakob Nielson the iPhone doesn't have copy & paste. This is bad. For me, at least, copy and paste is a major mechanism for exploring the internet.

• copy a word or phrase and paste it into Google - does the iPhone have a "highlight and search" mechanism?
• copy a url and then paste it into the browser address bar and hack it
• copy a snippet from a page I'm tagging and paste it into the comment
  

By not having this mechanism my universe is made much smaller to no benefit for me that I can think of.