Demo Blog

The Demo Blog is up and running, thanks to Chris Shipley of Demo and Mena Trott of Six Apart. Check is out at http://demo2004.blogs.com/weblog/

Demo Bikers

There will surely be a lot of very interesting technology at Demo 2004 next week. I One of these years I am going to ride my motorcycle out to Phoenix for the conference. Would sure be nice to be able to ride in warm weather. It actually got up to forty degrees in New England today and the sky was blue. I couldn’t resist going for a ride so I put on the Widder electric chaps, gloves and vest, and headed out. It was very nice. Motorcycling in the winter is not a new experience this winter has been particularly challenging. A few weeks ago, the Harley-Davidson Fatboy hesitated in the six degree temperature even though it is fuel-injected but it does start fairly easily and runs very well in the cold. After returning home from the ride, the AWID tag on the front fork of the bike was detected and the proper garage door opened. Hoping to run into some fellow bikers and talk about gadgets at Demo. I am also looking forward to meeting the panelists for the blogging panel.

Hello? (Long Distance – Part 8)

Rupert Goodwin over at ZDNet UK in London poked a little fun at me in Rupert Goodwins’ Diary. His story, dated 10/2/2004, isn’t really from October like it looks. Not only do they drive on the wrong side of the road over there, but they also put their months and days backwards. Sorry Rupert, I couldn’t resist. Rupert was actually very kind to me in his story which correctly pointed out that sometimes technology fails at the most embarrassing times. In this case, I was talking to his colleague,
Munir Kotadia, who wanted to discuss my views about network security, Windows, Linux, Opera, and other Internet technology related topics. Munir had sent me an email and asked if we could talk. I called him in London using my packet8.net IP phone. It is generally highly reliable — had a flawless and high quality call with Oslo, Norway this morning — but not always. Sometimes there is a pause. Not exactly sure why. The path from the Radio Shack cordless phone to the packet8 MTA to my LAN to my hub to my cable modem to Comcast to their router to the Internet to who knows how many hops across the Net to London to a PBX to Munir’s phone has a lot of possible points of failure. Possible, but not likely, it could even have been Munir’s phone. (read more)

What’s In The News

How often have we heard or said "what’s in the news?". We all might answer the question differently depending on what our particular source of news is. Some us depend on the radio (AM, FM, or XM), some on TV, and others on the Internet. Whatever our source of news might be, I think the bigger question is whether the interpretations of the news that we get are accurate and unbiased. Some of us believe what we read or hear and others are more skeptical. There is good reason for the latter. (read more)

Heads Up — Demo Coming

I am fortunate to attend many conferences each year. My all time favorite conference is Demo. Demo is recognized as the major event that "demos" the products and services poised to have the greatest impact on the technology landscape in the year to come. Every year, technology executives, venture investors, journalist and analysts converge at Demo to preview and discuss many new ideas. The best part of the conference is the opportunity to network with many old and new friends. Last year I participated on a panel at Demo to discuss WiFi. This year I will be moderating a panel on a subject very and near and dear to my heart — blogging. (read more)

Opera

I am very fond of Opera. Yes, I love Così fan tutte (and Mozart’s other 19 operas) but that is not what I am referring to. The other Opera in my life is a company in Oslo, Norway that has created browser software which is an alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The name of the company is Opera Software ASA . Like many of you, I have had a long history with browsers. In the summer of 1994, a team of four brilliant programmers at IBM developed a browser called the "Web Explorer". It was integrated with OS/2 which was the best desktop operating system in the market at that time. It was also integrated with the IBM Global Network which was the best Internet Service Provider at the time. Why OS/2 is not talked about much anymore and the Web Explorer nor the IBM Global Network exist today is a long story. It is a book someone will surely write at some point

Putting history aside, the best browser available today is Opera and using it is a joy because of it’s many innovations. I am very proud that as of this week I will be a member of the board of directors of Opera Software ASA.

Trade press coverage about joining Opera board…

news.com / CNET
ZDNet UK
TechZonez

(read more)

Tags: browser, browsing, css, explorer, ie, mozart, opera, pervasive devices