Mokka mit Schlag

I’m investigating external Weblog editors. I’m surprised there are no simple plugins for BBEdit or jEdit to handle this, and there doesn’t appear to any real open source software.
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Apple’s posted yesterday’s MacWorld keynote address in QuickTime format.

Objectively the announcements were pretty major. Subjectively, they managed to completely uninterest me. I’ve never liked iMacs (I prefer separate monitors and computers) and I don’t need a new PowerBook (excuse me, MacBook). I was hoping for an Intel-based Mac Mini, but that was nowhere to be seen. And of course there was no BlueTooth Mighty Mouse. Oh well. maybe next year.

The one piece that really impressed me was the new magnetic connector for the power cord. We’ll have to wait to see if it actually works and holds up to daily use. However it sounds like a really good idea, and exactly the sort of thinking different that Apple’s famous for. Without any extra effort or thought on the user’s part, the computer just works better. Problems happen less.

The typical computer company response to a problem with users accidentally pulling a computer to the floor is to ignore it and blame the user. Many won’t even cover the damage under their inadequate warranties, even though it’s their design flaw that led directly to the damage. Most users agree and blame themselves. I think from this point forward any time you trip over a cable and pull a stack of routers and hard drives crashing onto the floor, you should ask yourself why that had to happen. The short answer it didn’t have to happen. Devices should be able to be unplugged at any time for any reason including clumsy users. And of course the sheer number of cables should be kept to a minimum. Design is a usability issue.

Feed readers work better for full text feeds like enplaned or The Cafes that contain the real content.

Essentially headline feeds like the Cafe au Lait Recommended Reading or Memorandom work better in a browser. In fact, a feed like Memeorandum’s that forces you to visit their site first just to get the real link is almost completely pointless. The Cafe au Lait/Cafe con Leche recommended reading feeds are much nicer (though of course the real difference is in the content).

The Cafe au Lait/Cafe con Leche story feeds are sort of in the middle, but they probably run more to the headline end of the spectrum because the individual stories, even when syndicated as full text, are usually pretty small.

It’s about an hour to go until the keynote address so I thought I’d toss out one random prediction I haven’t heard anywhere else:

A Bluetooth Wireless Mighty Mouse
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Saturday I went on a tour of the Monk Parakeet nests at Brooklyn College led by Steve Baldwin. He estimates they’re about 70 parakeets living in the near vicinity of Brooklyn College. City-wide they’re probably a few hundred. They’re additional nests at Greenwood Cemetery, Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, Marine Park and vicinity in Brooklyn, and a few other locations. No one’s sure where they first came from, but the most common hypothesis is that they escaped from a dropped crate at Kennedy airport in the 60’s or some such. Likely escaped pets have also contributed to the population.

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Friday, Rob Jett found a Long-eared Owl in Prospect Park. I went looking for it yesterday afternoon without success, but this morning with the help of Steve Nanz I found it in the same tree where the Great Horned Owl roosted over Thanksgiving 2004. I’m going to have to keep an eye on that tree. There must be something about it when seen from the air that’s appealing to owls.

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