Author Archives: brad

From The Ether

Bob Metcalfe, the inventor of Ethernet: The speech I’m going to give on Thursday is called “Ethernet vs. Godzilla.” The idea is that Ethernet has encountered a series of competitors out trying to kill it. The number is huge. The most famous is the IBM token ring. It was among the many Godzillas and the most formidable because it was backed by the dominant monopoly in computing at the time. I really enjoyed his column in InfoWorld. It hasn’t been the same magazine since he left. His wry humor was always great, from his very specific prediction of the Internet stock bubble bursting to his constant references to the “Open Sores” movement.

Moral Fiber

Desktop Joe says: For me to be accused of corrupting the moral fiber of a person like rhino is absurd. Yeah, whatever, dude. In 1997, I asked him what a good format would be in which I could post some of band’s music on the Internet. His immediate response was MP3. I hadn’t ever heard of MP3. Sounded like another music video channel to me.

Then, in 1998, I started working with Joe. Suddenly, it all became clear. That’s all I’ll say on this matter for now. 🙂

Hey, Mac

Crazy Apple Rumors: According to Yang, Lindquist repeatedly refers to his 1.42 GHz Power Mac as “an Apple” while dispensing handy advice on what corporate decisions “Mac” should make. Go, brother. I constantly come in contact with people who do exactly that. It’s maddening. They are often the same folks that think any machine running Windows is an IBM.

Edit This

Dave Winer: Right on. I’ve been using a desktop app to write Scripting News for years. The browser is not a great writing tool. What?? Last I checked, Dave Winer was the person saying that desktop apps were dead, that all writing should be done in the browser, becuase that’s a tool everyone knows. “Edit this page!” and all that. OK, maybe not quite that dogmatic. I’ve been surprised at two things. First, the number of people willing to pay $40 for Radio, a tool that really has no GUI. There’s no app that an average can interact with in a meaningful way. Second, the number of people who have contacted me about Frequency to ask, “When will it work with Radio?” Interesting.