Google Wave: The End of the Wild Web
There will be many – many – blog posts written on Google Wave, and there already have been so many created, that I’m sure this one will be lost in the void, but for whomever keeps ‘The Record,’ add me to it saying: “Google Wave will revolutionize communication.”
I’m throughly shocked by the number of naysayers out there. The reaction on Twitter after the announcement, and the excellent review of the event on TechCruch, was mixed. Some were just as enthusiastic as me, but many have the wait-and-see attitude that, to me, doesn’t recognize the pure awesomeness that is Google Wave. There are only two obstacles Google Wave has to overcome to become as widely used as Google Search that I can see: market penetration and standards adoption.
HTML5
The switch to Wave is going to rely on HTML5, a standard that has been 5 years in the making. That’s a really long time coming. The same year the standard got it’s start gave birth to Facebook, Gmail was still new, and IE was still 91% of the browser market. In Internet terms, HTML5 has been in progress since the middle ages.
Changing the basic language of the web is a drastic change, and we need to be sure that the standard is right. Yet, surely we can adapt to adding new standards at a quicker rate? Because all “modern” browsers are open-source, and have a track record for continuous innovation, it’s inconceivable to me that was couldn’t innovate on a faster scale.
Five years is an awful long time, and it’s incredible how much – of the draft spec – the browsers are already supporting. HTML5 will bring about a friendlier internet – one that feels like a desktop experience. We have the technology to deliver that – why wouldn’t we?
Add to My List of Heros: Tim Robbins
Surprisingly, actor Tim Robbins' speech on the state of broadcasting, at the National Association of Broadcaster's annual conference in Las Vegas this April, wasn't sugar coated; it didn't patronize the people in the room. Instead, Robbins humorously, and seriously, chastised his audience for permitting and creating the current atrocious state of TV.
Prior to delivering his speech, Robbins announced that he had indeed prepared his keynote, but the higher-ups might not be willing to let him deliver it. A moderator then came on stage and explained that Robbins' speech was controversial to say the least. The audience response of "free speech, free speech" ensured that Robbins quickly retook the podium.
TV that instills fear, obsession with sex-scandals, focus on right vs. left politics, and infotainment were all subjects on which Robbins justly attacked the media. While some of these criticisms left the room quiet, most of Robbins' cleverly worded speech had them laughing, a bit nervously, at themselves.
...let's stay focused on Sex Scandals. Stop with the in-depth reporting that gets outside of the sound bite. More sex scandals! Surely with a little more prying, a little more effort we can find more sexual deviants. And trust me, sexual deviancy is something we can all agree on. It's deliciously intoxicating to watch unfold. It's titillating. The absolute zenith of news, the perfect storm of reporting, the shining city on the hill in news coverage was Lewinsky vs. Clinton. Now that was fun. We couldn't get enough of that. There were salacious details, semen stains, oral sex. And the president lied.
-The Power and Responsibility of our Nation's Broadcasters - The Digital Journalist
Robbins' speech is a beautiful example of someone saying what needs to be said to the right group of people in the right manner at the right time. It's obviously unclear if his heartfelt plea for better and more responsible programing will be implemented. Nonetheless, cheers to Tim Robbins for his courageous and well spoken words.
Inside Saudi Arabia. – By Nicholas Schmidle – Slate Magazine
At his home in Riyadh, his family kept a Filipino cook, driver, and maid who washed his briefs. "I don't know how to cook or to clean my clothes," he told me. "So, whenever I am in the United States, I just wear my underwear once … and then throw them away."
Inside Saudi Arabia. - By Nicholas Schmidle - Slate Magazine
What a great quote to pull out in a brief article about the state of social progression in Saudi Arabia. The article is short, but worth a read to get an idea of what a modern, islamist, monarchy is like.
Graffiti Artist Banksy Pulls Off Most Audacious Stunt to Date – Despite Being Watched by CCTV | the Daily Mail
The article cover the entire story nicely. But I think I'll just leave it at a picture is worth a 1000 words.
