freeform goodness

several threads, helpfully consolidated

Adam Curry:

Time to come clean on an investment I made a year and a half ago. At the time, UserLand software had released a Mac OSX version of "Radio" and I was totally digging the built in news aggregator. I came up with a cunning plan: I asked Userland if I could purchase a pre-installed feed on their aggregator, which supports "RSS" xml feeds. I paid $10,000 for a one year license.
...
I will again invest $10k in aggregator default placements this year, but I will spread it around, to all developers who adhere to RSS2.0. Include (N)echo and you're out of luck.[+]

fishy:

You know, this is just bullshit interpersonal politics. Does the term "market of ideas" mean anything to you? [+]

Mike:

Wow, that's short-sighted. "I bought me a bunch of ads on an AM radio syndicate, and a big ol' console AM radio, but now there's this FM radio thing and I think it stinks! At least they'll never figure out how to get moving pictures inside one of these boxes. That's just crazy talk." [+]

M.Kelley:

Wouldn't this be considered Payola in the radio world? [+]

Heiko Hebig:

Or just invest those 10 grands you want to waste on bribing aggregator developers (their software will support Echo anyway) into a good counselling on the state of things and how to make the most of it. [+]

Dave Walker:

Heh, I'm even cheaper. $24.99 gets you a mention in a weblog entry, $49.99 gets you in my blogroll, and $149.99 gets you a dream date with me. I'll wear whatever you want. Hey, I smell a new business model!

Mark Pilgrim:

I think we're missing the forest for the trees here. The big news here is not that Adam is an idiot, but that *UserLand accepts payola for undisclosed sponsored links in their products*. Since when was *that* acceptable?

Anu:

In the spirit of Adam Curry's empty threat generous inducement, I too would like to offer the aggregator development community something - a lucky dip UK lottery ticket [value one british pound] to the first 10 aggregator developers who pledge to support RSS 0.91 and 2.0, RSS1.0 and nEcho [when final]. Given that this is pretty much everyone, I may be out 10 pounds. What will save me from potential destitution is the fact that I only have about 3 readers, although I am beginning to think of the googlebot as a friend. [+]

Dave Winer:

An independent advisory board has been formed to promote the wider use of RSS, to maintain the spec according to the roadmap, and to remove one of the major objections, that only UserLand could answer questions about RSS. The three-member board votes, the majority rules. The three board members are Brent Simmons, Jon Udell and Dave Winer. [+]

Chris Heilman:

Echo is being pushed as a replacemant for RSS. But I worry that Echo may already be owned by some big company, or at least tied up in their litigatory legalities. Listen Echo guys, RSS (mostly) works. I'm not sure that I want IBM or whoever deciding how my content is represented, anyway. [+]

Tomas:

I don't see how "some big company" can claim the rights of what I've written on the Wiki, or what anyone else has written. How do you reach that conclusion, did Copyright law fundamentally change today?

Anode:

Tomas, I believe the conspiracy theory goes:

1. Sam Ruby started the whole Pie/Echo/Atom whatever thing
2. Sam works for IBM
3. Sam has mentioned that IBM is letting him work on this on their time or some statement to that effect.
4. Therefore, it's a huge conspiracy backed by IBM to steal weblogs/syndication/life as we know it.

Dave Walker:

Maybe if we all wear tinfoil hats we can stop IBM from tuning into our brainwaves and stealing all our clever weblogging ideas.

Mark Pilgrim:

Joe (primary author of the Atom API spec, good friend of mine, sitter of my dog, etc.) has just started his own business doing custom system development. So the next time someone tries to feed you a line like “Atom is run by BigCos”, send 'em to Joe. [+]

John Robb:

RSS 2.0 is now the #1 return on Google again for the keyterm "RSS".   Two weeks ago it wasn't even in the system.  What happened? [+]

Sam Ruby:

In short, I truly believe that the wiki was necessary for this project.  Necessary, but not sufficient. [+]

Dave Winer:

An article in News.Com, while extremely incendiary, may be seen as the last gasp in the Great RSS War of 2003. [+]

Dave Walker:

I wouldn't bet the rent money on it.

ed: I will add further quotes and links as I find them.

:: 09:36
:: /opinion/technology | [+]
::Comments (0)