Random thoughts

Tonight (Sunday) I’m tailing a work initiative, so it’s time in front of the computer but nothing intensive.

So I give you some (completely) random thoughts I’ve jotted in a tickler.

  • Pet Peeve – Newspapers/TV news online, identify yourselves: No charges filed against journalist handcuffed by Miller security. OK, this one is Alaska, and the story has a dateline (Anchorage). But where is this station/newspaper? KTUU is “Alaska’s News Source” – Alaska is a big state. Anchorage/Fairbanks/Juneau/North Slope?? While news is local, anyone can access same: Many Google Alerts to newspaper/TV sites take you to sites that locally might be well known, but not to an outsider. The “Daily Herald” means nothing to me. How about adding, “The most trusted name in the [city name] “ or whatever?
     
  • Incredibly stupid question: Why doesn’t the monitor have the graphics stuff? Just a common driver from computer to monitor; said monitor may have a huge video cache (or not).
     
  • Incredibly stupid question deux: When are we getting an HDMI-like connector (all-in-one) for computers to monitors/KVMs? Apple got close to this a decade ago (mouse connects to keyboard; keyboard to computer. It’s 10 years later, and we still, for the most part, have four cords running out of/into the back of the computer: Mouse, keyboard, video and ethernet. The ethernet is a little different, but I still see this in the future (unless wireless gets so good that ethernet is not needed – this may be true for home networking, but not for data centers, let’s say)
     
  • AOL’s acquisition of The Huffington Post: Yes, this a week old. I haven’t commented because I haven’t had the time, but I think it’s a great deal for both parties, especially for The Huffington Post. Arianna is someone who “gets” News 2.0 (my phrase); with the cash and control (editorial director) AOL is is giving her, she has a chance to continue her discovery processes (I’m certain it is a discovery process; there is no road map for News 2.0; it’s in flux) with a little more wiggle room and the opportunity to play “what if” a bit more. Note: HuffPo’s version of News 2.0 is, to me, just one possible News 2.0. That’s what confounds newspapers and aids (smart) online news sites. Dead-tree news works one way: Print news, subsidize with subscriptions and advertising; delivery is analog (truck roll). Online News 2.0 can be anything – HuffingtonPost.com; blogs; Yelp.com; Twitter streams and so on. It’s live and constantly updated. It’s pretty damn exciting. BTW, now AOL = Arianna On Line