Writeboard, the latest web service from 37signals, is now live. Think of Writeboard as a web-based whiteboard that can save all of your edits as you share with other users, and you can use Writeboard solo, too. Backpack users can attach writeboards to their backpack pages. The Writeboard web service is completely free.
I’m definitely going to look in to this more, as I agree with the 37signals gang: “Wikis are icky.”
Tag: site
I’ve disabled TrackBack on this blog and on Godblog. Two reasons have brought about this change. First, the TrackBack spammers have gotten out of control. SpamLookup is heading them all off at the pass, and none are getting published (thanks, moderation pref), but it’s taking up too much of my time to moderate them to Junk status and delete.
Second, I can count on one hand the number of folks who have trackbacked to Retrophisch, and on two hands the number of times they have done so. I sincerely appreciate these, but for the two handfuls of legitimate pings I’m getting, it’s not worth keeping open and dealing with the spam. Godblog’s managed only a single trackback, so the same logic applies.
This will not prevent me from giving trackback love to those who deserve it. Comments are still open and their use encouraged.
Note to self: do not join the clueless Authors Guild.
I echo Gruber’s sentiments regarding the decision of the Authors Guild to sue Google over Google Print. For one, an author can choose to exclude his work in a fairly simple process. Second, as an aspiring author, were I to publish a book, I would love to see it read by as many people as possible. If Google Print helped me accomplish that, so much the better.
Congratulations to Michael Hyatt, who is going to have to change the graphic on his blog after his promotion yesterday.
(What Mr. Hyatt doesn’t know, is that when I finally get around to writing my Christian-worldview technothriller, I will relentlessly harass him to publish it. So keep that between us, okay?)
Seriously, though, Mr. Hyatt has big shoes to fill, and we wish him the best and will keep him in our prayers. Sure, all businesses exist to make money, but my view is that Christian businesses, and notably in this case, a publishing house, exist for a higher purpose as well.
Jon reports that Google Talk has gone live. The IM product builds on Gmail accounts and the open-source Jabber IM service.
I’m already up and running on it with AdiumX, so I guess iChat will be taking a hike, and my fun balloons won’t be used in the future. (Can anyone point me to a reasonable substitute for Adium?) If you want to jaw via Jabber courtesy of Google, use my site name at gmail dot com, but you have to have a Gmail account to play along. Let me know if you’d like an invitation via the e-mail address noted in the previous sentence.
That’s web whacker, not weed whacker. The latter is taken care of by our Black & Decker Grass Hog.
A friend is looking for a Mac- or Java-based web whacker/sucker program for a project. According to what he’s tried so far:
+ Web Dumper doesn’t work
+ PageSucker stops working while in use
+ Site Orbiter doesn’t save files for browsing offline properly
+ Safari’s Web Archive feature isn’t cutting the mustard, either
The project in question is taking a dynamically-generated web site (which does not output HTML files), whacking/sucking it to a local machine in HTML format, then moving it offsite to another web server.
Please leave suggestions in the comments. Thanks!
Secure online storage and file sharing. Eight bucks a month gets you 4 gigs. No bandwidth charges, no contract. Nifty.
[Via Todd Dominey.]
At least that’s what VitalSource is hoping you’ll do: buy eBooks from them in the same way people buy music from the iTunes Music Store. James Duncan Davidson just finished the new version of their client application, which looks pretty nice.
I, for one, cannot get in to the whole eBook thing. I have a few PDF-based books that I use for reference material, and I’ve read Cory Doctorow’s books in electronic format, but the latter is really because I’m unemployed and have to do what I can on the cheap. I much prefer the dead-tree edition of literature still.
Not content to rest on his laurels, Jon’s decided to start GoogleRumors.com. I also can not believe there wasn’t a site like this already.
I finally attempted, once again, to set up POP access to my Gmail account in Mailsmith. I used all of the settings found on the Configuring other mail clients page, made sure to check “Leave Mail on Server”, and like any good technology, it all just works.