Scripting News for 3/14/2006

Scoble: “I’m getting fat but I’m fat and happy.” 

Identity Woman, whose alter-ego is sitting next to me at PC Forum, is hosting an identity conference in Mountain View, May 1-3.  

I just signed up for Amazon S3. Here are the docs. There doesn’t appear to be a web app that allows you to upload a file to try it out? I really wish they had an XML-RPC interface, if they did, I could start programming it right away, since they don’t have sample code for my environment. It seems that XML-RPC would get them support for all the environments, not just the ones they say are most popular. No matter what, I’m going to try programming against the SOAP interface.  

BTW, to Jon Udell, who raised a question about standards and implementation to standards, this is why you need open formats. Some people like Python, some like Ruby, and some like environments that other people don’t think of as environments. Roml’s hypothesis only works in a monoculture; sometimes it looks like there is only one development environment that matters, but there’s always someone, who’s doing something important, who isn’t using the consensus platform. Some people thought CP/M was the only environment that mattered, but others insisted on developing for the Apple II. When the IBM PC ruled, there were still Apple III developers, and then Mac 128 developers. When the Mac ruled, some insisted on doing character-based DOS apps. And all through the 80s, there were people who developed on Unix, waiting for the day when it would become the consensus platform. Brian Behlendorf used to argue that Apache was the only HTTP platform that mattered, but if that were true, no one would be using any other HTTP server, today, more than ten years after the advent of Apache. The problem with Roml’s thesis is the world is messy. The proof is in Amazon’s toolkit, they try to do it all by providing examples for languages and even so don’t cover all the bases. How much better if we had a standard language for expressing web services that was supported in all environments, so one set of docs would work for all. We do have such a format, but if they don’t use it (they don’t) it’s value dissipates, and eventually will go away.  

9/12/99: “The purpose of XML-RPC is to end once and for all, the idea that there can or should be one operating system for all. No more über-operating systems, and no press releases claiming über-ness!” 

Colin Faulkingham: “Amazon S3 supports BitTorrent, it will create and seed your object (file).” Bing! 

That’s one of this year’s game-changers.  

Google bought Sketchup, 3-D software. 

Nicco Mele: “The bill is designed to (a) protect bloggers and online political activity and (b) open large loop-holes in campaign finance law.” 

BBC: “Bullies are increasingly using the internet to terrorise teenagers outside of school, a survey suggests.” 

Gabe Rivera’s new memetracker, “Automatic Dirt Digger.” 

No one guessed who the guy with the jacket on his head is. For 10 bonus points, why was the jacket on his head? Use the comments on the Flickr pic to post your ideas. 

TechCrunch: “Move over Google Drive, Amazon just stole your thunder (for now).”