September 10, 1997

from the Friends-of-the-Revolution dept

By Brian Day - September 10, 1997

In the last couple of weeks there have been several events that have thrown me for a loop, and I'm not talking about the Kurt Vonnegut's graduation speech fiasco. FYI... This will also be a Microsoft free report. ;-)

What happened to Netscape's Site?
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For those of you who use Netscape Communicator and have not changed your home page from Netscape's site, you probably saw the new Netscape site featuring layers and style sheets to their fullest potential. Not only are they displaying the flexibility of HTML, but they are also showing how it could be used as a file system. The "layers as windows" metaphor works very nicely. They are likely to demonstrate the ability to move files and launch applications from within the browser soon. (I've seen it!)

I had lunch with a couple of developers on the site this week and I was surprised to hear about all the Javascript problems that they were having with the roll out. When employees at Chrysler fired up their browsers on Wednesday morning, it shut down machines on many desktops due to the Netscape site. Needless to say Chrysler was not happy, and neither was Netscape management. Luckily the Javascript programmers responsible were contract workers and had taken a trip to Bolivia!

What is that little thing attached to my browser?
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I download freeware so often that sometimes I forget what I downloaded. That was the case when I fired up my Communicator and found a little floating pallet underneath the browser. It was a product called Alexa (www.alexa.com). As you surf the Alexa toolbar shows you information about the web site and company you are visiting (# of pages in the site, speed of the server, company address, and number of employees to name a few). Furthermore it allows you to both rate a site, and suggest other sites that are similar. While you surf, it shows you other people's recommendations and ratings. Very cool technology. However... It seems that someone at Sun has gone a little crazy, and put www.sun.com as a recommendation for almost every web site.

What is Apple up to?
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Not spinning off their Newton division and then cutting off their clone makers? No comment. I heard some kind of rumor about Jobs wanting to turn the Newton into an NC?

What is in those fries?
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Is it only me, or have french fries taken a turn for the better. Crispy... Nice flavor... I think the health craze is over and all the fast food chains have gone back to beef lard in their fryers. Just a hunch. Then again maybe the hours strapped into my computer making business plans and writing code is finally taking it's toll.

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Friends of the Revolution
by Brian Day

A column that comes out every so often, and talks about something or another... To subscribe to Friends of the Revolution email bcd2@cornell.edu

The information contained in this newsletter reflect the opinions of Brian Day, and do not represent actual fact. Any decisions made based on these opinions is your own fault. Yadda...Yadda... Yadda...

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