Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

At The Heart Of Microsoft's Software Universe

Gary Cooper — Wed, 8 Nov 2006 13:33:46 EST

Software developers. They're an interesting breed.Like a baptism by fire, my first report for Blogcritics is from the very nerve center of geekdom - a conference about software development. Microsoft Tech.Ed Developers 2006 is this year hosted in the excellent International Conference Center in Barcelona. Over four days, something in the region of 4,500 computer nerds (me being one) will sit through hundreds of hours of presentations, seminars and 'Chalk and Talk' sessions relating to all things good and bad in the sphere of Microsoft software development.Already I've sat through presentations on how to build software faster, with fewer errors, using the latest and greatest tools for this, most elite, of nerd clubs. It's the people here at conferences like Tech.Ed that will be building the computer software of tomorrow. Software that will allow your fridge to order its own milk when running low, let your car drive itself, and let you lose yourself in a virtual pixel world of debauchery and corruption. But enough about Second Life, let's talk tech.Microsoft are making big noises about Windows Vista, Microsoft Office 2007 and some new tools for developers that the Lords of Redmond hope will help them win the battle in the Web 2.0 landscape. The lavish amount of tech geekery, food and free access to the Internet here really demonstrate how much Microsoft continually court the development community. Demonstrations of Microsoft's Live Services, such a Virtual Earth, have drawn a lot of interest - especially for those that have read the post on TechCrunch about the new 3D interface offered. Needless to say, Microsoft's finest is out trying to convince ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) and customers alike to adopt its Live Services over those offered by Web 2.0 darling Google.I can't help but feel, however, that there's still something missing. You are genuinely impressed by the scale; but despite all of the whitepapers that are thrust into my hand, and all of the endless rows of PCs running Windows Vista and Office 2007, it's all a bit soulless.I imagine a Google conference (if they ever do anything like that) having much more passion, being much more upbeat and people actually whooping and cheering when a new feature in a product is announced. There's a guy standing next to me while I put this post together, looking at Apple's website on another PC. He is clearly drooling over the shiny MacBooks on the site when compared to the drab HP computers made available for delegates.Will Microsoft ever be cool again? Well, maybe. Keep an eye on websites such as Otto.de, a German retailer who demonstrated a new Internet shopping experience using the funky new features in Windows Vista. This delivered a much richer experience than a normal Web browser. If they coupled that with what Like.com are doing with image comparison technology, we could really see some excellent online shopping experiences appearing over the next few years. And if that means you can do a search for shoes similar to Jimmy Choo's, but at a fraction of the price, then it might just keep the girlfriend or wife happy. Maybe not though. One thing that has surprised me at the Tech.Ed Developers conference is the number of women here. If you were under the impression that being a software developer was the exclusive domain of sandal wearing, bearded geeks then think again.Perhaps software development could become the new soccer? Still, I think it will be a while before we see a glamorous series on TV called 'Software Developer's Wives'.

A grizzled, yet enthusiastic tech afficionado. Grew up using a Commodore 64 and now have a pile of Apple Mac's, PC's and gaming consoles.

Blogcritics Author: Gary Cooper

Announcement: Short-content feeds

At The Heart Of Microsoft's Software Universe