Booxter

A note to myself so I can find this later: Deep Prose Software has an application called Booxter, which helps you manage your book collection. Works with Mac OS X and the CueCat, which is what I've been looking for (yes, I have a CueCat somewhere around here).

Sounds like a good project for Sean for Spring Vacation to me. He could probably get it all done in a week.

Emerging Technology Conference

So, between one thing and another, it looks like I will be going to next week's O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference in San Diego. If you're going to be there, track me down and say hi!

It looks like Tim O'Reilly is doing a reprise of his tech book sales talk from Foo Camp, and I want these numbers handy when trying to figure out why anyone takes Amazon sales ranks seriously. All numbers are for various editions of our "JavaScript for the World Wide Web, Visual QuickStart Guide" from Peachpit Press, and are current as of about 2:00 pm today, so I'm comparing apples to apples here.

	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
ISBN	0201696487	0201354632	0201735172	032119439X
Current rank (lower is better)	7,758	1,842	3,953	29,664
In print	Dec. 97	June 99	April 01	July 03
Out of print	June 99	April 01	July 03	N/A
Amazon status	Only available used	Only available used	Ships (new) within 24 hours	Ships (new) within 24 hours
Scan frequency	Hourly	Hourly	Hourly	Daily
52 week range	7564 - 7758	1103 - 49076	969 - 19910	1984 - 1249819

Computer books authors and publishers spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out what sales rank means. Here's one person's research, here's another's, and here's Amazon's own description. But none of these pages answer the question: if these sales ranks are so good (and don't get me wrong: most book authors would sell their grandmother for one comparable to our second, third, or fourth editions!), how can they be accurate for books that are out of print?

Stupid Mac trick OTD

Stupid Mac trick of the day:

iChat with your sweetie. When you're done chatting, instead of closing the window, minimize it. You'll have a small image (the one from the chat) show up in your dock.

African-American != Black

In [South Carolina] Kerry, whose wife is African-American, did better among blacks than among whites, who gave him only 27% of the vote against Edwards's 52%.

While Teresa Heinz Kerry was born in Mozambique, studied in South Africa, and has lived in the US for many years, she's not what's generally meant here by "African-American"—because she's caucasian. I'm trying to figure out if this is going to be played more by the right (who'd like A-A to mean anyone from Africa or with African descent, regardless of color), or by the left (who are likely to think that playing her as A-A would help get votes).

Safari Bookmarklets

Want to learn more about Safari bookmarklets? My March '04 Macworld Geek Factor piece, Develop Safari's Power, is now online.

I was hoping that they'd make click and drag bookmarklets of the code, but no joy. OTOH, being able to copy and paste is a whole lot easier than trying to type this stuff in by hand. Check it out, and let me know what you think.

DARPA Ditches Backup Brain Plans

From Techdirt Wireless: DARPA Ditches Backup Brain Plans. I have to say that we're relieved.

Okay, here's the full story:

The concept of the "backup brain" - a device that you carry around that records everything going on around you for future use - has gotten a lot of attention over the past few years. Both Microsoft and Accenture announced plans to work on projects in the space, and no one really flipped out. However, as soon as the government suggested they were looking at a similar project, called LifeLog, people began to freak out about the privacy implications. I'm not entirely sure what the worry is. The project wasn't designed to stream back all the data about your life to some government computer, but for the individual's own use. Having dealt with bad publicity over other projects in the last year, however, DARPA seems a bit gun-shy on any controversial program, and thus are killing off their LifeLog project. I'm not sure what the big deal is on this, as it does seem like a worthwhile technology to explore, and research at Microsoft on their MyLifeBits and Accenture's Personal Awareness Assistant (though, scaled back considerably) will continue.

So long as they don't use the name "Backup Brain," that's fine with us. Although if Microsoft really did want to, I'm sure that we could come to some kind of financial agreement.

His & hers blanket

Cory at Boing Boing pointed to what he referred to as a his-n-hers duvet cover. I was sorry to find out that it wasn't the blanket that I've been looking for for years now.

About 15-20 years ago, I picked up something that was referred to in the catalog from which it was purchased as "the marriage saver blanket." Basically, one side of it was thick and one side of it was thin, because in any relationship, one party is likely to be too warm and the other too cold. It's seen constant use since then, to the point where it's getting really darn ratty and desperately needs to be replaced—but I can't find anything like it anywhere. If you come across anything like this, please let me know, and thanks!

(No, I'm not looking for a custom-made quilt like these folks make, but just a simple cotton blanket.)

Cruising all the way to the buffet

Wireless site now up and running

Super Bowl idiocy

Let me see if I've got this straight: a few days ago, it was announced that Janet Jackson's Super Bowl Show Promises 'Shocking Moments'. Today, CBS is saying that they had "no indication any such thing would happen" and are blaming it on a "wardrobe malfunction." Okay, what were they expecting would be "shocking," then? Enough to brag about beforehand?

And remember, folks, that this is the same network that thought that an anti-Bush ad was too controversial. Pick a standard, CBS, any standard.

Later note: changed to point to Google's cache, because MTV decided to take the story down. Can't leave those smoking guns lying around, can we?