Retro Yakking

 Wikipedia is not a baby anymore.

The community of the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia is currently debating whether or not they should relicense their content. I’m not a huge contributor (not even 500 edits), but I feel compelled to vote for one huge reason: the GFDL (the license under which all Wikipedia’s content is available) screwed me over. Actually, to be more precise, it was Wikia and their interpretation of the GFDL that screwed me over.

Let’s be clear about this: for you, the author contributing to Wikipedia, a change to the Creative Commons license will most likely not make very much difference at all. Though CC-BY-SA 3.0 allows authors more freedom over their content (in the sense it allows them to have a say where it is and isn’t reproduced) you can bet your sweet bacon rinds they’ll make you waive this privilege.

(more…)

It’s time I gave something back to the blogosphere, so for about the next twenty four hours, I’ll make an effort to visit and comment on as many blogs as possible, as suggested by you.

That’s right. To participate, simply leave a comment with the name of the blog/post you would like me to visit and I will so my best to comment, as well as submit to Stumbleupon, Digg or Reddit should you so request.

Watchoo waiting for? It’s free*, so gimme your links now!

*For the first month and then 32 one off payments of £32 for the next twelve months. Perms and conditioner applied to the scalp will remove dandruff.

I’d just like to thank every person who’s ever dropped in on my blog from EntreCard, that wonderfully bouncy blog marketing website. A special mention to the following ten who have dropped the most cards on my blog in the last month or so.

1. Gadget Reviews - 17
2. Mind Relaxing Ideas - 16
3. Picture to People - 16
4. Crotchety Old Man - 16
5. Sports 2000 - 16
6. A Poets View - 16
7. Back to School for Grownups - 15
8. Redhead Ranting - 15
9. PipeB Web Hosting - 15
10. TechnologyINSANITY.com - 15

Cheers!

Internet Explorer fries my computer to the extent there is literally smoke coming out of it and the whole room smells like a chip shop.

Well, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but it seems that every other month there is some sort of security scare relating to Internet Explorer, and to be honest, it doesn’t surprise me. Prior to 2007, I had used Explorer for about eight years - since I first visited the Internet, actually. But that was at a time when it actually was (just about) the best browser to use.

Explorer the juggernaut

Ten years ago, you either used Netscape Navigator or Explorer, and the vast, vast majority of people used the latter. It wasn’t that Explorer was perfect, it was just that everyone had it. And when everyone had it, designers became lazy and formatted websites for Internet Explorer only (or, at least I did), leading to screwed up formatting on most other “minnow” browsers.

Thank goodness those days are over. Or, should that be, I long for the old days? In some ways, optimising pages to be viewed in a variety of browsers (think Opera, Chrome, Firefox etc.) makes the web designer’s job much harder. On the other hand, it stops the seemingly endless stream of bugs and security issues from sending the casual Internet browser into a blind rage at this week’s featured niggle.

The fall from grace

Internet Explorer is no longer the juggernaut it used to be, and I’ll tell you why. It’s because there is simply more choice available to the internet user these days, and these other options do the job just as well, if not better. Most importantly, they are free to download and run on your system - you don’t necessarily need a Windows OS to run them.

In the end, I switched from Explorer to Firefox. I still keep a copy of Explorer though, and I think I’ve found the perfect combination for me: have Firefox as the default, but use Explorer from time to time to test formatting and compatibility.

It can only be a good thing to have a number of alternative browsers as backup, but the best configuration is the one that works for you.

A few months ago I decided to take a trip to the local book shop in Wigan town centre, only to discover it had closed down. It was the last of such stores in existence within ten miles of my house, as the volunteer bookshop had shut a year earlier and the one in my own town over five years previous.

Now, when I want a book, I have to put up with Waterstones and WH Smiths, places of corporate worship and commercialised yakpoo. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great when you know exactly which book you want and it has recently been released, but try and get a book over four years old and you’re screwed.

Oh, where’s the dust?

I really miss the old bookshop. Tucked away in a backstreet behind the library, it really was a magical place - room upon small, dingy room of bookshelves, a dungeon of delight, all run by one bloke with a passion for books.

Deep in the depths of the store was a larger room in which you literally could not move as every windowshelf, every inch of carpet space was filled with unsorted books, just dumped there for people to browse.

You could spend an hour just exploring one pile and uncover hidden gems you really didn’t have the faintest idea existed. Books on everything, and the guy behind the counter knew every little corner of his store, where everything was kept, where even the most obscure book was located at any given point.

Selling out

No such homeliness at Waterstones. Sure, it’s got central heating, coffee stands and all that, and it’s good at what it does. But none of that is required in a bookshop. It needs to be a place you can explore, a place with character you can warm to and grow to love. Well, not literally, of course, as it was pretty cold in that old shop.

It really is sad that this British institution is dying out to the corporate machine.