August 2005 Archives

Ooo – this could be what I’ve been looking for – FolderShare: a lightweight replacement for synchronising files. I’ve been using Groove to try and keep some semblance of information organisation between the 3 computers I use regularly, but Groove File Sync is slow, resource heavy and feels clunky, and there’s no OS X client. Also, it now supports MSN Desktop Search, so you can basically search any of your computers for information.

Wow – getting closer to my dream of one big bowl of distributed information soup.

[Update – D’oh – can’t get to the FolderShare website at work – SurfControl lists it as a proxy / peer to peer site. Frustrating, and yet so typical. I won’t even bother to try and work around it – just resign myself to not having files and information where I need them and when.] 

[via Omar Shahine]

Hooray – Audioscrobbler is back – now rebranded as part of last.fm, and a nice new look. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something very compelling about keeping track of what music you’re listening to. Not to mention exploring other people’s listening habits and seeing who listens to the same kind of stuff, and what else they like.

Steve Rubel links to some news that one of the Discovery astronauts has transmitted the first podcast from space. Sorry – but it's nothing of the sort, unless a podcast now means any kind of audio file available over the internet – which, of course, it doesn't. The USP of podcasting is the automation – subscribing to a feed and relatively simple transfer to a music player. Downloading an mp3 file over the internet isn't the same as podcasting.

This is nice – Hill & Knowlton (a corporate comms agency) are encouraging their employees to blog – as long as they can pass a short test.

Lots of good stuff here, including a portal to aggregate postings from all H&K blogs.

Their blogging code of practice echoes most of the good ones out there.

1. I will acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly
2. I will preserve the original post, using notations to show where I have made changes 
3. I will never delete a post 
4. I will not delete comments unless they are spam or off-topic 
5. I will disclose conflicts of interest (including client relationships) where I am able to do so 
6. I will not publish anything that breaches my existing employment contract 
7. I will distinguish between factual information/commentary and advertising 
8. I will never publish information I know to be inaccurate 
9. I will disagree with other opinions respectfully 
10. I will link to online references and original source materials directly 
11. I will strive for high quality with every post - including basic spellchecking 
12. I will write deliberately and with accuracy 
13.  I will reply to emails and comments when appropriate, and do so promptly 
14.  I will restrict my posting to professional topics 
15.  I will write on a regular basis, at least once each week