Richard BF link blog

Tuesday, 5th January 2010

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:43:24 GMT

Fat cat bosses and shareholders drink the same cream
Never in the history of the free market have shareholders complained because their shares increased too much. In the end, the fury about corporate salaries is simply an expression of unfulfilled greed - this time not by directors, but by shareholders.

Thursday, 5th November 2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:41:51 GMT

Big Content: Using "moral panics" to change copyright law

Tuesday, 21st July 2009

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:45:49 GMT

Best Practices for Peer Code Review

Monday, 13th July 2009

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:49:32 GMT

Marginal Utility
"In economics, the marginal utility of a good or of a service is the utility of the specific use to which an agent would put a given increase in that good or service, or of the specific use that would be abandoned in response to a given decrease. In other words, marginal utility is the utility of the marginal use which, on the assumption of economic rationality, would be the least urgent use of the good or service, from the best feasible combination of actions in which its use is included. Under the mainstream assumptions, the marginal utility of a good or service is the posited quantified change in utility obtained by increasing or by decreasing use of that good or service."

Tuesday, 30th June 2009

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:20:16 GMT

Irrational markets: people reject free money out of anger
The Ultimatum Game, in which test subjects respond to take-it-or-leave-it offers, has allowed psychologists to explore how humans handle issues like fairness and punishment. But a new study shows some people attempt to punish even when the rules of the game are stacked in a way that makes it impossible.

Wednesday, 10th June 2009

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:45:09 GMT

Canadian ISPs avoid "Canadian content" regulations
Canada's telecoms regulator has concluded that Internet audio and video does count as "broadcasting" and could therefore be regulated like a TV or radio stationcomplete with levies to subsidize Canadian content. But the regulator has decided to exempt the Internet from the rules... for now.
Lawyers plan class-action to reclaim "$100M+" RIAA "stole"
Lawyers in this year's two highest-profile file-sharing cases have joined forces, and they plan to file a class-action lawsuit against the recording industry later this summer to claw back the "$100+ million" that the RIAA "stole."

Thursday, 28th May 2009

Thu, 28 May 2009 03:17:39 GMT

Migrate apps from Internet Explorer to Mozilla

Tuesday, 19th May 2009

Tue, 19 May 2009 03:50:35 GMT

Nesson speaks: Inside P2P's "David v. Goliath" story
"[..] Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson explains why justice compelled him to take on the Joel Tenenbaum file-sharing case, why the RIAA's legal tactics are unacceptable, and how he hopes to take down the music industry 'Goliath.'"
Enabling Internet Tethering via Optus/Virgin/Vodafone/Telstra on iPhone OS 3.0
"The following instructions are intended for members of the Apple Developer Connection (ADC), running an iPhone with a developer version of the iPhone OS 3.0 software. This guide also only provides Australian carrier settings for Telstra, Vodafone and Optus (plus resellers like Virgin), but if you follow the link to Crunchgear in the first step there are instructions on downloading and modifying the carrier setting bundles."
Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors
"Unfortunately, the only way to get a definitive answer on whether a particular use is a fair use is to have it resolved in federal court. Judges use four factors in resolving fair use disputes, which are discussed in detail below."
Open Database Alliance hedges against Oracle plans for MySQL
"Key stakeholders in the MySQL development community are joining together to turn the tables on Oracle and select a distinctly brighter future for the project. This fifth column will create a unique new order, where inclusiveness and community-driven development replace the arbitrary constraints of top-down development. We queried Kurt von Finck, one of the members of the MariaDB inner circle, to learn more about the group's plans."
Real: studios, DVD-CCA "illegal cartel" squeeze out fair use
"RealNetworks says that the DVD Copy Control Association and the movie studios have conspired to prevent anyone else from entering the fair use DVD market, and that they have illegally banded together to refuse appropriate licenses to third parties. The RealDVD case is clearly heating up, and Real looks like it won't go down without a fight."
Harvard prof tells judge that P2P filesharing is "fair use"
Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson is headed to federal court this summer to defend an accused file-swapper, and he plans to mount a novel defense: P2P sharing is simply "fair use."

Sunday, 17th May 2009

Sat, 16 May 2009 14:20:27 GMT

Mac OS X Leopard: Designers Guide to Icons
Gorgeous, artistic icons are an important part of the Mac OS user experience. Users expect beautiful icons that tell an applications story in a clear and memorable way.

Saturday, 16th May 2009

Sat, 16 May 2009 09:44:19 GMT

Are you app-noxious?
"iPhone, other mobile apps can turn enthusiasts into annoying know-it-alls"

Wednesday, 29th April 2009

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:56:37 GMT

Why CSS should not be used for layout
"CSS is really cool. It is useful for a lot of things. The basic idea of separating content from presentation is sound. But when it comes to layout, the design of CSS is fundamentally flawed."
Effective Keyword Use as an SEO Ranking Factor - The Most Important SEO Factors
"Having done the research and analysis, here are the most important SEO factors, from the highest priority to the lowest."

Sunday, 26th April 2009

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:55:02 GMT

Facebook, YouTube at Work Make Better Employees: Study

Saturday, 18th April 2009

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:59:06 GMT

All about Linux swap space

Wednesday, 15th April 2009

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:12:18 GMT

How To Improvise Shakespeare

Tuesday, 3rd February 2009

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:22:09 GMT

Wednesday, 3rd December 2008

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:15:11 GMT

Global Green Solar Report Cards
The Next Wave of Nuclear Proliferation
This articles concern, accordingly, is with what a globally expanded use of nuclear energy would mean for nuclear proliferation specifically (as opposed to the issues of nuclear waste disposal or the risk of catastrophic accident, which also merit serious consideration), and this topic as it centers on state actors (rather than nonstate actors such as terrorist groups).

Monday, 24th November 2008

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:18:42 GMT

Why Blogger Is No Good For Business Blogging

Wednesday, 30th July 2008

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:03:05 GMT

JSON and Browser Security
[..] Be aware however that the eval function is extremely unsafe. If there is the slightest chance that the server is not encoding the JSON correctly, then use the parseJSON method instead. The parseJSON method uses a regular expression to ensure that there is nothing dangerous in the text. The next edition of JavaScript will have parseJSON built in. For now, you can get parseJSON at http://www.JSON.org/json.js. [..]
The Rise of "Worse is Better"
[..] The right thing is frequently a monolithic piece of software, but for no reason other than that the right thing is often designed monolithically. That is, this characteristic is a happenstance. [..] The lesson to be learned from this is that it is often undesirable to go for the right thing first. It is better to get half of the right thing available so that it spreads like a virus. Once people are hooked on it, take the time to improve it to 90% of the right thing. [..]

Monday, 30th June 2008

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:21:58 GMT

Pre-eclampsia
A medical condition where hypertension arises in pregnancy (pregnancy-induced hypertension) in association with significant amounts of protein in the urine. Because pre-eclampsia refers to a set of symptoms rather than any causative factor, it is established that there are many different causes for the syndrome. It also appears likely that there is a substance or substances from the placenta that may cause endothelial dysfunction in the maternal blood vessels of susceptible women.[1] While blood pressure elevation is the most visible sign of the disease, it involves generalized damage to the maternal endothelium and kidneys and liver, with the release of vasopressive factors only secondary to the original damage.

Saturday, 2nd February 2008

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:57:31 GMT

Does Background Music Impact Computer Task Performance?
Summary: The effects of music on performance on a computer-mediated problem-solving task were examined. Participants completed the task in anonymous dyads as they were exposed to either Classical music, Punk music, or No Music. Results indicate that those in the Classical music condition performed better on the problem solving-task than those in the Punk music or No Music conditions. However, those listening to the Classical music offered more off-task comments during the task than those listening to No Music. Implications for website designers are discussed.
Music while you work: the differential distraction of background music on the cognitive test performance of introverts and extraverts
"The current study looked at the distracting effects of pop music on introverts' and extraverts' performance on various cognitive tasks. It was predicted that there would be a main effect for music and an interaction effect with introverts performing less well in the presence of music than extraverts. Ten introverts and ten extraverts were given two tests (a memory test with immediate and delayed recall and a reading comprehension test), which were completed, either while being exposed to pop music, or in silence. The results showed that there was a detrimental effect on immediate recall on the memory test for both groups when music was played, and two of the three interactions were significant. After a 6-minute interval the introverts who had memorized the objects in the presence of the pop music had a significantly lower recall than the extraverts in the same condition and the introverts who had observed them in silence. The introverts who completed a reading comprehension task when music was being played also performed significantly less well than these two groups. These findings have implications for the study habits of introverts when needing to retain or process complex information."
The Psychology of Behaviour at Work: The Individual in the Organisation
Research into the role of music in the work place. "...score in a reading comprehension test were significantly higher in a 'low information-load music' condition than either a slient condition or a 'high information-load music' condition, where 'information load' was measured by tonal range, repetition and rhythmic complexity."

Friday, 7th December 2007

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:39:19 GMT

Sunset Blvd (quotes)
Joe Gillis: Audiences don't know somebody sits down and writes a picture; they think the actors make it up as they go along.

Thursday, 6th December 2007

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:59:21 GMT

The Power of Non Verbal Communication
U.C.L.A. Psychologist and researcher Albert Mehrabian illustrated the impact and importance of non verbal language in his 1967 investigation of how people communicate. Mehrabians research shows that 7% of the meaning of communication comes from verbal elements (or words), 36% comes from vocal elements (tone, pitch, rate, etc....), and 55% comes from non verbal elements (posture, expression, etc....).

Thursday, 25th October 2007

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:30:41 GMT

The Ethics of Erasing a Bad Memory
Questions of withholding bad news, wiping out bad memories plastering over wayward cracks in our minds with chemicals are answered thousands of times everyday, without ever being asked.

Tuesday, 11th September 2007

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 05:06:00 GMT

A cognitive analysis of tagging
(or how the lower cognitive cost of tagging makes it popular) Or tagging vs. categorising.

Monday, 10th September 2007

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:22:30 GMT

Christopher Volger's archetypes

Saturday, 8th September 2007

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 01:54:28 GMT

No dissent in the chicken coop - and that's an order

Wednesday, 29th August 2007

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:54:43 GMT

A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection

Sunday, 17th June 2007

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 12:30:07 GMT

Bookmarks in WordProcessingML

Wednesday, 30th May 2007

Wed, 30 May 2007 04:50:18 GMT

Software Development at Microsoft Observed: Its about people ... working together
"To understand Microsoft developers' typical tools and work habits and their level of satisfaction with these, we performed two surveys and eleven interviews with developers across all business divisions. This report provides a summary of the resulting data."

Friday, 25th May 2007

Thu, 24 May 2007 14:15:31 GMT

Flash encoding for Mac using ffmpeg

Thursday, 24th May 2007

Thu, 24 May 2007 12:35:00 GMT

The rise of Flash video

Friday, 16th March 2007

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 01:03:37 GMT

Why this revolution will be televised
Al Gore's announcement of Current TV in the UK. Great spiel on the new media revolution.
Stand alone Mac svn server

Sunday, 11th March 2007

Sat, 10 Mar 2007 14:00:16 GMT

Maya Angelou
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Thursday, 1st March 2007

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:01:23 GMT

On having layout
A lot of Internet Explorer's rendering inconsistencies can be fixed by giving an element "layout".

Wednesday, 24th January 2007

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:21:34 GMT

The Hypertext d20 SRD (v3.5 d20 System Reference Document)

Saturday, 13th January 2007

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 05:24:22 GMT

Insultmonger - swearing in german
Otto and Henrik's personal dictionary.

Friday, 17th November 2006

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:20:44 GMT

How To Mend It

Monday, 13th November 2006

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 02:46:49 GMT

Christopher Vogler's Hero's Journey structural diagram

Wednesday, 8th November 2006

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:44:29 GMT

Australia: Hold the CAB!
Fast-tracking of the new Copyright Amendment Bill through Australian Parliament.
Browser size does matter - Actual numbers

Wednesday, 25th October 2006

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 04:56:13 GMT

Lil' Bush

Monday, 16th October 2006

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:21:35 GMT