David Geer Talks Tech
Sunday, June 26, 2005
RSS in Longhorn, Longhorn late, RSS in Longhorn late Courtesy of http://www.GeerCom.com.
Geer Communications - your on time technology writer!
Welcome!
And from the #1 hit some time today on Google news sci/tech ...
Uh, so RSS is just going to be all over Longhorn, according to this report at SitePunch:RSS in Longhorn.
The problem is that Longhorn is already late (MSFT late with Longhorn) and in order to get it here even by late 2006 it will reportedly be much stripped down from the initially promised wonder that it was to be. On top of that, we know that every new MSFT OS is fraught with bugs at least until Service Pack 1.
So here's the real news. After RSS is far more entrenched than it is now, MSFT will come late to the game with an OS no one will want until they shove it down our throats as they did with Windows XP. This OS will debut with bugs and customer dissatisfaction, and its RSS features will likely have bugs of their own.
We have RSS now outside of MSFT. But, MSFT must rule in all things popular and so they will pull RSS into the OS. But, what is the point?
To be frank, I'm just getting into this blogging thing and having tried RSS I don't personally find a use for it. (For those who disagree, I do make this blog available via RSS; just because I would never use RSS doesn't mean I shouldn't service those who do.)
To me, RSS is kind of like Day Runners. The reasoning goes like this: I can't remember anything so I must take time from my busy schedule to write it down in my Day Runner, which costs me time but doesn't save me any.
Then, despite my supposedly poor memory, which forced me to get a Day Runner in the first place, I'm supposed to remember to check my Day Runner every day, hour, whatever, which of course won't happen, but if it did, would cost me all the more time. I lose more time dealing with the Day Runner than I do by some occasional forgetfulness, being late, missing a meeting once in a blue moon and so on.
Instead of getting a crutch, er, Day Runner, I/we should perhaps cut back on the juice (alcohol), get more rest, eat more brain food like fish and do crossword puzzles and memory exercises to keep the mind sharp.
In the same way, rather than being bombarded with RSS feeds all day that I feel obligated to check having committed to using the service, I simply Google for exactly what I need, only when I need it. Anything beyond that seems impractical to me. Now that's said with respect to knowledge - information alone - and RSS feeds in particular, which spoon-feed us information.
In the larger picture, blogs seem to carry a certain amount of emotional attachment, investment in a community, networking potential, opinion gathering and so on. For that, they are invaluable. So, my personal choice is blogs, yes, when I need them, and RSS feeds, no.
To finish my point, in Longhorn MSFT may well be offering us an under whelming OS that itself will be overwhelmed by the RSS equivalent of a poorly constructed Day Runner, a solution looking for a problem, while creating problems of its own.
So, the old news about Longhorn is no news and the new news about RSS feeds in Longhorn is no news either. 'Care to differ? (Pardon me if I'm feeling somewhat shockjockish today - new word, love it -, but bring it on. 'Got comments? Let's hear 'em.)
Best Regards,
David Geer - your on time technology writer!
Geer Communications
Geer Communications - your on time technology writer!
Welcome!
And from the #1 hit some time today on Google news sci/tech ...
Uh, so RSS is just going to be all over Longhorn, according to this report at SitePunch:RSS in Longhorn.
The problem is that Longhorn is already late (MSFT late with Longhorn) and in order to get it here even by late 2006 it will reportedly be much stripped down from the initially promised wonder that it was to be. On top of that, we know that every new MSFT OS is fraught with bugs at least until Service Pack 1.
So here's the real news. After RSS is far more entrenched than it is now, MSFT will come late to the game with an OS no one will want until they shove it down our throats as they did with Windows XP. This OS will debut with bugs and customer dissatisfaction, and its RSS features will likely have bugs of their own.
We have RSS now outside of MSFT. But, MSFT must rule in all things popular and so they will pull RSS into the OS. But, what is the point?
To be frank, I'm just getting into this blogging thing and having tried RSS I don't personally find a use for it. (For those who disagree, I do make this blog available via RSS; just because I would never use RSS doesn't mean I shouldn't service those who do.)
To me, RSS is kind of like Day Runners. The reasoning goes like this: I can't remember anything so I must take time from my busy schedule to write it down in my Day Runner, which costs me time but doesn't save me any.
Then, despite my supposedly poor memory, which forced me to get a Day Runner in the first place, I'm supposed to remember to check my Day Runner every day, hour, whatever, which of course won't happen, but if it did, would cost me all the more time. I lose more time dealing with the Day Runner than I do by some occasional forgetfulness, being late, missing a meeting once in a blue moon and so on.
Instead of getting a crutch, er, Day Runner, I/we should perhaps cut back on the juice (alcohol), get more rest, eat more brain food like fish and do crossword puzzles and memory exercises to keep the mind sharp.
In the same way, rather than being bombarded with RSS feeds all day that I feel obligated to check having committed to using the service, I simply Google for exactly what I need, only when I need it. Anything beyond that seems impractical to me. Now that's said with respect to knowledge - information alone - and RSS feeds in particular, which spoon-feed us information.
In the larger picture, blogs seem to carry a certain amount of emotional attachment, investment in a community, networking potential, opinion gathering and so on. For that, they are invaluable. So, my personal choice is blogs, yes, when I need them, and RSS feeds, no.
To finish my point, in Longhorn MSFT may well be offering us an under whelming OS that itself will be overwhelmed by the RSS equivalent of a poorly constructed Day Runner, a solution looking for a problem, while creating problems of its own.
So, the old news about Longhorn is no news and the new news about RSS feeds in Longhorn is no news either. 'Care to differ? (Pardon me if I'm feeling somewhat shockjockish today - new word, love it -, but bring it on. 'Got comments? Let's hear 'em.)
Best Regards,
David Geer - your on time technology writer!
Geer Communications
