Monthly Archives: May 2004

The Internet is Messy – But Why Make It Obvious?

To hear it told by Ping Identity Vice President of Strategic Marketing Eric Norlin, “the Net’s gettin’ messy”:

“The bottom line is this: the sundry schemes, scams, and shams that now dominate the Net are quickly dragging us toward a future where the Net as we know it is basically unusable. Put plainly: the Net’s getting messy.”

He goes on to argue that the Internet is simply a step in the evolution of networks. If that’s true, what comes next? I’ve been studying one possible answer as part of my computer science curriculum: the Semantic Web, as proposed by Tim Berners-Lee, the original creator of the World Wide Web. As glossy as the Semantic Web sounds, though, it’s not good enough to serve as the next step up. It was always intended to coexist with the WWW, not replace it.

We can make all the claims we want and point out the obvious — the Internet is becoming harder and harder to navigate and manage on a personal level. But making these claims is a lot like announcing that you’re offering something that you aren’t really offering: while it adds insight, it does nothing to solve the problem. If someone’s finally tired of the Internet the way it is, start trying to come up with ideas as to how to fix it or replace the current technology so that it actually makes sense. Patching a problem temporarily only delays the leak later on (and may, in fact, make the leak much larger).

The Internet may be aging, but there’s nothing else stepping up as a better alternative with higher security, better features for commerce, or more intuitive interfaces. Go invent something great. Make a ton of money selling it as the next big thing. Griping about it won’t get any of us anywhere.

(For more information on the Semantic Web, you can check out the Semantic Web Colloquium series, held weekly at The Evergreen State College from March 30 to May 25, 2004.)

Slowly (Not a Remake of The Little Engine That Could)

I’m making progress. Slow, agonizing, molasses-like progress, but still progress.

One small detail: a computer architecture midterm has now been assigned, but isn’t due until Monday. Thank the Gods (Roman, of course). That makes it somewhat easier to avoid it entirely until the end of the week, though it will mean spending yet another weekend studying like Armageddon were hot on my tail (in the case of the Discrete Math midterm, that’s not far off…)

I can’t decide if I feel more like this, like this, or like this. (Side note: yup, those links are pointless.. but they’re evocative!)

Homework and Warm Temperatures

Yum, it’s been a really busy weekend. Lotsa studying, as indicated by my last post. Oh, and LAUNDRY! Wheee…. What fun, fun, fun.

I would like to take a moment to point out that not having air conditioning in dormitories, while it saves a ton of money, does nothing for creature comfort. It’s been around the low-to-mid 70 degree (Fahrenheit) range for at least the last three or four days, meaning that I’ve had my window open and my fan going constantly in order to maintain any hope of keeping cool while I do all this work. I have no idea whether moving off campus next year will make for more comfort in the warmer months, though. We’ll find out.

Still remaining for homework:

  • Computer Architecture: Review next week’s problems (Wed)
  • Discrete Math: Section 6.1 Homework Problems (Tue)

    Discrete Math: Midterm (Thu)

  • Java Programming: Lower Division Programming Homework (Mon)

    Java Programming: Upper Division Programming Homework (Mon)

    Java Programming: Lower Division Programming Lab (Thu)

  • Seminar: Research Paper Final Outline (Wed)

    Seminar: Research Paper Working Draft (Fri)

I’ve decided that I will most assuredly be dead to the world come Thursday.

Overload! Danger, Will Robinson!

Midterms. Yeech.

Just so you know exactly how much work I’m stuck with:

  • Computer Architecture: Homework Problems (Mon)

    Computer Architecture: Review next week’s problems (Wed)

  • Discrete Math: Reading Section 6.1 (Mon)

    Discrete Math: Section 6.1 Homework Problems (Tue)

    Discrete Math: Midterm (Thu)

  • Java Programming: Lower Division Programming Homework (Mon)

    Java Programming: Upper Division Programming Homework (Mon)

    Java Programming: Lower Division Programming Lab (Thu)

  • Seminar: 50-60 pgs. Reading (Tue)

    Seminar: Research Paper Final Outline (Wed)

    Seminar: Research Paper Working Draft (Fri)

And it’s only week 6. Just another month or so left… Yay…