Some self-serving links

I've got a couple of neat links to crow about: First off, Linux Journal has published an article I wrote a little while back, Dot Compost and the Danger to Your Privacy.  The inimitable Doc Searls also quotes me in his recent round-up of the LinuxWorld show which got some pickup (especially my remarks about Jabber) in Peter St. Andre's blog.

Oh, and Projectdocs is now #8 on the result page on a Google search for "Document Management System".  First result page, baby.  Watch out, #1.

Groove's Corporate Weblog Policy

Ray Ozzie, CEO of Groove Software, has had his counsel create a corporate policy regarding personal websites and weblogs.  I think this is a fantastic idea, and Ozzie has found a great balance between respecting each employee's rights to set up a web site and express his personal opinions, and the potential legal (e.g. SEC, NDA violation) and marketplace (e.g. bad PR, product preannouncement) risks that must be mitigated.

This is very forward thinking, and is also great PR for Ozzie and for Groove.  More CEOs should be blogging.

Roundup of the Starbucks/T-Mobile/HP announcements

There has been a lot of good coverage of the recent announcement of T-Mobile's (formerly VoiceStream, formerly Mobilestar) HotSpot rollout in 1200 locations.  By far, the best coverage is found at Glenn Fleishman's blog, 802.11b News. 

Oh, and it is great to see Steve Stroh blogging more frequently on broadband wireless issues.  I've added a link to his site over in the Links column.

The AOTC and you (and me)

For the last few months, I've been helping to build the American Open Technology Consortium and its sister organization, GeekPAC.  Well, last week, the rewritten AOTC website went up, and even though it is still rough around the edges (missing some content, etc), ther have been some great posts to the blog-oriented site.  If you're concerned about internet radio, digital rights management, laws allowing hollywood to hack into your computer, and the general loss of free speech and the elimination of the digital commons, !come to the site and consider becoming a member/donor, or at least add your voice is support or criticism.  We also have a mailing list that is updated whenever a new blog entry is posted, so you can easily stay up-to-date.

Robert Cringely is an idiot

Well, he's at it again.  Bob Cringely, after going out and making up a column earlier this year, he's decided that WiFi is dead, long live... HomePlug?  Hmmm.  OK, perhaps 802.11 wireless networks don't work everywhere, that's true.  And perhaps you can use a HomePlug-type device to act as a connection between WiFi APs on different sides of the house, but the fact of the matter is that 802.11 networking ain't going away.

Forget for the moment that 802.11 networking chips are already built into high end laptops, and that Intel is rolling 802.11 chips in its next generation of mobile chipsets.  Forget that WLAN shipments are up 15% last quarter, nah that stuff doesn't really mean anything, does it, Bob?

It almost makes you think that Cringely is just trolling for ideas - with the burden of writing a weekly column about technology, perhaps he's just hit the doldrums and is generating controversy just to generate controversy. (Thanks to Glenn for the link and initial commentary)

Singapore gets 180,000 square meter hotspot

StarHub, in association with iPass and GRIC, has revealed its 180,000 square meter hotspot in Suntec City.  It looks like the business model will be a simple WISP model with roaming offered through iPASS and GRIC,  but Wong Ah Long, the CEO of Suntec City Development is looking at it as a springboard, stating that the 802.11 public network will serve as a 'backbone' for Suntec City to explore the integration of General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and 3G technologies as well.

Thank you Doc Searls

Linuxworld Expo San Francisco was this week, and I had the privilege to host a good friend and prolific alpha blogger, Doc Searls.  Even though he works his ass off for Linux Journal, we still had time late at night and in the early morning to shoot the shit, and talk about things ranging from the future of Linux, Internet Radio, entrepreneurship, and how totally lame the show floor was.  It is actually kind of wierd - Linux has practically achieved our half-heartedly joked goal of world domination, but rather than exciting, it's actually kind of boring.  Kinda sad when the show floor is dominated by IBM, HPaq, AMD, and Intel, and no mid-sized companies, but hey, that's how it goes when a technology leaves the pioneering stage.  Still, I miss the quirky fun startups and their booths, like the Ximian jungle booth. 

Anyway, Doc added to his enormous karma by writing up his experiences with projectdocs, an online document management tool that I wrote last winter.  The place was flooded with new visitors today - more today than in the entire month of August so far - and I hope some stay around and use the service, and give feedback.

Thanks, Doc!