I'm holding out for the Automatic ATM Machine (into which one would type a Personal PIN Number).
- Seth
The whole term ATM seems like an anachronism: I imagine there are now young adults who have never, ever talked to a bank teller. They use the web and ATMs exclusively.
- DGentry
Does anyone else think of something other than Automatic Telling Machine when they see the acronym "ATM"? I think of something that ends in "Mouth"
- LANjackal
Perhaps you could add it to your library repository? If this is not possible, i will create a friendfeed-api-v2-php project on Google Code.
- Nikolai Kordulla
It's best to keep in your own repository so you can keep it up to date. I do plan on showcasing popular libraries though by linking to them from our repository :)
- Benjamin Golub
This sounds kinda like the movie, My Sassy Girl.
- imabonehead
That woman in "My Sassy Girl" was terrible! She treated the guy horribly. Xiaxue (author of this blog) was decent to her boyfriend.
- niniane
Sorta OT, but as long as we're talking about improbable romances set in Asia, have y'all ever seen anything from the "Densha Otoko" franchise?
- Andrew C
They are really a rudderless constituency the conventional G.O.P. leaders are not claiming the populist uprising either. Richard Viguerie makes a similar argument and takes the Republican establishment to task today on American Thinker. http://www.americanthinker.com/2009...
- Eric Logan
Seems like Chomsky's living in the past tho, there's very few factories to take over. They're in China now. Now it would be "take over retail distribution!" (e.g. Wal-mart) but that's being eroded by e-commerce as well and it's also not a solution to driving up real wages either. Most people are employed by small business now, so traditional unionized socialist organizing isn't very...
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- Ray Cromwell
"It's not elegant and it's not sexy – it looks like a large photocopier – but the Espresso Book Machine is being billed as the biggest change for the literary world since Gutenberg invented the printing press more than 500 years ago and made the mass production of books possible. Launching today at Blackwell's Charing Cross Road branch in London, the machine prints and binds books on demand in five minutes, while customers wait. Signalling the end, says Blackwell, to the frustration of being told by a bookseller that a title is out of print, or not in stock, the Espresso offers access to almost half a million books, from a facsimile of Lewis Carroll's original manuscript for Alice in Wonderland to Mrs Beeton's Book of Needlework. [...]"
- ianf ⌘
from Bookmarklet
Right now these machines cost a bundle, but, with economies of scale, can "One Hour Bookstores" be far behind? Goodbye print-on-demand, welcome print-on-a-whimsy cottage industry!
- ianf ⌘
The great question is why order from Amazon, when you could pop in and have it made up for you, whilst you wait.
- zeroinfluencer
Perhaps. It rather depends on the range (breadth) of genres and back-order titles in each venue. Traditional publishing is in many senses a license to print money, and so the industry isn't too keen on giving it up. If "Expressoed" copies turn out to be as costly as traditional ones, prospective buyers may opt for better "offline" quality from the big A. Then again, they may not... book...
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- ianf ⌘
Amazon has been using print-on-demand at their processing centers for a while to handle low-volume titles, the logical next step is for it to move out even closer to the end users. Its very similar to the fax machine actually: initially FedEx installed fax machines at their local offices and offered fax as a premium service, sending the fax across the country to the nearest FedEx office...
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- DGentry
Denton, indeed. Thus on-demand is not a product; imagine the use case: I'm about to take a journey. book a flight, it's long haul, so I order a book (profile & recommendations); the book stand at the airport prints it up for me ready for collection on the way through to departure lounge (or collect at departure as business service).
- zeroinfluencer
Yes, Denton, but there always will be that £175.000 threshold such a machine costs, which will limit frequency of their occurrence. Amazon may yet end up the winner, because of the economies of scale in distrubution, esp. if/ when beleaguered traditionals elect to lower their prices to stay afloat. It's tricky business really.
- ianf ⌘
Think of the remix capabilities too. Selection of chapters from different books. Pick and Mix editorial in a book format, lovely. Just in time + bespoke = everyone's happy.
- zeroinfluencer
You can dream, David, but this won't be happening for a long time yet. Simple reason, copyrights. As with daily newspapers where you have to buy it all, but nobody expects you to read it cover to cover, so books are largely made up of parts you will read, those that you might, and those you'll perhaps browse through (all too often, I am afraid). Publishers will not permit selling of just some topical chapters of interest to you, you'll have to buy all the "superfluous" ones as well. Alas.
- ianf ⌘
Bad analogy, also American-parochial one I'm afraid. You do not "subscribe" to chapters of books floating by, you buy a book whether you only intend to read the tasty bits on pages 92-101.
- ianf ⌘
I've been playing around with FriendFeed and this http://www.tabbloid.com/, to get nice productions as PDFs. The source of 'content' will depend on the open licence of creative commons BY-SA, and artists are getting to understand that. Stephen Fry on Twitter for example.
- zeroinfluencer
Consumption/use habits are based upon what the technology of the time allows/affords. DRM tried to play havoc with the watching experience.
- zeroinfluencer
Good concept but, unless you can freely mix-and-match, and you'll never be able to provide just that to general public, a niche product. Even if well executed one, as this seems to me. That said, I dislike PDFs just for the reason that they make potentially dynamic information static, and kowtow to absolute page extent aesthetics even on a screen.
- ianf ⌘
I've read about these "Things Our Friends Have Written On The Internet 2008" which is a niche product with an enormous production cost-to-distribution ratio. Author never says what they charged for the 1000 numbered copies, but I bet it was a bundle, £39.95? Only when there are fully automated tools to do that (perhaps a suitable application for Wolfram/Alpha?) could this become of use for the public @large...
- ianf ⌘
They never charged for the paper - it was an experiment / proof of concept - I've got a copy - it's lovely. Yes, nice inclusion for Alpha.
- zeroinfluencer
Nice (badly hidden envy), but it makes it even more of a vanity project. Tried to look it up on ebay (0 items found), and google for a copy for sale, without much success <http://google.com/search...>
- ianf ⌘
I live VERY CLOSE to this store. If I try it out, I'll take pictures and post!
- Zach Landes
Here's a movie of the EBM 2.0 in action <http://www.youtube.com/watch...>. Perhaps, for a change, you should just walk in, cup in hand, and ask for an "Espresso"? (refill optional). Then curse them loudly for misinforming the public (and photograph that instead!)
- ianf ⌘
I am actually seriously considering doing that. Good idea, ian
- Zach Landes
What would make this a real bonus is when they can come out with the color edition. Ok, so I am thinking comic books here, but what an awesome way for a small comic artist to do on demand comics.
- Dan Morrill AKA Techwag
Dan, all dandy, except it won't be happening, not in this iteration of EBM. It's strictly publisher-controlled selective-backlist only, no option to come in from the street with print-ready manuscript in hand and do a small print run. Or, should that eventually be on offer, it will be prohibitively expensive.
- ianf ⌘
Hold on, I need to amend the above. In the video at around 50 secs mark, it is claimed that the client CAN upload own file, either electronically or from a CD. That information hasn't been mentioned in any press report about it that I've read - so the EBM can be made to accept non-list matter, but perhaps it is up to the actual machine's owner (in this case either Blackwell's or some...
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- ianf ⌘
Meanwhile, there's a better quality (same as above promotional) video here <http://www.boston.com/video...> and a Boston Globe report of a local Espresso installation says this: »[the bookstore] wanted the new machine to connect the store’s customers to millions of book titles. That part of the business has developed slowly,...
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- ianf ⌘
[^*] an euphemism for "the publishers are demanding extraordinary sums for us making it possible for them to make money off their back catalogs. In effect they want us, the franchiser of the EBM, to commit to sell a minimum # copies/year of each title @ current in-print prices (or some such)."
- ianf ⌘
David, thanks for keeping me posted. It's not a light read though, so, before I embark on it later in the week (alas), could you please express it in High-Concept terms, e.g. what [physical size/ quality] "newspapers" you have in mind; and what this your "service to help people make their own newspapers" will be servicing: a single-point electronic drop-off box perhaps for client material - out comes a pack of 20-or-so 16-page tabloid papers prewrapped for dropping off a van at a stand?
- ianf ⌘
Hey Ian, It's not my project, I just know the guys behind it. (Sorry for the confusion - I mentioned it above as an example of what I was talking about - the process is dissimilar from Purefold). No idea how it's going to roll out - but it's a fine experiment to follow via their blog.
- zeroinfluencer
[December 2] Following up on a post from 27th of April—the Expresso Book Machine [aka #EBM] is prominently featured in this week's BBC World Click programme, a video of which is available for international online viewing, all 11m40s of it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2... “[Click: 27 November] How printing on demand services and the internet have enabled anyone to publish their books. Plus, a look at the latest eBook readers.”
- ianf ⌘
Thanks! Weirdly, I was thinking about this thread last night. How are you Ian?
- zeroinfluencer
"We're at a critical juncture in the evolution of software. The web is still here and it is still strong. Anyone can still put any information or applications on a web server without asking for permission, and anyone in the world can still access it just by typing a URL. I don't think I appreciated how important that is until recently. Nobody designs new systems like that anymore, or at least few of them succeed. What an incredible stroke of luck the web was, and what a shame it would be to let that freedom slip away. I do not wish to fight any mobile device makers who want to create a software ecosystem and act as the gatekeepers for that ecosystem. What I do want to fight for is the viability of the mobile web. Developers are rushing to create native apps, meanwhile letting their mobile web apps atrophy (I have certainly been guilty of that myself). Web technology is still relatively weak, and improving slowly. At this pace, what will the mobile web look like in 10 years? Will we...
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- Paul Buchheit
from Bookmarklet
But will Facebook stop working on iPhone apps just because of this? No. Neither will Google. Unfortunately, the big companies that have the clout to do something will not stand up for developer's rights, as long as the consumer insists on buying the iPhone and other such locked down devices.
- Piaw Na
In fairness to Google they are fighting for openness in the one conduit they control which is Android. Its asking a lot to expect them to completely boycott iPhone which would be their only other leverage with Apple.
- Ed Millard
Well, then I should expect Facebook to support Android, as well as all the other companies that have the resources to do so. :-)
- Piaw Na
Piaw, are you saying that facebook isn't supporting android? last i checked there was a facebook android app -- plus, this is just one guy's opinions, he does not speak for facebook (as far as i can tell)
- Chris Heath
Piaw, I'd imagine that Apple's non-approval of several Google apps has prompted Google to devote more resources to making superb Android apps (and yes, apps for the Pre and Blackberry) than iPhone. Where it really hurts is apps that have a hardware component. I don't know many/any developers willing to make consumer apps for the iPhone that require a hardware component because the rist...
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- Kevin Fox
I imagine Facebook is putting their resources in the ports their user base is demanding. The number of users they have on iPhone demands attention, and shorting it for reasons that are somewhat political probably isn't wise. With the growing popularity of Android it will probably warrant increased resources. Kind of sounds like Joe would rather make the web app work better and that would be more platform agnostic though its pretty hard to do a really exceptional mobile experience through a browser.
- Ed Millard
Is there a FB ad on Android? I switched from Android back to Blackberry earlier this year, but I definitely remember that there was no Android app before I switched.
- Piaw Na
I guess he's got his heart in the right place, but I can't get too worked up about this issue, not coming from the console game work, where all the platforms are locked down and always have been.
- Andrew C
from Android
I've never seen a major-label game be blocked from publication on a major platform for ambiguous and arbitrary reasons. Imagine if Modern Warfare 2 requires a patch to fix a hack and Microsoft decided to disallow it because they've decided that they don't want warfare scenes that take place within the United States? That's a fairer comparison.
- Kevin Fox
I have heard a few horror stories of games being rejected, or at least delayed, because the console manufacturer in question had its own strategic reasons for doing so (because they had a similar in-house game coming out, or because they thought there were too many similar games coming out at once). Not quite the same thing, but still a pretty dangerous situation if you're the developer.
- Joel Webber
Console platforms have a limited life (try playing the PS games on the PS3). Phone OS, however, look like they'll be around for the long term.
- Piaw Na
Joel, those reasons aren't ambiguous nor are they arbitrary.
- Chris Heath
They may not be literally arbitrary, but they are still opaque to the developer, and not in the developer's best interest. Not precisely the same thing (and probably less common), but close enough to bear mentioning.
- Joel Webber
Piaw, dude, you switched from Android to Blackberry? You are a man who loves outdated tools :)
- j1m
The switch was entirely based on my need for international roaming data plans at $20/month flat fee (this is on top of the standard fee, but the only time I *really need* data is when I'm roaming!). If any other smart phone came with that feature, I'd switch.
- Piaw Na
Joel, when an app is rejected at the time of a bugfix for reasons that existed in the released product for months, or when an app is rejected for an issue which exists in dozens of other apps that have been approved and a developer is shunned when bringing up this inconstant application of rules, then yes, I would call it arbitrary.
- Kevin Fox
Sorry, Kevin, wasn't being clear -- I was just responding to the assertion that console approval processes weren't as arbitrary as Apple's. I agree.-- Aplle's is even worse, and that's saying something!
- Joel Webber
There are two things here: multiple return and named return. You can have multiple return and de-structuring assignment without named return, e.g. foo() { return (a,b); } x,y = foo(); Many languages implement this. Some go further with and allow de-structuring assignments, like this swap operation: [a, b] = [b,a]. One thing that concerns me about this named return value stuff is that it...
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- Ray Cromwell
I love multiple return values, but the named return values seems a bit dodgy. In the example on your page, it looks nice, but I agree with Ray about the implications in a longer function.
- Joey Gibson
The problem with unnamed return values is that you don't know what order to put them in. How do you know if the GetNames function is supposed to be "return firstname, lastname" or "return lastname, firstname"? The solution is to name them so you can have "return {firstname=f, lastname=l}" and not have to worry that you got the order wrong.
- Gabe
That's a reasonable point, but then I would say that you shouldn't just have a 'naked return', but rather something like the syntax you wrote. Of course, it works both ways -- you could get the method parameters in the wrong order as well, so named parameters would help fix that. :)
- Ray Cromwell
Gabe - do you mean that if say "firstname, lastname = GetNames()" it will return "Robert, Felty", and if I say "lastname, firstname = GetNames()" it will return "Felty, Robert"?
- Robert Felty
Rob: Maybe something like "with GetNames() { fn, ln = .firstname, .lastname }"
- Gabe
That makes sense Gabe. What languages currently have a "with"?
- Robert Felty
The "with" statement goes back many decades. Pascal and similar languages (like Modula) have one, but it's more like Javascript's let statement. JS has a with statement, but it's almost too pointless to use. VB's with statement was the one I was approximating, and is probably the best syntax for one. Ada has a with statement, but it's for importing packages, so it's nothing like in the other languages I described.
- Gabe
Hm, Pascal's "with" works exacly like JS's one, AFAIR.
- Alex Kapranoff
Alex, it seems you are right. It's been decades since I've used Pascal, and misremembered.
- Gabe
Also, Python's with statement (new for 2.6) is actually more like C#'s using. Actually, C# has a few different ways of using "using". One way is to import a package into your namespace, like Ada's with statement. Another way is to declare a variable to be initialized at the beginning of a block and make sure it is destroyed at the end of the block, like Python's with statement.
- Gabe
""Meb's fellow competitors voiced their doubts about him immediately after the event," NYRR president Mary Wittenberg said. "In addition to his remarkable speed, unusual race-day height, and distinctive 'clip-clop' gait, Keflezighi's frequent nickering caused the other runners to speculate that he may have been using a horse in some fashion." Added Wittenberg, "Also, just before the start, he lifted up his tail and loudly deposited a 9-inch-high pile of steaming fecal matter on the pavement, an unusual occurrence even in the world of long-distance running.""
- Ana
from Bookmarklet
Awesome. But, er, I am reminded of that article I saw on FF just a while ago about how humans are particularly well-suited to long-distance running... </nerd>
- Andrew C
Yes, horses won't win a marathon. They are great sprinters, but can't run for 26 miles.
- Gabe
Er, 9-inch-high pile of fecal matter? Why did they measure the height? :)
- Space Cowboy
Manuel, I think the dev version of Chrome had a crashing bug with --enable-sync . I uninstalled and reinstalled and that fixed it.
- Matt Cutts
from iPhone
"It's believed the new technology will cost much more than normal print ads." Worth noting that this is simply an assumption right now. Vigorous price modeling still needed to confirm if new video technology costs more than ink.
- jack
Seems backwards, right? Print should be moving online. We shouldn't be moving online video into print.
- Jess Lee
In the isolated beauty of the Canadian lakes, this couple thought it was safe to take a holiday snap without a stranger wandering into shot. But they hadn't reckoned on this curious interloper deciding to steal the limelight.
- Emma
from Bookmarklet
Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters Volume 1: A Revolutionary New Way to Learn and Remember the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters - http://www.amazon.com/dp...