Web-based RSS aggregators for intranets By Nic Price on 13 January 2006 — 1 min read Just wondering… does anyone anywhere know of a webserver-based RSS aggregator that will run on an intranet? Commercial, open-source, it doesn’t matter at the moment, I’m just interested to know what’s available. It would help people share both internal and external feeds (subscription lists). I’ve searched high and low but so far to no avail.... More
For the record By Nic Price on 7 January 2006 — 1 min read A search for a definition of the currently much- (some say over-) used word mashup takes you to this wikipedia disambiguation page (i.e. it has more than one meaning) which then leads to the following: Mashup (music) redirects you to this definition: Bastard pop is a musical genre which, in its purest form, consists of... More
Who pays for fraud? By Nic Price on 25 November 2005 — 1 min read Fraud has hit the headlines again in the last couple of days after recent statistics revealed it cost the UK £16bn last year. I’ve just been the victim of fraud after my bank card and PIN for the current account I’m opening were intercepted before they reached me. Those responsible managed to withdraw several hundred... More
When is a photo not a photo? By Nic Price on 24 November 2005 — 1 min read When it’s of an illustration according to Flickr. Monkstyle.net who’s been posting illustrations to Flickr says: I noticed a while ago that when I searched for photos using tags on flickr, that my photos weren’t showing. After checking through the Flickr faqs I discovered that this is because I have been marked as ‘NIPSA’ [Not... More
Is “one size fits all” ever true? By Nic Price on 21 November 2005 — 1 min read Can you think of an example of something that exists in one size and one size only and is manufactured for one purpose? I can’t. Yet. Some suggestions talking to colleagues (and my uber-pedantic reasons why they don’t count): Red Nose – they make them for cars too Earrings – I reckon they do different... More
Magazine dates question By Nic Price on 15 November 2005 — 1 min read Why do some magazine publishers bring out the January 2006 issue in November 2005? So far, after a little searching, I’ve found this explanation from someone called Andy Walton in December 2000: I see it as yet another form of the “the other guy does it, so I have to” marketing phenomenon. If you’re at... More
What’s a great question? By Nic Price on 18 October 2005 — 1 min read If someone says “That’s a great question” – is that because they have an answer to it or because it’s a great question? [Edit] I should clarify… I was thinking of interviews I’ve heard on the radio or seen on tv. I can’t remember hearing or seeing an interviewee say “Now that’s a great question”... More
Who decides what makes a photo interesting? By Nic Price on 5 August 2005 — 1 min read A couple of days ago Flickr introduced an interestingness algorithm (much of which they’re keeping a secret). So now you can see your photos according to views, favourites, comments and interestingness. More
Google map pins – joining the dots By Nic Price on 30 June 2005 — 1 min read Several times recently I’ve been describing walks and runs to people and thought wouldn’t it be great to be able to plot them out on the amazing Google maps service. It already does a great job with routes from A to B (say East Dulwich to Marylebone High Street – my current daily bicycle commute).... More