Yak Facts Issue #2: Funkadelic
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Yak Facts 9 October, 1998
Issue #2 Funkadelic
************************************************************In This Week's Issue:
- One Down
- Microsoft Hype
- On the Web
- Call to Action
- This Week in Be Dope
- Credits
One Down
Well thanks to everyone who sent feedback on last week's first-ever issue. So far, no one has unsubscribed so I'll take that as a positive sign. If you're just joining us, you missed some cool stuff, but I'm working on an auto-response system that will let you request past issues. Sit tight.
Microsoft Hype
Astute readers have pointed out I don't make fun of Microsoft on Be Dope as much as I used to. This is true. I stopped because I found it was way too easy. But when things like the Microsoft Phone come along, I just can't resist.
I only hope Be can start generating one-tenth the press coverage Microsoft gets whenever it scratches its left toe. Here's a phone that costs one-fifth that of a the computer its connected to, that I have to leave my computer on all day to use and that no doubt takes up hundreds of megs of hard drive space to operate.
As well all know, leaving your computer on all day while running Windows is not the way to a crash-free life. Yet, news stories praise this device as a miracle of innovation just short of telepathy.
Despite this, I predict this phone will be a success as insecure office managers everywhere are pressured into purchasing this phone by empty -headed managers.
To date, Microsoft has announced its own blend of coffee, an English dictionary and now a phone. Now add in WebTV and all the Microsoft software. Does this trend disturb anyone else?
According to information leaked to Be Dope by friends inside the Redmond Collective, the lunacy will not stop there. Here are some announcements coming down the wire soon:
MS News. Microsoft is looking to acquire USA Today so as to be in complete control of the lowest-common-denominator news that makes it into the hands of millions each day. Since USA Today is already light on content and big on colorful pictures and meaningless words, industry insiders predict this match-up to be successful.
MS TV. With Disney speaking out against MS lately, Bill Gates is more anxious than ever to gain control of a TV network and run them into the ground. Several television pilots in development give new meaning to the term "product placement". Critics have denounced the shows as "plotless drivel" but concede people will watch them. Why? Because they are on. They point to most of the shows on the WB and UPN networks as evidence.
MS Sneakers. Celebrity endorsement combined with ultra-slick marketing and under-cutting of prices will corner the sneaker market for Microsoft. Since sneaker designs go obsolete even faster than computer hardware, kids will use the inferior workmanship of the sneakers as an excuse to keep up with the latest fashion trends as the footwear falls apart every few months.
MS Porn. This is one area where Microsoft is not making any progress in, due to trouble with focusing on multiple tasks at once and the inability to sustain high-performance activity for any significant length of time before crashing.
On The Web
Today saw the launch of Be View (http://www.beview.com/), which combines several existing Be sites (BeOS Central, Be Leading Edge, BeOS Tipserver and BeFunk) into a clearinghouse for Be news, opinion, reviews, tutorials, tips and more.
Go check it out. There is an article by me entitled "No More Holy Wars, Part I," plus articles from Scot Hacker and others. Give them feedback. Be sure to tell them white text on yellow is not particularly pleasing to the eye.
And remember, Just Say No to deceptive alien entities: http://www.olywa.net/V2/V2.html
Call to Action
If you're not familiar with the RC5 effort, read about it here: http://beoscentral.com/beosc/rc5/index.shtml
Team BeOS Central needs a rally. So if you're not signed up already, install the client on your machine and be sure to leave it on at nights and weekends, or whenever you're not using it.
And no one says you have to be running the BeOS to join the team. Dedicating computer cycles from *any* idle system shows your support for the BeOS.
So, for example, if you work in an office where many 300 MHz machines go to waste as your co-workers use it merely to play with Excel spreadsheets, what harm would there be in installing the RC5 client to run transparently in the background every time they start their machine? They won't notice. And those machines are certainly sitting idly all night since their owners bolt for the door at 4.59pm.
Or, if you happen to be working in a college or university computer lab, might there be a server or two with permanent connections to the Internet that are not being used to their full potential? What a waste.
And I'm certain you government workers reading must know of some high -powered servers sitting around somewhere dusty from neglect. Fire them up.
If you don't want the cycles reporting back to your email address, feel free to use editor@bedope.com in the configuration. Be sure to follow the directions and get the team affiliation correct! And even if you only hook up your own machine, you'll make a difference.
That link again: http://beoscentral.com/beosc/rc5/index.shtml
This Week In Be Dope
There's a new interview with ABiSoft's Seth Flaxman. In my opinion anyone cranking out quality BeOS code and shipping products by the time they are twelve kicks ass. I don't even remember what I was doing when I was twelve.
Also, Be's response to the much-hyped Microsoft Phone, the true origins of the Leonid Meteor shower and why you need to learn to play clarinet before you can use Mozart Paint.
Credits!
Editor, Writer, Juggler: Mike Popovic
Copyeditor: None, obviously
Yak Facts is published more-or-less on a weekly basis.
Be Dope is conveniently located at http://www.bedope.com/ and 550 on your AM dial.
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All content Copyright 1998 Mike Popovic except where noted otherwise. You may not reuse, reprint, repost or otherwise fondle said content without my permission. This especially includes you Be news site folks. If someone wants to know what's going on here, they have to subscribe. Feel free to say something like "The Be Dope newsletter went out today and it was fantastic! So go subscribe at http://www.bedope.com/newsletter/"
That said, you are free to forward this newsletter, IN ITS ENTIRITY to someone as an encouragement for them to subscribe.
This and that.
