To find out what visitors to your site are up to, you can either do it yourself with log analysers or save yourself the trouble and outsource the analysis problem. The pros and cons of each approach are complex enough that neither solution is the best in general - it all depends on the site and how it is used.
After finding out that their Internet usage was being monitored by the Administrative Office of the Courts, the judges in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco demanded an end to the snooping. But now the Judicial Conference of the United States is thinking about requiring Internet monitoring of all federal judiciary employees, judges included.
Recently, in the fine online publication from the UK called Need-To-Know (www.ntk.net), I found the most wonderful video (see www.ntk.net/ballmer/dancemonkeyboy.mpg). It was of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer dancing around on a stage hollering, "Give it up for me" and "I love this company", demonstrating that he's not quite ready for events like the "Escape from Alcatraz" Triathlon just held in San Francisco (www.bayinsider.com/partners/alcatraz/).
Ever have a few drinks with friends and start playing "what if"? You know, what if I had gone to a different college? What if I had married someone else? What if I had become an accountant? The possibility that we could have done better, come off worse, been happier, gone further, whatever, fascinates us not only when things go wrong but also when things go right.
One thing the US election has clearly shown is that the whole method of voting in the country needs to be overhauled.
Last week's challenge to solve John Becker's Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol problem has attracted many suggestions that will be checked out. Should we find a solution, not only will we tell you about it, but the solver will get that cool something we have yet to decide on.
How often do you use search engines? Most of you will do so at least once per day, and some will be lucky enough to do so perhaps dozens of times before morning coffee.
Gearhead is chagrined, embarrassed and could kick himself for making a foolish mistake in last week's Gearhead column, as reader Steven Foust pointed out:
For many of you, the following observation may seem obvious, but I will make it anyway: Windows is ugly. (I rather wonder whether I should start watching over my shoulder for hit men sent out by Microsoft Corp.'s graphic design department . . . on second thought, given the number of critics of their output, I would suspect it will be a while until they get to me.)
A few weeks ago, Gearhead discussed a fantastic, free application called Winamp (www.nwfusion. com, DocFinder 9223). Winamp - a sound file player - has an incredible arsenal of features, including the ability to change its look and feel. These look-and-feel schemes (colors and graphics) are called skins, and the Winamp site boasts thousands of user-created skins you can try. Or you can create your own.
In "Eric vs. the Redmond Baron" (www.nwfusion.com) earlier this month, I planted my tongue firmly in my cheek on the topic of the future of Novell. I pitched Wing Commander Eric "Clean Sweep" Schmidt against the Redmond Baron. I more than half expected a wave of complaints to land in my in-box for having the gall to characterise Novell as being shot down by Microsoft.
In "Eric vs. the Redmond Baron" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder 9131) earlier this month, I planted my tongue firmly in my cheek on the topic of the future of Novell. I pitched Wing Commander Eric "Clean Sweep" Schmidt against the Redmond Baron. I more than half expected a wave of complaints to land in my in-box for having the gall to characterize Novell as being shot down by Microsoft Corp.
Welcome to the chromed world. Have you ever noticed how much of our software can be dressed up in its party clothes for no reason other than we want it to look some way other than the way it was shipped? Does all of this chrome add to the usability of our PCs? Does it make our work better? The answer is usually "no."
Gearhead is like an elephant - not in corpulence (at least, we hope not) but in memory. Some time ago you were promised more on audio, and this week Gearhead delivers. We'll deliver the heady world of Winamp from Nullsoft Inc.
Welcome to the chromed world. Have you ever noticed how much of our software can be dressed up in its party clothes for no reason other than we want it to look some way other than the way it was shipped? Does all of this chrome add to the usability of our PCs? Does it make our work better? The answer is usually "no."