2005-08-16
Frank Miller's "300"
According to a story from Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, Gerard Butler will star in "300", an adaptation of the comic book from "Sin City" creator Frank Miller. Principal photography is to begin October 17 in Montreal; Zack Snyder will direct.
The Warner Bros. project tells the story of the 300 elite Spartan warriors, led by King Leonidas, who thwart the charge of Xerxes and his massive Persian army at the battle of Thermopylae. 300 was originally published in 1998 as a five-part series from Dark Horse Comics
2005-08-27
User-friendly, but not friendly to users
The friendly "Come on in!" is becoming a thing of the past, in the virtual world as in the physical world. How many of us still remember when knocking on the door was simply courtesy, since the door was never locked, identity not questioned, and admittance rarely denied? Nowadays, we have buzzers for access to our buildings, locks and double-locks on our homes, security cameras and security personnel in both public and private areas, and signs warning us to be wary of unfamiliar faces, and telling us we are being watched "for our own protection".
And on the internet, that most open and accessible of worlds? --
- you must allow cookies
- you must upgrade your browser
- you must change your settings
- you must register
- you must be logged in
Okay... Some of this is for "security" -- the site's, not the user's -- but mostly, it isn't. It's about statistics; it's about saving the costs of rebuilding sites to be standards-compliant. And the user's privacy and security is compromised at every turn.
Then there's spam: a very real concern for blogs and forums, as well as for email. Thus, "register a user" and log in. Does this stop spam? Of course not. Reduces it, no doubt (particularly automated spam); also reduces comments from any but members of the "fanbase". This works fine for a "community" site, but makes less sense for informational or support sites... raising the question of what the latter folks are really after.
Obviously, when registration requires more than just creating a user name and password, the user is surrendering potentially marketable data for the dubious distinction of being allowed to post something that the site reserves the right to delete anyway.
The good news, when faced with annoying site restrictions, is that there are always plenty of other places to visit on the World Wide Web...
2005-09-01
Getting bigger and... bigger
Indigo Books is moving into growth mode for the first time since its "merger" with Chapters in 2001, according to reports from the annual shareholders meeting held earlier this week. Three new superstores (Ottawa, Montreal and Windsor), and a number of smaller-format outlets are planned.
But don't hold your breath waiting for a wider selection of titles in stock... The plans are to expand the sale of gifts and "lifestyle products", as Indigo aims to transform itself into a "cultural department store".
2005-09-20
Opera browser now free!
No, it's not a book, but it's a brilliant program, and one of the very few that I've happily paid for and actually feel I've received value plus. Ad-supported (although quite discreetly) for years in the unregistered version, it is now completely, utterly free. No banner ads; no need to register; nothing to pay (unless you want premium support). Download at www.opera.com