qwghlm.co.uk : because all the other domain names were taken

Sorry, I’m failing to really see the point of Spread Firefox (via /.), who want to put a full-page ad in the New York Times (amongst other things) to promote the forthcoming launch of the superior web browsing experience that is (will be) Mozilla Firefox 1.0.

Actually, that’s being too kind, I think’s it’s a fucking stupid waste. I mean, why just give all that money filling the coffers of the mainstream media as part of a single day’s stunt? Mozilla.org, or indeed many other equally high-quality open source projects are in a state of permanent cash-strappedness, the money could be put to far better uses.

For Firefox to seriously challenge IE, a sustained growth in users is required, not some crappy corporate-esque blowout that will be forgotten in 3 minutes. Want to spread Firefox properly? Then find a friend who would have never heard of FF and doesn’t like installing new software or changing from their usual. Tell them there’s a better alternative to IE, help them install it on their computer and show them personally why it’s better (performance, tabbed browsing, ad blocking, no popups, find as you type, etc.) than the status quo. Offer to uninstall it if they don’t find their browsing experience improved. And if they do, then ask them to tell all their friends about how easy it is to switch.

This Flash animated video for Creep by Radiohead is seriously, seriously good, even if you’re not a Radiohead fan. (via MoFi)

KEEP YOUR FUCKIN’ LIMEY HANDS OFF OUR ELECTION. HEY, SHITHEADS, REMEMBER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR? REMEMBER THE WAR OF 1812?

Last week the Guardian launched an opportunity for non-US citizens to write to undecided US voters in the forthcoming election. The grandioseness of the Guardian’s own self-worth has only been matched by the hilarity in many of the emails sent in response by United Statesians. Such as…

Please be advised that I have forwarded this to the CIA and FBI.

So much for being the staunchest ally in the Coalition of the Willing.

The whole enterprise is a slightly delusionary affair, the Guardian in believing one county in one state can have some significant impact (either that, or it’s a publicity stunt), and the furious/overjoyed American response to it, for similar reasons. Florida in 2000 can’t happen again…can it?

While Google Desktop (via every blog I’ve read today) looks cool and great (especially the web cache search feature), but until it can be used to search products other than Microsoft’s I don’t see the personal benefit in it (and given that Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice etc. all have open formats, I don’t see why it’d be too hard to add them to those supported).

Still, as some bloggers (specifically I’m thinking of an excellent article by Jason Kottke) have speculated, with Google’s vision of the future being one where Google is the ‘portal’ for everything – first providing web services delivering information to the consumer, like search, news and shopping; more recently, applications allowing the consumer to deliver information themselves with Gmail and the acquisition of Blogger. Now this reverse-Microsoft approach is homing in from the web to the desktop with the Desktop app and the purchase of Picasa.

So are we heading for Google OS, where we connect and work with documents remotely using thin clients? Possibly. Networked, collaborative working with mobile/PDA devices via Google’s web applications is a distinct possibility, which covers the business side of things, but Google have still made little inroads on the leisure/entertainment side of the internet (Picasa and potential for photo sharing aside). If/when we start seeing a Google entry into iTunes’ territory (random idea – wouldn’t it be cool to search for a random song lyric you heard and got an mp3 of the song, say?) or other media services (online video archives + highly capable search?), then that will be the time to welcome our new Google overlords.

So Prince Harry (allegedly) had most of his work done for him by a teacher and he still only got a ‘B’? Doesn’t put Eton’s reputation as a quality school in the best of lights…

Bugger. Bugger bugger bugger. Cory Doctorow is giving a lecture on the threat IP law poses to the web at the university law faculty tomorrow, and I am at work that evening till 7pm. Arsebiscuits.