Doc Searl's A Penguin Angle on the Ox: Day One at Macworld:

While Apple pitches radical hardware and practical software to the masses, UNIX geeks are quietly adding big value to the company's open-source, BSD-based operating system.

O'Reilly Network: Introduction to CVS

O'Reilly Network: At MacWorld, Jobs Shows iPhoto & New iMac

O'Reilly Network: Java Programming on the Mac

Macworld week is a good time to seek out connections between Java and Macintosh. Over at O'Reilly Net's Mac DevCenter, Daniel Steinberg's column presents examples for Java developers looking for cross-platform solutions as well as those who want to write Mac OS X-specific applications in Java.

O'Reilly Network: Developers' Reaction to the New iMac

In the thirty-odd something hours since the unveiling of the new iMac, I've talked to lots of my developer friends about it. The reaction of those that already have Macs is mostly positive. There are a few that don't like or are simply neutral on the design, but they seem to be in the minority. What's more interesting is the reaction of those that don't already have a Mac.

O'Reilly Network: Mac Speculation and Fantasy

What would I run off and design next if I could direct Apple's R&D team and wanted another to make another accessory for the Digital Hub? Easy. I'd turn my home theater setup (as humble as it is compared to that of some of my friends) into one big audio-video output device for any Airport enabled Mac.

ZDNet |UK| - News - Story - .Net vote rigging illustrates importance of Web services

In December, Java was more popular than .Net for building Web services, according to a ZDNet UK poll, but weeks later the position had dramatically reversed; investigation revealed just what lengths Microsoft will go to to promote its products

Yesterday, Opera released The fastest browser for Mac [their words]. I'm going to give it a try... The Mac OS X version is still in beta.

Dave drops a mindbombshell:

"...started updating the real Radio UserLand home page yesterday. One thing that's now revealed is the price. $39.95. That's less than a lot of people thought it would be. We want to sell quite a few of these puppies. BTW, looks like there's a good chance we'll ship tomorrow."

At that price it's a non-brainer. I was involved in the last few days of the beta testing and I can confidently predict that Userland are going to ship Radio like shit off a shovel. Radio has huge potential as a 'knowledge router'. I'll be forking out my $39.95 at the end of the 30 day trial period. That's praise indeed from a canny Scot who's careful with his money ;-). I'm really looking forward to hooking up Radio with Conversant.

Incidentally, this posting brought to you by means of an Opera 5 for Mac bookmarklet. More about that later.

So many cool things to play with but ... must ... mark ... more ... student ... assignments...

Gerry's funeral on Monday morning was the first Roman Catholic church service I had ever intended. Those of us not versed in the subtleties and protocols of the mass paid our respects with quiet contemplation. I estimate that there were between 250 and 300 people attending the funeral. Obviously, the respect and affection we held for Gerry at work extended to those that knew him from his church and community.

It was a sad occasion made tragically sadder by the news that the baby son of one of our other colleagues at work had died from meningitis on Christmas Eve. I cannot even begin to imagine the sense of loss both families must be feeling now. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Then to top it all was the news this evening that the Browns' baby dies in hospital. I always used to think that Gordon Brown lacked warmth but I remember thinking that his obvious delight in the birth of his baby girl - Jennifer Jane - last week showed him to have a genuinely caring and human side - and a wonderful broad smile - and the British public warmed to him as a result. It's a tragic that the complications that set in as a result of the seven weeks premature birth lead ultimately to Jennifer's death.

It's at times like this that I realise how lucky I am and how much I take for granted the health of my family and how much I love them.

On SiT David comments on BlackBoard and Blogs

Adam Curry (among other things, supporter of schoolblogs.com) and Greg Ritter (a Blackboard employee, but not posting in an official capacity) are engaged in an exchange about Blackboard and weblogs....

I've written a lot about Blackboard, not all of it complimentary....

via Scripting News - Wired's Vaporware 2001 awards.

One of my ex-students - Larry - stopped by today. Hi Larry, thanks for signing up!

Larry works for Criterion Software. When I checked out their website I was struck by the similarity between the image on their home page and some of the images on http://duncan.smeed.org/comicrelief ;-)

via Scobleizer Weblog and Windows XP News - the wonderfully weird humanclock.com. And there's a bonus link to a really pointless site (which is part of The Pointless Pages Webring!!!). Perhaps I should register DJ with that webring ;-)

O'Reilly Network: Apache Web-Serving with Mac OS X: Part 3 [Jan. 04, 2002]

Before you know it, it's seven in the morning and time to show off your efforts. You're confident, feigning a yawn of boredom, not sleepiness. As the morning sun glints off the silver of your glorious G4 tower, you smile privately -- as has been typical since time began, doing something amazing on the Mac has been incredibly simple. Your boss is impressed, your coworkers are disbelieving, and you're signing a purchase order for the newest mystery item from MacWorld. Oh, life is good.

MacInTouch: Mac news, information and analysis

Last evening, the Canadian edition of Time Magazine prematurely posted the web version of this week's stories, including the cover feature about Apple's new iMac. An accompanying photo showed Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive, chief of Apple's ID lab, with the new iMac on the cover. The company later changed the site to redirect all queries to the US site.

Also in the same news story possible details of the new PowerMac G4 Series as gleaned from a Paris reseller - Powermac 1.2 Ghz et 1.4 Ghz!

Glad to see that Joel has days like mine ;-) Which he expands on in his Joel on Software - Fire And Motion piece.

TIME.com - Apple's New iMac. What a cool looking machine. Not bad specs either. Heather likes the look of it too. I can see it appealing to her generation.

I'm listening to the MacWorld keynote just now. No video since I'm on a modem connnection at home B-(.

I suppose I'm a little disappointed since the keynote and launch of the new product(s) was so heavily hyped. There's no doubt that it's a beautifully engineered device but it seems an evolution rather than a revolution. Looking forward to the reviews once the dust has settled.

I also like the new 14.1 inch iBook although I'm more than happy with the 12.1 inch vesrion I'm using right now. Nice to know when my eyesights starts to go I'll be able to upgrade ;-)

There's lots of talk about the 'digital hub' in the keynote. I wonder how Apple's strategy/products will hold up against the Microsoft vision of a digital hub.

No doubt I'll be linking to lots of coverage about the MacWorld Expo over the course of the next few days.

Later...

Checkout David Davies' Radio Weblog brought to you by SMS text messaging from a mobile phone!:

I'm standing in a supermarket checkout queue. Well, that's my Saturday night off to a good start!