Day: January 21, 2004

Not sure I found an answer in this post and comments on Andy Budd’s blog, but I’m not alone. [via Google search, first result… didn’t dive any deeper, yet]

I continue to watch the growth in the newsreader application space. BottomFeeder is a free cross-platform, open-source newsreader, written in SmallTalk. Hard to believe SmallTalk still has devotees, but as long as the application is well done, more power to them for choosing their tools. I’ll grab the MacOS X version and give it a whirl.

Update: Ack! Run away, run away! Way too hard to use, too cluttered (maybe with great features, but no interest in deciphering the tiny icons), installation and first run was not clear (Read Me file had a .btf extension, so not clear whether it was plain text or not; application opened up Terminal, then opened a Finder window behind where I had to navigate to the BottomFeeder folder (named btfMac-3.3) and find bottomFeeder.im (huh?) to get it to install/run), and it is slow and not responsive to keyboard commands. Yes, it’s free, and maybe it has more features, but I’ll never launch it again. I hate to be so critical, but I was expecting more from a version 3.3 application. I don’t pay attention to whether something is open-source or closed, free or for pay (except that it’s tough to trial the for pay stuff), but I do pay attention to that ‘first run’ experience. To displace NetNewsWire, which I’m quite happy with, you have to do much better.

Fast Company runs a short piece on Scott Wattenberg, who tries to turn data into meaningful images. Prior to IBM, he created the Market Map at SmartMoney.com. I’ve been learning to use a new reporting tool at work, and it’s reminding me that data is nothing if it’s not (a) easy to understand and (b) responsive to trial-and-error. That last bit means that you need speedy answers to your questions. If you ask a question and it takes a long time to get an answer, then the next time you’ll hesitate to ask a new question, and potentially draw a new connection. If the system/application/interface is responsive, then experimentation is rewarded, and further usage of the tool is no longer a chore, but a process of discovery. That’s when data is fun. Really. Which brings me back to this essay… I love seeing experiments in this space.