Disqus - Latest Comments for cordblomquist

Re: Open Source is Not the Enemy

cordblomquist — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:52:19 -0000

You should see my recent comments to Tim Lee, reposted here http://timothyblee.com/?p=1432 as a post with his comments, that illustrate why I believe there is a bias against free software specifically in the free market non-profit community. The advocates of free software often use highly charged language and try to turn an engineering question into a political one. That politicizing has made a lot of folks suspicious of open source, something that has set advocates of freedom behind because, as you say, money has been wasted on closed-source technologies that don't stack up to open software.

Re: Not So Fast, Cloud

cordblomquist — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:51:27 -0000

Jim, doesn't this sort of analysis ignore the trend toward specialization and the benefits of economies of scale? It makes sense for something like data storage, something that can be done cheaply and efficiently on mass, to become a commodity. It should be purchasable off-the-shelf. Services like DropBox are a good example of this.

Setting up a server in the home is an unreasonable expectation to have for the average consumer, but it's also a qualitatively different. "Cloud" services like Gmail are undoubtedly co-locating your data and despite the hype about down time, offer a much more stable service than the DIY variety. Additionally, upgrades to services are made seamlessly in the cloud, unlike home-based solutions that require consumers to be aware of updates to services or enable auto-updating, something that the average Windows or Mac user can't seem to grasp. Also, the iterative approach to software changes adopted by most cloud-based services makes improvements to software a much more pleasant process than swapping our your home server OS every few years.

But finally, i think my biggest issue with your analysis is that you seem to conclude that the market cannot solve some of the privacy problems involved with cloud computing. Shouldn't tech media outlets and the Consumer Reports of the world be able to sort out which companies have the best privacy policy? Couldn't an independent auditor of data-storage services be established? A PriceWaterhouseCoopers for cloud computing? It seems as though we're still in the infancy of this industry--if it can reasonably be called that--so drawing conclusions about the futility of having reasonable standards of privacy in the cloud seems premature.

Re: You Must Fear the Cookie Monster!

cordblomquist — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:29:12 -0000

A lot of the fault here lies with Cavuto's staff not doing the necessary background check on this guy. Even someone who doesn't have much technical expertise should be able to vet someone as an expert by seeing where they have been published, if they've ever testified on the issue, or through some other sort of endorsement.

Though I don't watch his show very often, Cavuto seems like one of the more serious and hard-working people on Fox News, so this interview was a surprise to me.

Re: Commerce and Law

cordblomquist — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:21:14 -0000

On a somewhat off-topic note, Money, Markets & Sovereignty falls into the trap of three things. That is, the trap that all sorts of books like this fall into when it comes to choosing a title. The list of three things has been used by great works like Anarchy, State, & Utopia, but I think choosing this sort of format hurts these works by making them all blend together. It's basic marketing that you should try to differentiate your product from the other guys. It's like Goodyear vs. Goodrich.

Re: Cafe Face-Lift

Unit — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:27:34 -0000

Can the links to the next and previous post that are now at the bottom of the comments be also put at the top of the page?

Re: Cafe Face-Lift

martinbrock — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:05:34 -0000

Hallelujah. Even with preview, I just can't seem to proofread often enough.

Re: Destruction Is Creation?

surfisto — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:31:24 -0000

Ok, almost fully on board, I see my error with the insurance, now if the gov't prints the money for his house?

Re: Destruction Is Creation?

cordblomquist — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:22:07 -0000

The insurance company loses money, others pay higher rates, and opportunities elsewhere are therefore lost. Same as the other scenario. The flaw in your thinking here is that the insurance company is a free source of money, which can't be true.

Re: Destruction Is Creation?

cordblomquist — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:18:11 -0000

Certainly one could imagine some sort of scenario where value lost through destruction could be made up by added efficiency of whatever replaces it, but these would be the rare, rare exception to the rule. Also, one would wonder why the old wasn't traded for new prior to the destruction.

If there are examples of destruction leading to net gain out there, perhaps regulation plays a part in the story. I can imagine that after natural disasters, certain rules are waived. Historic preservation restrictions, for example, are suddenly gone when the historic buildings have been demolished by mother nature. This could lead to efficiencies that otherwise would have gone unexplored. But this doesn't prove that destruction is good, but rather that regulation is bad.

Outside of the rigid confines of an over-regulated economy, it's hard to imagine many examples of what Skidmore is suggesting.

Re: Cafe Face-Lift

cordblomquist — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:56:59 -0000

Yes, it's a great framework for WordPress. I highly recommend it and if anyone is looking to escape TypePad, you should look at Foliovision, the company that facilitated this transition process. There's a link to them in the footer.

Re: Cafe Face-Lift

cordblomquist — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:18:07 -0000

The design isn't final by any means. The main thing we want to accomplish was converting the blog from Typed to WordPress. Now we have a lot more flexibility in the design and functionality of the site. So, look forward to the design being improved in the weeks to come.

Re: Cafe Face-Lift

cordblomquist — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:15:36 -0000

If you subscribe to comments you can either receive emails when someone adds to the thread or add the thread to your RSS reader.

Yes, comments can be edited for a short time after posting, so you needn't worry so much about little typos.

Re: Cafe Face-Lift

bretaw — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:43:03 -0000

The reply feature will definitely help the flow of the discussion! What does "Subscribe to all comments" do? Also, will trackbacks work now?

You can edit your own comments too?

Re: Cafe Face-Lift

cordblomquist — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:10:18 -0000

Like Don just explained, Cafe Hayek won't be in the practice of banning anyone, but the new comment system does allow you to "like" or "report" comments, essentially vote them up or down. The result of this voting only shows up if you select "Best Rating" under the "Sort by" menu at the top of the comments area.

I also want to encourage everyone to use the "Reply" function in the comments area. This will help to sort out if your comment is a reply to another comment, rather than a reply to the post itself.

If you have any questions about this stuff, feel free to post them here. I'll be checking in regularly to provide answers.

Re: Maine Launches Study to Track Drivers via GPS

MikeRT — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:26:22 -0000

And I am not saying that they should. A California driver should not have to pay Virginia, but rather should have to pay both the state and the federal government. Since the federal government already pays for a significant percentage of the interstate infrastructure that shippers use, I don't think most states really have any grounds to complain that they aren't getting "their cut" when someone from out of state uses their infrastructure. That's especially true since their residents likewise use neighboring states' infrastructure as well.

That wouldn't be "egalitarian" to the smaller states in some cases, but so what? They already get massive subsidies from other states, and so they have no right to complain when the other states get to keep money closer to home which my suggestion would allow.

As for the enforcement, what I would propose is that you go get an inspection, they count your miles, and then they give you an annual tax bill which is divided over a 12 month payment cycle so you have an entire year to plan ahead and budget for paying for your road use fees.

Re: Maine Launches Study to Track Drivers via GPS

Steve_R — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:40:08 -0000

Actually, MikeRT has a very insightful comment that I was debating commenting on. But you asked!

I will assume that the GPS will either have an internal recording device that is read at the time (as MikeRT's suggested) the annual inspection. Alternatively, the devices could actively communicate with existing telecommunications towers, such as cell phone towers.

My planned comment to MikeRt was that when you got home from your vacation you would be getting a whole pile of bills from little communities that you never knew that you passed through. All the bills of course (as a convenience feature) would be rounded-up to the next dollar or some multiple of that dollar.

If this GPS system is instituted, a method of recording your travels is a must. If you live in the DC metro area you are consistently passing through Maryland, Virginia, and DC so you know that each state is going to demand their fair share.

Re: Maine Launches Study to Track Drivers via GPS

cordblomquist — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:11:34 -0000

But how would you know that the miles driven were driven in Maine? If someone drives cross-country, they shouldn't have to pay Maine for that trip.

Re: Jerry Brito - Humor In The Workplace - Federal Business Opportunities

cordblomquist — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:49:00 -0000

I am already teaching an improv class to a group of FCC employees. Also, I'm legally prohibited from going with 100 yards of Timothy Geithner for reasons I'd rather not get into in this forum.

Re: Cringely’s Contradictory Thinking on Microsoft-Google Wars

cordblomquist — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:36:12 -0000

Good post Adam. A little lengthy, but good.

I think Cringely is underestimating the significance of both Bing and Google's Chrome OS.

Bing is the first real shot that Microsoft has had at competing with Google. Notice how it's not named MSN or Microsoft Live Search? Both were horrible names that put the clunky, blue-screening reputation of Microsoft out front. A dumb branding move.

Now, Microsoft is doing the right thing by creating a new brand and positioning it as a "decision engine" rather than a search engine. Microsoft knows it's next to impossible beat Google in a head-to-head fight, so it's trying to be number one in a category it invented, much like Cray did by inventing the product category of "super computer."

Google's Chrome OS has much more potential. Netbooks ARE the future, there can be no doubt about that. The average user simply doesn't need more RAM, a faster processor, more hard drive. These things are wasted on a web-enabled world and so is the clunky OS that keeps them all cooperating. Chrome could easily cut into Microsoft's sales, especially if Google decides to make its apps less feature poor, or if more people turn on to things like Think Free or ZOHO.

In a year or so I may be recommending that my mom buy a Linux-powered laptop. That's saying something.

I love Cringely too, but I agree that he misses the mark here.

Re: Initial recovery.gov pricetag: $9 million

cordblomquist — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:08:01 -0000

If I make a website that has a 10GB database and another with a 10,000GB database, the cost of the second is not 1000 times that of the first. The second site would perhaps cost more to host, but the software that feeds out the smaller amount of data could serve out the much larger amount just as well. So, it's not fair to say that a federal version of a transparency site should cost 50 times that of a state-level site.

The $300,000 state-level site is also questionable. It's not an expensive proposition to build a website which displays data cleary and is easily searched. There are many free solutions to this problem.

The reason this site is going to cost the taxpayers $18 million is the convoluted federal bidding process that shuts out all but the most politically connected contractors. Only a few dozen contractors were eligible to bid at all. This is why a defense contractor is building this website, instead of one of the hundreds of top-tier web software developers in the country.

Perhaps we need more transparency in order to build a good transparency site?

Re: Initial recovery.gov pricetag: $9 million

cordblomquist — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:07:16 -0000

If I make a website that has a 10GB database and another with a 10,000GB database, the cost of the second is not 1000 times that of the first. The second site would perhaps cost more to host, but the software that feeds out the smaller amount of data could serve out the much larger amount just as well. So, it's not fair to say that a federal version of a transparency site should cost 50 times that of a state-level site.

The $300,000 state-level site is also questionable. Building a website that's purpose is to simply display data in a clear way that is easily searched is not an expensive proposition.

The reason this site is going to cost the taxpayers $18 million when all is said is done is because of the convoluted federal bidding process that shuts out all but the most politically connected contractors. This is why a DEFENSE CONTRACTOR is building this website, instead of one of the hundreds of top-tier web software developers in the country.

Perhaps we need more transparency in order to build a good transparency site?

Re: The Cost of DDOS Attacks

cordblomquist — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:13:24 -0000

No. Just like they don't have anything else to "defend" from the West.

Re: Memo to State Legislatures: Don’t Play Chicken with Bezos

cordblomquist — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:52:31 -0000

Hey, I'm writing this comment to test Facebook Connect.

Re: Drupal Sites That Aren’t Ugly

cordblomquist — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:15:44 -0000

Thanks for your examples Greg, a very good way to prove my point and to plug your designs! You might DM me on Twitter or otherwise contact me to talk about working on themes for Drupal sites.

Re: Drupal Sites That Aren’t Ugly

cordblomquist — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:11:24 -0000

I agree, it looked good. Did you notice any changes in functionality when they switched over to Drupal?