Meta Data For A Web Site's People: humans.txt
CSS-Tricks, a really great Web site that explains in detail how to replicate cutting-edge Web site designs and effects, tipped a new idea: humans.txt, a metadata file to compliment robots.txt.
“It’s an initiative for knowing the people behind a website,” said the proponents, who hail from Spain. “It’s a TXT file that contains information about the different people who have contributed to building the website.”
Like Chris Coyier, the author of the CSS-Tricks article, I like the idea of having a meta data file, outside the code base of a Web site itself, that credits the people behind the site.
I find those “Web sites created by {insert Web design firm here}” links in the footer of a site to be so 2001 (although admittedly, I only stopped putting them on sites about five years ago). And sure, one can add an author meta tag to the head of a Web page, to give credit where it is due. But I revere the head element of a Web site; authors shouldn’t put any old thing in there, and everything in there should serve a specific purpose to the page itself.
So a humans.txt file makes a lot of sense, and I admire the cleverness behind calling it that, in compliment to the familiar and requisite robots.txt file.
I like the idea of being able to give extended credit to site contributors. I like the idea of being able to reveal base technologies behind a site. (But not too specific, mind you; I can just see the script kiddies out there, putting together exploit bots that scour humans.txt files to find unpatched software to attack.)
I think it makes more sense, however, to use XML. The robots exclusion standard came out in 1994, was the brainchild of one person solving a problem specific to his search engine’s needs, and effectively became a standard by fiat.
While it has a kind of schema — at least, its proper formatting is well-known — the structure of a robots.txt file isn’t efficient or elegant; it’s not easily read or manipulated, and it can be repetitive and difficult to manage multiple rules for multiple engines.
An XML document is far cleaner.
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idroid Android OS Port For iPhone 2G Available For Download From MediaFire
While cruising through Google Reader’s recommendations, I ran across a link to the idroid Android OS port for the iPhone 2G that has set the Internet tubes to rattling in recent days.
That’s right: If you have an iPhone 2G laying about (and I am seriously kicking myself in the rear today for having turned my old 2G iPhone in to the recycler a couple months ago), you too can put the vastly superior Android OS on the vastly superior iPhone device.
This is not a project for a Linux noob, as you have to have enough skill to follow the instructions (PDF) on how to extract the touchscreen firmware from the iPhone, plus extensive skills in installing and configuring Linux (I probably couldn’t pull this off). Fortunately, the package comes with prebuilt images for Android, Linux and other necessary components, so once you have properly prepped the iPhone to receive Android, it should go smoothly.
The MediaFire link is http://www.mediafire.com/?xqjzn12igfn. Be forewarned: There are JavaScript redirectors and pop-under ads at MediaFire, and unfortunately you must enable JavaScript to get the download link.
UPDATE, April 28, 2010: File has been deleted from MediaFire. I don’t know of an alternate source.
I am not telling you to do this. If you add Android to the iPhone, you are certainly violating several agreements with both Apple and AT&T. You probably will brick the iPhone. It certainly will have performance issues and may not work at all as expected. If you install Android on an iPhone, you do so at your own risk.
All links in this post on delicious: http://delicious.com/dougvdotcom/idroid-andriod-os-port-for-iphone-2g-available-for-download-from-mediafire
An Open Letter To A Programming Noob
Recently received in my e-mail:
Hi There
Found your email on your blog via the contact me which is linked to on your [Yahoo! Answers] profile.
I was curious as to what languages you program in as I am keen to get into programming and wanted any advise or recomendations for books.
I have done quite a bit of visual basic 6 which I know is not OOP.
Would be good to either do vb 2005 or c++ or java
Thanks
Shane
My response to this e-mail follows.
