Wikipedia to Chinese Gov't: Take a Hike

I was just reading an ancient Maximum PC magazine, when I stumbled across this headline: China vs. Wikipedia. The item talks about how China requested censorship of some of Wikipedia's pages, and they responded with a resounding "no." Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, said that he stands "for the freedom of information, and for us to compromise that would send very much the wrong signal: that there's no one left on the planet who's willing to say, 'You know what? We're not going to give up.'"

Way to go Jimmy! I wish Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft shared your sentiments. I'm sick of seeing websites "cooperate" with a totalitarian regime that seeks to enslave its own citizens. When more people start thinking like Jimmy, the internet and the world will become a better place.

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Back, After a Long Break; Microsoft vs. Apple: Differing Strategies

Well, here I am. I just got done moving, and have been busy applying for jobs, so I apologize for the wait.

That said, here's my update.

Microsoft and Apple seem to be going in opposite directions: Microsoft is going down, and you know which way Apple is going. But the reality is that both companies are following different strategies.

Microsoft lays the foundation with Windows. The groundwork is all there, but it's up to third parties to develop the utilities and really apply user interfaces to the features.

Apple doesn't wait around for third parties. They build in the features, instead of merely making it possible for third parties to do so.

A good example: Time Machine, from Apple's new Leopard OS, and Shadow Copies, from Vista. They essentially do the same thing; both allow the user to restore backed up versions of their files. but the Time Machine app actually has an understandable and intuitive UI, whereas Shadow Copies only lays the groundwork; it is really just a bare-bones feature.

In the end, Apple's strategy is the one that works, and Microsoft had better get on board or they'll find it out the hard way.

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