Anyone who lived through the late 1980’s ought to remember Max Headroom, the hyperactive, pseudo-CGI “head in the box” portrayed by actor Matt Frewer. The Max Headroom character was everywhere in those days, from music videos to ads for Coca-Cola and seemingly everything in between. What many people don’t remember, however, is the science fiction program that bared the character’s name. This was not the lovable, wacky Max that called Cinemax and England’s Channel 4 home. This Max exists in a world where the major television networks are in charge. Because of this, such every day items as the off switch and the mute button are deemed to be illegal. Televisions are everywhere, including bathrooms and junk yards. Simply put, no one could ever escape the grip of the mass media, and the people like it that way.

Working within the confines of this odd, “Network-meets-The Matrix” world is Edison Carter (also portrayed by Matt Frewer), ace reporter for the highly-rated Network 23 and the “basis” for Max Headroom. It is his mission to bring his viewers the truth, no matter the situation. In the show’s fourteen episodes, Emerson and company does everything from thwart a sentient supercomputer to blowing the lid off of a dangerous subliminal advertising scheme run by Bill Maher, using nothing more than quick thinking and a heaping helping of brutal honesty. The viewer, both physically in the show and otherwise, are constantly reminded that the world is a better place thanks to people like Emerson Carter and his “computerized” alter ego. As long as there are people fighting for the truth, there really is nothing to worry about.

In many ways, we are approaching this basic existence, only with a different concept serving as our vice. Instead of thriving on a flashing picture, we are addicted to information. I don’t just mean the “TMZ/Perez Hilton” style celebrity gossip columns. I mean anything. Pick your topic — President Obama, professional wrestling, U2 — and I bet there is someone, somewhere talking, tweeting, or blogging about it at this very moment. We need to know about what is going on, and we need to know it now. Take the recent “best of seven” series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic for example. Five years ago, we would have had to wait two to three days to hear former Laker Shaquille O’Neal talk about his former team. Thanks to Twitter, we heard it minutes after the Lakers cliched the NBA title. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that this kind of “instant feedback” can become addictive.

Now despite what some might be thinking, things really aren’t all that dire. Our world isn’t based upon the idea of two-way television sets or networks that can make commercials so compact that they make people’s heads literally explode. We’re simply talking about the delivery of information, not a re-creation of 1984. It’s human nature to want to know what is going on around us. Exploiting that desire, on the other hand, is something else entirely. It all comes down to priorities. Those who put more effort into their advertising than their content are more likely to alienate their audiences than the people who put their “product” front and center. By ignoring the very thing that got you into this very situation to begin with, the writer/blogger/YouTube “star” is actually sending a message that your fan base’s mouse click means more than their physical presence. Who cares if the content is good nor not? You clicked the link. It’s your loss.

While it might seem like a good idea now, turning your audience into a group of mind-numbed automatons randomly clicking things will not help you become a success in the long run. The trick, if you want to call it that, is to adopt what I like to call the “Edison Carter” approach to content creation and maintenance. It all breaks down to three basic principles:

1. Your users are more than just a group of random mice clicking a white box. They’re people. Your people. Always keep that in mind when developing your content.
2. Stay genuine to your cause.
3. Stay open to the needs and concerns of your user base.

Do this, and the world just might become a better place. If you don’t, well … let’s just say living in an “off switch-free world” is not anyone’s idea of a good time. Be sure to come back tomorrow for part two of our three part series. Until then, this is Brad Fallon signing off for Network 23 the Free Line.

I know that we are officially a week away from the end from our 30 Days of GNU experiment, but I think it might be best to call it a day right now. We here at the Free Line have a few big projects in the works, and these “specialized” GPL beauties will just end up interfering with them. With that said, here we go:

Our little pulls into port battered, but still surprisingly resilient. Although there are still some parts of this “test run” that gave us a hard time — Evolution and K-Meleon, I’m looking in your direction — it was still a generally worthwhile endeavor.  That being said, there is still one part of this whole ordeal that still seems to be eluding people, and that is the very nature of the word “free.”

On the surface, the word is simple: if you get a legal, full featured application without having to pay anything, then that application is free. If it costs money, then it isn’t. Things get muddled a bit, however, when the words “how much” are thrown into the equation. In the minds of many, only a program that bares its source can truly be considered “free.” Sure, that shiny new copy of  Windows Live Mail or even Garage Band might appear to be free, but the closed off nature of the code is making you rely on the folks at Microsoft and Apple, respectively. A program like Evolution is free, but that is only because I have the ability to “take a peek under the hood,” as they say. In essence, it all breaks down like this:

When a program is given away at no cost to you, said program is considered to be “freeware.”
When a program and its source code is given away at no cost to you, said program is considered to be “free.”
When an organization and/or corporation charges for an application, but still gives the source code away for free, said program is still considered to be “free.”

While the strategy mapped out above might appeal to a programmer or to a person who likes the idea of “community involvement,” it tends to leave the average user out in the cold. It is our experience that “normal people” prefer performance, not the ability to stare blankly at pages worth of source of code. It is for this reason that we have to call our little “run with the GNUs” a marginal failure. Don’t get us wrong: we fully support of using GPL-supported programs. Applications such as Firefox, OpenOffice.org, and even aMSN are standard tools in our arsenals. It’s just that limiting ourselves to only GNU-approved applications left us angry and frustrated. Our advice is simple: use the free software that appeals most to you. It doesn’t matter if the code for it is kept on a website or on some protected server in Redmond. If you like it, use it. It’s as simple as that. Do this, and you’ll be happy. We guarantee it.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have finally installed KDE onto my laptop. It all seems to be working properly … in a way. Let’s start from the top and go down from there.

Konqueror – It runs, but that’s about all that it’s doing right now. What’s the point of having a “premiere league” web browser when half of the tools and features that users depend upon aren’t available? Take this very post, for example. Usually when I type up this fantastic, award winning (hint, hint) blog, I use the standard WYSIWYG (”what you see is what you get) setup that is provided by WordPress. For reasons that I have yet to comprehend, that very setup is not available in Konqueror. I am therefore stuck using the bare bones HTML editor. I might be able to fix things eventually, but I’m not necessarily optimistic at this point.

JuK (Media player) – Nothing plays. I can see the title of the track scroll back and forth, but I can’t actually hear any music. After checking a few sound card settings, I went back into the program, hoping for a better result. Unfortunately, all I heard was dead air. I looked through the various options, hoping against hope that I would stumble across a “configure player” link. What I did find, however, was an option that allowed me to configure various audio shortcuts. While it’s a nice tool to have on hand, it is not exactly what I’m looking for at the present moment.

Kile (Word processor) – Despite reports to the contrary, KOfiice is not installed by default. In its places sits Kile, a self-described “LaTex front end” with an eye for power. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about right now, LaTex is based around the idea that the English tongue should have a programming language of its own. Despite what you might be thinking right now, a “programming language for text” is actually a decent idea. Making that language editor the default word processor, on the other hand, is not. Hoping to salvage my time today, I immediately closed it and started looking for the Windows version of KOffice. Sadly, it isn’t available for Windows users anymore. Oh bother…

Overall: I will be totally honest here: there is a reason why KDE for Windows is not better known. None of these programs have been designed with the “traditional user” in mind. At this point in time, I can argue that almost everyone, even seasoned Linux users, will loathe this collection of programs. Playing with these “applications” isn’t even a good way to pass the time, let alone as a way to get some work done. So as it pains me to say it, stay far, far away from KDE for Windows. You’ll be glad that you did.

After a brief period of contemplation, I have officially decided to bring my “GNU experience” to the next level. By this time tomorrow, I will have KDE installed on my laptop. Why, you ask? Well … it’s all answered below.
What is KDE again? – KDE is a desktop system used primarily in Linux and BSD-based operating systems. The actual design is similar to that of Windows XP.

But you already have a desktop. Why load another one? – I am not loading the KDE for Windows package just so I can have a different desktop. I’m actually loading it so I can have access to the various KDE programs (KWord, Krita, Konqueror, etc) that lie within the desktop.

But you are going to have another desktop, right? – I honestly have no idea. The last time I attempted this, the program actually put the KDE taskbar on top of my Windows bar. I sincerely hope that that doesn’t happen again.

Wait … You have actually done this before? – I tried it a few years ago, shortly after KDE 4 was released. At the time, the Windows package was still using an archaic version of KDE 3. This is a completely different animal here.

You said you are loading this on your laptop. Why not use your main computer? – As I have mentioned before, my main system runs the 64-bit version of the Windows 7 beta. According to the official website, neither Windows 7 nor the 64-bit architecture that my copy is based upon are exactly supported at this time. The laptop, on the other hand, runs on 32-bit Vista. The choice was clear.

Is KDE for Windows a good idea for me? – We are about to find that out, aren’t we?

…And there you have it. Be sure you tune in tomorrow to check out my installation log. I guarantee that it will be interesting, to say the least.

Anyone who has been reading the Free Line in the past few days knows of my love/hate relationship with Evolution. But how exactly does it stand up to other “free” mail clients? We are about to find that out. And before anyone asks, no. We have not forgotten about our “web app” tests. These things take time, after all. Expect to see the results some time within the next two weeks.

Client #1: Evolution

Website: http://www.dipconsultants.com/evolution/
Developer: The Gnome Project (Original program) and Tor Lillqvist (Windows port)
License: GPL
First Impression: “Where did it go? It likes to randomly disappear from time to time.”
Setup: Easier than most, thanks to the built in setup wizard.
Note: We here at the Free Line believe that the following is required reading:

“…Putting the little “browser snafu” behind me, I found myself heading to Wikipedia to research GPL email clients. Thankfully, the choice here was simple: Evolution. For those unaware, Evolution is the email companion to the Linux-based web browser (and Free Line favorite) Epiphany. About a year ago, the folks in charge of the client, along with higher ups at Novell, decided that it was a good idea to port the system over to Windows. While their intentions were  good, the result was anything but. Users who wanted to try Linux’s “best kept secret” had to compile everything themselves from scratch. Extensive knowledge of the DOS prompt was also required, as the newly installed program required it to be running at all times. Not happy with this turn of events, Novell programmer Nat Freidman hired famed Linux-to-Windows programmer Tor Lillqvist to create an easy to use installation file  for people who dislike compiling their own programs. People just like me.

Installing the program was easy: just click a few buttons and I was on my way. Setting up my various email accounts was easy as well. In many ways, Evolution was actually easier to work with than that brand new copy of Windows Live Mail Desktop that I had been previously using. Everything was going fine, until I accidentally closed the program. This is where my troubles truly began.

Before I go into detail, I think it’s only fair to detail the operating system I use. Like our fantastic product tester/guinea pig Angela Smedley, I work with a system that is dependent upon Windows 7 RC 1. Instead of having your open programs displayed in a long, somewhat annoying row like in previous editions of Windows, Windows 7 puts them all in “button” form next to the start menu. If you wish to have access to these programs after you have closed them, all you have to do is right click on the icon and select “pin to the taskbar.” Simple, elegant, and much easier to deal with than the traditional “long bar/quick launch button” combination. Most programs respond well to the new system. Evolution did not. Here comes “Excedrin headache #10” again…

As I stared at the strange, DOS-based error message, I thought about the steps that brought me to this point. Closing the message, I instantly decided to start the program from the shortcut on my desktop instead of from my taskbar. Although the ominous message was gone, I still didn’t have access to my email accounts. Undaunted, I right clicked on the shortcut and chose the “run as administrator” option. Success! After a few more minutes of “administrator-level” tweaking, I finally have things working properly. The shortcut that is currently pinned to my taskbar still isn’t completely functional, but it doesn’t matter. At least I still have access to my email.”

Client #2: Thunderbird

Website: http://www.mozillamessaging.com/thunderbird/
Developer: Mozilla
License: Mozilla Public License (MPL), Lesser GPL (LGPL), and GPL
First Impression: “Hey look! Add-ons!”
Ease of Setup: Three words: Intuitive setup wizard.
Layout: It wants to be Outlook Express in the worst way possible — icons appear up top, file folders on the left, letters on the top right hand side, and the actual letters show up at the bottom. It isn’t “bad,” but it can get to be a tad boring.

Client #3: Zimbra

Website: http://www.zimbra.com/
Developer: Zimbra Inc. and Yahoo
License: Yahoo Public License (YPL)
First Impression: “This one has some neat stuff in it. I sense that they really want to be Google here.”
Setup: Instead of implementing a tabbed system like Outlook Express or a wizard ala Thunderbird, Zimbra prefers the “one lengthy page” approach found in many web email services.
Layout: It’s as if Outlook Express and Google Apps had a baby. The physical mail client appears to be an almost carbon copy of Outlook, with the “standards” appearing in all the right places. Click on the tabs, however, and the user is taken to a Google Docs style text editor, a link to Flickr, and a feed reader respectively. While it doesn’t necessarily add to the “email experience,” the added features are nice to have on hand.

Client #4: Sylpheed

Website: http://sylpheed.sraoss.jp/en/
Developer: Hiroyuki Yamomoto
License: GPL and LGPL
First Impression: “I don’t see anything that really ’sticks out’ about it.”
Ease of Setup: Simple. Just plug in all of your inforation and the program does the rest.
Layout: A tad dated compared to the likes of Thunderbird and Windows Live Mail, but nothing really to write home about.

It seems as if the shift from Live Search to Bing is paying off for Microsoft. According to the folks at comScore,  the overall “search share” for Bing has jumped a suprising two percent in a week. According to those within the industry, the upswing in popularity is primarily due to user excitement over the upgrade. Still others say the ratings jump is due more to the Redmond’s “Bing-centric” advertising campaign than any sort of noticeable improvement. As always with stories like this, we will pass on any relevant news and information as it comes our way.

This, of course, got us to thinking. Bing can’t be the only search engine that is taking a shot at greatness. What about the others? That is where we come in. On today’s Free Line, we look at the other major search engine that is vying for mainstream appreciation: Wolfram Alpha. Will it succeed, or will their hopes collapse in a pile on the floor? We are about to find that very thing out.

Wolfram Alpha

Creators: Wolfram Research
Theory Behind the Hype: Despite the opinions to the contrary, the people behind Wolfram Alpha do not consider their creation to be a “search engine.” They see it more as an “answer engine” — a tool specifically designed to answer questions of the “what” and “how” variety. Supporters say that this technology will revolutionize the way people search for information online, thereby eliminating the need for “keyword engines” such as Google and Yahoo.
Positives: The system works! Questions such as “Where is Pittsburgh located?” and “What is Pizza Hut?” were answered within moments. For the former, we received a big orange map with a red dot symbolizing the “Steel City.” For the latter, we were given the financial details of Pizza Hut’s parent company, Yum! Brands.
Negatives: the entire engine comes off as being extremely cold and clinical. A search for The Beatles, for example, netted us a two line explanation of who they were and why they were popular. A query concerning the theory of relativity, on the other hand, provided us with a detailed list of facts, figures, and mathematical formulas. The other problem we have with Wolfram Alpha is its name. In our minds, an engine’s name should sound fun and inviting, like Google, Yahoo, or even Bing. Instead we get a name that sounds like it was stolen from an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. While it isn’t a “bad” name, it isn’t necessarily lovable, either.
Chances of Hitting It Big: Iffy at best. It all depends on who they decide to cater their engine towards. If they keep with the “science” vibe, no one outside of that community will even bother. If they open it up to more fields of study and/or pop culture, they just might have a huge hit on their hands.

Sometimes, we find the weirdest things sitting in our own attics and/or basements. The same thing goes for us. On today’s episode of Showdown, we take a look at five programs listed in our own wiki. The “selection” process was easy: we just clicked the “random page” button. With that said, here we go…

Service #1: Jimdo

Website: http://www.jimdo.com/
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Jimdo
Service: Website creation
First Impression:“Wow … that was easy…”
Ease of Use (Out of ten): 10
Positives: Signing up for the service is as easy as humanly possible. All you have to do is request the name you want. After a few minutes and one email later, you have a complete, albeit simple, template waiting for you. From there, the world is truly your oyster. Everything is mapped out, making even the hardest task appear to be simple ones.
Negatives: “Advanced” features such as PHP and Ruby on Rails support cost extra.
Overall (Out of ten): 9; “This is nice … ridiculously nice.”

Service #2: Biographicon

Website: http://www.biographicon.com/
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Biographicon
Service: Biographical wiki
First Impression: “I get an entire page to describe my boring life. Yay for me!”
Ease of Use: N/A — It’s a wiki. If you have used one, you have used them all.
Positives: Celebrities, politicians, and athletes aren’t the only people who deserve their own wiki page. It’s Wikipedia for “average” people.
Negatives: It’s Wikipedia for “average” people.
Overall: 8; “It’s weird, but in a good way.”

Service #3: Mindomo

Website: http://www.mindomo.com/help/index.htm
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Mindomo
Service: Mind mapping software
First Impression: “I’m currently staring at a blank screen right now. Why am I on a blank screen?”
Ease of Use: 8
Positives: In many ways, Mindomo is the “Word” of mind mapping software. Everything is neatly organized and designed with the novice user in mind. Unlike most programs of its ilk, Mindomo allows users to add things that aren’t usually found on traditional mind maps such as videos, website links, email attachments, audio files.
Negatives: The true “Mindomo” experience costs money. As it stands, the user can only save seven “private” maps, but create as many “public” maps as they please. While the $6 a month fee won’t exactly break the bank, it’s still more than many other free (read: open source) programs out there.
Overall: 8

Service #4: WorldWide Telescope

Website: http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/Home.aspx
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Microsoft_World_Wide_Telescope
Service: Interstellar map
First Impression: “I’m looking at Uranus!”
Ease of Use: 8 (If you enjoy astronomy); 6 (for everybody else)
Positives: Simple enough for a bored student in science class to use but sophisticated enough for the most hardcore amateur astromoner, the WorldWide Telescope makes virtual stargazing fun … if you’re a fan of the heavens, that is.
Negatives: A program such as this is definitely not for everybody.
Overall: 7

Service #5: Goosh

Website: http://www.goosh.org/
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Goosh
Service: Unofficial Google command line
First Impression: “What the heck is this?! Why does Google have a command line?”
Ease of Use: 9 (If you like command lines); 2 (if you don’t)
Positives: Goosh does everything the regular Google search does — straight web earch, Gmail, YouTube, etc. — only from the command line. It’s also much, much faster than the traditional engine.
Negatives: There are those out there who sob uncontrollably at the sight of a command line. If this is you, we highly advise you to stay far, far away from this service.
Overall: 9 (command line lovers); -9 (command line haters)

What do cherries, Microsoft, and the Irving Berlin classic “White Christmas” all have in common? Despite what you might be thinking right now, the answer is not ice cream sundaes, anti-trust suits, or Danny Kaye. It’s Bing. For those unaware, Bing is Microsoft’s new “do it all” search portal that will supposedly change the way we look at search portals. Does it live up to the hype? We are about to find that out.

First Impression: “Why does the welcome picture have little ‘hot spots’ in it?”

Search (Term: “Open Source Browsers”)

Number of Hits
Bing: 57.2 million hits
Google: 62.6 million hits
Yahoo: 35.8 million hits

Search Quality
Bing: Although devoid of both repeating links and blatant advertising, Bing seems to be focused on one thing and one thing only: Chrome. Out of the ten links on the first page, four deal with Google’s controversial browser. Mozilla and Firefox, meanwhile, are left out in the proverbial cold.
Google: Google results seem to be a bit more diverse than that of Bing. Chrome, for example, only appears once, while Mozilla makes its presence felt twice.
Yahoo: Yahoo’s results are a tad more redundant than both Bing and Google, but it’s not anything to really write home about. Mozilla appears only once, while Chrome isn’t mentioned at all.

Video Search (Term: “Photoshop Tutorials”)

Number of Hits
Bing: 34,700
Google (YouTube): 73,600
Yahoo: 6,215

Search Quality
Bing: Every video on the first page actually corresponded with the keywords in question. While the difficulty and intended audience might differ from one clip to another, the overall theme remains steady.
Google (YouTube): Same as Bing, only with less links.
Yahoo: A few of the links seem to go a bit off-topic, but most stay on-point.

Bing On…
News: When you first arrive, you will notice a few videos sitting at the bottom of the screen. Those videos can be turned on by either clicking the link (as per tradition) or running your mouse over the “play” button. While it isn’t suited for watching whole stories, the Bing News mouse over feature makes grabbing a “sneak preview” as painless as possible.
Maps: For the life of us, we just could not get the map feature running properly. Instead of getting a map full of roads, rivers, and landmarks, we received a desolate beige blob full of orange arrows. After a little while, we were able to turn the beige blob in a grid similar to the one found in the science fiction film Tron. The actual turn-by-turn directions, however, are a completely different story. Every set we tried were incredibly detailed and extremely easy to read. We especially appreciate the “if you see ___, then you’ve gone too far” note that appeared at the end of every page. It makes exploring new places a bit less taxing.

Final Thought: While it isn’t exactly perfect, it’s much better than we expected. Microsoft supposedly put a ton of time and effort into this project, and it shows. Yes, it’s still “rough around the edges,” but it isn’t just a rebranded “Live Search” either. In short, Bing just might be the “web portal powerhouse” Redmond has always wanted. Whether it actually lives up to hype, however, remains to be seen.

Anyone who has been on the Internet for more than three minutes are familiar with the information-filled media smorgasbord known as the “portal site.” It seems as if every major Internet firm has one, from Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL to Comcast, Disney, and NBC Universal. But what about companies that live outside of the United States? They must obviously have something to talk about, right? That’s exactly what we are going to find out. On today’s trek, we make our way up north to Canada, take a pit-stop in Quebec, and spend a few minutes within the heart of Japan. With that said, here we go…

Site #1: Canada Online Explorer (aka CANOE)

Website: http://en.canoe.ca/home.html (English) http://fr.canoe.ca/ (French)
Parent Company: Quebecor Media
Launch Year: 1996
Language: English and French
Subject Matter: CANOE is teeming with news and sport topics that modern Canadians clamor for, from the National Hockey League and the Canadian Football League to the Parliament and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Special Features: It’s odd in this day and age for a major league web portal such as CANOE to have an entire section dedicated to professional wrestling. Aside from the usual array of show recaps and rumors, the Slam! subsite also features columns by a slew of well-known Canadian wrestling personalities, including Don Callis and former world champion/national hero Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Other “distinctly Canadian” touches include a subsite dedicated to curling, articles about in-country vacationing, and an ever-present currency converter.
Drawbacks: The  overall design of the English-language site looks rather dated compared to its Acadian counterpart.

Site #2: livedoor

Website: http://www.livedoor.com
Parent Company: livedoor
Launch Year: 2004
Language: Japanese
Subject Matter: Livedoor is designed to be the “final word” in Japanese media and culture. Want to blog? They have their own blogging platform. Want to work on a wiki? They have one of those as well. Need to get to Gmail or YouTube? Thanks to a deal with Google, both services have links displayed prominently on the main site.
Special Features: Japanese businesses, especially large ones such as livedoor and Yahoo, try their best to do a bit of everything. Because of this, livedoor has features and services that normal portal sites usually lack. Think about it: how many other sites own a ticket service, a baseball team (called, appropriately enough, livedoor baseball), ISP, and have been involved with two independent puroresu wrestling promotions?
Other Notes: Livedoor found itself in the middle of an Enron-level accounting scandal in 2006. In the past three years, several major board members have either been sued, are awaiting jail time, or have committed suicide. Despite enduring popularity of livedoor, the company is still in second place behind the online behemoth known as Yahoo Japan.

Due to a number of computer-related catastrophes that were completely out of my control, their will not be a full-on edition of the Free Line today. I will, however, give a quick update on my quest through the land of GNU.

On the Email Front: I can honestly say that I love Evolution. It’s quirky, but it’s the kind of quirky that a hip, “man about Cyberspace” such as myself loves to work with. While it lacks a few “basic” tools — a modern spam filter is nowhere to be found, for example — there is enough stuff built into Evolution that makes me want to come back for more. How many other programs offer Pretty Good Privacy protection as a standard feature? If the only thing that I get out of this entire experiment is an appreciation for Evolution, then I will consider it a complete success.

On the Instant Messaging Front: I loaded aMSN for all of my MSN Instant Messenger Windows Live Messenger needs. It’s about the closest you can get to running Live Messenger without actually running Live Messenger. No complaints here.

On the Web Browser Front: I’m still using Firefox. I would like to start using K-Meleon eventually, but that has “weekend project” written all over it. I am seriously considering using Safari, but I have no idea if it should count or not. On one hand, the code behind Safari is completely closed off to the general public. The WebKit rendering engine, on the other hand, is covered under the slightly more liberal “Limited General Public License.”. So I ask: what do you all think I should do? I’m curious to your thoughts on the matter.

…And there you have it. Be sure to tune in tomorrow when we take a virtual trip around the world … in a way.