A few tech books I’d like to see …

1. Wordpress Hacks: Clear, concise and offline redistillation of the Wordpress Codex. Target the first third of the book to newbies and introduce them to “best of class” plugins and themes”. Devote the the second third to outlining the Wordpress API and provide a module kit with all of the core calls in place in an MVC style framework. Devote the final third of the book to integration with other major OSS products and services. Call it mashup central.
2. IPTV Best Practices: Who are the best podcasters and vidcasters? Pull them together and create a best practices manual in the vein of Zeldman’s Web Standard’s book.
3. Gentoo System Administration: This might be a bit premature.  Gentoo needs a print book, but this Linux distro is more desktop focused.  So, maybe this becomes viable when Gentoo’s server project matures.
4. Make Mods Now: Game Mod Planning and Development :  Granted, the world of modding games is diverse.  From the various engines to the tools used to create content, it would be impossible to cover every possible mod path.  However, make this the first book in the series and have it discuss the best practices for launching and managing a mod team.  Introduce all of the core concepts and roles needed to do the job.  Then, follow-up with source books that detail the specific methods and tools used to create mods in a specific engine (i.e. Unreal, Valve Source, etc.).  Think Make Mods Now: Sourcebook: Doom3.  Follow-up later with a book that helps folks from one engine-specific mod-team transition to another.
5. MMO Persistent World Hacks:  This book is not cheats and hacks for MMO games.  Rather it discusses the technical requirements for creating, launching and managing persistent world servers aka shards.   Start with Neverwinter Nights Server and then address the needs of the open source server emulators for World of Warcraft (WOW), Everquest2 (EQ2) and other major MMOs.
6. Guild & Clan Management for Online Gamers:  Think of this as a Peter Drucker/Tom Peters type of book for folks who start and lead guilds and clans for MMOs and other online games.  Discuss the types of guilds, the best ways to promote and manage each and the best tools for setting up an online presence for the guild/clan.

That is it for now.

By way of Digg, Greg Stein, Apache Chairman, says soon all software will be free.

I had the great pleasure of having drinks and playing video games with Greg at a few after-hours kibbitzes during ApacheCon 2004. I doubt he would remember me as I was a guest of friend, fellow former Xarayan, and current ASF member Gregor Rothfuss. I only mention this because during those few days of intermittent contact, a few things stuck me about Greg Stein.

1. Aside from leading the ASF, he was/is the primary driver behind mod_dav and Subversion. Both technologies represent significant forward motion in their respective categories.
2. The man is scary smart. He knows technology, specifically the Internet, better than any other person I’ve ever met.
3. In addition to considerable raw knowledge, he has his finger on the pulse of technology and personally knows many prime movers across the industry.
4. He is widely respected for his technical acumen, leadership and vision.

Put this all together, and Mr. Stein is positioned as well, or better, than anyone to prognosticate on the future of the software space. In particular, I think he sees the way the Internet will become truly pervasive.

So, when Greg Stein says soon all software will be free and we will pay for support instead of packaging, I listen. Moreover, I am inclined to agree.

All but one of my servers run on a LAMP stack. Aside from the swiss cheese security, the main barrier to the Windows Server line has been the ridiculous cost of entry, for both the product and support for the same. If I could get it for free and pay for support as needed, I’d be a lot more inclined to do so.

The primary problem with current free support for open source software (OSS) like Apache and PHP is that the support options are few and usually limited to online forums or IRC channels. And as mentioned in an earlier post, these support channels can often be aggressively elitist, insular and even insulting, even to the experienced practitioner, let alone the complete beginner, who does not live in the channel.

I have serviceable, but not elite, sysadmin skills. I want and need to get better, but the day-to-day demands of my business do not always allow me time to RTFM. And, as good as Google and the various official OSS manuals and unofficial “HOWTOs” are, they can still be a huge time sink when all I need is a quick fix. And, my more technically adept colleagues are not always available by phone, in person or on IM/IRC. Even though I can pay for their time, they are not always able to help. After all, they have full-time jobs and lives as well.

With this perspective established, I’ve a few specific ideas for the leadership of all OSS projects; large or small, commercial enterprises or non-profit organizations (NPO). For the ease of reading (and because Greg Stein’s comments got my brain racing), I’ll use the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) as my example. But, the principles apply universally.

First, The ASF should establish review boards for service standards and allow 3rd party vendors to apply for their “Seal of Approval”. If the ASF provided an “Apache-Approved” list of consultants and other support resources, I’d look there first before going into #apache or looking for someone on elance.com. I trust apache.org, so I’d trust anyone they recommend.

For the NPOs, charge a nominal review fee to cover the costs of the review board. Or, support the page with ads. Or, set up some sort of digg-like, community-driven rating/review system for vendors. You guys are smart and have smart people working for you. You’ll find a good solution.

Next, provide a 24/7 individual IM/phone support channel, staffed by reliable, politely, highly skilled technicians to answer common configuration and optimization questions. I would not think twice about paying a per-minute fee to have skilled help a phone call or IM away. Time is money to me. If $0.25/minute I can get me a decisive answer to a technical SNAFU, then it is money well spent.

For the commercial enterprises, a call center is not that big of a leap. For the NPOs, it is a matter of finding the right VC and spinning off a commercial support venture. Or, finding an existing call center vendor with the right vision and working out an equitable pricing structure.

As Greg implies in his comments, OSS has arrived. Apache dominates the webserver market and Linux has made deep, and likely immovable inroads into the general server/big iron markets. Consumer applications, like the OpenOffice office suite, are charging from the rear.

OSS has momentum for now, but industry giants like Microsoft are taking note. Nothing confirms this more than the Microsoft reorganization which puts Steve Sinofsky in charge of the future of Windows and the Windows Live (online) initiative. Sinofsky appears to follow development and design practices, which are closer to open source champions like Google. And, the guy hits his release deadlines, which has always been an Achille’s Heel for Redmond.

In short, OSS is no longer a cottage industry populated primarily by ubergeeks. To be clear, I mean no disrespect to the ubergeek. At one time, I aspired to be one. However, I have a business to run. That business is not yet big enough to hire a full-time ubergeek. But, it is too big for me to manage everything myself. As a result, I turn to the OSS community for support and find it lacking. Experience and discussion says I am not alone.

Now that the OSS stack is enterprise grade, OSS service and support options need to be enterprise grade as well. I am willing to pay for outstanding, on-demand support. Who is able to provide the service?  Who is willing to take my money?

Go now. Read this:

Scientist discovers that evolution is missing from Arkansas classrooms.

In a word, chilling.

Arkansas schools are restricting teachers from teaching concepts of evolution and deep time in publicly funded schools! This is not folks fighting for the inclusion of intelligent design in the curriculum. This is effectively teaching that creationism is the only theory of how man rose to dominance on Earth.

I am no aethiest. I am a Christian. And, I have deeply personal relationship with Christ. However, I believe that creationism and evolution are NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. In college, I was exposed to the idea that nothing proves God’s hand more than the idea that he could shape man from single-celled organisms which evolve and continue to do so. Chew on that notion for a while.

Such actions have little to do with faith and everything to do with control. This is about establishing religious controls over a secular society which has learned to think for itself. Fundamentalists in every camp (Baptist, Catholic, etc.) are watching church attendance (and tithing income) fall because critical thought has reached critical mass. And, a nation of thinkers will not simply sit by while the minority tries to wage a holy war with our troops.

Where have we seen this script played out before? Afghanistan. The Taliban.

Religious leaders controlled the schools and tried to breed a nation of religious zealots and submissive women. They, along with Al Qaeda, sent those fanatics into our midsts to destroy our way of life. Now, our own religious fanatics are using the same tactics to try and undo hard won intellectual and religious freedoms here at home. In effect, our religious right is doing Al Qaeda’s job for them.

What nation will come to our defense when Pat Roberts and his ilk start rounding up harlots (single moms), heretics (scientists who actually teach hard science) and subhumans (anyone not WASPish enough to suit their tastes)? The answer … no one.

The Bush adminstration and their unilateral policies have destroyed years of hard won political capital across the world. As we stand now, the USA has little moral authority with which to convince the rest of the world that our way of life is a good one. And while our troops die abroad, the good people of Arkansas are allowing the very democracy we seek to promote to be dismantled from the inside out.

It makes any true patriot want to weep.

PingMag’s 8 Web Design Warm Fuzzy Feelings is an article that provides a great overview on CSS/XHTML best practices while maintaining three important traits for a blog post: brevity, readability and relevance.

Nice work. If you work on web UIs, check this out.

In one example, called “Brokeback to the Future,” a pair of college students from Boston have combined scenes from Hollywood hit “Brokeback Mountain” with 1980s favorite “Back to the Future” starring Michael J. Fox.

The parody has attracted worldwide attention and spawned a series of copycat spoofs from films as diverse as “Top Gun” and “The Shawshank Redemption.”

Industry Uneasy With YouTube Craze [E-Commerce News]

Reading this article, I get why advertisers and media companies want to shut down distribution of T.V. or other media … in it’s orginal, unaltered state. I don’t agree, but I understand the argument.

Like the BellSouth debacle noted in my previous post, this sort of thing is shortsighted. Rather than seeing YouTube as another distribution channel to be leveraged, they see them as the enemy. Again, stupid.

However, mashups like Brokeback To The Future are clear examples of fair use for satire or parody. And, the various riffs on SNL’s Lazy Sunday should qualify as well. Granted, they are not all satirical, but they are clearly homages to the original works and only serve to create buzz and therefore interest in the original.

Finally, these guys need to take a page from the video game industry and embrace mash-up artists for what they are raw, undiscovered talent. Look at the mod community surrounding popular video games like Doom and Half Life. The mod community extends the brand and shelf-life of the core product. All of this leads to increased sales and market share. Duh!?!

After Katrina ravaged the Big Easy six months ago, Greg Meffert, the city’s chief information officer, got downtown businesses back online by opening the city’s wireless mesh network—originally deployed to link surveillance cameras—to anyone who needed it. For free.

…

Now telecommunication lobbyists are trying to shut down the network, and Mr. Meffert says it looks like the state legislature will agree. State law prohibits cities from providing more than a relatively sluggish 128-kbps network, but New Orleans offered its faster network as an emergency relief effort.

Wi-Fi Fight Brews in Big Easy [RED HERRING]

Are you kidding me?

New Orleans has an opportunity to rebuild, for the most part, from the ground up. With this sort of forward thinking, New Orleans would not only be restored to it’s former greatness; it could become the next Silicon Valley. It could be the city with the most modern communications infrastructure in the USA.

Rather than trying to block this move, Bellsouth should be looking for way to help it move forward and find a business model that works in this new arena. Rather than making lemonades with Katrina’s lemons, BellSouth wants to kick over the lemonade stand and sell their own brand of saltwater.

Patently stupid.