Review: “Parasite Rex”

Posted on July 9, 2007 by Neil McAllister

Much has already been written about Carl Zimmer’s Parasite Rex, and I have to concur with the early reviewers: it’s a fascinating work. Not a novel, but it occasionally reads like one, especially if you’ve never contemplated the mysteries of parasites in all their various forms.

Probably you have not. Even the word “parasite” has a bad connotation in our society. Parasites are the spongers, the moochers, the lowlifes. Call someone a parasite and it’s clear you have nothing but contempt for him.

But that’s human society, says Zimmer. In nature, the role of the parasite may be considerably different. Modern thinking in the field of parasitology suggests that parasites might not be mere afterthoughts in natural ecosystems, but absolutely essential to them. » More... » →

Review: “A Spot of Bother”

Posted on June 27, 2007 by Neil McAllister

I have an announcement to make! Mark Haddon’s latest novel, A Spot of Bother, is an amusing light comedy-drama about an upcoming wedding and the inevitable wacky family turmoil that ensues. And that’s about it.

I feel it’s necessary to point this out, because it flies in the face of the melodramatic copy on the inside dust jacket, which promises a story of suspense, “sinister” lesions, and the lead character “going mad.” This is a shame, because it seems like the author and publisher would be better served marketing this otherwise well-written and tightly paced novel to the type of people who might actually be interested in reading it. Instead, they seem to be selling it as a follow up to Haddon’s earlier book — The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, an unorthodox mystery told from the point of view of an autistic teen — which it most certainly is not. » More... » →

Adding a Linux partition to a Vista install

Posted on June 19, 2007 by Neil McAllister

I don’t know why I do these things.

It occurred to me this afternoon that it might be nice to have a native Ubuntu Linux partition running on my main Windows Vista machine. “Should be easy,” I thought. So I whipped out my trusty Feisty Fawn CD, resized my Vista partition with GParted, and proceeded to install Linux.

Big mistake.

The installation itself went fine and Linux started right up. The problem came when I tried to boot back over into Windows Vista. In a nutshell, it wouldn’t. I’d get the green “Knight Rider” screen, but then the system would switch to a black screen and everything seemed to grind to a halt. » More... » →

Review: “Carry Me Down”

Posted on May 23, 2007 by Neil McAllister

“The mysteries of childhood and of coming of age have long been rich ground for novelists to mine.” That might be one way to start a review of a book like M.J. Hyland’s Carry Me Down, but every time I read a review that begins with a sentence like that I instantly think to myself, “So what is he saying? That this book just rips off a bunch of other books?”

The answer is yes and no. While Hyland’s novel does cover some familiar territory, she does so with a keen sense of perception that allows her to draw her characters in meticulous detail. Every situation in which they find themselves and their every action simply rings true, a quality that ultimately makes for a satisfying (if quick) read. » More... » →

On open source and intellectual property

Posted on May 21, 2007 by Neil McAllister

A new article I wrote for InfoWorld.com went live this morning, under the title, “How risky is open source?”

Although the origin of this piece dates back several months — it got put off for various reasons — it’s especially timely now, given Microsoft’s recent statements to the press about alleged patent infringements in open source code. (InfoWorld has assembled a special report on Microsoft’s latest campaign against open soure and the response from the community, available here.)

My article is essentially a primer on the three forms of intellectual property that affect open source software — copyrights, trademarks, and patents — and what risks they might pose for enterprise customers. The short answer? Not many — in fact, I even have a Microsoft representative on record saying Redmond has no plans to go after customers for patent infringements. But check it out for yourself.

Comic-Con Int’l 2007

Posted on May 17, 2007 by Neil McAllister

Pretty much every year I head down to San Diego for Comic-Con International, and this year is no different. Comic-Con is basically the granddaddy of all comic book conventions. It’s gotten so big now that it’s almost impossible to describe. Picture several city blocks jam-packed with booths, lights, buzzers, and people dressed as Stormtroopers, and you still won’t have the full picture of the total mental overload that is Comic-Con.

Mostly, my friends Megan and Shane and I use it as an excuse to spend most of the day drunk.

If you’re heading down this year, holler. I can’t say it’s necessarily likely that I’ll run into you in all that zoo, but you never know!

LibraryLookup for San Francisco public libraries

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Neil McAllister

My former colleague at InfoWorld, Jon Udell, came up with a really clever JavaScript hack for avid readers who use Firefox,* called LibraryLookup. It cross-references product pages at Amazon.com with the catalog systems of public libraries. Whenever a book you’re browsing at Amazon is available at your local library, the script automatically lets you know, by inserting a notification into the Amazon page that links to the library’s online card catalog. It really comes in handy, especially if you’re an impulse book-buyer.

Jon originally wrote the script for the libraries in his hometown of Keene, New Hampshire, but there are only so many different library catalog systems in use. The script is adaptable to any of them, and lots of folks have modified it to work with the systems in their own communities. I never found a good version for San Francisco, though, so I spent some time working with Jon’s latest code to get it working. It needed just a couple of tweaks. » More... » →

Harry’s back!

Posted on May 10, 2007 by Neil McAllister

Well, call me a cynic, but I really didn’t foresee this outcome. As it turns out, Harry McCracken has decided to stay on with PC World. I guess IDG really does have the sense to retain its best employees and not allow one of its strongest brands to be irreparably damaged by bureaucratic mismanagement.

One part of the story that Harry didn’t get into in his blog post was revealed by fellow PC World editor Bud McLeod in the official write-up, posted Wednesday. Not only will Harry be retaining his position as editor in chief and vice president at PC World, but erstwhile CEO Colin Crawford — the one who caused this stink in the first place — was kicked to the curb, sent to slink back to an office in IDG corporate management. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

I hope they find a better candidate to fill the CEO slot at PC World and MacWorld. In the meantime, congratulations to the entire editorial staff over there for sticking to your principles and continuing to turn out high-quality editorial, even in these tough economic times for the publishing industry. I’m sure you’re all as proud of Harry as I am.

Two glimpses of darker Africa

Posted on May 7, 2007 by Neil McAllister

Africa is a forgotten continent to most Americans. We hear about the tragedies — the famines, the crooked governments, the occasional genocide — and we look away. The mainstream media, if they cover Africa at all, somehow fails to bring a sense of significance to it. These are alien people, living lives that are unlike ours, laboring through problems that cannot be solved.

Two recent books aim to put a human face on the struggling peoples of Africa. One centers on the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990s. The other focuses on events that are even now unfolding in Sudan. Both succeed where news reports have failed us, even if the pictures they paint are not pretty. » More... » →

Good for you, Harry McCracken

Posted on May 2, 2007 by Neil McAllister

I just heard the news that Harry McCracken has resigned his position as editor in chief of PC World, one of InfoWorld’s sister publications. Apparently the newly-appointed CEO of the PC World/MacWorld group didn’t like it when Harry wrote a piece criticizing a company that also happened to be a PC World advertiser, so he took it upon himself to kill the story. Harry wouldn’t stand for it. Instead, he walked.

Sad to say, Harry’s case only demonstrates what seems to be a trend in trade publishing, driven from the top down. The suits will tell you that the publishing business isn’t about printing magazines, it’s about providing marketing channels for advertisers. A magazine isn’t a product, and a reader isn’t a customer. Rather, the reader is the product, and editorial is just a necessary evil (but one that they’re working to minimize). » More... » →