In writing code, most languages, and particularly object-oriented ones, have built into them the concept of access modifiers, and implicit getters and setters.  In brief, these are constructs used to restrict access to the internal state of one object by another object.  Simply put, they either allow or limit messages between parts of your application.  They regulate the communication.

This is interesting, because likewise among people, we have means to allow or disallow communication.  Never has this been more evident than in the information age.  Take the filters on Google Mail for instance.  They are powerful!  Not only can you block messages based on the domain they are originating from, you can also regulate them based on names, IP addresses, or even keywords in the subject or body.  The same technology that looks in your email and proposes an appropriate google adsense ad can be used to make sure you’re never bothered by someone (at least not without a really deliberate attempt).  On the lighter side the filters can also be used to help organize things, or draw extra attention to important information.  These filters are OUR “access modifiers”.  They come in many styles and shapes.

We who work on the web work in a communication medium, and it has been suggested that all the major advances in science and research of the last twenty years are directly attributable to advances in shared communication.  Some say that mankind’s cumulative knowledge has more than doubled in the last fifteen years as a result of the world-wide web.  I’m not sure how one would qualify that, but it does seem to follow that communications lie at the root of this technology acceleration.

So why are we so poor at communicating?

The fact of the matter is that our tools sometimes get in the way of effective communication.  They are so primitive compared to our more established means of expression.  Compared to a face-to-face conversation, an email is a horrible means of conveying anything.  None of the subtleties of expression that are inherent in a physical conversation apply.  We miss those things…so much so that we try to recreate them with conventions like emoticons.  Now we can at least hint at our facial expression, tone of voice, manner.  But even so, this is a pale shadow of the real thing.  And it can be faked.  How many of us were actually “ROFL” or “LMAO” when we indicated so?  These are exaggerations, hyperbole intended to convey a hint of the true amusement through a channel inferior to actually being with the other party.

Video conferencing is becoming more popular as bandwidth increases, but even so there is something lacking that can not be described through electronic means.  These channels are tools, to be sure, and indespensible in the modern day.  They help us.  But they are there to assist our physical communications, not replace them.

A little direct contact goes a long way in making our other tools more helpful.  When a project is kicking off, or making a change in direction, nothing beats sitting down with the concerned parties where you can point, grunt, whistle and laugh.  It only takes an hour, and when we depart we take those learned mannerisms with us, and project them into our electronic communications.  Don’t think so?  Remember the last time you finally met someone you knew only online?  Did you find that you were surprised they did not match the persona your mind had built around them?  We can’t help it.  We’re story-tellers and we need to make characters of the players in our lives.  A direct meeting helps to reshape our thinking, correcting all the “errors of attribution” we may have built up.

With our mind properly debugged, however, our tools take on better usage.

Take this thought for what it is, a simple observation.  While I’m extolling the virtues of face-to-face communication, on a cold Canadian night I’d rather write an email than go outside…

-t.

Honestly…Netvibes must be very good.  How do I know?  They’ve been down for a day or so, and I’m just now realizing what a huge impact it has on my day to day functioning.

I’m also (in less than 24 hours) starting to freak out, thinking what if they don’t come back??

To me, this indicates an extremely savy service – one that can integrate so seamlessly into my daily routine that it seems as though it has always been there, and it just “is”.  I don’t particularly notice it, because everything just works intuitively.  I don’t marvel at how awesome it is, because that would be like marvelling at how awesome air is each time I breathe.  But like air…you sure notice it when it isn’t around!  That’s where I’m at with Netvibes.

I started using the service about four years ago I think, not too sure precisely, because netvibes has a very soft-sell.  They give you a page, a sub-domain.  There’s no signup, not at first.  Once you’ve customized the page and you’re visiting it regularly to see your feeds and widgets, you start thinking about the fact that anyone can see this page, and perhaps they’ll know a little bit too much information about your particular tastes.  That UFC promoter, for instance, might not want people noticing he has an RSS feed about scrap-booking, etc.

But by then you’re so familliar with the service you feel like it is your own.  So signing up is no longer a leap.  Once you do that, you start collecting more and more feeds and widgets, and at least for me, visiting netvibes becomes a daily thing.

And they keep improving netvibes.  I’ve tried the competitors from Google, Yahoo, etc.  To be honest it would be darned convenient to have all my services in Google, but the fact of the matter is that the experience can’t hold a candle to netvibes.  The UI is far better, the smart use of Ajax elements is wonderful, and it just plain looks a lot nicer.  Sorry guys…netvibes has you pwned!

And maybe there’s a rogue part of me that likes to see the smaller guy winning because of savvy and making a great product.  It’s rooting for the underdog, y’know?

One thing I know is that I’m going to be unhappy if it doesn’t come back up.  There’s a simple page saying that they’re working on the problem.  But until it comes back I’ll be hitting that refresh button a lot.  In the meantime, I’ll be thinking more about just what makes them so good.

edit: Netvibes is back up!  And I feel…normal again…haha

-t.

What a fantastic week it was!

I don’t often make references to things outside of the world of media in my microscopic corner of the web.  But this time I feel it is well worth it.  My comment is spurred by a dread that I think most of us have in common….taxes!

I don’t know about you, but I get a knot in my stomach when I go to attend to my taxes each year, comparable to being sent to the principles office, or having a cop shine a flashlight in my face.  I just don’t like it.  I know my records are as clean as the pastor’s sheets, but even so there is that warning bell that goes off in the back of my mind that Ive likely missed something, and now it’s going to bite me.  This is why I want to give a big recommendation to the people that have been making this process easier for me each year, the good folks at TaxMisers.

Don’t let the site fool you.  These guys are the best, and better than that, they know who their target demographic is – namely guys like me.  I started going to them when I didn’t have two cents to rub together, and they treated me with the same respect and dignity that they do now (when I do have two cents).  As I recall, they wished me luck then and gave me some good advice on what to do when I did get through the tough times.

I was there yesterday, and even though I had not been in the little office in well over a year, the second I arrived at the desk, their person greeted me with a friendly “Hi Timothy, how are you?”.

My God.  A service where they remember your name??  This is unheard of.  Especially for me – people joke that my superpower is getting ignored by serving people..(“Hey Miss, can I get another….oh okay…well, if you’re busy…um….uh…..nevermind….”)

I digress.  The point is, if you want good honest tax reporting and you’re smart enough to not do it yourself, you can’t go very far wrong with Taxmisers.  Look them up and go talk to their staff, all of whom I find extremely competent and very friendly.

-t.

During this week, we’ve be one man down in the shop, as our guy Sum Ting Wong (William) has been back to his homeland for a visit.  While we hate to not have him here doing his thing, I was very happy (and amazed) to see the fantastic pictures he has been sending me.  I’m putting a few here;