total.pardo

photo posted from my iPhone

photo posted from my iPhone

readwriteweb is reporting on mozilla’s "experimental" release of "weave":

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mozilla_releases_weave_02.php

FTA:

Besides just synchronizing bookmarks, Weave also saves cookies, passwords, form data, tabs, and the browsing history. These can be turned on and off selectively, though by default, they are all turned on. In the future, Weave will also start synchronizing themes, plugins, and microformats.

other than the not-so-obvious non-disclosure of the new functionality being "experimental" (read:alpha), this article fails to discuss the privacy concerns this functionality raises.

do you want mozilla to store all that browser info for you on their servers for your convenience?

(plus, i found it annoying the writer did not clearly delineate the functionality as experimental - saying it was "released" is misleading to the average joe.)

while i am sure it is not readwriteweb’s responsibility to discuss privacy implications, the commenters on the site brought the issue up:

• Browser history sync seems like a PR disaster for mozilla. Lots of people don’t realize all the data a browser collects on your browsing activity, and I can just see someone getting fired because they have Weave installed and some porn site shows up in the Awesome Bar on FF3 while the boss is looking over his shoulder.

  Posted by: Nick | July 1, 2008 5:42 PM

then, i was equally flabbergasted my another commenter who suggested RSS feeds should replace my need for universal bookmark access:

• I would argue that the need for your bookmarks to be available anywhere is largely diminished by RSS. If you use a feed reader with an online version like Google Reader then why use bookmarks at all. That post will be in the feed when you need it. Do you really save much time in the long run having to organize your bookmarks?

  Posted by: Gareth Murran | July 2, 2008 1:57 AM

i would like to pose this question to the commenter - how am i to keep regularly visited financial/personal sites in an aggregator?  why would i not want those sites synchronized across browsers? what happens if i work across platforms, i.e., mac to windoze?

not to get on readwriteweb, as it is one of my favorite sites in my greader, allowing the spread of uncertainty among the masses is a no-no for me.  further, to not address the real issue is equally complicit.  maybe they couldn’t discuss privacy concerns and knew the commenters would call it up?

at any rate, stay away from the "experimental" weave for now.  keep using extensions like gmarks - the nesting "folders" feature alone should be enough to serve your sync’ing needs.

i have added a new category to the list - something i frown upon, but is sometimes necessary.

the new tag is: “study”

so why is pardo breaking a cardinal rule?

let’s review the definition of “study”: from: http://www.answers.com/study

(stŭd‘ē)
n., pl. -ies.

1. 1. The act or process of studying.
   2. The pursuit of knowledge, as by reading, observation, or research.
2. Attentive scrutiny.
3. A branch of knowledge.
4. studies A branch or department of learning: graduate studies.
5. 1. A work, such as a thesis, that results from studious endeavor.
   2. A literary work on a particular subject.
   3. A preliminary sketch, as for a work of art or literature.
6. Music. A composition intended as a technical exercise.
7. A state of mental absorption: She is in a deep study.
8. A room intended or equipped for studying or writing.
9. One who memorizes something

there’s a very specific reason for the addition that i will hold on sharing for a bit. but this new tag will appear in all my social tagging.

to learn more about my precision and convergence in tagging, please visit this article:

http://www.totalpardo.net/2008/01/30/convergence-unified-tagging-vs-categories/

more to follow.

Enthusiastic vigor and liveliness. Distinctive style or flair.
élan