Four short links: 19 Jan 2009

Hello from Whakapapa, a ski resort in New Zealand. These four links come to you via the wifi at the “highest hotel in New Zealand“, which serves as a useful reminder that no matter how unremarkable one might seem, anyone can have a claim to fame if only they work at it.

  1. Apple Show Us DRM’s True Colors – the EFF checks out where Apple has DRM in its products and discovers that in most cases it has little to do with piracy and more about eliminating legitimate competition. DRM is “bundling” for the 2000s. (via stinky)
  2. Rules of Database Aging – this is so true. I think everyone who read this said, “this is so true”. Cue Santayana quote.
  3. Blog Converters Released – apparently Google has Data Liberation Front that has released a converter to let you switch between Blogger, LiveJournal, MovableType, and WordPress formats for blog archives. When they add Twitter, they might make Tim Bray feel better about Twitter. (via waxy)
  4. Hana – an absolutely beautiful screensaver for OS X (other platforms soon, I hope) that simulates every flower it shows. I could try to justify this as tied into the growing trend of simulations as the skills of simulation drive more fields of life, but really it’s just pretty. And who doesn’t need a drop more pretty in their life?
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