This is what’s caught my eye today:

• Slideaware discuss their shift from Python to Ruby on Rails to Erlang. Tune in next time when they tell us if Erlang delived the goods.
• I think everyone should know about Dirichlet processes. This should be a blog post of it’s own. I actually had a dream about such a post, so I guess it is destined to happen.
• Publications from the Software Technology group at Radboud University Nijmegen are currently the only place I know where you’ll find ideas on how to capture web-based workflows in a high level manner. The basic observation is simple: given a data definition you should be able to generate most of a web site that allows you to interact with that data. The trick is making it general enough to be useful. Rails has scaffolding but it is quite limited in what it can do, so it tends to be used only for prototyping. We want to use it for production code. This area involves lots of PLT goodness: FRP, bidirectional programming, and metaprogramming all look like they’ll play a part.

• The curious rotational memory of the Electron is sure fascinating, and makes me wish I had paid more attention in Physics 110. Read through the archives and impress your friends with the amazing Feynman plate trick!
• If you read the archives like I suggested you are undoubtedly all excited about monads of probability, so go here and download some more reading goodness. My goodness!
• Dave G today: “Snooze is a pro-testing library!”. Damn straight! Software has the right to testing, and that’s a right I’ll fight for. (Music, apparently, has the right to children. The implications of this are uncertain.)
• Leo “Flapjax” Meyerovich drops by the comments to let us know he’s going to do the world’s funnest PhD (at Berkeley, no less). Maybe he can employ Ezra as a RA? This is actually worth a post on it’s own, but time is short. I’ll just say two things: servers and mixed synchronous/asynchronous signals. Might not mean much to you, dear reader, should be enough for me to remember what I want to talk about.

These quick posts are fun to write. This could be the start of something.

• A fascinating study of the surprisingly humane system of privateering. Read it and reflect on current attitudes towards ransom in places like Iraq.
• I got emailed a survey today. As an incentive to complete it, the company offered to either put me into a competition to win an iPod, or to buy 75 kilos of CO₂ from European industries. How could I go for an iPod when offered this? Clever.
• This discussion of useful features that didn’t end up being necessary is very familiar. We’ve spent many a day implementing some nice abstraction that we don’t end up using.

I’ve just received an iPod, and so the acquisition of digital music is suddenly much more interesting to me. I have the following requirements:

• I want music
• I want it cheap
• I want it to work with my iPod
• I preferrably want it without DRM

So I surely must prostrate myself before iTunes? They’re getting a lot of press following the announcement by EMI that they’re selling their entire digital catalog without DRM, and at a higher quality than was previously available. Actually, a bit of searching shows that there is some respectable competition out there:

• 7digital offers EMI’s catalog as 320kbps MP3s (probably better than iTunes 256kbps AAC), and are cheaper than iTunes.
• eMusic offers DRM-free 192kbps VBR MP3s on a subscription based plan that works out much less than iTunes’ per track cost. Now their selection is limited, but if you like good music (i.e. the music I like) you’ll be well covered. Catalog search and FAQ here
• Bleep sells DRM-free 192kbps VBR MP3s. Like eMusic their selection is limited to “good music”. Individual tracks cost more than iTunes, but albums are less.

None of the above options offer the range of iTunes, but all are certainly worth considering before hitting iTunes. My main problem with eMusic is the subscription model; while 40 tracks a month is great, my monthly music budget is a less, on average, than their subscription fee. 7digital’s site is just a mess, which makes it distinctly less appealing. So it looks like Bleep is going to be my first port of call for digital music, followed by 7digital or iTunes.

Inspired by a LtU post I downloaded Vendetta and, poof!, two hours disappeared as I blasted an assortment of evil bots into space dust. Vendetta looked even more impressive when I learned that the
guys who develop it number precisely four. Very inspirational!