Wiki comparisons

With all the wiki software floating around in cyberspace, it is nice to find a web site that lets you compare all the packages.

Check out wikimatrix and get informed!

Wiki -- have we gone the wrong way?

It has been a while since a wiki was the center of attention. Perhaps it was the installation process that made it too complicated. Or maybe it was the lack of security.

I just ran across dokuwiki, an implementation of a wiki that uses text files rather than a database. Installation is very easy, as is shown in the 2 minute video found here.

I also saw a very good departmental website that is based on a wiki. That got me thinking.

What if we had much of the Botany Department web site built using a wiki? Would it solve any problems? Would the look and feel work?

RSS and Google Docs

RSS, if I get the general concept right, works best when you have a bunch of discrete objects posted on a web page. Periodically, you add an item to the set. The RSS feed (which is linked in the code on the page) provides a channel to the RSS readers or aggregators. It is on these RSS readers that you are alerted to the change.

The most productive areas that seem to be RSS content providers are Blogs and News sites.

What about Google Docs? Can they be a source of information?

Searching on "Google Docs RSS" does give a hint that it can be done. But so far, no luck.

I do not know if it is me or them....

Nokia's little web machine

I got the Nokia N800 just before my last trip (HI-CA-FL-HI). I anticipated that I would be able to purchase a bluetooth keyboard at Fry's Electronics enroute. They didn't have what I thought I needed, so I made do with the on-screen keyboard.

Connectivity was provided in the Jacksonville, FL hotel via a NetGear personal wireless hub. Connected easily and worked just fine.

A Stowaway keyboard is on order. That should make this machine more productive.