Phillip Pearson - web + electronics notes

tech notes and web hackery from a new zealander who was vaguely useful on the web back in 2002 (see: python community server, the blogging ecosystem, the new zealand coffee review, the internet topic exchange).

2005-2-22

AutoLink - why the fuss?

What's the big deal about the Google Toolbar's AutoLink feature?

As far as I can see, it doesn't transform documents unless you tell it to -- and you have to tell it to for each individual document. If you're so scared about being lead off to sites owned or affiliated with Google, how about just not clicking the button?

Compare it to something like the Eater of Meaning (which seems to be down right now). If you run a page through that, it gets changed. But it's no big deal - because you told it to do that. Why is AutoLink any different?

... more like this: []

*.us

Apparently there is a web app now called fa.cetio.us[1]. Seems that it's the in thing to use a domain like [a-z]+\.[a-z]+\.us[2].

Next time I write a web app, I'd call it de.cidiou.us, but then it might have to drop all its data for four months a year, which would suck.

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1. That link doesn't work for me. Did I put the dot in the wrong place?

2. Since the original, from ages ago: DJB's cr.yp.to.