| |
A longer than normal silence |
| |
This is a long thread. Click here to view the threaded list. |
| |
|
Edward Rogers |
Message #107480, posted by Monty at 14:00, 25/5/2008 |
Member
Posts: 154
|
Has something gone amis over Drobe way, or does it periodically hibernate for several weeks? |
| |
 [ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Phil Mellor |
Message #107482, posted by monkeyson2 at 14:18, 25/5/2008, in reply to message #107480 |
 Please don't let them make me be a monkey butler
Posts: 12380
|
Has something gone amis over Drobe way, or does it periodically hibernate for several weeks? They're just copying TIB again  |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jeffrey Lee |
Message #107483, posted by Phlamethrower at 14:22, 25/5/2008, in reply to message #107482 |
 Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot stuff
Posts: 15100
|
Has something gone amis over Drobe way, or does it periodically hibernate for several weeks? They're just copying TIB again
 |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Phil Mellor |
Message #107485, posted by monkeyson2 at 14:33, 25/5/2008, in reply to message #107483 |
Please don't let them make me be a monkey butler
Posts: 12380
|
Has something gone amis over Drobe way, or does it periodically hibernate for several weeks? They're just copying TIB again
 |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jason Togneri |
Message #107489, posted by filecore at 19:26, 25/5/2008, in reply to message #107480 |
Posts: 3868
|
Has something gone amis over Drobe way, or does it periodically hibernate for several weeks? Yes. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Edward Rogers |
Message #107490, posted by Monty at 23:29, 25/5/2008, in reply to message #107489 |
Member
Posts: 154
|
Err, yes to which?
And what's TIB? Presumably if Drobe ends then that's practically the end of the RISC OS community.
[Edited by Monty at 00:30, 26/5/2008] |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jason Togneri |
Message #107492, posted by filecore at 05:38, 26/5/2008, in reply to message #107490 |
Posts: 3868
|
And what's TIB? Presumably if Drobe ends then that's practically the end of the RISC OS community. You're on it - TIB is The Icon Bar. Presumably if Drobe ends then TIB is all that remains of the RISC OS community, if one can apply such a term anymore. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Edward Rogers |
Message #107494, posted by Monty at 09:26, 26/5/2008, in reply to message #107492 |
Member
Posts: 154
|
Time for a swansong from Castle perhaps. Oh go on, it would amuse us. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Chris Williams |
Message #107496, posted by diodesign at 13:10, 26/5/2008, in reply to message #107480 |
 The Opposition
Posts: 269
|
Don't worry, I'm still alive.
Regarding Drobe, the site has been gradually winding down over the past couple of years for a few reasons. One is that the RISC OS scene is slowing down and there's not enough inertia to sustain a news outlet that can be updated daily. I used to be able to post at least an article a day (on average over a month) during uni. This is no longer the case and it's becoming easier to lose interest in what's actually happening. Things like NetSurf getting Google cash, the Bluray breakthrough and ArtWorks 2 stuff are things that have managed to keep me interested, off the top of my head.
Another reason is that, after leaving uni, I got a job as a 'real' journalist and coming home from long shifts to, err, continue writing/gathering news lost its appeal.
Having said that, the one time I don't have a shift on a Bank Holiday Monday, it's completely washed out (at least in the south east) so I don't have much of an excuse now to not update the site 
I hope this post isn't seen as distasteful on TIB. It's great TIB is still going and its forums have always been more popular than Drobe's. It'd be a great shame to lose both websites.
[Edited by diodesign at 14:19, 26/5/2008] |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Mike |
Message #107497, posted by MikeCarter at 13:11, 26/5/2008, in reply to message #107490 |
Posts: 401
|
Err, yes to which?
And what's TIB? Presumably if Drobe ends then that's practically the end of the RISC OS community.
[Edited by Monty at 00:30, 26/5/2008] Well, I wouldn't say that is true seen as most of the RISC OS community exsists in the form of User Groups, and magazine mailing lists, genral mailing lists, Newsgroups. Then for online news there is an oppertunity for http://www.myriscos.co.uk.
[Edited by MikeCarter at 14:12, 26/5/2008] |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Chris Williams |
Message #107498, posted by diodesign at 13:27, 26/5/2008, in reply to message #107497 |
The Opposition
Posts: 269
|
Err, yes to which?
And what's TIB? Presumably if Drobe ends then that's practically the end of the RISC OS community. Well, I wouldn't say that is true seen as most of the RISC OS community exsists in the form of User Groups, and magazine mailing lists, genral mailing lists, Newsgroups. Then for online news there is an oppertunity for http://www.myriscos.co.uk.
True, however this is rather fragmented and very few people have the time to keep an eye on everything. This is why you have sites like Drobe and TIB, which collate everything, apply some polish and present it to readers. I can't keep up with all the various mags, lists, forums, groups, private lists, IRC channels, etc. As an editor, I rely on others to fwd me stuff or, preferably, write articles themselves for me to edit.
Without central hubs to disseminate information, a 'community' is short-changed and cannot run as effectively as it can. It's why I love news media. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jeffrey Lee |
Message #107499, posted by Phlamethrower at 13:33, 26/5/2008, in reply to message #107496 |
Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot stuff
Posts: 15100
|
I hope this post isn't seen as distasteful on TIB. Not at all. Although we (the TIB staff) have the same time/interest/inertia problems as you, we know that we can only really blame ourselves for the lack of front page updates over the past year or so. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Andrew |
Message #107501, posted by andrew at 19:13, 26/5/2008, in reply to message #107498 |
 Handbag Boi
Posts: 3439
|
Err, yes to which?
And what's TIB? Presumably if Drobe ends then that's practically the end of the RISC OS community. Well, I wouldn't say that is true seen as most of the RISC OS community exsists in the form of User Groups, and magazine mailing lists, genral mailing lists, Newsgroups. Then for online news there is an oppertunity for http://www.myriscos.co.uk.
True, however this is rather fragmented and very few people have the time to keep an eye on everything. This is why you have sites like Drobe and TIB, which collate everything, apply some polish and present it to readers. I can't keep up with all the various mags, lists, forums, groups, private lists, IRC channels, etc. As an editor, I rely on others to fwd me stuff or, preferably, write articles themselves for me to edit.
Without central hubs to disseminate information, a 'community' is short-changed and cannot run as effectively as it can. It's why I love news media.
Chris - there shold be something on its way later tonight hopefully 
[Edited by andrew at 21:40, 26/5/2008] |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Simon Willcocks |
Message #107502, posted by Stoppers at 06:51, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107496 |
Member
Posts: 302
|
Don't worry, I'm still alive.
Good!
I hope this post isn't seen as distasteful on TIB. It's great TIB is still going and its forums have always been more popular than Drobe's. It'd be a great shame to lose both websites.
It would be a great shame to lose either website. I still check both, pretty much whenever I come to a browser. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jason Togneri |
Message #107503, posted by filecore at 08:13, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107502 |
Posts: 3868
|
I still check both, pretty much whenever I come to a browser. On the topic of infrequently-updated sites and having to regularly check them, I recently came across this - it's a pay-for version, but a nice concept all the same. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Phil Mellor |
Message #107504, posted by monkeyson2 at 08:17, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107503 |
Please don't let them make me be a monkey butler
Posts: 12380
|
I still check both, pretty much whenever I come to a browser. On the topic of infrequently-updated sites and having to regularly check them, I recently came across this - it's a pay-for version, but a nice concept all the same.
Or you could use the RSS feeds - we have separate ones for articles and forum postings. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jason Togneri |
Message #107505, posted by filecore at 09:17, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107504 |
Posts: 3868
|
Or you could use the RSS feeds - we have separate ones for articles and forum postings. The difference being, you can only use RSS feeds on sites that support them; for other sites, you have to check manually on each page you want. Besides, I constantly get a "Could not retrieve RSS listing" type error for TIB's feed |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Phil Mellor |
Message #107506, posted by monkeyson2 at 09:56, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107505 |
Please don't let them make me be a monkey butler
Posts: 12380
|
Besides, I constantly get a "Could not retrieve RSS listing" type error for TIB's feed What url and browser/reader are you using? |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jason Togneri |
Message #107507, posted by filecore at 10:42, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107506 |
Posts: 3868
|
The built-in moose in Firefox 2.0.0.14. I occasionally get it for other RSS feeds too, but most often I see it with TIB's feed. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Chris |
Message #107508, posted by Chris at 13:29, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107496 |
Member
Posts: 283
|
I hope this post isn't seen as distasteful on TIB. It's great TIB is still going and its forums have always been more popular than Drobe's. It'd be a great shame to lose both websites.
Drobe is brilliant, and I like the TIB forums a lot too. But it's hard to argue with the claim that there hasn't been much to report lately . I had hoped that ROOL would rekindle some enthusiasm and energy, but unless there's more going on silently than it looks like, that initiative seems to be going by the wayside too.
It would indeed be a shame to lose the websites. Frankly, most of the newsgroups are a complete waste of time these days, taken over by trolls and pedants. If Drobe and TIB hit the dust, that will probably mark the end of the RISC OS community, to all intents and purposes. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
John Hoare |
Message #107509, posted by moss at 14:01, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107508 |
Posts: 9348
|
One thing I've discovered, through co-running Ganymede & Titan - you are NEVER short of something to write about. There's always something. A bit of news here, a review there, an opinion piece here, a historical piece there, an interview here... If I had five hours a day, and endless enthusiasm, I could write G&T articles daily for five years, and I'd *still* have things I could write about.
What *is* an issue - as Chris says - is enthusiasm, and time. When you're busy with other things - work, relationships, erm, my new DS Lite - the last thing you want to do sometimes is sit there and write another article. Just sitting in front of the telly and watching my Absolutely DVD is a far more appealing prospect. This is the reason I haven't written for TIB for ages - and we've got the added bonus that we don't even have to write about RISC OS stuff, and so I can't even blame a lack of enthusiasm for the subject matter. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jason Togneri |
Message #107511, posted by filecore at 18:18, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107509 |
Posts: 3868
|
Well, I rarely (if ever) read Drobe, not to mention the seemingly Apple-dominated TIB news, and stick mainly to the forums these days. However, I hope there's been coverage of VirtualAcorn's open competitor, Arculator, which looks promising...
I should probably have had a look on Drobe and the TIB front page before I posted that, but I'm too lazy even to do that much. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jeffrey Lee |
Message #107513, posted by Phlamethrower at 19:18, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107511 |
Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot Hot stuff
Posts: 15100
|
So we could lie and say that we've posted a 10-page feature on Arculator and you'd believe us? |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jason Togneri |
Message #107514, posted by filecore at 19:21, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107513 |
Posts: 3868
|
Probably. I know Arculator has been around for a while but I've heard rumours that there's something big coming up. I'm not entirely sure how accurate those rumours are, however; that's IRC for you. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Mike |
Message #107515, posted by MikeCarter at 20:41, 27/5/2008, in reply to message #107514 |
Posts: 401
|
Probably. I know Arculator has been around for a while but I've heard rumours that there's something big coming up. I'm not entirely sure how accurate those rumours are, however; that's IRC for you. Well, networking is in the works, which is a nice big feature. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Chris Williams |
Message #107532, posted by diodesign at 19:15, 29/5/2008, in reply to message #107501 |
The Opposition
Posts: 269
|
Chris - there should be something on its way later tonight hopefully That's great, ta v much. I'll try to get onto it as soon as possible. My enthusiasm was hit again this week as, annoyingly, a request for a review copy of some software for Drobe was turned down because apparently we're not updated enough (so, what, I'm not allowed to take a break after eight years of producing material?) and any review is unlikely to generate any sales. It's breathtaking how many companies share this view of Drobe ('that annoying thing on the web') and as Moss points out, life's a lot more interesting than banging on about a minority OS platform that took itself far too seriously and lost its sense of fun.
Anyway, rant over. I can haz, at the very least, a fresh CD from David Lowe and the latest copy of Private Eye on my desk to enjoy. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
keith dunlop |
Message #107533, posted by epistaxsis at 20:46, 29/5/2008, in reply to message #107532 |
Posts: 159
|
My enthusiasm was hit again this week as, annoyingly, a request for a review copy of some software for Drobe was turned down because apparently we're not updated enough (so, what, I'm not allowed to take a break after eight years of producing material?) wtf? 
and any review is unlikely to generate any sales. yeah right - someone's forgotten that any publicity is good publicity!
It's breathtaking how many companies share this view of Drobe ('that annoying thing on the web') and as Moss points out, life's a lot more interesting than banging on about a minority OS platform that took itself far too seriously and lost its sense of fun. Agreed - it is not as if RISC OS is some holy object is it?
For me I *like* RISC OS - it makes me happy when using a computer (that's called fun isn't it? ) <-- odd I know but it is important to me!
Anyway, rant over. oops - me guilty too
[Edited by epistaxsis at 21:57, 29/5/2008] |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Andrew |
Message #107534, posted by andrew at 22:33, 29/5/2008, in reply to message #107532 |
Handbag Boi
Posts: 3439
|
Chris - there should be something on its way later tonight hopefully That's great, ta v much. I'll try to get onto it as soon as possible. My enthusiasm was hit again this week as, annoyingly, a request for a review copy of some software for Drobe was turned down because apparently we're not updated enough (so, what, I'm not allowed to take a break after eight years of producing material?) and any review is unlikely to generate any sales. It's breathtaking how many companies share this view of Drobe ('that annoying thing on the web') and as Moss points out, life's a lot more interesting than banging on about a minority OS platform that took itself far too seriously and lost its sense of fun.
Anyway, rant over. I can haz, at the very least, a fresh CD from David Lowe and the latest copy of Private Eye on my desk to enjoy.
I hope you don't get too demoralised over that rejection Chris. If anything Drobe adds a witty, relaxed and welcome slant to RISC OS. It's arguably more valuable than any single piece of software |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Chris |
Message #107536, posted by Chris at 10:44, 30/5/2008, in reply to message #107532 |
Member
Posts: 283
|
That's great, ta v much. I'll try to get onto it as soon as possible. My enthusiasm was hit again this week as, annoyingly, a request for a review copy of some software for Drobe was turned down because apparently we're not updated enough (so, what, I'm not allowed to take a break after eight years of producing material?) and any review is unlikely to generate any sales. It's breathtaking how many companies share this view of Drobe ('that annoying thing on the web') and as Moss points out, life's a lot more interesting than banging on about a minority OS platform that took itself far too seriously and lost its sense of fun. That's a depressing post. Honestly, some RISC OS companies are terrible - contemptuous of their customers and unwilling to try anything new.
One of the major factors in retaining a sense of fun in RISC OS is/was Drobe, so I hope things pick up in due course. In any event, we all owe you a debt of thanks for keeping things going for so long. |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
|
Jason Togneri |
Message #107537, posted by filecore at 14:31, 30/5/2008, in reply to message #107533 |
Posts: 3868
|
any publicity is good publicity! I have nothing of value to contribute to this thread, so I'll point out instead that it's "No publicity is bad publicity", the reason being that this way round it has an unclear duality of meaning; having no publicity is a bad thing, or that any publicity, whether good or bad, is not a bad thing (because publicity is publicity). While your form still holds one of these points true, the charm of the phrase also lies in its subtle differences of meaning.
</pedantic troll> |
| |
[ Log in to reply ] |
| |
| Pages (2): 1
> >|
|
