i don’t think, according to
clayton
christensen’s

own criteria, that
mysql

technically meets the requirements to be labelled a

disruptive innovation

. but when the likes of
sabre holdings

announce that they are have chosen the open source database for

travelocity, travel Agencies and airlines

, it seems like it might be “good enough” [ in the sense of the phrase that characterizes all truly distruptive innovations ] to warrant the
moniker.

“The ATSE platform continuously updates 20 million fare and rule records and 1.5 million schedules with no down time, delivering online schedules, availability, itinerary pricing and low fare searches for Sabre Holdings’ global network of partner and customer companies.”

dang. this is too much for me to chew on right
now. it looks like
alf eaton

has

introduced

a
a review (RVW)
module for the rss 2.0

which is prompting
a
lot of

, er,

reviews

.
rvw

looks to be headed to de-facto standard stardom.

and to think i felt swindled by the matrix reloaded. based on early reviews i will most definately not forcing kris to go see matrix revolutions.

phew. now i can safetly reinstate my “keanu” ban.

i’m off to
boca raton

for a day or so. unsurprisingly,
the
weather

certainly is better than what i’ve

got going on now. too bad i’ll be in planes, trains, automobiles and conference rooms for 99 percent of the trip. hi. ho.

p diddy ran the nyc marathon and he did really well, coming in at just under 4 hours. this is a fantastic time, considering that it includes the occasional interview and being mobbed on the course.

congratulations to maciej as well. you didn’t smoke p. diddy like a cheap cigar, but you’re still a winner. having just finished the chicago marathon, i applaud anyone who goes through all the training and actually completes a marathon. it’s a remarkable achievement, no matter what your time.

multiple

data points

indicate that the tech book business in general and the xml book
business in particular are
in dire
straights

.

looking at my own behavior, i can easily pinpoint the answer. my
tech book purchasing has dropped to near nothing over the years and
it’s due entirely to the fact that, for most tech topics most of
the time, a quick one-two punch of
google

and
google groups

is “good enough”. i love to support great companies like
o’reilly

, but there is an undeniably diminishing incremental value in many
technical books.

it’s a sad fact, but it’s proven by the decreasing number of times
that i’ve cracked open one of the books collecting dust on my desk
and the decreasing sales of tech books that those in the technical
publishing industry are reporting.

it’s a little rough around the edges and has
some of the usual aesthetic quirks which belie its wiki heritage,
but
openguides

looks like it has
a
lot of potential

:

“Next, we get a set of smaller boxes for entering
things like more-detailed location information, contact
information, and opening hours. These boxes may be completely
irrelevant to many, most, or all pages in your Guide. That’s OK.
They’re optional. But if you do fill them in, you get to play with
what I feel is one of the most innovative, yet simple, features of
OpenGuides — find me everything within half a kilometre of
Piccadilly Circus Tube station. Please. Because my feet hurt and I
could murder a glass of wine.”