The wizened old server on which my weblog has been hosted for the last 5 years seems to have either tripped over or falled down a well. So I follow the path of least resistance and outsource my diary to the lovely SixApart.

I flip-flop between the whole disaster being nightmarish (4 years of posts - gone!!!) or strangely liberating. My Outboard Attic has been tidied...

How to learn from your mistakes: "We’re taught in school, in our families, or at work to feel guilty about failure and to do whatever we can to avoid mistakes. This sense of shame combined with the inevitability of setbacks when attempting difficult things explains why many people give up on their goals: they’re not prepared for the mistakes and failures they’ll face on their way to what they want. What’s missing in many people’s beliefs about success is the fact that the more challenging the goal, the more frequent and difficult setbacks will be."

Mobile-related links:

• Long battery life is vital; I'm convinced that advances in battery or power transmission technologies are what will really revolutionise mobile. So many aspects of it are tied to assumptions of limited or low power that when those assumptions can be removed or weakened, a whole range of new opportunities open up.
• Are handsets suitable for e-books? Yes they are. We're working on an e-book project right now for a client of ours. Interesting stuff, I'll write more when I can.
• Oliver reckons wi-fi in handsets will free handset vendors from carrier dominance. My take? It'll also free them from having any customers. Carriers don't just build the roads, they service the vehicles and subsidise them for the mass market, then sell the petrol to drivers.
• Mobile Google Maps - beautiful!

  BBC News to launch new reader comment system

  October 09, 2005 | Comments

  BBC News to launch new reader comment system: "The BBC is moving to the new system because the site is currently overwhelmed by the volume of submissions, as every comment currently has to be individually approved before being published." Good to see the beeb taking a bit of a stand here. Requirements that some online (and mobile) organisations mandate are pretty crazy, and driven more by fear of prosecution than desire to protect, from what I've seen.

  Artists erect giant pink bunny on mountain

  October 09, 2005 | Comments

  Artists erect giant pink bunny on mountain: "The 200-foot-long toy rabbit lies on the side of the 5,000 foot high Colletto Fava mountain in northern Italy's Piedmont region."