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Use of the "X-" Prefix in Application Protocols

2011 Jul 1, 10:12" Historically, protocol designers and implementers distinguished
between "standard" and "non-standard" parameters by prefixing the
latter with the string "X-". On balance, this "X-" convention has
more costs than benefits, although it can be appropriate in certain
circumstances."PermalinkCommentsprefix technical standrad rfc uri url x-

Content-Type Processing Model

2009 Jun 22, 3:12HTML5's mime-sniffing is getting moved to an IETF doc: "Many web servers supply incorrect Content-Type headers with their HTTP responses. In order to be compatible with these servers, user agents must consider the content of HTTP responses as well as the Content-Type header when determining the effective media type of the response. This document describes an algorithm for determining the effective media type of HTTP responses that balances security and compatibility considerations."PermalinkCommentsmime mime-sniffing ietf http w3c html5 technical

The Wii Fit's Mind Games

2008 Jun 19, 2:49

Wii Fit LogoSarah received her Wii Fit a few weeks ago. The Wii Fit is a game for the Wii and a balance board accessory that can tell how you're standing on it: leaning forward, standing on one foot, leaning backward and mostly on your left foot, etc. The game puts you through various exercises grouped into the categories of aerobic, balance, strength, and yoga. It also lets you set goals and keeps track of how well you do, how long you play, and a graph of your weight.

The portion I didn't expect were the mind games. Sarah turned it on after not using it for a day and it said something to the effect of 'Oh, didn't have time to exercise yesterday? Huh. Interesting....' I'm paraphrasing of course but the Wii Fit was definitely trying to lay down some guilt. In another instance when starting up the Wii Fit Sarah was asked 'Did you know that Dave has been using Wii Fit?' She selected yes and it then asked her how she thought I was progressing giving her four options. She selected the worst one, that I was getting worse (jokingly I hope) and it told her to tell me that, but not to use those words. In conversation Sarah should mention to me that I've been "living large". Now I'm not paraphrasing. It reminded me a bit of this xkcd comic 'Zealous Autoconfig'. Hopefully this is the extent of the manipulation and mind games that the Wii Fit will perform.

PermalinkCommentsxkcd wii-fit sarah guilt nontechnical wii

MathTrek: Can't Knock It Down

2007 Apr 17, 12:28Mathematicians design an object that can't be knocked down. I like the part when looking for self righting objects in the natural world they test turtles...PermalinkCommentsmath humor balance
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