Use My Default Browser!
I know, I know, I said I would stop publishing these. Seems some of you like them though, so here's another. The fact that it's not an option* in the first place is an annoyance to say the least.
Yesterday I meant to shrink the image suffuciently to prevent any embarrassment. Apparently not. Well, if you're that interested I will publish the XML list of all my albums when I've copied them all. Now, that will be funny.
I know what you were thinking after seeing all those albums: Can a Human Being Fit on an IPod?. What, you weren't? Oh well. Via The Gutted Geek.
*Before you tell me you can select any browser with the "Other" option. I know! That's not the point though.
What your CD stack image demonstrates is the "usefulness" of the inbuilt redundancy in the English language.
Linguists estimate that the English language is, on average, approximately 50% redundant. The concept of redundancy used here is that of communication theory, and is distinct to the term used to describe staff who are no longer required.
It could be described as predictability. Jean Michelle Jarre is not readable on that image with my eyes, but the context of the letters I can make out allows me to use my knowledge contructively. I can see that the first and third words begin with what is probably a "J". The first letter of the second word begins with a blocky shaped letter, an "M" or an "N", although it's width leads me to supect that it is an "M" or a "W". The fact that it is written on the spine of a CD case suggests it would be a name, or an album title. None of the words are small enough to be "THE" or "A" or "OF", so it is likely to be the artist's name. The fact that the CD belongs to a collection owned by a self-confessed nerd, who has an interest in microtechnology provides further context.
All these things make up the redundancy that allows us to guess the message.
W** *et *** **gs o*t?
Guess what the above says. If you don't know, then imagine it on a CD single.
This is how crosswords work too.
Linguistic redundancy makes it possible to understand a message through the "NOISE" that affects it.
More chaotic things like a replica ID contain far less redundancy.
Here is one: 80*56*5F*04*66*7
I bet you didn't know that this was meant to mean 80256B5F00426697?
Here is another 16 character string, affected by the same level and style of noise as before, only this time in the English language: DO*NO* B* A*RAID
I bet you think this was meant to mean DO NOT BE AFRAID?
Sorry for the length of this comment, but for once, we have touched upon a subject I actually know something about!
Brilliant, Tone. ;-)
However I come here to add another Dobby-has-been-bad (or was it IBM?) on the Default Browser issue:
In designer, you can preview your work in the default browser. Fast and simple by moving your mouse all the way up to the Design Menu, then selecting "Preview in Browser" -> "Default Browser". Luckily, there is no unconvenient Smart Icon for this refreshing task, nor can you add one yourself.
In R6, all this has changed, of course. You can now customize the "Preview" toolbar and at least add the Icon "Other" to your list. Save the toolbar and it's gone again ... :(
Tone,
Was your message "Why bet the bogs oat"?
:-)
Dave: You got that to??
re:your CD list...What hidden personality traits of yours will be revealed when you publish the list? Would this be some kind of data mining into your soul?