A nice MP3 site, The Queen clicks 'One is feeling lucky', and ID cards gets a PR job...and lots more.

When I started this blog, one of my real fears was that I would be unable to sustain it; that I would run out of things to write about. As it turns out, my real problem has been what to choose out of all the ideas and topics that race past my eyes. So with that in mind, here are some micro-blogs of what piqued my interest over just the last few days:

'One is feeling lucky'

Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting Google, according to the Telegraph. This offers an insight into the Queen's engagement with the Internet (a blog entry of itself). It could also lead into a post on Google's role in the Internet ecosystem, a comparison with Microsoft, and a look at their relationship with open source - all hot topics of the moment.

LHC Fever

The LHC will at some point cause the destruction of the earth. Has it yet? The answer is 'No'. My favourite hypothesis is that when collisions start, the particles produced will interfere with the DNA of the dolphin population, and cause them to mutate into evil geniuses bent on the annihilation of the human race. So, my advice is to make sure you aren't on a submarine when the collisions actually start. Apart from this silliness, there are all sorts of possible relevant posts on that topic, but Charles Arthur has already taken the nice IT-related one.

Government Data

The contract with PA Consulting where they misplaced a large collection of personal information has been terminated. Other contracts between PA Consulting and the Home Office are 'under review'. Both these facts surprise me, and on reflection it is common sense. I guess I'm not used to failure exacting a price in IT contracts. Anyway, the really entertaining thing is that Saatchi have been taken on to promote ID cards for foreigners. What amuses me is that I caught part of a re-run on Dave (my own TV channel) where the fictional PR company Prentiss McCabe were hired to promote ID cards. They suggested raising the price of the card to £100, but one of those pounds goes into a lottery. Cue blog entry written around the title 'The Lottery of ID Cards'.

But I'm all for praise on government IT where it is due - and ready to accept that it often is; unlike the fearsome House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. When they are happy, it's more than worth a mention. Well done, then, to DWP for their Job Centre Plus IT-enabled change project that PAC are praising enthusiastically.

Database State

I'm hoping to make it up to a meeting of BCS Manchester Branch on the database state. If nothing else, maybe I can try to get a rise out of Phil Booth from NO2ID by suggesting that surely the innocent have nothing to fear from ID cards. When I stop and think about it, it's a wonder my mischievous streak doesn't get me into trouble more often...

Passionato abouta de MP3s classicale

Molto bene. A new music download service that offers high bitrate MP3 or lossless FLAC tracks in a nice and simple way has launched, called Passionato. I find most music stores simply don't do what I want them to do, but this looks excellent. When the music industry starts, y'know, focusing on what customers are after, perhaps I'll be more sympathetic towards their wailings and legal action aimed at illegal downloads. One day I will outline why I find the whole thing so flaming annoying, but not today.

Browsers and Government websites

The all-powerful Central Office of Information (COI) have announced a consultation on how government webmasters should deal with the issue of browser compatibility. My gut reaction is that their approach should begin with standards first, compatibility second. It will probably be more effective, not less, and be another positive chip away at the problem. They do mention this:

Technical standards

40. These guidelines do not advocate specific development methodologies, for example graceful degradation or progressive enhancement. However, it is widely accepted that sites conforming to open web standards such as XHTML and CSS are more likely to work well across a wide range of browsers. The importance of working to technical standards7 is highlighted in Minimum technical standards (TG109).

Fine, but I think this could be stronger and up front. The sooner people start to take the W3C's standards as something more than rough guides, the better. Anyway, keen to hear what people have to say about that.

Here endeth my anthology of interest. All that is left is to wish you a happy and prosperous weekend.