Note: This column represents the opinions
of the writer and as such, is not purported as fact
Sponsor's Message
|
I love the power of the Net as a communications medium.
There's simply no easier way for individuals to spread information to a huge
audience at a near-zero cost.
The downside of this is, of course, spam.
But today's column isn't about spam, it's about how
my latest website went
from zero to 160,000 hits in the span of about 48 hours.
What's more, it produced a good fistful of people who are prepared to ante
up with hard cash to subscribe.
The Aardvark PC-Based Digital
Entertainment Centre Project
Yes, at last, this feature
has been updated again! (31 Mar 2003)
And, as as I expected,
this little site has generated significant international media interest that will
likelyresult in another massive increase in traffic over coming weeks.
Interestingly enough, the response to this site has been to polarise people as
to the issue of free speech on the Net.
I have already received hundreds of emails from people who have visited the
site and felt strongly enough to contact me.
The vast majority of those who wrote were simply intensely interested
in the premise that someone could build their own relatively accurate
cruise missile for just US$5,000.
There were however, a number of people who believe that this type of
thing ought to be banned from the Net -- and to say that some were
more than "a little inelegant" in their prose would be an understatement ;-)
When the "geek" discussion site Slashdot
carried news of my website
it prompted over 500 comments from readers -- some pro, some con.
Of course I should state quite clearly at this point that I'm not a terrorist
who wants his own cruise missile to bomb the snot out of anyone who
doesn't agree with my politics.
Indeed, one of the reasons for publishing this site and publicising my activities
is to avoid the situation where authorities might find a "secret" cruise missile
in my garage and suggest that this was the case.
To this end, I contacted the NZ Air Force through the
airforce.mil.nz website to ask
whether they might like to "supervise" the testing of this missile.
Unfortunately,
I've not heard back from them yet. I only hope that the seemingly broken
code on this page
(screenshot) hasn't meant
that messages submitted aren't reaching them.
So, if I'm not a terrorist, why did I want to build a cruise missile?
Firstly, because I need to build an unmanned vehicle to act as a test-bed
for the final stages of my jet engine R&D.
Secondly, as a marketing tool for my new jet engine technology. Given that
one of the key target markets for this technology is that of unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs) including cruise missiles, there's no better way
to demonstrate the superiority of these engines than in a real-world
application.
So once again, the internet proves its power as a communications medium that
allows a NZer working in his garage to rattle chains half a world away
in the world's most powerful nation.
If any Aardvark readers have an opinion on today's column or
want to add something you're also invited to chip in and
have your say.
Yes, You Can Donate
Although the very kind folks at iHug continue to generously sponsor the
publication of Aardvark, the bills still exceed the income by a fairly
significant amount. It is with this in mind therefore that I'm once
again soliciting donations from anyone who feels they're getting some
value from this daily column and news index. I've gone the PayPal
way of accepting donations because the time involved in processing a bunch
of little credit-card billings sometimes exceeds the monetary value they
represent. Just click on the button to donate whatever you can afford.
NOTE: PayPal bills in US dollars so don't accidentally donate twice
what you were intending :-)
Contacting Aardvark
As always, readers are invited to submit their comments on material covered
in this column. If you'd like your comments published here then please
be sure to use this form and select For Publication.
Other media organisations seeking more information or republication rights
are also invited to contact me.
Add Aardvark To Your Own Website!
Got a moment? Want a little extra fresh content for your own website or
page?
Just add a
couple of lines of JavaScript
to your pages and you can get
a free summary of Aardvark's daily commentary -- automatically updated
each and every week-day.
Aardvark also makes a summary of this daily column available via XML using
the RSS format. More details can be found
here.
Contact me if you decide to use either of these feeds and
have any problems.
Linking Policy
Want to link to this site? Check out Aardvark's
Linking Policy.
Did you tell someone else about Aardvark today? If not then do it
now!
|
|
|