Binaries are great, if you are a computer
News.com's Ina Fried leaps into the blogosphere with Beyond Binary, a look beyond the ones and zeros of technology.
Welcome.
So what the heck is this Beyond Binary blog anyway?
The idea is to give more space to some of the best parts of my job as a reporter for CNET News.com--helping to connect the dots, talking about where things are headed in the industry, and telling some of the stories behind the stories I write.
As for the title, I wanted something to suggest that there's more to technology than just the code that underlies the products. What's really interesting is the way technology makes our lives simpler, or more difficult. Technology can help connect us to other people or make us feel more isolated--and sometimes both at the same time. I want to hear about the technologies you can't live without, as well as the software and devices that drive you crazy.
And while the products created by our industry may be made up of ones and zeros, the people who create and use them are not. I hope to tell more of those stories as well.
Since I spend most of my time covering Microsoft, the folks in Redmond will get more than their fair share of attention here too, although I hope to talk about other technologies that are changing the way we live and work.
Beyond Binary is also a not-so-subtle reference to my gender. For those who don't know, I spent my first four years at CNET working as a male before transitioning to female in June 2003. At the time, I didn't share much about my personal odyssey with readers. My byline simply changed from Ian to Ina, and that was that. Talking about my gender still isn't my primary focus, but living as a woman who was born a boy does make for some pretty interesting stories. I may share some of those tales on occasion, especially when they intersect with my work as a technology journalist.
For those who are interested in those posts specifically, I'll tag them with "gender" and you can click on the gender link on the right to see all posts tagged as such. Likewise, those looking just for Microsoft stuff or online-services posts can click on those tags.
One of the most frequently updated parts of the blog will be the "Stuff I'm reading" feed. It's an annotated collection of links I come across during my endless hours of surfing the Web.
I'll spare everyone the beta tag, but rest assured, this is a work in progress. Feel free to say what you like and don't like, but please spare the ad hominem, ad feminem and ad-what-the-heck-are-you attacks.