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Vol. 10, Issue 3

March 2008

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LEAD STORIES

	XML is Golden, XML is the Only Solution, and Other Debatable XML Assumptions Glenn Emerson, Information Architect for Xerox Global Services, shares views on debatable XML assumptions and how they play in the real world.
	How to Rewrite Content for Reuse: Part I More than just discussing why reuse is valuable, in this article Pamela Kostur tells you how to do it. Pamela advises on how to convert your unstructured (or loosely-structured) legacy documentation into something more suitable for reuse.

OTHER NEWS
- The 38 Cent Medical Checkup-
   Coming to a Clinic Near You?
- If You’re Gonna Do DITA, Do it Right
- e-Prescriptions Saving Lives and Money
- Haven't I Seen You Somewhere Before?

GREAT WEB SITES YOU'VE LIKELY NOT SEEN
A Look into the Future That Never Was

ASIDE ;-)
Hey, Anybody Know how to use this Slide Rule?

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

FAVORITES
Popular articles from recent issues

EXTRA
Upcoming conferences

LEAD STORIES

XML is Golden,
XML is the Only Solution,
and Other Debatable XML Assumptions
March 25, 2008: DCLnews
When Glenn Emerson, Information Architect for Xerox Global Services, read Point/Counterpoint - Is the XML Solution the Only Solution? (DCLnews, November 2007) he could barely contain his passion. In fact, Glenn was so passionate, we asked him to write his own article on debatable XML assumptions and how they play in the real world. Some common assumptions that get bandied about include, "Moving to XML is required for content reuse", "Once in XML, all is golden", and "Removing content from format is always a good thing." So before you go and make any assumptions of your own about your content management solution, we suggest you read what he has to say. Besides we all know what making assumptions does to you and me.
Click for full article

How to Rewrite Content for Reuse: Part I
March 25, 2008: DCLnews Editorial
More than just discussing the value of reuse, Pamela Kostur, in this article, tells you how to do it. Pamela advises on how to convert unstructured (or loosely-structured) legacy documentation and how to make it suitable for reuse. And as to why not re-write everything from scratch? For starters, it's cheaper, and quicker, and safer, to re-organize what's already been written, and tested, than to start all over. In this exclusive article Pamela shows you how to plan an information architecture and move into developing structure and guidelines for a new reuse environment.
Click for full article

OTHER NEWS

The 38 Cent Medical Checkup-
Coming to a Clinic Near You?
November 29, 2007: BusinessWeek
Can this be something the US can learn from India? In India, a country with no national health care and more than seven hundred million people living in remote areas, technology is assuring everyone gets their yearly checkups, even without doctors. Entrepreneurial engineer, Sameer Sawarkar, developed a medical diagnostic device "the size of a boombox" that checks blood pressure, temperature and even runs an electrocardiogram, transmitting results to physicians miles away via the Internet, for as little as 38-65 cents per patient. Could this drive down the cost of healthcare in the US? Click for full article

If You’re Gonna Do DITA, Do it Right
March 2008: JustSystems
Enterprises looking to fast track their content strategy and minimize the risks of a "big-bang" initiative are choosing DITA, one of the most popular information models to suit today's content-rich, multi-channel environment.

But how do you know where to begin? How do you move the enterprise content strategy from the back room to the board room and develop a framework for success?

The DITA Maturity Model addresses these management challenges by dividing DITA adoption into 6 levels, each with its own required investment and associate return. Find out:

• What the levels are,
• How to assess your own capabilities and goals
   relative to the model, and
• Choose the initial adoption level appropriate for your needs
   and schedule
Click for full article

e-Prescriptions Saving Lives and Money
March 4, 2008: InfoWorld
About 8000 people die every year in the US due to prescription errors. But still 94% of US doctors prescribe by hand. By insisting on paper prescriptions doctors are in effect saying 'I reserve the right to issue paper prescriptions and kill people.' This article describes the awareness campaign designed to persuade physicians to switch from paper-based to electronic prescribing. And Congress is also adding pressure by drafting legislation to assist physicians who adopt e-prescribing and decreasing Medicare payments to those who don't.
- Click for full article
- getrxconnected.com
- Some Personal Observations on Electronic Medical Records


Haven't I Seen You Somewhere Before?
March 3, 2008: msnbc.com
It's not Déjà vu, or is it? A new database "of highly similar and duplicate citations," promises to weed out plagiarism in scientific studies. True, often times individual researchers run similar studies at the same time, but "blatant piracy" of research results or publishing essentially the same study in different journals can mislead other researchers and clinicians by appearing to bolster the studies' conclusions and clinical significance. The Déjà vu database wasn't originally built to uncover dubious studies, but like all good research, it found what it wasn't looking for. In fact, it has matched some 71,000 pairs of highly similar citations.
Click for full article

GREAT WEB SITES YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER SEEN

A Look into the Future That Never Was

Remember what we thought we'd be doing in the distant future? Well, we aren't exactly walking on water, yet, but that's how some advertisers in 1900 imagined people of the 21st century. They also saw us moving about in personalized flying machines and locomotives that moved under water as illustrated in this digitized collection of antique post cards on PaleoFuture.com. See also, a 1956 advertisement for the house of the future-again with the flying machines! Or clothing made of paper that "you'll simply throw away - and maybe kindle a camp fire with." Now that could be an idea whose time has come.
Click to visit

Have an interesting digital archive you'd like to share? Contact us at digitalarchive@dclab.com.

ASIDE

Hey, Anybody Know how to use this Slide Rule?
March 20, 2008: obsoleteskills.com
Feeling obsolete? Don't worry, it's probably just the weather. Or maybe it's just because you haven't had a chance to show how adept you are at lining up the dot matrix printer lately. You're not alone. Many skills that once made us the office go-to person have died off as advances in technology require new talents. This wiki of obsolete skills started as a thought in a blog post and has grown to hundreds of user-generated ideas of obsolescence. From adjusting TV rabbit ears, to steadily whiting-out typos , you'll find at least one thing you used to be good at.
Click for full article

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"Lead, follow or get out of the way" -- Thomas Paine

FAVORITES

Popular articles from recent issues
March 25, 2008

The Dawning of the Age of Content-and why Content Convergence Matters
http://www.dclab.com/content_convergence.asp

Some Personal Observations on Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
http://www.dclab.com/emr.asp

How the Irish Government Tricked 6,500 Workers into Using XML, Without Their Knowing It
http://www.dclab.com/xml_authoring.asp

EXTRA

Upcoming conferences

Content Management Strategies/DITA North American Conference Visit the DCL Exhibit April 7-9, 2008, Hyatt Regency, Santa Clara, CA

PTC/USER World Event , June 1-4, 2008, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, CA. See the DCL presentation.

Mark Logic User Conference June 10-12, 2008, Intercontinental Hotel, San Francisco, CA .Visit the DCL Exhibit.