[thelist] new SVG status

Techwatcher techwatcher at accesswriters.com
Wed Jan 15 21:40:01 CST 2003


Hi, All --

I've barely been looking at this list recently, but I wanted to let you
all know (in case it slipped by unnoticed) that W3C just made SVG a
standard. Earlier this year on another list (for wearable computers) I
found out about SVG, and just saw the notice on one of the tech news
sites that it's now official.

SVG is for vector graphics, and is XML (and therefore XHTML) compliant;
it's a new and very exciting Web standard enabling some interactive
graphic applications, both on the Web and in small (or "tiny") mobile
form factors (i.e., cell phones). It's been a candidate for awhile, so
it already has some browser support. Corel has an authoring suite (or
almost has it, I'm not sure which); as a Web developer you can sign up
to become an early adopter (hint, hint).

The info page at w3c even offers download of a tiny solitaire game, as
shown on a cell phone. It's bound to become hot, so you might want to
jump on that learning curve.

Btw, that stuff about states taxing Internet sales is just plain
stupid, for the states. Remember how the big corporations "moved" to
Delaware to avoid outlandish state taxes? (In case you don't know, you
only have to pay about $50 annually to have a "registered agent" in
Delaware, and you can be a Delaware corporation without an office, or
anything else, physically there. Most NY banks, for example, are
actually Delaware companies!) Similarly, new small businesses aiming at
the Web will just incorporate (or move) offshore -- as they are already
tempted to do by other factors.

Do we really think some little state government is going to be able
to "tax" a Web-based enterprise "located" in the Bahamas or wherever?
Internet taxes could only be collected at the Federal level, basically,
because it will take the (overt or subtle) threat of physical force
(which the U.S. is so good at, right?) to force those other countries
to prevent such "offshore" virtual businesses set up by Americans
(perhaps with a local "silent partner").

Cheers --
Carol
techwatcher at accesswriters.com



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