Subjectify.
Publicity Agent's office. The Publicity Agent is at his computer. There are stacks of computer printouts and computer texts on every horizontal surface.
The books have corny computer language titles like "See C", Drink Java", "Perl Pearls", "For Fortran", "Sweet Pascal", "Loop the OOP". There are empty soft drink cans, hamburger wrappers and pizza boxes scattered about.
In a corner an organic mouse is trying to engage a disgarded computer mouse in courtship ritual.
The Capt'n enters
Capt'n
What are you up to now?
Publicty Agent
I'm developing a new software package.
Capt'n unimpressed
Oh yeah. It'd want to be better than that web page you did the other week.
Publicty Agent
Well, what could I do with that banner? That dead slab of black and red? I was going to have Venus holding up one end and Lolita the other, but once Lolita got onto the page she just larked about and you saw what happened.
(if you missed it, see page under discussion ed.)
Capt'n
Oh yeah, I saw. So this new effort is going to be better?
Publicty Agent
(with enthusiasm)
Yes, it's more than a web page. It's a program. It's going have all the friendly accessibility of SAP and the finely honed precision of Syllabus Plus. It uses a new concept inspired by that talk the other day on the Objectify system.
Remember? The Web Exec sent out an email,
On Tuesday 5th June, at 2 pm, Craig Hunter and Daniel Beaty of Interactive Digital Constructions will give demonstration of their "Objectify' software. This is web page management software ...
I call my concept, Subjectify.
Capt'n
Subjectify?
Publicty Agent
Essentially it's a sorting program, but instead of sorting things objectively it sorts them subjectively!
Capt'n
What sort of things does it sort?
Publicty Agent
It's suitable for subjectively sorting all sorts of subjects.
Capt'n
playing smart
Is it suitable for subjectively systematically sorting silly Sally's sea shells on the sea shore?
Publicty Agent
grins
Sure, sure.
[marks up score on wall with pencil]
Whatever object you provide it with it sorts at one level beyond below the object level.
Capt'n
Eh?
(In the meanwhile a second organic mouse has arrived. Working together the two organic mice have rolled the computer mouse over and extracted the ball and are playing soccer with it.)
Publicty Agent
If you provide it with a word list, then it sorts by word; if you provide it with a book it will sort by page. If you provide it with a library catalogue it will sort by book.
Capt'n
But it does this subjectively?
Publicty Agent
Ah! That's the clever bit. It uses artificial intelligent techniques to develop a personality profile for the user and it can transfer this profile from search to search. It works really well, I started it on books, then library catalogues, it soon had me figured. You should what was on the top of the list when I entered all web art images as a object for sorting!
Capt'n
Yes, I can well imagine. OK, let's have try.
The Capt'n plays with the system, sorting football players, football teams, stocks and shares, licensed outlets ...
Capt'n enthusiastic
Hey! It's pretty good. It always puts the ones I'm interested in on top! Let's try this.
Enters "all world events".
There is unprecedented activity on the computer. A stream of messages fly past
reject, disposed, unsuitable, trashed, trash full, trash dumped, sublists sorted, sorting sublists.
Eventually a message window with a
display
button appears. It reads
Sort complete - 1 items.
Capt'n
What! After all that carry on it comes up with one item! It's bombed!
"off-side!" squeaks one of the organic mice
Publicty Agent
his confidence is shot
Could be just a minor bug. Even Microsoft has bugs sometimes. I dunno, try the display button.
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