If you’re interested in manipulating XML with Perl, you should read the Perl XML FAQ. It also references the Perl-XML mailing list, which is an excellent resource. Personally, I haven’t started doing anything with XML yet, although I have lots of ideas about creating a publishing system with it.

Mason is a Perl-based engine for delivering Web content that was originally written for TechWeb. It looks like a good alternative to StoryServer an its ilk? Anyone out there using it? If so, let me know what you think.

The Gecko BugAThon continues. Hey HTML wizards, help us get a great open source Web browser, and get some free stuff as well.

The strange saga of Palm Computing continues, as 3Com prepares to spin them off. Palm started off as an independent company. They were eaten by US Robotics, which was in turn eaten by 3Com. Now, they’re going it alone again.

A couple of free market disciples have written a book attacking the idea that Microsoft has benefitted from network effects. (Network effects are based on the idea that a product becomes more valuable as the number of people who use it rises.) I doubt I’d agree with the book’s conclusions, but it does sound like it makes an interesting argument.

George W. Bush is posting lists of donors to his campaign on his Web site in PDF. Java book author Elliotte Rusty Harold is reposting them in more convenient formats. If I were ever to donate to his campaign (something that will never happen), I wouldn’t want my name posted on the Web for doing it. At this time, I’d like to plug www.bushwatch.com again.

MP3 continues to let a thousand flowers bloom. One of the latest entrants in the MP3 arena is garageband.com, which allows musicians to upload their songs, and then allows listeners to rate them.

There’s talk that Microsoft is about to start parting out MSN to get rid of sites that aren’t a good fit. Didn’t they do this once already when they got rid of all of their “shows” and replaced them with these newer consumer-oriented sites. I guess that’s not working either. Interestingly, MSNBC’s pathetic Web site gets more hits than CNN.

Salon has an incredibly pessimistic article about Marc Andreesen’s departure from AOL. I don’t think that the people working on the Mozilla project would appreciate it being referred to as “moribund.”

The Army’s Web site was defaced through the big Cold Fusion security hole that was discovered not long ago. The one where the exploitable Web application was installed as part of the Cold Fusion examples and documentation.