My favorite game back in the days of DOS was Electronic Arts’ Pinball Construction Set. It let you play a decent game of pinball but what really set it above the rest was that you could create and save your own pinball tables! All it took was drag-and-drop to add new bumpers, flippers, and black holes. You could increase gravity or tilt the table. You had the choice of playing the game or making the game.
Ever since hearing IBM’s Irving Wladawsky-Berger describe a future computing environment where users could create applications without resorting to programming, I’ve been salivating for the day I could craft my own solutions. (I am a lousy, lousy programmer, so coding is out.) I want to manipulate databases and rules and filters and what-not as easily as making a new pinball game used to be.
What I’m after isn’t here yet, but a site called Ning is a start. Ning permits non-programmers to create their own mash-ups. You can set up contests (Rate the Cheese!), comparisons (Which is cuter?), or combine Google maps with your personal restaurant reviews. All I need to do now is figure out how to use my new-found power.
Meta mash-ups!
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I was wondering if you have a link for the Irving Wladawsky-Berger talk. I tried Googling it and there was too much to look at. How long ago was the talk?