Quit Stealing my Browser Windows!
These days, a lot of applications open browser windows, for whatever reason. Maybe you clicked on "Help" or "FAQ", and the application politely started an instance of your default browser, displaying whatever it is you wanted to see. And that's great. There's no reason to reinvent the wheel. A web browser is really good at displaying help information, FAQs, and lots of other things.
However, have you ever noticed that if you already have one or more browser windows open, applications will often steal one of those preexisting browser windows? That is, the application has decided that it's time to navigate one of your preexisting browser windows to a different page, rather than opening a new browser window.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Happy New Year! :-)
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
About a month ago the company I work for changed their name (more like simplified their name) and introduced a new logo. At the big Town Hall meeting where they unveiled the new logo they gave all the attendees some branded merchandise. Cool, right?
The problem is that it was (and you can't make this up) old leftover merchandise with the old logos!
Here was a golden opportunity to give all their employees a bunch of t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies with the new logo that they would wear out in public (i.e., free advertising) and promote the new corporate brand and image.
But they blew it. Utterly and completely blew it.
What's worse is the demoralization effect on the employees. I don't feel like a valued employee by receiving that stuff -- I feel like I'm one step above the garbage dumpster out back. I would have been much happier if the company would have donated that stuff to local charities and then given out nothing.
The problem is that it was (and you can't make this up) old leftover merchandise with the old logos!
Here was a golden opportunity to give all their employees a bunch of t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies with the new logo that they would wear out in public (i.e., free advertising) and promote the new corporate brand and image.
But they blew it. Utterly and completely blew it.
What's worse is the demoralization effect on the employees. I don't feel like a valued employee by receiving that stuff -- I feel like I'm one step above the garbage dumpster out back. I would have been much happier if the company would have donated that stuff to local charities and then given out nothing.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
My Love/Hate Relationship with Microsoft
It seems every time they do something really stupid (i.e., Vista) they do something really good for the community. One of those is their constant battles against spam and spyware. I applaud Microsoft for using some of their vast resources to combat these plagues. This is from the SANS NewsBites newsletter which you can sign up for here (it's well worth it).
It seems every time they do something really stupid (i.e., Vista) they do something really good for the community. One of those is their constant battles against spam and spyware. I applaud Microsoft for using some of their vast resources to combat these plagues. This is from the SANS NewsBites newsletter which you can sign up for here (it's well worth it).
--Microsoft Wins Summary Judgment Against Man for Selling Spam Lists
(15 December 2006)
A UK court granted a summary judgment against a man who was selling lists of email addresses for use in spamming schemes. A lawsuit filed by Microsoft alleged that Paul Martin McDonald's sale of the lists violated the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. A summary of the case indicates the judge found that "the evidence plainly established that the business of [McDonald's company] was supplying email lists of persons who had not consented to receive direct marketing mail and that it had encouraged purchasers of the lists to send emails to those people."
Saturday, December 16, 2006
The Cell Phone Charger Scam
Just a few days ago, I replaced my old cell phone with a new cell phone.
The good news: It was a free upgrade! (I'm saying that tongue-in-cheek, since cell phone upgrades are typically subsidized by outrageously high monthly service fees. I'm looking at you, Verizon Wireless!)
The bad news: I locked myself into two more years of slavery. Oops, I mean, I signed another two year contract.
Every time I've ever upgraded my cell phone, I get a new cell phone charger, and they're always different. Why don't cell phone manufacturers settle on a standard interface for cell phone chargers? Probably because they make more money when they're all incompatible. Why sell people just a cell phone when you can sell them a cell phone and a charger every single time they upgrade?
To be fair, you can buy universal cell phone chargers that claim to fit most cell phones. Be prepared to pay $20 to $30 for one, though. And remember, there's no guarantee your universal cell phone charger will fit your next cell phone.
It gets even worse when you're talking about car cell phone chargers, the kind that plug into the cigarette lighter jack in your car. New cell phones almost always come with a regular charger (which plug into standard house power receptacles), but they never seem to come with a car cell phone charger. Open your wallet and prepare to pay another $20 to $30 for the privilege of being able to charge your cell phone in your car.
Enough is enough! This time, I'm saying "NO!" to the man! I'm not going to pay $20 to $30 for a car cell phone charger that required maybe $4 to $5 worth of parts! Power to the people! Ahem...excuse me.
This time, I've decided to buy an inverter. For those of you that don't know what an inverter is: It's a circuit for converting direct current (which is the kind of current the cigarette lighter jack in your car provides) to alternating current (which is the kind of current the power receptacles in your house provide). That way, I won't need a car cell phone charger: I can plug my regular cell phone charger into the inverter.
Inverters run about $30 to $50, which is certainly more than a $20 to $30 car cell phone charger, but they also give you a lot more utility, since they can power lots of different devices depending on your need at the time. For example, they can power:
Of course, the list goes on.
Inverters are also bulkier, but if you're careful to buy an inverter with a long enough cord, you can easily stash it under your car seat and mostly forget about it. Also, most inverters can power more than one device at a time.
If you upgrade your cell phone regularly, and each time, buy another car cell phone charger, you should consider an inverter. Do a bit of research and get a quality inverter, and it should be a long, long time before you ever need to worry about buying a car cell phone charger again. And, as I've already mentioned, the extra utility provided by an inverter can be quite valuable.
Just a few days ago, I replaced my old cell phone with a new cell phone.
The good news: It was a free upgrade! (I'm saying that tongue-in-cheek, since cell phone upgrades are typically subsidized by outrageously high monthly service fees. I'm looking at you, Verizon Wireless!)
The bad news: I locked myself into two more years of slavery. Oops, I mean, I signed another two year contract.
Every time I've ever upgraded my cell phone, I get a new cell phone charger, and they're always different. Why don't cell phone manufacturers settle on a standard interface for cell phone chargers? Probably because they make more money when they're all incompatible. Why sell people just a cell phone when you can sell them a cell phone and a charger every single time they upgrade?
To be fair, you can buy universal cell phone chargers that claim to fit most cell phones. Be prepared to pay $20 to $30 for one, though. And remember, there's no guarantee your universal cell phone charger will fit your next cell phone.
It gets even worse when you're talking about car cell phone chargers, the kind that plug into the cigarette lighter jack in your car. New cell phones almost always come with a regular charger (which plug into standard house power receptacles), but they never seem to come with a car cell phone charger. Open your wallet and prepare to pay another $20 to $30 for the privilege of being able to charge your cell phone in your car.
Enough is enough! This time, I'm saying "NO!" to the man! I'm not going to pay $20 to $30 for a car cell phone charger that required maybe $4 to $5 worth of parts! Power to the people! Ahem...excuse me.
This time, I've decided to buy an inverter. For those of you that don't know what an inverter is: It's a circuit for converting direct current (which is the kind of current the cigarette lighter jack in your car provides) to alternating current (which is the kind of current the power receptacles in your house provide). That way, I won't need a car cell phone charger: I can plug my regular cell phone charger into the inverter.
Inverters run about $30 to $50, which is certainly more than a $20 to $30 car cell phone charger, but they also give you a lot more utility, since they can power lots of different devices depending on your need at the time. For example, they can power:
- Cell phone charger
- Laptop computer
- An extra light
- Video camera
- Portable DVD player
- Television set
- Hand-held games
- Rechargeable battery chargers
Of course, the list goes on.
Inverters are also bulkier, but if you're careful to buy an inverter with a long enough cord, you can easily stash it under your car seat and mostly forget about it. Also, most inverters can power more than one device at a time.
If you upgrade your cell phone regularly, and each time, buy another car cell phone charger, you should consider an inverter. Do a bit of research and get a quality inverter, and it should be a long, long time before you ever need to worry about buying a car cell phone charger again. And, as I've already mentioned, the extra utility provided by an inverter can be quite valuable.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Friday, December 08, 2006
Windows XP Professional vs. Ubuntu GNU/Linux
In the not-too-distant past, my hard drive crashed, and that made me sad. It also made me happy, because it gave me an excuse to purchase a larger hard drive. I ended up buying a hard drive with enough space to install both Windows XP Professional and Ubuntu GNU/Linux (which I'll just call Ubuntu going forward).
All of this happened on my rather crappy Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop computer. (Dude, I'm never getting another Dell! Ya, like they care...)
Like most people, I expected the Windows install to be easy, and the Ubuntu install to be hard. To my surprise, the exact opposite happened:
Windows did not recognize my video.
Windows did not recognize my audio.
Windows did not recognize my touch pad (it worked, but none of the advanced features worked).
Windows did not recognize my internal modem.
Windows did not recognize my Ethernet port.
About the only thing that worked out-of-the-box was Windows making damn sure I had a valid serial number.
The last two problems could have been a big issue. Fortunately, I had a USB Flash Drive and another computer, so I could download all the appropriate drivers.
And that I did. Search for driver, download. Search for driver, download. Search for driver, download. Etc.
And then the really fun part. Install driver, reboot. Install driver, reboot. Install driver, reboot. Ah, Windows, how I hate thee sometimes.
After downloading a bunch of Windows patches and rebooting a few more times, I had a fully functional Windows install. A fresh Windows install is a wonderful thing. It boots fast, it uses less than 128 MB of RAM to boot to your desktop, and it runs fast. Too bad it never lasts more than a few weeks, or a few months at most. Why is it that every piece of software on the planet thinks it's so important that it has to install and start parts of itself during system start-up? Sigh.
After a few hours of installing Windows (and a few gray hairs), I installed Ubuntu. It went something like this:
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my video.
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my audio.
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my touch pad (including the advanced features).
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my internal modem.
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my Ethernet port.
Um...wow?
Not only that, but Ubuntu gives you a real system. That is, it installs a decent (but not overwhelming) array of productivity applications for you automatically. Right after an Ubuntu install, you hit the ground running. And installing more applications is just a few clicks away. It's fantastic.
People sometimes ask me, "Is Linux ready for the desktop yet?" From now on, I think I'll have to respond, "Yes, it is. Is Windows ready for the desktop yet?"
In the not-too-distant past, my hard drive crashed, and that made me sad. It also made me happy, because it gave me an excuse to purchase a larger hard drive. I ended up buying a hard drive with enough space to install both Windows XP Professional and Ubuntu GNU/Linux (which I'll just call Ubuntu going forward).
All of this happened on my rather crappy Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop computer. (Dude, I'm never getting another Dell! Ya, like they care...)
Like most people, I expected the Windows install to be easy, and the Ubuntu install to be hard. To my surprise, the exact opposite happened:
Windows did not recognize my video.
Windows did not recognize my audio.
Windows did not recognize my touch pad (it worked, but none of the advanced features worked).
Windows did not recognize my internal modem.
Windows did not recognize my Ethernet port.
About the only thing that worked out-of-the-box was Windows making damn sure I had a valid serial number.
The last two problems could have been a big issue. Fortunately, I had a USB Flash Drive and another computer, so I could download all the appropriate drivers.
And that I did. Search for driver, download. Search for driver, download. Search for driver, download. Etc.
And then the really fun part. Install driver, reboot. Install driver, reboot. Install driver, reboot. Ah, Windows, how I hate thee sometimes.
After downloading a bunch of Windows patches and rebooting a few more times, I had a fully functional Windows install. A fresh Windows install is a wonderful thing. It boots fast, it uses less than 128 MB of RAM to boot to your desktop, and it runs fast. Too bad it never lasts more than a few weeks, or a few months at most. Why is it that every piece of software on the planet thinks it's so important that it has to install and start parts of itself during system start-up? Sigh.
After a few hours of installing Windows (and a few gray hairs), I installed Ubuntu. It went something like this:
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my video.
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my audio.
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my touch pad (including the advanced features).
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my internal modem.
Ubuntu automatically recognized and configured my Ethernet port.
Um...wow?
Not only that, but Ubuntu gives you a real system. That is, it installs a decent (but not overwhelming) array of productivity applications for you automatically. Right after an Ubuntu install, you hit the ground running. And installing more applications is just a few clicks away. It's fantastic.
People sometimes ask me, "Is Linux ready for the desktop yet?" From now on, I think I'll have to respond, "Yes, it is. Is Windows ready for the desktop yet?"
Monday, December 04, 2006
I would like to welcome Ed to my blog. I've known him forever and he's a great friend. He'll be writing occasionally here on many of the same topics that I cover -- though I suspect most of them will be more technical than mine. See his first blog entry below.
I'll try to write some techie stuff soon. Really. I actually do work as a programmer as I have for the last 15 years and I do have some things to offer in the programming world. I hope.
I'll also try to update the look and feel of the site. Right now it looks like a complete n00b put it together. Which is...well...actually true. I'm really not much of a css guy but I'm going to have to learn because I want to change a few things.
I'll try to write some techie stuff soon. Really. I actually do work as a programmer as I have for the last 15 years and I do have some things to offer in the programming world. I hope.
I'll also try to update the look and feel of the site. Right now it looks like a complete n00b put it together. Which is...well...actually true. I'm really not much of a css guy but I'm going to have to learn because I want to change a few things.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Why my next computer won't be a MacBook
Lately I've been wanting my next computer to be a Macintosh. Beautiful GUI, Unix under the hood, Apple hardware. Yummy goodness!
One of my co-workers was kind enough to give me a demonstration of his white MacBook. I was very impressed, but there are a number of things that I didn't like:
Despite all these things, MacOS X is so damn good, it almost (almost!) overrides the things I don't like about the MacBook. But that's a subject for a different time. :-)
Lately I've been wanting my next computer to be a Macintosh. Beautiful GUI, Unix under the hood, Apple hardware. Yummy goodness!
One of my co-workers was kind enough to give me a demonstration of his white MacBook. I was very impressed, but there are a number of things that I didn't like:
- The pixels are too small for the screen size.
Here's the standard response I typically get: Change your font size! Icons in MacOS X are scalable! Etc.
I know, I know. Believe me, I know. But I still spend a lot of time doing things like browsing the world wide web, and there's a lot of content on the world wide web which (a) doesn't render correctly if you increase the font size in your browser, and (b) has graphics (such as navigation icons) that are fixed size (and often very tiny).
For most people this probably isn't an issue, but my vision isn't that great. - I don't like glossy screens.
I'm sensitive to glare. I prefer matte screens. Enough said. - The MacBook only has one mouse button.
I'm not sure why Apple has been pig-headed about this issue for so long. The utility of a second mouse button is huge. I know there are ways to work around the lack of a second mouse button, but they're simply not ideal. - I'm not happy with the keyboard.
Some highlights: There are no stand-alone Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End keys. I use those keys frequently. The Eject button is too prominent. Reaching for Backspace results in hitting the CD/DVD Eject button too often. - Smooth laptop surface picks up too many fingerprints.
Perhaps it's just my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder talking, but I don't want a laptop full of ugly fingerprints. - Lack of built-in analog modem.
Part of the allure of laptops is their mobility, right? We might want to use them for traveling, right? And the MacBook doesn't have a built-in analog modem?! It just seems like a strange oversight to me. - Strange power adapter.
The MacBook power adapter sticks out from the wall even farther than typical wall warts. Bad design. - Video adapter needed for external displays (at extra cost, of course).
Forgive me for having old fashioned monitors and LCD panels. I don't want to pay extra for the adapter. A standard (translation: old fashioned) video port should be built-in.
Despite all these things, MacOS X is so damn good, it almost (almost!) overrides the things I don't like about the MacBook. But that's a subject for a different time. :-)
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
The Grinch
I've always liked The Grinch. I've also always liked Ebenezer Scrooge. Yeah, they go through a rough time in their life (who hasn't?) but in the end they just "Get it".
Unlike most Americans.
Every year I go to the Mall of America/Target/Best Buy and see people frantically buying....stuff. I don't know how else to describe it. It's just stuff. And about 90% of it is crap.
Target sent out a nice looking mini Christmas Catalog last week. It had maybe 40 pages of toys and several pages of coupons for those toys. In the front were the video games and DVDs -- most of which were crap. Followed by about 20 pages of crap toys. Followed by one page of great games from Cadoo. And the last pages were filled with...you guessed it...crap. I just looked at that stuff and stared at how bad it was. I went through the thing again. And again. I shook my head.
I think this sad state of toys started to happen when toys stopped being just toys. It used to be that a Barbie was a Barbie. Sure, you could buy a million outfits for Barbie but that was the whole point. Now you have Barbie and her 100 friends in 100 different packages. You have Beach Barbie, NASCAR Barbie, Redhead Barbie, Ballet Barbie. You have Barbie video games, Barbie DVDs, Barbie chairs, girls clothing with Barbie on it, Barbie coloring books, Barbie fruit snacks, a Barbie board game, and Barbie tennis shoes (I kid you not). It's freaking everywhere.
And I wish it would just stop.
This world doesn't need Barbie tennis shoes. It doesn't need Barbie fruit snacks. It doesn't need 90% of the garbage that has Barbie's logo on it. It really just needs what it had back in the 70's. A couple of dolls and a million different outfits that kids could creatively mix and match.
And don't think I'm just picking on Barbie. You can apply the same thing to Mattel's other cash cow Hot Wheels. Then there's Bratz and Spongebob Squarepants. Just go to Target or Wal-Mart and walk down the toy aisles. Then go to the kids shoes. Then go to the kids bed sheets. Then go to the kids underwear. Then go to the kids DVDs. You'll see who the offenders are.
But guess where everyone goes for kid's Christmas gifts? Yep, Target. And Wal-Mart. So everyone is most likely to end up with a bunch of junky crap toys to give to kids.
It's not much better at Best Buy. Yes, I'd rather see a kid get a cool MP3 player than a 6-pack of Spongebob underwear. Heck, even a Kidz Bop CD is better than that. But most of the stuff that Best Buy features as gift ideas are equally as crappy as the stuff at Target. Want to buy something for an adult? Hey, he's a John Wayne fan. Maybe score him that Deluxe Box Set of DVDs that he probably already has. Or a cheap MP3 player instead of the iPod he wants. Or a battery-chewing cordless optical mouse (those suck, BTW) to replace his corded one. Can't find anything? No problem! Give him a nice shiny Gift Card. The basic problem is that all the cool stuff in Best Buy that you would really want to receive costs a lot more than most people are willing to spend. The odds of getting something cool from Best Buy from your second-uncle-twice-removed defines zero in the dictionary. He's got $20 to spend and there's damned little in Best Buy worth buying for $20. It's all......yup.......junk.
There's a Revolution Calling
Why does your second-uncle-twice-removed feel the need to buy something for you for Christmas anyways?
Because that's the way the retail industry wants it and it works hard to reinforce the fallacy that Christmas will suck unless you give everyone you care about a gift -- no matter how crappy it might be.
I SAY ENOUGH!!
We need to get back to the basics. Everyone talks about it or knows it but almost nobody does it. How many times have you heard "Christmas is about more than just the gifts"? Prove it! People ask themselves "What would Jesus do?" I can guarantee that Jesus wouldn't be buying a crappy $20 MP3 player or a 6-pack of Spongebob underwear for his second-cousin-twice-removed. And he most certainly wouldn't just grab "whatever" at 4:59 PM on Christmas Eve so he'd have something to give someone.
Let's all take a step back and remember what Christmas is all about and flip the bird to mass commercialization. Buy fewer but more meaningful gifts. Spend more time with the family. Enjoy a great dinner. Sing some carols, play some family games, have a snowball fight. Make a Christmas decoration for next year. Start a new tradition. There are so many wonderful things about the holidays that we shouldn't pollute it with the stress and pain of the commercial aspects.
Happy Holidays!!
I've always liked The Grinch. I've also always liked Ebenezer Scrooge. Yeah, they go through a rough time in their life (who hasn't?) but in the end they just "Get it".
Unlike most Americans.
Every year I go to the Mall of America/Target/Best Buy and see people frantically buying....stuff. I don't know how else to describe it. It's just stuff. And about 90% of it is crap.
Target sent out a nice looking mini Christmas Catalog last week. It had maybe 40 pages of toys and several pages of coupons for those toys. In the front were the video games and DVDs -- most of which were crap. Followed by about 20 pages of crap toys. Followed by one page of great games from Cadoo. And the last pages were filled with...you guessed it...crap. I just looked at that stuff and stared at how bad it was. I went through the thing again. And again. I shook my head.
I think this sad state of toys started to happen when toys stopped being just toys. It used to be that a Barbie was a Barbie. Sure, you could buy a million outfits for Barbie but that was the whole point. Now you have Barbie and her 100 friends in 100 different packages. You have Beach Barbie, NASCAR Barbie, Redhead Barbie, Ballet Barbie. You have Barbie video games, Barbie DVDs, Barbie chairs, girls clothing with Barbie on it, Barbie coloring books, Barbie fruit snacks, a Barbie board game, and Barbie tennis shoes (I kid you not). It's freaking everywhere.
And I wish it would just stop.
This world doesn't need Barbie tennis shoes. It doesn't need Barbie fruit snacks. It doesn't need 90% of the garbage that has Barbie's logo on it. It really just needs what it had back in the 70's. A couple of dolls and a million different outfits that kids could creatively mix and match.
And don't think I'm just picking on Barbie. You can apply the same thing to Mattel's other cash cow Hot Wheels. Then there's Bratz and Spongebob Squarepants. Just go to Target or Wal-Mart and walk down the toy aisles. Then go to the kids shoes. Then go to the kids bed sheets. Then go to the kids underwear. Then go to the kids DVDs. You'll see who the offenders are.
But guess where everyone goes for kid's Christmas gifts? Yep, Target. And Wal-Mart. So everyone is most likely to end up with a bunch of junky crap toys to give to kids.
It's not much better at Best Buy. Yes, I'd rather see a kid get a cool MP3 player than a 6-pack of Spongebob underwear. Heck, even a Kidz Bop CD is better than that. But most of the stuff that Best Buy features as gift ideas are equally as crappy as the stuff at Target. Want to buy something for an adult? Hey, he's a John Wayne fan. Maybe score him that Deluxe Box Set of DVDs that he probably already has. Or a cheap MP3 player instead of the iPod he wants. Or a battery-chewing cordless optical mouse (those suck, BTW) to replace his corded one. Can't find anything? No problem! Give him a nice shiny Gift Card. The basic problem is that all the cool stuff in Best Buy that you would really want to receive costs a lot more than most people are willing to spend. The odds of getting something cool from Best Buy from your second-uncle-twice-removed defines zero in the dictionary. He's got $20 to spend and there's damned little in Best Buy worth buying for $20. It's all......yup.......junk.
There's a Revolution Calling
Why does your second-uncle-twice-removed feel the need to buy something for you for Christmas anyways?
Because that's the way the retail industry wants it and it works hard to reinforce the fallacy that Christmas will suck unless you give everyone you care about a gift -- no matter how crappy it might be.
I SAY ENOUGH!!
We need to get back to the basics. Everyone talks about it or knows it but almost nobody does it. How many times have you heard "Christmas is about more than just the gifts"? Prove it! People ask themselves "What would Jesus do?" I can guarantee that Jesus wouldn't be buying a crappy $20 MP3 player or a 6-pack of Spongebob underwear for his second-cousin-twice-removed. And he most certainly wouldn't just grab "whatever" at 4:59 PM on Christmas Eve so he'd have something to give someone.
Let's all take a step back and remember what Christmas is all about and flip the bird to mass commercialization. Buy fewer but more meaningful gifts. Spend more time with the family. Enjoy a great dinner. Sing some carols, play some family games, have a snowball fight. Make a Christmas decoration for next year. Start a new tradition. There are so many wonderful things about the holidays that we shouldn't pollute it with the stress and pain of the commercial aspects.
Happy Holidays!!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Another Reason for Microsoft to Get Bent
As if we needed any more...
If you double-click on an M4A file (standard iPod music file) and don't have iTunes installed then Windows XP tells you that it can't open the file and asks you what to do. If you select "Use the Web service to find the appropriate program" and click OK you get this:
Microsoft doesn't recognize the file format of the most popular portable music device in the world?? BULL. Microsoft damn well knows what the file format is. They just don't want to tell you to because you might choose an iPod over their crappy Zune.
As if we needed any more...
If you double-click on an M4A file (standard iPod music file) and don't have iTunes installed then Windows XP tells you that it can't open the file and asks you what to do. If you select "Use the Web service to find the appropriate program" and click OK you get this:
File Type: Unknown
Description: Windows does not recognize this file type.Microsoft doesn't recognize the file format of the most popular portable music device in the world?? BULL. Microsoft damn well knows what the file format is. They just don't want to tell you to because you might choose an iPod over their crappy Zune.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Separation of Church and State?
I voted in a Christian church this morning. I wonder how the local Muslims felt about that? And I wonder how Christians would have felt if they had to vote in a Muslim church? I'm guessing both situations make certain areas of population a little uncomfortable which can affect the voting results.
I would like to see all polling places be either public schools, public libraries, or some other public government building. Keep religion out of it and keep the voting fair for everyone.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Only in Minnesota can it be 65, sunny, with no wind on one day and then have 35, overcast, and a 30 below wind chill the next. And, of course, the nice sunny day is the day before Halloween. Time to break out the parka.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes. Original source is unknown but it's on a Living Colour CD. Maybe they wrote it and just had some British guy read it? Who knows. Anyways...
I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes. Original source is unknown but it's on a Living Colour CD. Maybe they wrote it and just had some British guy read it? Who knows. Anyways...
"We must never take these words too seriously. Words are very important. If we take them too seriously we destroy everything."
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
So here we go. It's time for Microsoft to force upon us another OS upgrade we don't really need. If you haven't heard about Vista you've probably been living in a cave and you got here by Feeling Lucky on Google in the first 5 seconds you've been on the internet.
Otherwise you've probably at least heard about Vista or read some reviews on it. Honestly I've read very few things about Vista because I don't really need to. All I need to know is this:
1. It will cost me $600 to upgrade my 3 computers to Vista
2. I don't have $600 to spend on OS upgrades
So I won't upgrade. It's as simple as that. I didn't upgrade to XP either for the same reason. I have XP at work. The first thing I did was turn off that eye candy XP interface and go back to the classic look. Then I switched from the Teletubbyland background to something cool.
(Side rant: If you're still using the Teletubbyland background please change it. Pretty please?)
Then I realized that it really doesn't do anything that Windows 2000 doesn't do. There's a few changes but on a daily basis I can't tell the difference between my Windows 2000 OS at home and my XP OS at work.
So why the hell do I need Vista?
I imagine at some point Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 2000 and force everyone to upgrade. That's the point where I look hard at the future of Windows and how much money the ongoing OS upgrades are going to cost me when my family has 3-4 computers. Unless Microsoft drastically changes their licensing and fee structures for their OS it's starting to look more and more like Mac OS is going to be a viable alternative.
Otherwise you've probably at least heard about Vista or read some reviews on it. Honestly I've read very few things about Vista because I don't really need to. All I need to know is this:
1. It will cost me $600 to upgrade my 3 computers to Vista
2. I don't have $600 to spend on OS upgrades
So I won't upgrade. It's as simple as that. I didn't upgrade to XP either for the same reason. I have XP at work. The first thing I did was turn off that eye candy XP interface and go back to the classic look. Then I switched from the Teletubbyland background to something cool.
(Side rant: If you're still using the Teletubbyland background please change it. Pretty please?)
Then I realized that it really doesn't do anything that Windows 2000 doesn't do. There's a few changes but on a daily basis I can't tell the difference between my Windows 2000 OS at home and my XP OS at work.
So why the hell do I need Vista?
I imagine at some point Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 2000 and force everyone to upgrade. That's the point where I look hard at the future of Windows and how much money the ongoing OS upgrades are going to cost me when my family has 3-4 computers. Unless Microsoft drastically changes their licensing and fee structures for their OS it's starting to look more and more like Mac OS is going to be a viable alternative.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Shortly after creating my blog I started wondering when I would actually have time to keep it updated. I started writing my entry on code ownership and realized that it was going to take a lot longer than I thought. I remember back in college I would mock the journalism guys for taking the easy major the same way I would mock the business school guys. I still mock the business school but I have a whole new respect for the journalism guys. Writing articles is hard. Writing good articles is even harder. And writing good and interesting articles seems like a monumental task. So, kudos to all you journalism folks. I have a whole new respect for you.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Ok, so I finally did it.
I created a blog.
It was something I have considered doing for a while now but just didn't know where to start. But then I had a great conversation with a good friend of mine about code ownership and decided that would be a good place to start a blog. It's something I feel fairly strongly about and I think I have some views worth sharing. Which I'll do in another post.
This blog will mostly cover software development topics -- design, process, etc. -- but will also cover anything else I feel like writing about. I'm interested in a lot of things and I find curious or interesting things about the world almost every day. Things where you think to yourself "That was odd!" or "Wow. How many times have you seen that happen?" or just simply "WTF?".
Hopefully I'm at least mildly informative or entertaining enough so that I get somewhat of a following. If not, oh well. I have no formal training in writing. I never took writing classes while in college. My vast experience in writing comes from everyday experience. So I'm not sure what to expect. At the very least I'll get a few things off my chest so it might have a therapeutic value for me outside of any value that you guys and gals might get.
I created a blog.
It was something I have considered doing for a while now but just didn't know where to start. But then I had a great conversation with a good friend of mine about code ownership and decided that would be a good place to start a blog. It's something I feel fairly strongly about and I think I have some views worth sharing. Which I'll do in another post.
This blog will mostly cover software development topics -- design, process, etc. -- but will also cover anything else I feel like writing about. I'm interested in a lot of things and I find curious or interesting things about the world almost every day. Things where you think to yourself "That was odd!" or "Wow. How many times have you seen that happen?" or just simply "WTF?".
Hopefully I'm at least mildly informative or entertaining enough so that I get somewhat of a following. If not, oh well. I have no formal training in writing. I never took writing classes while in college. My vast experience in writing comes from everyday experience. So I'm not sure what to expect. At the very least I'll get a few things off my chest so it might have a therapeutic value for me outside of any value that you guys and gals might get.
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