The end of the world (or at least corporate email) as we know it

Ahem. IBM is going to spend $300M in an ad campaign to convert customers to Lotus Notes and Domino, taking them away from Microsoft Exchange Server, and Outlook.

Don't look now, but Lotus Notes sucks, big time. I know from longtime personal experience, and I'm not the only one, either. But this is just the kind of Big Blue FUD we've come to expect. Vice Presidents don't use email nearly as much as the rest of us. They're easy to convince that IBM will take care of them, when Notes really is a steaming pile of shiat. Let's replace the VP's Outlook with Notes and see if he can schedule a meeting, or even refresh his freakin' email window.

I have to laugh. There's no comparison. Lotus Notes truly, truly sucks. The newer versions even change behavior so that you have to relearn everything all over again. You can trash Microsoft if you want, but IBM is really the evil empire. And when they take over you will regret it, and long for the days of yore when you had all that easy Microsoft usability.

The words might fail me, but they don't fail everyone

I happened across this interview with Eric Haney, a founding member of Delta Force, the military's elite covert counter-terrorist unit. He is now executive producer and technical advisor for The Unit, a new TV drama about the lives of the men who do the impossible for our country. I don't want to over dramatize what these people do, but, like firemen, I have to admire anyone who will walk willingly into grave danger.

Oddly, this was filed under "Entertainment", but his words have the iron ring of truth to them. As I said: the words might fail me, sometimes, but fortunately some of us actually get it.

"... our credibility is utterly zero. So we destroyed whatever credibility we had. ... And I say "we," because the American public went along with this. They voted for a second Bush administration out of fear, so fear is what they're going to have from now on."

"... who would you want to pay to be a torturer? Do you want someone that the American public pays to torture? He's an employee of yours. It's worse than ridiculous. It's criminal; it's utterly criminal. ... Mistreatment of helpless people in your power is torture, period. And (I'm saying this as) a man who has been involved in the most pointed of our activities. I know it, and all of my mates know it. You don't do it. It's an act of cowardice. I hear apologists for torture say, "Well, they do it to us." Which is a ludicrous argument. ... The Saddam Husseins of the world are not our teachers. Christ almighty, we wrote a Constitution saying what's legal and what we believed in. Now we're going to throw it away.

This last passage echoes my sentiments quite strongly. We absolutely must keep the moral high ground, or we are no better that the terrorists. Once we are willing to stoop to the tactics of our enemies, we become our enemies. Worse, we become what our enemies make us out to be.

Mr. Haney is openly critical of the current adminstration, and I am right there with him. I believe there are grounds for impeachment on the warrantless wiretapping issue, alone, but still I did not feel that this post should be a rant against the administation. There are larger, much more important issues being debated, here. My purpose is to inform others, and to lend my opinion to those in power that they stop debasing and defiling the things this country was founded on, and still stands for.

America isn't just for Americans. Initially, we were all from somewhere else, and it was only the ideas that united us. Believe me, it's the ideas today that are the most important "exports" that America has to offer. That is, unless we convince everyone that it was all just bullshiat.

I am struck by the parallels

There are problems at Microsoft. Leadership problems, if some of these blog comments are accurate. The ship date of Vista has been delayed until January 2007, and the rank and file have been saddled with the blame (apparently). They feel the guilt, regardless.

Of course, we all know it's a failure of leadership--of management--starting at the top. Management is steering the ship, so if the objective is not met, it can't be because the engine room guys couldn't get that last 120% out of the engines. Needing that 120% in the first place is the problem, and only the guys on the bridge (to continue my nautical analogy) know where we're going. Don't they know anything about how projects are managed?

I also gleaned a comment or two hinting at something I've been "predicting" since Windows 2K came out: that eventually Windows would collapse under its own weight. That is, it would become so bloated and fragile that it no longer worked. If I were at Microsoft I would be crapping in my pants and looking for other opportunities elsewhere (as some appear to be doing).

I thought XP was a large step away from the "collapse under its own weight" apocalypse, but with so many Microsofties worried, have management spent all that money just to provide cooler graphics and image-damaging DRM to consumers? Yep, if not even Microsoft can come up with a good reason to upgrade, what's left to motivate the rest of us? There may be dark days ahead, though I think predicting the demise of Microsoft is a bit melodramatic. Painful, harmful to shareholder value, certainly, but His Billness will guide them through successfully.

Personally, I've been intent on upgrading when the new OS is available. It's also true that I have an MSDN subscription and don't expect to pay money for the upgrade--just my time and anguish. I have no interest in the beta versions, because I can't afford to have my home system not work, but I'm not terribly fearful that when it's released it won't work. It will work. That's why they're delaying the release, because they know it has to be right. Or else.

But you can argue that 2 months isn't enough time to fix a huge pile of defects. It's not. But if there are specific problems in a couple of key areas, 2 months might be enough time to make sure things are working. It's still a monumental failure of management, and heads (not programmer heads--management heads) really should roll for farking this up. Someone has to pay, because the costs of missing the 2006 Christmas buying frenzy are enormous.

Let's wait and see. I have used Microsoft as an example to others. So far I've used them as a good example, particularly in their dedication to getting it right before they ship. Being late is bad, as we are seeing already, but not doing it right is much, much worse. So, they delay and get it right. Now let's see if they do that other thing right: do they fire a bunch of failed management?

In one other case I know of, that didn't happen. In typical corporate fashion the developers were blamed, and management wasn't held accountable. If Microsoft handles this situation properly, then I can still believe there's hope. Otherwise, I think we all may be doomed.

Microsoft .NET 2.0, mscvr80.dll, and WinDoctor

I still use Norton Utilities on my home computer, though I have moved on and no longer use Norton Antivirus. Trend-Micro PC-cillin is much better.

If you have WinDoctor and the Microsoft .NET v2.0 framework, and have noticed that it reports mscvr80.dll is missing on your system, fret not. This is a bug in WinDoctor (who knows when they'll fix it), and should not be cause for you to do anything rash. And here we define "rash" as doing any of the following:

1. Do not download msvcr80.dll from dll-files.com. It's not the correct version (actually, it's a beta), and won't work.
2. Do not copy the file from its proper location into C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727. This can cause future, very unpredictable problems when/if Microsoft decides to upgrade the dll. Like them or not, M$ has gone to great lengths to eliminate dll-hell, but only if you don't fark with your system.
   

I found this info via the Wugnet forums, and thought I would re-post it here. In case anyone cares.

Almost forgot: To eliminate the nagging red thingie in WinDoctor, simply pull up the detailed list of errors. Right click each error and select "Ignore ..." (whatever it says). Thence forward, these "errors" willst no longer vex.

One user to XM Radio: buy a clue

Did you know that if you have an XM Radio subscription (as I do), they offer "free" Internet access? All you need to do is login, launch the player (I think they use some WMP plugin or other), and listen away. Bien cool, mi amigos!

Of course, if you want to listen to XM Radio on your Internet-connected "smart phone", they seem to have a problem with that.

Here's the clue: You couldn't make money charging subscribers extra for Internet access before, you probably can't do it now. There ain't no difference between a smart phone and a home computer. Get over it.

So, does that mean my critique of Scientology could be considered obscene?

Not that I even have such a web page, but let's say someone, somewhere, thinks I'm being obscene when I express my opinions. (And if you don't think posting pictures of nekkid peepul is free speech, then I got a couple fascist regimes you can go visit. Permanently.) Just because my self-expression is deemed obscene by someone--anyone--then my web pages could be taken down and censored?

Looks bad for our Bill of Rights, especially the one that guarantees me the right to say whatever I want.

Just shoot me now.

(Don't get me started on the "difference" between sex and violence. Violence, IMHO, is much worse that sex could ever be. And yet we embrace violence as somehow being acceptable, while a few shapely naked bodies is "obscene".)

Followup to personal stress post

On Saturday I posted some stuff about how my personal stress level seems to be tied to the health (or lack thereof) of my home PC. After reading some articles on what causes stress in us "higher animals", I have reached a (small) conclusion:

My stress results from the lack of predictability in my environment. Frankly, I care about how well my home PC works because without it I feel cutoff and out of touch. The same cannot be said about my work PC, though I'm sure my employer cares. Well, to a point, anyway. The TV could probably be out of commission for weeks and I wouldn't lose too much sleep (we also have 2 TVs, too). But don't let that cable modem go dark! Egads!

This is nothing very earth-shattering. Just thought you'd want to know.

Now, get back to work!

Open message to Yahoo: Want to buy a clue?

Here's a word to the wise: Don't use Yahoo Ads on your websites, especially if you'd like visitors outside the US to be able to view your pages. Well, either that or put in place Javascript or something to filter out the ads for non-US visitors. Here's a post from BoingBoing, in case you think I just made this up.

This is so much of a pain in the ass ... why would any sane website builder ever consider using Yahoo Ads?

Here's the clue I'm willing to sell Yahoo: Filter your own damn ads, duckheads. Cause if you don't, pretty soon no one will be using them, and you won't be getting any revenue from them. And if you can't do this, well, I'd say you should find something else to do with your time.

Nuff said?

Think iPods are cool? Think again, bubba

Here is a snip by Cory Doctorow of BoingBoing, from a recent article about the Cato Institute's recent stand against DRM (emphasis mine):

... DRM lets Apple hijack the music companies' copyright monopoly and turn it into a tax on Apple customers who switch from an iPod to a competing product. You can keep your MP3s if you switch from Windows to Mac, but if you switch from iPod to Creative, kiss your iTunes goodbye.

So, if you got an iPod for Christmas, or have owned for for a while, you might want to think about how much all that downloaded iTunes music has cost you. And add that cost to the cost of the device itself. Cha-ching! but only if you're Apple.

Seems to me you can buy a pretty farking good MP3 player for the $thousands$ you've probably spent on your new coolness. But let's not stop there. You can buy one kick-ass home theater system for that kind of money.

Now I know why I will never, ever own an iPod. And I'm not buying an Xbox 360 for the same reason: DRM is built-in. I buy only "open" CDs (anyone want the latest Bruce Springsteen drink coaster? email me and it's free--don't mind the scratches, though) and rip my own MP3s, DRM free.

Being kind to those who can help you

Guy Kawasaki calls this "sucking down", but then admits there's really no such thing.

Sadly, it took me a long time to learn this simple lesson. My excuse? Not everyone is a genius in every respect, so forgive me for coming to wisdom late.

I suppose it began while I was doing consulting work (on the road), a few years ago. I was always out of town, but always in the same places, every week. All the time. I found that by treating well those whose job it was to serve me (hotel desk agents, waitpersons, airline and rental car agents, everyone), I magically found my experiences to be much better than average.

That hotel in Seattle where I stayed for weeks on end called me by name whenever I walked in. I don't have to tell you how much better that makes the experience. They know me! Wow. But, I also was very patient and relaxed with the hotel staff, no matter what happened or what went wrong.

Take the time the fire alarm went off at 2 AM, and everyone had to evacuate the building. Take the time the room I'd reserved simply wasn't available. No, don't get angry, don't get impatient. Take it all in stride. Take the smoking room for a night, if that's all there is. Let them off the hook. The next night they put me in a suite--no extra charge. Perhaps they would have done it regardless, but I was more than thankful they were taking care of me. And besides, my stress level was much, much lower.

The same applies to restaurants. Waiting tables is hard work. Try it sometime if you don't believe me. Encourage the waitperson (I don't know a better word, and I don't like waitron--sounds like a robotic machine). Make it easy for them to do a good job. Help them be better. Smile. Say thank you. Make eye contact. Tip very, very well. It's the least you can do, and it never goes wrong. Sometimes you still will have a bad experience, but at least you can say you didn't add to the problem by being an ass, yourself.

Who knows? Maybe there is such a thing as karma. It couldn't hurt, and it just might help.

Slashdot | Canadian Record Industry Disputes Own P2P Claims

I posted awhile ago about the probable risks associated with allowing people to download songs. Here's a snip from my late January post:

... does this casual recording harm or benefit the music biz? Enthusiasts, just as moi, believe it ultimately improves the profits of big companies. I will buy the CDs if I like the band, because I want the media. If someone gives me some pirated MP3s, I will listen to them, and I may or may not buy that particular album, but if I like the band (and probably 60% of the time I do not), I will buy their other albums on CD.

Now, finally, a Canadian recording industry study only confirms what we've all suspected: music lovers buy a lot of music. They may download/copy (read this as: steal) music as well, but the overall lossage is small.

Sony, let my music go!

Personal well-being tied to well-being of home PC

Over the past few years I have become more and more closely linked to my home computer. Oh, it's not quite like an addiction, at least it's not an obsession in the way that say ... gambling or house-cleaning might be. It's more like the computer has become an extension of me.

It really started when I bought that 2.4 GHz Dell in November of 2002. Prior to that, I had been using an "ancient" Dell 266 MHz (I think that was the speed), vintage 1997. I had also been using a Mindspring dial-up Internet account since acquiring the "Aged One". Still have the Mindspring (now Earthlink high speed) account, almost 10 years later. (Some people don't have that much loyalty to their spouses.)

Well, the speed (or lack thereof) of my dial-up as it relates to Windows XP updates (a practical necessity) quickly convinced me to upgrade my access to high speed cable modem. Much better. And I was still with Mindspring (or was it Earthlink, then?). That's when things began to "develop".

Once you have really fast Internet access, a whole universe of capabilities suddenly opens up. Let's see: IM chat? Pr0n? All I can say is: wow! And having a modern computer with a modern OS (I had been running Win95 on the Aged One) meant that ... well, it meant that I was finally running with the mainstream of computer society.

Now, let's not forget that I am a technical geek. Freaking software architect for a Fortune 100 company. Prior to that I was a big-dog software engineer and architect for a large software company. Of course, the Aged One didn't feel so limited when I bought it, but it seems I had just let time stand still for 5 years. There's a reason for that, and it doesn't involve drugs or alcohol, either, but that's not important, right now. What's important is that my computer and I became truly connected back in the winter of 2002.

Of course, it's just a machine. I have no illusions (or delusions) that any piece of metal, plastic, and a few choice bits of silicon is anything but a servant to my will. I mean, I have since replaced the 2 GHz model with a spiffy 3.2 GHz hyper-threaded machine, with double the memory, double the disk, and about 10 times the video power/speed than its predecessor. So, you ask: and this doesn't make my computer an obsession? No. I needed the processing and video power. The disk space just came along for the ride.

But, let's get to the point of my article, shall we?

What I've discovered is that whenever the computer is "sick" (malfunctioning, broken, whatever) my personal stress level elevates considerably. Sometimes off the chart. Case in point: Recently the video controller developed some kind of hardware problem that was causing various "bad things" to happen. Usually the video driver would just reset the controller, but a couple of times the system actually blue-screened. Awful. I couldn't do any CAD/house design stuff: the system would crash/reset/go black almost instantly. My house designs might qualify for an obsession, but doing them is just a hobby of nearly unlimited intellectual depth (like writing is of unlimited difficulty: you will never be "perfect" no matter how hard you try, so keep on getting better, anyway), so when I can't work on houses, I can't live.

Prior to the bad video card (it's now been replaced with a much better controller!) it was the on-going problem with my system losing printer definitions. They weren't disappearing for good, they would just vanish after some time (after booting), forcing me to reboot my system if I wanted to print anything. What a pain, but something I lived with. Like arthritis in the knees. Which I have. So I know.

The printer problem just disappeared on its own, which may be just as mysterious as the appearance, but nonetheless welcome. I do not think it was a virus, because no virus research source had anything relevant to my problem. It may have been a bug of some kind that good ole Microsoft finally found and fixed, though they had no relevant research on the problem, either. Who knows? It's all better, now, and I'm glad.

Back to the point at hand: every time the computer starts to do things oddly (or not at all), I am personally tied up in knots over it. When I was having all that trouble back in 2004 when I upgraded Windows XP Home to XP Pro, I was positively dying inside when it looked like I wasn't going to get the thing going again. That was an obsession.

I kind of hate being so emotionally linked to the computer, but when I'm home I spend a truly inordinate amount of time (as I'm doing right now) doing things on it. I surf the web. I have News Gator (cool thing) and about 100 blogs and websites I regularly scan. I just installed Google Desktop and it's now indexing my entire system. I do house designs. I haven't written anything for about a year and a half, but I sense that coming around for another go. Soon.

I'm over 50, and have no children of my own. Carmen (my fiancé) has 3 kids, all adults, so it's just us two. She spends almost as much time at the computer as I do, though she mainly just plays games and surfs the web. We have the front bedroom (bedroom/office) fully setup with a T-shaped workstation arrangement so we both have our computers and a desk we share between them. I spent a bunch of money on good furniture since I knew we would make good use of it. It's been well worth the investment, because I have a primo home office. OK, I'm bragging, a little. But you see the depth of my "integration" with the machine.

I wonder sometimes how many others have a similar relationship with their electronic appendages. No, I don't have a crackberry or other PDA, but I am carrying 2 cell phones. Does that frighten you? (Don't ask: one is strictly for work.) I have about 5000 MP3s on my system, but then I was (am?) a musician, and music is important to me. Yes, I have all the CDs for those songs, too. I typically listen while at the computer (home and work) and I have a portable MP3 player, as well. I don't use it, much. I don't usually listen when I'm not at the computer, but then, I am at the computer more than 12 hours a day. I suppose if I had a job that kept me away from my lifeline for long periods, I would invest in a smart phone, or something, but so far ...

This post is really long, and it's probably also quite boring, too, since all I'm doing is waxing on about my life and all the things I do with the computer. Yeah, you think: so what? That's OK. We all have things in life that we think are important that don't mean fark to anyone else. This is just mine, that's all.

And with that, I'm done.

Interesting discontinuity of perspectives

I read the article cited here on Slashdot, and found Doug Reilly's perspective thoughtful and mature. Then I read some of the replies on Slashdot.

I think age probably differentiates the responses. Younger equates to "who cares what my employer/client thinks?", and older equates to "these are people whom I have been connected to, and they deserve fair treatment". Of course, not everyone you know deserves such "fair" treatment, but considering the author's relationship with his clients, I understand perfectly why he would take these things seriously.

I also understand his desire to obtain meaning for his life and himself. This, IMHO, is clearly a mark of someone who has begun to stare their own mortality in the face. I'm not (particularly) young anymore, and I can tell you without hesitation at all that I've thought about my life and my eventual death. How do I want to be remembered? Did I stand for anything, or was I only about me and myself?

Certainly I would want to have some time with my family and friends. My father wanted that, and we went to great lengths to provide him with it, as well. The experience was not easy, not even a little, but there are things in life more important than documenting your source code.

But we are defined in large part by our work. We spend an a lot of time doing it (and for us software developers, sometimes an obscene amount of time), so how can it be that when we're finally closing up shop for the last time, that it no longer has any importance? It's just relative, that's all.

Doug Reilly's comments resonated with me, and I think that's all he wanted to achieve. I wish him the best of luck.

Teh Bill of Rights

Everyone should memorize it. Remember it, because it's slipping away faster than you probably realize.



Here is the transcript. I am a fan particularly of the 1st and 4th Amendments, given that these are so often in the news, these days.

Rethinking the tiered Internet

I've been thinking about the implications of a "tiered Internet" for a while, now. At first I was essentially against it, but now after reading Martin Geddes' article on Telepocalypse: "Neutrality, schmootrality: a heretic speaks" I must admit I've changed my mind.

My initial fear was that the infrastructure owners--mainly the big telcos--would hold their customers hostage for the "good" bandwidth. Now, they charge one fee for usage, no matter who's using it. In the future they could decide to (in effect) raise their prices for the level of service they currently provide, and if you aren't willing to pay more, then you get shuffled off into the slow lane.

I still think it's a concern, since hardware is expensive to put in place and maintain. The barrier for entry is high, so competition is thin. Normally we have regulations that constrain what utilities can charge for pipes, wires, and such, to keep such monopolies in check.

But see, we're not talking about content providers, here. We're talking about the guys who are building the roadways over which our traffic, both small and large, must travel. I would compare the issues over an Internet infrastructure monopoly this way: What if the only roads into/out of a town were toll roads?

Perhaps this argument is hollow, as I think Mr. Geddes implies. If your town had only toll roads, I think the town would be relocating to a less costly place. Certainly the businesses who wanted the most convenient access to their establishments would relocate. Either that, or they would be reimbursing customers for their trouble. Of course, then they would have to pass the additional cost on their customers ... Eventually, they would have to move in order to compete, thus driving the road monopoly into a much less profitable position.

It's all well and good to build a road, but what if nobody came? Clearly, there has to be some value added aspects, or market pressures will drive your customers elsewhere. Added value is good. It means choice.

If the "new" AT&T (meet the new boss, same as the old boss) decides to charge more for "more better" speed, then those customers who are willing to pay for it will get it. They can't hold their largest customers hostage--Google, for example--because that will only lead to Google building their own infrastructure, and taking the thunder away from Big Bell. If not Google, then someone else will emerge who believes they can undercut the big boys.

On a similar vein, Bellsouth (AT&T) is now considering a "pay per byte" strategy, and of course it includes a tiered structure for charging different rates for different types of traffic. Many people believe that Congress will bail us out by voting for an Internet neutrality measure. *Ahem* Since when did Congress ever do anything that benefitted us at the expense of big money? What's wrong with this picture?

I'm with those other brave souls who are telling lawmakers to keep away from our Internet(s). Let's keep the thing open to all kinds of ideas. Let's have 50 competing access plans, pricing plans, and bandwidth plans. Sure, the more the better. It's not necessary to worry about being locked into someone's misguided idea that they can monopolize the Internet, because the 'Net is self-correcting and self-healing. An outage or obstruction is simply bypassed in favor of another route.

And it's for this reason that countries (and their willing corporate co-conspirators) who are censoring the Internet will ultimately fail, as well.

Ratings on eBay

Did you know that if you attempt to leave a "less than positive" rating about a seller (and presumably a buyer, as well), they ask you to go through a tutorial discussing the seriousness of what you are about to do?

Does that seem appropriate?

Let's review:

1. You've bought something on eBay. You paid the seller immediately using PayPal, which provides them their funds immediately, as well.
2. The seller, having other more important things to do, waits almost 2 weeks to ship the item to you.

What kind of rating would you give the seller? Why does eBay even have an opinion about your impression of the seller's performance. I mean, if they are so actively discouraging buyers from dinging sellers, why even ask for feedback, at all? Clearly, they system is biased in favor of the seller, and that seems very backwards to me.

Let's also talk about those sellers who threaten their buyers with negative feedback if the buyer leaves them negative feedback. This is absolutely no way to do business, and I would never buy from anyone who feels they have to coerce me into not telling the truth about my experience. It's almost like saying: "We're going to dick you over, but if you complain about it, we will make you sorry you ever bought from us." I just save everyone the hassle and avoid the sale in the first place.

Sure, some buyers would unfairly trash sellers. People are selfish, dishonest pricks, and while it's difficult enough to do business on the web, and eBay in particular, honest sellers don't deserve bad marks just because the buyer doesn't like the way they've handled the transaction.

Most of the "bad" experiences I've had have been a "casualness" in shipping items I've bought. I don't care how busy the seller is, it's their business to sell things on eBay, and they have an obligation to ship promptly once they've been paid. Either that or provide an explanation for the delay. I've also had times when the seller would not reply to my questions, and that also has drawn bad marks.

But eBay would have me think very seriously before I leave non-positive feedback. OK. I've thought about it, and I've decided that if I can't encourage sellers to be more attentive to their buyers by being responsive after the sale, then perhaps eBay isn't as good a business model as some people would have you think.

It also means that you can't really rely on the seller's ratings, because the system is stacked against the buyer. Don't bother telling me who pays eBay's bills (ostensibly it's the sellers), because without buyers, both of them would be sucking it. The buyers are paying all the bills, and no one should be able to conveniently forget it.

Question of Law

Consider this: could a Muslim individual who drove his Jeep into a crowd of students with the intent to "avenge the American treatment of Muslims" be charged with a hate crime?

Seems reasonable, to me. Of course, we also have to consider the actions of Americans in other parts of the world.

It's not a great time to be an American. Can't really be proud of very much, right now.