Comments and complaints on software and technology in general
span.flanakin_code { color:#00f; font-face:monospace; font-size:.85em; font-weight:bold; } pre.flanakin_code { color:#00f; font-face:monospace; font-size:.9em; } I just started playing around with the Sage RSS reader for Firefox. I like it. If you check the site, there are a list of styles you can use for the reader. I think the Midautumn style is by far the best. So, with that, there were a few mods I had to make. First off, none of the images were shown on my copy of the stylesheet because all ......
Earlier this month, Tom Yager wrote an article discussing the future of internet-based TV channels. At first, I was excited to hear about it as I thought about the advantages and then started to twist my mind around the concept of running cable thru the web in a pure digital format, which would also make all TV channels available online for viewing from any web-connected PC. Iteractivity then started to spurt from the back of my mind. How rich could we make the cable interface? The possibilities ......
I have to do a lot of documentation for systems I work on. Because of this, anything I can do to save time with templates and auto-updated fields helps. I use file properties in Word (File > Properties) to set things like product name, acronym, and version, among others. When I first started playing with Office 12, I needed to update something and just couldn't find the properties editor anywhere. I griped about it to a co-worker who ultimately found it for me. The whole thing still drives me crazy, ......
Well, I just installed the initial pre-release version of Office 12. I remember reading something online about it a while back and I was kind of scared of it. I do a lot of documentation support for the projects I work on, so I frequent Office a lot. The new toolbar-focused user experience just didn't set well in the back of my mind. After opening it for the first time, I freaked... Where's my menu!? I want my Tools > Options! I want my... umm... what else was up there? I honestly don't even remember. ......
Has anyone noticed how ridiculously slow the Asp.net site is with Firefox? Is it just my settings? I can't stand it!!! I hope this is fixed. I haven't seen anything about others having this same problem, but its aggravating the hell outta me.
I absolutely love Google Analytics! Sure, it's not anything new on the site metrics front. It's all data you can get from just about any tool. This comes with Google's overwhelming ease of use, tho. That, combined with the fact that it's free - how could you not like it!? Try it out, if you have a site. All you have to do is add a two javascript calls - one importing a Google JS file and the other to set a variable and call a method. That's it. They suggest you place it in the head secton of your ......
Looks like Oracle's reaching. All I really have to say is, "'Express Edition,' huh? Gee, I wonder where they got that idea." Either way, this will probably be an impact to other databases. The only thing against it is going to be the same problem the current editions have: their unnecessary complexity.
I probably shouldn't even be propagating this crap, but I thought it was a ridiculous attempt to make the .NET plastform look worse than Java. IBM hired someone to evaluate IBM and Microsoft tools for productivity. I have no problem with the fact that IBM hired the evaluators. What I have a problem with is the fact that the tools they chose to implement (and not implement, for that matter) don't give a true picture to the appropriate level of effort for the Microsoft side of the picture. Two examples ......
When I started a new job, I inherited a wonderful (yes, that's sarcasm) PC fully loaded with some truly outstanding (yep, there it is again) tools and utilities. One of these was Microsoft's Alt-Tab Switcher Powertoy. I hate it!!! It's slow and doesn't always work as expected. Anyway, I went to Add/Remove Programs, but there was no uninstall link. I tried to browse thru the Program Files and Windows directories, but didn't see anything there, either. I searched the web, but still couldn't find a ......
Welcome to my adventures in Subversion. This is part one of a pretty good-sized project that will integrate a lot of open source tools. Right now, there are about 10 tools that will be integrated together to support software development efforts. A few of the tools are Subversion, DotNetNuke, and Community Server (Forums and Blogs). There will also be Windows and web-based access to Subversion and tracker and wiki utilities. This is only the beginning. Should be a pretty eventful project, I think. ......
Has something new come up in the browser scene? I mean, seriously. So many articles have been coming out about the new browser wars and security holes in IE. It's kind of ridiculous. Is there really something new, or is it just the same-old, same-old?
InfoWorld published an article discussing Longhorn. Despite all of the Longhorn-related posts/articles I've read, I really liked this one. The Indigo part was the best - I wasn't too impressed with the WinFS coverage, tho. But, all-in-all, it was a pretty good article. It wasn't too technical, tho, so if you have any IT [semi-]savvy people that don't know much about Longhorn (i.e. managers), this would be a good place to start. Here are a few of my predictions... IndigoI expect to see Sun trying ......
Ahh, what a blessed curse... The system cannot find the path specified. Better yet... Unable to create the file 'New Text Document.txt' The system cannot find the file specified. These are the errors I get while trying to extract SQL Reporting Services from the Microsoft licensing download site. I imagine not too many people out there (compared to the community size) will run into this problem, but I wanted to post on it anyway. More precisely, I am extracting the “SW CD SQL Svr Developer Edtn ......
Tom Yager wrote about web- and client-based systems and a few of the pros and cons of each. Of course, we can all contribute to that list. I just have to say, “Here-here!” Tom is stating a fact that I've been protesting for quite some time - both customers and developers want web-based systems. Granted, rich clients are beautiful, but why can't we standardize a format that will allow us to develop these rich environments over a stateless medium like the internet? Flash does it. Microsoft ......
This is old news, but it looks like Microsoft is planning on openning has openned a bug tracking system, code-named Ladybug. That sounds pretty interesting. I just wonder how many people will try to abuse it. It could turn out to be pretty useful, tho. It's been almost a month since the article I read, so I'll have to look around for some more info. I imagine this software will probably make it out in a 2006 or 2007 version of Visual Studio, or perhaps a downloadable WebPart for Windows SharePoint ......
Once again, I'm late, but it looks like the Eclipse Foundation has extended an invitation to Microsoft to join its efforts. I guess they think their new directions on web services and SOAs might be of interest to Microsoft, since they're the market leader, right now. Personally, I don't expect Microsoft to support this. First off, Eclipse has a long way to go to compete with Visual Studio. Secondly, do you seriously think Microsoft will support development for a product on a platform that it is a ......
I'm probably responding pretty slow to this, but I've been out for a while... Concerns over whether or not Microsoft will claim patent infringement lawsuits against the open source community has been raised. Basically, Microsoft patented the FAT File System in 1976 and a lot of OSs and portable devices use the file system for data interchange with Windows. The main concern is that Microsoft could stop the use of Linux and Unix integration with Windows. I seriously doubt that this would happen. Maybe ......
I read an article by Peter Coffee back in September. And, as I tend to do with most interesting articles, I stowed it away in a seemingly endless stack of papers. Now that I’ve finally gotten to it, I wanted to share it. Peter points out a strong maturity indicator for IT personnel: the difference between an aficionado and a professional. Everyone knows that, to keep up with IT, you have to do a lot of studying. And, wherever you get this education, it’s a must, if you want to survive ......
I saw an interesting tidbit this morning. First, it looks as though most IT workers are in the south. I'm assuming Texas makes up the bulk of this. Second (and third), database administration looks like it's a strongly declining field - ~2% in field (smallest), ~7% of unemployed (largest). I guess, now that I think about it, there aren't too many where I work. From what I've seen, programmers or system admins seem to do most DBA work on a part-time basis. Don't get me wrong, I think a good DBA is ......
It seems like you can't turn around without hearing another reference to outsourcing, or worse yet, offshore outsourcing. I understand everyone's concerns, but I'm getting sick of looking through my favorite IT magazines and websites and having to sort through this stuff. Anyway, to the point... Just like we've had mottos for previous years, I'm guessing that 2004 will be the year of [offshore] outsourcing. Just a guess, though. We'll see how close I am ......
Good news on the patent front - Eolas' plug-in patent has been invalidated. This is only the first step, unfortunately, so we still don't know where this will go. At least this is a step in the right direction. Eolas has 60 days to reply. We'll have to wait and see what happens.
SD Times released an article that mentioned key topics/technologies from each of the past 5 years. The article also discussed a few possibilities for 2003. Here are the labels given to '98-'02, according to SD Times: 2002 Year of Web Services 2001 Year of XML, .NET 2000 Year of Enterprise Java 1999 Year of Linux 1998 Year of the Web I think that 2003 should be the Year of the Architect or the Year of Architecture. I know that software architecture has been around for a while, but I don't think I've ......
As if the VS.NET dual monitor bug wasn't enough, now Office 2003 has dual monitor-related problems. I decided to be a bit adventurous and do what a friend has been harping on me to do for a while - I took my dual monitors, turned them on their side, and got some software to turn the display 90°. I have to say that I like the whole thing. The idea is that you scroll down more than you scroll left-right, so this allows for a 1024x1280 display instead of vice versa. And, using two monitors, it's ......
I read an article, Let Innovation Thrive, which lists 5 important characteristics of someone working on an innovation team. My first thought after reading the list was, “Forget innovation, this is life in IT.” Consciousness:Each person knows the goals of the organization and believes they can play a part in achieving them. Multiplicity:Teams and groups contain a wide and creative mix of skills, experiences, backgrounds, and ideas. Connectivity:Relationships are strong and trusting, and ......
AITF was a success! Juval Löwy, Michael Wheaton, and Dan Malks came and spoke to a group of developers and managers, and they all loved it. This forum was more focused on software development than I'd like for the future, but I had to minimize the scope because of other things going on at work. I must say that if you haven't experienced one of Juval's talks, you're missing out. Juval is very eccentric and opinionated, which is always a good thing in my book. He's worked with Microsoft on a number ......
I'm sure you've all seen this, but I just had to mention it. It seems that Google's getting crap for some of its practices. As I read thru the post, I thought it was pretty trivial, but slowly, the case started to get built up. By the end of the post, you're wondering what the heck is wrong with these people. There is a laundry list of allegations, which I suggest you check out. I guess Google figures that, if they're growing like Microsoft,then they can act like them, too :-) ......
I saw this a while back and thought it was pretty funny. The post basically smacks some open source developers in the face. Personally, I've always questioned open source development. While, I think it's nice that the community gets together to make some good tools, I just don't know about it. Anyway, the author takes note that when open source projects are created that mimic existing applications, they take away from the job market. Now, I don't know how much this actually affects US work, but I ......
Now, this is awesome. I'm glad to see this happen. If for no other reason than to argue with a guy at work - for anyone who doesn't know me very well, I'm very argumentative :-) Anyway, I also have to admit that this is very funny. Sun is finally realizing that if they don't make some drastic changes, they won't be around for long. Once they loose their server market, they won't have much to stand on - a free tool (read: Java) doesn't quite bring in the money these days. Oh well ......
I saw an interesting pie chart identifying the top corporate web servers based on a survey done by Port80 Software... I may be wrong, but just so everyone knows, this doesn't necessarily mean that Microsoft-based technologies are used more than J2 technologies. These are just the web servers. As I'm sure you know, J2EE requires an app server as well. So, theoretically, one could have an IIS web server with an Oracle or IBM app server driving the content. I still think it's an interesting bit of information, ......
Gartner predicts a few interesting things in its document entitled “Predicts 2004: Microsoft Application Platform vs. J2EE.” You should check it out if you have a chance. Of course, without an account, that'll be kind of hard. Sorry. Here's the overview... Although the J2EE application server market is mature and the Microsoft application platform is more technically sound, changes and risks will remain part of the application platform landscape for enterprises in 2004 and beyond. And, ......
Maybe I'm just in the dark (haha...get it? Eclipse...in the dark), but I just found out that Eclipse, IBM's open source J2 IDE, was given its moniker to symbolize its intent to overshadow Sun's own open source development tool, NetBeans. Well, that's what Sun officials claim, anyway. Personally, I like this sort of thing. I'd liek to see more of it, as a matter of fact. Here are a few of my ideas... Sun Block Sun Screen Sun Shade Visual Studio .NET SPF 120 (hehe) This all came about when IBM started ......
It looks like the director of the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) ordered a re-examination of the Eolas plug-in patent (patent #5,838,906). It's about time. I guess the W3C barked loud enough to get their attention. Apparently, less than .5% of patents get re-examined and less than 2% of those are requested at such a high level. Concurrently, Microsoft is appealing the court ruling that would have them pay US$520.8 million. During their appeal process, they are working on work-arounds so ......
So, I got in a discussion (read: argument) with someone about scalability, right. It all started when a manager made a comment, “.NET isn't as scalable as J2EE.” I of course rebutted by claiming that this was an ignorant statement. Then, a more technical person on this guy's team made the comment, as if it would be any less ignorant. To prove my point, I asked the techie how comparable .NET and J2EE apps would scale considering a Windows-based platform. He proceeded to say that they would ......
Ain't it beautiful? 369 CIOs were asked which platform is preferred in building Web services Microsoft .NET 46.5%IBM WebSphere 19%Sun One 8.2% Thanks to Rebecca Dias for the slides. Check them out if you get a chance. Good stuff, but I would have preferred a little less marketting-type info...then again, it's really not that bad ......
I found an old article that talks about some of the issues I brought up about Longhorn's long time-to-market date. Steve Gillmor mentions a possible “Longhorn Lite,” which is what I was getting at with my XP2 idea. I saw another article which talked about releasing some improved security features with Service Pack 2, but I would encourage Microsoft to include all of this in XP2. The more that is in that version of the OS, the more likely people will want to upgrade. And, as far as SP2 ......
I'm looking for a good name for a software development conference-summit-forum-thing. This is an internal event to help share information as well as bring in good people to talk about software issues/innovations. Does anyone have any suggestions? Here are some of the ideas I've been mulling over: Application Development Forum (ADF) Applied Technology Forum (ATF) Applied Information Technology Forum (AITF or “8F”) Information Technology Forum (ITF) Software Development Forum (SDF) Software ......
There's been a lot of talk about Linux taking a chunk out of Microsoft's space in the corporate desktop realm. Now, I don't see Linux ever being a huge threat to Microsoft, but it can possibly make a nice dent in Microsoft's income. With Longhorn 2-3 years out, customers are going to be very hungry for some new features. With the recent Windows Server 2003 launch, Microsoft has some time, but pretty soon, I think people will look at this as the time to make a decision. Microsoft needs to realize ......
I'm not sure if web logs will be successful communication tool or not. I guess what I'm worried about is that a number of people within the organization have mentioned that they don't know how much it'd be used. When people have questions, they usually call select individuals to answer their question. Everybody knows: programmers are hard-headed - especially the good ones. Most programmers don't want to accept someone else's opinion when they have one of their own. And, for problems with projects, ......
I've been thinking of good ways to increase inter-project communication within my organization. I work in the software architecture office and get a chance to talk to most of the software developers. A lot of them ask questions and/or have a lot of comments to make on random topics. I've been planning on setting up a couple of forums, when I get a chance, but I don't think that's going to be any time soon. I've also wanted to setup .Text for news and possibly event blogging on the architecture site. ......
I'm sure everyone has heard about Microsoft's recent fund to help catch virus writers. Well, a recent article discusses this and presents a few opinions about how Microsoft, among others, is trying to point the blame at someone else. I think this is ridiculous. Granted, Microsoft does need to beef up its security practices, but they are not trying to dodge these issues by handing out money. If you build a house, someone burns it down, and you follow that up with a reward to prosecute the culprit, ......
In case you haven't seen it: http://msdn.microsoft.com/e... You can order a DVD with PDC presentations and slides. The price is a bit steep, but if you think it's worth it...$200 for attendees and $500 for everyone else. Pretty expensive, in my opinion, especially knowing that you're not getting precon, labs, or keynotes. If that's too pricy for your palette, you can get some of the slides for the main sessions. Also mentioned on this site is that the Longhorn preview is available to ......
I started to read an article that was talking about how simplicity always wins over complexity. This was followed up by a statement about the up-and-coming "feature race." This just made me think about Longhorn, Microsoft's next version of Windows. What are we going to do when it comes out? I haven't seen all of the content released after PDC, yet, but I don't think Microsoft will leave us all hanging with our "legacy" Win32/NTFS apps. When considering Linux and MacOS, I would have to say that both ......
I think it was back in September that I first saw something about Eolas Technologies bringing up an old patent they received. The patent covered downloadable applet-type applications - things like ActiveX controls, Flash, and Java applets. I guess they filed for the patent back in 1993 and received it in 1998. The company filed a suit against Microsoft for patent infringement a few months ago, but what I don't seem to understand is why we haven't heard about any other companies getting sued. Eolas ......
IBM3...Well, Big Blue may be looking to "cube" more than just their operations, but we'll have to see how things play out. I have to admit that their new Collective Intelligent Brick (CIB) system looks intriguing, though. They're looking to reduce storage space in a new way. The idea is to have, what looks like, 9" x 9" x 9" cubes bricks that can be stacked or aligned in a number of ways, all-the-while connecting them together to create one huge file store. The planned prototype will hold 12 disks ......
Like I said...Google's coming up. Well, maybe not like I was initially thinking, but who knows how this will turn out. It appears that Microsoft is talking to Google about a partnership or possible merger. Google is leaning a bit more towards the partnership idea, but hasn't ruled anything out just yet. We'll see where this takes us. This would be a touchie subject for some people. I think AOL and some of the other companies that Google supports would get a bad taste in their mouth if this happens. ......
Google recently acquired Kaltrix Corp, a recent startup developing personalized and context-sensitive search technologies. No big deal, right? I love Google, for one. I have been a faithful Googler for the past 5 or so years. I've even witnessed non-techies professing the "less filling-tastes great" technology. Makes you kind of wonder where they're going. I know when I first started using Google, I had to convince fellow developers why it was so useful - as a matter of fact, I needed convincing ......
So, I'm skimming through a new magazine, right, and I come across a news update, "Microsoft Sued Over Security." Now, when I'm reading magazines, I generally go until I find something of interest in the IT sector that I can relate to. So, of course this one caught my eye. I figured I'd check it out to see what kind of jam old Billy-boy has gotten into this week - it's almost like the weekly comic between Garfield and Peanuts, "Little Billy and the Marketeers." So, anyway, I read the brief and it ......
What the heck is Sun doing? Do they honestly think that their sales will increase with this new branding scheme? If there is one thing I've learned from complaining about history classes, it's that we should learn from the mistakes of our past. So...why is it that Sun seems oblivious to this? Ok, ok, so it's pretty obvious that Sun is trying to "refocus" itself to advertise Java as "tha shiznit" but do they really think this will work? Look at IBM with WebSphere and Microsoft with .NET. The latter ......