Then a particular POTUS de-regulated the FCC. Otherwise, time spent in front of the panel become BOHICA (Bend Over, Here It Comes Again)
One of the resulting actions was to eliminate the amount of airtime which is|dedicated to commercials. When they started, I think it was 5, 6, or 7 minutes. Suddenly...there were no restrictions and the birth of infomercials occurred.
It's funny this should come up. I wrote a response to someone's newsletter earlier today.
Here's what amounts to a primary copy|paste:
As far as things loading slowly, a lot of it has to do with the code which is being loaded. In many shops, things such as code reviews are non-existent. And when they occur, they're cursory at best. Programs written in Visual Basic don't have "Option Explicit" (requiring you to declare variables) and when you force someone to add it, it won't compile. One of the biggest gaffes Microsoft made was for programmers to make declaration variables in this fashion. It should be the other way around: force the declaration of variables unless you turn this off. This is a subtle, but crucial indicator of their internal decision-making system and vision.
And speaking of Microsoft, "Patch Tuesday" would be a shadow of its former self if they learned one thing in programming: buffer overflow For those unfamiliar with the term, it means permitting someone to type more than a variable is allocated to handle. The extra characters then alter the program's execution, including turning scenarios turning complete control over to someone running the software. There's a lot of humor about the questions Microsoft asks in their interviews; "Why are manhole covers round? How many gas stations are there?" My joke has become, "Demonstrate code which handles buffer overflows [because we don't know how to do it]".
Gates attempted to demonstrate the priority of security by publicly declaring all software development to be put aside and focused entirely on security issues in February 2002. (Google has started a new event known as "Summer of Code". Students are tapped to gain real-world experience and write OS (Open Source) code during their Summer breaks. I've since referred to Microsoft's dedicated activity aas "Month of Code". Has the error profile changed? No. Has the number of errors changed? Yes. More software on the market with the same error foundation means there are more copies of that problem in everyone's hands. It's not a trick question. Were their code architecture to prevent retro-fitting the solution, they could build
it into each no product to hit the market and you'd see the patch count drop over time as new products were released with the underlying fix. This is not a particularly difficult technique to implement and wouldn't add a significant change to their schedule. In fact, the time factor would approach the current schedule as they become familiar with the mindset.
Why don't they do it? No one knows. Programmers with no more than three or four years of experience have learned this shortcoming is the reason Microsoft software is so buggy. And this is without access to Microsoft's source code. No one has put the question to Microsoft. Put their foot down and asked why this is company-wide shortcoming exists. Everyone (media) seems focused upon where Microsoft is going and perhaps afraid they'll commit seppuku (suicide) if they really push
it. And if they requested time to investigate it, they should have an answer after a reasonably short period of time, removing, "We'll have to look into why this isn't done" as a response. Were this single issue to be addressed across their product line, I would estimate 98% of the currently reported errors would vaporize. That's not to say a new class of bugs wouldn't develop, but almost all of the reported errors today have a big gathering at every family reunion. We're not dealing with sudoku here; besides, standard sudoku is single digits.
Shortcomings aside, Microsoft has started one internal program: "Blue Hat" - annually bringing hackers in and showing how easy it is to peel open their vaunted software. Apparently, they expected a rah-rah session the first time and it was heard the gasps increased as the spirits fell.
Today's Quiz.
Name each quotation's author.
1. "Success is a lousy teacher. It makes smart people think they can't fail."
2. "People
The reason JIT and other issues have arrived is technology itself. Everything is cutthroat (and I mean cutthroat) and anyone supplying something with the best, barest of sales margin wins. You'd be surprised how much money can become involved in reverse auctions at the enterprise level. Suppliers' prices can easily drop 80%-85% in auctions with hardware's estimated price to be fix figures in less than an hour. Even into the 90s, the most advanced form of communication between field personnel and the home office was IBM with their bricks.
I know of a way to get something shipped with the shortest period of time:
When I worked in computer book publishing and we had to shorten the turnaround time for some books where it was mandatory for an author to see it in the latest stages prior to shipping to a publisher. Mind you, this was in the early-to-mid 90s when my phrase "The world's biggest secret club" was largely in vogue. The closest Microsoft would come to online use at the time was on Compu$erve. i.e.electronic communication was largely not in vogue, plus, this was hardcopy, not electronic copy.
Anyway....if we had to get something to an author, then get it back, we'd go to the gates at an airport, find a willing soul, and they'd hand it off to the stew-crew on a flight, and someone just had to be ready to pick it up on the other end.
In this case, if you could convince someone to do this for you and be ready for the pickup, you might get away with it.
I've not used this in a long, long time, and the issue of 9/11 is likely to raise some eyebrows, but if I were in a pickle and had to deal with hardware, I've got this technique tucked away in my mental index of ways to exploit how the system works.
p.s. There's nothing like networking and seeing if someone [locally] you know has a cup of sugar you can borrow.
If ISPs and States actually understood they can sue the spammers on their own turf. The spammers might start generating Frequent File Modules, but they're going to find themselves hip-deep pretty fast. And if they don't pay? Refer it to a collection agency. They give a rat's posterior unless|until it's a legitimate figure. The State AG or ISPs may not have the "Sue Spammer" money, it's not hurting ayone. So anything you get is gravy. Those collection agencies are going to enjoy their incomes as well.
When was the last time you heard a state-level AG promise to pursue spammers? Ours (Indiana) talked a lot about DNC during both elections but could have received even more if he'd mentioned the spam. When was the last time an ISP had bragging rights on their host page, indicating just how intolerant of spam they are?
Even the Feds have admitted the U-CAN-SPAM is poorly written, but spam vs. cookies? Someone's head is screwed on the wrong way.
I think think to a certain extent, they still are, but fill feel the warm breath.
Microsoft owned the deskstop and has [undeniably] and it's now the 3rd most (and most profitable) element in their portfolio.
Microsoft's long-term strategy, however, is going to be their downfall.
Microsoft has grown from the desktops and are attempting to achieve the next level (www|Internet). Their long-term plan(s) seem to be rather nebulous. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Balmer et al make references to Google in oe way and one way only: as a search engine That's all they want the rest of the world
If you look at something like Google, they didn't grow up, they started online and are growing|spreading about it. It's like an oil slick. They're spreading wider and widers, and helping to organize information. Not just my information, your information, or the information of someone else. They just want to accumulate information and let you figure out how it's best for you to make the best use of it. In the meantime, Microsoft is feeling someone's breath on their necks but are afraid to turn & look because that's when your forward sensors aren't available and you hit a tree.
There's one thing Microsoft is afraid of: not being #1 - no longer the trail setter, but the trend follower.
And one of my favoriate quotes:
"Success is a lousy teacher. It makes smart people think they can't lose."
William Henry Gates 3rd
p.s.
A better question about money is what Ballmer does with his life. We know what Gates & Allen have done, and their actions are news worthy, but what about the guy who looks ready to pop a vein when the cameras are on him?
(It's (s/b) aside), you're looking at two different business models, two methods of income from those business models, and two different forms of data to deal with all of this.
Blockbuster's original market plan (et al as they were Blockbusters original market lan (aside from gobablling everyone else before they could become a threat) was the expectation of a decent percentage of people who ran over the deadline. Think of this as a bar who sells some money from sub- to mediocre-quality food. They aren't in the business for that food (or its quality). They're in the business for alcohol. Once NetFlix showed significant staying power. Blockbuster realized they'd better come with something...fast. And like the software world: why invent when you can copy? (even if you don't have the source) After that, it has become a price war with a couple of twists: Blockbuster has to support brick & mortar stores, including personnel, Flix does't; this impacts a lot of things I won't iterate. Blockbuster permits impetuous|discretionary purposes (stop & rent a movie, stop for a movie, and you're golden.
When will the software dished to them be something clean enough the people who hired them can understand it well enough to be able to make mods & enhancements for subsequent versions?
It's been documented they aren't able to deal with their own code and have to rewrite it for v2.0.
This is not a good sign of companies having saved money.
There isn't a shortage of IT people. there's a shortage of good IT people. And bad coders can write bad code faster than good coders can write good code or fix the bad code, yet productivity numbers favor the goober who writes it in a fraction of time but it's substandard. (if engineers or people it the medical industry conducted themselves with the same quality, society would have disappeared a couple of centuries ago.
Indianapolis has had similar laws struck down but they've been the games in arcades.
Curfew laws for those under the age of sixteen who aren't headed to-from work, school activities, etc. have also been rendered inert.
Besides, to hear the parents of the kids causing trouble who sneak out of the house at night, "But he's such a good boy!" Right. If he were that good, he wouldn't have sneaked out at 2:30am, stolen the car, filled up the tank with gas, then walked inside, robbed the place instead of paying for the gas, and shot the customer who got a good look at his face and the cashier who didn't open the drawer fast enough. (There was nothing to worry about WRT the camera's view of his face because the places which are robbed twice every three weeks have security cameras which they obtained by sending in four box tops from breakfast cereal. Then, they show these pictures on tv and ask for help identifying these people)
Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) (sidenote: You can tell he's a Democrat because he's a "fiscal conservative". Only one party uses that label.)
Anyway, he's wanting to avoid the issue of censorship and penalize those who sell M-rated games to under-aged customers. I have no problems with this. I wouldn't have a problem if they stacked all of the M-rated games to the side of the other games so parents know which are which when their kids head in that direction. But I haven't heard this suggested...yet.
But restricting the purchase means nothing if Dad buys a copy and Timmy plays it on his own. I think this is part of the argument the pro-censorship groups are using. Once the game is out of the store, with parental approval or not, the genie is out of the bottle and kids will have access to it, one way or another.
There's a shuttle service of ca. 6-8 tractors towing two trams circling the entire grouds and they've been running biodiesel from local farmers for years.
I think there are plans for an "all natural" city in the northern part of the state, which will be limited to -E, biodisel, fuel cells, etc. due to switch over within the next year or two.
HTML becomes standardized. Can they implement that? Noooooooooooooooooooooooo. But they do manage to add their own twists [instead].
JavaScript is ready to go by Netscape. Does Microsoft want to play along? Nooooooooooooooooo. They have to hire their own drummer and march to his beat so we end up with JScript.
A new version of RSS is in the works. Is Microsoft going to work & play well with others? Well, the the ink to write the standards isn't even wet, let alone dry, and Microsoft has already announced their vernacular on it.
Were they to implement the standards, then implement their own thing, I could see it. But when they're more concerned upo getting their flavor of the day implemented in lieu of the standardss, then I have to wonder what's wrong with them.
My ongoing post about Microsoft, MS Office, and the XML Format.
I post it every time this topic comes up and people keep forgetting it.
The last time was Nov. 21:
They're opening their file formats because they still has a trump card (the XML Format Patent). Or has everone forgotten about this?
A quick patch or two to Microsoft Office (now one of their biggest or the biggest ca$h cow - 1/3 of their profits?) and MS Office suddenly reads|writes XML format only. They aren't about castrating themselves voluntarily. They still have shareholders to keep happy, but more importantly, they want to be the trendsetters, no matter what.[1]
How does this impact Open Office? Open Office can then read the XML Format because it's declared in the patent. But what O^2 won't be able to do is write the MS Office XML Format [except to violate the patent]. This means: no interoperability and any business which wants to migrate away from a closed system (MS Office) to Open Office can do so only as a one-way trip, burning the bridge behind them. And the company can't communicate both directions, so that forces a move en masse. Corporations do not do this.
They may not be making the right decisions, but Billy G has it covered:
"Success is a lousy teacher. It convinces smart people they can't lose."
p.s.
Remember, Office Live is still coming down the road and it's going to play a role in this as well.
______________________________________________
[1] They don't want to become what IBM became: an also-ran. They keep stopping to catch their breath, thinking they've got time to rest and the rest of the world keeps moving forward. They haven't learned their lesson. Their first online work was with Compu$erve because they didn't know anything about the Internet (this was up to the release of Win95). They did official support on Compu$erve of all things because of unfamliarity and it wasn't until Bill's "Annual Two Week Summer Sabbatical" he realized they were about to be dealt out of the future. Eventually, he learned eough to say, "I don't care what the Information Superhighway looks like as long as I have a tollbooth on it." Over time, they've attempted to grow from desktops and rise up to the Internet. Google has started at the Internet and spread out. This week's BusinessWeek cover: "Googling for Gold: A market cap over $120B. $8B in cash. Plus 5 billionaires. 1'000 millionaires. No wonder dealmakers, VCs, and brokers are clamoring for a piece of the action." When was the last time you heard this much buzz about Microsoft? Microsoft would love to think Google is a fad. Just as IBM used to have corporate singalongs, I think Microsoft has a ritual. The inner circle gets together every morning and they collectively put skid marks in their shorts. And if at any time during the day they stop, pause & loose their focus, that squishy feel and smell yanks them back to reality and reminds them they may think they're #1, but it's only because they had a head start and it's not doing them much good very much longer. Another thing I've said before: listen to Ballmer when he speaks or look for quotes when it's in print. You will hear him refer to Google in one way and one way only: search engine. This is intentional. Remember, marketing is Microsoft's strongest advantage in the business world. He wants all of the suits^w decision makers in the business world to adopt this mantra: "Why pay so much attention and money to a search engine? There are lots of search engines on the market and any day now, someone's going to come along with a better search engine than Google and we'll have spent time, effort, and money on an also-ran." You don't hear about him spending money, just Bill & Paul (Allen). Steve's got billions himself, but he's in it for the ego rush. He also knows if he slips, even a little, he'll be known in Trivial Pursuit, the Internet Edition, as the guy who let Microsoft slide from #1.
You mean the 3-cylinder engine which can't drive up a hill? "No one drives alone because they might encounter a hill?"
(no, I didn't look it up and the only times I've been outside of the US have been to Canada - I just remember reading about it a long, long time ago - before I connected to the 'net about twenty years ago - in Time or Newsweek)
Count me as someone who knows.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the working paper clock advertised in the back of science magazines for many years.
Yeah, but as I mentioned, they don't have the one which will melt styrofoam from across the room. I wonder if they were forced to take that one down? Some guy on eBay sells them though. I can just see loaning one to a speaker if they forget one. That would be too much when they put the dot on the screen too long.
I think it's a cool idea - definitely new & creative. They'll get a lot of free publicity.
Keep 128MB? As in recycle it? What for?
Someone totes a 128MB stick?
I must be getting lazy. Right now, I only have 2 USB 2GB sticks[1], a USB WiFi on-a-stick, and a Cross Ion pen on my lanyard. I'm shopping for a laser pointer, but I haven't found the right one yet.
I've thought about getting one of the green ones which melts styrofoam cups from across the room. Think Geek used to have them, but now, I only see them on eBay.
It might liven up boring meetings.
_____________________________________
[1] $99 total (retail: $199 each), thanks to a Best Buy sale + rebate + luck. They format to NTFS well (original FAT) and the only things I keep on one of them permanently are my cover letter, resume, and the small drivers for the Wi-Fi stick.
They're opening their file formats because they still has a trump card. Or has anyone forgotten about this?
A quick patch or two to Microsoft Office (now one of their biggest or the biggest ca$h cow - 1/3 of their profits?) and MS Office suddenly reads|writes XML format only. They aren't about castrating themselves voluntarily. They still have shareholders to keep happy, but more importantly, they want to be the trendsetters, no matter what.
How does this impact Open Office? Open Office can then read the XML Format because it's declared in the patent. But what O^2 won't be able to do is write the MS Office XML Format [except to violate the patent]. This means: no interoperability and any business which wants to migrate away from a closed system (MS Office) to Open Office can do so only as a one-way trip, burning the bridge behind them. And the company can't communicate both directions, so that forces a move en masse.
I thought it might be the start of a new campaign.
They're behind schedule for Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition.
It's been in the news over the previous few days and "rescheduled" for early 2006. Of course, they announced six months ago it would be out now.
They're just reminding everyone they're still in business.
And speaking of Microsoft vs. Linux, a guy at the local SQL Server user group meeting last night insisted it would be in Microsoft's best interest to come out with SQL Server Linux Edition.
I pointed out two things would have to happen first:
1) You'll hear someone point to the sky and say, "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a pig!"
2) You'll see Bill and Steve walk naked, hand-in-hand, from coast-to-coast.
Now we know who had their sense of humor surgically removed last week.
It would almost be worth putting just a dash of alcohol (ala O'Doul's) and calling it Buzz Beer.
I don't think I'd want to be on the taste test panel (with Drew et alia) for some of the other flavors they were trying until they found the coffee mix. It looked like several of them had ipecac in the brew.
They've been podcasting for some time - as with their intended full casting, several hours later.
What I'm wanting to know is if they are going to cover weekends; something the current podcasts don't do and when the local affiliate decides there's something they think they have something to broadcast which we'll have more appreciation for, *poof*, no NBC Nightly News.
It's worse than the season of "Mine's Bigger" (aka Sweeps); and during severe weather (lots of snow or thunderstorms or tornados; guaranteed, this Winter it will be "Snow Blast 2005 (or 2006) in big letters behind the talking heads), they won't go back to regular programming because they're afraid something will happen and they won't be able to switch back fast enough, then find themselves scooped. It's a nasty game of chicken. No one wants to be the one to blink. And putting two or three junior meteorologists sitting around a table who seem to know less than I did when I earned my weather merit badge, killing time, is excruciating. It'd be more fun to watch them try to push shit back into a horse.
In the US, it's not just a national DNC, but [individual] state DNC lists as well. Many states have more stringent rules than the national list does. I know Kentucky has a reputation for being tough. Here in Indiana, it's $11k/infraction. When the AG reran, a lot of time was spent talking about the implementation of the DNC and how it was stronger than the national version. In fact, the AG says you don't have to worry about the national version if you enroll with the state, which is updated every three months. One of the ways they fund the system is to require telemarketers to purchase a fresh copy of the list after those updates - IIRC, it's $750. Some telemarketers have tried to make a move in court, claiming they shouldn't be required to purchase this information. My response to that is, "Fine, don't purchase the list. Take your chances on the $11k penalty."[1]
Pollsters can call, but you can then ask them to remove you from the list. I recently received calls from Arbitron three days in a row - and asked to be removed after the first time, but filed with the state AG on the second and third days, and made sure Arbitron understood this once I got a supervisor on the line. Big tip: call centers, whether it's telemarketing, technical support, anywhere there are large masses of people, will resist getting a supervisor on the line, but if you push, and push, and make them understand that if they don't, you'll make sure that when the supervisor gets on the line, the first thing you're going to complain about is the peabrain who couldn't comply with your request. Enough demerits, and that toad is toast - and they know it. Stick to your guns.
(Indiana) Charities can call, but only members of the charity can make the calls. This really ruffled the feathers of groups such as for firefighters, et alia, as they normally hired this out, and paid a cut as a result. Because they can't hire a group, they saw their income slow to a trickle. Banks recently created a cadre and threatened a visit to court because they wanted the right to call their current customers - including those who have said, "leave me alone". I'm not certain where that stands, but it's been quiet for a couple of months. The AG took out 1/2 page ads in the paper listing phone numbers of the banks to call. I sent a note suggesting something a bit more stringent: a 1/2 page ad with a list of the banks' addresses and a statement ala The Boulder Pledge:
Under no circumstances will I ever purchase anything offered to me as the result of an unsolicited e-mail message. Nor will I forward chain letters, petitions, mass mailings, or virus warnings to large numbers of others. This is my contribution to the survival of the online community.
but modify it and add, "If you call me without obtaining my permission in advance, I will transfer existing business and will only use a bank [in the future] which is not on the list above."
Then to have them tear it out, and mail it.
It's no big deal to have someone man the phones and route those calls to Dave Null, but when those envelopes come in, they have to open them in case it's real business. And any volume related to that will certainly attract internal attention. I pointed out in my message that I know it puts the AG in a sticky position because while he has constituents to keep happy, the corner offices are the ones who write the largest checks during campaigns and provide cushy jobs when political careers are over.
One of those "real estate" persons who purchases "leads" from spammers called a few weeks ago and once I got all of the info I needed (in case we got disconnected), I informed them they were in violation. stunned silence I asked him how long it was going to take him to make up the $11k it was going to cost him. He said he shouldn't have to pay because he was a victim - the guy he bought the lead from guaranteed him the leads were clean. I told him about Rule #1 Abou
Slashdot Mirror
Then a particular POTUS de-regulated the FCC. Otherwise, time spent in front of the panel become BOHICA (Bend Over, Here It Comes Again)
One of the resulting actions was to eliminate the amount of airtime which is|dedicated to commercials. When they started, I think it was 5, 6, or 7 minutes. Suddenly...there were no restrictions and the birth of infomercials occurred.
There's no such game!
Perhaps you meant, Strip Happy Days ?
It's funny this should come up. I wrote a response to someone's newsletter earlier today.
Here's what amounts to a primary copy|paste:
As far as things loading slowly, a lot of it has to do with the code which is being loaded. In many shops, things such as code reviews are non-existent. And when they occur, they're cursory at best. Programs written in Visual Basic don't have "Option Explicit" (requiring you to declare variables) and when you force someone to add it, it won't compile. One of the biggest gaffes Microsoft made was for programmers to make declaration variables in this fashion. It should be the other way around: force the declaration of variables unless you turn this off. This is a subtle, but crucial indicator of their internal decision-making system and vision.
And speaking of Microsoft, "Patch Tuesday" would be a shadow of its former self if they learned one thing in programming: buffer overflow For those unfamiliar with the term, it means permitting someone to type more than a variable is allocated to handle. The extra characters then alter the program's execution, including turning scenarios turning complete control over to someone running the software. There's a lot of humor about the questions Microsoft asks in their interviews; "Why are manhole covers round? How many gas stations are there?" My joke has become, "Demonstrate code which handles buffer overflows [because we don't know how to do it]".
Gates attempted to demonstrate the priority of security by publicly declaring all software development to be put aside and focused entirely on security issues in February 2002. (Google has started a new event known as "Summer of Code". Students are tapped to gain real-world experience and write OS (Open Source) code during their Summer breaks. I've since referred to Microsoft's dedicated activity aas "Month of Code". Has the error profile changed? No. Has the number of errors changed? Yes. More software on the market with the same error foundation means there are more copies of that problem in everyone's hands. It's not a trick question. Were their code architecture to prevent retro-fitting the solution, they could build it into each no product to hit the market and you'd see the patch count drop over time as new products were released with the underlying fix. This is not a particularly difficult technique to implement and wouldn't add a significant change to their schedule. In fact, the time factor would approach the current schedule as they become familiar with the mindset.
Why don't they do it? No one knows. Programmers with no more than three or four years of experience have learned this shortcoming is the reason Microsoft software is so buggy. And this is without access to Microsoft's source code. No one has put the question to Microsoft. Put their foot down and asked why this is company-wide shortcoming exists. Everyone (media) seems focused upon where Microsoft is going and perhaps afraid they'll commit seppuku (suicide) if they really push it. And if they requested time to investigate it, they should have an answer after a reasonably short period of time, removing, "We'll have to look into why this isn't done" as a response. Were this single issue to be addressed across their product line, I would estimate 98% of the currently reported errors would vaporize. That's not to say a new class of bugs wouldn't develop, but almost all of the reported errors today have a big gathering at every family reunion. We're not dealing with sudoku here; besides, standard sudoku is single digits.
Shortcomings aside, Microsoft has started one internal program: "Blue Hat" - annually bringing hackers in and showing how easy it is to peel open their vaunted software. Apparently, they expected a rah-rah session the first time and it was heard the gasps increased as the spirits fell.
Today's Quiz.
Name each quotation's author.
1. "Success is a lousy teacher. It makes smart people think they can't fail."
2. "People
The reason JIT and other issues have arrived is technology itself. Everything is cutthroat (and I mean cutthroat) and anyone supplying something with the best, barest of sales margin wins. You'd be surprised how much money can become involved in reverse auctions at the enterprise level. Suppliers' prices can easily drop 80%-85% in auctions with hardware's estimated price to be fix figures in less than an hour. Even into the 90s, the most advanced form of communication between field personnel and the home office was IBM with their bricks.
I know of a way to get something shipped with the shortest period of time:
When I worked in computer book publishing and we had to shorten the turnaround time for some books where it was mandatory for an author to see it in the latest stages prior to shipping to a publisher. Mind you, this was in the early-to-mid 90s when my phrase "The world's biggest secret club" was largely in vogue. The closest Microsoft would come to online use at the time was on Compu$erve. i.e.electronic communication was largely not in vogue, plus, this was hardcopy, not electronic copy.
Anyway....if we had to get something to an author, then get it back, we'd go to the gates at an airport, find a willing soul, and they'd hand it off to the stew-crew on a flight, and someone just had to be ready to pick it up on the other end.
In this case, if you could convince someone to do this for you and be ready for the pickup, you might get away with it.
I've not used this in a long, long time, and the issue of 9/11 is likely to raise some eyebrows, but if I were in a pickle and had to deal with hardware, I've got this technique tucked away in my mental index of ways to exploit how the system works.
p.s. There's nothing like networking and seeing if someone [locally] you know has a cup of sugar you can borrow.
Screw cookies, do something about spam.
If ISPs and States actually understood they can sue the spammers on their own turf. The spammers might start generating Frequent File Modules, but they're going to find themselves hip-deep pretty fast. And if they don't pay? Refer it to a collection agency. They give a rat's posterior unless|until it's a legitimate figure. The State AG or ISPs may not have the "Sue Spammer" money, it's not hurting ayone. So anything you get is gravy. Those collection agencies are going to enjoy their incomes as well.
When was the last time you heard a state-level AG promise to pursue spammers? Ours (Indiana) talked a lot about DNC during both elections but could have received even more if he'd mentioned the spam. When was the last time an ISP had bragging rights on their host page, indicating just how intolerant of spam they are?
Even the Feds have admitted the U-CAN-SPAM is poorly written, but spam vs. cookies? Someone's head is screwed on the wrong way.
I think think to a certain extent, they still are, but fill feel the warm breath.
Microsoft owned the deskstop and has [undeniably] and it's now the 3rd most (and most profitable) element in their portfolio.
Microsoft's long-term strategy, however, is going to be their downfall.
Microsoft has grown from the desktops and are attempting to achieve the next level (www|Internet). Their long-term plan(s) seem to be rather nebulous. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Balmer et al make references to Google in oe way and one way only: as a search engine That's all they want the rest of the world
If you look at something like Google, they didn't grow up, they started online and are growing|spreading about it. It's like an oil slick. They're spreading wider and widers, and helping to organize information. Not just my information, your information, or the information of someone else. They just want to accumulate information and let you figure out how it's best for you to make the best use of it. In the meantime, Microsoft is feeling someone's breath on their necks but are afraid to turn & look because that's when your forward sensors aren't available and you hit a tree.
There's one thing Microsoft is afraid of: not being #1 - no longer the trail setter, but the trend follower.
And one of my favoriate quotes:
"Success is a lousy teacher. It makes smart people think they can't lose." William Henry Gates 3rd
p.s.
A better question about money is what Ballmer does with his life. We know what Gates & Allen have done, and their actions are news worthy, but what about the guy who looks ready to pop a vein when the cameras are on him?
(It's (s/b) aside), you're looking at two different business models, two methods of income from those business models, and two different forms of data to deal with all of this.
Blockbuster's original market plan (et al as they were Blockbusters original market lan (aside from gobablling everyone else before they could become a threat) was the expectation of a decent percentage of people who ran over the deadline. Think of this as a bar who sells some money from sub- to mediocre-quality food. They aren't in the business for that food (or its quality). They're in the business for alcohol. Once NetFlix showed significant staying power. Blockbuster realized they'd better come with something...fast. And like the software world: why invent when you can copy? (even if you don't have the source) After that, it has become a price war with a couple of twists: Blockbuster has to support brick & mortar stores, including personnel, Flix does't; this impacts a lot of things I won't iterate. Blockbuster permits impetuous|discretionary purposes (stop & rent a movie, stop for a movie, and you're golden.
When will the software dished to them be something clean enough the people who hired them can understand it well enough to be able to make mods & enhancements for subsequent versions?
It's been documented they aren't able to deal with their own code and have to rewrite it for v2.0.
This is not a good sign of companies having saved money.
There isn't a shortage of IT people. there's a shortage of good IT people. And bad coders can write bad code faster than good coders can write good code or fix the bad code, yet productivity numbers favor the goober who writes it in a fraction of time but it's substandard. (if engineers or people it the medical industry conducted themselves with the same quality, society would have disappeared a couple of centuries ago.
Indianapolis has had similar laws struck down but they've been the games in arcades. Curfew laws for those under the age of sixteen who aren't headed to-from work, school activities, etc. have also been rendered inert.
Besides, to hear the parents of the kids causing trouble who sneak out of the house at night, "But he's such a good boy!" Right. If he were that good, he wouldn't have sneaked out at 2:30am, stolen the car, filled up the tank with gas, then walked inside, robbed the place instead of paying for the gas, and shot the customer who got a good look at his face and the cashier who didn't open the drawer fast enough. (There was nothing to worry about WRT the camera's view of his face because the places which are robbed twice every three weeks have security cameras which they obtained by sending in four box tops from breakfast cereal. Then, they show these pictures on tv and ask for help identifying these people)
Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) (sidenote: You can tell he's a Democrat because he's a "fiscal conservative". Only one party uses that label.)
Anyway, he's wanting to avoid the issue of censorship and penalize those who sell M-rated games to under-aged customers. I have no problems with this. I wouldn't have a problem if they stacked all of the M-rated games to the side of the other games so parents know which are which when their kids head in that direction. But I haven't heard this suggested...yet.
But restricting the purchase means nothing if Dad buys a copy and Timmy plays it on his own. I think this is part of the argument the pro-censorship groups are using. Once the game is out of the store, with parental approval or not, the genie is out of the bottle and kids will have access to it, one way or another.
Yes.
I write my replies in Gmail and spellcheck before pasting back.
There's a shuttle service of ca. 6-8 tractors towing two trams circling the entire grouds and they've been running biodiesel from local farmers for years.
I think there are plans for an "all natural" city in the northern part of the state, which will be limited to -E, biodisel, fuel cells, etc. due to switch over within the next year or two.
Yeah, but only 10% of the
Can I make a guess? How about daily?
HTML becomes standardized. Can they implement that? Noooooooooooooooooooooooo. But they do manage to add their own twists [instead].
JavaScript is ready to go by Netscape. Does Microsoft want to play along? Nooooooooooooooooo. They have to hire their own drummer and march to his beat so we end up with JScript.
A new version of RSS is in the works. Is Microsoft going to work & play well with others? Well, the the ink to write the standards isn't even wet, let alone dry, and Microsoft has already announced their vernacular on it.
Were they to implement the standards, then implement their own thing, I could see it. But when they're more concerned upo getting their flavor of the day implemented in lieu of the standardss, then I have to wonder what's wrong with them.
My ongoing post about Microsoft, MS Office, and the XML Format.
I post it every time this topic comes up and people keep forgetting it.
The last time was Nov. 21:
They're opening their file formats because they still has a trump card (the XML Format Patent). Or has everone forgotten about this?
A quick patch or two to Microsoft Office (now one of their biggest or the biggest ca$h cow - 1/3 of their profits?) and MS Office suddenly reads|writes XML format only. They aren't about castrating themselves voluntarily. They still have shareholders to keep happy, but more importantly, they want to be the trendsetters, no matter what.[1]
How does this impact Open Office? Open Office can then read the XML Format because it's declared in the patent. But what O^2 won't be able to do is write the MS Office XML Format [except to violate the patent]. This means: no interoperability and any business which wants to migrate away from a closed system (MS Office) to Open Office can do so only as a one-way trip, burning the bridge behind them. And the company can't communicate both directions, so that forces a move en masse. Corporations do not do this.
They may not be making the right decisions, but Billy G has it covered:
"Success is a lousy teacher. It convinces smart people they can't lose."
p.s.
Remember, Office Live is still coming down the road and it's going to play a role in this as well.
______________________________________________
[1] They don't want to become what IBM became: an also-ran. They keep stopping to catch their breath, thinking they've got time to rest and the rest of the world keeps moving forward. They haven't learned their lesson. Their first online work was with Compu$erve because they didn't know anything about the Internet (this was up to the release of Win95). They did official support on Compu$erve of all things because of unfamliarity and it wasn't until Bill's "Annual Two Week Summer Sabbatical" he realized they were about to be dealt out of the future. Eventually, he learned eough to say, "I don't care what the Information Superhighway looks like as long as I have a tollbooth on it." Over time, they've attempted to grow from desktops and rise up to the Internet. Google has started at the Internet and spread out. This week's BusinessWeek cover: "Googling for Gold: A market cap over $120B. $8B in cash. Plus 5 billionaires. 1'000 millionaires. No wonder dealmakers, VCs, and brokers are clamoring for a piece of the action." When was the last time you heard this much buzz about Microsoft? Microsoft would love to think Google is a fad. Just as IBM used to have corporate singalongs, I think Microsoft has a ritual. The inner circle gets together every morning and they collectively put skid marks in their shorts. And if at any time during the day they stop, pause & loose their focus, that squishy feel and smell yanks them back to reality and reminds them they may think they're #1, but it's only because they had a head start and it's not doing them much good very much longer. Another thing I've said before: listen to Ballmer when he speaks or look for quotes when it's in print. You will hear him refer to Google in one way and one way only: search engine . This is intentional. Remember, marketing is Microsoft's strongest advantage in the business world. He wants all of the suits^w decision makers in the business world to adopt this mantra: "Why pay so much attention and money to a search engine? There are lots of search engines on the market and any day now, someone's going to come along with a better search engine than Google and we'll have spent time, effort, and money on an also-ran." You don't hear about him spending money, just Bill & Paul (Allen). Steve's got billions himself, but he's in it for the ego rush. He also knows if he slips, even a little, he'll be known in Trivial Pursuit, the Internet Edition, as the guy who let Microsoft slide from #1.
You mean the 3-cylinder engine which can't drive up a hill? "No one drives alone because they might encounter a hill?"
(no, I didn't look it up and the only times I've been outside of the US have been to Canada - I just remember reading about it a long, long time ago - before I connected to the 'net about twenty years ago - in Time or Newsweek)
Count me as someone who knows.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the working paper clock advertised in the back of science magazines for many years.
Yeah, but as I mentioned, they don't have the one which will melt styrofoam from across the room. I wonder if they were forced to take that one down? Some guy on eBay sells them though. I can just see loaning one to a speaker if they forget one. That would be too much when they put the dot on the screen too long.
I think it's a cool idea - definitely new & creative. They'll get a lot of free publicity.
Keep 128MB? As in recycle it? What for?
Someone totes a 128MB stick?
I must be getting lazy. Right now, I only have 2 USB 2GB sticks[1], a USB WiFi on-a-stick, and a Cross Ion pen on my lanyard. I'm shopping for a laser pointer, but I haven't found the right one yet.
I've thought about getting one of the green ones which melts styrofoam cups from across the room. Think Geek used to have them, but now, I only see them on eBay.
It might liven up boring meetings.
_____________________________________
[1] $99 total (retail: $199 each), thanks to a Best Buy sale + rebate + luck. They format to NTFS well (original FAT) and the only things I keep on one of them permanently are my cover letter, resume, and the small drivers for the Wi-Fi stick.
Read the article, wiseguy.
<source-excerpt>
THE FOLLOWING PROOF OF CONCEPT IS PROVIDED EXCLUSIVELY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY...
<snip>
shellcode = unescape("%u5053%u5053%u9090%uC929%uE983%uD9DB%uD
"%u5BF4%u7381%uA913%u4A67%u83CC%uFCEB%uF4E2%u8F55
"%uCC0C%u67A9%u89C1%uEC95%uC936%u66D1%u47A5%u7FE6
</source-excerpt>
Microsoft Bob served its purpose. Melinda French, Product Manager, became Mrs. William Henry Gates 3rd.
{how often do you screw up and get...I can't do it}
They're opening their file formats because they still has a trump card. Or has anyone forgotten about this?
A quick patch or two to Microsoft Office (now one of their biggest or the biggest ca$h cow - 1/3 of their profits?) and MS Office suddenly reads|writes XML format only. They aren't about castrating themselves voluntarily. They still have shareholders to keep happy, but more importantly, they want to be the trendsetters, no matter what.
How does this impact Open Office? Open Office can then read the XML Format because it's declared in the patent. But what O^2 won't be able to do is write the MS Office XML Format [except to violate the patent]. This means: no interoperability and any business which wants to migrate away from a closed system (MS Office) to Open Office can do so only as a one-way trip, burning the bridge behind them. And the company can't communicate both directions, so that forces a move en masse.
I thought it might be the start of a new campaign.
They're behind schedule for Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition.
It's been in the news over the previous few days and "rescheduled" for early 2006. Of course, they announced six months ago it would be out now.
They're just reminding everyone they're still in business.
And speaking of Microsoft vs. Linux, a guy at the local SQL Server user group meeting last night insisted it would be in Microsoft's best interest to come out with SQL Server Linux Edition.
I pointed out two things would have to happen first:
1) You'll hear someone point to the sky and say, "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a pig!"
2) You'll see Bill and Steve walk naked, hand-in-hand, from coast-to-coast.
It's like they took the worst elements from both and stuck them together. Ugly as hell.
No, if you want "ugly as hell", look at the style used in DC and Marvel comic books.
Someone went on a contagious, permanent acid trip years ago and ruined what was once a fine American institution.
They might as well turn all of the superheroes into manga. It couldn't make them any worse.
Now we know who had their sense of humor surgically removed last week.
It would almost be worth putting just a dash of alcohol (ala O'Doul's) and calling it Buzz Beer.
I don't think I'd want to be on the taste test panel (with Drew et alia) for some of the other flavors they were trying until they found the coffee mix. It looked like several of them had ipecac in the brew.
It's not entirely new for NBC Nightly News.
They've been podcasting for some time - as with their intended full casting, several hours later.
What I'm wanting to know is if they are going to cover weekends; something the current podcasts don't do and when the local affiliate decides there's something they think they have something to broadcast which we'll have more appreciation for, *poof*, no NBC Nightly News.
It's worse than the season of "Mine's Bigger" (aka Sweeps); and during severe weather (lots of snow or thunderstorms or tornados; guaranteed, this Winter it will be "Snow Blast 2005 (or 2006) in big letters behind the talking heads), they won't go back to regular programming because they're afraid something will happen and they won't be able to switch back fast enough, then find themselves scooped. It's a nasty game of chicken. No one wants to be the one to blink. And putting two or three junior meteorologists sitting around a table who seem to know less than I did when I earned my weather merit badge, killing time, is excruciating. It'd be more fun to watch them try to push shit back into a horse.
In the US, it's not just a national DNC, but [individual] state DNC lists as well. Many states have more stringent rules than the national list does. I know Kentucky has a reputation for being tough. Here in Indiana, it's $11k/infraction. When the AG reran, a lot of time was spent talking about the implementation of the DNC and how it was stronger than the national version. In fact, the AG says you don't have to worry about the national version if you enroll with the state, which is updated every three months. One of the ways they fund the system is to require telemarketers to purchase a fresh copy of the list after those updates - IIRC, it's $750. Some telemarketers have tried to make a move in court, claiming they shouldn't be required to purchase this information. My response to that is, "Fine, don't purchase the list. Take your chances on the $11k penalty."[1]
Pollsters can call, but you can then ask them to remove you from the list. I recently received calls from Arbitron three days in a row - and asked to be removed after the first time, but filed with the state AG on the second and third days, and made sure Arbitron understood this once I got a supervisor on the line. Big tip: call centers, whether it's telemarketing, technical support, anywhere there are large masses of people, will resist getting a supervisor on the line, but if you push, and push, and make them understand that if they don't, you'll make sure that when the supervisor gets on the line, the first thing you're going to complain about is the peabrain who couldn't comply with your request. Enough demerits, and that toad is toast - and they know it. Stick to your guns.
(Indiana) Charities can call, but only members of the charity can make the calls. This really ruffled the feathers of groups such as for firefighters, et alia, as they normally hired this out, and paid a cut as a result. Because they can't hire a group, they saw their income slow to a trickle. Banks recently created a cadre and threatened a visit to court because they wanted the right to call their current customers - including those who have said, "leave me alone". I'm not certain where that stands, but it's been quiet for a couple of months. The AG took out 1/2 page ads in the paper listing phone numbers of the banks to call. I sent a note suggesting something a bit more stringent: a 1/2 page ad with a list of the banks' addresses and a statement ala The Boulder Pledge:
Under no circumstances will I ever purchase anything offered to me as the result of an unsolicited e-mail message. Nor will I forward chain letters, petitions, mass mailings, or virus warnings to large numbers of others. This is my contribution to the survival of the online community.
but modify it and add, "If you call me without obtaining my permission in advance, I will transfer existing business and will only use a bank [in the future] which is not on the list above."
Then to have them tear it out, and mail it.
It's no big deal to have someone man the phones and route those calls to Dave Null, but when those envelopes come in, they have to open them in case it's real business. And any volume related to that will certainly attract internal attention. I pointed out in my message that I know it puts the AG in a sticky position because while he has constituents to keep happy, the corner offices are the ones who write the largest checks during campaigns and provide cushy jobs when political careers are over.
One of those "real estate" persons who purchases "leads" from spammers called a few weeks ago and once I got all of the info I needed (in case we got disconnected), I informed them they were in violation. stunned silence I asked him how long it was going to take him to make up the $11k it was going to cost him. He said he shouldn't have to pay because he was a victim - the guy he bought the lead from guaranteed him the leads were clean. I told him about Rule #1 Abou