Wednesday, May 29, 2002

11:34:44 PM   Yo Scoble! Here's Why I Won't Go To XP.... Yo Scoble!  Here's Why I Won't Go To XP... From Scoble's Blog: >>So, I see you are thinking of getting into Windows XP. I should write up another review now that I've used XP for seven months. It's still the best OS that Microsoft has made. It still doesn't crash. But my system is going slower than when I first installed it. They still haven't cured the "OS Rot" problem (although it's a lot better than on earlier versions of Windows). Me: It'll be a cold day in hell before I go to XP.  Here's why: I Don't Believe Microsoft Represents ME.  My basic problem is damn simple: I no longer believe that Microsoft can improve my computing experience in a way that is beneficial to only myself.  Take IE 6 for example.  Yes, now it can play MP3 files natively and that's useful.  But I also have to get an advertisement every single time I play a file.  I don't care that Jennifer Lopez or Julia Roberts has a new movie coming out.  I don't feel that this is appropriate in a business context (and the bulk of MS $ still comes from business).  Or, look at it this way, do you want Microsoft encouraging your staff to waste time?  I sure as hell don't.  This crap doesn't belong in by default.  And don't tell me I can configure it to be off.  Why do I have to turn off things that make you more $ and spend my time to do it?  Why can't you do the right thing for me?  And, finally, don't tell me how you need to make $$$ from the browser since there is no fee for it.  Come on...it's part of the operation system, right?  And you got paid for the OS when I bought my thinkpad.  So why are you making even more $ from me? I Don't Trust You.  Every single version of windows in my career, with the sole exception of NT 4, has gotten progressively less stable.  It's clear to me that stability, robustness and security are not things Microsoft cares about in any way.  I would have stayed with NT4 but the lack of USB support forced me to move.  Windows 2000 regularly has to be restarted 2 to 3 x per week.  At an average lost labor cost of $4,500 per software engineer (I am one).  I don't have an answer here.  I can't stay on 2000 forever but I don't trust you and without trust there is no business relationship. Bloat.  I'm sorry Microsoft.  I'm tired of your sloppy programming practices forcing droves and droves of people to upgrade hardware.  This is no longer economically feasible in these all too bad times.  You need to suck it up and make an OS that gets faster not fatter.  Or you need to give me the RAM upgrade when I get XP. Anti Copy Protection is Invasive.  I don't know one Network Administrator or IT person who hasn't used a downloaded serial # at one time or another when they lost one.  I will not have you sniffing my network and shutting stuff down arbitrarily.  Period. It's Unclear What Benefits I Get.  Scoble tells me it's more stable.  Sorry.  I just can't believe that.  I hate the look and feel with a passion (friggin big and ugly).  So what do I get?  An updated set of device drivers?  Just go away. Seriously folks -- I no longer trust what is arguably the single most important IT vendor in the world.  What does that say? Comments? [The FuzzyBlog!]

11:33:41 PM   Marketing 101: How Do I Get People to Change Platforms, Parts 1 and 2. Marketing 101: How Do I Get People to Change Platforms, Parts 1 and 2 Well folks, it's a high output blogging day for sure.  Here are parts 1 and 2 of "How Do I Get People to Change Platforms". Marketing 101: How Do I Get People to Change Platforms, Part 1? The single hardest marketing pitch in all of computing, both hardware and software, is this: Please Mr. Customer, Change Your Platform to My New Thing! There is just nothing harder.  This article will tackle this non-trivial (that's semi sarcastic computer geek speak for "wicked hard") problem from a theoretical basis and then, in a follow up piece, with a real world example -- Drupal. ==> Part 1 <== Marketing 101: How Do I Get People to Change Platforms - Part 2 This article is a follow up piece to the Marketing 101 article: How Do I Get People to Change Platforms?  In this article we are going to illustrate the platform changing process with Drupal. Drupal is a new Open Source application that is a current passion of mine.  When I first discovered it, I thought ... ==> Part 2 <== [The FuzzyBlog!]

11:32:10 PM   "that doesn't mean that there weren't red flags out there, that there weren't dots that should have been connected to the extent possible." F.B.I. Chief Admits 9/11 Might Have Been Headed Off. The director of the F.B.I., Robert S. Mueller III, acknowledged that the attacks of Sept. 11 might have been prevented if officials had responded differently to available information. By Neil A. Lewis. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

11:28:09 PM   Down to Raucous Wire, Osbournes in MTV Deal. Negotiations over a new contract for at least 20 more episodes of "The Osbournes," MTV's biggest hit series ever, turned out to be every bit as bizarre as the series itself. By Bill Carter. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

5:57:46 PM   Apparently it's illegal to sell dildos in the state of Texas. Worse yet, having more than six dildos constitutes the intent to distribute them, so zealous dong ownership alone is against the law. No wonder Bush is such a tight-ass! [Adam Curry: Adam Curry's Weblog]

5:33:16 PM   William James. "The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." [Quotes of the Day]