The FuzzyBlog!
Marketing 101. Consulting 101. PHP Consulting. Random geeky stuff. I Blog Therefore I Am.

Monday, June 17, 2002

This Just Blows: Internet Ecommerce for Software Should Be Immediate I just bought a windows installer package.  I looked at InstallShield, Wise, MindVision and others.  And I ended up picking Wise and now I'm sorry I did.  It's not the product, I haven't gotten it yet.  Here's the two problems: The price changed between yesterday and today by $100 -- more expensive.  No idea why.  When I tried to call, I got the "Hours are from M-F, 9-5" line.  Sigh.  Done.  I did the ecommerce ordering at 7:03 this evening (or thereabouts, it was after 5).  When I finished I got this astoundingly stupid message: Thank you for choosing WISE. Orders are processed Monday through Friday between 8:30 and 6:00 EST . Typical processing time is one hour. You will receive an order confirmation via e-mail, instructions on how to download your product(s), and the total billed to your credit card when your order is processed. I had time set aside (actually Brian, my partner in email crime, had time set aside) to do this tonight.  Now it's not until tomorrow morning and then at whenver they get around to it.  Hello?  Clue Free?  Are you there?  And so it goes. 9:45:50 PM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

Kuro5hin is Broke: But Am I All that Surprised? One of my favorite sites, but not one I actually visit often, is broke and needs cash.  Rusty's story on this.  Well worth reading.  A great piece of work. Comments and Why I am Not Surprised NOTE: No matter how I write this you are about 95% likely to think either: Scott's just an idiot Scott's being pissy to a great site. Neither of these is accurate to any degree.  There is a fundamental disconnect between users of sites and designers of sites.  This disconnect turns me, as an advertiser, away at the door.  This story shows how far we differ from designers -- and I am both a *nix guy and a programmer and a regular reader of sites like this. ==> Read Story <== 2:02:13 PM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

Wall Street Journal: Enron Paid Top Managers $681 Million Even as Stock Slid And, if you can believe it, at least $67.4 million was paid to former Chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay in the year up to Dec 2nd, 2001.  Ok.  That's just plain evil and wrong.  I really am disgusted.  I'll try and link to the actual SEC documents when they are publicly available.  Of course, no permalink, so get it today: http://online.wsj.com/public/us There isn't anything wrong with compensating your management.  Even obscene compensation can sometimes be justified.  But the stock started its slide in January 2001 so this just seems like a naked attempt to rape the corporation because they knew the end was near. Note: Any typos are mine, I keyed it in from my print copy. 9:41:04 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

Some More Random Links Proof that you can make a living doing ANYTHING you are passionate about. Hate RPMs?  You aren't alone.  Look at Debian, Gentoo or FreeBSD.  If this didn't mean a damn thing to you... You are so lucky.  One of my favorite, realistic SysAdmins currently really likes Gentoo so that impresses me (rule of thumb on complex geek issues -- find geeks you look up to on that issue and emulate them -- it usually works pretty well). An interesting response to the currently sponsored Anti Linux paper by ADTI. Blogging at OSCON. The 5th fastest growing company in Central Florida?  An open source consulting company.  Now that is surprising --- even to me. Different options for hosting automation: www.ensim.com, www.sphera.com, www.plesk.com.  My thoughts on them?  None of the above.  And I have a strong distaste for Ensim.  Very strong.  It's always troubling to me when the proprietary software seems to have few to no advantages over open source alternatives. Support UserFriendly!  A very cool online comic strip.  Thanks Cory! Oh crap.  Now the RIAA wants to TAX used CDs.  RIAA = Clue Free and Proud of It.  Business models change over time.  Yours needs to change.  Please accept it and move forward. Ok.  Scoble has the single best, most honest commentary on stock options I've ever been lucky enough to read.  Thanks! A really, really good tutorial on CVS. 8:25:10 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

Marketing 101: How To Drive Away Customers -- An Example I just ran into a classic example of how to drive away customers -- and you'll never even know that you did it.  Here's what happened: I have tons of digital pictures. I want to make them available on my blog I've had a few digital cameras so I can't just resize everything by 40 % -- the resolutions are all different -- I need a smart tool for this. I've been a PaintShop Pro 5 user since 98 so I wanted to patronize my current vendor, Jasc. I go to www.jasc.com and download Image Robot.  It looks pretty good but I can't find a conditional facility. I email support@jasc.com and send this message: ==> Read Story <== 8:11:23 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

New Vanity Email Address and Looking to Write about PHP? While the last thing I need is another email address, you can now reach me at scott@phpbeginner.com.  Hmmm... Is that supposed to make you think I am a beginner? Or that I write for beginners for that web site.  Too funny.  Cool Site for PHP==> www.phpbeginner.com   To make the obligatory plug for PHP Beginner, where I am actually a contributing editor, if you do PHP stuff and want to show off what you know or just get more experience writing, we are looking for new authors.  PHP Beginner is a great web site which focuses on easy to use information for the, well, beginner.  And, before you think, "Oh crap.  Yet more newbies", I'd point out to you that it is far more challenging to explain anything to a beginner than it is to write for a fellow geek.  And, while you do get some really interesting questions at times, it is tremendously rewarding.  My one article on security in PHP has now gotten the single most hits of any article they've ever published and generated inquiries from all over the world (U.S., England, Australia, Asia).  This is tremendously rewarding.  And, I think it's good for your career as well.  My friend Ray, the Satellite dude, indicated that while his articles didn't get him the job, they sure didn't hurt.  Something to think about.  Pretty much any topic is viable as long as it can be explained to a beginner.  We even published an article about "Ternary Conditional Operator" in an understandable fashion. Articles from Bloggers that write on PHP: All my Articles All of Ray's Articles All of Demitrious' Articles (he's a blogger just doesn't use the term) So, if you want to write for www.phpbeginner.com, email the editor -- maxim@phpbeginner.com and feel free to CC me on it.  Or just email me and I'll do the forward.  NOTE: I've been lax on my php email, heck -- all email, for the past week due to "It's the return of SysAdminBoy!"  I should be caught up later this week. Anti Bias Disclaimer: This is an unpaid gig so I have no $$$ centric bias here -- I just want to see the site get better. 6:39:49 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

Something Different:  A New Approach to Your Personal Caffeination or "The Random Tea" I don't know what it is about Systems Administration (aka SysAdmin) work but nothing causes me to consume more caffeine than this type of task.  And I consume it by the gallon, not quart, not liter, when things are, ahem, interesting.  So, Friday, when the diet coke had run out, the local convenience store was either closed for the night or not yet open in the morning (yes -- everything is just blurring together lately) and I came up with this: A Large Pitcher Cold Water 2/3s of the normal quantity of Lipton's Ice Tea mix -- the heavily synthetic kind -- that hasn't ever seen "Tea". 1 packet of Kool-Aid mix, a powered fruit drink mix. Now here's the cool part: Kool-Aid Switchin Secrets.  This is a packet of the drink mix where they don't tell you flavor and the colors don't match the taste.  So I've had Strawberry Ice Tea that was green.  And Orange Ice Tea that was red.  A little bizarre but kind fun.  It truly is "The Random Tea". 6:21:19 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This