It doesn’t take two cups of coffee on Sunday morning to figure out why the screen saver market never bloomed into a full blown industry. Screen savers were, and are, a tool which is intended to do something while YOU AREN’T THERE. There is a fundamental contradiction in paying for something which assumes your absence.… more
I’m a database guy. This means when I have to build something with software, the first thing I’m going to think is, “How is a database going to help me here?” I’d argue there are two other application cults in this realm, there are the spreadsheet guys (sales/marketing/management) and language guys (engineering). My database biases… more
There are certain hazards in running a weblog. There’s the GOSH I DIDN’T KNOW MY MOM WAS READING moment. There’s the JESUS YOU MEAN I HAVE TO TEST MY LAYOUT ON MULTIPLE BROWSERS weekend. Then, there’s the I AM TURNING COMMENTS FOREVER AND EVER realization. In order, my advice for each situation is as follows:… more
I’m am incrementalist which means I’m A-OK when change occurs a little here and a little there. I’m OK with it because the world is a big place and there is a lot to pay attention to. If I was a completionist, I would like my change with a bit more finality, but I’m not.… more
If you’ve dated a software geek or just rifled through said geek’s clothing, you’ll invariably run into a stash of corporate wear. These are the t-shirts, hats, polo shirts, fleeces and various other crap adorned with company/product logos and tag lines. Every geek has a stash. It doesn’t matter if they’ve worked in the industry… more
Today the last vestige of the PC left the building. I replaced the old Dell 500Mhz machine at home with a Dual G4 and a 20″ flat panel monitor. This means that all of my primary machines are now Macs. <insert little dance here> I’m quite comfortable on the Mac. With Panther adding the groovy… more
Robert D. Hof writes eloquently and intelligently about the Next Big Thing. Three things of note: I was surprised that he discovered and identified the smart mob emergence as the only interesting development in the last few months. I agree — there was a small holy shit moment when I first read about smart mobs.… more
There will be some inane debate regarding the Typepad Feature List and what FEATURE X is in PLUS PACKGE while FEATURE Y is in PRO PACKAGE. Fact of the matter is, there are, at least, two features in all of the packages which make the Typepad service superior to anything I’ve tried. Speed. I’ve got… more
The gist of the book Guns of the South is straightforward yet odd. What if, during the Civil War, the South became equipped with a lot of AK-47s? Long story very short, they would have won. Handily. The author, Harry Turtledove, chose not to focus on time travel or other delectable science fiction tidbits; he… more
The latest shareware utility I’ve actually paid for is LaunchBar. This utility, which I’ve already talked about, sits in your menu bar and allows you to launch applications, web pages, documents, system preferences by typing their respective names via the keyboard. Frequent readers will know of my hatred of mouse. It is a imprecise tool… more