23 posts from July 2007

I love keeping virtual to do lists. It makes my life easy, to just be able to see what I need to do, in front of me, without worrying about where I put that darned paper!!!

I wanted one so badly, I once made my own crude "to do" list program. I don’t recommend it.

I do recommend  Check Off.....

Its easy to use (and install)

Very versatile (which is good, because I love categories)

and FREE

You can check it out at http://www.carpeaqua.com/software/checkoff/

I know, its not the big win, but every step counts. - Remeber to keep free things free, for all of us.

Hey all!

I got this in my in box today. I have to admit, I'm tempted by learning about silverlight.

What do you think, should I go?             

       
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Some interesting news here - A replacement for Visual Basic (rt) making its way into the schools. Cross platform programming is making its way to the masses, which will mean a plethora of new Mac and Linux Applications to come

I was recently asked by a friend and co-worker, why do you do this?  Do you really hate Bill Gates so much?

The answer :

No, of course I don't hate Bill Gates - I've never even met him. I don't agree with many of the things his company has done, but Hate - well I just don't have the time and energy.

So - Why do I do this?

Well:

1 - Doing business should not be a high expense proposition. I know big business is bloated, and we have this notion stuck in our collective heads that more cost equals more quality, but real small businesses run on shoe string budgets all of the time.

2 - Good software is essential, and out there in abundance. People and companies who try to limit consumer choices in order to boost profits irk me. Thats called a monopoly - and most nations have laws against that for a reason.

3 - Developers work really hard, and give us the gift of free software - its rude to turn down a gift.

4 - Sometimes, you cant find what you want from Microsoft - and free ware fills in the gaps nicely.

In the end - its all about choice, freedom and the right not to have to pay bloated software costs.

And if sometimes I make fun of Bill - well thats all in good fun

You need to back up your important files and data, but you don;t want to shell out for an expensive service. Then just use Mozy.

Mozy  can be used for Mac or Windows - and when you sign up for a free account, you get 2GB of free storage, enough for critical documents. If you really need more, then you can get more for a mere 5 dollars a month.

I have used this (the free account) happily for months, by storing encrypted disk images, and files from my Mac Book.

Its worth checking it out. www.mozy.com

Get the free account.  If you hate it, you didn't pay.

*Disclaimer –before anyone gets upset, or sue happy, nothing I am writing is anything but what comes out of my own head – I have no way to know what Bill Gates really thinks (and I am exceedingly grateful for that fact – my blood pressure would be way too high if I did)  and I did not come up with the model of grief Elizabeth Kubler Ross did in 1969*

Anyway – Here we go

Denial – Microsoft is the best! And Vista will kick everyone else’s butt! No one will want any other computer when they see Vista, bye-bye Mac and Linux (insert villainous laugh here)

Anger – What! How can anyone not like Vista! Must be a small fringe group out to get me! Send out my army of paid bloggers to squish this rebellion once and for all! And Macs Sales are up by HOW MUCH?

Bargaining – Maybe if I give out my product for 3$ in emerging markets I can re-build my market share and look like a good guy at the same time. My loyal customers won’t mind paying 100 times what people who’ve never bought one of my products in their life do for the same OS. ( Link - http://www.windows-now.com/blogs/robert/archive/2007/04/19/microsoft-introduces-3-windows-bundle-for-emerging-markets.aspx )

Depression – I’m getting slaughtered. It’s hopeless. Maybe those Mac ad’s are right. (www.apple.com/getamac/ads/ )

Acceptance – OK, so my product sucks. How can I use my leverage to eliminate competition? Maybe my lawyers, yes, I’ll sue someone. Can’t sue Mac, they probably have lawyers too- see through me in a second – who can I sue??? I know! Open source! They give away their products so they can’t possibly afford lawyers. Brilliant again Bill, as usual.

Just need to know how to do one quick thing with Linux, then take a short lesson. Here is the URL

http://www.linux.org/lessons/short/index.html

Available Short Lessons are

Baking Pies with Perl

Powerpoint Me in the Other Direction - Alternative methods for Presentations

How to Manipulate Sound Files with SoX

Goin' Fishin' - Using the 'fish' protocol

Using the Fluxbox Window Manager

The Wonderful World of Wikis

Plug for charity: http://www.care2.com an active community that lets you make and circulate your own petitions, as well as click to donate features and awareness results.

You want to know what other companies get the job done with Linux, well here are two great examples of major compaies that depend on open source to get the job done:

Deutsche Bahn - They run the notoriously efficent German Train System

http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid10_gci1057815,00.html

Oracle

http://www.computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/hardware/server/story/0,10801,67867,00.html