Talk

Well, it’s a good start. Seriously, it proves that when Microsoft tries, it is, in fact, perfectly capable of finding a balance between its preferred licensing scheme and that of the Open Source world.
Now that Microsoft has opted to work with Zend, it is working to make sure that the Zend product is a tight [...]

It’s been a while since my last post… but I’m going to get back in the saddle again soon. Consider this my foot in the first stirrup. After my Maui vacation, I’m finding it hard to get back into the same groove I was in before. I promise to post some of my pictures [...]

As much as I hate to admit it, Alan Cox may just be right on the money. Even though it pains me to say this, it is totally true that a number of popular Open Source applications are, in fact, quite insecure.
But rather than side with Closed Source companies in saying “see, we told you [...]

Because the offshoring of U.S. engineering and other high-skill jobs to developing countries is increasing, America needs a coordinated national strategy to maintain its technological leadership and promote job creation, IEEE-USA President Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr. said at the National Academy of Engineering today.
Wyndrum, speaking during the Academy’s two-day Workshop on the Offshoring of Engineering: [...]

Will XP’s SP3 (service pack 3) ever be shipped? Perhaps the release of Vista makes this a moot point? Whatever your opinion, I would not spend a lot of time fretting over this issue.
Think about it, we know that these same updates will continued to be released over the Windows update tool for as long [...]

The other day, Microsoft announced that it will be dropping support for Windows 98. The question that now needs to be asked is whether Microsoft will maybe release the OS into the Open Source arena. Should this be the case, you can expect to see various new operating systems based on this widely used technology. [...]

A few years ago I found an obscure Washington law that, at least on paper, says you can appeal a Small Claims ruling by posting a bond of $100. I just uploaded a new page about this ‘lost law’ here. But the courts never actually use this rule. Instead, they follow a different Washington law [...]

What is MySpace’s problem? Why is it that they cannot seem to put into place some way of checks and balances to ensure that kids are not being accosted by some sicko looking to molest as many kids anyway they can?
As MySpace continues to state that there is “nothing they can do”, we have Kevin [...]

Well, there it is. The official Microsoft stance is not to wait for Vista if you are considering a new PC purchase. Fair enough considering that most hardware out there right now is likely wearing its “Vista Ready” badge by now anyway.
But even considering this, you have to admit that it sucks that you have [...]

Everyone and their brother’s going nuts over the recent announcement that Google is buying YouTube. I think we all knew it was coming, and yeah it’s a big deal. What was really interesting to me was that I was about to do a between-flights phone interview (on an unrelated tech topic) with a national newspaper [...]

I can adapt to most any wireless LAN client utility pretty easily. Lord knows I’ve seen my share. In the Windows 98/Me and Windows 2000 days, there really wasn’t a standard wireless configuration tool built into the OS. You used the configuration tool that came with your wireless adapter. Then Windows XP came along, and [...]

I just love it when I get emails like this:

Well, it took less time than some of us expected. Microsoft has released a critical fix for that nasty IE bug. You know, I wonder. I would really like to know what the moral is like over at Microsoft headquarters?

I have this nagging problem with XP file sharing, and I am none too pleased about it. The gist of the issue is this: I have file and print sharing enabled on my primary desktop PC (XP Pro SP2) and I cannot access any shared resources from it from any other PC, regardless of OS. [...]

I’m just over two weeks away until my ten-day vacation to Maui, Hawaii. As I’ve mentioned before, this is a “no laptop” vacation, although I will have my BlackBerry 8700c with me (I have to; it’s my cell phone). But my intent is to leave as much “work worry” behind as I can. I will [...]

Now and then I get to rant.
I am (once again) on an airplane, on my way to some upper Midwest city for the day, heading right back home this evening. You get real perspective on airplanes, you know. Perspective on things like heights and time - and on people, too. People you know you’ll never [...]

Today my ex-wife emails me asking if I might know why in the world the online antivirus she had decided to use was not working as it should. I replied back with the question as to whether or not she had been using a properly installed and up to date program such AVG or Mcafee [...]

By “unconscious,” I don’t mean fall out of your seat, donut rolls out of your hand unconscious, but rather a state of mind. To be more specific, I am referring to the phenomenon where somebody uses a computer (in this case, an older WinXP PC), but really doesn’t pay attention to the landscape in front [...]

Although I will actually have some downtime on Labor Day itself (Monday), I spent Friday night, all day Saturday, and part of Sunday working hard on an e-mail migration for a small business customer of mine. And it’s still not complete. Functional, but not complete.
I’m becoming a one-man e-mail migration maven, as I’ve got so [...]

I had a fun little gig last weekend. One of my business clients just struck out on his own as a Financial Advisor. I’d already helped equip and setup his new office, with great results. But he discovered that he could really use a second display on his desktop. On one, he could keep his [...]