Saturday, September 20th, 2008
One of my favorite computer tools is Microsoft Outlook. I use the Contacts, Tasks and the Calendar quite a bit. I don’t use it for email though. Weird.
I have many tasks on my list, but there is one I put on there recently that is big and bold. “FIND BUSINESS PARTNER.”
It’s this year’s task. I have a big project in mind that can turn into something really huge. It’s all sorts of custom and need a whole lot of manpower. I am not talking about doing a little project here, I am talking about real money and real employees doing real stuff.
What the heck am I really talking about? Well, without giving anything away, I am looking for that special someone to partner with for the next best start-up. I have all the notes taken and all the business areas pretty much nailed down. All I need is someone who is smarter than me, who is in the industry and who has a zillion contacts. Oh yeah, you also need a lot of money. I will be forming a new corporation just for this project. I have already discussed the whole thing with the attorneys and accountants and everything looks good. I have the domain name and servers with the switch ready to be flicked. I have my share of financing, so all I need now is a really good team to get it done.
So, who am I looking for? Number one, I have to trust you. Also, again, you need to be better than me at this stuff. You need to bring a whole lot to the table that I don’t have, because if you can’t, I can just get this done myself. You also must have debt and responsibilities. A family would be good. Why? Because if you don’t, you might not take things as seriously as I will. I need you to be hungry and up for working 18 hours a day. You really need to be checking your email at 11PM and be extremely driven. If you are watching TV and eating ice cream, we probably shouldn’t talk.
I have a few firms in mind that I am going to approach this week. They are already in the market and might be looking to branch out into something new. I suppose I will see where that takes me.
Ahhh, business.
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Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Office OpenXML A Dead End, Microsoft Will Back ODF
During the LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco, I met with Bob Sutor, IBM’s vice president of open source and standards. We discussed document standards and the implications of ISO’s controversial decision to grant fast-track approval to Microsoft’s Office Open XML (OOXML) format.
Top 10 Cell Phone Etiquette Rules People Still Break
Do we really still need to talk about this? You’d think with over a decade of experience under our belts along with our inherent delusions of hyper sophistication that we’d have figured things out by now. But the sad truth remains: cell-phone baggery is worse than ever!
What would happen if we each used 10% less gas?
For starters, we’d save billions of dollars and keep billions of tons of carbon dioxide out of the environment. So, on that note, support proper tire inflation, not off-shore drilling.
Leaves, Twigs, and Bark: Cheap Biofuel Alternatives?
It seems like new reports are practically coming out daily about the next great gasoline alternative— furfural, algae, and switchgrass, just to name a few. Now 3 more contenders have entered the ring: leaves, twigs, and bark.
Colorado Creating World’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Community
Called Geos, the 25-acre area will have 250 homes from smaller 850 square feet to mansion-sized 3,500+ square feet placed in four neighborhoods. While that’s a whole lot of houses, they’ll be keeping a whopping 40% of the area as green space.
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Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
Just a word of warning, I really don’t know what I am talking about in this post. I gathered some fragments and decided to talk about them.
Ok, since I have been using this new computer, I have had a little issue. When the computer would go into sleep mode, things would be normal. When I would shake the mouse to wake the computer up, sometimes it would hang. After a while, I would get the blue screen that gave me an error. It was “kernel_data_inpage_error.” After the blue screen, the computer would automatically (after a dew seconds) go to the welcome screen and then start as normal. When it started, I would get the normal error box that pops up in Windows that told me the computer didn’t shut down properly and asks if I would like to report this to Microsoft.
Last night, I decided to call Dell support. I spoke with a guy who used a program to take over my computer so he could check some stuff out. He said that it was most likely a driver that was causing the issue. He then checked the paging file size. Reminder…I am running Windows Vista Ultimate. He said, “Hmmm, this is probably causing the problem.” I didn’t get a good look at it, but I believe the paging file size was too small. He increased it to 1000-6000 and things seem to be running smoothly.
After a few minutes, I realized that this computer is now much, much faster. I am assuming this has something to do with the paging file size. Now, it feels like I am working on the computer I bought.
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Saturday, July 26th, 2008
This is a very aggravating post to write. It’s a wonder I am sitting here and not in a mental hospital right now.
Let me offer some background. For the past few weeks, Laura’s computer has been showing the signs of hard drive failure. The computer is about 6 years old and has a 30Gb hard drive. It’s time to upgrade and get a new one. Last night, we ran out to Circuit City to pick one out. Upon looking at Circuit City’s selection, I was shocked to see about 95% of the computers now come with Windows Vista 64-bit. I asked the very new salesperson about that and he told me that’s the way they were coming now. Since I put my utmost trust in Microsoft, I figured that this is the way things were going to be and everything was going to work out fine. We picked out a HP Pavilion a6500f Desktop PC (KQ495AA#ABA).
When we got home, I started it up and did the things you do to a new computer. Then, I shut it down and put the old Linksys wireless card in and tried to run it. It didn’t work. I decided that I needed to find the Linksys 64-bit version of the adapter driver. Nope. No where to be found. Apparently Linksys hasn’t yet realized that this version of Windows is being sold to the masses. Oh well, I did some research and found that trying to find a wireless adapter for a 64-bit operating system is not all that easy. I finally narrowed my search down to a D-Link DWA-552 Xteme N Desktop Adapter. I chose this because it was available at Circuit City and the clock was ticking. We had work to do. We were now backed up a half-day. Also, the only reason I knew about this wireless adapter card was because I read about it on some forum discussing the issue. D-Link doesn’t officially support the 64-bit driver, yet they offer it. I had to download it from their website.
I ran up to Circuit City this morning to get the card, which wasn’t a problem. I came back and installed the card and had to call D-Link tech support for assitance installing the new driver. As I was on the phone with tech support, the computer froze. I restarted it (by physically pushing the on/off button) and continued to set up the driver. Everything set up fine without further event. I was able to connect to the network. Then, the computer froze again. I told tech support about this and she said there have been a few problems with this and I might need to update the BIOS. First of all, I don’t even know what a BIOS is, nor do I think I need to. It has nothing to do with my line of work. I tinkered with the computer for a few more hours and then called HP tech support. By the way, the computer kept freezing up (or crashing, whatever the difference is) about 25 more times during that few hours. It seemed to do it more when I was shutting down the computer and sometimes it got stuck on the welcome screen. The lady on the phone was nice and suggested that we burn some backup CDs and reintall the operating system. I told her thanks but no thanks. I really don’t think I will be reinstalling the operating system of a 12 hour old computer. Seriously, this is not my problem.
I brought the computer back to Circuit City this afternoon and traded it for a less expensive (and slower) HP Pavilion A6400F Desktop PC. I just finished configuring it and (knock on wood) everything is good. It has the 32-bit version of Windows Vista. What a pain in the $%^&.
What is the moral of the story? Stay the hell away from Window Vista 64-bit, unless you want to sit there and try to get it to run. Can you imagine I tried to install two things?
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Monday, July 7th, 2008
Web 3.0 - Could it unseat Internet giants like Google?
Microsoft’s acquisition of Powerset signals the building of a future when the world could have access to virtual “software agents” who “roam” across the Web, taking care of the day-to-day hassles of humankind. It’s called a “Semantic Web” and it really could change the Internet at a fundamental level.
Move Your Business from Windows to Linux
If the cost of Windows is getting your small business down, consider shifting to Linux.
10 Tips for Securing Linux Desktops
You might find these suggestions to be pure common sense, but maybe you’ll see a means of security you never thought of before. If you’re a new Linux user, these tips are a great place to start to ensure that your Linux experience is a good one.
Social Media Sites that Deserve Your Affection
There are so many websites out their that serve the same purpose as Digg, Twitter, and Myspace. The question is; which of these websites are actually worth your time? Since time is one of the most valuable resources that us humans try to utilize, I’ll explain some of the social media sites that are worth using, and why.
Why Don’t More People Use OpenOffice?
Why don’t more people use OpenOffice, the free and open source alternative to Microsoft Office? Microsoft has spent years and dollars engineering creative ways to keep people using its costly software and preventing them from switching to OpenOffice — that’s one explanation, writes Lou Dolinar.
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
Microsoft Offers Cash To Use Its Search Engine
Microsoft plans to entice advertisers and users of its search engine with savings on online purchases on a site called Live Search cashback. Microsoft unveiled plans Wednesday to entice advertisers and users of its search engine with cash back savings on online purchases, launching a site called Live Search cashback.
He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died
Yesterday I came across a slightly mysterious website — a collection of Polaroids, one per day, from March 31, 1979 through October 25, 1997. There’s no author listed, no contact info, and no other indication as to where these came from. So, naturally, I started looking through the photos. I was stunned by what I found.
Top 10 Firefox 3 Features
The newest version of our favorite open source web browser, Mozilla Firefox 3, offers dozens of new features and fixes, but only a handful will make the most dramatic difference in your everyday browsing. It’s time to spotlight the biggest improvements that will make “Gran Paradiso” the browser to beat.
Cleanest Diesels on Earth Coming to US this Fall (+Timeline)
Later this year we will finally begin to see an influx of new model diesels in the United States. These new diesels will get better mileage (up to 60 MPG) and have cleaner emissions than your average car. When exactly can we expect to see them? Check out this detailed timeline.
10 of the World’s Most Luxurious Private Islands
Feeling a little cramped in your thousand square foot Manhattan apartment? Got a few extra million to blow? If so, you too can join the elite of the elite and buy your very own private island.
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Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
33 Cent Plastic Bag Tax Causes 94% Drop in Use
Reusable cloth shopping bags, like this one at a Superquinn grocery checkout in Dublin, have replaced those stretchy, crinkly plastic shopping bags, which are subject to a 33-cent tax per bag. Ireland introduces 33 cent plastic bag tax. 94% drop within weeks.
Yahoo needs Microsoft’s help
Now we know it wasn’t just a rumor all these months. Microsoft (MSFT) has been seriously thinking about swallowing up Yahoo (YHOO) since way back in 2006. In what would be by far its largest acquisition ever.
Microsoft and Yahoo: Perfect partners?
Certainly, a Microsoft and Yahoo joint search engine would in theory give Google some competition in the search and online ad business. But even a combined Yahoo and Microsoft search proposition would still be a long way behind Google.
The Nation: MoveOn Endorses Obama
The Nation is reporting that MoveOn will endorse Barack Obama, who got 70% of the votes in their online balloting.
80% Efficient Solar Panel?! Works at Night?!
The most expensive, carefully designed, and complicated solar panels in the world operate at about 40% efficiency. That means that, for every bit of sunlight that hits the panel, only 40% of it is turned into electricity.
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Posted in Business, Current Events, Environment, Politics, Technology | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
There’s No Money In The Long Tail of the Blogosphere
In a recent post here, we examined the reasons that people feel compelled to blog. From the post and the comments it received, it became clear that quite a few people are blogging to make money. The reality is that it is difficult to make money in the long tail. In this post we examine why that is and look at other aspects of long tail economics.
10 Hot Computer Driven Careers
While traditional IT careers will probably stay in-demand for the foreseeable future, don’t forget the alternatives. From climate modeling to revolutionizing the very fabric of life itself, there are plenty of enjoyable computer jobs to keep the computer professional creatively engaged.
Google preps online storage service
Offering would compete with recent products from rivals Microsoft, Amazon.com and Facebook.
The Mobile Web remains far off, and inevitable
“Within 10 years more people will be accessing the Internet from their mobile . . . than in the home from a PC,” said Geraldine Wilson, vice president of connected life at Yahoo! Europe. “In emerging markets most people’s first contact with the Internet will be with a mobile phone.”
Google hopes to undercut coal with cheap, renewable energy
Google’s latest plan to put all that money to good use is to announce an initiative that will develop renewable energy that’s cheaper than coal.
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Saturday, November 17th, 2007
I run Windows Vista. It’s ok. I am not the kind of guy who goes nuts over operating systems out there. I am sure there are some great features with other ones, but I needed a computer because I have work to do.
I have been pretty happy with Windows Vista, although there are some strange things that never seem to work correctly, like ActiveSync. I am not sure why Microsoft can’t seem to get this right. I am running a Microsoft operating system and running Windows Mobile on my PDA. Why is it that I have to break the relationship every so often, because the phone refuses to sync with the computer? I have no idea.
Recently, I purchased Outlook 2007 and installed it. At about the same time, my computer restarted itself to finish installing the most recent updates. Ever since then, whenever the computer goes into sleep mode, I can’t wake it up by shaking the mouse. I used to be able to do this. Now, I have to give the power button a quick push to wake it up. That’s fine, but what happened?
It just puzzles me that it is always a guessing game with what’s going to happen when I install some software or update existing software made by the same people.
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Friday, November 16th, 2007
I have had this on my to-do list for a few weeks.
The other day, I ran up to Staples and grabbed the latest version of Microsoft Outlook. I wanted to upgrade because my previous version, Outlook XP, was becoming a little buggy since I got Windows Vista. On the calendar, instead of showing one appointment, it would display one for every year that has passed. If I put one appointment in the calendar in January of 2000 to happen every year, there would be two of them in 2001 and so on.
I also upgraded to Outlook 2007 because I couldn’t find an alternative open source program that would easily sync with my Treo 700. That is all I use it for…contact, tasks and calendar.
It’s pretty good. Things seem kind of slow on it though. I am sure there are many more features in this version, most of which I will never see, because I don’t use it for email.
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