A Plethora of Palabras

Wow. This will be a busy post. I have a lot to say.

First, this YouTube Video has me highly stressed. I've got a very low opinions of all politicians, but is this little clip (verified, thanks) a racist rant from Hillary Clinton? It's her but is what she saying racist? Interesting thing to wonder about. I have to wonder why you'd repeatedly point out why you're white thus drawing attention to the fact your opponent is black. I hereby officially throw my hat in the Obama ring -- my first public statement of support for any candidate (none of whom I am overly thrilled with). This hat contingent upon whatever fool he picks as VP.

Second, the evil empire, AKA Microsoft, has come public about COFEE. Yeah, the same company that sells many of you guys your operating system software and recommends and installs all sorts of security updates has given an all-access pass to your local law-enforcement agency. No joke. This is just absurd. And if there's such a simple back-door to get around your operating system protections, how long for the terrorists to figure it out? The USB thumb drive contains 150 Microsoft programmed special commands to allow the user to decrypt passwords, recover all of the computer's data stores, and read a complete log of the computer's Internet activities. It works on-site with any Windows-loaded computer, including PDAs. That means not only your desktop but your mobile device too. I'm glad I'm not using their programs -- the question is why are you?

3. Jesus Made Me Puke is the title of a Rolling Stone article. David Higgins gets credit on this. While I subscribe to Rolling Stone, I hadn't yet read this issue. Why should you read it? You want to know what evangelicals do behind closed doors? Actually, you probably don't want to know. But you should. You might just lose a little sleep at night after reading this.

4. Tina Turner is coming out of retirement. She'll be here November 2nd and I'm excited. I've put in for the ticket lottery and hope to score some. The tickets go on sale Monday. Oh PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. I wish the International Tina Turner Fan Club was still around and giving us the good seats. Damn. I love Tina. See my review of her final Florida concert here.

5. Cal Rugby once again dominates the Rugby universe.The California Golden Bears blasted out to a 40-0 half-time lead and never looked back against Brigham Young University, taking the 2008 national collegiate championship, 59-7, this past Saturday at Stanford’s Steuber Rugby Stadium. It was the fifth straight title for the Bears and 24th in the history of the Cal rugby program making them the most dominating team in any Division One college sport.

6. I've got Neil Diamond tickets for 10-26-08, which I am also excited about. Nobody cares but me, but, yes, I love Neil Diamond and am greatly looking forward to his concert. I am going with the Mann family.

7. Last, but not least, a brief review of a quirky book called "The Somnambulist" by Jonathan Barnes. This books is unusual. Very much so. I rather enjoyed it. It's set in London -- the Victorian one. It's got humour of the driest sort, often black at that. It's got adventure. If the title frightens you, this book isn't for you. It's got lots of big $50 words, all used properly and without any effort by the author. It's quite the entertaining piece, and if you're in need of something different, this book is for you. I mostly recommend this to readers who would enjoy light fantasy and light science-fiction. Others will not appreciate its charms.

8. Don't forget to read Little Brother. I'm serious. Read this book.

Firefox Rolls On

Just a quick entry to note that Firefox has crossed the 500 million download mark. That's a half-billion downloads. Or to put it in numbers 500,000,000 downloads and counting. I hope Bill Gates sleeps well tonight.

Thanks to Jose for helping me with php includes. Soon my site will perform better and be easier to update. I am removing most tables from the site. The original index page had about a dozen nested tables -- yech. The new one has two tables: one that's two columns and one row (it includes the sidebar navigation in one column and the content in the second). The other table is in the sidebar. That's the Sponsor's box and it includes a border. I wasn't sure how to make that work. I'm sure I'll get to it.

Firefox Continues To Cause Grief at Microsoft

In an ongoing, amazing development, Firefox is clobbering Internet Explorer. It's far from the end, but there are signs all is not well in the browser department in Redmond.

Information Week's 7 April 2008 issue has the market share report for Internet Explorer.

Month	% Share
Jan 2007	88.7
March 2007	86.0
October 2007	80.1
December 2007	77.7

This just pleases me to no end. Granted, it's not just Firefox but other browsers such as Opera and Safari. But any dent in Microsoft's armour is a good thing. Every time Bill gates has stress, I lose a little of mine. When he has a bad day, I have a good one. Between Firefox and the EU, perhaps he's developing an ulcer.... :)

Oh and let's not forget Open Office. I have no idea why it won't hit critical mass: it does everything Office does and more and it can read/write Office documents just fine. We've installed it at work with no issues. Though I will admit we use Word/Excel type documents only and haven't tried the other modules except to play some Powerpoint training slides. Try it at your company. It comes in all flavours Mac, PC, UNIX, etc.

The article makes some special points "... IT departments are moving to support [Firefox] in the enterprise Web apps. That should be less than reassuring to Redmond."

The article also talks about how IE8, forthcoming soon, will break a number of web applications even though it is supposedly more standards friendly. Many non-commercial sites, such as mine, don't even test to IE specifications because they simply aren't standards. Web standards are just that: standards. IE is a collection of crap that makes writing a site to be compliant a pain. I've made sure my corporate site works with IE -- that is you can view it -- but it looks and works much better in Firefox. It makes me angry I have to do even that.

In other amusing news, Microsoft is already readying the replacement to Vista. So despite their claims, it's obviously not going as well as they'd like. No spin can fix that except to a true moron.

Ding Dong, HD-DVD is Dead

Stick a fork in it, because it's over. It's official. Today, Toshiba has announced that HD-DVD is no more and will be relegated to the bin of history. For the first time, consumers have won in receiving a quality product instead of the cheaper product. Blu-Ray is here to stay and coming within the next year we will now have Lord of the Rings in Blu-Ray! I could go on and on, but you can go look at my previous blog posts (click the Blu-Ray or HD-DVD tags at the bottom of this post to get a listing).

The studios are thrilled, though many might consider that a downside. The hardware manufacturers are thrilled. Everyone is happy. Expect a massive roll-out of titles in about six months, and by Christmas you should see prices on releases drop. This will also spur on the availability of actual BDVD+RW drives for your computer at an affordable level as well as drives that are speedier.

Who's left holding the bag? Toshiba and Microsoft. I feel sorry for Toshiba. Here's an article that appeared today of some interest. It's one of many that have come out, indicating how thrilled they are at the announcement.

"While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology, and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality," Atsutoshi Nishida, president and chief executive of Toshiba, said in a statement.

Universal, one of the two remaining HD-DVD camps has announced a switch to Blu-Ray effective immediately. New titles will come out on HD-DVD and they will release their back catalog as well. Only Paramount remains and an announcement is expected at any moment.

PS2 Most-Played Console in June according to Nielsen

Excerpt: NEW YORK (AP) - More than 68 million people played video games on a console last month, spending much of it on Sony Corp.'s older PlayStation 2, according to Nielsen research.

Seven years after its launch, Sony's PS2 was still the most-played console, accounting for 42 percent of video game use during the month. Microsoft's original Xbox took second place with 17 percent, followed by the Xbox 360 with 8 percent. Nintendo's GameCube ranked fourth with 5.8 percent. The numbers suggest that older machines remain popular despite last November's high-profile debut of Nintendo Co.'s Wii which had 4 percent and Sony's PlayStation 3, 1.5 percent.

What does this suggest? PS2 continues to dominate the market. The X-box pair together total 25% and Microsoft's Xbox Unit Posts $1.9 Billion Loss which is good news indeed. Nintendo Game Cube is the loser here, as it will slowly fade away. Wii is a strong contender and the only reason it's not more popular is that you just can't find one. Sure, it's not hardcore but it IS fun which is what really matters. PS3 is stagnant, and I fault the lack of any games whatsoever. It's great because I use mine as a BluRay player, but that's not going to sell units.

Speaking of the format wars, Target Corp. confirmed yesterday that it will promote the rival Blu-ray format for high-definition DVDs this holiday season. They join Blockbuster in taking sides. Microsoft is in the HD-DVD camp. Yay.

Appleism (Apple Becomes a Religion)

I use StumpleUpon regularly, and it dropped me into a blog which has a fascinating post. I'm sorry it took me so long to blog it, but here it is. David Kuo writes a rather interesting piece entitled "Welcome to Appleism – the religion that is Apple." I don't want to spoil it all here without encouraging you to read it first.

He starts with this statement: Apple isn’t a cult anymore, it has become a full blown religion with scores of millions of followers. The frenzy around the iPhone brings to mind the clamoring throngs that greeted Jesus at the height of his ministry. And it's a telling statement because he's right, there is a frenzy. Though, I daresay, it's more consumerism than anything resembling religion. The frenzy is no different than that surrounding the Nintendo Wii or any other über-hot item.

Lest you think I am disagreeing with Mr. Kuo, I am not. Apple has certainly become a religion of sorts, but a proper one that has developed over time. Its members are fiercely loyal, even when they shouldn't be. The evangelize their religion by trying to convert all their friends. I do that very thing, but I will not recommend one of Apple's "bad" products, though happily they are few and far between.

Mr. Kuo also states "Appleism espouses a liberal worldview that challenges conventional morality and norms and encourages creativity. It was clearly seen in the famed 'Think Different' ad campaign." And that is a key point because Think Different embodied the spirit of Apple. Mr. Kuo missed the very most important point of all, though. You either get it, or you don't.

I have friends and relatives that will never get it, and I don't even bother trying to convert them anymore. Not to put down my friends/relatives, but those who have converted have seen the light and realize the bliss of being righteous and knowing you've done the right thing. I'd love to insult the unconverted lot and say the intelligent ones have converted and the less-than-sharp have not, but that's a generalization and wholly untrue. There is no quantifiable measurement of get it, but anyone who is an Appleist, certainly gets it. There is research that does quantify the fact Apple users are statistically smarter than PC users (see previous blog entry) but I don't feel the pressing need to rub it in your face*.

It's no secret that I think different. That's probably why I get it.

(* Besides, all Mac vs PC arguments can be won by uttering the phrase Windows ME which will shut up even the most virulent Microsoft supporter).

When Bill Met Steve (A Computer Love Story)

Right, this isn't a love story. I've misled you. Sue me. But this is about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of Microsoft and Apple Computer respectively and the first time they shared the stage together in over two decades. It was a relatively pleasant meeting in which they both praised each other, joked around, and talked technology. The only uncomfortable moment was when Apple's famous "I'm a Mac. I'm a PC" ads were shown. A full article is here at the BBC News site. Amazingly, despite predictions, Hell has not frozen over.

In other news, Aetna has tried to fuck me again. Yeah. Last week I went in to renew my prescription and they tried the same crap again. After spending nearly an hour at the pharmacy and being irritatingly persistent, I got it fixed but we just know it's going to happen again next time. I have filed yet another formal complaint with the State Insurance Commissioner as well as sending another copy to Aetna's CEO who will, undoubtedly, pawn this off on his "executive response team" which managed to do nothing the last time. To be fair, they replied and said "you got your prescription" implying that since it was fixed there wasn't a problem. I entirely disagree because their system is flawed and the fact it happened again proved it. They made some patently false claims in their reply (and my original doctor's prescription and matching pharmacy label proves they're false -- I even sent them copies so I have no idea how they're arguing). Further, I still believe their "pre-certification" process in which some clerk decides if your doctor is competent ought to be illegal: I do not believe anyone without a medical license should ever be able to override a decision made by a medical doctor, or in my case made by a medical doctor and confirmed by two additional medical doctors. It's bogus of course. Aetna still sucks. I still want an apology from them and they've done nothing close to apologizing, opting instead to making excuses and telling lies.

More Nails For Windows Vista's Coffin

Another person has added to the list of reasons that Windows Vista is now looking more like the infamous Windows ME than the future of Microsoft's. I have many posts about Windows Vista (see the tags below) but this is the most important one of them all. Microsoft has turned on itself.

And Dave Jewell in his article Vista-End of the Dream says it's got a simple reason: unmaintainability. I agree with the conclusion, but before reading the article, I have to admit I was highly sceptical about his claim. But, being a code geek myself, I think he may have a point. There are many reasons as I've said before -- even many of the people in Microsoft are opposed to Windows Vista and the disaster it represents.

I want to throw out something in support of Mr. Jewell which he missed upon, and it's important. He mentioned Apple and their multiple releases of new versions of operating systems. That's great. However, he got the logic wrong and that logic supports his arguments. Over the years Apple has totally and completely abandoned their old operating systems and re-written them from the ground up: the biggest and most famous was ditching OS-9 in favour of OS-X -- however it happened when they went from ProDOS to GS/OS which introduced resource-forked files and it also happened between OS-6 and OS-7 when they introduced colour (wow) and multi-tasking where more than one application was actually running at once (multi-finder). This is an oversimplification, but it gives you something to look at.

Apple isn't afraid to throw everything away, tell developers "here's our new path" and then they boldly (and sometimes stupidly, I shall admit) go marching down that path without ever looking to see if anyone is following. Apple has a fantastic success rate with this sort of thing. It's coming soon to the iPod line if you want to know my opinion on the matter. And Apple isn't stupidly building DRM into their entire operating system -- it is built into specific applications which requirement and not shoving it down everyone's throat regardless of the conditions.

Another Blow To Vista

In another blow to Microsoft's latest version of Windows, "Vista", Dell has been forced to backtrack its Windows Vista only decision (news article), and is now shipping XP based systems due to overwhelming demand from its customers. While I am torn at whether or not to blog this because I hate Dell more than almost any other company in the USA except for, perhaps, Aetna Insurance, my distaste for Windows compels me to report this.

I am also shocked that Dell has bothered to listen to its customers, because quite frankly, based on the feedback in my other post on Dell, they haven't got very many fans. Apparently, Microsoft can't be quite as happy with Windows Vista's rollout as they have been claiming.

For more on Dell, Vista, Microsoft, please click on one of the tag links and you'll see all my posts on that particular subject.

Post 300: Microsoft's Arrogance And Stupidity

An interesting article (here) about Windows Vista by Andrew Grygus. It's fitting that my 300th post is yet another tirade against Windows. Actually, it's more my commentary on someone else's tirade. This guy is vehemently anti-Mac and I'm still going to talk about what he had to say because he gets it. Microsoft has gone from bad to worse.

He recounts a famous story where, James Allchin, co-president of Microsoft's Platform Products and Services Group wrote an internal memo saying that Microsoft had lost touch with customer needs and if he didn't work there he'd buy an Apple Macintosh. Allchin retired the day Vista shipped but his memo lives on.

There are many issues with Vista's DRM components and by using them you waive your right to privacy. If you use Vista, Microsoft knows who you are, where you are, and where you computer is physically located. And they can disable your computer. Yes, they can render your computer non-functional if they find it not in compliance. No joke. If you install a driver program and they do not feel it meets the current DRM specification, they can cause Vista to cease to function. You just sold your soul to Microsoft -- aren't you glad? I'm not making this up. Spend some time on Google. I am not anti-PC (yay Linux) but I am vehemently anti-Microsoft and even more anti-Windows. I just don't understand why anyone in his/her right mind would use it.

The answer is often, "we use it at work" -- and that is a reason for you, personally, to use it at work. However, the question is: why would your company allow it? At my office we run an IBM branded AIX based p-series server. Almost our entire company functions using dumb terminals (IBM 3153) connected to this. Do we have some PCs? Yes. Our voice mail system is on an isolated e-machines PC, UPS Worldship runs on another, another that runs QuickBooks (which I am working to make go away), and the Internet station so people can look up stuff on the Internet and run Word and Excel. The last unit will be replaced with a Mac when it expires, but why obsolete something that works. I have a PC laptop but that was for budgetary reasons and it gets maybe 14 or so days of use a year, mostly when I am sent places like China. I won't even go in to the security issues with Windows.

I will, however, ask again why any sane person anywhere on the planet would use a computer when the company that made the operating system can disable your machine? Do you want a company to have that much power over you? Especially when that company is Microsoft?

Seriously, read Andrew Grygus's article here and then James Allchin's internal memo from Microsoft (internal memo) and ask yourself what the hell you think you're doing? There's nothing inherently wrong with an Intel based system* but stick OS-X on it or AIX or Linux, or something that is not Windows. Stop the insanity.

* I prefer PowerPC myself, but that's just me. Geek that I am.


(And that concludes my 300th post. I want to thank my regular readers who subscribe via RSS feed as well as my thousands of itinerant visitors who pass through. Thanks for the e-mails and comments. I like comments.)

Video Game Console Wars

Whither PS/3, Xbox-360, and Nintendo Wii? Ah, well I am so glad you asked. In the 24 March 2007 issue of the Economist, they do an analysis of which of these systems is better.

So far, The Xbox 360 has sold the most consoles but is flopping in Asia while doing well in the US and parts of Europe -- speculatively because they launched much earlier.

Nintendo can be proud of the Wii having accelerated sales far faster than anyone else, and still having scarcity based on demand in many markets. Analysts expect sales to taper off because the graphics on the Wii are inferior compared to other offerings. I tend to disagree because the Wii (in my personal experience) is way more fun than any video game I've played in ages.

Sony claims PS/3's relatively slow sales are the result of low availability, but we all know they're in stock everywhere unlike the Wii. (The Xbox also has Ample supply). However many people buying the PS/3 are in search of a Blu-Ray player and not a video game console, considering that a nice bonus.

So who's the winner? The answer will absolutely, positively shock you. In the month of December alone the Sony PS/2 (not PS/3) outsold both the PS/3, Wii, and Xbox 360. Yes, the PS/2 is still winning the race.

Idiotic Windows Users

I realize my Mac friends will think the title of this is utterly redundant, and I would generally be forced to agree on some level, but I also use a Windoze PC besides my trusty Macintosh. (In this article when I refer to PC, I am referring to Windows based PCs. I am all for Linux based boxes on any platform.) I was moved to type this after hearing yet another Windows-using acquaintance of mine bemoan how counter-intuitive Windows is and how horrible his user experience is.

I hear people complain how they hate their PC, how it's not intuitive, and how nothing works right. Sure, some of them are idiot users but most aren't: they're average, ordinary people. Can I help Windows users? Sometimes, but I usually choose not to do so unless it's something really simple. Windows users have brought their misery upon themselves.

All kidding aside, this frustration is the number one reason people use Macintosh: Macintosh works and it makes sense. It's intuitive to all but the dimmest bulb.

Almost all Apple programs confirm to something called HIG (Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines) -- an awesome book written by Apple when the Macintosh first came out -- it's seen revisions over the years and you can still buy it on Amazon using ISBN-10: 0201622165

HIG clearly defines what users expect -- based on research into how people use computers and expect them to work -- and EVERY SINGLE Macintosh program (games excluded for obvious reasons) is expected to conform to these standards. If your program saves files and you want the Macintosh to recognize them officially and automatically, their filetypes and creators should be registered with Apple -- and this generally ensures a quality experience for the user. The one notable exception is Microsoft whose software is not fully compliant, though Office 2007 for the Mac (due out this summer) will supposedly be. And to be fair a few Adobe products (Photoshop) are not fully compliant either, but Joe Average user probably isn't using a $1,000 program -- but honestly, I've figured out the basics of it. Also, many Mac programs have more features than their Windows counterparts -- though this is also true in reverse sometimes.

The same thing goes for hardware. You should plug it in, and it should work. Sometimes obscure hardware needs a driver but generally printers, mice, keyboards, digital cameras, webcams, digital camcorders, scanners, monitors, external hard drives and the lot just work. The end. Sure a specialized driver might make it work better but they aren't required. I can plug many printers marked "for Windows only" into my Mac and they work anyway.

Anything I buy, I can make work. I stick it and it goes. Command-P (alt-P to you PC users) does the same thing in every single program. Windows programs didn't use to be like that, but it's getting closer. For example, I am not a video editor, but I can open iMovie and figure out how to use my webcam to make a short home movie. It might not be good or professional on the first try, but it's done. I am certainly not an audio-geek but I can edit sound and song files with ease. I can use any word processor, speadsheet, and most graphic programs and figure them out. I may not work like a pro, but I can make the program work. I don't need a manual.

Despite what pundits and commercials may have you believe, Macs have the same crap as Windows PCs do when it comes to extensions, drivers, system updates, and all that, but on the Mac it's all transparent. Macs are true plug and play. Windows PCs are plug and play and then fiddle with drivers, reboot a few times, and hope it works and nothing else broke. Macs are not perfect, but as a user of both, I can not in good conscience recommend a Windows based system to anyone I like, unless they're a hardcore gamer because Windows is certainly better at that if you go by selection and accessories for same.

If you're frustrated with your computing experience, go to your nearest Apple store, and try a Macintosh. Or try a friend's. Use it for just an hour with an open mind. When you're done, you'll see why Mac users are so fiercely loyal to their computers. Whenever one of my Windows friends gets hugely frustrated, I give them that same advice. Their conversion rate is around 75%. If you buy a Windows based systems you're getting exactly what you're paying for -- cheaper is not always better. My goal is to change the world one person at a time. I wonder why people choose to use a computer that makes their life miserable. The Mac can do everything a PC can do.

There are some good reasons to own a Windows PC: If you're a gamer, get a PC. If you are in school -- teacher or student -- and that's what your school uses or recommends, get a PC. If you want to be one of the masses of people who can't think for themselves, a PC is definitely right for you. If you make a living helping people with their PCs, you don't have much of a choice; and you're going to have a job for life. Mac users don't normally need help and we're smart enough to find it online when we do :)

Lastly, if you're a PC user, you probably don't want to read this article from 2002 which suggests statistically Mac users are smarter than their PC counterparts. And you certainly don't want to read this article from 2004 because you'll get an inferiority complex. In defense of the Windows PC users I must reiterate my previous statement that I do know smart Windows PC users, but for the most part they're really not quite as intelligent as the Mac users I know. Which explains an awful lot about the world. (There are similar studies, none of the very scientific, indicating a correlation of Mac users being better educated, more liberal, and so forth. However, we all know statistics can be made to say anything, so I won't go off on that tangent.)

Besides, why support Microsoft? If you use Vista, you're handing your life over to them.

Any Excel Gurus?

I need help. Here's a sample spreadsheet:

	A	B	C
1	alex	fred	ted
2	5	8	31
3	7	16	20
4	14	19	11
5	21	22	4

Pretty easy for this example. I want to get the maximum of a row (say MAX A1,b1,c1) and then print the name associated with it. So I'd print TED for row 2, 3, and FRED for rows 4 and 5. My real example is much larger, but I'm unable to even get the concept. I've tried Google but haven't found a good example yet. I'm sure there's a solution.

2-13-07 update: A number of people have suggested the HLOOKUP and VLOOKUP but those functions both have limits as to where the data is placed. The actual data is far more complex, with five 6 x 6 grids of data and the MAX function is on random cels. If anyone wants the actual spreadsheet to see the issue, I will gladly provide a copy of one set of data. Maybe the solution is a Macro, If/Then, or some combination.

Another reason to hate Windows Vista

If you read these DRM comments and still install it, you're a nutter. Seriously, you can't play selected CDs, you can't use selected hardware and cables. It's just screwed. Seriously, I am anti-Microsoft and I gladly admit that but these things are even worse than you could imagine. If you must use Windows, at least stick with XP.

Randomness Part Trois

Let's see where to begin.

1. Today, at work, I upgraded from Outlook Express to Outlook. I can't say I'm happy. There are so many little things with Outlook that bug me. The two biggest issues being the address book (Contacts) aren't working properly and I can't figure it out, nor can any of the so-called 'experts' I know. The other is you can't highlight an e-mail in a certain colour using "rules".

2. I cooked dinner. It was very sub-par. This is why I never try anything new. Sweet Corn Cakes sounded good, in theory. In practice, not so good. I ate it all anyway just to spite myself.

3. I got a haircut on the way home from work. Yay.

4. I installed Google Analytics on my site, so we'll see tomorrow how it works (or if it works depending how my installation skills were).

5. The term "emo" has been getting lots of hits on my blog all of a sudden, but mostly it's still the damned Led Zeppelin and Crazy Frog posts that bring visitors here. On the plus side, my hit count is over 95,000 now -- that's a lot of views. On the minus side, most of them look at one or two posts and leave. And worse, none of them click my advertising. I have yet to see a check from Google Adsense. It's okay, though, 'cause I like Google anyway.

6. One of my Chinese vendors sent me the most cool and useful gifts. I don't normally get gifts from my vendors, but happily this was a special occasion I suppose. I got a book in "Practical Chinese Conversations: 100 Putonghua Situations" which comes with CDs and everything. I had mentioned that I was going to try and learn some Chinese phrases, and now I can. The only disadvantage is the don't explain their pronunciation guide, so you've got to listen to the CDs. I can pronounce xièxie, but can't even fathom how to say wènhòu.

7. I told off one of my vendors (Friday) and have yet to hear back. Usually you want to keep a customer, but I guess they don't.

8. I recently added some chick to my MySpace page 'cause she asked, but she's got lots of bulletins, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll keep her around. I hate people who burn through bulletins.

9. I have one ticket (for anyone who wants to go and sit with me) to the 12-23, 27, and 29 Panther Games. And also the 12-25 Evening Dolphins vs Jets game. E-mail me if interested. No charge. Being my date is punishment enough :)

10. My feet are cold. Actually I've been cold all day and coughing a bunch. I wonder if my cold is coming back.

11. Hello to Erin who is recovering from her hoof knee work. Here's to hoping she feels better.

12. I have discovered I prefer cheaper toilet paper to Charmin. I could tell you why but it's a bit gross.

Beatles: only on iPod via iTunes?

The whole article is here, but I am going excerpt from it.

Yes, the long rumoured move is about nigh! The Beatles come to your iPod. And that may prompt me to buy another iPod. I had one, you know, and then I sold it on eBay. Well, you've all seen the cool black U2 iPod. Can you imagine the funky Yellow Submarine coloured iPod with some Beatles logos on it? Yes, I'm sitting a pool of drool.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Click on the iTunes music store and punch in "Beatles" under artist search. More than 50 albums will pop up, including Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Play the Beatles, but none are the real deal. But that may be about to change. While details remain to be worked out, Fortune has learned that iTunes is close to a deal to bring the Beatles catalog online. Apple Computer is said to be angling to become the exclusive online music store for the Beatles for a limited window of time. Other music stores, have courted the Beatles over the years to no avail, but it appears Apple is close to getting first dibs on the band's hits.

If the deal goes through, it will mark a Nixon-Brezhnev-worthy truce - with the band's record label, Britain's EMI Group, serving as a peacemaker - between Apple Computer's Steve Jobs and Neil Aspinall, the one-time Beatles road manager who is now guardian of the band's business interests under Apple Corps.

At a recent industry conference, David Munns, head of EMI North America, said the Beatles would be available online "soon." The parties were hoping to make a splashy announcement to coincide with the Nov. 21 release of "Love," a mashup of Beatles songs that serves as a soundtrack to a Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil production. That didn't happen.

According to a music industry executive apprised of the talks, the parties were discussing how lengthy a window of exclusivity iTunes might get and how many tens of millions of dollars Jobs - who is said to be personally involved in the discussions - will commit to an advance for the band and marketing costs.

Also being discussed is whether the band would be willing to take two steps at the same time and endorse the iPod by allowing its music to be used in a commercial. Another scenario making the rounds is the prospect of the Beatles following U2's example with a branded iPod. "If the Beatles were in an iPod ad, that would be humongous," this executive said.

The deal could well fall apart for any number of reasons, including the long-running legal feud between Apple Corps and Apple Computer over both their names and the similarities between the Granny Smith that appears on the label's LPs and the half-eaten apple that is Jobs' corporate logo. "The Beatles' position is that they don't sing jingles to peddle sneakers, beer, pantyhose, or anything else," a lawyer for the band told the Associated Press at the time. Notice he didn't say iPods.

This is enormous news. It'll kill that damn Zune right out of the door. Happily the Zune is getting pretty bad reviews from all facets of the press because it's bulky, counter-intuitive, and worse -- what do they expect from the twits at Microsoft, after all they produced Windows. If you own Apple stock, I wouldn't sell it just now. I think you'll see a huge jump.

One of the most famous bands of all-time, a group that changed the course of not only music history, but arguably human history -- coming to the iTunes store and your iPod. I'm hoping this works out -- even if it just ends those damn interminable lawsuits Apple Corps (Music) has been flinging at Apple Corp (Computers).

15 Year Microsoft Vet defects

Good bye Microsoft; Pete Wright has now left the building! Yep, Pete Wright, a long time Microsoft pundit and evangelist has, yes, DEFECTED! Hail! Hail!

Read his blog entry (as linked above), for the whole story about why a 15 year veteran of Windows has bolted to the Mac as of yesterday. He says, "My Microsoft career is now officially over. Microsoft don't innovate, in my opinion. Vista looks like a pile of crap compared to Mac OS X" I'd like to welcome Mr. Wright to the world we've all known for years.

He goes on to say about Microsoft's development folks: "and developed by committees to solve every problem you could ever conceive of, while being ideally suited to solving none." We Mac users knew that, and I'm glad he's finally seen the light. Ah, sometimes things are great.

Rumours have been swirling that Vista is a huge disaster on the order of Windows ME which is why it's been repeatedly delayed. Maybe Microsoft has finally lost enough touch with reality that people will run. Unfortunately, we Mac users have also realised the vast majority of people simply aren't smart enough to realize exactly what they're supporting: buggy beta software. Mac users simply don't put up with that. We have standards. Windows users, for the most part, don't realize it's okay to expect more from your computer.

(If you don't like the Mac and prefer Unix/Linux that's fine, too. I'm anti-Microsoft not anti-PC.)

Firefox Fan Ruins Microsoft's Day

Any bad day for Microsoft is a good day for me. The worse the day they have, the better my day. I hate 'em -- and not just 'cause Windoze sucks more than a high-priced hooker.My dislike for Microsoft started before Windows*, I believe.

So some fan of Firefox knew Internet Explorer 7 was coming. Yes, they did. Microsoft has been trumpeting IE7 for quite some time. It's going to be out any day if not already. Yes, some intrepid fan has taken the domain name www.ie7.com and the results are beautiful. Just click on over to see. Have a nice day, Bill Gates. Have a nice day. I bet he's seething. The lawyers are sure to come, but will be powerless in this case. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.





* In fact, it's all about that product "QuickBasic" for the Macintosh (long since gone) in which they engaged in false advertising, admitted it, and then removed the product rather than fix it. I'm not sure I should take the credit for them withdrawing the product, and I won't but I'm sure my complain to the Washington state attorney general's office back then might have had something to do with it. But the real reason I hate them, is they promised to refund my money and they never did.

Another Mac Story, of a sort....

Yes, I'm always going on about why PCs suck. It's true. Or more accurately, at least PCs that are running Microsoft Windows.

Sometimes I blog about people who switch away from the PC to the Mac -- I am, after all, on a mission to convert the world one person at a time.

Well here's the story of someone who switched away from the Mac and to the PC. I'm sure you're anxious to read his story. And you'll see why all the smart people are switching to the Mac and not away. I'm confident this person has already plotted his return to Apple.


(He's actually running an X-Server unit so the OS is really irrelevant from an operational standpoint. This is after all a security issue: something Microsoft doesn't much care about.)

And as a special side bonus today Forbes Magazine reports that in an Apples-to-Apples* comparison that, a Mac Pro Beats Dell on Price! Yes, it's true -- and in Forbes, a magazine that has long been hostile towards the Macintosh.

8-28-06 Addendum not warranting a new post: There's some more on Macintosh superiority. Read this from David Pogue's NY Times commentary.


* What a great way to use that phrase ;)

Firefox Rocks Again

(This bit from 4-29-05)
Yeah, I've posted about Firefox before. However, today it reached an amazing milestone. 50 Million Downloads. Yeah, can you believe that?

For several years, IE has commanded in excess of 95% share of the web browser market despite the fact it sucks more than a nymphomaniac in heat (this applies across all platforms). All the other browsers combined shared the remaining 5%. Sad and paltry. The sole competition was Netscape which languished after AOL bought it. Mozilla was nice, but it was bloated to the point many people eschewed it.

Now Firefox, (version 1.0.4 is out now) in under a year of official release, is now over 8% of the market share alone and should be at 10% within a month or so. Their logo is "take back the web" and if you haven't at least tried it, do so. Not only will you be able to have a better browsing experience with far less security holes, but you will have the added side bonus of telling Microsoft to shove it up their collective arses.




The above image is a composite animated GIF I made using several of the better taglines. Steal it if you will.

Better yet (this edited bit added 5-12-05)
Microsoft's Share of Browser Market Slips: May 12, 2005 2:21 PM EDT

NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp.'s share of the U.S. browser market has slipped below 90 percent as the Firefox browser continues to grow in popularity, according to independent tracking by WebSideStory. Firefox had a 6.8 percent share as of April 29, an increase from 3.0 percent since WebSideStory began tracking Firefox separately in October. Microsoft's Internet Explorer share was 89 percent, a drop from 95 percent in June.

The figures are for all operating systems combined. On computers running Microsoft's Windows, Internet Explorer has a 91 percent share, down from 97 percent in June. Outside the United States, Germany is among the leading adopters of Firefox, with a 23 percent share, compared with 69 percent for Internet Explorer. "They just seem to be averse to Microsoft products and really interested relatively in these open-source products," said Geoff Johnston, a WebSideStory analyst.

Also (this edited bit from Cnet added 5-13-05)
IBM is encouraging its employees to use Firefox, aiding the open-source Web browser's quest to chip away at Microsoft's Internet Explorer.