Archive for January, 2007
January 30, 2007 at 12:35 am · Filed under General
On Aug. 18, 2006, I sent a long email to Gavin Newsome to consider implementing a city-wide fiber optic system. Why? After trying to locate decent internet connectivity for our business, we were forced to use DSL. (Note, we use a different set of networks for production). This seems foolish in 2006 and will seem even more so by 2010.
Well guess what. They listened. Just yesterday, the administration released a press release describing their study that was commissioned 6 months ago. Of course, you and I both know that he really started this around August last year 
I perused the PDF of the study over at their
Tech Connect site. I have to say that I’m optimistic about the outcome. I encourage you to read or skim it. It has some very interesting technical parts.
Now, my next task is to get them to learn about the Octopus smart-card system in Hong Kong. Please email the Mayor about it, and
be sure to mention my name
January 30, 2007 at 12:22 am · Filed under General
We had a need at the office for a firewall that could do it all.
We found that firewall in pfSense. It is hands-down the best open-source
firewall that I have ever had the pleasure of using.
I highly recommend it
January 20, 2007 at 3:22 pm · Filed under General
I saw this article on Zawodny’s blog (I read his blog off an on). It is an interesting read.
Essentially, Going Ape talks about a BBC show where they take some people and put them into a zoo. They are given an ape diet for the duration. The results are illuminating.
Their findings coincides with some of the stuff I’ve read in earlier books. They just never marketed or tested their ideas in such an entertaining (digestable?) way.
January 17, 2007 at 1:49 pm · Filed under General
Today, I was thinking about the whole Apple iPhone announcment. They mention OS X and that is all well and good. However, I definitely think the iPhone will be a closed system rather than an open one like the desktop.
Why?
Because it is part iPod… and the iPod is a closed system.
If they open that system up, they essentially open up the iPod to DRM attack.
At some point, they might allow their widgets to run on the device, but imagine the controls on their distribution will be tight.
If we look at the big picture, this is just more growth in the closed platform camp. Developers may whine about this, but I don’t think users will care as much. They will keep buying the devices and enjoying the simplicity that you receive when you buy a completely integrated system.
January 17, 2007 at 1:37 pm · Filed under General
Last year, Goldman Sachs pulled distillates from their commodities index. This was prior to the elections. This caused lots of other funds to unload their positions in those stocks and started accelerated a big drop in gas prices. This wasn’t picked up by the press when it happened. However, some of the skeptics out there questioned the connection of Hank Paulson, CEO of Goldman, and his new position as Secretary of the Treasury.
Well, as Yogi says, “It’s like Deja Vu all over again.”, except the press picked up on this. Goldman just pulled oil way down in their commodities index. Again, the price of oil drops. The skeptics are calling the connection an attack on Iraq and Venezuela. In fact, some recent press had the headline, “US trying to strangle Iran Economically”. Crazy stuff.
The bottom line: keep an eye on GS. They know whats going on as well as drive the markets.
January 17, 2007 at 1:06 pm · Filed under General
I saw this tip on how to get around some airport wifi restrictions. Check it out.
January 16, 2007 at 9:54 pm · Filed under General
I’ve had this plugin installed for about 2 weeks and it’s just great.
**Look how clean the browser is without all the clutter **
Essentially, the extension removes the menu bar from Firefox. This was one of my last pet peeves about Firefox since I was used to IE’s ability to elminate the menu portion. In Firefox, you can’t do that. So, with this extension, the menu bar goes away and you can then modify the other toolbars to fit your liking. I think I have it down to just about the minimum I need and its nice and clean.
January 15, 2007 at 10:55 am · Filed under General
I saw this blog post today titled, ‘The top 10 reasons you will not finish your game’. Its great advice in general for any kind of application. Too often I’ve seen myself and other programmers fall into this pattern. I think it is because we know things could be better, and we’re constantly looking for that silver bullet that someone else has created.
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