Last summer, the San Francisco Examiner ran a story that described about how thieves were grabbing portable GPS units out of cars. They’re still doing it. According to “Auto break-in epidemic hits South City,” published in August 2007, auto break-ins in South San Francisco were up more than 30 percent, as crooks targeted GPSes — […]
In today’s scam spam, here’s a message that came to one of our “letters” e-mail addresses. Forgive me for not sitting in…. Subject: World Series of Poker Invitation in Vegas We wanted to let you know right away that you have been invited to win a seat and play in our upcoming World Series of […]
Yesterday, June 23, 2008, was the 20th anniversary of the launch of Mathematica. My first experience with Mathematica came in 1990, when I was editor of Miller Freeman’s AI Expert magazine. I loved the software — it was incredible. It was very useful for developing and modeling AI techniques such as genetic algorithms and neutral […]
I only got to see George Carlin live once. It was in Las Vegas, sometime in the 1990s. I can’t remember which trade show we were attending, but a bunch of us went over and caught Carlin’s show at one of the big casinos. He was funny on television. He was even funnier in person.There […]
I’m disappointed that Apple’s support of 802.11n – the latest, but still draft, incarnation of the wireless Ethernet specs — extends to its Macs and Airport access points, but not to its handhelds. In my office, all of the desktop/notebook computers that access the network via WiFi are capable of 802.11n. They access it via […]
I get the strangest e-mail messages. Why does this person think that I might have this stuff? Subject: Cisco VOIP Lab Requisition. Cash Paid For De-Commissioned Gear. I am putting together six VoIP labs. The below Cisco gear is needed for immediate purchase. I am looking to buy used, surplus, decommissioned or excess. If you […]
Yesterday, on a flight from San Francisco to New York, we had a clear view of the flooding on the Mississippi River. This photo was taken from seat 11A as we flew over the Iowa banks of the river, near Des Moines. I’ve created a Web album of 12 photos at full 8-megapixel size. Z […]
I eagerly await Pantone’s annual Color of the Year. In 2007, the color was Red Hot Chili Pepper. This year, the color is Blue Iris. According to Pantone, the color (which is coded 18-3943) is a multifaceted hue that reflects our complex world: “Combining the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and […]
A business-technology blogger for the Wall Street Journal, Rebecca Buckman, posits that there’s an innate difference in coding style between male and female programmers. In her June 6 posting, “Men Write Code from Mars, Women Write More Helpful Code from Venus,” Buckman leads by throwing out another gender stereotype. This broad brushstroke, presented as unassailable […]
I couldn’t be more excited about the possibilities for mobile development using the iPhone 2.0 software stack and AJAX. If you missed the iPhone development classes at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference, or if you want an Eclipse-style look at the platform, you’ll want to attend class #207 at EclipseWorld 2008, Oct. 28-30 in Reston, […]
What will you do when gas hits $17 per gallon? That’s what drivers in the United Kingdom are wondering. According to a story in today’s Daily Mail, the combination of high oil prices, high taxes and a potential strike by fuel-lorry drivers might lead to a 2x spike at the pump. That would bring petrol […]
We’re crazy about testing, and to prove it, if you sign up for the Software Test & Performance Conference by July 3, you’ll get a complimentary Starbucks worth $25. Here are some of the crazy classes at STPCon Fall 2008: #401 Help Your Boss Avoid Being an Idiot, by Robin Goldsmith #402 Explaining Testing to […]
Java, Java, Java, Java, Java. EclipseWorld 2008 is October 28-30 in Reston, Va. — near Dulles Airport, right outside Washington, D.C. The program is live with more than 60 technical classes and full-day workshops. The eXtreme Early Bird discounts end July 18. Learn more about the conference program and the special events, and then register! […]
Crazy-but-apparently-true story of the day: A Massachusetts lighthouse, presumed destroyed in 1925, was discovered to be sitting here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Check out this story on CNN. We’ve driven by the Point Montara Light Station hundreds of times. Wow. I may have to visit my fellow New England transplant this weekend. Z […]
My family has been rewatching that great old 1970s science-fiction series, Space: 1999. I had a soft spot for that series, particularly the first season, when the show had more of an edge. While a lot of people liked when the show introduced Maya, the shape-changing alien, in the second series, I thought the show […]
It’s the perfect gift for Dads and Grads! Pricing for a DNA portrait starts at $390, but now you can identify the gene that puts butterflies in your tummy for just a few dollars more, according to this press release. DNA 11’s DNA Art Portraits Now Offer More Insight into Your Genes NEW YORK, NY. […]
This just in from the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. This is the sort of good work that government should be doing! Goats rather than tractors In just a few days, a few hundred goats cleared several acres of thick brush and grass at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in California. Refuge managers typically remove brush and […]
Every year since 2003, we’ve published the SD Times 100. And every year, many companies that weren’t named to the list have asked us to explain why they weren’t on the list. For weeks after the awards come out, company executives call and e-mail SD Times to politely request (or angrily demand) an explanation. Those […]
Bert and I was discussin’ the whole Internet thing the other day. Bert sez, “I don’t get how any of them electronic stoahs ever sell nuthin’. After all, everyone who visits them is a browsah, not a buyah… Cahn’t make much money on people just lookin’, now, can yah?” I replied, “No, Bert, you cahn’t. […]
Today, the editors of SD Times unveiled the 2008 SD Times 100, the newspaper’s annual listing of the most innovative companies and organizations in the software development industry. First appearing in 2003, the SD Times 100 has had its share of controversy. The biggest kerfluffle was when the editors named the SCO Group to the […]
We announced the new SD Times Job Board two weeks ago. When the service initially went it up, it had just over 600 jobs. Early this week, I got a report saying that it was up to 1,100 positions. When I checked this morning, it was up to 1,230 posted jobs. Wow! You’ve gotta check […]
Huntington, N.Y., is the World Headquarters of BZ Media LLC. The Long Island suburb also has the Inter-Media Art Center, a terrific non-profit performing art theatre. It’s only a block away from our offices. I’m impressed with the quality of the performers appearing at the IMAC Theater. Last night, for example, Suzanne Vega was there […]
Yesterday, we learned that Solstice Software, a well-regarded maker of automated software testing tools, was purchased by a London-based SOA testing company, Green Hat Consulting. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. I’d never heard of Green Hat before, and my first thought was, “What an original name.” Green Hat Consulting was formed in 1996. […]
According to today’s edition of Windows Secrets, the well-regarded newsletter from Brian Livingston, there are issues with Windows XP Service Pack 3. In particular, his Patch Watch columnist, Susan Bradley, cites registry fixes needed to make SP3 work with Norton AntiVirus, and never-ending reboots when you install SP3 onto PCs with AMD processors. Susan’s column […]
This week’s Google I/O developer conference was medium interesting. There were solid technical classes on AppEngine, and neat demonstrations of the Android mobile-phone software stack. There were lots of discussions about social networks, and the virtuous cycle between compelling new applications, new users and advertising, which in turn funds new applications. What was missing from […]
Here’s the latest in the flood of domain scams (see my comments from earlier this month here and here). Unlike the earlier ones I’ve posted, these guys admit that there will be “relevant costs.” I post these, by the way, so that if people get them and search for them, they’ll find out that these […]
Yesterday, our new Sony Playstation 3 arrived. Our son took about 0.7 minutes to unpack the box, disconnect the old upconverting DVD player from our television and hook in the Playstation, sync up the Bluetooth controller and Blu-ray disc remote, tie the device into our home WiFi network and start watching a movie. Aren’t teenagers […]
One never fails to get a laugh from incoming phishing attempts. Here’s one that came to one of our info@ email addresses today. It looks like they forgot to ask for my bank routing and account numbers, but surely that will come along soon, along with instructions to wire some “fees” to expedite delivery of […]
An obsolescent Apple iBook G3 notebook makes a wonderful digital picture frame. Here’s the story: I started out shopping for digital picture frames, but became disheartened after reading reviews that said that the units are hard to use and have compatibility issues. Also, the focus of the current crop of picture frames is on multimedia […]
My son just returned from two weeks in southern Japan, and brought home hundreds of beautiful photos. We’re enjoying looking at them and sharing his trip memories. However, we got the biggest laugh out of this unlikely juxtaposition on the shrine island of Miyajima: a Medtronic Lifepak defibrillator next to a cigarette vending machine. Intentional, […]