Z Trek: The Alan Zeichick Weblog

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Oracle, Sun, Winners, Losers

It looks like Oracle is going to buy Sun Microsystems for $5.6 billion (net of Sun's cash cache). Maybe the deal won’t happen. Maybe IBM will swing in with a counter offer. At this point, though, the odds are good that Oracle’s going to…

Is your LinkedIn Address Book unavailable? Here’s a workaround

LinkedIn has great customer service, but needs to fix its software.I'm a heavy LinkedIn user, finding it invaluable for tracking down people when I don't have their current contact information. In our industry, people move around a lot!Every…

Network Solutions is Big Brother

Network Solutions is about to lose my business. I believe they have engaged in unethical behavior.Last week, Ted and I were bouncing around some project ideas, and as part of the brainstorming, I went and researched some potential domains names,…

Nigerian scammers try to look legit

The common "419" scams generally try to help you smuggle money out of a foreign country, in exchange for a hefty percentage. The writer often pretends to be the wife of a former dictator, a military officer, or a rogue bank executive looking…

Domain scam pirates strike again

They're singing a familiar tune... this must be the 20th time this year that someone has gone after these particular domains. (I have substituted the word brand for the actual domain cited in the letter below.)Be alert for these scams — and…

Smalltalk still goes strong

I'm delighted that Smalltalk is still thriving. Back "in the day," I experimented with Smalltalk, both in college and then later as the editor of AI Expert. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to build a production system using the platform.…

Guard computers vs. disgruntled, laid-off employees

There are good words of wisdom in this story, sent to me by a PR person. This is a copy/paste job.Businesses Affected by Recession Should Guard Against Computer Havoc by Disgruntled Laid-Off EmployeesGary Kessler, a nationally recognized computer…

Happy to post warnings about spam scams

Sometimes a comment comes in that makes you feel good.I've been asked by friends, "why do you keep blogging about spam?" Occasionally I wonder about that myself. After all, it's not always very interesting (although it is often very funny).Stephen…

Nikon thinks I’m going to steal its owners manuals!

Nikon is paranoid that I might be an evil bad nasty pirate who will print an illegal copy of its Coolpix L18 owners' manual, and presumably do something nefarious with it.I own a blue Nikon Coolpix L18 (my wife has a matching red one). It's…

CNN’s idea of breaking news is self-promotional stupidity

Cable News Network believes that a Twitter contest constitutes important "breaking news" worthy of a special e-mail alert.This is what journalism has devolved into? Stupid, stupid.From: "CNN Breaking News" Date: April 16, 2009 11:20:46 PM PDTTo:…

Print newspapers still get 97% of readership

That statistic — 97% of newspaper readership happens in print, with only 3% happening online — comes from a new report from the Nieman Journalism Lab. That's a project of Harvard University. See more in their blog post, "Print is still king."Those…

Exchange 2010 enters public beta; timetable given for Office 2010

We're going to see a number of new desktop, server and hosted applications coming through from Microsoft in the next 14 months:• Exchange Server 2010 entered public beta today, and should ship in 2H 2009.• Office 2010, including SharePoint…

No coffee for me, AngelVision, but thanks anyhoo

Can you guess why this marketing spam, currently flooding my mailbox, failed to have the desired impact?No, I won't be attending their complimentary webinar.From: "Lindsey Lischka"Subject: AngelVision - Zeichick, Alan - Meeting RequestHi Alan,I'd…

Developers love networking… social networking, that is

Here's the latest research from Evans. I'd say "Duh!" but of course it's valuable to have primary research to back up the conventional wisdom.SANTA CRUZ, CA – April 8, 2009 – Three-quarters of all software developers belong to at least one…

No wonder Dr. Dobb’s folded

No wonder TechWeb whacked Dr. Dobb's Journal, if this is what they think enterprise software developers care about. ("Intimidated by coding?" It's revealing that TechWeb views Dr. Dobb's readership as non-technical.)However, I do want a neat…

Domain scammers keep on scamming

It's nice to know that the "Checking Department" is looking out for me. This is a scam: If you respond, they'll hit you up for money to "protect" your domain. Just ignore them. Don't be fooled!Subj: Domain Dispute and RegistrationDear Sir/Madam…

Things you don’t want to hear from your surgeon

Apropos of nothing, here are some things you don't want to hear:Oops.Uh-oh.Two points!Swish! Nothing but net!Didn't there used to be two of these?Does anybody know what this thing is?Haven't seen one of those before.Does our malpractice insurance…

Going to Minneapolis? United’s first-class promotion

Hey, everybody, United Airlines is inviting its customers to "treat yourself to a first class seat."Sounds like a great deal. The offer says, in big text, "Experience first class, fares from $189* each way."Uh oh. There's a little footnote marker.…

Developer gender double standard

In the workplace, male software developers are treated as developers first, men second. However, female software developers are too often treated as women first, developers second. This is a problem that affects every one of us, whether you're…

Time to defrost the BZ Media freezer!

This just in from BZ Media World Headquarters, in Huntington, N.Y.: The lunchroom fridge/freezer needs defrosting. You think?I don't know what's more amusing, the iced-up freezer or the Official Memo sent to the staff this afternoon:Subj: Important…

A second SPTechCon video!

Thanks to Ted Bahr (videographer) and Lisa Magrane (post-production), we have another wonderful SPTechCon video!Z Trek Copyright (c) Alan Zeichick

Save money by disabling ‘Reply to All’

Unnecessary email wastes time and productivity. We all know this. What are we doing about it? According to Folio's Dylan Stableford, publishing giant Nielsen disabled Outlook's "Reply to All" functionality to "eliminate bureaucracy and inefficiency."Read…

Myvu.com undercuts its retailers on iPod video goggles

If you're looking for Myvu Shades or Solo Plus video goggles for your portable music player, the cheapest place to get them is from Myvu.com — not from retailers like Amazon.com or Best Buy.That's unusual, since manufacturers typically hold…

OS/2 still lives… at least at Warpstock

There's no way you can keep an OS/2 Warp enthusiast down... and if you're one of them, you'll be pleased to learn that:The Board of Directors of Warpstock Corporation is pleased to announce that Warpstock 2009 will be held Friday through Sunday…

A beautiful scam mind…

This is the best spam this week! As always, this is a scam. But in an odd way, the first paragraph is poetically beautiful.Hello Sir/Madam ,Business ProposalIn the galaxy where all is beauty i fine it necessary to approach your Platform these…

Great new SPTechCon video

What attendees said about our first SPTechCon, the SharePoint Technology Conference, held in San Francisco. The next one's coming up in Boston, June 22-24.SPTechCon from BZ Media on Vimeo.Video credits:Videography, Ted BahrPostproduction, Lisa…

Passive-Aggressive Design Pattern

Lots of important news today out of SD Times. Be sure to catch these stories:CLOUDBASIC opens computing paradigm to students, MindyTaking software development on faithResistance is futile, excuses are manyNews Briefs: April 1, 2009Z Trek Copyright…

Measure in feet, yards, meters… or cubits?

Retro technology at its finest!Blue Marble Announces Support for over 800 Ancient Units of MeasureGardiner, Maine – April 1, 2009 - Blue Marble Geographics announces support for over 800 units of measure from antiquity in the latest version…

Which Airport Express is this?

Apple often releases products which are significantly upgraded on the inside, but which are identical on the outside. It is very very frustrating.Take Apple's Airport Express portable WiFi hub. These are really neat, since they can also act…

Tough times for tech conferences

Developers are staying away from technology conferences. Maybe they’re going to fewer events, or sending smaller teams to must-attend conferences. Maybe they’re only going to conferences that are within driving distance, or are attending…