Z Trek: The Alan Zeichick Weblog
MySpace is the Google of social networking
I've tuned out a lot of the chatter about social networks. Sure, I'm involved in some, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and the afterMFI site on Ning. But beyond my personal use of them, social networks just don't captivate my attention.Even so, I…
Driving a wedge between Sun and Oracle
Today's news: Oracle is eating BEA, while Sun is slurping up MySQL.The bigger news story is that Oracle, thwarted last October, finally nabbed BEA Systems. The $7.2 billion deal (it looks like $8.5 billion in the announcement, but I've subtracted…
My new old Marantz: The joys of analog audio
On a recent trip back to my parents' house, I went home with my father's old stereo: a Marantz 3200 stereo preamp console and a Marantz 140 power amplifier (pictured), purchased around 1975. That stereo — fairly high end in that era — always…
A different editorial standard
I know that many publications in Europe view the separation between editorial and the industry as — shall we say — less stringent than many publications here in the U.S.While of course there are exceptions on both sides of the Pond, it's…
I just can’t wait for the Tektronix DesignInsite Mobile!
This email came today from a Tektronix sales representative. Feel free to mark your calendar, but you probably won't see me there. I like the graphic embedded in the message.I just wanted to send you a reminder that the DesignInsight Mobile…
Leveraging the rotary debugger
Esther Schindler made me hungry! That's what happened when I read her latest CIO blog post, "Is there anything developers won't do for a pizza," posted last Friday."It's not that I'm shocked that developers appreciate offerings of food. It's…
Programmer productivity, or lack thereof
In his posting, "No Silver Programmers," my dear friend (and SD Times columnist) Larry O'Brien takes on the age-old chestnut, "5% of programmers are 20x more productive than the other 95%," recently repeated by Bruce Eckel in his commencement…
Are you on a mail server blacklist?
Mail server blacklists are insidious. Just about anyone can submit your e-mail address, domain or even IP address to a DNS blacklist (DNSBL). Once that happens, the chances of your messages getting through to people become pretty lousy. (A DNS…
Bill Gates’ last day at Microsoft
Microsoft makes funny mock videos. At keynotes at TechEd, PDC and others, there are usually hilarious "day in the life" videos starring Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.One of the funniest, from a couple of years ago, involved Bill dropping off…
Toting the music-playing Taser
I haven't attended the Consumer Electronics Show in more than a decade... and keep forgotting how silly it can be. Fortunately, other journalists are ready to remind me.David Colker blogged for the Los Angeles Times about the just-announced…
Now, what was it you wanted to sell me?
Don't you just adore getting phone calls or e-mail solicitations from vendors that you've never heard of? Don't you want to spent a lot of time talking to the telemarketer? Don't you want to register for their "free white paper offer"?Nope.…
iPod Touch + Universal Dock = Much Better
If you connect an Apple iPod Touch to your stereo via an Apple Universal Dock, the user interface problems go away. Not only are you charging the iPod (if you plug it into an AC adapter) and getting better audio using "line out," but the remote…
Chasing baubles
Andrew Binstock has written an excellent (and glowing) review of Kent Beck's new book, "Implementation Patterns." I've just ordered my own copy, based on Andrew's review, which itself worth reading as an exemplar of what a technical book review…
The solution to iPod Touch problems: Reboot
I’m the proud owner of a 16GB Apple iPod Touch, given to me as a Christmas present by a good friend. I’ve been taking many notes about the device – which is an incredible technological marvel – but I can summarize my experiences over…
Are you ready for Wagile software development?
It’s my theory that people like the concept of agile software development more than they like the specific practices.That’s why, despite the huge number of conversations in the software development industry about agile methodologies like…
Enterprise Web hosting split fairly evenly between data centers and shared hosted servers
According to BZ Research, 42.0% of enterprise Web sites are hosted within their internal data centers, while 40.6% are hosted externally using shared servers owned by the Web hosting company.Those were by far the dominant findings in our first-ever…
Comments on "Apple Should Be Ashamed"
Some comments on my post about movies on iPods suggest that I should blame Hollywood and Washington for the inability to load DVDs into iTunes and an iPod, not Apple. I believe it's fair to include the movie industry and the U.S. government,…
Three reasons why video on iPods will always be unsuccessful
Analysts say that Apple has been less than successful with selling video content – including television shows and movies – than it has been with selling music on its iTunes Store. It’s easy to see why (and this is independent of the inability…
Why “video” players, like the iPod, are crippled, and why Apple should be ashamed
So, we’re getting ready to head off on a vacation. My son says to me, “How can I load Hunt from Red October onto my iPod?” “You can’t,” I reply. “Apple won’t let you.”My son’s 30GB iPod with Video – the previous generation…
Toast & Co. is not a diner
Confidential to Ted Bahr: I enjoyed our lunch today at Toast & Co., one of Huntington’s newest restaurants.However, despite your claims to the contrary, it is not a diner.Z Trek Copyright (c) Alan Zeichick
It’s time again for the Eclipse Community Awards
For the third year, the Eclipse Foundation is sponsoring its Eclipse Community Awards. Nominations have just opened, and the awards themselves will be presented on Mar. 17 at EclipseCon 2008.Deadline for nominations is January 25, 2008. Individual…
How social networking destroyed one person-year of productivity in a mere two days
One of the best places I’ve ever worked was Miller Freeman. I joined the company in 1990, and left in 1998. The warmth at Miller Freeman – an 90-year-old company – was extraordinary, and that’s where I made some of my dearest friends,…
Three of the most intriguing STPCon classes
Registration is now open for STPCon Spring 2008. When I look through the class schedule, the Software Test & Performance Conference keeps getting better. A big shout-out for Edward Correia, who spearheaded the effort!Of the more than 70 technical…
The price tag for writing secure code
At the Embedded Software Summit, held in Santa Barbara, Calif., this week, the consensus is that it costs, on average, between $100 and $1000 per line to write truly secure code.The Embedded Software Summit is an annual press-and-analyst schmoozefest…
Jack Bauer doesn’t know time management
There’s a lot Jack Bauer doesn’t know about time management. If he did, the star character of the Fox TV series 24 might have been able to give himself a little more time to save the planet from last season’s band of nuke-toting terrorists.So…
Cars should include interior thermometers
It’s amazing to me that cars don’t tell you the inside temperature. Just about every car I drive has an exterior thermometer. But where’s the interior one?An exterior thermometer appears to be the new standard feature. My Mazda3 hatchback…
Rob Sabourin to keynote STPCon Spring 2008
I'm delighted to announce that the Software Test & Performance Conference opening keynote speaker is Robert Sabourin. Rob is not only one of the best-rated faculty at STPCon, but he's also one of the top celebrities of the software test community.…
Which GPS does Alan recommend? Garmin StreetPilot c550
Let me start by saying that I am not a GPS expert (though I have owned quite a few of them). I have not done an exhaustive study of all the consumer-grade Global Positioning Systems currently available this holiday season.In fact, I have a greater…
OS/2 users of the world: It’s time to pack it up and go home
Some things never go away. One of them is the fervent desire that IBM will release its moribund OS/2 operating system as open source software.It’s time to give it up, folks. And I say that affectionately as the founding-and-only editor of…
Presenting the winners of the 2007 Testers Choice Awards
Today, we posted the winners of the Software Test & Performance Testers Choice Awards 2007 onto the ST&P Web site. We hope you enjoy reading them!They had been previously announced at STPCon Fall 2007, and published in the December issue of…