10.24.01
Posted in General
at 3 pm
Novell GroupWise is a total interface nightmare. The Interface Mafia would have a hayday with it. This thing has this ‘Include Your Signature’ dialog box with a [x] check box that activates or deactivates the signature area. The actual buttons are Yes or No, but this odd checkbox just hangs out, doing nothing.
Should I even mention how, recently, the dialog boxes have started showing up in three different places on screen? Top Center, Middle Center, Bottom Center. To finish sending a piece of mail, I now hit 3 different confirmation buttons, in the upper left of a dialog, one in the lower right of a second dialog and one in the lower center of the third.
It’s nuts! I hate Groupwise!
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10.20.01
Posted in General
at 5 pm
I’ve been working up an article that encapsulates how I’ve used tables and simple HTML to produce layered effects and flexible layouts. I still need to do more proofreading and maybe add some more examples, but I’d love to get some feedback on it.
It’s more geared towards intermediate HTML developers, though there are are a number of techniques that I think are pretty unique to how I’ve used images on my sites.
I’d love to hear any comments or critiques on the article. It’s in my WebDev section, though it’s not linked anywhere but here. Layers With Simple HTML.
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10.18.01
Posted in General
at 10 am
It’s the last day to read my article on A List Apart. Enjoy it while it lasts… 🙂
I’ve gotten a couple of notes on it that have been very nice. I’ve also been pretty vigilant in watching the discussion board, though there hasn’t been much activity there, either. It wasn’t a very controversial topic, so I guess it didn’t bring out much typing.
Next time, I’ll write about why everyone should still use tables for layout. That ought to raise some hackles…
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10.12.01
Posted in General
at 5 pm
Ah yes, America responds in many different ways to cope with issues and situations. Office humor is one of these. The following was passed around today:
Afghan TV Guide Listings
The Fall Season
MONDAYS:
8:00 – “Husseinfeld”
8:30 – “Mad About Everything”
9:00 – “Suddenly Sanctions”
9:30 – “The Brian Benben Bin Laden Show”
10:00 – “Allah McBeal”
TUESDAYS:
8:00 – “Wheel of Terror and Fortune”
8:30 – “The Price is Right If Usama Says Its Right”
9:00 – “Children Are Forbidden From Saying The Darndest Things”
9:30 – “Afghanistan’s Wackiest Public Execution Bloopers”
10:00 – “Buffy The Yankee Imperialist Dog Slayer”
WEDNESDAYS:
8:00 – “U.S. Military Secrets Revealed”
8:30 – “When the Northern Alliance Attacks”
9:00 – “Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pita Bread”
9:30 – “Just Shoot Everyone”
10:00 – “Veilwatch”
THURSDAYS:
8:00 – “Matima Loves Chachi”
8:30 – “M*U*S*T*A*S*H”
9:00 – “Veronicas Closet Full of Long Black Shapeless Dresses and Veils”
9:30 – “My Two Baghdads”
10:00 – “Diagnosis: Heresy”
FRIDAYS:
8:00 – “Judge Laden”
8:30 – “Funniest Super 8 Home Movies”
9:00 – “Captured Taliban Double Agents Say the Darndest Things”
9:30 – “Achmed’s Creek”
10:00 – “No-witness News”
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10.11.01
Posted in General
at 4 pm
The never ending battle with my inbox has reaced a new low or high depending on how you count. After getting through 15 mails last night, I’ve still got 160 some odd to go. Bleh.
However, some good stuff is going on. I’ve been using the exercise bike again, something that had been relegated to the spare room for quite a while. I’ve now pulled it out and have been listening to headphones while riding. Works pretty well, biking for 20 minutes, and then going for a 20 minute walk. However, I really should figure out a good routine and stick to it.
More good stuff. My class for the term has started, in fact we’re through the second class this week. I’m quite happy with where it’s going. However I’m frustrated with the fact that so many of the articles that I’ve wanted to hand out are somewhat out dated. There just hasn’t been a lot of articles written in regards to the basics of using graphics in Y2K+1 browsers.
Speaking of articles, my article on the Flash Aesthetic will be published tonight at midnight by A List Apart. Expect to see the proper link here tomorrow. This is the article based on the talk that I gave at the Macromedia Daze event.
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10.06.01
Posted in General
at 2 pm
I’ve decided that I want to get an iBook. A small, portable version of my desktop that I can have around in the apartment and elsewhere. It needs an AirPort card, but I’m not sure if I need the CD-RW/DVD combo drive. We’ve got a CD-R burner that works just fine, and it’s Firewire based so I can use it with the iBook. I really think the DVD is the only drive I need.
From what I’ve heard, MacOS X runs just fine on it, which is great, because that was the one thing holding me back. Especially now that 10.1 is available, I feel a lot more comfortable with the choice. I expect that there will be a speed bump of some sort by the time I’m ready to buy it. The 6 month mark is about the time the first rev of a product comes out from Apple. It was introduced May 7, so the rev should be at the end of the year, perhaps at MacWorld SF.
I’m anticipating it. I really want this.
Man, I don’t get paid for my class until December and I already know how I want to spend it: A new top for Viva, and an iBook.
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10.03.01
Posted in General
at 11 pm
Q: What do you call a hairy elephant that predicts the future?
A: Mastadamus!
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09.30.01
Posted in General
at 1 pm
Proxim is bringing out a WiFI (802.11b) aka wireless ethernet adapter. That ought to be pretty good for some stuff, but USB’s upper limits for transfer don’t come close to the 10Mb transfer rate for Wireless Ethernet. At first I was pretty excited about this: having a USB to WiFi gateway would be really flexible and useful with lots of machines. http://www.proxim.com/products/all/skyline/pn474/
But now on reflection, I still think it would be better to get a PCI to WiFi card that will allow the card to run at full speed. That way I can put the PCI card in my B&W G3 or move it into Amy’s old 6400 or I can put the PC Card into my notebook from work. It’s $180 which is a little steep but it’s a pretty flexible piece of equipment. http://www.proxim.com/products/all/skyline/pn476bld/
The never ending quest for the perfect home network continues…
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09.29.01
Posted in General
at 5 pm
An e-mail that came by recently:
Somebody told me to e-mail you. Can you tell me where they have info on home dwellings.
– Christina
Yes, that’s the full text of the mail. I would love to know who’s telling people to talk to me regarding their domicile issues. If it’s you, please stop. I just hope that it’s not the voices in Christina’s head that are telling her to e-mail me.
How do you reply to this? A complete stranger, potential newbie on the line looking for some juicy info. Of which I have none.
Um, I have an online journal that has the title Dwelling. I don’t really have any info regarding Dwellings like homes and such. Perhaps you can ask the person again.
– Ross
It’s a big ol’ net out there…
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Posted in General
at 9 am
One of the problems in the computer field that I’ve seen of late is the divide between software that’s available in Open Source terms and those that must be purchased in terms of site licenses and require large budgets to install and learn.
There’s a case to be made for creating and selling software that is large and expensive. Robust, networked, team oriented software is notoriously difficult to develop. Often this software will have gone through years of development with large teams of developers that rightfully ought to be paid for their labor.
This software ends up being very expensive and generally this leads to it only being available in large companies. It also means that only the staff of those companies have access to that software, and generally only when they are in the company’s network/environment. Take Lotus Notes for example. Here is a large, complex tool that is affordable and makes sense only for larger corporations.
But the problem is that most of the people who are really ‘into’ their occupation in the computer field don’t just learn while they are at their job. It’s been my experience that those people who bring the full force of their concentration and effort into the field often devote much of the time outside of their work hours to technical endeavors. These projects range from home networks to public works (http://www.freegeek.org comes to mind.) that benefit the community as well as provide the individual with valuable hands-on time with technology.
This time outside of the work place is what really separates the dedicated computer enthusiasts.
But this outside time is limited by money and access to platforms. Want to know why Linux continues to grow in popularity in the computer industry, despite the best intentions of the entrenched software providers? Because geeks can run it at home. Want to know why wireless networking is gaining such momentum? Because geeks can play with it at home.
These are great tools and they are used by dedicated people who really grasp the technology and it’s limitations.
All of this ends when the software becomes too expensive and to costly to install. The kind of environment that is required to learn, play and experiment with software generally doesn’t exist in the corporate world. Workers must be sent away for week and multi-week training courses to learn the basics of difficult software.
Where is the sense in this? Why not leverage the knowledge that the die-hard computer geek is already seeking, already bringing to the plate? It would make more sense to use a set of tools that are within the grasp of the dedicated enthusiast, allowing them to bootstrap, grow and refine their own learning, which they already have an innate drive to expand.
To follow this idea is a win-win situation. I shake my fist and yell, “Why not?”
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