October 2006

TV Free

October 8, 2006

How does one explain to people that they really don't watch television. I have a TV. I watch movies and I do watch some TV series via NetFlix when they come out on DVD. I quit watching the TV about 18 months ago now. My choice came from the revelation that even the best TV both failed to improve my life but also managed to suck productive hours from my day.

It never fails though. Some well meaning friend or family member calls or IMs with the latest "must see" show or special that is on right now. The advice may well be good but for one little detail. Turning on the TV would make me far less productive and cut into the already too-few hours of sleep each day brings.

All Tower Records Stores to close

October 8, 2006

Thanks to a reader for pointing out this article talking about the shuttering of all Tower Records stores.

While the 90 Tower Records stores may not be a huge impact on overall retail sales, it does send a strong signal where the bricks and mortar record industry is going. The real question is when the record labels will catch up with the times or if they too will fall victim as artists figure out that the companies have outlived their usefulness.

Never store tar backups in web accessible directory

October 6, 2006

One blog is accumulating Google code searches that reveal information they shouldn't. For example this search produces a list of some Drupal database usernames and passwords. Most are for distributions but a few folks have unwisely put backups of their configuration files in .tar files inside their web accessible directories.

Simply put, no file containing sensitive data should ever be stored in a web accessible directory unless it has the proper extension to prevent random browsing. Files like Drupal's settings.php are OK because they must go through the PHP processor. Putting settings.php.txt or a .tar file with a settings.php in a web directory is a bad idea.

Thinking about failure

October 6, 2006

This morning I needed to send an email admitting a project had failed. It was a simple enough project at the outset but my lack of clarity on the intended outcome and determination to complete the project once the misunderstanding was understood prevented the salient course of saying no.

Sitting down to write the email apologizing, accepting defeat and beginning to make amends with the colleagues I've let down in this process, I came up with one more idea. That last sliver of hope. So the last two hours have been spent trying for that last sliver. It's really tough letting go when I've failed on a project. Even tougher when I know my colleagues have made commitments based on my commitments to them and their belief in my ability to deliver on my commitments.

The future of news

October 5, 2006

From time to time when I'm traveling I'll catch a bit of TV news here or there. For the most part it's horrible. There seems to be about 40 minutes of sports and 30 seconds of everything else. There are self-promoting pieces about the latest Breaking News story from last week. All and all it is worse than watching a high school football game on ESPN Classic.

Given that it seems the same everywhere I figured I must be in the minority when it comes to what's important in TV news. Well the 2006 Future of News report seems to suggest that far from being alone my preferences register with the majority of the population.

Will AOL ever fix Triton

October 4, 2006

Ten months have passed since this article from the Washington Post panned the ad-laden, feature-incompatible Triton for Windows XP. The question is will AOL ever fix the problems they introduced or will AIM's client go the way of their online service?

Podshow and Apple?

October 3, 2006

Catching up on reading news from last week I came across a post by Dave Winer in which he theorizes:

Theory on why Podshow needs $25 million. To defend against a trademark infringement suit from Apple. Alternate theory, to re-brand, to avoid a trademark infringement suit from Apple.

I wonder if we've seen evidence to suggest there's not a Apple-Podshow partnership in the works? I don't give the idea much creedence, but Podshow partner Adam Curry did talk with Apple prior to Apple's release of iTunes to support podcasting.

Moving on

October 3, 2006

Mac Slash writes about evidence Apple is dropping G3 Server support and speculates on the possibility of Apple ending G3 client support. They wonder whether people left behind will possibly not buy Apple computers again.

Two responses come to mind. First there are Apple users who are still upset that the operating system isn't OS 9 anymore. Second, it is not like users stuck with only OS X 10.4.7 are in terrible shape... having a modern operating system on a computer that's nearly a decade old. Certainly some were purchased only 5 years ago, but in computer years 5 years is a darn good run.

Time for a new look

October 3, 2006

It is time for a new look. Looking through the Drupal Theme Gallery there are several nice new additions. We'll try this one for at least a few days and see how it works. So far so good. Onward!

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