Hi everyone,

     This is one of my few non-tech blog posts.  Yesterday (July 25) the world lost one of it's great men.  Randy Pausch, a professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, passed away from Pancreatic Cancer.  He was 47, and left behind a wife, three children, and a world who may become just a little better by taking note of his life.

     While I didn't know Professor Pausch, I did become familiar with him when Steve Hartman did a report on him for CBS Evening News.  Professor Pausch gave a lecture (as a requirement for all Carnegie Mellon Faculty) called the "Last Lecture".  Except for him, this was a "Last Lecture."  He also gave a lecture for the University of Virginia (which was one of his former employers) on "Time Management" which took on a special meaning. 

    Honestly, I had forgotten about Professor Pausch shortly after seeing the segment on CBS Evening News.  However this afternoon, I saw the article on their website about his passing.  I've since watched three of his videos on YouTube ("Last Lecture", "Time Management", and his address to the Graduating Class of 2008).  I think everyone who reads my blog (or at least this post) should check out these videos.  You'll walk away with a new outlook on life.  I know I have.

    Some of the things that Professor Pausch has given us:  Virtual Reality (he was a pioneer in various applications of it), the Entertainment Technology Center, certain projects at Disney which involve VR, and "alice" which is a new generation of Computer Programming.

     Here are the links to his videos.  "Last Lecture", "Time Management", and "Address to the Class of 2008"

     Rest In Peace.  You will surely be missed, and your legacy will live on and continue to touch people's lives.

     Have a wonderful weekend everyone :)
Patrick.

Hey everyone,

    I noticed as of Thursday, the price of oil has dropped almost $15.00.  I wonder how much of that has to do with people saying "Enough is enough.  I'm not driving my car, when gas is this high.", so the supply is higher than the demand...

    It's tempting now that Oil is on it's way down (we can only hope), to start driving more again.  I'm posting this as a call to everyone.  If you quit driving a lot because the cost of Gas was too high, DON'T start driving more now.  If you do, then the oil companies and the speculators will drive the prices back up (claiming that the supply is lower now that people are driving more).  So, make them drop the price a bit more before we start using our cars.... 

    If you're one who didn't quit driving because of the high cost of Gas, I urge you to consider this.  Plan all of the stops that you have to make, and make as few trips as you can.  Drive less.  Use less Gas, so that will drive the supply up higher, and the demand down lower.  Eventually the prices will drop some more. 

    Consider this.  August of 2007, Oil was $75.00 a barrel.  Wednesday, Oil was $145.00+ a barrel.  What happened in that time-frame?  Nothing that dramatically impacted the oil supply.  There's a saying that goes like this. "No evil deed should go unpunished."  Driving the cost of oil up almost $100.00 a barrel is an evil deed, and now it's time that WE enact some punishment.

    It would be different, if the Oil Companies were barely making ends meet-- even at the high cost of oil.  But they've been hosting record profits ever since 2006 (if not earlier).  RECORD PROFITS.  That means they're not barely making ends meet.  They're reaping the rewards of their evil deeds.  But we (the people paying for the Gas) aren't reaping any rewards.  We're barely making ends meet. 

     I'm NOT proposing something stupid like "Don't buy gas on this day."  I'm proposing a systematic revolution.  By driving less, and pre-planning all of your stops (as much as possible), we're buying less Gas every day.  That will hurt them where it counts.  It's going to take a while (months or years) but it WILL work.

     Now, what do I mean by pre-planning?  Ok, if you currently get groceries on Monday, pick up some prescriptions on Thursday, get your mail every day from the Post Office (or send mail at the Post Office every day), Take the kids out for supper on Tuesday, and go to the movies on Friday:  Combine trips.  Get your mail on Wednesday and Saturday.  Get the prescriptions filled on Tuesday (so you don't have to make three trips to that area, and you'll never worry about running out). 

     In other words, if it's something that you don't have to do separately, then do it on the same trip.  Plan so you're either hitting a place close then far then close then home, or starting out far, and working your way closer to home.  But, make it a route that uses the least amount of travel time (which means the least amount of Gas).

   Together, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Patrick.

Hi everyone,

   I was thinking about this earlier and wanted to post about it as well.  Microsoft is making available the technical documentation for thousands of their programs.  I haven't checked to see if this includes Outlook Connector or Hotmail/Windows Live at all, but I'd like to see that.

   I've been trying out Ubuntu Linux, and the main issue I have is that I can only download my Inbox from my Windows Live accounts.  This is through third party applications.  I would like to see either the Outlook Connector add-in or the API for the Windows Live that it uses be released.  That way, third party e-mail clients can once again access their accounts.

    Microsoft is already charging users to be able to access it via Outlook Connector (at least the Calendar features).  So, they have nothing to lose by opening it up for third party e-mail clients. 

    The concept that it will reduce SPAM is bogus, since it really hasn't lowered the amount of SPAM coming from (or purporting that it comes from) Windows Live accounts.  And Microsoft is already making money on people wanting to utilize the calendar functions via Outlook.  So, it's a win-win situation if they open the source or the API's.

    Once again, any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

Have a great day everyone :-)
Patrick.

Hi everyone,

    This is not a call for opening up the source for Windows or Office (as that will never happen).  But, it is a call for Microsoft to truly open the source for some of their products.  The one specific product that I can think of is the .NET Framework. 

    Now, some will say that you can view the source code for .NET, however you cannot use it for GPL or other "Open" licensed projects (read MONO or WINE on Linux).  I'm calling for Microsoft to collaborate (or at least allow them to incorporate the source-code) with those two projects. 

     What are the benefits for Microsoft to allow them to freely use the code?  First, it will allow Microsoft to sell products to Linux users without having to open their source-code up.  Secondly, it will encourage developers to create applications that work with the frameworks (which means it can easily be used on Windows or Linux), and third, it will have the potential for fixing flaws and vulnerabilities in the framework.

    I'll tackle the first benefit now.  There are a few Linux users who would want to use Office, or other Microsoft products (or have requirements where they have to use these products), but can't.  Microsoft will not port their products over to Linux, because they could be forced to open their source-code up.  The whole "It's a competing OS" doesn't fly, because they port to MAC OS.

      Projects like Mono and Wine allow Linux users to install Native Windows Applications, without having to port them over first.  It provides a virtual Windows environment, without having to install Windows.  This means that Microsoft could sell their products to Linux users, without having to open the source.  Plus, people who may be considering the switch wouldn't have to drop all Microsoft products (only Windows).  How is this a benefit to Microsoft?  Well, let's see....  Microsoft can lose $200.00 for Windows, plus another $150.00 for Works or Word, plus $59.00 for Money.  Or, by allowing projects like WINE and MONO to seamlessly integrate .NET, they'll only lose the $200.00 for Windows.  So, that's $459.00 vs $200.00...

    The second benefit is almost as beneficial.  By encouraging developers to create applications for the .NET Framework, Microsoft is opening up the potential for more people to use Windows (because they will have some better applications that work with it), and encouraging developers to eventually purchase their programming suites (Visual Studio) and SQL Servers.  Right now, if an industry wants to switch to Linux, they're developing their applications to work with Oracle or MySQL.  Being able to run SQL Server through WINE or MONO, will encourage those industries to develop for SQL Server (and consequently purchase it).  Eventually, they'll want more abilities in their .NET Development than the open-source suites (like Eclipse) can provide.  So, they'll start looking at the Visual Studio lines.  And, being able to run VS on Linux (through WINE or MONO) will be a plus.

     This also goes back to the loss of revenue from my earlier benefit.  If the industry goes to Linux, then Microsoft loses the Windows sales, plus the SQL sales.  However, if they're able to develop for SQL, then those sales won't disappear.

     The third reason is because more people will look for the vulnerabilities and bugs.  Now, I'm not going for the "Linux (or Open Source) is more secure....." tag here.  But, look at it like this.  If you develop a program on .NET, and a bug in the framework makes it mess up, what do you do?  If the framework was open, you could say "Ahhh.  It's not my coding, it's the framework."  And you could submit a report to Microsoft with 1) The issue, 2) the point in the framework that it lies and 3) a potential fix (that you'll have tested thoroughly before submitting).

    Plus the WINE and MONO developers will go through the framework with a fine-toothed comb.  They'll fix any bugs and vulnerabilities that they spot (you would hope).  And hopefully, since they're collaborating WITH Microsoft on this, they'll pass the fixes on up the chain.  If so (and if Microsoft will be willing to accept the fixes and use them), it will make a stronger, more secure, and less buggy framework for EVERYONE to use.

    So, let me know how you feel about this.  If there are other reasons why Microsoft should open the source up (completely--not in the current state), or if you have reasons why they shouldn't, please comment.  And if you're a Microsoft employee, please give your opinion about this as well.

Have a great day everyone.

Patrick.