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  • 2 min read

Scoble’s conundrum

His conundrum is that he loves both Web services (browser based applications) and Windows applications and can't seem to pick a one-size-fits-all preference. Apparently some of his readers noticed that and are calling him to task on it.

"Some see my condundrum as being one brought upon by where I work. OK, it certainly is a possibility that I'm drinking the Redmond Koolaid," (from Scobelizer)

Read Scoble's whole post, it has a very good perspective, and actually I totally agree with the dilemma. Maybe it's not a dilemma at all. Maybe it's not being religious and just picking the best tool for the job, balancing all factors relevant to you. Whether it's Windows or Web is one of many characteristics, and not at all the most important one. I wrote about this recently over on the BlogBridge blog:

"I am not going to tell you that having an application is always better than being a web site - and I am not necessarily agreeing with the opposite either." (Click on the link to read the rest)

If you review my post comparing it with Robert's you see some similar and some different reasons cited, but the overall sentiment and conclusion to be the same. Hey Robert, forget about the Redmond Koolaid , that too is just one factor. It's been a while since you checked out BlogBridge and there are a lot of new ideas we are trying out there which would be perfect for a user like you: direct del.icio.us integration, SmartFeeds (like Outlook Smart Folders), collaborative filtering, intelligent sorting and sub-setting, and on and on. Check it out, or better yet, let me give you a demo! Technorati Tags: blogbridge, scoble

  • 1 min read

A big laugh

Help me with my Instant Messaging shorthand … Is it :-)) or 😀 for a big laugh? And, anyway, is it 🙂 or 🙂

  • 1 min read

[GEEKY] Ajax? Flash? Java? What’s the best way to create a rich browser based application?

Ss Inbox Tn This is a perenial debate with lots of sides. Here' s just some fodder for those of you who are pondering the question: I guess right off the bat I would exclude Java for a browser based application. Why? Unfortunately it requires a so-called JVM which may or may not be present. AJAX on the other hand requires a 'modern' web browser, which I think in this day and age (FireFox) is a pretty safe bet. And Flash requires the Flash runtime, which again, in this day and age, is also a pretty safe bet. ** Exhibit

1** : Check out Zimbra, which, if you

believe the web site is built with AJAX. Very impressive. All I was able to see was the Flash demo (ironic isn't it?) but it's quite nice. Technorati Tags: ajax, flash, Geeky

  • 1 min read

[GEEKY] Why, oh, Why, Mr. Macintosh?

This is one of those handy dandy tips that you wish were not hidden, buried and kept secret: "Hold down the option and control keys while launching iPhoto and you will be treated to a very nice set of options for trying to recover your photos that have mysteriously disappeared." I write this to save the next person a few hours of blind allies. Technorati Tags: iphoto

  • 1 min read

Web 2.0 – what is it?

Web 2.0 is one of those phrases that gets used and used and then people go nuts because they realize that they are all talking about something different. It becomes a heroic fight of personalities , emotion , politics , ego and oh, a little technology. Haven't we seen this with other terms (memes) on which careers got built? "open source", "blog", "journalism"? As usual, Dave cuts through the crap and figures out the way: "What if Web 2.0 is actually about sex?" 😀 Technorati Tags: web2.0

  • 1 min read

Gibberish?

Interesting and amusing little article from ACM Queue:

"One of the students, Jeremy Stribling, explains how they had developed a computer program to generate random sequences of technobabble in order to confirm their suspicions that papers of dubious academicity were bypassing serious, or indeed, any scrutiny. In fact, the students claim ulterior, financial motives behind this lack of proper peer review." (from Call That Gibberish?)

Technorati Tags: funny, interesting

  • 2 min read

Microsoft blogging: “What do managers do…”

I often cite Microsoft as an example of corporate blogging that seems to really works: If you work with, for, against Microsoft (and who in the computer industry doesn't do one of those?) Microsoft Bloggers will give you a view into Microsoft's thinking, attitude, plans and challenges that is incredibly valuable. You (generally) won't learn any trade secrets. You will hear what you might have heard if you ran into this or that Microsoftie in a Starbucks or at a conference. But few people do. Exhibit #1 is a recent post by Steven Sinofsky, a very senior Microsoft manager, about how Microsoft thinks about management, how it structures its development teams, and what kind of people and performance it values.

"The typical organization in Office development is one where there is a group of about 5-8 developers (we'll use developers for this post, but the discussion is just points of the dev/test/pm triad) managed by a lead developer. That is the first level of management called a feature team. There are then 3-5 leads that report to a development manager. That is the second level of management, usually called a group. The development manager reports to a general manager or an executive manager that represents the place that development, testing, and program management come together. This structure is matched by development testing and program management (where there are about equal numbers of testers, and about half that number of program managers). The general manager or executive is where the product or technology comes together (think SharePoint, or Excel, or the new Office "12" user interface). In some groups, if there are a lot of products or a very large team there might be one additional level of management. I manage these general managers. My boss manages the overall Office P&L, so marketing, finance, HR, etc. as well as other products report to him." (from What do managers do and how big should my team be?)

If you have ever tried to develop a relationship with a Microsoft product group information like this, basic as it is, is really important. Check out Steve Sinofsky's blog. It has many other gems just like that one. Technorati Tags: microsoft

  • 1 min read

Interesting article about Open Source in the Financial Times

And in classic Blogosphere form, you can find a report on the report from Nicole-Ann Boyer on World Changing, where she says:

"With the FT riding high as the world's best daily for the business intelligentsia, take heed large organization types: if you ever needed a piece to put in front your boss's nose and add credibility to some of your open source ideas, this should help." (from World Changing)

She goes on to comment and link to some especially interesting parts of the FT Special Report. I guess that makes this post a report on the report on the report. Can anyone spell **e-c-h-o-c-h-a-m-b-e-r? ** Technorati Tags: dangillmor, opensource