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  • 2 min read

Business opportunities in blogville?

All software has bugs, no doubt. So pulling out one story to make a point isn't really fair. (Especially recalling the story about stones and glass houses.) But if I looked I know I could find story after story , including some that I could write from first hand experience, about the terrible rough edges on all the software on which our much beloved blogosphere runs. And from that observation and those stories comes the premise of this post. Here's one of the stories:

"It all started two weeks ago when I undertook the " drop-in" upgrade from Movable Type 3.14 to 3.17. Well, "drop-in" is not really the word. I had made some changes to my server configuration that I thought should not affect Movable Type and, in fact, did not for version 3.14. However, because of a change in an open source library component that is a dependency for Movable Type 3.17, my configuration broke Movable Type 3.17. As a result, Movable Type was not properly pinging the technorati server to put my tagged links in their tag repositories. There were other smaller and larger issues that I independently tracked to this same dependency." (from "The Community Engine Blog, Distributed Tagging Hell", emphases added.)

From my observation of this and many other stories, there is no blog server or service out there that I would call commercial grade. I don't see evidence that the current incumbents are going to deliver what is required. Here are some of the requirements for that, as I see them:

  • Installs reliably on any supported server. Doesn't require administrator to be a technical wizard. Once installed, stays installed.

  • Measures up to enterprise requirements in scalability and security.

  • Integrates with other enterprise infrastructure, particularly databases, web servers, directories, access control and enablement.

  • Is self evident to the end users, requiring minimal IT support during initial deployment and longer term adoption.

My bet is that with the growing prominence and publicity around blogging, around now is a good time to start a business to build just that. And let's not get clever about this… It's got to be recognizably a blog server, not some crazy adaptation of an existing product that gets the word "blog" slapped onto it. And on the other hand, not some wild hybrid of blog, wiki, and knowledge management. Just a really great, industrial strength, blogging system. I am convinced that such a beast would make money and that the time is finally ripe for it. What is much less clear is whether it is sufficient to start a business. You know what they say: "Is it a business or just a product?" … "Is it a product or just a feature?" I think I will write more about this. Technorati Tags: blog, commecialsoftware, money, vc

  • 1 min read

Good space shuttle writing

If you, like me, are a space buff, you will find these pieces about space- shuttle safety very interesting (and follow the links too.) So check these out:

"They're going to kill more astronauts" (from Terrestrial Musings) and "Nobody's Perfect" (from Tech Central Station.)

  • 1 min read

“Why are our politicians so full of themselves?”

Another excellent Peggy Noonan column:

"How exactly does it work? How does legitimate self-confidence become wildly inflated self-regard? How does self respect become unblinking conceit? How exactly does one's character become destabilized in Washington? …" "…What is wrong with them? This is not a rhetorical question. I think it is unspoken question No. 1 as Americans look at so many of the individuals in our government. What is wrong with them? " (from Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal)

I always love her stuff!

  • 2 min read

The myth of the safety of signed code

This is commonly accepted wisdom : When I download and install an application on my computer (any platform) it is a accepted wisdom that if the application is signed with a recognized and valid certificate, I am practicing safe download and my computer isn't going to be damaged. This belief is so entrenched that I will probably be labelled as "just doesn't get it" by the cognecenti for saying that the emperor has no clothes. In many cases for most users, there's no additional safety. When users download an application that is not validly signed, they get various forms of ominous warnings about their computer being exposed to grave danger. So far so good. However if the certificate is valid, the speed bump is removed, they are happily told that the application was signed by for example "Microsoft Corporation." and if they trust Microsoft they can download in comfort. That's the myth. There's the flaw. Why? Two reasons: first , many people use software from lesser known companies… Let's say the message is "… if you trust software from Matrix Software in Madrid Spain" then you can download in comfort. Even if you think you know Matrix Software, you certainly don't know whether in Madrid has other companies called Matrix Technology, or Matrix Inc., or Matrix Systems, each of which could be a malware producer. Second, related reason: Let's say the message is "… if you trust software from Sun in London, U.K. …" then you can download in comfort. How do you know if this is _the _Sun Microsystems that you thin it's about? The myth is promulgated every time a user is reminded that it's dangerous to run unsigned or not validly certified software and that it's perfectly safe to run certified software. As you can see, it's pretty easy for a malware provider to sign their software with a valid certificate and get the help from the OS vendors in gaining undeserved trust from end users. Why has no one called out this myth for what it is? The emperor has no clothes!

  • 1 min read

What’s the best Blogging client on Windows?

You can do your blogging by typing into a web browser form provided by the Movable Type service. But boy is that clumsy and awful. So for a while now I've used so-called " blogging clients" which provide a nice rich interface to write and edit the posts, and then use the server's APIs to actually send the update or change up to the server. On Mac, I use the fairly wonderful Ecto for OS X - Recommended! On Windows, I tried all the free ones that I found recommended, and only w.bloggar was stable enough to actually use, although I didn't like the user interface. I also tried tried ShartMT and Ecto for Windows. Despite my best efforts, neither one was stable enough to use. In the end, I found and am now using the BlogJet - Clean and simple.

  • 1 min read

[JAVAONE] Worldwide gathering of the Java faithful

47385231_153147920_0[1].jpg What a difference this conference is from the ones I usually go to. Ten thousand or so fairly hard-core Java programmers, more or less around the clock, learning about Java in all it's mysterious variety. 47390844_153169275_0[1].jpg

  • We get to learn how Sun thinks about its stewardship of Java

  • We get to see the latest new features, concepts, directions of all the multitude of parts of the java universe

  • We get to dive deep, really, really deep, into many nooks and crannies of the technology platform

  • 1 min read

Amusing junk mail story

About 3 months ago I subscribed to Atlantic Magazine, which I really like, by the way. On a lark, I gave my name as "Pito Atlantic Salas" because, well, it amused me. It's taken about 3 months and I've received my first bit of Atlantic generated junk mail today: Pitoatlantic Technorati Tags: funny, junkmail, spam

  • 1 min read

Yahoo IM Spam

I have IM accounts on Yahoo, AOL and MSN. Actually I use the AOL by far the most, but I have an occasional correspondent on Yahoo and MSN. By the way, on Mac OS X, I use the terrific client "Adium" which talks all those protocols, and is free. It is a nice UI on to the well known GAIM (GNU AIM) open source project. Almost daily I get one or two new IM pings from unknown people, or more likely, robots, with some kind of a spam element, which I have to block to stop. The weird thing is, the IM Spamis always from Yahoo , never from AOL or MSN. Are they doing something different? Technorati Tags: IM, spam