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9376

Developer's Corner / Re: Article: Donation-based Funding of Basic Research

« Last post by 40hz on April 05, 2010, 04:40 PM »

I think this is is going to end up being the Achilles Heel:

...the notion of citizens’ directly donating to public research that could ultimately produce profits may raise questions, ...

There's a guy floating around where I live who's been trying for a couple of years to get people to "donate" to this idea he has. He wants to create a school for extremely bright and talented high school students who want to pursue a career in 'pure' science.

Most people are pretty interested until he gets into the details of how he envisions it being set up. Basically, he wants to create an exclusive 'for profit' school with him in a position of absolute control over the whole enterprise. (Hi boys & Girls! Can you say: "He's got big kahunas?" Sure y'can! )

And he can't understand why he hasn't gotten many takers. 

9377

Living Room / Re: Giving away a copy of Camtasia Studio 7

« Last post by 40hz on April 05, 2010, 05:56 AM »

author=Veign link=topic=22328.msg200717#msg200717 date=1270415352]
... become a fan of Veign on Facebook...

Go on Facebook?

Sorry mate! That's a showstopper right there.

But thanks just the same.   

9378

Living Room / Re: First iPad Reviews Are In

« Last post by 40hz on April 05, 2010, 05:15 AM »

On January 22, 1984, Apple Computer ran the following ad in the third quarter of Superbowl XVIII. It was seen by 38.8 million television viewers - a number that represents 46.4% of all households - and 71% of the entire USA television audience on the day it aired...

http://video.google....-715862862672743260#




Now take a look at Steve Jobs' 1983 Apple keynote speech:

http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=lSiQA6KKyJo

Pay close attention around the 3 minute mark.

It is now 1984.

(dramatic pause...)

It appears IBM wants it all.

Apple is perceived to be the only hope to offer IBM a run for its money. Dealers initially welcoming IBM with open arms now fear an IBM-dominated and controlled future.

They are increasingly turning back to Apple as the only force that can ensure their future freedom.

IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to industry control: Apple.

Will Big Blue  dominate the entire computer industry? The entire information age?

Was George Orwell right?

And while it's true that 1984 ended up not being "like 1984," the year 2010 is sure starting to feel that way.

Bravo Steve!  

(I still can't make up my mind whether to laugh or cry.)


Or maybe just throw up.

9379

Living Room / Re: First iPad Reviews Are In

« Last post by 40hz on April 03, 2010, 01:47 PM »

Over at boingboing Cory Doctorow has a nice little essay that pretty much sums up for me exactly what the problem is with a company like Apple and the entire idea behind a product like the iPad.

Well worth a look if you're interested in reading an unusually sane analysis of why the iPad represents a colossal step backwards rather than forward as far as the web and mediaspace are concerned.


Link:  http://www.boingboing.net/2010/04/02/why-i-wont-buy-an-ipad-and-think-you-shouldnt-either.html

Why I won't buy an iPad (and think you shouldn't, either)

Cory Doctorow at 5:23 AM April 2, 2010

I've spent ten years now on Boing Boing, finding cool things that people have done and made and writing about them. Most of the really exciting stuff hasn't come from big corporations with enormous budgets, it's come from experimentalist amateurs. These people were able to make stuff and put it in the public's eye and even sell it without having to submit to the whims of a single company that had declared itself gatekeeper for your phone and other personal technology...

 

9380

Living Room / Re: Hyenas' laughter signals decoded

« Last post by 40hz on April 03, 2010, 08:35 AM »

I've been given to understand that the sounds used in the study were recorded at a recent political rally not far from where I live.  

9381

Developer's Corner / Re: Release the source without the program being open source

« Last post by 40hz on April 02, 2010, 05:12 PM »

You can also file to register copyright on your work regardless of the licensing model you decide to go with.

But as Mouser pointed out, it's important to have a clear idea of what your goal is.

Basic rule of thumb: if you have any doubts or reservations about basically giving your code away - DON'T release your source code or script. Period.  Because no matter what license you choose, once your code is out there - it's out there.

One other point:  Any license you choose is only as good as your ability to enforce it. And no, the government is not going to help you out with that.

So unless you have the financial resources to go after (i.e. sue)  license violators, the law itself is pretty much moot. Software licenses primarily fall under civil rather than criminal law. And in civil cases, the people with the deepest pockets almost always win.

Not fair - but that's the way it usually goes in a civil suit.  

9382

Living Room / Re: How I’d Hack Your Weak Passwords

« Last post by 40hz on April 02, 2010, 03:13 PM »

FWIW  

Spoiler

9383

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

« Last post by 40hz on April 02, 2010, 09:01 AM »

Bare in mind that I'm not real coder --

-Armando (April 01, 2010, 08:32 PM)

Hey, that makes two of us!

We can keep each other company if they put us at the table with the unattractive single cousins over by the kitchen door.

--------------



David Levinson: You really think you can fly that thing?

Capt. Hiller: You really think you can do all that bullshit you just said?

 

9384

General Software Discussion / Re: Today is Document Freedom Day! (March 31)

« Last post by 40hz on April 02, 2010, 08:08 AM »

There's an interesting and very recent reference to Micro$oft and its commercial behaviours in regards to OOXML here: Microsoft Fails the Standards Test

-IainB (April 01, 2010, 12:42 PM)

Not much new there - and why did the article have to be that long?

-f0dder (April 01, 2010, 01:36 PM)

Maybe because the author realized many of his readers might not have been following the issue as closely as some of us and and thought it would be a good idea to bring them up to speed?

Hey, I know it's hard to believe, but I've discovered there's a huge amount of stuff up on the web that wasn't put there just for me. Real bummer huh?

 

Besides, it's only 1902 words. Even a 'slow reader' can breeze through it in a couple of minutes. Jeez!

9385

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

« Last post by 40hz on April 01, 2010, 07:02 PM »

Oh...JJones, quick question...

Before we go too far, have you looked into existing software packages to see if there might already be something that does the job and is affordable for them?

I got something like 13,100 hits when I googled "florist software."

This package looked particularly "mature":

http://www.floralsys...ems.com/index-2.html

 

9386

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

« Last post by 40hz on April 01, 2010, 06:46 PM »

I like the direction this is starting to go in.

Especially the part about leveraging something like IQ to pull it all together.

I haven't done too much with IQ beyond playing with it some time back. But from what I did see, it looked like you could get it do anything if you put some thought and time into setting it up. Having IQ's creator as a member of this community is also a big plus should any questions come up.

Basically, this is a database project. So what you need is a data store of some sort plus some coded functions and "glue" to stick it all together.

Now you could go "open" with something like MySQL (or PostgreSQL), PHP and probably a little C++.  Alternatively, you could do a Microsoft solution using Microsoft SQL Server Express (or Access *meh*), MSOffice and Visual-whatever. But the possibility of using IQ as the base for a CRM project is very intriguing...

perhaps it makes sense to create a public Redmine project instance so we can all collaborate on research, discussion, and planning...

-JavaJones (March 31, 2010, 09:39 PM)

Sounds good to me. Anybody else interested?

9387

Living Room / Re: MSI Are Idiots - April Fool Gone Wrong

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 08:40 PM »

Rule #1: You don't joke with people about Tech Support.

Rule #2: You don't joke with people about Tech Support.

-----------

I strongly suspect some employee was having a very bad day and lost it big time.  

Nice story they came up with to explain what it was "really" all about.

'Scuze me for being so cynical, but nobody in support that has a quarter gram of brains would ever dream of pulling a stunt like that, hence my skepticism about the "official" explaination

Just my tuppence.

9388

General Software Discussion / Re: Today is Document Freedom Day! (March 31)

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 06:27 PM »

@zridling: About that slogan in the banner image, "Liberate your documents!"

What if your documents don't want to be liberated, eh? Have you ever considered that?    

Enquiring minds need to know.    

-IainB (March 31, 2010, 04:25 PM)

For further information on things that don't want to be liberated, check out the RIAA and WGA websites - along with the EFF's coverage of the marvelously open and forward thinking ACTA negotiations.



 

9389

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 06:04 PM »

Honestly I think I'll know it if I see it (and I admit that may sound a bit presumptuous).

-JavaJones (March 31, 2010, 04:54 PM)

Maybe...

Then again, that very same approach worked for me when I first met my GF - so far be it from me to criticize...

Keep us posted on what you find!

-----------------------

* "Why is there never enough time to do something right - but an unlimited amount of time to do something over?"

9390

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 04:14 PM »

Sounds like it's time for you to generate a formal requirements document for yourself.

Grab a pen and start listing everything you (and your friends) can think of that you'd want this digital wunderkind to do.

And don't skimp. Ask for everything you can think of up front. You can always cut it back a little later. (And you will cut it back once it gets to the design and implementation or 'purchase decision' phase. Oh my, yes...) But that all comes later. Now is the time to dream.

So let's think big!

Got the list? OK, now do some logical task subgroupings, and ideally rank the list into three categories:

1) Must have
2) Should have
3) Nice to have

From this document you can either move on to designing and coding your own; or finding an existing product that most closely matches your requirements.

Fun stuff!

9391

Living Room / Re: Low energy use always on pc -- what's better, a laptop or a mini (htpc) pc?

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 03:11 PM »

I've always had my laptops on 24x7 and haven't had any problems with any of them ...So IME having the laptop on continuously won't be a problem.

-wraith808 (March 31, 2010, 02:47 PM)

I have one client that buys nothing but laptops for its employees.

For the most part, these machines get docked and turned on (and stay docked and turned on) for as long as the employee has it. About the only concession to power management is that they blank the screens after 20 minutes via the screensaver; and everyone shuts the lid to put their machine into standby mode at the end of the day. It's very rare that they get completely shut down. Or used as portable devices for that matter.

Only three or four people in sales will actually tote them around. And nobody ever takes one home or on vacation. Ever. Period.

(Apparently, there's this big CEO-endorsed "company 'culture" thing about not taking work home. ..must be nice... )

I don't go much past two weeks without at least one of their laptops experiencing hardware problems. (And FWIW - they're running nothing but 'top of the line' HPs and Thinkpads.)

So can I maybe clone you a few dozen times - and then have you replace this client's entire workforce?   Or if not, can you at least share with me what brand(s) of laptop you're running? Anything has to be better than what this client is currently buying.

Thx!  

9392

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 02:43 PM »

I can hear you saying it now "If they can't be trained to do simple CSV export/import, what makes you think they can learn to use a CRM?", but speaking from experience it's never as simple as that, and it never ends there.

-JavaJones (March 31, 2010, 12:31 PM)

Nope! That's the absolute last thing you'd ever hear me say.

That's tantamount to blaming the victims as far as I'm concerned.

Besides, if this were all as intuitive as most people would hope it to be, about a fifth of the people who frequent DonationCoder would be out of business tomorrow morning!

Seriously though, you have a very valid point. Most of this is more complex than it might be.

So... maybe it is high time for "somebody" to really do up a well thought out CRM/general management solution for small business. Still, I don't know how well that would work out since individual business requirements would vary widely enough in their respective markets that I doubt an absolute one-size solution is viable. The one word that doesn't ever seem to apply to small businesses is the word 'general.'

Then there's development costs. How you could earn enough money to continue developing something like this is anybody's guess. Especially since small businesses are notoriously tight with their cash even on those rare occasions when they actually do have some to spend.

Maybe that's why the "vertical application" market is made up of so many small software/consulting firms catering to very narrowly defined industry segments?
 

"It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes."  as Sherlock Holmes would say.

 

Note: I didn't find any of the mail services I've used to be particularly crappy. More like some of them didn't work "correctly" (as in: the way 40hz thought they should work).

But that's a topic for another day.

9393

General Software Discussion / Re: Today is Document Freedom Day! (March 31)

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 02:13 PM »

Oooo Look up!

I can see the anti-OpenOffice flock of crows approaching!!! Rational talk about ODF draws them.

(Kidding...just kidding.   )


Death Before ODF !!!!

9394

Living Room / Re: Low energy use always on pc -- what's better, a laptop or a mini (htpc) pc?

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 11:04 AM »

@Eóin- re: Wonk

Slang Dictionary
wonk definition
[wɔŋk]

   1. n.
      an earnest student. (Collegiate.) :

      Yes, you could call Martin a wonk. In fact, he's the classic wonk.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.

 


Even more "off topic" comment follows. Please feel free to ignore.

Spoiler

In an article from way back in the early days of personal computing, proto-guru Don Lancaster divided the computer world into two camps: the hard & the soft.

The software wonks preferred to fix everything by writing thousands of lines of code, even though adding a simple five cent NOR gate to the logic circuit board would have fixed the problem better.

The hardware wonks, on the other hand,  preferred to wirewrap a few bushel baskets worth of ICs to handle something even if that something could be just as easily accomplished by adding a few lines of code to the kernal.

His point was that you really needed to mix the best of both camps in order to produce an affordable and efficient personal computer. Something Steve Wozniak and company did when they came up with the Apple][. Something IBM did even better when they decided to create their first PC using an existing OS (of sorts   ) and nothing but cheap "off the shelf" hardware instead of the proprietary and custom components they usually used.

It was a classic example of an optimal "build vs buy" decision.

And that decision created an industry that changed everything about the way we communicate, work, and play.

And all in less than 20 years!

Some decision, huh?

9395

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 10:57 AM »

I found a free CRM awhile back when I was doing some research to find a free one for someone. Don't know if it is quite what you are looking for or could be adapted to your needs.

I posted about it here.

-app103 (March 31, 2010, 10:17 AM)

Nice find app! I knew about Campcaster from a seminar on webcasting.  But I didn't know these people had other software too.

 

9396

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 09:30 AM »

For e-mail mass mailing they'd probably bebetter off using a web service to start. They're very affordable and have the added benefit of helping you not run afoul of the CAN-SPAM act. These services also actively make sure their servers stay whitelisted so corporate sites, GMail, AOL, and Hotmail don't automatically flag them as spam. Many also have excellent "campaign" tracking and analysis tools to help gauge how effective your marketing efforts are.  iContact is one well regarded service, but there are many others that are also good. A quick Google will point you to dozens more.

Almost forgot to also suggest looking at Sharkware. If you're a fan of Harvey Mackay's customer service and marketing concepts you'll feel right at home with this product. It's been around for years. Sharkware focuses more on the relationship management and activity tracking part of the equation, but it's an excellent "core" app. This is what I used when I started out consulting. (I was running WFWG at that point in time. Like I said: around for years) The only reason I dropped it was because development had stalled (ok -more like stopped) for a long time and I got nervous enough that I went over to Maximizer. Sharkware has since come back (I believe it's a new company that took it over. )

A free trial is available for download so you could give it a run to see if it meets your needs without having to buy a copy.

www.sharkware.org
 

    

9397

Living Room / Re: Low energy use always on pc -- what's better, a laptop or a mini (htpc) pc?

« Last post by 40hz on March 31, 2010, 08:41 AM »

If you're up for tinkering, one good source for micro-mini and pico form factor hardware is   www.mini-box.com

They've got a very big selection. We looked at building until we found out about the fit-PC product line and went with that just to save some time and money.

If I were configuring something like a custom RADIUS server/router combo, or some fancy Asterisk box, I'd probably build. But for everything else, I'd rather just buy and "get busy" using it. That might be because I know a lot more about software than I do about hardware; so once I have a running system, I can almost always get it to do what I want.

If you're a real hardware wonk you'll probably feel differently about it.

 
 

9398

General Software Discussion / Re: Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

« Last post by 40hz on March 30, 2010, 11:59 PM »

I think their biggest challenge is going to be in getting what they have (and what they're doing) better organized. Until they've gotten their business processes 'rationalized,' a CRM is only going to make things worse by adding an additional layer of complexity to what is basically a mess.

First thing they need to do is sit down and set up a process and establish some procedures before they go much further. A long weekend is ideal for this sort of thing. Then, once they have this framework in place, they're going to have to make a conscious effort to stick to it. It will take about a month to learn the new habit.

Just my having been in that boat with my own business once.  

As far as CRM goes, it is pretty much overkill for any company with less than five employees.  Unfortunately, what you're looking to do also goes beyond the capabilities of most PIMs.

Luckily,  there is a group of programs that fills the gap between PIMs and traditional CRMs. These are the so-called "small CRMs" or "advanced contact manager" apps.

The one my company used to use was a product called Maximizer ( www.maximizer.com ) and I was generally quite pleased with how it worked. Maximizer has since gone on to version 10 and added a number of features such as integration with Quickbooks and MS Office, along with support for mobile devices. They now have an "Entrepreneur Edition" specifically geared towards solo practitioner and small businesses. Might be worth a look.

There's a bit of a learning curve with a product like Maximizer, but that's to be expected since running a business isn't a trivial task either. And again, it's a matter of practice until new behaviors become habits.

9399

Living Room / Re: Low energy use always on pc -- what's better, a laptop or a mini (htpc) pc?

« Last post by 40hz on March 30, 2010, 11:15 PM »

From my experience, unless you already own or plan on cannibalizing an existing laptop, I'd go with a mini-PC. Reliability is just not there when it comes to a laptop that's being run 24 x 7.

One alternative worth looking into is some of the new "net top" systems.

The only one I've had direct experience with is made by a company called CompuLab. They make a line of net tops marketed under the name fit-PC. The model I'm familiar with is the Slim XP model. This got used as a small office media server by one of our clients.

The Slim XP is a 4x5x1.5 box w/60gb HD, 512 RAM, E-Net and WiFi connections that came to about $250 including a copy of Windows XP Home. Power consumption runs around 6W max. Very nice product.

They've since upped the ante with a  newer line that packs more RAM, bigger HDs, Gb NICS, and faster processors. They have Linux and Windows (including Win7 Pro) based systems, along with some "bare-bones" configurations. Power consumption is still below 10W.

Link to fit-PC main site:  http://www.fit-pc.com/web/

We bought the one we installed through CompuLab's storefront on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co...mp;me=A3J2VUK9571N8X

A recent in-depth review of the new fit-PC2 model can be found over at the Phoronix.com website.

Link:  http://www.phoronix....lab_fitpc2&num=1

Video presentation on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=RtM8ScjjwnA



Cool tools. 

9400

General Software Discussion / Re: RTF --> HTML editor

« Last post by 40hz on March 30, 2010, 10:14 PM »

My fav for cleaning copied material I want to paste as plain text is a small free utility called PureText.

http://www.stevemiller.net/puretext/

Have you ever copied some text from a web page or a document and then wanted to paste it as simple text into another application without getting all the formatting from the original source? PureText makes this simple by adding a new Windows hot-key (default is WINDOWS+V) that allows you to paste text to any application without formatting.

After running PureText.exe, you will see a "PT" tray icon appear near the clock on your task bar.  You can click on this icon to remove formatting from the text that is currently on the clipboard.  You can right-click on the icon to display a menu with more options.

What PureText Will and Will Not Do

    PureText only removes rich formatting from text.  This includes the font face, font style (bold, italics, etc.), font color, paragraph styles (left/right/center aligned), margins, character spacing, bullets, subscript, superscript, tables, charts, pictures, embedded objects, etc.  However, it does not modify the actual text.  It will not remove or fix new-lines, carriage returns, tabs, or other white-space.  It will not fix word-wrap or clean up your paragraphs.  If you copy the source code of a web page to the clipboard, it is not going to remove all the HTML tags.  If you copy text from an actual web page (not the source of the page), it will remove the formatting.

    PureText is basically equivalent to opening Notepad, doing a PASTE, followed by a SELECT-ALL, and then a COPY.  The benefit of PureText is performing all these actions with a single Hot-Key and having the result pasted into the current window automatically.

[/quote