Mac OS X Address Book
Once I got over trying to import a CSV file into it (silly me), getting contacts out of my Yahoo address book into the Mac was easy. I exported it as a Netscape address book. The Mac OS X Address Book imports those files (.ldif) very easily.
The mini has landed
The Mac mini I ordered online back in February finally arrived tonight. The only real problem I’ve encountered so far is that it had trouble detecting my Linksys router from upstairs. What I’m not certain of is whether this was because I had MAC address filtering enabled initially. Once I disabled that and set everything up closer to the wireless router, Internet access worked fine.
Software installs were very simple. For the most part, I’d just download a file and drag it to the applications folder. Very easy, very clean.
I still have plenty of configuration work left to do though. If the mini can’t access the Internet wirelessly from a distance, I may spring for an Airport Express to see if that will boost the signal enough. If I can get a DVI cable, Bluetooth keyboard and mouse for less than the Airport Express, it may be worth it to hook it up to my HDTV & stereo instead.
Networking it with my Win2K server will be another challenge.
Update: I moved the mini upstairs and turned everything on again. Now it’s connecting wirelessly with no trouble at all.
"Free" Project Management Software
I was looking for information on the right way to modify the ASP.NET Issue Tracker starter kit to handle Windows Authentication. One of the things Google search returned was an app called Gemini that does a similar thing. Up to 10 people can use the version they offer for download before they start asking for money. Considering the way the current IssueTracker installation is behaving right now, I’m beginning to wish I’d found Gemini earlier.
Why Your Broadband Sucks
A good column by Lawrence Lessig on a problem with Wi-Fi access in the U.S. In short, lobbyists are spending money to convince lawmakers to prevent municipal governments from competing with broadband providers instead of actually providing broadband. The really eye-opening stat in the piece is that our country is 13th in broadband deployment. Given how long it took me to get broadband initially, I can believe it.
When the free market is clearly not working in an area, government stepping in may not be a bad idea.
When the free market is clearly not working in an area, government stepping in may not be a bad idea.
White House Turns Tables on Former American POWs
I came across this story late, but it has to be one of the most bizarre and sad stories I've read in awhile. It's worth subscribing to the LA Times website to read the whole thing, but in summary, this is what's happening:
For their sakes, I only hope that the Supreme Court has far more sense than the government on this case.
2002: 17 POWs from the 1991 Gulf War filed a lawsuit against Iraq for the torture they endured from Iraq troops at the now infamous Abu Ghraib. They're allowed to do this by the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996.
2003: Judge Richard W. Roberts awards them $653 million in compensatory damages and $306 million in punitive damages.
Soon after this, the Bush administration argues the case should be thrown out. Why? Reasons include:
--President Bush had voided such claims against Iraq because of the current occupation
--This Scott McClellan quote: "These resources are required for the urgent national security needs of rebuilding Iraq."
When the case goes to the US Court of Appeals for the DC circuit, the 3 judges ruled unanimously for the Bush administration and throw out the lawsuit. The case is now before the Supreme Court.
For their sakes, I only hope that the Supreme Court has far more sense than the government on this case.
More Mac mini Ideas
1. Make it a low-cost recording studio.
2. Make it a media center.
I've already got a digital piano at home, so I'll probably try option 1 first. After reading the article, option 2 sounds like a whole lot of work.
Someone already thought of the mini Beowulf cluster idea.
2. Make it a media center.
I've already got a digital piano at home, so I'll probably try option 1 first. After reading the article, option 2 sounds like a whole lot of work.
Someone already thought of the mini Beowulf cluster idea.
Howard Dean: DNC Chairman
Even though I haven't been a registered Democrat for some time now (switched to independent 5+ years ago), I'm very interested in this turn of events. I hope it means that we'll actually have a two-party system again, instead of a party-and-a-half like we've had for awhile. How he'll play in the South is anybody's guess, but I think a lot of his views will turn out to be more moderate than people expect.
Cult of the Mac Membership++
About half an hour ago, I purchased a Mac mini. If you've read anything in the press about the "iPod halo effect", I'm one of those buyers. Before buying my first iPod in 2003, I hadn't spent a penny on anything from Apple. I was (and still am) a PC user. I still make a living designing and developing software for Windows. I'd barely used Apple machines at all outside of designing yearbook layouts for my high school in 1991 and on occasion during college. But my experience with the iPod has been so positive, when they announced that they would start selling a "headless" Mac, I knew I would buy one. Today just happened to be the day.
Here are the specs: Mac mini 1.42Ghz processor Bluetooth + AirPort Extreme Card 80GB Ultra ATA drive 4x SuperDrive 56k v.92 Modem 1GB DDR333 SDRAM
I bought AppleCare for it as well.
If you’re a Mac veteran, I welcome any tips and advice you have to share.
Gmail Invite Anyone?
Google recently dumped 50 each on current members. I plan to donate some to our troops overseas, but I'll give away one to the first 35 people who e-mail slawrence@gmail.com and request one.
Blog Mapping
I across a Scobleizer post about this and thought I'd give it a try:
An interesting use of MapPoint to say the least.
An interesting use of MapPoint to say the least.
Three Paper Town?
To the Washington Post and the Washington Times we can add another paper: The Washington Examiner. In this age of the Web, blogs and other forms of electronic media, starting a print newspaper seems an odd choice. From my time as a technology intern at the Washington Post, I remember stories from bosses about how DC used to have four newspapers. The Washington Star was the one they remembered most, since a number of them worked there before it closed up shop in 1981.
From this column by Dave Matsio, it sounds like they want to do something a little different with their opinion pages.
The rest of their website looks pretty well done. We'll have to wait and see if the writing is good. It would be nice if they got lucky and broke an important story or two before the larger papers.
From this column by Dave Matsio, it sounds like they want to do something a little different with their opinion pages.
The rest of their website looks pretty well done. We'll have to wait and see if the writing is good. It would be nice if they got lucky and broke an important story or two before the larger papers.
Solution Spheres: How To: turn your Mac mini into a Media Center PC
Some very interesting ideas on what you can do with a Mac mini.
Yahoo! News - NFL Game Broadcasts Coming to iPods
Interesting news for current and future members of the cult of iPod (I'm in the former category). I wouldn't expect to be a huge moneymaker for Audible. Maybe they intend it as a "wedge" purchase to get people interested in buying more expensive audiobooks. It is a nice option for fans who don't live where their favorite teams play.
Forbes.com: When IPod Sales Run Out Of Steam
Not exactly a doom-and-gloom piece for Apple, but it does project a time when the gap between the iPod and other digital music players has narrowed. The only idea that really jumps out in this piece as wrong is the idea that Apple will only be able to compete on price once the gap has narrowed sufficiently.
If there's anything that Apple's history proves, it's that they rarely compete on price. Even with the new mini, it's low cost is only relative to other Apple products. That said, I'm still planning to buy one. Yes, I'm one of those PC users who got caught by the iPod "halo effect" that's been written about elsewhere in the press.
If there's anything that Apple's history proves, it's that they rarely compete on price. Even with the new mini, it's low cost is only relative to other Apple products. That said, I'm still planning to buy one. Yes, I'm one of those PC users who got caught by the iPod "halo effect" that's been written about elsewhere in the press.
Social Security Formula Weighed (washingtonpost.com)
If I'm reading this article correctly, it sounds like Social Security benefits are certain to be reduced, and these personal accounts are intended to provide an opportunity to make up the difference. It seems like a bad idea if the original purpose of Social Security was to keep the elderly out of poverty.
Feasibility of Missile Defense
This study from a trio of physicists does an excellent job of highlighting the incredible difficulties of developing a system that can credibly defend the entire US from ICBMs. It's a great argument for spending our tax dollars elsewhere.
I found the link at Tim Bray's blog, posted under the far less charitable title of "Missile Defense is a Cult".
I found the link at Tim Bray's blog, posted under the far less charitable title of "Missile Defense is a Cult".
DC Baseball in Doubt
Whoever reads this should take my comments with a grain of salt. I've worked in DC on multiple occasions, but I've never been a resident.
Local sportstalk radio yesterday was full of opinions on the last-minute requirement of the DC Council (more specifically, its chairwoman Linda Cropp) that at least half of the new stadium be privately financed. The calls I heard were surprising balanced between for and against her actions. The comment I found most interesting was one by a caller who compared the DC Council to the Palestinians because they "never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity".
Based on what some of people on the council are saying, it seems as if some of them have forgotten who they're negotiating with. This is the same group of owners that helped to kill the MLB playoffs in 1994. They have the right to unilaterally contract two franchises in 2006. The owners claim to have lost $50 million running the Expos collectively--and chose to do this rather than sell the team earlier. So to any of those councilmen who think baseball "doesn't have a choice", just look at the evidence. MLB owners have already demonstrated an ability and a willingness to cut off their nose to spite their own face. So trying to get a better deal at the last minute had to mean you were telling baseball to take a hike.
If this article is any indication, a team might not even play here in 2005 and then find another home. They might just go somewhere else entirely. There were five other suitors for this team besides Washington, and I'm certain they're just waiting for another chance.
Local sportstalk radio yesterday was full of opinions on the last-minute requirement of the DC Council (more specifically, its chairwoman Linda Cropp) that at least half of the new stadium be privately financed. The calls I heard were surprising balanced between for and against her actions. The comment I found most interesting was one by a caller who compared the DC Council to the Palestinians because they "never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity".
Based on what some of people on the council are saying, it seems as if some of them have forgotten who they're negotiating with. This is the same group of owners that helped to kill the MLB playoffs in 1994. They have the right to unilaterally contract two franchises in 2006. The owners claim to have lost $50 million running the Expos collectively--and chose to do this rather than sell the team earlier. So to any of those councilmen who think baseball "doesn't have a choice", just look at the evidence. MLB owners have already demonstrated an ability and a willingness to cut off their nose to spite their own face. So trying to get a better deal at the last minute had to mean you were telling baseball to take a hike.
If this article is any indication, a team might not even play here in 2005 and then find another home. They might just go somewhere else entirely. There were five other suitors for this team besides Washington, and I'm certain they're just waiting for another chance.
Unconventional Wisdom on Staying Put Instead of Off-Shoring
This article from McKinsey Quarterly takes a look into why some companies continue to manufacture in California--one of the world's most expensive places to do manufacturing.
It doesn't appeal to "patriotism" (like a recently failed presidential candidate), but to the bottom line. The authors make a convincing case that for industries where speed to the customer is important, companies with a geographically compact supply chain have a big advantage over producers with low-wage overseas labor.
It doesn't appeal to "patriotism" (like a recently failed presidential candidate), but to the bottom line. The authors make a convincing case that for industries where speed to the customer is important, companies with a geographically compact supply chain have a big advantage over producers with low-wage overseas labor.
A Fight for Shiites
You can read Charles Krauthammer's whole commentary to get the context, but he essential begins his column by using the elections that happened during the US Civil War and its immediate aftermath to defend elections in Iraq that may leave out parts of the country.
To call this an "apples and oranges" comparison would be putting it mildly. If England or France had over 100,000 troops in this country and was fighting on the side of the North or the South, Krauthammer might have an argument. But since that isn't what happened, it's merely a bad excuse for the disenfranchisement of "barely 20 percent" of Iraqi citizens.
The one point he makes in his column that I agree with is that a civil war is already happening in Iraq. Which is why it seems senseless to me for him to say this:
This idea that Iraq will go on without the Sunnis if they don't lay down their arms and vote completely ignores the nature of the violence that has been taking place. In the same section of the newspaper is an article about candidates for this election in Iraq being murdered. We shouldn't forget how quickly the violence spread to other parts of Iraq after the Fallujah offensive either.
What seems to be shaping up is another Beirut situation--US troops in the middle of a civil war. It won't turn out any better now than it did then.
To call this an "apples and oranges" comparison would be putting it mildly. If England or France had over 100,000 troops in this country and was fighting on the side of the North or the South, Krauthammer might have an argument. But since that isn't what happened, it's merely a bad excuse for the disenfranchisement of "barely 20 percent" of Iraqi citizens.
The one point he makes in his column that I agree with is that a civil war is already happening in Iraq. Which is why it seems senseless to me for him to say this:
If Iraq's Sunni Arabs--barely 20 percent of the population--decide they cannot abide giving up their 80 years of minority rule, ending with 30 years of Saddam Hussein's atrocious tyranny, then tough luck. They forfeit their chance to shape and participate in the new Iraq.
This idea that Iraq will go on without the Sunnis if they don't lay down their arms and vote completely ignores the nature of the violence that has been taking place. In the same section of the newspaper is an article about candidates for this election in Iraq being murdered. We shouldn't forget how quickly the violence spread to other parts of Iraq after the Fallujah offensive either.
What seems to be shaping up is another Beirut situation--US troops in the middle of a civil war. It won't turn out any better now than it did then.
Situational Ethics Defined
According to this article in The Hill newspaper, the House GOP will change a rule they enacted in 1993 requiring leaders to step down from their posts if indicted for criminal conduct. The reason: majority leader Tom DeLay may be indicted in a case currently proceeding in Texas. Two of his aides have already been indicted for their conduct.
This move, so soon after an election allegedly decided on things like moral values is just one more thing that says to me that Republicans are better at talking the talk than they are at walking the walk when it comes to ethics and morality. The GOP spent a lot of years using the corruption of Democrats for political gain. It's quite hypocritical to change a rule they themselves instituted because they feel the charges are politically motivated. It's a textbook case of situational ethics if I ever saw one.
This move, so soon after an election allegedly decided on things like moral values is just one more thing that says to me that Republicans are better at talking the talk than they are at walking the walk when it comes to ethics and morality. The GOP spent a lot of years using the corruption of Democrats for political gain. It's quite hypocritical to change a rule they themselves instituted because they feel the charges are politically motivated. It's a textbook case of situational ethics if I ever saw one.