Resistance is Futile
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 09:57 AM
Even IBM is switching to Macs now.
Okay, okay, I know it’s just a pilot program, but I still think it speaks volumes about the changing tides in IT right now.
I love this little bit, though. Among the (few) complaints the participants had:
Other drawbacks or weaknesses users reported in the Mac platform included support issues with IBM’s Lotus Sametime instant messaging software and a “lack of robustness or support for Microsoft applications - PowerPoint issues, no NetMeeting, [and] limitations for tools running on Internet Explorer.”
NetMeeting? NetMeeting? Do people really still use that? And I guess they didn’t have Keynote installed, because anyone who’s ever used Keynote would care less about PowerPoint issues. And Internet Explorer? They’ve heard of Firefox and Safari, right?
Seriously, though, I think this is a good indication of the changes that are going to be happening in the next few years. Microsoft is having trouble staying ahead of the industry. More and more people are using Google Docs and OpenOffice instead of Microsoft’s Office. People are switching to Macs and Linux for their home systems. Companies are switching to Macs, Linux and Unix like never before. Meanwhile, MS is wasting resources on the XBox and Zune to try to compete with Sony, Nintendo and Apple in markets where they just don’t belong*. And while the XBox may be marginally successful (at least from a business standpoint - I know it’s popular with gamers, but it doesn’t make MS much money), the Zune has been a complete failure. Instead of innovating on the web front, they’re trying to buy out Yahoo!, which will only result in Yahoo! being converted over to the same mediocre MS technologies that run Hotmail/MSN/.Net/Live (or whatever the hell they’re calling it this week). (On a side note: I really hope Yahoo! is able to resist this takeover bid. I like Yahoo! mail better than Gmail, and Flickr better than Picasa, but I’ll switch if I have to!)
Microsoft has gotten too big for its own good. It can’t adapt fast enough. It’s sticking its hands into too many pots, and is unable to concentrate on their core business because of that. The massive Vista failure is only one of the problems they face right now, but indicative of where things are heading for them.
The next five years should be pretty interesting.
* What I mean by “don’t belong” is that they clearly don’t know how to compete in these markets, and would be better off doing what they do best, which is marketing software to businesses. They can get into whatever markets they please, but I wouldn’t buy a car from them if they put one out, you know what I’m saying?
Bad News, Everyone
Monday, April 14, 2008 - 03:31 PM
One of my favorite places in Chicago, Goose Island (the Clybourn location) is closing at the end of the year. It seems they lost their lease.
It’s too bad. The Clybourn location is so much better than the Wrigleyville one (even if you don’t take into consideration having to deal with Wrigley Field being only a block away). I really hope they open a new location that’s on par with the current one at Clybourn. I just can’t see myself going to the Wrigleyville location all that often, particularly if it’s a “game day”.
What’s really ironic is that that whole area owes everything to Goose Island being there. I’m sure the area will thrive without Goose Island now, but G.I. used to be the only thing there. That area would not be what it is today if it wasn’t for Goose Island.
The article (more of a blurb really) doesn’t go into the details, but I hope it is something that can be resolved before the year’s end. (They’ve updated the article since I initially posted.) It looks like the issue is money. Hopefully the landlord (CRM Properties Group) will come to their senses and negotiate with Goose Island. (Or, like I said, they open up a new location. Hey, the Edgewater neighborhood is drastically lacking in brew-pubs!)
Embiggen
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 - 12:09 PM
I was using the Flickr slideshow feature, and clicked on the “Options” link in the lower right-hand corner, and saw this:
It’s a perfectly cromulent option.
Sam Adams Recall
Tuesday, April 08, 2008 - 05:07 PM
In case you haven’t seen this elsewhere, I thought I’d shift into public service mode here and pass this info along.
Sam Adams is recalling some of their beer due to a potential hazard with the bottles. They’re erring on the side of caution with this (in other words, don’t freak out if you drink Sam Adams), but it doesn’t hurt to check.
History of Storage
Tuesday, April 08, 2008 - 09:28 AM
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but I think it serves the purpose of showing how much things have changed in such little time.
The history of computer data storage in pictures.
(If you read through the comments, there’s also a great link to a comparative photo of various hard drives on wikipedia.)
My first “real” computer, which I got in 1991, was a Macintosh LC. It came with 2MB of memory (which I upgraded to 4), and a 40MB hard disk. I later added a 230MB (remember, these are megabytes here, not gigabytes) external drive when the technology became available/affordable for around $300.
Now I carry around several gigabytes in my pocket! Seventeen years is a long time when it comes to technology. (Let’s not forget the 2800 baud modem I had at the time, compared to 3.0 DSL service I have now.)
As long as I’m in “old guy reminiscing” mode, I’ll mention that years before the LC, my parents had gotten me a Coleco Adam, which used cassette data storage, similar to what’s shown in the article.