Month: October 2005

Microsoft Jet.  I'm glad Microsoft is upgrading the Jet engine once again. Even though they tried to tell application developers that we needed to move to MSDE/Sql Server Express, we know that our customers want their data in a single file and don't want to have to install and administer SQL Server just to get… Continue reading Microsoft Jet

A Future Without Tipping Points David Sanger at the Times wrote a good insight into the shifting tone of the administration on Iraq. It conforms to my analysis (which is always nice on a personal level, even if it is depressing in its macro implications). Senior officials say the intelligence reports flowing over their desks… Continue reading A Future Without Tipping Points

Find an expert on any subject How would you like to have an easy way to find an expert on any subject, and see what websites they're bookmarking? Check out CollaborativeRank , a search engine that identifies subject-matter experts based on what they bookmark, and how popular their links are. This tool offers you some… Continue reading Find an expert on any subject

Another Hurricane, Wilma, Threatens Florida. Wilma was expected to build up strength before hitting Florida this weekend in what has become the most active storm season in decades. By KATRIN BENNHOLD. [NYT > Home Page]

Instant Rails just add water!. Curt Hibbs (he of the excellent one-click Ruby installer for windows) has issued a preview release of his new package Instant Rails: Instant Rails is a one-stop Rails runtime solution containing Ruby, Rails, Apache, and MySQL, all preconfigured and ready to run. No installer, you simply drop it into the… Continue reading Instant Rails just add water!

Scary Talk. Here's a transcript from earlier this week of Bush's press conference. In it, he says that he wants Congress to authorize him to use the military to impose martial law within the borders of the United States in case of an outbreak of Avian Flu (H5N1 — I've written about this before). Congress,… Continue reading Scary Talk

Distributing Rails applications easily. Erik Veenstra has written a very cool guide on how to package Rails applications for easy distribution as native executables on Windows, OS X, and Linux.  [Riding Rails]

Privacy Commissioner's 2004-2005 Annual Report on the Privacy Act tabled by Parliament – Commissioner calls for reform to the Privacy Act. Ottawa, October 6, 2005 – The Privacy Act is an outdated and often inadequate public sector data protection law, according to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, in her 2004-2005 Annual Report on… Continue reading Privacy
Commissioner's 2004-2005 Annual Report on the Privacy Act tabled by
Parliament – Commissioner calls for reform to the Privacy Act

Dell … if I'm a corporation …I'm not buying XP HOMES!!!. If Dell Optiplex “Means Business” as the headline reads…why then as I am spec'ing out a new desktop for the office does it DEFAULT… DEFAULT mind you to XP Home. Dell WHY are you shoving XP HOME machines down my fellow small business owners… Continue reading Dell … if I'm a corporation …I'm not buying XP HOMES!!!

Microsoft to Introduce New Security Software for Windows. Microsoft is introducing a set of products that will move it more fully into competition with the leading makers of security software for Windows computers. By JOHN MARKOFF. [NYT > Technology]