There's got to be a way to do this…. Here's what I want to be able to do. We've got a ton of books in the Fog Creek library, in no particular order, and it's gotten to the point where it's actually easier to order a new copy of a book from Amazon than to… Continue reading There's got to be a way to do this…

Micro-sourcing and micro-ISVs. By Bob Walsh Every so often in the software industry a new idea that creates a whole new kind of software. I think we're on the verge of just such a new category: micro-sourcing. I define micro-sourcing as the ability to quickly and effortlessly access skilled services for specific micro-tasks from within… Continue reading Micro-sourcing and micro-ISVs

We Can Detect Liquid Explosives. Scanning machines that can spot liquid or gel-based explosives exist already — some based on 10-year-old technologies. But they're not in airports and probably won't be anytime soon. [Wired News: Top Stories]

Last Week's Terrorism Arrests. Hours-long waits in the security line. Ridiculous prohibitions on what you can carry onboard. Last week's foiling of a major terrorist plot and the subsequent airport security graphically illustrates the difference between effective security and security theater. None of the airplane security measures implemented because of 9/11 — no-fly lists, secondary… Continue reading Last Week's Terrorism Arrests

DOCSIS 3.0. CableLabs has issued a series of specifications for DOCSIS 3.0. It will enable cable operators to offer significantly higher speeds with downstream data rates of 160 Mbps and upstream data rates of 120 Mbps. The Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) 3.0, are available at CableLabs. DOCSIS 3.0 features “channel bonding”, which enables multiple… Continue reading DOCSIS 3.0

Thom May: System attack or just stupid terrorists?.  The “foiled” terrorist attack looks suspiciously like an attack on the underlying system, rather than an actual attempt to blow planes up – it’s almost laughable that terrorists in this day and age could hope to get explosive devices onto planes in hand luggage. If we decide… Continue reading Thom May: System attack or just stupid terrorists?

From Nowhere to Out There. Spaceport America is under construction in some of the most desolate real estate in New Mexico. But it may soon become the launch pad for commercial space travel. Jason Silverman reports from Las Cruces, New Mexico. [Wired News: Top Stories]

The 15 minute Windows XP tune-up. Got a slow movin' computer? Try the Windows XP 15 minute tune-up. Chances are, it's not a hardware problem that's making your system run so slowly, but a backup of old, clogged data that's draining your memory. Computing siteTweak3D.net offers a few suggestions that can get that sluggish machine… Continue reading The 15 minute Windows XP tune-up

Turbo Delphi!. Yeehah! Turbo returns! I got a call from Borland's David Intersimone late last week, and we spoke for quite awhile, certainly at more length than we have in ten or twelve years. The big news is that Borland is introducing a line of new, single-language, single-platform IDE/compiler packages under the Turbo brand: Turbo… Continue reading Turbo Delphi!

The Windows Doomsday Switch. ZDNet's Ed Bott posted a scary article indicating that Microsoft may well implement a “doomsday switch” on Windows this fall. The details are unclear, but the gist of it is that WGA will be made mandatory, and if people refuse to install it (you can opt out of WGA now if… Continue reading The Windows Doomsday Switch