Saturday, August 27, 2005

Is Microsoft pricing itself out of the world computer market?

When Microsoft's Vista comes out late next year or early 2007 you'll need a 3.0 GHz CPU with lots of other energy loving parts. But based on the story about Ghana in Africa because of their weather conditions they can only use 386s and 486s. Why? Because the heat generated from the new CPUs (and I have an AMD 64 3200+) would probably be too hot in that heat.

Open Source will probably be the slow death of Microsoft, or could it possibly increase global warming because of the energy needs of new computers and operating systems? Is that why Intel has started it's power per watt marketing and technology strategy in order to cool Microsoft down a bit? We'll give it some time to get the answer.

Measurements: for profit or for customer satisfaction?

How many of you trust your gas gage on your car that when it reads 1/2 a tank that it means 1/2 a tank? How about a 1/4 of a tank? Talk about bad measurements!! While it is not a huge issue, it's probably a "image" thing rather than an accuracy thing. Probably most cusotmers want the gas gage to look symetrical rather than to be accurate in how much gas is left in the tank.

In this article about AOL Fined for Making it Hard to Cancel Service it makes you wonder why some businesses are in business. But guess what, as the saying goes What gets measured gets done is just as accurate here. But the real question is: would you do business with a business that does that?

What should be happening from the Board room is not "How can we keep their money" which is nothing more than a short sighted approach to fixing the problem but a "What issues are occuring that we're not aware of that we need to fix?" But my most people's accounts, this costs money? Oh really? And how much did it cost you in reputation and current and potential customers when these people sued you?

Personally I'm tired of the bigger companies with the CSRs (customer service rep), and it's not their fault because they're following management's policies, that are more concerned with keeping my money than asking what can we do to fix the problem? No wonder the Dilbert comic strip just keeps on going.

Profit is a measurement of success, but it comes after People!

1 Cor 13:1-3 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have {the gift of} prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed {the poor,} and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

When you look at the origina Greek of 1 Corinthians 13:3 and read Vincent's Word Studies about the passage that is bolded above you see that the picture here (see SOP in verse 26) is of a mother laying with her child and chewing food to pre-digest it for her baby (especially in third world countries today) and giving it to them to eat. Even something as touching as this scene when done without love is worthless.

Why do you think this is stated? Why is it stated that performance without love is worthless? Would love without performance be just as worthless? Do big businesses and venture capitalists do the same thing? How do you fit into this scene?

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Beyond Oil

Just saw Kenneth Deffeyes speak on CSPAN tonight about his new book Beyond Oil. Bottom line: we've reached the most amount of oil that we can get out of the ground, or we've found about 94% of all of the oil that is in the world and we don't have anything lined up to take care of our energy needs once this runs out. Take a look at the Summary of the oil production and use over the course of it's discovery.

Conserving won't extend it to the degree that we use energy.

This message needs to get out to the public.

Getting computer spare parts for "out of warranty" computers

I was talking with a COO of a computer consulting company this week and he stated that he will never buy Brand X again. It seems that because he didn't get the extended warranty for his computer that his now broke computers, two of them, do NOT have spare parts for them and he couldn't buy the parts on eBay. It seems that the manufacturing company will only purchase spare parts for those that have extended warranties!

The interesting part is that the computer is less than two years old and the COO is now purchasing new parts to build his own computers because he said "I'd rather spend a little more and have them last 4 years or so that break just after a year and the warranty expires.

That's good advice coming from someone who's in the trenches.

Open Source, where to begin

As a business owner when you've decided to begin using Open Source (or Free and Open Source Software/FOSS), there are a numbers of places to begin, but this is the first place that I'll catalog. I'll add more as I find them.

Alone with my book; Linux distro comment

OK, it's Sunday and I normally go to church but have decided not to today. Today I need to get back to my book so I sit here with my iTunes streaming Sky.fm jazz, my Firefox browser, Thunderbird email client, and Open Office office suite with my book opened up and ready to go.

With this setting, I'm off to do some work.

After half heartily working on my book yesterday it seems that I may have to do a major reorganization of the information. While I think my first organization of the information was correct, it does not lend itself to quick answers that people need. The nice thing is that it will take some work to cut and paste, it's still easier than rewriting the info all over again.

I got Fedora Core 4 in a magazine from the book store last night and installed it. It recognized my SATA hard drive, but was lousy at recognizing my monitor. Decided to drop it and reinstall Ubuntu Linux which had no trouble finding it and makes it easy to reconfigure my hardware setting. However, it did not recognize my SATA hard drive, but I still like how easy it is to move forward with it.

Well, now to work. Oh, at 32,000 words.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

My ISP deleted the domain name, so I have to get a new email address

Oh boy, now I've got work to do. My ISP, I guess because of all of the spam and the trouble it takes to administer a number of acquired companies, has deleted the domain name (orci.com) and I now have to get a new email address. It didn't take so long to get it, but the repercussions with getting the new address to my contacts will take a while. Getting my new address to my friends, family, business contacts, etc, updating my various emails lists that I belong to, and getting back to normalcy is not something I like to do since I had that email address since the first day I got onto the Internet. I would expect that some will not be able to get to me at all at some point. But I guess the upside is that my SPAM will be reduced. So what's a person to do to prevent this?

From what I'm thinking you would need two email accounts on separate domains names as well as web home pages that are placed in your email signature spot. This would allow those that you want to continue to contact you to be able to go to the second site when your deleted email account starts bouncing emails back and to locate your new email address.

Such is the modern way of technology

Update 08/21/05: My wife states that this is the time "to get your own domain name, it'll never go away then." I'm her "IT guy" and she comes up with that, I must be good for my thoughts to rub off on to her. ;-)

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Ideas in the making: saving energy or using it wisely

I was talking with a friend of mine today who has been going to Africa twice a year and he told me about the level of poverty there. He also stated that there are problems with keeping food.

Well, I told him about this idea called Pot in Pot which allows for a limited refrigeration in rural Africa.

But more importantly, the site called World Changing discusses many changes that are occuring that save energy. Now I'm not a environmentalist, but I am a conservationist. Why? If I can save so many gallons of fuel that means that the unknown amount of oil in the ground will last that much longer.

Hope this helps get the word out.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Ben Franklin Quote

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin

Amen to that. I've passed the 31,000 word mark, that means I've got 56 pages in 8.5 x 11 or 75 in 6 x 9 format.

I'm keeping on truckin'

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Hire talent first, then experience

What I have found recently in various discussions with people is that the labels of job titles, previous job experience, and other such items causes others to pin hole you into your history, never into your future.

During a recent job fair I overheard a job applicant state that they wanted to head in a certain direction for their career but the HR person took one look at their resume and said "I see you have sales experience, you'd be great at our company in sales!" The person stated flatly that they did not want to be in sales any more and for the HR person to think that the HR person was only just doing their HR job. The HR person was not thinking like a business owner becasue they would probably have to rehire someone in a number of months because the person left to find other work.

In discussing the idea as to how to hire, an HR Director stated it the best, "Hire talent first, then experience." The reaon: talent is engrained in a person much like Michael Jordan has talent at playing basketball, it just flows from them. If you hire based on experience you may not get a Michael Jordan and miss completely those things that people LOVE to do and would do it without getting paid. If you pay for performance, then those that love their work because of their talent will be paid hansomely by the right company. If you read the book "Now Discover Your Strengths" you'll get the picture.

In talking with a small business owner over lunch one of the things that stuck in my mind was his comment that most people will work 40 hours a week for someone else but over 60 for themselves. It's a shame that "The Joy of Work" does not get practices much in corporate American. All hail the Dilbert comic.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Look at a world's view of Linux

The one thing that I discuss with people is the spread of Linux throughout the world. For Americans it means getting our eyes off of ourselves and see what others are doing, sort of like to tortise and the hare, we'll be left behind soon if we don't watch out. And it's not an either or to software between Windows or Linux, but an AND where Windows will play alongside but lose it's dominance over time.

I foresee that both Linux and Mac will grow substantially over the next few years because of Open Source and at the expense of Windows even with it's Trusted Source.

Bottom line: global reach needs to start happening in America more than it is.

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Linux deployed: where you least expect it.

One of the local governments in my state, Jefferson county, has migrated to use Linux and Open Source, in areas where it works the best. What you may not realize is that some companies may not tell you that they're using Linux because it's being used in a strategic fashion and may want to keep it hidden from prying and curious ears and eyes. So while you may think that no one is using Linux in their operations, don't be so naive. Even other local governments such as Kenosha, Wisconsin are using Linux.

Bottom line: When you least expect it, it just might be there.

Origin of the Species: God or Evolution?

What I find so interesting about the article Evolution revolution? regarding President Bush's comment about Evolution and Creationism be taught side by side is that the "Freedom from Religion" groups don't want creationism taught while the "God said it, that settles it" group doesn't want evolution taught. Both side are wrong. Why? Did not Charles Darwin write Origin of the Species? And would not a defining of the "origin of the species" try and determine whether or not God created the earth and the stars OR that there was not God in creation? I do not propose that through evolution that we can become like Gods in the Mormon religion or that evolution denies there is a God. Personally, I see Him and (minor) evolution at the same time.

Bottom line: God started it by creation, set up the laws (physics, etc) in which it was to be run, which we're still trying to figure out, and let us decide based on the evidence whether or not we see Him.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Start Ups: Learn from the Big Boys before you play

The one thing that I learned a number of years ago is that you either learn from your mistakes or learn from others and their mistakes. Learning from other costs them, not you! So it was nice to read that some of the SMB market is getting the message of process improvement. Those that don't will be in this global market will go the way of the dinosaur and extinction. And for these companies it's not a marketing ploy, although some may believe it is. Some companies even market it, but if you really get down to brass tacks, they're just as phony worth as much as the paper their marketing materials are written on. While I was doing some consulting, a supplier was told by the company president that they were going to a Process Improvement program and they wanted each of their suppliers to come on board to help reduce costs. The president of the supplier company thought they were only using it as a ploy to get a better deal and were not realistic about it. Well, along came a year and their customer asked to see what they had and they didn't provide it. This company then lost their largest customer! Needless to say, they embarked on a program and hired a Big 8 Accounting firm spending big bucks to give them the low down, but it was too much for them. The president never really understood what it was and never believed in it and never fully recovered from the loss.

Bottom line: It just makes good sense to improve your business. It's OK to be skeptical to new things, just don't be a cynic!

Start Ups: How to get started. By Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki, who worked at Apple and has helped over 100 companies get started, has an article called Make a List, Check it Twice which can help start ups get a grip on what they are trying to do. I've read his book "The Art of the Start" and think it's great. His venture capitalist firm Garage Technology Ventures is for those individuals that have a great idea but need more than their family and friends investing in their endeavor. But if you're that type of business, then contact them.

The more you know, the more productive and successful you'll be.

Linux + SAMBA = 2.5 times faster than Window Server 2003

This is not me saying this, this is an IT Director. Does Linux need to be everywhere? No, but there are benefits to your organization when it is deployed. While you may be thinking of the cost factor of running only one OS such as Windows Server 2003, you lose on the performance side, or you have to upgrade your exixsting server to something more powerful to handle the performance. That, once again, incrases your costs. Poor quality ALWAYS costs you more.

Migrating to Macs: Contact Management Software

Here's a great site if you're thinking about migrating away from Windows to a Mac computer. This link shows a lot of software thats available that most people may not be aware of. Enjoy the info and happy migrating.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Open Source: you gotta learn from it!

I really enjoy Paul's articles, he writes about many things. But one thing that struck me is his commment in this article is:

"The same happens with writing. As we got close to publication, I found I was very worried about the essays in Hackers & Painters that hadn't been online. Once an essay has had a couple thousand page views I feel reasonably confident about it. But these had had literally orders of magnitude less scrutiny. It felt like releasing software without testing it.

That's what all publishing used to be like. If you got ten people to read a manuscript, you were lucky. But I'd become so used to publishing online that the old method now seemed alarmingly unreliable, like navigating by dead reckoning once you'd gotten used to a GPS.


As I'm writing my book and I'm just over 27,000 words, I'm wondering about what Paul states. What should I do? Open Source my book? Put things online for others to view? I'm at a loss at the moment, but maybe over time it will become clearer.

One thing I will say, I'm doing what Paul says to do here about Star Ups Here's what Paul states that I'm writing about

to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible.

I'm hoping my book is a best seller then. With over 150,000 businesses just in the state of Colorado, you just never know.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Software quality: higher quality IS better productivity!

As I stated in a previous post the higher quality is better, this article certainly agrees with my premise that higher quality is more productive. But only you can be the judge of your own endeavors.

But the premise still stands. In my job, I tackle customer issues that not only I make but everyone that affects what I work with. That means that each time I have to address a mistake, problem, or trouble spot from FEDEX to Accounting to Tech Support it takes away from my primary job: making sales! So the next time you see a mistake, just consider how many sales are lost because of that one mistake. You don't have to be perfect, but you have to be close.

Along this same line, it's been shown that Linux is still high on the quality index compared with other operating systems, per Linux Code Grows as Defects Decline article.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Vector Graphics apps (like Adobe Illustrator) compared

This site does a good comparison about programs such as Adobe Illustator and others. Great job. It also shows a lot of the Open Source applications that are available, not that they are up to par with the professional version of the software, but they are great for those just starting out or need it for the one and only project that they need it for. Thanks for the work done, Ed.

Update 08/12/05 Ed has increased the number of apps from 29 to 65!! What a savings for consumers.

Buy Macs now before Mactel happens in Jun 2006

Ok, I really enjoy reading Doc Searls articles, especially his User Management Inside comments which describes Intel's and Apple's (and probably Microsoft as well) focus on Digital Rights Management (DRM for short). This is technology at the chip level that will probably prevent the average computer user to do things with a legal copies of content that they own. Read the article, then you may probably agree that it might be best if you're considering buying a Mac that you buy the pre-Mactel Macs. If you want to know more about DRM, see Free software and digital rights management: Bitter enemies or strange bedfellows? to get a more detailed analysis.

Only time will tell, but be forewarned, I'd seriously considering buying a Mac before the Mactels come to market. The average user will not know the difference or the reasons why, but only the techies can articulate what best to do or not to do. This is a chance for them to speak out what the average computer user should or should not do to things that take away "fair use" of content and the technology that prevents this from happening. Speak up geeks!!

See here for updated comments.