Author: spierzchala

March 10, 2007

• When I defragment a disk, I like to know how much is left. It doesn’t have to be a graphical cue, but a percentage done can’t be hard to add.
• Why doesn’t the right-click work in the message list in Outlook 2003?
• Can you detect when a program is activated by an actual mouse event, versus a coded mouse event? The Security Theatre warnings are annoying.
• Parts of OWA don’t work in IE7, likely due to some arcane security setting.
• When I double-click to open a folder, why does Explorer think about it for a few minutes? Or does it just take a lot of smoke breaks?
• Hey, when you prompt me to determine if I actually want to run a "protected" program, why can’t you take that extra microsecond and remember my choice for a couple of minutes. GNOME asks for credentials when you need to run a program as root, and holds those credentials for a while, making some processes that much more convenient.

March 12, 2007

• Ok, the VPN software I have at work doesn’t work, so it’s ok to use Outlook Web Access (OWA) over IE7. WRONG. Apparently it’s up to the IT department to patch and reboot a running Exchange Server to allow Vista IE7 users to access OWA. Technical people seem placated by this, but I am not. Microsoft, did you think this through. "Oh yeah, everyone loves to reboot their Exchange servers on a daily basis!"

Tags: Vista, annoyances, list, OWA, Exchange, IE7, Juniper, Netscreen Remote

So, it was time to re-build my laptop — 4 months of cruft gets in the way and really slows things down. And since the company I work for has an Microsoft Enterprise License that includes Vista, I took the plunge.

So far, it’s ok. Nothing that really rocks my world. And one serious hindrance: It seems that Juniper Networks / Netscreen don’t seem to have bothered releasing a Vista compatible version of their Netscreen Remote software. This means I have a serious disadvantage when it comes to working from home.

Other than that, it’s the annoyances that bother that outweigh the cool things that impress. I turned of the CPU/Memory sucking Aero transparency and animation, and I am still looking at having to upgrade to 2GB of RAM.

Meanwhile, if I took the time to install Ubuntu, I could have a equally cool interface, higher security, and a smaller memory footprint.

It seems that Microsoft has gone out of their way, in the name of security, to compromise usability. I won’t be recommending it for my friends and neighbours.

Tags: Vista, Windows Vista, annoyances, Netscreen, Juniper Networks, Netscreen Remote, Ubuntu

I often joke that in a train v. moose situation, the train would be the loser.

But I have never heard of moose v. helicopter before. [here]

Instead of slowing down after being shot with a tranquilizer dart, a moose charged a hovering helicopter used by a wildlife biologist, damaging the aircraft’s tail rotor and forcing it to the ground.

Don’t screw with the moose.
Tags: moose, helicopter, cnn

After months of using Live Writer, I am back to Qumana. Simple, lightweight, does the job.

Tags: Qumana

All bow before my heraldic shield.

Let the delusions of grandeur commence!

Did we mention that the layout doesn’t work in Firefox or MSIE 7?

Oooops.

Just found that Dwell magazine has a blog.

Ooops! A pseudo-blog. No feed.

Dwell: Get with the program.

UPDATE: Apparently it does! There is an RSS graphic at the bottom. But that’s not the feed link. Oh no!

You have to click the image to go to a page that has the page that has the RSS feed in it.

No. The feed is part of the blog. It MUST appear on the same page as the blog. Making it hard to find defeats the point of the process.

David Parmet pointed me to these Pledge Week extravaganzas.

My fave:

Surviving members of every 50s doo-wop band fight to the death with clubs — shirtless and totally coked-up — in massive Thunderdome-like arena

Merlin Mann is a god. One of the minor deities, but a deity nonetheless.

Some additions:

1. Celtic Women v. The Three Tenors in a massive glass-breaking, heavy metal tribute to Metallica!
2. Civil War outtakes — “Dear Ma,… General Grant has given the soldiers with one leg the afternoon off from ditch digging, god bless him…” (David Parmet)
3. Ken Burns vs the Celtic Woman in a nude mud wrestling match.. with fire!!! (David Parmet)
4. Cirque du Soleil performing with live wolverines
5. Ken Burns and Bill Moyers fighting for the right to interview what’s left of Nixon

STOP. THE. AWFUL. PLEDGE. DRIVES!

Sorry to quote a hideous dog treat commercial from eons ago, but this post at the Core 77 Design Blog reminded me of it.

An alarm clock that reminded me of my halcyon days, when carcinogens and fat mattered less to me.

It also reminded me of a passage from Neal Stephenson’s Zodiac describing the all-black breakfast. My copy of this hilarious book is in a bin in the basement, so I can’t quote it directly.

This Pine Cone is Empty
Originally uploaded by spierzchala.

A shot inspired by Gosiak’s Pássaros set.