IP Monitor
Busy day. I just finished and released a new beta version of IP Monitor for Java. The response from the previous beta has been extremely positive. I can't believe this little thing I originally wrote in 1995 is still as popular now as it was then.
Keep It Simple
Disney's decision to no longer pass go and collect, seemed like the perfect time to update our K.I.S.S applet. I had a little bit more time than usual which gave me the opportunity to update some of its deprecated API calls.
While testing I also discovered that the IE Virtual Machine was recently updated.
Eazle
Since Eazle is now bound to all forthcoming versions of Red Hat, I've decided to give it a try. I have to admit that their browser-based interface is quite intuitive and extremly easy to use. I've never been a big fan of Gnome's Midnight Commander (file manager) which is one of reasons why I've always somewhat favored KDE.
Soup or Bowl
I don't like American Football.
I probably won't watch Britney walk this way or N'Sync sell beer.
I'm so tired of hearing people claim it is going to be the biggest sporting event in the world. The 130 millions expected viewers doesn't even come close to the 32 billions who watched the World Soccer Cup in 1998. It's not even in the same league as the 1999 Women's World Soccer Cup with over 1 billion viewers worldwide.
Too bad… I don't like soccer any better than football. 
"Diabetes in the United States rose by about 6 percent in 1999 in what the government called dramatic evidence of an unfolding epidemic."
In case you didn't know, I have diabetes. The Cure is Out There.
Things You Wish Your Computer Had
I just ordered one. We currently have to un/plug our computers from the stereo in our home-office. Sounds like this little device will do the trick quite nicely.
That's what I call rock solid.
"Last Sunday night, at 8:30 pm est, DirecTV fired their new gun. One week before the Super Bowl, DirecTV launched a series of attacks against the hackers of their product. DirecTV sent programmatic code in the stream, using their new dynamic code ally, that hunted down hacked smart cards and destroyed them. The IRC DirecTV channels overflowed with thousands of people who had lost the ability to watch their stolen TV. The hacking community by and large lost not only their ability to watch TV, but the cards themselves were likely permanently destroyed. Some estimate that in one evening, 100,000 smart cards were destroyed, removing 98% of the hacking communities' ability to steal their signal. To add a little pizzazz to the operation, DirecTV personally 'signed' the anti-hacker attack. The first 8 computer bytes of all hacked cards were rewritten to read 'GAME OVER'."
You gotta give them credit for being quite ingenious and elegant about it.
The Evil Empire strikes back.
"This is a vapor announcement… It's a very focused effort to try to give a bridge for the Microsoft J++ developers who were left in a lurch when Microsoft decided to create a proprietary version of Java."
I'm more worried about Microsoft's decision not to provide a Java VM in Explorer 6 and thus future versions of Windows. A Virtual Machine is not included with Explorer on the Mac, but Apple's own VM, MRJ, is part of any standard Mac OS installation.
The Microsoft steamrolling PR machine is already at work. I've seen countless articles hinting at the death of Java.
<sigh>
"If you really want to know what's going on in the world, you tap your query into a search engine. And what better engine than Google. Our simple query is…"
"Instead of hiring more patent attorneys, why don't you hire more engineers?"
"Don't tell me they're gonna let the audience [bleeping] stand out there!… Seriously! This is retarded!"
"Macworld Conference & Expo has once again claimed its rightful place as the dominant technology event on the West Coast…"
Sun vs. Microsoft: 4 Years Later
"The community wants one Java technology: one brand, one process and one great platform. We've accomplished that, and this agreement further protects the authenticity and value of Sun's Java technology…"
"This settlement is great news for the industry and Microsoft, as it means we can focus all our resources to help enable the next generation of software with Web services…"
W
Dubya and his goof troops can't type, thanks to Billy's boys. Is that an excuse for the WhiteHouse.gov fiasco?
I don't care much for Bubba. He's starting on the wrong foot, IMAO, but I'll give him a chance.
I don't see how he is going to make good on his promise of a new kind of government when all of his cabinet heads are a bunch of old politicians (Daddy's rich friends.) Powell and son definitely got the better end of the deal.
At least he blocked a proposal to allow smaller holes in Grade A Swiss cheese.
Making Software that Sucks Less
Slashdot has an article on developing better software. It raises some very good points, but misses the most important of all: become a regular user of your own software.
Too many people write software because they have (or think they have) the skills to do so, but with very little to no understanding on how the software will be/is actually used. Big mistake.
