David Kellam

http://www.apple.com/getamac/drivers.html

they REALLY need to advise to look for “mac compatability”, at least (or particularly) on printers.

Even most mac-compatible printers I’ve worked with had something fucked up about their driver. e.g. My current Brother setup utility will only detect the printer when only one network interface is present.
Some MFD devices work fine as printers, but not scanners. Lexmark are terrible offenders - even when they do work on OS X, it’s usually thanks to some bug-ridden driver supplied by the manufacturer’s website (because nobody in their right mind would use the one supplied on CD!)

Their other reasons (on the RHS) are valid, but I do wonder how many people, even Mac users, really use all that multimedia software. Maybe kids these days are being taught skills we weren’t! Still, I bet I could outrun them in an Apple // typing speed contest… ah, the good old days

Well, it looks like Pandora’s access policy has changed yet again. When I last posted, you got 10 hours free then had to pay & register with a US credit card/address. Then you needed to have a US IP Address (which I do :P) to even listen beyond a few songs.

Now it’s ad-supported! Fantastic! You just minimise the window and never see the ads. They also insert audio ads, but I’ve been listening for half an hour and haven’t heard any yet. This is so much better than radio! (N.B. They still have a premium version with no ads).

If you’re really keen, you can also grab the raw .mp3 files out of your Flash cache. They all have strange names of course, but you could always sort by date and correlate with your pandora playlist. Of course, if you’re going to go to that much trouble to violate the terms of service, you might as well just use Limewire. But this way, Pandora does all the recommendations based on my somewhat limited knowledge of popular music and makes it easy for me to either listen to similar music again (through their service), or identical music if I take the time to scrounge my cache.

I’d pay if they actually let me…

DRK

P.S. Friends, ask me for proxy access if you need it ;-). Ask hotmail if you need spare e-mail addresses

DRK

P.P.S. I have no idea what, if anything, has replaced LimeWire these days. I refuse to install such apps unless sandboxed inside a virtual machine (e.g. VMWare or the recently-freed Virtual PC). I also refuse to waste my time that obviously.

Alright, so everybody is into this ‘web app’ thing. How is it, really?
What need does it really solve?
(Open-ended questions)

Let’s look at a few applications:

1. CRM

Example: SugarCRM (courtesy of myDataHub)
URL: demo.mydatahub.com.au
Technology:

• Web 1.0 (LAMP)
• Dedicated Server connected via Tier 1 peers in Australia (WebCentral)

Need solved: manage the sales process
Problem: Clients complain that it’s too slow.
Solutions:

• AJAX-ify
• Run a traditional app (e.g. ACT! Database)

2. Email

Example: GMail
URL: gmail.com
Technology:

• Web 2.0 (AJAX)
• Truckloads of Google tech

Need solved: E-mail on the go.
Problems: (Debatable)
Solutions:

• Run a traditional app (e.g. ACT! Database)

OK taking SugarCRM vs Gmail, it’s clear GMail is a much more responsive, usable app. So AJAXifying things is generally a good move, cross-browser issues, difficulty of programming and dial-up connection lag aside. But is AJAX enough? Are we just at another local maximum of the thin-vs-rich client function? I think so.

That brings me to…

10 reasons I hate Web Apps (even 2.0 ones)

1. Ubiquity - I’m not always online. Don’t cut me off from my data when I’m not.
2. Compatability - I use at LEAST 3 different browsers and that’s mainstream. Don’t give me an app that doesn’t at least work in Safari (See this one here? Pre-installed on MILLIONS OF PCs), Firefox and IE
3. Speed - Let’s face it, you still wait for your data. You just do it less annoying places (e.g. forms with dynamic drop-down menus)
4. Installation - Installation on your own server is still complicated for the average person (I guess that’s largely a linux complaint though)
5. Installing RubyOnRails - this one gets its own special place in Hell. Only for those who seriously love linux.
6. JavaScript - there is a very warm place in Hell right next to Satan himself for this bastard of a language
7. Multiple Devices - you’re lucky to have a modern web app support the main 3 browsers (as defined by accessibility, not market share), let alone mobile ones. Give me IMAP sync with my phone any day.
8. Mobile Access - unless you’ve known Ziggy for years, chances are you’re still paying something like 2c/KB for your GPRS (slightly better than dial-up, maybe, sometimes, when it doesn’t drop out or crawl to a halt). 2.2c? Bah, that’s nothing, right? Wrong. If your home adsl cost that much, your 1GB of quota (assuming a basic AU$30-40/mth plan) would cost you in the order of TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Cue: Austin Powers.
9. DotComs - stop giving any damn kid an excuse to pocket millions just by adding “social”, “web 2.0″ and “paradigm” to his business plan
10. Interoperability - On a good day, I might use & update dotProject, 3 different blogs, 2 CRM installations, 3 wiki’s and (locally) Excel, Word, MYOB, Adium (multi-protocol chat), OnTheJob (OS X), Mac Mail and Safari… just to keep track of tasks, links and projects. Note there is not a single social networking site on there. If there were, we’d be back in pre-Trillian days. Urgh. It looks like I, as a single individual, need enterprise-level software just to integrate the various functions of my life. And all this is supposed to make our lives easier. No wonder most of the above never get updated!!!

And to be fair…

3 Reasons I like web apps

1. It is easier to use an application from multiple locations
2. It is easier to set up (kinda flawed though - I could pay a consultant to set up software my own server and you’d have the same net ease of set-up from my perspective
3. There is no 3

And for completeness, a list of alternatives for the #1 feature of web apps - ubiquity:

• ssh
• X
• RDC (Remote Desktop)
• VNC
• VNC Java viewer
• Synchronisation (with your device of choice, e.g. PalmOne Treo 650)
• E-mail via telnet:
  telnet mail.waterfrontit.com.au 110
  user blah
  pass blah
  stat
  retr 1
• Pen & Paper

My vote for best /. comment goes to:

Re:Drumming up support for my hero Drake… [by nherm]

in response to the current pirate poll.

If you don’t get it…

(and one I hadn’t seen before!)

“Teen, mom sue MySpace for $30 million”

It should read “Teen: your mum needs the $30 million to spend on parenting classes“

0-2. Robbed I tell ya. Let’s try getting it IN next game…

And courtesy of John:

Update: Images were originally posted to a protected directory. Oops.

I was sent an e-mail today containing the phrase “over-regulating malevolent piece of shit” with reference to the recent IR legislation. It reminded me of former thinking. N.B. not “got me thinking”. Au contraire, the following is a complete thoughtless rant that hopefully bears some resemblance to former engagement in thought

I’ve been thinking more about politics lately, not from an informed academically sound study perspective, but from a “I know what’s wrong with this - it’s simple” perspective. It’s filled with mediocre and incompetent people. We live in a capitalistic society, yet the people making all the decisions are those with artificially deflated salaries. Talk about lack of incentive. They’re only ever going to get people who are either mediocre or believe very strongly in a cause to fill positions in government, non-profits or academia. My argument is that it’s more of the former; substantially.

So the problem with the structure we have for capitalism is that it’s not capitalistic enough. I’d say the same about both the labour party and the liberal party - the liberal party ARENT LIBERAL ENOUGH. And likewise for the labour party. Labour, STOP PRETENDING YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT ECONOMICS. You dont. Liberal, STOP PRETENDING YOU GIVE A CRAP ABOUT SOCIAL POLICY. YOU HAVENT A CLUE. Right, now we’ve got that settled, let the market (voters) decide which portfolio of assets (choice of party over time; balance of power, etc.) to invest in. This incumbent-favouring centralism is just a prime example of MEDIOCRITY. The incentives are all wrong.
Stand for something. Be different. Be confident.

I liken it to marketing. Read Seth Godin - very good. I figure there’s 1% of products that are truly “worthy” of attention in any given market. Whatever. So what do the other 99% do? They engage in marketing, which is to say, they try to flog a dead horse. They rely on exclusive distribution (e.g. Coke, anything sold in a supermarket), consumer mindspace, etc. to get their message across. Then something that is INTRINSICALLY worth buying comes along: nudie juice. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Whatever. They dont spend a DIME on advertising. The product is the advertising. Their fans raving about it is their advertising. In Godinspeak, they “sneeze”. These products have huge profit margins, but smaller markets. Implication? You need to work harder to identify and exploit more market inefficiencies. Difficulty for a lazy golf-playing senior executive? High.

So the world is full of mediocre and incompetent people. So what do we as a populus do? We put them in charge. Likelihood of getting out of such a mess? NFL. Not frickin’ likely.

Short version:

• Living in North Boring (3104)
• Waterfront IT is going slowly
• Just launched myDataHub (SugarCRM hosting, customisation & support)
• Working on HiveServices, an eBay/YellowPages hybrid service (obviously more to it than that)
• Also working on JD Enterprises (beta); smarter Mac software for smarter people
• Over 2/3 of the way through my Masters now - doing Knowledge Management and Business Finances this semester
• Swimming ~5 days a week @ Uni (anyone want to join me? I need some friendly competition :P)

Long version? Nah, you can wait another 3 months