March 2002
Playing with my webcam
by Volker Weber
Why Dial Up If You Can Wi-Fi?
by Volker Weber
Millions of people now carry laptops equipped for wireless Internet access over 802.11b (aka Wi-Fi) networks. But outside of home and office, there's been no place to connect. Most wireless networks are private, and investors are wary of funding Wi-Fi setups in public places.
A new company called Joltage wants to change that, by letting the operators of home and business Wi-Fi networks make a little money reselling their spare capacity to passersby.
The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business
by Volker Weber
In a perfect world, a list like this would not exist. In a perfect world, businesses would be run with the utmost integrity and competence. But ours is, alas, an imperfect world, and if we must live in one where Enron, Geraldo Rivera, and Cottonelle Fresh Rollwipes exist, the least we can do is catalog the absurdities.
Cool Java Application: Mailfetcher
by Volker Weber
Fetch mail on multiple POP3 accounts when your dialup connection is established and redistribute it through your local SMTP server.
Zu verkaufen: Volvo 480 Collection
by Volker Weber
Limitierte Auflage, Nr. 210 von 480, erste Hand, 37.000 km, alle Extras wie Leder, Klima, Sitzheizung ... in wunderbarem Zustand.
Update: Verkauft. :-)
Microsoft Office und Lotus Notes für Linux
by
Nach dem Crossover PlugIn, das unter anderem die Ausführung von Apples Quicktime und Shockwave unter Linux erlaubt, legt Code Weavers nun nach: CrossOver Office erlaubt es, Microsoft Office und Lotus Notes auf Linux-PCs zu installieren, ohne dass Windows als Betriebsystem benötigt wird.
Handspring Treo 180
by Volker Weber
Long review of the Handspring Treo in 3 parts
"I've been using a Handspring Treo 180 combination PDA/cell phone for a few weeks. Here are some of my observations. "
300 most frequent words in the american language
by Volker Weber
the of and a to in is you that it he for was on are as with his they at be this from I have or by one had not but what all were when we there can an your which their said if do will each about how up out them then she many some so these would other into has more her two like him see time could no make than first been its who now people my made over did down only way find use may water long little very after words called just where most know
get through back much before go good new write our used me man too any day same right look think also around another came come work three word must because does part even place well such here take why things help put years different away again off went old number great tell men say small every found still between name should Mr home big give air line set own under read last never us left end along while might next sound below saw something thought both few those always looked show large often together asked house don't world going want
school important until one form food keep children feet land side without boy once animals life enough took sometimes four head above kind began almost live page got earth need far hand high year mother light parts country father let night following two picture being study second eyes soon times story boys since white days ever paper hard near sentence better best across during today others however sure means knew it's try told young miles sun ways thing whole hear example heard several change answer room sea against top turned three learn point city play toward five using himself usually
— The American Heritage Word Frequency Book by John B. Carroll, Peter Davies, and Barry Richman (Houghton Mifflin, 1971, ISBN 0-395-13570-2).
(That should read: 300 most frequent words in the american language 30 years ago)
Domino/Notes 5.0.10 available
by Volker Weber
Frohe Ostern! Oder: Man trägt Folie
by
Die Kleidung der Schokoladenosterhasen unterliegt dem Diktat weniger marktbeherrschender Designer.
Sizer
by Volker Weber
Sizer is a freeware utility that allows you to resize any window to an exact, predefined size. This is extremely useful when designing web pages, as it allows you to see how the page will look when viewed at a smaller size. The utility is also handy when compiling screen-shots for documentation, using sizer allows you to easily maintain the same window size across screen grabs.
The Book of Clichés
by Volker Weber
The Book of Clichés lists phrases to say in times of trouble in a number of categories. It all started when I was in an unpleasant situation for a while, and found myself saying things like listed here, apparently in order to convince myself of something. I was not sure if it helped, but I realized that there are phrases for most of the painful situations. So I put some of them together and published them on my website.
Since The Book of Clichés first appeared on the internet in late 1996, it has grown into one of the classic cliché-sites and has won numerous internet awards.
Tests show no screening improvements
by Volker Weber
In the months after Sept. 11, airport screeners confiscated record numbers of nail clippers and scissors. But nearly half the time, they failed to stop the guns, knives or simulated explosives carried past checkpoints by undercover investigators
Stau in Frankfurt?
by Volker Weber
Um auf Störungen im Verkehrsablauf, die durch hohes Verkehrsaufkommen, durch Baustellen oder durch andere Behinderungen (z.B. Unfälle) entstehen, umgehend zu reagieren, werden in Frankfurt zur Zeit 38 Videokameras eingesetzt.
Als zusätzliche Information über die Verkehrslage in Frankfurt stellen wir von 14 Kreuzungen Videobilder zur Verfügung, die in kurzen Zeitintervallen aktualisiert werden.
Quote of the day
by Volker Weber
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
— Niels Bohr
XMLEditPro 2.0 close to release
by Volker Weber
Watch this space !
O'Reilly: Javakochbuch
by Volker Weber
Das Java Kochbuch bietet eine umfassende Sammlung von typischen Aufgabenstellungen, Lösungen und praxisbezogenen Beispielen für jeden Java-Programmierer. Es enthält Hunderte von erprobten Rezepten für die client- und serverseitige Programmierung und behandelt sowohl die grundlegenden als auch speziellere APIs. Das Buch eignet sich gleichermaßen für Java-Einsteiger mit Grundkenntnissen wie für Fortgeschrittene - für beide ist es das ideale Java-"Zweitbuch".
Javakochbuch - Kapitel 21: XML >
Under a Big Blue Sun
by Volker Weber
Iif you peruse Sun's marketing materials from time to time, you may have heard the news. Sun says Linux should not be used on mainframes. It seems that Linux on a mainframe is not cost-effective -- at least if you are Sun and you don't make mainframes.
Is that a cynical opinion? You betcha.
I've been in the IT industry for two decades. I know the game. Vendor A says it has invented the greatest thing since American cheese food product slices in cellophane sleeves. Vendor B says vendor A has been sniffing the ink from its press releases too long, because everyone knows that Vendor B rules the IT world.
And so it goes.
Europeans Opting Against Marriage
by Volker Weber
Bjorn Lindahl and Nina Kjolaas do not feel inclined to declare their love in front of some anonymous official in a municipal building, or in a church. So they have never married — not when they moved in together, not when they bought their first house, not when they had their son, now 16.
"We said that if our child were to be harassed at school, we'd think of doing it," said Mr. Lindahl, 45, who has lived with Ms. Kjolaas for 23 years. "But statistics showed that something like half the kids in Norway had parents who were single or living together."
Not just Norway. In a profound shift that has changed the notion of what constitutes a family in many countries, more and more European children are being born out of wedlock into a new social order in which, it seems, few of the old stigmas apply. The trend is far more pronounced in the Nordic countries, in France and in Britain, and less so in southern countries like Italy and Switzerland, but the figures as a whole are startling, particularly because they tend to hold up across all social classes.
James Gosling and the art of computer programming
by Volker Weber
Java's creator speaks about enterprise software, algorithms, and user-friendly software
Bill Venners recently spoke with Sun Microsystems Vice President and Fellow James Gosling at his Sun Labs office in Mountain View, Calif. In this interview, Java's creator imparts his thoughts on enterprise software, algorithms, the trend towards user-oriented software, flexibility, complexity, and other aspects of the art of computer programming.
TightVNC
by Volker Weber
VNC (an abbreviation for Virtual Network Computing) is a great client/server software package allowing remote network access to graphical desktops. With VNC, you may allow yourself to access your machine from everywhere provided that your machine is connected to the Internet. VNC is free (released under the GNU General Public License) and it's available on most platforms. Original VNC distribution can be obtained at the AT&T research labs site.
Here you can find enhanced version of VNC, called TightVNC (grown from the VNC Tight Encoder project), which is optimized to work over slow network connections such as low-speed modem links. While original VNC may be very slow when your connection is not fast enough, with TightVNC you can work remotely almost in real time in most environments. Besides bandwidth optimizations, TightVNC also includes many other improvements, optimizations and bugfixes over VNC. Note that TightVNC is free, cross-platform and compatible with the standard VNC.
Alte Freunde online finden
by Oliver Tunnat
Nach dem Abitur schwören sich viele Schulfreunde, sich nicht aus den Augen zu verlieren. Zeitdruck und Stress in Studium und Ausbildung machen vielen jedoch einen Strich durch die Rechnung. Dem soll jetzt abgeholfen werden. Über die Online-Community „Passado.de“ können alte Freunde online in Kontakt bleiben oder sich wiederfinden.
Regular Expression Basics
by Volker Weber
Regular expressions, sometimes referred to as regex, grep, or pattern matching, can be a very powerful tool and a tremendous time-saver with a broad range of application. As an extended form of find-and-replace, you can use a regular expression to do things such as perform client-side validation of email addresses and phone numbers, search multiple documents for strings and patterns you wish to change or remove, or extract a list of links from source code. Regex is supported by most languages and tools, but because there can be varying implementations, this article will cover basic principles that are commonly used. (via Schockwellenreiter)
Oops. This "greediness" has killed me more than once.
The 'War on Terrorism' for dummies
by Volker Weber
Don't know about you, but all this war and politics stuff can be mighty confusing. So I picked up a copy of "The 'War on Terrorism' for Dummies," a kind of primer on current events, and now feel much better-educated. Here are some of their answers.
Q. Is this all about oil and greed and profits?
A. Not all. Life is complex. Politics is even more complex. (Not as complex as marriages, but close.) The Persian Gulf historically has been a shaky area politically. The developed world has to find another, more stable area to service its oil needs. The next large commercial oil reserve is in the Caspian Sea area of Central Asia, but how to bring that oil and gas to market without having to go through Russia? Obviously, a more southern route. True, oil and gas companies had plans for a pipeline through Afghanistan long before the year 2001, but they put their plans on hold while the political situation there was so chaotic. When the authoritarian Taliban finally brought order to the country, the U.S. government began talks with the Taliban leadership -- some of those talks were in Texas -- about that old pipeline idea. Eventually, the Taliban said no, whether because the money offered wasn't enough or out of ideological reasons isn't clear. Then the terror of 9/11 happened ...
Das wahre Highlight der CeBIT 2002
by Oliver Tunnat
Ein Standard, der unter der schnöden Bezeichnung IEEE 802.11b firmiert, kann nicht erfolgreich werden. Denn mehr als vier Ziffern oder Buchstaben am Stück kann sich der durchschnittliche Anwender nicht merken.
Unterwegs in der Kathedrale
by Volker Weber
Selten genug, dass der Zauber der Erinnerung so lange anhält. Denn viele Jahre ist es her, dass der Reporter mit einem Wagen vom Typ Range Rover eine erste intensive Bekanntschaft machte. Damals, bei einer glücklichen Recherche in Sankt Moritz, schien es plötzlich aus operativen Gründen geboten, auf ein Getränk im Palace Hotel vorbeizuschauen. Eine junge Schweizerin hatte das gleiche Ziel, sich mit ihrem Range, wie sie ihn nannte, aber im Eis vor der Hoteltür festgefahren. Sie war außer sich. Auf dem Rücksitz hechelte ein Hirtenhund, während die Fahrerin mit der Stoßstange ihres Autos die Schneemassen kerbte. Ein Wort gab das andere, schließlich der Vorschlag: »Rutschen Sie mal rüber!«
Auch wenn sich der Range trotz männlicher Hilfe keinen Meter bewegen wollte, das Fahrzeug mutete majestätisch an. Wie eine Kathedrale ragte es aus dem Parkplatz heraus. Draußen fielen dichte Flocken, es wurde langsam dunkel, und im Inneren der Kathedrale wurde es immer gemütlicher. Hinter diesem Lenkrad zu sitzen war etwas Besonderes. Inmitten edlen Holzes Knöpfe und Kippschalter ohne Zahl. Dazu wärmende, die Rückenwirbel umspielende Ledersitze, im Hintergrund klassische Musik, dargeboten aus acht Lautsprechern. Unwillkürlich musste man an eine bevorstehende Krönungsmesse denken und nicht an den Trekker, der vom Wagenmeister des Palace bereits avisiert war.
Manchmal sind es eben diese scheinbar unbedeutenden Momente, die passieren und sich in das Gedächtnis eingraben. Ja, sogar fortan die Wahrnehmung eines Menschen beeinflussen. Plötzlich sieht er jeden Range, der des Weges kommt, mit anderem, andächtigen Blick. In Sankt Moritz ebenso wie in Hannover, Braunschweig oder einmal auch auf Gelsenkirchen-Schalke. Man dreht den Kopf und schaut diesem Heck hinterher, dessen Anblick den unsensiblen Betrachter an Möbelwagen denken lässt oder eben an die vollendete kubische Form.
So vergehen die Jahre. Weitgehend domestiziert, erlebt man das Leben. Wird mit der so genannten ProfiCard treuer Gast des Öffentlichen Personennahverkehrs (ÖPNV), und während der Kunde des ÖPNV gerade wieder mit seiner S-Bahn zur Arbeit rumpelt, kommt die Nachricht herein: Der Neue ist da! Der neue Range Rover, die neue Generation - und dass, wenn Interesse bestünde, unter Umständen ein Testwagen bereit stehe. Interesse?
More >
Ich gebe immer zwanzig Prozent
by Volker Weber
Eigentlich ist Manuel Andrack Redaktionsleiter der »Harald Schmidt Show«. Als Stichwortgeber des Meisters hat er sich inzwischen auch vor der Kamera unentbehrlich gemacht. Jetzt ist er für den Grimme-Preis nominiert.
Garmin GPS V - ein Erfahrungsbericht
by Volker Weber
Mit dem GPS V bietet Garmin erstmals ein Handgerät mit Autorouting - ein Feature, das bislang nur teureren Auf- und Einbausystemen vorbehalten war. Eine Bewertung nach acht Wochen Einsatz.
Wer nicht gerade zur Kategorie "alleinreisender Vielfahrer, oft in fremden Großstädten unterwegs" gehört, kann hierzulande eigentlich gut auf ein Navigationsgerät verzichten. Für den Sonntagsausflug oder die Urlaubsreise ist eine des Kartenlesens kundige Beifahrerin (resp. Beifahrer) hilfreicher. Aber schließlich geht es nicht darum, was man braucht, sondern darum, was man gerne haben möchte.
CeBIT-Nachlese: Boden der Tatsachen
by Volker Weber
Eine CeBIT ohne Rekorde. Nur noch 700.000 Besucher kamen in diesem Jahr zur weltgrößten Computermesse - rund 18 Prozent weniger als im Jahr 2001. Die Enttäuschung darüber wollte sich aber niemand anmerken lassen.
Registration open for Lotusphere Europe at IBM Software Symposium 2002
by
You can now register for Lotusphere Europe at the IBM Software Symposium 2002.
The conference will be held in Vienna, Austria, on June 10-14, 2002. As a part of the IBM Software Symposium 2002, the event brings Lotusphere, Planet Tivoli, WebSphere and Data Management together under one roof, offering you the chance to journey through the IBM software universe.
Movable Type 2.0 released
by Volker Weber
I think I will upgrade tonight. :-)
Lotusphere 2002 Developer Presentations
by Volker Weber
The developer presentations have become publicly available on Notes.net
Interview mit Deutsch-Banker Thomas Fischer: "Die Globalisierung wird falsch betrieben"
by Volker Weber
Stilllegung der Steueroasen, Demokratisierung des IWF, Globalisierung des Rechts - der frühere Deutsche-Bank-Vorstand Thomas Fischer hält viele Anliegen der Demonstranten von Genua und Barcelona für legitim.
Too much of a good thing
by Volker Weber
More >
Google Weblog
by Volker Weber
Everything Google
The Sad Parable of OS/2
by Volker Weber
March 31 marks the tenth anniversary of the Release of IBM's OS/2 2.0, which was many people's first exposure to a real operating system for Intel-based computers and which for many more was the first illustration of how a superior product does not necessarily succeed. As a memorial to that once-promising product, we publish the following article, written as a magazine piece nearly five years ago, which analyzes the factors that contributed to OS/2's failure as a desktop operating system. Even if you have no interest in OS/2, we believe the story is worth reading, because in many ways it is a parable whose lessons are of use to the Linux community.
via langreiter.com
Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS
by Volker Weber
The latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS® extends to an even broader audience, allowing both Windows and Macintosh desktop users with Palm OS devices to download and view Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Try out these new features for Acrobat Reader for Palm OS, version 2.0: Download Adobe PDF files to Palm OS handhelds from either Windows or Macintosh systems. View color Adobe PDF files on color handheld devices running Palm OS. Download and view secured Adobe PDF files. Store the application or the downloaded files on your removable media cards.
Guinness confirms longest ear hair world record
by Volker Weber
A man with the world's longest ear hair has had his world record officially recognised. The Guinness Book of Records has sent the official certificate to B D Tyagi of Bhopal in India. The hair sprouting from the centre of his outer ears measures 10.2cm at its longest point. The record appears in the Longest Ear Hair category. The record was approved in 2001 but has only now been officially confirmed.
via annanova
Das Wettrudern
by Volker Weber
(also available in english)
Vor einiger Zeit verabredete eine deutsche Firma ein jährliches Wettrudern gegen eine japanische Firma, das mit einem Achter auf dem Rhein ausgetragen wurde. Beide Mannschaften trainierten lange und hart, um ihre höchsten Leistungen zu erreichen. Als der große Tag kam, waren beide Mannschaften topfit, doch die Japaner gewannen das Rennen mit einem Vorsprung von einem Kilometer.
Nach dieser Niederlage war das deutsche Team sehr betroffen, und die Moral war auf dem Tiefpunkt. Das obere Management entschied, dass der Grund für diese vernichtende Niederlage unbedingt herausgefunden werden müsse. Ein Projektteam wurde eingesetzt, um das Problem zu untersuchen und um geeignete Abhilfemaßnahmen zu empfehlen.
Nach langen Untersuchungen fand man heraus, dass bei den Japanern sieben Leute ruderten und ein Mann steuerte, während im deutschen Team ein Mann ruderte und sieben steuerten. Das obere Management engagierte sofort eine Beraterfirma, die eine Studie über die Struktur des deutschen Teams anfertigen sollte.
Nach einigen Monaten und beträchtlichen Kosten kamen die Berater zu dem Schluß, daß zu viele Leute steuerten und zu wenige ruderten. Um eine weitere Niederlage gegen die Japaner vorzubeugen, wurde die Teamstruktur geändert. Es gab jetzt vier Steuerleute, zwei Obersteuerleute, einen Steuerdirektor und einen Ruderer.
Außerdem wurde für den Ruderer ein Leistungsbewertungssystem eingeführt, um ihm mehr Ansporn zu geben. "Wir müssen seinen Aufgabenbereich erweitern und ihm mehr Verantwortung geben."
Im nächsten Jahr gewannen die Japaner mit einem Vorsprung von zwei Kilometern.
Das Management entließ den Ruderer wegen schlechter Leistungen, verkaufte die Ruder und stoppte alle Investitionen in ein neues Boot. Der Beratungsfirma wurde ein Lob ausgesprochen, und das eingesparte Geld wurde dem oberen Management ausbezahlt.
(Oldie but Goldie. Fällt mir jedes mal wieder ein, wenn ich Micromanagement sehe.)
Wireless access point
by Volker Weber
Vobis bietet einen Wireless Access Point für 169 EUR an. Kennt jemand ein besseres Angebot? Bitte kommentieren.
Trabant
by Volker Weber
Make some noise :-)
State of the Web
by Volker Weber
This photo sums up how I feel about the Web right now. (via kottke.org)
Numbers
by Volker Weber
if
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
then,
H A R D W O R K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98%
K N O W L E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96%
but,
A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100%
and,
B U L L S H I T
2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%
so, it stands to reason that hardwork and knowledge will get you close, attitude will get you there, but bullshit will put you over the top.
via dangerousmeta
Lotus Downplays IBM Exec's Domino Remarks
by Volker Weber
If Ed Brill doesn't keep a fire extinguisher in his office, he probably should. The Lotus Software senior manager for enterprise messaging has been putting out a lot of fires these days over parent company IBM's stated plans for Domino.
Comuterviren: Mit Feuer gegen Feuer
by
Neuerdings werden "gutartige" Computerviren verbreitet, die Netz-Schädlinge ausschalten sollen. Wie harmlos sind diese Abwehrprogramme wirklich?
Knowledge-Management im zweiten Frühling
by Volker Weber
Trotz stagnierender IT-Budgets soll der Markt für Knowledge-Management-(KM-)Lösungen in den nächsten Jahren überdurchschnittlich wachsen. Dabei werden die Tools immer umfangreicher. Im Gegenzug kommt es zu gravierenden Veränderungen auf Seiten der Anbieter.
Deutschland beim e-Commerce vorn
by Oliver Tunnat
Deutschland ist beim e-Commerce in Westeuropa Marktführer vor Großbritannien und Frankreich und wird die führende Position im Online-Handel nach Darstellung der Bundesregierung auch künftig halten. Der Umsatz durch e-Commerce-Aktivitäten der Unternehmen habe in der Bundesrepublik im vergangenen Jahr bei 21,8 Milliarden Euro gelegen.
Der Internet-Kanzler
by Oliver Tunnat
Von der Homepage des Bundeskanzlers können jetzt nach einem virtuellen Streifzug durch das Kanzleramt in Berlin auch elektronische Postkarten versandt werden. Bei seinem Rundgang über die Computermesse Cebit schaltete Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder (SPD) das neu gestaltete Web-Angebot frei und wurde seinem Ruf als Medienkanzler gerecht.
Fristlose Kündigung bei Internet-Porno
by Oliver Tunnat
Wer seinen Internetzugang am Arbeitsplatz nutzt, um Pornos anzuschauen, muss mit einer fristlosen Kündigung rechnen. Der Arbeitgeber dürfe in diesem Fall ohne vorhergehende Mahnung kündigen, teilt der Arbeitgeber-Informationsdienst „Arbeitsrecht Kompakt“ mit. Dabei beruft er sich auf ein Urteil des Arbeitsgerichts Düsseldorf (4 Ca 3437/01).
Google language tools
by Oliver Tunnat
If English is not your native tongue, or if you want to play a REALLY
mean trick on one of your friends, you'll be happy to know that the
Google interface is now available in 74 different languages. This
means you can now set the Google homepage, messages, and buttons to
display in almost any language you can imagine.
To see what Google looks like in another language, point your Web
browser to
http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en
Content Syndicator Bitpipe
by
Bitpipe distributes content from over 3,500 leading IT vendors and over 60 top analyst firms including Gartner, IDC, Meta Group, and Yankee Group via the Bitpipe Network.
PwC and the Academy Awards® -
More Than Sixty Years of Stories
by
When the 74th Annual Academy Awards presentation is held on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theater at Hollywood & Highland it will mark the 68th year that PricewaterhouseCoopers has supervised the voting.
Off to CeBIT
by Volker Weber
I'm off to CeBIT. Until I am home, we somewhat rely on my co-editors to keep you posted. Let's give them a big hand ... In case you need to catch up with me, call me on my mobile.
Systemtheorie - Tücken der Wechselwirkung
by
Die systemische Beratung sieht Unternehmen als vernetzte Strukturen, in denen alles mit allem zusammenhängt
Double Checking Sun's Reality Check
by Volker Weber
On February 24 2002, Shahin Khan, Sun's Chief Competitive Officer, published an op-ed about IBM's new "Linux only" mainframe, the IBM z800. The article can be found on Sun's web site: http://www.sun.com/executives/realitycheck/reality-022002.html.
In this article Mr. Khan heavily criticizes IBM's offer, on grounds of economic and technical viability and performance issues. Right off the bat, the fact that Sun feels compelled to rebuff IBM's efforts to put Linux on the mainframe tells us that Sun perceives this offer as a serious threat to its own server sales.
Waiting for Wi-Fi
by Volker Weber
Outside of airports and Starbucks, the wireless Net is still hanging fire. You can build your own node, but who'll hook you up with the rest of the world?
You'd think there'd be enough laptop-toting yuppies around to fill a Starbucks in San Francisco. It's been months since the chain equipped 50 of its stores in the area with high-speed wireless Internet access. But a tour of both Starbucks and independent coffeehouses served by the separate Surf and Sip Network uncovers a disheartening trend: Even at the spacious Brickhouse Café, newly renovated in the heart of Multimedia Gulch, I'm the only one logged on to a high-speed connection that costs hundreds of dollars a month to operate.
Maybe coffeehouse computing is just uncool, but a key problem is that at this point a Starbucks is one of the few places you can get wirelessly online outside of the office. Never mind that by the end of this year, more than 10 million computers will have 802.11b hardware (better known as "Wi-Fi," for wireless fidelity) installed. The hardware may be there, but easily accessible networks connected to the Internet are not.
Amerikas Zahlen sind seit langem falsch
by Volker Weber
Das viel gepriesene und naiv bestaunte amerikanische Wirtschaftswunder der 90er Jahre hat nie stattgefunden. Es war ein Medienereignis - sonst nichts.
Wer das Wirtschaftsgeschehen in den USA, wo die meisten Irrungen der letzten Jahre in Ökonomie und Management ihren Ursprung haben, nüchtern analysierte, kam früh zum Ergebnis, dass die US-Wirtschaftszahlen seit langem nicht stimmen konnten und es heute noch immer nicht tun. Der sich über längere Zeit allwissend gerierenden Analystenzunft hätte das eigentlich auffallen müssen.
Die Meinung, dass die amerikanische Wirtschaft so erfolgreich sei wegen ihres besonders guten Managements und ihrer fortschrittlichen Corporate Governance ist falsch - und die naive Nachahmung amerikanischer Denkweisen und Methoden in Europa und Asien ist gefährlich. Es gäbe vieles von Amerika zu lernen; Management und Wirtschaftspolitik gehören aber nicht dazu.
EJB's 101 Damnations
by Volker Weber
This is the tale of 101 Damnations. Sadly, it's no Disney story - in fact it's more likely to have been pulled from the pages of the Brothers Grimm.
Whilst writing the EJB modules for our JGenerator product, we started punting an email back and forth containing all the issues we had with EJB. And there were many. Before we knew it we ended up with 101 howlers.
In this article we present an edited version of the email. It isn't a complete list and there may be some overlapping issues. If there is enough interest we will turn it into a more formal analysis.
Before you flame us for chasing after your sacred cow with a big stick, all three of us have belonged to the "pro-Java" lobby since Java was in its first beta, and we still do. We have evangelised Java at every company we have worked at. However, EJB just presents so much that is wrong and messed up that we felt we had to speak out.
(via langreiter.com)
Welcome to XMethods
by Volker Weber
Emerging standards such as SOAP will enable a new generation of "web services" that allow systems to make remote procedure calls to other systems over the Internet. For example, a corporate inventory management sytem might publish a service that allows a customer system to check real-time inventory levels. This site lists publicly accessible web services.
Slate Gets Duped: This week's Diary by an "automotive CEO" proves to be a hoax
by Volker Weber
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, Slate published Diary dispatches by "Robert Klingler," who purported in his bio note to be "the North American head of a European auto manufacturer." When Slate readers pointed out to the editors that neither Google.com nor Nexis searches produced any hits for a "Robert Klingler and the automobile industry," we assumed the worst and took the entries down from the site. A phone call to the European auto company in question confirmed that no "Robert Klingler" works for them.
Introduction to XSLT
by Volker Weber
XSL, or Extensible Stylesheet Language, consists of three languages for converting XML documents into other formats. XSL Formatting Objects (XML FO) describes visual formatting, while XPath accesses specific parts of an XML document. But XSL Transformations (XSLT) is the language for actually converting documents from one XML format into another. The simplest case starts with two documents: an XML document of original data and an XSLT style sheet for transforming it. An XSLT processor applies the rules from the XSLT style sheet to the XML document to create a new, third document in XHTML, WML, SVG, or almost any other XML format.
Multiple XSLT style sheets can present a single document in multiple formats. A single style sheet could transform multiple instances of one data type into a standard presentation format, which you could change simply by modifying the style sheet. Or XSLT could transform multiple instances of data into multiple formats. And it is not constrained to presentation: XSLT is a powerful tool for translating one system's data format into another's, as in B2B transactions.
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Google Time Bomb
by Volker Weber
Will Weblogs blow up the world's favorite search engine?
Google and Weblogs seem inextricably tied together, as link-rich blogs are increasingly influencing the algorithms of Google's search engine. But with great power comes great responsibility... and the weblog community is only now beginning to come to terms with a new application that subverts the very technology that powers Google, the world's favorite search engine.
Yes, we're referring to the Google Bomb.
Rot-Runner
by Volker Weber
Der Ferrari 575M Maranello tritt die Nachfolge des 550 Maranello an, der zu den sportlichsten und schnellsten Serienfahrzeugen zählt. Der neue Maranello ist selbstverständlich in allem noch besser, stärker und schneller. In Genf feiert die Rennmaschine für die Straße Weltpremiere.
Wie sage ich's meinem Herd?
by
Die Hersteller von Haushaltsgeräten haben die Küche als Kommunikationsraum entdeckt ...
Research In Motion (RIM) introduces the BlackBerry 5810
by Volker Weber
BlackBerry is already the leading corporate solution for secure wireless email. Now, with the BlackBerry 5810? handheld, you can make and receive phone calls too. It includes an integrated phone along with a thumb-operated trackwheel, easy-to-read screen, backlit keyboard, intuitive menu-driven interface and quick access to email, phone, SMS, organizer and web applications. Operating on advanced GSM/GPRS networks, the BlackBerry 5810 is the integrated handheld that lets you manage all of your business communications and information.
Deploying QuickPlace
by Volker Weber
Lotus QuickPlace is the leading self-service Web tool for team collaboration. With QuickPlace teams can share a virtual workspace to communicate, collaborate and coordinate. People can create and share documents and knowledge, discuss ideas, coordinate tasks, do project management, just to mention a few of the features that QuickPlace offers.
QuickPlaces are created for several reasons. They can serve as a collaborative workspace for teams, they can be created for projects, which live only a limited time and QuickPlaces can be used to help communicate and work together with people outside the company boundaries.
These are the reasons why QuickPlace often becomes popular in organizations. The number of users and QuickPlaces, the amount information expand quickly. In this IBM Redbook, we tell you how to manage this growth and the challenges it raises.
This redbook is about deploying QuickPlace into your organization. The book will help you install, deploy and configure Lotus QuickPlace. It gives you step-by-step instructions how to install QuickPlace server and how to configure it to use the directories your organization has.
QuickPlaces contain sensitive information. We will discuss the security apsects of the QuickPlace server in detail and give instruction how to make a QuickPlace installation secure.
Top ten technology innovators: Ray Ozzie
by Volker Weber
STARTING FOUR YEARS ago with only a whiteboard, a card table, and a firm resolve to address a thorny business problem, Notes inventor Ray Ozzie and a small, hand-picked development team crafted the first decentralized collaborative product based on peer-to-peer technology.
After three years and 3 million lines of code, Groove Networks, which was run like a stealth project that would make the CIA envious, debuted in October 2000 and ever since has shone a white-hot spotlight on what p-to-p technologies can do to solve serious business problems.
Free Web Browser Extensions for Internet Explorer
by Volker Weber
IE Booster is a freeware collection of tools that extend the context menu of the web browser MS Internet Explorer (version 5 and up) for Windows.
You may already be familiar with the IE Web Accessories for IE5 published by MS in 1999, but these often do not work with IE6 any more and MS is yet to publish an update!
This is why IE Booster is such a powerful and unique collection of tools! And the icing on the cake? IE Booster is totally and completely free! We are sure that you'll enjoy this software, and find it as useful as we do, and hope that you may take the time to have a look at some of our other products.
PWC Consulting hat eine neue deutsche Website
by Volker Weber
Das ging fix.
Availability of SYM Files for Annotating NOTES.RIP Files
by Volker Weber
Where can analysts and customers find the SYM files necessary for annotating RIP files?
Currently, all the SYM files can be found in the Support Online Resource Library on the Lotus Support Web site. Beginning in November 2000, these SYM files will be transferred from the Online Resource Library to the Support Downloads area. The table below will continue to be updated to track where each set (release) of SYM files can be found (either in the Online Resource Library or the Internet/URL to the Support Downloads area).
Lindows.com, the Pitch
by Volker Weber
On Febrary 6th 2002 I saw Michael Robertson, CEO of Lindows.com, speak at the local San Diego Linux Users Group. Mr. Robertson, founder and former CEO of mp3.com, is a charismatic and compelling speaker. He makes his audacious schemes seem logical, even self-evident!. When I saw Mr. Robertson speak at San Diego's "new economy" event iLounge in 1999, he was in the midst of the controversies about syndicating hundreds of songs via the My.mp3.com service. This is the incident that ended up in settlements with multiple music companies totaling million of dollars with the music industry. Robertson got the last laugh, as mp3.com was sold for $372 million to Vivendi, and continues to be a force in the online music space. In 2001 he founded Lindows.com here in San Diego, California, USA. In so doing, he has attracted fire from the largest Software company in the world, Seattle's Microsoft. He spoke about Lindows, Operating Systems, Microsoft, and the changing role of the OS in the mix of computing.
Want to know your friend's secrets?
by Volker Weber
We send an email to the victim inviting them to visit a given URL and fill out a questionnaire that claims to reveal the secrets of their love life in a horoscope. The victim answers a set of personal questions, under the impression that honest answers will reward them with an amorous future. More >urban75 and Narconon - the ultimate homage!
by Volker Weber
We've had people pay tribute to our work before, but this truly is a work of absolute worship.
It seems that Narconon (drug abuse 'charity' allegedly owned by the Scientologists) were so 'inspired' by a previous design of urban75 that they simply couldn't help themselves!
Wolf im Schafspelz
by Markus Nolte
Svensationelll!
Der geile Sven jagt von Höhe-punkt zu Höhepunkt: Mittlerweile treibt es Sven auf über einer Millionen PCs. ?Sven?, das neue Kult-Spiel, boomt in Moorhuhn-Dimensionen.
Internet Archive
by Volker Weber
The Internet Archive is a public nonprofit that was founded to build an "Internet library" with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. Founded in 1996 and located in the Presidio of San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to build more well-rounded collections.
Die 10 Regeln des Menschseins
by Volker Weber
Wir stellen Ihnen hier zehn sehr weise Regeln der Menschheit vor, die Ihnen als Denkanstoß dienen soll.
Regel Nr. 1: Jeder Mensch erhält einen Körper
Zu Beginn des Lebens erhält jeder Mensch einen Körper. Auf die Auswahl dieses Körpers haben Sie keinerlei Einfluss. Sie können Ihren Körper mögen oder nicht mögen - Sie werden ihn in jedem Fall für die Dauer Ihres Lebens behalten. Diese Körper wird ihnen vielerlei Dinge ermöglichen, er ist deshalb sehr wertvoll. Sie können ihn vernachlässigen und Sie können ihn gut pflegen. Je mehr Sie für Ihren Körper tun, desto mehr wird mit ihm möglich sein.
Regel 2: Sie werden Lektionen lernen
Von Beginn Ihrer Existenz an sind Sie in einem Vollzeit-Kurs der Schule des Lebens eingetragen. Sie bekommen jeden Tag erneut die Chance, in dieser Schule bestimmte Lektionen zu lernen. Die Lehrer und die Lernsituationen variieren ständig. Sie können die Lektionen gut finden oder nicht - was Sie zu lernen haben, entscheidet die Schule des Lebens.
Regel 3: Es gibt keine Fehler, sondern nur Lektionen
In der Schule des Lebens können Sie keine "Fehler" machen. Der Lebenskurs zielt auf Wachstum und Entwicklung ab und dieser Prozess wird vor allem durch Versuch und Irrtum vorangetrieben. Alles, was Sie tun, bringt Sie weiter, wenn Sie bereit sind, die Lektionen zu erkennen und anzunehmen. Es ist ratsam, nicht ständig "mehr vom Gleichen", sondern besser verschiedene Strategien auszuprobieren.
Apple closed
by Volker Weber
Sowas Dummes aber auch. Dabei wollte ich gerade jetzt... Na, die müssen ja auch mal Pause machen. Und Telefon gibt's auch noch. Ach nee, vielleicht doch ein anderes Mal.
Cool DHTML Scripting
by Volker Weber
Kurt's Free Original DHTML - JavaScript
Thanks to Bob from Looseleaf Software for sending the link.
Höherer ROI mit EAI
by Oliver Tunnat
In wirtschaftlich instabilen Zeiten legen Unternehmen einen hohen Wert auf die Amortisation (Return on Investment) von in IT-Projekte getätigten Investitionen. Laut einer Studie der Meta Group unterschätzt das Gros der Anwenderunternehmen das durch Enterprise Application Integration-Lösungen (EAI) mögliche Einsparpotenzial bisher noch.
User wollen Websites mit Qualität
by Oliver Tunnat
Unzählige Websites buhlen um die Gunst der Besucher, kein leichtes Unterfangen bei den steigenden Ansprüchen der Internet-Nutzer an die Leistungen von Websites. Ein Web-Auftritt muss einer Reihe von sogenannten Mindestanforderungen, wie Aktualität oder Qualität des Inhalts, entsprechen, um in den erlauchten Kreis der Favoriten zu gelangen.
The Internet Amenity
by Volker Weber
We knew that one day there would be a pervasive wireless Internet that's as easy to use as today's telephone network. Within 10 or 15 years' time, practically every computer and every handheld device will be online all the time.
What many people don't realize, however, is that this visionary network is increasingly up and running today. And it doesn't even require any new technology, business models or significant investment. Indeed, if there is a single difference between the Broadband2Wireless mission and the reality of this new ubiquitous network, it's that the real wireless Internet doesn't cost $50 a month - it's free.
You want Eggs ? I can do Eggs.
by Volker Weber
Step by step instructions for cooking an egg in 11 minutes on an Athlon 1500 MHz processor.
Happy Birthday
by Volker Weber
Happy birthday, Papa, we miss you.
