The first fifteen minutes of the new 90210 showed students throwing around vagina jokes and passing out drugs like they were candy.  That’s not the Aaron Spelling series I remember.  How many special episodes would it have taken to get to the topics of sex and drugs?  Where are the shots of the actors at the end of the show, telling me how this all looks glamorous, but that the subject matter is very, very serious?

Have our morals really changed that much in 20 years?  It’s funny to look back on the old shows where the husband and wife slept in separate beds.  I used to laugh at that.  Now, I wonder how much farther we can take this.  Considering all the issues we have in society, is it time to consider that maybe Dan Quayle was right?

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Obama was raised by his white mother.  He is just as much white as he is black, and yet the headlines continue to call Obama a black man.

Obama’s skin is dark and he has immersed himself in the culture of Black America.  I am not challenging his “blackness.”  What I am challenging here is our need to continue to identify people based on their skin color.

Halle Berry was hailed as the first black woman to win an Academy Award.  She was raised by her white mother.  Tiger Woods is routinely referred to as a black athlete, and yet he is more Asian than black.

Is this a great step in our history?  Absolutely.  But the fact that we have to continually report on this “historic first” (and in a way inaccurately report it) really underscores how much America is still focused on skin color.  I’m happy that Obama is the Democratic Candidate, but we have a long way to go before we change our everyday-attitudes and make these headlines unnecessary.

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Makecert.exe for .NET 2.0 is located here - E:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin

How to use makecert.exe to create a self-signed test certificate that can be used with IIS for SSL

Problem: Special options must be specified with makecert.exe, to create a self-signed certificate that can be used with IIS (Microsoft Internet Information Server).

Note: Microsoft recommends to install and use the “Certificate Server” to generate an SSL test certificate (Q216907), instead of using makecert.exe. But using makecert is simpler.

Solution:

The following command can be used to create and import a self-signed SSL test certificate: makecert -r -pe -n "CN=www.yourserver.com" -b 01/01/2000 -e 01/01/2036 -eku 1.3.6.1.5.5.7.3.1 -ss my -sr localMachine -sky exchange -sp "Microsoft RSA SChannel Cryptographic Provider" -sy 12

To install this certificate in IIS 5.0, open the IIS “Web Site Properties”, “Directory Security”, “Server Certificate…”, “Assign an existing certificate” and select the new certificate from the list.

Note: Older versions of makecert.exe do not support the “-pe” option, which makes the private key exportable. If you have an old version of makecert.exe, you can omit the “-pe” option, but then the certificate cannot be exported including the private key.

(The October 2002 version of the Platform SDK (build 3718.1) contains a new version of makecert.exe (5.131) that supports the “-pe” option. The .NET Framework SDK 1.0 of 2002-03-19 contains an old version of makecert.exe that does not support the “-pe” option).

If the private key is exportable, you can export the certificate together with the private key into a PFX (PKCS #12) file as described in Q232136.

Note: SSL server certificates for IIS are stored in the “Personal” (”My”) certificate store of the “computer account” (”localMachine”). The “Certificates” snap-in of the Microsoft Management Console (mmc.exe) must be used to manage these certificates. The normal certificate management window (accessible via “Internet Properties” / “Content” / “Certificates” or via “Control Panel” / “Users and Passwords” / “Advanced” / “Certificates”) cannot be used.

Note: To create a key with more than 512 bits, use the “-len” parameter of makecert.exe.

Author: Christian d’Heureuse (chdh@inventec.ch, www.source-code.biz)
Index

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We only get one Url field on Twitter.  Is it too difficult to add the blog feed to the end of your current Url in the form of a query parameter?

Example:

My Twitter Url points to my blog (http://www.voiceoftech.com/swhitley)

I have a Feedburner blog feed (http://feeds.feedburner.com/swhitley)

Combine the two using this format:  

{current Twitter Url}?bf={blog feed url}

In my case, my new Twitter profile Url looks like this:

http://www.voiceoftech.com/swhitley/?bf=http://feeds.feedburner.com/swhitley

If someone clicks on the link, it will still take them to my blog.

If everyone did this, I’ve already setup MyTweeple to generate an OPML file that could be used to subscribe to all of the blog feeds.

What do you think?  Too hard for everyone to understand and implement?  Is there a better way?

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If the gauge of available online information is Google, then I would say no, your daily thoughts will not be there to haunt you to infinity.  I recently searched Google for all of my posts on Twitter.  Of my 6,000 updates (I know, pathetic) on Twitter, I could only find about 800 posts on Google.  Many of those were duplicates or replies back to me.  I’ve looked on Twitter Search as well.  I’m lucky to find today’s posts, let alone something stupid I said several months ago.

Are all of my self-published gaffes and gems captured out there somewhere?  Probably.  I imagine someone has an archive somewhere, but as one sage so wisely said, “If it’s not in Google, it may as well not exist.”

While I always want to be careful with the things that I put out in the public arena, I may just breathe a little easier now. 

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—–Original Message—–
From: senator@boxer.senate.gov

Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:56 AM
Subject: Responding to your message

Dear Mr. Whitley:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the current situation in Tibet . I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your views.

On March 10, 2008, Tibetan Buddhist monks and other ethnic Tibetans began peaceful demonstrations in Lhasa , the capital of Tibet , to protest Chinese religious restrictions and governance. These demonstrations subsequently escalated and spread to other parts of Tibet , resulting in rioting against Chinese businesses and violence as protestors clashed with the Chinese security forces that moved in to suppress the demonstrations. The confrontations reportedly left scores of both Tibetans and Han Chinese wounded or dead.

As Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, I held a hearing on April 23, 2008, to examine the ongoing crisis in Tibet and explore options for achieving a meaningful and lasting peace in the region. As I said at the hearing, any solution to this conflict must respect the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people. Toward this end, the Chinese government must engage in meaningful dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet .

Prior to the hearing, I led a bipartisan group of 27 Senators in writing to Chinese President Hu Jintao, urging him to bring about a timely, peaceful resolution to the current crisis in Tibet . In our letter, we encouraged the Chinese government to increase transparency by removing restrictions on the media and communications, to release those detained for peaceful protest, and to meet directly with the Dalai Lama to negotiate a solution the Tibet issue.

I also recently joined Senators Joseph Biden, Olympia Snowe, and John Kerry in writing to President Bush, calling for the administration to take specific actions to help resolve the crisis in Tibet . In our letter, we asked President Bush to visit Tibet during his trip to China for the Olympic Games, establish a U.S. consulate in Lhasa , and work with the Chinese government to expand access to the region for international humanitarian officials and journalists.

As you may know, I also supported S.Res.504, a resolution condemning the violence in Tibet and calling for restraint by the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the people of Tibet . On April 9, 2008, S.Res.504 passed in the Senate by unanimous consent.

Again, thank you for writing to me about this critical issue. Please be assured that as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will continue to closely monitor and work toward a peaceful solution to the situation in Tibet .

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
Please visit my website at http://boxer.senate.gov

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My real point is that email alerts are not always the best way to receive notifications.  Inboxes are notoriously full, and it’s easy to miss an important email.  For some time now, I’ve been a proponent of changing the way we distribute alerts.  Workflow notifications, system logs, and downtime alerts are all competing for attention in an overburdened mailbox.  Better, I think, to look at different options for these types of communications.  A few years ago, I saw the potential for RSS to improve the situation.  I developed a product called ZipLine that would allow individuals to receive targeted items through RSS feeds.  These targeted items could represent any type of company notification.  The “new” part of my plan was that RSS would not only carry human-to-human communications, but it could also be used by systems to communicate with people.  I even developed PeopleSoft integration via application messaging that would allow RSS to carry system workflow notices.  Pretty slick stuff.

With the advent of microblogging, this style of alert makes even more sense.  Imagine receiving the following message from your accounting system through a Twitter-like platform:  “An invoice is overdue.  Click here to review.”  People receive these types of workflow notices everyday.  In email, many times they are ignored and sometimes they are just missed.  Yes, the same thing can happen in an RSS reader or microblog client, but simply moving these items out of email may be enough to grab the employee’s attention.

Microblogs are perfect for corporate notifications.  Automated accounts, or ‘bots’ as they are known on Twitter, are already sending system-generated messages.  What if we harnessed that “bad” practice for good, and made it possible for our company systems to communicate with us through our own microblog bots? 

I think in the coming year that we’ll see this type of messaging become popular in the workplace.  It’s nice to be social, but sometimes your applications want your attention too.

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When using Firefox with web applications that are configured for Windows Integrated Security, you will be prompted for your credentials (domain\username & password) by default.  To have Firefox simply use the credentials you used to log in to your workstation, you must modify its’ configuration to include the domain/server in its’ list of ‘trusted’ URIs for automatic windows integrated security login.

To do so (assuming your application URL is http://mycorpserver/ in this example):

• enter “about:config” in the address bar and press the Enter key; you should see a very long list of configuration options
• scroll down to “network.automatic-ntlm-auth.trusted-uris” (or type “network.auto” in the ‘Filter:’ field above the listing)
• double-click the setting to edit it, then enter a comma-separated list of domains/servers that you want firefox to automatically authenticate with; in this case enter “mycorpserver“, like:

• click “OK“

I tested it and it works very well.  Nice to know it’s no big deal, as long as a company allows this type of security change.

Source:  http://community.versionone.com/KnowledgeBase/FAQs/Q10753.aspx

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There have already been some excellent posts on the SEC announcement and what that might mean:

SEC Likely to Change Fair Disclosure Rules - No Need for Press Releases Through Wire Services? - Tom Foremski

SEC To Recognize Corporate Blogs as Public Disclosure, What This Means for Wires and Press Releases - Brian Solis

Because a company will no longer be restricted by the wire release format, many people are wondering, “Does this ruling finally usher in the Social Media Release (SMR)?”  I think it does.  In its most basic form, the SMR is nothing more than a news release, specifically formatted for online consumption.  If a company is posting a release on its website or blog, it makes sense to follow the SMR examples.  There is always the possibility that a company might simply keep the old text format or generate PDF releases, but I don’t think that will be the norm.  You’ll see rich HTML documents with plenty of links, images, and social media badges.  The SMR will become the standard for online news releases.

More importantly, distribution will change in many ways.  News releases will now originate on a company website and subscribers to the site (via RSS and/or email) will receive updates in their feed readers or email clients.  I think there will still be a need to publish news through newswire services.  Newswires can help a company “push” news out to various audiences when the “pull” services (like RSS) aren’t enough.  The important change here, though, is that we will designate the origin of the release as the corporate website.  This means that the newswires should adjust their workflow so that they can pull releases directly from their customer’s sites.

How will newswires change their workflow and pull news from a corporate site?  Document formats such as PRX and hRelease were specifically built for these tasks.  Rather than uploading an MS Word document, a customer will simply provide a URL to the newswire service.  The newswire will read the release right from the corporate website and import the information directly into its systems.  The original release is typed only once, posted to the corporate site, and the import process does the rest.  In fact, we may even develop auto-discovery features so that the newswire is automatically notified as soon as a release is posted on a company site.

These changes will take time.  The first step will be a review of the SEC rules when those are released in the next week or so.  There will be some restrictions on the use of websites and blogs.  There is no doubt, however, that these changes are coming, and the SMR will eventually become known as the “traditional” release format.

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Today’s solutions:  VMware, Microsoft’s Hyper-V, and Oracle Virtual Server (just to name a few) are changing the server landscape.  Virtual servers are easy to create, easy to setup, and work almost exactly like a physical machine.  From a developer’s standpoint, it’s a liberating experience.  A new physical box can take months to procure and setup, depending on your IT bureaucracy and budget.  With virtual servers, new machines can be created and torn down at will.  As long as you are mindful of the overall capacity, it’s no longer a major hurdle just to get a development machine up and running.

With a new solution, GoGrid (http://gogrid.com), it’s now even possible to setup and configure your own virtual servers over the Internet.  I’ve been running a basic web application server for several weeks at GoGrid and I love it.  I have full access to the Windows admin features and can install all of the applications that I need directly on the server.  When compared with a dedicated physical server, I can afford a lot more capacity.  Keep in mind that these servers are completely raw (FTP isn’t even installed by default) so you’ll need to know your way around a machine before ordering at GoGrid.  However, if you’ve wanted to get your hands on something that will finally let you install your custom Windows services, GoGrid is the way to…well, go.

I look forward to more offerings in the world of virtual servers.  The cost for a small GoGrid Windows server with no traffic is about $2 per day.  That can add up for a single developer.  With competition and even more improvements in the technology, I’m sure we’ll see some stratification that will push entry-level prices down even further.

Learn to get comfortable with the idea of virtual servers.  You’ll be using them very soon (if you aren’t already).

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