Z Trek: The Alan Zeichick Weblog

Miniature flowerheads will brighten your life

2009-07-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Do you have beautiful potted plants? Make them even happier with a little flowerhead.

These little wool miniatures can be placed anywhere you have a little spot that needs brightening. A flower pot, on your desk, anywhere. There are lots of adorable flowerheads, each cuter than the next.

Flowerheads are lovingly created by my cousin Jessyca, a mixed-media artist who lives in Oregon with her husband Erik and son Finn. You can buy them in her Etsy shop.

Roxy wins the Virginia Lottery!

2009-07-12T17:31:00.001-07:00

My friend Agnes owns several Swiss Mountain Dogs. One of them — Roxy — was named a winner of Virginia's Lucky Dog Contest, sponsored by the Virginia Lottery! The photo is of Maverick and Roxy.

I'm not a Dog Person, but the Swissies are beautiful, beautiful animals, and under Agnes' care, they're very well-behaved.

You can see the 20 winners here, and also read the press release.

Lottery tickets bearing Roxy's photo will go on sale in Virginia on Sept. 15. I've asked Agnes to buy me one. I wonder if Roxy can autograph it? Woof!

Google’s Chrome OS is less significant than it looks

2009-07-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

My email inbox was filled this morning with questions and opinions after news came out about Google’s new Chrome OS. Was this another frontal assault on Microsoft by the Googleplex? Is Google becoming too big and powerful? What’s going on?

There’s less to this announcement than breathless pundits are panting. Nobody should be surprised that Google wants to enable the development of standalone Internet devices. Chrome OS is an obvious extension of what the company is already doing with the Chrome browser and Android mobile platform.

Think about the classic functions of an operating system. It’s a program loader. It provides an abstraction layer for hardware. It allocates shared hardware resources, like processor time, memory and storage. It manages IO devices, including the focus of input devices. It provides a consistent user interface. It provides security between different processes. Stuff like that.

If your focus is to provide Internet access for the masses, using devices like netbooks, nettops and handhelds, you don’t need the heft or bloat of full-featured, industrial-strength operating systems like Windows XP, Windows 7 or Mac OS X. You want something thinner.

The best thin operating system for smaller Internet-centric devices is Moblin. However, Moblin has one serious flaw: The project is driven by Intel, and the company’s primary motivation is to get the market to adopt its Atom processors. Thus, Moblin is designed to freeze out competing chips, such as anything based on ARM. Until Moblin (recently put under the auspices of the Linux Foundation) becomes truly hardware-agnostic, its potential is limited.

That brings us to Chrome OS. Is it a competitor to Windows or Mac OS X? I don’t see it. What I do see is that Chrome, when it appears, will be essentially a delivery platform for browser-based computing using the Chrome browser.

Currently, Chrome is in the second tier of browsers, along with Safari and Opera. Chrome OS will move it into the first tier. Software developers must begin making sure that their applications run cleanly in the Chrome browser – just like they must do today with Internet Explorer.

And that, my friends, is all that this announcement means.

Announcing ESDC 2010: A new conference for developers

2009-07-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

You’ll want to be in San Mateo, Calif., on March 1–3, 2010. Why? Because of ESDC 2010, the Enterprise Software Development Conference, a conference that we’re launching for development managers, software architects and developers, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

ESDC 2010 addresses a tremendous need in software development. Over the past few years, we’ve watched the proliferation of technology-specific and vendor-specific events. While such conferences play an important role in developer training and building community (we produce one as well, SPTechCon: The SharePoint Technology Conference), they don’t cover everything.

A too-narrow educational focus can lead to platform siloing and foster a monoculture mindset. That scares dev managers, especially those who live in heterogeneous real-world environments and who want to keep their options open when it comes to platforms, tool chains, methodologies and languages.

When TechWeb shut down SD West after the March 2009 event in Santa Clara, we heard — loud and clear — that the conference’s demise would leave a big hole. We’ve decided to step up to the plate and fill that need.

As conference chairman for ESDC 2010, I’m reaching out to the best and brightest software development experts and instructors in the industry. The goal is to assemble the best platform-neutral, technology-neutral educational and community-building experience for enterprise developers — ever.

Please take part in ESDC 2010. Here’s how:

• The conference is March 1-3, 2010, at the San Mateo Marriott. Registration will open mid-July; we’ll kick it off with huge “Wacky Early Bird” discounts available through Sept. 25, 2009.

• If you’re a software development expert and instructor, check out the Call for Speakers. The deadline is July 31, 2009.

• Stay up to date by following us on Twitter, or watch for the #esdc hashtag.

I hope you’ll join us at ESDC 2010 — and thank you for your support as we launch this new conference.

I've been recognized as a Senior Member of the ACM

2009-06-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have been recognized by the Association for Computing Machinery as a Senior Member. (I've belonged to the ACM since my college days.)

The ACM Senior Member Grade is described as:

The Senior Member Grade recognizes those ACM members with at least 10 years of professional experience and 5 years of continuous Professional Membership who have demonstrated performance that sets them apart from their peers.

There were 395 recipients of this honor in 2009, 162 in 2008, 149 in 2007, and 142 in the award's inaugural year, 2006.

Looking at the other names and credentials of the other Senior Members, I am humbled. While I belong to several professional societies, the ACM is the one that truly represents my roots as a computer scientist. (I'm also delighted to serve as a columnist for one of the ACM's publications, netWorker Magazine.)

What do I get? A new membership card, a nice certificate for framing, and a lapel pin. And a very, very warm feeling inside.

Saving money with a Garmin GTM-20 lifetime traffic subscription

2009-06-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

I love to save money, but this deal still seems too good to be true.

My GPS is a Garmin StreetPilot c550, which is an excellent (though now discontinued) unit purchased in mid-2006. (See some comments I blogged about it.) Though bulkier than newer GPS units, the c550 has everything I want, including turn-by-turn directions and an integrated Bluetooth speakerphone. (It also has things I don't want or care about, like an MP3 player.)

One of the key features of the c550 is its Garmin GTM-20 traffic receiver. It's a cable that combines the 12V auto power adapter with a Navteq traffic receiver. The receiver, bundled in the box with the c550, came with a one-year subscription to traffic updates.

In the summer of 2007, and again in the summer of 2008, I purchased 12-month renewals of the traffic subscription for $60 each time. Earlier this week, the GPS told me that it was time to renew the subscription again. I like the traffic delay alerts, and so continuing the subscription was an easy decision.

Poking around the Garmin site, I found two options. I could renew the subscription again for 12 months for $60. Or I could purchase a new GTM-20 receiver with "lifetime traffic" from Garmin for $119.99.

That sounded a bit odd, but indeed, Garmin tech support confirmed that I could purchase that lifetime subscription — and get a whole new traffic radio — for twice the price of a 12-month subscription-only update, and that it'll work with my c550. (Not only that, but the old traffic-less GTM-20 can serve as a spare 12V power cord.)

But wait, it gets better.

Just before I went to order the new GTM-20 from Garmin, I decided to check online retailers "just in case." And yes, you can buy the "Garmin GTM 20 Lifetime Traffic Receiver for Select Garmin GPS" from Amazon for $85.

Amazing, eh?

Update June 25: The new GTM-20 arrived while I was away at SPTechCon. It looks different — instead of having an oversized 12v plug with an integrated receiver, as pictured above, the new GTM-20 has a standard plug and the receiver is in a bulge half-way down the cord.

The downside is that there aren't any more indicator lights to show that the receiver is working. It does work just fine, though! The upside is that the bulge has a jack to for an external traffic-receiver antenna, which would be good for a vehicle with a shielded cab.

What about those SD Times 100 categories?

2009-06-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

Question:

I just caught your post-SD Times 100 wrap-up. I actually have a general question about the awards — do you pare down the entries and combine then into like categories? It seems like there were many more categories listed on the nomination form than final categories with winners.

I hate to toss another question into the mix, but noticed this the past few years and didn’t know if it was from lack of entries or something different.

I look forward to the SD Times 100 every year — it’s always the surprise names that make it the most fun.

Answer:

Every year, we use the previous year's categories to solicit reader nominations. However, we almost always revise them (and then revise them again and again and again) during the judging discussions.

The categories are fluid, sometimes changing from one judging meeting to the next as we discuss trends and areas of innovation. We never quite know how it's going to come out until the end of the process.

Galileo and the future of Eclipse

2009-06-17T21:48:00.001-07:00

Galileo is coming. That’s the name of this year’s Eclipse release train, scheduled for Wednesday, June 24. Given the Eclipse Foundation’s reputation, I expect the train to arrive at the station on schedule.

There’s a lot of goodness in the Galileo toolchain, as you can read in Alex Handy’s story. The simultaneous release is centered around the Eclipse 3.5 integrated development environment, but has many new and updated companion tools, plug-ins and add-ons.

Some of the noteworthy additions include support for PHP 5.3, a new memory analyzer, and upgrades to the plug-in development environment. As a Mac user, I’m happy about Galileo’s use of Cocoa as an optional windowing library.

As the years roll on, Eclipse has become the dominent alternative to Microsoft’s Visual Studio. Yes, Sun’s NetBeans and Apple’s Xcode IDEs are technically excellent – and NetBeans has a strong following in the open-source world. However, neither has the breadth and reach of Eclipse.

While Mac developers favor Xcode, and Sun-centric Java developers use NetBeans, the rest of the industry has converged on Eclipse and Visual Studio. That’s it, end of story. (Even so, Apple’s support for Xcode is strong. We have no idea about Oracle’s commitment to continue investing in the NetBeans community, which is currently dominated by developers employed by Sun.)

Of course, there are many, many developers who don’t use any IDE at all, and cobble together their own toolchains. In many cases, though, their standalone tools are actually based on Eclipse, whether they know it or not. Similarly, there are branded toolchains from companies like IBM that are also based on Eclipse.

What does that mean? Potentially, as Eclipse cements its leadership role in both mindshare and market share as the platform for anyone not using Visual Studio, there is a risk of that the Eclipse team might become less competitive, or have a reduced drive for innovation. I hope that’s not the case.

A bigger concern is that the major corporate sponsors of Eclipse (whose employees make up many of its top Committers) might scale back their investment. It might be due to the economic downturn; senior architects and programmers are expensive, after all, and some might see donating so much developer time to Eclipse projects as a luxury they can’t currently afford. Also, as the Eclipse projects evolve and mature, the sponsors might require fewer new features worthy of corporate developers’ attention.

This year, the Eclipse Foundation is strong, and the Galileo release train continues a string of annual success stories. About next year: Let’s hope that the train continues to run on time.

Great advice for high school graduates

2009-06-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

I am very impressed with the June 10 "Conversations" column in the New York Times, "Advice for High School Graduates." David Brooks and Gail Collins offer genuine insights.

You should read the entire column, but I wish to quote three points made by Gail Collins, because she's 100% on the mark.

• The most important decision any of us make is who we marry.

• The most important talent any person can possess is the ability to make and keep friends.

• The most important skill a person can possess is the ability to control one’s impulses.

Wonderful.

The post-SD Times 100 week

2009-06-17T14:17:00.001-07:00

The awards are over, and now it's time to deal with the post-award clean-up.

We began disclosing the 2009 SD Times 100 last Thursday, June 11, via Twitter; that was good fun. The official announcement was on Monday, June 15. You can read the story, Such the Drama, and complete list of winners, on SDTimes.com.

What comes next? Vendor conversations. These fall into four categories:

1. Chats with winners, who are seeking resources to help them publicize their recognition in the SD Times 100. Those queries, like all others, are generally funneled to me. We have stock messages to share with them, including a press release quote, boilerplate about BZ Media and SD Times, a permanent link to the story, and a link to the award logos. Easy.

2. Chats with winners, who are seeking more information about why they won. Those conversations are generally brief, since as a rule, we don't provide a list of reasons why the judges chose a particular company for recognition, beyond our belief that the company demonstrated clear leadership (as defined by "buzz" about them in the broader industry), or demonstrated stand-out innovation (as defined by what they did in the previous calendar year), or both. Easy.

3. Chats with non-winners, who seek specifics about why they didn't win. Those conversations take the longest time, because generally the company representative wants details, details details (which we don't have and won't provide). In most cases, they want to know what to do to "ensure" that they win next year. We don't have a recipe for them. Sometimes easy, sometimes hard.

4. Chats with non-winners, who try to muscle us into changing the results by threatening to cancel their advertising contracts to "punish" SD Times, or who cite their past advertising history as a reason why they should be given the award, or who talk about the lavish advertising plans that were about to go to SD Times, but are now sadly being placed on hold while they "reevaluate" the suitability of our publication, our audience, etc. Always hard.

The Category 4 conversations, often steered to me by our ad-sales team (who received the initial attempt at strong-arming by the vendor) are nearly always unpleasant, and are ultimately frustrating for all parties, because the tactic doesn't work. Yes, we've lost advertising contracts in the previous years because we didn't give big-spenders a juicy thank-you gift, or give potential advertisers a bribe. No, I'm not happy about the threats. But that's just how it works. Fortunately, there haven't been any Category 4 conversations this year.

Here's an example of an easy Category 3 conversation from a public-relations agency executive.

Hi Alan,

I had a quick question about the SD Times 100 and in particular about (client). For full disclosure, I’m a PR guy for (client). I have read all I could find about the 100 and the vetting process, but I was hoping to get a bit more insight about why (client) wasn’t included among the list of its peers (lists some competitors) in the (client's) category. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

My response:

Thanks for your note, and I'm sure that your client is disappointed — as is every company that wasn't named to the list.

I'm sorry, but I can't get into a discussion of why a certain company wasn't named to the SD Times 100. It's like asking, "Why didn't my actor win the Oscar?" In the extensive discussions about the companies in the (client's category) industry, we don't create an enumerated list of reasons why each non-winning company isn't chosen for the list. There's no, "If only (client) had done such-and-such they'd have won, but they didn't do that so cross 'em off" that I can share with you.

The only criteria I can share with you is what we wrote in http://www.sdtimes.com/content/about-sdtimes100.aspx, and in the FAQ in http://bzmedia.com/sdtimes100/sdtimes100_faq.htm.

The PR guy's reply indicated that my message got through:

Hi Alan,

I appreciate the reply. I was indeed hoping for some silver bullet reason why (client) didn’t make the list. I’d love the opportunity to put forth my argument for why I think (client) should be included, but I realize it’s too late. Thanks very much for your time today. We’ll focus on impressing you in the coming year.

The thread closed with my response,

Thanks. As you can imagine, if every vendor can turn around and "appeal the ruling," trying to do an annual awards program would be a complete nightmare. :)

And now, we wait for next year.

A gift diop by any other name would still be a scam

2009-06-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

This one is just charming. Don't respond, don't be fooled into providing any bank information to scammers.

From: Gift Diop
Subject: GOOD DAY MY LOVE

Good day,

How are you doing today? my name is Miss gift diop a citizen of Kenya living in Dakar Senegal,i'm 24 years old girl still single, please i need your help, I inherited the sum of US$7M(Seven Million United States Dollars) from my late Father which he deposited in Bank before he died, he was a very rich and wealthy Limestone,soda Merchant in our Capital City Nairobi Kenya also a business Man before his Death,

I am looking for a reliable and honest foreign partner who can assist me to retrieve and invest this money into a profitable venture. l am living as a refugee l cannot transfer this money myself and this is why I needed a trust worthy partner to help me out.

l am willing to give you 30% commission out of the total money once you assist me transfer the money from the bank in abroad.this is a very serious matter,

l will want you to be honest with me please that is all l need from you,

please kindly forward your full contact Details to me like your full Name Address your Phone and Fax No your Bank Account Details l am waiting for your responses. contact me back through my Email address for more details

Thanks,
gift diop

Another bank wants to give me money

2009-06-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

Another spam scam! If I ask for the debit card, there will be either a large fee, or they'll say that there's a problem (due to the large sum) and thus they'll need to do the wire transfer. Hmm. Should I send them my bank info? I don't think so!

This scam was sent from an Gmail account; I can't trace the actual ISP or country of origin.

Don't reply, don't be fooled.

From: Beatrice Jimoh
Subject: Re: Your Payment Approval From the Federal Ministry of Finance, FMF

Accounts Section,
Foreign Operations Unit,
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc,
UBA HOUSE:
57, Marina, Lagos-Nigeria

Dear Client,

Re: Your Payment Approval From the Federal Ministry of Finance, FMF

From the recently released First Quarter (January-April) 2009 Periodic Gazette from the Federal Ministry of Finance FMF, Abuja-Nigeria, your outstanding US$7,500,000 payment is on serial number 25 on this payment Voucher; and has been designated to be paid to through our bank, the United Bank Africa Plc according to the ministerial directive.

Go ahead and therefore indicate your choice of mode of payment either by:

1.) Preloaded ATM (debit) Card or
2.) Telegraphic (Bank-to-Bank) Wire Transfer

If you choose payment by ATM Debit Card, send us your valid delivery address. Or the later, furnish us with: Your Bank Name and Address, Routing Number, Account Number & Swift Code for immediate commencement of transfer of your fund.

Sincerely yours,
Beatrice Jimoh (Mrs.)
Accounts Section, Foreign Operations Unit,
UBA

And the winners are...

2009-06-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

It’s June 15, the day when SD Times announces the 2009 SD Times 100. Well, this year we did something different and “leaked” the winners last Thursday using Twitter. (Look for the hashtag #sdtimes100.) But today’s the official announcement.

The SD Times 100 judging process literally begins in January, when the editors start their deliberations about which companies and organizations were the most innovative, and demonstrated the most industry leadership, of the past year. The process continues through the winter, fueled by caffeine, passionate debate, large quantities of sarcasm, and frantic research. We’re helped by valuable input from readers (who have an opportunity to submit their own nominations).

Finally, it’s over. You can read the entire list of winners here.

Every year, we tweak and tune the categories to reflect the areas of broad innovation. This year, new categories included Cloud Computing, Rich Internet Applications and Mashups. We also dropped some categories that appeared in the 2008 SD Times 100. Easy come, easy go.

My favorite category in the SD Times 100 is the Influencers. There are companies and organizations whose influence extended far, far beyond a single category to have a broad effect on the software development industry. Whether pushing platforms or standards, the Influencers stand apart. Most are household names. Some aren’t, but their effects are widely felt.

Every year, I always wander back down Memory Lane to the debut 2003 SD Times 100. While many of the winners there stood the test of time, others did not. You’ll get a kick out of seeing some long-gone names on that list. (Yes, yes, someday we’ll get around to doing a better job of formatting that old article.)

It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun too. Enjoy the 2009 SD Times 100.

The G20 Spam Scam Relief Bill?

2009-06-12T16:40:00.001-07:00

Oh, yes, I'm really going to believe that the G20's "Office of the Management and Payment Bureau" in London wants to happily send me £500,000.

And what are the odds that if you opt for the cheque, you'll be told that there's a problem and they'll need your bank information for a wire transfer?

Don't respond, don't be fooled.

From: "MANAGEMENT BUREAU FOREIGN"
Subject: MANAGEMENT BUREAU FOREIGN NOTIFICATION

GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS RELIEF AID

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE MANAGEMENT AND PAYMENT BUREAU FOREIGN/COMMONWEALTH

King Charles Street London SW1A United Kingdom

RECESSION RELIEF PROGRAM FOR GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS VICTIMS

As part of ways to assist victims of the global economic recession and also in accordance with the just concluded G20 meeting held over here in London, England, I wish to happily inform you that you have been issued a payout sum of 500,000.00 pounds Only (£500,000.00) Five hundred thousand British Pounds only as you are one of the first beneficiaries of this recession relief program jointly organized and funded by all nations of the G20 and the Commonwealth.

Having gone through our records, we discovered that you have in one way or the other in the past contributed to the welfare of your local environment and community at large.

You are therefore advised to contact the officer immediately as stated below;

Contact Person: SHAMIR RANDY Funds Disbursement Officer RECESSION RELIEF PROGRAM FOR GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS VICTIMS.

Please provide them with the under listed information’s below as soon as possible as the method of disbursement are thus: CHEQUE ISSUED IN YOUR NAME OR BANK TO BANK TRANSFER

1: Full Names
2: Delivery Address
3: Nationality
4: Phone Number(s)

Please do indicate the method of disbursement of your fund

Thank you
Kind Regards,
Mr. Philip England
G20 Secretary

What's that beep-beep-beep sound?

2009-06-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

"Dad, what's this sound?"

My teenager has been using the telephone for most of his life. A few days ago, he went to call some family friends, who had left us a message offering to let us use their S.F. Giants tickets. (They're really good friends.)

After he dialed, he wandered over with a puzzled look, and handed me the phone. Thinking that he was hearing one of the infrequent error tones, I listened, and then laughed. "That, my son, is called a busy signal."

Believe it or not, this was the first time he'd called someone who was already on the phone — and who didn't have a server-based voicemail system.

Amazing, eh? How fast things change these days.

(Considering that none of our landlines or mobiles have rotary dials, saying that he dialed is itself a dated expression. What's more current? Should we say that he punched in a number? Or just called a number?)

Google keeps redefining everything

2009-06-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

Earlier this morning, I was cleaning up someone’s blog post. Not because they wrote something bad, but because they committed the ultimate faux pas: They pasted directly from Microsoft Word into the blog engine. The bizarre HTML tags output from Word resulted in goofy output as well as a polluted RSS stream.

Many people have written about the strange HTML output from Microsoft Word. But that’s what happens when a company decides that it knows better than everyone else and insists on doing things its own way.

Google, like Microsoft, likes to do things its own way. As you can read on SDTimes.com, Google has recently bet heavily on HTML 5. In a keynote at the Google I/O conference, reports Alex Handy, HTML 5 will be at the forefront of the forthcoming Google Web Toolkit 2.0 and the new Google Web Elements.

That’s not all coming from the Googlers, who seem to be fighting every battle at once. The company continues to move forward with Android, its operating system for netbooks and smartphones, for example. This puts it into conflict with many, many companies, including Apple, Microsoft and RIM (makers of the BlackBerry).

The big new thing, however, is the new Wave platform and its set of APIs. What is Wave? It’s hard to describe. Google says:

Google Wave is a product that helps users communicate and collaborate on the web. A "wave" is equal parts conversation and document, where users can almost instantly communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. Google Wave is also a platform with a rich set of open APIs that allow developers to embed waves in other web services and to build extensions that work inside waves.

Good luck with that.

Google’s creativity is commendable. My big worry is that the company never seems to finish anything. Gmail is still considered to be in beta, for heaven’s sake! Let’s hope that Google doesn’t morph into Microsoft: having lots of interesting ideas, which are implemented in a way that drive people crazy.

Lambo doors for the Miata? What do you think?

2009-05-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

A friend referred me a company that sells a vertical Lamborghini-style door hinge kit for Skippy, our little Miata. I dunno. The kit is expensive ($1,800), might void the warranty, and although lambo doors look cool, they're not very practical. Safety is also an issue. What do you think?

Here's a link to the company that makes 'em, LSD Doors.

Point, click and drink

2009-05-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

This press release speaks for itself. Are you thirsty yet? The machines cost from $2,495 and up.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Damon
Company: American Soda Machines
Phone: 303-478-6193
Email: info@americansodamachines.com
Web: www.americansodamachines.com

Customized Vintage Soda Machines

For anyone who loves enjoys technology or makes their living in the digital industry, a tech themed soda machine makes great addition to your home or office. It provides a fun, offbeat way to keep beverages cold - no matter the alcohol content. These machines can alternately be adorned with any business logo, a favorite video game, or whatever the buyer wants.

In addition to restoring vintage soda machines with the familiar Coke and Pepsi motifs, Denver-based American Soda Machines (ASM) customizes these beverage icons into all kinds of themes for individual buyers. ASM fittingly refers to a customized machine as “re-made to order”.

Where the bespoke machines get installed is often a very fitting home...like an airplane themed machine being located in a hanger, or an equine decorated dispenser being placed in barn. Likewise, car themed pop machines often end up in garages, and movie tribute machines get placed in home theater rooms.

By customizing these machines, ASM is just further tapping into an existing love affair with these relics.

For over half a century, soda machines have been a fixture of American life. There have been multiple makes, models, and manufacturers over the years. The three primary classifications or styles of soda machines are sliders, round tops, and square top machines.

While the American Soda Machines restores and sells all three of these type machines, the square tops provide the best “canvas” for customization. There are also several makes and models of these square top machines. The one ASM most often uses is the Vendo 63 made by the Vendo company during the 1960s.

This Vendo 63 provides nice clean lines for the re-made to order creations. Its nice compact size (53”H x 27.5”W x 21.5” D) makes it easy to fit into a home, office, or wherever a buyer wants to put it. The machine can also be made to vend either bottles or cans.

The ASM art department can create just about anything a customer wants.

High resolution photos of this or any of our customized machines are available upon request. (We grant your art staff permission to further customize a machine in Photoshop with an image(s) that may have even greater appeal to your audience!)

Send us your password, says idiotic phishing attempt

2009-05-26T05:42:00.001-07:00

I don't know who would be stupider: the people who sent out this incredibly poor attempt at phishing, or anyone who responds with a username and password. Needless to say, don't respond.

The message was sent from a server in Papua New Guinea.

From: "Minson Peni - 1059175918 - WT"
Date: May 25, 2009 4:54:34 PM PDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Attention

Attention -- email account user,

we are currently verifying our subscribers email accounts in other to increase the
efficiency of our webmail futures. during this course you are required to provide the
verification desk with the following details so that your account could be verified

username:....................
password:..............

kindly send these details so as to avoid the cancellation of your email account.

thanks
Technical Suppport.

Do more by carrying less

2009-05-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Oh, my aching back! That’s what I was thinking while walking around Microsoft’s TechEd conference a couple of week ago. Perhaps I’m getting old, but a briefcase full of papers, plus a 5.5-lb Apple MacBook Pro, got old really fast.

I’d already lightened my load by picking up an Amazon Kindle 2 digital book reader in April. That meant no more heavy books when I travel; nowadays, I just take a few magazines and the 10.2-oz Kindle. That’s taken a lot of weight of my aching back, while also giving me a much wider choice of reading material. (Right now, my Kindle has about 150 books, nearly all of which were downloaded from Project Gutenberg.)

Often, even when my notebook is handy, I’m accessing data using my iPhone 3G. When it comes to checking e-mail, scheduling appointments, sending instant messages or checking the latest news from the New York Times, the 4.7-oz device is just as convenient as my MacBook Pro. Thanks to solid syncing technology, I can access the same e-mail, calendar, messages and news on either the notebook or the phone—and the phone is with me nearly wherever I go.

The message here is that for business users, the days of the standard notebook PC are limited. Multi-purpose devices, like Kindles or iPhones, aren’t just consumer electronics toys. They’re business machines, and software developers and IT professionals should be thinking about those devices in addition to standard browser-based clients. If you’re creating reports, for example, think about making those reports accessible on smartphones and eBook readers. Is that more work? Yes. Is that good for your business? Yes.

Finally, for those days when I truly need a large screen and full keyboard, I’ve purchased a new back remedy: an HP Mini 1120NR, a Linux-based netbook that weighs only 2.45 lbs. So far, my only complaint is its short three-hour battery life. But for daytrips or doing some work on the sofa, it sure beats a standard notebook PC.

Thinking small can be good for your business—and your health.

Celebrating Tandy laptop computing with Portable 100

2009-05-25T06:24:00.001-07:00

Don't forget the TRS-80 Model 100 and Tandy 102! In today's world of ubiquitous notebooks, netbooks and smartphones, one device was there first. Introduced in 1983, the Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 was an incredible platform.

While it was very underpowered by today's standards, the 3-pound notebook had a full-sized keyboard, a very usable screen (8 lines by 40 characters) — and ran up to 20 hours on four AA batteries.

Accompanying the Model 100 was a magazine called Portable 100, published from 1983 through 1992. I worked on the magazine between 1985 and 1987.

The magazine had an up-and-down history. It was launched by a small publisher called Camden Communications Inc. in September 1983. CCI ceased operations after publishing the August 1986 issue.

The following summer, IDG Communications purchased the magazine, along with other CCI assets, and put out Portable 100 from August 1987 through December 1987. IDG then sold the Portable 100 to another company, which ended my formal association with it. (I wrote some freelance articles for the new owners through the April 1998 issue.)

I served as technical editor of Portable 100 for much of the CCI era, and was hired by IDG to help them restart it. (I stayed at IDG through 1990.) During a couple of crazy weeks in the summer of 1987, I wrote several stories for the "re-debut" August issue, and edited the whole thing.

Over the past weekend, I discovered that a group called Club 100 had scanned and uploaded every issue of Portable 100. While I have hard copy of all the issues produced during my tenure, this discovery prompted a walk down memory lane.

Here's what I wrote for the August 1987 issue, which I hope you'll download and enjoy:

• "Heir to the Throne," a cover story on the Model 100's mildly upgraded replacement, the Tandy 102 (co-authored with Carl Oppedahl, a Model 100 expert and contributing writer).

• Answers to most Letters to the Editor.

• The "New Products" department.

• "Industrial Strength Memory," a review of a bubble memory system.

• "Time to Program," a programming feature that walked readers through the software-design process.

• "Do-It-Yourself Letters," a programming feature that presented a mail-merge application.

• "Learning the Protocol," a column that discussed the ASCII character-coding scheme.

What fun. I really enjoyed the Portable 100 era. The magazine was so influential in its time that a top executive of Tandy Corp. (which produced the Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 and Tandy 102) expressed frustration that customers referred to the computer as a Portable 100.

From discounted Fords to printing Chevy checks

2009-05-23T10:07:00.001-07:00

A friend forwarded this puzzling scam spam to me. The "from" domain is chevy.com, and it claims to be from the fictitious "Chevy Financial Company" in London. Don't respond and don't be fooled!

From: John Lazone
Subject: Job Opportunity

Chevy Financial Company-
London, United Kingdom. E8 2NP.

My name is John Lanzone, I would like to know if you would like to work online from home and get paid without affecting your present job. Actually we need a representative who can work for our finance company as an online payment processor, we currently process alot of personal loans/escrows between a company and an individual who transact business via Online Classifieds Ad. We presently process only United Kingdom & Ireland transactions,we have decided to expand our business outreach process majorly USA/CANADIAN transactions.

Therefore, we require you to work a part-time position by playing the role of our processor for regions: USA/CANADA. We are willing to pay you a steady income of $500 weekly depending on transactions completed. Look below for job description and requirements:

Your primary job will be to print check's on behalf of our customers to their sole agents ( Payroll service ), we presently have a company whom requires our services to print their payroll checks for their employee's. Your job will be to purchase a software called "Versacheck or Quickbooks" and also a certain type of check paper in which I will describe to you, then print transaction data on each paper.

You will earn a guaranteed income, we shall process each payrolls every monday of each week and you get paid by friday via Western Union Money Transfer. You will be required to have a debit or credit card to purchase neccesary software,printer and ink and also you will need to have good skills of operating the software, also you will be required to spend approximately $200 to purchase everything required from their website. If you are interested in this offer, kindly get back to me with the following information:

Full Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Home Phone #:
Cell Phone #:
TYPE OF PRINTER:
MANUFACTURER OF PRINTER:
MODEL OF PRINTER:
Do you have any instant messaging service? e.g: Yahoo! Messenger, AIM, MSN Messenger, ICQ?
IF yes, what is your screen name? :

Kindly get back to me for further instructions and I will give you the website where you will purchase the materials and incase you already have it,there is no need in purchasing anything and spending any money.

Regards,

John Lanzone

A Ford Fusion Hybrid half-price offer too good to be true

2009-05-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

Do you think that this half-price automobile offer comes from Ford Motor Company? Of course not, it's a spam scammer. While I admire this scammer's creativity (there's even a fake dealer sticker included with the message), you should not respond. Don't be fooled!

The message I received was generated by a spam zombie in Florida, and was routed through ono.es, a web host in Spain.

Subject: Ford Motor Company OFFERS: Ford Fusion HYBRID Model 2010

From: Ford Motor Company news@ford.com

Dear Mr/Ms,

Due to the World Economy Recession, Ford Motor Company, Inc undergo a statistic fall in Sales and result in a drastic financial crisis this last season.

The United States Government has given us the opportunity to bounce back on our feet, but unfortunately we have not achieved the fund necessary.

Therefore, we offer you the opportunity to purchase a very good Auto at half of the price. We decided to pull the sales of 500 cars at a very low price for us to aquire the capital needed to bounce back in business and to use this medium to increase the scale of our valued customers.

We offer Ford Fusion HYBRID Model 2010:
Pricing Information: $15,500
Vehicle Features:
Transmission: Aisin Powersplit eCVT Auto
Package: HYBRID
Model: High Version
Engine: 2.5L Atkinson I4
Exterior: White Platinum Tri-Coat Met
Interior: Charcoal Black
VIN: 3FADP0L34AR136254 (more information in the file attached)

The payment shall be made in installments through the bank at 1 month after signing the contract.

If you are interested in this offer please fill out the contact form, A representative will contact you about this vehicle within five business day.

Sincerely,
Gary Settles,
Ford Sales Manager
Ford Motor Company
P.O. Box 6248
Dearborn, MI 48126

Microsoft TechEd 2009 lacked drama, excitement

2009-05-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

At this week's TechEd conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft did not present a vision. But that's okay. That's not what the conference attendees were looking for.

This may have been the least interesting TechEd that I've attended. Granted, I haven't been to all of Microsoft's TechEd conferences, but I have attended most of the U.S. events, so there's plenty of context.

Monday's low-energy keynote set a low-energy tone for the entire week. While the 7,000-odd attendees uniformly loved the quality of the technical classes, there was no buzz, no theme, no excitement.

The keynote session was chaired by Bill Veghte, senior VP of the company's Windows business. He gave a general rah-rah about Microsoft's commitment to growing R&D spending, and emphasized how the company wants to help developers and IT pros succeed in turbulent times.

From there, the keynote moved into a too-long preview of Windows 7, SQL Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2, along with a bit about Office 2010. Veghte and the other presenters cherry-picked a few features of these products to highlight, but there was little reaction from the audience — most of whom were already up-to-speed on these products.

(One of the few applause moments came when Iain McDonald, general manager of Windows Server, told the audience that Windows Server 2008 R2 is “going to be 64-bit only – get over it!”)

From there, TechEd moved into what it does best: technical education. Interestingly, Microsoft's “hot button” emerging technology topics — virtualization and Windows Azure-based cloud computing — weren't top-of-mind for the attendees I chatted with. Their focus was very practical: administering Windows Server and SharePoint Server, managing SQL Server, customizing Office, writing and deploying Web applications. (Come to think of it, not a single person mentioned Exchange. I wonder why?)

TechEd. Lots of training, not much vision, not much energy. Let's see what it's like next year, next June in New Orleans. In the meantime, mark your calendar for Microsoft PDC back in L.A. on November 17-20.

Going to Tunisia? Need a car?

2009-05-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the spam that I receive boggles the mind. However, when the cost to send out the spam is $0.00 per message, why not?