Jennifer reports that NewsGator is really annoying. The trial version
does have a please-give-us-money popup that appears whenever Outlook
launches (even if it's an invisible instance of Outlook, launched by
ActiveSync, which is rather annoying).
Sorry about that.
Rocket scientists, like software companies, sometimes have trouble
with version numbers. In an article about the recent launch of the last
Atlas 2 rocket (carrying a spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance
Office), CNN says:
The Atlas 2 is giving way to the Atlas 5….
What happened to the Atlas 3 and Atlas 4? Lost in the same black hole
as: Word for Windows 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0; Visual C++ 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0; DR-DOS
4.0; etc., etc.
A woman using the nom de plume Troutgirl, instead of the
perfectly serviceable name (Joyce Park) bestowed on her by (one assumes)
her parents, was sacked recently by Friendster for…er…it's
not really clear why she was sacked, but the rumor is that she
said something on her web site (http://troutgirl.com/blog/)
that her employer didn't like: and so the axe fell.
This has led to much fulmination & discussion on various web
sites. Many people are quite upset with Friendster (http://www.friendster.com/)
just now. Without knowing the real reason why the fishlady lost her
job—and it's a sure bet that the people who know the real reason
will never reveal it—it's hard to have an opinion.
I hardly ever write about work in the daybook. Not in obedience to
some policy of keeping home & work separate, merely because what
I do at work wouldn't be all that interesting to anyone likely to be
reading the daybook.
(Friendster sounds a bit like Orkut. Been there, done that. No,
thanks.)
Supposedly NEC has announced a new Tablet PC, which is thinner,
lighter & generally spiffier than the Versa LitePad (previously
longed-for in these pages). Alas, there's nothing on their web site
yet about it: Japan only, or something.
We spend lots of money every month on communications:
| Cellular | $80.00 |
| Internet | $25.00 |
| Long Distance | $7.00 |
| Telephone | $45.00 |
| | $157.00 |
I've been navigating the twisty little maze of SBC product offerings,
trying to save some money (and upgrade to DSL in the process). It's proving
difficult: the SBC web site, while very pretty, seems designed to provide as
little information as possible.
There are cheap local plans and cheap long-distance plans, but SBC won't
tell you whether you can get local plan X with long-distance plan Y. There's
some sort of cross-promotion with Cingular Wireless, but they won't tell you
what plans are available, or what they cost. It is very frustrating, trying
to sort it all out.
Perhaps I should put together a chart of features and expenses, then take
it around to the various telephone companies: This is what we're getting
now, and this is what we're paying for it. If you can match the features
and beat the price by 40%, we'll sign up.
I'm starting to wonder whether cellular phones are worth the cost. I
could carry around a $10 calling card from the grocery store, and save lots
of money.
The Illinois State Historical Library, which used to be in the catacombs
beneath the Old State Capitol in Springfield, is moving to new digs: the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, http://www.alincoln-library.com/.
I hope the new library is better-designed than the web site. I wanted to
know two things: where the new library is, and when it will be open. The
site was not very helpful.
The answer to the first question is tucked away in an about-the-library
page:
It will be located on two city blocks in downtown Springfield
bordered by Sixth, Madison, Seventh and Washington Streets.
On the latter question, the site is silent, beyond a vague
‘opening this Fall’ comment. Frustrating.
Poor Jake, fell off the swing this evening. No injuries—not even
bruises—but he had a lot to say about it afterward.