Yet another week…PEPSI hear me!

Time sure flies by, the week’s gone and so is the weekend. Did not see a TWIT podcast come out this week, but, just downloaded the Windows Weekly 4 and hope to listen to it tomorrow on the drive to work. After reading about the Cisco video conferencing solution “TelePresence” from Scoble’s website, saw some advertisements on it today on TV. It appear to be a very cool solution, but, based off the cost I wonder how many are going to adopt and use it. Checked out MojoPac today, after hearing Steve Gibson talk about it in Security Now 62. Installed and configured a trial version on my USB 2.0 flash drive. Very impressive stuff. Need to play around with it some more to understand how I could use it day to day. Steve and Leo have recorded Security Now 63 focusing on MojoPac. Downloaded SN63 too and hope to catch up with it this week.  Heard about these folks Greenpoint Technologies from Scoble’s blog entry today. Checkout their portfolio. Oh my god lord, can you imagine flying in a jet with those interiors. I liked this one the best. That is so awesome!!! On that note, hey Scoble when are you releasing your shows  with an  “audio only” download option? A few like me have an opportunity every morning to listen to audio content on our drive to work. It will be great to hear you in the mornings. Yes, I am aware of the Video to Audio convertors, but, I am not sure if should get one of those or wait for you to release an “audio only” feed. I realize Scoble’s shows are videoblogs, but, based off what I read from Scoble here (Comment 5), we should be expecting an “audio only” feed soon?

Okay, I have been wanting to write about this one for a while, so here goes. Hopefully someone from Pepsi or their affiliates read this…  I have always loved drinking Pepsi (Pepsi Lime, to be precise) and I can’t have a meal without one. We always buy the 12 can FridgeMate pack.  Up until a few months ago, the perforations on this Fridgemate pack was such that I could easily open the pack. The perforations were properly engraved on the fridgemate packing after 1 can on the top row. So I could easily break thru the perforations and open the pack up. But lately since a month or so that preforation on the packing is directly on top of the 1st can (top side). It is just so difficult to open the fridgemate pack along the perforations now. Why was this change done to the fridgemate pack? Why was the perforation moved over to be directly above the 1st can? If someone thought it would be easier, well, NO, its not easy anymore. Was this change made based on some observation that the packs were being damaged during transit? I am very eager to know from Pepsi or any of their distrubutors or package box manufacturers out there! This new design/perforation on the fridgemate pack ain’t consumer friendly!

What am I reading/listening tonight…

An interesting item that I read today at Scobleizer :

Microsoft coming out with a Videoconferencing product “Microsoft Office Roundtable“. Works with Communication Server 2007.  A table top device that creates a panoramic 360 degree view of everyone that is in the conference room. Check out the devices in the Gallery page. Sounds very cool. Many places I have worked at, will benefit from such a technology. Folks no longer need to fly in to attend project or global support meetings.

Update: A new posting at Scobleizer. Cisco is releasing a Videoconferencing product called “Cisco Telepresence”. Robert has indicated that he has videos coming. Looking at the price, not sure how many organizations (that I have worked with) can afford one of them.

I am sure you have realized by now that I think Cory is the real geek. Check out his keynote address at ToorCon 8. He talks about DRM, RIAA, MPAA….He is amazing!  Checkout that ring on his right hand. WICKED!!! Warning: This video is not the best quality. Its shaky at times!

Piracy is a Competitor…

Another week, another blog…It has been one of those weeks at work. Do you ever feel you give your 100% and are not being rewarded for what you are worth? Do you look around and see yourself being stretched out? Do you have peers that seek your assistance and forget about you when you step in to help them out? All of that and much more kept me busy over the weekend. Had to do some “soul searching”.

I have been listening to the latest TWIT podcast. One thing that really got my attention is Leo’s mention of Anne Sweeney the CEO of Disney indicating that they recognize Piracy as a competitor. I am sure Cory is excited to hear that an organization such as Disney has recognized this and is working to address this by providing the consumers/the users with content that is more attractive and easy to use. I have heard Cory mention again and again that for a consumer to go and legally obtain content from a service provider, such service or content providers have to make their offering attractive and easily obtainable and flexible. Only then will it be a better choice for one to do obtain content, honestly. I am curious to hear Cory’s reaction to this. I am sure he will have more to add, more to put on the table for Disney and others to learn from, understand and adopt. Unfortunately he was not on TWIT 73. I am hoping he is on a TWIT session soon.

We got our 1st snowfall of the season here in the upper Wisconsin area. It has been brrr…. cold (for me).  Another extremely busy week coming ahead. Working to build some new SQL Clusters for our Non-PROD environments. It requires working sessions with our DBA team, to formulate and agree upon a common build spec. I prefer being very specific and like to buildout a cluster exactly to match a baseline. I am not sure how successful I will be in getting these new servers built out to the way I’d prefer it.  I am going to try hard, hopefully other matters do not pull me away from this effort.  As its said, quality and quantity don’t go well together…Until next week! Take Care…

Podcasts for the week…

Wow, what a week! I have been the lucky one in our team to have the honour of patching all our servers this month. With 6 hotfixes + 1 out of band, it kept me up late into the nights on Wed and Thurs. Have to work on patching 3 of our Windows clusters this weekend. I have been listening to a few podcasts this week during my drive to and fro work.  I enjoy listening to Leo and the panel gets together. I have been listening to a few TWIT and SecurityNow sessions this week.  I truly enjoy listening to the TWIT sessions when Leo has Cory Doctorow on the panel. Simply said, Corey is amazing. I can listen to him talk and he keeps me engaged. I have been listening to the same podcasts which have him on, and I hear and learn something new everytime. The guy is smart, geeky and knows how to talk. Oh yeah! The word of the week that I picked up from him is “explicable”. Check him out in the TWIT session 68 ”Chavvy” that had him talking about WIPO, broadcasting rights and stuff. Wow, Corey you are amazing.  Also heard the SecurityNow session 58 with Steve Gibson talking about the VML vulnerability. While it was an informative session, I think Leo and Steve ought to be careful about simply asking listeners to attempt a fix/workaround for a vulnerability without assessing/guaging an impact. I mean, yes, unregistering the VGX.dll or applying a private hotfix may reduce the attack possibility, but, after the official patch is released by Microsoft, would the users (especially the home users) know how to unregister the DLL? Also recommending users to apply a private hotfix from a 3rd vendor….I am not sure if those are good things to convey in a podcast, especially knowing that you have a wide audience. You can see that a few of the listeners have posted comments on the site asking for directions on how to uninstall the private hotfix. I am sure Leo/Steve understand that when an official hotfix is released, MS always recommends backing out any changes made to mitigate the risk before applying the hotfix. I am not sure how many users have had issues knowing how to backout the changes before applying the fix, but I think Steve/Leo ought to assess things a bit more before making any recommendations.  We listeners appreciate all the information, but, the caveats ought to be conveyed so that the listeners understand the risks and weigh the options on whether to close the hole immediately or wait for the hotfix to be officially released by MS. I have always monitored the MSRC blog and I think the Security guys at MS do a great job of keeping everyone informed on a vulnerability, their assessment and the status of a hofix, if they need to released one out-of-band.

Another podcast that I heard this week was the one from Podtech.net. It was Jennifer Jones interviewing Robert Scoble in Marketing Voices. The Robert Scoble. It is an excellent session and if anyone wants to know and understand how blogging can make a difference, especially when it comes to reaching out to a consumer/customer and providing them a service, this is the sesssion to listen to! Robert’s thoughts and reasons (except for the “Don’t blog” comment ) are right on the money.  I wish he was interviewed by someone a bit more experienced though. How about Leo Laporte interviewing Robert Scoble? Now, that would be awesome!! Nothing against Jennifer Jones (the lady who interviewed Robert), but, you can tell that she is new to the whole thing. I could not even understand what she said and implied in the last sentence at the end of the session. And hey Jennifer, take it easy, enjoy and have fun in your podcasts. Robert was so relaxed and enjoying himself, but, boy you were trying to make it serious/boring. But, overall, it was a good session. Had fun listening to Robert. “The rewards go to the risk takers. If the risk goes down, the rewards go down”. So very true! I work for an organization that has a very minimal presence in blogspace. For the life of me, I can’t understand how they can afford to stay off. There are so many things that an organization can do, to make an impact and provide exemplary customer service. As Robert says, start small and get better!

Just downloaded a couple of Videoblogs from ScobleShow. I hope Robert starts posting some “audio only” content for guys like me, who don’t get to see videoblogs as often as getting to hear audio podcasts. Podcasts, heard Leo mention that Apple is trying to control how and where the word “podcast” is used. It’s a joke. What does a company not do, to protect its interest… Oh well, Leo I am cool with Netcasting too. Podcast or Netcast, I am sure gonna listen to a new TWIT session every week. Hey, try and bring Corey on for every session, if you can. He is da man! You know there is someone listening always! Until next time…!

Just noticed that there is a link out to a posting at grc.com by Steve Gibson/SecurityNow talking about the backout/re-registering procedures for VGX.dll. 

Aviation…

I grew up in a neighborhood which was in the flight path leading to a runway at the International airport in the city.  I grew up with a liking for catching a glimpse of all aircrafts that flew over our apartment. And then there was also this guy in the neighbourhood (David Fernandes) who was more crazy about aircrafts than me and could tell which airline the aircraft belonged to by merely looking at the tail sign.  An ex-colleague of mine (Brian Ethington, who loves to fly) once mentioned to me about this site Airliners.net. If you are crazy about aircrafts, you have to check this site out. The quality of the photos at this site is simply fantastic.  Saw this pic of the Concorde today. This one is sitting on the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. If you ever visit New York, you should check the museum out! Directions to the museum can be found at their website. The museum is currently undergoing RAR and is scheduled to re-open around Fall 2006.

Music and Job searches…

Saturday is almost over. Why do the weekends seem to pass on faster than a week day? Am listening to my favourite electronica radio station Fusion Radio Chicago as I put this post together. They play real good music. Keeps me grooving.  Checked out SimplyHired today.  It’s a very cool way to search for jobs in a given area/town. They are what I would term as “Job Search Aggregators”. They also allow you to post your resume on multiple job boards, for free! I haven’t explored the site in detail, but, from what I am seeing its a cool way to find a job. I no longer see a need to subscribe and worry about checking out various job boards and post resumes everywhere in hope of landing a lucrative offer.  Not that I need to find a job right now. I am happy with where I am, but, this will come in handy for anyone out there looking for a change.

Finally…I have arrived!

Procrastination is the thief time. That is so true. I have been reading and listening to bloggers all around, and have always wanted to write my own blog, but, that did not happen until today. Better late than never I guess and I hope I continue to write and not leave this place as a virtual graveyard.