Isn’t this life with windows now – going to your computer and finding that it rebooted for you (wasn’t that nice of it?). I feel like this happens once a week – as there are so many security threats out there now that critical updates are weekly. I just find it annoying at times…
Archive for September, 2010
If you’ve been using Access for some time like me you are probably familiar with the Calendar control – to let your users pick a date from a calendar instead of typing it in. Unfortunately in new versions of Microsoft Access this control doesn’t work any more – which affected me in upgrading the app I support from Office XP to Office 2010.
Unfortunately I started off in the wrong direction – using the “datepicker” – but it was another Active X control. I found out the hard way then that this Active X control didn’t work on everyone’s computers – so it was back to the drawing board.
Finally I figured out that the date picker is actually an extension of a text box in Access 2010. This doesn’t work with converted text boxes – but suddenly shows up for a new text box when you choose “Short Date” as the format. If you look down then a new option shows up – “Show Date Picker”. This is what causes the small calendar icon to show up next to a text field when the user clicks on it – EXACTLY what I was looking for! So when the user clicks on the calendar icon it displays a calendar for them to click the date on (pretty much what I did before with calendar control – but with custom code the connection between the objects – in my case with a pop-up window). I have to give credit to Microsoft on this one for doing it right – creating a built-in property that exactly that I – and others – are looking for.
I was actually trying to avoid this situation when I was converting from Access XP to Access 2010 – in that I was avoiding the use of as many external references as possible – as they’re not always consistent between computers. Strange was that I even though I tested it successfully on another computer (that only had Access 2010) - but not when it rolled out to the group. In this case there was a happy ending – with the best UI being implemented.
At work we’re transitioning from Office XP to Office 2010 (quite a jump) – but at home I’ve had Office 2007 for some time. Many people at work have 2007 at home and I find myself describing the difference of Office 2010 vs. Office 2007 much like the difference between Vista and Windows 7. Windows 7 in many ways is Vista – most of the technology was introduced in Vista – but significantly refined in Windows 7. Therefore the user experience is much better in Windows 7 vs. Windows Vista.
The difference between Office 2010 and Office 2007 seems to be similar – though not as dramatic. Again, much of the new technology was introduced in 2007 – the new file formats and the “ribbon” – so none of that is new. The ribbon is one of the most dramatic differences between Office 2007/2010 and older versions of Office – as we’re initially lost as to where everything went. Over time though I’ve found it to be pretty useful – in that the functions are available where I need them (for the most part).
One of the biggest differences between 2007 and 2010 is that the hated “Office” button is gone – instead replaced with the trusty old “File” menu. But this is more than just the old File Menu – it’s actually a pretty nice page to access File related features.
Would I recommend upgrading? Well, that depends on what Office version you are on. If you are on Office XP (like I was for a long, long time) or 2003 it would be worth it (Office XP goes out of support soon) – but if you are on 2007 it’s probably not worth it. There’s enough similarity between 2007 and 2010 to not make it worth it (you have the same file format, the ribbon, PDF exporting, etc.) – but if you are on an older version you’re getting left behind. One of the important points about Office is that everyone needs to be compatible – so while you can read the newer format in the older versions you can’t easily edit. The other point is that if you are on an older version you risk support (i.e. security updates) from both Microsoft and those around you. If your friends or colleagues figure out how to do something in Word or Excel – you many not be able to repeat it – as your version is different. For an organization it can be very helpful for everyone to be on the same version – so that my be compelling enough reason to upgrade.
I just renewed a domain name with GoDaddy today and remembered just how annoying their checkout system can be. They’re like the Jiffy Lube of the domain world – the king of upselling. It’s actually difficult to navigate their checkout screen without accidentally purchasing something extra – because they sure give you a lot of choices! I think I clicked through 2 or 3 screens just to get to the payment screen – often having to scroll to the bottom to find the button to click.
I managed to get through that screen and what did I get next – not a simple confirmation screen. No – I got another set of things they were trying to sell me – but I guess they did say “Thank You”. I forgot how annoying this company is – to the point now I see why my clients want me to help them with GoDaddy – as they may be overwhelmed by the screens (I almost was).
Maybe I need to think about using another domain registrar – to save myself and others the pain of that….
Have you backed up your phone in a while? 
It dawned on me the other day I have a lot of photo and video on the phone I don’t want to lose. So I spent a while copying them off onto my computer before my phone crashes (and with how many times I keep dropping it that may be a physical crash).
What’s nice about my e-mail and contacts is that they are backed up – via google. I made the switch a while ago to Gmail – so that it was much more seamless between my computer(s) and my phone. It’s also nice that if I add a contact either place they are almost immediately synchronized.
Many other parts of the phone are synchronized – as the Palm does an online backup (this was a transition from the old Palm days where you plugged it on and “hotsynced” every day). But there was one major gap – video, pictures, music, etc. – are NOT backed up. While I can upload the pictures to Facebook, Flickr, etc or e-mail them – that’s still not a backup.
So today I took some time and copied over probably a hundred photos off the phone into my folder structure. I realized I had some really good photos and video on it – as it’s often the most convenient device.
So again I’m on a rant about Backup again – just with a different device…..
The other day I was setting up the “Internet” channel on my Nintendo Wii – basically the Opera Browser. I was messing around my with Wii – seeing all it could do – and I’d heard that I could stream media using the browser. I suddenly realized having this browser on the Wii significantly alters the capability of the product. While it’s primarily a gaming machine (great for families) the browser changes the capabilities of the device. What can I do with a browser now?
- Browse simple web pages on my TV
- Watch YouTube videos on my TV (such as TWIT)
- Stream music, videos, etc. from my Computer (Orb)
- Check my e-mail, Facebook, etc.
- Look at just about anything on the net
Do you know what the best thing about this is – it was free. The addition on one piece of software fundamentally changes the nature of the box – from just a game machine to more of a computer. There is no one telling me what I can and can’t do – the browser opens up a world of choice and power. I wonder sometimes if the browser has become one of the most powerful applications on any modern device. Can you imagine a world without it?
Or does the browser really show us the power of connections – of communication? I remember when computers weren’t connected – when everything was local. There’s so much more information and effectiveness to be found in the network – in connections. This is formally referred to as the “Network Effect” – in that as more and more people are connected the value of those connections grows. Years ago (when I was a teenager) there were BBS – Bulletin Board Systems – that allowed my lone PC to connect to a shared computer to download new software – which was cool at the time. Then the early internet started (when I was in college) which I though was really neat – but the information shared was small and limited in terms of users. Then the Internet went mainstream and continues to grow and change at an astounding rate – bring us new opportunities every day (how old is Facebook?).
Now today the Internet has a profound influence in our lives – as many of use spend a lot of time online doing many things. We shop, we communicate, we learn – we live online in many ways now. And that browser facilitates so much of that – one piece of software with so much potential…
This morning I logged into my laptop and of course being Wednesday morning it had rebooted the night before (Patch Tuesday!). As it was loading up I looked at my desktop and was shocked at how overwhelming it was. There were tons of icons – most of which I wasn’t sure what it was. Unfortunately too many programs like to put multiple desktop shortcuts out there (Quickbooks seems to be the worst) when you install them. I also find documents I saved on my Desktop (not sure why I did that) – contributing to the mess.
I realized my desktop was a metaphor for how our lives, especially around computing, can be overwhelming. There’s so many choices, so much information, so many things to do – to the point it becomes too much. For example there are so many things right now I want/need to learn – access, jquery, CSS, WordPress, Ajax, Gallery3 – that I don’t know where to start. That’s on top of keeping up with client sites, blogging, working, spending time with my family, getting exercise, etc. (just making the list makes me tired). Be nice if life was as easy to clean up as my desktop – just to click delete. But then again, maybe that’s what prioritization is – removing some items to make room for others….
A few weeks ago I was at the library browsing some books and saw this interesting book: “The Fires – How a Computer Formula, Big Ideas and The Best of Intentions Burned down New York City – and determined the future of cities” – by Joe Flood. This book is about how a computer formula was involved in the era of mass fires in New York City – which burned down a significant part of the city (destroying many neighborhoods).
Overall it was a fascinating book – painting a picture of an era and some of the people involved in it. It was in some ways a tragic picture of the results of urban planning – in terms of whole neighborhoods lost to fires (which are actually a predictor of social change). One of they key points of this book was how they attempted to use some computer modeling to manage their resources more efficiently. From a technology perspective this makes sense in a way – in that there are some impressive things done today with data modeling (anybody like Pandora?).
Unfortunately in this case technology was at an early stage and had a critical flaw – bad data. A model is only as good as the data that defines it – garbage in => garbage out. The firefighters were hostile to the ideas – so they faked data or were just too busy to accurately record it. They were also trying to solve an impossible problem – of allocating too few resources to accomplish the job (New York City was broke). It was also interesting to note that they didn’t follow the recommendations completely – as the more influential areas (not the poor ones) would lobby to keep their fire stations open even if closing was recommended.
The end result was something of a disaster – in that too much of New York City burned down – revealing the overall deterioration of the city’s infrastructure. I’m cautious to blame the technology – as it’s just a tool – not the decisions that really caused the issue. No technology can solve all of our problems or absolve us of the need to be involved. On a small scale it’s the responsibility I have to verify the data coming out of a spreadsheet calculation is reasonable – does it make sense. If I just blindly put the data and calculations in – I can produce erroneous results. My boss may not be too happy if I don’t verify they make sense first.
I wonder sometimes if being lazy is actually a good thing in a geek – in a tech person. Right now I’m remote controlling my desktop from my laptop – because I don’t feel like getting up and walking down the hall. Sometimes I wonder though if a stubborn laziness is at the heart of the the true geek – as we want to make things easier. How many jumps in productivity have come from not wanting to do something manually – so we create something better.
I know there have been many times at work I have just said to myself – “No – I’m not doing this by hand anymore – we’re better than this”. Then I work at it and make something better – something automated that saves time and improves accuracy. I wonder what life would be like if there weren’t more people with the same attitude. How many really cool and useful ideas have come from people wanting to do things easier – more efficient? How much innovation is driving our economy – creating jobs, new companies, new opportunities.
So keep being lazy – stubbornly lazy and making things better.
