Monday, July 31, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Effective online advertising
Scroll down a little and check out EOJT’s advertisement on Defense Industry Daily. Rarely do we see an advertisement in any medium that instantly communicates the message. Very engaging, very effective.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
No, really?
Defense Industry Daily
Russian deals are extremely non-transparent, and often there are conflicting reports with no official confirmation of announced reports or additional details released.
Sphere’s view of blog search
Leslie Walker, The Washington Post
This will be very useful when searching for bloggers who write about our clients’ industry.
Sphere, on the other hand, goes a few steps further -- analyzing and giving weight to the actual words in each blog posting, to the length and frequency of posts to a blog, and to how often the individual blogger writes about the subject being queried.
"We are not as dependent on links, " Conrad said. "That is a big differentiator for us."
This will be very useful when searching for bloggers who write about our clients’ industry.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
More local tech groups
I thought I had listed them all on the Presto Vivace Local Tech Links page, apparently not. From the NovaJUG discussion list:
Northern Virginia Ruby Users Group
Northern Virginia Linux Users Group
International Association of Software Architects, Mid-Atlantic Chapter
XP User Group of Washington DC
Agile Project Leadership Network
Asp.net Metro Area Community
Also:
Balto-Wash Beowulf Users Group
Washington DC area Linux User Group
Northern Virginia SQL Server Users Group
Washington Area Informix Users Group
DC Area InDesign Users Group
Capital PAF Users' Group
DC Perl Mongers
Washington DC Smalltalk Users Group
DC Notes Users Group
District of Columbia Oracle Applications User Group
DC Drupal Google group
SharePoint Users Group of Northern Virginia
Capital DotNetNuke Users Group
The Baltimore/Washington DB2 Users' Group
WAPUG - Washington Progress Users Group
Washington DC SAS® Users Group
Potomac Area FoxPro Users Group
Washington, DC Acrobat Government Users Group
DC Area Business Objects Crystal Users Group
ACT! Users Group
Washington DC Area Remedy Users Group
Washington Area Computer User Group
Capital Area Flex users group
Wash DC PHP Developers Group
Northern Virginia Ruby Users Group
Northern Virginia Linux Users Group
International Association of Software Architects, Mid-Atlantic Chapter
XP User Group of Washington DC
Agile Project Leadership Network
Asp.net Metro Area Community
Also:
Balto-Wash Beowulf Users Group
Washington DC area Linux User Group
Northern Virginia SQL Server Users Group
Washington Area Informix Users Group
DC Area InDesign Users Group
Capital PAF Users' Group
DC Perl Mongers
Washington DC Smalltalk Users Group
DC Notes Users Group
District of Columbia Oracle Applications User Group
DC Drupal Google group
SharePoint Users Group of Northern Virginia
Capital DotNetNuke Users Group
The Baltimore/Washington DB2 Users' Group
WAPUG - Washington Progress Users Group
Washington DC SAS® Users Group
Potomac Area FoxPro Users Group
Washington, DC Acrobat Government Users Group
DC Area Business Objects Crystal Users Group
ACT! Users Group
Washington DC Area Remedy Users Group
Washington Area Computer User Group
Capital Area Flex users group
Wash DC PHP Developers Group
Thursday, July 20, 2006
The ever quoatable BL Ochman
Portrait of a Blogger: Under 30 and Sociable
BL, amateur blogging is like choir or garage bands, it's the joy of the music itself. Besides, the amateurs keep the rest of us honest.
I confess that I was initially miffed that they quoted BL rather than a local girl, then I remembered, BL knows a lot more than I do about what's next online.
Edit -
Apparently that is not quite what BL Ochaman, full quote:
Don’t feel bad BL, it could have been worse.
"Of all the bloggers out there, there are only about 10,000 that have an audience beyond their friends and families," said B.L. Ochman, a business blogger who tracks online trends.
"It astounds me that people are willing to do this stuff without getting paid," Ochman said. "I come from a generation that gets paid for our work."
BL, amateur blogging is like choir or garage bands, it's the joy of the music itself. Besides, the amateurs keep the rest of us honest.
I confess that I was initially miffed that they quoted BL rather than a local girl, then I remembered, BL knows a lot more than I do about what's next online.
Edit -
Apparently that is not quite what BL Ochaman, full quote:
"the reason so many of us give away our ideas is that blogging is about much more than making money. Blogging is about connection, about being heard, and also about establishing and maintaining one's reputation as an expert in their field."
Don’t feel bad BL, it could have been worse.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Investor relations
The Apologist's Fund: a 9/11 Options Grantee Investment
Lends a whole new meaning to the phrase selling America short.
We had that critical moment of national crisis -- during 9/11 when the US was under attack. It was rather revealing to see how a small subset of CEOs and CFOs, and their do nothing, overpaid, lapdog Boards of Directors behaved. Did they demonstrate a strong respect for their shareholders? Were their thoughts of God and Country? Were they men and women of courage and character?
Unfortunately, the answer for this group of 511 executives at 186 companies was a resounding no. In a moment of terror, their initial unguarded instinct was to make a money grab for cheap -- and may I add, dilutive -- options. They were not only not patriots, but they were not shareholder friendly either.
Lends a whole new meaning to the phrase selling America short.
Monday, July 17, 2006
DC area agile user group
I assumed there was an agile user group in the area, but never heard of one. It seems there is and a member put their meeting announcement on the NoVaJUG discussion list.
DC APLN on July 17 - How to Build Agile Across an Enterprise
There is a huge debate in software about the proper approach to process improvement (although I once saw Shawn Presson give a presentation on how this was a non-debate debate). As someone who doesn't write code it is hard for me to comment on the merits of the debate, except this sort of thing is too important to leave to engineers.
DC APLN on July 17 - How to Build Agile Across an Enterprise
There is a huge debate in software about the proper approach to process improvement (although I once saw Shawn Presson give a presentation on how this was a non-debate debate). As someone who doesn't write code it is hard for me to comment on the merits of the debate, except this sort of thing is too important to leave to engineers.
Effective online advertising
Check out the ad for Congresspedia on the TPM Muckraker site. That is everything online advertising should be, well placed, clever, and engaging.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Fred Thomas talks about MHz Networks
MHz Networks is an independent, noncommercial, television network broadcasting newscasts and entertainment from around the world. It includes WNVC and WNVT in Northern Virginia, two TV stations in Charlottesville and two TV stations and a radio station in Richmond. I talked with Fred Thomas, General Manager and Chief Content Officer, about the network and its mission.
Previous to coming to MHz Networks, Thomas had been running a community cable channel. In 1993, he came to MHz Networks originally for a few months and decided to stay, because he saw a chance to make a difference.
WNVC was created to provide a political link between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state. The signal from WNVT (a station that provides educational programming for local schools) was not strong enough, so a second license was granted.
I asked how MHz negotiated the deals to be on DirectTV and Dish TV. Thomas said the explosion of technology offered new ways to get video content to viewers, and it was MHz’s challenge to find ways to use the new opportunities. The network has hired someone to develop a feed for iPods and iTunes and hopes to have that available in six months.
MHz describes itself as an independent public network and has what Thomas described as an “independent attitude.” It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation headquartered in Richmond, VA. I asked if independent meant that MHz was independent from PBS and why that mattered. Thomas replied that PBS is a network like any other, has little flexibility, and that the “local guys are in a needy position.”
Thomas said that programming decisions are driven by a combination of factors. MHz seeks geographical balance and diversity, but seeks newscasts that are in English or with English subtitles. Entertainment is selected on a similar basis. MHz has a representative in Australia, who negotiates for Water Rats and Australian Rules Football. He said it was difficult to find programming from Latin America, because the Spanish language media is well developed in the U.S., so there is great competition for programming. Also there is less willingness to provide English language or English subtitled programming. Asian and European media understand the value of having a presence in the Washington, DC market and are willing to provide English language services.
I told Thomas how affected I was by BeauSoleil’s post-Katrina performance and asked how performers were selected. Thomas said that MHz Presents is run by a part-time producer who tries to catch acts as they come to the DC area.
Thomas said that MHz’s partnership with the Wilson Center was made possible by mutual friends, including Lee Hamilton. He said it was great, because it gave MHz access to facilities in the Ronald Reagan Center.
According to Media Audit, MHz has an audience of approximately half a million viewers a week. Thomas is encouraged by the fact that since 2001 membership has quadrupled. (Editors who think Americans are not interested in international news should take note of this.)
Soon, MHz programming will be available nationwide through MHz WorldView and an agreement with GlobalCast. San Francisco will be WorldView’s first market outside of Washington, DC. National distribution has always been MHz’s goal. It was accelerated by viewers who moved out of the DC area and wanted the service. Technological advances have facilitated this, as it is not much additional cost to send the programming through a digital feed from a server.
I asked Thomas how MHz develops relationships with the community. He said that it was mostly word of mouth as community leaders discovered the opportunity to broadcast their programs. Thomas said MHz has become “more picky” now that more programming is available.
I asked if Africa This Week was exclusive to MHz, and Thomas said it was.
I asked Thomas about the problem of dealing with nations who do not share MHz’s commitment to open dialog. He said that any other nation was going to have a different point of view from America. I replied that that was certainly true, but it is one thing to have a broadcast from France or Germany, where the newscast is reflecting their internal debates, and another thing entirely to have a broadcast from China. Thomas reminded me that MHz is a presenter of content and that each foreign newscast begins and ends with a tag that reminds the audience that it is unedited and does not necessarily reflect the views of MHz. However, MHz does monitor programming and has translators who check on content. There have been occasions when they have pointed out to foreign newscasts that certain things would not play with an American audience. Thomas also pointed out that they have programming from Taiwan as well, and that the two watch each other, so MHz promotes an indirect dialog.
I asked if their viewers don’t catch things from time to time, and Thomas simply laughed. “No one is better than a Washington audience for telling you about every nuance” of a newscast.
I asked about South Asia Newsline, which, while excellent, is from an Indian point of view. Thomas said they are working very hard to get programming from Pakistan but were unable to find anything beyond some weekend programming. However, he has some excellent news; starting this fall South Asia Newsline will be offering Afghan Report. Given Afghanistan’s key role in the world today, this is one program sure to be eagerly anticipated.
Thomas concluded by saying that it was MHz’s goal, “particularly through its new national channel, to present the world for all that it is, and that it is a pretty good place. MHz takes a positive view of the world and between newscasts, lets people know all the good things that are going on.”
MHz has certainly offered this viewer a great deal of information, news, cultural insight, performing arts, and local community programming that would be available in no other way. I would describe MHz’s viewers as the eclectic elite. We are a yeasty mix of professionals, entrepreneurs, civil servants, military families, foreign diplomats, immigrants, international civil servants (World Bank, IMF, OAS, etc.), academics, think tank Fellows, and the intellectually curious, the well-traveled and the want-to-be well-traveled. This is an audience that is influential on many levels. If you are interested in reaching such an audience, underwriting information is here.
Previous to coming to MHz Networks, Thomas had been running a community cable channel. In 1993, he came to MHz Networks originally for a few months and decided to stay, because he saw a chance to make a difference.
WNVC was created to provide a political link between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state. The signal from WNVT (a station that provides educational programming for local schools) was not strong enough, so a second license was granted.
I asked how MHz negotiated the deals to be on DirectTV and Dish TV. Thomas said the explosion of technology offered new ways to get video content to viewers, and it was MHz’s challenge to find ways to use the new opportunities. The network has hired someone to develop a feed for iPods and iTunes and hopes to have that available in six months.
MHz describes itself as an independent public network and has what Thomas described as an “independent attitude.” It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation headquartered in Richmond, VA. I asked if independent meant that MHz was independent from PBS and why that mattered. Thomas replied that PBS is a network like any other, has little flexibility, and that the “local guys are in a needy position.”
Thomas said that programming decisions are driven by a combination of factors. MHz seeks geographical balance and diversity, but seeks newscasts that are in English or with English subtitles. Entertainment is selected on a similar basis. MHz has a representative in Australia, who negotiates for Water Rats and Australian Rules Football. He said it was difficult to find programming from Latin America, because the Spanish language media is well developed in the U.S., so there is great competition for programming. Also there is less willingness to provide English language or English subtitled programming. Asian and European media understand the value of having a presence in the Washington, DC market and are willing to provide English language services.
I told Thomas how affected I was by BeauSoleil’s post-Katrina performance and asked how performers were selected. Thomas said that MHz Presents is run by a part-time producer who tries to catch acts as they come to the DC area.
Thomas said that MHz’s partnership with the Wilson Center was made possible by mutual friends, including Lee Hamilton. He said it was great, because it gave MHz access to facilities in the Ronald Reagan Center.
According to Media Audit, MHz has an audience of approximately half a million viewers a week. Thomas is encouraged by the fact that since 2001 membership has quadrupled. (Editors who think Americans are not interested in international news should take note of this.)
Soon, MHz programming will be available nationwide through MHz WorldView and an agreement with GlobalCast. San Francisco will be WorldView’s first market outside of Washington, DC. National distribution has always been MHz’s goal. It was accelerated by viewers who moved out of the DC area and wanted the service. Technological advances have facilitated this, as it is not much additional cost to send the programming through a digital feed from a server.
I asked Thomas how MHz develops relationships with the community. He said that it was mostly word of mouth as community leaders discovered the opportunity to broadcast their programs. Thomas said MHz has become “more picky” now that more programming is available.
I asked if Africa This Week was exclusive to MHz, and Thomas said it was.
I asked Thomas about the problem of dealing with nations who do not share MHz’s commitment to open dialog. He said that any other nation was going to have a different point of view from America. I replied that that was certainly true, but it is one thing to have a broadcast from France or Germany, where the newscast is reflecting their internal debates, and another thing entirely to have a broadcast from China. Thomas reminded me that MHz is a presenter of content and that each foreign newscast begins and ends with a tag that reminds the audience that it is unedited and does not necessarily reflect the views of MHz. However, MHz does monitor programming and has translators who check on content. There have been occasions when they have pointed out to foreign newscasts that certain things would not play with an American audience. Thomas also pointed out that they have programming from Taiwan as well, and that the two watch each other, so MHz promotes an indirect dialog.
I asked if their viewers don’t catch things from time to time, and Thomas simply laughed. “No one is better than a Washington audience for telling you about every nuance” of a newscast.
I asked about South Asia Newsline, which, while excellent, is from an Indian point of view. Thomas said they are working very hard to get programming from Pakistan but were unable to find anything beyond some weekend programming. However, he has some excellent news; starting this fall South Asia Newsline will be offering Afghan Report. Given Afghanistan’s key role in the world today, this is one program sure to be eagerly anticipated.
Thomas concluded by saying that it was MHz’s goal, “particularly through its new national channel, to present the world for all that it is, and that it is a pretty good place. MHz takes a positive view of the world and between newscasts, lets people know all the good things that are going on.”
MHz has certainly offered this viewer a great deal of information, news, cultural insight, performing arts, and local community programming that would be available in no other way. I would describe MHz’s viewers as the eclectic elite. We are a yeasty mix of professionals, entrepreneurs, civil servants, military families, foreign diplomats, immigrants, international civil servants (World Bank, IMF, OAS, etc.), academics, think tank Fellows, and the intellectually curious, the well-traveled and the want-to-be well-traveled. This is an audience that is influential on many levels. If you are interested in reaching such an audience, underwriting information is here.
Friday, July 14, 2006
In honor of Bastille Day
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
The representatives of the French People, formed into a National Assembly, considering ignorance, forgetfulness or contempt of the rights of man to be the only causes of public misfortunes and the corruption of Governments, have resolved to set forth, in a solemn Declaration, the natural, unalienable and sacred rights of man, to the end that this Declaration, constantly present to all members of the body politic, may remind them unceasingly of their rights and their duties; to the end that the acts of the legislative power and those of the executive power, since they may be continually compared with the aim of every political institution, may thereby be the more respected; to the end that the demands of the citizens, founded henceforth on simple and incontestable principles, may always be directed toward the maintenance of the Constitution and the happiness of all.
In consequence whereof, the National Assembly recognizes and declares, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
Article 1 - Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be based only on considerations of the common good.
Article 2 - The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are Liberty, Property, Safety and Resistance to Oppression.
Article 3 - The source of all sovereignty lies essentially in the Nation. No corporate body, no individual may exercise any authority that does not expressly emanate from it.
Article 4 - Liberty consists in being able to do anything that does not harm others: thus, the exercise of the natural rights of every man has no bounds other than those that ensure to the other members of society the enjoyment of these same rights. These bounds may be determined only by Law.
Article 5 - The Law has the right to forbid only those actions that are injurious to society. Nothing that is not forbidden by Law may be hindered, and no one may be compelled to do what the Law does not ordain.
Article 6 - The Law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to take part, personally or through their representatives, in its making. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in its eyes, shall be equally eligible to all high offices, public positions and employments, according to their ability, and without other distinction than that of their virtues and talents.
Article 7 - No man may be accused, arrested or detained except in the cases determined by the Law, and following the procedure that it has prescribed. Those who solicit, expedite, carry out, or cause to be carried out arbitrary orders must be punished; but any citizen summoned or apprehended by virtue of the Law, must give instant obedience; resistance makes him guilty.
Article 8 - The Law must prescribe only the punishments that are strictly and evidently necessary; and no one may be punished except by virtue of a Law drawn up and promulgated before the offense is committed, and legally applied.
Article 9 - As every man is presumed innocent until he has been declared guilty, if it should be considered necessary to arrest him, any undue harshness that is not required to secure his person must be severely curbed by Law.
Article 10 - No one may be disturbed on account of his opinions, even religious ones, as long as the manifestation of such opinions does not interfere with the established Law and Order.
Article 11 - The free communication of ideas and of opinions is one of the most precious rights of man. Any citizen may therefore speak, write and publish freely, except what is tantamount to the abuse of this liberty in the cases determined by Law.
Article 12 - To guarantee the Rights of Man and of the Citizen a public force is necessary; this force is therefore established for the benefit of all, and not for the particular use of those to whom it is entrusted.
Article 13 - For the maintenance of the public force, and for administrative expenses, a general tax is indispensable; it must be equally distributed among all citizens, in proportion to their ability to pay.
Article 14 - All citizens have the right to ascertain, by themselves, or through their representatives, the need for a public tax, to consent to it freely, to watch over its use, and to determine its proportion, basis, collection and duration.
Article 15 - Society has the right to ask a public official for an accounting of his administration.
Article 16 - Any society in which no provision is made for guaranteeing rights or for the separation of powers, has no Constitution.
Article 17 - Since the right to Property is inviolable and sacred, no one may be deprived thereof, unless public necessity, legally ascertained, obviously requires it, and just and prior indemnity has been paid.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
How not to kill a story
MySpace Kills Internet Tube Song
If anyone in Stevens office is put pressure on MySpace to do this, they urgently need to go into another line of work. This just guarantees more life to a story that would have died by now.
After hearing Sen. Ted Stevens' now infamous description of the internet as a "series of tubes," Andrew Raff sang the senator's words over a folksy ditty and anonymously posted it to MySpace.com, where about 2,500 people listened to the tune, thanks to a link from one of the net's top blogs.
On Tuesday, MySpace canceled the TedStevensFanClub account, telling Raff that the social-networking site, now owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., had received a "credible complaint of your violation of the MySpace Terms of Services."
If anyone in Stevens office is put pressure on MySpace to do this, they urgently need to go into another line of work. This just guarantees more life to a story that would have died by now.
Pentagon PR
PR for the Department of Defense is a very complicated business. There are numerous stakeholders. Different audiences have conficting interests, to put it mildly. My good friend at Federal Information Management blog sent me this story about the Defense Deparment’s latest PR program:
Pentagon's Fine Line: War Machine, P.R. Machine
What is the point of this? To persuade our troops that we support them? Or to persuade the civilian population that our troops are being supported?
I wonder how many proper helmuts you could buy for $2.7 million?
Incidentally, there is a very good DOD PR blog, D-Ring PR.
Pentagon's Fine Line: War Machine, P.R. Machine
The Pentagon's "America Supports You" program employs Pentagon staff and private PR contractors to coordinate activities that support the armed forces. "Freedom Walk" marches, letter-writing campaigns, even supplements in kids' Weekly Reader, are all paid for by the Pentagon itself.
What is the point of this? To persuade our troops that we support them? Or to persuade the civilian population that our troops are being supported?
... Much of the publicity work has been farmed out to a private firm, Susan Davis International. For the first year of America Supports You, the firm signed Pentagon contracts for at least $2.7 million.
I wonder how many proper helmuts you could buy for $2.7 million?
Incidentally, there is a very good DOD PR blog, D-Ring PR.
The internet news cycle
I thought it was measured in nanoseconds, but it seems it is really 36 hours.
Why PR needs to uphold the separation between editorial and advertising
We have all had the experience of having our fascinating press releases overlooked by publications our clients advertise in. We have all felt the temptation to put a little pressure, maybe more than a little pressure, on editors to give our clients proper attention and/or print the opinion pieces written by our CEO’s. But to go down that road is to destroy the value of what we do.
Placing a story in editorial is valuable precisely because readers consider the source to be credible. To take away the independence of editorial is to destroy the very thing that gives it value. If we go down that road our clients don’t need PR agencies; advertising agencies will be able to place both ads and “stories”.
The behavior you reward is the behavior you will get. If you reward payola journalism, real journalism will go out of business. Even worse, it is but a short step from payola journalism to shake down journalism. When that happens who will protect you? The real journalists will go out of business without advertising.
Placing a story in editorial is valuable precisely because readers consider the source to be credible. To take away the independence of editorial is to destroy the very thing that gives it value. If we go down that road our clients don’t need PR agencies; advertising agencies will be able to place both ads and “stories”.
The behavior you reward is the behavior you will get. If you reward payola journalism, real journalism will go out of business. Even worse, it is but a short step from payola journalism to shake down journalism. When that happens who will protect you? The real journalists will go out of business without advertising.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Sorrow
Scores dead in Mumbai train bombs
Expressions of sympathy can be made here.
At least 100 people have been killed by seven near-simultaneous bombs on the train network in the Indian financial capital Mumbai (Bombay), police say.
Expressions of sympathy can be made here.
All good press is good press
Pitching to Indian bloggers - how many are worth pitching to?
Any blog, any publication, is worth pitching. Some more than others, but any good mention is a good hit. Clients cannot be expected to think that way. So what if their product gets a rave review on a site that has five readers? But if you get enough mentions on sites like that you can use them in a pitch to establishment journalists as a way of demonstrating your client’s newsworthiness. All good press is good press.
I have been writing about blogger relations as an essential PR tool in these days of media 2.0. But the question was how many serious blogs are in India that command big readerships? There are blogs on stock markets that top the list of Indianbloggers.com - business category
Any blog, any publication, is worth pitching. Some more than others, but any good mention is a good hit. Clients cannot be expected to think that way. So what if their product gets a rave review on a site that has five readers? But if you get enough mentions on sites like that you can use them in a pitch to establishment journalists as a way of demonstrating your client’s newsworthiness. All good press is good press.
Monday, July 10, 2006
A business model in need of adjustment
Fans Pushing Back Against File-Sharing Suits
Sam Phillips, Ahmet Ertegun, Barry Gordy, and the Chess brothers didn’t build an industry by hiring lawyers; they did it by hiring and promoting artists. There is a lesson there.
Music fans from Texas to Dusseldorf are organizing in an attempt to push back against the music industry's lawsuits over online piracy.
The Electronic Freedom Foundation is reviving its efforts to ignite a lobbying movement among music fans and recording artists. In addition to updating its page on file sharing, the group is urging its blog readers to sign petitions asking governments on both sides of the Atlantic to do away with lawsuits against music fans.
Sam Phillips, Ahmet Ertegun, Barry Gordy, and the Chess brothers didn’t build an industry by hiring lawyers; they did it by hiring and promoting artists. There is a lesson there.
Protecting data
Microsoft Adds Privacy Folder To Windows
There’s a better way to protect your data.
Microsoft has released an add-on to Windows XP that creates a password-protected "My Private Folder" for storing private documents and files. Some enterprise administrators immediately objected.
Microsoft Private Folder 1.0, which can be downloaded from the Redmond, Wash. developer's Web site -- users must prove that their copy of Windows is legitimate by running the controversial Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) tool -- places the new folder on the desktop.
There’s a better way to protect your data.
Microsoft fed blog
From Joab Jackson we learn that Microsoft has launched a Federal Developer Weblog.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Phishing for trouble
Today I got an email purporting to be from the IRS notifying me of a refund. The IRS takes a very dim view of this sort of fraud. Seriously, do not spoof the feds, they can and will come after you.
How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes.
How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
ASBE finalists
From Media Orchard we learn that the ASBPE Magazine of the Year finalists have been announced. Technology trades are well represented; congrats to all the nominees.
Another victory for open systems
Microsoft allows open document format for software
Nobody but the government has the purchasing power to make Microsoft back down.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Responding to government requests for interoperability, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O) said on Thursday it will offer free software that will allow Word, Excel and PowerPoint to handle documents in rival technology formats.
Nobody but the government has the purchasing power to make Microsoft back down.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
What is FTAS?
Fast Time Analysis Systems take hours of data collected by a P-3 and analyses it in an hour. Such systems are vital in anti-submarine warfare. My client, ISL, Inc., just sold a system to the German Navy.
Why building community is important
Does your vendor have a developer zone?
Ektron DevCenter
The key is going to be to combining the online community with outreach to trade associations and user groups in a way that builds a community around your brand. As Byrne points out, you do not have to be a big company to do this.
As CMS Report readers know, with so many choices in the marketplace, customers need to start edging their selection calculus more towards the community around a particular technology, and not just the product and vendor itself.
Ektron DevCenter
The key is going to be to combining the online community with outreach to trade associations and user groups in a way that builds a community around your brand. As Byrne points out, you do not have to be a big company to do this.
Monday, July 03, 2006
In honor of the glorious fourth
The Declaration of Independence
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refuted his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. --And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
--John Hancock
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refuted his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. --And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
--John Hancock
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Defining user requirements
Shahid found this clever tool for defining user requirements: stpBA Storyboarding. I would be interested in hearing from both developers and contract officers as to its usefulness.
Windows genuine PR problem
Microsoft's WGA Sued As 'Spyware'
That is not the headline you want just before the 4th of July.
Microsoft was hit this week with a lawsuit claiming that its anti-piracy software is, in fact, spyware, but called the action "baseless" and defended how it installs Windows Genuine Advantage validation and notification tools.
That is not the headline you want just before the 4th of July.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Browse freely, but carry a SpoofStick
What is SpoofStick?
SpoofStick is a simple browser extension that helps users detect spoofed (fake) websites. A spoofed website is typically made to look like a well known, branded site (like ebay.com or citibank.com) with a slightly different or confusing URL. The attacker then tries to trick people into going to the spoofed site by sending out fake email messages or posting links in public places - hoping that some percentage of users won't notice the incorrect URL and give away important information. This practice is sometimes known as “phishing".
SpoofStick makes it easier to spot a spoofed website by prominently displaying only the most relevant domain information. It's not a comprehensive solution, but it's a good start.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
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