August 2005
Wednesday 31 August
- FaceTime serving their face? (19:58) - Here's an article that caught my attention the other day: FaceTime greets, disarms spyware (InfoWorld). I don't know about anyone else, but it bothers me that a company that sells an instant messaging service is announcing other instant messaging services are security holes, and then starts offering a product that plugs those "holes." So, you can pay them $5,000 for their spyware protection suite, and then you'll have to choose them for corporate messaging because your new spyware protection suite...
Tuesday 30 August
- Death is a natural part of life, rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force (10:48) - My grandmother (my mom's mom) died in her home this morning between 7:00 and 7:45 a.m. CDT in Aurora, Illinois. She was sleeping and was not in any pain. She was 98 1/2 years old and had a long, full and rewarding life. Her death was not unexpected; she had taken a sharp decline in health last week and had been in failing health for quite some time. If I may, I'd like to ask that you remember her and...
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Monday 29 August
- And then there was one [BitWise download for Linux] (10:06) - Thanks to some recent improvements in wxWidgets, we will be able to release just one version of BitWise for Linux that will work on versions of GTK down to 2.0. This will make downloading BitWise for Linux much simpler, since you won't have to choose a download based on your GTK version. The "all-in-one" BitWise will be compiled against GTK 2.6.10, and will be moved to 2.8 in a future release. The upcoming BitWise 1.0.6 Beta 2 will be the...
Saturday 27 August
- A few slices of Kevin pie (10:27) - I don't have one major thing to post about today, but since I haven't posted since Wednesday, here's a smattering of short blurbs: - BitWise is now "leetware." Check it out. Look at the August 25th entry. - The BitWise Wiki got a nice start on life earlier this week. I think all of the documentation could actually be gradually moved over, and the wiki easily allows other interesting documentation, like a index of BitWise terms. - BitWise Plus got...
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Wednesday 24 August
- Incomplete software is Alpha, not Beta, duh. C'mon Google. (10:17) - I suppose I would be considered grossly negligent if I didn't comment on the recent release of Google Talk (Google's new IM service). I have four observations: 1) Why? I can't see anything that Google offers over most other IM services. It's a contact list, text messaging, notifications, voice and... well, that's it. 2) Beta? I don't think so! Someone needs to give the Google folks a re-education about what it means to be alpha or beta. Given the skeletal...
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Monday 22 August
- ZoneAlarm 6 is a terrorist? and a new ZA alert when running BitWise (10:04) - The recent ZoneAlarm 6 has seriously increased the number of activities that it alerts you about, to the point where I think they are excessive and will probably terrorize the average home user. In any event, this new Zone Alarm 6 shows an additional alert when running BitWise, and in order to make sure as many people as possible see this information, I'm posting it here in the blog too. It is also available in the FAQ or the Tech...
Saturday 20 August
- Don't bother stealing my mail anymore (14:55) - A word of warning to any budding entrepreneur: registering a business is your ticket to an untold number of credit card solicitations arriving via mail. I put up with this deluge for a while, but one day when I got four solicitations in the same day, I decided that it was time to take some action. Instead of just shredding the offers, I started calling the 800 numbers and requesting that my name be removed from the mailing lists. Every...
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Thursday 18 August
- BitWise Plus - Enhanced BitWise IM for home users (15:39) - Over time, we've dropped some hints about the possibility of a version of BitWise inbetween Personal and Professional, still designed for home users but with some of the additional security and encryption features of Professional. Right now, the working name for this version is "BitWise Plus" though this is certainly not set in stone. This version would be sold for a small fee, either a one-time fee or an annual fee. The Personal version would remain free and ad-free! Having...
Wednesday 17 August
- Use BitWise, save $49.99 (10:05) - Thanks to Sonic for relaying this really scary screenshot of the current AIM 7 Beta: Yes, you're seeing that right: that's an advertisement mixed in the messages themselves. Is nothing sacred anymore? I really like the notice, too: AIM is an advertising supported product. Give them credit, at least now they're owning up to it. I can see it already: Norton Anti-Spim for AIM. Save yourself the $49.99, use BitWise instead. You know, BitWise doesn't even have to improve anymore,...
Tuesday 16 August
- wiki for tips & tricks and community documentation (12:15) - What does anyone think of a wiki for community-based tips & tricks and documentation? For example, it would be great if users could collaborate to create router how-tos for port forwarding, or could create tips like setting up Linux firewalls. The forums really are not the best architecture for these types of things, whereas a wiki allows presenting a document and allowing the community to change it, rather than just have a continuing discussion. It looks like MediaWiki may be...
Monday 15 August
- Get the phone, it's BitWise! (17:39) - BitWise Professional has become a very powerful and easy-to-use system for small business, but just like any product or service, there's always the need to get word out to more people. Beginning this week, we have engaged the services of a sales agency to perform some inside sales for us, bringing the world of connectivity that BitWise offers right to many businesses' doorsteps. On the "flip" side, I'm delighted to say that BitWise IM Personal is catching on faster than...
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Sunday 14 August
- IE 7 Beta breaks 3rd party MSN connectivity (15:14) - This is pretty old news now since it was news around the time I left for San Francisco, but I think it's humorous enough that it's still worth mentioning. People ask all the time about connecting to the "Big 4" networks, like AIM or MSN. Our reasons for not doing this have always been the same since day 1. One of those reasons is that your software becomes reliant on factors outside of your control, and that's exactly what has...
Saturday 13 August
- San Francisco is a lot like fun and success (19:28) - Sorry, I couldn't resist wrapping up with a last San Francisco is a lot like thread now that I'm safely back in Ohio. It was great to be away but it is also nice to be back! The LinuxWorld presentations were definitely a success, and I'm glad I went because I got to meet many of the people involved with the book on the publisher's side as well as interact with many interesting people. I was encouraged by the number...
Wednesday 10 August
- LinuxWorld Brief Update (22:43) - Today was the second day of LinuxWorld, and was the first day of my presentations. I actually got to go twice, presenting over the lunch hour at 12:30 when no one else was scheduled. May as well make the best of it, right? The talks have gone very well, and I have been very happy to sell and autograph quite a few copies. Perhaps one of the most interesting coincidences was the Kirix Strata booth being next to the Prentice-Hall...
Monday 8 August
- San Francisco is a lot like Antarctica (11:29) - Well, it's turned even cooler here--I actually had on a sweatshirt over a t-shirt today. In August! Of course, back home I'd probably be panting in the sweltering heat and humidity, but it just doesn't feel like summer when you're bundled up like it's winter. It's true: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco"-- Mark Twain Sightseeing continues to abound. I certainly have enjoyed being away, and I am reminded why vacations are so important:...
Thursday 4 August
- San Francisco is a lot like Instant Messaging (10:32) - Here's the security you get with other IM programs: Pier 39 in San Francisco (no privacy) Here's the security you get with BitWise: Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay (high security) Maybe it's a bit lame, but at least I managed to link my San Francisco trip with BitWise. "A" for effort, at least? :) I've already hit a lot of the touristy stuff--including Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, riding the Cable Cars (all 3 lines, both ways!), the Cable Car Museum...
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Tuesday 2 August
- Getting out of the heat! (08:11) - It's been really hot here. In Ohio we had several weeks of almost 100 with high humidity, and while we had a few days of low 80s last week, we are headed right back into misery this week. Good thing I won't be here to, um, "enjoy it." That's right--I'm outta here! The 10-day forecast for San Francisco says highs from 65-70--wonderful! Especially since that's where I'll be. The first part of the trip will be pleasure, but at the...
Monday 1 August
- Mac OS X native toolbars... soon (15:20) - It's good to see some wxMac changes again. Work has been made towards a native toolbar using wxMac, here's a screenshot: For those of you not familiar with Mac OS X toolbars, the little button on the upper-right of the window allows you to show and hide the toolbar. Pretty cool! Another step in perfecting BitWise on all platforms. Unfortunately, there's no support yet for embedded controls so the whiteboard toolbar is missing the spinner for the line width. That...