Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

Score two for Microsoft

see and hear lots of Microsoft bashing in my line of work (IT and software).  Like any successful company, some people will always love them and some people will always hate them.  That’s just the way it is.

I’ve had my share of frustrating experiences with Microsoft products, but I want to take a moment to share a couple of recent product experiences that are scoring points with me.

Microsoft Anti-Spyware Beta

I’m running Microsoft’s Anti-Spyware Beta, and have been doing so for about two months now.  After trying out a number of other anti-spyware products, I find that Microsoft’s product provides better detection and cleaning capabilities, operates in a less obtrusive manner, and generally offers me a better user experience.  I've tried running others after scanning my system with Microsoft's product and haven't found any nasties that've been missed by this Beta.

Microsoft also provides a number of useful accessories for cleaning up cookies, browser caches, and erasing browsing history.

This product came from Microsoft’s acquisition of a solid company called (ironically) Giant Software Company, and I’m very impressed with the direction they’re taking.  This one’s a keeper – and it’s free. [Note - I hope Microsoft is incorporating Giant's anti-spam technology into upcoming Outlook releases - Giant was very good when they were standalone.]

Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7 Beta

Judging from my hosting company's stats on which browsers hit this blog, if you're reading this you’re probably not using Internet Explorer (the vast majority of the browser hits to my site show up as Firefox or Mozilla).

I have been using Firefox and Maxthon as my browsers of choice (I regularly use several sites that are a pain in the butt to use on Firefox).

As part of my subscription to the Microsoft’s Developer Network, I decided to try their beta of Internet Explorer v7, and I’m pleasantly surprised.  They’ve added some good security features (on top of those already layered in with Windows XP Service Pack 2), and a number of other useful features.

The ones of most interest to me are:

  • Tabbed browsing
  • RSS support
  • Anti-phishing features that help expose bogus sites trying to scam me

OK, so Firefox has had tabbed browsing and RSS support for a while – please don’t kick me about that, as I have been a Firefox user for a while.  But I think Microsoft’s done a great job of implementing both of these features in version 7, and I’m starting to use their browser more and more often - even after my brief exposure to this new Beta version.

Why on Earth, you may ask, would I use this vilified company’s vilified browser?  Aside from the fact that I don't have some emotionally charged vendetta against them:

  • Some of the sites I need to use don't work right in Firefox (don't blame me - I didn't build them, but I need to use them).  It’s easier for me to use one browser for everything than it is to remember which sites work with Firefox and which ones don’t;
  • My reasons for not using IE are going away (I used Maxthon and Firefox because they supported tabbed browsing and RSS);
  • IE feels faster and “snappier” than Firefox based on some informal tests I’ve done

And this is just Beta 1 - I will continue to use this to see what's in store as they move to a final release.

Summary

These two Microsoft products are doing me right these days – especially when used together (the Anti-Spyware product guards against browser hijacking, and can roll back IE settings if they are tampered with for example).

When it comes to technology, I’m not looking for a religious battle – I just want something that works well, helps me get things done, and does it at a reasonable cost.  These tools hit the mark for me (and they’re free).

Oh, and just so you know, I am not – and never have never been – employed by Microsoft.

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Product Warnings for Physicists - Part 2

Back for another round, here are the remainder of the product warnings for physicists, shared here for your viewing pleasure.

NOTE: The most fundamental particles in this product are held together by a "gluing" force about which little is currently known and whose adhesive power can therefore not be permanently guaranteed.

ATTENTION: Despite any other listing of product contents found hereon, the consumer is advised that, in actuality, this product consists of 99.9999999999% empty space.

NEW GRAND UNIFIED THEORY DISCLAIMER: The manufacturer may technically be entitled to claim that this product is ten-dimensional. However, the consumer is reminded that this confers no legal rights above and beyond those applicable to three-dimensional objects, since the seven new dimensions are "rolled up" into such a small "area" that they cannot be detected.

PLEASE NOTE: Some quantum physics theories suggest that when the consumer is not directly observing this product, it may cease to exist or will only exist in a vague and undetermined state.

COMPONENT EQUIVALENCY NOTICE: The subatomic particles (electrons, protons, etc.) comprising this product are exactly the same in every measurable respect as those used in the products of other manufacturers, and no claim to the contrary may legitimately be expressed or implied.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PURCHASERS The entire physical universe, including this product, may one day collapse back into an infinitesimally small space. Should another universe subsequently re-emerge, the existence or functionality of this product in that universe cannot be guaranteed.

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Product Warnings for Physicists - Part 1

I stumbled across an old file on my hard drive today that brought back a chuckle.  It was kind of like finding quarters between the cushions of the couch.  Back in the day, I used to print these out on adhesive labels and apply them to various pieces of office equipment, devices, and things like that.

I have no idea where they came from (I didn’t write them, but I wish I did).  For now, I’ll just share a few of them here:

WARNING: This product attracts every other piece of matter in the universe, including the products of other manufacturers, with a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the distance between them.

HANDLE WITH EXTREME CARE: The mass of this product contains the energy equivalent of 85 million tons of TNT per net ounce of weight.

CAUTION: This product contains minute, electrically charged particles moving at velocities in excess of five hundred million miles per hour.

CONSUMER NOTICE: Because of Heisenberg's "Uncertainty Principle," it is impossible for the consumer to find out at the same time both precisely where this product is and how fast it is moving.

ADVISORY: There is an extremely small but nonzero chance that, through a process known as "tunneling," this product may spontaneously disappear from its present location and reappear at any random place in the universe, including your neighbor's domicile. The manufacturer will not be responsible for any damages or inconvenience that may result.

READ THIS BEFORE OPENING PACKAGE: According to certain suggested versions of the Grand Unified Theory, the primary particles constituting this product may decay to nothingness within the next four hundred million years.

THIS IS A 100% MATTER PRODUCT: In the unlikely event that this merchandise should contact Antimatter in any form, a catastrophic explosion will result.

PUBLIC NOTICE AS REQUIRED BY LAW: Any use of this product, in any manner whatsoever, will increase the amount of disorder in the universe. Although no liability is implied herein, the consumer is warned that this process will ultimately lead to the heat death of the universe.

HEALTH WARNING: Care should be taken when lifting this product, since its mass (and thus its weight) is dependent on its velocity relative to the user.

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Wiki, wiki. Smooth and sticky.

Just read Bren’s post on wikis and, as usual, it fit in well with discussions I’ve been having with customers recently (Bren and I tend to hear similar siren songs at the same time, it seems). 
I have been recommending the use of wikis for internal projects and cross-functional collaboration within IT operations teams, and had just read the same article Bren did on Lifehacker about using wikis for business.

If you are a wiki fan, check out Bren’s post for some good ideas on preventing obsolete or stale information.

If you are unfamiliar with what a “wiki” is, it’s a web-based platform for dynamic, open collaboration.  People can invent new topics, add to / mark up / correct other people’s topics, and do all sorts of cool things to share information.

Where I work, we use it for a lot of things, but the highest leverage we get is to share information about the software we create.  This includes everything from feature discussions, design collaboration, sharing of customer use cases, collecting information about products and platforms we integrate with, and a whole mess of other topics.

We also use it to track development cycles and product release status, so that everyone can have a unified view of the successes and challenges at every step of the way.  Pretty cool (and empowering) stuff.

As Bren mentions, wikis can seem pretty arcane (I sometimes hear descriptions like ugly, clunky, geeky, or Spartan).  When you first jump in, it can feel like the wild, wild west.  The goal of the wiki is not prettiness – it’s to offer an efficient, effective way of presenting, sharing, and interacting with information in a multi-user environment.

That said, wikis can be pretty, too. If you want to see some good examples of wiki done right, check out:
• Wikipedia
• GTD Wiki

If you're considering using a wiki for your business, PC Magazine has a great feature on "Working Together With Wikis" that is worth a read.

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Emergency medical information

I’ve read a number of blogs recently where the authors have discussed the importance of keeping emergency contact numbers available and organized “just in case” (for example, Bert’s post “In Case of Emergency,” which he was inspired to write after reading about this topic on Lifehacker.com).

As you may know from my blog posts, I’ve been involved in (or affected by) quite a few medical emergencies in the last few weeks.  Through these experiences, I want to add some additional information about emergency preparedness.

When medical emergencies occur, even the most level-headed among us can become addled and anxious. When this happens, we tend to forget things, like the phone numbers of people we know, important medical details, and other pieces of information that can be useful in a crisis.

Here are some ideas that may come in handy.

A Medical Information Packet

This can be a plastic folder that is the “hub” for copies of medical information.  Decide on a “permanent home” for it, and make sure everyone in the family knows where to look for it.  This folder should include things like:

  • Medical insurance coverage cards
  • Summary of any medical conditions
    • Include recent incidents that may be of interest or relevant to treatment
    • Include food, drug, and other allergies or sensitivities
  • List medications (substance, dosage, and frequency) being taken by people in the house
    • particularly valuable for older people in your family, or others who may be taking quite a few medications
    • you may want to have copies of the pharmacy labels
  • Emergency contact information including:
    • friends and family you may want to notify (home, office, and mobile numbers)
    • Doctor’s names, contact number, and role (e.g. “Pain management” or “Cardiologist”)
    • Attorneys
    • Clergy member contacts
  • Copies of any special instructions (Do Not Resuscitate / DNR instructions, for example)

Keepin’ the joint running

If the primary “house manager” is incapacitated or unable to communicate for any length of time, someone else will need to step in.  With this in mind, it’s a good idea to have a few people “trained” on how to keep the house running.  This can include sharing information on:

  • Where medical and life insurance policies and related information are kept
  • How bills are paid (including information like where checkbooks, ledgers, etc. are kept) so someone can step in and pay bills
    • Include information on where account logins can be found for electronic banking and other online resources used to manage the household
  • Know where extra keys are, and who (neighbors, for example) may have copies in case you need someone to take care of things at the house or retrieve something to bring it to the hospital
  • Where financial records and similar information are stored
  • Location of any safe deposit boxes, contents of them, and location of keys

These lists are by no means all-inclusive, but I hope they get you thinking of some things that might help you prepare particularly if you have family members with health issues, or who may be getting on in years. 

Like many uncomfortable topics, human nature is to put them off until later.  Unfortunately, if that’s your strategy, they may come back to bite you.

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