So I'm married now

Just got back from the honeymoon. I have to go to Chicago on business until Sept 2, but when I get back I'll put wedding & honeymoon pictures online.

The fun of writing software for the world

This article has some interesting anecdotes of challenges Microsoft has had writing software for use in other countries. In some cases employees were actually arrested in the in the offended countries. Apparently the software giant is now giving all their staff geography lessons...

A color-coded world map showing time zones, showed the disputed Jammu-Kashmir region as not being in India - an offence under Indian law. The mistake led to the whole of the Windows 95 operating system being banned in the country.

The Spanish version of Windows used the word Hembra - meaning "woman" in Spain - for choosing gender. But in some Central American republics, notably Nicaragua, the word is an insult meaning "bitch".

Star Wars: Why mess with a masterpiece?

Lucasfilm announced The first Star Wars trilogy is coming out on DVD this year. Great - except these aren't the originals, they're the "special editions" from 1997. Plus at least one more sad addition... Hayden Christensen has been inserted into the end of Jedi:

Smart air conditioning

The city or Toronto is using the cold waters of Lake Ontario as a natural air conditioner... Cool :)

G-Unit

The Canadian army is finally replacing the old Iltis jeep. We're getting about 1200 Merceds-Benz G Wagons and 1060 Chevy Silverados. 180 of the G's will be armoured. The G's will be called the "LUVW" and the Chevy's the "MILCOTS". Bye bye little Iltis. Ahh the memories, I learned how to drive standard on an Iltis in the army...

The Business of Software

Eric Sink is the founder of software company SourceGear and has a regular column on MSDN. His latest article is an introduction to software pricing. It's a quick read and pretty basic, but he does have a quote I like: "If I lowered the price, I would merely attract the attention of someone for whom it is not low enough" I like his articles>. They focus on "The Business of Software", specifically small ISVs (like RPM).

Less than 2 weeks

The countdown to my life changing forever continues. Preparing for the big day is sort of dominating this month (especially for her, it's amazing how much she can get done).

Computer Stupidities

This site has "a large collection of stories and anecdotes about clueless computer users". As a usability nut I think computers are too complicated, especially all the esoteric terms. However that's no excuse when the clueless person is claiming to be an expert. Of course even the ones where the user makes an understandable mistake are still funny to us evil geeks...

I'm in 386 enchanted mode.

Fair use & free speech

Earlier I posted a link to this hilarious cartoon. It's a witty political commentary where actors impersonating US presidential Bush & Kerry sing "This Land is Your Land" with different lyrics.

The parody was written by Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, brothers and business partners who run a small animation studio out of a warehouse in Santa Monica, Calif. "We do these things as a labor of love," Evan Spiridellis, 30, said in a phone interview this week. He thinks the appeal stems from the even-handed approach of the film -- Bush and Kerry get equal time and are equally ridiculed.

Well Ludlow Music, owners of the rights to the original song, are threatening to sue the brothers.

According to CNN, the publisher thinks the animation "threatens to corrupt Guthrie's classic—an icon of Americana—by tying it to a political joke; upon hearing the music people would think about the yucks, not Guthrie's unifying message.

*GAG* Thankfully the defenders of freedom, the EFF (who I support) are going to court to defend the brothers. Here's hoping humor and common sense wins!

Memory cards are tough

CompactFlash, Secure Digital, xD, Memory Stick and Smartmedia cars were dipped into cola, put through a washing machine, dunked in coffee, trampled by a skateboard, run over by a child's toy car and given to a six-year-old boy to destroy. All survived. Digital cameras are the way to go and it's nice to know the memory cards aren't as fragile as they might look.