Channel 9 - Discussions by Shaded

Coffeehouse - POP: Project Overview Plug

Shaded — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 00:49:10 GMT

If you are reading this, I'd like you to stop by my blog and take a look at my posts regarding a lifelong project I'm outlining and opening up for collaborative development.

http://spaces.msn.com/shaded/PersonalSpace.aspx?_c11_blogpart_blogpart=blogview&_c=blogpart&partqs=cat%3dVirtual%2bIntelligence

Off topic? Bah! This is the coffeehouse after all.

Free crappachino to anyone who stops by and leaves a comment.

Thanks folks. Game on.

Coffeehouse - Hitting stumbling blocks

Shaded — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 20:44:26 GMT

W3bbo wrote:

'lo

What do you do when you hit a stumbling block when you're developing?

Just for comparison, I usually switch off (my brain, that is) and go play CounterStrike or check for any new posts on the forums I regular before continuing.

I know its possible to persevere at them, but the big "Steam" icon is too much for me to resist, especilly when I don't have any real deadlines to hit.

So, what do you do?

If I had an answer I would have conquered the world by now.

I have the same problem. Its just like handling any other priority management in your life. Visualize the consequences, or have someone babysit you.

Personally I invite the boss to my office to help me develop. I usually work faster when she is here because she knows all the details of what I'm trying to get accomplished, she realizes what I'm doing is not exactly easy, and its yet another reason for me to keep my office clean and presentable.

When your working on a project without a "boss" you could consider joining a team effort with people that are productive who will hold you accountable to your commitments.

Good luck.

Coffeehouse - Is attending a conference worth less today?

Shaded — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 19:02:52 GMT

Why go to PDC? If you can see all the goodies from home...

Now downloading..... zzz

Scoble when are you guys going to torrent these bad boys?

Coffeehouse - Beer28: Don't leave

Shaded — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 19:20:41 GMT

Michael Griffiths wrote:

Orbit86 wrote: grow up ! lets remember what we came here to do...

see what Microsoft made and complain it doesnt work!!

...huh?

Could you articulate a little more clearly, please? I'm afraid I haven't a clue what you're (trying to) say(ing).

I'm sure he would like to but someone that completely lacks humility speaks only for their own benefit.

Coffeehouse - Intel Raided In Europe

Shaded — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 18:07:46 GMT

Harlequin wrote:

eagle wrote: innovative

Does this word have to pop up on every thread?

Your avatar is innovative.

Coffeehouse - Are You a Citizen or Are You A Terrorist?

Shaded — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 18:05:08 GMT

zzzzz wrote:

billh, kinda of depressing?

Sacrificing yourself for a cause is as old as the humans are young. Every society, religion, ideology in human history has glorified selfless acts of giving oneself to future generations or saving of another. Anybody that stands on a line and watches over others has to deal that they may have to give up their lives to protect others.

Now the question that may being asked is why are these well educated, and intelligent men and women committing these acts. Simply they believe that it is the only method of attack left open. this is the reason the war is already lost to them because this is the act of desperation only in the last death throws do people throw their best and brightest away so carelessly. In every war from the Fall of the Aztecs to Japanese and Germany defeat of WWII only when defeat was apparent do people start throwing their lives away for little to no gain in the objective of winning.

Bravo!

Coffeehouse - What if without water and electricity?

Shaded — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 16:48:01 GMT

footballism wrote:

Because of an unusual accident with the water supply in my region, something like brick wall falling down and broke the water pipeline, I have to go out with a bucket, finding some places where water is still available, you know, the closestool has to be flushed off, my mom needs water to prepare for my tomorrow's breakfast etc, so guy! Move now...
Ok, now I'm back from carrying water from a long distance, actually it's just few hundred metres away from my home, I said it long distance because in terms of that I have to take a large bucket of water from here to there and back, it's really a labour intensive work I have to do, just like walking several thousand miles.

When I carried the bucket of water on my way back home, I have a question in mind: what if without clean water and electricity in the world? can we still leave without them? which matters to us most, water and electricity, or computer technology?

PS: I also post this on my space on MSN

I think we could go without clean water. I seem to remmeber reading about Colonial Americans drinking so much whisky this and wine that beer... etc etc. I asked a knowledgeable friend about it and they gave the explanation that sometimes the alcahol in these beverges was the only drink they could keep from going rotten without refridgeration.

Seemed to make sense. So to me if I had a choice between clean water and electricity, I would choose electricity, since you can make clean water with electricity - but thats like cheating on the original question.

Sounds like you need to make a cart or hoist or... something.

Coffeehouse - Study Shows Windows Beats Linux on Security

Shaded — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 19:24:44 GMT

You guys should stop giving Beer such a hard time. The day Beer leaves is teh day we realise how little there is we actually have to talk about.

Anyone pick up the new Weezer album?

Coffeehouse - 12 minutes to infection

Shaded — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 19:22:43 GMT

DoomBringer wrote:

Linux, Unix, Solaris, or unpatched ANYTHING can be infected just as quickly and easily.
Duh.

Yeah... thats like saying anything that is unsecure can be hacked or anyone with their pants down can be spanked.

Simple logic absolutely kills so many headlines...

Coffeehouse - Tell me about Channel9

Shaded — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 16:20:30 GMT

Channel 9 is the grease upon the axel upon which the whole Scoble turns.... no wait too offensive...... its a cacophony of genes and philosophies, kinda like when your pure bred (I need to watch my language) has a litter compliments of your nasty neighbor's mutt digging under the fence.... no wait thats too explicit... Channel 9 is the the result of barfing up both the red and blue pill.... too drug related ahhhh its....Its a Dejavu of PTSD.... no no... wait... I got it....Like a party where Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Ted Nugent show up and leave on time without ever saying a word or picking up a guitar.... well that's what it is to me anyway.Its cool but it could be so much more. I'm looking foreward to your contributions.

Coffeehouse - Nominations open for Team 99 -- Longhorn Superuser and Superdeveloper blogger group

Shaded — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 20:15:17 GMT

Stuart Celarier wrote:

... I am not employed by Microsoft. ...

Well good thing I mentioned I had no idea what was going on. Otherwise I would have made a fool of myself.

... Oh? I did anyway?

Well at least its Friday....

Coffeehouse - C9 team...

Shaded — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 16:08:45 GMT

You should be able to find it in the headers of any emails you sent at that time. Did you send yourself any email those days?

This may sound strange but my email box is like a gigantic notebook to me. I frequently send messages to myself

...Remember to do this tomorrow for whoever...

Good luck.

Coffeehouse - Nominations open for Team 99 -- Longhorn Superuser and Superdeveloper blogger group

Shaded — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 05:28:38 GMT

Stuart Celarier wrote:

Check it out. This thread is rated the number 5 most viewed discussion on the Channel 9 Coffeehouse. We've got work to do, and together we can do it -- at 52,451 views, we only need 9,505 more views to beat out "Does Microsoft care about Webmasters?" Check back two or three times a day to see if there's any news on Team 99 and drive that view count up! : )

This would be my biggest worry about working at Microsoft - more so than other companies. When your organization is so big it is hard to measure your actual impact. Instead your performance is measured on metrics that... all too frequently have nothing to do with actual contribution.

Like counting how many views this thread gets, and trying to pump it up. Are Stuart and Scoble's job performance judged by these statistics? If so I highly question the accuracy of this metric.

Its becoming more and more clear to me that Team 99 is not about contributing to Longhorn as much as it is about driving traffic to Channel 9. Sure there comes a point where hype and generating interest can carry a wave of enthusiasm and make a project (or product) better than it otherwise would have been, but there comes a point in time where you are just cabbage patching.

When the consumers finally catch on that contributions to Longhorn are not all that difficult to make, you end up with a product that is not only worth less than what you originally had, you're over staffed to support the reduced demand after the bubble bursts.

... or not. That's just the way I see it.

All I know is I've seen hundreds, maybe thousands of messages with little more substance than a Linux verses Windows debate. I'm just as guilty as the next guy of contributing to this useless debate, however I came to Channel 9 to learn what the developers are doing, and participate in a community supported by Microsoft that is focused on getting something done. Anything. Sure I'm a novice I don't know what the hell I'm doing

Maybe its my fault for spending so much time in the coffee house because the real substance is somewhere else, but lets face it, this is where the activity is. Otherwise why else would the team 99 post be put here?

... or not.

But the day Microsoft considers the number of views a post gets the amount of "work" done is the day I have to ask... "Is the dot com era really over?"

Am I really going to check back two or three times a day to add counts to the "views" column of some obscure database? Is that the extent of my contribution to the community of Channel 9?

I'd like to think I have something better to do with my time...

Coffeehouse - Who's your Marketeer

Shaded — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 04:44:37 GMT

ScanIAm wrote:

Don't give yourself too much credit, you're just the most recent in a long line of jackholes that seem to feel that using windows is akin to making snuff films.

To everything
There is a season

and a time for every OS
under heaven

I think your polarizing a little too much. Just because jackholes advocate Linux does not mean linux is good or bad, it just means jackholes advocate it.

I look forward to an actual Linux project I have at work because a software development vendor is more familiar with Linux. they offered to port the software to work under IIS, I said "Don't bother", because I didn't want to troubleshoot the compatibility issues.

Could I have thrown a fit and required Windows based software as IT manager? Sure. But the price was impossible to argue with and when you SEE it working, and your end users are excited about a product, its hard to derail that train of success.

Sure it may not handle some of the more sexy things, AD integrated authentication, single sign on, simplicity of MSSQL management, etc.

But there is something to be learned from all of them.

And lets not forget how cool it is to do this and get paid. ... well some of us get paid anyway.

Coffeehouse - Is it illegal to write viruses?

Shaded — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 20:57:36 GMT

gaelhatchue wrote:

Is it illegal to write viruses?

Maybe you should reconsider your question in light of recent discussion. I would ask "Is it ever smart to write viruses?" to which I would answer, no.

Because most extremely stupid things to do are against the law, if its smart, chances are its legal. This way you'll answer the question if you really want to pursue doing it yourself as well as if you'll get busted for it.

Coffeehouse - Computer Games Kill 12 Year Old

Shaded — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 15:59:40 GMT

Computer Games dont' kill people.

Convulsions kill people.

Coffeehouse - Is it illegal to write viruses?

Shaded — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 15:58:27 GMT

Well to use a more relevant analogy...

Its like rolling your own fireworks.

Sure if you make a sparkler and run it in your back yard, nobody notices and nobody calls the cops, chances are you aren't breaking the law.

However, if you make a 10 inch diameter black powder mortar that launches half a mile up before exploding, accidentally set it off on the way to the launch site, loose half your trailer and embed your tow hitch in the neighbors dog, chances are authorities are going to come down on you pretty hard.

Its only illegal if you get caught. Its only stupid if it does not work as anticipated.

... or not.

Coffeehouse - A strange, strange quiz

Shaded — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:00:41 GMT

I got 5 of 10.

scary

Coffeehouse - that's what i call it , MUSIC

Shaded — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 16:37:56 GMT

Good song, LS.

I've always liked Wheezer personally;

My automobile is a piece of crap
My fashion sense is a little whack
And my friends are just as screwy as me

I didn't go to boarding schools
Preppie girls never looked at me
Why should they?
I ain't nobody
Got nothing in my pocket

Beverly Hills
That's where I want to be
Livin' in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills
Rolling like a celebrity
Livin' in Beverly Hills

Look at all those movie stars
They're all so beautiful and clean
When the housemaids scrub the floors
They get the spaces in between

I wanna live a life like that
I wanna be just like a king
Take my picture by the pool
'cause I'm the next big thing

The truth is I don't stand a chance
It's something that you're born into
And I just don't belong

No I don't
I'm just a no-class beat down fool
And I will always be that way
I might as well enjoy my life
And watch the stars play

Coffeehouse - Hybrid Hard Drives

Shaded — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 16:29:31 GMT

W3bbo wrote:

Tyler Brown wrote: I just blogged about an article in the latest issue of Maximum PC. It seems that Microsoft and Samsung have just revealed a hybrid hard drive that they've been working on for Longhorn mobile devices. From what I've read, I would definately want one of those in the next tablet or laptop that I buy.

It would be far easier instead to have a spanned volume on a load of Flash CF cards.... faster too

This is old school DASD for mainframes. Dynamic Allocation Storage Devices... a mixture of ram and hard drives. Cept they never powered off.

I always liked their three dollar words for everyday stuff. Like, you don't boot a mainframe... it costs too much, you IPL it.

Coffeehouse - What's cuter?

Shaded — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 16:24:12 GMT

Tiffany could be a supermodel... And no - I didn't put the bow on her. In fact I asked a friend not to, but she did and took the picture anyway.

She's so cute don't you just want to step on her?

Coffeehouse - What's cuter?

Shaded — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 05:37:52 GMT

manickernel wrote:

As long as its soft and furry its got my vote.

Awww comon you ruined my whole delivery. Maybe I should have hinted more... I dunnknow. Lets try this again.

My cat is the cutest in the world.

someone is suppose to say "No way your cat is the cutest in the world." hint hint>

Coffeehouse - What's cuter?

Shaded — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:26:41 GMT

I agree with Sven, however my cat is the cutest.

Its hard to say that and still sound masculine, but its true.

Coffeehouse - Simon sez... Hi!

Shaded — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:24:37 GMT

ingenious wrote:

Several times have I been redirected to this site these days... Casting a glance and clicking the magix X button in a few seconds. But last night I considered that it just could not be a coincidence. So I had a look around. And I was pretty charmed. Very interesting stuff here. Never imagined that "MS guys" would be so funny And you are. So I decided to register for your "Witness protection program".

I'm from Eastern Europe, Bulgaria. Just graduating Computer Science. And I'm looking for some nice e-people.

Hey have you seen my robe and and stuff from the golden spur?

Some years back someone got my Credit Card number and sent a few Victoria Secret orders and some boots to Bulgaria.

... No? You havn't seen them?

Ohwell it was worth a try. Welcome to Channel 9 and uh... avoid the onion dip, its been here awhile.

Scoble! When are we getting this stuff replaced? We're running low on party hats too.

Coffeehouse - Is Linux For Losers?

Shaded — Fri, 17 Jun 2005 17:17:18 GMT

It takes a bigger loser than me to understand it, thats for sure.