One product that I dont want!

Microsoft is suffering during the financial crisis. Of cause. Who isn't. But now Microsoft is again looking around for new markets to take over. I honestly thought it was a joke when I first saw that Microsoft is working on software for cars.

I will turn in my drivers license if that happens.

Just think about what will happen if you press the “Close Windows” button? Will it close the cars windows or will it close....Windows?

Imagine that you are going to see your mothers house in the weekend. On the way, you need to make a left turn.

“Your 30 trial version of 'Left Turn' has expired. Would you like to buy 'Left Turn' now?”

YES YES YES give me 'Left Turn' software NOW.

“Downloading....”. “Please read the EULA carefully. Do you accept the terms and conditions?”

YES!

“This application consist of third party software. Please accept these third party terms and conditions. Do you accept the third party EULA?”

YES.

“Windows needs to be restarted after install of new software. Will restart in 15 14 21 4.3.2.1. Please wait while Windows is restarting....”

“The installed driver is corrupt. Please replace driver. “

“Please wait while Windows is restarting....”

“Doing consistency check on drive c:. Please wait 1%”

“Starting Windows”

"Restarting Windows"

Okay. Now you are on the way, but on the highway, you can see one truck ahead driving very slow so you want to reduce speed. You know; just in case.

“The application 'Brakes 2.03' is not compatible with your audio software. Would you like to search for compatible software?”

NO you don't have the time. You are trying to avoid an accident and you try to pass the truck without hiding it. You don't make it and crashes right into the truck.

Remember a 'crash' in the real world is a CRASH. Metal towards metal...terrible sound when that happens. I'm very happy that you have that wonderful airbag installed in your car. When you wake up again, you will see this message on the screen:

”Airbag ejection activated. Are you sure?”

If you see a guy on the highway on a bike – that me and it's running Linux!

Sony's stupid piece of shit

I just love this one:

Squirrels

For the last couple of months we have had two frequent visiters in the garden. We usually feed the birds during winther but this year we continued to feed them even during spring and summer. The squirrels heard about it and now they are sitting on the ground below the birds food supply every morning.

This squirrel is a grey one. The other one is completly red.

Was it Donald Duck or ?

Tonight I suddenly found three ducks in my garden.


On the roof was another duck:


We soon found out the reason. Among the tulips was a she duck:

Another USB Gadget

We see a lot of new gadgets for the USB drive all the time: Coffee cup heaters, fans, lamps etc. But this one bites them all:


Turn on the speakers, even if you don't understand the French. It's fun just to hear it.
Se more in http://www.usbwine.com.

Lotus Notes - the best decision maker

Lotus Notes 8.01 has a lot of new features that helps you in your daily work. I've been using and teaching Notes for several years and I'm looking forward to my next user course.

I can tell the students that Lotus Notes is the best decision maker ever.

Should I go to the golf court or not ?

First, take a look at the local weather forecast and if you are still in doubt; flip a coin. Both features can now be integrated directly into your Notes environment.

How ?
You can install almost any Google Gadget in the sidebar in the Notes client.

Don't let this boy near the airport

Sometimes you find funny news on the internet. Funny, but at the same time serious and dramatic. Now take this one about a 14 years old school boy from Poland ( http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2675715.html ).
He hacked into the local tram system and played with the trains like it was his private toys. I specially like the part about the remote control. Can you imagine this biy standing in the corner of the central square with this little device - laughing.

Shame in you.

But how should the adults punish him ?

Of cause he must be punished. He have hurt several passengers and four trams were derailed. I suggest that he is ordered to work at the hospital or the local care center for elderly citizens for 10 days or so. Then he will see the consequences of his work. Furthermore he should be punished with at least four years in university. This guy clearly has perspective. I have a son aged twelve and of cause he couldn't do this. But what I think is, that a boy at this age can never be responsible for a thing like this. The responsible is the people responsible for the tram system. They should be punished hard.

Now comes the funny part. Imagine the above incident with this article ( http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=562 ) about Boeing 787 at risk of in-flight hacking.

Imagine the boy with his remote control in the airport.

Amusements for Christmas

Christmas time is time for relax and having a good time. Amusement together with your family and friends.

Earlier in December, I found a blog post on http://jacob-sparre.dk/ about a popular toy from Denmark: Lego. Jacob Sparre has made some fine Danish manuals and he has revealed some of his own models.

Normally you buy a box of Lego and hen follow the instructions, page by page. My own kids are getting a little too old (13 and 15 years) for Lego, but when I introduced them to this concept, they actually returned to what they were about five years ago: Amused by Lego again.

I think most people has experienced the feeling of opening a box of Lego and taking the challenge of building something beautiful or very complicated.

Imagine that you have all the Lego that has ever existed and in all colors in the World. You will never 'mis' that last piece or end up with the wrong color. You have everything, right by your right finger.

OK, this computer program doesn't replace the feeling of building your own model out of those red and blue bricks from Lego, but it can give you the feeling of creating something new.

The program is called LDRAW http://www.ldraw.org and it's open source. You can build all the models that you can imagine - and for no charge at all.

About LDraw:

LDraw™ is an open standard for LEGO CAD programs that allow the user to create virtual LEGO models and scenes. You can use it to document models you have physically built, create building instructions just like LEGO, render 3D photo realistic images of your virtual models and even make animations. The possibilities are endless. Unlike real LEGO bricks where you are limited by the number of parts and colors, in LDraw nothing is impossible.

How about this model of The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb by Matija Puzar


See more here: http://www.ldraw.org/module-LdrawMOTM-entry-modelid-261.html

The Inquirer has a coment on this

Thanks to Mads for this link.
The Inquirer calls the Danish approach a comedy.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/12/12/danes-set-open-standards-trial

A comedy is what it is. The Danish parliament first agrees on implementing open standards for office documents. It ends up with open standards or stick with Microsoft. The final solution is for text documents only.

The individual authority will be able to reject following the resolution, because it must be finacial neutral. So anything that costs money is a possible reason for not implementing open standards.

My conclusion is, that the resolution isn't worth the paper.

If free software isn't enough

My son Christian Lodahl showed me this (turn in the speakers, it's great music too):

System integration made easy

This video shows that system integration is not that hard...

Youngsters in rock

My son Christian aged 14, made this movie from some pictures taken on June 8th. 2007.



It's wonderful to see that young people having a good time.

Alternative operating system

Just came across this specification of a new and very useful operating system. By the way, Das is Danish for a toilet.

How much IS 6000 pages ?

The EOOXML specification is 6000 pages. I got the pdf-version and that seems like a lot if information. But how much is it ?

Take a look at this blogpost by Pavel Janik. Remember to see all the pictures.

Of some reason I'll post this post under Fun.

Where do the users live ?

Ever thought about where users live ?
I am working on a map that shows all danish references.

http://doc.oooforum.dk/maps/daref.html

Just for fun :-)