News and commentary from the cross-platform scripting community.
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Mail Starting 10/8/97 | |
The idea of transmitting IP over electrical lines is something the power companies have been looking at for several years. Their main interest is not becoming ISPs, but in putting server-like software in your home usage meter.
From: postmaster@meyerjohnson.com (Mark Camp) (by way of Brent Simmons);
Sent at 10/8/97; 6:14:35 PM;
Net transmission by ElectricityWhen in place, this setup will allow the power company to send a request to your meter. The reply would contain your kilowatt-hour usage for the month, day, etc. This would obviate the need to send meter-readers out to your house, thereby saving the power company a fortune in people costs.
I've been and remain a loyal fan of DaveNet.
From: Randy_Battat-W11384@email.mot.com (Randy Battat-W11384);
Sent at 10/8/97; 5:36:05 PM;
Re:Three Years of DaveNetI too remember your early pieces and my views that the world didn't have to start and end with PCs -- that new kinds of devices would have as different "gestalts" (to quote JLG) as the PC did from its mainframe and minicomputer predecessors.
I still believe that there are opportunities for new kinds of devices with different social consequences (especially if they embed wireless communications), but I have to agree with your original point that PDAs are useless without an intimate relationship with PCs. The Palm Pilot certainly proved that.
I'm no longer working on PDAs at Moto, and I'm having even more fun running a set of businesses in wide-area data communications: Cable modems, frame relay equipment, routers, and stuff like that.
I've very much appreciated DaveNet over the last three years. I read every note with great enthusiasm and interest -- partly because no person who ever touched Apple can ever get the place out of their souls (witness JLG and Steve Jobs and Bill Campbell) and partly because the points you make are an expression of the cutting edge of the issues in the industry. Besides, I like your style.
Please continue to count on me in as a devoted reader and fan.
This problem appears in a number of situations. It is unfortunately not limited to OS8. It happens in every version of the OS since 7.0. Norton Utilties has been very successful in fixing this problem.
From: murdock@mmacs.com (Michael Murdock);
Sent at 10/8/97; 1:19:17 PM;
Blinking Question MarkBasically, it is a problem related to the boot block sector of the disk. It appears after there is a problem in the shutdown process of the machine or after a series of crashes. It not only happens on the machines that Apple mentions, it happens on any Mac that has a Quantum made hard drive inside of it. Other manufacturers drives will exhibit other problems. The Quantum make has something inherent in it that disagrees with the MacOS, or visa-versa. Still looking for that answer :)
How do I know this? For 6 years previous to August 29th 1997, I was lead Macintosh Systems Engineer for Pixar. I have worked on hard drives in the Mac Universe since 1988 which gives me about 9 years more experience at fixing these things than most anyone else you will meet :)
I have also worked with Norton Utilities since 1.0 shipped in a capacity as a beta tester. I have never lost a drive while using Norton, unlike some other utilities which shall remain nameless.
Make sure that users that are using Norton 3.5 under OS8 have upgraded to the newest version of software via the Symantec Website. If they still have difficulties and are located in California, have them give me a call. I am available for consulting in these matters.
Michael E. Murdock, Owner & Chief Consultant
MMACS - M. Murdock Associates Consulting Services
1228 Floribunda Avenue #9
Burlingame, CA 94010650-347-4174 phone
650-692-1394 faxEMAIL: murdock@mmacs.com or murdockme@aol.com
WEBPAGE: http://www.mmacs.com/I just wanted to congratulate you on the anniversary of DaveNet. You are a real force in the industry and also a cool dude. I look back at the context of our meeting and think about what you taught me. At the end of the day, it's not often that you flame somebody and then end up eating a sandwich next to their swimming pool. A truly humbling and learning experience.
From: miko@miko.com (Miko);
Sent at 10/8/97; 11:49:11 AM;
Re:Sun Sues MicrosoftWhat's your story on DreamWeaver? You know the guys at Macromedia, right? Frontier works with BBEdit. BBEdit works with DreamWeaver. DreamWeaver plus BBEdit may be able to do something that previously only GoLive CyberStudio was able to do - switch back and forth between source and graphical views. DreamWeaver + BBEdit + Frontier may be able to do another thing that only GoLive CyberStudio can do: add an outline view to the views above. Frontier could be the glue to hold this all together, overriding the built in glue, and making it extensible.
From: faisal@faisal.com (Faisal Jawdat);
Sent at 10/8/97; 2:49:17 PM;
DreamWeaverHalf the world was rejoicing at the news of Sun's suit against Microsoft. Everybody saw it coming, and it was the right thing for Sun to do. And the only one who gets hurt is Microsoft. I have read many statements from Microsoft (including at least one on DaveNet) saying that the cross-platform goals of the Java environment is nothing but a pipe dream. This was nothing but an attempt by Bill and Co. to ease the reaction in the court of public opinion when they started sabotaging Java.
From: medvitz@earthlink.net (Dave Medvitz);
Sent at 10/8/97; 2:04:48 PM;
Microsoft vs. Java isn't just Microsoft vs JavaThe big question is: Why? Why does Microsoft need to sabotage the cross platform (or potential cross platform) abilities of Java? Why do they need to modify the core of Java when they could add their own packages? They can't possibly be scared of the existence of the JavaOS. But are they?
Java is neither OS, platform or programming language. It is an environment. It is an environment that can be run within Windows, MacOS, and Unix's of all shapes and sizes. With the proper kernel and native libraries, it can act as the shell to an OS, but only in small situations could it actually be the OS. So obviously the OS isn't what scares Microsoft. It's the environment. The Java Environment (consisting of the VM, the language and the core API) is the single most powerful weapon against the Microsoft machine. Right now, I write an app in the Java Environment, and it runs - on my Linux box AND on my Win95 machine. As Java grows, its application base will grow. This would be fine by Microsoft if Java only ran under Windows. But what OS would you run if all of your software ran on BOTH Win95 and MacOS, or Win95 and Linux. I would run Linux, as would some others. A good number of people would run MacOS. The single thing that keeps Windows the most used operating system would be no more - application base. People would be able to choose an operating system based on the merits of the operating system, not based upon wether or not you can run Excel. This is what Microsoft is afraid of.
After sending in the link to NorTel & NorWeb's press announcement, I spent a little time digging through Northern Telecom's website, and found a wonderful resource. It's called "Telephony 101", and is a thorough, well-written and fascinating introduction to how the North American phone system works. It may be downloaded at:
From: mmcavoy@ix.netcom.com (Michael McAvoy);
Sent at 10/8/97; 2:13:30 PM;
Free book from NorTelhttp://www.nortel.com/broadband/reference/telephony_101.html
It's kind of large, but it's a PDF file, 113 pages long, with illustrations. What a great company! My phoneCo (BellSouth) would never put something like this online... the thought of computer types understanding the tele system gives them the heebie jeebies. (Atlanta is where the first Legion of Doom arrests took place.)
Congratulations on 3 years of Dave-Net.
From: hankp@proaxis.com (Hank Prohm);
Sent at 10/8/97; 10:43:28 AM;
Re:"The next Three Years of DaveNet"I would like to suggest some things for you and your readers to be watching during the next three years:
1. The anti-Microsoft sentiment keeps growing.......and like the French revolution, there is nowhere for people to channel their frustrations. I'm guessing that this will mean that once a genuine alternative arrives, people will desert the WINTEL monopoly in droves. This has prompted me to start monitoring the industry looking for hints of change.....like the following:
2. Gateway now owns AMIGA.......this means that one of the largest of the clone makers now owns a stable operating system and rights to a highly capable graphics oriented platform. They have already announced plans for a multi-os system in the near future. If things pan out, there is a possibility of a computer system that would be capable of really competing with the WINTEL monopoly.
C. Linux keeps growing. If their project to develop a new windowing system succeeds. All the Linux community really needs at present is a way for hot programmers to make money writing for Linux. My suggestion: Set up a foundation which will offer prizes in certain categories each year, sort of like the Pulitzer or Nobel prizes. Funding for the foundation could be by donation.....if everyone who wanted to see competition for Microsoft donated $5., there would be millions available for prizes.
IV. There is the likely prospect of a clash of egos between Jobs and Gates.....this may mean good things for the whole computer industry if it translates into Apple trying to be competitive in the open market place (something I am personally skeptical about).
Anyhow, these are some of the things I am keeping an eye on.
Once again, congratulations and keep up the good work.
Dave, I know both of the following sites have been mentioned on the list but after hearing the Workbook gentleman at Seybold and getting an Activemail email account, I felt compelled to write. In short these two sites are extraordinary Frontier (and FileMaker and WebStar and Mac OS, etc.) case studies! I'm the first to admit that Frontier is extremely capable and powerful but these two sites blew me away in their functionality, seeming complexity and performance. Make sure you check them out and I would imagine both authors would be happy to write up how they developed these things.
From: patrick.breitenbach@unforgettable.com;
Sent at 10/8/97; 1:11:40 PM;
Frontier case studiesThis is a question which has been burning me up for a while now and I can't find any place to ask it?
From: BMagnusson@appiangraphics.com> (by way of BrentWhy is it legal for Microsoft to give away their Internet Explorer, a product which they have now spent in the neighborhood of a 100 million dollars developing.
We sued Japan for dumping RAM chips, and they weren't even free, just lower cost. Simmons (Baiss Magnusson);
Sent at 10/8/97; 10:11:27 AM;
Why is it legal?Sun is claiming there are several instances in which Microsoft changed the behavior of the Core Class Library. To me, that's the most significant issue, and, if true, the one which most justifies the lawsuit. Imagine a laguage trying to call itself "C" which changed the behavior of "scanf," not by just adding a couple of new format types, but by changing the existing ones so that a program that followed the C standard broke at that point.
From: Arlen.P.Walker@jci.com (Walker, Arlen P);
Sent at 10/8/97; 10:21:14 AM;
Re:Sun Sues MicrosoftThat's what MS has done here that's worth all the shouting. Had they done the right thing, and simply subclassed the Core classes with their modified classes, providing the developers with access to both classes, it wouldn't have caused this problem. Developers could choose which implementation of the class they wanted to use: the MS one which might perform a little better but only run with the MS JVM, or the standard one which would run anywhere.
As it is, developers who use the MS tools apparently can't be sure any of their work can run anywhere but inside the MS JVM. It's an effective way of building a fence around your developer community, I guess, but as a developer I'm interested in bridges, not fences. As much as it may disappoint some in Redmond, not everyplace I want to go today wears a Microsoft logo.
I've a great deal of sympathy for the "Java is just a language" viewpoint. Personally, I see it as a very promising new tool; it remains to be seen if it will be allowed to deliver on its potential. Standard languages require adherence to standard libraries for them to be useful; C is a good example of that. And MS is apparently not willing to give us access to the standard Java libraries. I don't know why. Are they afraid their non-standard classes can't compete with the standard ones? If they aren't, if they have confidence in their own work, why not deliver both the standard and their "improved" libraries and let the developers make their own choices? "Both and" means everyone wins; "either or" simply creates losers.
I guess that's the question: Do we want to win, or are we more interested in making someone else lose?
Dave, Thanks to YOU. I may not always agree with your assessments, but I always appreciate what you write, because you accomplish for me what I see as one of the most important things someone can do: you keep people thinking.
From: jimsd@together.net;
Sent at 10/8/97; 7:58:43 AM;
Re:Three Years of DaveNetBTW, if you want to move into music other than rock and roll, take a look at some of my M&T Reports -- these days I'm covering a LOT of old jazz that is just amazing stuff. I think you'd LOVE to learn to appreciate Billie Holiday, for instance.
http://www.teleport.com/~loverink/MTHome.html
Good morning Dave:
From: jaggi@pingnet.ch (Christoph Jaggi);
Sent at 10/8/97; 10:58:34 AM;
Re:Three Years of DaveNetCongratulations to the third anniversary of DaveNet! Your opinionated writing and openess makes people think, act and react. What more can one reach? Keep up your great work and good spirits.
Talking about VCs: Did you know that KP (John Doerr) had the business plan for a planned company to market the WWW-technology (co-founders Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau) and did not even bother to get back to them and that Ann Winblad had the plans as well and got back claiming, that there is no business to be made? Ok, that was in 1993, but it shows the problems you get when your thinking is too advanced...
Dave -- Sorry to say it, but having read your stuff and seeing you at DaveNet Live, I just cannot imagine you in a BMW. Please, please, please don't go back to driving one. Stay in the truck crowd, it really is a crowd as much as the BMW cultivates a crowd. Enjoy.
From: ulieberman@alexander-pr.com (Usher Lieberman);
Sent at 10/8/97; 12:41:41 AM;
Three Years of DaveNet -ReplyCongratulations, Pal...
From: barlow@eff.org (John Perry Barlow);
Sent at 10/8/97; 2:16:22 AM;
Re:Three Years of DaveNetYou are, and have been for 3 years at least, an inventor of a future I am trying to invent by predicting it.
Rave on, Dave. Rave on.
I've been president of a 1000 member user group. People understood that they could know me without me knowing them.
From: leehinde@hdind.com (Lee Hinde);
Sent at 10/7/97; 11:28:41 PM;
You and me. :-) (Happy three)Here's how I know you. It's ok if you don't know me. :-)
1. I skipped ThinkTank. What was up with those scroll areas?
2. I heckled Peter when he came to demo More at our user group - Where's the Undo?
3. I still use More. Not every day, but often.
4. I organized a group purchase of Frontier when it came out. 10 copies.
5. You chastised me once on the phone for asking a stupid question. But, hey, at least you returned the tech support call.
6. I picked up my Frontier upgrade at your office in Redwood City. I saw them assemble my box!
7. DaveNet!
Thanks. It's been fun.