Dr. Wingnut

Windows XP should sell for $29 not $299.  This is why [IBM Blue] Linux has to be put on the fast track.  Users cannot pay never-ending forced tributes to Microsoft as if it were the Roman Empire and we its slaves.

Yea John!

Patience is the companion of wisdom.

For those accustomed to traditional Notes/Domino development, Workplace, based on J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition), has a steep learning curve, said Manpreet Singh, chief operating officer of IT Factory A/S’s India business.  IT Factory, a software and services company, develops applications around Lotus software.

Singh said his office is trying to develop a Workplace strategy.  It’s had customers ask about the new technology, though no one has signed on yet for a deployment.  Singh is worried about the portability of custom Domino applications and add-ons to the Workplace system.

"I’ve been talking to IBM.  They say it’s practically drag-and-drop," he said.  He’s skeptical.  "That’s sales talk.  It’s impossible."

Ironically, if Nat had tried this approach, perhaps he wouldn’t have written me the very same day this arrived in America complaining about an apparent bug in Micro$oft Outlook.  Apparently something snapped in the software and prevents his journal items from being displayed.  I’m still not sure if he has found the cure yet.

All this against the backdrop that HRH William H. Gates III has been bestowed an honorary knighthood for his contributions to enterprise, employment and volunteerism in the United Kingdom.  Guess they couldn’t bestow it on him for his outstanding contributions to software; because that went to Tim Berners-Lee.

In pharmacology, all drugs have two names, a trade name and a generic name.  For example, the trade name of Tylenol also has the generic name of acetaminophen.  Aleve is called naproxen.  Amoxil is also called amoxicillin and Advil is also called ibuprofen.  The FDA has been looking for a generic name for Viagra.  After careful consideration by a team of government experts, it recently announced that it has settled on the generic name of mycoxafloppin.  Also considered were: mycoxafailin, mydixadrupin, mydixadud, dixafix and, of course, ibepokin.

Here’s a dilemma for you….  With all your honor and dignity what would you do?  This test only has one question, but it’s a very important one.  Please don’t answer it without giving it some serious thought. By giving an honest answer you will be able to test where you stand morally.

The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation, where you will have to make a decision one way or the other.

Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous.

You’re in Florida —in Miami, to be exact.  There is great chaos going on around you, caused by a hurricane and severe floods.  There are huge masses of water all over you.  You are a CNN photographer and you are in the middle of this great disaster.  The situation is nearly hopeless.

You’re trying to shoot very impressive photos.  There are houses and people floating around you, disappearing into the water.  Nature is showing all its destroying power and is ripping everything away with it.

Suddenly you see a man in the water, he is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken away by the masses of water and mud. You move closer.  Somehow the man looks familiar.

Suddenly you know who it is – it’s George W. Bush!

At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him away, forever.  You have two options.  You can save him or you can take the best photo of your life. So you can save the life of George W. Bush, or you can shoot a Pulitzer prize winning photo, a unique photo displaying the death of one of the world’s most powerful men.

And here’s the question (please give an honest answer): Would you select color film, or rather go with the simplicity of classic black and white?