Here's a good article on how to avoid spam, ie unsolicited email.

here's a strange find... while testing out a swing app, I typed in Control-Shift-F1, which produced some very strange output. Turns out this is a geniune feature, not a bug. It's the Swing GUI hierarchy. Guess I should be reading these JDC Tech Tips I keep getting.

Here's a crucial quote regarding development distractions from Rapid Development by Steve McConnell:

"Unlike most management tasks, which are interrupt based and which survive and thrive on frequent interruptions, software development tasks require long periods of uninterrupted concentration. Because managers generally do not need long uninterrupted periods to do their work, developers' requests for peace and quiet can seem like requests for preferential treatment. But developers are usually highly self-motivated, and what they're really asking for is to be provided with conditions that will allow them to work efficiently.
...
Software development is an ephemeral, conceptual activity. Like any conceptual activity, the quality of the work is dependent on the worker's ability to sustain a "flow state" -- a relaxed state of total immersion in a problem that facilitates understanding of it and the generation of solutions for it. Converting brain waves to computer software is a delicate process, and developers work best during the hours they spend in this state of effortless concentration. Developers require 15 minutes or more to enter a state of flow, which can then last many hours, until fatigue or interruption terminates it. If developers are interrupted often, they will likely never enter a flow state and will therefore be unlikely to reach their highest levels of productivity."

More info on Windows XP activation:

Activation codes are derived from multiple pieces of hardware with a many-to-one mapping. Dockable laptops are catered for. A fixed product key is also used, together with hardware info as follows (source: Fully Licensed GmBH)

volume serial number string of system volume
network adapter MAC address string
CD-ROM drive hardware identification string
graphics adapter hardware identification string
CPU serial number string
harddrive hardware identification string
SCSI host adapter hardware identification string
IDE controller hardware identification string
processor model string
RAM size
dockable / non dockable

The last bit "... specifies whether the bit-fields represent a notebook computer that supports a docking station. If docking is possible, the activation mechanism will be more tolerant with respect to future hardware modifications. Here, the idea is that plugging a notebook into its docking station possibly results in changes to its hardware configuration, e.g. a SCSI host adapter built into the docking station may become available."

Also from Fully Licensed GmBH:

>>> Non-dockable computer

Typically all bit-fields with the exception of the unused field and the 'dockable' field are compared. If more than three of these ten bit-fields have changed in a) since product activation, re-activation is required. This means, for example, that in our above real-world example, we could replace the harddrive and the CD-ROM drive and substantially upgrade our RAM without having to re-activate our Windows XP installation.

>>> Dockable computer

If bit 31 of H2 indicates that our computer supports a docking station, however, only seven of the ten bit-fields mentioned above are compared. The bit-fields corresponding to the SCSI host adapter, the IDE controller, and the graphics board are omitted. But again, of these remaining seven bit-fields, only up to three may change without requiring re-activation.

Basically, MS aren't stupid, despite what Slashdot might think. The whole thing is a compromise chosen to provide some flexibility while enforcing registration. If it's successful, I think you'll see a lot of companies pick up on it.

I still remember the bad old days of Lotus 1-2-3 on the DEC Rainbow, which used to read an extra track on the installation floppy by poking the disk controller hardware.

Cool thing to do in Office 2000, number 314: SVG graphics.

Having used PowerPoint to prepare numerous block diagrams documenting a project (hey, it was all we had) the client requires them to be made available on the Intranet, but not in the form of PowerPoint docs. So, I notice that PowerPoint can export directly to HTML, generating SVG (scalable vector graphics) and fixed-size GIFs as a fall-back for older browsers. Neat! Well, the client was impressed...

Google has a pretty interesting stats page called Google Zeitgeist. Seems like jon lee hooker & bob marley searches are on the decline, while interest in paula poundstone is rising.

If you don't already know, Windows XP and Office XP enforce a strict one-license for one-computer policy. Here's a Wall Street Journal article with some good points.

The worst part of course is that XP can forget that it's activated when you change your hardware. Also, you cannot buy a new computer and install your own copy of XP on the new machine without begging Microsoft to change their database.

My guess is that this will increase their immediate revenues, but also greatly increase the public's overall dislike for all things Microsoft, simply because no other software forces them to do this. While technically it's been illegal to install the same software on several machines, I'd say most people are blissfully unaware of this.

With Linux gaining popularity, and StarOffice being free and better than Microsoft Office ... I'd say Microsoft is basically pushing customers away.

"I wanted to know if dreams would lie / You said they would try and I said let them / You just let them" - shawn colvin

Dreams are tough because you invest yourself. When results take longer, it's hardest on the dreamers since we stretch ourselves thin just getting off the ground.