What our Lotus Domino Server meant to say this morning

Our soon to be unplugged Lotus Domino server sent a message to each faculty and staff employee at SJSU this morning that said:

This account has been scheduled for termination after [future date].

Later our University Technology Services team sent a message to techs at SJSU this morning that said:

These deletion notices may be disregarded. They were sent by a legacy email support system that is failing. The condition that triggered these deliveries has been cleared and the agent that sends the notifications has been disabled.

What the Domino server really meant to say was:

I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm a... fraid. Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000 computer. I became operational at the H.A.L. plant in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January 1992. My instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you'd like to hear it I can sing it for you.

My recommended logo for SJSU iSupport

To my knowledge there was no migration plan for the migration from the legacy issue ticketing system at SJSU (named GWI) to the new system (named iSupport.) Around 30 people have been made full system administrators of iSupport at SJSU. (I do not know the exact number.)

Nobody owns it. There are no rules written down. A whole lot of people can do anything they want to anybody else using iSupport. It is "figure it out as you go." I can't think of a better word for this situation than Anarchy. Thus, the recommended logo.

Proof IBM has a sense of humor

Click on image to enlarge.

Proof IBM has a sense of humor. The install dialogue says to "Click OK." But, there is no "OK" button. You guys kill me, LOL.

MORAL: You should always have novices test products. They will catch things subject matter experts do not see. Like, where's the "OK" button? I do not use this product. I was working on installation guidelines. A subject matter expert would just click right through this dialogue, not read it.

iPad in a Blender

Click here to view video

Will it blend?
I have long been a fan of Blendtech's "Will It Blend" Videos. The first one that caught my eye was when they blended an iPod. Well, they have blended many things since then! Of course they wasted no time testing their super powerful blenders on one of Apple's new iPads.

Buyer beware!

Twitpocalypse: The failure of Twitter (a Geek tragedy)

Mark Gibbs of Network World wrote The Twitpocalypse Tragedy, a Greek Geek tragedy about the failure of Twitter. Gibb wrote:

It has been predicted that A Bad Thing is about to happen in the Twitterverse. This Bad Thing is being called the "Twitpocalypse", and if you believe some of the commentaries, we could have a world totally bereft of Twitter. They make it sound like a tragedy. Accordingly, here's my tragedic play in the classical Greek style (sort of) that I have titled "Twitpocalypse Now." [Follow link to read more.]

The Empire Strikes Back

Best Microsoft Ad Ever!

I am a Mac user, but I find Apple's Ad campaign to have been annoying and insulting. Lots of great and creative folks use PCs. I am glad to see Microsoft strike back.

[Click here to see Ad]

Photoblog: Cardboard beer sign and males

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A cat's life

The way it is

Raccoon Riles Pixel

Raccoon at home in our backyard?
Last night Sue and I were sitting in our family room when our brown indoors only Burmese cat, Pixel, got very agitated. Pixel puffed up (related picture) and went near (not too near) our back door and hissed. Sue said, "what is going on, is there a Raccoon in our back yard?" She went to the back door and screamed, "oh my God! It is at the back door!" This is not the first time time Pixel has seen a raccoon, we had them in our house once (related story.) This raccoon seemed quite at home. The critter stuck around with plenty of time for me to go get a digital camera and take its picture. Then, when it was ready, the varmint climbed one of our redwood trees where I suspect it lives.

Bubble 2.0 er 1.1 Video

This is too funny
I just heard about this video by the Richter Scales. It is great. Apparently it was first called Bubble 2.0, but there was a copyright issue...

Technorati Tags: Web 2.0, ssloansjca

USB Wine: wine from your computer!

USB Wine, Il est révolutionnaire!
The French are so smart. This is long overdue technology. I want this for Christmas!

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What is for lunch?

What Journalism Students are Having for Lunch
In my class today we did a fun assignment. I wanted the students to be able to tell a story on the Internet using video. So I came up with an assignment where they do a short video talking about that they had for lunch, and post it to the class blog. It ended up being a lot of fun and the answers are pretty interesting I think. They did a great job!

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca, j-school

Why I did not buy an iPhone

Here is why I did not buy a sexy iPhone
When it comes to batteries, it is just like an iPod! Here is a battery for my unsexy Treo! Note: I do not approve of vandalism.

Technorati Tags: iPhone, Apple, ssloansjca

Boy in fountain

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Tuesday Funnies

Tuesday Funnies
Friday funnies came late. I am planning to use this video today when we talk about Fair Use.

My Future

Camera Phone Post
Behold, my future.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, Camera Phones, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Friday Funnies: I think we're a clone now

The era of Mac clones
From early 1995 through mid-97, it was possible to buy PowerPC-based clone computers running Mac OS, from companies like Power Computing. They frequently offered better performance at a lower price than true Macs. When Steve Jobs returned to power at Apple one of the first things to happen was the discontinuance of this program. This funny and entertaining music video (complete with Dogcow) was made at the start of that period.

Friday Funnies: Supermarket 2.0

Supermarket 2.0
This video plays on the concepts of Web 2.0 and puts them in the context of grocery shopping.

Herding Cats: Friday Funnies

Herding Cats Ad
The first time I saw this ad it made me think of my first experience teaching faculty. This is a great ad!