The Truman Show

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

I saw the movie "The Truman Show" this weekend... what a COOL movie!

Yep, if you liked the previous "The Crucible" review I did... you're in for another treat. If you hated the previous "The Crucible" review I did - then you can stop reading here.

OK, for those of you still here - the basic idea of the movie is that a human (yep - Truman Burbank played by Jim Carrey) was legally adopted by a large broadcasting company (OmniCam Corporation) for the sole purpose of providing a "real" TV show.

This poor person goes on about his life, without knowing that EVERYTHING in it is being controlled and manipulated by the "mad genius" Christof (played by Ed Harris) the person who conceived and has directed, produced and supervised it through it's entire 30 year run. Christof observes (directs) the entire show from a control room that is disguised as the moon (as in "man-in-the").

Truman lives in a beautiful beach side community called Seahaven. It's a typical picture-perfect little town, compete with beach, picturesque beach cottages, a small downtown including a bank, restaurant, hardware store, etc. However, the entire picture-perfect town of Seahaven is actually a gigantic sound stage. Truman's friends and family - everyone he meets, in fact - are actors - INCLUDING his WIFE, Meryl (played by Laura Linney).

To top it all off he lives every moment under the unblinking gaze of over 5,000 hidden TV cameras. I mean they have these things everywhere from the radio in his car, to behind the two-way bathroom mirror, to the bedroom, kitchen, and thousands of spots all over town. Literally, Truman's every move is caught on tape, and he doesn't know it.

Because it's a live TV show that's on 24 hours a day, seven days a week (including a live international feed) - WITHOUT any commercials. Everything in the show is "for sale." His wife, Meryl (a Carol Brady/Donna Reed/Shirley Jones combo), extolls the virtues of the coffee drinks, the house they live in, the car they drive... holy product placement, Batman!

I know what you're thinking - why the hell doesn't he just get in the car and drive away? Ah ha! It seems that there's only one bridge out of town - and that bridge crosses water. When Truman was a kid, his "father" drown so he's terrified about anything having to do with water, over water, etc.

Fast forward a bit.

He has received clues from some of the "actors" that his life is really a TV show. Of course, he doesn't believe it (I mean come on - would YOU??)... but then he realizes that it's all true. He still has no idea he's actually on a giant sound stage - and when he takes a route out of town, all of a sudden there's an instant traffic jam. He makes a U Turn, goes around the block, comes back to the same intersection and there's not a car on the street.

Good stuff! I won't ruin the ending, but it didn't suck nearly as bad as I thought it would.

So, this is the part of the program where I try to tie this movie into the computer industry... here's goes.

It might as well have been called "The Windows 98 Show." No matter what channel you tune to, or what magazine or newspaper or ezine you read, Windows 98 is the top story. No matter what country you live in.

Although "Christof" is a much cooler name than "Bill Gates" - they are both playing the wizard behind the curtain. Gates, like Christof, is the man behind the conception, production and direction of the entire show. There have been well over 5,000 cameras with "live" coverage of Windows 98, and there will no doubt be more as time goes on.

Like the product placements in Truman's world, everything on the Internet Explorer Desktop (oops, I mean "Windows 98 desktop") is for sale: IF #1 - you're NOT Netscape, #2 - you want to give exclusive content to Microsoft, AND #3 - they don't actually buy your company first.

Gates hasn't yet bought the moon, but he does have a $50 million home on Puget Sound from which he can control the entire show. The picture-perfect setting that Microsoft is trying to portray for Windows 98 users costs about as much as a huge sound stage, but thankfully, we're all free to leave at any time.

FREE - but at what price?

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

Ok, Ok, I know. It's been a couple of months since I've been able to update this column (in fact, the entire damn site!)... I deserve 1000 web lashings.

There's been a ton o' changes to the FileMaker Pro landscape (and computing in general) since the last column. Claris has become FileMaker, Inc., Apple Computer has announced an all-in-one mac called the iMac, Rapshody has become Mac OS X (ten), and we've been entertained by Mr. Bill's courthouse antics. At ClickWare, we launched ClickWorld (the definitive FileMaker Pro resource) in January, and so far have almost 10,000 registered users of the site.

But growth comes at a price...

For FileMaker Inc, the loss of ALL other products other than FileMaker Pro also meant the loss of some fantastic people (and some real JERKS) at the restructured company. It was with an extremely heavy heart that I slowly lost touch with some of the people who were with me at the beginning of my FileMaker journey.

For Apple... well, you know the story. If not, you can check it out here.

For ClickWorld... alas, I feel the end is near. We currently have a Macintosh G3 (233 mHz) computer running WebStar and Lasso 2.5 - that powers the ENTIRE site. The performance has been excellent! The problem comes down to dollars and cents. When we launched the site, we launched it in cooperation with an ISP in the Bay Area (Infoasis). They were creating a FileMaker Pro Hosting service, and in exchange for a connection to their T-1, we provided free banners on certain pages forever.

Well, this week, the "other shoe" dropped. It seems Infoasis is now re-thinking their hosting business, and therefore do not need the banner ad. No banner ad = no "free ride" on their network. Translation: either we have to pay $350 per month to co-locate the computer, or ClickWorld goes away. Now, if you've cruised this ClickWare site - or you've surfed on over to ClickWorld, you know that we provide tons of free tips, free software, and resonably priced tools for FileMaker folks. You also may or may not know, our web presence is for YOU. We strive to be a resource, a depository of information, tips and files that are of use... all for free.

The ClickWorld site is free, the discussion area on ClickWorld is free, the international developer on ClickWorld is free, you can quickly locate and purchase the latest FileMaker Pro books (in association with Amazon.com), there are articles (including this one) that are free.... well, you get the idea.

We don't make any money from our web sites. The product sales simply help to cover the costs of the web presence - we make our money by doing custom FMP and Web development. The reality is that since the ClickWorld site has taken a considerable amount of time and money to implement, it's simply not possible to continue dumping money into a "free" resource.

UPDATE 6/13/98: Shawn Hogen from Data-Point Software has arranged for an ISP to co-locate the server. THANKS Shawn!

Whatever the fate of ClickWorld, rest assured that THIS web presence (ClickWare) is NOT going anywhere. We're committed to keeping it up and running as long as ClickWare is in business. We want to update the site according to what YOU want. Tell us what you LIKE and HATE about this site - and I promise that we'll do everything we can to help.

Thank you all!

Go For The Gold!

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

Tara Lupinski and Monica Kwan. Done deal. All I can say is this: God bless them.

If you can do well, make the sacrifices these woman (girls?) have - then talk to me. To be the best in the world in something - anything - means that you give 100% all the time. Not for the cameras, not for the commercial endorsements, but for you. YOU. The end.

I just watched those fine young athletes get the gold. I watched as they mouthed the words to the Star Spangled Banner. I watched as the flag of the United States of America was raised (along with China!). Breath-taking.

We all have that ability in us. It may not be as public, as in-your-face as the Olympics. But we do. Business is people, people IS business. I would enourage you to be a "gold-medalist" today.

Tracy and Kwan - we in the U.S.A. are proud of you. Proud of your achievement. Proud of your sacrifices. Proud that we had the honor of being represented by people like you who gave not only your talents, but your lifestyle - for years and years - to represent our country.

My hat's off to you, and to all the Olympians - you DID GOOD regardless of where you "placed" in the end.

Clip And Save!

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

Now that FileMaker Pro has been out for a few months, and more and more people are experimenting with the new web features - I've been receiving a lot of email with questions regarding how to test a web solution. In order to use the custom CDML tags in your own HTML there are several settings that MUST all be configured in order to preview your solution in your browser.

On the FileMaker side: 1) set your computer's networking to the correct TCP/IP configuration; 2) turn on the Web Companion (Edit -> Preferences -> Plug-Ins; 3) make your database(s) available to the Web Companion by choosing "Sharing..." from the "File" menu and choose the checkbox for the "Web Companion." Steps two and three appear in the FileMaker Pro documentation, but step one does not. After combing the web, talking to peers, and checking our own network setup, I've compiled the following guide to help you properly configure your Mac or PC:

Macintosh:

Using MacTCP:

Open the MacTCP control panel and assign the web server an IP
address of 192.168.0.2. Click the "More" button, and make sure that it is set to Obtain Address Manually, that the IP Address is Class C, that the
Gateway Address is 0.0.0.0, and that the fields in the Domain Name Server Information box are blank. If you do have a router address and are using a
local Domain Name Server, you can enter this information instead.

• If you are using a local AppleTalk network or a single computer, open the Chooser and make sure AppleTalk is Active.
  
  
• Next, open the Network control panel and select LocalTalk.
  
  
• Open the MacTCP control panel again and select the LocalTalk icon, then verify all your changes and restart the computer for them to take effect.

If you are using an Ethernet network, you can select EtherTalk in the Network control panel, and Ethernet in the MacTCP control panel instead.

For Open Transport:

Open the TCP/IP control panel, and assign the web server an IP address of 192.168.0.2.

If you are using a local AppleTalk network or a single computer, set Connect via: to AppleTalk (MacIP),Configure: to Manually, then click the "Select Zone" button and select the current AppleTalk zone. All other fields should be blank, unless you are using a router or Domain Name Server for your local network.

If you are using an Ethernet network, you can set Connect via: to Ethernet, Configure: to Manually, and enter a Subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. Again, all other fields should be blank unless you are using a router or Domain Name Server for your local network.

Any client computers should be configured to use the same connection method (LocalTalk/AppleTalk or Ethernet), but should have different IP addresses, higher than the server, such as 192.168.0.3 or 192.168.0.4 (you can also use 192.0.1.2 for the server and 192.0.1.3 and up for clients, if you like).

Check out: http://arpp.carleton.ca/mac/question/network.html for more instructions, including some great pictures of every step.

Windows 95/NT:

TCP/IP Network Settings

For single computer users:

• Click the "Start" button and chose "Control Panels" from the "Settings" menu.
  
  
• Double click on the "Network" icon.
  
  
• From the listing of network components installed, choose the one for TCP/IP and click the "Properties" button.
  
  
• From the "IP Address" tab, check the "Specify an IP address" and type 192.1.2.2 in the "IP Address"
  
  
• Enter 255.255.255.0 for the "Subnet Mask"
  
  
• Click "OK", and click "OK" again to close the window

For Network Users

Contact your network administrator to ask them what the IP address is of your computer. If you don't have one, you can follow the directions above.

Browser Settings

For Microsoft Internet Explorer:

• Choose "Options" from the "View" menu.
  
  
• Click the "Connection" tab
  
  
• UNCHECK the "Connect to the Internet as needed" under the "Dialing" section.
  
  
• Check the checkbox "Connect through a proxy server" and click the "Settings..." button.
  
  
• In the space next to HTTP: type 192.1.2.2 and leave the "port" space blank.
  
  
• Click "OK", Click "Apply" then click "OK" to close the Options window

NOTE: When you want to use your dial-in access again, simply UNCHECK the "Connect through a proxy server" checkbox and CHECK the "Connect to the Internet as needed" checkbox.

For Netscape Navigator: No changes to the preferences are necessary.

Got Web?

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

Now that FileMaker Pro 4.0 has hit the streets, I can finally talk about the cool stuff that this reasonably priced upgrade ($99 US) contains.

You'll be hearing a lot from Claris about the built-in Web Features: HTTP server, Instant Web Publishing, CDML (Claris Dynamic Markup Language), etc. These are extremely cool. I'll glaze over this topic later, but in a nutshell the new web integration feature basically means that you can serve FileMaker Pro 4.0 data from Windows 95, Windows NT, and the Mac OS without any other software. You can publish a database without creating custom HTML, or, if you're like us, you can create custom HTML pages that use Claris CDML tags (similar to Blue World Communication's Lasso 1.2 product) to add, delete, update, or find information.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

You can now define a SORT order for each relationship - that's right, you can now have sorted data in portals! It's worth the $99 just for that one feature. Although Claris Tech Support may tell you it can't be done, you CAN Dynamically Sort data in a portal. This is something that every developer (and customer) has wanted for a long time.

There are several new "Design" functions that allow you to get information about other databases that are currently open. You can get the names of the open databases, the fields, the layouts, what fields are on a specific layout, the value list names, value list values, relationship names, relationship specifications, etc. This is awesome! In fact (WARNING: Shameless plug ahead) we've completely re-written our best selling ClickStats to take advantage of all these new features and more (watch this site for more details in a couple of weeks - including a free trial version).

There are multiple "smaller" features as well - you can now choose to display the last x opened databases (where x is any number), there's a couple of new Status() functions (including a cool one for telling what modifier keys are held down when clicking on a button, etc.), and there's a new API for writing your own external functions, Java API for the Web stuff... and... WAIT! Did you just hear what I said? Yep, there's an external API (Application Programming Interface) so that third parties can write C or C++ code to make their own functions! And yes, there is a Java API (including all necessary classes) for the new Web Companion.

"When do we get em'?" Well, I can't really say... or I could be shot. Suffice it to say that these specifications should be available about the same time as the SDK (runtime) for 4.0. "When's that?" Ummm... soon-ish.

I'm excited about the possibilities of third parties writing "plug-in" external functions. If (when) the specifications are made public, and you write an external function, or Java stuff, please let me know and I'd be happy to include your work on our site.

Also, for those of you who are just dying to do cool stuff with FileMaker Pro 4.0 - check out the new magazine "FileMaker Pro Advisor" - it ROCKS. Ok, ok, so I'm the Technical Editor... but it's a really COOL mag. There are some sample files up on the site showing you how to get started with a basic search form on the Web, and more.

The Impending NC Revolution

So Steve Jobs will finally have the last laugh. He co-founded Apple, got booted out by the Board of Directors, started a new hardware company - NEXT - (that never caught on so they changed to a software company), and had enough money from his Apple holdings to buy Pixar. What a "visionary"... NOT!

But, like the unwanted guest in the movie Poltergiest, "...heeeeee'ssss baaaaaack.." but only as "interim CEO" a job he "never wanted."

Guess what? We don't want him EITHER. In the past few months, he's managed to fire (or in Applespeak, "..cause to excercise options..") of all the best and brightest Apple directors - Eileen Hancock, Guerino De Luca, and scads of others. I have it on good authority, from a person who works in highest levels at Apple, that Steve was actually seen walking down the halls in a fit saying to random people in the halls "You're fired! You're fired! You're all fired!".

Yeah, that's mature.

Better yet, he's ousted or "..caused to excercise options..." of almost all of the Board of Directors and replaced them with his own long-time, apple-bashing friends. The most distasteful of these has to be Larry Ellison (CEO and founder of Oracle - a kick-ass company with kick-ass products). Larry has had a "hunkering" for a new type of PC, called an NC (Network Computer) that has no internal hard drive. This type of computer would have a Java operating system, and would link to a powerful server computer to run all the applications.

Old Larry has been hyping his vision in the press, but as yet, no one has actually bought a NC computer, because they don't exist (in mass quantities). Now this makes really, really good demos at computer shows, but that's about it.

Now Larry has convinced Steve that NC's would be a good direction for Apple.

Danger! Danger! Danger Will Robinson!

What in the hell can Steve actually be thinking? I mean do we really want to return to the era of bell bottoms, tie dye, afros, and platform shoes? In the 70's and early 80's NC's (or "dumb terminals" as they were called) was the ONLY way of networked computing. The theory was that you have monitor and keyboard for all the lowly "users" and that all the applications and "cool stuff" to make it all work was housed in a big computer room under the watchful (and often tyrannical control) of the "MIS" department.

Then came the "desktop revolution" that de-centralized the control of the "dumb terminals" with the advent of the "personal" computer. Now every user had the ability to save, copy and open their own files, upgrade their hardware and software, and add new features to their computers without having to wait the 4 to 6 weeks for some MIS guy to "get around to it."

People liked it. Lots of folks sold lots of computers. Bill Gates became a billionaire (for the first time). It was good.

Now we're supposed to buy this NC thing? It's a simple return to the "good ol days" of centralized computing. It takes all the power from the user and re-instills it to the MIS department. Don't get me wrong, some of the MIS people I know aren't maniacle, power-hungry, tyrannical despots who lord their "keeper of the keys" mentality over every "lowly user"... but some are.

Do we really want to return to those days? As for me and mine - the answer is a resounding NO! Hell no, we won't go (NC).. hell no we won't go.. echos from the hallways as I write this.

Maybe I'm too cynical. I long for the kind of Apple that produced the in-your-face-IBM commercial in 1984. I wish for the Apple "evangelists" that would beg, cajole, and actually LISTEN to developers. Was it all for naught? Some say yes (i.e. ALL the PC press), some say no (like me, for now) and some are doing something about it.

If you REALLY want to recapture the passion of empowered computing check out this little company called Be Computing... I know I'll be watching them closely as the replacement for what the Mac COULD have been.

Clone Home

Rumors have been flying fast and furious over the last few weeks as to the future of Power Computing. For those of you who don't know (or care) - PowerComputing is (has been) the #1 clone Macintosh manufacturer and the industry leader in Mac OS technology for the past two years. Reported price: $100 million.

It is reported that Apple will purchase Power's assets. Power will retain its name and logo, and continue operating through the end of the year.

Apple's clone market slogan from the beginning has been: "Expand the market, don't cannibalize it." Read: "Don't do anything better than us - like marketing, sales, delivering on-time, offering customers lifetime support, creating cool technology, etc. because it will 'cannibalize' OUR crappy sales efforts, lame products, late delivery, no support and general mis-management."

It looks like Steve Jobs got far more for the $150+ million that Bill Gates recently "invested" in Apple - he picked up on Bill's "if you can't beat them, buy them and beat them up" strategy.

As if taken from the Official Microsoft Play book - Apple is effectively "buying off" the competition. Loud competition. Real in-your-face competition. Competition with a REAL marketing department. Competition with a REAL management team.

Who'll lose? Us. PowerComputing is now going to be making Wintel machines (including notebooks). Just what the world needs - another hardware manufacturer. Hopefully, the folks at Power will be able to pull it off, and provide the same quality/feature to price ratio as they had in the Mac OS market. If so they'll succeed. If not, they'll fail.

What about the future of clones and cloning? Well, Motorola still remains the most viable cloner (as do the companies such as PowerTools which buy its OEM equipment from Motorola). You see, Moto is a licensor of Apple's OS, not a licensee. Not even Steve's buddy Bill Gates has enough money to buy THEM - and even if they did, Bill doesn't want another Justice Department proctology exam.

While other clone makers have voiced their continued support for the Mac OS clone market (i.e. UMAX, et al), it looks like Moto is going to be, by default, the big winner. It's not going to "bet the clone farm" on just the boring PowerPC boxes, but has recently inked a deal with Apple to build and market CHRP (Common Hardware Reference Platform) machines. These machines will run ANY OL' OS - not just the Mac OS. It seems that even THEY are hedging their bets...

Plug N Play - "ish"

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

Setting up a LAN can suck.

I recently upgraded the LAN (Local Area Network) on our cadre of Macs here at ClickWare to 10 Base T Ethernet. It was a fairly straight forward process: plug the AAUI adapter into the back of the machine, connect the cable to the hub, go to the "Network" control panel and specify "Ethernet" rather than "LocalTalk". Done. All the machines now "talk" to each other, share network printers, modems, can "see" all the hard drives on all the machines, etc. Total time: 35 minutes from the arrival of the FedEx package.

Since having donated our "screamingly fast" 386 SX 33 PCs to our local university earlier this year, we've been "Mac OS only" shop for over 6 months now. Two columns ago ("Virtual (PC) Reality") I shared my very positive experience with Virtual PC for the Mac. It allows high-end hardware to emulate the Pentium CHIP, and thus run Windows 95/NT/OS2/Warp, etc.

Virtual PC works very well, and shares all the printers, modems, etc. that are installed on the Ethernet network - completely seamlessly.

Being the "speed pig" that I am, and with the news of the assimilation of Apple by Bill Gates, I decided that it was time to buy at least ONE dedicated PC (with the thought of buying several more). Besides, the upcoming release of FileMaker Pro (4.0) has really cool cross-platform hosting capabilities that I wanted to test.

Day 1: Bought the PC (a 166Mhz NEC "Ready" 9337, Pentium, 32MB RAM, 4 GIG hard drive, 24x CD ROM) and a NEC MultiSync XV17+ monitor from my local Circuit City Superstore. I was SHOCKED that this hardware cost LESS than my Mac SE (in 1986). I said to myself, "See, your readers who are jumping to the PC platform from the Mac were right - it is much cheaper!"

Day 2: Having installed the Windows 95 versions of all the software that I use (FileMaker, ClarisWorks, StuffIt Expander, etc.), I loaded (downloaded) new replacements for Email clients, screen capture utilities, etc. After a couple of hours of trying (and using my Mac to browse the NetCom Web Site for the 6 pages of notes on DNS name servers, configuring logon names, etc.) - I was even "connected" to the Internet for email and Web Surfing. Everything was working just fine. There was just one minor problem - the computer wasn't connected to the LAN, so I had to send files from the Mac to an email account, and download the file on the PC - just to transfer files between the two machines.

At this point, I'm thinking, "Hey, this DOES work pretty well. It's no Mac, but it doesn't suck TOO BAD."

Day 3: I get the brilliant idea to add a PCI Ethernet card to the PC so that I can "talk" to Windows 95 (running on the Mac OS via Virtual PC) across our entire network. Since we have printers that are cross-platform ready (Apple 16/600 with fax cards) - AND I have no problems printing from Virtual PC, I think to myself, "This should be a SNAP! After all, Windows 95 is much better than Windows 3.1 because of 'Plug N Play' technology." I order the card (3COM Etherlink XL COMBO 3C900-COMBO) from PC Warehouse, as well as a copy of LapLink software. Total: $200 and change.

Day 4: The hardware and software arrive (by a sheer act of God) via Airborne Express. I eagerly read the manual for "Upgrading" the PC, remove the cover, install the card into the PCI slot, replace the cover, plug in the Level 5 10 Base T cord (not included - ordered for $12.00 extra), and restarted the PC. I was greeted by a "Wizard" (read: a piece of software designed to look like it knows what the hell it's doing, but really has less of an idea than you do) informing me that I installed a new piece of hardware that it didn't recognize.

"Hooray!", I cried. "Maybe this will be as easy as the Mac! (gulp) Maybe I've been wrong to slam the Borg Leader (Bill Gates) for all these years.", I exaulted. The wizard showed me a list of "drivers" for the card I had installed (the one for the hardware I had didn't appear in the list), but there was a button titled "Have disk". I had a disk that came with the card. Giddy with excitement, I inserted the disk, clicked the "Have disk" button, and clicked "OK" at the prompt.

I might as well have blown my head off with a shotgun.

After "loading" 10 files from the diskette, I was prompted to insert the Windows 95 CD. I did. I clicked OK. The "wizard" choked - it couldn't find a file, but did offer a nice 2 inch text block to enter the full path to the "missing" file. Having dealt with PCs for years before the Mac, this didn't intimidate me in the least. I typed "Q:\". No good. I clicked "Skip this file", and it seemed happy - and "completed" the installation. "Hmmm...", I said to myself, "It must not have needed that file so badly after all. I mean, hey, it 'finished' the installation. Cool."

In hindsight, I should have slashed my wrists at this point - it would have saved LOTS of time.

Needless to say, the card didn't "see" printers or anything else. Luckily, I have a good friend, Marc Norman who is a Mac and Windows Networking/FileMaker GOD. He and I spend the next 6+ hours on the phone deleting stuff, adding stuff, and restarting after every try. Still, no good.

Day 5:Marc calls NEC, and speaks to several technicians before hooking up the very friendly, helpful Anne Martinez (extension 7637). She informs us that there was supposed to be TWO disks, and that we were supposed to insert disk 2 FIRST. I download the software from the NEC site (on the PC), and Marc and I spend another 9 hours and 30 minutes over the next two days trying every conceivable installation option we can think of (and restarting the computer after every one).

Day 6: I spend another 6 hours trying to get the card to print a test page on the networked printer. No luck. Marc is busy, but promises to get back to me with an answer from Anne at NEC in the morning.

Today: I'm waiting from a call from NEC, still can't print a test page, and am still sending myself email to transfer files.

What I learned: Call the folks at Dell computers - order EVERY CONCEIVABLE piece of hardware that you'll ever need (including SCSI cards, audio cards, extra hard drives, ethernet card, modem card, and anything else you can think of). That way, it will be "configured" by the factory, and just NEVER upgrade ANY software. Of course, the price will be about $1,500 more than I paid for my "bargain" PC, but it will save you the literally 100+ hours of your time just to get the damn thing to work.

I just realized for an extra $1,500 I SHOULD have spent to have the computer properly factory configured I could have bought another top-of-the-line Mac that I really WANTED in the first place...

The Crucible

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

Okay, so this weekend I watched "The Crucible" with my Brother and Sister In-Law (Ron & Julie St. Amand - see? I DID mention you!). This movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis (hunk factor and strong, silent, type) and Winona Ryder (good actress that plays a psycho hose-beast) is set in Salem in the 1800's and about a young girl (Winona) who uses witchcraft to cast a spell wishing for the death of her former lover's (Day-Lewis) wife.

Sounds fun so far.

The highly repressed "Christian" people of Salem don't like the fact that Winona's uncle (the local preacher) has caught the girls... gasp... dancing in the woods. These folks see the devil in every corner of human expression, and well... they're really not happy about it.

Act II

They have a trial and put these "devil inside" young girls in the capable hands of the Magistrate (who makes Jesse Helms look like Larry Flint) to either; 1) help the girls confess that the devil has inhabited them, tell them all other people the devil as got a hold of, get exorcised, and go free, or 2) hang by the neck until dead. Choices... choices...

Winona gets the idea that if she "confesses" (and implicates other innocent people to back up the fact that she "sees" the devil in them too) then she can avoid the rope. The townsfolk buy the crap she dishes out, and several unlucky people (including the old "healer" woman who's never hurt a fly in her life) are arrested and sentenced to death.

Meanwhile, Daniel Day-Lewis and his wife (she don't know that ol' Daniel and Winona played hide the salami) are having problems of their own. It seems that one of the girls on trial is staying with them, and that the wife's name "came up a bit" at the trial (courtesy of Winona). Hell-bent on setting the record straight, Day-Lewis marches into court to confront the Magistrate and Winona.

Music builds...

Day-Lewis spills the beans that he and Winona had sex (much to the chagrin of the court), and his wife is brought in to confirm that's why she asked Winona to leave their house. Now, the wife (who has two adorable pre-teen boys), loves her husband, and to protect his "honor" she lies and says that she kicked Winona out (and I'm paraphrasing here) because she sucked as a housekeeper.

She is accused of being a witch (i.e. "devil inside"), and so is he. They're both arrested and taken to the holding jail to await their number to be called for the public hanging.

Fast forward...

The Magistrate offers Day-Lewis a deal; if he will "confess" to being a puppet of the devil, then they won't hang him and his wife will live at least until she gives birth to the baby (his) that she's carrying. Herein lies the moral dilemma. Day-Lewis is an honorable man who's done nothing wrong except disagree that the devil is behind every corner, and that people are people, and sometimes stuff happens.

Because he's honorable, he agrees to sign a piece of paper that will free himself and his wife. The local preacher (psycho that he is) - insists that the paper be hung from the church door (the equivalent of posting it to their web site). Day-Lewis, being the honorable man he is, decides at the last minute that having his "name" soiled is not worth it.

He is lead to the gallows (along with two other innocent people whom you've come to admire during the movie), and is the last one to be kicked off the scaffold (you hear necks breaking). Closeup on the taught rope. Roll credits.

Today's computer industry is very similar. Apple (Day-Lewis) was seduced once by the Press (Winona) and has gone on public trial for having "non Intel Inside." The Magistrate (Bill Gates, et al) is offering a way out ("we'll continue to develop for the Mac as long as Steve Jobs takes the helm, otherwise we won't"). It's up to Apple (Day-Lewis) to determine whether everything they've stood for (their name and OS) will give in to remain alive (and keep their wife [clone makers] and their unborn baby [Rhapsody] alive), or whether they will face death rather than give up their principles.

Even though they're on the path to the gallows, the rope has not yet been put around their neck. There's still time... we hope.

Bash-O-Rama

The heavenly smell of meat roasting over an open fire, the ungodly pain of the year's first good sunburn, the ever-present itching of mosquitos swarming all over your body...

... NO, I was NOT talking about the latest Apple debacle, I meant summer. Sheessh. Although, I must admit there are some substantial similarities.

Where's the beef? It was former Apple CEO Gil Amelio's butt held closely to flame last week when Apple's board of directors invited him to leave. Citing a slew of Apple-speak including "declining profits" (now that's a news flash), "failure to return to shareholder value in a timely manner" (read: no profits = bye bye), and equally vibrant variations on you-didn't-do-your-job-fast-enough-and-we-need someone-to-sacrafice-so-hit-the-road-buddy jargon.

Not that Gil was a prized public speaker, but hey, if he can turnaround a semiconductor company, surely it shouldn't be no problem to get a little software/hardware company on its feet again...I mean, hardware, software, chips, what's the difference? D'oh!

Okay, okay, so the Apple Board screwed up in hiring the wrong person for the job... at least they're CONSISTENT. It was about a year and a half ago that they invited Michael Spindler to get the hell out of Dodge, and before that they booted John Sculley out the door.

Interesting "re-organization" strategy - but it just makes people out there using (and loving) the Mac scratch their heads and say "surely it can't get worse..."

Can, and has. Ellen Hancock, the EX Chief Technology Officer (read: cool chick in charge of all technical aspects for hardware and software) decided that she'd rather be sitting on a beach somewhere, so... yep - she quit, too.

So now, they're minus two of the most visible people in the company - and have given some measure of control to... get this... Steve Jobs! This is the same guy the same board jettisoned from the company HE FOUNDED. Just goes to show that you just never know.

Oh yeah - don't be too sad for "gool ol' Gil" - he was handed a parachute along with his exit survey, to the tune of over $7 million in cash and prizes. Seven million dollars for getting fired? Where can I sign up?

Special thanks to Jeff Pagano the FileMaker Pro Tips & Tricks correspondent for Mac Today for his kind words regarding this column in the latest edition. It's nice to know someone besides my wife reads this...

Virtual (PC) Reality

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

It's no secret that we prefer the Mac OS here at ClickWare. It's not that we're anti-Windows, it's just that, for us, the Mac OS is an easier, more elegant solution.

That said, there is no denying the fact that most of the "civilized" society we deal with (including the majority of our major customers and business partners) has chosen to use the Windows Operating System. Why? Who knows. It's simply a fact.

Are we at ClickWare going to stop using the Mac OS? Not a chance in hell! Are we going to use the semi-vaporware "Rhapsody" when it comes out? You betcha'. Are we going to use Windows? Yes... on my Mac.

The hell, you say! Yes, it's true. In my continuing quest to seek out all things cool and useful, I recently bought a copy of Connectix Virtual PC (the Windows 95 Edition) - that allows me to have a Pentium speed Windows 95 machine - on my Macintosh!

There is another edition that allows you to run DOS and Windows 3.1... but if you're running Windows 95, you've got all the DOS you "need."

The software basically emulates the Intel CHIP, NOT the operating system. That means that my Ethernet Network, Networked Printers, CD ROM, etc. works seamlessly in the PC environment. Add to that the fact that VirtualPC fully support the popular SoundBlaster audio, supports PC joysticks, and can even output video and sound (some tinkering required) - and now I can play DOOM on two platforms at once.

You can set up "shared" folders - so that you can "exchanged" files between the Mac and Windows systems. For example, we do lots of cross-platform development, and rather than copying across the network to test on a PC, we can actually just toggle between platforms, checking the colors, fonts, etc. that can get you into trouble (especially in FileMaker Pro development).

But wait, there's more.

It will run Windows NT, Warp (OS2), Rhapsody for Intel, Rhapsody for Windows - in short, whatever operating system you want. Now, my friends, THAT is very cool! If you don't have the Mac Hardware (100 MhZ 603e with 64MB of RAM at the MINIMUM) - don't bother with Virtual PC. I'm using a Mac 9600/200 with 64MB of RAM (45MB dedicated to Virtual PC), a built-in 4 GIG hard drive (of which Virtual PC takes up 275 MB), 2MB of L2 Cache, 4MB of Video RAM (driving a Sony 17" monitor).

Granted, my setup is not exactly "typical", but I swear, the performance of Virtual PC is almost as good as a dedicated PC box. Now, I'm not getting paid by Connectix, I don't own stock in the company, and they didn't give me a free copy of the software. This is a real world, take no prisoners, truly USEFUL productivity tool.

Web For Thee?

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past year (and you haven't, since you've found THIS page!) you've probably run into web sites that were powered by FileMaker Pro.

Yes, yes, yes, I know... this one is not (yet!).

Anyway, now Claris has a Powered By FileMaker Pro site (that we created for them) that itself is powered by FileMaker Pro.

You can search for sites, link to them, and learn all the "dirty little secrets" about each site - such as number of hits, CGI they use, type of server, hardware configurations, the works.

Now, this is really neato! Can you imagine how powerful you web site/intranet/extranet would be if you could simply use the data that already exists in your database(s)? Yes, I'm sure you can.

Would it save you time? Yes. Would it save you money? Yes. It is fairly easy to do? Yes. Why then, doesn't every user of FileMaker Pro have their sites/intranets/extranets powered by FileMaker Pro?

Ummmm - here's some of the reasons people have shared with us over the past month or so:

• Can serve on Macintosh only
  
  
• Maintaining a server is a hassle
  
  
• Don't have enough bandwidth
  
  
• Don't want to buy a dedicated (Mac) server
  
  
• Company "standardized" on Windows
  
  
• What's a Web Server?
  
  
• Many more excuses... (MINE included)
  

For those of us folks with a great excuse NOT to create a Powered By FileMaker Pro site/intranet/extranet - check out those companies (big and small) that DID take the plunge:

• 20th Century Fox
  
  
• American Computer Exchange
  
  
• Numerous Big-Time and Ivy League Colleges
  
  
• DuPont (Confidential Intranet)
  
  
• Lockheed Martin
  
  
• And many, many, more
  
  

If you don't want to go through the hassles of having your own full-time connection to the Net, and/or don't want to maintain a server, and/or don't want the basic "hassles" - use an ISP who does.

There are a number of ISPs that will host your FileMaker files using a variety of CGIs (i.e. Lasso, WEB FM, and Tango) - who will do all the maintenance, keep the network up and going, and handle all the "yucky" stuff. Best of all - pricing starts at about $50 per month.

How do you find them? Simply scoot on over to your favorite search engine - where you'll find your entry into dynamically created pages, personalized pages, up-to-the-minute information and more - are just a few clicks away.

P.S. Yes, we ARE working on getting THIS site "wired" - watch this space!

Wiz Bang!

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

One word: COOL! That sums up my experience at the 2nd annual Claris Solutions Conference.

For those of you living in a cave (or those of you who don't click on banners on our site), the conference was held at the Fairmont Hotel in beautiful downtown San Jose, California - right across the street from the Apple Worldwide Developer's Conference.

Unlike Apple's love-fest, attendance was actually UP from last year, and the general feeling I got from the people who attended was one of excitement, innovation, and high energy!

Not only was the content great, so was the food, information, presenters, and the overall experience. There were many different sessions going on (unfortunately, only a few were given more than once) everything from running a consulting business, advanced FileMaker scripting, supporting your solutions, to sessions on future versions of FileMaker (under non disclosure, of course - watch this space).

Yours truly participated in 4 sessions, including the Tips and Tricks Panel, Database Version Control, Integration with MYOB and QuickBooks (with MYOB GURU Ron Finnigan), and the AppleScript session (with co-hosts Chris Moyer and his sidekick Bob) - not to mention the numerous sessions that I ATTENDED. This was, of course, on TOP of the great many hours spent in various establishments that serve liquid refreshments (read: bars). WHEW!

The thing that was such a pleasant surprise is that people were psyched to talk to and actually HELP anyone and everyone who wanted to listen. I mean at breakfast, lunch, dinner, between sessions, in bars, lobbies, elevators, everyone was talking about tips, techniques, strategies, business practices, new products, alliances, the Web - everything you can imagine. All with the intent of learning as well as teaching. No petty competition. No back-stabbing. Cooperation. Nice!

My hat's off to Jeff Gagne, Delfina Daves, Susan Munne, Eric Frasier (and the many, many behind-the-scenes folks at Claris), Donna Wotton (and her crew at Unconventional Promotions) - you guys did a very good job.

If you weren't able to make it this year - start saving your pennies for next year - it's well worth the time and money!

Click Where?

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

First of all, let me apologize for the length of time that has elapsed since the last Bob's World column. We've been very busy creating some neato FileMaker based Web Sites for Claris and others.

Now, on with the festivities...

Apparently, litigation is as much a part of business world as marketing and sales. This is a true story - TicketMaster is SUING Microsoft for putting a link to their site on Microsoft's site.

No, really, I'm not kidding!

It seems that Microsoft is "..infringing on TicketMaster's intellectual property..." by linking directly to certain pages WITHIN the site - and not the "main" page.

Yes, I'm serious!

Now, how stupid is this? I'm just as jealous of Bill Gate's billions as the next guy - but taking someone to court for a LINK? Um... no.

Here's another one - again 100% true: It seems that some HUGE companies (Turner Broadcasting, Warner Brothers, ZD Net, and others) are suing a company for showing linked articles within a FRAME on their site. Now, they don't object to the LINK, they just object to the content being in a FRAME rather than having the user JUMP to the site.

What the hell's up with that? I'll tell you - bucks, BIG bucks. You see - some of the ad tracking software has a hard time telling where you're coming from if you access a banner from within a frame - but NOT if you click it on the "real" site.

Less "click through" means less MONEY advertisers are willing to pay, which means less MONEY in the corporate pockets of media giants (poor babies!). It's true, money makes the business world "go 'round", and without the support of you, our customers, this site wouldn't exist either. But, come on!

Litigation only leads to two things - lawyers getting rich, and new rules and regulations that restrict the free spirit of the Web.

Isn't the whole premise of the Web (and links to other sites) - to provide more information for folks who take the time and effort to visit your site? Aren't we (as webmasters) providing a service by providing links to other sites that have a common thread? Do you really ENJOY search engines with 10,000 entries and 40+ screens of unless garbage?

I, for one, will continue to link to other sites - with or without their prior "permission." If you find your link on our Other Sites page, and would like your link removed - please just speak up... I'll be happy to remove it. But for godsake - don't SUE US!

Groupware This!

Editor's NOTE: This is a moldie oldie that I pulled from a text dump archive. None of the links will work anymore (or 99% won't) - but the names and companies have NOT changed.

Before we get to this installation, I need to clarify statements some people think I made in my last column.

It seems that a number of folks CHOOSE the Windows platform as their "tool of choice" (see our last issue) and by naming our fictitious examples with the name of an apparently popular Intel supplier, I alluded that the Windows platform was less than stellar. This was not my intention - people, the focus was supposed to be "Managers - wake up! Let your folks use the tool that works for them [regardless of platform]" - and not "...Windows sucks." Just so there's no confusion - in the future if I mean to say "Windows sucks", I'll say "Windows sucks."

Onward and upward...

So what's up with "groupware?" I mean, the newest version of Netscape Navigator (behemoth bloatware that it is) boasts newer, better "groupware" communications. Oh, it also requires that you have a Cray supercomputer to run it... but hey, you can "collaborate" with people in your "work group." Huh?

Ten years ago you put your 19 cent stamp on your latest work, dropped it in the mail and waited for the phone to ring. "Groupware" meant that your client would call in two or three days, and go over any changes on the phone. You would then redo the work, and "fire it off" with another cover letter, padded envelope with "DO NOT BEND" written all over it, affix a spiffy a hand-addressed label, and wait for two or three more days.

Not long after that the "groupware" application of choice was next day delivery. I mean, rather than dealing with the mail you could get the same stuff to your customer the very next DAY! Of course it cost a little more (read: finance a small country for a year), but that was the price of that day's "fast-moving" technology.

Then, three or four years ago (when a fax machine cost $1,000 and a fax modem [the absolute bleeding edge of technology] cost about $500), "groupware" meant communicating by fax. You know, "I'll fax it right over..." and you get a curly piece of non-biodegradable toilet paper that was useless to write on - but hey, it worked. You then copied that (on a copy machine, no less!), made YOUR changes, then re-faxed it back. Then the person on the other side would copy YOUR fax, make changes and fax it back... and so on.

In the past year "groupware" means communicating by means of the wonderful world of .hqx, ftp, www, and the most immediate form of communication "email." Ah email. I wonder how I ever got along without it. It's now possible to completely consume my ENTIRE day with "newsgroups", mailing lists, recipes, dirty jokes, chain letters, press releases, announcements, spam (and anti-spam) and more - all at the click of a button.

The term "I'll FedEx it to you" is no longer met with "Great!" or "WOW, really?" but, "Is your email server down?" We've grown to call sending something sent via "regular" mail - "snail mail", and the only time I get a fax is when THEIR email server is down.

Not that this is bad - I've met LOTS more people (at least via email) - and have had great "conversations" with people all over the world. At trade shows, or other "analog" gatherings people introduce themselves and I have no idea who they are - UNTIL I ask their email address: "Oh, you're 'joe@blow.com' - nice to meet you. By the way check your email when you get back to your hotel the stuff you asked for has been uploaded to our ftp server..."

Do we need "groupware"... probably not. Are we going to get it whether we like it or not? Yes. Will we look back on the days email and laugh at the arcane (and slow) way we used to communicate? Yes. Will we ever get the damn 12:00 to stop blinking on our VCR's? No, never. That's technology...