Our new look came about because the previous theme was not compatible with the latest version of WordPress, and not because of any particular enthusiasm to change the appearance.
A couple of e-observations:
We have not been commenting on the morally bankrupt world of the largest corporations and biggest banks, since the mainstream media has finally discovered the subject, presumably as a result of extreme cases of executive greed during the current “recession”, if that is the right term.
Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 recently, and just as with IE 7, is determined to force it onto every server and desktop PC, by tricking users into installing it, most often by hiding it among real security patches. Nothing new here except for the version.
One cause of Firefox 2.x suddenly not loading is corruption in the Firefox section of a user profile. This can be verified by logging into the affected system with a different user account. If Firefox works – then the problem is in the profile. The common solution is to delete the folder, but that will delete all custom settings, including bookmarks. One file, in particular, can become corrupted if the browser crashes, and renaming or deleting only that file may fix the problem in a less drastic way. It is “xpti.dat”, and is found in the Firefox section of the user profile, which is normally found here:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\randomstring.default
Microsoft tech support claims to know nothing about this, however on Windows 2003 and XP systems which are still running Internet Explorer 6.x, some combination of service packs and hotfixes causes the browser home page to randomly open to the Microsoft GetItNow download page for Internet Explorer 7. Apparently the Microsoft obsession of forcing IE 7 onto every system has caused them to stoop low enough to try to trick users, especially those using Windows 2003 on corporate servers, into installing it. It is random, and does not occur on all systems, so it might be that this is the idea of some wayward programmer at Microsoft, rather than a corporate plan. It is a nuisance to individuals, but can be a serious issue if IE 7 is installed on a business server that may have custom software that is not compatible with it. The change is done on a per-user-profile basis, so it is not easy to disable this globally. Blocking access to Microsoft.com would do it, however, that is not practical, since Windows Update would no longer work, etc. However, the GetItNow site is reached using a redirect to go.microsoft.com, and this can be blocked easily – just add “127.0.0.1 go.microsoft.com” to the C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file. This only other effect seems to be to disable the rarely useable links in Event Log messages, since they also use go.microsoft.com. The change is easily undone if required.
One more example – “HP uses third party to sell printers in Iran” :
http://www.boston.com…HP…Iran
A wish for a peaceful holiday for everyone.
Robert J. Berger posted on his blog “Cognizant Transmutaion” about the poor ranking of US broadband compared to other countries:
http://blog.ibd.com/how-the-world-works/national-shame-swaths-of-non-rural-us-without-broadband-time-for-re-divestiture/comment-page-1/
He proposes divestiture – separate, perhaps municipal, ownership of the physical cable, fiber, poles, rights-of-way, etc. ISP’s and various content providers would then all have equal opportunity for access to the infrastructure, allowing true competition. This is an excellent e-thought…
The huge inflatable Santas, reindeer, and snowmen adorn many lawns at Christmas. When the power is turned on at night, they inflate, and glow spectacularly. Some have moving arms, which wave at those passing by. However, during the day, they deflate into heaps of dead creatures, more appropriate to Halloween. It is noble to save energy – but it would be much more pleasing to the eye to leave these on all day too!
This is not an endorsement, but this post from the CEO of Crutchfield is how a business should be run: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-qlKxRaBXokn/mediarelations/20081026-BillLetter.html
A basic business principle, fundamental to capitalism, and for hundreds of years the main driving force behind innovation and wide availability of goods and services, has increasingly been eliminated by governments worldwide, led by the US. That principle is competition. In the traditional model, a company that saw their income level off, or decline, had to find more efficient ways to operate, or a new or better product. In the past decade or two, an easier short-term solution has been to find a competitor with the same issues, and merge with them. Once difficult, due to anti-trust laws, these mergers have been almost universally approved in recent years.
Many of those businesses should never have been allowed to merge. Some would have failed, and other new ones would have taken their place. However, the rubber-stamp government approval of mergers, has resulted in domination of many industries by a small number of corporations. In particular banking, media, telecom/internet, energy, and auto manufacturing corporations have grown to a size where no new startup can expect to succeed. Many of these corporations no longer know the meaning of competition. The bureaucratic incompetent management withdraws into their own world, where they lose touch with reality, assuming their “superior intellect” will always keep them successful.
Then suddenly - what if there is a rude awakening? They are losing money? What to do? Ask for government help. So why should corporate welfare be given to them? Because the very government irresponsibility which allowed them to get so big has created huge dependencies that cannot be ignored – both on the supply side, and the employment side. The “Too big to fail” principle. The alternative to a handout is to turn over the failing company to one their few remaining competitors, making future problems worse.
This cannot be blamed only on Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, or Conservatives. It is not restricted to the US. Is there an easy solution? No. But there are possibilities. Obviously future merger approvals should be approved with extreme caution. What about current corporations? One start would be tax changes that would offer big breaks to any corporation that separated into independent businesses. Is this really likely to happen? Unfortunately, no. That is the E-reality.