Ahh, the notorious goals (or more colloquially known as resolutions). I will cover the usual three main areas of focus: Technical Skills, Reading Challenge, and Wellness. I’m hoping for a little more diligence on my part to really focus on all of these goals. I did pretty well last year but there were a couple of bumps along the way. So let’s set those 2024 goals, shall we?
Tag: Technology Page 1 of 8
It’s been years since I have written a “tech talk” post, however, this doesn’t really count as one. In fact, this is probably a bit more like a SoapBox. The latest fad in tech is Chat GPT and OpenAI. I work in tech but I have not so much as performed a Google search for Chat GPT. As a programmer, I love automating simple tasks in my life but it’s overcoming challenges that help us grow. Asking an AI to write something for me is not something that needs to be automated. Chat GPT and OpenAI are making the world a lazier place and contributing to the decline of society (which began with social media).
We already live in a world where there is an entire generation that doesn’t want to do anything for themselves. They feel entitled to everything without doing any of the work to earn it. I’m surprised they have the brain capacity to articulate what they want Chat GPT to write for them. The fine art of creative writing and composition has been cannibalized. Chat GPT and OpenAI will make lazy people lazier and more fraudulent.
I’m going a completely different direction for the August Top Five. Technology. It’s pretty well known among my peers that I am Microsoft’s biggest critic. While I do make a living using their technology that doesn’t mean I drank the proverbial kool-aid. Granted even Apple and Google have had their technical slip-ups but their list isn’t quite as embarrassing as Microsoft’s. The lesson Microsoft seems to fail to learn is that just because someone else is already doing it doesn’t mean they can do it better. X-Box is about the ONLY success story. I digress. Here are my top 5 epic Microsoft fails.
- Zune – MP3/Music player. This is the default fail everyone thinks of when they think of failed Microsoft products. EPIC FAIL!
- Windows 8 – If you thought Vista was bad, that “start screen” is a dumpster fire of Teletubby vomit. FAIL!
- Windows Phone – iPhone/Android competitor. I called this fail out back when it was first announced. Poor Nokia. FAIL!
- Microsoft Band – FitBit/Garmin competitor. Did people even know Microsoft made a fitness tracker. Probably not. FAIL!
- Microsoft Teams – Slack/Zoom competitor. The ONLY reason this product is surviving is the pandemic; without COVID this would be (and may still be) another pathetic footnote of failed products. FAIL IN THE MAKING.
The honorable mentions may be fairly obvious; Bing and Internet Explorer/Edge. IE has been a thorn in developers side for decades. Writing code to meet its sloppy standards has made it hated by many in the tech industry. Microsoft should have gotten out of the browser business decades ago. Bing is the Microsoft search engine to compete with Google. So few people were using Bing that Microsoft is actually trying to PAY people to use it with Microsoft Rewards. In fact you even get bonus rewards for using Edge. They are even paying you to use Edge!!! PATHETIC FAIL!
/cheers
I Have Spoken!
I’m on a Criminal Minds binge. There is an interesting episode called “The Internet is Forever” near the end of Season 5. If you are unfamiliar with the show, each episode begins and ends with a quote from some philosopher or influential mind. The closing quote in this episode suggests that the Internet is an experiment in anarchy. Here is the full text of the quote:
“The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.” – Eric Schmidt
Yes, ironically that quote is from Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google (aka. Alphabet Inc). It is so profoundly accurate it sparks many thoughts of just how much anarchy the Internet is creating. I decided on this topic on the 25th of January and since that day I witness nearly daily examples. It’s equal parts frightening and uncanny.
The Internet has Made Us All Sociopaths
I wish I could say I am exaggerating. Surely there are not daily examples of Internet induced anarchy. How often is there a story on the news where someone’s behavior was the result of a post on social media? How many suicides or suicide attempts are the result of cyber bullying? If you don’t want to think about it then how about a couple of examples. Tide Pods. The cinnamon challenge. The Bird Box challenge. People are lemmings! Yes, people did stupid things in the 80’s and 90’s, before Facebook, but it wasn’t as widespread. The consequences were more prolific because it made the news.
Unfortunately anarchy has become the social norm; and I blame Social Media. Everyone feels so indemnified by the facelessness of Twitter and even Facebook (ironic, I know). We’ve all become sociopaths because we post things on the various forms of social media with a complete lack of conscious. People don’t care who they harm, all they care about is what’s trending. A perfect example is this “Fyre Festival” thing that Hulu has been advertising. It shows just how dangerous social media can be. I don’t think Billy McFarland is a criminal, I think it’s hilarious that those people got what they deserved.
The Internet is now the digital mountain top from which people scream their opinions thinking the rest of us care. I admit that some people do care and many agree. However, what makes it absolutely absurd are the people who are trying to promote tolerance and inclusion are first to demonize anyone that disagrees with them. You can’t preach inclusion but ostracize anyone that disagrees. This is as much of an example of cognitive dissonance as this entire blog post (yes, I’m fully aware of what I’ve done). I’ll openly admit that joining Facebook and Twitter has turned me into a sociopath. In retrospect, I should have avoided them completely.
/cheers
I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!
It was November the last time I talked about my Home Automation and Lab projects; it is time for some updates. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot to tell. The last eight months have been busy on the work front and on the home front. If you know me at all you know that November through the end of December is my craziest time of year. There were a few things I had to sort out that were pretty significant changes to my work and home life. Changes that also require some time to adjust and acclimate. Here is a quick reminder of the projects I have on deck and in progress:
MythTV, Plex and FreeNAS (DVR and Media server)
Home Automation Phase II – with Raspberry Pi integration (still in progress)
Home Automation Phase III (still in draft mode)
Best Laid Plans …
I am behind, to say the least. I guess I try to do too much in a day and when there is time to work on these projects, I often don’t feel like sitting in front of the computer. There is also the little problem of the SD Card reader I bought to use on my main PC to install the Raspberry Pi software. It doesn’t appear to be working properly. It is either that or the SD card I am trying to use has gone bad. Either way, it’s a huge roadblock!
I also discovered that my Plex server suddenly stopped allowing me access to my own movies. Typically this issue can be resolved by updating the plug-in within FreeNAS. Unfortunately that isn’t the case this time. There are several people who I have given access to my movies so fixing that has taken a higher priority. On top of all of that work has increased in intensity thus I am working late hours.
So all that to say, I’m behind. I’m trying to catch up and I don’t really have anything else to update.
“I’m putting myself to the fullest possible use. Which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do” – HAL 9000
Everyone knows the old idiom “Don’t Bite the Hand that Feeds You”. It is often used in the context of criticizing someone or some place that helps and/or pays you. It is also often used against me when I’m on one of my Microsoft tirades. Yes, the majority of my job requires me to use Microsoft tools and technology. I think my years of experience, however, gives credence that my rants are not “biting the hand that feeds you“. In my opinion, it’s “biting the hand that’s punching you in the face”. I am going to pick on Microsoft again to illustrate my point because they are the easiest target. However, to be fair, any of the big tech companies can just as easily serve the same purpose.
I have been working in .NET for more than 12 years. I have been developing solutions using a plethora of Microsoft products dating back to Visual Studio 2003. Since I am using Visual Studio as a point of reference to establish a time frame, I will start with that particular tool. In fact Visual Studio is a great way to start on a high note because I love Visual Studio. I don’t think there is a comparable product out there that makes developing any easier. Combining the two database management tools into one tool, i.e. SQL Server Management Studio, was brilliant and again incomparable. I loved Windows 7 and Windows 10 isn’t too bad either. So while I do have a few kind things to say about some of Microsoft’s tools, it hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows.
The Products That Bludgeon
Yes, for someone who makes a living using Microsoft products I sure do like to pick on them … a lot. I am quite vocal on Facebook, Twitter, at work, in a store about some of the crap 
Microsoft has created or caused in my life. These are the times when I have had that old proverb quoted at me. After working in the industry for over a decade, I think I have earned the privilege to speak my discontent. I have been on a huge rant about Internet Explorer lately because I think that is Microsoft biggest mistake. If they had followed the same versioning model as younger browsers then perhaps IE wouldn’t be the most hated browser in the industry. The fact that I have to try to code around 8 different versions of IE but only one version of Chrome and Firefox makes me hate my life. Edge was their second biggest mistake; hello re-skinned IE. Obviously Microsoft thinks we’re all a bunch of idiots.
Internet Explorer is the worst offender and the one that lingers. The other asinine business mistakes they have made are already dead or dying. As the joke goes, every even version of Windows was total garbage (Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows Vista, Windows 8) where Windows 8 is probably the worst one to date; not only was it awful functionally but it was aesthetically disgusting. SilverLight was a complete failure. Bing, Zune and Windows Phone are complete jokes. I remember when Windows Phone was announced; I predicted its demise on Day One. What makes Windows Phone especially irksome is it took Nokia with it. Granted Nokia was already struggling but they could have gone a smarter route (like Android) to save their business.
News Flash! Microsoft Doesn’t Walk On Water!
Working with a company’s technology every day doesn’t mean I should be worshiping them like a god. Apple, Google and Microsoft are often referred to as the “Titans of IT” but not everything they make is gold. If a product is total garbage I won’t go around heralding it just because “it’s Microsoft”. If you make a dumb product or a dumb decision then I’m going to call you out on it. Pretending its great is obtuse and not only are you misleading yourself but your clients and customers. I’m not going to try to sell a client/customer/developer lead on a half-baked product when a third-party product is a better fit. For example, I’ll advocate for Slack before Microsoft Teams because its far easier to use and much more well thought out.
Furthermore, I will not advocate for a technology that is going to make my life a living hell. For example I will never suggest SilverLight to anyone! I may be a masochist but SilverLight is a steaming pile of garbage and I’d rather write VB6 for eternity then edit another XAML file. So it’s not “biting the hand that feeds you” you when that “hand” is causing you nothing but daily anguish and regret.
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do”
– Steve Jobs