Christopher Mackay’s Blog

Scott Rockfeld, group products manager for the mobile communications business at Microsoft, in an interview in Computerworld:

And despite the iPhone 3G’s strong opening-weekend sales, Rockfeld noted that technology research firm IDC predicted that Windows Mobile will continue to outsell the iPhone 2 to 1 in the consumer market by 2012 and in the business space by 9 to 1.

‘So you can see the hype versus the reality,’ he said.”

Where by ‘reality’ he means ‘wild-ass guess’.

I’ve had many opportunities over the last few months to speak with the nice folks at Adobe Support. They’re unfailingly polite and helpful.

Maybe they should work on Adobe’s Software Installer team.

I upgraded from Adobe Contribute 4 to Adobe Contribute CS3 yesterday. Not, you know, because I wanted to; but because out of the blue, when trying to administer a Dreamweaver-based web site with Adobe Contribute 4, like always, it suddenly told me I needed a newer version of Contribute. Then it would quit.

I fiddled with it for a bit, then decided to just give in and upgrade. It’s not that much money.

1. I download it (it’s over 300 MB!): success.
2. I install it: success.
3. It asks for the serial number. I give it the serial number: success.
4. It asks for the serial number of the version I’m upgrading from. I give it the serial number: rejection. WHAT?!? I’ve copied the serial number from the email Adobe sent me in 2006, when I bought version 4…
5. I copy the serial number from version 3, bought from Macromedia (in 2003, if memory serves): rejection. This is ridiculous.
6. I call Adobe, and 10 minutes later they walk me through a procedure that gets it to work.

This is the same thing I went through with Photoshop CS3, and twice with Dreamweaver CS3.

It used to be that you could rely on an installer to find your previous version on your hard drive, and it could figure everything out from there. Not any more.

It used to be that you could COPY AND PASTE the serial numbers from their own email and expect that to be recognized (it worked when I needed it originally, after all). Not any more.

Will Adobe ever figure this shit out? Seems unlikely.

Yes, that would be me, but without the pipe. Or the moustache. Or the glasses. And not so much with the bowtie or elbow patches. And my name’s not ‘Edward’.

Otherwise? Totally me.

(From the rut.)

Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Act 1 (of 3), is now on iTunes.

What are you people waiting for?!? It’s new, it’s only $1.99, and it’s by Joss Whedon! And don’t tell me you’ve already had your quota of sing-along super-villain internet serials for the summer, because I’ll suspect you’re lying.

There’s a Dr Horrible web site, too.

Last night we went to see Wall•E for a second time, because it was such a great flick.

We saw it at the cinema in Amherst, Nova Scotia, which is part of the Empire Theatre chain, the same chain that runs all of the cinemas in Moncton (Trinity Drive) and Dieppe (Crystal Palace).

When we got there the box office was closed; instead, all customers were to line up at the junk food counter, even if they only wanted tickets.

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Joggins Awarded UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site Status | Joggins, Nova Scotia, Canada:

The World Heritage Committee, at its annual meeting in Quebec City, has announced that Joggins will be inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites”

Congratulations to everyone on the team at the Joggins Fossil Institute and CREDA. Well done!

Hey, it’s Canada Day — and look, USA Today has an article on the war in Afghanistan “U.S. Deaths in Afghanistan near those in Iraq“.

What mention does USA Today make of Canada’s 6-years-and-counting commitment to the war in Afghanistan (which numbers 85 killed as of June 3, 2008, including 6 due to American “friendly fire”, and many more injured)?

Well, they mention American casualties, British casualties and, oh, there we are: “International casualties”.

Happy Canada Day to all Canadians, wherever they find themselves today.

‘Digital Manners Policies’ is a marketing term. Let’s call this what it really is: Selective Device Jamming. It’s not polite, it’s dangerous. It won’t make anyone more secure — or more polite”

Best argument for open-source software; now what about open-source hardware?