Mid-Summer 2013 #9, a photo by rdonovan on Flickr. Back in July, in between meetings, I just happened to note a rather curious site. A plane. But rather than flying past, it was sailing north on Lake Washington on barge. Luckily I had my 400m lens on the camera and was able to capture it... Continue Reading →
Misadventures with Windows 8.1 and BootCamp on a MacBook Pro
This weekend, I put Windows 8.1 Enterprise Edition 64-bit on a 15" mid-2011 MacBook Pro. It turned out to be much more of a (mis)adventure than I anticipated. What I Tried and Failed My goal was to simply burn a USB-stick installer, put Windows 8.1 on it, and then put the Bootcamp 5 software on... Continue Reading →
My Take: Adobe Creative Cloud, Office 365, Software Subscriptions, and Old Photos
OK, so I am taking the plunge. Sometime before the expiration of the July 31st cut-off for the CS6 migration promotion, I'll be switching to Creative Cloud. Why? Feature-value. I have been playing with an evaluation of Lightroom 5 (which coincidentally is the only product still available on a perpetual license). I'm sold. And now... Continue Reading →
53,402 miles later…
Where has the first half of the year gone? Well, a lot of it has been on a plane or in an airport. Besides that, at work we've shipped 3 major releases of Commerce Server. Business is going great. And I finished up my role in the post-merger integration of Cactus Commerce and Ascentium, handing... Continue Reading →
The next killer app from Amazon?
I am a bookworm. I have several thousand actual books. And another few hundred Kindle books. Managing this is a nightmare. Especially when it comes to reconciling series between the physical and virtual libraries. And furthermore, I am sick of getting recommendations for books I own. (Yes I can go in and individually mark a... Continue Reading →
My Review of Windows Phone 8
My first smartphone was a Windows Mobile device – a Motorola MPX200 to be precise. And that was all I used for the next few years culminating with the Treo 750W on Windows Mobile 6.5. Then, the iPhone 3G came around. Everything about my iPod and phone was combined into one. And everything Windows Mobile... Continue Reading →
Out of Pseudo-Stealth Mode
To summarize the last twelve months: wow! Since the acquisition of Cactus Commerce by Ascentium, a big part of my day job was working on integrating the two businesses into a new brand and value proposition. This finally came to fruition with the launch of the SMITH brand a few weeks back, along with the... Continue Reading →
And to add ANOTHER adventure…
As if being acquired, a new job, and an international move were not enough, let's just add getting the helm of Commerce Server back. No, that's not a mis-print, as captured by: Microsoft's official statement on the subject Mary Jo Foley's write-up of the subject Brian Walker of Forrester Research's take on the subject This certainly... Continue Reading →
The Next Adventure Begins
On September 6, Cactus Commerce, the company for which I have worked for the last for years, has been acquired by Ascentium Corporation of Bellevue, WA. It's truly ironic that after moving to Ottawa from Seattle, we've been bought by a Seattle-based company - and now I'm being relocated back to Seattle to take on... Continue Reading →
Audi S8 – 2-year update
It has been about 2 years since I have been driving the S8 every-day as my Ottawa daily driver. The short-take: There is not much to dislike! Power and performance is amazing - in any weather (caveat: must have right tires). Absolutely comfortable for 4 adults + luggage. Fuel economy is abysmal in town -... Continue Reading →