Microsoft vs Mozilla – Day Two

OK that didn’t go too well. FireFox install and import was straightforward as expected but I’ve got real problems with Thunderbird.

In Outlook I had some very detailed rules set-up to move emails, flag them or print them and looks like the filters, Thunderbird’s equivalent, is not as advanced so I’ll have to find a work around for that.

The import finally completed after about an hour but unfortunately showed all the emails, around 7,000 as unread which is a bit of a pain. In addition, the thirty odd mail accounts I had set-up didn’t get imported for some odd reason so I’m going to have set those back up again…

So far, not impressed…

Microsoft vs Mozilla – Day One

OK tonight I have decided to try a little experiment. Basically I’m going to switch from using MS IE and MS Outlook to FireFox and Thunderbird for my web browsing and email for a short evaluation period. Lets say until this Sunday to give it a fair chance…

Those that know me will know that I am a big MS advocate but to be fair to all parties concerned I’m going to give Mozilla a crack of the whip in the metaphorical sense. So lets download these puppies….

Mozilla Thunderbird
OK I use Outlook to the extent where I only really use it for email. I don’t use the contact/diary etc all that much so losing those for the time being until I find a replacement won’t be a big heartache. Thunderbird claims to be able to import everything from Outlook so let’s give that a blast…

Upon installing TB, the first thing that popped up was did I want to import my mail? Damn straight I thought and gave the thumbs up. Granted I have a whopper PST file weighing in at a mighty 900MB so it’s going to be interesting to see how TB handles this. Ten minutes into the install and the progress bar has just shifted into life so this could take some time!

Stating the bleeding obvious…

Read this today on the beeb website about the new Motorola advert where a young chap skims his new pebble phone across the ocean to a young lass. For reasons known only to themselves, Motorola decided it was necessary to warn users at the end of the advert that the phone wasn’t waterproof!!

Well thanks for that. I was just about to chuck my phone across the sea to see if it skimmed like the advert. I mean c’mon, do these manufacturers really think we’re that stupid to start chucking our mobiles in the water? Or is that they are worried about being sued by the the idiots who actually try this?

Oh and by the way, reading this blog will make you rich and irresistable to women*

* I’m lying…

Clients make the difference

Got a great surprise today, one of my clients sent me some very tasty looking chocolates to celebrate System administrators day!

Now I had never heard of this, more info here: www.sysadminday.com, but if it means I get presents by the bucket load just for doing what I love, bring it on!

Professionalism in business

I had both sides of the coin today…

On the one hand I had to give one of my clients some news that I knew for a fact they would not like and I was actually concerned about telling them. Granted they weren’t exactly chuffed but the matter was dealt with calmly and professionally by us both.

On the other hand I had a very rude email from a client who objected to having to use our support system. I mean how on earth are we supposed to help people if they don’t use the tools we give them??

Just goes to show that for every cloud does not necessarily have a silver lining…

In other news…

In Pharmacology, all drugs have two names, a trade name and generic name.

For example, the trade name of Tylenol also has a generic name of Acetaminophen.

Aleve is also called Naproxen.

Amoxil is also call Amoxicillin.

Advil is also called Ibuprofen.

The FDA has been looking for a generic name for Viagra. After careful consideration by a team of government experts, it recently announced that it has settled on the generic name of Mycoxafloppin.

Also considered were Mycoxafailin, Mydixadrupin, Mydixarizin, Dixafix, and of course, Ibepokin.

Pfizer Corp. announced today that Viagra will soon be available in liquid form, and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use as a mixer. It will now be possible for a man to literally pour himself a stiff one.

Obviously we can no longer call this a soft drink, and it gives new meaning to the names of “cocktails”, “highballs” and just a good old-fashioned “stiff drink”. Pepsi will market the new concoction by the name of: MOUNT & DO.

Thought for the day: There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer’s research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

Laugh? I almost cried 😀

When does a business decision become an emotional one…

Just recently I have had to make some very tough and far reaching decisions about the business and the direction I wanted to go in. I spent a great deal of time considering the implications, weighing up the benefits and pitfalls as well as making sure I kept my eye on the “bigger issue”

Through this process it was a struggle at time to ensure that my decision was based purely on the business rather than allow my emotional side creep in. I found that in the latter scenario, my head started to be ruled by my heart and I was swaying towards a choice that would be great as a person but not so good for the business.

The moral is to ensure that any decision you make for your business should only be based on factors directly to the business. The minute you allow an emotion to cloud your judgement, the odds are the business will lose; and when the aforementioned business provides your livelihood, this could be disastrous…

Networking…

Well last night I thought I would join www.ecademy.com as I’d heard an awful lot of the forums I lurk in about the place. For those that don’t know, Ecademy is one of the world’s largest networking portals designed to connect like minded individuals and businesses…

I settled on the PowerNetworker membership simply as I didn’t fancy paying up front for a year if it didn’t work out and the benefits were pretty good compared to the other levels. Will it be worth the subscription? Well it’s not a massive amount of money but it’s only been 24 hours so time will tell!

Nuts…

January has been and gone and I haven’t blogged. I’ve got good excuses though (as always)

Silkysteps.com has finally gone live. This was a massive site supplying learning resources for kids and the owner Ruth is constantly adding new bits and bobs. This site is going to be a monster once she’s finished with it!

I’m also battling to complete a recruitment portal, combined with the RSI in my right wrist and coding like a demented monkey on speed, my output couldn’t be higher. Trouble is I’m losing six hours per day because apparently you need to sleep?

**sigh**