All posts by Martin MC Brown

a.k.a.: Martin MC Brown a.k.a.: Martin Brown a.k.a.: mcslp a.k.a.: Martin C Brown a.k.a.: MC

Microsoft Office UI 2007 – UI space

I commented at MCslp Coalface recently about the issues and approaches used for developing office suites, and by coincidence I was talking to a client and friend about the issues over the weekend.

The crux of the matter is that, for whatever reason, the UI and approach of the cornerstone of company software, the Office suite, doesn't seem to have changed very much over the years. Suites - from whatever source - still follow the basic principles of a Word Processor, Spreadsheet, presentation software, database etc. Today, that may not necessarily be the right approach considering the business and work that many individuals do.

Microsoft Office UI 2007 – UI space

I commented at MCslp Coalface recently about the issues and approaches used for developing office suites, and by coincidence I was talking to a client and friend about the issues over the weekend.

The crux of the matter is that, for whatever reason, the UI and approach of the cornerstone of company software, the Office suite, doesn't seem to have changed very much over the years. Suites - from whatever source - still follow the basic principles of a Word Processor, Spreadsheet, presentation software, database etc. Today, that may not necessarily be the right approach considering the business and work that many individuals do.

Check your definition of free

There's a lot of fuss in the UK at the moment about the launch by TalkTalk of Free Broadband Forever.

The salient point here is the use of the word Free, especially when you consider that it actually costs £20.99 each month.

I don't want to be cynical, and yes, I appreciate that you also get your line rental and a very good calling plan bundled in for that price, but at the end of the day, what you are paying for is all three items (line rental, calling plan, broadband) for the £20.99. It is mere marketing to suggest that what you are actually paying for is the first two items and the third is the free one.

Check your definition of free

There's a lot of fuss in the UK at the moment about the launch by TalkTalk of Free Broadband Forever.

The salient point here is the use of the word Free, especially when you consider that it actually costs £20.99 each month.

I don't want to be cynical, and yes, I appreciate that you also get your line rental and a very good calling plan bundled in for that price, but at the end of the day, what you are paying for is all three items (line rental, calling plan, broadband) for the £20.99. It is mere marketing to suggest that what you are actually paying for is the first two items and the third is the free one.

Using awk with different input/output separators

I had to reformat some stuff from the man pages for inclusion in another document that would be converted to a proper table. Here’s a trick for using awk/gawk to take the input (multiple spaces) and output with tabs using different input and output separators.

BEGIN { OFS = "t"; FS = "[ ][ ]+" }
{ print $1,$2,$3,$4 }

I only wanted the four columns from the original table, hence why I specified them explicitly here.

Converting your normal phone to Skype

I'm a big Skype user, and I have both SkypeIn and SkypeOut so I can make calls and receive them pretty much anywhere.

But I'm still waiting for a solution that will let me make Skype calls without having to use my computer.

The VoSky is a step closer. It plugs into your PC and your phone plugs into the VoSky, and it handles everything else.

It's not perfect - you still need a PC - but we are getting closer. The forthcoming

Converting your normal phone to Skype

I'm a big Skype user, and I have both SkypeIn and SkypeOut so I can make calls and receive them pretty much anywhere.

But I'm still waiting for a solution that will let me make Skype calls without having to use my computer.

The VoSky is a step closer. It plugs into your PC and your phone plugs into the VoSky, and it handles everything else.

It's not perfect - you still need a PC - but we are getting closer. The forthcoming

Licensing and multi-core CPUs

As CPUs move to multi-core architecture, companies - both OEMs and end users - are facing issues of licensing. If you have a multi-CPU machine, you often have to buy a multi-CPU licence.

The query is whether a multi-core CPU is really two (or more) CPUs, or just one?

Microsoft have already made the decision, classing a CPU as a CPU, no matter how many cores it has. The same model is being used by VMware for their software.