Jailbreak!

In this case I am not referring to breaking out of prison and becoming el fugitivo. Although, under current law use of the Jailbreak software can land you in considerable legal trouble.

Jailbreak is a tool used to modify the iPhone OS so the rightful owner of the device may load any third party applications they like on it. Out of the box an iPhone is restricted and will only allow the owner to download apps from the Apple app store. This is a handy way to eliminate competition in the market place.

In real life, what Apple is doing would be like if someone went to Sears and bought a shiny, red Craftsman toolbox and brought it home. Once home the owner tries to put his own tools in the toolbox but finds he can't. Frustrated, the owner of the toolbox gets out the paperwork to figure out what the hell is wrong with his toolbox.

After hours of cursing and fumbling around with the instructions the owner gives up in frustration. The owner's wife picks up the sales contract and points out the problem there in the fine print: You can only put Craftsman tools in your toolbox. If you modify the toolbox to accept other tools you are going to jail. And what's more is, to pull the limitations of only doing business with AT&T into the equation...you can only use your toolbox to carry tools to places in a Ford truck.

Seem silly? It is a pretty accurate metaphor.

Down with the sickness...

I had to get up and write something, anything. I have been really sick for about a week but I think things are improving now. Today was my first day back at work all week so naturally there were a lot of emails to read. Not as many as one would expect though. I think the number of fresh messages in my inbox at any given moment is a solid indicator of the strength of the economy. But, the work keeps coming ...there is no shortage of things to do from my perspective.

After getting caught up I turned my attention to research. I need to answer lingering questions about how we are going to develop integrated, interactive maps and automatically translate web pages to foreign languages in real time. The results of my research would be going into a deliverable I call the 'Technical Specification' which, aptly, specify all the technical aspects of the site.

Naturally, I turned to Google. In this case however, Google is not the search engine I am going to use to find the answers I seek. In this case Google itself, in all of its wonder, is going to provide the solution to not one, but two complex technical challenges. It is going to make executing the development of each easy...And it is going to be free.

I just couldn't help but have a quiet little nerdgasm in my office when I discovered the hidden hamlet in Google's empire called 'Google Code'. I know this is old news for many developers and engineers...but it was all new for me. Of particular interest is the new 'interactive API playground' which allows you to edit code for most if not all of the popular API's and see the results immediately.

Freakin' awesome.

Mobile decisions...

I am a Palm Treo guy. Last week I almost succumbed to the pressure of being left out of so many conversations with the boys, happening on Blackberry's messenger service. As if the 43,237 other ways we all communicate every day isn't enough. Mobile chat is a really good idea though, I am surprised it is not more prevalent.

At the Sprint store I explained my dilemma and other, more legitimate requirements...Like accessing my work email and calendar. The rep explained I would have to pay an extra $20, on top of the $100 a month I currently pay to have the 'simply everything' plan in order to access an Exchange server. This was simply more than I could stand. I guess 'simply everything' means everything except accessing your email, synchronizing your calendar, contacts, tasks and files.

So, there will be no change to Blackberry for me. But, as a consolation prize I learned about the coming of the Palm Pre. I must say, I am getting more and more excited about holding out. I have never liked the Blackberry handset anyways...It feels cheap Besides, chatting and giggling with the boys when we are in the same room reminds me of something teenage girls might do in the cafeteria at lunch. ;)

On Project Management...

I feel inclined to write tonight in a way I haven't in some time...stream of consciousness. Last week I was sitting at my desk and I thought about writing again, for the sake of writing. Maybe just to be a little creative? Anyways...

I joined the IEEE last week. The immediate goal is to gain access to some research for a proposal I am writing. But I can already see in the long term there is interesting material to explore. For instance, piles of documentation describing process steps in software development.

Um, the Sarah Silverman show is pretty funny. There is a part of me that is intensely interested in learning more about the 'other ways' to manage IT projects I have not explored.

Basically, I am an inveterate practitioner of the 'Waterfall Model'. I have slowly gained experience with this approach over the last four years and I am now teaching it to others. I also have some experience with the 'Rational Unified Process'. I've also read a little on 'agile' and sometimes borrow some of the philosophy for my own approach, though I have much to learn.

Yet, there are many, many more options I am just beginning to get interested in. I hope to look closer at Scrum over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, my big project is closing in on the end of the specifications/design phase as we prepare for development. Design went really well, we spent more time than ever ensuring we understood the requirements and expectations. The plan is to approach the development phase with a series of iterative cycles. I am pretty excited and optimistic for continued success.

On alcoholism...

A close friend (literally) wrote the book on being a high functioning alcoholic. This subject has played a very salient role in my life since I was a little boy. If you have the any interest in this topic please support the author by purchasing this very informative book. It might just feature stories about someone you know...

http://www.highfunctioningalcoholic.com/

PS- I designed and developed the web site!!

Snow Blow...

It just won't stop snowing this year. I am beginning to think about investing in a newer pair of all weather boots. The ones I have are a little small and I bought them at a time when I had very little money to spend. At the time I lived in San Francisco and I spent very little time trudging through slush and shoveling snow.

This is simply no longer the case...

Coldness!

Just a quick note. It's January and it's cold! I've had a couple of cool opportunities in the last few weeks including one chance to write a commercial for one of our clients. It was ultimately not used because of the budget but it was a funny spot with an MMA fighter, a teddy bear and a guy dressed up like cupid (and a gorgeous model!)

I believe MMA is absolutely on the brink of going mainstream in the area of endorsements and sponsorships. Before long you will almost certainly see those guys in the octagon ring wearing trunk with Walmart, Tide and Budweiser logos on them instead of the current array of companies hawking MMA gear only.

Speaking of which, I have taken a very little side gig assisting my friend with launching his management company: http://strategic-sm.com/

Check it out!!