January 2005

Why don't I like web based email? Speed, or rather lack of it.
Why do I like GMail? Speed.

Forget the features, space, etc, the reason I will use GMail is because it is super fast. We all know that is why google succeeded, and that is why GMail (in my opinion) will blow away Hotmail in the next few years.

So here's some things I'd like to see:
1. Corporate GMail accounts
I'd like to be able to setup all my company's accounts on GMail, have central administrator privileges over them, easily add new users etc. Perhaps myname@mycompany.gmail.com format. All the priviliges I have as an Exchange administrator.
I think we'd see many companies moving from Outlook/Exchange based infrastructure to a totally web based approach.
I know we've got web based Outlook, but it is too slow.

2. Folder sharing
I'd like to be able to share my GMail folder with other GMail users, perhaps based on labels ie share label X with other people in my contacts list. Following on from my earlier point, perhaps these labels and privileges could be managed by an administrator.

3. Inbuilt readers for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF
I'd like to be able to read my GMail from any computer (eg an internet cafe, friend's linux machine, Mac) and not worry about having any Office apps etc installed. Rather GMail just converts an attachment to HTML automatically. (99% of my use of attachements is read only, I very rarely update them and send them back.)

Issues:
Security
The main issue with all this is security. We don't want to have sensitive documents sitting on a google server somewhere do we? Me, I don't really think it matters. I know a lot of people who already forward sensitive emails to their personal web based accounts, and there is no way a corporate IT department is ever going to stop it. I mean, we have to send sensitive documents to client's Hotmail accounts all the time.
So, the issue is about formalising it. We would be formally saying that all our emails, sensitive or not are going to be on a google server. Not a problem for me.
And in fact, probably I'd be more secure with them housing the emails than some of the companies I've dealt with. Companies who have their email servers easily exposed to the internet with seriously outdated servers, way behind in security patches and the like. For them, moving to a google solution would be a step up.

Outlook's other features
Outlook has so many great features, it would be impossible to replicate them on a GMail setting. Fair point. I've yet to see a web based calendaring function that is anywhere near as good as Outlook's desktop one.
What about contacts though? It should be easy enough to set up contacts in GMail with the same ease of Outlook. Perhaps google will provide a nice little Outlook sync tool for uploading contacts. Tasks? No reason why they can't be GMail based. Notes, same thing.

More space
GMail has a gig, but that is not really enough for a long term user. After all, most of us tend to have multi-gigabyte Outlook folders after a while. Hopefully GMail will provide upgrade options.

Backups
I can only assume GMail has good backup and redundancy procedures in place. Or if they don't then perhaps an option to provide it as part of a corporate package.

So, returning to my point: speed.
None of these ideas are particularly new, it is just that even if they do exist on some web based email options (ie Outlook web access), no one considers them a viable option because they are much slower than using a desktop app. GMail is all about speed and finally gives us this as a real option.

Here's a handy bit of code for returning a list of available SQL Servers.
I grabbed it out of the VFP9 Data Sources task pane code.
It always works if I'm on a network, but I've had mixed results if working standalone.

#define SQL_HANDLE_ENV 1

#define SQL_HANDLE_DBC 2

#define SQL_ATTR_ODBC_VERSION 200

#define SQL_OV_ODBC3 3

#define SQL_SUCCESS 0

#define SQL_NEED_DATA 99

#define DEFAULT_RESULT_SIZE 2048

#define SQL_DRIVER_STR "DRIVER=SQL SERVER";

LOCAL hEnv

LOCAL hConn

LOCAL cInString

LOCAL cOutString

LOCAL nLenOutString

LOCAL ARRAY aServerList[1]

DECLARE SHORT SQLBrowseConnect IN odbc32 ;

    INTEGER ConnectionHandle, ;

    STRING InConnectionString, ;

    INTEGER StringLength1, ;

    STRING @ OutConnectionString, ;

    INTEGER BufferLength, ;

    INTEGER @ StringLength2Ptr

DECLARE SHORT SQLAllocHandle IN odbc32 ;

    INTEGER HandleType, ;

    INTEGER InputHandle, ;

    INTEGER @ OutputHandlePtr

DECLARE SHORT SQLFreeHandle IN odbc32 ;

    INTEGER HandleType, ;

    INTEGER Handle



DECLARE SHORT SQLSetEnvAttr IN odbc32 ;

    INTEGER EnvironmentHandle, ;

    INTEGER Attribute, ;

    INTEGER ValuePtr, ;

    INTEGER StringLength

hEnv = 0

hConn = 0

cInString = SQL_DRIVER_STR

cOutString = SPACE(DEFAULT_RESULT_SIZE)

nLenOutString = 0

LOCAL cServerList

cServerList = ''

TRY

    IF SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_ENV, hEnv, @hEnv) == SQL_SUCCESS

        IF (SQLSetEnvAttr(hEnv,
SQL_ATTR_ODBC_VERSION, SQL_OV_ODBC3, 0)) == SQL_SUCCESS

            IF
SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_DBC, hEnv, @hConn) == SQL_SUCCESS


IF (SQLBrowseConnect(hConn, @cInString, LEN(cInString), @cOutString,
DEFAULT_RESULT_SIZE, @nLenOutString)) == SQL_NEED_DATA


nCnt = ALINES(aServerList, STREXTRACT(cOutString, '{', '}'), .T., ',')


FOR i = 1 TO nCnt


cServerList = cServerList + ',' + ALLTRIM(aServerList[i])


ENDFOR


ENDIF

            ENDIF

        ENDIF

    ENDIF

CATCH TO oException

    * ignore error, just return an empty string of servers

FINALLY

    IF hConn <> 0

        SQLFreeHandle(SQL_HANDLE_DBC, hConn)

    ENDIF

    IF hEnv <> 0

        SQLFreeHandle(SQL_HANDLE_ENV, hConn)

    ENDIF

ENDTRY

?cServerList

I'm feeling sorry for this guy (Stephen) who sent an email to Microsoft with some criticism and copped a bagging in the blog comments. [Note to self: always specify 'For your eyes only' on any email I send from now on, or I could end up on a public blog]
http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2005/01/27/361392.aspx

But it raises the question of supporting customers. We are a software house and get our fair share of customer complaints/abuse/suggestions (some of them fair, some not).

And ofcourse the bigger company you are (ie Microsoft) the bigger target you are. Incidently, I have been really impressed by the great support Microsoft has given us. Both Frank and Andrew especially have been great, and this is well noted in my previous blogs.
So the issue is what is the right way to respond? And here the issue is really about context.
And the context in business is money. Pure and simple.
What about if they are right though? Well, the customer is always right. Cliche aside, it is true. I have very rarely heard a client complain about something they didn't believe they were right about. I might have thought they were wrong, but that is not the point.

So, if a client has a complaint, you need to take that in line with financial ramifications.
Will this complaint affect our business? If it is a bad software bug or poor service then yes, it will affect business. If it is a missing feature, then it may or may not. If it is a client just venting, then it probably won't. In this case an understanding ear will probably improve business though. Every time a customer complains, I see it it is an opportunity to make more money (but no I am not suggesting we give them more opportunities to complain...)

Lets take a recent customer complaint at Talman. We are going to stop supporting a DOS product we've had for nearly 20 years. It is costing us too much money to support. Our customers will have to upgrade to our Windows product (at a cost to them) and they don't like it. Are we 'penny pinching bastards who force our customers to upgrade to our more expensive newer product just for the sake of ripping them off'? I don't think so. (Incidently our newer product has been around for over 7 years). We are a technology company, always advancing our technology so our clients can have the best, most productive systems money can buy in their sector. And to proceed with that we need to make money. And losing money on an old product is not helping anyone long term.

Now, I mention this example because one day Microsoft is going to pull the pin on VFP. It may be 5 years away, 10 whatever. Never-the -less it is going to happen. Just like they did to classic ASP, and they will do to .Net at some future date. And it will be a business decision, pure and simple. Will I be crying to see it go. No, because my team and I are software developers, always improving our skills. that's the name of the game in software - always improve/upgrade/learn.

My boss pays me to ensure this company will still be around in another 30 years time. And that means making money. It also means using the best technology at the time. But most of all it means being able to adapt to the best technology of tomorrow. Hopefully (and probably) that is VFP for a long time. But if it's something else (Microsoft or otherwise), no problem. We will learn it. As a customer of Microsoft, that's how I see it. As a provider of software to our customers I think that's how they should see it too.

It is now over a month since I have played my drums (courtesy of our holidaying). I'm getting itchy fingers and feet. I've now started doing that annoying tapping on everything that drummers do when they haven't played for a while.
Can't wait to get back in and play through my old Racer X albums. The thing about drumming is that you can always get your hand speed back up quickly. But feet, they are different. Well for me anyway. The double bass speed will be the most affected. I tend to lose that quickly. My double bass drumming uses both ankle and calf techniques, with the ankle speed being the one you lose the most. The calf muscle is generally maintained by things like walking and climbing stairs, but the ankle strength requires constant practice.

Ahhhh, feeling a little better, just went and checked out some videos of my hero Virgil:
http://www.virgildonati.com/media_videos.php
About 15 years ago (before he had relocated to the US) I was in a private masterclass with Virgil. I still have a photo of him and me at home. At the time I was so shy I couldn't even pluck up the courage to ask for my photo to be taken with him. He noticed me standing awkwardly, holding a camera, came over and asked if I wanted a photo. I must have dribbled out some kind of affirmative response because he called over one of his crew, gave him the camera and asked him to take a shot of us. He wrapped his arm around my neck in a buddy hold and gave the thumbs up to the camera. Click.

[Note to self: next time you travel for extended times, atleast take a practice pad and sticks]

Glad to be back in Zurich for the great coffee.
I am of the belief it is not physically possible to buy a bad coffee anywhere in Zurich.
The Francis Francis has had a workout this morning after our disappointing coffee experiences in Paris - it is very hit and miss there, mostly miss.

We've just had a week in Paris.
Firstly, I couldn't get the notebook to work with the hotel wireless network, so this is the longest I can remember when I haven't had internet access. In a way this was a good thing, as Michele reminded me, for once I couldn't check my emails before going to bed. This stressed me the first two days, but then I got used to it. Call me really sad, but it takes time to break the 'habit'. Anyway, I write this on the way back to Zurich on the TGV. I have 5-6 hours before me in which to work. I don't have any emails to reply to (that will come tonight!) so I have no excuse for not working... unless ofcourse I use the time to write a few blog entries. Blogger has a nice email posting facility, so I'm simply writing these posts as emails and will send them when I get back to Zurich.

So, Paris. It was OK. We saw some great places - Musee d'Orsay, The Louvre, The Pantheon, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame, etc. They were good. But this city is depressing. Man, the people have such a bad vibe. There is bad karma here. Everyone seems grumpy and abusive. Now, I know it is a bit of stereotype that the French are rude to foreigners. But I don't buy it. We were in Colmar last weekend, and they were lovely. So polite and helpful. Here, they are fuckin' rude. So I think it is a Paris thing. Not a French thing. It seems every five minutes there is a police car with sirens on zooming past. Do they have a lot of crime? Or are they arresting people for their rudeness? I hope so.
Having said that, if you visit Paris and are over in the Latin Quarter then check out two restaurants - Brasserie Balzar and Boullion Racine - the staff at both places were fantastic. The food was great. And, when we got on the train we were in seats facing backwards. Two very kind French men offerred to swap with us (I feel ill going backwards). So they are not all bad...

Now, for me the pick of it was seeing Foucault's Pendulum in the Pantheon. Many years ago I read the book of the same name by Umberto Eco and was completely captivated. To visit the site of his writing was a bit of a thrill. I think I'll read the book again. Speaking of books I saw the Tin Tin series in a book store and it brought back great childhood memories. I've decided to buy the series when I get home to Sydney. I'm hoping I'll be able to track them down cheaply on EBay.

Here's my tips for seeing Paris:
Day 1 - Get here after lunch. Stay in the Opera or Louvre quarter. We were in the Latin quarter which is also nice. Walk around that afternoon, do some shopping
Day 2, visit the Musee d'Orsay. Spend most of the day there.
Day 3, visit the Louvre, get there early and rush to see the Mona Lisa. It is a boring painting and totally underwhelming, but you have to see it and get it out of the way. You should rush to see it because it will get very crowded soon. Try to see as many of the Ialian paintings in that section (Denon level 1) as you can before it starts to get crowded. As an aside, I was surprised by the number of Japanese groups going around (and yes they ALL had cameras, videos and were using flashes). If we are but the sum of our experiences then they have the most proof of who they are by a long shot.
Then go up to level 2 and start with the French 15th and 16th Centruy paintings. Spend most of your day there and then work back down to level 1 late in the day. If you go on a Wed or Thur the museum is open until 9pm. Note, it is closed on Tuesdays.
Day 4, visit the Pantheon in the morning and Notre Dame in the afternoon. Head home that afternoon.
Although we visited the Eiffel Tower and Champ Elyssees I wouldn't say it is a must do. You can do that on Day 5 if you stay that long. But I think 4 days is enough.

I can't wait to get back to Zurich. I love that city. The weather is probably a bit colder, but the place has a great vibe. Everyone is so nice. And it is clean. I know people say that Paris is dirty. And they're right.

Some of you will have seen the little article on Talman, OzFox and VFP in ComputerWorld. The link is: http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;594349567;fp;16;fpid;0

While 'all press is good press', it has been an eye opener for me. I wasn't actually interviewed (although I'm quoted), and the slant is not how I would have portrayed OzFox (to me it's more about community and the generous involvement of many parties, most notably the speakers) - I guess it serves me right for being on holidays in Switzerland <g>.
But it does raise the profile of OzFox and Visual FoxPro in Australia and that's a good thing. Talman gets exposure aswell which is something I want to see more of.
For the record I was thrilled with how generous Microsoft and especially Andrew Coates were. My thank you note at the time still stands.

[Also, note that although the article mentions OzFox 2005 later this year, this hasn't been confirmed yet. In fact I still haven't finished a few things from OzFox 2004 such as compiling survey results and evaluations... things that will be important for preparing the next OzFox's timing and content.]

Handy item to add 'Mail to...' on right click in Internet Explorer

http://www.slipstick.com/addins/gallery/index.htm#mailto

Here's welcome news. I was browsing through the new VFP9 features and this one caught my eye:

CLEAR CLASSLIB Updated
The CLEAR CLASSLIB command now automatically executes a CLEAR CLASS command on each class in the specified class library. Any errors that might occur during release of individual classes (e.g., class in use) are ignored.

Why is this good? Well in our systems we often have a main exe file that calls .app files. When we want to overwrite the app files (eg as part of an upgrade) we sometimes run into problems with class libraries being held in memory.
No problem you'd think, but we found out the hard way that each class had to be cleared before the class library was completely cleared. If not then the app was still locked. (I should explain that the app loads the class library on the Init() say).
So we had this elaborate procedure for cycling through classes, releasing them and then releasing the class library.
But all that is much easier now with VFP9.

Stumbled upon this band Nightwish while shopping at Media Markt. Great European Operatic Heavy Metal. Bought the CD without even listening to it. Have been listening to it ever since. They are actually from Finland, but big here ofcourse.
Looked up their site to check if they were touring around Switzerland and guess what, they'll be in Australia in March - I'll check em out when I get home!

Craig Bailey on Microsoft

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Returning a list of SQL Servers in VFP

Customers complaining and the future of VFP

Missing my drums

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Media and OzFox

Add Mail to link in IE right click context menu

VFP9 CLEAR CLASSLIB

Nightwish