Comparing today's computers to 1995's

This entry was prompted by some friends who wanted to “I would love to see all of you share your "testimonies" regarding this matter.”
This matter was based on the article http://therelativelyinterestingblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/comparing-todays-computers-to-1995s.htm.

I really can not remember or at least can not distinguish chronologically computers from 1995. We, my brother, Steven, and I, as I recall, started using computers in business in 1977 or 1978.

We started off for business computing, using the HeathKit H-8, yes it came in a kit, which ran H-DOS. Then almost every machine ran an OS provided from the manufacture and there was essentially no software portability from one manufacture to another.

The HeathKit H-8 came with TED-8; an assembler, HASL-8; a debugger, BUG-8 and the panel monitor, the PAM-8 bootstrap ROM. Extended BH BASIC is available at extra cost.

The the HeathKit H-8 had no BIOS, so you had to enter the octal address where the bootstrap routine was to boot the computer.
Originally, we had the 4k SRAM board but soon added a couple of the 8k SRAM Boards. We then had to add extra fans because the unit ran so hot, the solder melted on some of the boards.
We originally ran payroll program written in BH BASIC. (Benton Harbor where Heatkit was headquartered)

We never had the Heatkit supplied tape drives as we thought they were way too expensive. We made several trips to Service Merchandise to purchase audio tape decks and return them the next day to different one the next day until we found one that would record and playback the 0’s and 1’s consistently. Most audio tape decks had a separate playback and record heads and they were not very precise when the heads were switched back and forth. Which worked ok, for audio, but faired poorly when doing data.

We later acquired a Heathkit H-89 that used the Zilog Z-80 for the computer's main processor.
We started with the hard-sectored single sided disk sub-system (110KB as I recall).
I can not remember all the specifics of the many upgrades to the disk-drives we did but most of the details appear to be well outlined in the History of the Floppy Disk.
I do remember my brother and I were often up all night trying to find the points in the CP/M code to make a various modifications to be able to perform various tasks as we could not or would not wait for the next release of Heathkit’s CP/M.

One that I recall was we needed to read the double-density drives. We had to make the floppy disk system step half as far to read double the number of tracks on the floppy disk when they went to double-density. I can almost remember the lines of code we wrote.

At some point we upgraded to the “10.782 Megabyte Commercial Winchester Disk System”. I remember that disk drive well. It cost more than the entire computer system and was over $5k in 1980. I kept it around and used it for a door stop when i finally died.

After the Heathkit Computers, we moved on, as did everyone else, to the MSDOS based systems.

Before we automated, we spent nearly two days manually going through time cards and calculating payroll, hand writing the checks. (We also used a check embossing machine.) After we automated, it took about 20 minutes until the checks were printed.

We had re-written the BH BASIC payroll program into dbase on CP/M which was later on MSDOS. We later re-sold the payroll program with many different modifications for Dentist and Insurance offices and of course restaurants.
Our program changed a lot over the years. We had some pretty advanced features like:

• Inventory and ordering - We could do an inventory and output a purchase order to various suppliers
• Scheduling Program - We could schedule based on employee preferences based on seniority
• Timecard Reader - We had an Panasonic electronic time clock
• Payroll - We compared the Schedule to the Timecards and the manager had to approve the descrepancies before it was fed into the Payroll program. We even printed the checks.
• Menu Cost Analyses - Near real-time costs of each menu item.
• Recipe builder - We could build recipes even from recipes.
• Electronic Cash Register - Which was a hand made PC with an RS-232 controlled cash drawer. We read the sales from the office computer every hour.

All of this was working before 1985.

Well, this is it!

This had to be one of the most memorable years of my life!
Of course, I am getting older, so I may not remember some of the other years as well.
Our daughter Jennifer obtained here RN.

We were able to visit our son, Matthew and his family, in Seattle.

Molly and I went to Hawaii. Our son, Scott, and his wife Oksana were able to join us.
We had a great time and it was certainly nice to spend time with them as they now live more than 2,000 miles from us.

While we were in Hawaii, we went to Roy's for my birthday.

Scott gave me a card relating to a childhood memory.


And on the inside…

I just assumed this was just one of those moments that only I remembered.
He was quite young when this took place. He was 33 when he gave me the card.

Then, on Valentines Day, February 14, 2012, a more amazing thing happened:
Micah Aaron Willeke, 7 lbs 10 oz

I just cannot see how things can top this…..
… but i am waiting.

So remind me again why OS X is so great!

OS X or Fusion, will not release my mouse this morning.
So each click in the Fusion Window is also done on an OS X window.
This has happened a couple of times in the past and I have not figured out why.
iTunes is downloading some iPhone and iPad apps and is consuming 100%+ of the CPU almost constantly. iTunes the current download will take another 51 minutes.
Meanwhile, TimeMachine is so stupid it does not know that I am trying to use my machine so it is doing a backup too!
Had to shut down the Fusion VM to get control of my mouse.
So remind me again why OS X is so great!

A law to act Responsibly

“In a perfect world, Congress would not have needed a law to act responsibly, to remember that every dollar spent would come from taxpayers today – or our children tomorrow,” Obama said of the "pay-go law". Obama signed this law in February, a day after, he authorized $1.9 trillion more federal debt.

So, since the signing of the "pay-go law", let us look at how our elected officials are doing.
Remember the H. R. 4691 (Temporary Extension Act of 2010), any normal person would assume they have the cost for the bill covered, right?
No they did not.

The estimation is the net impact on the deficit will be $ 8,580,000,000.00 in 2010 alone.
So haw can congress pass H.R. 4691? Well, they declared the law, complete with several special interests amendments, an emergency, which bypasses the "pay-go law".

Now just look how much smarter our elected officials are than we are.  They found ways to pay for anything they think will keep them in power. They pass these laws that "restore" the requirement that the law already required and expected, for them to not spend more than we gave them, but they left a loop hole in case they thought it might not get them elected.

Oh, and remember the Senator Jim Bunning from Kentucky and how he was criticized by most of his colleagues and the press for holding up H. R. 4691?  Does any one remember or bother to find out why he did it?
He did it because he was insisting that he and his colleagues follow the "pay-go law" and the constitution that they agreed and swore to follow.

Our elected officials are smart.
But how responsible are our elected officials?

Summary of the Law.
SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROVISIONS.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF PREMIUM ASSISTANCE FOR COBRA BENEFITS.
SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAMS.
SEC. 5. INCREASE IN THE MEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT UPDATE.
SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF MEDICARE THERAPY CAPS EXCEPTIONS PROCESS.
SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF USE OF 2009 POVERTY GUIDELINES.
SEC. 8. EXTENSION OF NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM.
SEC. 9. EXTENSION OF SMALL BUSINESS LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.
SEC. 10. SATELLITE TELEVISION EXTENSION.
The Full Text.

"Open" organizations and alliances.

I am tired of these "organizations" and/or "alliances" and  that state they are out to solve a real problem for the "World", the "Internet" or "society" and they use terms like, "Open" and "across public and private sectors" and "..an open global standard." or "..provide the consumer with ultimate flexibility, mobility, and ease of use.."

You look at the current members and they are all "large" companies and not a single consumer.

You want to read the specifications of the "open" organization or alliance, well you will have to join.

Or you want to use this "Open" technology, well then you have to join.

Some of them even for you to even say that you are compliant, you will need to use, this usually means buy, a specific chip form a specific vendor in your product to be able to be "compliant" with the "open" standard.  Or you need to obtain "permission" from the copyright or patent holders implement the code or technology in your product.

They may even state a "no-cost" permission. But what if that patent or copyright holder becomes acquired by another company or just gets into a little money issue? Could you now be forced to pay royalties to the patent or copyright holder?

Then when you look into how to be a member, you find out that you must be willing to pay the minimum $1-4K to join. Oh, you want to have a say in the organization or specification or sometimes even to provide constructive comments, that will cost you $50k.

Come on, you organizations know who you are, have some integrity.

The eloquence of simplicity

Some things in Linux/UNIX are so simple that they become eloquent.

I wanted to know be able to get the IP address of the local machine. Sure everyone know about ifconfig, but that returns too much; I just wanted the IP address. After a couple of quick Googles, I ended found this one from commandlinefu.com:
echo -e "local:\n$(ifconfig $1 | grep -oP 'inet (add?r:)?\K(\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}')\n\npublic:\n$(curl -s sputnick-area.net/ip)";

Returns:
local:
192.168.1.15
192.168.1.16
127.0.0.1

public:
67.76.26.2

Very cool, but still a little more than I wanted.
A few tweaks and I get to:
echo -e "$(ifconfig $1 | grep -oP 'inet (add?r:)?\K(\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}')";
192.168.1.15
192.168.1.16
127.0.0.1

Then to use the other half on its own:
 echo -e "$(curl -s sputnick-area.net/ip)";
67.76.26.2

Simple, eloquent.

Excellence can be obtained...

Excellence can be obtained if you ..

CARE more than others think is wise...

RISK more than others think is safe...

DREAM more than others think is practical...

EXPECT more than others think is possible.

The Kindle DX IMHO

Well I broke down and got a Kindle DX even though it the type of device that is against my nature. This is, it is:

• Proprietary - Only from Amazon and Only books form Amazon. (like not an open standards device)
  
• Too Expensive - May need to be added to my pile of once cool things that I no longer use.
  
• Not General Purpose - Why not have a program that will do this on a Touch Pad or Netbook or LapTop?
  
• Another Electronic Gadget - I have too many devices. A "smart Phone", laptop, more other gadgets than I am will to tell my wife.
  

However, I have way too many books in my office and have long been out of book space and the ability to for me to remember where I put the books that would not fit. Then there is the "instant gratification part". Some article mentioned a book and I went to Amazon and they had it in kindle format. Cheaper and I could have it now; so I got a kindle and the book.

I have only been able to use it for about an hour, so I may have missed some of the basics; but here is what I know, or more feel about it at this point in time.

The kindle finally came. (Remember the "instant gratification part"). Now it seems to me, if the desire was to sell more books you would want to almost, anyhow, give away a book reader especially when the only source for books was your store. Also seems like, if you charged nearly $500.00 for the device, you would ship free and next day air. But that's just me.

Cool things

• The Kindle is lite and thin. Keeping in mind I carry a laptop that weighs a ton.
• Stylish, kind of looks like something Apple would make. (The association ends with the style)
• Easy to Read from.
• Charger is a USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) device with a AC adapter and a detachable USB cord.
• Headphone Jack is 3.5mm. Both will work with my new Palm-Pre.
• The book I ordered before I received my Kindle was there like in seconds. (Remember the "instant gratification part").

Reading The Book
Read some of the book and it all looked pretty good. Easy to read. Changeable type sizes. Portrait and landscape auto-rotation, nice.

Could be a little faster on page-to-page navigation. My wife implies I have a short attention span, so that hesitation could cost me to go off on some other thought path. So far, it is not an issue, other than I noticed it.

Love the way it remembers the last page I was on. (yea the short attention span thing, or is that the shot/short memory?)

What's Missing
Yes I saw all the options for the covers and such, but I guess, I supposed that I either had something or it would come with some sort of cover for the nearly $500.00 device. No, no cover. And I think I will need one as I am rough on my toys.

Read-to-Me
Not good. First, on the Kindle DX page, it states: "Read-to-Me: With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book's rights holder made the feature unavailable".

This was one of the major reasons points in my decision to purchase.

When the Kindle arrived, I could not find it in the help section. Finally found it under "Experimental". Well, the first several attempts, I would rate it more like alpha-functionality at best experimental not working well at all. I just went and checked and on the Kindle DX page, it does show, at the bottom, experimental. Darn. I honestly hate to read and would really like to listen.

Now, when I go read into the fine print on the Kindle DX page, It does mention the "Read-to-Me" under Experimental. It also lists the "Basic Web Browser" and "Listen to Music & Podcasts" as under Experimental also, but these two were not mentioned at the top of the page as the "Read-to-Me" was listed with no mention of Experimental.

Some things I found as issues with text-to-speech". Very difficult, especially since I could seldom hear anything, to determine if the device was reading to me or not. There is a volume control on the side, but no visual feed back on screen for the volume level.

I will look into this more and hopefully provide some feedback.

PDF Documents
So far, this looks good. One of my buying decisions was that I would be able to read some of the many PDF technical documents I need to go through for the work side of my life.

I knew I could email them to my special email address (somename@kindle.com) but also to my delight, after using the USB to my PC, drag and drop them to the Kindle. Cools. Dropped a couple and they were there.

Viewing them appears to be fine. You can set bookmarks within the PDFs and that is a good thing. Sure would be nice to be able to, form the table of contents, jump to the indicated page, like could be done in these particular PDFs when in the Adobe Reader. You can though, jump to any page you type in.

Well, got to go play with the Kindle DX some more. Hopefully I will be able or more so willing, to get back with how me and the Kindle DX are getting along.
-jim

To get the problem statement right

When searching for information on security, ran across a document about the "Shrinking Perimeter" . The article contained the statement"

To get a good result the engineer, the financial planner, and the corporate visionary all have the same core focus: To get the problem statement right. The wrong problem statement gets us "solutions in search of a problem" or "we solved the wrong problem" or "these sunk investments did not yield value." In every case, it is getting the problem statement right that makes the difference.

This certainly could be and should be expanded to consultants (and most anyone else). Many times the consultant is brought in to do a project that was determined by someone else. The consultant is essentially being asked to validate problem statement created by someone else. Way too often I see consultant happily take the clients money knowing all along that the problem statement is treating a symptom of or masking the real problem.

The consultant is usually brought in as a subject matter expert and the easy thing to do is to go along with what the client said they wanted and not speak up. Is it not the consultant's purpose and obligation to speak up?

To do the hard thing and talk to the client about the "real" problem?
-jim

Automated Walk Away Detection

Does the title make sense to you?
The concept would be to detect when you are not at your computer and lock your computer.

Occupancy sensors that detect people presence within a room are difficult and not always reliable. Sure there are the Ultra-sonic and infrared and those that are hybrids of both. However, it turns out, detecting a motionless person who is reading or relaxing in a hot bath is not reliable with today's generally available technologies.

Presence Identification of people, as in identifying who is in which room, is much more difficult.

RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) does work, for most scenarios (problem with the hot bath), in theory, but does require people to posses RFID tag or badge. Now being in the Secure Identity and access control business we learned a long time ago that if you set up a policy, you better have a policy for exceptions to the policy. When the CEO forgets his RFID badge, the security person will have a hard time stopping him from entering the premises.

Now we want to identify who is sitting in front of a computer.

Possible solutions?

• RFID Tag or Badge
  
• Pressure sensitive mat
• Monitor Mounted Sonar

I am sure you can find some issues with each of the above and if we can do that while reading an article. Now, think about how many ways a person that used one of them every day would be irritated or find ways to defeat them.

Viion Systems Inc. says they have a better way. They call it; "Sentinel Sign-Off". An interesting methodology that utilizes their special software and a WEB-CAM to detect the person who is at the computer and to lock it when the person is no longer present. You can read the details at their product page. The white-paper, referenced at the bottom of the page, has even more details.

Basically, the product integrates with the Windows GINA and therefore, AFAIK, is limited to the Windows platform. I assume that their software must do some proprietary algorithm to come up with a value for a persons face or other characteristics. The output of the algorithm must be stored locally or perhaps with the Windows domain credentials. Certainly an interesting concept that some people should consider.

Anyone using the product that can provide feedback?

From cloud computing to Did you know?

I recently found Did you know this on YouTube and it has been a favorite of mine. One of those items Everyone should know.

I was inspired by the a blog entry a few years ago and there are now many renditions and re-mixes of the presentation now available.

The point being most of the world's population has no idea how fast the world is changing. Transformations that used to take generations are now happening in few years.

Today, I got started on this by stumbling on DOT.CLOUD.
The item that struck me the most was:
"When small and midsized businesses learn the potential benefits of cloud computing, they will be able to tap IT platforms and software that only huge enterprises could deploy in the past, making the Cloud the great leveler."

The opportunity is to create the solutions for the SMB so they will be able to "get it'.

The SMB will not realize the benefits until there are solutions for them. They can or will NOT spend the time or $$$ to do the research to determine what the benefits of the cloud is, they will only "get it" if there is a real solution; providing the Cloud will not cause them to budge.

Enough with this change. I need to get a haircut.
-jim

Whisky, whiskey or burbon ?
So this time of year, there always seems to be discussion on Whisky, whiskey and Burbon. We were wondering exactly what is the difference?

From Wikepedia - Whisky (Scottish Gaelic: uisge-beatha), or whiskey (Irish: uisce beatha or fuisce), refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in wooden casks (generally oak).

And then Bourbon is an American form of whiskey named for Bourbon County, Kentucky. Created via Congressional legislation in 1964, the Federal Standards of Identity for Bourbon stipulate it must be:

• Made in America.
• Made of a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn^[1]
• Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof.
• 100% natural (nothing other than water added to the mixture)
• Aged in new American, charred oak barrels.^[1] for a minimum of two years.

And now you know....
-jim

The Particle Adventure

If you are interested in science and or have always wondered about QUARKS, then you should visit: The Particle Adventure.

Subject: Who is smarter?

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane, when the Stranger turned to her and said, "Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger."

The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, "What would you like to talk about?"

Oh, I don't know," said the stranger. "How about nuclear power?"

"OK," she said. "That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat grass, the same stuff. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?"

The stranger thinks about it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea."

To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?"