North Coast Connections

March 11 is the new, improved Daylight Saving Time (note there is only one S in Saving). Thanks to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, beginning in 2007 the old "spring forward, fall back" routine will happen earlier for the spring part, and later (November 4) for the fall part. The supposed benefits of Daylight Saving time changes will be studied as part of this federal legislation and Congress will decide whether to go back to the previous schedule of the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October.

Meanwhile, a whole lot of "smart" electronics will be in a quandary about what time it is come March 11. Some will have received a "fix" and recognize the new time change. Others will sleep through the time change waiting for the pre-programmed change that was supposed to occur on March 25. End users who manually change the time on these "smart" devices on March 11 will have to go back and reset them on March 25. Some devices such as cellphones won't be so easy to program so unless your service provider is broadcasting the correct time, you'll have to live with a faulty readout for awhile.

Most us of have grown accustomed to this odd Daylight Saving ritual and take for granted that it achieves its intended purpose, which is to provide more daylight hours later in the day during the spring, summer and early fall. Doing so would presumably save energy and allow humans more outdoors time after work. That's what Benjamin Franklin proposed in the 1700s, but it didn't actually take hold in Europe and the US until the early 1900s. In fact, it was so unpopular when it was first introduced in 1917, Congress repealed it in 1919. Eventually, it came back and stayed.

Not all states observe Daylight Saving, making things even more complicated. Arizona, for instance, sticks with Standard time and makes no adjustments during the year. This means California and Arizona share the same time for part but not all of the year. The other US locations that don't observe Daylight Saving are Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

And if you work internationally, you'll have to rely on the World Clock to determine (a) whether the country you work with even observes Daylight Saving, and (b) if so, when. Since this experiment with new start and stop dates results from American law, even those European countries that observe Daylight Saving do so under the old rules.

If I was a kid nowadays, I would start a neighborhood business setting the clocks on electronic devices and programming VCRs for my clueless neighbors. With the double whammy that some folks will face this year because of the time change hiccup, I would clean-up.

In my view, we already live overly complicated lives. This latest experiment with time changes is yet another complication to juggle and, worse, something that may turn our electronic tools against us. No matter what Congress decides concerning the "new, improved" Daylight Saving, most people will likely find this to be a major inconvenience and the excess attention will be cause to re-examine whether the whole ritual is worth the trouble in the first place.

One thing's for certain ... it's not saving ME any time.

Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com

Posted by Chris Crawford at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been neglecting my blogging duties once again due to a hectic travel schedule. I just returned from a week in New York City attending a court management conference and have a huge pile of follow-up work that includes leadership chores from my involvement in professional associations and business prospects. My Capitalistic instincts tell me to reverse these priorities.

New York City is always an adventure for me. High paced activities literally never stop here, and the choices for food, entertainment and services are never ending.

Whenever I travel somewhere, I now ask myself the question could I live here permanently. To be sure, most people find fast acting cities like New York to be too much to handle for very long. Personally, I like NYC and similar fast paced locations like Hong Kong, Tokyo, LA and San Francisco. As to whether I could live there, I'd have to decline.

I am currently working on several initiatives to bring together private sector technology providers with court professionals for several purposes including education, development of technology standards, streamlining of cumbersome procurement processes and product development. NYC proved to be a great place to put these initiatives on the table and plan some next steps.

However, when the deal making is done, it is great to come home to Humboldt County where the Cackling Aleutian Geese remind you that nature is the dominant force and not mankind. In this solitude, I can concentrate on putting together action plans to nurture some of the business developments that took sprout in the City.

I've got a ton of blog topics from my various tech experiences on this trip, but for now I am content with being home. And I am happy to say that this is a great permanent home, despite all the fun, food and amenities that can be found elsewhere. There's no place like home.

Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com

Posted by Chris Crawford at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Back on July 26, 2006, I posted my reasons why I will be upgrading to Microsoft's Office 2007, but will probably hold off upgrading my operating system from Windows XP to the new Vista release unless it already comes pre-loaded on a new laptop or desktop. Good old Tech Republic just came out with a great set of TOP 10s concerning Vista ... 10 reasons to upgrade and 10 reasons not to upgrade.

And now we pause for a commercial interruption. YES, open source operating systems such as Linux and office suites such as Open Office are great. I love 'em. I also love Macintosh. I love people who love Macintosh. My first computer was a MAC SE30, OK? Satisfied?

For the 90% of the world who slavishly follow Microsoft into the Information Age out of fear, laziness or because that's what all our clients use, we have to keep up on all these upgrades. So here goes - why should you (or why shouldn't you) upgrade to the new Windows Vista operating system, according to TechRepublic.com:

WHY YOU SHOULD UPGRADE
1. Vista allows you to boost performance without having to buy new hardware by using plug-in removable memory similar to a thumb drive using your USB port. Kind of like a Vitamin B-12 shot when you need it to run programs that are memory hogs.

2. It has the coolest "Aero Glass" user interface that makes your desktop and navigation tools fun and easy to use with a see-through look to it.

3. Part of the new look and feel is an integrated Sidebar and Search feature that frees you from having to use your browser every time you look for a file, read a blog or check your stock quotes.

4. It has a new dashboard function to check on your operating system reliability and performance. Up until now, this has only been available to computer technicians. It will warn you when you are getting into trouble and why.

5. The new security features result from a radically changed technical environment. Vista-compatible software will blend into this environment and provide similar security safeguards.

6. The new operating standards (using Group Policy Objects) will support lots more 3rd-party software products.

7. Vista allows laptop users to easily encrypt data to make the computer unusable to anyone without a typed-in or USB start-up key.

8. Networking will become much easier with a whole new set of diagnostic tools. If you need assistance from your help desk, the technician can use these tools to help troubleshooting.

9. Since it's the newest operating system on the block, Vista will have manufacturer's tech support available longer than others.

10. New games using DirectX 10 technology will only find it in Vista. The performance is supposed to be six times better than DirectX 9.

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T UPGRADE
1. Just because Vista will have manufacturer's tech support for a longer time doesn't mean Windows XP will be abandoned, so what's the hurry to upgrade?

2. Even though many of the Vista features and functions are fun and cool, there is still an extensive learning curve to make the switch to effectively use the new operating system.

3. If you like a lot of your current programs and software, forget it. Many of them will not work on Vista and it will be some time before they come out with compatible versions.

4. Microsoft decided to use a technology called DRM to run entertainment programs such as DVDs. Those in the know say this will cripple Vista as an entertainment device.

5. Vista is a power hog and will leave a trail of laptop batteries in its wake. If you use laptops a lot while traveling, this will be a problem.

6. While Vista earns bragging rights for its vastly improved search feature and sidebar functionality, you can purchase or download these tools for free from other sources and keep your present operating system. And once again, the cool Aero Glass transparent interface is a direct rip off of Mac's 5-year old OS X.

7. Vista costs a lot and their screwy, multi-tiered pricing structure can't hide this fact.

8. The gamers breathlessly awaiting DirectX 10 to boost gaming performance will still have to buy a new video card that supports it (and it ain't cheap).

9. You'd better look at your current computer horsepower before you upgrade. You will need a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, and a DirectX 9-capable video card. Although this will allow you to operate Vista, you'll need a lot more to make it sing. And the cool Aero Glass interface requires DirectX 9-capability, which means older desktops and laptops can't use it.

10. For gamers looking for breakneck performance, sure DirectX 10 is a huge boost, but Vista's Aero Glass feature will drag down game performance. There is differing opinion whether the performance gain from DirectX 10 is actually better or worse than the previous version when this is factored in.

So ... I am waiting for Vista to come pre-loaded on a new desktop or laptop before I take the plunge.

Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com

Posted by Chris Crawford at 12:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)