Windows Server’s identity crisis

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Microsoft Drops .NET Name For New Windows Server
CNet’s news.com has this story about the next version of Windows Server:

The next version of Windows Server is suffering yet another identity crisis.

Microsoft on Thursday again changed the name of the product, marking the fourth name for what will now be called Windows Server 2003. The successor to Windows 2000 Server is scheduled to ship in April.

The product started out with the code-name Whistler, but Microsoft named the software Windows 2002 Server in April 2001. At the same time, Microsoft first delayed delivery of the server software until early 2002.

In June 2001, Microsoft changed the name to Windows .Net Server, keeping in line with the company’s .Net Web services strategy. In March 2002, Microsoft again delayed delivery of the server software. In August, the company renamed the software Windows .Net Server 2003, which had been scheduled for release by the end of last year. In November, the software titan delayed delivery for a third time.

Windows Server 2003 is the fourth name for the product…

What can I say?

Dodge Concept Bike

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I saw this Tomahawk V-10, the other day over at Yahoo.

Dodge introduced its Tomahawk V-10, 8.3-liter (505 cubic inch) concept motorcycle at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 6, 2003. The superbike features independent four-wheel suspension, and its engine, borrowed from the Viper sports car, can propel the Tomahawk at speeds of nearly 400 mph, according to Dodge.

400 mph! Think of the bugs in your teeth 😯 Four wheel drive! Are they sure it is a bike?

Edit: The original picture I linked to has been removed by Yahoo news. You can still find information on this at americanmotor.com, The Chicago Tribune, and The Cruisers Website

Update: Dodge now have a proper website for the Dodge Tomahawk with photos, news, specs, etc.

Crypto – Finished

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I finished Crypto: Secrecy and Privacy in the New Code War by Steven Levy yesterday. It really was a very exciting book. I particularly liked the fact that about half way through the book, it got into the stuff that I remember happening at the time. The start of the cypherpunks mailing list, the birth of PGP, the clipper chip fiasco, etc. But of course with a lot more detail (and drama) than I knew of at the time. There were lots “Wow! I didn’t know that”, and “So that’s what happened!” moments.

Recommended!

Back To Normal

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I’ve been back in the office again today. Busy as usual. No great excitement.
I’ve had a couple of folks over at the B2 forum hacking on my B2 Link Manager Hack. They’ve come up with some good ideas. I’ll have to look at incorporating them into the code ready for the next release.
I’ve found some interesting links today, but Im not going to blog about them today!

William Gibson Blogs!

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Cool! William Gibson the author of the classic cyberpunk novels, has started a blog! Gibson is an author I very much admire, and I love his books (well mostly, I struggled with “The Difference Engine”). I would expect it to be an interesting read; it’s only been going two days however so I will reserve judegment.
One interesting point (which I’ve not seen mentioned elsewhere) is that if you view source (I know! I’m a little sad like that) you can see that neither of the entries have been posted by Gibson himself. Instead they have been posted by someone called John and someone called Sunil. Staff maybe?

GeoURL

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I’ve added my site to the GeoURL database.

GeoURL is a location-to-URL reverse directory. This will allow you to find URLs by their proximity to a given location. Find your neighbor’s blog, perhaps, or the web page of the restaurants near you.

This means you can do things like find my blog ‘neighbours’ which is also available as an RSS feed
I actually already had the Geo Tags meta tags in my page(s) after registering at Syndic8 site. But I did manage to find more acurate lat/long co-ordinates over at streetmap (thanks to Absoblogginlutely for the tip).

More On The Burglary

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I managed to get the phones barred and the cards invalidated no problems. The insurance company were great! I phoned to make a claim, went through the form filling, and was told that apart from the camera and the excess, the money would be in my bank account within the hour. Which it was! I have to send in proof of ownership for the camera because of the value, but then they will send the money for that.
I’ve got my phone replaced and Jan’s is on its way by post. I replaced the broken catch on the window and have fitted an extra, more secure lock. I also got a PIR security light for the back of the house.
The other things we can replace this weekend if not sooner. It’s just the irreplaceable stuff with sentimental value, and the contents of Jan’s Filofax that we’ll really miss. Nor will we ever again feel quite so secure in our own home! 🙁

I feel that I want to rant about the youth of today, the state of the nation, or the way parents raise their children, but the fact is that people have been robbing houses for centuries. Most people are, like us, until today, lucky enough not to become victims. Today was our turn. It’s distressing, it’s a little frightening, but the loss was mainly material things. Thankfully my family are safe, no one was hurt, and no great damage was done.