By Karen Lopez on Monday, January 29, 2007 2:56 PM

Spam (unsolicited, unwanted e-mail) has become a huge problem.  Our mail server here at InfoAdvisors is bombarded with unwanted mail -- and most of it concerns scams.  We do use good spam fighting software which reports that 87% of the mail that hits our server is known spam.

Today, while checking my filtered mail, I came across on piece that shows that the spammers are getting smarter or luckier:

From:  Agelina K Cantrell

To: *******

Subject: or ifyour database normalizesdata differently from

Date: Thu 25 Jan 2007 02:27:59 AM MST

Status:  Message quarantined by Spam module (score 99.9%)

Of course, I'm deleting the spam.  I Googled the phrase above and found it in a Java-related blog. 

So either the spammer knows that I would open a mail with those words, or he just got lucky.  Which do you think it is?

By Karen Lopez on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 4:13 PM

On many occasions I've had the opportunity to discuss data design issues with team members who would prefer to have a quick workaround rather than a durable design.  The discussions almost always end up with a debate of whether the data structure is necessary.  And I almost aways am heard to exclaim:

"Yes, the system we are working on will probably be around for only a few years, but the data will be around for much, much longer - probably decades."

...And the person on the other side of the debate almost always disagrees.  So I go to the data and show them...That customer signed up for our utility service in 1954....and that bank account was opened in 1963.  The original systems are long gone, but the data is still there.

I thought about these discussions while reading an article on Microsoft's patent application on 'immortal computing'.:

E-mail from the grave? Microsoft seeks patent on 'immortal computing'

By TODD BISHOP
P-I REPORTER

In this culture of instant information, some Microsoft Corp. researchers are pursuing a radical notion -- the concept of saving messages for delivery in decades, centuries or more.

The project, dubbed "immortal computing," would let people store digital information in physical artifacts and other forms to be preserved and revealed to future generations, and maybe even to future civilizations.

After all, when looking that far in the future, you never know who the end users might be.

Hmmm... If Microsoft is thinking long term about data, will I have more ammunition for my discussions?  Then I read more, and it it sounded as if their proposed applications for this technology might be a bit...weird:.

And here's where the notion of immortality really kicks in: The researchers say the artifacts could be symbolic representations of people, reflecting elements of their personalities. The systems might be set up to take action -- e-mailing birthday greetings to people identified as grandchildren, for example.

What do you think?  Will you be sending birthday cards to your great-great-great-great grandkids? 

Do you believe this technology will help sustain information for decades?

By Karen Lopez on Friday, December 22, 2006 12:47 PM

It's probably no secret to most people who know me that I'm a real fan of the film It's a Wonderful Life.  Since most organizations in North America will be slowing down next week, I thought I'd share a quick 30 second rendition of the film, as protrayed by bunnies.  If you'd seen the movie, you'll reconize most of the scenes.

Happy Holidays to everyone, and have a wonderful New Year.

By Karen Lopez on Monday, December 04, 2006 11:26 AM

No, it's not about paychecks running late, or tax bills for $145 billion.  It's the fact that companies are still sending mail to the WTC offices and to people who are no longer with us.

NEW YORK—It's the kind of holiday mail that might have been tossed aside, discarded like any other piece of junk mail: a special offer for a facial at a local spa.

Only the address on the letter no longer exists. And the woman the letter is addressed to died more than five years ago in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1165187408545

(The link above is good only for the next 7 days)

If you still manage data that results in mailings to ZIP Code 10048, it might be a sign that those addresses are no longer current.   I realize that one can't always just delete accounts or change addresses, but it seems to me that after 5 years, come companies could take some time to find out what the new address is, or whether these addresses should be marked Do Not Mail.

 

By Karen Lopez on Tuesday, October 31, 2006 10:25 AM

One of the great features of web logs is that they track, based on IP addresses, the location of visitors to web sites.  I get our site logs mailed to me on a regular basis and I love looking at the report on where visitors are located.  Take a look at our October stats mapped to visitor location, listing the top 25 locations. .

 

By Karen Lopez on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 11:31 AM

A recent Dice survey finds that we IT pros are very, very happy with our jobs:

The survey found the technology career path to have strong appeal among technology professionals, based partially upon their high levels of job satisfaction, with an overwhelming 94 percent of those surveyed reporting satisfaction with their current positions.

I'm not sure how reliable this survey is given that it is sponsored by DICE, the internet cheap labour body shopper (they once offered me a Senior Data Modeler/Project Manager contract for a whopping $17 an hour).  However, the press release has some interesting tidbits.

Outside the technology industry, the industry’s appeal looks rather different and suggests that technology has mixed appeal as a career option to non-tech professionals. The survey found that 64 percent of non-tech adults are likely to recommend a career in technology. Comparatively, 73 percent of non-tech adults were likely to suggest a career in the healthcare industry to others, while 48 percent would recommend financial services.

This release affirms the fact that as a profession, we just don't get no respect.  I've worked with IT people who I believe continue to think that it is all about the technology, making IT professionals look clueless to the business side.  When are we going to figure out that we IT pros need to worry about are image just as much as we worry about the next release of product X?

By Karen Lopez on Friday, September 08, 2006 5:36 PM

Builder.com writer Brian Schaffner has a great article on 10+ things you should know about service oriented architecture (SOA).  I've read a lot of articles on SOA, but Brian has hit on some important ideas that I don't read in a lot of vendor articles.  For instance he writes that SOA doesn't have to include web services and that jumping to SOA can be difficult.

What got my attention, though, is his item number 7:

#7: SOA requires a keen understanding of business data

Because SOA is focused on business processes, it's important to understand the data that's relevant to those processes. For instance, an ordering process has several key data artifacts, such as the order, the customer, the shipping information, the invoice, the payment, and the receipt. What's even more important is being able to describe these artifacts in a standard way so that each service that participates in the process can understand the data equally.

For organizations with an existing information architecture, this may not be a big issue. However, for large organizations with limited or nonexistent information architecture, this issue can be a show-stopper when it comes to implementation. Because large organizations have such a variety of data, it is usually recommended to take an evolutionary approach to defining the information architecture, as opposed to a big-bang approach. This means that instead of spending four years defining the ultimate data model, it's better to spend a small amount of time during service development to define just the data that's relevant to that service. As each service or process is implemented, the associated information architecture can be evolved to include the necessary data artifacts.

He gets it right - no 4-year projects to define the ultimate data model, and that these models are most valuable when developed incrementally.

Of course, his definition and my definition of "small" are probably different, but I believe he and I are in agreement here.

 

By Karen Lopez on Friday, September 08, 2006 8:07 AM

Embaracdero Technologies, maker of ER/Studio, DT/Studio, Rapid SQL, and DBArtisan has been bought out by a private investment firm, Thoma Cressey Equity Partners.

EMBARCADERO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. TO BE ACQUIRED BY THOMA CRESSEY EQUITY PARTNERS IN A TRANSACTION VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY $234 MILLION

Shareholders to Receive $8.38 per Share in Cash

San Francisco, CA, September 7, 2006 – Embarcadero Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:EMBT), a leading provider of strategic data management solutions, and Thoma Cressey Equity Partners, a leading private equity investment firm, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Embarcadero will be acquired by an affiliate of Thoma Cressey Equity Partners in a transaction valued at approximately $234 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Embarcadero Technologies stockholders will receive $8.38 in cash in exchange for each share of stock. This represents a 34% premium to the average closing price over the past thirty trading days and a 29% premium to our closing price yesterday. The board of directors of Embarcadero Technologies has approved the merger agreement and has recommended to Embarcadero Technologies’ stockholders that they vote in favor of the transaction.

[Read More]

Thoma Cressey owns other software companies, most notably JDA Software Group.  This purchase also involves the replacement of CEO Stephan Wong.

 

By Karen Lopez on Thursday, August 24, 2006 5:21 PM

My Aunt Peggy is a finalist in a Dell USA contest for designing a back to school notebook skin.  Her design, a picture of a teacher with Yo and E=mc² is one of ten finalists.  If her design wins, she gets 10 Grand!

I invite everyone register for the contest and vote for her design - if you like it.  To register and vote, visit

I'm sure she will appreciate your vote!  You can vote once a day between now and the end of August.

Thanks for your help.  Oh, and when you register, you might just win a free computer, too.  So vote early and often.

By Karen Lopez on Tuesday, August 22, 2006 11:23 AM

Garry Gramm pointed me to this wonderful video of research into interface design.  Jeff Han demonstrates a more intuitive and easier way to interact with a computer. 

I've seen a lot of these types of videos over the years.  Most require a device that costs $50,000 or one that makes you look like you've stepped out of a very geeky Flash Gordon film.

In this video, Han demonstrates an interface that allows users to work with both hands. No Palm graffiti here.  One of the more promising aspects of this interface is that is appears to be very intuitive.  It allows the user to work pretty much as they would in the real world.

The interface does include a virtual keyboard.  I've used similar ones before, but since I'm a fairly fast touch typist, I tend to struggle with virtual ones because there is no feedback.  I wonder if that could be incorporated.

I could really see this device/approach being a wonderful addition to a modeling tool.  Heck, I'd love to see it as part of Enterprise Manager and MS Project.  I wonder, though, just how inexpensive it is given its size.

What do you think?  Would this make your modeling life easier?  Do you think you will find this device on the shelves of your local Best Buy? Would you be able to justify the cost of an additional input device?