That Smith

Today was a pretty relaxing day for once. Laura and I managed to catch up on some much needed sleep, and then she went to a wedding in Wichita with one of her co-workers so it’s been quiet around here. This allowed me to get up to speed on my newspaper reading, so now I suppose I will anger her by talking about some of the interesting news and blog articles I came across. None of this has anything to do with the wedding so feel free to skip this entry if you wish.

Microsoft closing Windows 98, ME

If you happen to be using Windows 98 or ME, its time to upgrade because Microsoft will be discontinuing updates and support for those operating systems on Tuesday. A survey by JupiterResearch says 13% of businesses still run Windows 98 while 6% still use Windows ME.

Ken Lay dies an innocent man

The other day I mentioned Ken Lay’s passing because I believe his actions helped reform how business is transacted (although his legacy isn’t one to be desired). I was interested when I read that he his now an innocent man. Apparently there is a principle in US law referred to as “abatement ab initio” that says when a defendant dies before he has the chance to appeal a conviction, the conviction essentially gets wiped away. Read more here.

Digital Dirt

Over the past few weeks I’ve come across several articles in both the Kansas City Star and the Wall Street Journal recommending that readers clean up their “digital dirt”. An interesting article over at Career Journal says most employers research job candidates through Google, MySpace or Facebook before even calling them in for interviews. As a college student I know tons of people who have stuff on the net that could keep them from landing a good job. You need to realize its very easy for employers to learn about your personality over the internet, and these sources give them a first person insight as to what you are really like and way more information than interviews or background checks could provide. My first suggestion is don’t do inappropriate stuff that would embarrass you or your boss. If you are unable to manage that then at least keep what should be private, private.

Firefox 2 and 3?

If you are like me and enjoy having the newest, coolest, most innovative stuff for your computer then you might be excited to know about the versions of Firefox that are available for testing. Firefox currently has a stable release of 1.5.0.4 which of course is a must have on every computer, but there is also Bon Echo (Firefox 2) and Minefield (Firefox 3).

Continuing the tradition, Firefox 2 will use a pre-release code name taken from a public park. Bon Echo Provincial Park is located in Ontario, Canada. The name literally translates to “good echo”, and reflects how it is our goal echoes that of Firefox 1, once again focusing on improving the browsing experience for our users, making it simple, effective, fast and useful.

I have Bon Echo installed on the desktop and Minefield on my laptop. Mozilla warns of frequent crashing but this is expected since both of these are for testing purposes. So far the only problem I’ve had with Bon Echo is a few crashes caused by the built in spell checker. Minefield is working fine but won’t let me import my bookmarks. Firefox 2 is due out later this year and 3 as early as next year. Keep tabs on each at the Burning Edge weblog.

I also came across several good articles that relate to my job and one that compares financial advisors to stock brokers. I will be kind enough to bore you with those some other time.