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Blogs ยป Archive for May, 2005
Java 5 1.5.0_03 released
I wish Sun would announce new Java releases someplace. Release dates in the documentation would be nice too…
In any case, Java 5.0 version 1.5.0_03 is now available for download. Among the amusingly catastrophic-sounding bugs listed as fixed in the release notes:
Bug 6173972: backspace, arrow keys, and return key not working in java applications
Handy to have that fixed…
MySQL compared with PostgreSQL
PSNC have published a comparison of MySQL 4.1 and PostgreSQL 8.0.
If you’re interested to know what features you’re missing out on by using MySQL rather than PostgreSQL, the comparison table provides a handy summary. MySQL 5.0 (in development) is getting closer to PostgreSQL’s impressive feature set, with Views and Stored Procedures on the list. According to the article, however, MySQL still beats PostgreSQL in terms of performance. Details of a number of benchmarks are given.
MySQL has certainly made progress since I began using it, adding support for subqueries (in 4.1), full text searching with boolean, and transactions (InnoDB).
From the article:
MySQL is simplier than PostgreSQL but much faster. MySQL doesn’t support many advanced features that may be important in huge relational and complicated databases. But for JRA1 measurement architecture MySQL should be adequate (we probably wouldn’t use the most advanced features).
Currently, MySQL is a staple of the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) architecture, pre-installed on many hosting accounts and bundled with many operating systems. This makes it very attractive to novices and intermediate web programmers, as it is relatively easy and cheap to get started playing around with it. With its expanding …
Branding lessons from a 3-year old and a hot dog stand
My son loves hot dogs. This weekend we went to a hot dog stand called, “Hot Diggity Dog.” They served good hot dogs, but nothing unique or special.
But my son loved the place. “I want a Hot Diggity Dog!” he’s been saying for the last couple of days.
Again, “The Hot Diggity Dog” is just a hot dog. Nothing more.
This gets one to thinking about branding. Today the fashionable definition of a brand is the entire experience a customer has of your business.
But let’s keep it simple: Do you brand your services the way Hot Diggity Dog brands their hot dogs? Why not have a (Hot Diggity Dog) Web Assessment? Or the (Hot Diggity Dog) 3-step Agile Development Process? Or the (Hot Diggity Dog) Remote Technology Audit? (Of course, insert a catchy name for Hot Diggity Dog).
A hot dog is just a hot dog, until it is branded. In many respects, the same is true of professional services.
Are you branding your services with a catchy, memorable name? What else are you doing to create a unique customer experience?
Has anyone used ProSavvy?
I’ve ranted before about eLance, which for me is an okay place to go to find low-cost graphics and design people for quick jobs. Over time, I’ve found some good sources on eLance, but rarely for jobs over $1,000. But, as noted previously, it is a challenge to get noticed as a professional on those sites when you are bidding for small jobs against numerous competitors.
Prosavvy (http://www.prosavvy.com) has provided me with a higher calibre of professional, for larger jobs. Typically Prosavvy provides me with no more than 7 bids or so, unlike eLance which can provide me with unlimited (literally) bids.
Wondering if any of you have tried ProSavvy as a place to bid on projects, and what your experience has been….
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