The Alligator Pit

Microsoft is having a pretty hard time killing off Windows XP. Once upon a time, you could reliably count on Microsoft to release a new version of DOS and then Windows every few years. The new versions typically offered significant improvements in speed and stability as well as new features. But a funny thing happened with Windows XP. Many users found it was good enough for daily use — even 8 years after the operating system was launched.

If these companies would make products people like to use (such as Windows XP) and stop trying to stuff money into their cash drawer, they might realize there’s more money in making reliable products than garbage to upgrade every couple of years.

I’m looking forward to seeing a rested, relaxed, and energetic Steve Jobs.

Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs is on track to return to the company from his medical leave of absence as planned, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person who had seen Jobs in recent weeks.

The report that Jobs will return by the end of the month comes ahead of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco on Monday, an event at which Jobs unveiled Apple’s 3G iPhone a year ago but had not been expected to attend this time.

I wish I was going to the conference. sigh. But instead I get to sit here staring at porcelain tile wondering where I went wrong. Okay, so I wasn’t wrong, but I would much rather be there.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is suing the social-networking site Twitter, claiming an unauthorized page using his name damaged his reputation and caused emotional distress.

…

The lawsuit claims that someone created a false account under La Russa’s name and posted updates, known as “tweets,” that gave the false impression that the comments came from La Russa. The suit said the comments were “derogatory and demeaning” and damaged La Russa’s trademark rights.

Oh, boo hoo, so someone on Twitter created a fake account. How is this a bad thing? Sure, the pretender was a bit rude and such, but what a great opportunity for the long time manager to sieze the moment, grab the spotlight, and gain a large Twitter following.

Instead, he decided to be a cry baby, grab his ball and bat, and go home. What a shame. How insecure can you be?

If Intuit makes PayCycle as fun to use as QuickBooks (cough) people are sure to love it.

Intuit has agreed to buy online payroll provider PayCycle for US$170 million in a move to expand its software-as-a-service offerings for smaller businesses, Intuit said Tuesday.

PayCycle is based in Palo Alto, California, and provides online payroll services to about 85,000 small businesses in the U.S. It was founded in 1999 by two former Intuit employees and says its mission is to “make paper-based payroll obsolete.”

PayCycle already integrates with Intuit’s QuickBooks software. It is also offered as an option with Microsoft’s competing Money software, and it was unclear Tuesday if that will still be the case after Intuit completes its acquisition.

Do they really think they will continue to offer support to Money much longer? Come on…

Have you Bing‘d yet?

Today, as in the past, there are problems that must be solved and challenges that must be met. We can tackle them with our full strength and creativity only because we are free to work them out in our own way. We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform who have served this nation and its interests in time of need. In particular, we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free.
Ronald Reagan, May 26, 1983

I haven’t dropped off the face of the Earth, I’m just taking a nice break from full time blogging while I get my full time business up and running. Visit the new site, Aria Interactive.

Yahoo Inc. limited co-founder Jerry Yang’s 2008 compensation package to his customary $1 salary during his final year as chief executive, a tumultuous reign that unraveled after he rebuffed Microsoft Corp.’s $47.5 billion bid to buy the Internet company.

That seems a bit high, doesn’t it? Considering what’s happened to the company under his reign.

I’m kidding. He deserved every penny. Literally.

Thank God. If I get a wave of people following me again, I might scream. I can hardly wait for Twitter to get back to the way it was before Oprah sat on it.

More than 60 percent of Twitter users have stopped using the micro-blogging service a month after joining, according to Nielsen Online research released on Tuesday.

“Twitter has enjoyed a nice ride over the last few months, but it will not be able to sustain its meteoric rise without establishing a higher level of user loyalty,” said David Martin, Nielsen Online’s vice president for primary research.

I’ve had such a bad week online, I was searching for travel insurance online, you know, just in case I needed to get away from it all and let things settle down.

I’ve been using Tweetie for Mac for a few days now myself.

The interface is very simple, clean and Mac-like, which is to be expected since it is a native app and not done via the Adobe Air process that some of the desktop applications use such as Snitter and Twhirl. Granted, it doesn’t have the flash that some of the other applications have, but that may be a reason why it is so nimble and responsive. It is also very unobtrusive, working in an adjustable window that takes up a minimum of space, yet does quite a lot in the process.

I am liking it thus far.