It goes to eleven

Windows Vista still seems new, right?  Well, it's been 18 months since the launch and Vista has been poorly received. Microsoft has been hard at work on the Vista replacement, named Windows 7. Gates has claimed Windows will use less memory and be more efficient:

We’re hard at work, I would say, on the next version, which we call Windows 7. I’m very excited about the work being done there. The ability to be lower power, take less memory, be more efficient...

ha! We'll see. I'm not holding my breath. What would I like to see in a Microsoft desktop OS? Here's my list:

1. Efficient use of hardware resources
2. Stability
3. Simplicity

Windows XP gives me these features now for the most part, that's why I have been using it for 7 years. However there is always room for improvement. Vista did not improve on much, that's for sure, and the improvements it did have were outweighed by the problems with it. It still amazes me that a company like MS produces such flops like Windows ME and Vista. It demonstrates that a huge company doesn't always do things right, even in regard to its core business.

This site, windows7news.com, has a lot of good information.

I have always been confused by the question about if 12 noon was 12 AM or PM. The same goes for midnight; is that 12 AM or PM? Until now I have been able to get by with using the terms midnight or noon to avoid the problem.  Everyone knows that those terms mean.

Recently at work I was confronted by the problem of having to deploy software patches to servers between midnight and 1 AM.  Simple, right? Not exactly, because the damn software forces one to set all of the time fields xx:xx, including the AM or PM.

To put an end to the issue, I hit Google for an answer. I figured I'd find the answer, write it on a piece of paper, and stick it to one of my monitors so I could refer back to it next month.  That's where it got complicated.

An initial quick check of Google gives basically 3 different answers:

1) 12:00 AM and 12:00 PM are not valid concepts.

2) 12:00 AM is midnight

3) 12:00 PM is midnight

Wikipedia's entry is no help.  This entry at Greenwichmeantime.com is worthless. Coolquiz.com is totally useless.

This post has a section that shows:

00.00-11.59 is am
12.00-23.59 is pm

This makes sense, but the problem is that the software application isn't going to let me use 00:00, AND it's going to make me pick AM or PM.  sheeseh.  Crappy software.

After all this reading, now I'm even sure if 12:01 AM or PM is the (almost) the beginning of the new day, or if that's lunchtime.  Urgh.

After more reading, I think I have the answer here that shows that 12:01 AM is the start of the day (just after midnight). Going back to my original problem, I can deploy patches at 12:01 AM or 12:05 AM and know that this is just after midnight. Then I can be assured that the server is going to install the patches at night and not at lunchtime.

The root of this problem, I have always believed, is that the new day should start at 1, not 12.  Who the hell thought that the day should start with the LAST number and not the first one?  The top of the clock should be 1, not 12.  But of course me thinking this only clouds the real truth in my own mind. It's just stupid that the day starts, for example around 12:05 AM and then as the day drags on you have 12:57 AM then 1:03 AM, 4 AM, etc.

Why in the heck does it jump from 12 to 1?  That's the real root of the problem in my mind.

Using military time on the 24 hour clock makes sense.

I finally did find a good article at nist.gov that confirms my thoughts. It provides good information but starts off by saying:

This is perhaps the trickiest time question of them all. The best answer is that the terms 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. cause confusion and should not be used.

The answer to my question is given in this sentence:

If you are making schedules, times such as 12:01 a.m. (one minute after midnight), or 11:59 p.m. (one minute before midnight) also can eliminate ambiguity. This method is used by the railroads and airlines.

How ironic it is that in our modern society we have to resort to a complete workaround for something as basic and important as time.  Yes, the military does it right!

Two thoughts for today's post:

1) I was driving down a major freeway in Houston today and passed a cluttered shopping center with many different kinds of stores in it. This is a typical sight in Houston, like any other city. One small portion on the large multi-business sign caught my eye: "Solar power". I thought this was neat because it's a sign that solar power is more and more a viable energy source. The fact that someone is running a small business dealing in solar power is a great sign. I have always been fascinated by solar power so this caught my eye.

2) The government has mandated that your analog TV will be useless. You will have to buy a converter box to make it work correctly after February 17, 2009. Will this spur a mass dumping of analog CRT-based televisions? If so, are we prepared to deal with the environmental impact of this? CRT displays contain lead. I hadn't heard any commentary on this prospect but this dawned on my this morning while waiting for the coffee to brew.

The government is providing coupons to reimburse part of the cost of buying a converter box, so this will prolong the life of many CRT-based televisions. We plan to buy at least 2 converter boxes because I have to intent of giving up my analog TVs or getting a cable or satellite connection. Heck, I've had my 19" Viewsonic CRT computer monitor for 10 years now and it still works fine and looks great.

In the grand scheme of things, I suppose it's good that CRTs are on the way out due to their lead content and power consumption, but there is little data to be quickly found on the bad chemicals in LCD display panels, if any.

I know the geeks in the audience will enjoy these shots. The name of this facility shall rename nameless for security reasons. Please excuse the low-quality cameraphone photos, these are in no particular order.

Here's a row of HP Alpha servers:

Two of many, many Dell Poweredge 1955 Blade server enclosures. We're replacing many non-virtualized x86 machines with blades in order to fit more into the datacenter:

All LAN and SAN cabling is run overhead:

More overhead cabling:

The rear of a group of Ethernet patch panels. Yes, most of the Ethernet cabling is orange:

The control center where the operations staff works:

One of the IBM Z-Series mainframes:

Direct attached storage for the above mainframe:

Rear shot of a row of network gear. You can barely see the Cisco 6500 units:

More patch panels:

More overhead cable drops:

A row of Dell racks:

Another row of Dell racks:

Several Sun servers and an old Compaq tape library:

Racks of fiber to the telcos and other fiber-connected facilities:

That's all for today!

Many people that work in technology are familar with the 1999 movie Office Space from Mike Judge. This film pokes great fun at the typical corporate red-tape office environment as it details the struggles of a group of young software developers, their know-nothing boss, and the efficiency consultants brought in to lay off staffers. If you enjoy a witty comedy and roll your eyes at corporate nonsense, you must see this movie. The following screen shots will make more sense to people who have seen the film so I'm posting them here mostly for my own amusement.

This is Bill Lumbergh, with his infamous coffee cup:

Here's Milton and red Swingline stapler:

Ever heard of a TPS report? And are those fish guts?

These are "The Bobs" who were brought in to lay off the workers and promote the slackers:

That's Drew showing off his "O" face...

And finally there's Lawerance, who has a no-nonsense job and good outlook on life:

If you haven't seen Office Space, do it soon!

I ran across this while looking for a replacement cooling fan. For the PC modder who has everything, here's yet another accessory: Naked lady computer case screws:

Now you just have to figure out how to attach the naked lady auto air freshener or the naked lady mud flaps...