Radioactive Networks: Home

#1, Microsoft might have finally caught some intelligence and has purchased LookOut, a company that provides search tools for Outlook. Right now their tools seem to be free, and it would seem that Microsoft are looking at including this as part of the core outlook product.

If I was a betting man, my guess would be that the business plan for the company was to get purchased by Microsoft – one hint is that their Web Site makes a comment like the following for an Email address XXX – need pr address .

#2, Microsoft Training

I got a package yesterday from Microsoft. As an Australian promotion, they offered us developers a book and a CD a few days ago with a delivery of 5-6 weeks. It has been less than 5-6 days. I got the book and the CD. I am happy. Still waiting for my ISV Welcome pack though.

#3 Jaycar battery Club

Remember the old TANDY battery club? Well, jaycar has just added a Battery Club for us people with Trade Cards. It only lasts for 3 months, but it really is something that takes me back. No battery club since I was about 12. Boy, I am getting old.

#4 Surface Mount

I got most of the first of the surface mount boards done today. With some minor things it worked well. I needed to hack a file to record one of the message roms. This involved a text editor changing the path for a file, but I had to remember that the app did not support long file names. Not fun. The other issue was that I needed to fix a weather station device I have been working on. It was returned faulty… The problem was we worked out what it was doing after about 30 minutes… The person had not tested it with an actual weather station, so the device was just saying it was there and not anything else. That was the failure mode we chose if no current data was available. And we forgot… Oh, and we programmed the Power LED as a PTT light… Which caught us too…

#5 Solder Oven

I have priced an oven for my surface mount work – all of $94. A Kambrook somthing 500. It is rated at 1100-1200w. Looks nice. I might pick it up before the end of the month so I get the shareholders discount. Then I might actually build the thing 🙂

#6 Lake Technology

I got a letter today from some horrible stockmarket company. They informed me that Dolby had got 90% of the shares in Lake and were going to acquire my shares. Well, thank you. I will make a huge loss on the deal, and I was quite happy to wait until the price went up. The company had the audacity to request that I ring them. Get Lost. They can expend as much money and time forcing the issue. I intend to be one of their last shareholders…

#7 Police

Coming home this evening just after the M5 off-ramp at Ingleburn, I saw a police car with lights on in my rear view mirror. Fine, I was in the right lane and pulled over to the left. Then they flashed their lights, and I pulled over where it was safe. The police pulled next to me, and I put my window over. They then appologised saying that they were after someone else in a car like mine. And then they took off and did a U-Turn at the round-about and went racing back the other way. I have only been requested to pull over by the police twice, apart from an RBT, and they were both at this same spot.

Music: The Corrs. Whatever their new album is.