Wild predictions 2003

I HOPE ALL you folks out there in readerland had a great holiday season, whatever your religious denomination. Well, my New Year's resolution this time around is a gimme: No, it's not to raise chickens in my home -- I've resolved myself to getting Amber back. I just hope she goes along with it.

Stolen identity

A reader wrote in to tell me the recent prediction from the Meta Group that Microsoft will support the Linux platform -- a somewhat shocking end-of-year special from the analyst firm -- was not an entirely new idea. The reader said he was on record a whole year ago singing a similar tune. "I predicted that the Linux kernel will become the Windows kernel, with the Windows GUI attached as a front end, thereby eliminating the need to do any further development on the kernel and saving all of that programming cost," he said. I wonder whether Microsoft is listening to that great notion?

Feeling Big Blue

One spy reported some problems working with IBM. His company has some major AS/400s using IBM's BRMS (Backup Recovery and Media Services) to backup to a huge LTO (Linear Tape-Open) library. Last month, they upgraded to OS/400 V5R1. Since then, BRMS has been expiring tapes that were marked as permanent backups and overwriting data that was supposed to be kept forever. When my spy pressured IBM to get on this immediately, Big Blue's response was that all the people who know BRMS had gone home for the day. When he contacted the client-unit executive, he suggested a conference call, but not until the following week. "Our next innovative project looks like it will be a replacement for BRMS," my spy said.

Not such a good idea after all

This from the DirecTV Web site: "It is our sincere regret to inform you that DirecTV Broadband will discontinue operations. DirecTV Broadband's network will be operational for a minimum of 30 days." My spy said that some people are, shall we say, disappointed with the way the company is handling the shutdown.

More spies complain Sprint keeps sending bills stating they owe a balance of $0.00. One spy canceled service for his staff with Sprint PCS but has continued to receive bills. Another canceled just two months ago but is already headed down the same road, having received two bills for $0.00.

MEANWHILE, I NEED to figure out a way to get Amber to put me back on the payroll. Please write to me if you have any ideas about how to win back a woman scorned. And please, no Shakespeare quotes beginning with "Hell hath no fury ... ."