The Last Poll

  • Friday and we're ending 2005 and moving into the new year. Consequently this is also the time when we look back at the previous year. Wired did so with their Worst Tech Moments 2005

    , but I'd like to take a more postive approach. So this weeks poll is:

    What was the best tech event/news of 2005?

    I'll throw out a few starters, though I'm not sure which one I'd pick.

    • $100 Laptop
    • Google Earth
    • Apple moving to Intel chips
    • Forcing Sony to withdraw it's rootkit (thanks to Mark Russinovich of Sysinternals.com)
    • XBOX 360
    • Dual-core x86 chips
    • SQL Server 2005

    I'm sure there's more, these were mainly ones I remembered and picked up from a scan of the web. And I'm not completely sure how to define the "best" event. I guess I'd lean towards the Sony debacle because it really showed the power of a blog, and a grass roots campaign to take back some rights from technology.

    I love technology and making life easier and raising the quality of life. I also love the ability of people to find new and interesting ways to make money and grow commerce. But sometimes it gets abused and this was an important event in the digital world to reign in the rights that individuals have.

    So I guess that's my pick, but I'd love to see what other ones you come up with.

    And for the US Football fans out there, a second poll: With the demise of Monday Night Football on ABC this past week, I was thinking: What is your favorite Monday Night Football memory?

    I'll answer that I have two. The first is Monday Night, 1995, Cowboys v Giants and the first play from scrimmage Emmitt Smith broke through a stacked line for a TD run. I still remember jumping up and down in the bedroom, trying to be quiet as my wife had already gone to sleep. The second was my first live Bronco game. I had paid over $100 apiece for two tickets in 2000 to the Raiders-Broncos on Monday night and it snowed all day Sunday and Monday. I wore a ski suit to the game and it was entertaining, ending in a tie. On one of the first couple plays of overtime, Olandis Gary broke through on a short yardage play to go for a game winning TD.

    Steve Jones

  • Tech event: SQL Server 2005

    MNF Memory: Brett Favre throwing for four touchdowns as his receivers caught just about everything he tossed up shortly after his dad died. Second would be the Jets-Dolphins game in 2000 when the Jets came back in the 4th quarter and sent the game into overtime, winning at the end. I had considered turning the game off when the Dolphins scored at the end of the 3rd quarter but was glad I didn't.

    K. Brian Kelley
    @kbriankelley

  • Tech -- I would a agree with you on the Sony debacle, there's just to much intrusion out there.

    MNF -- Being a Giants fan, the one I remember the most was the the Redskins game where LT broke Theismans leg (I still cringe when I think about it). And the only time I have ever seen an opposing player motion to the sidelines to bring in the trainers ASAP, right after the tackle. I never heard him say it but he probably heard it break.


    Kindest Regards,

    Donald Mayer
    Oswego Health

  • I think the Sony/Rootkit fiasco was huge. It touched (or ran rough shod over) core issues in I.T. It effected everybody from consumers all the way up the to the board room.

    SQL Server 2005 is important, but it was expected, and it only is important to a narrower population.

    Apple geting in bed with Intel would be much bigger if Apple had a larger market share.

    Just my 2 cents.

    Bob Castleman

    SuccessWare Software


    Bob
    SuccessWare Software

  • Big Thing:

    Blu ray disks coming to market.

    25 - 50 GIG's a disk.  Now thats a big thing.

    (Dis) Honourable mention: Patent Law and IP rights. (Probably more inportant than anything else, sadly.  Especially with the women being blindfolded like that. 

     

    NFL Moment:

    Super Bowl VII

     

  • The Sony root kit reversal was a high point. I understand Sony's desire to protect their investment, but I'm a bit concerned about the frenzy over DRM. When laws start getting passed to require extreme forms of "rights management" to be included in hardware, I'll really be worried.

    The fact that they had to remove the rootkit shows me that there is still some consideration given to the consumer, as well as the copyright holder / company.

  • Sorry Steve.  This might sting a little but I'm going to have to go with Joe Montana while in his last year with the Chiefs in Denver on Monday night.  That was such an incredible game.  Watching two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time battle it out was amazing.  Here's more from SI:

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/12/22/gallery.mondaynightmem/content.1.html

  • I didn't see it live, but how about when the fan at Soldier Field caught the field goal by jumping out of his seat and dropping down about 20 feet.

  • "Forcing Sony to withdraw it's rootkit"
     
    Call me picky if you want (it's part of being a dba), but you should know that "it's" is an abbreviation for "it is". The possesive form is "its" (no apostrophe). I would say this is by far the most common mispelling in English. It's so widespread that some people have actually argued it should be considered correct (since language rules are determined by usage).
  • Didn't see the Montana game, but yeah, that stings.

    Brett Favre's win might have been mine, but I didn't see that one either.

  • Hee, hee.

    Call me picky, but technically "it's" is not an abbreviation, but rather a contraction. Isn't English wonderful


    Bob
    SuccessWare Software

  • Its bout tyme

    and re the sony issue.. if you saw the copyright protection list...

    http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/titles.html

    anyone who bought those CD's I think will be or at least should be ashamed of themselves for even owning them...

    I think a more interesting thing about the list is how statistically improbable it is to have all those really awful albums 'cept ella fritzgerald (which given her age I would think is almost public domain by now..which goes for most of the others which might be palatable) in the group all needing copyright. And what about DVD audio the new thing .. do none of them warrant such protection?

    I dont know but there must be a lot of Rosanne Cash file sharing going on to deem it needing copy protection.

    Hopefully the free 3 albums will let the purchasers make a better choice this time around.

    http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-settle30dec30,1,3035624.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter

    And I guess this is my segway toward a Last Poll Part (3)

    Which three albums would you choose to replace that mis-bought Bette Midler album.

    Mine would be...

    1) Tool - Lateralus

    2) Tragically Hip - Yer Favourites

    3) Band on the Run - Wings & The Walrus

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