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Odds and Sods

Toyota Woes: Getting Personal

Here's an dispassionate analysis of the Toyota acceleration problem.

We have a 2003 Prius and a 2008 Yaris, neither of which appear to be part of any recall.

But even if they were recalled, I wonder if it would make much difference. My Prius has an issue when coming down long hills, where the regenerative braking appears to either actually overheat a battery terminal, or just trips the sensor, thereby hanging up the on-board computer. It was also the first car that I had that came with automatic skid control, and a couple times when I was evading a skid, I was automatically overridden, and it actually released the brake on the affected (skidding) wheel. If I had a choice, I'd be able either to turn it off, or not have it in the first place.

My theory is that there may be something going on with the cruise control, which affects acceleration, of course, or indeed a problem with a displaced floor mat, which has happened to me too, in other cars, not just Toyotas. Our Yaris is a totally low-end car, and is manual almost everything, so it is less likely that it would be affected.

Blogger FTP Service Deprecated

I only just noticed that the Blogger FTP service is being deprecated. Eeek. (If I may use the expression). TFNP has been a Blogger blog for almost ten years; before Google bought Blogger. So, sometime soon, we'll have to figure out what to do next. My initial inclination is to take them up on their offer to move to a custom domain, or blogspot blog.... but blogspot is so, um, like AOL. This is a manageable problem for me, but in the comments about the move suggest it is going to be a real issue for people in China, where blogger.com is blocked.

Pesky Technical Problem #1 iDisk Sync Issue

After working flawlessly for what seemed like months, my iDisk synchronization stopped working with both my desktop and laptop machines saying "disk not in sync", even after repeated attempts at syncing both manually and automatically. The solution was to sort of unwind everything:

1. In iDisk preferences, stop syncing on both machines.

2. Create a backup folder on the desktop machine, and copy everything from the iDisk into it.

3. Delete the iDisk contents on the desktop.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the laptop.

Now you have a local copy of the iDisk contents on both machines (which may or may not be in sync with each other.

5.On the desktop, go on the web in Safari and log into your mobile.me account.

6. Log off

7. Log in with bogus credentials (i.e. different name, different password). You'll get an error message saying that your credentials aren't valid.

8. Log in again with the correct credentials and log off.

9. Do a manual sync with the desktop. This will "refill" your desktop's iDisk with the contents of the iDisk from mobile me.

10. Copy the contents of your backup iDisk to the desktop's iDisk, and manually sync again.

At this point the desktop should be synced with mobile me.

11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 for the laptop.

This should have everything synced together.

Step 7 was a suggestion; it seemed dubious, but I tried it anyway. The explanation was that it "reset" the index or something on mobile me. Sound like a crock, but the above steps all seemed to work, and everything is back to normal.

Another suggestion is to only have one machine set on automatic sync...and then manually sync the other (probably the laptop if that is the one used only occasionally)

Netbooks or Laptops for Classroom Computers

When asked about Netbooks as opposed to Laptops for equipping a classroom, I replied:

re: Netbooks:

Con:

1. At $650 each, a full-fledged laptop with CD ROM is going to be only marginally more expensive than a NetBook with external peripherals

2. A Netbook will probably be close to $400.00, less expensive by itself, but when adding CD-ROMS, and maybe memory, etc, the price will rise.

3. Both Rosetta Stone (English language software) and several other programs, lilke Mavis Beacon, (a typing tutor program) require the external CD Drive. It is also a pain to install other software without one.

4. If you are working collaboratively, it will be difficult for two people to see what is on a netbook screen at the same time.

5. The netbooks are smaller and "cuter", and perhaps easier to conceal and therefore more attractive to "borrow". They are tiny!

6. NB keyboards tend to be quite small.... considerably smaller than a regular laptop. They also often have weird keystroke combinations to substitute for the lack of extra keys.

7. Many are limited to 1Meg of RAM, and therefore end up running a pretty limited version of Windows, either XP or Win 7 "home", and will be slower.

8. A conventional laptop is more likely to be closer to the kind of machine that most students will have contact with, in the workplace, at home, or at school. The NetBooks, are great supplementary machines; good for eMailing and web surfing with a wireless connection in Starbucks....less satisfactory for things like word- processing a paper.

Pros:

Small and lightweight. Easy to carry around in bulk, if you're going to the library, for example and need to schlep all six machines.

Now, what *would* be very cool....would be a dedicated computer literacy project using NetBooks for, say, at-risk teenagers or young adults, where they actually get to keep the Netbook if they complete the program, and where the emphasis wouldn't be on Microsoft Office, or R.S., but simply on becoming a "connected person"... This would allow for less conventional software, and even really inexpensive computers, in the $299 range.

Wireless router and printer shouldn't be an issue. Routers are about $75.00. Printers: the usual caveats apply, laser is better than ink jet.. and Cannon and HP are recommended printer brands. (you can get parts for them as opposed to say, Brother.)

In short: Absent really convincing evidence to the contrary, I would recommend, "boring and conventional" for the classroom and keep the netbook idea in reserve for a fully-funded foundation project.

Grantwriting: Letters of Support

Letters of Support

Who Contributes Letters of Support?

Letters of support are used to strengthen a grant application. These typically come from three kinds of supporters; collaborators, constituents, or outside endorsers. Collaborators add credibility to a grant application, and most, if not all funders prefer to see evidence of collaboration, and saving of duplication and overlap.

Collaborators

Collaborators are those who are participating in the project with you. Their letters of support should include sufficient information so that the funder will be aware of the collaborator's participation and allow the funder to evaluate the collaborator's contribution to the project. Letters from collaborators should include the following:

Description of the nature of the collaboration

Non-financial contributions to project if applicable. Such contributions could include:

� Expertise

� Deliverables, i.e. products, reports, evaluation services, etc.

� Personnel

� Resources

Financial Contributions if applicable. These may include

� Cash

� In-kind contributions (non- monetary services, to which a cost may be attached.)

� Matching funds

Financial Arrangements

If the collaborator is receiving a piece of the grant funding, then this should also be spelled out in the letter.

Include expected outcomes, results, and value resulting from the collaboration.

State what the benefits will be from the collaboration. Use numbers and examples.

Outside Endorsers

Outside Endorsers are people who no direct participation in execution of the project, but who do have a stake the project's outcome . Outside Endorsers add credibility and weight your application.

Typical Outside Endorsers

� Colleagues in the field

� Others who have funded your work

� Politicians, Government Agencies familiar with your work

Letters need to make clear:

� Relationship between your agency and endorser

� Value and results obtained or demonstrated

Examples:

� A youth services agency endorses a project run by a trade association designed to create apprenticeships in a particular technical field. The youth agency might not be directly involved in the project, but it might make the point that the youth agency?s clients would benefit from an apprenticeship program, The youth agency?s letter might also contribute background statistics on demographics and need for opportunities for out-of-school youth not planning to go to college.

� A local development corporation endorses the same project, citing statistics about the loss of jobs in the local county, and the need for positioning the local work force to take advantage of newly emerging business opportunities in renewable energy.

Constituents

Letters from constituents and beneficiaries benefit from concrete facts and figures for the current grant

application. Individual stories are very powerful. Any letter with specific outcomes will be more powerful

than one citing generalities.

For example, a student in an adult learning program might include statements such as:

Before coming to The Learning Center, I was reading at a third-grade level. I worked with teachers and volunteers at TLC for two years, and was able to raise my reading level to sixth grade". After working as a laborer for seven years, I have entered a two year apprenticeship program for electricians, and expect to graduate as a licensed journeyman electrician in May of this year.

Since such testimonials may be used across several applications, be sure that they up-to-date A fresh

copy of a letter with a current date and signature will be evidence of current support and relevance.

Constituent Letter Components:

Constituent letters should include:

� Background of the constituent

� Relationship with your agency

� How the constituent benefited.

Example Benefits

Constituent letters provide third-party evidence of your efficacy as an agency, any statistics cited will

provide additional credibility. Numbers rule! For example:

� Home-healthcare: Number of home-health care patients served, compared with last year. How many

home healthcare nurses and aids participated? What is the ratio of nurses to patients? Are total costs

and cost per patient going up or down? How many patients were served at home as opposed to nursing

homes?

� Number of jobs created. Number of new companies created. Number companies declaring bankruptcy

or moving out of the area. Net gain or loss of jobs? Type and quality of jobs; Average salary

and benefits. Number of jobs upgraded or saved.

� Land Conservation: Acres of land conserved. Numbers of conservation easements,

General Guidelines for Letters of Support

Introduce yourself. Include a description and qualifications of the letter writer.

Addressee should be either the funder or your agency

Include a sentence about the experience or history with your agency, if available

Specifically cite the solicitation number and solicitation title if these exist. Many funders are fielding applications

for multiple programs.

One or two paragraphs of text in the body of the letter

Use specifics; numbers, timelines, outcomes.

Specify expected outcomes (with numbers) of your relationship with the funder.

Format

� No more than one page in length

� Letter should be on the contributor?s own letterhead

� Include a written signature and title of an official of the contributor?s agency or company

� Submit as a .PDF file and and/or hard copy

Regarding the last point; most grant applications these days are submitted electronically. At least some of the narrative components will include longer discussions created within a word-processor (Microsoft Word for example) and then exported to an Adobe .PDF file. The .PDF files are then either uploaded individually to the grantmaker?s web site, or the files may be combined into a single long .PDF which is uploaded or sent as an eMail attachment. Because of the logistics involved, it makes sense to try to get letters of support early on, and if you can?t get .PDF files from letter providers, you need to be able to either convert the files they send you to .PDF yourself, or use a scanner to create a .PDF from a hard copy. Don?t beat up your letter providers if they can?t give you a .PDF. Make sure you have the tools in place to do the conversions if needed.

Timing

Outside Endorsers

Outside endorsers can be solicited early in the grant application process; as soon as you have a solid program abstract available to enclose in your request for the letter. You'll need the abstract so that they know what they are endorsing. The abstract also may prompt them to contribute additional ideas for developing a strong application. "You really should go and talk to .... "

Collaborators

Collaborators should include a general description of the financial arrangements and commitments in their letters of support. Solicit letters from collaborators after the budget and program plan have been defined and you have a working agreement in place.

Constituents

Constituent letters are usually less time sensitive, because the background material in these deals with things that have already happened. However it is wise not to wait until the last minute, especially if you think you might have .PDF formatting and conversion issues.

Twitter Resources

Because they have published an open API, Twitter has spawned a slewof applications. Here is a list of applications that appear in The Twitter Book by O'Reilly.

Twitter Shrinkers

140it will trim down your post to conform to the 140 character limit.

Bit.ly will shrink a long URL, and will also allow you track the clickthroughs

is.gd shrinks down a URL really tightly, but does not allow tracking

Twi.bz shrinks down a URL, but preserves the underlying domain.

So, let's see what these services would produce. Let's say I'm posting a tweet that points to a blog entry at www.techfornonprofits.com.... Here is the original URL:

http://www.techfornonprofits.com/blogger/2010/01/sample-grant-policies-and-procedures.html

Bit.ly shrinks this to: http://bit.ly/4DKNhb

is.gd shrinks this to: http://is.gd/72s3T As they say, 72 characters shorter!

Twi.bz shrinks this to: http://techfornonprofits.twi.bz/a Indeed it preserves the domain name.

Searches and Trends

http://search.twitter.com

http://hashtags.org

http://tagal.us

http://whatthetrend.com

http://monitter.com allows you to monitor multiple topics in realtime.

http://tweetmeme.com
monitors links posted in Twitter, and ranks them by popularity in real time.

Clients

http://www.twhirl.org/

http://tweetdeck.com/

Combination of Client + Search + Stats

http://www.twitscoop.com
Still trying to figure this out. Check out the interactive topic cloud.

http://twopular.com/ shows trending topics over various time spans


Organize a Tweetup
http://twtvite.com/

Europe's Promise

In the concluding chapter of Europe's Promise by Stephen Hill the author describes a conversation that he has with a native Austrian in a Salzburg cafe.

"As an American, I wonder if you can even imagine what it must be like to live in a country where every person has health care. And a decent retirement. And day care, parental leave, sick leave, education, vacation, job retraining. for every plumber, carpenter, taxi driver, waitress, executive, sales clerk, scientist, musician, poet, nurse, of all ages, income, race, sex, whatever, not worrying about those basic arrangements. Can you imagine what that is like?"

At first I didn't see where he was going with this. He spoke with such passion to point out the obvious. But then suddenly the lightbulb went on. I had never really thought about it before: what impact does it have on an individual's psyche--and by extension on all of society and our feeling of extended family, which is after all the "sticky glue" that holds us all together--to know that certain basics will always be taken care of because you are a stakeholding member of that society, entitled to certain benefits? Certainly it is hard for an American, raised as an atomized individual in the "ownership" (i.e., "on your own") society to step into the shoes of a European and imagine what that sense of security and support must feel like and how it affects your overall outlook.

"In America you are so rich" he said. "Why don't you have these things for your people?"

We are watching yet another slipping away of health care reform, for the simple reason that a single Republican has replaced the former Senator of Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy's Democratic seat in the U.S. Senate. This lowers the Democratic majority from 60% to 59% and yet the Democrats refuse to override arcane rules of their own chamber to push through a health care reform bill. Europe is so far ahead of us in health care and other basic life support, that we are beginning to look more like a third-rate country. With the current state of health care we really are a third-rate country; paying double for health outcomes that put us somewhere below Slovenia.

Hill's book describes several differences in European outlook and institutions:

1. Health care, shorter work-weeks, double vacation times, paid day-care, paid maternity leave, paid paternity leave, national retirement plans that pay double or triple what our social-security system pays ... , no-cost or very low cost university education.

2. Mandatory worker representation on corporate boards. (Europe has 170 Fortune 500 companies compared with 140 in the U.S.)

3. Publicly financed election campaigns. Proportional representation in their legislatures with multiple parties combining in coalitions. There are no "safe seats", or gerrymandered districts. Senators cannot hold entire political agendas hostage while they lobby for perks that enrich their own state, or more likely their corporate contributors. And of course our congress and many government officials already have a government health-care plan.

4. A ten year or more advance on energy policy. (20% of Germany's energy production will be renewable by 2015).

5. An order-of-magnitude narrower gap between the lowest wage earner and the highest salary earner.

The book gives voice to the uneasy notion that after the disaster of the Bush/Cheney years, the Obama revival is petering out. Maybe it never got started after Obama backed down on virtually every campaign promise and every opportunity for real reform.

I'm asking myself, how bad does it have to get?

After Hurricane Katrina, I thought we will definitely fix the bureaucratic policies and bungling so that New Orleans will be rebuilt.

After the bank bailouts, I thought we would definitely re-regulate the banks, re-separating investment banking from retail banking. A reasonable person might have expected that the notion of multi-million dollar bonuses for staff of bailed out banks would be considered an obscenity, and that banks would be required to restructure predatory mortgage loans.

After the collapse of the auto industry, you might think we'd start to re-think the stupid tax incentives that created the SUV, that we'd begin taxing gasoline at a reasonable rate to incentivize people to buy more efficient vehicles and to subsidize new technology, and that we'd install new management in the Detroit Big Three, (or, frankly, retool the idle factories to create mass-transit vehicles, solar cells, and windmills). After all the taxpayer "bought" those factories.

I thought maybe we'd throw in the towel in Afghanistan and Iraq and begin to re-think our failed military strategy and the whole purpose of spending ever-increasing billions each year on a military, where we can't even field more than a couple hundred thousand soldiers, at a million dollars per year at a pop.

I thought we'd close the concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay. Surely this is one of the most medieval legacies of the Bush/Cheney years, and it is a disgrace.

The very good news, however, is that Europe's Promise points out, with dozens of examples, how a very complex multi-cultural society can achieve consensus and create a better life for ordinary citizens. Having lived in both Europe in Canada in years past, and with regular contact with family in the "old country", I agree that life there seems much as described in the book, and that there are many elements that should be included in a 21st century version of the American Dream.

Backing Up in 2010 Part I

I'm coming into an organization with fresh eyes, and wondering about the whole issue of backup. Currently they have a massive Dell server with RAID 5 drives at the headquarters. There are about five administrative staff, and four teaching staff at headquarters.

Each of five field offices has 1-2 staff. Each staff person has their own desktop machine. Some have personal laptops which they use when away from the office. Data is stored on thumb drives when transferred between the laptops and the desktops.

Headquarters has an HP DAT backup system with DAT tapes that back up the data directories on the storage. Assuming each headquarters staff uses their designated storage folder on the server, they can be assured that their data is being backed up. Backups occur at the end of each day. There are two Friday tapes. One of these is stored offsite at the end of the week. The staff is trained and comfortable with this arrangement.

In the field offices, a previous regime installed little USB hard drives which are attached to each staffer's PC. An automatic backup program periodically copies the data directory to the hard drive.

The current arrangement has several issues:

• Field office data never gets formally transferred to headquarters. Although there is much back and forth via eMail attachments, the contents of the field office hard drives never get transferred.
• Backup is not offsite. If a fire occurs in the field office, it is probable that all the data will be destroyed and unrecoverable. Guess what just happened a month ago with one of the field offices?

Sample Grant Policies and Procedures

0. Get the board's buy-in before you put in too much time or effort in preparing a proposal.

1. A grant proposal summary should be submitted to the board in advance of filing the grant application and include enough detail to allow the board to make a decision. Information should include:

• the funder
  
• purpose of the grant and the expected outcomes
  
• commitment and partners
  
• explanation of how the grant will support our mission
  
• total amount being sought
  
• dates: start date, end date, closeout date, reporting dates
  
• financial budget

2. The board should approve any grant application before it is filed as the application commits the organization to performing the requirements of the grant. Such approval should take place at a board meeting, with a quorum of the board voting on a motion to approve in favor of the grant application. Approval should appear in the minutes with the grant details as shown in #1, above, (minus, perhaps a complete budget).

3. A grant administrator should be designated or hired for each grant. The job description should include the following:

• administer the income and outgo of the grant
• manage the grant budget
• provide status reports to the board, monthly if there is ongoing activity, otherwise quarterly for active grants
• file quarterly financial and performance reports with the funder, as required
• fine the final report
• at the end of the grant period organize the close-out documents, and make sure they are available for audit.

4. A grant program manager should be designated for each grant. Often the person that finds the grant and prepares the application?? is not the same person who is managing the day-to-day activities of the grant. The program manager's job description would include:

• "champion" for the grant
  
• "owns" of the mission of the grant
  
• ensures that the grant is executed and the goals are accomplished
  
• works closely with the grant administrator to prepare invoices, financial reports, narratives, and to stay within the budget guidelines

Research grants have a "Principal Investigator", or "PI" who is the subject-matter expert for the grant, and the person held accountable for grant outcomes.

5. Bookkeeping and Accounting
Financial transactions need to be tagged in the accounting system so that financial? statements and a detailed list of transactions can be produced for each individual grant and each individual funder. Essentially this means you want to be able to produce a customized profit and loss report that restricts financial input and output to a specific grant.

In QuickBooks, this is typically done by designating a funder as a customer, and an individual grant from that funder as a "job", or "sub-customer"... (depends on which version of QuickBooks you are using). Further, in QuickBooks you can also assign a "class" to a transaction; this is typically used to classify each transaction as belonging to either "program" (i..e direct expenses), "administrative" (indirect expenditures), or "fundraising"; the three classifications required for filing on the Form 990.

6. Finally, the organization must realize that by accepting grant money, the organization must be prepared to successfully go through an audit. So, accepting a grant is indeed a major commitment by the organization. The division of labor outlined above by no means require a separate person to perform each function. Many of us live for the day we can fob off some of the administrative stuff and grantwriting to a capable colleague.

1/2 Tuition Reimbursed for Grantsmanship Training

Grantsmanship Training in upstate New York.

Is your organization a 501(c)(3)with an operating budget under $300,000?

A limited number of half-tuition scholarships are still available for the Grantsmanship Training Program to be offered in Oriskany, New York, February 8-12, 2010.

For scholarship details, call The Grantsmanship Center:
(800) 421-9512 (outside California); (213) 482-9860 (within California).

The program will be hosted by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County.

David Byrne on Health Care

Why is this so difficult for people to understand?

In the long run, and from a wider perspective, health care does more than just insure against sudden medical costs � that is, public health care, not insurance plans. Public health care ensures that everyone lives without the fear that the bottom of their world will suddenly drop out. In the US, people with medical emergencies suddenly can�t pay their mortgages, college tuition or for their kids. They often end up on skid row, or at least in bad shape, because their financial situation is precarious (since there is no safety net) and a medical emergency knocks the whole thing down. In those countries where these worries are not as pressing, the people�s lives are different � they're less desperate, less on the edge, and therefore everyone, even those who are paying more than their share, benefits. It�s hard to quantify that benefit, I would imagine � but anyone with eyes and ears can sense it.

Chron This Week -- Acorn, Technology, Cutbacks

The Chronicle of Philanthropy, is, as they say, "the newspaper for the non-profit community", and this week had lots of good stuff. Much of their good material is behind a pay wall, like their commentary analyzing the Acorn scandal. Fortunately, the text was reprinted in the Huffington Post.

The attack on Acorn is not really about a few bogus names on voter forms or about a few staff members providing advice to a phony prostitute with a video camera. Rather, it is part of a broader conservative effort to attack progressive organizations (including labor unions, environmental groups, activist religious organizations, and community organizers).

The attacks on Acorn began years ago. Its corporate enemies paid a Washington public-relations firm to create the web site RottenAcorn.com, where many of the attacks on Acorn were first rehearsed. Then the right-wing echo chamber orchestrated its war on Acorn, and the mainstream news media joined the chorus.

Other articles include discussions of Twitter and social networking, and several pieces about how non-profits are fairing in the recession. (not good).

Odds and Sods: XML

Nice introduction to XML here by Kate on the IBM Developerworks website.

Chart Porn is a blog that covers, er... data visualization. Despite its name, it is safe for work. Thanks NTEN!

Box.Net appears to take the"Files" section of Basecamp in a slightly easier to manage direction. Great for collaborations. I saw this in an interesting post by Thomas Friedman about new ways of collaboration and working on the net. His Sunday column describes a friend of his who created a promotional video for a non-profit at about 1/20th the cost of what they would usually charge using voice talent from Voices.com, background music from AudioJungleand stock video from iStockPhoto

Who says you can't have cool videos? The Story of Stuff

Microsoft Office 2010 beta is available for download. I downloaded Visio and it appears to be fine, although I can't really say that there are huge differences from the previous editions. Visio now has a ribbon interface. The main change seems to be tighter integration with SharePoint.

The full Office Professional 2010 beta is available for download, and ostensibly will work until October 2010.

Resource Guide for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

After attending Alice Estey's session on Conflict Resolution at part of the Non-Profit Management Certificate Program, I went back and dug out all of my mediation, negotiation and conflict resolution materials. Here is a slightly updated list as a PDF: The Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Resource Guide

Managing A Non-Profit Certificate Program

We are about two-thirds through a certificate program for non-profit management. This program, taught at Champlain College in Burlington Vermont and Marlboro College in the southern part of the state has evolved over several years into a fine series of one-day seminars on aspects of non-profit management.

• Leadership in the non-profit sector
  
• Financial Management I & II (two sessions)
  
• Strategic Planning
  
• Fundraising I & II (two sessions, includes membership management, grass-roots fundraising, and grantwriting) taught by Christine Graham with guest Andy Robinson
  
• Marketing with Rebecca Brookes
  
• Human Resources
  
• Conflict Resolution
  
• Boards and Governance

Each seminar starts around 9:00 AM, and ends promptly at 4:00PM with an hour for lunch. While the seminars are mostly taught by individuals, frequent guest speakers, group exercises and lively discussion break up the sessions. I walk out with an average of ten pages of hand-written notes and mind maps, as well as additional notes taken on the computer, and each seminar leader, experts in their fields, provides extensive reading material. It is definitely a "you get out of it what you put into it" opportunity; in addition to the twelve days given up to the seminars there are opportunities to dig into the extensive readings and to participate in an online Moodle discussion group.

Participants in our group of roughly 24 include members of various organizations engaged in the arts, children and families, libraries, trade organizations, hunger, etc. It is a fascinating and dedicated group.

The program is a excellent resource for anyone involved in the nonprofit sector as staff, management, volunteer, board member, or fundraiser.

End of the Experiment: Doomed SX280.

After two tries with eBay Dell SX280s, I'm giving up. A second one arrived a day or two ago, and it doesn't boot, even to the BIOS setup. After researching this it looks like it might involve capacitors on the motherboard. The first eBay seller promptly refunded my money and told me to keep the unit.

The second seller also refunded payment promptly and requested that I send the unit back. I won't be able to try the capacitor replacement fix.

Out of three purchases, one works fine, and two were dead on arrival. Not a particularly great record, and I think I will end this experiment and go back to looking at purchasing at the Dell Outlet, or even new machines.

I just configured a low-end new Optiplex for $371. Of interest is this does not include any floppy, CD, or DVD drive. I added an extra 1 meg of RAM for a total of 2 megs, and kept the Windows Vista home OS with the idea of replacing with a license that I have here for Windows 7 and/or Ubuntu Linux.

So, the upshot is we're still looking at a minimum of around $500 for a basic Dell desktop machine which includes a flat screen. The hardware guys recommend Samsung and Viewsonic flat screens.

A new stock analysis service called Trefis has this to say about the Dell company.

Dell is known primarily for its product line of desktop and notebook PCs, printers, and PC displays. However, much of Dell's value comes from higher profitability businesses, such as managed services and consulting, through which Dell provides business customers with services, such as desktop outsourcing or IT call center support.

We foresee Dell contemplating an exit from the desktops, printers and displays business.

Hmm.. They calculate that desktop machines are roughly 2% of the company value, laptops about 20%, (ten times the desktop figure!) and that the largest proportion of value comes from Dell's acquisition of Perot Systems in "business services".

Odds and Sods

Comparison of Wireless Technologies

Ever wonder what the difference is between BlueTooth, IRDA, and Zigbee? Of course you have. And now you can find out on the BlueTooth SIG website, which has a short description of current wireless technologies.

Mini-Me Workstations

The Dell Optiplex 160 is an Intel Atom-based desktop box available with a number of options including single or dual-core processor, and solid state hard drives. Another source for small computers, which I know are quiet, since we've got a couple dozen, is of course, Logic Supply.

Notes on Dell ordering

It has been awhile since I've ordered things on the Dell web site and it sure is confusing. For instance, when I wanted to order a Dell Workstation with a pair of matched monitors, the web site allows you to choose from about 5 different units for the "first monitor", but then presents a single choice for the "second monitor". The choice for the second monitor doesn't match any of the selections possible for the first monitor. So I ended up calling them, (another twenty minutes and two calls navigating the phone tree) and the rep blithely suggested to remove the second monitor on the order and place a completely separate order for it. What used to be easy on the Dell site is now hard, what used to be simple is now complex, and the site is a cluttered visual disaster. Still we'll order a Dell Workstation with dual monitors for about $1400 and what looks to be a nice Optiplex tower with monitor for about $600.

MacBook Boot Camp with Windows 7

Nice. I'm still a little antsy, not having heard from Parallels about my registration key. So, my iMac Parallels version 5.0 upgrade is in peril, and I've simply given up with Parallels on the MacBook. So far, everything works fine within Boot Camp on Windows 7 with one very weird exception; the Dot Net Framework version 4.0 beta. This simply won't install within Windows 7 running on Boot Camp.

Application Notes on Databases and Networks

Databases 101
A very basic discussion of the elements of a database program.

A Taxonomy of Non-Profit Databases A diagram of a typical information system for a typical non-profit.

Workstation Setup Checklist This is a checklist that I use when setting up Windows workstations for users.

Create network users in Active Directory using the Windows command line. This article also includes a discussion of creating a FoxPro data table of user names and passwords which can then be used for creating the command line commands.

SX270 & SX280 Saga Continues

Ok... I reminding myself of why I originally wanted to do this, and why I thought it relevant to Tech for Non-Profits. I thought it would be an excellent way to get a very low cost Windows machine for maybe $100 and a couple hours of work.

The SX270

Was it dusty? Yes, it was (is) dusty. I took off the cover and removed the shroud which covers the heatsink. The shroud is attached to two fans and the fans were clogged with a greasy sort of dust that wouldn't just blow away. I spent a half hour with my shop vac, a can of compressed air, and a soft artist's brush and got most of the dust out. Then I started working on the case, and in my zeal, removed the heatsink, (that aluminum finned thing in the picture) which was also somewhat dusty. The heat sink came away, but with the Intel processor stuck to it. I'm not sure how this is possible...ahem... but it appears that all the pins are intact. I separated the processor from the heatsink, and reinserted it into the ZIF (zero insertion force) socket, and it appears to be securely latched in. Now, I'll need to go to Radio Shack and get some thermal paste to put on the processor and heatsink before replacing the heatsink. Then, everything gets put back together and maybe, hopefully, the machine will run cooler and not sound like a LearJet.

The Optiplex SX280

This looked promising at first, but it appears that there is a problem with the motherboard/video. Sometimes when you boot it up it boots right up into Windows...other times it gives the dreaded beep codes... 4 beeps then 2 beeps then 1 beep. Anything starting out with 4 beeps is ... really bad. This code means, "no timer tick", which suggests that timer chip that provides timing for all the other chips is faulty. What I do know is that on the third time it booted merrily into Windows, and was working fine for maybe ten minutes but it crashed a couple times.

I had high hopes for this machine, which cost $97 on eBay. When it worked...though, it was really nice; fast and quiet.

Odds and Sods: SX270 in Peril, Macbook in Parallels, MSDN Roadshow

Several things in play today:

1. I'm installing the free Microsoft virus scanner on the SX270. Once I started the SX270 it was silent....after about ten minutes warming up the fan is now rushing again, and has risen to an unacceptable roar. This may be the end. I will probably pop the cover and look inside, just to be sure the dust is gone....but if the noise persists, then this unit may be useless as an office or classroom machine.

2. Went to the MSDN Roadshow sponsored by Microsoft New England. Chris Bowen, one of the presenters has all the details. If you are at all interested in programming on a Microsoft platform, (and are further along than entry-level in programming), then these roadshows are, quite simply, terrific. Topics included LINQ.

3. I've upgraded my iMac to Parallels 5 per a postcard I've received. Problem now, is that after it has blown away my version 4.0 they've set to send the email with the installation key, so I'm running on a temporary key. This has eaten up over 90 minutes of time; something that should have taken about 2 minutes. Windows 7 looks great, with Aero and everything, and still is quite snappy on the iMac. The Macbook is another story....it basically is broken, and I'm probably going to try using Bootcamp to allow the Macbook's 2 megs of RAM to be allocated to Windows.

The $30.00 Windows XP Computer.

Based on Jeff Duntemann's suggestion about the SX270 I went on eBay and bought both an SX270 and an SX280. I bid and got the 270 for $30.00, however, the vendor required a shipping fee of $30.00 for UPS ground which I think is a bit of a ripoff. Still, $60.00 isn't bad (potentially) for a working more-or-less modern computer. For those who have more time than money, who want to try this route, here are a few additional tips.

1. All eBay Dell SX270s are not equal. Many are stripped of their hard drives. This is presumably for security reasons. If yours does have a drive, it will probably have been wiped, so it will need an operating system.

2. Many of the SX270s have what is called a COA sticker included. Sometimes this is simply described as "COA included". This gives you a Windows license key. You still need to be able to install a copy of Windows, so you need to have a CD lying around, and typically this needs to be a single user copy. (I tried installing using the media from our site license. This wouldn't accept the COA as it the one on the sticker wasn't a "volume license" number. I also tried using an old Microsoft Action Pack version of the Windows media and this didn't want to accept the number either. All this nonwithstanding the fact that I *do* have a legitimate Windows XP COA number to input during the installation process. The best solution proved to be a Dell Windows XP "operating system reinstallation disk" of which I have several lying around from previous new Dell machine purchases.

3. Both the SX270 ad SX280 have power bricks, similar or larger to those that you find on inexpensive ink jet printers and laptops. These are by no means generic and you need to be sure you have the right one to fit the machine. The eBay listing may or may not include the power brick....if it doesn't you'll be out another $10-$30.00. I was unlucky, but managed to get a Buy-it-Now brick for $10.00 (plus shipping of, I think $6.00). So, my $30.00 computer now costs $73.00.

4. My machine arrived in reasonably good shape; but was dusty. The CD drive wouldn't read a CD correctly. I bought a CD cleaner disk from Amazon, and that seemed to fix the reading problem; but if it hadn't the PITA factor would have gone up considerably as I'd have to replace the CD drive.

5. Once Windows was installed, I downloaded the network drivers from the Dell site, using another machine... and installed these on the SX270.

Then there is the inevitable faffing about trying to find video drivers for the unit. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a utility that would contain all of the drivers necessary, and that would install them in one batch file? Anyway, according to the discussion on the Dell web site, drivers should be installed in the following order:

1. System driver file...either desktop or laptop. (I never found this for the SX270)
   
2. Chipset (motherboard driver) requires a reboot.
   
3. Video driver. requires a reboot.
   
4. Network driver (already got that, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to download directly to the SX270)
   
5. Audio drivers.
   

When Windows was first installed, the machine wouldn't produce any screen resolution higher than 600x480. Once the video driver was installed, it went to 1600x1200 automatically. Pretty dramatic.

Looking at the specifications on the Dell site, it says that this machine is actually an SX270N. I'm not sure what the difference is between an N and a non-N.

The fan is noisy. Too noisy. Like the wind in Wuthering Heights. The fan noise diminished when I placed the unit on end, with the vent holes in the top. I'll also attempt to peel off a label that the bonehead vendor stuck on the top thereby covering about 20% of the ventilation holes....maybe that will improve the air circulation and keep the machine cooler.

101 ways to use Twitter in your hospital, er.. nonprofit

I caught this article via the healthcareITguy blog, but if you substitute constituents, or clients, or donors, for patients and replace hospital with agency .... ?

Link

Tom Friedman on Education and Innovation

A Washington lawyer friend recently told me about layoffs at his firm. I asked him who was getting axed. He said it was interesting: lawyers who were used to just showing up and having work handed to them were the first to go because with the bursting of the credit bubble, that flow of work just isn�t there. But those who have the ability to imagine new services, new opportunities and new ways to recruit work were being retained. They are the new untouchables.

That is the key to understanding our full education challenge today. Those who are waiting for this recession to end so someone can again hand them work could have a long wait. Those with the imagination to make themselves untouchables � to invent smarter ways to do old jobs, energy-saving ways to provide new services, new ways to attract old customers or new ways to combine existing technologies � will thrive. Therefore, we not only need a higher percentage of our kids graduating from high school and college � more education � but we need more of them with the right education.

Full column located here.

Tech Friday: Hardware and Programming Notes

I'm installing Beta 2 of Visual Studio 2010 C#. Per usual this is taking a long time... close to an hour, and I haven't even installed the SQL-Server that usually goes with it. So far the installation has required two restarts (remember those?). The Express editions are free versions of the full-blown Visual Studio programming tools. The 2010 has a revamped appearance; very attractive.

Bluetooth connections can look like a serial port to a running application; the BlueTooth device talks on one COM port. Of interest is that the device may receive on one port, but talk on another. From the application's standpoint, it receives data on the port assigned to the BlueTooth dongle...but transmits on the port assigned to the external device. I hope.

After several days of Windows 7 on my iMac and Macbook....it seems to be working pretty well on the iMac, but it is slow as mud on the Macbook. (unlike....curiously.... Vista.) In both cases I did an in-place upgrade of Vista. The MacBook install is barely useable. This may be a memory issue; as the Macbook can have a maximum of 2 megs of RAM which has to be parceled out between Mac OSX host operating system and the Windows 7 virtual machine.

Windows: Grand Unifying Theory

While contemplating the upgrade status screen on my Vista to Windows 7 upgrade, I had a Eureka moment... the Grant Unifying Windows Theory which goes:

"The second or third iteration will any version of a Windows operating system be the one you want to install".

Working backwards:

* Windows 7
Vista
* Windows XP
Windows 2000
Windows ME
* Windows 95
* Windows 3.1
Windows 2
Windows 1

Windows 1 and 2 were throwaways; it wasn't until 3.1 came along that Windows was established as a GUI OS. Win95 was fairly solid, followed by the bastard children ME (hopeless), and Windows 2000 (based on the NT code.... but with inadequate driver support). Then came XP which is really the benchmark. And if you have XP working solidly now, why bother upgrading?

Vista to Windows 7 upgrade on Mac Parallels

Earlier, I did a couple of fresh installations of Windows 7 and found it agreeable, so now I'm upgrading the Vista VM running on my iMac with Parallels 4.0. This has presented various points of interest .

1. You can do an in-place upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, but not from Windows XP.

2. I had to increase the size of the Parallels Vista VM disk from 30 gigs to 48 gigs to accommodate the installation files for Windows 7. You do this in Parallels through the Parallels Image Tool which expands the disk partition size. Before doing this is will merge any snapshots that you've taken. I had only a single snapshot that I had created when first installing Parallels a year ago. Rather than allow this merge, which would have taken several hours, I exited out of the program, deleted the snapshot through the snapshot manager, then reentered the Image Tool and performed the expansion in a about 30 seconds.

3. I increased the available RAM from 1 gig to 2 gigs, at least for the installation, since it was a stated requirement to have more than 1 gig. I may crank it back to 1 afterwards.

4. Among the steps during an upgrade, there is "Gathering files, settings and programs" The count of these was 414,061. That is not a misprint. Amazing, after less than a year of running this particular Vista workstation how much crap you accumulate. I'm also wondering at how they calculate the percentage in the upgrade status screen (above) which doesn't seem to correspond with the numbers.

My guess is one reason XP isn't supported for an upgrade is that XP still runs nicely on smaller, older machines, and these are probably not good candidates for a Windows 7 upgrade... notwithstanding the fact that Win7 is supposed to have a smaller footprint both in disk space and memory requirements than Vista. Accordingly, any machine that can run Vista should be able to accommodate Windows 7.