Today Andi Gutmans reported that Microsoft is teaming up with Zend to create a better PHP for windows.  Microsoft is actually creating a new FastCGI implementation that follows standards and will be integrating it into IIS 7.  I think it is great to see that Microsoft is actually getting involved with Zend to make a better PHP for Windows.  Many people use Windows for the development machine and this will make the process much better.  It makes me curious how many more people will start using windows for the web servers with this improvement.

You can read more on Andi’s Blog.

So there is a new contest that is in the planning and development stages.  It’s called PHP Throwdown, it is a 24 hour coding contest.  You can compete either as an individual or a team.  The goal is to complete the best application within the 24 hour time period.

Do you think you have what it takes?  I can almost guarantee that the competitors in this contest will only get a few hours sleep (if any) so it will take quite a bit if you plan to take part.

There will be 4 categories for applications which you can compete in, however they are still to be determined.  They also have not disclosed any of the prizes which you will be competing for.  I am sure that will come soon.

I have yet to determine if I will take part in this contenst, I will need to wait and see what the categories are and if I can come up with ideas of what to do.  However if I do take part i would want a designer to work with me to make it look good so drop me a line if you would be interested.  I would also have to see what the prizes are.

So when will this contest take place?  January 27th 2007 so mark your calendars!

If you have any ideas on what the categories should be, feel free to drop by the site and contact contest admin.
 

Re: One Bad Apple in the Bunch

Yesterday I called into Apple to check the status of my display repair.  I spoke with an apple rep who told me that the display was repaired and was now in the diagnostic department being tested.  This morning I got a call from Nate Doss who is an Apple Executive Rep.  He told me that the LCD Modules were on back order, however they were going to send me a new display so that I would not have to wait. 

Last time I talked to Nate he said that Apple was going to offer me a Good Will Gesture from Apple.  It seemed like the replacement display was that gesture.  I was not happy because I felt it was their responsibility to give me a non defective display since I paid $1200 for the display in the first place.

I was very unhappy so I emailed Nate, they are going to replace the display and we will discuss a good will gesture after I get the display and I am happy with the quality.  We will see where things go from there.

I have been really unhappy with the support from Apple.  I bought the display from Apple at a premium price (even though i knew other manufacturers used the same LCD Module in their displays which cost less)  I figured i would get good support for the offset in price.  The next display i get will probably not be an Apple Display.  I do not feel that for the money I have invested that I should have to go through experiences like this.  I understand that some products are defective, but when you have a technician go over the product, fix it 3 times and send it back to me with other obvious issued, there is something wrong.

 Stay tuned for more updates…  How many of you actually care about this anyway.

I apologize to all those who downloaded iPHP v1.0 beta, there were a few issues keeping users from easilly installing the module.  These issues have been fixed.I have also made it so that the url’s used in iPHP now use www.php.net so that the appropriate mirror is choosen for the user.

You can download iPHP on my iPHP module page.

If you are in need of a PHP Developer / Website Design, feel free to contact me if you run an online store.  We can always barter if your cash flow is low.  I have been willing to in the past and I am willing to now.  Ofcourse the product has to be of interest, if you try to trade dog food it just won’t work

As always the first time we deal with eachother the code will be completed first and put live on my servers.  Once approved by you i will push it to your servers in exchange for the products we bartered for.

You may be asking yourself is this guy serious?  Yes very.  I have a day job which pays the bills, etc.  If i can barter for products / services that I would normally use, why not?  It saves me from having to buy them with my paycheck.

Maybe you are saying, he probably just jacks the rates up even higher than normal just to get more for his time.  You are incorrect if that is how you are thinking.  I actually lower my rates a bit because I feel more people should be bartering (and i dont have to pay taxes when we barter).  Ofcourse each side has to get something they deem valuable for what they are trading

Currently i am interested in Apple products, however dont be afraid to contact me if you do not have any Apple products, there is more to life than Apple.  Did I just say that? 

Contacting me will cost nothing, why not atleast talk about it?  Fill out this simple form and i will get back to you.

Almost everyone know’s that Amazon has patented the one click technology (in my opinion it’s a crock that anyone can patent a method like that) and that Apple leases the use of the technology from Amazon for thier iTunes store.  However what not everyone may know is that the Amazon patent is under review by the U.S. patent and Trademark office.  I wonder if anyone will be able to use this method in the future without having to pay Amazon to do so.

This was revealed to me through a blog post that discussed IBM sueing Amazon over 5 patent infringments. you can read the article on TMO’s blog entry.

So everyone knows what trouble I am having with the Apple repair center.  I sent an email to Steve jobs hoping to get some attention brought to the case.  Obviously it is not Steve’s personal email.  I am sure he has a bunch of people go through it and respond on his behalf.  A day after I sent an email requesting that my display be upgraded to the 30” model for the trouble I am going through, I received a response.

Before I get into this let me explain a bit more.  On Wednesday morning I put in the call to start the process for my 3rd repair request.  I was supposed to have the box arrive yesterday.  Nate Doss from the Apple Executive Dept. gave me a call yesterday explaining how sorry they are that this is happening.  They usually require the product to be repaired several times before they replace the unit (I am on my 3rd is that not enough? Not only that the repairs had to be done due to the incompetence of the techs, they keep introducing new problems.).

Nate had also notified me that the tech I spoke with the day before never finished the repair request or did something wrong so I was not going to receive the box.  He had to put through the request again and I would get the box Friday (today).  So it’s another day looking at this screen that is damaged.  I have to continue working and getting as much as I can before I lose the display again.  Everyday I am working on this display I just get more and more frustrated.  Also it frustrates me that they will not do anything to compensate me for this.

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Recently I posted an entry on here explaining some issues that I have been having with my 23” ACD, I had to return it to repair because of image ghosting.  I received it back only to find 14 dead pixels and was not happy.

I had to return the display once again so that they could fix their mistake.  I finally got the display back yesterday and found that now I have 6 dead pixels.  Why can Apple not get this display fixed properly?

I am not sure whom I should contact over at Apple to complain about this.  I had been dealing with a product specialist named David at extension 41131, however he doesn’t seem to care to respond to any of my messages.  I will at some point figure out who I should talk to and I will call them.

At first I thought well I don’t want to complain about this because I do not want to be without my display for another 5 days.  However the more I think about it the more pissed off I get and feel they should fix the issue, not only that they should do something to make me happy now.  They screwed up the repair the first time, by using a defective panel thereby requiring me to be without it for another 5 days.  Now I can see how 6 pixels may have been easy to miss, but that does not dismiss the fact that they are there and should be fixed.

I am not looking forward to being without my display for another 5 days however I will do what I need to in order to get a display that works properly.

If you know whom I should contact at Apple you can email me at info@josephcrawford.com or leave comments in this entry.

So a while back I went to the local Rex Electronics store here in Rutland, VT.  I was looking to buy a 32" LCD TV for use as my television but also as my computer display.  It would allow me to use a wireless mouse and keyboard and work from my couch.  I was looking for one that had a DVI input on the back since my video card was DVI.  I went into the local store and the store looked empty, I mean I didn’t see anyone.  I just started to look around at the TV’s and then I noticed a sales associate sitting in a chair watching the football game on one of the big screen TV’s.  I walked around a bit more, making sure he noticed me in the store.  Finally I went up and asked him if it would be disturbing his game to get some assistance, he said no and came over to me.

I told him that I was looking to buy an LCD with DVI inputs and he told me that they had none.  As I was walking out of the store I found it hard to believe that none of the 30+ TV’s they had offered DVI so I looked at about 3 on my way out.  All 3 of them had the connector that I needed.  Later that week I went back in to look for a surround sound system.  I planned on buying both around the same time.  I spoke with the same sales associate and asked how many watts a particular system was.  He went in the back room to check the owner’s manual.

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A fellow geek in California had thier license plate stolen off of their car while at work.  If you go to any parties, keep your eyes peeled for this plate on someone’s wall.  Iknow anyone who has the California license plate WEB GEEK (other than Dori) snatch and run and return it to Dori :)  It is a unique plate and I am sure it has special meaning to them.

Here is Dori’s Plea for help.

I know a lot of people in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley area. Iknow a lot of Web geeks. The chances are good that whoever ends up withmy plate knows someone who knows someone who knows me. So, I’m askingyou for a favor; could you please:

• Tell your Northern California friends that I’m looking for it.
• Tell your Web geek friends that I’m looking for it.
• Post a message on your blog asking for help for me to get my license plate back.
• If you happen to come across it when visiting tech company offices, help it get back to me.

I’m not asking people to call the police, or to turn their buddiesin to the authorities, or anything like that. I’d simply like to get itback. No questions will be asked; no charges will be pressed - I justwant my own property returned.

You can read more on the TUAW blog post, you can even get the address to mail the plate back to at the Backup Brain blog post.