WebClients...Which One!?

Disclaimer! Geek Zone!!

[Start Geek Post]

Alright, so last week I've been checking out various webclients/collaboration tools for one of my projects. The four (Enterpise versions) that I've selected to compare were Open-Xchange (OX), SquirrelMail, Google Apps and Zimbra (aquired by Yahoo!). So using the following main criteria: Scalability, Security/Anti-virus/Spam, Ease of Integration with Outlook, Cost and of course User Friendliness (includes Admin functions as well), the following were my findings.

OX

Has an extensive list of capabilities (aside from email) such as:

• Calendaring for individual and group
• Meeting coordination
• Document sharing with automatic versioning control and file locking (great to keep track of collaborated documents)
• PM capabilities
• Forums
• PDA sync

For the IT nerd, OX uses the company's existing directory, is scalable and replicable (unlike Open LDAP server) and allows central admin and sharing of authentication data with other services. With all these capabilities at a much lower cost and good support, it makes me wonder why anyone would ever choose MS Exchange. Oh right...Corporate brainwashing and great Marketing. Of course, economics also comes in play with Adam Smith's invisibile hand.

The only real downside that I see with OX is the integration piece. It is not easy. Using a Connector is relatively simple, but for more flexibility and transparency, any med-large corporation would either go with replacing the the OX OLDAP directory with the company's existing directory or use a MetaDirectory to act as an abstraction layer. Might want to also note that OX only works with Linux Red Hat or Linux 4. To integrate with Outlook, OXtender will also be needed. Now the question is, are all these capabilities necessary? Probably not for the average user.

SquirrelMail

Now quite opposite of OX, SquirrelMail is quite...simple. Really. There is nothing inherently lacking with SM if all one is looking for is an email client. It comes with the standard anti-virus/spam filter with tons of plug-ins (which is great) for added functionality like calendars, project management etc. The program was designed with the Unix admin in mind and integration is a cinch, especially if you compare it to OX. It uses PHP as its programming language so it should be relatively easy to work with when it comes to customization. Although when it comes to aesthetics, it is lacking compared to its counterparts. Did I mention that it is completely free? Oh, and ne parle pas francais? SM has been translated into various languages like Arabic, French, Chinese, German and Spanish! And it's free. Yes, even the "Enterprise" version.

Google Apps

The new hot App...Google has come a long ways since its introduction of Google Search. Google Apps and OX have similar capabilities, just varying degrees. So for example, unlike OX, the Calendaring capability does not have the function of categorizing calendar events. The great thing about Google Apps is that one can customize the interface for each user and it is relatively simple to use, so very user friendly, love the drag and drop. Not only that, from an IT standpoint, there is no hardware or software to buy, install or maintain. Scalability and integration is super easy.

Now...the thing that deters me away from Google Apps (again from an enterprise point of view) is from a security standpoint. Google's products have to stay behind Google's firewalls. So for any big corporation, this raises a lot of compliance and security issues since hosting on a public infrastructure just might be a recipe for disaster. No matter what Google says. With that being said, Procter and Gamble uses Google Apps, although whether this is divisional or enterprise wide I am not sure. I can't see their bread and butter, the R&D department, using this though. Surprisingly, when it comes to cost, it is more than OX, but then again, it's Google vs. open source - the fact that one has to pay for open source is sometimes a wonder for me.

Zimbra

This is a full calendar/mail/document management solution, which Yahoo! has just acquired to play with the big boys (or girls) - Open-Xchange and Google Apps - within the whole collaboration Web 2.0 sphere. A trend sweeping the IT industry today. The cool thing about Zimbra is that it can integrate with a wide range of third party applications like Wikipedia so it is higly customizable with regards to adding capabilities for users. When it comes to User Friendliness, it's AJAX interface beats out the other category players. What can I say, I'm a sucker for drag and drop functions. When it comes to integration, it is simpler than OX but a little more difficult than Google Apps. Zimbra is open source...but it is debatable in some IT circles. To make note, some universities use Zimbra so on a scalability level, it has no problems. With regards to security/compliance/anti-virus, the application is installed within the company's firewall so it is as secure as the company's firewall. Filtering is standard for email and any types of exchanges that occur across the network.

It doesn't have as many capabilities as OX or Google Apps, and by the time one adds all the components that are desired, it might just make a small dent in the corporate budget. Then again, depending on what users need, it can be a cheaper option.

So...what's my verdict? SquirrelMail is too simple, OX is overkill, Google Apps might cost me millions in a lawsuit.

I choose Zimbra.

[/End Geek Post]

Forgotten combination lock

So I've almost finished unpacking everything except my hookah, which is locked in a silver case...with a combination lock - like the bike lock type. The thing is, I changed the combo number before I packed it up in the U-Haul and now...yep...I don't remember what the combination is!!! I've been trying various combination for the last few hours to no avail.

There are effectively 1000 different combinations that I can try (10 x 10 x 10), if I can at least find out ONE number, then there is only 100 combinations to try. Finite math does come in handy! At the end, I decided to use brute force and semi-break it. I got it opened, and after tinkering with it a bit, I figured out the combination I used, and I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THAT NUMBER CAME FROM!!! Anyways, I got my hookah out so I'm happy. AND the case still works...with the combo ;) I definitely remember the number now!

~Ci

Never Once

Never once turned around
As I walked away from you
Never once turned around
I knew it was through
Never once turned around
If you only knew
Never once turned around
That the desire burns in me too
Never once turned around
You didn't have a clue
Never once turned around
That my heart was breaking in two
Never once turned around
Something I couldn't do
Never once turned around
I'd have run back to you


Sad...but sweet at the same time...
~Ci

My Idiotness with Car Keys

Ok - I don't know what is the matter with me, but lately I've been an absolute IDIOT with car keys.

I locked the U-Haul keys a couple of days ago and now my rental!! My next car will be idiot proof in the sense that you can't lock the keys in the car. So now...Geico to the rescue...AGAIN. I'm glad I got the unlimited roadside assistance option.

~Ci

BlackBerry Enterprise Security Email Go Around

I should share this before I forget.

Last time I mentioned how I got around adding my personal email to the BlackBerry 8310 (trick is to do it before Enterprise Activation), but I found out that after activation, I couldn't reply to personal emails although I was still able to receive them. Well today I discovered a way to "respond", effectively maneuvering around the so called IT security thing.

Once you open up your i.e. gmail message, instead of hitting "reply", you must use the "forward" function instead. Yes, you will have to input the email address again, but you can type your message like you normally would. This route gives you the "send" option, whereas if you hit "reply", it doesn't give you the "send" option after you're done - only "save draft". I was pretty excited when I discovered this!

***********UPDATE************

If you hit "forward", the phone uses your enterprise email...so if you don't want that to happen and let the recepient know your biz email, or if you don't want your company to be able to track your personal emails...I suggest you not do the forwarding trick...I just realized it a few days ago :o

~Ci

Another "About Me" thing...

1. Where did your last kiss take place? On my lips
2. Who knows a secret or two about you? A lot of strangers who don't know me...and vice versa.
3. Four words to explain why you last threw up? It's my par tay...
4. Have you ever burned yourself? Yes, both metaphorically (whathisface) and literally (cooking)
5. What is crazy to you? Love at first sight
6. Favorite cuss word? Fut.
7. Who is probably talking a load of crap about you right now? No one, I'm an angel :p
8. Who is your hero? My dad, who tells me to grow up...
9. Would you ever want to be a supermodel? I'm content with just being Super!
10. Who is the most experimental person you know? Err...me.
11. Do you tell white lies? Only to white people.
12. When is your next party? My birthday...in a U-haul!
13. Who do you want to be with right now? The person who wants to be with me as well...
14 Do you scratch when and where you want to scratch? My legs...so dry from this cold weather!
15. How do you handle a break up? I go live in a different country - oh wait, that's HOW I break up :p
16. Your motivation for tomorrow? My new job!
17. Do you know what you will wear tomorrow? Something warm...brrrr!!
18. Last person to make you laugh? My dad - he told me he'd support me if I came home.
19. Last thing you ate? Tortellini with mushrooms, tomatoes, red peppers in a cream sauce.
20. Do you ever go a few days without changing your underwear? No, I just go without.
21. Have you ever accidentally eaten an insect? Eww...yes. I will be forever traumatized.
22. Do daddy long legs freak you out? YES.
23. Have you ever cleaned up someone elses vomit? No.
24. Have you ever dropped food on the floor and eaten it? Did it land face up or down?
25. Do you kiss your pets on the mouth? Yes :p
26. Do you talk baby talk? Only to babies - age is not a factor.
27. What serial killer do you find most disturbing? Ugh...Robert Pickton!!!!
28. Do you watch court tv? No.
29. Would you ever work in a retirement home? Yes. I have.
30. Do you believe plants have feelings? Yes. Venus Fly Trap feels hunger I believe.
31. Do you laugh at people with bowl haircuts? Hahaha...um...
32. Do you have nervous twitches? No
33. Are you ever purposely irritating? Yes :)
34. If you could fly, where would you go first? Jupiter
35. Do you prefer boats or planes? Planes...faster to run away in.
36. Love or lust? Amour.
37. One best friend or 10 aquaintances? One BFF please
38. Favorite food? Too difficult.
39. Do you believe that your first love never dies? Everyone dies.
40. What upcoming event are you waiting and ready for? Retirement.
41. Current smell? Jasmine
42. Do you get your nails done? Nope...mine are naturally beautiful
43. Most favorite person? Don't have a favourite
44. What was the last thing you ordered at McDonalds? Coffee
45. Are you an emotional person? No
46. Do you like your name? Yes...if they say it right.
47. Do you have plans this weekend? Roadtrip!
48. Do you work? Yep...and I actually like what I'm doing!!!
49. Do you dance naked in your room? All the time.
50. When did your last relationship end? Thanksgiving of last year.
51. What are you listening to right now? Erykah Badu
52. Biggest fear? Fear
53. If you can remove one emotion from romance, what would it be? Jealousy
54. Favorite place to be? Greece...at the moment. Still lots to see!
55. What are you wearing right now? Pjs
56. Are your toes painted? Yep, red.
57. Does anyone hate you? My best friend, but I think she was only kidding when she said it.
58. How many people do you trust fully? No one.
59. Did you have fun doing this? Meh.
60. Are you thinking of someone right now? Yes.

Chinese Rice Pudding

tNow I don't usually write about my parents...it just isn't that cool. But what can I say, I love them. They called me after learning that I was sick, from my little brother (Facebook status). I was kinda touched. I was even more touched when my dad said that if I was not happy that I should go home and he will support me. No jokes - not really, it was his second time offering. LMAO. I had to break it to him that he cannot afford to support my lifestyle. He said that I should start eating Chinese rice pudding to save him money. Now you know where I get my sense of humour from.

Minneapolis...meet Ciara

Flying over Lake Michigan with a slight turbulence because of the low riding winds, kind of gave me flashbacks on Lost. Except I'm sure if that were to happen, we'd be stranded on a really really cold place. No palm trees and beaches - IF we made it onto the island. The more likely alternative is to freeze in the water first.

Anyhow, driving to downtown Minneapolis from the airport took me all of 15 minutes. It was great. I like the city so far except for the cold. I did not know it could get that cold here - it felt like I was in Montreal, Alaska and maybe even the North Pole!

My first day at work at Best Buy was absolutely crazy. My Outlook has never been so jam packed with meetings. All my projects revolves around building online capabilities within the Mobile division to enhance the customer shopping experience. In fact...I only found out today that I was switched to the Online team, I was originally supposed to be working on projects that dealt with the In-store shopping experience as opposed to Online. But hey, I'm not complaining :) - everyone seems really cool. The day went crazier when my manager had to leave for an emergency and I was left to attend a meeting by myself. I don't even know what I'll be doing yet!!!! It was quite the day.

I hate packing...and my Red River adventure

I really really hate it. You never realize how much you have until you have to stuff them in big brown boxes...then the boxes pile up and up and...I still have to disassemble my furniture. Fut. I should've hired packers - but I feel so silly with so little stuff for the "professionals".

Back to packing...*sigh*

~~~~~~~Update~~~~~~~~

So...we went to Cowboys Red River last night - my first country dancing bar. LMAO. Wow. I wish I had brought my camera!!! It was definitely a sight to see and glad that I went just for the experience. They had live country music, poker and crabs tables, a center bar console with dancers, a circle "board walk" around the center bar where people dance around on, one of those rodeo horse thingies and pool tables. Cowboys everywhere! Definitely the midwest here. My experience of Texas has just been completed. Now I'm ready to go :p

In a nutshell...in no particular order

1. Minneapolis might actually be cheaper than Dallas believe it or not! I like how utilities are included...but parking is extra. Darnit.

2. Took a break from all this moving stuff ... saw the Giants defeat the Pats during the Superbowl. Yea Giants! I have never seen people so enthralled with commercials. It is definitely an advertiser's heaven...if only it didn't cost so much! Best commercial of the game...Pepsi, though the Audi one was pretty kickass too. Dumbest...SalesGenie.com - which makes it pretty good since I remember it...

3. Still on Season 2 of Lost...gotta catch up, but work gets in the way.

4. I've been pretty scatterbrained lately...hope it's not the old age kicking in.

Like the Wind

Well, I received good news and bad news last night. Good news is that I got the Consultant position in Best Buy. Bad news is that I am expected to move my life to Minneapolis in two weeks (well ONE, but my new boss was able to negotiate two weeks).

I don't know anyone who has been through three moves in six months. Memphis, Dallas and now Minneapolis. I am not looking forward to apartment hunting again...making new friends again...that whole process of "settling down" again. Truth be told...I am kind of sad to leave Dallas. But I am excited to leave as well...here's what I read about Minneapolis...aka. The The Twin Cities.

Things that stood out for me:

...fifteenth largest metropolitan area in the US, with about 3.5 million residents.

...has twenty lakes and wetlands, the Mississippi riverfront, creeks and waterfalls, many connected by parkways in the Chain of Lakes and the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway.

...ranked the most literate [city] in the US in 2007. A diverse population, the community has a long tradition of charitable support through progressive public social programs and through private and corporate philantrophy.

...the "Top Tech City" in the U.S. The Twin Cities ranked the country's second best city in a 2006 Kiplinger's poll of Smart Places to Live and Minneapolis was one of the Seven Cool Cities for young professionals.

...average annual temperature of 45.4 °F (7 °C) gives the Minneapolis–St.Paul metropolitan area the coldest annual mean temperature of any major metropolitan area in the US.

...second only to New York City in live theater per capita and is the third-largest theater market in the U.S.

...stronghold for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party (DFL), an affiliate of the Democratic Party.

Seven miles (11 km) of enclosed pedestrian bridges called skyways link eighty city blocks downtown.



Sounds and looks like Toronto (cept for the CN Tower), only smaller :p Guess it's time to get packing and organizing/canceling things and services...blah.

The Job Test

1. You wake up wanting to go to work
2. You like the people you work with or the company you work for
3. You will still do your job if it only pays half the amount

At the moment...0/3. There are times when you don't know what you want - I do know that I want to move on.

~C

I drink coffee every morning...

Current song: I don't think I'll ever get over you - Colin Hay

So...I am currently sitting in the cabin filled with the smell of burnt popcorn. Yes. I burned popcorn. I am also the type of person who have burned rice as well. If you don't know what that smells like, I suggest you don't start. If you don't know how that is possible, well lets just say I am talented.

The day was super relaxing...Arkansas' hot springs, fresh air, a beautiful sunset. That all ended when the Packers lost to the Giants in OT (second OT in NFL). So now I am sad and drinking hot chocolate and listening to sad songs. I'm going for a nice morning hike tomorrow and watch the sunrise before my long journey back to Big D.

C'mere

Now this weekend was meant to be my "get-away" - a nice and relaxing spa resort in the middle of the mountains surrounded by nothing but nature...in HotSpring, Arkansas (no you did not read wrong)...well it was anything but relaxing today.

I was out the door in my sweats and baseball cap by 7:30am hoping to get into town early to explore. So after cruising at 80-90 miles/hr non-stop for 4 hours...I realized that my clutch has disappeared! So...Geico to the rescue - le tow truck.

In the near distance I see Walmart and I contemplated running across the 6 lane highway to get to it (and a McD's...I haven't eaten anything all day). I figured it was because I had no clutch fluid (I popped the hood and yep...no clutch fluid), but the verdict was either the slave or master cylinder. I'm hoping it's the slave.

Glen (tow truck driver) said no dealership will work on the car because it's the weekend. Great. At least if I'm stranded here, it's at a resort. Haha. Turns out the truck driver owns a wreck shop and he offered to fix it for me (after I cried - well not really) IF he can find the parts. He dropped me off at the resort and off I went to my massage appointment. It was a much needed massage.

Glen just called...the car is done and he will pick me up at the resort tomorrow. I will make it back to Big D on time after all (knock on wood). Why am I not excited?

Oh...and the title of this blog? I was listening to Interpol's C'mere when I got stranded...

The Magic of The Game

Warning.....SPOILERS for the book "The Game" by Neil Strauss!
*********************************************************
Now this book - The Game - has been out for awhile, and it was only recently that I picked it up. Well, not really, I downloaded the audio book and listened to it passively while doing other stuff :p. Do these "tactics" by Pick up Artists (aka PUA) really work - Negging (soft insults...you have a nice smile, too bad you have something stuck between your teeth)? Peacocking (doing/wearing something outrageous that gets comments)? Stringing (dangling something that the other person wants but making it just out of her reach)? Punishment (self explanatory)?

It's sad that smart and attractive women would fall for these tricks. This book really shows you a great social phenomenon, the evolution (or perhaps the right word would be regression) of social behaviour/development. The way I see it though...these tricks only works for certain types of women. Women who need men to confirm their self-worth, that they are attractive, smart and so on. The ones who crave attention, the ones who don't know what they want. And... unfortunately, there are a lot of women who fall under those categories.

If you look at it, the typical 'geek' (those who are not as socially adept lets just say), he is usually obsessed with a "system," which is defined by a set of processes. If "A" occurs, do "B" --> If she ignores you (A), neg her (B). Or, if she starts showing interest in another guy (A), punish her by flippantly leaving her pretending you are no longer interested and make her want to get your attention (B). There are many "processes" that the book goes into.

In a nutshell...yes, these pick up tactics will work on some girls. It is a good "one night stand" tactic book, but it does not tell you how to keep the girl. It will help the nerds, geeks or whomever to "break out of their shell", break the ice etc. But if you have nothing else to offer after using the system, once the program ends and there are no more processes to follow, the facade ends and you are alone again.

And yes...players sometimes gets played. You can't win all the time.

So that's my 2cents...

End of Silence

There are very few albums where I like almost all of the songs - Metallica's Black album was one. I recently discovered Red's End of Silence (2003) ... "Breathe Into Me" got me hooked. I then downloaded "Lost"... then finally the whole album. I am going to go buy the album if I can find it, not exactly the most popular band.

Some of the lyrics aren't exactly "deep", but I am so addicted to the melody...

Already Over
Let Go
Lost
Pieces
Break Me Down
Gave It All Away
Breathe Into Me
Hide
Wasting Time
Already Over Pt.2

Yes, it is 4:30am and I am listening to this album. I can't seem to sleep - lately I have been having trouble sleeping, I always seem to wake up at 4am. 4 is a significant number in Chinese, similar to the meaning of 13, except instead of "unlucky", the number 4 is a little more extreme...it means "death". Now I am not a superstitious person at all...but having studied psych in University, the mind is a powerful thing and I am just stressed...and it is all just a cosmic coincidence ;). Now there is a good heading for a poem...Cosmic Coincidence - maybe I'll share...I am ending this posting at 4:44am. Night!

Looks can be deceiving

Imagine meeting an elderly man in his late 40's to mid50's, with disheveled brown hair with specs of white, wrinkled clothes, unshaven. Who do you see?

Certainly not an ex-Executive at Philip Morris, not the CEO of CompUSA. But it was.

2007 - Year of Food Recalls

So for those of us in the F&B (Food and Beverages) Industry...2007 was definitely the year of food recalls. In case any of you (or pets) are still consuming poisonous food...here is a list for you to check http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/archive_2007.html as well as http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/Recall_Case_Archive/index.asp. Lets just say it was not a good year for:

1. Pet Food: National recall of more than 90 brands of popular pet food by Menu Foods due to an unknown cause. My poor dog was a victim of this...luckily he survived *sniff*
2. Ground Beef: Over 21 million pounds of ground beef by Topps Meat Co. The recall started in late-September in response to a New York outbreak of E coli, and ended up being the third largest hamburger recall in USDA history. The recall led the 67-year-old meat processing company to file for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy). I'm surprised they're the only company who went bankrupt this year from massive food recalls
3. Peanut butter: Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recall by ConAgra Foods, due to Salmonella. They recalled products back to 2005...so I guess if you had any of their peanut butter and survived...you were lucky?

Not to mention seafood like salmon, oysters and shrimp. Even chocolate wasn't free from recalls! Be careful what you put into your body people.

It all started with "Hey there - JohnZem"

When I received this rather random text - and the subsequent conversation resulting from it...I had to post it. It is rather entertaining - well for me, not sure about the other end.

JZ: Hey there...-JohnZem
Me: Who is this?
JZ: JohnZem
Me: Don't know you
JZ: Yeah u do
Me: How?
JZ: Mikes friend.
JZ: I came to ur house Halloween
Me: Mike who
JZ: Ur brother dumbass (**why he gotta insult?!)
Me: I didn't have anyone over for halloween uve got the wrong person
Me: My bro's name isn't mike - loser (**means I gotta insult)
JZ: Yeah mike did
JZ: Is this gaby
Me: No - I'm hotter lol. Later
JZ: Who is this then
Me: Out of your league
JZ: Who r u?!
Me: A gorgeous stranger that u will never get to know. Go find that Gaby chick instead
JZ: Gabbys ugly
Me: Then u must've been desperate
JZ: What the hell i'm not even friends with gaby
Me: Then y u msgin her?
JZ: Im just textin everyone cuz I'm bored. Just go away
Me: I already said later - u d one textin dumbass
JZ: F*ck u dush bag c ya later d*cksuck (**Guess he didn't like looking stupid)

So that was that.

Re-energizing my soul

I need a place...where I can climb to the top - somewhere high - to scream at the top of my lungs. I need to fill my soul with new, fresh, clean, positive energy.

It's time to turn dreams into reality. I don't usually write this much, but there's been a lot going on in this crazy yet sane head of mine.