Michael Sharman over at the Chapter 31 blog has a nice post on working with ColdFusion UUID's and MSSQL.  One of his functions to create a uuid uses the newid() function twice to generate a ColdFusion compatible UUID.  While it may work, each call to the newid() generates a new ms uuid.  I had created a similar function for Oracle awhile back so I whipped up a quick MSSQL user defined function to provide the same result.

The below custom function, which uses the same string concat function from Michael's blog entry is a little cleaner in that it only creates one ms uuid and then creates the cf uuid from that.

The Function

CREATE FUNCTION dbo.cfuuid(@msID varchar(36))
RETURNS varchar(35)
AS
BEGIN
                      DECLARE @myCFID varchar(35)
 SET @myCFID = left(@msID, 23) + right(@msID,12)
 RETURN @MyCFID
END

To call it;

select dbo.cfuuid(newid()) as myid

I just upgraded my Symantec Internet Security Suite to 2007 and while I've usually been happy with Norton products, their anti-phising "Norton Confidential Browser Helper" is just awful UI design.  Their in-your-face approach to the big fat green button stating that browser protection is on is so distracting that it interferes with my being able to enjoy websites.  Not only that, but the new bar takes up more of my valuable screen real estate.  Norton could have done a better job in minimizing the bar.  For now I'll revert to Microsoft's built-in phising detection in IE 7 which is considerably less intrusive.

Microsoft's attack of open source really shines through on their recent agreement with Novell on SUSE Linux.  As the article puts it , "it's Microsoft's indication to Linux customers that the IP axe still hangs over customers who choose a brand other than Novell".  Microsoft has brought their "chosen" version of Linux into the fold while demonizing the rest.    I do suggest that you read Groklaw's view on the agreement which provides a different angle from the typical press release spin.

Unfortunately in such a litigious society, it's a safe route that corporations can follow.  The current software patent system, such as the ability to patent a process, stifles creativity and innovation, as well as limits the choices that corporations make in deciding which software to implement.  The coffers of the FSF are not endless and the legal expenses are high in defending something that is essentially free.  Here's hoping a few landmark cases such as the SCO lawsuit end up with clear rulings supporting open source software.

Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" pretty much sums up how I feel about the upcoming release of Microsoft Vista.  While the choice made in the poem isn't certain if it was a good or bad choice, Vista is the fork in the road where I'll be choosing a different path as others  have already done.  I'm just not happy with Microsoft's new licensing strategy as well as Microsoft 's restrictive DRM features (Apple isn't much better).

Excerpt from "The Road Not Taken"

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost  (1874 - 1963)

Ubuntu made the decision for me.  I've played with Open Office and GIMP before, but the seamless install of Ubuntu with these applications is a no-brainer.  Ubuntu should make any startup business think twice before investing huge bucks in a Microsoft installation.

I've switched OS's before and I'm not opposed to switching again.  I used to be an "Apple" Bigot and ended up switching over to Microsoft due to work demands.    My current development skills are not significantly tied to the Microsoft platform and Adobe's support of the Linux environment for Flash, Flex, and ColdFusion along with a great development platform such as Eclipse, makes it that much easier.

I'm currently using Windows Media Center XP as my main system and it's doing the job quite nicely for now.  I plan on staying with my current main system awhile longer, most likely until Microsoft stops supporting it, then I'll probably start using Ubuntu as my main OS (other than in a VMWare session) and if the hardware isn't up to my current need for the latest and greatest, get a new system and push the current system onto the obsolescence queue, waiting for its' eventual demise of being handed off to a relative or becoming E-Waste. 

Microsoft is trying to tap into the social networking scene with the spin-off of Wallop, formerly one of Microsoft's research sandboxes.  The difference between MySpace and Wallop is that there will be no advertising on Wallop.  Wallop's business model will be based on the sale of  items that personalize the users space.  What will interest most developers is that these items will be coded in Flash.

But can Microsoft catch up?  MySpace has a huge lead with advertising and is fairly easy to use.  Second Life, another competitor in the social networking arena uses a similar business model, but provides a rich scriptable 3D world.  Even MMORPG's such as Blizzard's World of WarCraft vie for a piece of the social networking pie.   I think we're getting close to the point of there being no more new customers for social networking, just stealing existing customers away from the competitors.

The release notes for the beta  release of Windows Media Player 11 indicate that the DRM policy will be considerable tighter, most notably is the inability of moving your DRM'd media "Licenses" from computer to computer.   

Now I've been involved enough in computers to have had a hard drive crash on me once in awhile, not to mention upgrading my systems over the years.   According to the notes, there will also be a "limited" number of times of license recovery when burning copy protected music which is similar to Apple's Fairplay CD burning limitations.  Consider the fact Vista will require better hardware for many of us, so what you buy now, you may not be able to put on that new system.

And while it's beta still, there are also issues with the Windows Media Center Edition when you record a protected show off a premium channel not playing after three days.  So much for time shifting.  I guess I'll just have to cancel HBO and Showtime every time I go on vacation since it's useless paying for something I can't record and watch at a later date.

I'm not happy about the fact that If I choose to buy widows media player 11 DRM'd content that there may be issues on moving that content to the new system or a larger hard drive, such as Microsoft  Vista requiring bigger and better hardware.  I'm sure all the content producers would love a continual re-investment of media, but I don't see that happening when many of us have a significant investment in media and will choose to not upgrade to the latest and greatest software.

For one, I will not be buying any DRM'd media content if I can't be guaranteed that I'll be able to transfer that content to a new system, and not just for a limited number of times either, it has to be in perpetuity.

CNet reported that Paul Mockapetris, the inventor of DNS believes that Windows Vista will cause some DNS servers to overload because Vista will perform an IPv6 lookup first, followed by an IPv4 lookup.  CNet also reported that Vista will be the first windows OS to include IPv6, which is only partially correct, Vista is the first windows OS to have IPv6 initially activated. 

The IPv6 stack has been included in every version of Windows XP Home Edition and Professional since October 2001, it just hasn't been installed.  To install the IPv6 stack you have to bring up the command prompt and type "IPv6 install".

I haven't installed the stack personally, primarily since what I access is still IPv4.  I am intrigued that IPv6 is supposed to eliminate the need for NAT but I have concerns on how the new stack will interact with my existing do-all broadband hardware router/firewall/DCHP/NAT box, so I'll need to test the setup on a spare system to see how it fits with my current home network.  Oh eventually, I'll be forced to jump on the hardware/software upgrade carousel again, but for now, good ol' IPv4 will do just fine.