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Of interest: Bill Gates calls for “creative capitalism” in Davos

Today in the Journal, Robert Guth reports that Bill Gates called for a revision of capitalism at the World Economic Forum 2008 in Davos, Switzerland, what Bill referred to as “creative capitalism” in his speech today…

“In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the software tycoon plans to call for a “creative capitalism” that uses market forces to address poor-country needs that he feels are being ignored…

“Three weeks ago, on a flight home from a New Zealand vacation, Mr. Gates took out a yellow pad of paper and listed ideas about why capitalism, while so good for so many, is failing much of the world. He refined those thoughts into the speech he will give today at the annual Davos conference of world leaders in business, politics and nonprofit organizations.

“Among the fixes he plans to call for: Companies should create businesses that focus on building products and services for the poor. “Such a system would have a twin mission: making profits and also improving lives for those who don’t fully benefit from market forces,” he plans to say.”

Amazing what insights can bubble up on the way home from a family vacation.

Bill said…

“This week’s Economist had a section on corporate responsibility, and it put the problem very nicely. It said it’s the interaction between a company’s principles and its commercial competence that shape the kind of business it will be.

“The challenge here is to design a system where market incentives, including profits and recognition, drive those principles to do more for the poor.

“I like to call this idea creative capitalism, an approach where governments, businesses, and nonprofits work together to stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or gain recognition, doing work that eases the world’s inequities.”

Bill also spoke about how the RED Campaign started off in Davos a couple of years ago, stemming from a late-night talk with rocker Bono.  As Bill said, if you allow consumers to associate with a cause they feel passionately about –while buying a great product — they will.

Again, the full speech from Davos can be found on the Microsoft site here, titled “A New Approach to Capitalism in the 21st Century”

Also of interest: Video of The Journal’s Rob Guth interview with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. (Jan. 23, 2008) 

Tags: Bill Gates, Davos, charity, How to, RED.

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What I’ve read this week (through 011508)

Off to a quick lunch, but first a posting of some of the articles in my reading pile, courtesy of del.icio.us. Keep in mind that many of the descriptions are taken directly from the articles.

Macworld 2008 coverage (CNET News) – By CNET staff, 1/15/2008 — “Macworld 2008 is under way, and CNET’s fleet of editors is blogging the keynote, scouring the show floor, and digging up the best and most novel Apple announcements, gadgets, hardware, and software coming from Macworld 2008.”

More info on the Apple Stores… saved by 25 other people …

More info on Windows Vista Team Blog : Windows Vista Power Management

Live from Macworld 2008: Steve Jobs keynote – Engadget… saved by 164 other people

Hardware hack: Silence Your Xbox 360 with a New Fan (lifehacker) – I’m not clear if such a mod will get you banned on Xbox Live, but here ExtremeTech walks through how to replace the stock fan unit on an this Xbox 360 (which they say “screams like a 747”) with a whisper quiet, $25 alternative. 

Related: Want to know how the Xbox 360 is assembled? Then see this slideshow on CNET News for a look at the insides of the new Xbox 360 Elite: this slide link includes a look at the fan location and mounting.

Mark my words, Sony may well regret its victory in the video disc war – Times Online – “Sony faces a paradox: the impending success of Blu-ray could be bad news for the company because it will distract it from the real task of developing digital download systems. Blu-ray might well turn out to be the worst thing that ever happened…

What’s Your Pick for the Best and Weirdest of C.E.S.? – Bits – Technology – New York Times Blog

HD DVDs Fall Like Dominoes – Bits – Technology – New York Times Blog – By Saul Hansell — Nothing has been announced, but Variety is reporting that the last two major studios backing HD DVD — NBC Universal and Paramount — are opening the door for a switch to Blu-ray.

DVD Movies With an iTunes Copy: Worth More? – Bits – Technology – New York Times Blog – More interestingly perhaps, the studios are hoping to create “premium” versions of DVDs that include a copy of the movie that can easily be put on an iPod (and presumably a laptop with iTunes or an Apple TV).

Melinda Gates goes public – Jan. 7, 2008 (Fortune) … about living with Bill, working with Warren Buffett, and giving away their billions. By Patricia Sellers, editor at large… saved by 13 other people

Screenshot Tour: Early Look at Office Live Workspace Beta – Office Live is, at the moment, only worth your time if you prefer to edit words, spreadsheets, and other documents in Microsoft’s Office products…. saved by 9 other people

Featured Windows Download: Automatically Remove Ads from Recorded TV with Lifextender – Free, open source Vista application and Media Center plugin Lifextender removes commercials from Windows Media Center-recorded TV shows, cutting the average 30 minute show down to around 22 minutes… saved by 35 other people …

Microsoft enters the interactive TV market with DVR Anywhere – DMNews – “Microsoft Mediaroom Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and multimedia platform. With DVR Anywhere, viewers can watch recorded programs from multiple TVs in the home while simultaneously recording other shows.

RIAA chief says ripping okay, Sony BMG lawyer “misspoke” during Jammie Thomas trial – Engadget – Posted Jan 4th 2008 6:59PM by Nilay Patel

Newegg.com – Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive – An additional HDD for your new HP Home Server EX470 or EX475

Conspicuous by its absence, Vista is a no-show at CES – Sharon Fisher and Scott M. Fulton, III — January 10, 2008 — One of the consumer electronics industry’s biggest brands has had an ever-diminishing presence at CES, and the trend continued this year. It’s Windows, which this year moved from the backseat…

Home Server Hacks: Upgrade the Memory in your HP EX470 or EX475 – HP claims that the RAM can not be upgraded, but that just isn’t so. The HP EX470/475 contains a single 512 MB stick of PC2 – 5300 667MHz memory.

The Gap In Google’s Defenses (Forbes.com) – Sramana Mitra 01.11.08 — “Google is powerful, with 64.5% of all U.S. searches (as of Oct. 27) and 79% of the click ad market. But is Google invincible? I’ve laid out Google’s strengths and weaknesses.”

FiOS tops satisfaction survey; worth moving for? (arstechnica) – In Consumer Reports, Verizon’s fiber optic FiOS service was rated best of breed, and the FiOS television service trumped all comers, including DirecTV, AT&T, Comcast, and Time Warner. By Nate Anderson, January 10, 2008

Analysis: Will streaming HD movies bypass Blu-ray? (betanews) – by Scott M. Fulton, III, January 10, 2008 — It may not be exactly possible for high-definition discs to pick up where their lofty goals of 2005 left off. Transmission technology has evolved very rapidly during that time…

New Year’s Resolutions for Web 2.0 (businessweek) – There will be lots to watch in 2008, as Web sites struggle to turn a profit. The fallout won’t be pretty, written by Sarah Lacy

Sony’s Blu-Ray Breakthrough businessweek – Jan 8, 2008 — Warner Bros.’ decision to back the format makes buying a PS3 less of a gamble for gamers—and promises licensing fees in the future by Kenji Hall

Oops, I Screwed Up My Negotiations (businessweek)  — January 10, 2008, — “Can I tell my boss of three months that I didn’t ask for enough money or the correct title when I agreed to take the job?” by Liz Ryan

Bringing Passion to Starbucks, Travelocity (businessweek) — Jan 9, 2008 — Two companies are trying to take employee engagement and customer service to new levels. Your small business can learn a lot from them, by Carmine Gallo

Five Mobile Trends for 2008 (businessweek)  Jan 9, 2008 – Among them: wireless carriers sharing networks and pushing data services, and the release of more multimedia devices like the iPhone, by Natasha Lomas

So You Want to Publish That Novel (businessweek) January 9, 2008 — Blurb lets you create any sort of book—even one with photos—for as little as $20, by Stephen H. Wildstrom

Kitchen Timesavers That Speed Up Dinner (lifehacker) – To help you plan, prep, and cook better food, I’ve put together some of my favorite food and kitchen hacks, from the nuts and bolts (like faster tomato de-seeding) to bigger organizational tips… saved by 301 other people

PCMag.com’s CES 2008 Photo Blog – News and Analysis by PC Magazine — PC Magazine’s slideshow of the sights and technology on display at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. by Kyle Monson, Lance Ulanoff, Cisco Cheng, Sascha Segan, Craig Ellison, Brian Heater, Dan Costa and Chloe Albanesius

The Bill Gates Exit Strategy BS – Columns by PC Magazine — The idea that Bill Gates is going to run that foundation of his full-time is a joke. by John C. Dvorak

Watch Full-Length TV Online with Fancast — Fancast goes “well beyond simple video streaming by integrating movies and other services into the site…” directing you ecommerce sites to buy a DVD, rentals or to buy tickets (if what you searched is still in theaters)… saved by 64 other people

Best Buy’s Anderson “Nervous” About US DTV Changeover : Dealerscope Today — A little over a year before analog television signals are turned off, the CEO of America’s largest CE retail chain admits that he is “very nervous” about the transition, especially the enormity of supplying customers with converter boxes.

Identity Theft Protection — By Internet Infrastructure Features Staff — A variety of services are available to consumers for identity protection and remediation, but the most effective solutions lie elsewhere. Even if you’re careful, you can still be a victim of identity theft.

Dell Unveils Curved Gaming Monitor — PCs — InformationWeek — The monitor has a resolution of 2,880 by 900 pixels, which is the equivalent of two 24-inch monitors. By Antone Gonsalves InformationWeek January 8, 2008 06:39 PM

Microsoft’s ‘Extender’ for Vista and HDTV reaches reality by Jacqueline Emigh, January 7, 2008 — Microsoft’s Extender for Windows Media Center isn’t altogether new. But the extender products announced at CES 2008 — from Samsung, HP, Linksys, and others — are a different kettle of fish due to their use of Vista…

Seat entertainment system crash on (Les’s space) “Yes, you read that right: I was on an airplane that crashed. Well, OK, the *whole* plane didn’t crash, just the Linux based seatback entertainment system. (But I had you going for an instant, didn’t I??)”

PC Magazine’s Show Coverage of CES 2008 – News, Reviews, Gadgets and more from International CES 2008

Canon’s Nine New SD Camcorders Smack Sony (PC Magazine) — Canon added to its camcorder line today with the announcement of 9 more SD offerings. Broken up into 3 categories, flash drives, and MiniDV, Canon has updated it own line of recorders and fired back at Sony’s 16 new offerings they announced yesterday.

Tags: misc, articles, what I read.

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Forget Y2K, DST and Time Zones: this weekend, it’s the Y2.038K bug

This weekend will mark another interesting milestone in Time and Date, oone that actually doesn’t occur for thirty more years, in 2038.  

Also known as the ‘Friday the 13th’ bug, the 2038 issue is due to the way 32-bit systems note time in seconds rather than by an actual coded date.  The full impact will be felt on January 19, 2038, when systems many not work accurately, or even crash.  The initial wave of the challenge would likely impact customers in the financial sector, particularly those with (pardon the pun) an interest in long term products (mortgages, investments, bonds) with maturity dates post Jan 19, 2038.  But those with longer maturity instruments would’ve seen an impact years ago.

As this involves dates and times, Wyn asked today about this impact, as this smacked of an issue similar to what we saw last year with the various DST and time zone changes around the world… 


“I have not found too much on this and I am not sure if anything is know or being done to avoid the problem…”


Good question.  I asked several of our product groups if any of our products will be impacted by the date.

A nod of thanks to Geoff for noting this MSDN article from way back in 1998, “All Ready for 2000 and the Euro? What About 2038?” (September 7, 1998).  If Y2K did anything for the industry, it was to spur an analysis of any date and time issues that could impact the operating system and software products…



First it was Y2K. Then the Euro conversion. And now, as if the Y2K and Euro problems weren’t bad enough, there’s the year 2038 bug. Dr. GUI got a letter from Mahmoud Saleh alerting him (reminding him, actually) of a similar problem that will face C and C++ programmers in coming years: we can call it the Y2.038K bug.

The problem stems from the common definition of the time_t as an integer containing the number of seconds since midnight, January 1, 1970. Most C/C++ runtime libraries define time_t as a long int. On most systems, long int is 32 bits, which means that we’ve got a range of 2^31-1 (2,147,483,647) seconds—until sometime on January 18, 2038. (Assuming Dr. GUI’s Windows CE Palm-size PC has it right, that’s a Monday. Figures.) When the clock rolls over, it’ll be back to the ’70s for everyone. Get your leisure suits ready ‘cuz you’ll be catching Boogie Fever and Nixon will be President again. Four more years indeed!

Anything that uses time_t is also in trouble. That includes the time_b structure (not commonly used, anyway) and, very unfortunately, the MFC CTime class. Code that uses time_t, directly or indirectly, will need to be changed sometime before you start dealing with dates after 1/18/2038. (Note that if your program deals with, say, 40-year bonds, you’re in trouble today.)


As Geoff pointed out, SYSTEMTIME has no problems and can go until the year 30,827, and FILETIME, a 64-bit integer (two DWORDs representing LOW and HIGH values) since January 1, 1601 (Julian).  It too can represent a 30,000 (or 60,000 unsigned) year interval.  From the MSDN article:


…the Win32 SYSTEMTIME structure… stores the year part of the date as a 16-bit integer, and the Win32 FILETIME structure, which stores the date as the number of 100-nanosecond intervals since 1601. The problem is that neither of these structures have many supporting functions.

Better yet is to use the automation DATE object. DATE is typedef’ed as double, so there are 53 bits of precision—enough for your program’s lifetime. The whole part of the double number represents the number of days since midnight, December 30, 1899. (Negative numbers are before 12/30/1899.) The absolute value of the fractional part represents the time in the day: midnight is zero, noon is 0.5, etc. You can convert the automation DATE objects to other formats with various variant API functions.


Overall, the advice is that if you have custom applications you might want to check to see if they are using C/C++ time_t, which will run out in 2038.  Just as I noted previously on how Windows handles historical events, you might want to check any custom or ‘home-grown’ line of business applications that use time_t.  Looking quickly at Windows, the core OS appears to run just fine with dates far into the future. 

I will have to check one of my old Apple systems at home running (quite reliably, I might add) System 9, which according to Apple, is good up until February 6, 2040; the current Mac OS up until 29,940… Windows will be accurate for an additional 887 years after the latest Mac release fails, but I’m sure Apple will have an update long before 29,940 rolls around. 😉 

(Interesting factoid that stuck in my mind: in the H. G. Wells classic novella, The Time Machine, the hero of the story travels to the year 802,701 A.D.  I’m hopeful in that future, the downfall of mankind will have nothing to do with the failure of the modern OS to cope with dates past the 301st century.)

For more information, please see these articles courtesy of a quick MSDN search. 

Tags: Apple, Microsoft, Vista, Windows, Time, 2038.

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News: Jeff Raikes announces his retirement

In case you’ve been off mail for the last half hour, Reuters just reported that Jeff Raikes, the leader of the business division (including Office, Sharepoint, Exchange software) “and one of [Microsoft’s] longest-serving executives” will retire from the company in September. 


Also see this article in Forbes, Microsoft Announces Retirement and Transition Plan…



“The company also announced that Stephen Elop, formerly chief operating officer (COO) at Juniper Networks Inc., has been hired as president of the Microsoft Business Division. Elop will start at Microsoft at the end of January and assume responsibility for the Information Worker, Microsoft Business Solutions and Unified Communications businesses — all previously led by Raikes.


“Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business, will move to report directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and continue managing the Server and Tools Business. Between now and his retirement, Raikes will continue to serve as a member of the company’s senior leadership team responsible for developing and guiding Microsoft’s core business strategy.”


Seems like Ina answered her own question about what she noted in her post on Sunday (beyond the Fast announcement, that is ;).


More news clips on the move are available here…



  • Microsoft business division head Jeff Raikes to retire; Stephen Elop named as replacement… (AP)


  • Microsoft Says Raikes to Step Down… (Bloomberg)

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    The Bill Gates keynote (with Robbie Bach) and other CES 2008 coverage

    Microsoft at 2008 International CES


    Bloggers and the press are out in force at CES in Las Vegas, tonite covering Bill Gates’ keynote at CES 2008.  You can find several entries listed here.  Check out video coverage at Microsoft’s CES site and on Microsoft PressPass.


    [More on the keynote from MS.com: On Monday, Jan. 7, the transcript from the keynote address will be posted on PressPass, along with an online media kit.  Click here to subscribe to PressPass via RSS.  If you are in Vegas, Microsoft’s booth is 7144 in the Central Hall of the LVCC.]


    So far, it’s just like being in Vegas, but with out the 24-hour flashing neon, long cab and restaurant lines, sleepy booth jockeys and uncomfortable hotels… and all from the comfort of my own home with free broadband access. 


    And much quieter, too.


    Our very own MSN Tech & Gadgets has a dedicated CES page along with the their spaces blog with posts from staff in Vegas (with the first photos of Playboy Bunnies, Hulk Hogan and tasers…;).  Engadget has great coverage on a CES-optimized page for their readers.  Daisuke Wakabayashi at Reuters covered the keynote as did Joseph Menn from the LA Times, and many blogger reports from CES here. 


    [Added 010708: Here’s a good summary of the keynote from first-time Gates keynote attendee Brian Heater on Gearlog.com, which also has CES product coverage.]


    Todd Bishop of the Seattle PI newspaper has an active Microsoft blog and tonite provides an overview of one of the keynote items: partnerships with content providers “including one with NBC to put video of the upcoming Olympics [see below] in Beijing exclusively on Microsoft’s MSN site.” He also notes the deal with MGM Studios to offer movies on Xbox Live Video, as well as with ABC Television, the Disney Channel offering programming from their channels. 


    Marc has a quick synopsis on his blog, and | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com thumbnailMary Jo Foley has a few points on Gates’ last CES keynote, which she said was ‘Long on sales claims, short on futures…’  She also notes here that Microsoft has announced a new sales milestone for Windows Vista: 100 million retail copies sold…



    “The company made the announcement via an article, which includes answers to reader questions by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, published by the BBC on Sunday…”


    Want to ask Bill a question?  You can pose your own questions to Mr. Gates, so to speak, as posted on tech-buzz: Billg invited readers (of the BBC News) “to send him questions about his life and career. This invitation has been extended to readers from all over the world, and the timing could not have been more apt. You can send him questions on his life and career here.” The beeb will select some of the best questions and post the answers courtesy of Billg on their website and via television.


    Also cool is the announcement that our Internet Protocol Television technology (IPTV) ‘Mediaroom’ is on more than a million set-top boxes worldwide. (As Bishop notes, IPTV technology delivers TV signals over phone lines.)  No mention of any new Xbox 360 hardware yet. 


    C’mon… VUDU is listing their new XL for nearly a grand US (which is what, C$99 these days?;) and will debut their new Vudu XL movie vault that will hold “up to 500 full-length SD standard movies.” (Thanks, betanews.)  Surely we’ll see some more great announcements on the Media Center front when it comes to content and home theaters, right?


    Now, back to the keynote: Todd Bishop also sat down and interviewed Billg just before the keynote where…



    “Gates talked about the future of technology and discussed his plans as he prepares to go part time at the company later this year. He also defended Microsoft’s year-old Windows Vista operating system from critics and credited Nintendo’s Wii game console for its approachability — saying he expects Microsoft to “match that and do better.”


    [Note: IMHO, “match that and do better” for starters should equal an Xbox 360 with a much quieter fan and disc drive than I have today in my black Xbox 360 Elite.  Another note: smaller and durable is also a good thing, too: to our boy’s delight, we traveled over the winter break with a Wii in my laptop carry-on bag, which included a laptop as well, power supply in the checked bag.]

    At this year’s keynote, Ian Dixon posted here that Billg and Robbie Bach from E&D covered Vista customers (over 100 million served), Window Live bits, Surface, Silverlight, Xbox Live and Mediaroom (IPTV), Samsung’s new Media Center Extender and how in the UK customers will find the “the Xbox 360 as a IPTV client.” Add to that the numbers game: 10 million members strong on Xbox Live; 17.7 million Xbox 360 consoles sold so far (as x3sphere posted here); and 420 million Windows Live users worldwide. 

    And another number: Gizmodo covers the 3,600 hours of the 2008 Olympic Games on MSN in Silverlight…


    “Bill Gates (and Bob Costas) announced that NBC would broadcast 3,600 hours of games from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics via MSN on the nbcolympics.com site. The video will be both live and on demand, with over 30 simultaneous live broadcasts. The cool thing is that finally, people who love ridiculous games like the hammer toss will get their fix, without upsetting the basketball fans who wouldn’t dare allow for a pre-emption.”


    (Silverlight is a relatively small download: a whopping 2.6 MB which took less than a minute to install on my machine.)


    Engadget thumbnailAs reported on Engadget, Zune will finally say ‘eh’ as it’s soon to be launched in Canada: perhaps I can then find some more Nash the Slash and Jane Siberry on Zune, too.  I hope that they do this before the next general election or no later than Canada Day: friends up north shouldn’t have to endure another Zuneless summer.


    Todd Bishop also offers an edited transcript of the interview in his post — good reading — in addition to coverage of the keynote address here, as Gates came on stage with Slash, lately of of ‘Guitar Hero III’ fame…


    “The night ended with Microsoft executive Robbie Bach challenging Gates to a “Guitar Hero” duel. After Bach brought out a “Guitar Hero” champion to stand in for him on the old Guns N’ Roses tune “Welcome to the Jungle,” Gates said he had a ringer, too: Slash, the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist…”


    Mary Jo also posted that…


    “the only truly futuristic technology that Gates showed during his hour-plus CES appearance was a piece of visual-recognition software under development by Microsoft Research that, some day, may be integrated into cell phones and other devices…

    “I was hoping Gates would pull a Steve Jobs and say at the very end of his remarks, “We have one more thing…” and show off Windows Live “Horizon” or a sneak peek of Windows Mobile 7, or the “Pink and Purple” project’s Zune phone, or — heck, even just a glimpse of “Fiji.”


    Hey, Mary Jo… it’s the early start to a long week.  Give it time. 😉

    For our sons: Engadget provides a video look Guitar Wizard. Our kids are big on Guitar Hero on Xbox, and now the makers of the big hit at our house this Christmas —  I Can Play Guitar from Mattel — have this new teaching tool showing at CES.  Add to this Max is in his first year of real guitar lessons and Music Wizard’s Guitar Wizard looks like a great learning tool.  (More info here.)

    More info:



    Tags: Consumer Electronics Show, Bill Gates, Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft Corp., Gate, Microsoft Windows, CES 2008, Windows Live, Windows XP, Windows Mobile, Zune, Xbox, Xbox Live, Windows 7, Software, Consumer Electronics.