Beware of free in the cloud...

Google has been shuttering all of its cool free toys they built. Remember Google Fast Flip? Google Body?

Google Wave? Eric Schmidt tried to paint the failure of Google Wave as a sign that the company's innovative culture continues to take risks and aim big.

"Our policy is we try things," the Google CEO said, hours after the company announced it washalting development of the complex real-time communication tool. "We celebrate our failures. This is a company where it is absolutely OK to try something that is very hard, have it not be successful, take the learning and apply it to something new."

Makes you wonder when they will decide GMail was a failure as a free service and either shutter it or put a price on it? Or shut down Blogger...

I like what CortexVortex said on SlashDot: "....This tells me that not only will I be using G'Linux / FLOS Software in the near future, and insist on hardware driver source-code, but that "The Cloud" I use must be built from my own servers, or not at all.

I think I'll call my globally accessible private personal network "The Closet"; I suspect many will identify with this terminology in terms of privacy for multiple reasons."

Windows 7 Explorer up button

Windows Explorer in Windows 7 does not have a toolbar! What? Yep, it is replaced by useless buttons like 'Burn' that can't be easily removed.
Found a great solution and it is FREE!
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/index.html
Has all sorts of options, allows a nice directory up button for times when the breadcrumb thing is not really convenient. Besides after having an up button since using Windows 3.0 through windows 95, and XP...in other words over 20 years, I wanted it back and the great Classic Shell makes it available again in in a small convenient package.

Maybe I will get used to the breadcrumb someday, but for now I have my up button and I can reset many other annoying features of Win7.

Here are a few other things classic shell can do:

• Classic Start Menu is a clone of the original start menu, which you can find in all versions of Windows from 95 to Vista.
• Besides the single up button next to the forward and back buttons, you can have your full explorer toolbar back with copy, delete etc buttons.
• Fix the status bar
• Return the copy/overwrite dialog to one that is familiar

and more...

Personal MBA?

As I contemplated 2011 racing by, I wondered if I should go back to school. As I googled around the internet looking at the plethora of MBA programs and other Masters degrees I stumbled across an interesting term: "Personal MBA"

I found it on GenYWealth.com (excellent site by the way)

Which in turn led me to the PersonalMBA.com/manifesto/ and then on to the book: The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

All in all very interesting...I am going to get the book and will post what I think of it.