So I got an email from Microsoft about renewing as a registered developer. Copy the link over to a PC so I can do it on IE since I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a few bits which are PC/IE specific. The web page says log in with the LiveID used for the account. Mmmm. I never used a LiveID to register. Strange. Maybe they made one for me. So I enter my email address and what I think it my password. Nope. “Either the email address or password are wrong” How helpful. So I go through…

We’re not fans of producing work on spec or for free. We’re not the only ones, Spec Watch is a site exposing the dark side of crowdsourcing design. In general you get what you pay for. Follow Spec Watch on Twitter.

Paul Graham writes on the Maker/Manager Schedule differences. It’s a good read and very true from my experience. At the start of my professional career I was a Research Scientist (Maker) eventually I was “promoted” to Department Head (Manager). I left the corporate world in 2004 and now write code more or less full time (Maker). Guess which I prefer.

The three things you need to know about consumers. They’re:

According to this article, Sichuan Sinomanic Technology LLC in Chengdu have developed a MIPS based PC that will sell for RMB1000. This is admirable and I wish them lots of luck. The ComputerWorld article says the PC is based on a chip from Raza but another article from Pacific Epoch (translating from qq.com) says it is based on the Dragon (also MIPS). Time and a screwdriver will tell. I would guess it is based on the Raza Alchemy family. If so, it could also be a DVD player and IP STB - which would be pretty cool.

Lexical analysis of recent keynotes from SteveJ, BillG and MikeyD.

The audited 2005 financial statements for the Mozilla foundation are online. Income from search kick-backs was USD 50 M. Profits after tax where about USD 26 M. Wonder if any of this money will find its way back to the unpaid volunteers… See also Mitchell’s blog.