via BetaNews.

Oracle today further revealed its plans for both PeopleSoft and its employees as the two companies continue to integrate. Over the next ten days, Oracle plans to slash as many as 5,000 jobs in an effort to bring the combined workforce down to 50,000.

The cuts will come in both companies, and in a bid to satisfy current PeopleSoft customers, the plan includes keeping more than 90 percent of the existing PeopleSoft development and support staff.

The technical staff will remain onboard at least long enough to give customers release 8.9 of the PeopleSoft product, and a version 9.0 upgrade.

I am really sorry, I couldn’t post anything the last days, I’m simply too busy. The things are going ahead efficiently and are in time. I will have a lot to relate :-)

Have a good time!

Not really “new” but as a reminder, Skype launched on 5th of January a new version (v1.1.0.61) of its great tool.

Version 1.1 introduces the new multi-person Chat feature and new visual enchancements.

My last extensive post about Skype.

On 27th December 2004, I received my new gadget / smartphone / Nokia 7760. After some days of intensive usage, my first opinion about it.

Description

This model is similar to Nokia 7610 but differs in preset applications and a more strict design for business users.

Nokia’s website about the 6670.

List of features

• eGSM900/1800/1900
• Battery life: talk time up to 3 hours, standby time up to 250 hours
• Full charging time 1.5 hours
• High-contrast graphic display shows 65000 colors (TFT) and has the resolution of 176×208 pixels, 35х41 mm, not a touchscreen
• Navi key has 5 positions
• Symbian OS version 7.0s
• Megapixel camera – max resolution is 1152 x 864 pixels, recording 3GP clips with sound (Sub QCIF or QCIF) with the duration of up to 10 minutes. A possibility to edit photos and video. Night mode
• Weight: 118 g
• Memory: 8 MB of memory are shared dynamically between the phone book, a calendar, messages, images and applications, RS-MMC cards expansion connector (64 MB card in a standard kit) A possibility to assign a photo to a name in the phone book
• Vibrating alert, polyphonic call melodies, True Tones
• Loud speaker
• Connectivity: WAP 2.0, Bluetooth, GPRS (4+2), synchronization with PC via Bluetooth or IrDA, SyncML, SMIL, Instant Messaging, MMS
• Dictaphone
• mp3 player

Size compared to the Nokia 6610i

I installed on Friday the first beta of Microsoft AntiSpyware v1.0. Seems to work well and stable, very good user-interface. Very extensive advanced possibilities too. By me, AntiSpyware detected 7 more spywares as ad-aware. Let’s see on the long-run.

Windows AntiSpyware is a security technology that helps protect Windows users from spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Known spyware on your PC can be detected and removed. This helps reduce negative effects caused by spyware including slow PC performance, annoying pop-up ads, unwanted changes to Internet settings, and unauthorized use of your private information. Continuous protection improves Internet browsing safety by guarding over 50 ways spyware can enter your PC.

A new version (v1.32) of Adobe Reader Speed-up is available.

Adobe Reader Speed-Up significantly decreases the amount of time required for Adobe Reader to start by disabling most of the least used plugins. Plugins can be freely enabled and disabled, if required.

This morning, as the weather was quite bad (exceptionally warm for January, about 12°C, but cloudy and rainy), we went to the Cassiopeia Therm of Badenweiler in Germany, about 50 km from where we are living. Wow, that was really helpful for me with all this good stress and pressure in the last time :-) Also very funny with our kid.

Badenweiler

Situtated in the southernmost region of Germany, protected by the Black Forest and Vogesen region, a unique cultural landscape has emerged, whose silvery light brings back memories of Tuscany. Rolling hills, beautiful vineyards, and the Black Forest with its dark contrasts, and in the middle of it all, the enchanting Badenweiler. A paradise where you can replenish your energy and relax.

The Cassiopeia therm

From Seth Godin and its Bootstrapper’s Bible:

Bootstrapper’s manifesto

I have initiative and insight and guts, but not much money. I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-funded competitors. I am fearless. I keep my focus on growing the business—not on politics, career advancement, or other wasteful distractions.

I will leverage my skills to become the key to every department of my company, yet realize that hiring experts can be the secret to my success. I will be a fervent and intelligent user of technology, to conserve my two most precious assets: time and money.

My secret weapon is knowing how to cut through bureaucracy. My size makes me faster and more nimble than any company could ever be.

I pledge to know more about my field than anyone else. I will read and learn and teach. My greatest asset is the value I can add to my clients through my efforts.

I realize that treating people well on the way up will make it nicer for me on the way back down.

I am a salesperson. Sooner or later, my income will depend on sales, and those sales can be made only by me, not by an emissary, not by a rep.

I will measure what I do, and won’t lie about it to myself or my spouse. I will set strict financial goals and honestly evaluate my performance. I’ll set limits on time and money and won’t exceed either.

Most of all, I’ll remember that the journey is the reward. I will learn and grow and enjoy every single day.

[via Loic]

Interesting information about the blogs’ usage in the US from Pew Internet and American Life Project.

The state of blogging

By the end of 2004 blogs had established themselves as a key part of online culture. Two surveys by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in November established new contours for the blogosphere: 8 million American adults say they have created blogs; blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of internet users; 5% of internet users say they use RSS aggregators or XML readers to get the news and other information delivered from blogs and content-rich Web sites as it is posted online; and 12% of internet users have posted comments or other material on blogs. Still, 62% of internet users do not know what a blog is.

Report also available as PDF.

Ok, it was time for me to upgrade my PC at home. The last one crashed twice: HDD and power supply. It was also definitely too old (AMD 1700+ with a Voodoo2!!). You know, Doom3 is waiting for me :-)

So, after some analysis, I decided myself for the below described configuration. I hope I was not too bad, considering the optimum “price-power” solution. And, for sure, the fact that I like to play video games. Who is laughing? Not a joke, I really like, and for years. I got a Philips video-game first, then a Commodore 64. Then, the first PCs, following the launches of the Doom and Quake versions. Remember?

Configuration

Before

After

Rome – Total War Demo

[click pictures to enlarge]

Doom3 Demo

[click pictures to enlarge]

Installing this f***g Serial-ATA drive was really damned boring under WinXP, which is not supporting this directly. You need to install special drivers during the install of WinXP. To do that, you need a … floppy drive!! I had to cannibalize a very old PC. Who is still using a floppy drive? Pfuuuu. This process was crazy :-(

I will publish some tests of my new machine in the coming days.