Had to keep quiet about this for a few days until it was released, but I'm now happy to be able to say that Apprenda has won Albany's Center for Economic Growth's Rising Star award!
14th Annual Technology Awards Luncheon
Thursday, April 29
Thursday, April 22
False pretenses - CEO Bullying II
My attorney believes that the scam/spam marketing emails apparently sent on behalf of CIO Summit may rise to the level of wire fraud - use of false pretenses over electronic communications to obtain ownership of another's property, in this case my money. Michael Price, CEOVentures, consider YOURSELF now on notice.
Wednesday, April 21
Oldie but goodie: narcissistic CEO bully threatens lawsuit
Nearly two and a half years ago I got some spammy, scammy marketing email, and found that I wasn't the only one. I reproduced it on this blog, found others had been similarly spammed, and over the time since have received many communications from other people who have been similarly spammed by these douchehats.
Overnight I got a random email, at my WORK address, (new, private, unpublished) from someone (Michael Price, CEOVentures) claiming to own the email/the domain/the organization, that it's not a scam. I replied, asking the guy to take the email to a non-work point of contact. He responds by CALLING me at the office, then follows up with more email saying that I need to retract my statement, send him notice I've done so, or he will file a lawsuit against -- get this -- not just me, but also my new-ish fulltime employer, who of course has nothing to do with this.
Classy! You fucking bully. Digging up my work email simply speaks to your spammer, scammer tactics. Your bully tactics are reproduced here for other people to laugh at as well. Go buy a clue, jerkoff. Typical sociopath CEO. Next time play chicken with someone who doesn't know the law and isn't willing and able to pay to defend themselves from bullies like yourself. Also, hire someone to educate you on how to market yourself and relate to a community, rather than dig holes for years on end. You're not going to erase the well-ranked Google results describing your asshole, spammer tactics if you keep riling people up with them.
************************************************
Hi Andrew, we are the owners of the CIO Summit which apparently you blogged about in error and the matter was escalated to me. They are definitely real, have hundreds of members, have been around for many years, and as proof I would like share with you recordings of dozens of past meetings with leading CIOs speaking which of course would be impossible to provide if it were the phishing scam you stated.
We demand that you immediately strike the posting which is libelous, defamatory, and needless to say there is significant liability to yourself personally and potentially your past employer Davis Vision where you made the blog posting from etc but let's not go down that route as it is wholly unecessary. I will send the content by separate email (check your spam folder due to all the links) and I will call you Monday morning. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Michael Price
CEO Ventures
770-998-9999
AIM:MFPrice MSN:MFPrice1
MPrice@CEOVentures.com
www.CEOVentures.com
***
My Reply
***
I'm not sure how you got this email, or why you chose to contact me at this email instead of the email link provided on the blog itself, but it certainly doesn't make you look like NOT a scammer when you start pulling <60day old private email addresses out of thin air. Don't bother me about personal matters on a work email address. Have some professionalism and I'd be happy to further consider your case.
***
Michael's reply after I hung up on his bothersome phone call
***
Andrew, I do not see your email at your blog nor do I have your personal phone so I am unable to contact you by alternate means as you asked (and thanks for hanging up on me, first time ever). You and Apprenda (Sinclair et
al) are about a week away from a law suit being filed, I would suggest you take down the defamatory blog posting and verify back when done. It is untrue and we have provided you evidence to the same.
************************************************
Bottom of the page, you lazy, self-important jerk. If you can't figure it out, well ... how'd you get to be CEO anyhow?
Overnight I got a random email, at my WORK address, (new, private, unpublished) from someone (Michael Price, CEOVentures) claiming to own the email/the domain/the organization, that it's not a scam. I replied, asking the guy to take the email to a non-work point of contact. He responds by CALLING me at the office, then follows up with more email saying that I need to retract my statement, send him notice I've done so, or he will file a lawsuit against -- get this -- not just me, but also my new-ish fulltime employer, who of course has nothing to do with this.
Classy! You fucking bully. Digging up my work email simply speaks to your spammer, scammer tactics. Your bully tactics are reproduced here for other people to laugh at as well. Go buy a clue, jerkoff. Typical sociopath CEO. Next time play chicken with someone who doesn't know the law and isn't willing and able to pay to defend themselves from bullies like yourself. Also, hire someone to educate you on how to market yourself and relate to a community, rather than dig holes for years on end. You're not going to erase the well-ranked Google results describing your asshole, spammer tactics if you keep riling people up with them.
************************************************
Hi Andrew, we are the owners of the CIO Summit which apparently you blogged about in error and the matter was escalated to me. They are definitely real, have hundreds of members, have been around for many years, and as proof I would like share with you recordings of dozens of past meetings with leading CIOs speaking which of course would be impossible to provide if it were the phishing scam you stated.
We demand that you immediately strike the posting which is libelous, defamatory, and needless to say there is significant liability to yourself personally and potentially your past employer Davis Vision where you made the blog posting from etc but let's not go down that route as it is wholly unecessary. I will send the content by separate email (check your spam folder due to all the links) and I will call you Monday morning. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Michael Price
CEO Ventures
770-998-9999
AIM:MFPrice MSN:MFPrice1
MPrice@CEOVentures.com
www.CEOVentures.com
***
My Reply
***
I'm not sure how you got this email, or why you chose to contact me at this email instead of the email link provided on the blog itself, but it certainly doesn't make you look like NOT a scammer when you start pulling <60day old private email addresses out of thin air. Don't bother me about personal matters on a work email address. Have some professionalism and I'd be happy to further consider your case.
***
Michael's reply after I hung up on his bothersome phone call
***
Andrew, I do not see your email at your blog nor do I have your personal phone so I am unable to contact you by alternate means as you asked (and thanks for hanging up on me, first time ever). You and Apprenda (Sinclair et
al) are about a week away from a law suit being filed, I would suggest you take down the defamatory blog posting and verify back when done. It is untrue and we have provided you evidence to the same.
************************************************
Bottom of the page, you lazy, self-important jerk. If you can't figure it out, well ... how'd you get to be CEO anyhow?
Saturday, April 17
Quotable: 10 types of people in the world
There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand ternary, those who don’t, and those who mistake it for binary.
Sunday, April 11
Why I did not buy a MacBook Pro
On the ride back from Philly Code Camp 2010.1 yesterday, I purchased a new laptop from Dell.com's SMB section using my aging Windows smartphone. My current primary work machine is a 2.5ish year old Dell Vostro 1500. It has served me well, but its time is past. The backlight is dim and the performance just doesn't hold up to my needs anymore. Plus 15.4" and 1440x900 really is not enough real estate, though I do plan on sitting at my desk in my home office more, and running video out to a 24" Dell panel I've hardly used since I purchased it, also 2.5ish years ago.
I had been considering a new laptop for six months or so. I had really wanted to hop on the Apple bandwagon with a beefy MacBook Pro, and boot or virtualize Windows on it, because I would love to be running a BSD derivative as my base OS, and as a tech pro I would like to get to know the Apple bit of the technology world better. In the end however, I could not justify a ~50% premium in price for something that did not even meet, much less exceed, the specs of the lower cost Dell I ended up with.
With development as a primary activity, and code and other client and user group/etc. presentations as a secondary consideration, I had a few requirements and preferences:
1. i7 processor strongly preferred.
2. 8GB+ RAM capacity.
3. 17" screen.
4. No more than 7 pounds.
5. 7200RPM+ disk or SSD. Prefer dual HDD capacity for RAID0 capability. (Visual Studio bottlenecks on disk more than one might think. Will VS2010 be better? I also prefer RAID0 for VM performace.)
With those details in mind, a MacBook Pro 17" 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo (old tech!) starts at $2499.00. The Dell Studio 17 i7 3.06 GHz I picked up cost significantly less than $2499 - fully loaded. Here's the breakdown:
17" MacBook Pro ($2499.00)
Configuration
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (+$300)
8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB (+$600)
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm (+$50)
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution Antiglare Widescreen Display ($50)
Basic 90/1 year warranty, no additional paid support
Total: $3499.00 (before tax!)
17" Dell Studio 17 purchased via Dell Small Business (can't seem to find original price for SMB, sorry)
SMB discount (-$250)
Intel Core i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
8GB, DDR3, 1333MHz, 2 DIMM
Backlit keyboard
17" multitouch display with webcam and facial recognition
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 4650 1GB
1TB (2x500GB) 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive (no Blu-Ray option with SMB :(
9-cell battery
Bluetooth
802.11g (I haven't had a lot of good experiences with 802.11n ... I may upgrade the mini pci-e half card down the line, but I have a strong preference for wired LAN in general)
2-year support (which seems to be just about the reliable, performance-friendly lifetime of a midline Dell like my old Vostro 1500; I hope to get 3 solid years out of this higher-end i7 at this point. I will consider renewing the warranty in 2 years.)
Total: $2169.00
With tax: $2342.52
And at that price, I added a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse to the package for another $79.
From what I have read and been told in conversation, Apple doesn't use particularly premium components in their machines. How in the heck can they justify that sort of premium price, with inferior specs/capacities?
One of my colleagues at Apprenda recently picked up a Studio 16 with SSD and is very happy with it. At Philly Code Camp 2010.1 yesterday, one of the volunteer staff had a 2-year old Studio 17. It was still in great shape, and he had been very happy with it -- no complaints. That sealed the deal for me -- no MacBook Pro unless I win the lotto sometime soon and have cash for personal toys.
I had been considering a new laptop for six months or so. I had really wanted to hop on the Apple bandwagon with a beefy MacBook Pro, and boot or virtualize Windows on it, because I would love to be running a BSD derivative as my base OS, and as a tech pro I would like to get to know the Apple bit of the technology world better. In the end however, I could not justify a ~50% premium in price for something that did not even meet, much less exceed, the specs of the lower cost Dell I ended up with.
With development as a primary activity, and code and other client and user group/etc. presentations as a secondary consideration, I had a few requirements and preferences:
1. i7 processor strongly preferred.
2. 8GB+ RAM capacity.
3. 17" screen.
4. No more than 7 pounds.
5. 7200RPM+ disk or SSD. Prefer dual HDD capacity for RAID0 capability. (Visual Studio bottlenecks on disk more than one might think. Will VS2010 be better? I also prefer RAID0 for VM performace.)
With those details in mind, a MacBook Pro 17" 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo (old tech!) starts at $2499.00. The Dell Studio 17 i7 3.06 GHz I picked up cost significantly less than $2499 - fully loaded. Here's the breakdown:
17" MacBook Pro ($2499.00)
Configuration
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (+$300)
8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB (+$600)
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm (+$50)
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution Antiglare Widescreen Display ($50)
Basic 90/1 year warranty, no additional paid support
Total: $3499.00 (before tax!)
17" Dell Studio 17 purchased via Dell Small Business (can't seem to find original price for SMB, sorry)
SMB discount (-$250)
Intel Core i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
8GB, DDR3, 1333MHz, 2 DIMM
Backlit keyboard
17" multitouch display with webcam and facial recognition
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 4650 1GB
1TB (2x500GB) 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive (no Blu-Ray option with SMB :(
9-cell battery
Bluetooth
802.11g (I haven't had a lot of good experiences with 802.11n ... I may upgrade the mini pci-e half card down the line, but I have a strong preference for wired LAN in general)
2-year support (which seems to be just about the reliable, performance-friendly lifetime of a midline Dell like my old Vostro 1500; I hope to get 3 solid years out of this higher-end i7 at this point. I will consider renewing the warranty in 2 years.)
Total: $2169.00
With tax: $2342.52
And at that price, I added a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse to the package for another $79.
From what I have read and been told in conversation, Apple doesn't use particularly premium components in their machines. How in the heck can they justify that sort of premium price, with inferior specs/capacities?
One of my colleagues at Apprenda recently picked up a Studio 16 with SSD and is very happy with it. At Philly Code Camp 2010.1 yesterday, one of the volunteer staff had a 2-year old Studio 17. It was still in great shape, and he had been very happy with it -- no complaints. That sealed the deal for me -- no MacBook Pro unless I win the lotto sometime soon and have cash for personal toys.
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