Actually, I am quite familiar with it. Maybe your downtime was due to a poor server setup? A poor network setup? A poor computer setup? All of the above. Maybe it was implemented incorrectly? There are a lot of factors that would give you a poor user experience...that doesn't necessarily mean the software was crappy (though it could have also been the software itself).

Blackboard had multiple major software/hardware failures at their own Virginia datacenter hosting Blackboard for schools on Blackboard's own equipment. They had network cards write bad data for such a long period of time that the best backup Bb had would've resulted in nearly a week's worth of lost data (at the end of a semester, no less); they had major database corruption that required bringing in a 24/7 team of Oracle techs; they had a network component failure bring down the datacenter for several hours. In two semesters their own hosting had a week's worth of unplanned outages.

Limoncello or hard lemonade would be good "Something else" options. Or use it to make a whisky (whiskey?) sour or something else with sour mix.

No longer working as intended? What possessed Microsoft to change these three features:

• Add-Ins: previously at Tools --> Add-Ins; now at Office Menu --> [program] Options --> Add-Ins --> Go
• File properties (the Windows Explorer version): previously at File --> Properties; now at Office Menu --> Prepare --> Properties --> Document Properties --> Advanced Properties
• Start Slide Show quick-button: previously at bottom-left, now at bottom-right

So...the menu structure clearly wasn't letting people find the first two features, so they put them into a new menu and required two or three more clicks than before, including actions which are clearly repetitive? (Once the document properties "window" is open, I still have to click Document Properties --> Advanced Properties to get the Explorer version of properties?) I find it hard to believe that they moved the "start slide show" button from the left to the right because "people couldn't find it." (If they couldn't find it on the left, why would they suddenly find it on the right?)

Your money is gone until you call the bank and they replace the funds pending an investigation. If you have $1000 in a checking account and someone fraudulently charges $1000 to that account's debit card, of course you can dispute the charge and likely get your money back. Your balance, however, is $0 *until* the bank replaces the money. E.g. if you had auto bill-pay run the same day for $200 and didn't see the $1000 fraudulent charge until the next day or received an overdraft notice, you'd overdraft by $200.

I would never use a debit card on my primary checking account for that very reason. At least if I need to dispute a fraudulent charge on my credit card, I don't have to worry about being temporarily out of $1000 and waiting a day or two for the bank to replace my money.

For some, the web isn't even ".com," it's whatever name they type in the address bar sans TLD. I had a user complain that she couldn't access Google. She edited the URL already in the address bar to read "http://www.google" and didn't know why she was getting the 404. (I guess there's a browser which will append a ".com" without using a specific keystroke?)

With other users getting to Google from their Yahoo home page by searching for "google" and clicking on the first link, I wouldn't bet on gTLDs going too far with the user base. It will probably only be a cash cow for ICANN and the major search engines.

And yet my local paper (News & Messenger, Prince William VA) has published front-page articles explicitly stating "According to Wikipedia" and directly quoting the wiki article. Clearly the academic bounds on Wiki use have not made their way into the world of journalism.

My university's website still links to Ruckus for "Music--Free and Legal Downloading" and we just had a whole bunch of copyright "awareness" posters put up in our computer labs that I think mention Ruckus.

Of course, every time I heard their name, my first thought was always "Are they still around?" If it wasn't clear before, the music labels don't care about anyone other than themselves, given the sudden shutdown.

Um, your two choices are really one. Blackboard bought out WebCT, so Blackboard pretty much owns the "Learning Management System" market.

And yes, it's a crappy system. Our university lost Bb service for an entire week -- during exams, no less -- because Bb allowed a corrupted database to be backed up so far back that when no one could download or upload files, Bb and their Oracle consultants had no choice but to rebuild. Not to mention the lack of communication from Bb on when they were taking down the system to fix the problem; they would say "We won't touch the system from 9am to 5pm" and promptly take it down at 1pm to try a new fix, without any advance warning.

WebCT wasn't a great system, but at least it worked and wasn't resource-intensive. Bb runs these painfully-slow Java applets that waste their time pinging the home server, require the Java applet to upload files (you can upload by HTML form but it still needs the Java applet to get to the upload page), and Bb will break if you try to use multiple tabs or if your browser crashes. It's too bad Bb did end-of-life on WebCT, but of course it makes perfect business sense to Bb.

These problems have pissed off so many faculty members that it might be forcing the administration to reconsider the Bb contract. So yes, I agree, it's administration and faculty that drive IT decisions, not IT.

False on Windows systems. You can enable remote logins on null-password accounts through Local Security Policy.

Take a look at the 10-K and you'll find at least one risk factor which applies to Jobs (CEO):

The Company's success depends largely on its ability to attract and retain key personnel.
Much of the Company's future success depends on the continued service and availability of skilled personnel, including its CEO, its executive team and key employees in technical, marketing and staff positions. (p. 21, FY 2008 10-K)

IANASL (securities lawyer) but I find it relevant that the CEO is separated from the term "executive team." To compare, the similar risk factor in Microsoft's 10-K does not even specify specific employees.

When college students and faculty come to my desk and ask how do they save or print their document in Word 2007, that's a pretty clear indication that the Word UI is complex and complicated.

The legal explanation as provided by the U.S. Treasury:

Q: I thought that United States currency was legal tender for all debts. Some businesses or governmental agencies say that they will only accept checks, money orders or credit cards as payment, and others will only accept currency notes in denominations of $20 or smaller. Isn't this illegal?

A: The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues." This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

It's called a "poor man's copyright," it involves only copyright, not patents, and it's a myth. The U.S. Copyright Office has a note on this. Don't waste your money, especially with the cost of Registered Mail these days.

As for the original submitter, he's likely safe as long as a "substantial" amount of University resources aren't used, and if there isn't an existing contract between him and the University (work-study, faculty/TA, or regular employee) covering intellectual property. My school has a similar policy. And what I found on the SUU site turned up this:

In the Southern Utah University Student Handbook, for instance, you will find the [...] Intellectual Property Policy.

Which seems to be listed here.

cops in unmarked cars might start targeting areas where newly publicized photo radar cameras have been placed and pulling over speeders and checking their plates

Thus negating the point of putting up said cameras.

Maybe the state legislatures and city councils should consider the novel idea of not figuring traffic fine revenue into their budgets and not hiring private companies to do the police department's work.

It's the same for USPS package services (anything above First-Class Mail). You have to generate a zone chart from your originating ZIP Code before determining shipping rates. Priority is based on zone and weight or, in some cases, zone and size. Parcel Post is based on zone and weight, but some ZIP codes that are major hubs offer cheaper "Intra-BMC" rates.