Don't hack core and don't hack contrib (unless you have to)

July 12, 2008

If you spend much time in the Drupal community you'll hear the refrain don't hack core. But no matter how many times it might be said the temptation to hack core seems great. We've recently helped with several sites and there seems to be a common thread of problems caused by hacking core. These hacks are then costly to the client in the long run, often resulting in several hours (at best) of additional work to sort out what has been done and set things right.

My contractor says they need to hack core

So you've heard you shouldn't hack core and now you have a developer that is telling you they must do it to accomplish your goals. Please, Please, Please when you hear this do yourself a big favor and say no. If the contractor you're working with still says it's necessary then by all means get a second opinion. There are many, many, many, manyThis is the firm I started and own., reputable Drupal consulting firms who will help you figure out whether the hacks to core are really necessary.In addition to consulting firms there are a number of outlets like forums and local Drupal groups who would also likely have people willing to give you some suggestions The money you spend hiring one of these groups for a couple of hours will be well worth it in the long run.

Apple Remote

July 11, 2008

Unless one has been living under a rock the coming of iPhone 2.0 software and the iPhone 3G are well known. Apple has a free Apple Remote application that allows an iPhone user to control their AppleTV or iTunes using the WiFi connection from the phone. This is all well and good. The application is great. Uncharacteristically for Apple there is a big gaping hole in the application. It is not a security hole but is a major piece of the application that is missing.

The application provides for the ability to search one's library which is nice. However it has no means to use the phone to make purchases for the AppleTV. This matters so much because entering text to search the store via the standard Apple Remote is a painfully slow experience of choosing a single letter at a time on screen. How cool it would have been if the remote application made finding and purchasing things on the AppleTV possible.

However lest anybody think the iPhone isn't bringing new folks to Apple there was the guy in line this morning extolling how he not only uses Exchange but does so willingly and runs his own Exchange server who was there to buy an iPhone. Worse yet he was bragging about convincing small businesses that Exchange is a good investment for them. Sigh. Now back to saving the world one server at a time...

Kickin' with the Kickstand

July 10, 2008

Went to my first meeting with Kickstand tonight. A great Boise area group of business owners and innovators. I only managed to meet a handful of the folks in the room but every one of them was quite interesting. The depth and breadth of work going on in Boise is simply fantastic.

Here are the websites of some of the folks I met:

  • http://www.sattlerclothing.com/
  • http://www.neoreef.com
  • http://booklamp.org
  • http://www.intercarve.net

It was a great time to talk to several folks about the power and elegance of Drupal as a tool for building websites. I know it's hard to believe that I would spend the evening talking about Drupal. Thanks to Tech Boise for the Kickstand suggestion.

How business should work

July 2, 2008

A brief note about how companies should do business. While on a call this afternoon my UPS shipment arrived. A couple of cable/remote releases for the Nikon were to be inside. Unfortunately when I opened the box only one of the two items were inside. Checking the manifest it showed both should have been there. "Oh great," I said dreading the afternoon of phone calls that was about to come. Would they send an inspector to the house for this ten-dollar item, I wondered? How many hours would it take. I punched the numbers in and dreaded what would become of my day. Here's what happened then:

Amazon call center: Can I get your email or order ID?
Me: Sure... and gave her my email address.
Amazon call center: How may I help you today?
Me: Well I just got my box that was to have two items but it has just one was in the box.
Amazon call center: I'm sorry about that which item was missing?
Me: It was the wireless remote the ML-L3. I even took the box apart to make sure.
Amazon call center: OK. I can do two things I can either refund the item or send you a replacement.
Me: I'd like a replacement.

Now at this point I'm pretty happy but still a little sad. I'd ordered the remote in time to have it for the fireworks this Friday and now knew that wasn't going to happen. Would I have to wait for a new one to be manufactured and then shipped via snail?

Remembering Bob Roush

June 27, 2008

Bob Roush at a StorageTek PicnicThis afternoon brought one of those emails that one never wishes to get. It was the sort of email that has a simple subject, just a person's name, and asks to give a call to the sender. While grateful for my friend who shared the news I always wish the news was better. Today it was the sad news of Bob Roush, 44, passing earlier this week.

Round Table Pizza shows how not to do business

June 26, 2008

Round Table Pizza still has jobs listed in Boise. However for employees of the west-coast pizza chain the unemployment notice came in the form of a note posted on locked doors.

While I can understand businesses choosing to change directions and models this way of doing business deserves to have major repercussions for Round Table Pizza. Imagine for a moment if it were your rent check that was due on Monday and you found out on Thursday that you're out of a job. A couple of times a year we would frequent Round Table but not any longer. The unethical business practice of giving employees no notice that they are out of a job is just inexcusable. There are at times unfortunate situations where companies go dark overnight but those are associated with really and truly going out of business. This was apparently not related to a bankruptcy or dire situations. Rather it was a calculated well-planned move that was intentionally designed to catch employees off guard. How do I know this? Well things like this don't happen overnight. Sometime back, probably months back, they started looking at how to save some dough. They produced charts and looked at markets. Had meetings and analyzed the numbers. Between the time they closed stores on Wednesday night and the time employees came to work on Thursday they closed up shop.

Pages

Subscribe to