fractalnavel

sorry, just dropped off for a few days there.  had some work to do for a customer.  not long hours, but in between shifting my sleep schedule nearly twelve hours and the intensity of the work, i was just getting up, working, stopping for an hour or two at the bar, then falling asleep in front of the tv - in bed by nine, up at seven.

so i was thinking to myself yesterday evening, chilling with a glenlivet at the pub - they had budgeted for 40 hours of work, and i delivered everything that they had had on their list, and all the optional "if there's still time" things, and more - in only thirty hours.  so, like, what is this ?  the better i get at my job, the less money i make ?  i don't think that's a tenable long term situation.  the conclusion is that my rates are too low.

while i really don't like those discussions, it's a necessary part of doing business.  and they don't understand how much i've been accomodating them already.  i'm a far better vendor than they are a customer.

so, y'know - maybe they've been getting what they deserve with all the other bozos they deal with, internally and externally.  so sad.

... i just can't think of it.  the latest:

Dear AOL Communicator User,

Thank you for using AOL Mail products. We wanted to inform you that we will discontinue support and availability of AOL Communicator as of March 31, 2008.

Meeting your online needs by providing you with first class mail products is our number one goal. As such, we have several options available. In place of Communicator you can continue to receive and send your mail through any of the following:

1. Through any browser access our webmail suite at http://dc.aol.com/cgi-bin25/DM/y/jwsD0MiPDm0MhG0FXJ0Eu (or via your mobile device at http://dc.aol.com/cgi-bin25/DM/y/jwsD0MiPDm0MhG0PiD0EH )
2. Try the newest version of our software, AOL Desktop. Download it at http://dc.aol.com/cgi-bin25/DM/y/jwsD0MiPDm0MhG0PHc0EF. AOL Desktop retains many familiar features of Communicator: integrated AIM and multiple email accounts. In addition, the AOL Desktop integrated experience includes a customizable toolbar and tabbed web-browsing.
3. Manage your mail by using any program that supports IMAP or POP3, such as Microsoft® Outlook ( Outlook instructions) or Mozilla® Thunderbird (Thunderbird instructions).
4. Enjoy the flexibility to read and send your mail via other third-party mail clients that you choose. Find out how.

Also, if you have mail stored on your local folders on Communicator you can move them to your unlimited “Saved on AOL” folder. That way you can have access to this mail anywhere anytime.

Thank you for using AOL Mail.

Sincerely,
The AOL Mail Team

a good deal of that package's features quit working years ago - without any notice ever.  but the mail client was actually pretty respectable.  and now this, only 28 days notice.  what a team,  thank you for your support.

yeah, i think i mentioned earlier i was going to seriously consider moving to outlook, and now it looks like my mind is made up for me.  the real bitch has to do with all the rules i have to transfer (50+), the ones that sort out all the various subscriptions into folders.  and i have to set up the folders themselves first.

as for the other aol mail packages - all online ? i don't think so.  and the others don't handle non-aol mail, nor even a combined view of all my aol accounts. 

it's funny too that not too long ago, aol was adamant about keeping their email systems closed - not even pop access.  then that eventually got opened up - after i had already committed to communicator.  bottom line is that it was a good idea and a good suite of software that never caught on.

it seems to be an unstated process that aol is divesting itself of all properties.  i mean, their service was made largely free a year or two back, and they are encouraging people to really close down the old client.  unfortunately, i started using their bill management service years ago, and that's associated with the paid part of aol.  i will need to move that as well, it seems.

so what's "safe" in terms of software longevity ?  only microsoft ?  i've seen open source stuff have the rug pulled out from under stuff in the past.  i start to wonder if certain capabilities need to be treated as utilities, in terms of government oversight and the like.  for example, what would happen if gas or electric or phone companies decided to start going their separate ways instead of adhering to standards ?  in computing, standards only address a very few things, usually restricted to comunications pipelines.  there is a long ways to go.

i know someone is going to be thinking this, so i may as well say it: no, microsoft is not anti-standard.  hell, they de facto define them.  maybe it's time for the software religion laggards to get finally with it.

*gasp* - did i just suggest government regulation of software, etc. ?  hmmm - pandora's box, there.  but ok - do you like that roof that stays where it's been put (kansas farmhouses & trailer parks excluded) ?  so regulations aren't all bad.  not sure how to work out these issues, but it's not just going to "happen".

on thing ya gotta love: in that email, they included the following language translation options:

U.S.A

Canada (English)

Español de Latinoamérica (EE.UU.)

Français

Deutsch

日本語

Português (Brasil)

Mexicano

English (United Kingdom)

one would hope a sense of humor was involved, but unfortunately, they were almost certainly serious.  oh sorry - for you british types, that's "humour".  and for the canadians - "soorry".

update:

in case anyone is morbidly curious, here's some early info on the aol communicator suite, and some additional stuff on its end.  it was realy enjoyable to use when it was fully supported (which was quite some time ago), and i can imagine what new tech updates would have brought if it had caught on.  still, can't find any info on exactly what this discontinuation means for a desktop application.  i imagine i could still use it for pop & imap access, and since aol has been exposing those protocols for a while now, i would guess i could just hook up the aol accounts that way.  the remaining issue will be the current aol address book synchronization, which will probably disappear.

i'm just not fond of outlook and its options for this stuff.  not to mention that i only have office xp, and it's been flaky lately.  *sigh* - i'm overdue for a complete tech overhaul anyway.  hard to justify buying toys, though, when employment isn't steady.