This link enables you to add your name (along with thousand others, of course) to a microchip that will be sent to Mars. What for? No idea. Probably to market NASA’s expeditions and improve how society perceives them.

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Este link permite que você adicione seu nome (junto a milhares de outros, claro) a um microchip que será enviado a Marte. Para quê? Não faço idéia. Provavelmente para fazer um marketing das expedições da NASA e melhorar a percepção deles pela sociedade.

BR,
-- AFurtado

This article from Newsweek touches with a couple of new insights the outworn topic “Brazil: the country of the future”, which I (should I say every Brazilian?) got to know since the very first moment I was able to understand Portuguese.

I’d like to discuss a recurrent thing. It’s said there, in the article: “Brazil's power derives not from guns but from its immense store of natural resources, including oil and gas, metals, soybeans and beef—and it has become a key supplier of markets in Asia and closer to home.”

If we have handful natural resources in a peaceful environment, why aren’t the benefits of this advantage enough to invest and harvest the most important resource ever: people? It’s ironic our culture is so well-know for being creative, but at the same time “Brazil’s power” does not derive from entrepreneurship, technology and creativity. For instance, the job of the dreams for the (majority of?) average Brazilian student is to apply for, and be approved in, public initiative (government) positions, which has an awesome cost-benefit (worked hours X wages earned). Stability wins; taking risks to make a change, doesn’t.

The article can praise the Brazilian government and its external politics, but there’s still too much internal homework to be done, especially in the most impactful social area: base education, which is the ultimate investment a nation can do to spin-off the poor towards enough knowledge to enable autonomy and independence from any short-term economical incentives. And, of course, to create the entrepreneurs of the (country of the) future.

BR,
-- AFurtado

The statements or testimonies I offer in this post represent my own personal views.
I am speaking for myself and not on behalf of my employer, Microsoft Corporation

In short: a cute little asian(-ish) girl has much more expressive marketing power than Jerry Seinfeld…

It seems MS is finally finding its way through the ads. The I’m a PC campaign is receiving good feedback, specially its last reincarnation, “The Laptop Hunters”.

BR,
-- AFurtado

The statements or testimonies I offer in this post represent my own personal views.
I am speaking for myself and not on behalf of my employer, Microsoft Corporation

About seven months ago I blogged about a laptop of mine whose brand new battery simply exploded. It caught on fire and made my old Toshiba A75 to become a chemical weapon.

Last week, seven months later (better late than never!), I got in my mail a $500 check from the battery manufacturer. That should be enough to cover the 4 year old laptop, the new acquired battery and costs for shipping the laptop back to the manufacturer.

Happy ending? I’d say so, if it didn’t involve taking risks to injure one’s body parts and put one’s house on fire.

BTW, do you backup your stuff regularly?

BR,
-- AFurtado

Just documenting something useful here: I was wondering what is the SharePoint equivalent for Active Directory’s “Everyone” users, so that I could apply permissions for a SharePoint list or survey to all users of my intranet. The answer seems to be: NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users.

BR,
-- AFurtado