I really don't like Mondays. Really. In fact, I would even go as far as to say I hate Mondays, and recently it's not only because I have to return to work after a weekend. It seems that recently, a lot of things manage to stuff up on Mondays. I don't know if the computers, after starting to work from a weekend off, can also have a "case of the Mondays", but if so, this week they had a doosey.

For some reason at around 11am all network traffic ground to a halt. That meant no working files, no email, and among other things, thanks to our new IP phone system, no phones. Not exactly a great situation to put it lightly. I was half tempted to call "an IT induced early lunch break" but restrained myself.

The phones came back up within about 15 minutes, with the computing network within an hour. Although we needed to give the whole server system a good restart to get back to some normality, we couldn't afford to do that in the middle of a business day, and thus we let the system limp through to 5pm. We stayed back until around 8pm to reset everything and troubleshoot what might have happened, but at the moment we're still not totally sure.

Today wasn't much better. I'm getting more and more cynical to the Mac ads which proclaim "they just work", as i spent the better half of the morning troubleshooting a Mac that quite obviously doesn't know of the advertising and decided not to "just work".

Computers are computers, and as a result of being computers, they, more than really any other widely used machinery, are extremely fragile. Not necessarily just in terms of their hardware (the actual 'machinery' of the computer), but more so the software that sits on the hardware can quite easily be compromised one way or another. Regardless of whether it's a Mac or a PC, and anyone who tells you otherwise is a dirty rotten liar.

Anywho, now to some wonderful developments in computing. Many will be aware of the fantastic Google Maps, and the equally impressive Microsoft Virtual Earth. I've recently discovered that both have enabled searching of Australian cities and street locations, which is fantastic, because I think WhereIs is a piece of garbage. The Microsoft offering have even implemented the whole 'get directions' thing between two locations, whilst Google seems to have yet implemented that feature for Australia.

For example: Queen St Mall: in Google Maps, and in MS Virtual Earth.