Those unhappy with, or simply not that excited about, Windows 7, got a good bit of news today, as Microsoft released a roadmap for Windows 8, and how it will fit into the delivery of other products.

Giving a 3 year run for Windows 7 means the end of 2012 will be the projected release date for Windows 8, which will give holdouts that much more time to become accustomed to the idea of moving away from XP. It will also give Microsoft time to see how it might need to change plans according to he numbers still using XP.

Is Microsoft finally switching to a different programming model? It used to be that we only had previous Microsoft efforts to judge how much could be accomplished in each unit of time, but now, with the various large distributions of Linux we can see how much can be accomplished by a loose woven group of programmers, and wonder what Microsoft could accomplish if pressed.

gHacks fills in the blanks -

Microsoft has released two roadmaps at this years Professional Developer’s Conference (PDC 2009) which both suggest a Windows 8 release in 2012. This confirms earlier rumors that Microsoft’s next desktop operating system after Windows 7 would be released in three year’s time. To be more precise, the roadmaps that Microsoft showcased at the conference show the Microsoft server releases over the years. The first of the two roadmaps does mention Windows 7 (but not Windows Vista) along with Windows Server 2003 and 2008 releases.

The 2012 release is codenamed Windows 8 and Microsoft does not explicitly state that this will also be the release year of the new operating system although that is generally assumed by everyone.

Windows 8, which is currently only a codename for the new operating system (did not they say so previously when asked about Windows 7 as well?), will be major released opposed to the release updates Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.

Our thanks to Stephen Chapman for publishing those two Windows roadmap images. Check out the Windows 8 News website for the latest news and rumors about Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 8.

The pictures show what is described above, and show the 2yr, 4yr cycle that Microsoft seems to want to follow. It is hard not to think of the Intel tick-tock model, though Microsoft’s clock is somewhat slower.

Will Microsoft be able to keep the pace? It has proven in the past that deadlines are simply not something that it worries about much. A deadline is no big deal when you’re the only game in town.

The thing is, though still the big boy on the block, Microsoft is no longer the only game in town.

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Quote of the day:

There is a coherent plan in the universe, though I don’t know what it’s a plan for.

- Fred Hoyle

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The guys at Opera are being very careful this time. There are so few things left that have been changed that perfection is within reach. This is something I haven’t seen before – a Release Candidate 3 for Opera 10.10.

From the Opera site we have the list of things changed -

Core/UI

- Removed Inconsolata.otf and info-header.png from opera: pages

- Fixes to select the default Speed Dials and bookmarks from custom/locale

- Fixed Bug DSK-271292 (”No message selected” text missing)

- Fixed Bug DSK-271097 (Opened widget does not get focus on double-clicking it in the widgets panel)
Unite

- Fixes some string and translations issues

- Fixes to the translation of the activity feed

- Cookie infinite loop fix

- Some small tweaks to the Photo Sharing application

- Added a string “Preparing…” behind the main image

- Changed the loading spinner to an image count for the thumbnails

- Fixed Bug DSK-271007 (Spinner animation stretched in Unite config dialog)

- Partial Fix to Bug DSK-271038 (Generating images in the Photo Sharing application is slow/cpu excessive in opera)

- Fixed Bug DSK-271145 (Downloaded applications are set to invisible in upnp/asd/search engines by default)

- Fixed Bug DSK-271306 (Unite password not protected by master password)

- Fixed Bug DSK-271394 (Crash on toggling account creation section in Unite configure dialog after logging in once)

- Fixed Bug DSK-271444 (Upgrading an uninstalled app doesn’t ask to choose a folder)

The bugs that were in Unite are all being squashed, and though nothing is being said, the indication is that next on the list is the revamped rendering engine.

Opera keeps getting better, and offers uses of the web that otherwise would require much more knowledge and time to set up.

As has been shown in the recent past, it continues to be the browser with the fewest exploited flaws. Whether you believe it is because of smaller number of users, or something else, it is important to know that many  who are on ‘ the other side ‘ use this browser, to keep themselves from being attacked.

For me, it strikes a great balance between being customizable to the tastes of the user, without getting so caught up in it that changes take away the focus of browsing.

As always, recommended.

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above link takes you to 10.01, 10.10 RC3 is also found on the website under beta versions

WOW, act quick to save 50% on the new hot Motorola Droid Cell Phone with Verizon Wireless service.

For a limited time and while supplies last, order the Motorola Droid A855 Phone (Verizon Wireless) from Amazon.com for as low as $149.99 shipped! (Up to 50% Off with new service plan.)

The first Android-powered phone for Verizon Wireless, the 3G-enabled Motorola DROID smartphone offers a full package of powerful mobile connectivity–from easy access to all your social networks and viewing of full Web sites to spoken turn-by-turn directions thanks to the new Google Maps with Navigation Beta app. One of the thinnest full-QWERTY slider phones available, the Motorola DROID also features a high-resolution 3.7-inch touchscreen display and a virtual onscreen keyboard that auto-rotates depending on the phone’s orientation. And you’ll be able to capture high-resolution images and DVD-quality videos on the go with its 5-megapixel camera with flash.

With integrated Google technology, the Motorola DROID brings one-touch access to the popular Google mobile services millions use every day, including Google Search by Voice, YouTube and Picasa. The DROID also provides easy access to both personal and corporate email, calendars, and contacts supported by Exchange Server and Gmail.

In addition to 3G connectivity, the DROID offers Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) for accessing home and business networks as well as hotspots while on the go and Bluetooth connectivity for both hands-free devices and stereo music streaming. Other features include memory expansion via microSD memory cards (a 16 GB card is included with the device), threaded text and picture messaging for seamless on-the-go conversations, Visual Voicemail capabilities, 3.5mm headset jack, and up to 6.4 hours of talk time.

Get the Motorola Droid A855 Phone (Verizon Wireless) at Amazon.com with FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

When Google made their announcement yesterday [Thursday November 20, 2009], included in their release statement was the fact that their new operating system would be open source. Some of you may not know what open source is. Basically the term means that creative works are shared by anyone and everyone, including modification of the code by any user. But in the case of the Google operating system, the company sought out Canonical the makers of Ubuntu, a Linux distribution, which Canonical describes as:

In the interest of transparency, we should declare that Canonical is contributing engineering to Google under contract.  In our discussions, Sundar Pichai and Linus Upson made it clear that they want , wherever feasible,  to build on existing components and tools from the open source community without unnecessary re-invention.   This clear focus should benefit a wide variety of existing projects and we welcome it.

On the consumer side, people will ask about the positioning of Chrome OS and Ubuntu. While the two operating systems share some core components, Google Chrome OS will provide a very different experience to Ubuntu.  Ubuntu will continue to be a general purpose OS running both web and native applications such as OpenOffice and will not require specialised hardware.

So 2010 looks set to be a very exciting year. In addition to delivering Ubuntu experiences with both existing and new OEM partners, we will be working with Google on Chrome OS based devices.

The reason I am bringing this up is that some folks are writing that Google Chromium is nothing more than a browser. Some are even saying that Google will fail at this venture and that this new distribution will compete against other Linux distributions.

I think that Canonical sees the wisdom in what Google is doing and how can benefit all open source programs. If you were to ask the average consumer about Linux they most likely would think it is some type of a car. With Google branding the introduction of Linux can and will become mainstream. Just my 2 cents.

But what do you think? Are you interested in having a light weight operatin system that takes advantage of cloud computing? hare your thoughts with us.

Comments welcome.

Source.

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With the recent announcement of Google Chrome OS, many are wondering what Microsoft should do about it. Though doing nothing might work, it is doubtful that the greater market will see it that way.

As rough and slipshod as Chrome OS might be today, we know that the Google development cycle never stops, unlike the fitful stops and starts of the cycle of Microsoft. But something developed by nVidia could be the savior for Microsoft in the netbook scene.

the ION platform, which is an nVidia solution on a chip that melds with an Intel Atom processor fixes many of the shortcomings of the Intel Atom solution.

As this notice about a netbook change for Asus shows us (Maximum PC) -

Asus is about to make a big change to their Eee PC line of products. The netbook pioneer has announced that all their future Eee PCs will come equipped with Nvidia ION instead of the slower Intel solution most netbooks and nettops use now. Nvidia claims that ION is ten times faster than Intel’s integrated solution.

ION is famous for being capable of outputting 1080p video without using much power. The ION platform is also able to run Aero cleanly on Windows 7. “These PCs will run circles around most Atom-based systems, so they are an excellent solution,” said Industry analyst Jon Peddie. With the upcoming Flash 10.1 supporting video acceleration, you can expect smooth flash video at long last.

That capability means that Microsoft Windows 7 will run more than acceptably on a netbook, which is certainly going to appeal to more users than any polished version of Chrome OS. It is what the user base knows, it will be the same look and feel as what they find on their desk. And it will require no period of acclimation whatsoever.

So, while Intel might not like the fact that their entire solution is not being used, the nVidia ION solution will be a godsend for Microsoft in their war to fend off Google on the net top. They won’t have to continue to offer XP either! All that is required is to make the nVidia platform monetarily acceptable to the masses, which means a small price reduction.

Microsoft can do themselves quite a favor by doing a small favor for nVidia, which will keep the green glow going, and at the same time help the nVidia CEO open a small can of whoop-ass on Intel.

Everybody but Intel wins big, and Intel still wins, just not quite as big as they’d otherwise like. The only possible loser is Google, and they still win, just on a smaller scale (people will still be searching with Google!)

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I read an article yesterday at PC World about how to buy a new HDTV this holiday season. I read the description between an LCD and Plasma sets, read the reviews about different models and brands, when I recalled the DLP sets. These sets were popular a few years ago, but were not even mentioned in the review.

Samsung had been the major company that produced the DLP sets. I recalled about 4 years ago, my buddy Denny buying a Samsung DLP and so did my middle daughter and her husband. In fact the kids bought one of those 65″ sets that set them back about $4k when they bought it.

So I took a spin over to Best Buy and the only company I found still selling the DLP sets was Mitsubishi. But over at Amazon they still have plenty of Samsung DLP sets available.

But I found this on a forum after doing a Google:

The main advantage of DLP sets was that the rear-projection design scales up to bigger screen sizes with proportionately less manufacturing cost increase than plasma and LCD. Manufacturing cost efficiencies have improved with LCD and plasma for sets up to 60 inch diagonal to the point where DLP lost most of its advantage. With costs being nearly equal, the DLP sets are not as attractive due to the triple disadvantages of greater depth, more limited viewing angle, and the potential for costly bulb replacement.

What is your opinion? Are DLP sets history already? Are the only choices going to be LCD or Plasma?

Share your thoughts.

Comments welcome.

PC World source

Forum statement here

It has not been a good time for makers of custom PCs, as the economy makes all but the most mundane of purchases look extravagant. Also, there hasn’t been lots of talk about the cottage industry of high performance computers since the purchase of Alienware by Dell. Though Alienware still survives (barely), Dell seems to be much more interested in pushing out interesting choices with the Dell XPS moniker.

Other manufacturers, like Falcon Northwest are also around, but they are not putting out splashy double page ads with pictures of glossy custom paint jobs right now.

So imagine how odd it is for there to be a new manufacturer springing up, while we are not out of the recession/depression/bad situation as yet. The people at Origin computers have a better than average chance of survival, as they are not rookies at this sort of thing. TechConnect tells about some of the new offerings -

Confident that there’s still a place for high-end, custom, pricey PCs, ex-Alienware execs Kevin Wasielewski, Hector Penton and Richard Cary, have set up a new gaming PC company, Origin PC Corporation. After some months of work, Origin has now come out with its first products, the Genesis desktop and EON 18 notebook, both of which are claimed to feature “levels of customization, aggressive design, personalized support and performance, the likes of which the PC gaming industry has never seen.”

“Many boutique computer makers have lost their way, forgetting what’s important to gamers and becoming just another corporate entity,” says Kevin Wasielewski, CEO/Co-Founder of ORIGIN PC. “ORIGIN is the return of the real gaming PC giving gamers exactly what they want with the most customizable, best performing, hand painted and hand built gaming PCs available.”

To bling up Genesis and EON 18, Origin has enlisted Killer Paint, who’s team will airbrush each chassis by hand with standard colors, metallic colors, or artistic designs. In addition to the ’standard’ options, customers are also able to send in their own design or work with a design specialist who will build the system as they desire.

Showing both Intel and AMD love, Genesis can be equipped with either Phenom II X4 or Core i5/i7 processors, and will also boast up to 12GB of RAM, two GeForce GTX 295 or two Radeon HD 5870 graphics cards, a maximum of 2TB of storage (up to 512GB SSDs), and a 1.2kW power supply.

As for EON 18, the 18.4-inch (1920×1080) laptop, is available with a Core 2 Duo/Quad/Extreme CPU, 8GB of RAM, two 500GB HDDs or two 256GB SSDs, and one or two GeForce GTX 280M graphics cards.

Both of Origin’s gaming systems are now available in the US and can be viewed/purchased via originpc.com.

The company is certainly correct about the boutique brands losing their way. If you don’t offer something above the level of what an enthusiast can produce, you aren’t going to be producing in volume.

One of the things that differentiates the rank and file from the superior is a great paint scheme on a case not easily identified as being available from HP or Dell. The pictured systems are very nice looking, and will certainly make you stand out as the owner of one of a better breed.

Check them out. If you think you can do better, perhaps you can start your own company too.

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Quote of the day:

Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing.

- Oscar Wilde

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At the 2009 Professional Developers Conference a couple of days ago Microsoft gave a quick preview of the next version of Internet Explorer - version 9.  What they showed was a browser that was moving slowly towards being standards compliant, to a certain degree.  The point was made that standards were not everything, and that the browser should have some new and exciting features that might go beyond the standards developed by the W3C.  It was surprising to see Microsoft bragging about scoring a 32/100 on the Acid3 test, and it did not bode well for web developers who desire to have a fully standards complaint browser for them to work with in the future.  Having all major browsers following the same set of standards would make their lives considerably easier.

Speaking of the web developers and how they felt about the introduction of another version of Internet Explorer… over at the official MSDN blog, the comments were largely negative.  Many developers seemed to be of the mindset that Internet Explorer’s time had come and gone and that Microsoft should either ship a competitor’s browser or just make IE9 a webkit based browser.  Webkit is the engine behind Apple’s Safari, Firefox, and Google’s Chrome browsers.  Safari and Chrome both score a 100/100 on the Acid3 test and are fully standards compliant.

Perhaps the biggest complaint about the new IE9 is that it uses hardware acceleration technology that has not been ported to Windows XP, leading to speculation that XP users will be stuck on IE8 as the top choice.  While that isn’t really a big deal to the average consumer, it does mean that web developers will have to develop websites and test them for compatibility with IE6, IE7 and 8, IE9, and webkit based browsers.  Some developers have gone so far as to exclude IE6 browsers from their testing, instead directing users with the older browser from Microsoft to upgrade to Firefox.

Microsoft’s decision on IE9 to go their own route and try to force everyone into both upgrading their operating systems from XP and into developing websites that take advantage of the as-of-yet unnamed new features of IE9 while still making sure sites are backwards compatible with IE6, 7, and 8 instead of using a standards based browser make the development and eventual release of IE9 a virtual non-starter for most.

It doesn’t take much to bring out the true nature of the Republican party anymore. Many of them feel that because the President has not been able to fix 8 years of a descent into hell in less than 1 year, he must be an ineffectual snore. (If only their perceptions had not been so clouded in 2002!)

Though being trounced fairly well a little over a year ago, they seem to be coming back, as the memory span of the average voter is lower than their given IQ.

When the Democrats tried to pursue a plan that would have been beneficial to nearly everyone, the Republicans have blocked that plan, having their pockets salted by the lending institutions, and believing that they will never be touched by the problems they are now causing.

The Raw Story gives a few more details -

Republican senators on Wednesday blocked an effort to debate a bill that would prevent credit card companies from raising interest rates ahead of new regulations coming into force next year.

The move angered congressional Democrats who were pushing for an emergency freeze on credit card rates.

“I’m extremely disappointed that the financial health of millions of American taxpayers has been completely brushed aside by a handful of Wall Street banking interests in the US Senate,” Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO) said, as quoted in the Coloradoan.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), who heads the Senate Banking Committee, had authored a bill that would have prevented credit card issuers from hiking interest rates ahead of a new law coming into effect in February that restricts how and when rates can be raised.

Earlier this year, Dodd wrote and passed through the Senate the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which requires credit card issuers to give customers advance notice before hiking rates and fees.

That bill comes into force in February. But, as news sources reported earlier this year, credit card companies took advantage of the delay to hike interest rates before the bill became law.

Dodd’s latest bill would freeze credit card rates where they are now until the new law comes into effect next year. It would also require credit card companies to review all interest hikes going back to the beginning of 2009 to see if customers were overcharged.

But when Dodd asked for the Senate’s unanimous consent to discuss the bill, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MI) “objected on the behalf of several of his GOP colleagues, preventing debate,” reports The Hill.

“Knowing that the Credit CARD Act would finally protect consumers from these abuses, the industry has tried to make one last grab for their customers’ pocketbooks,” Dodd said Wednesday.

“The reason we allowed a gap period between the passage of the legislation and the imposition of the regulations or the statutory requirements was because the industry came to me and said, you know senator, we’re going to need some time to administer, to change how we provide these kinds of benefits to people. So would you give us a little window here to operate?” Dodd said.

“Unfortunately they’ve taken that window and used it as a way to jam in on the consumers of this country,” Dodd said.

A Rasmussen poll released Tuesday shows that about half of Americans — 50 percent — saw their credit card interest rates go up in the past six months.

The only professed Republicans I’ve spoken to believe that this will not affect them, and that by keeping credit card rates high, people will be able to live within their means.

That is true, but it is also true that no one knows what is coming next, and having the ability to pay for an unexpected problem without it bringing you down for years is a really good thing. Perhaps there will be a new Republican-only credit card company, that will keep its workings quiet, and so the good people will be able to take care of things like that.

(Of course that last statement is outlandish, but then so is the idea that Republicans never need to use credit cards, and will never be hamstrung by exorbitant interest rates. But that is all part of the same enigma that makes people vote Republican, and hold values that are clearly not in their own best interest.)

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Perhaps all new credit card applications will need to have words like vigorish and usury in the explanation areas – just so the holders will know upfront they are getting shafted. Of course, by definition, if everything is legal, there is no usury.

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It is one of the amazing things of this life that certain things can happen over and over, yet the outcome remains the same.

At the PDC conference Steve Ballmer was rather proud to proclaim that the NSA was in on the security architecture of Windows 7. Of course this is very good for the mainstream user who is not worried about security that much. The paranoid and the otherwise troubled will be thinking of the various ways that the NSA put their mark on Windows 7.

Of course, when asked Microsoft gave the answer we knew was coming…it was, after all, the only possible answer. Slashdot gives the word -

“Microsoft has denied that it has built a backdoor into Windows 7, a concern that surfaced yesterday after a senior National Security Agency (NSA) official testified before Congress that the agency had worked on the operating system. ‘Microsoft has not and will not put “backdoors” into Windows,’ a company spokeswoman said, reacting to a Computerworld story Wednesday. On Monday, Richard Schaeffer, the NSA’s information assurance director, told the Senate’s Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security that the agency had partnered with the developer during the creation of Windows 7 ‘to enhance Microsoft’s operating system security guide.’ Thursday’s categorical denial by Microsoft was accompanied by further explanation of exactly how the NSA participated in the making of Windows 7. ‘The work being discussed here is purely in conjunction with our Security Compliance Management Toolkit,’ said the spokeswoman. The company rolled out the Windows 7 version of the toolkit late last month, shortly after it officially launched the operating system.”

Now, what else could have been said? If any admission of any extra holes in Windows security was to be admitted, no one would want to buy it. On the other side of that coin, the more times an admission of governmental consultations come up, the less steady the nerves of many users are. More references bring concerns to even the most law abiding. Frankly, I can’t imagine why Ballmer ever brought it up. It really is only a benefit under the slimmest of circumstances. If you think about what a backdoor could mean, there are many companies, otherwise operating fully within the law, that would not want the NSA or any other governmental concerns (such as the I.R.S.) putting an unwelcome nose into their data. In all seriousness, Microsoft might have shot itself in the foot over this admission.

There might be a few more corporate customers who will be using that extended support of Windows XP until 2014.

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Today was the yearly company event/outing.  If you’ve been following things, you know I put together a band of coworkers to entertain at this bash.  I just got home - tired and happy.

Every show I’ve ever played has been a total disaster for one reason or another, usually technical, sometimes due to the audience.  Even good shows have been marred by bad tech.  Today set itself up to be a large potential nightmare but almost escaped that definition.

We had a new sound company, which was a blessing.  Every year is a different sound company and every year we all wonder how they managed to find one even worse than the previous year.

The event took place at an old hotel in a humongous dingy ballroom, as usual.  We were told the sound company would be ready for us at 9am so we got there around 8:30.  When I say we, I mean everyone except Ignatz the drummer.  He always has interesting things happening to him and today was no different: one of his kids left his schoolbook home and he had to retrieve it.

Not that it mattered: the sound company put up mics and disappeared.  We were wondering if there was to be a sound check but couldn’t locate anybody to ask.  We made a little noise, hoping they could get some levels from that.

The first thing I noticed was the copious amount of radio coming from my rig.  We were performing in the heart of Radio Row in Philthydelphia and my rig responded by putting up an antenna and receiving as much radio as it could.  There was no time to troubleshoot and there was no apparent origin of the noise.  It got so bad through the p.a. that I pulled the cord out of the amp (it was coming from the vicinity of the effects board).

Then we were told to hit it for a while, so off we went.  The idea was that we were to play for a few minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon.  We knew we must have been doing a decent job, as our bosses kept asking us to turn it down :)   We had to tell them to ask the sound guys.

Now we’re a bunch of night-owl musicians who were onstage at 9am, so it was a bit weird to begin with.   But this didn’t matter, as the people who were there already were very happy to hear us (maybe they don’t get out much either).  We did about five songs, which went over extremely well, before time was up and the rest of the fun was to start.

I got off the stage soaking wet and pretty happy about the reaction.  People were in from all over the country: little did they know that their MIS department was in possession of Weapons of Musical Destruction :)

I was the only band member who had done this before so I got to warn the crew about what they were in for.  We had to wait a few hours before we were to go back and do the Serious Set.  Lunch was served, or rather served to everyone but me.  It’s my historical inability to get served outside of the house.  Some call it invisibility.  I just smile and go about my business.

We got tuned up and ready to retake the stage after a few minor delays.  Since we were doing some appropriate tunes, I took my Les Paul onstage.  The people were really digging the band, which seemed to shock most of the band members (in a rather pleasant way).  We did Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way”, which gave me a chance to stretch out on slide.  I brought my talkbox along for the solo part.  This is where things really got funny.  My wife, who came by for the occasion, said the reaction around the talkbox was hysterical.  Everybody started looking around for the source of the talking guitar.  VERY slowly, they started to get it.  She watched it like a very slow wave, going table to table.  She said the show was definitely not on the stage.

A lot of the earlier entertainment featured people wearing wigs, hats, and various other sorts of costume finery.  Not wishing to be left out, I located an Ike Turner wig and put it over my hat.  I looked like some sort of Beatle Nightmare or perhaps a guy with a very large tarantula on his head.   The funny part of this was that we were all standing onstage, waiting for a while for the sign to start.  I stood there, completely obvious, and watched the audience reaction to this.  Once again, table by table, they got it.  They’d start laughing, then poke their neighbor and point at me.  I watched this wave also.  It went very slowly, from table to table.

I usually have no tolerance for the Slow, but this time it was just too funny.

Then the talkbox started cutting out and the radio stations kept getting louder.  I did my best to ignore this, which wasn’t easy.  I switched back to the pukeburst Strat, my main guitar.  Last night I had to brave exhaustion to replace the volume pot and do a little rewiring.

The crowd was going NUTS.  I thought they’d be up and dancing.  Instead they were treating it like a concert, applauding like mad.  The band unanimously enjoyed it.

Meanwhile we were getting the “Let me interrupt you” signal and were told we had one song left.

Oh, that’s interesting, I thought.  We practiced for weeks and we’re doing five songs.   We quickly huddled and emerged with a plan.  The intro to “Play That Funky Music” cleared the chairs and the serious dancing started.  I’m told the show got even better at this point, with the overweight and scantily-clad women falling out of their clothes, not to mention the ones with the dresses so high that you wondered why you couldn’t see only underwear.

Here is where the differences between men and women are highlighted.  I saw a swarm of people dancing: my wife saw women competing for the attention of band members.  She said it was hilarious watching them.  I was upset that I missed this bit… I wouldn’t notice a woman hitting on me if she started to disrobe and rub against me.

Our singer is a young, good looking guy and we almost had to fight to keep the women off him.  The guy seriously needs to take advantage of this while he still can. The rest of us Olde Phartes were content to observe the follies (especially the ones whose wives were in attendance).

We finished to thunderous applause, again to our shock and surprise.  I felt like a rock star or something.  Since that’s what I really want to do, it worked out well.

Oh well, tomorrow I’ll go back to being a MIS Geek.  

Until next year.

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EQUIPMENT LIST

For the musicians, this is what I took with me:

• `77 antigua (pukeburst) lefty Strat (modded, hot pink strings)
• R9 lefty Les Paul reissue
• Fender Pro Jr (modded)
• Marshall 2×12 Jubilee cabinet
• fx board: Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe, Dano Surf n Turf compressor, Dano Clear Tone Overdrive, RAT, Boss reverb/delay
• Rocktron Banshee amplified talkbox

The health care bill is 2,074 pages. It will impact millions and millions of Americans if it is passed into legislation or if it is rejected:

“The 2,074-page Senate bill seeks to reduce the long-term costs of health care for the government, businesses and individuals, while reforming how services are delivered to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

It includes controversial provisions such as a government-run public health insurance option unanimously opposed by Republicans.

The bill would prohibit illegal immigrants from participating in a health insurance exchange created for those unable to afford health coverage and would prohibit the use of federal funds for abortion coverage in the exchange, according to a briefing for journalists arranged by the Senate Democratic leadership.”

link: At 2,074 pages and $849 billion, Senate health bill arrives

How many of the elected representatives will take the time to read and digest over two thousand pages of documentation? And how long would it take to read and comprehend that amount of material?

Certainly the politicians will delegate the reading to aides and assistants. There will be synopses and briefings. Nevertheless, it seems ironic that the bulk of the actual legislation might never be read by the elected representatives… ironic and somewhat frightening.

Catherine Forsythe

Because that looks to be the logical home for it. Now that the operating system cat is out of the bag, it is clear that Microsoft has nothing to fear on any other platform.

So unless Microsoft has something under wraps that no one else has seen, or spoken of, it looks as though the free (as in no cost to the user) Chrome OS will be powering netbooks.

But as we have been shown before, Microsoft wants to be all things to all people in the computing world. If it was not that way, Internet Exploder would have died at revision 6. But then, how much is Microsoft willing to spend on something that it knows will have to compete somewhat on price?

Certainly the casual user will put stock in the idea that the Windows interface is a known quantity, and so little to no change (in habits) is needed to use it. Also, for Chrome OS, no internet connection, no (things) happening. I see this as a fatal flaw for many people, who will want to be able to compute without a connection to the web.

Windows XP does nicely here already, costs Microsoft little to nothing per copy, and if they are willing to chance that the netbook customer will not need any support, the reported $15 per copy that was being charged will still be a heady revenue stream, while being a thorn in Google’s side. Remember, those that want to run Chrome apps will be able to do so from a copy of Chrome browser on Windows, on the netbook. Then, when the internet connection goes away, there is still something to work with on the netbook.

Since we are told that Chrome will be designed to only run on units with SSDs, there is always the possibility of netbooks with a quick change solution from SSD to standard 2.5″, or maybe 1.8″ hard drives. Easier than that, there could be the standard netbook delivered with a standard hard drive, with a larger thumbdrive holding a fully formed file system of Chrome OS with which to boot.

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we’re going to see if they still want to be all things to all people soon…

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Quote of the day:

When dealing with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane. - Hermann Hesse

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Another WeatherBug Elite application has joined the ranks of the already successful ventures on various mobile platforms. This time around, WeatherBug Elite for the Palm Pre has been released and it should be noted immediately, this is arguably the best weather app available for the WebOS platform.

Ad-free and offered at an introductory rate of $1.99 USD, WeatherBug Elite is a steal for those Palm Pre owners needing to stay in tune with what is transpiring outside.

WeatherBug Elite functionality provided includes:

• Current local weather conditions
• 7-day and hourly forecasts
• Satellite, Temperature, Humidity, Air Pressure, Wind Speed, Forecast Hi and Forecast Lo detailed map overlays
• Radar Animation*
• Severe Weather Alerts* (NWS alerts)
• Unlimited saved locations
• GPS “Track Me” will update weather conditions based on the location of the user
  (* U.S. locations only)

Where can you get WeatherBug Elite for the Palm Pre?

Interested in buying the app? You can purchase it via the Palm App Catalog. There is no monthly fee to access the data, just the one time cost of $1.99 for the software.

WeatherBug Elite for other mobile platforms?

Yes, you will find that WeatherBug Elite is available on multiple mobile platforms, as is the freely available ad supported version. More info about each option is available at this link.

Google has officially announced that it needs developers, partners, and the open source community to get this operating system ready for use by next year. Google states that the new operating system will function entirely in a browser and that all application functions will be done online.

Here is what Google says will be great about the new operating system:

First, it’s all about the web. All apps are web apps. The entire experience takes place within the browser and there are no conventional desktop applications. This means users do not have to deal with installing, managing and updating programs.

Second, because all apps live within the browser, there are significant benefits to security. Unlike traditional operating systems, Chrome OS doesn’t trust the applications you run. Each app is contained within a security sandbox making it harder for malware and viruses to infect your computer. Furthermore, Chrome OS barely trusts itself. Every time you restart your computer the operating system verifies the integrity of its code. If your system has been compromised, it is designed to fix itself with a reboot. While no computer can be made completely secure, we’re going to make life much harder (and less profitable) for the bad guys

Most of all, we are obsessed with speed. We are taking out every unnecessary process, optimizing many operations and running everything possible in parallel. This means you can go from turning on the computer to surfing the web in a few seconds. Our obsession with speed goes all the way down to the metal. We are specifying reference hardware components to create the fastest experience for Google Chrome OS.

There is still a lot of work to do, and we’re excited to work with the open source community. We have benefited hugely from projects like GNU, the Linux Kernel, Moblin, Ubuntu, WebKit and many more. We will be contributing our code upstream and engaging closely with these and other open source efforts.

Does this mean that we can all dump Windows? I seriously doubt this will be the case. But what I believe will happen is that for many consumers this will be a viable alternative. For those who only surf the Internet, send email and the like; this may be ideal.

What I also see is that with Google behind the project this is going to be a giant shot in the arm for Linux and the entire Linux community.

So what do we really have? Sounds like some kind of a modified browser that will run Web application.

What do you think?

Comments welcome.

Source.

AOL is asking employees for volunteers to leave the company. The other option is to be fired. Sounds like the Titanic, take 2. “We don’t have enough lifeboats, so who wants to stay on board and drown?” As AOL prepares to spin off from its parent company of Time-Warner, the company will need to cut its employees by 1/3 , which is about 2,500 workers. This decision must be made by December 4th, 2009.

According to one article it states that:

This is lousy news for employees, who are faced with a “jump now or wait to be pushed” decision, but it is designed to cheer investors: AOL says the cuts will drop its annual operating expenses by $300 million. Through the first nine months of this year, AOL’s operating expenses ran around $1.8 billion.

Meanwhile, AOL is looking to shed some parts of its business altogether. It has hired bankers to sell off its ICQ messaging service, and is also considering dumping Mapquest, among other assets.

Armstrong’s (expensive) goodwill gesture: He is giving up his 2009 bonus, which was to be at least $1.5 million. His explanation to employees: “As a member of our team and the person who takes accountability for the results of the company, I am making the decision to forego my 2009 bonus. That decision is a personal one and is not a sign for the future payout of the overall bonus plan for employees.”

So as Armstrong prepares to give up his bonus pay, some 2,500 folks are not going to have a pleasant holiday experience. Isn’t it always ironic that those at the bottom of the ladder who make the least must go, so that those at the top can linger on in their lavish lifestyles?

What do you think?

Comments welcome.

Source

No, they are not providing recreation for the employees on break. Although I suppose they certainly could be second tasked for that.

The government has decided to replace an $8000 Tableau/Dell server with more efficient and cheaper PS3s, at about $300 each. (This is a good example of government efficiency at its best, but I’m sure this won’t be making the nightly news anywhere.)

That news comes from slashdot -

“It seems that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Cyber Crimes Center, known as C3, has replaced its ‘$8,000 Tableau/Dell server combination’ with more efficient and much cheaper $300 PS3s. Each PS3 is capable of 4 million passwords per second, and C3 currently has 20 PS3s with plans to buy 40 more. Naturally this is only being used to break encryption on computers seized with a warrant and suspected of harboring child pornography.”

I don’t suppose that the AG of New York ever thought of using these, before he effectively caused the shutdown of many ISP’s newsgroups servers either.

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The media was invited to a debut of the Chrome OS yesterday, but it was clear that the OS will not really be ready for quite some time. Rather than speculating about the inadequacies of the ‘new’ operating system, people and the press can now be wondering aloud why Google chose to announce when the project was not yet ready.

from InformationWeek

Members of the media were invited to Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s headquarters for the official unveiling of Chrome OS, the new operating system from Google. Details were few and far between, but don’t expect Chrome OS to become widely available until 2010.

Google has shared little information since first announcing Chrome OS just a few short months ago. The operating system, says Google, is designed for people who spend most of their time on the Web.

Rumors have been circulating the Interwebs for weeks now about when Chrome OS will arrive. In fact, a beta version of the operating system was expected to appear as early as this week. That may still be a possibility, but given the wording of the Google invitation, I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

Google is billing Thursday’s event as “an update on our progress with Google Chrome OS.” The event will include a demonstration of what Chrome OS is and how it works. Google also said it will detail its “launch plans for next year.”

That last quote makes it pretty clear that the operating system won’t be ready until some point in 2010. Hopefully it will be earlier in the year rather than later in the year.

Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management and Matthew Papakipos, engineering director for Google Chrome OS, will be leading the event.

So the way it was done, it effectively becomes a non-event, and gives breathing room for Google to get out the final bugs and spit polish the interface, all without so much pressure to release prematurely.

The longer Google waits, and polishes, the better the final results will be.

As it is fairly clear that Chrome OS is less a full operating system, and more of a browser launcher, I am wondering why there is so much baited breath. I look for this to become a feature of certain motherboards, in the same way that Asus offers a scaled down Linux as Express Gate on some of its current offerings.

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