John C. Dvorak asks where is the buzz over Windows Vista?
As readers know, Microsoft has announced the name of its new operating system, which was followed by a collective yawn from the computing community. Vista? As in “Hasta la Vista, baby?” That name might be appropriate as a symbolic goodbye since it might be the end of the line for Microsoft’s dominance in the OS business.
I’m not saying that Microsoft is doomed as a company, but its reign as the OS dominator may end fast if things go the way I see them headed. The new OS is getting zero buzz. Zero. There has been nothing like this since Windows Me. And now the name Vista, along with the new Microsoft Vista logo, has made it worse. Could anything be less exciting?
Big. Fat. Yawn.
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Forget the Dashboard vs. Konfabulator battle! Yahoo announced today that it has purchased the widget application. What was previously $20 for the Mac OS X and recently Windows application is now available for free. Yahoo is even refunded purchases made since May. Yahoo plans to release and support many widgets designed to take advantage of Yahoo’s services.
Konfabulator, as well as Apple’s Dashboard, always looked very cool to me. It was something I always drooled over before I had a Mac. But after installing the trial version last summer I found that while the widgets looked spiffy, I wasn’t ever actually using them. The widgets take up desktop space as well as resources. Most anything I can do with a widget I can do online just as quickly. Same case for Apple’s Dashboard released with 10.4 Tiger. But still, I’m very glad for Konfabulator CEO Arlo Rose and his support team.
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This is so cool. I’m not sure how long the device has been around but I only discovered it on the Best Buy website last night. With a Slingbox from Sling Media you can enjoy your favorite shows from remote locations, such as the office, a hotel room, the airport or any Wi-Fi hotspot. Connected to a TiVo the user gets all sorts of power– set recordings, browse channels, access recorded shows from anywhere you have online access! This is a mighty fine intarweb multimedia device, baby! Too bad it requires Windows XP.
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My sis has been planning a vacation trip to London for weeks. She’s still going– her plane takes off in a few hours. She was interviewed on local news last night about it. She’s not usually one to get all puffed up about something but last night I was proud to see her on TV. It’ll be her first time across the pond. I know she’s holding in a bit of a panic, especially about getting around once she’s there. But she’s going.
I had arrived in DC the morning of 9/11/2001, just as everything was happening. Now she’s going to London the day after. It’s very unlikely that anything horrible will occur again so soon, while she’s there, but with yesterday’s events still so fresh in everyone’s mind… I’m very proud of her for not being deterred from going. My father and I enjoyed our trip to DC as much as we could. It was emotionally draining for me, but we stayed in town for the full period of our planned vacation and it was worth it. I’m sure my sis will enjoy her trip to London.
She’s got excellent tickets for Guys & Dolls. Apparently Ewan McGregor is in it. I’m not one for musicals, but she is and this is a very big deal to her. She actually only got the tickets last week, which according to her was a giant scoop of luck. I hope that, whatever else happens, the show goes on without a hitch and she is able to enjoy it. She still talks about the musical with Hugh Jackman (I don’t remember the name of the musical), and getting to meet him while in New York. I really do hope she is able to enjoy G&D just as much.
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I’m home today with a sick kid. He’s got a fever and feeling rather yucky. Because of the kids I don’t usually have a chance to catch anything on CNN or even the Today Show in the mornings. I didn’t have a clue about anything until I sat down here at my computer just minutes ago. I was thinking to myself, as Safari was loading up, why do I always check slashdot first every day? It’s not like they have real news. And there it was, right at the top.
Six Bomb Blasts Around Central London
I couldn’t believe it. Forgetting slashdot for the moment I was off to CNN and BBC for news. It’s all chaos. 2 deaths and many, many wounded as those in London still don’t seem to know much about what happened. Bombs going off in the Underground transportation system– at least six. Prime Minister Tony Blair calls it barbaric that the apparent terrorist attack was planned to coincide with the G8 summit. But it also follows the announcement of London being chosen to host the Olympics in 2012. No one’s mentioned that, but it looks like a nice bonus for whomever is responsible for these attacks. Can we continue to host such events? With the chances of horror like this? I would say that we should do everything to continue as normal. We should show these horrible monsters that we will not be pushed into our homes in fear. But I was also a lot more sure about that yesterday than I am today. Each time this happens my faith in the human race dwindles just a little bit more. Torino hosts the winter Olympics next February. I’m sure Italy will do its absolute best to provide safety. But there are always cracks in the system and terrorism always seems able to finds those cracks.
My prayers are with you, London. God be with you.
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