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Zoli's Blog

Connecting the dots ...

Free Upgrade to Vista Final (Code-named Windows 7) is a Good First Step, but Not EnoughYesterday

Put the last nail in the Vista coffin.  Windows 7 is on the fast track.

- good summary of the Windows situation by Signal to Noise.  Yes, Win 7 Beta will be available for download starting tomorrow, and it promises to be less of a resource hog than Vista.  Microsoft also talks about providing free upgrades to Windows 7 for Vista users – at least those who buy Vista after July 1st.

Good start, but not enough. The upgrade assurance is vital for both Microsoft and more importantly its OEM partners, the computer manufacturers to avoid a slump in computer purchases while waiting for the next OS.

But let’s not forget what Win 7 really is: it’s Vista Final.  As it has been widely discussed, Win 7 does not have a new kernel, it’s all about lots of incremental improvements to Vista.  In other words, it’s a Vista that works – using the Microsoft lingo perhaps it should

Did The Tow Guy Get Towed?Yesterday

This is real, I am not making it up. Excerpt from a Skype conversation:

[4:26:50 PM] K says: BTW, remember the towing?
[4:27:13 PM] Z says: yeah
[4:27:18 PM] K says: He was supposed to take two blocks to the repair guy. It has been 3 hours and the car hasn’t reached him. The towing company is now trying to trace the employee
[4:27:33 PM] Z says: c’mon?????
[4:27:52 PM] Z says: do you have a rolls royce or austin martin that’s worth stealing?
[4:27:53 PM] K says: Yeah. I am coordinating with Geico (who sent that towing company) and the towing company
[4:28:00 PM] Z says: hilarious
[4:28:02 PM] K says: Nope. Hyundai Accent :))
[4:28:11 PM] Z says: sorry, not making fun of it
[4:28:15 PM] Z says: but sill hilarious
[4:28:18 PM] K says: Actually, it is
[4:28:32 PM] K says: I was laughing with the Geico guy when I was complaining
[4:28:33 PM] Z says: oh,

Late Christmas Gift from Norway: Download All the Beatles Songs Free and LegallyJanuary 5

From Norwegian site NRKBeta:

Some weeks ago, NRK - Norwegian Braodcasting - signed a deal with music rights holder organisation TONO in Norway. The new deal gives NRK right to publish podcasts of all previously broadcasted radio- and tv-programs that contains less then 70% music.

Podcast containing music may be up for four weeks, while our podcast without music stay up on our server forever.

One result of this deal, is that we now can publish “Vår daglige Beatles” - “Our Daily Beatles” in English - as a podcast.

In this series from 2001, journalists Finn Tokvam og Bård Ose tells the story of every single Beatles tracks ever made, chronologically. Each episode contains a 3 minute story about each track (sadly for our international visitors - in Norwegian) and the actual Beatles tune.

This is - as far as we know - the first time you can download the Beatles’ music legally. Neither iTunes nor Amazon have The Beatles in their music stores.

So now Norway’s contribution to Beatles music is a lot more than just Norwegian Wood.  This is an incredible deal: grab the 128kbps mp3 format podcasts here.

Popcorn Leads Police to Burglary SuspectJanuary 4

This just in  from the “You can’t make this up” department:  Police found the suspect of a convenience store burglary by following the trail of popcorn the suspect left from the crime scene all the way to his apartment. 

The popcorn brand “trail’s end” just got a new meaning…

Source: Sacramento Bee.

The Bogus Vista vs. Windows 7 DebateJanuary 2

If you love Windows XP, you’ll hate Windows 7 – says Ed Bott on ZDnet.  Windows 7: Mojave My Ass –complains Jason Perlow. Dwight Silverman confirms: Sorry, but Windows 7 isn’t a return to Windows XP, while others don’t refrain from some name-calling.

Sorry guys, you’re all wrong. 

You’re debating the merits of an operating system based on it’s UI.  Sure, if you migrate from XP to Win7, some of the changes can be confusing – but it’s an initial change, the learning curve is not that steep.  I actually side with Ed Bott here, the search box to launch programs is a more user-friendly approach than having to remember the names of all *.exe files a’la XP. 

But it does not really matter.  Mojave my ass?  Mojave was a bogus experiment (in fact a PR blitz dressed up as an experiment) showing happy “users” who liked the Vista UI – but hey had no chance to assess what fails in a short demo, and that’s what doomed Vista, not appearances.

Windows in all flavors, be it XP, Vista or 7 is not an application.  It’s a friggin’ operating system whose