Glide Underwhelms

I woke up this morning to loud banging on the side of my apartment and without power. I found out later that they were redoing the wood paneling behind the electricity meter and and had to cut off the power for about four or five hours. That was really not cool, especially since it was 8AM and I wanted to sleep until about 10AM. So I'm going to start looking for a new place next week because I'm tired of this crap. Glide Effortless is an OS that I talked about a while ago that is solely based online. It's finally out and the verdict is in: it has some problems. I tried registering for it myself but on the last page an error occurred and told me to try again. After all the time I spent doing the registration there's no way I'm going to try it again, and I think a lot of people will feel the same. Maybe they should've tested the integrity of their servers a little better? The idea of the service is that you can keep all the songs, videos, images, documents, and contacts that you need online to be accessed anywhere or sent to friends and family. I'll admit that the UI looks pretty cool, but it may not be as utilitarian as it should be. It also looks like it doesn't handle large numbers of pictures very well. It's a good step forward, but it needs more development before it'll be really good and I believe that it has been released prematurely.

There are a few launches today that did go better. Gmail has started including anti-virus protection for e-mail attachments each time you receive one or attach one, which is good because I like that the trend is spreading. We need a safer Internet. Microsoft launched the beta of its own anti-virus service for your computer called OneCare, but you may be put on a wait list. I'm going to wait because I'm afraid of exposing my PC to Microsoft software in beta, especially in light of a new trojan virus going around exploiting the flaw in IE I mentioned a few days ago. Problems like these lead many of us to ask why Microsoft is so slow at patching its vulnerabilities when it readily accepts losses on the Xbox and currently on the Xbox 360 as well. What does Gates do with all that money? You could always give Ubuntu a try, and another student chapter of the ACM even has a video to walk you through the whole process. Lastly, if you're as unconvinced as I am about the Xbox 360 being a big leap ahead, then read this article to see actual comparisons of Xbox graphics to the Xbox 360. The system is quite powerful, but they didn't give developers enough time to really harness it.

There's actually some rather interesting stuff going on in movies today. I never got a chance to see Serenity (I promise to rent it), but I heard great things despite its poor showing in the box office and now Universal is considering a straight-to-TV movie sequel due to great sales of Firefly's DVD. It would only be a good idea if Joss Whedon was still involved, but nothing is confirmed so we'll see what happens. Right now he's still focused on Wonder Woman, and IGN even has a short video of him discussing how he wants the movie to stay true to the original character. There are also rumblings that Ang Lee is considering a prequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which I liked no matter how many people say it's overrated, but rest assured that he's stated that he'd only do it if he got that passion back again. Avril Lavigne has decided to start an acting career, but I don't understand why. Wouldn't this hurt her bad girl/non-conformist image? I guess it's all about the Benjamins. Now for a couple of movies to keep your eyes peeled for. Chris Moore (of Project Greenlight and Good Will Hunting fame) is going to start producing a movie called Liberty based on a really original idea: an electromagnetic pulse cripples the nation and forces a band of Americans to stave off invaders with old school equipment. The other movie is Pulse, for which there is now a site with a good trailer for the horror film. While the plot is a little bit of a stretch, I think it has the makings of a good thriller.

Since I know you guys can't read my post without the pretty pictures, here's a really great postcard from PostSecret:



Now for the 3x Thursday meme:

1. Is money important to you? Why/why not?
Unfortunately, yes. Having grown up all these years pinching every penny, I'd really like to be able to spend my money a little bit. I'm constantly weighing my purchases against all the money in my account and the prospects of getting a job next summer. If I made $50,000 or $60,000 a year I think I'd be satisfied. The great thing about more money though is to save for the future so that your children can have more than you did (to a limited extent, of course).

2. Dollar amounts aren't necessary, but would you say you make a lot of money? We could always use more, but do you need a lot more, or just a little?
Considering that I make $0 right now that'd be really nice!

3. Do you have a retirement plan?
I have no idea what I'll do when I retire. Maybe teach? It sounds so boring to retire. I'd like a job like old Vinny Cerf, Internet Evangelist at Google.