500 Posts and Windows is Still in Trouble

You read correctly, this is my FIVE HUNDREDTH POST! I think that's a pretty big deal because I won't be marking another occasion like this until I reach 1000 posts. I don't have the time today to do anything special for this post, sorry. All this time though and we don't have much higher hopes for Windows Vista. According to Paul Thurrott, who has been using Vista since the very first beta, Vista still isn't near ready to ship. The great thing is that unlike the other whiners, he actually cites specific examples left and right of why Vista is annoying to use. If they worked hard, they could get it done in time, but it's going to be tough, and I don't know if Microsoft can buckle down to get the job done. Remember Windows 98? There's a reason why they had to release a second edition. Over and above all that, he brings up a great point: whether they delay it or not, do people even care any more? Do you think businesses are really thrilled to buy upgraded Windows that may or may not be worthwhile as opposed to XP? I feel that they went wrong in not closing the lid on the project early enough. Beta should've started earlier on something as massive as an upgrade to the most widely-used OS in the world, and they need to learn how to pick and choose features better. I feel that they bit off more than they could chew, and that's caused by bad management. When you try to shove too many things together, they tend to have strange side effects, which is probably what's causing Vista's most popular bugs. I'm definitely rooting for Vista because it's sad for a company with so many bright people to keep getting dogged, but I just don't think it's likely for them to come out on top here.

Now let's shift gears real quick to Apple. According to technology big whig Robert Scoble, we can expect a "dizzying amount of [products]" from Apple next Monday at WWDC, which means that maybe my hypothesis of a new iPod isn't too far-fetched after all. Maybe we'll see an iPhone as well? Mac users who are upset about how few games there are for OS X will be happy to note that a new portability engine called Cider has been released that allows developers to release Windows games on Macs with this engine wrapped around it with optimized Win32 libraries. It sounds pretty neat to me, and further reinforces my inclination to purchase a MacBook Pro. XM has decided to partner up with Google for advertising on their non-music channels through dMarc, which makes it easier to schedule commercials and deal with the radio stations. I didn't know dMarc even existed, but it sounds like a great idea since radio advertising is probably attractive to those who can't afford TV spots. Forbes is running an article about where the best tech jobs are, and apparently they're in really off-beat areas of the country. This is probably because of the cheaper cost of living and relatively high salaries from these smaller companies, but I think that it's more for seasoned workers than newcomers to the industry who aren't ready to settle down yet. Lastly, if you're looking for a home for your data online, then you'll find a list of 90 online file storage systems here. It's a good bookmark if nothing else.

There's really not much movie news today, which is good because I have some website work to get to. The title of the fourth Die Hard movie is actually going to be Live Free or Die Hard, which is the worst movie title I've heard in a very long time. What's wrong with just "Die Hard 4"? The other thing I had was a mixed review from Quint over at AICN of World Trade Center, which I wanted to bring up because it cites more high points than the previous review I had posted hinted at. Still, I'm severely lacking interest in this movie whereas I still really want to see United 93.

Now for the 3x Thursday:

1. Have you ever had a migraine headache? If yes, do you get them often? How long do they last? How do you get rid of them?
Nope. I don't know how I got so lucky.

2. What's the one thing in your life that stresses you out the most? Why? How do you handle it?
Classwork, definitely. My GPA is so high that it would crush me to ruin it, so my grades mean way too much to me and it really stresses me out. All I can hope for, I guess, is that it'll all pay off and I'll get a really sweet internship for next summer where I won't have to stay at a crapped out hotel.

3. What's your worst personal habit (biting your nails, not putting stuff away, etc)? How do you work on making it better?
I'd have to say talking too fast. I'm not sure how many other personal habits I have that I'm really dissatisfied with, but it is rather late in the day for me to try and think about it.

Bonus Question: How was your day yesterday? What did you do?
We really broke ground on our end-of-term presentation (I have to present what I've done all summer to IT leadership at TI), but I don't think I got enough work done for my normal job even with (unpaid) overtime.