I thought we should have a place for any news announcements or updates in the world of technology. So anything that's just a news report and doesn't need it's own thread can go here.





To start things off: Microsoft XP is going off the market in June '08.

Well, that was actually quite informative...

However on a side note:

I wish they wouldn't do this until Vista....





....Well...Didn't Suck So Much

*shrugs*


I guess I may have to get my laptop sooner than I expected...Or deal with Vista...Meh, Time Will Tell...

It did say you'd still be able to get XP, just a bit harder to do.

I don't like harder dammit!

*retro22 whines for no apparent reason...

In truth, while some vendors may still have XP available, you can pretty much count on it being gone not long after that. As Microsoft will not be producing it, there won't be a source of new copies of it. Much like sell-outs of other products, that doesn't mean it won't be on the shelves... but it hasn't exactly been common recently as it is.

On the upside of things, support for it isn't being cut off until 2009. And the next version of Windows is expected in 2010. (And, given the way things tend to go with Windows -- approximately every other one being worthwhile -- it should be better than Vista.)

.... 2 letters for you...


ME


past that I agree completely(I miss 98...and 95...etc....)

Yeah, as Trebor said, XP will still be available. And you can even buy your laptop with Vista on it and then get XP for it and just use that.

*nods* time will tell on what I decide to do...that and money 0.0

As I reckon it, it breaks down like this, as far as the ones I've used/seen:

Windows 3.1 wasn't great, but it was good for its era.
Windows 95 was ambitious, but especially early on, not very good.
Windows 98 was solid.
Windows ME was not good at all.
Windows XP, rock solid. I abuse my system both here and at work, and I've never managed to crash the OS.
Windows Vista... not looking so good.

As an addendum to that I would say Win 3.1, not so great until you got the 3.11 for Workgroups update, and could use the old internet. Ah, I still remember the day I first logged on, with my 14,400 bps modem... And all the trouble I had installing an internal modem...

But hey, for just under 30 megs of drive space you got both DOS 6.22 and Win for Workgroups... And there was still room for games on my 210 mb hard drive...

That there was...

And to think NASA used to launch shuttles with stuff like that 0.0

*retro22 hides from Gelf, as if it were a secret

And I was a fan of 95...but that's because that was the BIG upgrade i remember as a kid. I mean we had some mac's before that...but when I could out maneuver district protocols to get to the interwebs(in gradeschool) now THAT was awesome

I'm sorry, did you just say that Win'95 was viewed as an upgrade? Surely you jest!

For me the big upgrade was replacing my archaic IBM AT with an AMD 586 with a whopping 16 megs of RAM (FEEL THE POWER!!!) in a full tower case... It had BRS* activation...

But the operating system for me was '98 SE. I never bothered with ME, because my bro had too much trouble with it. In fact I only upgraded to XP a few years ago when I needed to install a new copy of Office, and 98 wasn't supported for it. That said I'm happy with the change to XP. It has proven to be quite durable, even if I had a hell of a time finding sound card drivers...


*BRS = Big Red Switch

wow...i wish i had all these experiences...but im but a young'un...comparatively 0.0

Oh, I wouldn't say I'm old... Just old-school

this gives me an idea for a game...perhaps ill post a thread about it later

*TwinkyMaster holds his breath.

*GelfOgre laughs from his nice cozy Mac

You know, maybe my personal levels of oxytocin are a bit on the low side, but it seems to me that a spray that increases peoples' willingness to trust others is just ripe for abuse.

... Where can I get some?

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has confirmed that the iPhone 3G has a kill switch that can remotely remove software from the devices.


Anyone think the iPhones can also emit sonar so that they can map the surroundings of anyone who carries one?

BTW, the "Genius" feature in iTunes is very cool.

What does it do? (I have this mental image of a button you push which simply has a voice say "Genius!")

You select one song from your library and it builds a 25 song songlist based on what I dont know, but it comes up with some interesting lists. Down side is it has to collect info on your library and send it back to Apple (which is a bit off-putting, I have to say). Also it recommends things you can buy which it thinks you might be interested in. That's a bit annoying as well, because I've now spent almost an extra $20 on I didn't even know I needed (but I DO NEED THEM, I DO!!!)

So, for instance, I click Bob Dylan's Tangled Up In Blue, and click the "Genius" button, and it creates this list for me from my own library.

Tangled Up In Blue - Bob Dylan- Blood On The Tracks
The Weight-The Band-The Band: Greatest Hits
Touch Of Grey-Grateful Dead-In The Dark
Melissa-The Allman Brothers Band-Eat A Peach
Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard-Paul Simon-Negotiations And Love Songs 1971-1986
Carry On-Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-4 Way Street [Disc 2] [Live]
Lay, Lady, Lay-Bob Dylan-Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (Disc 1)
For What It's Worth-Buffalo Springfield-Retrospective
The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park
And She Was - Talking Heads - The Best of Talking Heads
Up on Cripple Creek - The Band - The Band (Remastered)
Truckin' - Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks, Vol. 1 Curtis Hixon Convention Hall Tampa, FL 12/19/07
Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers Band - The Allman Brothers Band: A Decade of Hits 1969-1979 1
Love, Reign O'er Me - The Who - Quadrophenia (Disc 2 of 2)
Man On The Moon - R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
Southern Man - Neil Young
Woodstock - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - So Far
Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts - Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
Train in Vain (Stand by Me) - The Clash - London Calling
Lola (Live) - The Kinks - Come Dancing With the Kinks - the Best of the Kinks 1977-1986
Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads - Remain In Light
Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival - The Concert
Kodachrome - Paul Simon - Negotiations And Love Songs 1971-1986
Midnight Rider - The Allman Brothers Band - Beginnings
Heart Of Gold - Neil Young - Harvest

Pretty cool. I've been playing with it tonight and come up with 4 songlists I actually felt worth keeping.

I'd buy that for a dollar!

Next version of Windows to simply be known as "Windows 7"

Personally, I favor this over less meaningful names such as "XP" and "Vista", though as the article notes, there's a big question of just how they're counting versions here...

I agree on the number vs. name point. As a Mac guy I can hardly remember if I'mon Tiger or Leopard or Sylvester... but I know exactly what OS iteration I'm on, on a variety of computers as well. 10.4.11 or 10.5.3 or what ever.

Numbers are probably more meaningful to us geeks, but they hardly fire the imagination of the mainstream consumer.

That said, "Seven" has nearly unlimited marketing potential, being seen as a lucky number to many, and is identified with many famous athletes by many more.

The expected 2010 release date is bothersome, but I guess they're eager to put the apparent failure of Vista behind them.

*Chaomancer Omega nods

Yeah, I get tired of hearing of them by their "code names". Though I have some quibbles with the Mac numbering system as well... I remember upgrading the OS on the test Mac at my last job and getting annoyed because we had to pay to go from 10.4 to 10.5 (I think those were the numbers.) If it's a full version increase, it should be 11. If it's just a point upgrade, well, I don't usually see software companies charging for those, because they're usually just patches (and I didn't see any functional differences, though I'll admit I didn't dig deep.)

Some industry consistency would be a good thing.


Yeah, that was the whole reason Intel started using "Pentium" as well. And now they went all the way up to "Pentium 4", which is kind of silly....

I'm not sure that they really fire the imagination of the mainstream so much as confuse them, though. With numbers, even if you're not a geek, you can be told "the higher the number, the newer it is". With names that doesn't apply. You have no inherent metric to compare one to the other. And it muddies the water about just what it is.... "Windows 7" is clearly a new version of "Windows". But is "Windows Vista" a new "Windows", or is it a new program for "Windows"? I was actually asked that by some non-techie people, because it's not clear just from the name. (And then, of course, there's the added inclarity when you have a fancy name coupled with "Home", "Pro", "Ultimate", "Pistachio", etc.)



Sounds about standard to me, really.

Windows 3.1 -- 1992
Windows 95 -- 1995 (3 years)
Windows 98 -- 1998 (3 years)
Windows XP -- 2001 (3 years)
Windows Vista -- 2006 (5 years)
Windows 7 -- 2010 (4 years)

Personally I really like the idea of Windows Pistachio...

Me too!

OS Sylvester too.

Its "Sufferin' Succotash" security system leaves much to be desired, however.

Sega announces new hardware: Sega Vision. The Sega Vision is not a game console, but a portable media player, with some games capability (apparently equivalent to Java and Flash games), MP3, and video files, along with some other features.

The questions I have are echoed by the various tech journals blogging about this: Why now, and why this? I'd be as pleased as anyone to see Sega return to the console market (well, OK, I don't have the money to stretch across even one next-gen console, but still...), but I'm not sure why I'd buy a media device by Sega as opposed to, say, an iPod or other already-existing pointless gadgets of that ilk.

Windows XP still not dead, Microsoft extends sales until May 30th. As Gizmodo says, it seems plausible that they'll keep it available until Windows 7 (which, if MS's on-again off-again pattern holds true, will be a nice stable operating system that doesn't require more RAM than comes standard on systems.)

Orange County Sheriff's Department now sending Podcasts.

R.I.P. Circuit City

They recently closed down all the ones in the KC Metro area, and I was not deeply saddened. I always found the customer service at CCs to be abysmal. The one nearest me didn't even have clearly indentifiable checkstands. I went into buy something there during a slow period, and couldn't find a cashier to check me out.

I've heard similar things about another casualty mentioned in the article - KB Toys. Their prices were higher than even Toys R Us and they had poor selection.

Economic Darwinism.

I hate to see competing companies die off as much as the next consumer...but if said companies are just coasting by on a name and because they are simply an alternative rather than a good alternative, then its best they get knocked off and hopefully make way for companies actually motivated to cater to their customers.



By the by, if you have a Circuit City near you, I wouldn't bother with the "Store Closing Sale." From what I understand, they've tended to add a huge mark-up to the price BEFORE they "discount" it.

Yeah, it's definitely Economic Darwinism in action... I was honestly surprised the Springfield, OR, Circuit City wasn't one of the initial ones to be closed. I mean, Best Buy is literally right down the street! I can't think of anything I bought at Circuit City after Best Buy moved in. The customer service is poor at best, and often nonexistent, the prices were seldom better than Best Buy (and often marginally worse), and when it came to movies and music, they didn't have the selection. (Not sure about video games... never bought games at either place.)

Granted, it's not like I'm 100% happy with Best Buy either... there's a little too much about the way they handle things that is definitely not customer oriented. When I was shopping for memory, I had to get a sales person, because all of the memory was behind a counter where it was too distant for me to even see it clearly. And their checkstand path is clearly set up to make it possible for them to do that annoying "Can I see your receipt?" as you walk out the door. They haven't started doing that -- as opposed to Fry's or Costco -- but it's set up for them to do so if they choose to, and that's a policy I can't stand. Treat your customers like customers, not like thieves.

As for the store closing sale... if I have money at the time I might check it out, but my policy on sales has always been that I will buy if and only if I think it's a reasonable price -- regardless of how much it's supposedly marked down by. I don't care if it's 5% off or 95% off -- if it still exceeds what I think is reasonable, I ain't buying it.

Yeah, Best Buy certainly has its faults, but then all things do. However, when I was going through my troubles upgrading my old computer's video card, they took the card back, gave me a new one, and then took that one back and gave me my money with virtually no questions asked. And yeah, their selection on just about everything is much better than Circuit City's was. Prices on DVDs and CDs are actually reasonable as well...in contrast to more-dedicated movie and music stores that tend to mark them up by $5 or more.

Yeah, the dedicated movie and music stores are a rip-off (at least, new stores; used CD places are better.) You only get a decent price if you have their membership card -- which itself costs money -- and even then you only get about what the regular retailers charge, so what's the point? The only reason to go to one of those places is if they have something you just plain cannot find elsewhere in town, and don't want to go online for, for some reason.

Well, almost the only reason. I did go into Sam Goody when they had their going out of business sale, and got several CDs at about $5-7 each. But a going out of business sale being the best time to buy is hardly a ringing endorsement for them.

I'm not quite ready to sleep yet, I'm bored, so here's some interesting tech news: Microsoft loses patent suit, barred from selling Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office, effective Jan. 11.

2 little bits of tech news:

Apple tablet rumors continue to circulate.

AT&T stops selling iPhones in NYC - is this the death knell of AT&T exclusivity?

Well, the Apple Tablet, the iPad, was announced today, and I was not enthused. It's supposed to fill some imagined gap between the iPhone and the Macbook, but I don't actually think there is a gap there. It's deficient as a reader, as a computer, and as a phone... and it doesn't even have a camera! No flash animation, so there are many websites it cant go to effectively, which was forgivable on an iPhone, but in anything bigger it's a serious lapse. No multitasking. Basically it's just a bigger, better iTouch, which is nice and all, but hardly worth $500+ to me.

Oh, and all the Maxi Pad jokes you ever wanted can be found here: http://jezebel.com/5458338/that-time-of-th...ated-ipad-jokes


I especially liked :

I haven't looked at it much (just not my kind of thing; I don't even have a smart-phone -- heck, I don't even have a regular cell phone right now). But at that size, I think there's another "What's the point?" aspect coming into play. Specifically, while it's small enough to be portable, it's not pocket-sized, which means it's only as portable as a laptop... it looks like it'd be awkward to carry around with you, just as a laptop is. We put up with it in the case of laptops because some portability is sometimes better than none, and it can be helpful if one has to do work both at home and at the office, or maybe on the bus if you ride it. But people don't use it when they're going grocery shopping, or walking from place to place. And I can't see them really doing so with this either. And if they're just using it in the places they'd use a laptop, the laptop is the smarter buy. So like you, I just don't see what niche this thing fills. It seems like it's just a gadget-for-gadget's-sake. And while technically-unneeded gadgets are Apple's bread-and-butter, I think they might have trouble convincing people to go along with this one.

Well, the Kindle is selling well for Amazon without competition. I get the impression that this project started out as "we gotta get us some of that", and features just got added to it.

But yeah, I see no reason to get this. Or a smart phone, or a Kindle for that matter.