journals

So, um, Windows 7

By Liam, October 28, 2008

There really isn’t any other way I can think of to introduce an entry where I talk about Windows 7.

So, after seeing a run-down of the new taskbar in 7, I have to say that I’m cautiously optimistic. On one hand, there was the somewhat bad decision to eliminate separation of open applications and shortcuts in the taskbar, as well as remove the titles from view. On the other hand, some of the other enhancements, such as the Jump Lists, the pinning applications in position, and the Peek slab sounds like a useful feature in theory, though it hasn’t yet been implemented. This is one situation where Microsoft’s position on deprecating old features can be appreciated, as it appears the current style can be chosen over the new one. I do like the direction Microsoft has taken with the system tray, which will, by default, suppress all third-party icons and notifications.

Aero Snaps could actually catch on like hot corners have on other operating systems. I can see myself making use of the left and right edges often, though I do wonder how it’ll handle dual-monitor situations. Gadgets should have retained the sidebar as I preferred them that way,…
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Note to Apple: Vista is fixed.

By UnnDunn, October 21, 2008

Apple’s relentless anti-Vista smear campaign continues, with its latest round of “Mac vs. PC” commercials accusing Microsoft of spending money on marketing that it could be spending to “fix Vista.”

Here’s a note to Apple: Vista is fixed. It’s called Service Pack 1, a release that, by all accounts, addresses the vast majority of issues Vista had at launch. Windows Vista with SP1 is fast, stable and highly capable, and despite Apple’s relentless smear campaign, people are gradually beginning to realize that Vista isn’t as bad as they’d been led to believe.

It’s time for Apple to stop the smearing and go back to focusing on the positive aspects of Mac OS X.

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Tomorrow is Wednesday, and You Know What That Means

By Liam, October 21, 2008

Yes, that’s right, a new Zero Punctuation episode is released. Remember class, it’s okay to Laugh Out Loud as you young people say, just remember to take notes because there will be a test on it tomorrow. It’s recommended that you review previous editions in the archives to help prepare yourself for the test.

In other news, I went on a nostalgia trip this week when I found my old Rollercoaster Tycoon disc. It actually installed, and then showed me why 2D isometric perspective could not have died sooner. Imagine trying to line up two sections of path in three dimensions, except you have no depth perception at all and you have to stand 20 feet away from whatever it is you’re constructing. Yeah.

I’m not the guy to go to for old school gaming, let me tell you.

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Just For The Record

By Liam, October 20, 2008

Since over the years it has become increasingly clear that Apple’s developers cannot for the life of them write Windows applications with any sort of the attention to detail for which they are known, and since it is also an arduous task to educate those who have not personally experienced the cavalcade of mediocrity that is anything made by Apple with the extension .exe, I want to array out just how oddly inconsistent and sometimes frustrating these applications are. Rather than start right in with the evisceration, however, I want to go over the sole Apple application that actually took Being a Windows Application 1-2: Software Update, for some mysterious reason.

Apple Software Update

Ignoring the obvious aberration that under no circumstances should bug fixes necessitate a 75MB download, Software Update by and large is the best application of the four. It’s consistent with the visual theme of the system rather than foisting it’s own look upon everyone, it (mostly) uses Windows design conventions (except for one big one: Tools>Options is the preferred way, not Edit>Preferences. An entire menu in the menubar could have been eliminated by following this simple paradigm.)

Quicktime

I’ll start with the most mature application of…
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Adium Adds Facebook Chat Support

By Jay, October 20, 2008

Not only is it prettier, but it also gets logged

For years iChat has been the best bet for a instant messaging program on OS X. At least in my opinion, the old Adium lacked in many features, and the new one still lacks some. These are excused by one simple feature that iChat is no where near beating. Facebook Chat support.

Facebook chat is possibly the ugliest thing ever invented. It plagues the bottom part of your Facebook page, blocking links, obstructing pokes, and making me piss blood I am so angry. I mean why in the name of all that is good and holy in the world of technology would Facebook ever think that something like a pop-up chat bar at the bottom of the screen would be anywhere near a good idea? Honestly, I have nothing that relates to any kind of clue as to why they did this. I just know it pisses me off. The chat interface when a window is opened takes up about 400 pixels. So depending on what computer your using to look at Facebook, the chat window may eat anywhere from 20% of your screen to 100%.

Seriously though, this chat interface is possibly one of the worst I have ever…
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