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Thoughts and things I care to shareBloggers Block?
Sorry to everyone, I’ve been so busy at work that I’ve not had time to post much. Actually, I’ve not really been able to write about much, and I don’t know why.
Most of the last two weeks when I’ve sat down and started a post, I change my mind about a line or two in – its been frustrating. There is so much work on my plate during the day, that I simply haven’t found the interest to poke around all my favorite blogs and sites on the ‘net.
It sure is frustrating, it must be “bloggers block” that many bloggers have talked about.
My problem at the moment seems to follow the pattern that everyone goes through, either work or life or something takes up more time and since we all need some “down time”, blogging is something that seems to get set aside for awhile. It’s not like I don’t have anything to say, but I just am having trouble finding the right words.
Another thing that’s not helping right now is that I feel uninspired, I think because of my workload. Well, that’s enough for now, its my daughter’s birthday this weekend, and we’ve got a lot of things to do. Though I will be trying to get back to some writing – I do have a list of posts/articles/reviews, that I would like to eventually get to, so I do have some hope.
Later.
Virtual Release
Well, well, well, today was a good day for free virtualization software. Yep, both VMWare and Microsoft released free products, available for download as you read this.
VMWare’s product is of course the long-awaited VMWare Virtual Server. In response, Microsoft has released Virtual PC 2004 (w/SP1) as a free product, and announced that the upcoming 2007 version of the product would also be a no-cost release.
If you are looking to start leveraging virtualization, any of the current free products can get you in the door. And don’t think that either of these are low-feature, buggy software – actually, both products (including Msft’s Virtual Server 2005 R2) are class-leading packages.
Not sure which to use? Depends on what you want to do – if you simply want to run another copy of Windows on your PC, Virtual PC is your best bet. If you want to run Linux or need more options, then VMWare Virtual Server is your choice. If you need to run several Windows Server installs, MS Virtual Server 2005 R2 is the one you want.
Another note – VMWare hosts a number of free “virtual appliances” – that the community has created. All I’ve looked at run one version of Linux or another, and have Open Source applicaitons running on them. From a straitforward desktop Fedora or Suse install, to a LAMP platform, to a virtual PBX in the app “Asterisk“, you can find a number of useful, pre-built virtual systems.
‘Tis a good day to virtualize.
Via: BetaNews
Firefox Usage Up
Now here is a nice trend – Firefox usage is on the rise again. According to this article by Nate Mook at BetaNews, Mozilla’s Firefox browser is gaining additional significant market share.
With over 15% of the US market and just shy of 13% worldwide, Firefox has become a significant force in Internet browsing. Opera is also doing quite well in the current “browser wars” at a solid 1% of the worldwide market. Firefox will be releasing v2.0 later this year (around the same time as IE7) that should push the bar even further for browser innovation.
While I wish I could say that IE7 is just as good, the reality is that it still has a lot of room for improvement. The enhancements and new features such as tabs and RSS support make a big difference, but overall IE still lags on a number of areas – especially performance and expandability.
Via: BetaNews
Anyone for home service…
It may have been interesting to see a market develop for home IT services in years past, but I guess I’m not thrilled with the idea of supporting consumers who simply don’t understand technologies limitations. Thankfully, technology has improved greatly since I started playing around with computers and software back in 1980, but it still has a long way to go to function as easily as a DVD player.
Still, this is the type of thing for shops like Avatar Consultants and others – the real fun with consumer IT services is the media integration, wireless streaming solutions and such that can be meshed together quite easily with today’s technology. Cheap WiFi and disk storage, plentiful broadband options, pervasive mobile devices, and free services can mashed up into any number of unique solutions for anyone interested in letting their imagination wander.
Via: Desktop Pipeline
Wondering what “Windows Live” is about?
Well, wait no longer! Microsoft has launched an inside live site dedicated to introduce anyone interested to their new “Web 2.0” properties. Though I think they need to add more detail, they have started with two mini-interviews of Windows Live developers.
More information on the site is available by clicking on the Windows Live logo at the top of the “inside live” site.
More OneNote & Blogging
I’ve realized something. I need all my posting tools, content creation ideas, and storage of all this to be online. While I currently do most of my writing offline in OneNote, I’m finding that I would prefer to have my tools online in some way.
A lot of work I did months ago was in Writely – and I’m starting to return to this tool instead of locally installed software. The nice thing about Writely (and Zoho Writer among others), is that your data is stored online, available from practically any browser. The online tools like these also have the basic formatting and all-important spell check (for me at least) features that make writing blog posts a simple task.
What’s missing from these types of online tools are research features. Now, I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking for here, because of course there is no shortage of places to look for information online. This is the place where OneNote shines, because you can Cut & Paste, clip, and copy all types of information into your OneNote notebook in all types of organizational structures. The online tools don’t have something like this.
However, even the abiltiy to aggregate the research notes for a post or article don’t make it easy to form that into a readable format. Of course that is where the creativity in blogging (or any writing for that matter) comes in.
The reality of things as I start to work on more and more writing chores comes into focus, and I believe that I’m going to end up with two different methods for blogging. One online with the Writely’s and Zoho Writers of the world, and one with local software like OneNote & Word. The reason for this is because of the differing styles of posts – long & short. Long posts really need supporting information like links, definitions, pictures, and more. Short posts are really in the conversational form that blogging has long been associated with and simply requires that I stay on topic – though it would be nice to spell things correctly. 😉
The really dirty secret of blogging with OneNote is that the HTML output from both OneNote and Word is horrid – even the 2007 versions that are in beta. Hopfully this will improve over time, but as nice as it is to create a long post in OneNote, the work involved to clean up the HTML is lengthy and not easy. Several posts have ended up in Writely anyway so I could work on the HTML before posting the damn thing on my blogs.
I’ve had some great hints, tips and tricks from several people on the OneNote development team & forums, but for blogging, the product has a long way to go. The biggest problem with OneNote/Word is that Microsoft (it seems) just can’t get deal with the fact that other products and developers can handle presentation as good or better than they can. Fonts are the worst part of OneNote/Word posting – every damn paragraph definition, they have to embed the font being use in the product. Hint – every blog handles the default font for the blog. Oh well, the reality is that I’m moving back towards online tools that I can reach from almost anywhere – I think this will work best for me going forward.
Is Gates departure a sign of a new direction?
Here’s a thought… What if Gates is actually leaving Microsoft to start a new venture? Can Gates (being a visionary) see the handwriting on the wall that fat clients like Windows are fast becoming irrelevant? No the industry is not in trouble yet, but think of the things you can do without a PC now – startling isn’t it! Yes, you still need a good beefy PC to run your streaming media, CD/DVD ripping, photo/video editing, gaming, etc… at home, but for most things a simple device will do quite nicely.
However, think about the average person who mainly consumes information? Do they need a full blown computer with a big expensive OS like Windows, and big fat expensive apps like Office? Nope. Gates knows this, and his competitive spirit will not be sitting idle giving away his fortune. Don’t get me wrong on this, I have no doubt that Gates and his foundation will do great things, and I believe he has every intention to do so.
My main thought here is not to count Bill Gates out of the industry by any means. With a quick sharp intellect, and his ability to see trends others may miss, I’m betting he won’t be sitting on the sidelines for long. The June 2008 timetable is set for a reason – we’ll have to see what that will end up being. Interesting I’m sure.
Any hints Bill?
Blog Launching
Well, I’ve been working and thinking on a new blog for awhile now and I’ve finally got to a point that I believe that I’m satisfied to launch my side project. The idea had really come to me while talking with some family members about blogging and some info I had here on my blog that they said was helpful. I guess this weekend is as good as any to launch a new blog – lots of time to prep and post while everyone is out celebrating our country’s independence.
The new blog is The Mobile Lifestyle and it’s about, well… the mobile lifestyle. The idea I have for TML is to talk about all facets of mobility, not just gadgets and wireless service. There are many things that promote mobility in our modern society and to not take them all into context is to miss out on some really interesting and fun things that everyone can take advantage of.
So I’m jumping into the deep end with both feet and hope to produce something of value for anyone interested in reading. Since I’m not funded by anyone but myself, it’ll really be written from the average person’s point of view. Looking for the best value, watching costs on cool devices & exotic locals, you understand the dilemma that most of us encounter using or acquiring new technology (unless the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation wants to contribute to my favorite charity – me).
There will be some tweaking as I get feedback and work with other resources on the ‘net, eventually culminating in a professional site re-design. So be patient as we work out some of the issues and so on as they come up. The Mobile Lifestyle is now live and online – stop over and let me know what you think!
Internet Explorer Beta 3 Released
For anyone who’s been testing IE7, a new build (beta 3) has been posted on the IE site for download. It looks to have enhanced features for RSS feeds, tab drag-n-drop on the tab bar, and an read email button added to the toolbar.
You can read more on Beta 3 at the following:
Getting back into music
I’m easing my way back… For quite awhile I’ve really shied away from listening to tunes while I work, don’t really know why. One thing I do know is that I’ve been really turned off by the quality and variety of music available in the last decade. I’m not a fan of the current trend of pop music for sure, and I’ve not really spent enough time to dig into other genres of available music, so I’ve really not found anything new for a long time.
The last week or so as I’ve worked on some of my personal projects, I’ve been listening to the archive of music I do have. After all, being a true geek I’ve got everything I’ve ever owned ripped into lossless WMA (a Microsoft geek no less) 🙂 and set up to stream through the Internet via Orb. Its been a nice walk down nostalgia lane – all my favorites!
What I need is to find some new sources, and my initial question is – is that possible? I mean, I’ve not heard anything really good on the radio, I haven’t talked with friends about music much – or coworkers either. Mainly, I just feel out of touch on the subject – growing up in the late 70’s and 80’s that is where my music tastes were formed.
Artists like Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Journey, Springsteen, Boston, U2, Rush, Aerosmith, Duran Duran, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Allman Brothers, Cinderella, Dire Straits, The Eagles, Tom Petty, Foreigner, Guns ‘N Roses, Motley Crue, ZZ Top, Poison, The Police, Men At Work, The Wallflowers, The Beatles, Tesla, Damn Yankees have really formed my preferences.
At any rate, I’ve been cueing up the tunes while I write posts and design sites. Not sure if its distracting or if its helping me focus. I’m enjoying it though. So what am I listening to at the moment? Journey’s “Any Way You Want It” just started… Ah… Many memories from this one – too cool. Suggestions?
I hope the leadership of the Republican Party will take his word seriously. Because this is exactly right.
This is very simple: only Americans citizens should be allowed to vote in American elections.
The SAVE America Act is common sense, and we need to pass it now!
I don’t recall you complaining when gas was $5.00 under Biden.
Hypocrisy much?
Please RT!
This Middle Ages bullshit is a cancer on the planet👇👇🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸