Nov 14, 2006 | blog
So with Windows Vista out the door, its time to start evaluating new computer systems at home. The picture today is not as clear as it was a few months ago.
- Do I go with all laptops (which has been my plan for almost a year)?
- Do I go with an upgrade to my existing desktop, new laptops for my wife & kids, and a UMPC for me?
- Would an UMPC for each member of the family make sense, or only for those highly-mobile?
The trouble with it all is that our computing needs have changed, and software models have changed. What is a useful computer for a person that only browses and gets email? What about for my 10 year-old who really only uses the computer for some on line games? How will it grow with her? Do I need to get a uber-powerful unit for my 16 year-old who uses the Internet, games, and media heavily, or will a moderate system work?
Since Vista is around the corner, some of the usage scenarios I was thinking of are not as clear anymore. The usefulness of on line services like GMail, Digg, Del.icio.us, Zoho and more negate the need for a lot of expensive software upgrades. This also changes what kind of system resources are needed to run the services we use on a daily basis.
The interesting part is that each one of us need a new computer. We’ve been putting off upgrading until Vista was released, and some of the new hardware features supported by Vista were available. So, yes, it is important for everyone to get a new system – one or two are so old and slow as to be useless at this point.
So, my question is – what are your upgrade plans now that Windows Vista has been released, and what functionality are you looking for in a new system?
Nov 14, 2006 | blog
I’ve blogged before about Avvenu, the on line storage provider. Well, if you’re a current customer, you should be getting an email from them about an upgraded service offering available to you. It is a pay-for service but upgrades your account to 5GB.
Avvenu is unique in that they allow you to access your home computer hard drive in addition to online storage. I’ve been using them for some time and enjoy the ability to get to files on my home computer.
However, I use another service for my on line storage. Currently I’m actually using AOL’s XDrive for my data. Personally, I’m not fond of paying large sums each month for a service – it has to be a really good service, or something that I can’t live without. I can live without access to my home computer, but not to my on line files.
If I can access my files on the ‘net for free, why would I pay $20 or $30 per month for the privilege? If I have to pay, Amazon’s S3 service is looking more and more appealing to me.
I’ll take a closer look at this new Avvenu service later, but at first blush it doesn’t appeal to me.
Log into your Avvenu account for more details.
Nov 14, 2006 | blog, daily links
Sun released the source-code to Java as open source.
The Google Reader team has some tips to improve your experience with the product.
Another interesting Web 2.0 sticky notes service modeled after Post-It Notes (trademark: 3M). Chris Gilmer covers it at Web Worker Daily.
Nov 14, 2006 | blog
This is very interesting, it will make Java even more popular than it already is. My question though, is how will this affect compatibility and inter-operability? My experience with several Java-based tools at work indicate that Sun had issues keeping new versions of the JRE compatible with previous ones – or at least developers were using features of older JREs that didn’t work when you installed the newer ones.
via: Neowin.net – Sun opens Java
Nov 13, 2006 | blog, daily links
Motorola has some interesting strategies going on. With the Symbol purchase and now Good Technology, it all points towards an enterprise mobile strategy with wireless PIM syncronization and good Windows Mobile support.
Another interesting service that revolves around syndicating blog content for cash.
Excellent article at Read/Write Web on Group Ware, or niche social networking.
