Jul 29, 2006 | blog
So I’m trying to use Microsoft’s Voice Command with a Bluetooth headset without success…until I found the work-around over on Geek.com!
This post at Geek.com details how to change the default action on an HTC Wizard (such as my MDA), to use Voice Command instead of the built-in voice dial software. If you’re running into the same problem you can apply this work-around to your device and enjoy the benefits of Voice Command without needing to pull your phone out of your pocket.
Jul 21, 2006 | blog
So I ditched the full beta test setup I had. Running Vista, IE7, Office 2007, WMP11 and so on – all in one level of beta or another – was a real performance drag.
So I’m back to Windows XP and Office 2003, though I did elect to keep IE7 beta 3. Performance on a pure beta OS/App setup was just too much to wait around for. And my machine is no slouch either – but that is why its called beta software. Get the bugs out first then optimize for performance.
Now on the flip side, this should not reflect on the feature set or stability of all the beta software run together. Yes there was the occasional app shut-down, but I never had Vista crash. For that matter, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had Windows XP crash in the past five years – no lie. If anyone’s interestedin that fact, I can write about it another time – simple computing practices are involved.
Again, the functionality of the next generation of OS and software will stun the average person. The neatest stuff is simply the fit & finish of the interfaces. While Vista and Office 2007 probably won’t get the kudos that it deserves, but it is truly stunning and makes huge inroads into ease of use.
Yeah, Microsoft is a great company to “hate” if that’s your bag baby. But the fact of the matter is that without a giant evil empire like MS to sling mud at, you wouldn’t have the fierce competition that we have in the market – yes I’m not kidding. Just look at the options at the consumer electronics stores that you can get – Windows, Mac, and Linux systems everywhere.
So in short, I’m glad to have a faster computing experience back! I’ll be plotting my next PC purchase later this year to support my Vista fixation. I’ll write about that later – probably be a full house upgrade as both my wife and I need new systems, and both the kids as well. Ugh, the price tag won’t be pretty, but the end-result will :).
~Later~
Jul 12, 2006 | blog
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
Jul 6, 2006 | blog
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
Jun 29, 2006 | blog
Wednesday was Robert Scoble’s last day at Microsoft. Though he didn’t talk about Microsoft at all, he did post some interesting topics (as usual)! One is a neat video tour of Carnegie Mellon’s robotics lab – check out his post here.
I think Robert is giving us an idea of where his focus is shifting too with the new job. It looks to be quite interesting – I’ve not really followed video bloggers, so I’m kind of interested in what is developing in that area.
