Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble gobble. :)

GO RED SOX!!!

WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!

I'm going to the parade tomorrow. Ought to be fun. :)

Harry Potter VII

I just finished the final Harry Potter book. Pretty good. I won't say more than that. :)

Happy 4th of July, 787, etc.

I'm out of school now. Haven't been updating much recently. Oh well. :)

Happy late 4th of July!

Boeing 787

The Boeing 787 is pretty cool. Check it out:

http://www.newairplane.com/

They're officially launching it on 07/08/07. How appropriate. :)

So, on the eve of its launch, it's fun to look back on the launch of the 707.

http://www.aviationexplorer.com/707_roll_video.htm

Pretty cool! :)

Fun Days

Friday was May 4th.
May the Fourth be with you!

Saturday was 05/05.
Cinco de Mayo!

Sunday was 05/06/07.
How come nobody pointed this out? At 08:09:10 it would have been especially exciting. And I missed it! :(
...but Sunday was only 05/06/07 if you're going MM/DD/YY. I generally go DD/MM/YY, so I suppose I'll wait until 05/06/07 -- that is, June 5.

New Computer Update: Nice Vista Touches

As I use Vista more, I notice more and more nice little touches. Long Zheng has blogged about a couple nice ones, and here are a few more. (Note that some have been mentioned in the comments over there. Hey, I can't be completely original...)

Calendar Zooming

Click once on the clock, and it brings up a calendar. No, not the date settings, but a real calendar. Mr. Zheng mentioned that, but what he didn't mention was that if you click on the month, it zooms out to show the whole year. If you click the year, it zooms out to show the decade. Click once more, and it'll show the whole century. All with nice animation.

Also: multiple time zones; clock that doesn't look like Windows 95
What could be improved: link to open in Windows Calendar; show next appointment from Windows Calendar

Gigantic Icons

Hold Ctrl and scroll when you're at the desktop to make your icons tiny or huge... really huge. Depending on what you have on there, there are some really nice-looking icons. Allows for a pretty slick looking, uncluttered desktop. And it encourages me to keep my desktop clean. :)

WinKey + Number

Shortcut for Quick Launch shortcuts. WinKey + 1 for the first shortcut, WinKey + 2 for the second, etc. Not sure if this is new in Vista, but it sure is handy.

Per-Application Volume Mixer

For when I want to leave my music at the volume it is, but turn down AIM and IE.

Also: sound icon changes depending on volume
What could be improved: bug where blank app controls show up en masse; fixed just by closing and re-opening mixer

Auto Scroll in Folder Tree

No horizontal scroll bar needed. Vista scrolls to the right or left automatically as you navigate.

Breadcrumb Folder Navigation

I mentioned this earlier, but really, it's great. Y'know, with the little drop-down arrows between each folder name.

Previous Versions

Right-click a file, click Properties, and then Previous Versions. Great if you save over something you need by accident.

Also: delete a file by accident? Previous Versions still has it archived

Copy File Animation

It's really cool. And glowy. Try it. I actually started at it for a full minute or more, admiring its beauty.

Flip 3D

Especially in Flip 3D. That particular feature may not worth the hype, but it's not as useless as I initially thought. When I have a ton of stuff open at once, as I tend to, it's nice for finding a particular document or folder window because I immediately recognize it visually.

Also: just plain looks cool, especially with video; live thumbnails in Alt+Tab and upon hovering on a taskbar item

Reliability and Performance Manager

Keep track of errors and application failures, as well as your system performance as a whole. Nice.

InkBall

Fun game, though I still miss Pinball.

I'll add more as I remember them...

200th Post: Random Links

I hereby celebrate my 200th post on this blog with a few random links that've caught my eye.

1) Live Search: I was about to go to the CIA World Factbook, but on a whim I tried "population density of india" and it worked.
http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=what+is+the+population+density+of+india%3F&form=QBRE

2) Colbert's Google Bombing successful: Colbert declared "greatest living american"
http://www.google.com/search?q=greatest+living+american&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7DKUS

3) Wal-Mart to put their weight behind HD-DVD?
http://news.digitaltrends.com/talkback184.html

And finally....

4) iPod Killer
http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20070420.html

Vista Thoughts, Remote Assistance, and Fun Links

So I've been using Windows Vista for a couple weeks now, and so far it's working great. It's running on a Dell XPS 410, a computer that basically replaced a Dell Dimension XPS T600. Funny, I had never known the XPS nameplate had been recycled from an old Dimension line.

Both Vista and Office 2007 have been working great. A few notes on each:

Vista

• I love search!!! It's everywhere in Vista, including the Start menu, and when you hit Start it has cursor focus automatically. And it searches basically instantly, which, while now the norm in modern desktop search programs and elsewhere, is immensely gratifying to someone who never really bought into that whole market.
  
  So opening MS Word is as easy as typing WinKey + "word" + Enter, which takes me all of half a second. And becauses it indexes not only files and programs and all that stuff but also IE Favorites and History, opening starwars.com is as simple as WinKey + "starwa" + Enter.
• The Sidebar is quite handy.
• I love breadcrumb navigation in Windows Explorer...
• The much-advertised Flip 3D, aside from being incredibly satisfying, is actually kind of handy because it gives you a much better sense of what you're flipping through and thus makes it easier to find a window if you've got a ton of stuff open at once, like I usually do.
• Seeing live video play in Flip 3D, Alt-Tab thumbnails, or taskbar thumbnails is truly a "wow" moment.
• But Search remains the REAL wow moment.
• Little things like a taskbar calendar that doesn't make you change the date if you just want to see what May looks like, or the per-application volume mixer, or the transparency effects, or ultra-high-res icons, really add up to a much nicer overall experience
• But Search is the nicest experience.
• My desktop has never looked better thanks to aforementioned high-res icons and the fact that you can resize desktop icons by holding Ctrl and scrolling your mouse's scroll wheel.
• Voice command is incredible. In IE you can just say the name of a link and it'll click it. Or in Solitaire, say "2 of Clubs" to click the 2 of clubs, and then "3 of hearts" put it on the 3 of hearts. You can do literally anything with it, as far as I can tell. Sure, it's not always faster than keyboard and mouse, but sometimes it is.
• I love the general emphasis on tagging and metadata throughout Vista.
• Did I mention I love search?

Office 2007

• It's just so.... so easy...
• I actually use formatting styles for the first time ever.
• I love macros. Not that that's new.
• All the design templates have finally been updated from the old 90's-era relics.
• Sadly, traditional Word Art is still there and ugly as ever
• But it's been replaced in part by new, much much better text styling
• Images can be given nice reflections and everything in a matter of seconds
• There's just too much to mention it all
• Some old rarely-used functions can be hard to find now, and one or two are actually gone. They won't be missed by many... but I'm still kind of sad they're gone. But literally, one or two things. That basically nobody ever used.
• Every once in a while, evidence of the old Word 2003 UI comes and mars the experience a bit.

Note that for both Office 07 and Vista, you need to actually use it for a little while to really appreciate everything.

Remote Assistance

It's been in Windows since before XP, but today I'm using it to help my brother on a Spanish menu publication while he's working on one computer and I'm still working at the other. I don't understand why Support teams can't start using this. Though, for all I know, maybe they do. But I must say, it's a real "wow" moment, and it's not even new! In the slightest! Oh, the gems that lay hidden due to overwhelming UIs and lack of discoverability...

Fun Links

Just a few quick things to end on:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonniegrrl/sets/72157600031506494/show/
http://www.on10.net/Blogs/laura/techfest-07-playanywhere-meets-playtogether/
http://www.on10.net/Blogs/tina/first-official-look-at-the-xbox-360-spring-dashboard-update/
http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2005/04/12/407562.aspx
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/04/soldierportable.html
http://theforce.net/latestnews/story/Star_Wars_101_105039.asp
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18096644
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S9SpdCZeg0

New Computer, Pt. 2

And this is one of my first acts on the new computer! :)

New Computer

We just got a new computer, so this is my last post on this one--indeed, my last act on this one, aside from turning it off--before it's moved to the old folks' home (aka the basement). Farewell, computer. You have served us well.

Nineteen

Nineteen years ago today, my parents got married, on March 19. Nineteen months later, I was born on October 19. And Star Wars Episodes I and III came out on May 19.

Nineteen also happens to be the smallest Higgs prime for squares and cubes that has an index among Higgs primes that is less than its index among primes overall (because 17 is not a Higgs prime). Wait, what??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19_%28number%29

SATs, R2-D2, MS Ad Comparison

SATs

I just finished taking the SATs around 2:15 today. Well, that was fun. I must say, the best question was certainly--

Wait. I guess I'm not allowed to say that. Too bad, it was a pretty awesome question. :)

And then there was this other really puzzling one where--

Never mind. Move along.

R2-D2
http://www.theforce.net/topstory/story/R2D2_Mailboxes_Confirm_Rumors_104142.asp
http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/09/usps-goes-postal-with-r2d2-mailboxes/

I was just watching Episode IV last night. And R2 is certainly awesome. And I have a feeling he basically plans everything that happens. (All right, not everything, but a lot--finding Luke, reuniting him with Obi-Wan, etc....) He is, after all, just about the only guy who has a clue, at least once Obi-Wan "becomes one with the Force" and all. He saw everything. Funny how he's the guy we can't understand, and he knows everything.

MS Ad Comparison
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070310/windows-tv-ads/

P.S.
Worms is a great game.

Flags of Our Fathers & ESB SE turns 10

Yesterday we saw Flags of Our Fathers... on the 62nd anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima. Whoah, eh? Total coincidence. :)

In other news, today marks the 10th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition! Hoorah!

Tophtucker.com v5.0 is going online!

The first parts of Tophtucker.com v5.0 are going online now! I have some space issues, so I'm trying to do some spring cleaning at the same time. In any case, the new home page is now live, with more to follow in the next few minutes. :)

Super Bowl Ads

Yeah, I know, this is really late. But anyway--while overall I didn't think this year's Super Bowl had a ton of great standout ads, I'd just like to say that I loved all three Coke ones. "Vending" in particular is fascinating if you watch carefully... actually, there are a few kinda creepy aspects of it if you pay attention. Watch and see if you know what I mean. ;)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16566275/

Star Wars Anniversary Year: Ep. IV SE

As I'm ashamed to note I never mentioned before, this is a very special year for Star Wars fans: it's the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Episode IV. And now, today, we celebrate the first milestone: the 10th anniversary of the Special Edition of Episode IV.

Sure it was controversial, but it sure did clean up the film a lot. :)

See here.

Happy Anniversary, Ep. IV SE!!!

Congrats to Microsoft on Vista and Office 07

I'd like to congratulate Microsoft on (finally) launching both Windows Vista and Office 2007 today. Vista is certainly a huge upgade from XP, and while it doesn't surpass what's out there in a lot of ways, it's an important springboard looking to the future. I'm excited for Service Pack 1 already. :-D

As for Office 2007, I think it's actually pretty revolutionary. The whole ribbon, the ease-of-use -- I think it's a huge leap forward. Next up they need to get super-easy (as in, Google Docs-easy) collaboration in it and maybe an "Office Lite" online version to keep pace with Google on that front. But really, I've tried Google Docs, and while it's passable if the computer doesn't have Word, it just can't compare. I *need* the Word feature set... and keyboard shortcuts. Those are critical. :)

Meanwhile, MSN is *NOT* dead and Windows Live is *NOT* replacing it, no matter what some people may say. Read this: http://liveside.net/blogs/main/archive/2007/01/28/msn-revival-the-january-effect.aspx.

---

Speaking of long-delayed products, my web site v.5 should be online in the next couple of weeks. But I'm in the midst of a huge History paper, so don't hold your breath. But look on the bright side -- it's been in development for merely 1/5th the time as Vista!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Sorry I've been silent recently. I don't really have any excuse.

But here's some fun reading:

Patrick Curry's 52 Game Ideas (one from each week of 2006)
http://www.patrickcurry.com/thoughts/?page_id=67

And this looks really neat:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/06/nikkos-r2-d2-skype-callin-and-media-playin-oddities/