Sierra Kilo

So Nintendo announced the name of its next console.  Next-generation consoles have normally had a name that implied “next-generation”:  PS2, XBox 360, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64 (back then, 64-bit was considered next-gen), even GameCube (with cube having 3-dimensions).

Evidently Nintendo said “F that.  Let’s go with something stupid.  Maybe something with an ‘i’ in it.  Ooh, better yet, two ‘i’s.”.  So instead of the appropriate name “Revolution”, they decided to go with “Wii”.  They think that it will help push the whole “community gaming” idea by sounding like “we”, but in actuality it sounds more like “Wheee!  Let’s go for a ride on the ferris wheel!”.

Little does Nintendo know, but ferris wheels are not fun.  They’re the thing that takes up space next to the Vomitron, which launches you at 150mph straight up for 1000ft, then throws you backward through 6 loops while blasting some heavy metal in your ears.  That’s what the kids like.  Not ferris wheels.

But, in all fairness, they are touting some retro gaming goodness.  Then again, I’ve got my favorites on a ROM in my GameBoy Micro and I can’t remember the last time I played them.  Nostalgia:  A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.  “Past” being one of the key words here.  Playing some Contra or Ikari Warriors with a buddy sounds cool until you’ve done it for a few hours.  Then you’re like, “Hey, let’s play some Halo.”  We shall see.

First:

http://rss.slashdot.org/Slashdot/slashdot?m=5126

A BSG prequel series (set 50 years before the current series)?  Since the current series is only in its second season and it’s going gangbusters, this sounds like a pathetic attempt for more money.  Would I watch it?  You bet, but why can’t they come up with something original?  Farscape was original.  Or at least come up with something different.  Sci-Fi already has 2 simultaneous Stargate shows.

Next, the patio is done and looks good.  We’ll probably put the furniture on it tonight.  I need to put some grass around it and tinker with the sprinkler heads, but it’s going to be great.  I’d also like to put some kind of planter on the tall corner to help ease the drop-off and maybe help with washout and drainage.

Next, I’m contemplating setting my sights a little lower for a car.  The IS350 is nice, but I’m thinking maybe I could settle for the IS250.  I lose 100 HP and I’m checking on the high-end audio package.  If I go with the IS250, I can get my payments down below what they are right now.  If I can get the audio package, I might just go for it.  If not, I’ll still have some thinking to do.  After all, do I really need a high-powered sedan?  I do still want the luxury and I do like a good sounding stereo, but even the IS250 has more power than my current 325Ci.  The automatic is really a plus, not to mention the waning warranty on my current ride.  BMW repairs are not cheap, but I’ve had good luck so far (knock, knock) and I can probably hold out for a bit longer.

RHCP has finally decided to release their music on iTunes.  I don’t exactly see what the big deal is.  I think it has something to do with the whole Metallica MP3 copying music thing.

Anyway, we heard their new single “Dani California” a few times on the drive to/from Fredericksburg and I dig it.  It’s still not “Give It Away”, but it’s more in line with “Under The Bridge”.  It has a happy pop feel to it.  I will reserve my opinions on the album until after I hear some samples on iTunes.

In other music news, the new Glen Phillips album gets released on May 2nd.  I preordered it hoping to get one of 2000 autographed copies.  Hopefully I’ll get it early in time for my short trip to Austin for work.  A 3-4 hour drive is conducive for album listening.  Check out the media on his website.

XBox 360 + Oblivion = Candy

…so says Alex Albrecht.  Sounds way cool.  The AI evidently controls the entire virtual world even when you’re not there to see it.  Normally, the AI only runs when you’re in the area to experience it.  Here, the entire world is so sandbox that it rolls on without the player.  This could be the game that makes me buy the 360.

With the XBox 360 backward compatible with several XBox games, I keep coming back to it.  Me likey.  Too pricey.  One day, though.

Email, Address book, RSS News feeds, Calendar.  Now if there were only a way to access all of that information offline, too.  If there was an offline client that would synchronize with Google data, they may have a shot at replacing Outlook.  I’m not completely happy with the features and layout, though.  More drag/drop would be useful.

I just read an article about a guy who says he’s never used Windows.  That’s a bit hard to swallow.  I can see someone rarely using Windows, but never?  Come on.  You couldn’t have lived through the 90s and early 21st century never having used Windows.

Also, I read a bit about Apple being the best computer company in the world.  Some guy said that a computer that wouldn’t run 80% of the software wouldn’t necessarily be the best.  I tend to agree.  So why do I want one so bad?

Asthetics aside, it is built on a sturdy Unix foundation.  That means that most things can be done from the command-line as well as the GUI.  This makes automation extremely easy.  Add the Automator application to that and you’ve got an OS that can literally do your work for you once you set it up.  For example, you can have it scan your incoming email.  If it has certain keywords, it can read it aloud.  You could also just have it read the subject and who it’s from as it arrives so that you don’t have to keep checking your email app.  That’s just one reason, but the one I like the most.  I’m sure I’ll find other reasons once I get one.  Anybody got an extra $3200 lying around that they want to give to me?

I’ve been pretty busy doing some .Net (C#) development (finally), so I haven’t posted much.  There also hasn’t been very much happening in the GGG world.

Boot Camp is getting positive reviews.  It gave Apple an 8% bump in stock price (as I had suspected it would).  And, it has strengthened my desire for one.  Knowing that I could drop a small XP partition to handle the few Windows-specific programs that I would need is the final piece needed for my assimilation.  Well, that and the darn price.  My Sager notebook is still pretty beefy.  The primary battery is shot, though, which means I only get about 30 seconds of life from it despite the backup battery.  That’s almost enough to drive me to order a MacBook Pro.

VMWare announced that they’re working on a Universal Binary Mac version of their emulation software.  That would fill the void of VirtualPC and would make Boot Camp less necessary.

Still not happy with iTunes, but I’m living with it.  I’ve been listening to the Dark Tower audiobooks for the past month or so.  Great stuff.  About halfway through book 4.  Read 1-4 before, but wanted a refresh.  Looking forward to 5-7.

Installed Konfabulator (Yahoo! Widgets) again.  Got the iTunes Companion that allows control and displays cover art.  Nice, tiny, always on top, and a bit sluggish.  Oh well.  I’m a big proponnent of tiny programs with lots of functionality.  Screw those tiny RSS readers and weather displays.  Give me something I can use.
Other than that, same-ol’, same-ol’.

…MacBook Pro.  Why?  Well, now that dual-booting Windows is supported and Parallels is launching their Virtual Machine for Mac, it’s quite feasible that it could become my full-time computing platform.  I could get one now, but I also wanna…
…Lexus IS350.  Why?  Well, it looks good, has the features I want, and has the power I want.  The exterior is what the new BMW 3-series should have been.  The interior is very creamy, especially with navigation and paddle-shifters.  The engine is a 6-cylinder, 300 HP animal.  Plus, my warranty is almost over, which means high-priced maintenance and the possibility of high-priced repairs.  I’ve got the makings of a good down payment, but I also wanna…
…XBox 360.  While this isn’t as much of a hit on the fundage as the other two, it is probably one of the least practical.  I like games, but the problem is that I have trouble finding games that actually draw me in enough to invest my time and money.  On the plus side, the 360 does offer media streaming from a Media Center PC, but my Replay already streams the only media I really care about.  In the end, my money would probably be better spent elsewhere, but this would be nice to have.
So why the wishlist?  Well, I’m just trying to keep everything straight in my head so that I can justify why I save.  That, and the off chance that somebody reads my musings and decides to give me the hook up on some free stuff.  I’m a total gadget whore and would sing the praises of any free gadgets that come my way.  Of course, I’d probably need more than the 1 or 2 readers I have, but that’s beside the point.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

Apple’s market share is going to blow up as a result of this.  Smart move, Stevie J.  Invest now, people.  The next month or so will see a huge spike in Apple stock values.

Why would you put an ‘82 Ford Pinto 4-cylinder engine in some cutting edge vehicle?  Well, because the ‘82 Pinto engine runs on unleaded and the cutting edge engine, while much more efficient and powerful, runs on hydrogen fuel cells, which is much less common.  Basically, Windows has secured its place in the market with software that users can’t live without, as much as they would like to.

Think about it.  To perform your job, what software do you need to use?  Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)?  Microsoft SQL Server?  Microsoft Visual Studio?  Office is becoming less and less important thanks to OpenOffice.Org’s suite which can open and edit the same file formats.  There is still not a viable Outlook replacement, although Novell’s GroupWise and Evolution are available.  MySQL is gaining some significant ground on SQL Server, but I’ve found the MS tools extremely easy to use.  Visual Studio is a real killer for me.  Without it, I can’t troubleshoot and fix problems on-site at a client.  With .NET growing, there will probably come alternatives, but VS 2005 is extremely easy to use (albeit horribly bloated).

So, would you buy an Apple?  The price is the only thing keeping me from it now.  Whenever I do switch, I’d like to write about it like this guy:  http://macnewbie.wordpress.com/

http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/30/news/newsmakers/gates_howiwork_fortune/

A while back, Microsoft prided itself in what it called “dog fooding”.  The employees at Microsoft would alpha/beta test the software on their own workstations in their day-to-day operations.  In this article from the man, himself, you can see that he is using Windows XP.  It also looks like he is using Outlook 2003.

My question is:  Why isn’t Bill running Windows Vista and Outlook 2007 by now?

Sure, they are both a year out of release, but they’ve both been delayed several times.  Vista/Longhorn has been in development for 4-5 years now.  Customer opinion is dropping, fellas.

A year or two ago, I was a die-hard Windows guy.  I was looking forward to Longhorn.  The concepts were great.  It seems that all of the great concepts have been scrapped or scaled back to the point where Vista is just another XP.  Now, the only reason I haven’t replaced my PCs at home with Macs is the price.  I’m not afraid of the switch, even though I have never used a Mac for more than 10 minutes.

I’m a Microsoft-based developer, but I’m trying to jump ship as soon as it’s feasible.  .NET is a brilliant platform.  With so much functionality being moved to the web, the OS is becoming less and less important.  If Microsoft was smart, they should start focusing their efforts on making .NET platform-independent and start developing platform-independent applications instead of a proprietary OS.

So what does this have to do with dogfood?  Well, with the restructuring of the Vista team, hopefully they will be able to get Bill on the new OS in the next couple of months.  If not, they could be in for a world of hurt.