What Computers & The Internet Have Done To My Brain
...ooh, shiny object...
Thursday, March 31, 2005 by Zoomba | Discussion: Living in Cyberspace
As I sit here writing this, I have a Visio drawing up where I'm recreating a process flow that I'm using to draw up specs for a web application I'm going to be building, I'm checking e-mail, I have a number of pieces of paper on my desk in front of me where I'm doodling out ideas on how to solve a dozen different problems I'll have to overcome when I start building the application, I'm chatting over NetMeeting with a coworker on the other side of our work area... oh, and I'm browsing through JoeUser. Yeah, all at the same time.
I'm one of those guys who has essentially grown up around computers. Since I first laid eyes on my dad's Macintosh Plus (one of the lunchbox Mac models) when I was 5 years old (1987), I was hooked. I spent hours crashing that thing, trying to take it apart bit by bit to figure out how it worked. Then, a few years later, I got to experience The Internet for the first time... but before there was a World Wide Web. I used to spend entire weekends in my dad's office surfing Gopher. I read articles and papers on topics that I had absolutely no interest in just because I could. It astounded me that I could read papers stored on computers on the other side of the country in the blink of an eye. As time went on, the computers we had at home became more sophisticated, the Internet really took off, and I was right there in the middle of it, living through every advance. I had an e-mail account before most of the adults I knew. I had a web page before such a thing as WYSIWYG editing existed. I was doing Internet Relay Chat while people were just coming to grips with AOL chat rooms. I was on the bleeding edge, and I loved it.
It was a common thing to see me at the computer in High School with 7 AIM conversations running, several email exchanges going on, a few web browsers open to forums, talking on the phone with a friend while holding a conversation with someone in the room standing next to me. There was multitasking... then there was what I was doing. I was keeping track of dozens of different things at once with ease. Most people who would watch me do this couldn't even keep up with what program I was currently typing in as I clicked around the desktop at the speed of thought.
Fast forward a few years to my Junior Year of college. What I had been doing wasn't so rare anymore, everyone had a dozen email addresses, anyone could make a web page, AIM was a staple of life (whenever AIM would crash for whatever reason, you'd see students wandering campus and building hallways with a lost look on their faces). Now, it was also at this time that my course work got serious, and my part-time job as IT Guru for the Biochem Dept got pretty involved and required a lot more attention. I suddenly found that when I had to concentrate on one item for a long period of time (i.e. a major project) I would be distracted within 30min. I thought maybe it was because I was bored with the task at hand... but it happened when I was doing IT work, something I enjoy a great deal. My attention span was completely shot. I had grown up juggling a dozen things in my mind at once, so when I had to just go at one at a time, I couldn't do it.
I pretty much exhibit all the signs of adult attention deficit disorder... I can't concentrate on any one thing for very long unless its something that is in some way continually changing. I can sit for hours and read books... I can play a video game all day... because both of those experiences are continually changing (story, dialogue, activities etc...). Ask me to work on the requirements document for a legal compliance project and I’ll start to zone out, start thinking of a dozen different things I need to do or wish I was doing.
This, I think, is the greatest danger associated with growing up immersed in technology. The world never sits still long enough to concentrate. Even the nature of work now is much different with people constantly shifting from meeting to meeting, tasked to work on half a dozen projects at once, juggling the flood of emails for each project and then having to go home and manage a personal life and finances. Technology has sped everything up, and now most people are simply unable to slow down.
Ooooh… look… shiny… *wanders off*
I'm one of those guys who has essentially grown up around computers. Since I first laid eyes on my dad's Macintosh Plus (one of the lunchbox Mac models) when I was 5 years old (1987), I was hooked. I spent hours crashing that thing, trying to take it apart bit by bit to figure out how it worked. Then, a few years later, I got to experience The Internet for the first time... but before there was a World Wide Web. I used to spend entire weekends in my dad's office surfing Gopher. I read articles and papers on topics that I had absolutely no interest in just because I could. It astounded me that I could read papers stored on computers on the other side of the country in the blink of an eye. As time went on, the computers we had at home became more sophisticated, the Internet really took off, and I was right there in the middle of it, living through every advance. I had an e-mail account before most of the adults I knew. I had a web page before such a thing as WYSIWYG editing existed. I was doing Internet Relay Chat while people were just coming to grips with AOL chat rooms. I was on the bleeding edge, and I loved it.
It was a common thing to see me at the computer in High School with 7 AIM conversations running, several email exchanges going on, a few web browsers open to forums, talking on the phone with a friend while holding a conversation with someone in the room standing next to me. There was multitasking... then there was what I was doing. I was keeping track of dozens of different things at once with ease. Most people who would watch me do this couldn't even keep up with what program I was currently typing in as I clicked around the desktop at the speed of thought.
Fast forward a few years to my Junior Year of college. What I had been doing wasn't so rare anymore, everyone had a dozen email addresses, anyone could make a web page, AIM was a staple of life (whenever AIM would crash for whatever reason, you'd see students wandering campus and building hallways with a lost look on their faces). Now, it was also at this time that my course work got serious, and my part-time job as IT Guru for the Biochem Dept got pretty involved and required a lot more attention. I suddenly found that when I had to concentrate on one item for a long period of time (i.e. a major project) I would be distracted within 30min. I thought maybe it was because I was bored with the task at hand... but it happened when I was doing IT work, something I enjoy a great deal. My attention span was completely shot. I had grown up juggling a dozen things in my mind at once, so when I had to just go at one at a time, I couldn't do it.
I pretty much exhibit all the signs of adult attention deficit disorder... I can't concentrate on any one thing for very long unless its something that is in some way continually changing. I can sit for hours and read books... I can play a video game all day... because both of those experiences are continually changing (story, dialogue, activities etc...). Ask me to work on the requirements document for a legal compliance project and I’ll start to zone out, start thinking of a dozen different things I need to do or wish I was doing.
This, I think, is the greatest danger associated with growing up immersed in technology. The world never sits still long enough to concentrate. Even the nature of work now is much different with people constantly shifting from meeting to meeting, tasked to work on half a dozen projects at once, juggling the flood of emails for each project and then having to go home and manage a personal life and finances. Technology has sped everything up, and now most people are simply unable to slow down.
Ooooh… look… shiny… *wanders off*
WinCustomizing like it's a big DVD
WC Browser v2.0 preview
Wednesday, March 30, 2005 by Frogboy | Discussion: OS Customization
The people who purchase WinCustomize premium subscriptions, or as they're known in the office "Givers of life and food" get a lot of really cool stuff. Of the 3 million people who visit WinCustomize.com each month, fewer than 0.01% of them purchase a WinCustomize subscription. Perhaps it's because people don't know all the cool stuff they get such as the photo album support, the personal pages, the unlimited bandwidth use, the premium suties.
Or perhaps they don't know just how cool the new WinCustomize Browser 2.0 is going to be. Now, if you have Stardock Central and a WinCustomize subscription, 2.0 will automatically integrate itself in when it comes out in the next several weeks. Some of the new features are cosmetic, but a lot of it is under the hood stuff.
The WinCustomize.com browser bypasses the website and goes directly into the databases. In effect, it turns our many gigabytes of content into a virtual DVD for you to peruse. The new version in beta integrates into the new design and underpinning for the site. For example, you can view the skins, themes, wallpapers, etc. in many different ways (thumbnails, details, etc.). The new version can bring up thumbnails very quickly. The new forum system is integrated into the latest build and it's hard to go back to slogging through the website to visit forum posts once you've used what's in WC browser.
If you don't have a WinCustomize premium subscription, you can get it HERE. It's only $20. And you get an amazing amount of goodies for it.
The Online Operating Environment
Slowly making the desktop OS irrellevant
Tuesday, March 29, 2005 by Zoomba | Discussion: OS Wars
WebMail, Blogs, Network File Storage, Streaming Music & Video, Downloadable Games & Applications
Welcome to the new frontier of personal computing!
Each and every one of the technologies I listed above have been around for a number of years now in one form or another. I've personally been using blogs and webmail for about 6 years now, network file storage for about 5, streaming media for about 4, and downloadable apps & games for the past 2 years. I've picked up these services from places like Google, Yahoo, Stardock, WinAmp (Shoutcast), GameSpy and my former University (and employer). Because of these services, I'm storing less and less information on my PC. My e-mail sits on far off servers, my writing sits on blogs, many of my important documents reside on file servers (both in my home and in places abroad), much of my music is streamed, or stashed away on my iPod. I even have software on Stardock's servers that I download on-demand. My computer is quickly becoming interchangable with any other computer that comes with a standard set of software.
So the technology exists in bits and pieces scattered among a dozen different companies, not much of it pulls together easily either. Stardock is on the cusp with their offerings, but as yet it doesn't feel like they all fit together as one coherent piece, though I'm sure that's on the horizon. Brad has even spoken about the need to integrate many of the features I listed above into the Operating System itself. This is also a subject of speculation when it comes to Google, or the secret plans of Microsoft. We're sitting on the edge of the cliff when it comes to the next major technological shift in home computing. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Stardock are all looking to the future and trying to determine how best to proceed.
Microsoft is going its usual way by leveraging it's massive Windows Operating System as the end-all-be-all solution to everything. Just cram more into the OS and it shall be good! So far they've done a pretty bad job at leveraging their muscle in the integrated technology and services area for the average consumer. WebTV, the aborted set-top box, their music player effort etc haven't worked like they would like. Their online services via MSN (and hotmail) also haven't really gotten the foothold they would like. This makes Microsoft perhaps the least likely to be the ones to realize and bring to reality this next step in computing, which is ironic considering they have the largest install base possible. They'll do the same thing in this area that they did with the Web. They'll ignore it until someone else comes in and exploits the full potential and does the back-breaking work of making the public aware of it. Then they'll come in and leverage their resources to make their product the dominant one.
Google and Yahoo are taking an interesting direction on this. They don't install stuff to your PC (with the exception of a few services like Desktop Search or Yahoo Messenger). You can do email (and by extension file storage), writing, calendar planning, person-to-person communication etc all via their web sites. Their offerings are available to you wherever you find a computer with an Internet connection, and they don't care if you're running Windows, MacOS or Linux. The only tool you need is a Web Browser. The services they offer are limited only by the imagination of their programmers and the connection speed of their users. But with broadband becoming the standard, speed is less of an issue now than it was. (On a side note, since Google publishes all of its APIs for use, I wonder how long before someone writes a program that uses a google email account as a file storage system, and instead of displaying mailbox contents, sorts and displays the attached files, using the emails attached as comments/descriptions)
Apple is one of the more interesting in this arena. The Mac Mini, the iPod (and soon wireless iPod... wiPod? Because! yuk yuk yuk...) and their focus on sleek, incredibly user friendly interfaces. Adding in a strong wireless integration feature to their products, connected with the .Mac services (file storage, email etc) and they'll have a very easy to setup (though expensive) sleek and sexy home information system. Video, music, television, Internet... all controlled centrally, all accessed easily from any device in the house. All connected to an unlimited number of online services. Pull out your iPalm anywhere there's a wireless network... grab your iCal calendar from your .Mac service, which is also instantly accessable from your home. The transition between home and work, or the mall or wherever becomes seamless as you carry with you your entire library of information. E-Mail, music, calendar, it's always with you.
Stardock presents a completely different side of the integrated/seamless online services issue. Stardock Central (SDC) is your one-stop-shop for everything SD related. All your products are downloaded from there directly, all you have to do is provide the system with your login and serial numbers. I have near-instant access to my software from any computer with SDC and a net connection. Add to SDC, JoeUser (and BlogNavigator which isn't quite where I'd like it to be yet in terms of usability) and WinCustomize and you have the integration of a strong online community and set of services. All of which are equally accessable from any net connected PC (sorry Mac and Linux users...). While Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Google are providing the service side of the networked platform, Stardock is providing the content... the applications and games. Same coin, different side.
Things have already progressed to the point that I have a small set of installers and files that I keep backed up to a CD, so that when I have to do a new install of Windows, I can get up and running and have my system customized as I like it within an hour. I need Firefox, Norton, SDC and my theme suite file. Install, download, done.
What we're moving towards however is the ability for me to reinstall my OS, fire up a web browser and click a button that says "Setup My System!" and boom, it's all there, pulled from web sites automatically, installed and configured the way I like it. All online. Take it one step further and it could be my network profile I pull up on any computer I ever sit down at in the world. We're getting there, just not quite there yet.
It's going to be interesting to see what happens in this arena in the next 5 years.
Welcome to the new frontier of personal computing!
Each and every one of the technologies I listed above have been around for a number of years now in one form or another. I've personally been using blogs and webmail for about 6 years now, network file storage for about 5, streaming media for about 4, and downloadable apps & games for the past 2 years. I've picked up these services from places like Google, Yahoo, Stardock, WinAmp (Shoutcast), GameSpy and my former University (and employer). Because of these services, I'm storing less and less information on my PC. My e-mail sits on far off servers, my writing sits on blogs, many of my important documents reside on file servers (both in my home and in places abroad), much of my music is streamed, or stashed away on my iPod. I even have software on Stardock's servers that I download on-demand. My computer is quickly becoming interchangable with any other computer that comes with a standard set of software.
So the technology exists in bits and pieces scattered among a dozen different companies, not much of it pulls together easily either. Stardock is on the cusp with their offerings, but as yet it doesn't feel like they all fit together as one coherent piece, though I'm sure that's on the horizon. Brad has even spoken about the need to integrate many of the features I listed above into the Operating System itself. This is also a subject of speculation when it comes to Google, or the secret plans of Microsoft. We're sitting on the edge of the cliff when it comes to the next major technological shift in home computing. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Stardock are all looking to the future and trying to determine how best to proceed.
Microsoft is going its usual way by leveraging it's massive Windows Operating System as the end-all-be-all solution to everything. Just cram more into the OS and it shall be good! So far they've done a pretty bad job at leveraging their muscle in the integrated technology and services area for the average consumer. WebTV, the aborted set-top box, their music player effort etc haven't worked like they would like. Their online services via MSN (and hotmail) also haven't really gotten the foothold they would like. This makes Microsoft perhaps the least likely to be the ones to realize and bring to reality this next step in computing, which is ironic considering they have the largest install base possible. They'll do the same thing in this area that they did with the Web. They'll ignore it until someone else comes in and exploits the full potential and does the back-breaking work of making the public aware of it. Then they'll come in and leverage their resources to make their product the dominant one.
Google and Yahoo are taking an interesting direction on this. They don't install stuff to your PC (with the exception of a few services like Desktop Search or Yahoo Messenger). You can do email (and by extension file storage), writing, calendar planning, person-to-person communication etc all via their web sites. Their offerings are available to you wherever you find a computer with an Internet connection, and they don't care if you're running Windows, MacOS or Linux. The only tool you need is a Web Browser. The services they offer are limited only by the imagination of their programmers and the connection speed of their users. But with broadband becoming the standard, speed is less of an issue now than it was. (On a side note, since Google publishes all of its APIs for use, I wonder how long before someone writes a program that uses a google email account as a file storage system, and instead of displaying mailbox contents, sorts and displays the attached files, using the emails attached as comments/descriptions)
Apple is one of the more interesting in this arena. The Mac Mini, the iPod (and soon wireless iPod... wiPod? Because! yuk yuk yuk...) and their focus on sleek, incredibly user friendly interfaces. Adding in a strong wireless integration feature to their products, connected with the .Mac services (file storage, email etc) and they'll have a very easy to setup (though expensive) sleek and sexy home information system. Video, music, television, Internet... all controlled centrally, all accessed easily from any device in the house. All connected to an unlimited number of online services. Pull out your iPalm anywhere there's a wireless network... grab your iCal calendar from your .Mac service, which is also instantly accessable from your home. The transition between home and work, or the mall or wherever becomes seamless as you carry with you your entire library of information. E-Mail, music, calendar, it's always with you.
Stardock presents a completely different side of the integrated/seamless online services issue. Stardock Central (SDC) is your one-stop-shop for everything SD related. All your products are downloaded from there directly, all you have to do is provide the system with your login and serial numbers. I have near-instant access to my software from any computer with SDC and a net connection. Add to SDC, JoeUser (and BlogNavigator which isn't quite where I'd like it to be yet in terms of usability) and WinCustomize and you have the integration of a strong online community and set of services. All of which are equally accessable from any net connected PC (sorry Mac and Linux users...). While Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Google are providing the service side of the networked platform, Stardock is providing the content... the applications and games. Same coin, different side.
Things have already progressed to the point that I have a small set of installers and files that I keep backed up to a CD, so that when I have to do a new install of Windows, I can get up and running and have my system customized as I like it within an hour. I need Firefox, Norton, SDC and my theme suite file. Install, download, done.
What we're moving towards however is the ability for me to reinstall my OS, fire up a web browser and click a button that says "Setup My System!" and boom, it's all there, pulled from web sites automatically, installed and configured the way I like it. All online. Take it one step further and it could be my network profile I pull up on any computer I ever sit down at in the world. We're getting there, just not quite there yet.
It's going to be interesting to see what happens in this arena in the next 5 years.
Visual Styles
A definition
Monday, March 28, 2005 by Frogboy | Discussion: Customization Software
Visual Styles:
A visual style is a partiuclar type of "skin" designed to change the look and feel of the entire user interface of an operating system.
On Windows XP, there are two popular formats for visuals tyles - WindowBlinds and MSStyles.
WindowBlinds visual styles are designed to be more flexible than MSStyles but require the user to use the commercial program, WindowBlinds ($19.95) in order to get the most out of them.
MSStyles are very basic but are also free. They cannot move title bar buttons, cannot change border sizes, cannot add additional buttons to the title bar, cannot change styles on title bar text, cannot control alignment on controls or text.
Advocates for MSStyles will argue that these limitations are a good thing because most msstyles tend to be pretty derivative of the existing Windows XP look and therefore are more "usable". Proponents for WindowBlinds will argue that WindowBlinds users can use msstyles as well via SkinStudio and that the whole point of "skinning" your GUI is to be able to make it look and feel how you want not just tweak it a little bit. MSStyles cannot change tool bar buttons or progress animations and don't skin as many parts of the Windows XP OS.
The advantage of WindowBlinds (the program) is that in addition to being able to use WindowBlinds visual styles as well as MSStyles via SkinStudio that it can provide hardware acceleration based on graphic card improvements that have been made since Windows XP's release back in 2001. In addition, WindowBlinds provides features such as color changing on the fly, per application visual style support, mouse button customization, mixing and matching progress animations and toolbar icons, and can skin non-theme aware applications.
For a full list of WindowBlinds features versus the bundled msstyle system, visit http://www.windowblinds.net/wb4
Aero & Longhorn
A closer look
Friday, March 25, 2005 by Frogboy | Discussion: Aero
This seems to get tossed around quite a bit in terms of what Aero will require.
First off, Aero is the code-name for the user experience for Longhorn.
In Windows XP, we had "Luna" to describe the new user experience. It's a combination of the overall "look" of the OS along with basic usability details.
There are currently 4 different experiences planned depending on your hardware requirements. 3 of them are Aero-derivatives:
Level 1: Classic Windows. This is the same as Classic mode in Windows XP.
Level 2: Aero Express. This is akin to the Windows XP style. It'll be pretty basic but have the new general look and feel.
Level 3: Aero Glass. This will require a decent video card that supports DirectX 9. This will probably be the most common look we'll see with Longhorn initially.
Level 4: Aero "Diamond" (not sure if this will be the final name). This is the ultimate experience and you'll need a pretty good video card (i.e. 128 meg at least with very good LDDM drivers).
Any Longhorn-like skins you've seen so far would be, at best, close to Aero Express.
WinSuperSite has a screenshot of an Aero-Express look and feel showing off the new Explorer look. It's just a prototype but it gives an indication of where Microsoft may be going.
First off, Aero is the code-name for the user experience for Longhorn.
In Windows XP, we had "Luna" to describe the new user experience. It's a combination of the overall "look" of the OS along with basic usability details.
There are currently 4 different experiences planned depending on your hardware requirements. 3 of them are Aero-derivatives:
Level 1: Classic Windows. This is the same as Classic mode in Windows XP.
Level 2: Aero Express. This is akin to the Windows XP style. It'll be pretty basic but have the new general look and feel.
Level 3: Aero Glass. This will require a decent video card that supports DirectX 9. This will probably be the most common look we'll see with Longhorn initially.
Level 4: Aero "Diamond" (not sure if this will be the final name). This is the ultimate experience and you'll need a pretty good video card (i.e. 128 meg at least with very good LDDM drivers).
Any Longhorn-like skins you've seen so far would be, at best, close to Aero Express.
WinSuperSite has a screenshot of an Aero-Express look and feel showing off the new Explorer look. It's just a prototype but it gives an indication of where Microsoft may be going.
So Apple, What's Next?
Thursday, March 24, 2005 by geekinthecity | Discussion:
While Apple Computer's market share has been minuscule their role in the technology industry is not. It was Apple who brought computing power from the mainframe systems to the desktop. It was two guys named Steve who saw that there was a need and a desire for computers in homes, schools and small businesses. Computers were no longer limited to Governments, large corporations, and the military. Although the established manufacturers of mainframe systems such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Digital Equipment Corporation made huge shifts in the ways they did business to focus on desktop computers it wouldn't have happened the way it did if it wasn't for Apple.
Once desktop computers became mainstream due mostly to IBM and the thousands of startup companies producing clones of IBM's PC's, Apple set about making computers easy enough to use and bought forth the Macintosh. Even though the Macintosh was the first mass marketed graphical user interface, it was Microsoft who copied the idea and sold millions of copies of Windows that dominated desktop computers.
Towards the mid 1990's Apple brought forth another device that may not have dominated the market but definitely showed the way. In 1994 Apple introduced the Newton PDA. Even though the Newton could only find a small core of users the Newton PDA paved the way for other PDA's such as Palm that did go on to reach mass acceptance.
As the 1990's drew to an end, it was Apple computer who changed what computers looked like. Before Apple released the iMac, computers were almost always beige boxes that didn't offer much in the area of design. Now more than seven years after the original iMac hit the market even the most conservatively designed PC's are definitely not beige boxes.
After the iMac came Apple's first successful entry into consumer electronics, the iPod digital music player. At the time that the iPod was introduced there were portable MP3 players available on the market for several years but since then the iPod has become the digital music player that every other digital music player tries to emulate. Due mostly to Apple's own iTunes online music store. The songs purchased from iTunes will only play on the iPod which will not play songs purchased from other online music services.
While Apple Computer has really only reached a small niche of customers and has never even come close to market domination Apple computer has always been the trendsetter in the technology industry. Technology always seems to be about the 'The Next Big Thing' and many people look to Apple for some clue into what that next big thing is. It would be logical for Apple to continue down the path from computing into consumer electronics. It is rumored that the company that revolutionized how people record TV shows, TiVo is a possible merger target and that Apple would be a perfect suitor. A large screen G5 powered Mac with built in TiVo recorder with a CableCard slot would most certainly be the most formidable competition to PC's running Windows XP Media Center edition.
The Video on Demand offerings from cable companies are growing steadily, most VOD only offers the same movies that currently appear on Pay Per View. Apple has most certainly been successful with their iTunes Music Store. The next step in the path is video programming for sale available at any time to anyone with a broadband connection. An Apple online video store could start with Movies and recently aired TV shows and then offer everything right down to smallest independant feature and short films and even educational and instructional videos. One has to admit there's a lot of potential here.
As Apple as come up with new technological concepts which others have emulated with various degrees of success they have always played their hand close to their chest. It's always fun to speculate what Apple comes up with and amazing what they come up with.
Once desktop computers became mainstream due mostly to IBM and the thousands of startup companies producing clones of IBM's PC's, Apple set about making computers easy enough to use and bought forth the Macintosh. Even though the Macintosh was the first mass marketed graphical user interface, it was Microsoft who copied the idea and sold millions of copies of Windows that dominated desktop computers.
Towards the mid 1990's Apple brought forth another device that may not have dominated the market but definitely showed the way. In 1994 Apple introduced the Newton PDA. Even though the Newton could only find a small core of users the Newton PDA paved the way for other PDA's such as Palm that did go on to reach mass acceptance.
As the 1990's drew to an end, it was Apple computer who changed what computers looked like. Before Apple released the iMac, computers were almost always beige boxes that didn't offer much in the area of design. Now more than seven years after the original iMac hit the market even the most conservatively designed PC's are definitely not beige boxes.
After the iMac came Apple's first successful entry into consumer electronics, the iPod digital music player. At the time that the iPod was introduced there were portable MP3 players available on the market for several years but since then the iPod has become the digital music player that every other digital music player tries to emulate. Due mostly to Apple's own iTunes online music store. The songs purchased from iTunes will only play on the iPod which will not play songs purchased from other online music services.
While Apple Computer has really only reached a small niche of customers and has never even come close to market domination Apple computer has always been the trendsetter in the technology industry. Technology always seems to be about the 'The Next Big Thing' and many people look to Apple for some clue into what that next big thing is. It would be logical for Apple to continue down the path from computing into consumer electronics. It is rumored that the company that revolutionized how people record TV shows, TiVo is a possible merger target and that Apple would be a perfect suitor. A large screen G5 powered Mac with built in TiVo recorder with a CableCard slot would most certainly be the most formidable competition to PC's running Windows XP Media Center edition.
The Video on Demand offerings from cable companies are growing steadily, most VOD only offers the same movies that currently appear on Pay Per View. Apple has most certainly been successful with their iTunes Music Store. The next step in the path is video programming for sale available at any time to anyone with a broadband connection. An Apple online video store could start with Movies and recently aired TV shows and then offer everything right down to smallest independant feature and short films and even educational and instructional videos. One has to admit there's a lot of potential here.
As Apple as come up with new technological concepts which others have emulated with various degrees of success they have always played their hand close to their chest. It's always fun to speculate what Apple comes up with and amazing what they come up with.
DesktopX: Realizing its potential
-or- finally becoming useful
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 by BlueDev | Discussion: DesktopX
I have written in the past about my enjoyment in customizing my desktop. Some days I spend enough time tweaking things that I would call it a 'condition'. But I digress. It is sufficient to say I really like changing my desktop around and adjusting things to be just the way I want them to be.
For months now I have been reading about 'widgets' and how they are the next big thing in OS customization. To be honest, I didn't get it. They really did nothing for me. And it wasn't due to ignorance, trust me. I am a registered Object Desktop user, so I have had access to DesktopX for almost a year now (in addition to the many times I have tried the demo for longer than that), have used Kapsules, Konfabulator, AveDesk, dotWidget, and even @Zpod (no, I haven't tried Samurize yet). So I have given widgets and their respective applications a fair try.
I suppose it is the minimalist in me, but I don't like that much cluttering my desktop. So I was really excited a while back when Brad announced that DesktopX would have overlay keys (meaning that I hit F9 and all my widgets/objects jump to the front of my screen, hit F10 and they all vanish from my screen). This way I could have them there, ready to go, but not have to look at them all the time. But there was one problem: the widgets.
Stardock has taken a lot of heat on the quality of their widgets in recent times. I'm not going to go there, but that wasn't my problem. My problem was the widgets themselves. They just didn't do a lot for me. There were some fun ones, but nothing that was great enough for me to want it there all the time. And so I just didn't use them still. I love some of the media players as well, but I usually listen to my music either minimized or I want to be able to see the action (all my playlists/media library, etc) so just like skins for my media players, those did nothing for me. (Plus they don't work with my preferred media player, but that is another matter entirely).
As such, my interest in widgets has been low. Great widgets on each program, but nothing that really grabbed me (though Konfabulator looks very nice, but I didn't want to pay for another widget app when I wasn't even using the one I already had paid for!). So I cruised along, not using any of these widgets/objects/themes I had downloaded. I fired some up every now and then for fun, but not for regular use. Fickle.
Suddenly, DesktopX 3 was announced. I was intrigued by some of the things that were being written, but honestly was skeptical. Desktop X was always the one program in Object Desktop that I wanted to love, but just couldn't. So I was cautious. Of course, I updated to DX 3 as soon as it was available. But still I didn't really check it out. Woodbridge had released a great little Gmail checker widget, that I had used on (rare) occasion. Then it was updated with some of the features of DesktopX 3. I was intrigued.
I started playing around with the default 'Silica' widgets and was impressed with the look. Most of all I liked the picture frame. Very customizable, nicely sizable, it just seemed to work better than the previous picture frame/slide show widgets. Again I was intrigued.
Enter the master Tiggz. Two 'Omni" widgets that blew me away. Great looking, just like anything Tiggz does, but also unique (in the realm of Desktop X widgets) and useful. A mail checker that will check as many POP3, IMAP and Gmail accounts as I want (encrypting the passwords even), and a wall changer that looks great on the desktop and allows me to quickly change between whatever walls I have loaded in it. Intrigued now became excited.
Finally, ExodusCrow released a sweet folder info widget that is a breeze to customize with whatever font/images you want (in the screenshot below note how I have changed the images and font - and it took me all of a minute or two). Useful, cool looking and very well done, suddenly I had multiple reasons to use DesktopX. And while not a result of the release of DesktopX 3, I would be remiss were I not to mention ScottyK's WMP album art object. Long overdue (considering the glut of remote modules for iTunes that show album art), this very nicely displays a little CD case of the album you are listening to anywhere on your desktop. And while it is an object, it has worked flawlessly for me once exported as a widget.
And so, after months of wishing I felt some desire to take advantage of DesktopX but just never being excited about it, I suddenly find myself firing up these widgets daily. For this user at least, DesktopX is finally starting to realize its potential. Thanks to Stardock for making this valuable upgrade, and thanks to the community for releasing some killer widgets. I think I am liking this (check out my current desktop):
"
Links ARCHIVE: BetaNews.com - Internet Use Reaching Plateau
Saturday, March 19, 2005 by joeKnowledge | Discussion: Internet
SOURCE: BetaNews.com
By David Worthington, BetaNews March 18, 2005, 9:56 PM
Analysis of major Internet markets has revealed that the time netizens spend online at home has come close to hitting a plateau in many major markets. Nielsen//NetRatings, a syndicated rating system for Internet audience measurement, measured markets in Brazil, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States and found them to be maturing. In contrast, Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy and Japan experienced double-digit growth.
Nielsen//NetRatings concluded that mature markets are in wait of "the next big thing" whereas emerging markets were rife with opportunity for companies online. Some of the growth engines cited in the report is the proliferation of broadband and societal changes in media consumption.
"As the Internet has officially become an important...
For more, click on the link provided...
Report: Internet Usage Flattening
By David Worthington, BetaNews March 18, 2005, 9:56 PM
Analysis of major Internet markets has revealed that the time netizens spend online at home has come close to hitting a plateau in many major markets. Nielsen//NetRatings, a syndicated rating system for Internet audience measurement, measured markets in Brazil, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States and found them to be maturing. In contrast, Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy and Japan experienced double-digit growth.
Nielsen//NetRatings concluded that mature markets are in wait of "the next big thing" whereas emerging markets were rife with opportunity for companies online. Some of the growth engines cited in the report is the proliferation of broadband and societal changes in media consumption.
"As the Internet has officially become an important...
For more, click on the link provided...
Interview with Unsanity developer Brian Wilson
Makers of ShapeShifter, the WindowBlinds of OSX
Friday, March 18, 2005 by mrbiotech | Discussion: OS Customization
Yup, you can skin Macs, and yes, there are software tools to do it. ShapeShifter http://unsanity.com/haxies/shapeshifter by Unsanity LLC http://www.unsanity.com is a commercial program that enables skinning of the OSX environment, similar to what WindowBlinds does for Windows. Developer Brian Wilson was recently interviewed at skinyourscreen.com http://www.skinyourscreen.com>skinyourscreen.com regarding the Konfabulator/Dashboard issue, the recent press Apple has been receiving due to iPod and Mini sales, as well as their future goals.
Here's the link to the interview: http://www.skinyourscreen.com/server/content.php?article.28
Here's the link to the interview: http://www.skinyourscreen.com/server/content.php?article.28
Is it time for Stardock to hire a PR firm?
Friday, March 18, 2005 by MSethWeisberg | Discussion: OS Customization
For those that know me and those that don't I have been a loyal user of windowblinds since the 2.x days and iconpackager since 1.x. I finally decided to buy a subscription to object desktop a little less then a year ago and it was a great move. I love using desktopX, right click, and enhanced dialogs. To say the least I like the software you put out and I have found myself defending those software titles on more then one forum over the last few months.
And yet I can't figure out why that is? The prices are not expensive, for the most part they work as advertised, most programs have small memory footprints, and small installation sizes so I don't see what the problem is. And yet on a lot of customization forums Stardock continues to get bad press with the exception of WC.com.
For the record I am not a graphic artist nor have I ever created a skin but I love customizing XP and I am active in many forums including DA, Neowin, WC, A-S, Aerosoft, etc..and I continually find myself having to defend my passion for the software and in the process acting like a troll.
This has to end, it can't be good for the company and it surely can't be good for its members to continually have to defend why they use it. I say that some money should be set aside to the development of a PR position within the company to promote the software and rid itself of the negative attitudes that a lot of 'skinners' seem to have developed toward Stardock.
Your opinions please.......
And yet I can't figure out why that is? The prices are not expensive, for the most part they work as advertised, most programs have small memory footprints, and small installation sizes so I don't see what the problem is. And yet on a lot of customization forums Stardock continues to get bad press with the exception of WC.com.
For the record I am not a graphic artist nor have I ever created a skin but I love customizing XP and I am active in many forums including DA, Neowin, WC, A-S, Aerosoft, etc..and I continually find myself having to defend my passion for the software and in the process acting like a troll.
This has to end, it can't be good for the company and it surely can't be good for its members to continually have to defend why they use it. I say that some money should be set aside to the development of a PR position within the company to promote the software and rid itself of the negative attitudes that a lot of 'skinners' seem to have developed toward Stardock.
Your opinions please.......