With Vista behind us, enthusiasts can now start looking into future developments of their favorite operating system. Microsoft’s ‘Professional Developers Conference’ (PDC) of late has shed a satisfactory degree of light on the impending seventh iteration* of the Windows-platform, and revealed numerous incremental improvements over an already very mature OS. As many speculated, the improvements made to Windows have proven to be mainly evolutionary and fit-and-finish-based. This fact predominantly shines through in the ‘User Experience’ of the latest development milestone (M3). Let’s focus on the current state of the Windows Taskbar for now.
* According to Microsoft; there has been a lot of controversy on the web about this.
Hello OS X Dock
Windows 7 will only partially retain its current task-management paradigm, as Microsoft’s currently prototyping a ‘new’ way of navigating your way through windows. This revolutionary –old- method, as it turns out, is very reminiscent of Mac OS X’ dock, which mixes app launchers and running applications in a [somewhat] arbitrary fashion.
Mostly Google in the news again with the release of its first slew of [security] updates to it’s newborn baby Chrome. Also, Intel came out with the best performing hard drive on the planet (for now), and it’s an 80 gig SSD. Lastly, eBook lovers can finally eat their hearts out with Plastic Logics’ pretty — almost malleable — e-Ink touchscreen.
AT&T Says It May Inject Its Own Ads In Your Surfing… And You’ll Like It
(techdirt.com)Various ISPs have long made extra cash by selling your clickstream data to various tracking outfits. But in the last few months, it’s come out that many have been either testing or considering taking things a step further by inserting their own ads based on your surfing history [...]. Read story.
Take a look at the Apple iMac throughout its 10-year lasting history. GotApps.com makes an attempt at streamlining iPhone App discovery. And Microsoft will be talking about Windows 7 in-depth for the first time, at PDC & WinHEC.
Gallery: 10 Years of Cuddly, Friendly iMacs
(wired.com) A photo gallery overview of Apple’s history with its innovative iMac. Read story.
GotApps Brings Alerts to Apple’s App Store
(techcrunch.com) GotApps, a simple site that launched earlier this week, is offering users an alert system for the App Store that hopes to streamline the application discovery process. Instead of manually searching, users can enter a number of keywords [...]. Read story.
Microsoft PDC, WinHEC will be Windows 7 Coming-Out Parties
(computerworld.com) Microsoft will give developers their first in-depth look at Windows 7 at PDC and WinHEC, beginning in late October. Read story.
General Motors’ first plug-in electric car seems to be catching on with over 33,000 prospective buyers signed up. German legislature will only go after commercial-scale file-sharers, instead of prosecuting the average Joe.
Over 33,000 buyers signed up for GM electric “plug-in” car
(Reuters) In a bid to show the demand for the upcoming all-electric Chevrolet Volt, a proponent of the car has released details of an unofficial waiting list for the vehicle with over 33,000 prospective buyers. Read story.
Sharing 2999 Songs, 199 Movies Becomes ‘Safe’ in Germany
(TorrentFreak) Prosecutors in a German state have announced they will refuse to entertain the majority of file-sharing lawsuits in future. It appears that only commercial-scale copyright infringers will be pursued, with those sharing under 3000 music tracks and 200 movies dropping under the prosecution radar. Read story.
Automattic released their first Wordpress application for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch today, shortly after the 2.6 update to their blogging software. This simple app interfaces with any self-hosted or Wordpress.com-hosted weblog and allows you to edit and post entries on the go.
I’ve downloaded the app to my trusty iPod Touch and will be reviewing it extensively once I’ve had the chance to play with it. From now on, not having a computer around will undoubtedly no longer be an excuse to lag on blogging.
The Apple craze was ignited once more since the launch of the iPhone 3G. People waiting in line to spend money, while signing ludicrously expensive carrier contracts, makes me wonder if all this folly is justifiable, sometimes. While 3G and GPS may be interesting enough, the revelation of the iPhone as a platform turns out to be the true point of excitement.
As expected, the usual craze started after the latest installment of the Apple iPhone was officially launched. Immense queues started lining up in front of Apple Stores while people went berserk to get their hands on this piece of gadgetry. One may wonder: “Is it all worth it?”. Since I don’t own an iPhone 3G, I’ll leave the review up to the pros, whom are spread thickly over the net. This Google search should get you going in case you’re the type to research a big investment as such before you buy.
