Comment no Aero on minimal HW (Score 5, Insightful) 662
While you may be correct that the best reason to upgrade to Vista is the improved security, that was clearly not how the product was primarily advertised to the general public. People were shown ads with amazing Aero eye-candy, and told that Vista was the way to get it. When purchasing a computer that says "Vista capable," it's a reasonable assumption for a non-technical user (to which those ads were targeted) that buying a "Vista capable" computer will deliver the most prominently advertised feature of Vista.
I'm not saying it's a bulletproof case, because the small print was there, but it's rather self-contradictory to advertise Windows Vista as being easier than ever for novice users, but also expecting same novice users to understand the system requirements of a GUI that is an optional component of an OS.
Journal SPAM: Free Downloadable Graphic Novels 3
Saw this over at delicious, thought I'd share. 17 free downloadable graphic novels. I just did a quick scroll through the list and some are parts of larger works. But looks intriguing none the less.
Submission + - Talk of 'super-thin' laptop whets Apple appetites (timesonline.co.uk)
oysterbox writes: "Apple is set to unveil a new ultraportable laptop on January 15, according to the army of online pundits dedicated to tracking the iPod maker's every move."
Submission + - Buy Vista, get 1 free 1
d23tek writes: "Windows is offering those who participated in Beta or RC testing a free copy of Vista. But only if you buy one, of course. Sounds like they are really desperate to pump up their sales numbers.
The following email was sent to an unknown number of RC and Beta testers:
Other offers are chances to win an Amazon gift card by taking a survey, or winning a PC autographed by Bill Gates. At least those have more value than a copy of Vista."
The following email was sent to an unknown number of RC and Beta testers:
"Happy Birthday Windows Vista!
As we approach the one year anniversary of launching Windows Vista® we want to remember you as one of the many people who downloaded and tested one of the Windows Vista Beta or Release Candidates through TechNet or MSDN®. YOU were a significant contributor to the development of Windows Vista. Your participation was extremely valuable to Microsoft, and we would like to say, "Thank You!"
To show our appreciation, we have several special offers exclusively available to you.
Offer 1: The ULTIMATE OFFER Just go to your favorite retail or online store and purchase a standalone, full package Windows Vista Ultimate product, full or upgrade version, and we will match that with a second, complimentary Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade product key. We will honor a copy you purchased, and first activated, after December 1, 2007. Hurry! This offer expires on January 15, 2008.
To take advantage of this great offer, simply follow these steps:
Go to http://www.windowsvistaevalcomp.com/
Sign in using the same Windows Live ID that you used to download the beta or release candidate versions of Windows Vista.
Follow the instructions to locate the Product ID on the computer running the qualifying copy Windows Vista Ultimate that you recently purchased.
Enter that Product ID into the online form.
We will then provide you with a Windows Vista Ultimate upgrade key, so you can install Windows Vista Ultimate onto a second machine. (The second machine must have Windows XP or a version of Windows Vista already installed in order to upgrade)
Please note that this key is NOT for resale, although you may give it as a gift to a friend or colleague. Limit one complimentary key per person. Windows Vista Ultimate Academic and Student versions are not included in this promotion."
Other offers are chances to win an Amazon gift card by taking a survey, or winning a PC autographed by Bill Gates. At least those have more value than a copy of Vista."
Submission + - Linus Torvalds talks future of Linux (apcmag.com)
Cargnini writes: "The development of the kernel has changed, and Linux is just getting better and better. However, with a community as large and fractured as the Linux community, it can sometimes be hard to get a big picture overview of where Linux is going: what's happening with kernel version 2.6? Will there be a version 3.0? What has Linus been up to lately? What does he get up to in his spare time?
Check the full history."
Feed Engadget: TG's LLUON Crystal reminds us that mini PCs can be sexy, too (engadget.com)
Filed under: Desktops
Sure, manufacturers are stuffing all sorts of great components into inconceivably small cases these days, but all that cramming has still left plenty of room for ugly of late. TG has been honing its skinny desktop form factor for a few years now, and seems to have it down to a science with the latest TG LLUON Crystal. Specs are only so-so, running up to a Core 2 Duo T7200 processor at 2GHz, 2GB of RAM, a 500GB HDD, DVD burner, GeForce 8400 GS graphics and a bit of 802.11g, and the 1,399,000 won pricetag (about $1,490 US) is hardly a steal for this amount of power, but we're just glad that ugly spell is over -- and unsurprised it took a South Korean company to do the trick.[Via Akihabara]
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Submission + - Ars challenges Amazon drag-n-drop patent (arstechnica.com)
Technical Writing Geek writes: "Another example of potential prior art for Yahoo's patent application would be the drag-and-pop interaction mechanism that was described in a 2003 report by by interaction design researchers. The report describes a user interface paradigm that involves displaying drop points near the selected object when the user begins to drag. The researchers created several implementations of the functionality described in the report, including one in Flash that can be tested on the Internet.
Since none of the other participants had submitted the drag-and-pop study as prior art, I decided to do so myself. I registered a user account at the peer-to-patent web site and filed the submission using the provided web form.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071227-yahoo-to-patent-smart-drag-and-drop-ars-submits-prior-art.html"
Since none of the other participants had submitted the drag-and-pop study as prior art, I decided to do so myself. I registered a user account at the peer-to-patent web site and filed the submission using the provided web form.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071227-yahoo-to-patent-smart-drag-and-drop-ars-submits-prior-art.html"
