I’ve been really frustrated with my Windows Vista box. When I first got the machine, last summer, I loved Vista. Now, with each day, I tend to loathe it more and more. This is due to many frustrations I have with it.
Things seem to freeze all the time. Whether it’s Internet Explorer (yes, I use it to check the compatibility of websites I work on), Windows Explorer, Windows Sidebar, or pretty much anything else. I don’t run a lot of programs at once and have 2gb of RAM (which Windows while idling uses about 44% of) and these things still freeze.
Things just don’t work. Windows Media Center is a piece of crap and can’t play DVDs without freezing or taking forever to load. I went to burn a cd this morning using Nero and clicked “Burn” forgetting to put in the cd. No problem, Nero notified me and I put in the blank disc. What’s that? Windows decided to drop the drive altogether? Nice. So then I had to reboot the machine so it would pick up drive. All to burn the cd.
Another factor weighs in on my continuing hatred for Vista. My MacBook. While I do find some faults with OSX, for the most part, it’s a good OS. It’s fast on my MacBook, there’s good software, and the look and feel is great. And I never run into any of the problems I run into on Windows. My next desktop computer is going to be a Mac. Too bad that won’t be for a while.
I could install Linux on it, which I do have Ubuntu installed via Wubi, but I don’t want to have to do a lot of work to get something to just work. I don’t want to go around the bend to get my ATI card to work to it’s full potential all while sacrificing other aspects of an environment I like (If I want to use the ATI drivers for desktop effects I can’t play games or have a screensaver because the screen flickers while doing those things). Too bad OSX won’t work on PC hardware (without mass amounts of hackery).
Posted on 16 July '08 by shep, under Technology. No Comments.
I recently downloaded and installed Songbird .6. Songbird is the open source music player that is based on Mozilla code. With each release Songbird gets better and better. With this release comes support for larger media libraries, smoother scrolling, improved memory management, faster search, and a bunch of new add-ons. I have a feeling that Songbird will eventually replace Winamp for me. Since AOL took over Winamp it seems to on a steady downhill spiral. The plugins for Winamp are pretty crappy and if you use a skin that isn’t one of the defaults, most of the time the plugins (if they require their own pane) look out of place. This is not so for Songbird. The add-ons are just like the add-ons in Firefox and seamlessly integrate into the program. I have a feeling that there will be a huge community to support Songbird, just as their is with Firefox, that will create great add-ons and themes, or feathers. It’s not going to replace Winamp just yet on my system. While the memory management is better, it still takes up quite a bit of process power. The search often freezes the application as well. The guys behind Songbird are on the right track though. I can’t wait until I’m able to use it full time without any problems.
Posted on 25 June '08 by shep, under Music, Technology. No Comments.
Firefox 3 will be released later today. There are quite a few improvements in Firefox since version 2 was released. Memory leaks have been fixed, there’s a new download manager, the introduction of the “awesome bar,” a revamped bookmark organizer, and a look and feel that matches your system. You can check out the other changes in the release notes. One of the best things about Firefox 3 is the speed. The speed has been increased dramatically. Especially on sites heavy in javascript, such as Gmail. Do yourself a favor and download it today! (FF3 will be released later today but if you can’t wait, follow these links: Win OS X Linux)
Posted on 17 June '08 by shep, under Technology. No Comments.
So, the day that the iPhone 3g comes out, July 11th, I will be having my wisdom teeth removed. All four of them. What I need to do is find someone to go stand in line and buy one for me at one of the AT&T stores or the Apple store. That way when I leave the surgeon, in complete agony, I will have something to do while I rest up and float high on Vicodin. So, to my lovely sisters and/or brother-in-law, if you would like to volunteer for this tremendous oppourtunity to help out a person in need, I would appreciate it a great deal. I might even make it worth your while (no, I will not buy you an iPhone).
Posted on 9 June '08 by shep, under Technology. 1 Comment.