Paul Graham

Paul Graham is one of the father's of computer science and was voted by Business Week as one of the top 25 most influential people of the web for 2008.

It is Mr. Graham that noted some number of years ago that computer companies that also write their own operating systems provide better end-to-end integration, and thus, have the best user experience. He was referring to Apple. His latest quote is that "Windows is for grandmas." What he was specifically referring to is the unending backward compatibility of the Windows operating system. At some point, the legacy cord has to be cut in order to provide a better operating system.

Wall-E

I received the movie, Wall-E, as a Christmas gift. It is actually very funny. One thing that the geeks will notice right away is that every time that Wall-E boots up you hear the Apple boot tone. It is a good thing. If it were a Windows boot tone, this 98 minute movie would have lasted about 3 minutes before Wall-E blue screened.

Its Alive!

Windows XP is the operating system that will not die and for good reason - Vista. Microsoft originally stated that they would stop shipping XP on January 30, 2008, one year after Vista was introduced. Well, Vista was less than well received. So, Microsoft extended the deadline for shipping XP until January 31, 2009. With this impending deadline consumers were in an uproar. It turns out that a full 30% of Vista consumers actually downgrade their computers to XP. The deadline has been extended again, this time until May 30, 2009.

The result is that it is now possible to buy new XP machines until Windows 7 is released. Let's just hope that Windows 7 is a better OS launch than Vista was!

Who Is The Stig?

I love the BBC show Top Gear. British humor is amazing. The show comes on every Monday evening with reruns every day at 5:00pm EST.

One of the coolest features of the show is a test lap with a secret racing driver known only as 'The Stig.' There are many different theories as to who the Stig really is. Some believe that he is actually a Formula 1 driver. Others believe that there is actually more than one Stig. He has posted faster times against both Nigel Mansel and Jensen Button's.

Whoever the Stig really is, he can drive!

Internet Explorer Has Serious Security Flaws

This is not really a surprise to anyone that knows anything about internet security. Microsoft has admitted that a serious flaw in security has left all users of Internet Explorer vulnerable to attack from hackers.

This problem gets even better. When Microsoft catalogs all of the vulnerabilities in IE, it takes 18 pages to list them all.

So what is Microsoft doing about it? They may consider a patch outside of the normal update cycle. Do yourself a favor. Do not use Internet Explorer for any reason!

Catsablanca

This is a very cool image that I just got back from my black and white lab - Silver Images. The guy that runs the place is a genius and the best black and white printer in the country. He does all of the lab work for a little jewelry store in New York City called Tiffany's.

The image reminded me of an old black and white movie, thus the title - Catsablanca.

Broccoli Kitten

This is hiliarious!

Open Handset Alliance (OHA) Takes Off

The Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a collection of companies devoted to Android, has grown by new 14 members. The OHA is committed to promoting Google's mobile OS, Android. There are so many members now that it is easier to names the companies not involved.

So, who are the hold outs as of today? AT&T, Verizon, and Nokia are the only handset manufacturers and carriers not part of the OHA. I expect that to change soon.

Best Bluetooth Headset

I love my new T-Mobile Google G1 phone! That said, it has a horrible wired headset. One of T-Mobile's regional managers told me that the reason that the G1 has such a terrible wired headset is to gently pursued people to purchase a bluetooth headset.

So, I set out on a journey to find the best possible bluetooth headset. People that know me understand how much I despise bluetooth headsets. Nonetheless, if I had to purchase one, I wanted one that works well. Historically, bluetooth headsets have had less than stellar performance.

So, where did my research take me? To the ultimate in bluetooth headsets - the Jawbone. It has noise cancelling technology that is superior to any other bluetooth headset on the market. Ideally, the company would offer custom fitted earpieces but for now, this is as good as it gets.

Google G1

My Google G1 came in today. This is the best phone that I have ever used. Unlike the iPhone, the G1 syncs wirelessly with your Gmail, calendar, and other Google information. The technology is vastly superior to the iPhone in my opinion. That said, it is first generation technology. Android is certainly an exciting platform!

I love this phone!

Apple Advises Using Anti-Virus

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Apple is now advising it's users to install anti-virus protection on their Apple computers. I would say that the vast majority of Apple users don't think twice about this. I know that none of my Apple computers have AVS protection. This could be the beginning of a paradigm shift for Apple.

Update: There is a correction to this situation. Apparently, the suggestion to use anti-virus with the Apple only relates to pre-OS X versions of their operating system. Mac users really don't need anti-virus.

Nikon D3X Released!

Nikon officially released the new D3x yesterday. It is by far the most advanced DSLR on the planet as of today. That said, at $8000, it is way overpriced. I am not sure who is going to buy this but at 24.4mp, it is pretty amazing. Give it a few months and the price will come down.