No Direct Upgrade Path for XP Users

The geniuses at Microsoft have decided that there will be no direct upgrade path from XP to Windows 7. Unlike Vista, which has had less than a warm reception, if you are using XP, you must do a clean install of Windows 7. By most accounts, a clean install of Windows 7 is tenacious at best.

Is there any wonder that the majority of Fortune 500 CIO's have no plans to adopt Windows 7?

Nikon D300s

Nikon announced several new products today including the new D300s. It has a 12.3 mega pixel DX sensor, 51-point auto focus, and supports dual CF and SD card slots.

I am not sure what to think of this one yet. On one hand, it has all of the Gen 2 functions of the newer Nikon's. On the other hand, I worry that the video capabilities are going to leave room for potential technical reliability problems.

T-Mobile Mytouch 3Gs

The T-Mobile Mytouch 3Gs is shipping early. This new Android device replaces the G1. I would normally be very interested in one of these but it does not have the keyboard that my G1 has.

Rumor has it that the screen is much brighter than the G1. Very cool.

Free Nikon D2x

It turns out that the enclosures for traffic light cameras contain a Nikon D2x. A couple in NYC were just arrested for stealing several Nikon's from their enclosures. This is a moral dilemma. Stealing is bad but so are red light cameras.

I don't think that I would buy a Nikon D2x on eBay anytime soon :-)

Donut On The Way

You have to love the code names that Google gives to its development code. Android 1.5 was named Cupcake. It turns out that Android 2.0 will be named Donut.

To Be, Or Not To Be

The Financial Times detailed the much rumored Apple Tablet today. There are more rumors surrounding this device than any other in recent history. If this sees the light of day it will be very cool!

Mom Of The Year

Patti Deni of Williamsville, NY is definitely "Mom of the Year." She wanted to surprise her son with a new big screen TV. Instead of a run of the mill TV, she had a 98-inch StarGlas60 display from Stewart Filmscreen professionally mounted in the ceiling.

Way to go Patti!

Amazon Buys Zappos

Forget health care reform. This is the HUGE news of the day, maybe the year. Amazon bought Zappos for $920 million today. One of the few companies that I respect almost as much as Google is Amazon!

Here is a video that Jeff Bezos did for Zappos employees to explain the purchase and what it means to Amazon.

This is exciting!

Windows 7 Goes RTM

Windows 7 went RTM today. Pretend for a moment that the majority of CIO's of Fortune 500 companies have no plans to ever deploy this according to a Quest Software’s ScriptLogic survey.

Let the carnage begin :-)

Update: Walt Mossberg pointed out today in the WSJ that upgrading to Windows 7 is " frustrating, tedious and labor-intensive." Some things never change!

40th Anniversary of Apollo Moon Landing

40 years ago today Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the moon. To put things into perspective, most TV sets were black and white then. There is a great video on YouTube that entails the approach and landing.

Nora - The CATcerto

This is actually amazing. You really have to watch it all the way through to appreciate it!

This Is Just Wrong

MC Hammer Vader Busts a Move - Watch more Funny Videos

This is so wrong I don't know where to start!

Wienermobile Crash

A young driver crashed the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile into someones house this week. The news footage looks pretty bad. Luckily, no one was home. This is a story that this driver will be telling the grand kids one day :-)

Apollo 11 - 40th Anniversary

40 years ago today, Apollo 11 was launched at 9:32 AM EDT. It is hard to believe that man first walked on the moon 40 years ago.

Bill Gates - More Of The Same

I suppose that this was to be expected. Following Steve Ballmer's usual colorful statement about anything not made by Microsoft, Bill Gates today said about Chrome OS "in some ways I am surprised people are acting like there's something new. I mean, you've got Android running on Netbooks. It's got a browser in it." Gates further went on to get another dig in at Google by saying that "the more vague they are, the more interesting it is."

For those of you that don't remember, the first time Mr. Gates saw an iPod he said "that only does on the Mac - doesn't it?"

What this really points out is how much Chrome OS is rattling Microsoft's cage!

Microsoft Going Retail

This is actually pretty funny. Microsoft has decided that they are going to copy the Apple model and do retail stores. They are going to use the stores to showcase their technology. Are you waiting for the other shoe to drop? They are not going to provide technical support to customers at these retail stores. Yeah, that's about right.

UPDATE: There is an article over at PC world that describes the differences between the Apple Store and the new Microsoft Stores. It is hilarious!

Another Steve Ballmer Moment

Steve Ballmer just can't help himself. At the Windows Partner Conference he called Chrome OS "highly interesting," and went on to say "I don't know if they can't make up their mind or what the problem is over there, but the last time I checked, you don't need two client operating systems. It's good to have one." This coming from a company that is releasing six different versions of Windows 7.

In my mind, this means that Chrome OS is likely to be a huge success. Remember when he predicted the failure of the iPhone? :-)

Pet Airways

This is genius. Finally, a great way to fly for your pets. Check out Pet Airways.

Cats Do Control Humans

In a recent study by Karen McCombat the University of Sussex, cats do control their owners. The results were published in the July 14 issue of the journal Current Biology.

Those of us with cats believe that this is a statement of the obvious. :-)

Suprised? - Not Really

This should not really surprise anyone. In a recent survey by Quest Software’s ScriptLogic unit, only 5.4 percent of respondents said they plan to deploy Windows 7 this calendar year. 59.3 percent said they had no plans to deploy it at all. Vista really tainted the already questionable reputation of Microsoft OS releases.

Airplane Entertainment

The real question is, how did someone determine that this really works?

Train vs. Tornado

Don't mess with mother nature. She always wins!

Porsche Panamera

Not only is a four door Porsche just wrong, it is not what many would consider to be very attractive. The funniest description that I have seen was on page 14 of the July 13, 2009 issue of Autoweek. Lou Marincovich describes the new Panamera as follows: "It is more like "goofy" in the funhouse-mirror sense. Porche should call it the Buttster." I have been laughing about this for the last 15 minutes!

Aston Martin Cygnet

Aston Martin is building a new mini-luxury car called the Cygnet. I would love to have one but it doesn't look like they are coming to the United States

Space - The Final Frontier

Ever go on a trip and get frustrated when you don't have an Internet connection? NASA is now testing the use of the Internet in space. And if you think that your connection is slow. The best response time from Earth to Mars is 8 minutes.

Google Chrome OS

This is way bigger news than Google dropping the beta label from mail, calendar, docs and talk yesterday. Google is developing an open-source operating system which will release later this year.

Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management, say that "speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS." In addition, it will work seamlessly with Android.

This could represent another paradigm shift in computing!

Nokia Going Android?

This news could be the biggest news that no one is hearing over the holiday weekend. Nokia, the largest handset maker, announced that they could have an Android device available by September. The Symbian Foundation just isn't garnering any support. Nokia joining the Open Handset Alliance is a big deal!

An American Vehicle Worth Considering

This is a vehicle that might make people interested in buying American cars once again.

Awesome Headphones

I finally bit the bullet and ordered a pair of custom in-ear monitors from JH Audio. Jerry Harvey was kind enough to agree to make me a pair. Jerry practically invented the in-ear monitor. He is the founder of Ultimate Ears which he sold a year or so ago. His new company has a few customers that you might have heard of including Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, and Metallica to list a few.

I can hardly wait for these babies to arrive!

Herman Miller Embody

I broke down and bought a new office chair today. The new Herman Miller Embody is the follow-up to the huge success known as the Aeron chair. The designers, Bill Stumpf and Jeff Weber, are the same designers that developed the Aeron chair. They spent 10 years studying the pros and cons of the Aeron chair in order to make an even better chair. In fact, after using the Embody, the Aeron is like sitting on a milk crate. Not really but I need to justify spending this much on a chair :-)

PS. I bought a black Embody chair. The yellow fabric is a stock photo and was the chair that was sent to reviewers.