Archive for January, 2007

Don’t Buy Vista

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

There is absolutely no reason for anyone to buy a version of Microsoft’s new operating system labeled “Vista”.

The time to upgrade to Vista will be when you buy a new computer and Vista comes preinstalled. This way you won’t have to worry about hardware incompatibilities and slow execution because your machine may not have enough horsepower.

Most software vendors say their software is “Vista Compatible”, but I wonder how true that is. Things like tax software, and anti-virus could be issues. If you’re not dreaming about the bleeding edge of technology and you like your computer to work for more than a few hours — then just wait. Don’t be an early adopter unless you want to deal with the upcoming issues that are bound to surface as the code base is explored by more users in new and exciting ways.

Is XP broken for you? If not, just keep on trucking because your web browser will continue to work if you don’t upgrade.

Here is a new argument against Vista based on the environmental impact of replacing tonnes of computer components. While I don’t endorse all the political ideas of the green party they do have a valid point in this specific case.

Buffalo Vs Montreal

Sunday, January 21st, 2007

When in Montreal for the software conference I was able to take in a hockey game at the bell centre. I watched the first 10 minutes of the game in my hotel room to see if it was going to be any good then walked down to the bell centre to see if I could get a ticket.

This was my first game at the bell centre, and the first game when I’ve entered the seating area through the gate and was actually able to walk down to my seat instead of climbing up the stairs into the cheap seats.
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CUSEC 2007

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007

I’ve arrived safe and sound after my drive to Montreal for the Canadian University Software Engineering Conference. The interesting stuff starts tomorrow – for now I need to find a nice little place to go for dinner.

Update: On the way to the hotel I was stopped at a red light with a car on the left and a bus on the right. A bike messenger tried to squeeze between the bus and me but forgot his handle bars are wider than the rest of the bike. He nearly took off my right mirror and then bounced into the bus. He just got up and drove away with a wave. Crazy people here in Montreal.