I found Eric Sink’s blog via some references from Joel Spolsky’s blog. This is a nice post about the problems with whiz-bang technology.

This is an excellent write-up of why I don’t think Blu-Ray or HD-DVD are going to matter. And some good insights in the comments, too. The Unwinnable War in high definition DVD

Yesterday, I referenced what it was like living with Vista Today I ran across an [Apple ad](https://images.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac/apple-getamac-security_480x376.mov mocking Vista). Unfortunately, they pretty much got it right. I’m hoping for an update that fixes this. Please, Microsoft?

OK, I’ve had Windows Vista installed for 9 days now and my verdict is … it’s not worth upgrading. Vista is supposed to be more secure than XP but this manifests itself in really annoying ways. The screen flashes black and a box pops up that must be dealt with. That’d be great if it were only for important things but it happens all the time! I’ve had it happen when I want to change the smallest system setting. I’ve had it happen while downloading files. C’mon, get out of my way. ...

I installed Vista on my home desktop machine on Friday. I’ve already been bitten twice by the new (off( button with Vista. I’m going to have to figure out how to change its default behavior. I enjoy reading Joel Spolsky’s articles. In Choices = Headaches he talks about the problems with Vista: Every time you want to leave your computer, you have to choose between nine, count them, nine options: two icons and seven menu items. ...

Not that it applies to this blog at all but Web 2.0: Buzz-Monitoring and Tracking is a nice write-up of some solutions and I need to look at it more closely. I’ve been trying to use Google notebook to track things but it’s not working so well for me. The interface is kind of clumsy. Need to get back and try it some more, I guess. In the meantime, I can use the blog to call attention to articles that are useful for me and for my hordes of readers.

I installed Vista on my home desktop machine. I say “installed” rather than upgraded because Microsoft’s installation routine refused to let me upgrade. I spent a couple of hours on trying to figure out how to get around that and, in the end, decided that I’d rather install FireFox, Acrobat Reader, iTunes and the other programs that I want or need. It so happens that Thunderbird 2 beta 2 was released recently. I tried “nightlies” or alphas and it was a little too experimental for me. No lost mail but just some inconsistencies in how things worked. Fair enough, they’re alphas. And beta 1 had issues with message filters. So I dropped back to 1.5 In the meantime, I’ve started using IMAP and procmail and message filters are less important. ...

Found a neat idea if you’re into doing things yourself. You can use this device to make your own bottles of soda, mixing the flavors and setting the carbonation the way you want. Create Your Own Fizzy Drinks

I enjoy reading 360digest when I get a chance. Not only is my brother-in-law Dave a newly-minted real estate agent but the house next door was up for sale for a while recently. Real estate is one of those things that we all have to deal with, because we all need a place to live. Anyway, I was amused to read that on the blog this quote: In Portland, Ore., $300,000 means a clean and simple floating home on the Pacific ocean ...

We’re experimenting with linking back to blogs who reference a business on mypages.com For example, a business that listed itself recently was Hammy’s Pizza. It’s in the Portland Pizza category.