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Dell Reintroduces Windows XP to Select desktops & notebooks

I’ll say it right now – I’m not a big fan of Windows Vista. I don’t see the point. I don’t see the need to change from what XP delivers. And XP delivers a stable, workable, useful, and familiar operating environment for millions of users world-wide. Microsoft introduced Windows Vista on January 30th, 2007. At that time, Dell only offered one choice – Windows Vista. Windows XP had gone away, even though support for it [by Microsoft] will exist through at least 2009 and in all reality, much longer. In addition to “home users”, many, many businesses rely on Windows XP. Changing a company’s computers from XP to Vista requires months of compatibility testing. If you have experimented at all with Vista, chances are you have found a piece of hardware or software that worked fine on XP but doesn’t work on Vista. Ahh, the trials and tribulations of a new operating system.

Fortunately, after much consumer feedback, Dell has today changed their policy, and will offer Windows XP on select notebooks and desktops. Windows Vista will continue to be available on their product lines. Dell states that Windows XP will be available as a choice at least through the summer, but possibly through the end of the year. At the time of this post, Microsoft will force Dell (and any other manufacturer) to stop offering Windows XP effective 12/31/07.

This is great news! Windows Vista, for all of it’s dressed up features, require a bit more processing power and memory to use effectively. Since Windows XP is now available, one can build a lower-end PC (with a decent processor and 1GB of RAM), saving some money compared to a comperable Windows Vista box. Or, one could put this money toward something I always like to have – a bigger LCD screen!

In the future, if Windows XP is no longer supported but your PC is still useful, one would be able to upgrade the RAM and/or graphics card to take advantage of any features of Vista.

For now, the features of Vista aren’t compelling enough for one to make the change, especially when XP is doing everything I need it to do just fine.

For the impartial parties, here a bunch of links to hopefully answer any and all questions:

MSNBC: Dell to offer Windows XP
Differences between Windows Vista versions
Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
Top 10 Reasons to get Windows Vista
Top 10 Reasons to not get Windows Vista
Dell Inc.

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Kurt Vonnegut [1922-2007]

You know how you always say you want to do something, and then you get busy with life, and it never gets done?…

I was on the beach in Bayville, NY one sunny Sunday last July. I got there in the AM, and stayed until the mid-afternoon. During the course of this day, I read A Man Without a Country. After each section, I found myself putting the book down for a few minutes, thinking in my head for a while about what I read as I watched the Long Island sound ripple on the beach. I began to think about how moved I was by what I had just read, and how intellectually entertained I was.

I finished the book that day on the beach, and my mind was racing with all sorts of things – funny, sad, satirical, and philosophical – that related to what I had just read. I was so moved, that I planned to write a letter to him. Not exactly sure about what specifically, but just to let him know how much I enjoyed his work.

Summer ended, work got busy, both my grandfather and my dog died, and then came the Holidays. Time became short, and other things became important, so I put the letter on the back burner for a while.

That letter never got done. I guess it’s better than writing it and not sending it.

He was one of my favorite and most inspirational authors that truly kept me reading books.

Kurt, RIP.
Wikipedia Link

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This is the End [of the road]

Well, quite a news weekend, wasn’t it? A massive, horrible deadly shooting today at Virginia Tech, the worst shooting ever in the U.S. Before that, the entire Northeast was socked by a potent nor’easter, more common in the fall and winter than spring. I know around my house, we received over 4″ of rain, with some locales near by getting 6″+, including La Guardia Airport.

And then at the end of last week, MSNBC canceled their Imus video simulcast, and 2 days later, CBS fired Don Imus for the inappropriate comments he made about the women’s basketball team. I’m still mixed on this; I believe it was a bad thing to say, I don’t doubt he is a racist in his personal life, but I’m not sure the intent of what he said was racist. He was trying to be funny, and he failed miserably. I still don’t believe that it should have cost him his job. I still think the two week suspension was more than sufficient. None the less, Howard Stern had much to say this AM, and needless to say he is thrilled. Rightly so, because Stern and Imus have had a long standing fued back to the days of when Howard was on WNBC in the early 1980s. Imus was and is a prick to him, and I can’t disagree there.

Here’s a little tidbit from the Stern show–it’s a little Imus parody they did to the tune of Bon Jovi’s 1980s’ hit, “Wanted Dead or Alive”

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I Don’t Like Imus, But What a Double Standard

So I can’t help but comment on Don Imus’s recent media trouble, when during his show, he referenced a girls basketball team as “nappy headed hoes”. Listen, I’m not a fan of Don Imus. I really don’t care for the guy’s show, or his sense of humor. I find his voice hard to listen to. That being said, his show is about controversy, and about comedy. If he’s going to get in trouble for saying what he said – in jest – then I will have to firmly disagree. I don’t believe he should be suspended, much less fired.

I don’t even think what he said was racist. The underlying meaning was not racist. At least I don’t think so. And most importantly, no one should have to apologize to Al Sharpton. Don Imus actually went as far as calling Sharpton “sir”. Give me a break.

People in this country are becoming more and more offended by the things other people say. I don’t get in an uproar and call for Sharpton’s job every time he says something ridiculous. For example, Sharpton once said:

1991: A Hasidic Jewish driver in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights section accidentally kills Gavin Cato, a 7-year-old black child, and antisemitic riots erupt. Sharpton races to pour gasoline on the fire. At Gavin’s funeral he rails against the “diamond merchants” — code for Jews — with “the blood of innocent babies” on their hands. He mobilizes hundreds of demonstrators to march through the Jewish neighborhood, chanting, “No justice, no peace.” A rabbinical student, Yankel Rosenbaum, is surrounded by a mob shouting “Kill the Jews!” and stabbed to death.
work citied

On top of all that, Sharpton has inspired racial riots against ‘crackers’ and jews.

I’m not offended by any of what Sharpton has to say, but no one – no one – should have to apologize to him like he is some prosecuting attorney.

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Injunctions Against Vonage

If you have been paying attention to the news, and if you are a Vonage subscriber or a fan of VoIP telephony, you know that Verizon has continued to beat up on Vonage in the courts. Several weeks ago, the courts sided with Verizon, and stated that Vonage was in violation of three (3) out of the seven (7) patents that Verizon had claimed. In addition, the court stated that Vonage had to pay Verizon $60 million (approx) for the violations.

Today brought an upholding of the injunction against Vonage, and the court had stated that as of 4/12/07, Vonage could continue to service current customers through the appeal process, but they could no longer taken on new customers. Several hours after this announcement, a higher court over-ruled this ruling, grating Vonage a temporary stay until the court can hear Vonage’s request for a permanent stay.

As a Vonage subscriber (3 lines here, 2 for business) I hope they are not forced out of business. I feel that the service is so good, that I can’t even imagine going to something else. Call quality is excellent, as are the features and price. I’m sticking with them until the last moment, and if one day I pickup the phone and there is no dialtone, so be it.

Vonage states that they do have a work-around in order to not be in violation of the patents, but that doesn’t negate the last few years of patent violation, if those accusations are indeed true. That being said, the best case scenario is that my bill will go up a few dollars.

And you know what? That’s just fine with me.

-A happy Vonage customer since 2004.

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Who does Iran think they are fooling?

Ok, just to backtrack. 15 odd British sailors are abducted and taken back to Iran when they were in Iraqi waters doing routine patrols. Iran puts them on TV, makes them record fake apologies, and then, mysteriously, releases them in good faith.

If you believe any of that, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

I think the leaders of the Middle East have watched a little too much TV. I’m not really sure who they think they are fooling with this fake parade of hospitality and the release of the hostages as an “Easter Present” for England. Tony Blair says he harbors no ill will toward Iran for the capture and detainment for 2 weeks. Rubbish.

I am not a fan of the current President Bush, nor was I a big fan of his father. However, George Sr. did say something rather profound once, after the media asked him what he was going to offer Saddam Hussein now that Hussein released some captives, or moved out of an area of Kuwait back in the late summer of 1990…”Hell no. You don’t reward someone for something they have done that they shouldn’t have done in the first place.” I think that holds true here.

Iran isn’t fooling one damn person.

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Keith Richards New Drug of Choice

By now you have heard him say it, and heard his PR people withdraw it as an April fools joke. Keith Richards, acclaimed guitarist of The Rolling Stones has said that he had mixed some cocaine with his deceased father’s ashes, and well, snorted the whole concoction.

I’m more surprised that this statement was retracted, than the notion of the idea itself was performed. I believe he did it, and I believe he wanted to do it. And you know what, who cares. I wouldn’t do it per say, but I would argue that an adult is free to do whatever they’d like in the privacy of their own home.

None the less, Keith Richards is one unique individual.

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French Set Rail Speed Record, US Largely Uninterested

If it’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s when a good technology exists and no one rushes to use it to their best ability. More on that in a minute, but for now, kudos to the French for achieving the world record for a rail-based train’s tthe op speed, at 357.2 MPH. This is more than double the fastest of the AmTrak Acela line which is capable of high speed (125mph or so) on only sections the Northeast Cooridor only, a set of track running from D.C. to Boston. This linked article describes the sensations of passengers on today’s train ride. More importantly, the French (and much of the world) realize that high speed trains are a great idea, and something that ought to be implemented. France, England, Germany, Japan, and China are only some of the countries actively researching and developing high-speed rail lines, be it MagLev or traditional rail.

For now, congrats to the French.

It’s time for us in the United States to realize that high-speed rail is one of the best methods of transportation for the future. Surely, it’s not ready now, but we need to be developing fast-rail or MagLev technology. While we aren’t doing much, we are doing a little something. Several localities in the U.S. are either thinking of developing high-speed rail, or are at the Environmental Impact Statement stage of design. For example, California has created the California High Speed Rail Authority. The Baltimore/Washington D.C. MagLev Project seems stalled and going nowhere.

The United States has 300 million people, and growing. Population estimates continue to climb through this century. We simply can not keep building more and more roads to accommodate more and more cars, causing more and more pollution. Granted, in the U.S. we have a much greater east/west and north/south than other countries. France is approximately 600 miles in both east/west and north/south directions. For comparison, France is slightly less than twice the size of Colorado. Given the United States is 3,200 miles east/west, we do have quite a lot of distance to cover. Our infrastructure does require significant investment. Without making this critical investment, we run the risk of falling behind other nations, and in the 22nd century we’ll still have a 20th century transportation system.

Time for us to get our shit together. Limit our driving, increase R&D into light rail for communities and MagLev for city-to-city stops; Boston to D.C., D.C. to Chicago, D.C. to Atlanta, Atlanta to Miami, Atlanta to Houston, Chicago to Houston, Houston to Las Vegas, Las Vegas to San Diego and up the coast to Portland. See, I already have the route planned. 😉

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Classless people at the Hockey Game

I somehow managed to fall ass-backwards into some good luck for a change, as I won really nice boxed seats to a home New York Islanders game. I don’t go to hockey games too much, as it is not my favorite sport. That being said, hockey is the only sport that I can say that I’d rather be there than watch it on TV. In my opinion, there are so many benefits of actually going to a hockey game compared to that of watching it on TV. Sure, for baseball it’s nice to be at the park for the view, but for me, TV at home is my choice when it comes to baseball, or football, or tennis even. Anyway, I went to the game last night, and it was the New York Islanders vs. the Ottowa Senators.

Ok, Ottowa won, and they are the better team. They played better, they passed better, and they more than doubled shots on goal that the Islanders had.

The thing that bothers me is the fans. Being that the Senators are from Canada, the national anthem was sung first, and then the U.S. national anthem. These white trash assholes in the audience are actually booing the Canadian anthem. Don’t do that. If you don’t like Ottowa or don’t like the Ottowa Senators, fine – boo them during the game. Show some respect, show some class and sportsmanship, and take off your hat and be quiet as the woman sings the anthem of both countries.

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British Sailors Captured by Iran

At this point, it seems pretty obvious that the British soldiers were in Iraqi waters, and that the Iranian military had captured them illegally. Even if the U.S. Military is gearing up for a summer attack on Iran, I am not quite sure why the Iranians would create a hostage situation first. Surely 13 odd soldiers wouldn’t stop an attack by the U.S. or England, and if anything, might incite an attack.

Another thing I question is why the British soldiers were captured to begin with. Nothing against them, but I’m sure the U.S. Navy or Marines would go down with a heck of a firefight. Everyone has a right to self-defense, and I’m sure self-preservation is a key goal of the military.

I hope these hostages are released soon, and if they are not released, I support covert military action to get them out.