SuperSite Blog

Any thoughts on where else I might upload this? :) Geesh.

---

you can try megaupload.com :)

M.

And with the theme (pun not avoided) of new beginnings, I think this is an appropriate time to turn into a pumpkin and switch over to my "don't post because some idiot could possibly construe it as speaking for Microsoft" role since I'll start consulting to Microsoft in about an hour. An so I'll end posting here.

Thanks to all for the spirited debates. It's been fun.

Mike

good luck, mike.

Mike,

Enjoyed our debates. Good luck in your new future.

subzerohitman721

Paul,

Sweet desktop theme. Using it right now. Thanks.

This is an excellent use of the Themes, Paul.  The images are amazingly crisp and beautiful.  I had to turn up the cycle frequency to enjoy them faster!

I guess I'll have to check it out in the evening at home.

<7 days with Windows 7 and still enjoying it!!>

@mikegalos: We'll miss you, man (per my previous comment, which I won't repeat here). We all know Microsoft encourages blogging, but your particular brand of unfettered honesty probably wouldn't be kindly received by the powers that be. If and when you call it quits or move on to another assignment, here's hoping you'll be back. With a new profile picture, please. :-)

Dang Mike, who'll spank the tr0lls down now?

Good luck and see you back soon.

"Dang Mike, who'll spank the tr0lls down now?"

And who will have those fun debates with tayme? I guess lotsa and tayme can start going after each other now.

I really like those wallpaper photos - where were they taken?

"lotsamystuff" and I have had plenty of debates. Along with robertsjoe, Ocean, Waethorn, and johnpapola. I respect *almost* all of them. I tend to feel strongly that blind dedication to a product is a sign of lower intelligence. This long running OS ware is a sham in my mind. I use and like OS X, Vista, XP, Linux, and many other OSes daily. They all have strengths and weaknesses...to think otherwise is simple minded.

--tayme

That, plus I like to debate...its a hobby!!!

--tayme

"That, plus I like to debate...its a hobby!!!"

No it isn't.

I really would like to know what kind of debate you've had with robertsjoe :-)

Mike, like they say in Western PA [that's where I'm from], go kick some butt!

Doc

Mike,

Moving to the Dallas area are you?

Mike, you will be missed in here. Thanks very much for your participation in the blog. I know we'll run into each other elsewhere, of course. :)

"

"That, plus I like to debate...its a hobby!!!"

No it isn't."

Oh come on, now yo're just stupid. Of course it's a hobby.

:p

Wow!

This place wont be the same without Mike! I've never seen anyone that could pull info about the tech would with such detail and skill.

Good luck!

Farewell  Mike,

I've always enjoyed reading your responses to the many posts here.

Wow...its turned into such a touchy, feely day here!!! Must be left over Obama-mania!!!

mikegalos was one that I mostly respected. He is very knowledgable...allbeit from a Microsoft slanted viewpoint. But he's a company man, I'll give him that much!

Farewell, mikegalos.

--tayme

Oh my God, they're starting to sound like eulogies now.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the great style you created. Glad you were able to get one created! The photos are great, what did you use to take them with?

Good luck Mike, and come back soon

"I guess lotsa and tayme can start going after each other now. "

I like "tayme", even if I don't think he's as objective as he claims to be. His questions are usually direct and not rhetorical. At least if he asks me a question, I'll answer it. "mikegalos" is the master of obfuscation...he'll often talk around a difficult question rather than answer it directly.

@mikegalos: "Google does not sell searching. They sell you."

The thing is that we never took you at all seriously before. Now that you're actually employed by Microsoft, we can take all you say with a 100% guarantee that it's incorrect and meaningless. Most of all, extremelly biased.

Thanks for the themes Paul, I'm Canadian and this is the first time in a long time that I feel comfortable (happy even) putting Americana somewhere people can see it like on my desktop.  Great pics by the way!!

"Oh come on, now yo're just stupid."

There is a difference between being stupid and silly.

"Of course it's a hobby."

That's open to debate.

":p"

See comment #1.

""mikegalos" is the master of obfuscation...he'll often talk around a difficult question rather than answer it directly."

And you are are the master of chewing about what everybody else posts on here.  Practically every statement you post is a complaint about what someone else posts with a heaping mouthful of cynicism, unless of course, someone shows a very brief glint of a good comment about your platform of choice.

BTW:  Your spelling and grammar checker you've always gloated about seems to be broken.  Your spelling mistakes have increased substantially over the last few weeks.

@tayme:

Re: Google:

Google has the right to take any and all content you post, regardless of how you set sharing options for content.  Microsoft can only take content that you post publicly, as their wording states.  Microsoft doesn't claim the use of any information that you post as "private" or "shared" (restricted sharing), as opposed to Google, which makes no such distinction.

That's the difference between their privacy policies.

That's a pretty big difference too.

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I just find it interesting that they included so may things in the themes.  Looking at the .theme text files, you can see that they include the possibility of changing settings for the icons for Computer, User Files, Network, and Recycle Bin, as well as your mouse cursors, Aero style, screensaver, sounds, slideshow settings, and pretty much anything that can be customized in the advanced "Window Color and Appearance" settings.  I just worry about these themes somehow becoming a vector to change arbitrary settings, given that they seem to be able to access various control panels and certainly don't bring up UAC under default circumstances.  Also, on a somewhat off-topic note, is anyone else getting the bizarre Live Messenger behavior where if you are using the new "superbar"-based (rather than system notification area-based) method of storing messenger when closed and you minimize all windows, the messenger contact list comes up? It's really been bugging me lately.

@Waethorn - It is a big difference...but as somebody else said, I don't see where either of them sell your private information. Since I don't have cookies turned on most of the time and I don't use gmail, I am not too worried. I totally agree that Google is more an advertising company than a search company...I mostly use Yahoo! for searching anyway. I wonder what their TOS says? I've never worried too much about it, since I have nothing to hide. Most people would be bored with what they could find about me!

-tayme

Hey Waethorn what are you the Master at?  Oh yeah that is right posting links to malware and talking crap about Jobs when he is ill.  I am sure mama would be proud.

I for one wont miss Mike.  His total and utter loyalty to all things MS and pure hatred to anything NOT MS was juvenile at best.  He could never respond to a question if he had to admit just a tiny bit that he may be wrong.  The brother LIVED on this site, I wonder what he will do with all of that free time.

My prediction, we will see a "new" poster emerge that is Mike.

I previously thought that the messenger issue was intermittent, but I just realized that it actually happens every time if (and only if) the last window minimized is a Firefox

Very cool pics, Paul.

I like them a lot!

@mikegalos: "Actually, they're apparently fine with doing evil, the slogan is "Don't BE evil" so I guess you can do lots of evil as long as it doesn't change who you are..."

As opposed to Microsoft that don't say "We are evil", yet they are?

pthurrott said: "Mike, you will be missed in here. Thanks very much for your participation in the blog. I know we'll run into each other elsewhere, of course. :)"

Run in to each other in the deep dark depths of hell? i.e. Microsoft headquarters.

@Mike good luck and continued success.

@robertsjoe try at least maintaining a facade of class just once. Maybe? no 0%class 100% of the time. Typical Mac user (on a Windows blog).

@whiplash55: The last thing this is is a "Windows blog". It's an anti-Apple vehicle.

@whiplash55: If you can't handle the truth, leave.

Everyone else waiting the Apple bashing posts from Paul re Apple's earnings? Just wait, they are-a comin'. (prompted by a memo from Microsoft, I'm sure)

"I don't see where either of them sell your private information."

It doesn't matter what you see or not.  Google reserves that right.  Microsoft doesn't (the scrutiny that they face doesn't allow them that "freedom"), so you can hold them liable for any transgressions.  That's the difference between the companies, and why I dislike Google so.  I'm not the only one that scrutinizes privacy policies and terms of service either.  

I relate this to the insurance policy that you get with quality surge protectors - something that I run into on a regular basis with outside customers:

You can buy a computer with a crap PSU, and in a minor electrical storm, the PSU can easily burn out.  It happens frequently around here (not usually with the power supplies that I sell, but they're more expensive and higher quality - usually Antec - than these no-name ones you see in $30 cases).  Anyway, after a good t-storm, I get calls from numerous people that have problems with their system not turning on.  Some people say they have these cheap gray power bars and think that they're proper surge protectors.  If they don't know that their power bar includes insurance or a lifetime warranty, then it's usually a crappy $8 Zellers special.  A good quality one (like APC) will have a lifetime warranty, a $25,000 or higher insurance policy for attached equipment, and a large, well-known, respectable company that pays out if something goes wrong.  (note:  Belkin and Monster definitely don't in my experience)

How does this relate?  Think about it this way:  A company that puts the effort into offering a good-quality surge protector with a high-level of insurance and warranty does so with confidence under the assumption that the likelihood that they would ever have to pay out is very slim, because they make a superior product.  The company that doesn't offer the same services will hide their contact information, warranty (if there is one), and provides little to no insurance because they couldn't care less about the product, nor do they hold any confidence (read: self-respect) in their own brand.  They have your money, and that's the end of it.  There is no back-end support.  I put absolutely no trust in companies like that, but some people will still pay them for their product without knowing any better, at least until something goes horribly wrong.  Although the principles are different, it's the same feeling I get from Google - they flagrantly act behind their terms of service, and users would just rather assume everything is peachy....Microsoft's TOS doesn't contain anything that can be misconstrued as wrong-doing.  It wouldn't be possible anyway, because they have to put their name on the line with the scrutiny that they face after their DoJ battles.  The fact that they're willing to do that is telling enough.  Because of that, I liken Microsoft to APC.  Google, not so much.  >:(

Without mentioning anything about Google off-hand, I asked a few people (customers) recently that use services like Picasa and Gmail, just to read Section 11 and comment on it.  It was unanimous:  they were appalled by what they read.  They had no idea.  I didn't even comment on it myself until they gave me their opinion.  Everybody I asked understood it well.

"I am sure mama would be proud."

When someone posts a line like that, it's all too telling of their level of maturity.

BTW:  Your mama certainly is proud of me.  :P  <- me being hypocritically silly in response  (you don't need to point that out losta)

"Run in to each other in the deep dark depths of hell?"

I didn't know that Paul and Mike were meeting you and Steve Jobs in your iBasement.

robertsjoe, don't you have homework to do?

"Everyone else waiting the Apple bashing posts from Paul re Apple's earnings? Just wait, they are-a comin'."

No need.  Just this:

blogs.zdnet.com/security

FYI:  The new photo gallery on the PS3 is pretty slick.

what's new on the photo gallery, wae? I was playing on a friend's system earlier, but I didn't notice he'd had an update.

Dang blasted Microsoft and their never ending treadmill of upgrades!!

Why isn't this doable on my Windows 2000 pc???

Darn blasted evil Microsoft!

How dare you, delmont. If only mike was here to see this.

:)

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@waethorn: More and more nasty bugs continue to plague WIndows

computerworld.com/.../article.do

Gotta love Windows sieve like security.

Obama's team greeting with an IT horror show:

"The team members, accustomed to working on Macs, found computers outfitted with Microsoft software"

It would be horrendous for anyone to be greeted with something like that.

Obama's steam prefer Macs (makes sense) and now setting up Gmail accounts to get things done. No Hotmale there. Smart people.

Of course, they prefer Macs. Extremely smart people with taste.

www.washingtonpost.com/.../AR2009012104249.html

@gorath:

It's a new photo management app.  You have to have the new system update first, then you have to download the Photo Gallery app on the Photo XMB segment.  It's about 140MB on top of the system software update.  It basically allows you to navigate, manage and organize photos into playlists with different backgrounds and frames and such.  Slideshows are still done from the standard Photo XMB segment, but can be launched from Photo Gallery.  It does include an option to rotate pictures permenantly though.

@robertsjoe:

It doesn't take much to patch Windows.  Affected users didn't.  Now why the f* can't Apple release a media player program without massive security flaws??  That's a joke!

Has anyone tried out the new photo slideshow in Media Center? It's very cool - it uses DeepZoom, I guess.

Even Mr. Pogue grudgingly admits that it's a good OS. (Of course, being who he is, he does use the opportunity to sell Macs.)

www.nytimes.com/.../22pogue.html

The editions are bewildering. Windows Vista is sold in at least six versions: Home Basic, Business, Ultimate and so on, each with a confusing and sometimes illogical subset of features. Officially, Microsoft says it hasn’t selected Windows 7’s version scheme, although a product manager at a conference mentioned to me that it will probably be similar to Vista’s. Ah, well — can’t win ’em all.

@shark:

He very typically gets a few points wrong:

"U.A.C. was way too suspicious, demanding your name and password even when it was just little old you making innocent changes (like setting your computer’s clock)."

If you're an admin, it doesn't ask for it.  If you aren't, it's going to ask for a password anyway.

"Windows Vista is sold in at least six versions"

As he says, "Beg pardon?".

"For example, the Windows 7 taskbar looks and works like Mac OS X’s Dock: a row of big, square program icons representing your favorite programs, whether they’re running or not. It has taken over the launching functions of the old Quick Launch Toolbar. You can turn this feature off"

???  I'd like to know how, aside from just removing hte icons, which isn't what his comment implies....(not that I would, but I'd like his explanation on this)

"Other Apple borrowings: desktop wallpaper that changes at regular intervals. A yellow sticky-notes program. A simple menu of available wireless networks. “Private browsing,” in which your adults-only Web exploits leave no tracks in the History list or anywhere else. Jump lists (useful shortcut menus that pop out of the taskbar icons)."

This has already been proven to have existed before Apple released it.

"The Windows Firewall now protects you from both inbound and outbound evil Internet communications."

Actually, that happened in XP SP2, with the application notification that was added.

For the record, Vista Enterprise isn't sold - it's licensed only through a Volume License Agreement that includes Software Assurance.  (You can say the same about every version in that they're are only licensed, but I'm making a point that Vista Enterprise isn't sold through retail or OEM channels at all)

Likewise, Vista Starter isn't available in developed countries (like the US, from where he writes this fluff).

In retail, you only have 4 full version SKU's and 4 upgrade SKU's.  Only Ultimate contains 64-bit out of the box.  The rest are 32-bit only, but you can order a 64-bit replacement disc if necessary.

In OEM, you have 32-bit and 64-bit SKU's for each of the 4 versions.  The OEM hardware vendor makes the choice for you on which product is offered, so a buyers decision is based on the capabilities of the computer.  Any mainstream consumer system that I've seen recently ships with Home Premium, and a large percentage with 64-bit (any with stock 4GB of RAM or more will, as per Microsoft's requirements).

Anybody buying it should inquire about 64-bit only now, unless you run it on hardware that doesn't support it (the only current hardware that doesn't is netbook/top-class Atom and some VIA processors).

"@shark:

He very typically gets a few points wrong:"

What do you expect from someone who has made a career in writing switcher books?

I think Leo mentioned on the TWIT show that Pogue is taking up Jobs' job of stirring up the masses at MacWorld.

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@robertsjoe - "Extremely smart people with taste."

Obviously they are not too smart...OS X does not meet the security requirements of the US government. As for taste, that is subjective. Each person has thier own taste in products. People that blindly support a single OS are simple minded...but they'll be teaching you that stuff after your middle school years are over. That is usually when the young mind is able to comprehend that logic.

BTW, Obama uses a Blackberry...not an iPhone or WinMo. Can you tell us what that says about him?

--tayme

Well, it's final: Windows 7 is a hit.

Even in Test Form, Windows 7 Leaves Vista in the Dust

By WALTER S. MOSSBERG

online.wsj.com/.../SB123258632983004629.html

"BTW:  Your spelling and grammar checker you've always gloated about seems to be broken.  Your spelling mistakes have increased substantially over the last few weeks."

Citation, please. Point out the posts where I've "always gloated" about my spelling and grammar checker. Also, please point out where my mistakes have "increased substantially".

"What do you expect from someone who has made a career in writing switcher books?"

I don't expect much.  You'd think a reporter would actually do some research though.

"I think Leo mentioned on the TWIT show that Pogue is taking up Jobs' job of stirring up the masses at MacWorld."

Seems like a dead end if Apple shifts to CES.

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