You can actually test-drive Windows Vista online, by running the full OS in a virtual machine via Microsoft’s website. The demo is powered by Microsoft Virtual Server. VMs are a great way to let a totally unknown user muck about as they please with no risk of damage whatsoever – it’s like Etch a Sketch – a sandbox that wipes clean after each use.
Month: January 2007
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no Wii
Sunday was supposed to be a big Wii day. Dean got one. I went to two best buys, a target, two walmarts, and two game stops. No wii for mee… sigh.
Ars has a couple of reports from the field. One is your standard “I just showed up on a lark and they shoved it into my hands” blah blah blah. The other I think reflects reality a bit better. I can’t even express the frustration, verging on sour grapes. I’m not going to make any effort anymore.
Incidentally, Circuit City has acted dishonorably indeed. I won’t be buying a Wii from them, or anything else, ever again.
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Lain: Knights
Nothing has really gelled for me yet. Its like a collection of random vignettes. In some ways it’s more fragmented than Kino’s Journey. The only thing I think I understand is what happened to Mika, Lain’s sister. Spoilers below the fold.
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virtual prayer
A gamer visits the masjid (mosque) for friday prayers. Online. Second Life, indeed!
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More Galactica Simpsons
updated character sketches of the BSG cast, rendered as Simpsons characters. Awesome.
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Lain disc 2
I’m starting it this week. Since my insight after watching disc 1, I find myself suddenly eager. I didn’t get a chance to rewatch disc 1 with that theory in mind, but it’s still fresh in my mind.
I’m cognizant of astro’s critique of my attitude – I certainly admit to thinking (too) hard about Lain rather than just sitting back and enjoying it. Part of that might be the expectation that others’ reviews of the title created – this is supposed to be a deeply insightful and intellectual piece of work, inviting analysis, unlike Haibane Renmei which is an emotional and spiritual roller coaster ride from the outset. I need to stop comparing it to HR, and I am going to make more effort at making less effort for disc 2.
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Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball
Pete Zaitcev, a well-armed blogger with deep knowledge of all things anime and linux, says my recent commentary on Linux was “hilariously retarded“. My crime was my poor choice of examples of Linux hardware compatibility: USB thumbdrives and optical mice. He’s absolutely right, those are poor examples indeed (unlike, say, graphics cards, TV tuners, webcams, …). However, my broader point stands – seamless, plug and play compatibility of a generic USB device (or for that matter any peripheral) is not guaranteed with Linux. Were it otherwise, this site wouldn’t need to exist. All in all, I think my comments about Linux were rather optimistic, and hardly hostile.
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Lain disc 1: Navi
I finished disc 1. Spoiler commentary below the fold, in which I suggest that the whole issue of reality vs virtual reality is a huge red herring.
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CES2007: 1TB for $399
Hitachi and Seagate are racing to deliver 1-terabyte (1TB) hard drives by the first quarter. These are the fruits of perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR).
Since the 40th annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is about to start in Las Vegas, expect the week ahead to be full of these kinds of goodies. For example, there are Blu-Ray burners, HD-DVD burners, and even combo Blu-Ray/HD-DVD drives coming out soon. Wireless USB is going to be big this year, as will Windows Slideshow, an advanced secondary external LCD screen for laptop computers running Vista. And there’s even a 32GB flash-based notebook hard drive. There’s a storage-technology slideshow on the web that previews some of these technologies.
The best CES coverage is at Ars Technica and Tom’s Hardware. Stay tuned…