Sunny Man’s Blog

September 7th 2007

(2) Windows Live Suite

Blogging, Internet, Life, Technology

Sunny Man’s Blog has undergone a lot of changes over the past year in the hope to better the design, improve the quality of the writing and to spread the word. I’m not about to let all that work, which gained this blog access to the prestigious 9rules blogging community, brought steadily increasing numbers of visitors and allowed me to express my (sometimes not so) professional opinion on technology matters, go to waste. Over the past couple months, you were left starving for an update and I’m deeply sorry I didn’t provide you with anything to read and disagree with. I had other matters at hand such as work, exams and a room-load of reports to write (10,000+ words so far!) as well as new responsibilities. Don’t despair, my fair and (hopefully) beautiful readers, I am back and ready to provide you with my insights and to, as ever, ask for your opinions and not receive any - you can’t say I don’t try to include you in the discussion! Let’s get it off to a slightly exciting start…

Microsoft recently released a group of their newest applications under the Windows Live brand name, aimed at the general computer user and recreational blogger. This suite includes Microsoft’s successor to Outlook Express, a new version of the popular Windows Live Messenger (MSN Messenger if you’re not keeping up with the trends), Windows Live OneCare Family Safety and a host of other tools Microsoft seems to think we need/want. I have had some experience with some of the products before, most in beta form, and just wanted to share my voice.

Mail

During my extremely short use of Vista, I used the Windows Live Desktop mail application that was included with it at the time. My experience was less than pleasing and an installation of Thunderbird promptly followed. The new application gives the user the Vista inspired interface (if you’re on XP) and a much needed clean and polish of the user interface that Outlook so desperately needed. I don’t think this application is meant to replace Outlook Express as Windows Live Mail doesn’t provide all the features that some individuals and businesses would require.

Messenger

The next upgrade to the popular Windows Live/MSN Messenger, version 8.5 or version 2008 depending on where you look, is part of the Windows Live family and an option in the pack. This new version seems to improve the speed of the application as I’ve had no conversation freezes or lockups since upgrading to the newest version. Also provided in version 8.5 is an improvement a change to the interface to bring it into line with the rest of the Windows Live theme. It is a nice improvement, I have to admit but only a minor one. Maybe the design team should take some notes from the Yahoo! Messenger team.

Writer

Microsoft’s attempt to make blogging easier has definitely improved since its initial public release - and I’m not just talking about the snazzy splash screen in the newest version. In earlier versions, Windows Live Writer didn’t exactly agree with Wordpress in a number of areas. Whether this was because of Wordpress or Writer, who knows, but I’ll bet it was Writer who was at fault.

Final Thoughts

There are other products in the Windows Live suite of application but I wont go into them right now; you can check them out for yourselves if you’re curious enough. This re-brand is just Microsoft’s attempt to push their products into the faces of ordinary PC users and given them software that in some cases just isn’t needed by the most inexperienced users.

There are some applications that are essential to most Windows users though. The update to Messenger is recommended for users who want a more stable chat program and for home users who don’t know better, Windows Live Mail is a nice replacement for Outlook Express though I continue to suggest you come out of the stone age and use Mozilla Thunderbird!

Go and download the applications - but watch out for the pre-ticked boxes that install the Live toolbar and set your homepage to something evil - and give is your comments on them! That’s an order.

July 24th 2007

(2) Cold Hearted Russia

Blogging, Politics

I don’t know about other people but I’m getting seriously pissed off at Russia and it’s president who is so paranoid about his image and his country’s image that he has to display acts of ’strength’ and ‘macho-ism’ more often than using money to do things that actually benefit people other than high communist government officials.

It seemed that we were all fine when Russia’s president threatened to launch nuclear-capable missiles at us and now we are not even flinching as Russia puts forth its territorial claim to the Arctic. Personally, I’m alarmed and annoyed by yet another show of how greedy and naive the Russian government is. Russia is a country of over 17 million square kilometres - the largest country by area in the world - and has one of the worst poverty situations in the developed nations and now wants to stamp its ugly claim on the Arctic and the North Pole.

Cold Control

Historically, no country owns the North Pole and the countries surrounding the area are limited to a 200 mile economic zone around their coasts which is theirs to claim and defend. The United Nations wrote a clause into the agreement that all of those nations signed that said if they could prove that the Arctic continent was an extension from the continental plate they are on. Russia has been gathering evidence to support their claim that an area of the Arctic, including the North Pole, is actually such an extension.

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June 11th 2007

(7) Safari on Windows

Blogging, Internet, Life, News, Technology

Today Steve Jobs announced the availability of Safari 3 via a public beta. Although this was interesting news, what was more interesting was the announcement that Safari 3 is now also available for Windows! To some, this may be the news they’d been wanting to hear for a long time but to others it may just be another sign of impending world destruction. My personal opinion is that this move is at least one step in the right direction for Apple. It will certainly make my life as a developer much more easier as I won’t have to rely on services such as Dan Vine’s iCapture or annoyingly have to ask friends to screen shot my sites on their Macs.

First Impressions

My first impressions are that this is indeed true beta software. My experience is that it is rather slow and feels rather heavy as an application. As with all Apple software, the user interface is indeed nice. It’s not clogged with buttons and only the bare essentials are shown but it still allows for nearly as much customisation as Firefox, although it’s not quite on par at this stage. The traditional brushed metal theme has only been on my screen for a few minutes and it’s already growing on me. Although it’s default font choice as Times New Roman isn’t to my taste, it doesn’t take anything away from the browser.One thing I will say is the option to resize most text areas is a nice feature.

Get it Now

Go and get the beta from the Apple site, try it out and return here. Mac or PC users can download the beta and I advise that you do. Give it a go and come here and leave a comment! Below are a few screen shots to tickle your fancy.

June 9th 2007

(1) How to Piss Off the World

Blogging, Life, Politics

When I was listening to the news the other day, I could not believe what I was hearing. I thought the news was replaying a clip from cold war era. Russian President Vladimir Putin was threatening to aim potentially nuclear weapons at sites around Europe because some countries had agreed to play host to American anti-missile and radar sites. If it’s his aim to piss off most of the world, he’s succeeded. I’m going to allow myself some less than appropriate language here and say to mister former secret agent; where the hell do you get off threatening Europe with missile attack? Have you been in a coma for the past sixty years? Mr. Putin, why are you so against a defence system for Europe and America? Is it because it’s America’s system? I don’t understand you, Mr. Putin, why don’t you want me to be safe from the evil in the world? Well, enough of those common words. Let us enjoy a read and discuss the implications of America’s new ‘defence’ system.

Big-Arse America

If you haven’t been keeping up with America’s expanding international presence lately then you may not have heard about their growing plans to set up an anti-missile defence system around Europe and their own territory to combat what they think is a real and growing threat from ‘evil’ countries like Iran and North Korea. Their system involves a number of radar and missile sites throughout Europe - one radar site is located here in the UK. Mr. Putin’s outrageous comments came after it was announced America wanted to place sites in Poland and the Czech Republic - former Soviet states and signatories of the Warsaw Pact.

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