You can literally cruise the Vista

"You can literally cruise the Vista!"
- Red Foreman, 'That 70s Show'

That right! Today is the day, Microsoft released Vista to the public. You can run out right now and grab yourself a copy of one of the many available versions. I will shortly be getting my copy of Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 Pro the good ol' fashion Seattlite way: through relatives that happen to be M$ employees! :-)
(I love living literally 10 minuets from the Redmond campus M$ Company store!)

I'm looking most forward to using Office 2007. I never was able to get a beta copy. (even though I paid my $3!! Never got an e-mail with the download link or key. ;( Oh well!) But I'm very excited to play with the the new ribbon feature.

I have been running Vista on this laptop for about 4 months, and on my desktop for maybe 8 months. (Although about a month ago I switched back to XP on my desktop...Vista's demands are just far too high, and I fell victim to the Windows Update bug and couldn't connect to Windows Update. The 'nag' screens bugged me.)

But I still look forward to Vista RTM. And I'm really looking forward to see what Ultimate Extras has in store!

Great PC Desktop Idea

Where I see the PC desktop going someday. (Linux (Gnome, KDE)?)

It's a demo for a thesis. Very cool indeed!


(Sorry it's YouTube, might take forever to get going. Side note: What happened to YouTube these past few months!? It's ungodly slow these days!)

Business Model: Let the cutsomers pick the price, if any!

There is two new coffee shops in Downtown Kirkland: Kirkland's 5th (6th? 7th? 10th?) Starbucks, and Terra Bite. Both just a short block away.

Terra Bite has a very strange, business model. Either they're 'incredibly smart, or incredibly stupid!' Read on...

Terra Bite takes on Starbucks
Terra Bite is a new coffee house (and non-profit organization) that recently opened in Kirkland with an interesting twist for a business model (more on this below). Is this the beginning of the end for Starbucks? OK, stay with me now as I try to explain...

Like most coffee houses, Terra Bite offers espresso, blended drinks, baked goods, sandwiches, and desserts. They also provide a cool setting where you can hang-out, play your favorite XBox/PS3 games on huge flat panel TVs(for free!), or just pop-in and pop-out with your hot drink in hand. Can you play your favorite video game at Starbucks on a huge flat panel? No!

So what is so different about the business model that might have Starbucks on the run? Well, Terra Bite is operating based on a "voluntary-payment" basis. Confused yet? Well I was when I first heard of the idea. Basically they have no cash registers, no fancy way to swipe a debit card, no signs with pricing, and no tip jar either. What you will find is an unassuming gray box, similar to a large square piggy bank, at the end of the counter. After you order your triple tall nonfat latte, and grab a sandwich--it's up to you on how much you pay, when you pay, and even if you choose to pay. I wonder if our resident homeless guy, Paul, has been to the Terra Bite yet?

Sounds crazy, right? I learned more after talking to the founders during their private grand opening party in late 2006. The Terra Bite was opened/founded by Ervin Peretz and Susie Allsup. Ervin (a Google developer in Kirkland, WA) hatched the idea while slightly intoxicated during a trip to Vietnam. Ervin describes the the voluntary payment system as "a convenience measure for the mainstream: a regular patron can just drop in $20 once a week, or even pay on-line. There are no punch-cards, or any other complexity; it's all based on trust. For those in need, it is a source of free food that is healthier, more available, and (most importantly) more dignified than the alternatives."

Ervin indicated they are looking at more locations for expansion. Many at the grand opening party were skeptical to say the least. Can it really work? Why nonprofit? Will they get enough traffic? Will people really be honest? I don't get it? Why in downtown Kirkland? All good questions. I guess we will have to wait and see how the Terra Bites does in the coming months and hopefully years!

BTW, it hasn't slowed down Starbucks just yet. They just opened another new Starbucks in downtown Kirkland (where the old Seattle Best/Reality Coffee site was). Can Ervin take on Starbucks? Only time will tell.

So if you are by the corner of Kirkland Avenue and State Street please check out the Terra Bite--it doesn't have to cost you a thing! Seriously though...good luck to Ervin and Susie! As usual, comments encouraged...Steve

SOURCE:
http://kirklandweblog.typepad.com/kirkland_weblog/2007/01/terra_bite_take.html

iPhone Unlocked? No, no, and NO!

David Pogue, a well known Mac critic for the New York Times, has answered everyone's, including my own, number one question: Will the iPhone be 'Unlocked'?
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The Ultimate iPhone Frequently Asked Questions

Wow. Predictably, the torrent — and I do mean torrent — of iPhone commentary from the citizens of the Web is practically outflooding spam this week. Most of it comes from people whose shirt fronts are practically drenched in drool. Plenty is negative and bitter.

Another huge category is iPhone questions. Never mind that many of these questions either (a) have been answered by Apple, either on its elaborate, interactive Web site or the free video of Steve Jobs’s speech, or (b) come from people who fantasize about fitting the iPhone into their own particular wish lists.

(My favorite sarcastic comment, which was a response to these responses, which were in response to my last blog entry: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, but can you use it underwater? And can you recharge it using solar power? And does it have an optical scanner that detects your eyeball movements so that you merely have to look at a name in your contacts list and blink in order to choose and call him? Apple, you have a long way to go…”)

Anyway, here it is: the ultimate iPhone Frequently Asked Questions list, complete with answers.

ANSWERS TO ALL YOUR QUESTIONS:

Can it be used with anything but Cingular? –No.

Is it an “unlocked” phone, so I can use it with a carrier other than Cingular? –No.

Will there be a non-Cingular version? –Not within the first two years.

Can I put my T-Mobile SIM card in it instead of Cingular? –No.

But what if I keep asking? Then will it be available beyond Cingular? –No.
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SOURCE:
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/the-ultimate-iphone-frequently-asked-questions/
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Be sure to check out the rest of the list on his blog, PoguePicks.

It looks like I won't be getting my iPhone for at least 2 years, if at all! Or until someone figures out how to unlock it, or if my company switches from T-Mobile to Cingular :-P (which I really hope they don't do, the years I spent as a Cingular customer left me with some bad tastes)
And do I really want the iPhone after reading this frightening list of this it can't do? I may want to wait 2 years before I spend $499 on a phone that can't do much of anything. For $499, it should have GPS, Voice Dialing, Flash support, Outlook/Exchange support, and the ability to add your own software. Until these key features are added, I'm sticking with my MPx220 Windows Mobile 2003 Smartphone, Palm T|X, and iPod w/Video. :)

iPhone + June 2007
First and foremost, it's beautiful. And I think it has the chance to do to communication as the iPod did to music. And I think it'll do it in less time (less then 2 years).
I have one question: will it shipped locked to Cingular? I'm assuming it will be. Which means, I can't buy one. Unless someone finds an easy unlock work around, which could be instantly, or take years, like my Moto MPX220 Smartphone I've had for almost 2 years (which I was finally able to unlock last week).
I see this iPhone to be more aimed at the business world. The ability to browse the internet, and use all it's great features like push IMAP from Yahoo! (which is awesome!) just seems like a lot of extra bills for the average consumer. I predict that by this time next year, Apple will at least announce an iPhone 'Nano' - an iPhone for the rest of us. And it will be unlocked.

But, I still want an iPhone! :-)

I love my Egg McMuffin!

Egg McMuffin = Love!
Is there anything better then an Egg McMuffin breakfast?

:)

Gerald Ford died today...1996 SNL Skit

To pay tribute to the passing of the great ex-president Ford, here it is. The great and funny Dana Carvy SNL skit from 1996 in which Carvy impersonates Tom Brokaw as he prepares for vacation, and for the any possible incidents that may occur in his absence:



This skit has been replaying in my head all week!

Rest in Peace Mr Ford.