rowan.depomerai

In my last post, I discussed one of the interface changes in Windows 7, with reference (probably too much reference) to a blog post by Paul Thurrott, and I explained how that article wound me up a bit. Today I got incredibly annoyed with an article by the same author, and it got me wondering just how you find the voices you trust and like amoung the millions of bloggers out there…

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Microsoft recently released a public beta of Windows 7, which means you or I can go and download the next version of Windows right now and give it a try. This seems like a great opportunity to see what they’re up to, so I’ve had a quick play and I’ve read some reviews and articles around the web. Now we all know I’m a big Mac fan, so of course I have a habit of noticing the new features which bear a striking resemblence to existing MacOS features. And there are a lot. I thought about writing a post about that, but there were too many to mention, plus it would be pointless; good ideas are worth using, and Apple has certainly ‘borrowed’ features from Windows over the years too. Sometimes it just makes sense. So rather than moan about Microsoft stealing ideas, I thought I’d celebrate one idea in particular which they’ve stolen, because it leads to a big improvement in the usability of Windows. The feature I’m referring to is the task bar, which has undergone quite a radical overhaul in Windows 7. The thing is, some of the more vocal and established Windows fans seem to hate the new design – where I rejoice that it’s much more similar to Apple’s superior Dock interface, they complain that it’s too similar to Apple’s rubbish Dock interface. Hmmm… it seems this could be one for personal preference. Here’s why I like the Dock, and (mostly) Windows’ new taskbar.

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The best thing about the iPhone these days is its software model. I’ve talked in detail before (1, 2, 3, 4) about the device itself, and mentioned the AppStore, but Apple Insider presents (as part of their extensive and pretty good series of posts on the iPhone 3G) a fascinating comparison of iPhone software versus Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Symbian and even PSP and DS software platforms. Read the rest of this entry »

These days I use a frightening array of Apple products. Every weekday I use an iPhone, an iMac, a Mac Mini and usually a MacBook. Occasionally at work I have the misfortune to use a Windows PC, and once in a while I have to use a computer which doesn’t know who I am. Hoping to address this sort of problem, Apple announced Mobile Me at their WWDC conference earlier this week. Let’s get the trivial stuff out of the way first. Yes, it’s a pretty rubbish name, and some have described the logo as Apple’s worst ever. But what interests me is how it can help my life by reducing the complexity of accessing my information anywhere. Read the rest of this entry »

Very few things irritate me more than people who have no idea what they’re talking about mouthing off on the web. And few things entertain me more than their arguments being ripped to pieces by people who have slightly more idea what they’re talking about. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for democracy and free speech and all that, but sometimes I just think people should find out what the hell they’re on about.

The BBC’s iPlayer is a very emotive topic on the web it seems, and in particular the original Windows-only download version. SMPPMS says on the iPlayer forum:

The BBC has rightly been criticised for spending £130 million for developing the download version of the iPlayer which is tied into Microsoft’s Windows Media Player which restricted to Windows Operating systems only. This had very rightly received widespread criticism from the public

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