Open little "w" windows - MinWin

Microsoft has driven the last nail in Vista's coffin if the reports about MinWin are true.

Microsoft Partners: MinWin Could Soothe Vista Headaches

By Kevin McLaughlin, CMP Channel
7:19 PM EST Fri. Nov. 30, 2007

In the year that has passed since Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) released Windows Vista to business users, the operating system has gained a reputation in the channel as a bloated memory hog that many companies are avoiding like a trip to the dentist.

But Microsoft partners have a more positive opinion of Windows 7, the next generation of Windows that Microsoft expects to ship in the 2010 timeframe. That's because Windows 7 will be based on MinWin, a scaled down version of the Windows core that will also serve as the framework for Windows Server and Windows Media Center.

MinWin's source code base takes up about 25 megabytes on disk, compared to about 4 gigabytes for Vista. Solution providers see this as a sign that Microsoft has learned its lesson from trying to cram too much into the Windows OS, and some feel that Windows 7 will be a roaring success in the market.

From an end-user and "integrator" perspective this means never having to say I am Vista. It also means another 12-18 month delay before I make another significant Microsoft investment.

The silver lining that I can hope for is that with a 25MB foot print Microsoft can create a unified cross platform environment. I can see where PCs and Phones and PDAs all running the same OS could be a great boon to connectivity.

All that said I believe in my heart of hearts that Microsoft is again dabbling in the fine art of vapor-ware. Promising 25MBs while rolling out a 1-2GB package.

Open Journalism

At the recommendation of the august Blogist and Philosopher Frank Paynter I clicked on a link that took me to the writings of Ben Paynter. Most specifically the article in The Pitch - Don't Look Down.

Ben, you've done it again!

Open Forests

Who plants trees although he knows he'll never sit in their shadows has at least begun to recognize the sense of life. - Anonymous

Fore score and 7

Our forefathers should be forewarned
about the potential abuse of forearms...

Thanks to The Way I Think for the pic

Open Face

As I have posted earlier I have no love for FaceBook. So it is sort of antithetical that I offer the solution to FB's privacy issues.

According to the WSJ's informal survey some 60+% of FB users would not like their friends to automatically be notified if they bought Prada or tickets to see Lion King. Ok, the answer is simple.

FB users should be notified that X number of their friends have bought the latest Stephen King thriller. Then privacy is maintained. No specific user is named. But the endorsement is implicit. AND the unknown aspect of X will only server to create a greater conversation (reads more FB traffic = more FB revenue.)

Somebody over at FB owes me a nice fat check!

Open Freedom?

We have allowed lawyers to define 'freedom' and as such we have lost it.

Open Privacy

In a recent segment broadcast on NPR about Privacy I heard (paraphrasing)

'A potential employer might discover something about me that I hadn't intended them to find.'

The segment was concerning the publishing of personal information on sites like Facebook or MySpace and that employers were 'researching' prospective employees as a part of the vetting process.

I so much so wish that the speaker had not used the word "intended" when expressing his/her concern about privacy. For me their entire arguement implodes when there is a suggestion that sensitive material was shared in a public forum BUT it is "intended" only for certain parties. Or conversely, that there might have been an intention to hide or deny particular personal information from a prospective employer. That is just this side of deception, a personal characteristic that I would question if I were vetting an individual for any kind of sensitive work.

Open Ramblin'

Chris Sanders, who claims to be full of I.T., said he was thankful for growing up here-abouts...in Kentucky...just a bit west of here...

I can’t say that I will stay in Graves County for the rest of my life, as we all know how twists and turns can throw things off course. I will however, guarantee that no matter where I go and what I accomplish, I will always be Chris Sanders from Mayfield, KY. That would be about 30 miles southwest of Possum Trot, 40 miles southeast of Monkey’s Eyebrow, and about 10 miles north of the state line….just in case you were wondering….

Way to go Chris... now they will never leave you alone. Prolly be two or three more people a week be round to look you up. :)