Commodore is back

Instead of having an 8 bit processor, it now has a 64 bit intel processor. This computer goes on sale June 1st. Several different operating systems can be installed. Its pefect for a home theater pc.

http://www.commodoreusa.net/index.html

Microsoft blaming people in advance for Windows 7?

So I caught this image accidently opening my IE browser instead of Firefox. I do a browse on Firefox I get a different individual. But apparently the whole Windows 7 was this guys idea and we should blame him if things go bad. Well he goes on.

Well apparently from the same webpage, he also rules for creating Windows 7. Therefore he must be the amazing mastermind behind Windows 7 awesomeness.

Or is he?

Oh come on a huge Microsoft Operating System couldn't be created with creapy college girl. Without creapy college girl creating the massive amount of code to create such a software there would be no need for token advertising black guy.

But according to PCWORLD http://www.pcworld.com/article/173953/a_free_windows_7_upgrade_could_cost_you.html
you will still be charged for your "free" upgrade to Windows 7. HP among other manufactures will charge a "shipping" fee for your "free" upgrade to Windows 7. Oh also, if you try to request these upgrades it may take till December to receive them...yah. Make sure you get around that during your xmas rush. Especially since Santa's naughty or nice list is extensive.

Just like most companies were not prepared for Windows Vista... the same holds true for Windows 7. Windows 7 offers a "virtualization" of Windows XP but many business systems do not comply with it. Just like Vista, they are requiring 1GB of RAM (similar to Vista's cry of 512 MB). To run said virtualization requires another 1GB. In a network of systems running XP for years 128MB-1GB worked fine for memory. This is another failure in the making.

I do not know who is the blame for this actually, it could be Microsoft for their overreactive coding forgetting who the common consumer instance. Or could it be the hardware industry trying to profit from the low-end pc's since the high-end pc market is gone. Thus not pushing individuals to current "Moore's Law" machines.

Answer: Its Microsoft for not following common trend. But don't blame it on Token Black Guy or Creapy College Girl.

I think I found the perfect town for the IT efficient. Welcome to PDX country that I've explored over 4 days. I came into Portland for two goals, 1 to show up at a wedding.... 2 to learn about the area. Well... number 2 put more practice into science... I've asked local members of the community nearly at random to tell me one bad thing about Portland...two or three said "lack of diversity", others have said "the amount of rainfall".

Rumor has it that it rains here 11 months a year...and closes if it snows.... By that definition alone I don't know why most of the sophisticated midwesters haven't moved to Portland. We have dealt with more bad weather (In Chicago / NW Indiana) than a lengthy rain season in local books for the Pacific Northwest.

Its a different climent and..also.atmosphere of people. This city is opposite of what their signs say, its not boring nor sandy....i rather say intriguing and investigative would be the best description.

For most midwesterners....imagine Indianapolis within a mountain range.... and you'll get close to the description of the awesomeness of this area...

What works in a bad economy?

There are few winners in a poor economy. The trick is to live like a college student. Slightly listed in the press, the nissin company has made bankroll in the amount of demand of their products. Perhaps the fact it acts as the meal in the cup, or the fact it sells for less than 75 cents per meal for most individuals. The marshallparthenon.com suggest that certainly many people, including college students, will be cutting back on spending and what they can and cannot do. By cutting back it does not mean every person has to eat Ramen noodles for dinner four times a week, even if it is a staple of student dining.

There has been other undocumented winners, because of course it isn't news worthy. Vistaprint has seen a large increase of demand for business cards for individuals to work as consultants, which I personally can say is a bad idea. Along with that is paper companies providing resume materials including card stock. You can imagine the Kinkos/FedEx are not haven problems as well.

I've always stated that the groceries changes are winning like gang busters. And it is true. Year to date, grocery stores have grown during economic times and been steady during "transition". It is logical that those who can't afford or for those who can't go out to the mom and pops every other night are now making more meals at home.

On the IT path I've seen companies drop the price of their equipment significantly if not promote their netbook line more often. The prices I currently see for products are justified for two groups now again, have money and have little money, similar to the have and have nots. Many netbooks are advertized as the all in one need for cheap mobile computing. Meanwhile the advance notebooks are still as expensive, if not more than I would expect this time of year.

I recommend all my clients to purchase their PC's two times a year. During back to school sales around July and August. Of course also during Xmas salesathon, which I suggest is a last case scenario.

Citizens Against Government Waste says Little Calumet Project is a waste of taxpayer dollars

I was listening to the Roe Conn show today. During the 5:30 segment roe mentioned the latest CAGW "pig book" has been released. This book lists all the governmental "pork projects". The idea of this book is to reduce government and taxpayer waste. The first project that Roe talked about was the Little Calumet River Project. He said that the CAGW doesn't think federal money should be used to finish the project. When I got home, I had to read this report. The following is an expert about the project.

$20,422,414 for 11 projects by House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.),
including: $4,000,000 for Army Corps of Engineers construction in the
Calumet region; $2,000,000 for Army Corps of Engineers construction along
the Lake Michigan waterfront; $1,600,000 for Indiana shoreline erosion;
$1,450,000 for the small boat harbor on Burns Waterway; and $951,500 for the
Purdue Calumet Inland Water Institute.

So the CAGW doesn't really think that Northwest Indiana deserves this money. Did they not see the pictures. The entire area was devastated. Not only that, it was two years to the day that Highland and Griffith flooded. The Northwest Indiana times has an entire site devoted to the flood, which can be viewed here.

All of the Munster residents that lived near the river had flood damage. Some people lost stuff in their basements, where as other people lost everything. It honestly looked like New Orleans. Even 80/94 was shut down for several days. 80/94 isn't some small highway. It is one of the busiest interstate in the Midwest.

This is one project that is not government waste. The little calumet project has been going on long enough. 25 years have been spent trying to raise the levee from 12 feet to 18 feet. Luckily, the levee just outside my house was raised to 18 feet, otherwise it would have been a disaster.

If the CAGW thinks this project is waste. then let them have their basements flood. Lets see how much they like it when they have nothing. Lets see what happens when FEMA says there is nothing they can do. I completely disagree with CAGW assessment of this "pork" project.

Chuck to the CW?

In late January, I posted an entry about the TV show Chuck. The day after the Superbowl, Chuck was broadcast in 3-d. I watched the 3-d episode and it was okay. It was neat to see the show in 3-d, but nothing special.

We probably won't know until May 5th if Chuck is going to be renewed for a third season. The ratings have been average for the show. It has been averaging roughly 6.25 million viewers. The ratings are okay, but not great. Also, NBC has to remove five hours of prime time TV because Jay Leno will be on Weekdays at 9:00(central).

If NBC decides to cancel Chuck, there is a chance that the CW will pick it up. According to this article, the president of entertainment at CW is interested in picking up Chuck. We'll have to wait and see.

Update: NBC has renewed Chuck for 13 episodes. New episodes will air in March. There is also discussion about ordering the back 9 episodes of season 3.

New Sprint Commercial

Sprint has a new commercial to help lauch their new 4g network. I found this commercial to be rather entertaining.