Which Windows Vista (if any) is right for me?
With potentially a huge leap in performance, security and features it will be high on a lot of people’s wish list. However, picking the right vista edition isn’t as easy as it could be. This mainly because there are so many new features. To understand what is missing from a premium edition compared to the ultimate (for example) you have to try and find out what the features are, understand what they will do and figure out if you really need them.
First of the easiest one to explain is Vista basic. This is designed for low end systems or people that simply don’t have the budget for a superior version. It will run on pretty much any PC that XP did. I only recommend this edition to two groups of people
1 - You have a low end system and don’t plan to upgrade your hardware for a very long time.
2 - You have no OS for a new self built system and are on a tight budget.
Otherwise even if your system can’t handle all the features of a premium edition now, you can still use the premuim or ultimate editions in Basic mode until you upgrade your hardware. If you are really strapped for cash then it may not be worth getting Vista at all right now as XP isn’t going anywhere. The benefits are a more secure and possibly faster windows with the new intergrated search features.
Apparently, whatever edition you get you are provided with the same content on the disc. It is your license key that unlocks the features you have paid for. This means you will likely be able to upgrade you edition at a future date with just a code, but why pay twice, get the right edition now.
MiniCamp 3: Let Down by Technology
I’d like to be telling you all about how great MiniCamp is right now but unfortunately I can’t - why? Ironically on the way to an Technology meet-up I was let down by Technology.
The Location had been provided with no directions so I assumed it would be easy to find. First of all I grabbed the postcode and looked up the best transport route on journeyplanner. It appeared to be a simple 1-2 bus trip taking 30mins. Looking at the end map I saw it was in an area I was familiar with. I went to Google maps to get a more detailed view of the area. I didn’t bother to print this out as I thought I knew the area and I had my trusty PocketPC with me. How wrong could I be!?
After arriving at Old Street I walked down Great Eastern Street until I got to commercial road - then the madness began. Calling up my browser on my pocket PC I tried to get up a map. Unfortunately I’d uninstalled Opera for extra memory and was left with feeble pocketIE. Unable to handle anything javascripty I knew Google and Yahoo! Maps were out. However, I know Multimap.com works on handheld devices so called up my location. This is where things went wrong.
I don’t know if it was the inaccurate and sparse signage on the roads, the terrible map provided by multimap, the conflicting information from passersby or my own ineptitude but I ended up wandering for 40mins before giving up and going home.
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Firefox 3 on the horizon
You can download this blog post in audio format here (right-click and save target/link as..) or play it using the podcast player on the right.
Firefox 3 - code named Gran Paradiso is under development. It will use the Gecko 1.9 engine and the latest build released already is said to have passed the CSS Acid2 test. Although Opera, Safari have already achieved this it’s a big landmark for Firefox and a good sign of things to come.
Firefox 2.0 already features the most advanced CSS 3.0 support including CSS rounded corners and alpha transparency and Firefox 3 is set to have full support. Other features include improved graphic rendering and support for Javascript 2.
Of course we can expect there will be many bug fixes and tweaks making Firefox faster and more stable. It has been optimised to make better use of your systems hardware so if you have a good graphics card you should notice big improvements both in visual quality and speed for sites that take advantage of this.
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Rip-off RyanAir take it a step to far
Although off topic this issue got me so fired up I had to post it. This was motivated by a plain-text email that I received from Ryanair this afternoon.
Irish Airline Ryanair has recently been getting a reputation on being a rip-off with the many hidden charges that inflate a seemingly low cost air fair to premium prices. These increases in charges come with no increase in quality of service. An advertised price of £2-10 can soon escalate to £60 when taxes, baggage and credit card fees are applied.
Now Ryanair may have taken it a step to far. Customers that have existing bookings due to take place after 1st of Feb will have received an email today notifying them that their tax on their flight will be doubled! As a budget airline in many cases the tax on the flights is more than the air fair as it is, with the tax being doubled this makes a significant change to the value of the booking.
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James Myers: Microformats - FFE Interview #2
In Podcast two I interview James Myers of CNET Networks regarding Microformats. We discuss, what it is, how to get involved and how it was used on ZDNet.co.uk.
Download the Podcast here (right-click and save target/link as..)
or Play Here:
Transcript to follow shortly. 2 Awards were given out during this interview - you can view them here
Reinette De Villiers: The Beauty of Design - FFE interview #1
At long last I’ve pulled my finger out and typed up the transcript from my now not-so-recent interview with Reinette De Villiers. Enjoy.
Download the Podcast here (right-click and save target/link as..)
or Play Here:
Add to iTunes
or read the following transcript.
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Mikons go colour!
You may have read me rave about Mikons before - the fun tool that lets you create icons and logos online.
They have just improved the service by adding some great new features.
Most noteably - Colour. You can now be even more creative with colour Mikons. You can also type text giving you even more freedom.
To celebrate the launch of these hot new features they are running a contest for the best logo with a great prize for the winner.
Check it out a Mikons.com
Here’s some I made earlier:
Map APIs a comparison
Firstly, sorry for the lack of posts recently - it’s amazing how much time is consumed in looking after a new baby. No doubt you’ve seen Baby Olivia’s photos in my flickr stream featured on the rhs of this blog.
Since been back at work after the Crimbo break I’ve had the chance to work on interactive maps for the first time. Having avoided javascript as much as possible during my time as a front-end designer I suddenly found myself wading in with Ajax.
The project was for the atlarge.com home page as previously mentioned on this blog. I had a look at several 3rd party APIs and settled on Yahoo! Maps as being the best option.
It was the easiest to implement and control, had the most features and I had working map with most of the effects I wanted in an afternoon. However, I had to stop using the Yahoo! API because of 3 major problems.
- view full article for more -
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