Saturday, January 20, 2007

Microsoft's Windows Vista vs Apple's iPhone

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A generalist's question would be, "how do they even match up to be compared?” Nice Question. Well, here, I see it beyond technology. It's about being out ther and being visible and up on the list.

When you see the CES keynote by Bill Gates, you literally say "wow". Which Microsoft already knows that you will eventually say :) That’s Bill Gate's vision. It's a splendid launch event. I find Vista a part of milestone and am focused more on end-users who see PCs as entertainment platforms rather then anything else. Technologies like shadow-copy and previous version was laready there in win 2k pro and 2k3 server. In Vista, Mirosoft has brought it up-front and easy to use for end-users. With the aero 3D and glassy looks, it is more then enough to impress audience. Just try your hands on Vista, and you will like it. So thats Vista, fun, easy, better on entertainment with 3D preinstalled games, awesome looks...
I know, i am coming down to the point... just wanted to give a feel of Vista. So lets have a look at iPhone too...

iPhone, as Apple puts it, is the 3rd revolution after...first Mac, then iPod and then comes iPhone. Integrating advanced phone features, Internt capabiltites and an iPod all in 1. And not to mention that it runs on OS X and uses Safari (Apple's proprietry web browser) to surf net. The iPhone has a touch screen, is very thin and light weight. Apple calls it a revolution in phone technology, and so think people here.

I have come across numerous people who simply love iMacs and iPods and fans of Apple. I haven't seen this kind of fanfare back home. Microsoft comes up during their talks, but only in jokes about their products. I feel like left alone among all the Apple fans... coz internally i know, how much i adore Bill gates and how much i desire to work with him.

You see, I am good at drifting, ...:p so let’s get back to the topic... Yes, i was talking about setting the comparison here between the launch of Apple's iPhone and Microsoft's Vista. What i have noticed is Microsoft had Vista, which is an "end-user" centric OS, with all the "finding" and workflow features too. Other then this Microsoft did not have anything else in their arsenal, except for future plans for live home and bus-chart.. And oh.. I almost forgot this,... of .. Integratig their technology into Ford's latest automobiles. Believe me.. That’s true.. Microsoft's theme was of "staying connected", wherever you are. And the theme relates to their future plans, not just Vista.

Whereas, Apple had a product in their hands which truly looked like a revolution and it was hilarious when Steve Jobs said, "We have got patents on this already".... then iPhone have collabration with Google Earth and Yahoo. When you see the product demonstration, you feel like the product is not a 'hi-tech'..or "sci-fi" thing... it's something, which belongs to our generation and we need it. So it is impressing.

I call it "vs", because... the competition was not of technology but more of retaining and being in the show... so no one forgets. There are two things i have noticed, in business, first.. Consumers' memory is short... (They need to be impressed time and again by companies and their products) ... and second that... out of sight is out of mind... & this is exactly the reason it was a versus for the both companies this time....especially for Microsoft.
Although, it appears both wants to capture the entertainment user base by coming up with games, zunes, xboxe 360s, iPods, iPhones so fast that the users will find it hard to see it coming and even hard to digest it all....

I am amazed at the speed of things happening around. Maybe theres something which runs faster then light... and maybe in near future we will have a new term which will replace the term lightyear.. ... Just wondering... dont take on my words... :)

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Global Warming

It's January time, sun very much visible, feels like august, windy and clear sky. This looks like a weather report of a warmer place, but to my surprise I've been told that this is the first time there has been no snow here..apart for a couple of days in november.

I can't let the Global warming, ruin my first winter here. I wanted to see snow, play with snow like i have been watching in movies, click some pictues.... theres so much to do, but here i am, sitting in my room, wearing a t-shirt and looking outside my window to the "august-like" weather.





Getting back to global warming issue, I looked up google for global warming articles and found the - Environmental Protection agency;s website and then somewhere in google was a link of NASA's GPM (Global Precipitation Management), yes, i know, you must be thing....have i heard this term or what.... yes, you have heard this term, in Swades... Shahrukh worked in this project with NASA.. i am amazed to the seriousness shahrukh has put into the movie... like selecting a topic, so real like GPM and actually going to NASA and shooting.

Getting back to the topic... :) ... It says that increase in greenhouse gases has been the primary reason of increase in temperature. It's said that by the time a baby born today is 80 years old, the world will be 6 and a half degrees warmer than it is now.

I found these 2 articles worth reading...

Union of concerened scientists:
BBC News website:

$ 100 Laptop is finally here


I had been keeping an eye on this $100 article since its inception at the MIT as part of a project. Now its finally here. The motto behind this is to provide computing machine to every child in developing countories.


The first countries to sign up for this includes amongst all, Pakistan too. I was surprised to see that when pakistan is trying to "develop", why is India not in the list. We certainly aren't too ahead in the IT "penetration" as is US or so called ""first world countries". We still are considered amongst developing countries and incuded in the category "third world countries". So why not, we take the initiative, penetrate the knowledge and expertise in every corner of our country. Anyways... this aside... getting back to the topic...


The so-called XO machine (the $100 laptop) is being pioneered by Nicholas Negroponte, who launched the project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab in 2004.
Configuration includes; AMD 366Mhz processor, 512MB flash memory, built-in wireless networking, 2 USB ports & no Hard-drive! All data is saved in flash memory till you work...and if you wish to save your data...you can attach USB storage devices additionally.
Runs on the so called "cut down" version of the linux OS. The machine comes with a web browser, word processor and RSS reader. Instead of information being stored along the organising principle of folders and a desktop, users of the XO machine are encouraged to work on an electronic journal, a log of everything the user has done on the laptop.
Associated reading: http://www.olpcnews.com/