Today is my Mom’s birthday, and since she doesn’t have a blog, you can leave a nice comment for her on this post. My Dad is coming into Edmonton tonight, back from San Francisco, which means my Mom is all alone! Well, no family at least – I understand she’s being taken out for dinner by some friends though, enjoy Mom!
Month: March 2006
Origami running Windows XP? Why not Vista?
Today is the day we found out a few more details about Microsoft’s secretive Origami Project. The gadget has been a popular topic in the blogosphere lately, with lots of speculation on what it is and what it is not. According to CNET News.com, the device is a mini tablet running Windows XP:
Microsoft refused to go into details, but offered up a statement saying: “As promised on the OrigamiProject.com website, we are offering more details today about Origami, including that it is a new category of mobile PCs that will run Windows XP. We’re excited to share more information with you on March 9.”
The device isn’t anything real new – Microsoft bigwigs like Gates and Ballmer have talked about such devices in the past. What is new is that we’re close to seeing such a device, and not just a concept. But running Windows XP? In the year of Windows Vista? What a wasted opportunity.
Most experts and analysts did not expect a device like Origami any time soon, and I most certainly did not, so there’s no reason to think that Microsoft had to rush its development. So why run Windows XP? The largest challenge facing Microsoft in the next couple of years is articulating to people why they should upgrade to Windows Vista. Why wouldn’t you have a new, interesting, and easy-to-talk-about device like Origami run the latest and greatest to show off what Vista is capable of? Price point for the device maybe, but still. Imagine Vista running on Origami. The early adopters buy them, and take them everywhere they go, exposing more and more people to Windows Vista. More people are going to feel they need Windows Vista if they see it in action, in the real world, than if they see an advertisement.
I think Windows XP is a great operating system, but this new device is a great opportunity to drum up interest in and support for Windows Vista. Why waste it?
Read: CNET News.com
Upgrades
We just finished our first ever problem-free infrastructure upgrades! Our server room looks so much nicer and cleaner now. The changes took longer than expected, but that’s why we work at night 🙂 We’re well on our way to launching our podcasting services now, so stay tuned!
My kids don't know what a DVD is!
[Obviously I don’t have any kids, so play along would you?]
Sometime in the not too distant future…
The strangest thing happened today! My daughter came home from school and started telling us all about her exciting day in the first grade. Then out of nowhere, she asked what a DVD was! I guess her class had been learning about how the screens in their desks work and the teacher made a reference to DVDs. I did my best to explain that in the old days, we needed to have a small, round disc in order to get a movie or something to play. She couldn’t quite wrap her head around the idea – it was kind of like me when I learned about record players. She’s used to having everything appear automatically – the lessons, videos and assignments all appear in her desk, “like magic” she tells me. Having physical media is such a thing of the past, and thank goodness for that too!
I can’t imagine what she’ll think when I explain to her that wireless wasn’t always everywhere and we’d have to disconnect and reconnect to different hotspots!
Back to the present…
It’s going to happen, it’s only a matter of time. The time when we download everything is coming, and it’s coming sooner than you think. Physical media is dying.
As Engadget noted the other day, Blu-Ray stuff is going to start shipping near the end of May. The format war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is pretty much useless though. Do we really need a new format? I think the advantages offered are not as great as those offered by DVD when compared to VHS, so people likely won’t upgrade in mass numbers. I think that’s why the Xbox 360 shipped with a good old fashioned DVD drive – people are going to start downloading content more and more.
Think about it for a second. A small percentage of online music sales are online right now, but the number is growing. The big networks like NBC and ABC have started selling downloadable video, a trend that is expected to continue. Millions of people have satellite TV or digital cable services that let them download new content all the time. Broadband connections are extremely popular around the world, and the United States is finally starting to catch up. And when we do finally have wireless everywhere (we’re getting closer) there will be no need for discs. Instead, everything will be accessed online.
Sure things will be difficult at first. What we really want is the concept of download once, play anywhere. That will take some time, but it is definitely achievable, and has already begun with devices like the Windows Media Center PC. Wifi is spreading throughout homes – how long until we see televisions with built in wireless connections so they can access content from devices around the house? These are the kinds of things that will become commonplace.
My brother and sister buy DVD’s all the time, and I have lots of friends who buy CDs, but I haven’t bought any for quite some time now (don’t have time to watch a lot of movies). If I could get entire Xbox 360 games off Xbox Live instead of just demos, I’d probably do that too.
I can already see the headlines – “DVD format disappears almost as quickly as it came!”. Never before has a format been so widely adopted so quickly. Maybe downloading will come almost as quickly? I for one think the download party is going to get much bigger in the next few years.
President Samarasekera's Message
On Monday an email from University of Alberta President Indira Samarasekera made its way into my inbox. The email contained her Spring Break message to students. I have mirrored the PDF here. A few things stuck out for me from the message:
- She definitely likes her quotes, using three in the message – one at the start, one in the middle, and one at the end.
- The message sounds very big and forward-looking.
- To my knowledge this is the first time she has communicated her “Dare to Discover” vision directly to students, though she didn’t get into any detail.
At the end of the message she invites students to get in touch with her at president@ualberta.ca and on the undergraduate page of her website. I’m going to have to read her vision and think about it for a while. Too bad she doesn’t have a blog – there, that’s my first bit of feedback, be one of the world’s first university presidents to keep a blog!
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