Tuesday, May 12, 2009

My Windows 7 experience...

I have been test driving Microsoft Windows 7 beta on a MSI wind netbook for a couple of weeks now and so far, Ivé got no major complaints. This operating system is still in the testing (beta ) stage and as such not all software driver components are bundled with it, the most noticeable of which is the camera drivers. I have been using the OS on a netbook with a built in camera and so far, have not been able to make the camera work. The same thing has been experienced by a friend who uses a Lenovo S10 netbook. But heck, what do you expect with a free test version..
Now, in my work environment, We are Windows XP lovers. Up to our latest hardware acquisitions, we specify that the OS should be XP pro. We prefer to be safe, so we did not really cross over to Windows Vista. Prior to XP, we were (and still are using) Microsoft NT. Test runs with Vista showed it to be a cumbersome OS with its user access controls (UAC) which prompts the user to confirm almost any action done with the PC. Good thing the guys at stopped at making the OS omnipresent, imagine being prompted by your pc "are you sure you want to use the toilet now" or "please confirm if you want to flush now"... Now that would freak me out!
So one of the greatest reliefs of W7 is that these UAC's have been minimized to the most important of functions such as software installation. Another good thing about W7 is that it is not as resource intensive as Vista. I think V has a minimum 2 GB ram requirement. Use lower ram and run the risk of a sluggish OS. So fat chance that it can run on netbooks. As previously mentioned, I'm doing this on a standard netbook with 1 GB ram and it works like a well oiled machine. Even the desktop graphic interface offers a seamless transition (wow, that was geeky! when in fact what i mean is when you hover the cursor over an icon the cursor shows active applications in bold while inactive ones appears in opaqe).
I have tried W7 on 2 types of HP printers and so far has not been embarrased with W7's plug and play capabilities. This is a plus point for Microsoft since similar efforts with Ubuntu operating systems , problems with the plug n play capabilities with HP printers were encountered by me ( but hey again, Ubuntu is free).
I think my test drive have not been exhaustive enough as to give a thorough review of the OS, but so far it has been an enjoyable ride. The shift has been a pleasant one, more like upgrading from a bare standard sedan to one with all power options. Same familiar ride but with a more classy drive...Hopefully as i explore further, i can share more of my experience with Windows 7.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

At least the food was great...pacman delight!


Everything was planned out. Wev'e been looking forward to this for a long time. Rare is the chance to see a person ascend to greatness. And an entire nation, was looking forward to this ascent. Pinning our hopes to his gloves, proud to be part of his race. So groceries were done the day before, went to the market early to get the freshest catch. Anticipating a victory, a feast was planned. Charbroiled spare ribs and shrimp kebabs to go with carbonara pasta! truly preparing something as if pacman himself would drop by for lunch! And since its against my Philosopy to imbide spirits before noon, the plan was to get some (siyempre san miguel pale pilsen, ice cooled not frozen) as soon as the food was partaken. But alas, the best laid plans of mice & men are not meant to be! The spoiler in this case, as the case always is in apartment compounds, was the neighbors radio blaring the news as i was grilling! As iv'e posted in my fb, the ribs were done almost at the same time as the Hitman was! sure, there was never any doubt that manny would win, but Iv'e never expected him to win this way. After the long wait, it was almost anti climactic to hear and later see the much ballyhooed manchester mauler topple like that after 6 mins. It would have been perfect if it lasted till about 3rounds of beer, he he. But we take our blessing where we get them. That punch was perfect...knockout of the year! The Lord moves in mysterious ways, maybe it was His way of sparing Hatton from more damage. Imagine if Manny was able to unleash that punch after having been subject to pacmans barrage for a few more rounds...It would have taken Mayweather's mouth to mouth resucitation to revive Hatton! ow man, that would scar someone for life!

Short as it may be, it was a great show and also gave us the reason to prepare great food which we know call Pacmans delight!

returning....

It's great to find the time to post again. It has been ages since I last posted. Though the urge was always there to share, this thing called life always found a way to keep one busy. But when I replay the happenings these past months, although during those times it may not seem like it, Life has been really great! Got the chance to visit Palawan with my fam,visited my bro in bacolod, went on a roadtrip with friends, attended several IT training sessions, got to meet great people, injured my ac collarbone, got to play football again, watched Manny become a ring legend, renovated my toilet and kitchen, caught up with old friends...Whew! the list is endless. Hopefully i'll be able to write about these adventures and along the way, someone will be able to gain insight from these experiences...

So again, bear with me as I share my humble experiences in life!