Windows Vista DreamScene
I’ve been using Windows Vista as my primary OS for about a week now, and I’m really enjoying it so far. I ended up getting Vista Business through my school’s MSDNAA program before I left, which was a nice parting gift, as it were. The next step was the “Vista Anytime Upgrade” program to upgrade to Vista Ultimate in order to get Media Center, and other niceties that aren’t offered in Business.
One of the more interesting Ultimate Extras is DreamScene, an animated/video background for your desktop. The idea seems as though it would be distracting, but it’s quite the cool, subtle effect, unlike the sample video they show on the Extras site. Here’s a clip of the single DreamScene background included in Vista as a preview:
Apparently you can use your own videos with DreamScene as well, but I imagine this feature would work best with animated 3D backgrounds, not your home videos. There’s a noticeable strain on the performance of the system while it’s enabled, even with my SLI video configuration, but apparently this feature is still in beta so it needs some work. However, along with Aero and several other UI improvements, it’s aesthetic touches like these that make Vista a much more pleasant experience than XP.
The World’s Issues Intersected
Indexed, one of my favourite blogs in recent memory, takes a moment today to illustrate the world’s issues in the only plausible fashion; By way of intersecting vertices.
WDSC Development Team blog
As if I need more excuses to write, the team I work on at IBM has started up the WDSC Development Team blog. I may end up contributing a post or two over there once in a while with relation to Information Development, Programming Information, Language Sensitive Help, and so forth.
Wireless Number Portability coming Wednesday
Good news for anyone looking to switch cell phone providers and hang onto their number. This Wednesday, March 14, all major Canadian wireless providers (Bell, Rogers, Telus) will begin offering Wireless Number Portability to current and prospective customers.
This means that the number you’ve given to everyone will stay with you if you decide to switch from say, Bell to Rogers. It also means that anyone looking to buy a new phone should start looking for crazy deals on rates and phones starting Wednesdays as each company tries to steal each others’ customers. It’s about time!
A Look Inside the Gladstone
The folks over at MoCo Loco had the chance to take a tour of the Gladstone Hotel here in Toronto, and have some great pics of the newly renovated rooms. Each year at the Gladstone, they invite designers from around the city to redesign their rooms, resulting in a truly unique experience for hotel guests.
Good Morning
It’s eight o’clock as I wake up to classical music — Beethoven. Some like the instant gratification of the beeping alarm; I prefer a smooth transition into the day. I slowly wake up towards the end of the song, then make my way downstairs to the kitchen.
I queue up Breathe, followed by Remind Me in iTunes, and smile at one of the few instances where technology makes life a little more enjoyable as my music is streamed wirelessly from my Mac upstairs down to this computer. Grapefruit and waffles are for breakfast as I fetch the paper and crack it open on the table; The sun is shining through the windows, lighting up the room in a really nice way.
I hop in the shower, get myself together, and hop in the car. Dave’s Lounge is queued up on the iPod, this week featuring music from the SF area — “Ironic,” I think. He opens with a few words:
“We travel to new places, not just to see different sights, but to gain new perspectives on our world, and on ourselves. Warren Ellis once wrote, ‘A change of perspective leads to a change of attitude; A change of mind. There are plenty of places around, on every street almost, when you can get some altitude, get some perspective. Take a different look at the place. If you look long enough, and hard enough, from high up enough, you can see what needs doing.’ Welcome to Dave’s Lounge, a collection of the best chill-out, trip-hop, and downtempo music found on the Internet.”
I smirk, thinking of how the recent decisions I’ve made and actions I’ve taken are right on course. As the music starts, I’m on my way to work. Good morning.
Back to Reading - Any suggestions?
I’ve decided to get back into reading with a vengeance. Well, not so much of a vengeance, as much as just a conviction to actually keep doing it. I have a few things already on my reading list, but I’d love to hear suggestions from people on what’s great out there. I’m mostly into fiction; nothing specific beyond that though. Let me know!
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Adam lives in Toronto, Canada and likes to make cool stuff. He sometimes even gets paid to make things for the Web.
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