Thursday, July 29, 2010

I hate Microsoft Even More!

Why do I hate Microsoft? Let me count the ways!
  1. Windows ME
  2. Windows Vista
  3. Office(any version)
  4. Internet Explorer (version 8's okay i guess)
  5. Service Packs: XP has 3! Really! Was this software ready for release?
  6. Adobe has Flash. Why Silverlight? Why not "Lightning"! Sounds catchy. Therefore, not Microsoft.
  7. Did I mention Windows Genuine Advantage? Advantage = them! Us = not so much.
  8. Nice website
  9. Bill Grates on my nerves
  10. All of the above
Actually, I do have a minor gripe with "the empire". I design some websites, not very well thank you, but still I do. One of the "tools" I use is Microsoft Expressions. I originally started with Frontpage only because I'm not notepad website hacker guy. I need WYSIWYG( pronounced "wisseewig" it stands for "what you see is what you get". Anyhow and whatnot, I use Expression 2 and noticed an opportunity to upgrade to version 3 and get a "free" upgrade to Expression 4! Being the dumbass that I am,  I jumped at the chance to go with a company with a great track record of providing quality software at a reasonable price. I bit, HARD! They got me!
The story is that Expression 3 sucked and sucked bad. Real bad! After installing, computers were crashing and nobody could get anything done. This was why they offered the "free" upgrade to version 4. Version 4 would fix everything, right? Wrong!
My situation is this: if I open a website designed in Expression 2 it doesn't look like what I designed, so I went back to version 2 and it crashes shortly after liftoff! What to do, what to do? I guess I may have to reinstall my operating system and the Expression Web 2 and try to hold it together until they tempt me with another great offer. Maybe if I buy Expression 5 they throw in a coupon to Dreamweaver so I can actually design instead of bitch, ya think?

I Hate Microsoft!

I hate Microsoft! And I've paid for that right! I have owned every operating system save for business related ones like Server and such. MS-Dos, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, I've owned them all and still do. The crux of this post is Windows 7 and the problems I'm having with it. Please let me explain.
The back story is that I beta tested it which involves installing an early release of the software and was successful and helped the program and other users.
The story now is that I bought a 3 license upgrade "Home Premium" pack from Bestbuy and installed it over a month ago.
The problem is that the other day I booted it up and got the message that my copy is a illegitimate bastard child! Ooh, I'm sorry! Let me use their terminology: "you may be a victim of software counterfeiting. This copy of Windows did not pass genuine Windows validation".
I'm sorry, I lost my cool there for a moment. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!
I'm okay. Most other people would not be okay because of the key word "upgrade". If you upgrade your operating system and this happens, your computer will stop working after awhile. 
I won't be affected because the computer I installed this on actually can boot into three O.S.'s: Windows 7, Windows XP and Ubuntu. I still hate Microsoft, but after all this typing and explaining I realize that they are their own worst enemy. I can still use my computer but the average person, their core group of customers, will hate them far more then I do. I think they should call this "the genuine windows disadvantage".

Sunday, July 11, 2010

A Casting Call for Lisbeth Salander

Lisbeth Salander, for those fewer and fewer people who don't know, is the main character in the Millenium series of books written by deceased author Stieg Larsson. These three books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide and are said to be selling 50,000 a day in the U.S. The books were initially made into movies in Sweden, Larssons home country, and have now been optioned for the U.S. rights. What that translates to is David Fincher will be the director and needs a leading lady. This is where things get interesting because the wrong choice could spoil what could be a series of blockbuster movies.

As an example, currently there are rumors that Kristen Stewart, of Twilight fame, is interested. This I believe would be a mistake on many fronts chiefly because she doesn't look the part and secondly, not trying to be mean, but no one knows if she can act, yet! It has been said that Fincher would prefer someone in the realm of South Africa's Yo-Landi Vi$$er, a member of Die Antwoord, and someone who, at first blush, delivers the look of a "Salander" type girl, diminutive, yet strong. She's in the video below.



The Swedish series of movies showcased Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander and having only seen the first movie I can only say she was well cast in it.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The second movie opens in the U.S. on July 9th, 2010. July 30th in Cleveland at The Cedar Lee.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played with Fire (Vintage)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy Bundle: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

LastFM has more on Die Antwoord as does MySpace.

Collider has an article on this subject as well as NYMag.