Looks like Microsoft have finally admitted defeat and killed WinFS. Paint me unsurprised, I'm old enough to remember Cairo, and watched as the object file system has moved over time to be put into the Next Big Release of the operating system. In the meantime, however, things like Google Desktop and MS's own MSN Desktop Search have utterly eroded the space in which WinFS was going to reign. I'm sure that MS wanted WinFS to be much more than the current crop of desktop searches, but as far as users are concerned, desktop search is just good enough for them.
I used to use Google Desktop Search, but I found it to be annoying in enough ways to remove it, and I've not moved over to any other system to replace it. I guess I just know how to find things in other ways, the built-in XP file search is slow but effective enough for me and my email client (TheBat) has another built-in search facility that hasn't let me down yet, so I don't miss unified desktop search.
One more feature of Vista down, my experience with it so far is that it's a prettier, more annoying (UAC anyone?) version of XP that won't install on my main system. There are few compelling reasons to upgrade for me so far, since all the interesting features (WinFX for example) are being back ported to XP. I won't be queuing up to buy my copy at midnight, that's for sure.
[update: looks like WordPress had a special moment and deleted most of the text, I've added as much back as I could from memory. Note to self, back up entries]
Post Category: Technical
June 25th, 2006 at 04:25pmOs
Entertainment weekly have a list of the 25 most controversial films of all time, although it’s a fairly well chosen collection it does have some notable omissions.
Firstly, however, I’ll look at some of the films listed, if I’ve seen them.
Number 24: Caligula
Call me strange, but I actually like this film. Ok, Tino Brass’s original vision was, how shall we say, augmented by Bob Guccioni (publisher of Penthouse); but beyond the hardcore there is a visual treat to behold, with some reasonable performances. Peter O’Toole, however, was visibly drunk for most of his scenes, which somehow doesn’t detract from them that much.
Number 21: Bonnie and Clyde
Oddly enough, Entertainment Weekly didn’t mention that this was the first mainstream American film which hinted at cunnilingus, surely more controversial than silly amounts of violence.
Number 19: Basic Instinct
Ok, it’s obvious why it’s controversial; but beyond the violence, fast cars and Sharon Stone’s minge, there is actually an above average thriller on show. It boasts fantastic cinematography, good performances and Paul Verhoeven has yet to make a bad film in my opinion. Avoid the sequel though.
Number 17: Freaks
I love this film, it still sets a benchmark for creepiness. In these days of multi-million dollar effects budgets, you never forget that in Freaks those are real pinheads, and Johnny Eck really did stop above the waist. Everyone should see this film at least once.
Number 9: Last Tango in Paris
Sure, the sight of Marlon Brando in that “I bet she can’t tell Stork from butter” scene leaves you with more questions than answers. Was it a thinly-veiled allusion to homosexuality? In any case, any Bertolucci film is worth viewing.
Number 1: The Passion of the Christ
I have a confession, I haven’t actually seen this film. Nor do I intend to. However, after seeing this version, I do think it’s actually pretty good comedy.
Now, onto those films that I think should have been on the list:
Un chien andalou
Eye-slitting, priests turning into rotting donkeys, riots at the first screening. Sure sounds controversial to me. I’m still waiting for a decent version to be put onto DVD.
Salo, the 120 Days of Sodom
This is the only film that made me feel physically sick, and I speak as a man who paid to watch Police Academy 6. Pasolini was clearly off his rocker when he made this, yet it still is an incredibly powerful piece of cinema, you come away felling nothing but despair for the human condition. This is not Harry Potter.
Irreversable
Brain-destroying camera work, a twenty minute anal rape scene, a man getting his face caved in with a fire extinguisher. This still is not Harry Potter.
I know that it’s a function of these ‘top x’ lists to cause arguments amongst readers about what should and shouldn’t be on them, but missing out Salo is pretty poor.
And I actually like the Harry Potter films.
Post Category: Film
June 14th, 2006 at 12:04amOs
Praying woman struck by lightning
I'm glad that the woman survived, but as a secular humanist atheist, I found the whole idea highly amusing.
She says she's blessed to be alive – personally I'd be highly pissed off that my god had decided to smite me from on high. Perhaps from now on she should pray to Thor, just to be safe, after all, Pascal's Wager becomes less abstract when you're having thunderbolts thrown at you!
(via BoingBoing)
Post Category: Amusing
June 4th, 2006 at 01:56pmOs
Via Engadget, very blurry pictures of Microsoft’s alleged iPod killer.
While I’m not personally part of the iPod cult, like most Apple products they’re good to look at whilst still being functional. Unfortunately I don’t see how Microsoft will be able to compete in this sphere against the very entrenched Apple and the myriad other personal media players – given their tendency to give interestingly code-named projects utterly dull ‘real’ names.
For example, there was the recent ‘Origami’ project, there was a fair amount of buzz on the blogs about it, people were speculating, there were viral marketing sites, then… They called it the ‘UMPC’. Frankly they could have called it the ‘Huh?’ and gotten a better name.
Microsoft needs to hire some marketers with a flair for imaginative names. Or just steal some of Apple’s, either works for me.
Post Category: Technical
June 4th, 2006 at 01:42pmOs
Somehow I'm comforted by this, as I actually ran OS/2 for many years, firstly as my sole operating system, then as a dual-boot with NT4, then finally I bid it farewell and installed Windows 2k.
Which OS are You?
But, at least it would install, do you hear that Vista?
Post Category: Technical
June 2nd, 2006 at 01:15pmOs
I’ve tried to install Beta 2 of Windows Vista multiple times, both the 32- and 64-bit version, and have so far fallen down at the first hurdle each time.
For some reason, Vista thinks that my motherboard, the otherwise wonderful IWILL DK8N doesn’t have a fully ACPI compliant BIOS, and blue-screens at the first part of the installation process.
I don’t quite understand this, as I’m running Windows XP happily, and device manager says it’s running the ACPI Multiprocessor kernel, and ACPI v2 is enabled in the BIOS, so I’m stumped.
Even Google has let me down on this, as I can’t find anyone with a similar problem with Vista, so I guess I’m going to have to wait to experience the Vistary goodness until IWILL gets back to me with some information.
I’m tempted to install the 64 bit version of XP, and they try an upgrade, but my spider sense is telling me that would be a Bad Thing. Frustrating.
Post Category: Technical
May 29th, 2006 at 12:05pmOs
You have to love apocolypsatists (not a real word, I'm sure, but it should be) who make heartfelt predictions of doom, and when they (always) fail to appear start back-peddling frantically. Take Eric Julien, a former French air traffic controller, who, between strikes, says he tracked on radar a UFO travelling at 15,000 knots.
Eric claims that he has had numerous prophetic dreams showing that a comet will impact the Atlantic Ocean on the 25th of May, causing a massive Tsunami which will wipe out the populations in the coastal areas of many countries. Because of these dreams (and his seemingly near constant communication with extraterrestrials) he is trying to wake up the world to this coming catastrophe before it is all too late.
NASA, naturally, know all about this, and are doing their best to cover it up. He invokes ‘predicions’ from Nostradamus, Mother Shipton (notwithstanding that most of her predictions were written decades after she died), Bible Codes, and, most hauntingly of all, the release of the film Poseidon as precursors of the oncoming tragedy.
As I write this, on the 29th of May, with only two days left in May, I’m not going to lose any sleep over this. But then, I live on the East coast of England, so I’m safe!
Be afraid, be very afraid (of your sanity) – SaveLivesInMay.com
Post Category: Nut Jobs
May 29th, 2006 at 11:54amOs
Via conscientious a conversation with photographer Jay Parkinson about his aspiring models shoots.
As an aspiring portrait photographer myself, I do admire his aims – his determination to give as little direction as possible to these neophyte models is probably quite disconcerting to them, and this shows in the photos. Many of them look awkward or uncomfortable – indeed there are several I personally wouldn't have chosen to show but Jay aimed to produce non-traditional portraits, and succeeded I feel.
He seems to be consciously trying to sabotage the Maxim / FHM style of photography, and he achieves that, but to my eye the portraits feel cold and detached; in some respect they remind me of the late, great Bob Carlos Clarke's 'Love Dolls Never Die', since those too were devoid of emotion, not unexpectedly since they were made out of pvc.
Out of the series on his website, I only really liked the shots of Hilary and Danielle, the rest left me cold. This is, perhaps, what Jay was aiming for.
Post Category: Photography
May 18th, 2006 at 12:07pmOs
Those brummies know what they like, and they like what they see.
Perhaps they’ve had enough going around the Bullring. Then again, that would be a very specialised type of porn.
Post Category: Uncategorized
May 16th, 2006 at 11:26pmOs
A freedom of information application was filed by Judicial Watch to get hold of the CCTV footage of American Airlines flight 77 hitting the Pentagon, apparently to clear up the conspiracy theories about the day.
Unfortunately, based upon the footage I saw on the BBC, the only thing visible is a silver blob immediately preceeding the explosion, and it doesn’t look like a convincing aircraft to me.
I’m sure it will be poured over frame by frame by both sides of the conspiracy / non-conspirary fence, however I’m afraid from what I’ve seen it won’t help a jot.
Post Category: Politics
May 16th, 2006 at 09:47pmOs
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