Bill Gates arrested in his younger days (photo in public domain)

Intel are approaching dangerous territories as they now embed Microsoft-specific functionality (namely DRM) at hardware level. From DIGIT:

It will get worse before it gets better, according to your point of view, because Intel continues behind the scenes to push hard on the trusted computing modules and Microsoft’s future OS is expected to implement these features in full.

This politically-incorrect move gives one more reason to opt for AMD, who are crushing Intel already.

There appears to be a consistency across platforms when it comes to keyboard accelerators. Here are a few examples:

• CTRL+Enter dispatches E-mail
• ALT+F4 closes the window in focus
• ALT+TAB cycles between windows
• CTRL+P prints a page
• F11 enables full-screen mode

Under a Mac, ALT and CTRL will vary. All accelerators exist to save you time, so learn them, practice them and most importantly, use them.

While on the issue of accelerators, menu layouts have become consistent as well. This suggests that more operating systems and more application are designed to ‘absorb’ new users. The biggest gainers are standards and conventions of course.

According to Slashdot, Microsoft demanded the removal of screenshots from its Longhorn beta version, which was described by some as “disappointing”.

After the previously reported release of the Longhorn beta at this year’s WinHEC, Neowin and other Windows sites are reporting that Microsoft is going around sending legal letters demanding removal of Longhorn Build 5048 screenshots.

Below are screenshots of older betas.

Bill Gates arrested in his younger days (photo in public domain)

Shortly after Adobe’s acquisition of Macromedia, Microsoft infiltrate Adobe territories by introducing their own portable document format called “Metro”, which is based on XML.

While the title is an overstatement, it describes a trend which is yet to transform IT as we know it.

What is it all about? Moving all functionality to the Web server (analogous to computational servers), thereby using our workstation as merely a terminal to back-room dust-collecting equipment. Much like Web servers, load is better handled remotely, where parallelised infrastructures make maximal, persistent use of the hardware.

The use of AJAX-like technologies and increased bandwidth make this considerable step towards remote operating systems practical. There are a few unavoidable stepping stones though:

• More widespread high-speed connections
• Higher-capacity network backbones
• Demise of desktop-side software
• Closer Desktop-Web integration/coupling
• Decrease in cost of storage devices (e.g.  Comments Off |  Send this to a friend

The following screenshot gallery demonstrates the features of one future desktop environment (X11). Windows exploit OpenGL for window ‘swinging’ (see the previous entry on luminocity or even bogus transparency). The effects are quite distracting, but provide that ‘wow factor’. Another long-anticipated eye candy is the spherical desktop.

Palm OS is a wonderful platform, but like all others, it exhibits some irrational behaviour.

• #1: Clipboard too small
  
  Example: have you ever tried to copy a portion of one memo onto another?
   
• #2: No undo stack
  
  Example: erase an entire paragraph, then type in a single letter. Can the paragraph return back to life?
   
• #3: Limit on memo size
  
  Description: a user runs out of memo space and needs to fragment the text.
   
• #4: Low-resolution applications
  
  Description: even with high-resolution screens, scrolling is much needed, for example in Date Book.
   
• #5: No key locking
  
  Example: Palm that powers up in the pocket.
   
• #6: Unquoted limit on number of categories
  
  Example: hard-core Palm users that accumulate too many items under the restrictive number of categories.
   
• #7: Error log dismissed automatically
  
  Description: on the PC-side, error logs disappear after 60 seconds; no option to change that exists.
   
• #8: Repeating events archived just once
  
  Description: those who are fond of archiving will notice that repeating events get archived only once — at the end.
   
• #9: Searching twice within the same item
  
  Example: ever tried finding all occurrences of a term in one single item? Searching is poor in scope. Only a global search is available and it highlights the first occurrence.
   
• #10: No alarm priorities/types
  
  Example: loud alarm in the middle of a meeting or quiet alarm when a crucial event comes up.
   

Cited by: PalmAddict