Friday, March 27, 2009

Windows 7 (and Windows 1 through 3)

Today's slideshow shows some of the design considerations undertaken in the forthcoming Windows 7, which we're all hopeful will help us forget Vista... heh. And it includes some images from Windowses past (see slide 3, 4, etc.)

CNET news

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Mean Hamster takes up Crossbow

I learned of plans for this in their press release in 2006, but I've just discovered an undocumented link on the Mean Hamster web site. As promised, they've re-done the classic 1983 Exidy shooting game Crossbow, with somewhat better graphics. And they kept it so much the same, they didn't mess it up! Go ahead and have a go at playing it with your hamster, er, I mean mouse.

Mean Hamster Crossbow

Note: no hamsters were harmed in the making of this remake.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Save the "Shell" Users

Seen on Craigslist, a decidedly different kind of personal ad. Users of the Unix operating system are kind of the Amish of the computer world. They pride themselves on using a shell (text only) interface with lots of arcane commands - the more arcane, the better. Here's a fellow who is looking to keep his species around:

There is a sad truth to the world today. I am part of a dying breed of people known as "shell users." We are an old-fashioned bunch, preferring the warm glow of a green screen full of text over the cold blockiness of a graphical interface. We use ssh, scp, and even occassionally ftp. Back in the days before high-speed connections ("broadband"), we would dial up during off-hours to avoid being slammed with huge phone bills. The whole "Microsoft Windows" fad will fade away sooner or later, but in the interim, our kind is facing extinction.

Best of Craigslist