“groovy mother...”

Even billg gets frustrated by the pain of Windows Update.

The real reason for Microsoft’s switch to web standards in IE8? John thinks he’s found it.

Posted mostly because it’s clever, but also because I miss hacking on MOD files.

Amy Sedaris and some bunnies do some top-notch pimping for Microsoft Office.

From the “Are you fucking KIDDING me‽” files: After paying $350 for an XBox 360, you have to fork out another $100 to connect it to wi-fi?

I’ll take “Companies that have died on the vine” for $400 please, Alex.

Official Microsoft documentation on how to open the Vista packaging. Because it *needs* documentation.

“I have finally decided to take the plunge. Last night I upgraded my Vista desktop machine to Windows XP”

Free development environment for Python code under .NET. Will definitely be having an in-depth play with this soon.

“Microsoft says its efforts have seen a drop in piracy of its software.” Alternatively, the fact that no-one *wants* Vista could be a factor.

XBox 360 adds native DiVX playback. Between this, Rock Band and Space Giraffe, the XBox 360 is slowly tipping from “If someone gave me a free one, I’d sell it on eBay” (where the PS3 still lives) to “Hmmm… If I could pick up a cheap one….”

I’m not yet at a stage where I care enough to work out what the differences between all the different models are, though. Perfect example of the Paradox of Choice, there.

“Vista has an aroma like [Windows] ME, and I am not interested in getting sick again.” Ooh, I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it’s pretty true. Vista and ME are not dissimilar in their not-worth-the-hassle-of-upgrading-ness.

Wow — Calculations in Excel 2007 that come to 65,535 get displayed as 100,000. “Oops”

The problems with cultural-sensitivity when you’re shipping something worldwide.

“Many people agree that revision 5.1a, specifically, was the best version of Word that Microsoft has ever shipped, combining utility and minimalist elegance with reliability. Sadly for me … I “upgraded” to Word 98, and somehow the magic was gone.”

Joy just got one of these, and it’s pretty impressive. A feminine-looking tote bag, which gives no indication that inside is plenty of padding and pockets for your laptop, powerpack, and assorted other gadgetry.

Lenovo offering disks to let you “downgrade” your newly-purchased Vista-running laptop to XP. Prediction: These will be very popular.

As someone who installed Vista on a PC in January, and regretted it for months, I echo Joel Spolsky’s summation: “I’ve been using Vista on my home laptop since it shipped, and can say with some conviction that nobody should be using it as their primary operating system — it simply has no redeeming merits to overcome the compatibility headaches it causes.”

“netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled” — The magic incantation that stops network performance SUCKING BALLS (at least on the RhymesWithNose network) in Vista.