1. The ESPN.com widget on my Google homepage has displayed the same "Favre signs with Vikings" headline ever since Favre signed - over a month ago.  I see this as further evidence that ESPN is lame and does not get it.
    
2. Windows 7 might actually be worth paying for.  Not worth the price Microsoft is asking, mind you, but worth buying.
    
3. We got a new german shepherd dog two months ago, and I should so be writing about her.  As I type this, she's in her crate, laying on her back, sleeping.  Don't get all PETA on me about the crate - it's god's gift to puppy owners who don't like their shit wrecked.  Besides, she likes it and goes in it on her own.
    
4. I just upgraded the software I use to maintain this site.  It has tagging support, so you can see at a glance what I used to write about back when I actually paid attention to this site.
    
5. I finally saw Little Shop of Horrors.  A musical featuring a bunch of upcoming actors who can kinda sing and a plant that eats people.  Yeah, it's just as weird as it sounds.

I've carped now and then about the relative merits and downfalls of various computer operating systems - primarily Windows, Linux, and Mac.  Last week, Apple introduced the latest version of their operating system - Mac OS X 10.5, aka Leopard.   I don't know why Apple insists on naming their systems after large felines - previously, we were treated to Tiger, Panther, Jaguar, Puma, and Cheetah.  They've also got Lynx and Cougar trademarked, so presumably we can look forward to an operating system named after older sluts who chase young men.

Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced their latest operating system - Vista.  That marked their first major public offering since XP almost 7 years ago. Leopard is the first new Mac OS in roughly two years.  The thing that struck me about these two releases is the difference in price.  The Mac OS - unless you're purchasing it for a server - is $130, period.  On the Windows end of things, it gets a little blurry. They offer 5 different versions of Vista - six, if you happen to live in a third world toilet.  But for the sake of discussion, let's say we live in the U.S. of A., so there are only 5 versions. 

If you're really cheap - there's the el-cheapo Vista Home Basic edition, retailing at $199.  With this, though, be warned that you're getting a severely hobbled version of Windows with many limitations.  If you're migrating from XP, it's not really an upgrade.

The next step up is Vista Home Premium, retailing at $239.  This is the first edition that may actually represent an upgrade - from the standard edition of XP, but not from XP Media Center Edition.  There are still some limitations on this one, notably in the area of network connections and hardware support.

The next two are aimed at businesses, one retailing at $299, and the other only available through a bulk licensing agreement, so they don't really apply to the general user.

The final version, Vista Ultimate Edition, retails at a whopping $399.  This is the only version that truly represents an upgrade from the previous consumer level Windows OS, and more or less competes with other modern OS offerings.

Certainly $399 for the top Windows OS versus $130 for the top Mac OS is pretty lopsided.  Why does Microsoft believe it can command such a higher price?  Inflation?  Well, let's look at this historically.  The last major consumer Windows OS was XP, released in 2001, at a retail price of $199.  Mac's offering at the time was OS X 10.1 - retail price, still $130.  The really major Windows release prior to that was Windows 95, released in 1995.  Retail price?  $209.  Mac's offering at that time?  OS 7.5, retailing at...$130.  Back then, there was even a major operating system by IBM known as OS/2.  That also retailed for $130. 

So going back a dozen years, Microsoft has always priced their OS at 50% more than the competition.  Now, though, they're a positively ludicrous 200% higher.  Are we really to believe it's worth three times more than the Mac OS? And worth twice as much as the Windows of a dozen years ago?  Hell, you can get a mighty fine Linux OS for free.  Ubuntu linux is a very nice, comfortable OS, and I'd probably be using it a lot more if I weren't thrilled silly over my MacBook Pro with OS X 10.4.  They say you get what you pay for, but I'd counter that money can't buy happiness.

At work, our TS team is sticking their collective big toe in the Vista waters.  They're in charge of all our technology - from phones to servers to email to our desktops.  'TS' officially stands for 'Technology Services', but really means 'Tough Shit'.  I once teased them that their motto should be 'TS - We Put The No In Technology'.  They loved it and wanted to put it on a banner on the wall.

But I digress.

So, these brave geeks are trying out Microsoft's new operating system, and the experience has turned them into a bunch of whining children - basically, like the people they usually bitch about having to put up with.  It's slower...I can't figure out how to do [fill-in-the-blank]...it's unstable.  I, of course, being on my new Mac kick, take full advantage of the opportunity to make snide remarks and generally act like a Mac snob.  I made sure they knew that when I upgraded my 7-year-old iMac to the latest OS X (two major versions worth of upgrade) that it ran faster and more stable than before.

I also made sure they knew about the virtual Windows computer that I'm running on my MacBook.  I'm using a program called Parallels which allows me to run Windows right from my Mac desktop.  There are several of these types of programs out there - Microsoft has one too, called Virtual PC - and they're all kinda neat.  You can run many different operating systems as though they were just another program.  For instance, if you have a particular game you like that only runs on Windows 95, you can run a virtual Windows 95 computer right from your Windows XP desktop - and run the game on that "computer".

The downside - you're not really running the operating system directly on the hardware of your real, physical computer.  There's a software layer in between that slows things down.  I run a virtual Windows machine on my nice, new, fast Sun/Windows XP workstation at work so that I can test websites in different versions of Internet Explorer, and it's slow - like running XP on a ten year old computer.

But.  (Didn't you know there was a 'but' coming?)

Not the virtual Windows machine on my MacBook.  No sir - it is The Fastest Windows Machine I Use.  No question, no doubt.  Even including the aforementioned shiny new Sun workstation.  I don't know how they did it, but they did.  I would venture to guess that it's a combination of Intel's stellar Core 2 Duo chip, the speed and power of OS X, and some pretty good programming by the people who make Parallels.  It's a wonderful, nearly seamless experience.  I think it might even be able to run Vista.  Not that I want to - I hear it will make you cry.

For several years now, there has been an ongoing debate, amongst people who are geeky enough to care, about the three big computer operating systems - particularly regarding which is the "best".  They are, in no particular order, Windows (in its various and sundry versions), Mac OS, and Linux (in its multitude of flavors).  The opponents and proponents of these systems trade poisonous barbs on a continuous basis over them.  Occasionally, the arguments are even fair and objective.

Before I dare to enter the fray myself, I would like to point out, in my fairest, most objective, non-confrontational style, that each one has it's own merits and downfalls, and it ultimately comes down to you to decide which is best for your particular needs and desires.  I've tried them all.  I recognize that each has its place.  But I can't tell you - without a fair amount of expensive consulting - which one you want.  I will attempt to describe, in common english that the general public can easily understand, what each one of them delivers and requires from you. I will start with the 900-pound gorilla of the bunch...

Windows
Everyone has seen Microsoft's operating system(s).  Their most popular OS right now is Windows XP.  You will recognize it by it's blue-and-red, Fisher-Price appearance.  It runs on practically every computer you could buy over the last 6 years, will run practically every piece of software you could ever want, and is relatively easy to use.  But that ubiquity and comfort comes at a price.  If you run a Windows OS, you are the target of virtually every hacker in the world.   Prudence, constant maintenance, and luck are your best friends if you wish to keep computing happily and safely.  

But like I said, it's fairly easy to use, and there's practically nothing you can't do.  Microsoft has just released their newest OS, Vista, which is more secure than XP, but trades off a little ease of use for the casual user.  It also trades the Fisher-Price look for something a little more eye-pleasing.  But you'd better buy a brand-spanking-new machine to run it, because it needs some serious horsepower.

Linux
The bizarre, spaghetti-like lineage of this OS goes back well before the birth of Windows.  The basic guts of any Linux system is based on tried-and-true, time-tested code.  There are literally dozens of slightly different variations of it, but they're all basically pretty rock solid.  The best part is, it's free.  That's right - free.  No, you can't walk into Best Buy, ask for it, and they'll just give you a copy.  But if you can beg, borrow, or steal a computer with an internet connection, you can download an entire operating system - complete with web browsers, email programs, and even an entire suite of productivity apps - all for zero dollars.

Installing and configuring it is another matter.  This ain't Windows.  To be fair, some of them are (arguably) as easy to install as Windows - provided you have a pile of fairly standard hardware.  If not, and if you aren't inclined to learn some pretty geeky, arcane commands - absolutely without the benefit of fancy windows and buttons - you will be up the proverbial creek without proper means of locomotion. 

But once you get it going, you can do a lot.  No, it won't run everything Windows runs, but it'll do practically all the things normal people want to do.  Once it's running, if you have one of the "normal people"-oriented versions, it's pretty much as easy to use as Windows.  But the core of this system is rock solid, so you have none of the problems with worms and viruses that Windows users deal with.  Intrigued?  Try Fedora Core or Ubuntu.  They're good, and they're free. 

Mac
You've probably seen the commercials for Mac and PC.  The Mac sounds easy and fun compared to the stodgy, accident-prone Windows.  They're funny commercials, and they sorta have it right.  Macs are easy.  Macs are not virus, worm, or accident prone.  But they're also pricey.  If you're buying a Mac, bring your wallet.  Bring a friend's wallet too, because you're going to pay more for a Mac.  Sure, you'll get a better physical machine - it'll arguably look better and have better quality components.  But the cheapest Mac - one that actually comes with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse - will cost you nearly twice as much as the cheapest ready-to-go PC.

Another downside, it's like Linux, because you can't run everything Windows can.  On the upside, it's also like Linux in that the Mac OS is (more or less) based on the same, solid code - but with a far easier-to-use and prettier interface.

You'll be able to do all the usual stuff - browse the web, send email, compose documents, manage your digital photos and all that.  If your needs are that simple, you'll be perfectly happy.  In fact, you'll arguably be happier than your Windows or Linux friends.

In conclusion...
I've owned and used all three.  Like I said before, they all have their ups and downs.  If three different people asked me what was the best one to use, I might give them three different answers.  Read the preceding and ask yourself - which kind of user am I?

Lately, I've been getting more and more into this Open Source software movement.  "Open Source" basically means you can actually look at the code that makes the program work, which you won't understand anyway.  But that's not the real attraction.

The real attraction is that it's free.  That's right - FREE - as in "keep your wallet in your pocket".  How is this possible?  Simple. There are scientists at MIT who have trained genetically-enhanced monkeys to write software.  Actually, that sentence is only partially true - everything after "MIT" is bullshit.  Seriously, there are thousands of lunatics (like me) out there who like to write software just for the fun of it.  Unfortunately, there is no support group for this affliction, so they join Open Source projects.

In these Open Source projects, after the customary bragging about girlfriends in Canada*, they work together to produce a piece of software that does everything that, for example, Microsoft Windows does - but instead of charging $200 like Microsoft does, they give it away.  This obviously upsets Bill Gates, and is the primary reason Bill is working with George Lucas to build a fully functional Death Star.

It has gotten to the point where there are a good number of free, high quality programs available.  There's poor quality software too, but at least you aren't paying for it.  But there's enough out there that you could do everything you need to do on a computer without spending a dime on software (or hardware, for that matter, if you don't mind doing a little five finger shopping).

Since I no longer work from home, I'm free to experiment with my main workstation.  I'm going to have a go at using an all-open source system as my primary computer.  To make sure it would be viable, I made a little chart of all the crucial programs I'd need to get by at home.  Your list would undoubtably be shorter unless you're as much of a geek as I am. 

The "Evil Empire" column lists all the software I need that I'd normally have to pay for.  The "Open Source" column lists the free equivalents that best match my needs.  As you can see by the "Savings" column, I'm saving roughly $1000 - which is enough to buy hardware for two such computers.  You gotta like the way that works.


[* After re-reading this line, it occurred to me that the old "i have a girlfriend in Canada" joke has lost all of its punch.  With the internet, instant message, webcams, and certain accessory devices, Canadian-girlfriend-having-geeks may have a better sex life than you.]