Upgrading from Vista to XP

Recently I attended Microsoft's official release of Windows Server 2008 in Tripod, Dublin, an event aimed at IT professionals and developers with intent to test their new software. Without a doubt, the event was run very professionally, and it was obvious from the get-go that I was in the hands of a large company who were well used to organising release events. Tripod was a good location, despite the rather comical moments where Microsoft speakers would instruct us to "move down onto the dance floor"; it had a great sound system and enough room for their various exhibition and demonstration rooms.

Anyway, at the end of the event, Microsoft generously gave everybody a complimentary copy of their new software, along with Visual Studio 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Vista Ultimate. So I decided to give Vista one last chance, especially considering this copy had SP1 included, only to be disappointed once more.

I will admit that I installed it via Parallels on a MacBook. However, I donated 1024MB of RAM to the OS, along with 32GB of hard disk space and 32MB of video memory. I also freshly rebooted my system, ran no other applications other than parallels, gave Vista time to organise itself and installed all available updates.

The next day I gave it a proper run, soon discovering that Vista gave my system a rating of 1.0 and accordingly disabled some of the fancier graphics, which was acceptable since I was running it within a VM. Along came the issues. Now my MacBook's fan rarely turns on unless I'm running a graphically intense app or compiling something over and over, but Vista managed to give the fan a good workout. Opening IE caused a fan whirr, opening Control Panel, or even giving Windows Explorer a few tasks resulted in enough hissing to bother those around me! I gave it a few more days but it only really settled down when given no tasks.

So it's back to XP I go, which, running in Parallels or not, gives my MacBook's fan and CPU a much needed rest. Vista and Parallels gets the thumb down from me.

Ireland's iPhone Launch - No Contract, No Sale

Since I was in the area anyway (buying new "extra-permeable" contact lenses from Specsavers), I thought I'd check out the iPhone launch today (with some intent to buy, I must admit). The O2 Experience store on Grafton St. was well decorated; hundreds of leaflets shaped as iPhones, a few display phones, banners galore and, best of all, two massive iphone-shaped LCD panels displaying information on what it can do. Needless to say, I wanted one.

I asked one of the store's staff members about the criteria to buy the phone. He told me I needed to supply photo ID, proof of address, my bank details (for direct debit) and sign an 18 month contract. I cheekily asked if I could "buy the device alone now" and "sort out" the contract later, and unsurprisingly, I was greeted with some laughter and a firm "no".

I proceeded to check The Carphone Warehouse and ask the same question only to be greeted by a similar answer. I also paid a visit to authorised Apple resellers such as Spectra Photo and the 3G store in St. Stephen's Green but, as expected, no iPhone to be seen. I decided to sleep on the matter rather than jump into an impulse buy with an 18 month echo.

How To Kill A Brand

As an owner of an Xbox 360 and a Wii, this post may lead you to believe that I am something of a fanboy, but I'm not. I do plan on purchasing a PS3 once there is a reasonable number of quality titles available that I can't already get on another platform. However, this video is hilarious.

It's made by the people at this site, who also feature many other parodic videos, among other things, including a priceless video demonstrating what one can do with Microsoft Surface. On a more factual note, the current estimated sales of each of the three consoles is an estimated 22m for the Wii, 17.5m for the 360 and 10.7m for the PS3 according to this site.

Apple iPhone's SDK says "Hello World"

I recently downloaded Apple's newly released SDK for the iPhone. It's a large download which, thankfully, gave me lots of time to ponder and dream about all the fantastic new apps I was going to make! Eventually, the download completed and after about 10 minutes of Apple's friendly installation process, I was up and running with the newest version of Xcode (3.1) which included the iPhone SDK.

I've been playing with it now for the best part of two days; learning Objective-C, refreshing my knowledge of Xcode and, of course, familiarising myself with the SDK itself. And what an SDK it is! It's the same SDK that the official apps were created with (minus the interface builder and a few other bits, which will be included in the final release) and it shows. 

Apple have supplied developers with a generous wealth of information and sample code to help get us started. As great as they are, some of you may be looking for a simpler "Hello World" application than Apple's official one. And here it is. Hopefully you'll be seeing more of my iPhone applications soon. Watch this space.

Oxegen Music Festival 2008

So I stumbled upon the Oxegen Music Festival's newly updated website today, having completely forgotten that it's that time of year again; the time when music fans begin planning their Summer festival schedule!

So far, the line up is quite impressive, featuring massive artists such as R.E.M., The Verve, The Prodigy (a personal favourite of mine), Interpol, Aphex Twin (who must be amazing live), Rage Against The Machine, The Chemical Brothers and so many more. However, I must mention the rather hefty price increase this year.

When I first went to Oxegen, back in 2004, a two-day ticket with camping was priced at €130. By 2007 that price escalated to €197.50 and this year (which now includes a third day of music, I will admit) the full package costs a whopping €244.50. Since Oxegen has an average attendance of 80,000 people per day, around half of whom camp, it becomes quite clear how much cash the event takes in.

As much as I take pride in the fact that Ireland has a reputable music festival, are we really ready for an extra day of sun, rain and hangovers? I think so!

Starting to Blog

Possibly the result of Molloy's finest, or relentless pressure from Mark and Rob, but I've decided to start a blog. As much as the notion of an online diary has terrified me for some time, perhaps it will prove to be an enjoyable venture. 

For whatever reason or result, I guess it gives me a good reason to use this dormant URL. Here's to technology, and its wonderful ability to display one's life and hobbies digitally, globally, and in reverse chronological order!