Windows Vista

Recently I bought a new computer, because my nifty XPC is really starting to feel old. The computer comes with Vista. Because of all the bad press that it has had, I was really worried how it will turn out.

The computer arrived a few weeks ago and I panic: I wonder how I can possibly get use to the Aero glass window title bars with the dirty smudging blurred effect. It irritates me. It's not clean.

But since I'm stuck with it, I had no choice but to customize my experience and make it better. It's been almost a month now and after much tweaking and adjusting (plus switching to Vista Aero Basic mode), it really is not that bad.

The single-panel scrolling program file list was awkward at first, but now that I have used it for a while, I find it to be quite usable. Production level jump, and I'm no longer sticking five million icons into my quick launch bar anymore.

To paraphrase Zuzana Licko, "people read best what they read most" (Source: AIGA), I believe that "people use best what they use most".

Recommended reading
+ Arstechnica: Windows Vista: more than just a pretty face

©2008 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe

Windows XP shell replacement

It looks like that I have now found my shell replacement for XP: Directory Opus 8, developed by an Australian company GPSoftware. Their Web site can use some help considering that their shell product is so usable (though it can use some interface tweaks so as not to overwhelm the users with features - but in the same time not hide features for users)