First of all, people say it’s obtrusive, How is it obtrusive then any other toolbar out there today (web or not)? It’s not ginormous or anything or a size that’ll consume up most of the screen and it doesn’t even interfere with anything, I can read the article just fine without anything obstructing my view. And also, I don’t get the thing about it being in a separate inline frame being bad. First off, the DiggBar is resizable, I’ve tried this and the DiggBar just hides the text slightly and the inline frame resizes horizontally among the window meaning it works with almost every screen resolution imaginable. Secondly the web has changed since the age of flashy design elements and people are designing their websites with an mix of design and style, meaning that their designing sensibly rather then going out of control, just look at almost any site on the web today. Third, some sites still use inline frames and I don’t get the cross compatibility issues that you keep complaining about, rather they resize accordingly just like the DiggBar

Frankly, you guys that hate the DiggBar are just overreacting because frankly you can disable the bar if you don’t like it and if you don’t like Digg then you don’t have to use or join Digg if you don’t want to. While I do agree with some of your guys reasons, this is just completely insane. For people saying that they’re keeping you on Digg’s domain and not redirecting you to the source link, the source link is in an inline frame itself which means that the page gets loaded as normal and that page get’s a view count. Also I need to clear some things up about some of the absurd things that I’ve heard. DiggBar does not display it’s own advertisements per say, there are no Google Ads, no Banner Ads, nothing. If you’re thinking that it’s one big advertisement for Digg then you seriously need some help.

One thing that really bothers me is the fact that people knew that the DiggBar was coming beforehand and it had alot detailed information on how the DiggBar was going to work. It even described in full detail that it was going to be in an inline frame and Digg was going to have a shortened URL. There was even a small dicussion that was before the initial DiggBar release about some doubts that people have about the then unreleased DiggBar which was at the time being beta tested to make sure that Diggers’ would love it and not have a problem with it. You guys could of addressed these issues to Digg before they released the DiggBar and you guys complained about how sucky, that way you could of at least made a difference or at least made the DiggBar a little bit better. You guys could of said “Hey, I don’t like the upcoming DiggBar, there’s a specific thing that I don’t think is right”. Thankfully there’s a feedback button on the bar itself so you guys can help improve it but still, why didn’t some of you guys know about the upcoming DiggBar?

In closing, I have to say that all of you guys are simply overreacting to this, sure there might be people who like it and people who hate it but during the time I’ve used it, I have to say that it’s not obtrusive, that you guys are focusing too much on the inline frame as the source of criticism, that even though they’re keeping you in the Digg domain and not letting you leave Digg, you can just click the X on the top right of the toolbar or disable it entirety and most of the issues that you claim to be problems are exaggerated over the top. I admit that there are some problems such as logging in from the DiggBar is not as dynamic as I want it to be but overall people should just give the DiggBar a chance and not just complain about it because it uses obsolete technology or it radically changes Digg so much. I like Digg but I occasionally don’t like their users because of the childish way that they treat things (A.K.A. The Digg Ban Brigade), but overall the community is very mature, again, just give it a change.

Okay, he says he understands that he understands bug fixes and taking the time to make sure it’s ready for mass consumption and the entire thing was created to show a community that they’re ready for Windows 7 and they’re apparently proud of it. Really, this doesn’t make any sense. If you wanted to create a group that shows people that are truly excited for Windows 7 then you’d probably create a Facebook group on it or join some Windows forum or create an IRC chatroom titled #windows7, that would of make tons more sense then this publicity grabbing site there is. Really, there should be some community to release Duke Nukem Forever, that’s being developed for a long time and should of flown a long time ago, that way the game would be released and Duke Nukem Forever would finally not be identified as vaporware. Seriously creating a community with the basis that you want to release Windows 7 now is stupid, instead you should of been entirely honest and just said that you were just excited for Windows 7.

Honestly, releasing a product now would be utter chaos, just look at the premature release of Windows ME, there were lots of flaws, bugs, and most importantly lots of crashes and BSoD’s which drove people to the near brink of insanity. Windows Vista was similar due to the fact that there were lots of incompatible hardware and software out there, people had to buy much more powerful hardware due to the higher system requirements and the 7 confusing editions. If Windows 7 were released now, then it’d be a nightmare for everyone to see that Windows 7 has disappointed everyone who believed in it. Software needs time to perfect (though I do say that they’re capable of making it to RC faster), to make a perfect experience for everybody, to make it sell and to make it exceed everyone’s expectations like every release of Mac OS X.

The site has even got some publicity due to the because of the avidness of the Windows fan and the impossibility of releasing Windows 7, and most of it seems to be making fun of it. Even though he does not get the idea, he still appreciates all of the publicity he’s getting and even posts it on his website. He’s even proud of a mention on MacBreak Weekly (if you’ve gotten a mention on a Mac specific podcast, that means they’re really taking you “seriously”) and “Microsoft” is reaching out to interview him… I’ll take this with a grain of salt because when Windows 7 is released which is to most people late 2009/early 2010 and after his 15 minutes of internet fame are up then Kelly Poe will go back to obscurity and this will be just another internet meme by 4chan but will instantly spread across the internet within a few weeks, which is what may happen due to the fact that releasing stuff now will likely be the new internet catchphrase mixed in with lots of products we wished got released.

So that’s it in a nutshell. I want to say a few words before I end this, why does he ™ everything. It’s not a big problem but it definitely isn’t required. I use a lot of words without trademarks at the end generally because it doesn’t matter whether it’s at the end, because nobody’s going to sue for a word that’s being used in a general context. They’ll only sue when it’s used in an inappropriate and infringing context. Also he’s trying to start a community about people excited about Windows 7. To me, a community is where people can hang out, make new friends, talk about anything, share stuff with them and have a good time while doing it. Mostly all I see is a petition for people who want Windows 7 released now and the only thing that resembles a community is that Facebook group page a fan created. If he’s serious about making a community then he’ll have to rethink everything and take down that stupid petition in the first place. I appreciate what he’s trying to do but I don’t think it’ll work.

Now we’re expecting the release of the latest OS’ from Microsoft and Apple, Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Normally they’d include some new features and some major improvements into these releases (with the Mac OS X releases coming yearly as new versions but I don’t mind one bit). But these are positioned as incremental (a.k.a minor upgrades) which slightly lowers my expectations. This may be reasonable due to the fact that Vista and Leopard were slightly disappointing and didn’t feel exactly like they were getting what they thought they were getting, with some or lots of features being cut from Vista and Leopard (this may not be entirely true, if you think what I said is wrong, email me.), Specifically Vista’s 6 confusing and unnecessary editions being placed on the market and Vista, being marketed poorly and the Vista compatible lawsuit, might of hindered it’s impact and gave people a bad impression of Vista that continues even to this day.

So what’s new? Making everything run, boot and install faster, that is one of the main focuses of both Windows 7 and Snow Leopard, removing unnecessary services, reducing the initial space it takes up and also reducing how much memory it uses and introducing new boot technologies, including one in Windows 7 that allows it to boot up in 15 seconds (it’s not included in the current Windows 7 beta but I think it may be included in the upcoming release candidate version, again, I’m not sure). This has been what everyone has been clamoring up for the past year or so, an OS that doesn’t take up that much space and boots up in a short time. The space these OS’s take up currently is absurd. Both Windows Vista and Mac OS X takes up to around 7.00 GBs of space with everything included and people with small hard drive space have had trouble adopting them because it would be a hard drive space hog with all of the stuff included on it, now that problem may be history. Also the speed enhancements are nice because people with slower computer will be able to use the system like the developers indented. I predict that those with older Pentium 4 processers will be excited beyond belief.

Also new is the new multi-touch stuff that they’re adding, ever since the iPhone popularized multi-touch beyond belief, everyone’s been trying to create or hype their next touch-based product (I’m looking at you Microsoft Surface). But I’m surprised that their including multi-touch into both Windows 7 and Snow Leopard, really. This brings a lot of possible for both systems because you can resize and move windows, documents, slide between individual screens, move back and forward between pages, scroll through pages easier, highlight text, it’s even useful for a new generation of games (which you can already download and play on the iPhone but for Windows and Mac OS X, this is new). The upcoming multi-touch monitors that are being released and prepped for Windows 7 and Snow Leopard will bring multi-touch to the masses, expect them to cost a lot though and make sure that you really need one before buying one, the multi-touch looks cool but think about what you’ll use it for.

The most surprising thing I’ve seen is the new versions of QuickTime (X) and Windows Media Player (12) supporting a vast array of codecs beyond WMV (for Windows Media Player), MOV, MPG4 (for QuickTime) and raw AVI (for both players). From what I’ve used, they now support a vast array of modern codecs that you had to manually download and install before to get the Media Player to be compatible with most media files and play them out of the box. I truly appreciate them for including support for nearly every video codec and file there is, really saves me a lot of trouble whenever I reinstall my OS or one of my codecs mysteriously stop working. This has been long wished for but they were afraid that something was blocking them from including it, but they’ve been able to find a way to create their own way to play DiVx, MP4, WMV, AAC or whatever codecs these Media Players don’t currently support.

Still, even though their file managers are the same, their interfaces the same and also some things remain the same. These operating systems do have different features that separate them from being entirely similar. So these are not Service Packs or anything because these usually contain fixes to bugs already in the operating system as well as some new features specific to that operating system. These are bringing something to the table that we have mostly not seen before or we requested that it be put in there. It may be something new like native support for a file system or something entirely new altogether. It still shows that they’re interested in putting new stuff that’s revolutionary and cool and it also sorta increases the value of it, here’s what each OS will contain.

Still despite it mostly being speed enhancements and new behind-the-hood technologies, there is nothing mostly different between good releases. Still, based on what I’ve tried, they are better then their initial predecessors and it should be on every geek’s wish list. Basing from what I tried of Windows 7, it’s better then Windows Vista and I’m sure that Snow Leopard will blow away Leopard. Still, I think these companies may be saying that they’re sorry and that they want you to fall in love all over again (For Leopard users, they may be happier that the system will be faster then ever before) and from everyone elses experiences and some people demanding they release Windows 7 now. I feel that these will be more then succ
essful and it might be enough to make people forget about the wobbly launches of Vista and the downsides of Leopard. Still, there’s nothing majorly different between them, but I feel like you should upgrade when they come out in 2009 or 2010, whether you’re on Mac or PC.

Now you’re probably thinking hey, who created this theme, did you pay for it? To answer that question, I created it and I didn’t pay a penny to create it or get someone to create it. This theme took 4 or maybe 5 days to make, had to apply the code, fix positioning errors, make it cross compatible with other browsers you know, the usual. It’s dark, slick, techy, modern and it’s not even released for public download (when I do post the theme for public download, I’ll give it a proper name and download link.). I just feel with everyone using themes other people created or that are available at WordPress.com. Note that I do respect the people who create the themes and the people who modify it to suit their needs, but it’s just the fact that people can do everything with these themes without touching it. You’re also thinking why there is no sidebar on the right if you’re just looking at this post, well people might not know it yet but I don’t want my sidebar full of useless and unnecessary widgets or nothing leaving along noticeable trails of blank space which nothing will ever take up or use. There most of your questions answered.

Also note that due to the economy and various budget issues, I do not have enough money to buy anything geeks glamour over these days. So I cannot get that iPhone and start my photography career, I can’t get that iMac that I ever wanted and even so, me and my family are probably going to end up in the streets. I know I’m overreacting but I’m just here to ensure you that the following sections I depicted in my mockup will be available eventually. Also note that the Podcast is going along fine, I have a studio setup complete with a pop filter, microphone stand, USB studio microphone, though I do need to find a way for people to browse episodes. Also while I haven’t started work on my debut album "Hello! My Name is Taylor Karras" yet, I’ve been writing up some lyrics to replace some songs that I don’t think fit on the CD but it’ll probably be out by May of 2009, possibly later or earlier.

So, that’s it for me. Welcome my website, what appears to be a long winding road heading nowhere. So please, sit back and subscribe, also enjoy the ride.