Jan 16
It’s a bizarre distortion of perception that I can lose $400 playing poker one day, win $300 back the second day, and feel like a winner. I mean… I have an extra $300, right?
Anyways, with money to burn I flirted with the idea of buying an iPod Touch, but with MacWorld in effect it seems a better idea to wait at least a few weeks before giving into that particular impulse. Instead, I turned my financial windfall towards the acquisition of another long-standing mental thorn. With the new apartment setup near complete it has been one of my last remaining goals to connect Matt’s 360 with the rest of my vast entertainment library. I got hold of a bootleg version of Windows Media Center 05, but once installed my system didn’t respond too well. Unwilling to quit and flush with found money I pulled the trigger and made the long-resisted but inevitable move to Windows Vista. The transition was slightly painful – involving an external hard drive and a few new partitions – but my new desktop is now up and stable.
What is the over/under on my first reformat/crash? I claim six months.
How many of you currently run Vista? Aside from my dad I would expect nobody. So far my emotions are mixed. The novelty of a new operating system after using 2K/XP for so long certainly inflates the positives, but there is also a bit of frustration in finding myself instantly less adept at using my own computer. Things that were simple yesterday are now awkward and mysterious. Just attempting to customize my start menu led to a half dozen curses. And don’t even get me started on the User Account Protection. The Mac/PC “Cancel or Allow” commercial was funny, but believe me that the reality is no laughing matter. Among others, I have disabled that particular “feature” for the moment.
Really the gist of my upgrade has been a battle of Good and Bad. For instance…
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Good: Windows Media Center Extender allows me to play my PC’s media on my TV/Stereo through the 360
Bad: The 360 only supports basic DivX 3, but not the more advanced and now more common Xvid or Divx 6.
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Good: Desktop Gadgets are badass.
Bad: I have to remake all of my iTunes playlists.
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Good: Vista’s file structure is much more intuitive.
Bad: I have been helplessly brainwashed to want things the harder, less intuitive way.
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Good: I made an American Idol bet with Matt that I am a massive favorite to win… plus I get odds.
More Good: I offered to let him out of the bet if he registers democrat and caucuses for Obama on Saturday.
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Alright, that last one had nothing to do with Vista, but it still goes to show that American Idol can do good in so many ways. Also, lock it in: Kristy Lee Cook, top 12.