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An important announcement from Microsoft, something called Mesh, is happening tonight at Midnight eastern time.

I am into guessing game, again, mostly because it is fun, but also because in a funny coincidence, I left a rather long rant at Yahoo’s own Jeremy Zawodny’s blog. What started as a short comment, turned into longer and I think worthy read about future of operating environments for us all. Jeremy doesn’t post too much, which is exactly how I prefer it and thus he is on my ‘read-first’ list. Check out my comment right here.

Back to the issue, I really think this one will be about cloud computing and web services, or cloud services, or whatever we want to call them services. And of course, their integration into applications and the OS, finally. Some applications already integrate nicely, such as Windows Vista Photo Gallery. And I hope they will finally take it to the next level.

Speaking of Vista, and of Windows 7. I hear people continue to trash it, but seriously, why?! Yes, it is bloated. Yes, it is incompatible with a lot of old software and drivers. But, that was obvious (just to me?!) going into it! Only install Vista on newer core 2 duo and faster PCs with 2GB ram. That’s obvious! Next, do NOT install older software on it, wait for lazy/suicidal/incompetent 3rd party companies come out with updated software specifically targeted at Vista! Or, use Microsoft’s new built-in software. Yes, be like the rest of us and use the primitive Windows Movie Maker for your HD editing… What? Microsoft were nice and anti-trust friendly by not killing Adobe and Sony and others in this market, and coming out with their own Killer Video Editing program. And how do Adobe/Sony/etc repay them?! Where is Vista optimized version of our favorite video editing tools, a year and a half later? Almost here, I bet…

Probably by the time your read this, the announcement will be out. For some reason official Mesh site is acting up (stress-testing was skipped, I bet). So instead, check out Scobleizer commentary on this "breakthrough" technology.

Microsoft, Vista, Mesh, Yahoo

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Hulu.com has been growing nicely, you may recall that I wrote about them back when they were in private beta. Well, since then they have opened to the public, and constantly adding new shows! If you crave some quality entertainment, they are becoming my first destination to check out, Kudos!

And finally, the sensational hit series Battlestar Galactica is there, in an almost HD quality. Of course, ABC’s HD streaming online is still by far the best quality out there, but it does score stiff requirements, both from your computer hardware (dual-core minimum) and your Internet connection (above 3mbps). Hulu’s quality is a compromise, it seems. It is much higher than YouTube’s and other clones out there, but it isn’t quiet as high to require very fast PC and super broadband connection.

Speaking of Battlestar Galactica — I am one of those fans who still managed to catch a few "original" battlestar episodes, and I did expect a similar cliche from the new show, which actually a reason behind my initial refusal to watch this. But, eventually, I did catch a few episodes and saw how different this was. Much better writing, high quality production, are killer ingredients. This may shock you, but I am actually the vice-versa of most fans out there (check out why), so I actually think the show’s been stretched Too Much and it really Should End sooner rather than later!

If you haven’t watched this show, now is a time to catch up, either via your Netflix subscription or Amazon Unbox or other methods. Below is a little teaser, now that the final season is coming, when ALL Will Be Revealed! Which reminds me that I need to rant (for a friend) about Dish Network — Where Is your Sci-Fi channel in HD!?

Battlestar Galactica, Hulu

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I am just outraged now, so that is usually when I do my best writing

I’ll try to keep it brief, if possible. My son and I came across a strategically positioned CD in local GameStop about a month and a half ago, showing Final Fantasy XI Demo for PC for $2 . At a moment of weakness, we decided to give Final Fantasy XI a try, since we generally enjoy online play, as you probably know by now.

Upon arrival at home, we promptly attempted to install the game. Strangely, the process wanted us to submit a Credit Card. Granted, I should have stopped right there and read the 100 page User Agreement, but thinking of Sony and Square-Enix brand names, I decided that I can really trust these companies to do Right by their customers.

However, on a first attempt to play, it failed after half an hour of trying to "patch" itself. We tried to install on another computer, but with the same sad results. As much as I hate to, I was forced to spend some time online with their Tech support, who after silly troubleshooting attempts simply assured me that we must be having Internet connectivity issues and try again later. Obviously our high speed Internet had no such issues, which was also obvious by the fact that half the patch was downloading successfully prior to failure. Long story short, since my son kept begging, after various attempts and more calls, I left a laptop overnight connected to Internet directly (bypassing the router) which somehow did let the patch through…

After about half a day of play, he complained that there was no Tutorial at all to understand how to play. There were also no obvious ways to understand Who to see to start off in the world, and How to do Anything. He also had computer hang and forced a restart in the first few minutes of play, and I am certain it isn’t our computer’s fault… Mind you, this is the dude that tried almost every MMO out there, free and paid!

So, after he promptly stopped playing, I tried to remove this horrible ordeal from my memory, and disregard the hours and effort spent to just make the darn game work. Until this weekend, when my online Credit Card showed a charge of almost $18 from Square-Enix/PlayOnline.

I promptly called them and explained the situation. The answer I got was: The charge represents pro-rated part of March after 30 days expired plus a charge for April. And, although they can help me cancel the account (which hasn’t been used for over 40 days, but they insist that they have "no way of checking usage" ), the Charges CANNOT be refunded EVER and IT IS stated in the agreement?! I didn’t find it in the agreement, and the representative insisted that Manager is unavailable and I need to call again. Well I did call again, and got the same Answer, albeit this time with some assurances that "someone will call you back"……..

The ridiculous part is that we never purchased the game, just the silly demo, so I didn’t expect charges. In contrast, World of Warcraft gives you 30 days trial and even though you also need a credit card for the trial, they will never charge you until you Choose to subscribe and continue after the trial!

Another ridiculous part is the supposed pro-ration, the charge for the Future month (April) and refusal to refund even the future month only. Plus, no Emails What So Ever to say "You were charged" or simple courtesy reminder that "Your 30 Day Demo has Expired".

Sorry to bore you with this, but I think all companies should learn something here. Here is what my son said when he heard about the ordeal: Lesson Learned - Never Buy Anything Sony. I definitely join him in this profound realization, plus I will be thinking twice or more before considering future Square-Enix games as well… Maybe there’s truth to all those articles saying that Sony is in financial trouble and going downhill fast…

I hope your $18 was worth this for you, Sony!

Sony, Square-Enix, MMORPG, Final Fantasy XI

PS: For your reading pleasure, the PlayOnline Member Agreement, which is weird since you can even have PlayOnline account for free… Where is the part in which it says we charge "whatever" and keep the money no matter what, for future services not granted?

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I hope you are checking out ‘Now Playing on My Netflix’ rubric on the right sidebar of my web site. Last week a movie Death at a Funeral was listed there, as it always shows the movies I have at home.

That movie is Hilarious! British humor at it’s finest, we laughed to tears, virtually non stop. And yet, it manages to come through as serious portrayal of a funeral, and perhaps a reflection on our lives and the choices we make while we are here.

5 Starts and endorsement from us! And the Happiness formula holds: you laugh = get happier!

Death at a Funeral, Movie

PS: I have made serious enhancements to another open source Now Playing on NetFlix widget, resulting in what you see on my site. I am planning to open source it back to WordPress.org, just haven’t gotten around to it. Meanwhile, if you want it, just post comments below and I’ll gladly email it to you.

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Yesterday Scobleizer reminded me about the whole Mac versus Vista debate, with his post about Vista on Dell’s Tablet. It seems not only Robert is having that issue, here is an Attorney with similar complaint:

… another reason why I prefer Apple computers. Mac laptops sleep when you close the lid and wake up instantly when you open the lid. You can do this over and over again, for months, and never have to reboot. Very few, if any, people have this experience with Windows computers.

First, directly to the point being discussed. There are excellent controls provided by Windows Vista to make this happen on PC laptop! In fact, this was one of the first things I adjusted when our new Dell laptop arrived. Yes, I had to dig deep inside myriad of Power Management settings in Control Panel. The question, of course, is what was Dell and Microsoft thinking!? Why isn’t this CONFIGURED PROPERLY out of the gate?

Mac has really come of age, and with Firefox running well on Mac, it finally is a leading second choice for desktop. But, here’s my message to Steve - we are not imbeciles! We can figure out how to use 2 Button Mouse! And it isn’t just me, I hear from a friend who otherwise loves his Mac Laptop, that his biggest complaint is that there is no second button on the mouse!

I have been running Vista on my primary PC for over half a year now. It is a monster machine, with 4gb ram and 4 cores processor, so I really don’t feel any sluggishness or anything. Quite the opposite, in fact, but would it be even faster with Windows XP? I never did run XP on this PC, so we may never know. And even if a single process would be faster on XP, I am not sure it would be as fast/efficient in utilizing 4 cores with as many processes as I run…

Vista, Mac, Dell

PS: If you want to know what exact settings I put on Vista on our Laptop, just ask in comments, and I’ll promptly put up a detailed write-up there.

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I have decided to write a series of thoughts on Happiness. This being the first official one, otherwise known as Happiness through TV viewing.

Many of us like to "unwind" by watching some TV. And somehow most of us migrate from this little occasional unwinding, to being addicted to yet another weekly TV series. So what went wrong?

The main cause is corporate greed, of course. TV Networks and the show writers perfected the formula for show creation overtime, and their goal is Clearly to Suck you In and get you addicted and watching All The Episodes!

Yes, it is a simple formula! Here’s the executive summary: Create a master plot, which through small clues evolves from episode to episode. Create a master sub-plot, which often must have start and end within each individual episode. Sometimes shows have two such sub-plots in each episode, running side by side, to ensure viewer is glued to TV enough.

Add to this some important visual/auditory elements, with plenty of natural beauty. This important ingredient includes water/metropolis/sunset/sunrise, and city lights, maybe some luxury, etc. Top it of with Plenty of beautiful people, as much as the studio can afford, usually. LOST maybe a small exception here on the people part, but take CSI Miami, complete formula, right there! Did you notice how most of the episodes start? With plenty of girls in bikini having beach or pool or otherwise fun?

I am not laying blame here, not yet. But, think about it, "She came to Me" rarely works as an infidelity defense for husbands!

You need to take control and understand what’s behind your TV watching habits. Better yet, take it one step further and try to see what you were trying to achieve. Most of us, after tough long day, want to relax in front of TV, with expectation of feeling replenished and Happier afterward!

So choose appropriate programming! It’s your spare time and I am sure it is limited! If the quest for knowledge is something that is your long term goal in life, switch to some Discover or History programming. Scout the net for Nova and other relaxing yet educational material.

If that isn’t your cup-of-tea, use the good old "occasional sit-com" pill. This is quality TV right there, and if used in moderation, good laugh and relaxation is your quickest route to feeling rejuvenated and Happy. Well, a little happier, at least, its a solid start.

Hey, I Love Lucy too!

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I went to visit my old time favorite Stage6 site from DivX, which most of you readers of my blog are familiar with, by now, and was stunned to learn that they are closing.

I am saddened by this news, and will have to revise some of my high quality Watch videos back to their inferior YouTube equivalents.

So what went wrong? As Simply stated on their front page announcement, the service was costing them tons of money and resources, which they couldn’t continue to afford. Yes, companies pay arm and a leg for Upstream traffic, which is completely unfair, if you ask me.

But what is the big difference between them and YouTube? How come YouTube is still around? Well, none, actually. YouTube was also quickly running out of cash, when big wealthy suitor in the likes of Google decided to bail them out, even offered them money, no less. Life is funny like that. Yep, I am sure Google is still sinking a lot of money into YouTube daily, as they haven’t figured out effective ways of monetizing it still. But, the big difference is that Google can afford it, while DivX Inc can’t.

Now would be a good time to start the debate again about who owns your data and your videos. Those precious movies of your grandson’s bar-mitzva that was uploaded there, and you could watch it at least twice a day — are now about to become history forever. Hope You Have Backup! But if not, rush over to Stage6 and download videos before Feb 28 shutdown.

UPDATE: TechCrunch has more details on this fiasco, but You Read It Here First, folks!

youtube, stage6, divx

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