I'm Mad as Hell etc.

I am in a bad mood and this episode of Rants and Raves will reflect just that. Why? Not 100% sure. Maybe because a local restaurant gave me Salmonella poisoning a few days ago and I was violently ill like never before and am still recovering.  There are probably a few more reasons. But what set me off was a headline I saw while putting together stories for this blog.

The headline was, “Half of All People Surveyed Believe Facebook is a Passing Fad.” Duh! Of course it is…most of life these days is a passing fad. Technology is filled with passing fads. Life itself is filled with passing fads. Music, art, education, marriage, relationships, careers, diets, restaurants…they are all passing fads. We are a society of passing fads headed toward oblivion on so many levels. 

So, add Facebook to that list. All those social Websites like Twitter, Facebook, Google+…it’s everybody shouting at once and no one is listening. I am about to bail on all of them. What’s the point? 

But enough of that…check out today’s stories. In one story, Microsoft is supposedly going to give you a $15 coupon for Windows 8 when you buy a Windows 7 computer before the release of 8. I don’t give a damn if it was free…I am not upgrading any computer to that piece of crap. And as far as buying a Windows 8 Tablet running on ARM (see the story on Windows RT), why would I buy anything that gives me computing power so much less than what I have now.  And what a stupid name…Windows RT! Even Microsoft doesn’t know what it means. 

And now Firefox is releasing a beta version of Firefox for my Android phone. I am glad about that. I will download it shortly. But what about releasing a version for my iPad? Safari sucks.  Now, I love most everything about my iPad, but not the browser.  Even a Chrome browser would be welcome.

As for the story about Twitter sending me highlights for this week’s best Tweets, what a joke. Most were stories about people I consider human garbage. You bet I am going to shut that down.  Screw the Kardashians, the Kutchers, and other people of their ilk who have nothing to offer humanity.  To follow them is to lower your IQ to dangerous levels. And please, for God’s sake, shut down reality TV...for the sake of our children.

OK, I think that is it for now. Thanks for letting me rant. I feel a little better, but then I realize that no one is going to read this, and I get depressed again. Why do I continue to write when nobody gives a damn? It's only me shouting again. – JRC

Windows 8 Pro PC Upgrade Cost is Just $15

 

A coming Microsoft promotion will provide Windows 8 Pro to buyers of Windows 7-based PCs for just $14.99, according to my sources. The promotion begins June 2.

Windows RT 'isn't Windows'

It appears to me that Microsoft's caught between a rock and a hard place. If it keeps the "Windows" name in Windows RT they'll not only confuse the living daylights out of hundreds of millions of consumers, Microsoft will also have to explain to a jury someday why it allows competitors' products into all of Windows 8 but doesn't allow access to all of Windows RT.

Intel Windows 8 tablets to hit retail stores in November

And don't expect just tablets. "More than 50 percent" of the "more than a dozen" designs will be hybrids, aka convertibles, the source said. Those designs combine aspects of a traditional physical keyboard-based laptop and tablet.

Microsoft quietly rolls out Silverlight 5.1

Microsoft made available for download Silverlight 5.1 on May 8. Here’s what’s included in this minor update.

Mozilla Releases Firefox for Android Beta

Firefox for Android supports more than 70 devices running different versions of the operating system--from Android 2.2 ("Froyo") to Android 4.0 ("Ice Cream Sandwich"). The beta is only available for phones (not tablets).

Twitter Is Now Sending You Weekly Email Digests; Here's How to Turn Them Off

 

Twitter just added a new feature that sends you a weekly email with the most popular tweets and links from people you follow.

Hate commercials? Dish Network launches automatic ad-skipping feature

As more consumers turn to the DVR to fast-forward through annoying commercials, Dish Network has advanced this feature even further by eliminating the fast-forwarding step.

Filtering emails in Outlook

Outlook offers several ways to filter emails. A filter lets you see only those messages that meet certain criteria. For example, you could pick a filter that lets you see only emails that have attachments or are unread. Here's how it works.

MultiMon Taskbar - Free

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