The Computer of Tomorrow, er, Today

In case you haven't heard...just today, Microsoft came out with Surface (check out the link for cool demos), a touch-screen computer that looks more like a modern coffee table than your typical box plugged full of wires.

Will it revolutionize computers as we know it? Change our lives for the better? If you ask me, it looks pretty promising, and I'm excited to see one in action. However, if Surface's user experience is anything like its marketing campaign, then it's just going to be one expensive foot rest.

Compared to Apple's iPhone, whose campaign had everybody talking and immediately plotting how to get out of their non-Cingular contract, Surface has stayed underneath the radar. In fact, I was shocked when I visited Microsoft's homepage. I thought for sure it would be some full-page flash advertisement for Surface. Instead, they had a pathetically small link 3/4ths of the way down the page (click the image below for a larger view):



6 years of secret development, and this is the big hurah? If I were Bill Gates, I'd get me a new marketing manager.

p.s. Bill, if you read this (as I'm sure you will), I'm willing to talk.

The Least Unique Post of January 9th

Going with the masses today, I wanted to post about Apple Inc. (no longer Apple Computer Inc., mind you). If you haven't heard about the amazing iPhone yet, then you may be living under a rock. But if you're reading this, then you have an internet connection and a computer underneath that rock, which makes no sense at all. I digress...have I mentioned how amazing the iPhone is, and how it will be released shortly after my birthday? Huh, what a coincidence.

A while back Brad mentioned BlogPulse, an interesting site where you can track how popular a topic is by measuring activity within the blogosphere. I was curious to look at Apple vs. Microsoft.

And according to the chart below, I am an incredibly unoriginal blogger (or is it a direct reflection of the unoriginality of Microsoft?). Even puppies, which everybody loves, are less talked about than Apple:

Tip O' the Day

Ever have a window open on your computer that is somewhat off-screen, and you can't move it because your mouse can't reach the title bar? That happened to me today, and I found this tip to help out:

1. Hold down Alt + Spacebar
2. Press the M key
3. Use the arrow keys to relocate the window (or move your mouse)
4. Press the Enter key when you have the window in the desired location