Posts by — Adam

Windows 7 is the newest Operating System (OS) from Microsoft.  It is currently in the beta stage of production, but will soon be in the release candidate stage.  While the new OS isn’t expected until late 2009, early 2010 Microsoft is going to need to do a number of things in order to make this OS a success.

Microsoft screwed up the launch of Vista so bad that even still, most computer users have a negative perception of Vista even if they have never used it.  Microsoft needs to give Windows 7 away for free or it could face a large decline in the number of users who use Microsoft products.

Here are 5 reasons why I feel that Microsoft should give Windows 7 away for free:

1. Windows Vista was a mess
   Microsoft really messed up with the launch of Vista. The prices were too high, there were too many versions, Device Drivers weren’t there (technically not their fault), and hardware support for the OS was abysmal. Because of this people didn’t like Vista and in turn, didn’t switch over to Vista. If Windows 7 were free more people would switch, even if they’re just trying it out.
2. Linux has become much more user friendly
   With Ubuntu and Fedora (and many other distributions) becoming increasingly user friendly, the Windows operating system has a lot more competition than the days of 95, 98 and XP. If Windows wants to compete against free operating systems, they need to offer something to the end users.
3. Perception of Microsoft is extremely low
   People dislike Microsoft. They have for a really long time, but with the disgrace of Vista I think this dislike has hit a new all-time low. People are fed up with paying high prices for software and are looking for change.
4. The current economy
   With the way the current economy is going, people just can’t afford to switch to a new operating system. People are more likely to stick with XP than they are to dish out $100+ to spend on something new. If Microsoft wants Windows 7 to be adopted quickly, they are going to need to give it away.
5. Microsoft Can Afford It
   Microsoft has been leading the OS market for many, many years now and can afford to give Windows 7 away. While they would notice the loss in income, they do have other sources and would still remain profitable in the end.

There are a number of things Microsoft should do to make sure it’s adopted well by users. They should only offer 2 or 3 versions (Regular, Business, Ultimate) and the price should be $0.  Microsoft could still make money by selling Windows7 to companies like HP and Dell to put on their computers, it would just be free for consumers like us.  But this is just me talking, what are your thoughts? Should Microsoft give Windows 7 away for free? Will you switch to it?

As a computer nerd, I’ve used a number of different operating systems for a number of different reasons.  One of my favourite Linux operating systems is Ubuntu.  I like it for its ease of use, its great UI and a number of smaller reasons that are too numerous to list.

One of the things I hate about most Linux OS’s is the fact that the backspace button is used to go up in any documents.  Now, I know I’m just used to the Windows way of things but I find it one of the biggest nusances when moving to a new operating system.

Below are a few steps on how to fix Firefox in Ubuntu (and probably other operating systems) to get the backspace button to go back in history instead of going up the page.

1. Type about:config into your browser
2. Find browser.backspace_action
3. Change the value from 2 (or any other number) to 0

Once you’ve done the steps above, your browser will now function like it would in Windows with the backspace button going back in history instead of up the page.

If you have any other tips or tricks for us, please feel free to post them in the comment section.

Have you ever thought to yourself “I haven’t coded in so long, I really need to” but then did something else instead? This is called programming procastination (PP), and every developer will face it at least once in their career.

I get programming procrastination a lot when I’m trying to finish up my pet projects or even something to do with work. I don’t know why I don’t want to program sometimes but here are a few things I do to get me back into the programming mind:
Click for more →

“If debugging is the process of removing bugs, then programming must be the process of putting them in.”
-Edsger Dijkstra

Testing is arguably the most important step in any software project and also one of the most neglected steps. In most cases, testing is missed because clients don’t realize the importance of it and aren’t willing to pay for, or take the time to have the developers test properly.

In a perfect world, code would be thoroughly tested before it ever goes into the wild, but this just isn’t possible. Here are a few tips and tricks on testing so your product will never be released without even a little bit of testing.
Click for more →

I don’t know about you but I personally work a lot better when I’m listening to music. I don’t know what it is but I can concentrate a lot easier and work a lot quicker when I’m listneing to my favourite tunes. The problem with most devevelopment jobs is that, unless you work from home, you’re constantly around co-workers and it would be rude to blast your music.

That is why it’s important to invest in a decent pair of headphones. Here are a few things you should look for when picking out your headphones:
Click for more →

Having a good manager can make the difference between an amazing work experience and a horrible one. At work, you can tell the developers that have a good manager from the ones that don’t based purely on how well they work and how happy they are.

As a manager, making your developers happy and comfortable can increase their productivity and make a better work experience for everyone. Here are 10 tips to becoming a great manager:
Click for more →

Last week I talked about an easy way to add a print link into each and every one of your posts using a little bit of javascript. The output of those pages however, looks extremely ugly and today I’m going to show you how to pretty up your print output with CSS.

Now, before we get started I just want to say that I’m not actually going to get into the dirty details of which colours you should pick and what font you should use to style your pages. I’m merely going to say which elements you need to include and which ones you should remove to make your pages look nice.
Click for more →

One thing that I hate doing whenever I’m getting ready to buy a new laptop is going through the specifications of each computer. I find it annoying searching online for reviews on a specific laptop and then comparing this laptop to another one to see which is better. Who has the time to go to all of the different sites picking out reviews and getting the pro’s and con’s of each laptop; I certainly don’t.

Thats why Laptopical.com is one of the best stops on the internet for all of your laptop reviews and resources.
Click for more →

If you go to most blogs now-a-days you’ll most likely see their feed displayed prominently somewhere near the top of their content. What happens when a person visits your site and finds an article that they really like and want to print it. You could use a popular plugin to display a link to print the page or you could just add the code yourself and save server resources and load time.

Here are a few lines of code that you could add to your site to give your visitors easy access to print the page.
Click for more →

Most developers have, at one point in their career, worked in a group; it’s inevitable if you’re working on a large project. If you’ve worked in a large group you most likely have met one developer that has been less motivated than the others and this post is for you.

Motivating the unmotivated can be a difficult task for a manager. You have to know how to motivate them and not make them feel unwanted. If you try to hard, the programmer will feel like you’re trying to push them away, but if you don’t try hard enough the developer isn’t doing everything they could be.

Here are a few tips on motivating developers.
Click for more →