patronus4000

Ahahaha. Funny, funny. XD Nice posters. I don't know how perfectly they reflect Vista, because I've never used Vista before, but I'm sure they hold some kind of partial truth, at least. XDI also agree with abhiram - no matter how Microsoft and its programs will be criticized, everyone will still buy their products. Everyone feels that, if they don't get MS programs, they won't be able to open files sent by their friends/colleagues who have MS. And this creates a vicious cycle, where MS stay dominant in the market. (Open-source is gaining momentum though. Firefox is beating Internet Explorer, and people are becoming more and more aware of Linux.)Serena

Microsoft released the famous Windows Vista with plenty of eye candy for users. I thought about getting Vista in the future - after all, I would be getting Vista with any new PC I buy, since they're all coming equipped with Vista already - but the revelation that there were six versions of Vista stopped me in my tracks. These versions would be: Windows Vista Starter Windows Vista Home Basic Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Enterprise Windows Vista Ultimate Surely they didn't have to divide Vista into so many versions? (Oh, there's also the two European "N" editions; if you count those, you have eight versions of Vista! Wheee.) Windows Vista Starter only allows you to run three applications at a time and does not have many features that a computer should have. It's targeted to "emerging markets who can only afford a low cost PC." All the other editions grow from there, the Ultimate version being the one that has the features of all the other versions plus special features like the Game Performance Tweaker. As for the "N" editions: I find the need for all these versions pointless. Imagine buying a computer! It'll take quite a while to figure which version you want and would make purchasing a computer daunting for beginners. ...Is Windows trying to catch up to the five or so years of not making any new operating systems by creating six (or eight) releases of their newest OS? You can read more about Vista here, which includes screenshots of most of the Vista versions. So. Tell me what you think about MS creating six versions of Vista. Serena

I got it a while back, but I ended up getting The GIMP and Inkscape for my graphic designing/editing needs instead. Paint.NET causes my computer to lag (especially when I undo something), and it always bothers me that it's trying to send information to some site when I have it open. I was unhappy that I had to install the .NET Framework too after I downloaded the Paint.NET program; I don't think it's worth that huge download anymore. However, it's a free program, so if anyone needs a free graphics program, it's not too horrible, but I'd choose The GIMP over it any time. Serena

My English teacher last semester often brought us a board game to play on "National Skip Days," when there was nothing more he could or needed to teach. He brought a board game called Blokus, a game that none of us had heard of before that moment. Only a few people seem to like it. But that was probably because a lot of the students were too lazy to use their brains for a board game, and would rather play cards. Up to four players can play this strategy game. Each player has the same pieces but in different colours; the geometric pieces are formed by small squares. The point is to use these pieces and take over the board and have the least number of squares left. The catch is that your own pieces touches only at the corners; they can never be side by side. It's not an easy game; other members attempt to block off your path to keep you from dominating the board, you try to block them from dominating the board, and you must also try to use as many of your pieces as possible before the board runs out of space! While I'm not really good at this (I've only played it a few times), I must say it's pretty fun. There's an online version of it at http://www.mattelgames.com/en-us/blokus/index.html?utm_source=blokus.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=domain-redirect where you can play with the computers (who are merciless players) or other online players. It's in Java, so it might cause your computer to lag for a bit, but all in all, it's worth it. Try it and tell me what you think of Blokus! Serena

Ooh, cool. *reads date* XD Last post in December. Great. Nevertheless, I probably wouldn't be able to get the beta version because of my slow connection, though if I did have a faster connection, I would be rushing over to their website to test it out. I've used CS2 at school sometimes, and the amount of features and options is daunting. I think I'll just stick to The GIMP - while it doesn't have as many options, it's a pretty good free Photoshop-substitute and it's open-source. Serena

I used to play Runescape. ...Maybe "play" would be an understatement; I was addicted to it. XD I would come home from school and start playing RS for hours (but of course I finished my homework and everything too; I'm not stupid XP). I got to level 50-something before I tired of it. It became waay too repetitive. Mining and fishing were the two skills that took me so long to train! You'd have to walk long distances to train, then walk all the way back to a bank or some other place to process the raw materials. *shakes head* And during your trip, you'd pass some creatures that will attack you or members who are begging for coins or something (I hate those people - they need to stand on their own feet). But it's free and, for a while, most can be entertained by it. The community isn't too bad, though there are some weird folks out there. Also, I agree with sparkx - the creators of RS spent a lot of time developing, updating, and managing the game. If you at least had fun with it, there's no reason to say it's horrible.Serena