Since I do Windows development, it’s difficult having a Mac for a laptop sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mac OS X — but I do have things to do on Windows…and for that, there’s Parallels. Apple’s Boot Camp is nice too, but I just don’t have the time to reboot into another OS most of the time. The Parallels team is working hard on a 2.2 update for their Parallels Desktop for Mac product. The recent release candidate with build number 1898 includes experimental support for Vista RC1. I just thought I’d share with you the screenshot:
At the Tokyo Game Show (TGS), Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 will include 1080p support with a fall software update. Now, I won’t be able to take advantage of this, because my TV currently only supports 1080i, but I think it’s a very competitive announcement for the Xbox. It will be able to upscale current DVD titles to this new format as well. Also, it appears as if the HD-DVD player will be available in late November for around $180-$200. Very exciting news – I can’t wait to get one of these!
Read: Microsoft Showcases Library of Nearly 110 High-Definition Xbox 360 Games at the Tokyo Game Show
I am making the move to attend my first blogger conference. On October 14, 2006, I’ll drive over to Greensboro, NC to attend ConvergeSouth 2006. I registered for the conference because I found out that Robert Scoble will be giving a talk. Robert and his wife, Maryam have just prepared their talk titled 10 Ways to a Killer Blog. I think it’ll be interesting! It seems most of the blogger-type conferences happen in the Silicon Valley area — so, it’s a surprise to see one near Raleigh.
Update: I was unable to attend this year’s conference – we’re reaching the end of a product cycle at work, and I was tied up. After reading this and this, it seems like everyone had a great time though…
On Saturday, I went with some co-worker friends to the NC State vs Akron football game. When I was in college, I attended just about every NMSU home game. But, since I’m not from the area, I really didn’t care much about the game — just thought it’d be a great excuse to go hang out with the guys. It really turned out to be a great game! Initially, I thought it was going to be boring, since I had never heard of the University of Akron…but they have a great team! So great in fact, that they won 20-17 with the game winning touchdown scored in the last 3 seconds of the 4th quarter. NC State gained the lead in the 4th making it 17-14 with 1:07 left on the clock. The Akron team was able to make it all the way down the field and score a touchdown before the time ran out. There has been great controversy over the last TD, because this is the still-frame of the final TD:
Read: Scout.com: Zips Shock Wolfpack
Image linked from scout.com
This morning at 10:59 am Pacific, the Windows Vista Team announced the completion of Release Candidate 1. This is the 3rd major milestone for the Vista team on their way to an October release. The official letter from Jim Allchin:
To the TechBeta community:
It’s official — Windows Vista RC1 is done!
We could not have achieved this milestone without your support. The quantity and quality of feedback and data we received from you has been essential to helping us progress. Thus we wanted you to be the first customers outside of Microsoft to get access to the bits. Next week, a broader set of technical customers will get them via MSDN and TechNet. But you’re the first! We wanted to get it into your hands asap so you can start giving us feedback right away.
You’ll notice a lot of improvements since Beta 2. We’ve made some UI adjustments, added more device drivers, and enhanced performance. We’re not done yet, however — quality will continue to improve. We’ll keep plugging away on application compatibility, as well as fit and finish, until RTM. If you are an ISV, RC1 is the build you should use for certifying your application.
The operating system is in great shape with RC1, but there’s still a lot of testing to do. You’ve come through for us so far, and I’m asking you to once again put the pedal to the metal and send us feedback. Windows Vista is going to touch hundreds of millions of lives all around the world. Thanks for everything you’re doing to help us give them the best experience possible.
jim
I was previously running the 5536 build on my desktop at home, and am anxious to load this build as well. This one carries the build number 5600.16384.060829-2230. Windows Vista is really coming together…check out the reviews: Paul Thurrott
Source: Windows Vista Team Blog – It’s Official: Windows Vista RC1 Is Complete
