Each week I participate on a podcast called PowerUser.TV.  There's a lot of banter and for most listeners, I think the banter is the draw. But some people don't like all the banter and joking around and wish we'd "edit it".

In fact, we do edit it a lot. A LOT.  Yesterday we recorded the show that will show up on Monday (you can listen to the shows at PowerUser.TV).  Below are two examples (of many) of what got edited out (transcript):

Kristin: So Derek, were you there when your son was born?

Derek: Yep. It was a real miracle of life type of thing.

Kristin: Yea. How about you Brad, were you there when your sons were born? You cut the umbelical coord and that?

Brad: Oh definitely. I mean, I might as well have, I already had the scapel in my hand from doing the appeasiotomy.

Kristin: Oh my god. Oh god. You did what?

Brad: Well yea, I needed lots of room to get in there to pull him out. Though I did have problems, I used to wear this big metal watch..

Kristin: Oh god!

(cut)

(edited out piece #2)

Kristin: So yea, Brad and I were walking near the building, you know talking about "marketing stuff" or whatever and Brad sees a snake and picks it up.

Brad: Yea, it was just a little gartner snake.

Kristin: Yea, and the thing is trying to bite him and Brad's taunting it because it has no teeth.

Brad: Yea, though it did pee all over me.

Kristin: Yea, that stuff smelled pretty bad.

Brad: Yea, but on the bright side you got that golden shower.

Kristin: Oh god, you're sick.

Brad: Hey, you shouldn't have touched my snake.

Kristin: You die now. (muffled sounds of beatings)

Kristin: I'd like to introduce our new panelist, Jose who will be taking the place of Brad.

Jose: Buenos Dias.

..

Each week, we record about 70 to 90 minutes of stuff of which 20 minutes gets taken out. Usually stuff that was too offensive or silly or just crazy to keep in there.

We have updated the main Stardock forums to have the new forum look and feel.

You can see the entire forum tree by going to https://forums.stardock.com/ 

The updated GalCiv II forums would essentially be a skinned version of that which focuses on the GalCiv II topics.

I want to create a news item that lists some of the better GalCiv II mod/talk sites that people may not be familiar with.

If we can put together a list here, I'll create a news item highlighting them.

Here's one:

http://www.forum.startrekgc2.net/

We're back from vacation and we finished up on the 1.1 recalc - including betas - today.  Sorry it took so long, these things have to be done with some care and we wanted to make sure it was done right.

The scores on the Metaverse are calculated as the total number of scores / the square root of number of games submitted.

I.e. 10,000 points played in 36 games would be 10,000 / 6.

The value of each game does decrease in value slightly each month in order to reward currently active players but the decay is fairly gradual.

As Object Desktop 2007 nears, Stardock is in the process of including example content showing off just what is possible to do with it.

This year, Stardock plans to include some of the best recent skins, themes, icons, etc. from WinCustomize.com with Object Desktop. 

If you have something you want included with Object Desktop 2007, submit it here to WinCustomize.com within the next week. Make sure that when you submit it that you have the option "In submitting these files for upload, I agree that they may be included by Stardock in future compilations or libraries" checked.

We are in particular looking for icon packages, WindowBlinds skins, Suites, and DesktopX themes.  Make sure what you submit belongs to you.

Stardock is starting to put the final touches onto Object Desktop 2007.  Object Desktop is the company's flag-ship product and it is content for Object Desktop that make up most of the top galleries here on WinCustomize.com.  Object Desktop 2007 is essentially a CD snapshot of where Object Desktop is today. 

Object Desktop is a suite of utilities that enhance the Windows experience. Popular programs of Object Desktop include WindowBlinds, DesktopX, IconPackager, WindowFX, and more.  The entire package is only $49.95 and it includes a full year of free updates (and users can continue to get additional updates after that year at a discounted rate).

Object Desktop 2007 is scheduled to come out later this month. The timing is specifically such that users of Windows XP will be able to take XP to its true zenith but also be amongst the first to be able to enhance Windows Vista when it arrives early next year.

A lot of Stardock's development has centered around preparing for the release of Object Desktop 2007.  New enhancements to Keyboard LaunchPad, DesktopX, WindowBlinds, IconPackager, Theme Manager, and more have all be either already done in recent weeks or are in the works for the launch.

One of the new pieces is the Object Desktop Manager which allows users to treat Object Desktop as a single, integrated product.  The manager organizes Object Desktop into its three primary functions: Personalizing Windows, Creating new things for Windows, and extending Windows.  Object Desktop allows users not only to transform how Windows looks, feels, and functions, it also provides the tools necessary for users to create their own enhancements.  In addition, Object Desktop includes utilities that seamlessly extend the functionality of Windows such as the Enhanced File Dialog, RightClick, Virtual Desktops, and much more.

You can learn more about Object Desktop at www.objectdesktop.com.  The next year will be amongst the most exciting times for PC enthusiasts and Object Desktop 2007 is poised to help users make the most of it.

Google is taking on PayPal and Microsoft's Passport at the same time with its new "CheckOut".

The idea is that users who want to buy things from sites are often discouraged because of the tedium of having to enter in all their credit card details and shipping info when they purchase.  Google's CheckOut would allow users to create a single site and then websites that support it would then allow users to purchase using their Google CheckOut.

If you've ever used Amazon's OneClick, you can imagine the convenience (for users of this) who could go to a Stardock or deviantART or other websites and be able to quickly purchase things without having to repeatedly enter in credit card details. It would all be handled through Google.

CNET is pointing out that this is something Microsoft wanted to do but concerns over privacy and a lack of general trust in Microsoft prevented widespread acceptance.  This begs the question - why is one multi-billion dollar company so much more trustworthy than another? And is there any merit to that?

I can say that WinCustomize plans to support purchases made with CheckOut soon (we already support PayPal).

The European Commission is set to fine Microsoft up to $2.5 million per day in response to what it says are anti-trust violations.

In March 2004, the EU fined Microsoft over $500 million for using its monopoly power to get an advantage in server operating systems and in media players.

As some may recall, the EU's remedy was that Microsoft would have to release a version of Windows XP that did not include Windows Media Player.  To make a long story short, the EU has been unsatisfied with Microsoft's progress in executing these remedies.

One might point out that the EU has never alleged that the entire media player market, in which all the major players in it release their players for free, is not valued anywhere near the staggering fines listed. But that's another story.

Microsoft claims it is putting "staggering" resources towards compliance (not including wmplayer.ex_ on the CD would probably be a good first step -- we're willing to help them do that for a mere $100 million).

Stay tuned..

While this may be the last day of my vacation (Stardock got a 4-day weekend), it's a beautiful day here in Michigan, USA. And whether you're an American or not, happy 4th of July.

Cheers!

Check out this week's PowerUser.TV, the official podcast of WinCustomize.com.  This week's show has a lot of "stuff" on the latest Windows Vista builds, tech news, gaming and more.

Check it out!

www.poweruser.tv.