Paul Thurrott's interesting preview of what we can expect to see in Longhorn Server (the code-name for the server version of the next major versi 
IBM's latest power user ThinkPad is the T42. The T series of ThinkPads provide the best combination between raw performance and portability. The ThinkPad T series is what I use when I travel to demonstrate our latest software. It's portable enough that I can lug it around but still powerful enough to show off our various programs.
The T42 I received from IBM is a bit heavier than the T40 it is replacing (about a pound -- 5.7 pounds). While a relatively small difference, it is something I am definitely noticing as I lug it around. But I am amply rewarded with a 15 inch display (instead of 14.1 inches). Other details include a 1.8Ghz Pentium M processor. The M series of processors aren't like other processors. The Ghz doesn't really tell the story. In terms of every day usage, it "feels" about as fast as my 3Ghz desktop in terms of computing power. With the larger battery installed, it gets around 5 hours of real world battery use which means I can watch movies and what not on a cross-country trip.
My configuration also includes the IBM Multi-Burner DVD/CD-ROM drive burner drive which lets me make both CDs and DVDs. The native display resolution is 1400x1050 which is quite useful when doing development, video work, or graphics design. Bundled software allows me to hit the Fn-Space bar to toggle between its maximum display and various lower "zoomed" displays for when I browsing or writing an article (such as this one). The actual adapter is an ATI Radeon 9600 Mobility which translates to meaning I can play most of the latest games just fine on it if I want and this is also important for me since I'm coding parts of Galactic Civilizations II on it.
One feature I didn't really notice when I ordered it but am finding I really like is the new Finger Print reader (see #9 in the shot to the left). Instead of using a UserID and password to logon, I just put my index finger the finger print reader and it logs me in. It's well, it's pretty damn cool.
The bundled software IBM has included has finally reached the point where I don't immediately try to scrub it all off. I still remove most of it as it makes the default boot time take forever (IBM take note, IBM Messages is annoying!). One piece of bundled software in particular I like -- IBM Active Protection. Basically it monitors the stability of the machine in real time. I mean the physical stability. So any jarring or rapid movement and it'll instantly turn off the hard drive.
One feature I've noticed other reviews haven't mentioned that is very important is the new way the battery is handled. In previous versions of the ThinkPad, the battery would keep charging even when plugged in. So IBM batteries tended to die out after around a year. But now the "Improve Battery Health" feature lets you turn that behavior off.
The included 802.11g connectivity has very impressive range (much the same as the T40's 802.11b). IBM also includes a lot (arguably too much) wireless network software to make it "easy" to connect to a wide variety of networks. In practice, I don't find this to be that useful as Windows XP SP2's wireless network features are more than enough.
In terms of usage, the ThinkPad T42 keyboard has keys that are spaced and sized the same as a desktop keyboard. The result is that moving from your desktop to the ThinkPad is a smooth transition.
There's not much to complain about here, overall it's a fantastic laptop for the power user. If you need a workhorse laptop that works both as a desktop and is quite portable, you can't do much better than IBM's ThinkPad T42. Now how things will go with Chinese PC vendor, Lenova in charge remains to be seen. I have been using ThinkPads since 1994 and can't even imagine using any other laptop (particularly one without a trackpoint). But for now, the ThinkPad T42 is my laptop of choice.
| IBM ThinkPad T42 Configuration: memory: 1.5 Gigs Display: 15 inch CPU: 1.8Ghz Video: ATI M9600 Drive: 50GB Price: $2,498 |
Ever wanted to try your hand at programming but felt like you had to write pages and pages of code to just get something to show up on screen?
That's where DesktopX comes in. With just a few lines of code, you can do all kinds of cool things. In this example, in less than 10 lines of code you can make something that acts as a cursor pad on screen that moves a ball around. Check it out for yourself. You can get DesktopX at www.desktopx.net.
Here are the top 10 skins from March 2005. It was a good month for Alienware who took the top two spots. WindowBlinds visual styles had 6 of the top 10 spots this month with a DesktopX based desktop making it up there as well.
[typo 'fixed' for the fixated]... |
When someone links to one of their skins, articles, or something they've recommended on their personal page from another website, they get an advocacy point.
For the month of March, here are the top 10. Those we haven't recently sent goodies to will be receiving some Stardock/WinCustomize goodies in the mail:
|
The number besides their name is how many users came to WinCustomize.com last month from other sites because of something linked to them. You don't have to be a skinner or article writer to get advocacy points. You can recommend skins and themes and such to others on your personal page here and link to that.
Thank you for your help in spreading customization beyond this place.
Today I'm going to create a set of objects that allow you to control the position of another object. In essence, I am going to make 4 objects that will act as up, down, left, and right and then the cursor object that will be what is being controlled by the others.
Step 1: Create the first object.
Step 2: Go to its properties.
Step 3: Change its image to be an arrow.
Step 4: Create the target object and give it an image too.
Step 5: Give this object a name.
Step 6: Go back to your original object and create new script for it.
Step 7: Using the scripting guide located here: https://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/docs/3x/DXScripting.doc have this object take over the mouse button down message.
You will find that the what you want to add is something like this:
| Function Object_OnLButtonDown(x, y) DesktopX.Object("TargetObject").bottom = DesktopX.Object("TargetObject").bottom - 10 End Function |
Step 8: Clone your control object 3 more times and make a couple tweaks so that they are down, left and right buttons.
For example, I want to use the same up arrow graphic but I need it to point right. So I rotate it 90 degrees. For the down one I would rotate it 180 degrees and the one pointing left I would rotate is 270 degrees..
| Sub Object_OnScriptEnter Object.Rotation = 90 End Sub |
Then I change what is being done to the target object based on which button. For example, the button moving it to the right would have this code:
You're done!
And voila. There you go. I'll now export it and upload it for yourself. If you have DesktopX Pro, you could export it as a stand-alone program to send to anyone whether they have DesktopX or not.
So the beta has gone out and we're starting to get some coverage. It's hard to believe we have almost a full year left of work on this. The main engine is done so we have plenty of time to fill in all kinds of content and detail in here.
The stability what somewhat better than I had feared/anticipated. But there's plenty of issues to resolve between now and Beta 1B which is due out at the end of next week. That will be the last public build of Beta 1.
Beta 2 is scheduled for the the week of E3. That's where we'll be making a bunch of announcements on some pretty exciting things. Suffice to say, it'll be a lot easier to find Galactic Civilizations II at your local retailer than it was to find the first one.
We are also interested to see if in the two-years since the first game's release that there will be more people who want to purchase and download the game. The technology has certainly come a long way. That is, Stardock Central is much more advanced now and this beta is allowing us to work out kinks in the system to make the final process as smooth as possible.
This week we released a new build of Stardock Central in which just entering your logon ID here SHOULD (assuming you used mostly the same info when you purchased the game) automatically find your purchase info and register ALL the program's you've purchased from us. So no more having to type in bunches of serial #'s.
The changes in Galactic Civilizations II's technology is helping us make things more electronic-friendly. Beta 1's base game is only 28 megabytes to download. The use of the new .dxpack technology allows us to take a screen that would have been 5 megabytes in GalCiv 1 and make it 100K in GalCiv 2. In short, we should be able to have a game that has vastly more content that is smaller in size. Of course, cut-scenes and multimedia won't be smaller (if anything, they'll be bigger) but they're a seperate component.
There was also a lot of discussion this week about the MMORTS our second game development team is working on. We'll be announcing more on that around E3. But don't get too excited, it won't be available in its final form until 2007. I was quoted as describing it as The Sims meets Total Annihilation. It would probably be more accurate to say it plays a lot like somone might imagine a Massively Multiplayer Civilization game might play except it's RTS and you deal with individual buildings and can see your citizens going about their lives (hence the Sims thing). But you don't control your citizens directly (NO PEONS). Only military units.
So in Beta 2 we hope to have a lot more screens in, there's going to be a lot of UI re-design work based on feedback and the AI should be more intelligent by then. Stay tuned.
