Windows Vista

The next version of Microsoft Windows finally has an official name: Windows Vista. The name debuted yesterday at a Microsoft sales conference in Atlanta. The name was officially announced today on the Microsoft website. Windows Vista’s code-name was Longhorn.
Windows Vista logo - click to enlarge (45 kb).
The advertising tagline for Windows Vista is: “Clear, Confident, Connected: Bringing clarity to your world”. According to Microsoft, the XP in Windows XP stands for “experience”. Windows XP’s code-name was Whistler. Don’t know yet the reason behind the new name.
The beta version will be released on August 3, 2005.
Official Windows Vista website
– 7/22/2005: Microsoft Vista press release
– 7/22/2005: Longhorn’s new name: Windows Vista (c|net)

Laptop arrived today

My Dell Inspiron 600M laptop arrived today at 5:30 pm. I had bought it exactly 7 days back. I was expecting it sooner but there was a weekend in between. So, it got delayed by 2 days.
My Dell Inspiron 600M - click to enlarge (109 kb).
Everything is working great. I set it up for my University wireless network and it is able to access the network. In 2002, our Univ wireless network was 802.11b (11 Mbps) but now it has been upgraded to 802.11g (54 Mbps). The in-built wireless card in the 600m is also 802.11g compatible. So, the access speed is really good.
The packing box for the laptop - click to enlarge (141 kb).
Also tested out the bluetooth connection and I am able to transfer pictures and files from my cellphone. I will be able to take more photos with my cellphone from now on :).
Everything is working great and I am really satisfied with my laptop :).

Google Moon and the Copernicus Initiative

Just chanced upon a blog post about Google Moon. Google Moon is a Google Map version of the moon and shows imagery on the Moon’s surface. It was created in honor of the first manned Moon landing, which took place on July 20, 1969. It uses NASA imagery and so the zoom level is limited (By the way, try zooming in too close and see what happens πŸ™‚ ).
Google Moon - screenshot - click to enlarge (204 kb).
Also, in 2069, Google will fully integrate Google Local search capabilities into Google Moon and will open a research and technology center on the Moon! This project is called the Copernicus Initiative (also called GCHEESE, acronym for “Google Copernicus Hosting Environment and Experiment in Search Engineering”). A very ambitious project indeed.
Also, note the last paragraph on the Lunar Jobs page :).

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age by April 1, 2007 and have proof of earth residency. Google is an equal opportunity employer.

Visit the Google Moon website: http://moon.google.com/.

Dell Inspiron 600M

Just bought an Inspiron 600M laptop! Dell has a great deal which comes once every 2 or 3 weeks where you configure an Inspiron laptop upto $1500 and then get $750 off! So, basically you get a top-end Inspiron laptop for only $750. Mine was a bit more than $750 because I added some more extras. I did like the Inspiron 700M. It looks and works great but the screen is too small. I would have loved to buy the Latitude X1 but it is way beyond my budget.
Inspiron 600M - click to enlarge (591 kb).
The configuration is given below:
Laptop Model: Inspiron 600 M
Processor: Pentium M (Centrino) 725(1.60 GHz/400MHz FSB)
Screen Size: 14.1-in XGA
RAM: 1 GB DDR SDRAM
Hard Drive: 60 GB
DVD Burner: 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW)
Wireless Card: Internal (Intel PRO/Wireless 2200) (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
Bluetooth Card: Internal (Dell TrueMobile 300)
Thanks to Deals2Buy.com! πŸ™‚
Related Links:
www.dell.com/save750/
www.deals2buy.com/delldeals.htm
p.s. I am really happy and excited and can’t wait for my laptop to arrive! πŸ™‚
p.s.2. Seems that the Latitude X1 link might not work at times. In that case, please copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/latit_x1

Fourth of July

Today is July 4th, the American Independence Day. Went for a barbeque cookout at a friend’s place. Rain was predicted in the morning but when we finally reached there, the weather was great – not too hot and with a light breeze. The barbeque cookout was fun, the food was great and met a lot of nice people.
At night, me and my friends went to Knoxville World Fair Park to see the July 4th fireworks. We reached at 9 pm but the fireworks started a bit late – at about 9:45 pm. It was great and there were lots and lots of people. I did not have a camera with me but I took a couple of pictures with my camera phone. They came out ok, but not that great. Am putting one here.
Fourth of July fireworks at Knoxville, taken with my camera phone - click to enlarge (20 kb).
Overall, the day was great and I really enjoyed it.
Note: July 4th is the day when the Declaration of Independence was signed and adopted in 1776, declaring independence from the British. If you would like to know more about the Fourth of July, please see this link.

The first .com domain name

The first .com domain name was symbolics.com. It was registered on March 15 1985, more than 20 years back!
The first domain name to be registered was nordu.net which was registered on January 01 1985.
A list of the first 100 .com domain names is available here | cached copy.
I have also compiled a list of the domain names of the major tech and media companies to see which ones were registered when. IBM.com seems to be the first one in the list (March 19, 1986). Interestingly, both Adobe.com and AMD.com were registered on the same day (17 Nov, 1986).
ibm.com 1986-03-19
intel.com 1986-03-25
att.com 1986-04-25
adobe.com 1986-11-17
amd.com 1986-11-17
cisco.com 1987-05-14
dell.com 1988-11-22
oracle.com 1988-12-02
sony.com 1989-07-07
bbc.com 1989-07-15
microsoft.com 1991-05-02
infosys.com 1992-07-17
macromedia.com 1993-05-13
cnn.com 1993-09-22
timewarner.com 1994-04-28
amazon.com 1994-11-01
yahoo.com 1995-01-18
aol.com 1995-06-22
ebay.com 1995-08-04
google.com 1997-09-15