Wired Says Supersize Your RSS

Theres a good article in Wired today about RSS. It explains a bit about how Vista (Windows) will impact RSS and how to get the most out of your feeds. There are some links to a few tools that I wasn't aware of for managing feeds via e-mail etc.

"We recently tested a number of RSS services that help "power users" do more with news feeds. Offerings from internet giants like Google and Yahoo team up with software from smaller, niche players like RMail, RSSfwd and Feed Shake to custom tailor the feed-reading experience in a number of ways."

To be honest with you, I only use a Windows box when I have to. That said, it's the business I am in so our work stations must have Macs and PeeCees in a co-existent habitat. From what I've heard Vista is real hog on processor, memory and video space, so it looks like some of the current PeeCees may have to move to the donation pile at worthy charity. Anybody have any idea of a worthwhile cause able to put them to good use?

Windows, Crack Smoking Monkeys & Monkey Boy

Hat tip to Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle for posting a video circa 1987 sent to retailers about the release of Windows 2.0. The original poster of the video to Google had this to say.

"Boring until the 7 minute mark when the production is taken over by crack-smoking monkeys."

I realize this was 20 years ago, but even by standards back then, this has to have you scratching your head. I took Dwight's advice and fast forwarded to the 6:50 marker. At first I thought someone was going to come out onto the screen and explain it. That didn't happen. As I watched further I started asking myself, Self? What the hell were these people thinking? It was the same discomforting feeling I got when I watched Steve Balmer, aka Monkey Boy, bounce all over the stage screaming at a MS gathering. It makes Howard Dean's "I have a Scream" speach look like a quiet eulogy. Here's hoping the Vista launch isn't being handled by the same ad agency. If it is, I'm hiding under my bed until it goes away. :)

The Impact of RSS

Really Simple Syndication. I'm pretty sure most of you are tired of hearing about it. I'm also pretty sure that most of you haven't really given any thought to the impact it will have on the future of computing. While reading an article in Mary Jo Foley's Microsoft blog on ZDNet, it revealed a quote from an MS engineer that should put it in perspective.

"But over on Microsoft's Channel 9 site, Bruce Morgan, a software development manager on the IE team, who describes his job as "lead(ing) the Vista RSS platform, IE UX (user experience), and IE setup teams at Microsoft," confirmed that builds of the next version of IE do, indeed, exist."

When MS finally gets around to rolling out it's new operating system, you'll begin to get an idea of just how much this technology will mean to every application you use.

The early adopters that have started distributing their content and media via RSS feeds are already seeing a return on their investments. With the latest innovations in software development, the best is yet to come!