antti.vilpponen.net

This morning as I was at the gym trying to kick the last bits of flu left in me I saw a clip on the TV promoting Windows Vista. There was a package on the screen showing the Vista Ultimate as the “Most complete version of Windows”. Whoa whoa, you saying it’s not complete yet?!

Anyhow, that has a funny resonance to it - what do the people getting the basic version feel like… oh, I forgot - that’s what the people getting Windows anyhow feel like. “I can’t afford the ultimate so I’ll just get the one of the incomplete versions”.

Nothing new there, when was the last time Windows worked the way you wanted it to? :-)

I’ve somehow managed to spend my last weekends in quite a calm manner. This weekend was no exception, it was filled with good food, good wine, shopping and a great sauna and all this topped with excellent people. What more can you ask for?

I also managed to take my Canon out for a short walk this afternoon. The temperature was close to 10 degrees below zero, so it wasn’t exactly the most enjoyable walk. However, I managed to grab some shots and here’s an example of the weather we were blessed with. Beautiful, but cold. I think I will be doing more camera shooting next weekend in Messukeskus as the annual Motorcycle Fair hits town. Excellent :)

If you’re out of plans for this weekend and you happen to be in Helsinki, take a look at DocPoint. It’s a documentary festival taking place in many of the cinemas in Helsinki. They have a pretty interesting set of documentaries on the schedule.

Hmm… might have to pay a visit to some of those screenings.

Good news for once. BBC reports that some of the largest companies in the US have told President Bush that he must push government actions to stop climate change. The companies in question have formed a partnership to cut greenhouse gases by 60% until 2050. That’s a pretty damn respectful goal. Nice to see some energy companies react as well.

I’ve been trying to fight a cold today, on the first true day of winter in Helsinki. The temperature was about -13 in the morning - the coldest in a long time, as I walked to work. This winter has by no means been a normal one. Even though I’m a 110% a summer person - it’s about time we got some snow.

Today at work I manager to grab a few minutes for some good ol’ web surfin’ and RSS reading. Techcrunch had hit me with an e-mail earlier wondering how big Google Reader is after their new UI and small tweaks.

I took a look at Google Reader a long time ago, but it was still too deep in the Labs, that it didn’t hit me. Until now. Damn, this thing uses the web 2.0 tech like it’s supposed to :)

I’m definitely changing my RSS reader from Bloglines to Google. Yet again, a very good example of a clear-cut technology where the user interface and experience makes the difference. Nice.

I had 4 new blog posts in Bloglines - 3 of them mentioned Apple and their new iPhone. Looks pretty cool. Just a few days ago I was watching this and wondering why companies don’t seriously put effort into the user interface of a device. Seems like Apple has taken the first serious step towards it, again.

It was back in October that I was introduced to the game of Texas Hold’em poker. Ever since, I’ve been pretty much hooked to the game. I love the simplicity, being a simple man, but also the challenge the simplicity creates. Tonight I was playing at Full Tilt for a quick 30 hands. I sat down to a 5/10c NL table and I was holding on to… well, read the rest of the story here :)

Psssst, if you’re looking for good sign-up bonuses - get in touch with me ;)

Thanks to everyone who was there for making this a pretty damn enjoyable new year :)