Amazing!

60,000 page views over that darn computer of Marshall’s. That is quite impressive for one post about a Ferrari that became the talk of the internet the past few days. I think the controversy helped Microsoft in the Vista launch. Why do I say this?

Well coming from a rock n’ roll background such as mine, I know that controversy sells. Look for Microsoft’s PR agency to make this whole event come out looking like gold by the time Vista rolls out to the masses.

I predict Vista will be flying off the shelves. Of course as I have stated many times over, Rex Dixon does not have a computer or laptop that can run the new Microsoft OS. It will probably be as I have already said before, around 3rd quarter or later in 2007 before I will have gear good enough to run Vista.

Technically Speaking, unless someone such as Microsoft donates a laptop to Rex Dixon like they did for the bloggers to use, review, and return, or give away, or keep – Rex Dixon is using XP and also Linux for the time being. 🙂

Don’t forget to update your bookmarks – moving – January 1, 2007 – http://rexduffdixon.com – Technically Speaking’s new home.

New Feed URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/rexduffdixon

Well maybe I’ll pass on that Ferrari

Just had a nice conversation with Marshall, and he tells me that those nice (you can read his remarks) Ferrari laptops are NOT for keeps. Basically it was always for review purposes, and review or give away after you are done purposes only!

Here I was sitting reading the last article, wondering “Hmm.. maybe in 2007, I can rate to get one … ” … And now I’m thinking “Hmm.. maybe in 2007 I’ll get one, and donate it to the newly founded Rex Dixon Charity.” .. Just Kidding! Seriously though, my thoughts now ponder – Microsoft wants a honest review of Vista. Microsoft sends out Ferrari laptops to bloggers to review. Microsoft asks you do the review, play with the laptop and then send it back.

Technically Speaking, if the laptop is like $2k or there abouts, why can’t Microsoft actually say “they are yours to keep after the review for PAYMENT of doing the review!”

Call it a bribe or call it a gift

If Microsoft wants to hand over a Ferrari to Rex Dixon, I have no problem with that. You see, there are times in your life that you look back or will look back and say “Damn, I should have taken this road or that road and I’d be at this place or that place in my life now.” Trust me, Rex Dixon has traveled many a road in his lifetime, and hindsight is always 20/20 perfectly clear.

Remember that one car commercial like 2 years ago I think? It’s debut was during the Super Bowl. This guy was walking down the street and his cell rings. He answers and it’s himself calling himself from the future. His future self was telling his past self to ditch the girl and buy the car. Remember that one?

So yes, if Microsoft wants to hand over a late Christmas present to Rex Dixon, I could use one of those laptops. Seriously. I don’t jest.

Technically Speaking, I’ll take one in 2007. But seriously, I really could use one. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m getting tired of being chained to the desktop these days. I could really do this blogging thing from the bed or the couch.

RSS owned by Microsoft

I’ll post it again, since it seems like I did a bit of snafu on the AOL post. Haha – I’m glad that at least a couple of readers were paying attention. So once again, let’s roll out the internal link and show that I did talk about this hours before it showed up above.

I know allot of people think that it’s spamming or whatever, but there are those that believe that this blog has no relevance. I do report on and sort of I guess “break” stories every now and again. All I can say is – keep reading this blog. You never know when Rex Dixon has the scoop on everyone else. I know allot of the readers have a very very short memory. Almost like a goldfish or something. Be advised the above link to the internal was done like less then 1 month ago!

When is Microsoft going to charge us for RSS?

According to the official records of the US Patent office – Microsoft owns the patent on RSS. Not Google. Not Yahoo. Not even the blogging platform I use, WordPress. Yes, the men and women in Redmond own RSS.

Just as this blogger was thinking, when is Microsoft going to start charging for RSS? Technically Speaking, I wonder why they haven’t yet.

Visto wins $7.7 million

Here is a nice little story that was buried today. Visto the owner of three patents concerning mobile e-mail has sued and won $7.7 million. This was originally done months earlier by a jury. In a U.S. District court, Judge T. John Ward of Texas, has ordered Seven Networks to pay the $7.7 million in damages.

Now when I said everyone “steals” something from someone else on the internet, the big guys take it one step too far I think. I don’t LITERALLY mean steal intellectual property. I mean come on guys, what kind of dork thieves are you? You are not suppose to LITERALLY steal! You borrow, you enhance, you shape and form it and make it your own.

If it is something you need to really have to make your product “go“, then you need to pay a little money in licensing fees, or buying the rights to use it. You do not just go and steal it. That is so very wrong on many terms that I can’t even think about how your parents would have treated this. Woodshed possibly if you are old enough? Leather strap across your backside perhaps? Yes, in many circles of society they say “child abuse”. It appears to be more part of parental neglect in the case of the people that authorized the stealing of the intellectual property of Visto.

This of course isn’t over yet, as Visto has also gone after companies such as RIM, Microsoft, and Good Technology Inc. The company Seven Networks also plans to go back to court in June. The original award of the jury trial, which the judge above upheld, was $3.6 million. That means – if you are wrong, pay the fine and do the time! The new judge tacked on interest and other fees. Do the math.

Technically Speaking, I don’t think too many companies out there today get it. Ethics, it’s a whole subject that should be gone over. No, I’m not teaching that class tonight.

AOL what is left?

Well the news is hitting right now (breaking story below link)now that more people on the executive level are leaving or getting tossed aside. The AOL PR machine is not commenting. What is left? AOL is basically dead in the water and that is literally speaking.

The leadership is jumping off or getting thrown off. The people (workers) are getting laid off. So is there any reason for AOL to exist in it’s current state? Who is left running the show?

Technically Speaking, I guess someone will flip the light switch and the computers will take over at some point. Seriously, AOL needs to be bought out and absorbed into a bigger company. Which one do you think will buy the remains? Yahoo or Google or Microsoft? Do you think there is another player that could snap up this dead beast and revive it? Maybe a VC?

Why Not?

Well this “Why no one asked Bill hard questions” has been on my mind for a minute, and it’s quite obvious. When you are invited to sit in the same room as the man that basically changed the PC world with his software licensing idea, you listen. Allot of people have forgotten how the computer world was prior to Microsoft’s dominance. Put it this way, there was none. If you wanted to be in computers, you better learn mainframes, COBOL, Assembly, pick, binary coding, etc… etc… serious up people – before Bill the computer world really took some serious engineering minds. Before you jump on that statement, please read, and I’m not saying that people today are stupid!

If you are invited to a Q&A like this, you ask appropriate questions of the man. Just like when Ross Levinsohn took time out of his day to grant Rex Dixon the interview, I kept it nice and to the point. Did you all enjoy that interview? I would say you did from the stats I saw on it.

In other words, you don’t go to a big shindig dressed in a suit jacket and open toed sandals. Yes, Technically Speaking, I’m going to beat that one to death. It’s a great example of where new meets old and old becomes new again while keeping your intergrity of being new. Do you get what I’m saying?

Do NOT archive your e-mail!

The above title is according to Microsoft longtime Windows development chief James Allchin. He even told Ballmer in 2004 in an e-mail that he wanted to by a Mac. In fact he told the above to his people once Microsoft was under the gun. Don’t archive, or keep your e-mail beyond 30 days. Google you might want to learn from the sins of your fathers, Technically Speaking that is.

Google and Yahoo both bow to IE7

Yes, some call it copying. Others just call it smart.

I think that Google wanted to run an ad, and ran with something simple. Something that Yahoo already tried and it worked. Why reinvent the wheel? I mean as a blogger, I write things on my own from time to time – when I have the time. Other times, I see something interesting like this and run with it.

Imitation is the biggest compliment to the original work. It shows that Google thought, why try to create something better when this works? It also shows that when you are just bowing down to the king, why not pay the tax and just be done with it?

If that was incoherent or you didn’t understand what I just said, please re-read it. Read with an outside the box mind. Read in between the lines. I don’t write for a 3rd grade class, and when I was in 3rd grade I was in one of those classes for gifted kids. I’m sorry if  sometimes I blog over your head, but what I am conveying to the blog reading audience is there. Just think for a minute and not consume.

Technically Speaking, I can’t hold your hand when you are reading my posts.