I was looking at the Mini web site earlier tonight -- well designed overall, except for the terrible pop-up experience. There's a lot of fun lurking around the web site, from the prose on the web site to the general attitude through-out the site. I ignored the site though while I was looking around and an alert box was displayed, with the following text:

Sorry to interrupt, but haven't you been in front of this computer long enough? We here at MINI are worried you're not getting enough exposure to the sun and stars. Don't worry, we'll be here all week. So, get going. Save your retinas for the road.

Posted by Aaron at 9:54 PM | Permalink

Not software / technical, but if you'd like to see any available crash test ratings for a car you own or a vehicle you're conisering, check out safercar.gov from the NHTSA (US). It's in the blue column in the middle.

And, if you'd also like to check out the pollution, fuel economy (in MPG), and green house gas score for a vehicle, head over to the EPA's Green Vehicle Guide.

Every so often, I take a look at new car options -- these web sites should help make a better informed decision (if I decided to buy that is!). Anyone know of other sites like this that aren't review sites?

Posted by Aaron at 9:36 PM | Permalink

Photosynth, from Microsoft Live labs. Only screen shots available for now ...

"Photosynth is an amazing new technology from Microsoft Live Labs that will change the way you think about digital photos forever."

Posted by Aaron at 11:26 AM | Permalink

I haven't tried it yet, but the Adobe Lightroom Beta is now available for both Mac and Windows here. Anyone seen any indication of final price?

(OS X Lightroom screen shots)

Posted by Aaron at 7:40 AM | Permalink

Virtual PC 2004 SP 1 is free, download it here. Virtual PC 2007 will also be free (and support Windows Vista).

Posted by Aaron at 8:09 PM | Permalink

Paint.NET v2.64

New

v2.64 Released: July 8th, 2006
This small updates fixes a few minor bugs, and improves Windows Vista compatibility. As a bonus, it also adds much better GIF save quality.

• Improved GIF save quality by implementing Floyd-Steinburg error diffusion algorithm
• Printing now works in Windows Vista
• Fixed a startup performance problem on some systems that was an artifact of the way the .NET Framework was verifying Authenticode signatures as part of its assembly loading process
• Executable files now have UAC manifests to ensure proper execution privilege and to disable file and registry virtualization in Windows Vista

v2.63 Released: June 4th, 2006
This small update fixes some more relatively minor bugs, and makes the built-in updater much more convenient in Windows Vista.

• Built-in updater now works in Vista without having to use "Run as Administrator" beforehand (UAC permission is still required to install updates)
• Fixed a color intensity calculation that had Red and Blue swapped (affects Brightness/Contrast adjustment, and some plugins)
• Fixed .PDN images with transparency having a black background in their Explorer thumbnail
• Fixed crash when an image has bizarre DPI settings (such as 6 billion DPI)
• Fixed crash when an image has an invalid resolution unit specified (neither pixels, inches, nor centimeters)
• Fixed a few rare race conditions which resulted in crashes
• Fixed a rare crash with the history
• Fixed crashlog being created when the updates dialog appears over another modal dialog
• Fixed crashlog not reporting application version with certain damaged installations
• Placed a clickable Windows Live OneCare ad in the Setup wizard

Posted by Aaron at 8:27 PM | Permalink

Phill Ryu's blog, "The top ten most beautiful OS X apps."

What would you nominate for the PC? I wouldn't put anything on the list for the PC that requires a non-default skin, etc.

Or, what are some of the ugliest? Freeware not included?

I can't find a single PC application installed on my workstation which I'd say was beautiful. Some cleaner than others, but nothing noteworthy.

Posted by Aaron at 4:02 PM | Permalink

The koobox mini vs the Apple mini:

The koobox mini is $200 less, but half powered, and Linspire is preinstalled. There are several models, but it isn't clear if it's user upgradeable.

Posted by Aaron at 5:50 PM | Permalink