The browser war has gone too far. I came across this website yesterday that literally stopped me from accessing it, because I was using Internet Explorer.

Getting the facts out of the way, Internet Explorer 6 is very insecure and non-standards compliant, but IE6 SP2 and IE7 improves that dramatically.

So this administrator has enforced a server-side script that checks my browser identification for the words “Internet Explorer”, and then if found, redirect me to a page promoting Firefox. What he forgets is that I could be using any variants of Internet Explorer, IE7 in this case but could extend to any newer versions, some of which could be just as secure and compliant as Firefox, so should I still be blocked access from the site?

The administrator calls it a “boycott of IE”, but in reality, it’s a boycott of his users who use IE. Why the hell would you want to do that? Why would you prevent potential visitors from viewing your site just because his or her choice of browser is different to yours? If you want people to change, educate them, don’t force them. For any reasons possible, some users can only to use Internet Explorer due to technical or external reasons, should they be punished for something they don’t have control of? This is not so different from another form of prejudice we all oppose, discrimination.

On a side note, the administrator also notes

I’m doing this in retaliation to there (Microsoft’s) exploitation of power to bully flash user and promote their MS sparkle. It’s time that the Flash community stands up agaist this attack on us.

This is just plain stupid. Microsoft Sparkle is an user interface design tool, similar to Macromedia Director or Adobe Photoshop. Sparkle makes XAML (XML markup) for WPF/E, which enables Flash-like rendering capability on devices ranging from cell-phones to internet browsers, and if anything, it’s a direct competitor to Adobe Flex, not Flash. So Microsoft is hardly bullying the Flash user, in fact, they may even bundle Adobe Flash player in Windows Vista if Adobe allows them.

What a strange site.

With great classics such as Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A bug’s life, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, it would be hard to believe anything could go wrong with Pixar movies. Cars is the latest candy in the bag, but is it the sweetest?

In Australia alone, Cars marketing is everywhere, prime-time TV advertisements, billboards, posters and aisles of merchandising. It opened in 370 theaters Australia-wide grossing over $3 million, earning it the top spot for the opening weekend. But in the week that followed, even a cheap cash-cow sequel, The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift averaged higher in sales, leaving Cars with 45% less gross than the opening weekend, forcing it to runner-up position.

For the 3 weeks that Cars has been released, it has only earned a weak $8.4 million gross. On the other hand, even Ice Age 2: The Meltdown earned $13.4 million in the first 3 weeks, and $16.7 million in 4 weeks.

Could that mean Pixar is losing its touch? I don’t think so. I enjoyed and loved Cars, perhaps not as much as its predecessors, but still memorable. My dad also enjoyed it. But some kids didn’t as much. There were even times where they lost interest in the movie. Was the story too difficult to follow? I believe so. Were the jokes too mature? Absolutely. Scenes like when Sally was offering McQueen to stay at a Cozy Cone seemed unnecessary long, what could have been a few lines or dialogue to communicate her embarrassment, became a mouthful of repetitive statements and prolonged character movements.

In contrast, the prelude short “One Man Band” was spectacular. A wonderful storyline, lovable characters, entertaining visuals and music in a very short time. Possibly the best Pixar short so far. The Car’s soundtrack is also a masterpiece. The unique selection of ‘up-beat’ country music is both fitting and enjoyable to listen to in and outside of the movie, the score is also superb. I purchased a copy right away!

I certainly do hope Ratatouille will do better.

It was in 2002, Google launched its internal enterprise searching solution, the Google Search Appliance and the Google Mini.

Today, Google brought these products into the land that few US corporations recognise as a developed country, Australia.

It never fails to surprise me how many global IT companies simply neglect providing content or services relevant to Australia. Google Maps only discovered Australia had roads a month ago, although still failing to deliver acceptable satellite images to most metropolitan area. And don’t get me started on Live Local maps. And it doesn’t end there, its not hard to find products or services that isn’t usable in Australia for a few years after its initial launch.

Don’t neglect Australia.

ninemsn, is an Australian internet portal. Formed in 1997 costing $50 million as a joint venture between MSN, the ‘internet services’ provider by Microsoft and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, the parent media company of Channel Nine, a leading television network in Australia founded by the late Kerry Packer. It hurts me to know that 7.69 million people visit the website each month looking really really hard for news, information and services.

This is what it looked like in 2003. This is what it looked like in 2005.

I’ve always wondered how much content there is on the front page. So I took the liberty of highlighting the stuff that wasn’t content, which was easier than finding what was.

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The best way to experience the Vista betas, or any operating system for that matter is to dual-boot. Dual-booting offers you next to maximum performance, whilst maintaining the best compatibility with your existing operating system to either continuing using, or to assist in the migration to the new OS.

Microsoft has made it relatively easy to dual-boot Windows Vista with your existing XP installation. Here’s a quick guide outlining the basic steps you need to undertake to get to a working Vista desktop environment.
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Adopted from Frank Arrigo. Presumably born in China, quite young, 3″ tall, loves holding a stylus, smiles a lot, big feet, has several tattoos, doesn’t like talking, leaves no mess, great at providing stress relief.