Aug 29, 2001, 5:50pm

I'm starting to warm up to the iPaq.... I'm even forgetting a few niceties I missed from the Palm.

To the right you see my HIGHLY customized iPaq screens. I've managed to tweak it to the point where it is completely branded with my company name and logos and stuff. Pretty sweet. I like that. Microsoft will probably remove all this functionality in the next version of the PPC platform, codenamed Merlin :-(

See, I really don't like F%^k-u-soft. (my new pet name for Mikeysoft, which was my old pet name). I don't like XP and it's overhead bullshit from authentication to Bobisms everywhere. I don't like that they change supposed "standards" (standards that Microsoft created themselves) with each new release of major software. I don't like their whole "we're Microsoft, we know what you want to do today, so don't bother trying to change it" phoque you 'tude. It seems to get worse with each release they make.

Case in point. IE 6 came out a few days ago. So I installed it. At first, I didn't notice anything different... my menus were as I had them in IE 5.5, the icons were the same... waitasec... where are the control tabs for changing the toolbar positions? They're gone! WTF? Now I have the » symbols all over the place in my less-than-maximized windows. It took me about 10 mins to find a new F%^k-u-Soft "feature": locked toolbars. On by default. Thanks Microsoft.

Then I noticed that some of my Windows Explorer windows had changed. I spent a LOT of time on my Win2K installation to get rid of a lit of F$%k-u-Soft "features" like hide extensions, show friendly bullshit, show "smart" menus, etc etc. I want details, so I had to make sure I set all my Win Exploder windows to do so. Turned off anything remotely related to active desktop.

With the IE 6 installation, Microsoft figures I must be personally phoqued and that when I said I want my window pane to display file details, that must be wrong, and defaulted back to big phoquin' icons.

Screw you F%^k-u-soft. :-)

0 comments | reply

Mixelania

Photos from Algonquin Park
Photos from my trip to Algonquin Park this fall with my Mom and two brothers.

War Stories

Making Snow for the Fortress
One of the worst jobs I ever had... till I got out.

Webiffied

Tools I Use
The tools I use to build websites and lead a tech life.

iPod and iTunes Offline

iMark's iTunes and iPod isn't iPlaying anything right iNow.

Most Recent Songs

Fiddlers Green by The Tragically Hip

Around The Bend by Pearl Jam

Here With Me (Rollo's Chillin' With the Family Mix) by Dido

With arms open wide by Creed

truffle pigs by Matthew Good Band

In the News

Burundi and Beyond - NY Times
Great article by Peter Meehan - provided some background.

St. Petersburg Times
Side mention in an article about good machines

AP Story on Espresso
Background and information provided

NY Times - Grinders Article
Especially proud of this one - got the reporter to focus on grinders

Globe and Mail
LOL - showing bad reporting, dude says I'm an American-based site!

The Olympian, WA
Talks about my love for the El Sal Siberia Pacamara

Seattle Times - Clover
Interviewed for comments on the Clover brewer

NY Times - How it Works
Background and information for various espresso machines

Time Mag Article
Just a brief mention, article about roasting beans.

NY Times
Front page article about consumers getting into specialty coffee.

Washington Monthly
Quoted reference to what I wrote in an article at CoffeeGeek.

USA Today - Barista Jam
Intereviewed for my thoughts on what the epitome of espresso is.

WSJ Article
The Wall Street Journal has interviewed me 3 times. This is the first time my name got in a story.

Reuters Interview
Interview with Reuters, Jan 2 - this is the USA Today version.

My Other Stuff

CoffeeGeek
Launched Dec 22, 2001, this is THE online community for espresso and coffee fanatics.

CoffeeKid Website
It's all new, as of March, 2002. My personal coffee obsession site.

WebMotif Services
My company's site - needs an update!

Amazon WishList
Hey, if you feel the need to buy me something, check here!

Daily Visits

enGadget
Great gadget site run by the guy who used to do Gizmodo.

Google News
This is how I get my daily news fix.

DPReview Forums`
The most active forums for digital photography online today.

Daily Zen
Need my Daily Zen fix!

Jalopnik
A blog about car stuff. Vroom Vroom.

MoCo Loco
An industrial design blog. Very cool stuff.

Friends and Family Plan

Beata Blog
Beata's got her own blog! She updates it most days.

Riddla on Flickr
Matt Riddle's flickr account, updated regularly

Irdy Photos
Irdy, my friend from Jakharta, on Flickr

Recent Acquisitions

Canon EF 24-105 f4 L Lens
The best lens I've ever owned. Super sharp and quick.

Canon 5D
A full frame dSLR, with luscious colour reproduction.

Alzo Digital Lights
Some amazing florescent cold lights for product photography

Canon Xsi dSLR
Amazing technology and image quality in a tiny package.

Canon 40D
Latest prosumer camera from Canon - a much better upgrade than the 30D

Fujitsu P1610
Great 2.2lb computer that does most of my travel / writing needs

28mm f1.8 Lens
A great lens for closeup work and full picture photography

Foodsaver Advanced
Finally got the right tools for freezing green coffee.

Canon 50mm 1.4
Most amazing lens I've ever owned. Produces stellar photos.

Canon 10-22mm
Super wide angle (full frame fisheye) zoom for my Canon 20D