Shirish Ranjit

Microsoft released their much anticipated operation system software Vista. After years of delay, Microsoft has shipped Vista to its business customers and soon to be released to its consumers. Vista suppose to be Microsoft’s most advanced operating system, or is it that advanced? Lets take a look at some reviews.

Mike Elgan in his blog at (http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=655&blogid=4) made six major points on Vista. They are:

• Vista is incomplete
• Vista is expensive
• Vista wants a new PC
• Vista is time-consuming
• Windows XP isn’t obsolete
• Vista may be the best reason yet to buy a Mac

First point, we can infer from Microsoft’s history of releasing software that Vista is not stable as XP. Though it has taken many years to build Vista, as Mike mentioned not many hardware and also software are ready for the prime time yet.

Second point is that Vista is priced very high in the era of free and open source software. It is so high that you can buy Mac Mini for that price.

Besides price point, third point is that Vista requires a new computer. It will not run on your old computer if you want to take all the features that Vista provides. This makes you think, is Microsoft tacitly supporting Linux (free and open source) operating system? Linux is going to work on all old hardware. Linux had been have been building device drivers for years to support many different hardware vendors.

The forth point is that Vista is time-consuming to install and upgrade. Users require learning new operation system. If thats so, Linux looking much cheaper solution.

I have been using Windows 2000 and XP. I think they have developed to the point both operating systems are stable. I have spent numerous hours working with those two system to work for me. I am not sure I need a new software that I need to spend a lot of time to be productive. So, why should I upgrade when XP is working well.

The sixth point sums up the first five. If it is so expensive to upgrade and use, why not just get Mac when they have the OS that Microsoft has just released for number of years. There are many reviews that just points that Vista is almost clone to Mac OS X operating system.

Following are some interesting publications on Vista.

Kin Mingis installs vista on his mac and writes about his experience. His experience is that Vista is very similar to Mac OS X. His point is that Mac OS X has been around for a number of years, thus this is not a break through in interface design.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/27/vistavsmac/index.php?lsrc=mwrss

This blog compares Mac OS X with Windows Vista with screen shots. The screen shots looks really similar. Where is the imagination of Microsoft genius’.

http://lifehacker.com/software/top/windows-vista-beta-a-lot-like-mac-os-x-179909.php

This is a review on Vista. “Has any OS been so maligned and so praised during a painfully long development cycle as Windows Vista? The march to Vista’s launch has sometimes seemed longer than the Hundred Years War.”

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=8149

A brief introduction on Vista.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128404-c,vistalonghorn/article.html

A detail article on Vista in New York Times. You need to have subscription to read it though.

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00713F93D550C748CDDAB0994DE404482

Some hardware vendors giving away coups for Vista, check the following site

http://cnet.nytimes.com/4532-10921_7-0.html?keywords=Laptops

Tim Allix’s title of his article “Solution: Go buy a Mac”

http://www.whistlerquestion.com/madison%5CWQuestion.nsf/0/267842D9E62D77A78825726E006A458E?OpenDocument

Google News on Vista

http://news.google.com/news?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&channel=s&tab=wn&q=vista&scoring=d

Shirish Ranjit

Microsoft released their much anticipated operation system software Vista. After years of delay, Microsoft has shipped Vista to its business customers and soon to be released to its consumers. Vista suppose to be Microsoft’s most advanced operating system, or is it that advanced? Lets take a look at some reviews.

Mike Elgan in his blog at (http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=655&blogid=4) made six major points on Vista. They are:

• Vista is incomplete
• Vista is expensive
• Vista wants a new PC
• Vista is time-consuming
• Windows XP isn’t obsolete
• Vista may be the best reason yet to buy a Mac

First point, we can infer from Microsoft’s history of releasing software that Vista is not stable as XP. Though it has taken many years to build Vista, as Mike mentioned not many hardware and also software are ready for the prime time yet.

Second point is that Vista is priced very high in the era of free and open source software. It is so high that you can buy Mac Mini for that price.

Besides price point, third point is that Vista requires a new computer. It will not run on your old computer if you want to take all the features that Vista provides. This makes you think, is Microsoft tacitly supporting Linux (free and open source) operating system? Linux is going to work on all old hardware. Linux had been have been building device drivers for years to support many different hardware vendors.

The forth point is that Vista is time-consuming to install and upgrade. Users require learning new operation system. If thats so, Linux looking much cheaper solution.

I have been using Windows 2000 and XP. I think they have developed to the point both operating systems are stable. I have spent numerous hours working with those two system to work for me. I am not sure I need a new software that I need to spend a lot of time to be productive. So, why should I upgrade when XP is working well.

The sixth point sums up the first five. If it is so expensive to upgrade and use, why not just get Mac when they have the OS that Microsoft has just released for number of years. There are many reviews that just points that Vista is almost clone to Mac OS X operating system.

Following are some interesting publications on Vista.

Kin Mingis installs vista on his mac and writes about his experience. His experience is that Vista is very similar to Mac OS X. His point is that Mac OS X has been around for a number of years, thus this is not a break through in interface design.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/27/vistavsmac/index.php?lsrc=mwrss

This blog compares Mac OS X with Windows Vista with screen shots. The screen shots looks really similar. Where is the imagination of Microsoft genius’.

http://lifehacker.com/software/top/windows-vista-beta-a-lot-like-mac-os-x-179909.php

This is a review on Vista. “Has any OS been so maligned and so praised during a painfully long development cycle as Windows Vista? The march to Vista’s launch has sometimes seemed longer than the Hundred Years War.”

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=8149

A brief introduction on Vista.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128404-c,vistalonghorn/article.html

A detail article on Vista in New York Times. You need to have subscription to read it though.

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00713F93D550C748CDDAB0994DE404482

Some hardware vendors giving away coups for Vista, check the following site

http://cnet.nytimes.com/4532-10921_7-0.html?keywords=Laptops

Tim Allix’s title of his article “Solution: Go buy a Mac”

http://www.whistlerquestion.com/madison%5CWQuestion.nsf/0/267842D9E62D77A78825726E006A458E?OpenDocument

Google News on Vista

http://news.google.com/news?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&channel=s&tab=wn&q=vista&scoring=d

Shirish Ranjit

Microsoft released their much anticipated operation system software Vista. After years of delay, Microsoft has shipped Vista to its business customers and soon to be released to its consumers. Vista suppose to be Microsoft’s most advanced operating system, or is it that advanced? Lets take a look at some reviews.

Mike Elgan in his blog at (http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=655&blogid=4) made six major points on Vista. They are:

• Vista is incomplete
• Vista is expensive
• Vista wants a new PC
• Vista is time-consuming
• Windows XP isn’t obsolete
• Vista may be the best reason yet to buy a Mac

First point, we can infer from Microsoft’s history of releasing software that Vista is not stable as XP. Though it has taken many years to build Vista, as Mike mentioned not many hardware and also software are ready for the prime time yet.

Second point is that Vista is priced very high in the era of free and open source software. It is so high that you can buy Mac Mini for that price.

Besides price point, third point is that Vista requires a new computer. It will not run on your old computer if you want to take all the features that Vista provides. This makes you think, is Microsoft tacitly supporting Linux (free and open source) operating system? Linux is going to work on all old hardware. Linux had been have been building device drivers for years to support many different hardware vendors.

The forth point is that Vista is time-consuming to install and upgrade. Users require learning new operation system. If thats so, Linux looking much cheaper solution.

I have been using Windows 2000 and XP. I think they have developed to the point both operating systems are stable. I have spent numerous hours working with those two system to work for me. I am not sure I need a new software that I need to spend a lot of time to be productive. So, why should I upgrade when XP is working well.

The sixth point sums up the first five. If it is so expensive to upgrade and use, why not just get Mac when they have the OS that Microsoft has just released for number of years. There are many reviews that just points that Vista is almost clone to Mac OS X operating system.

Following are some interesting publications on Vista.

Kin Mingis installs vista on his mac and writes about his experience. His experience is that Vista is very similar to Mac OS X. His point is that Mac OS X has been around for a number of years, thus this is not a break through in interface design.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/27/vistavsmac/index.php?lsrc=mwrss

This blog compares Mac OS X with Windows Vista with screen shots. The screen shots looks really similar. Where is the imagination of Microsoft genius’.

http://lifehacker.com/software/top/windows-vista-beta-a-lot-like-mac-os-x-179909.php

This is a review on Vista. “Has any OS been so maligned and so praised during a painfully long development cycle as Windows Vista? The march to Vista’s launch has sometimes seemed longer than the Hundred Years War.”

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=8149

A brief introduction on Vista.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128404-c,vistalonghorn/article.html

A detail article on Vista in New York Times. You need to have subscription to read it though.

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00713F93D550C748CDDAB0994DE404482

Some hardware vendors giving away coups for Vista, check the following site

http://cnet.nytimes.com/4532-10921_7-0.html?keywords=Laptops

Tim Allix’s title of his article “Solution: Go buy a Mac”

http://www.whistlerquestion.com/madison%5CWQuestion.nsf/0/267842D9E62D77A78825726E006A458E?OpenDocument

Google News on Vista

http://news.google.com/news?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&channel=s&tab=wn&q=vista&scoring=d

This the page on the baby nursing

Breastfeeding Experience

By Jarina Shrestha

Breast feeding is an ideal nature’s system and the ideal food for a baby. Only mother is able to nourish baby at the breast. It is as much better and less expensive than the formula.

I read books and watched videos on the breastfeeding before my daughter was born. I thought that this would prepare me enough to breast feed easily but it was not as easy at the start as I thought. Breast feeding needs lot of patience and commitment. My husband and I knew that we need to put the baby on the breast as soon as after born. But we were so excited and watching her activities and completely forgot about that. After a couple of hours of delivery, babies go to deep sleep making it harder to feed.

I could not breast feed her at all for first couple of days. She was not latching on the breast. But I didn’t give up. I kept trying to put her in the breast. Even she was not on the breast, I was expressing breast milk to maintain milk supply; and we feed her the milk that we collected from breast expression. We finger fed her so that she can learn to latch on the breast. To make sure that our baby breast feeds, we avoided bottle all together for at least six weeks.

At first breast feeding was so difficult that I felt extremely depressed because I was not able to feed my child. After a couple of weeks persistently trying to breast feed, the baby along with finger feeding started to latch on to the breast. Because she was still not latching properly, my nipple got damaged. It took patience, persistence and support from my husband and the family for the baby to latch on properly from the seventh week.

Breastfeeding has been a wonderful experience for me. Breast feeding is not only feeding the baby, but also brought me close to my baby. I want everybody to know that breastfeeding exclusively is great. It is a great investment of time and commitment that will pay high rewards for both mother and baby. I would recommend that if you can breastfeed, do it. It is definitely worthy.

Also published in www.kathmandumetro.com issue 03 – 2006

Breastfeeding: My experience-II

By Jarina Shrestha

It was an amazing experience how milk supply works. I heard about women unable to nourish baby due to lack of adequate milk supply. I was worried that I would not be able to supply enough milk for my baby. I learnt from the books and classes I had taken about breastfeeding that breast milk is basically demand and supply. The more you feed your baby, the more milk you produce. In the beginning, I thought that I was not producing enough milk. I was constantly watching my daughter’s wet and poop diaper to make sure that she was getting enough milk. Also, I was feeding her frequently and expressing milk after each feeding to increase milk supply.

I have heard people saying to eat this and that to increase milk supply. But my experience was defiantly balanced diet is necessary for nursing mother to increase the milk supply. You also need to stimulate your brain, which happens from baby’s sucking or expressing milk to make more milk.

The first few weeks after giving birth were a critical time for establishing the milk supply. My daughter was not latching properly. During that time, I frequently empted the breasts to maintain the milk supply, this set and controlled the level of milk production. I knew that the milk supply can rapidly drop if the baby is not sucking properly or is not latched on well to stimulate the milk production process. I was frequently feeding my baby even at night. I didn’t give a bottle to my baby even at night because it often leads to a low milk supply. Because of my husband and family members’ great help, I was getting enough rest during the day and good nutrition, so I was able to breast feed at night, which helped me to maintain my milk supply.

The breasts work on the law of supply and demand. The more baby “tells” mother’s breasts to make milk, the more milk she will have. By allowing your baby to nurse more frequently for a few days, your body will receive the message that more milk is needed for your growing baby. Once your supply has increased, your baby will usually return to his/her usual routine.

Also published in www.kathmandumetro.com issue 02 – 2007

Our experience in parenting.

By Shirish Ranjita

Cell Phone often called mobile phone is becoming digital equipment that has become an inseparable piece of a personal decoration. One could say that cell phone is like an ornament to a person. As there are many different types of ornament to meet every individual’s taste, there are many different types of cell phone too to suit everybody’s taste. 

In USA, the most popular phones are flip phones with the key pad covered by the upper screen. In Europe and East Asia, the popular phone seems to be a small phone without a flip cover. There are many varieties of cell phones to suit everybody’s need.

In the beginning, cell phones used to be only for telecommunication. However, current-makes and models of cell phones can do many things besides talking to your best friend. Most of the cell phones have camera and video systems. In addition, cell phones have a text-messaging system, music player, wireless internet, and now even your personal digital assistant (PDA). So, many small-personal devices are merging to become an everything-in-one-device cell phone. 

In our experience, the audio-video system has been a great feature that tends to be not-used as often as it should have been. This has been one of the under-used features due to the fact that the phone companies in USA have prevented cell-phone owners to download data from their phone without paying charges to the telephone company. There are few devices that allow owners to download data directly to their computer; but these devices are between far and few.

In USA, the most popular phone has been Motorola Razor Thin. It is slim phone with elegance. Its features are camera, MP3 player, Bluetooth wireless, and a voice-activated system. This phone lacks PDA. The Bluetooth feature allows connecting the wireless phone to other devices such as an earphone or a computer. 

Palm makes Trio model cell phones that include PDA features with a large screen. It is not a flip phone but has a camera and memory expansion slot for music and data. Trio is mostly commonly used by business folks who require their emails and calendars handy.

Cell phone as an ornament has various optional features besides talking-features. Many different models are available for the reason that different people have different tastes for their ornament.

Also published in www.kathmandumetro.com

Mac vs. PC: Things you need to know

By Shirish Ranjit

PC the short form for Personal Computer is widely known for a computer with Microsoft Operating System Software. Mac is the short form for Macintosh Personal Computers from Apple, and has an Apple-operating system that works on UNIX Operating System Software.

Apple computer first came with desktop display on its early version of personal computers. Apple has focused on desktop publishing and high-end desktop users that require faster and robust desktop computers. This led to Apple’s product line of high-end desktop, which is useful to desktop publishers, graphic designers, and movie animators. Apple has focused on producing high quality software for those users. However, Apple did not focus on producing office-productivity software such as MSWord, Excel and so on. Microsoft provided the office-productivity software for Mac.

Microsoft has primarily focused on providing software for personal computers. They developed a command–line-based-operating system called DOS and licensed it to PC makers. Eventually, Microsoft dominated the operating system for PCs. Microsoft’s Windows are very similar to Mac desktop. The Microsoft’s operating-system products are Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 2000, XP and the latest version- Vista.

Microsoft was able to use the knowledge of its operating system to produce better office software such as MSWord, and Excel. Since Microsoft based PCs are so prevalent, there are many different software for various needs. However, Mac has software for only certain specialized users.

So, a user needs to know a particular type of system that meets the need out of different types of computer systems available in the market based on the cost and benefit.

Most of the computer users at home have their needs fulfilled by PC with Microsoft operating systems. However, since the explosion of Internet, there have been many viruses to break into the system or crash PCs. These viruses have been particularly affecting Microsoft operating systems and causing many failures. This is probably the most negative aspect of using Microsoft Windows on Internet. Besides virus, Windows has been an unstable system. However, they have been improving their product quality.

Mac has a robust-operating system with robust hardware that makes using Mac much more enjoyable. Mac system has been hardly affected by viruses. The only drawback is its high price and fewer software products available. However, Mac also has been improving their software products.

Lately, many software providers have been providing their software for both Mac and PC.

So, you need to determine whether you want to buy Mac or Microsoft-based PC. Though Mac is pricy compare to PC, they have better hardware, performance, and security while lower price PCs are vulnerable to viruses. Mac is easy to connect and use Internet. It is also easy to connect with other computers. Though the software in PCs has been improving their software reliability and security, it is still open to viruses and unwanted crashes.

Also Published in www.kathmandumetro.com

iPod vs Zune – Battle for your ears:

Zune is the Microsoft’s attempt to get into the music-player market. Though Zune is hyped as a more than iPod, it falls short of iPod in many respects. First of all, Zune lacks the image “Coolness” of owning one. In the case of iPod, you do not have to show you have an iPod, your ear plug shows it. On the features side, Zune cannot do video playbacks and lacks the support for host of audio/videos notably podcast and audio books. In comparing display, Zune has larger pixels that cover its large screen making the display less of quality compare to the iPod’s half inch smaller display.

Zune trumpeted the wifi and radio tuner features but when exchanging songs, it can only exchange songs with other Zunes only. The wifi feature it has cannot connect Internet or the wifi network for exchanging data. Songs received from another Zune can be played only three times or remain in Zune for three days. After the expiration, you have to buy songs from the Microsoft’s music store.

You can use iPod as your data store as well as your PDA. However, Zune is just a MP3 player for which you have to buy songs from Microsoft’s music store with credit points that are harder to figure out how much it cost. For example, 79 points buy a song which costs 99 cents for buying a song for iTune. The Zune music stores also provide subscriptions. However, when subscription expires, the songs you bought with it also expire. Whereas, the iTune music stores provide you with a song for 99 cents and let you have it forever.

The wheel on an iPod is the coolest feature but Zune has only the feature that looks like it but actually is four navigational keys.

So far, a coolest music player has been iPod; Zune does need to make any dent on the coolness of the iPod yet.

This page about the technology.