talkingDigital

N*E*R*D Creative Commons License photo credit: Jazmin Million

It’s here! Our Windows 7 party is TONIGHT!! and we would love to see you there. No need to RSVP – we won’t have enough napkins anyway. Just show up with some sort of munchies and be ready to learn about what’s new in Windows 7. Rick Castellini of HelpMeRick.com will also be on hand and we will be doing presentations throughout the night.

Rumor has it we will also be testing the waters to see if there is still a high demand to reconvene the digital photography user group.

So, whether you are signed up or not, we invite you to our Windows 7 party tomorrow night from 6-8pm at the Grand Junction Realty Office.

All of the details you need, can be found here (those words are a link – click on ’em). Feel free to use the form to ask questions if you have any.

I have been using Windows 7 for a few days. So far, I am pleasantly surprised at how snappy it is and how much Microsoft has cleaned up the interface. It is in most ways an improvement, even over Windows XP.

While I enjoy Windows 7, I have to wonder what Microsoft was thinking with the new character wallpapers. I will admit that I don’t hate them – I am a fan of Salvador Dali and similar artists that create disturbing artwork with great detail. Essentially, this is what you get with the new Windows 7 character wallpapers.

Some of the wallpapers seem to be a little Yellow Submarine inspired, others have a Powerpuff Girl’s appearance while a few are seem like they were inspired by nightmares of a 4-year-old after watching a Tim Burton marathon with a Wizard of Oz chaser.

Windows 7 Release Candidate Wallpaper: Characters – Windows 7 release candidate – Lifehacker.

Podcast: Play in new window

This podcast is a rant. The day I recorded this podcast I had sat in on a roundtable discussion with a group of journalism (newspaper) professionals. After listening to them discuss the struggles of the newspaper industry and advertising, I decided to ask their opinions on social media.

As soon as they began talking I wished that I had a tape recorder running. It was very surprising to discover that social media is not a part of new media – according to the participants who can’t figure out how to get their readership back.

I really messed up the episode number this week. As you will hear, I did the podcast shortly before 2am and I was a little nutty. The episode should be interesting. Few things are better than an rant recorded at 2am.