Day: February 15, 2009

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Betaware: MS’s HDView

More betaware from Microsoft, and I guess this is kind of cool, but something I simply cannot foresee as having any use for me. Photography buffs may see it differently.

HDView

HD View is a new viewer developed by Microsoft Research’s Interactive Visual Media group to aid in the display and interaction with very large images.

View some panoramas. There’s even a link to stitch some of your own together (stitching is visible, more or less). Funny thing: the MS website complained about my browser (Opera) and stated categorically that the HDView plugin would NOT work with it, that it was only compatible with some less-advanced browsers like Internet Exploder and Firefox. *heh*

Wrong. Stupid browser sniffer. I just told Opera to mask itself as Firefox in the “site preferences” tab and–bingo! The plugin downloaded, installed and all was well.

Stupid browser sniffer.

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Wal-Mart+Microsoft=Juggernaut of Doom?

Or a really interesting development?

Who knows?

The guy who will start–tomorrow!–as “Corporate Vice President of Retail Stores” for Microsoft spent 25 years in Wal-Mart management, the last big bunch in upper levels. Is this a signal that Me$$y$oft is getting serious about retail sales or will this be a cross between Microsoft Bob and low-end WallyWorld?

Again, who know? But it will be instructive to watch as this unfolds.

“There are tremendous opportunities ahead for Microsoft to create a world-class shopping experience for our customers,” Porter [the former Wal-Mart guy] said. “I am excited about helping consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases, and we’ll share learnings from our stores with our existing retail and OEM partners that are critical to our success.”

*huh* “[M]ore informed choices”=”brainwash with hogwash”? Maybe, maybe not. Too soon to tell. If a Me$$y$oft store opens up within driving distance of America’s Third World County, I’ll report back in on my experience “shopping” in one (“shopping” because I’ll likely not be buying)

Anywho, Welcome, David Porter, to the wonderful world of Me$$y$oft retail!

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