Okay, I just checked my headlines, and came across this bit of hilarity. Dave Fester, Microsof’t Windows Digital Media Division General Manager, says:
Unless Apple decides to make radical changes to their service model, a
Windows-based version of iTunes will still remain a closed system, where iPod owners cannot access content from other services. Additionally, users of iTunes are limited to music from Apple’s Music Store. As I mentioned earlier, this is a drawback for
Windows users, who expect choice in music services, choice in devices, and choice in music from a
wide-variety of music services to burn to a CD or put on a portable device. Lastly, if you use Apple’s music store along with iTunes, you don’t have the ability of using the over 40 different Windows
Media-compatible portable music devices. When I’m paying for music, I want to know that I have choices today and in the future.
This is from Microsoft. (Emphasis mine.)
He’s right that Apple has a pretty exclusive grip on this. But, to quote The Register, “…perhaps Mac owners are collectively suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, because under the jackboot of this proprietary computer systems company, they don’t look such an unhappy lot.”
The Big Weekend is over, and it went surprisingly well. I did manage to complete everything I expected to. I won’t list everything, but Saturday saw the completion of a steak-and-mushroom pie that would be excellent if I’d remember to defrost the steak. And the microwave never quite defrosts thoroughly; the inside is still steel while the outside is turning into mud. But I made it, and even though the beef’s tough, it’s tasty.
AWANA was fun but busy. We were under-staffed; three adults instead of five, and the head adult was one of the missing. I was filling in for him, but we still had to rush intently to do it all. And some kids still complained because they couldn’t do seven sections while we were trying to make sure everyone at least got a chance to do one. But hey, they’re kids. They’re immature by definition.
I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon with my parents, sitting on a white deck surrounded by waving trees and flowers, letting the breeze bustle past me me as I cupped a mug of hot tea and listened to the soft tinkle of wind chimes. It was heaven.
Ah! I also saw Kill Bill on Saturday, which was very entertaining, as well as the first half of Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai. I’m afraid I don’t have time for full reviews now.
Now, I must get back to work.