Eltawil's Windows Live Space

1. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood.
2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.
3. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return from vacation on August 31st. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
4. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $10.99 for the first ten words and $5.99 for each additional word in your message.
5. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again.
6. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queueing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.
7. I’ve run away to join a different circus.

Check out the new Live.com site! Simple and clean. Exactly how I like it. That Live.com team sure doesn't leave any detail out.

I love the color scheme. Fits well with Vista users as well as all Windows Live members.

This will definitely be my homepage for quite a while. There is probably a lot of different changes under the hood so I will make sure to check it out.

If you're a long time Googler like myself, then you certainly won't regret test driving this beauty. You never know, you might actually make the switch.

Ciao for now!

I am not sure if Microsoft Office Live is trying to compete with Google Docs, but what I know for sure is that I wasn't totally impressed. Don't get me wrong, having such a service is always appreciated especially when it ties in with Office 2007 in terms of syncing documents. Plus it's free of charge. But Office Live still has a long way to go in order for me to see a competition against Google Docs.

On the other hand, Google Docs immediately impressed me right off the bat with their simple, user friendly and responsive interface. They have most, if not all, the tools I ever want to use when it comes to creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations. And it's all available on the web free of charge. That's when I started searching for Microsoft's answer to Google Docs and found about Office Live.

You might think I am leaning more towards Google Docs, but those who know me know that I stand by Microsoft's products and services. And as soon as I knew about Office Live I immediately added it to my favorites and I am confident that I will be using it often. Better yet, I even started sending feedback filled with suggestions and feature requests that in my opinion will further improve and promote the service.

But the thing that bugs me is the way the Live Services team tends to widen the gap between some of their Live services. I mean, we're all familiar with the commonly seen Windows Live bar with the quick shortcuts to Home, Hotmail, Spaces and OneCare. But what about SkyDrive, QnA, and Office Live? And even though they were still in beta, shouldn't they allow more people to use those new services in order to get more feedback by giving users quick shortcuts to the services?

After I visited the Office Live site, I didn't know if it's part of the Windows Live services or is it a standalone online service. If it's a standalone service, then why put a "Live" label on it? And if it's part of the Windows Live services, then why does it not have the Windows Live bar at the top, and why doesn't it follow the same look and feel of the other Windows Live services? I don't know why, but Microsoft got me used to leaving me confused with any new service it launches in beta.

You know something, sometimes I wish I was part of the Live team in order to share and work with them on some of my ideas which I am confident will help improve the commonly used and new Windows Live services. But all I can do in the meantime is wish.

What gets people's attention in the beginning is the interface and the overall look and feel of any software (either a client or web application). But after that first impression, what comes next? Does the experience end there?

Currently most software development companies focus on a couple of areas which includes the application's features and ease of use. But what's unfortunate is that's where the development ends. And once a user gets used to the software's interface and features, the wow factor ends. So what's missing here? How can the software development companies keep that wow factor and make users coming back for their products and not just that but also keep the company name in their minds?

What software lacks is the seamless and fluid interaction between the user and the software.

Applications needs to reflect what people experience in real life in order for the user to feel connected to it. For instance, when you change a view on a current window by clicking on a different tab, the window immediately changes and gives you the options available for tab selected without giving the user the feel that he/she are changing views. Now in real life, when a person wants to look at another direction he moves his head from one position to another. We need to implement what happens during that head movement into our software. Therefore, when changing views to another tab, for instance, we can slide the window from one side to another.

What we need is proper transitioning from any instance to another.

Windows Vista has added a couple of these transitions into the operating system (minimizing and restoring a window, tabbing or switching between open windows/applications, opening and closing windows/applications). But it still doesn't cover all aspects of the operating system's core functions especially when you open up certain options like the Display Properties or the Mouse Properties under the Control Panel.

When it comes to human interaction with computers, it deserves to pay a lot attention to what humans naturally want to see or experiencein real life.

I am not trying to write a review of the phone here since it's been done all over the net (just Google 'HTC Touch review' and see for yourself). Instead, I am just pointing out my likes and dislikes of the device.

First of all, I have to admit that I like the device's form factor. Small and thin enough to fit in your pocket and at the same time the screen is big enough to view and take pictures as well as read the latest news using your preferred RSS reader (I use and recommend Viigo).

The HTC Touch rubberized body gives it a nice feel and gives it a lot more grip. I didn't find it hard using the device for calling with one hand, although it did get a bit tricky when trying to type a message or a web address with the built in virtual keyboard using only your finger. That's when the stylus comes handy.

It comes with a loud speaker which can be used as a speakerphone during a call as well as listening to music. The one major disadvantage is the memory. The phone seems to always complain about low program memory. I guess that's why HTC had to make a second generation HTC Touch with improved application memory capacity.

Nevertheless, the phone is sleek and practical for daily use with a great battery life.

Besides, the phone comes with a nice good quality pouch to protect the screen and the body from any bumps and accidental drops (something the Apple people should have considered including with their precious and ever so popular iPhone).

My boss and I decided to exchange cell phones for the long weekend. So I got the HTC Touch and he got the iPhone. I have previously owned a Windows Mobile 6 Professional device (HTC Advantage 7501) so I know my way around the operating system, the only addition is HTC's TouchFLO. Honestly, it's one of the many missing pieces that Windows Mobile desperately needs which is some way to make the interface intuitive and a lot more finger friendly. But once you get out of the TouchFLO experience, it's back to good old Windows Mobile again. And even though Windows Mobile allows running multiple applications, the HTC Touch can't seem to handle it because of its small memory.

The thing that is totally noticeable about the iPhone is the simplicity. All tasks are simple, straightforward, and without a single complexity. Even if you have never used a cell phone before there is no doubt that you will immediately get the hang of it. Honestly, a freakin' monkey would certainly know his way around it in a jiffy. There is barely any advanced options. You can only use one application at a time. Everything is so strictly imprisoned by the Apple people and any change to the system files (which can only be accessed through SSH on a jail broken iPhone) would pretty much either crash the OS or permanently lock it for ever and ever.

In other words, it's certainly not intended for power users such as myself.  Apple wants you to be a good boy and only use what you see on screen. Period.

But the truth has to be told. There is no phone that does those simple tasks as well as the iPhone. Windows Mobile cannot be compared (it's way off the chart). Nokia's Symbian OS is also generations behind. And, from the looks of it, Google's Android still lacks the finger friendly and intuitive UI.

So if you're someone who is only interested in a phone that sends & receives calls & messages, as well as a built in iPod, and an internet mobile device for surfing (not chatting...yet), then by all means get yourself a glossy shiny iPhone. Oh and don't forget to get yourself a case for it since it doesn't come with one. Oh and a small cloth to clean the screen after every use. Oh and a screen protector. Oh and a pair of gloves so you don't get it smudged. Oh and...no I think that is pretty much it.

This doesn't happen all the time, but I thought I would mention it anyway.

Today, I clicked on the iTunes icon on my iPhone to check out the top 10 in numerous genres. I noticed the album arts are not loading. I kept going back and forth and flipping between genres but that didn't seem to solve the issue. And since there isn't a refresh button I decided to quit the application and start it up again. Still, that didn't do the trick. Some genres seem to display the album art with no trouble but some don't. So what's the deal here?

So I left my iPhone for a while after turning OFF wifi. When I came back to it after a couple of hours, turned wifi ON, and sparked up iTunes, the album art now seems to be showing fine.

So was this an issue on the iTunes server side or was it an iPhone bug? Or was it a connection issue from my side?

We may never know. But still, it's a strange issue that I thought was worth mentioning. After all, it has something to do with the iPhone.

• Out of Foreign Customs, March 13, 2008, 7:51 am, CANADA
• Into Foreign Customs, March 10, 2008, 6:45 am, CANADA
• Arrived Abroad, March 10, 2008, 6:45 am, CANADA
• International Dispatch, March 04, 2008, 7:08 am, NJI
• Electronic Shipping Info Received, March 01, 2008

So now I know the package is FINALLY released from customs but no idea on the exact whereabouts. This is certainly by far the longest time I had to wait for a shipment coming from the States. For God's sakes, the origin of the shipment is just eight hours away from where I live! It would have been faster if I picked it up myself. And you know what the worst part of it all? The shipper told me that he upgraded the shipment to Priority Service and I should be getting it in two to three business days.

As you can tell, I have been complaining a lot about this shipment and I am at the point where I don't care how long it takes anymore just as long as the package arrives with no absolutely no damage to what's inside.

So the question now is: Will I get to enjoy the content of the package before the weekend or will I have to wait till next week?