Teching It Easy: Windows Vista & 7: News and politics

Congratulations Usain Bolt!

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:06:39 GMT

This is a great day for my country, Jamaica. Usain Bolt has proven to the world what an amazing athlete and individual he is. Clocking a world record 9.69 at the Beijing Olympics in China easily taking the Gold for 100m with confidence and pride.

Usain Bolt - Gold Medal 100m World Record Olympic Champion

Congratulations must also go to Trinidad and the USA who both took the Silver and Bronze respectively.

Technorati tags: Usain Bolt, Olympics, China, Beijing, Lightning, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, Asafa Powell, Michael Frater, Gold, 100m, 2008, Summer, August, Beijing Olympics

Sorry for not posting in a while

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:15:03 GMT

Hi everyone,

Its been a long while since I posted something. As you probably know, due to the recent passage of Hurricane Dean which severely impacted the Southern part of Manchester where I reside, I have been without electricity since August 19th. A lot of electricity poles have been badly damaged in the surrounding areas, so it will take some time before they are fixed and before power is restored. I am writing this now from an Internet cafe in Mandeville.

Cross Keys town square, South Manchester

Its rough, but I am thankful for life and that my family and friends are safe and sound, including my pets and live stock. I will be off line for a while until things get back to normal, but, I will come on every now and then just to keep in touch with close friends and family. I have uploaded some pictures of the damages, the one above is a picture of the town square of Cross Keys. As you can see, a building was destroyed where bars and shops once stood. You will also see the damages to my home and property. Its just the tip of the ice berg, many schools and churches not to mention houses were damaged badly. My roof is fixed, just waiting on the electricity, I wish the best for others who are not so lucky.

That's all for now, I just want to say thanks to all my friends and readers for their constant prayers and support and I hope to be back in gear soon. Damn, its rough being without Internet for weeks! Until then, take care.

Andre

More Pictures here

Technorati tags: Hurricane Dean, Jamaica, Damage, Cross Keys, South Manchester, Disaster, Mandeville

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 05:02:21 GMT

Its 2006, WOOHOOO!

Looking back at 2005 and Looking forward to '06

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 04:47:06 GMT

The new year is almost over, so what can say about 2005 in conclusion? For me, it was a year of ups and big downs, one most regrettable was the lost of my dear friend, Marisha Swaby, who passed away in August. I miss her very much and never would have thought in a million years she would not be here with us this New Years eve. But God new best, he took her so soon in life to do greater work in heaven. May her soul rest in peace and may her family find peace in all the good works Risha has done during her very short time on earth.

As for other parts of 2005, the release of BETA 1 of Vista was a positive one, and thats one of the positive things I continue to look forward to in the New Year to see where the development of this blockbuster goes. I hope to see a change in Jamaica in the coming new year, with an end to crime, violence, corruption and more job opportunities for people across the island. Most of all, I wish for no more natural disasters since 2005 seemed to be the year of it. I hope peace and prosperity across the world and continue to pray that everyone on earth can just get along.

Well, thats all from me for now and oh, Happy New Year when it comes.

Happy Birthday Bill Gates

Fri, 28 Oct 2005 16:32:50 GMT

Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman & Chief Software Architect

Related news: MTV Think forum with Bill Gates

Hurricane Emily: Good Riddance

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 15:26:10 GMT

Well, the storm has finally past! "I can see clearly now the rain is gone, I can see obstacles in my way"

My yard was flooded out last night and there were so many obstacles lying around, zincs, tree logs and few dead chickens from the neighbors. But all is well, the Sun is back out and the clear blue sky is a sight to see. Thankgoodness though, it could have been worst, last year when Hurricane Ivan swept through Jamaica I was without electricity for nearly a month, (it was horrible).

Some folks had it rough, houses either crumbled with them in it or blew over their head. Someone was recalling an experience during Hurricane Ivan where they had to go over to a neighbors house to stay because their roof started leaking. When they went outside, the rain was like needles sticking them in their faces. So, thank goodness Emily was not as bad, but I must say it left some huge crater pot holes on the road.

More Hurricanes are expected to past through the Caribbean this year and its just the beginning of Hurricane which is suppose to end in November, so far its 2 out of 15.

I want to thank everyone for their concern, kind thoughts and encouraging words, I really appreciate it and they kept me going through out the night!

Emily: A strong and dangerous category 4

Sat, 16 Jul 2005 21:09:38 GMT

From Weather.com

Quote:
With winds of 155 mph, Emily has beaten out Dennis for the honor of strongest July hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin. Emily remains a small but very strong and very dangerous major Category 4 hurricane. If the sustained wind were to increase 1 more mph, Emily would become a Category 5 hurricane. Emily continues to zip to the west-northwest at 18 mph heading into the western Caribbean. The torrential outer rain bands may dump from 6 to locally 10 inches of rain over the mountains of Jamaica and 4 to 7 inches over the Cayman Islands. Flooding and mud slides are possible. The rain bands may possibly produce a few wind gusts to near hurricane strength in the mountains and along the south coast of Jamaica today and then over Grand Cayman Island later tonight into Sunday. A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica and for the Cayman Islands. A hurricane watch is in effect for the Caribbean side and northern side of the Yucatan. A tropical storm watch is in effect for the northern half of coastal Belize.

Check out Weather.com

Jamaica is not a nice place to be right now, trust me.

'Live 8' Stars Got $12,000 Goodie Bags

Tue, 05 Jul 2005 20:18:32 GMT

Sunday, July 3, 2005 9:55 a.m. EDT

Rock stars who lent their talents to Saturday's "Live 8" concert to fight poverty in Africa reportedly performed for free, but that's only if you don't count the luxurious "goodie bags" that were provided by organizers at one venue.

In Philadelphia, each celebrity performer was treated to a Hugo Boss duffel bag loaded with high-fashion trinkets valued at about $3,000, according to The Associated Press.

And that's not all.

The altruistic artists were also feted in a special luxury lounge, where they reportedly chose from an array of expensive parting gifts.

Some of the items scarfed up by the compassionate crusaders:

Hugo Boss suits, valued between $800 and $1,000 each

XM satellite radios and subscriptions worth $500

Gibson guitars costing $2,000 each

Bertolucci watches, valued between $1,500 and $6,000

In all, a poverty-fighting rock star worth his salt could walk away with as much as $12,000 hunger relief loot, the AP said.

"We want this to be a thank-you to the celebrities who are giving up their time and energies," explained Nicole Cashman, whose firm was tagged by organizers to put the pricey goodie bags together.

No word yet on whether any of the leftover Hugo Boss suits and Bertolucci watches will be given to starving Africans.

Its possible that Live8 turned out to be a big bust, how sad.

Happy 4th of July

Mon, 04 Jul 2005 21:13:56 GMT

I just want to wish all my North American friends a Happy Independence Day.

Andre

Bill Gates takes the stage at Live8

Sat, 02 Jul 2005 18:44:38 GMT

From Silicon.com

Microsoft boss wows the Hyde Park crowd...

Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates made a surprise appearance at the Live8 concert in London's Hyde Park today to urge world leaders to do more to ease the problem of Africa's crippling debt and extreme poverty.

Gates' presence on a stage shared with the likes of Elton John, REM and Coldplay may have seemed out of place to some but he was also in the presence of famous friends and fellow humanitarians such as U2 singer Bono.

Gates was introduced to the crowd by Live8 founder Bob Geldof who praised the charitable work of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and hailed the software tycoon as the world's most important philanthropist.

Read the rest here

I don't see anything strange or fascinating about Bill Gates at Live8, since we use his company's technologies everyday, whether its listening to music, productivity work or surfing the web, we are connected to him in some way. Most important of all is his philanthropy through the Bill & Milinda Gates Foundation which seeks to eliminate the biggest problems around the world today in terms of lack of medicine, food and terminating poverty in the developing and third-world countries. So Live8 is really a big part of what Bill Gates is all about.

My Opinions on the Michael Jackson Trial

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 18:01:55 GMT

Ok, a lot of you maybe wondering why I am talking about this, but I believe I should, I own all of his major studio records. I was born in the Thriller mix, 1983, when Michael Jackson was at the top of his career!

I believe Michael Jackson was innocent from day one; it was just too hard to fathom him, molesting a “cancer” patient and boozing him up with alcohol “Jesus Juice”. Gavin Arvizo got to know Michael Jackson through his sickness and got the opportunity to spend what seemed his last days through Mr. Jackson’s care at his Never Land Ranch, Santa Barbara, California. Miraculously he got better and a wholesome, honest and “non-sexual” relationship began in 2000 but was doomed to end in March of 2003.

All along, a mother was plotting up what could have possibly been the biggest shakedown of a celebrity this 21st century. To be honest with you, if I were Mrs. Arvizo, I would have done the same, if I were Gavin, I would have done the same, who wouldn’t have taken a chance to gain millions and end up never having to work another day in their lives. With Michael Jackson’s eccentric behavior and past history with children and prior allegations, this was a sure hit!

What ignited the accuser and his mother to bring up the allegations was as a result of the end of their stay at Never Land Ranch. The good times were about to end, Gavin had gotten better, and it was time to move on. But he couldn’t, after 3 years of living a jet-set lavish lifestyle it was just too hard to part with for grand mothers house compared to the acres of lush free open space at Never Land, with endless rides, care free, doing anything you want approach to life that Michael encourages among children at Never Land. Not to mention the trips to expensive resort hotels, and you didn’t have to go to school! Damn, I need to meet Michael Jackson myself and introduce my mother, I got a serious case of the flu and I don’t think I’m going to make it! LOL

I am not entranced by the celebrity of Michael Jackson, the moon walk has not turned me into a worshipping zombie. But I look at the individual, a human being who has worked hard all his life. The lost chances as a child not being able to experience the social world of growing up among other children. A lot of mothers reading this may say, I’m an idiot and I suffer from a natural lack of maternal instincts. But I would like to ask you, when did maternal instincts turn you into someone who brain washes your children into using their sickness for personal gain?

I can see Gavin, at the age of 18 filing his civil lawsuit for another opportunity (one way ticket) for money from Michael Jackson. It will only prove along the intentions of this family, which was to maintain a lavish lifestyle. Its sad to see a young man’s life destroyed, you will probably hear 5 years from now he committed suicide or is in drug rehab. Why? You destroyed an honest friendship with one of the biggest super stars in the world over “money”, you gained nothing out of it, bad publicity, the worst mother in the world, no way to escape the bad publicity (to be always be known as an arrogant liar), and possible abuse from Michael Jackson fans he may encounter in the future.

But the biggest loss maybe the hundreds of other children Michael may have lost trust in. What about the other cancer patients who probably could have benefited from the love and care of Michael and experience of being in a world such as Never Land where the theme revolves around pure innocence? Michael I believe will become more secluded than he already has been for many years. Michael insist he has not been betrayed by children, it’s the adults who have let him down, but in this case, three children from the Arvizo family did let him down.

I hope he recovers from this ordeal. My recommendation is for him to take a two-year rest, reevaluate his life. Concentrate on your family Michael, then turn back to your music and start the journey to a come back career. If James Brown can be performing at age 67, why can’t you at age 49 or 50? We need more of his kind of Pop, the N’sync, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlakes have failed us all and have become has beens.

He still has a lot left in him creatively to exploit and I believe he needs to take advantage of that. I definitely agree with Jurors in the case when they said, he has to change his lifestyle, meaning, getting rid of the yes men, the big guy with the umbrella and just come back to the real world a bit. When I correlate Michael of today with Michael of the 80’s, I see two completely different persons psychologically. Michael needs to recapture that normal interest in him.

Pope John Paul II dies at 84

Sat, 02 Apr 2005 22:39:10 GMT

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II, who led the Roman Catholic Church for more than a quarter century and became history's most-traveled pope, died on Saturday evening, the Vatican said in a statement.

“We all feel like orphans tonight but our faith teaches us that those who believe in the Lord live in him,” Archbishop Renato Boccardo told a crowd estimated at St. Peter’s.

The news was immediately announced to around 60,000 gathered in St Peter's Square.

"Our Holy Father John Paul, 84, has returned to the house of the Father," Archbishop Leonardo Sandri told the crowds.

Bells and tears

The statement was met with a long applause, an Italian sign of respect. Bells tolled and many people wept openly. Others sang the “Ave Maria” and other hymns.

Read the rest here

American Education System is lousy, Gates

Mon, 28 Feb 2005 17:30:29 GMT

WASHINGTON — Addressing the nation's governors, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (news - web sites) delivered a scathing critique of U.S. high schools Saturday, calling them obsolete and saying that elected officials should be ashamed of a system that leaves millions of students unprepared for college and for technical jobs.

Gates was speaking as the invited guest of some of the nation's most powerful elected officials, at a National Governors Assn. meeting devoted to improving high school education across the country.

"Training the workforce of tomorrow with today's high schools is like trying to teach kids about today's computers on a 50-year-old mainframe," said Gates, whose $27-billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (news - web sites) has made education one of its priorities.

"Everyone who understands the importance of education, everyone who believes in equal opportunity, everyone who has been elected to uphold the obligations of public office should be ashamed that we are breaking our promises of a free education for millions of students," added Gates, to strong applause.

Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, chairman of the nonpartisan association, said high school education was in need of an overhaul to raise standards and to closely align instruction with the requirements of colleges and employers.

"It is imperative that we make reform of the American high school a national priority," Warner, a Democrat, said.

The governors' winter meeting coincides with a push by President Bush (news - web sites) to extend elements of his No Child Left Behind initiative from the primary grades to the high school level.

The governors painted a dire picture of the state of public high schools, releasing statistics that, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, showed 68% of ninth-graders graduate from high school on time.

But, measuring a different way, U.S. government statistics show steady increases in high school graduation rates, particularly among whites and African Americans, although less so for Latinos.

For example, the high school graduation rate for adults 25 years or older was at an all-time high of 85% in 2003, as was the 27% share of adults holding at least a bachelor's degree.

Behind the national numbers, there is general agreement that wide disparities exist among high schools and that geography, income, race and ethnicity affect the value of a diploma.

"Only a fraction of our kids are getting the best education," Gates said. "Once we realize that we are keeping low-income and minority kids out of the rigorous courses, there can only be two arguments for keeping it that way: Either we think they can't learn, or we think they're not worth teaching.

"The first argument would be factually wrong. The second would be morally wrong."

Read the rest here

I suspect Mr. Gates will be running against Hillary Clinton in '08 elections.

One-on-One with Bill Gates

Thu, 17 Feb 2005 19:46:12 GMT

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 16, 2005 — Microsoft Corp. has for decades been on the cutting-edge of technological innovation. Company co-founder and chairman Bill Gates spoke to Peter Jennings today at the corporation's headquarters.

Gates talked at length about Microsoft's effort to upgrade security in the computer industry, his foundation's charitable work and his goals for the company.

Following is a transcript of the interview:

PETER JENNINGS: There are several stories in the newspapers this morning all about the speech you made in San Francisco about the state of security in the industry. How much of a challenge is security these days?

BILL GATES: Security is, I would say, our top priority because for all the exciting things you will be able to do with computers — organizing your lives, staying in touch with people, being creative — if we don't solve these security problems, then people will hold back. Businesses will be afraid to put their critical information on it because it will be exposed. People won't use their credit cards quite as much and buy things, and so it's really the thing we got to get right so that people don't think about it. So that it's just happening without their having to learn a lot of terminology and see a lot of user interface. We're making good progress on it.

JENNINGS: Microsoft is nonetheless accused of not getting it right and being slow to get it right.

GATES: Well, the whole industry has a challenge here. Because of Microsoft's central role, that means it's a big challenge that Microsoft has to step up to. Over the last year, people have been more and more complimentary of how we have made progress. We're focused on it, but a few years ago, people were being tough on us and I think there was a lot of validity to that.

Read the rest here

The part about his books is funny.

Talking about More Rumors Abound About Microsoft Looking to Buy Bloomberg

Fri, 21 Jan 2005 16:12:35 GMT

Is Microsoft going to, planning to, thinking about purchasing Information Provider Bloomberg?

Quote

More Rumors Abound About Microsoft Looking to Buy Bloomberg

Talking about The most amazing Tsunami picture

Mon, 17 Jan 2005 22:50:34 GMT

Got this off Canadia Hawks site, scared the living s**t out of me. Make sure to check out the picture. When you see things like these you thank God for where you live.

Quote

The most amazing Tsunami picture

Here is the most amazing Tsunami picture of it just hitting shore. It's absolutely unreal. I have chills down my back. Take a look at how high the wave is compared to the highest buildings. This is crazy...

Fake Bomb – accidentally confiscated

Tue, 07 Dec 2004 18:05:47 GMT

At the Charles De Gough Airport, France, a fake bomb used as a test in Bomb detection was accidentally taken by a passenger who was un-aware of their unconscious act, a very embarrassing move for security officials at the airport. They have said though that the fake bomb is harmless as a piece of chocolate. Really, then why did it blow up in their faces?

World Aids Day

Fri, 03 Dec 2004 19:20:18 GMT

I forgot to mention on this, but World Aids day was recognized December 1, and a number of activities have been taking place throughout this week. Aids is still a world wide epidemic that affects 38 million people, a majority in Africa, mostly women. Let’s take the time to have some awareness about what’s going on in the lives of many persons around the world affected by this dangerous disease. Fourteen thousand persons are said to be infected by the disease everyday.