Assuming you had the right hardware, properly loaded software drivers, and the gods of fortune were smiling favorably upon you, Windows Vista brought what was arguably one of the biggest changes to the Windows User Interface since Windows 95. XP really warmed over what had already been accomplished, then wrapped it in some plasticy looking windows. By contrast, all versions of Mac OS X have delivered serious updates to the user interface, though we will have to wait to see what, if anything, Snow Leopard presents us.

Microsoft’s highly anticipated Windows 7 operating system fixes many of the problems in the tragedy that is Vista. However, when it comes to one thing, Microsoft still doesn’t understand what they are doing. It has been announced that the Windows 7 SKU (stock keeping unit) will offer six different varieties of the operating system. Six!? Really, Microsoft, you had to chop up the features in your operating system and spend the time creating six different versions of it? If you ask me, this is one area where Microsoft really falls below the standard in producing software.

Apple has fired back in the ad wars. See the ads here, read thoughtful analysis of the point Apple seeks to make here or here. More important than this second round of cinematic squabbling, however, are reactions to the campaigns: blogs the world over are sounding off with reactions, analysis, ranting…even remixes! In all the confusion (as though presidential campaign ads weren’t enough, right?), it can be helpful to pause and consider the messages Apple and Microsoft are sending.

Darwine, the OS X port of the popular wine compatibility layer, has reached a stable version 1.0. Thanks to Mike over at kronenberg.org, it is available pre-compiled and ready to run. Until now, the alternative has been to download the source from SourceForge, which requires compiling the code. Version 1 updates include localization fixes for more »