Bing appears to produce solid search results, and displays those results in a clever format that Google currently lacks. Results for video and images are displayed in a clean layout. Simply hovering your mouse over a video box provides an instant preview of the video. I am very impressed with the seamless video preview! Previews are likewise provided for page links in the search results. Related searches and your personal search history are listed in a pane on the left side of the page.

Overall, I think Bing is a big move in the right direction. While some have mocked its name, it has the potential to make major waves in the realm of Internet search. Microsoft may have finally got it right this time. Nicely done.

Back in the 1990s, I always lamented the dual Windows offerings, which at the time were Windows 95/98 for home users and Windows NT/2000 for business users. Later, when Windows XP was released, it still had two flavors, with Home and Professional editions available. I was at least pleased that both of them fell under the umbrella of a single product, XP. Fast-forward many more years, and Windows Vista came in four versions: Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. I think this confusing lineup has been partly to blame for Vista’s slow acceptance, though that is only one small aspect of what people have not liked about Vista.

Microsoft has apparently not learned any lessons from their past decisions, and seem content to confuse their customers all the more. They are charging forward with six editions of Windows 7. Really? This is completely asinine to say the least. Upgrading from any of the four different Vista releases to any one of the six new Windows 7 releases is sure to be a complete nightmare. I am really fed up with the state of Windows today. I believe that at this point, adding even more editions of Windows to the already absurd lineup is a monumental mistake. It gives the public a perception that the new Windows is going to be even more bloated and confusing than the last one.

In 2006, I bailed on the Windows world and became an overnight Mac user. As such, I can confidently say that I use the one and only Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system. Every other Mac user has the same installation and feature set that I have on my Mac. As Steve Jobs once said, mocking Microsoft, “Everybody gets the ‘Ultimate’ edition.” Microsoft should do likewise, with one single Windows 7 product to debut on the market. Then again, I suppose that would be too easy on the end user, which is something that Microsoft has not shown much interest in over the years.

After a year has passed, I’ve finally grown sick and tired of typing on that small, uncomfortable keyboard. I wanted a new one, preferably one that was ergonomically split. I went to Staples to buy my keyboard, as they had the best prices that I could find in a brief online search. When I got to the store, they didn’t end up carrying the old Elite keyboard, but they did have a newer, more spiffy one called the Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, which conveniently was on sale.

This is the nicest, most comfortable keyboard I have ever used. It is virtually silent, and the keys fit my hands like a glove. The soft, fuzzy palm rest is a great addition, too. It came with software for Windows and Mac. I’m using it on my Mac now, and all the extra buttons work just as they should. The volume, browse forward/back, calculator, all work great. I will mention that the space bar is a little stiff when I push from the far end of either side. Hopefully that is simply because it is brand new. I’ll recommend this keyboard to anyone who prefers to compute in first class.

I’ll admit that a cold launch of Entourage is noticeably slower than the other programs. I did a memory test of Mail, iCal, and Address Book, and they totaled a use of 78 MB real memory combined. Mail.app alone was using 47 MB all by itself. In comparison, Entourage, after extensive use, used 78.5 MB of real memory — Roughly the same as the combined others.

At first run, my Mail data was imported with ease into Entourage. The address book was not so easy, and ended up doing most of it by cut/paste. I wasn’t able to find an exporter that would arrange my data so that Entourage would be happy with it. There is a sync option in Entourage for the Mac Address Book, but I didn’t try it.

In Entourage, I like the flexibility in assigning categories and rules to my mail. There is so much you can customize. Data searches are powered by Spotlight, which are lightning fast. I like how I get a message preview popup when mail arrives. That said, it would be nice if Office would use Growl as an option for popups, but it works just fine as-is. Personally, I like how Entourage stores all of my data in a single file on the hard drive, but this does create a burden with Time Machine. A single change of any kind to your information in Entourage will cause Time Machine to back up the whole Entourage data file again the next time it comes around. (This is one reason I chose to set Time Machine to backup manually.)

One possible annoyance to me is that there is no simple way to “auto Bcc” myself, or another address. I like to shoot a copy of my outbound mail to Gmail, so I can store it there, too. The only way to do this, that I’ve seen, is to create a Rule to redirect outgoing mail to another account. It does work, but it creates a duplicate message in your Sent mailbox for every piece of mail you send out. I can’t figure out how to automatically delete that extra copy, either.

My liking of Entourage mostly boils down to the fact that when I was a Windows user, I preferred Outlook 2003 to any other client. Entourage is the closest match to that on the Mac. It may not always behave in the same way that you have come to expect from Outlook, but it is a very powerful application in its own right. I plan to use Entourage 2008 exclusively for the near future on my Mac.

Personally, I hope they fail…and fail miserably. I am no fan of Microsoft. Their decades of corporate greed and endless bullying of their rivals has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I think the company should have been broken up years ago. I believe they still operate a monopoly today, at least in the business world, and they abuse that power at every opportunity. Microsoft is all about stealing others’ ideas and claiming them as their own. I have watched for years as they relentlessly stomped on anyone trying to get a foothold in the business. The systematic destruction of the Netscape browser was among the most personal.

I think Microsoft’s web services stink. I do not like MSN or the new Live.com. Funny, I remember when Microsoft bought Hotmail.com and made it their own. It went from being a cool, hip place to send mail via the web, to a bloated, cumbersome service littered with advertisements. I remember once, years ago, when Microsoft updated individual user preferences for Hotmail account holders to include incorporate new privacy options. In doing so, Microsoft forcefully and deliberately set each and every user account to allow their addresses to be used for targeted advertising. Is that what you expect from a company you supposedly trust?

I happen to like Yahoo. The site is still a great online destination, and they have an immense array of product offerings. I admit that I use Gmail instead Yahoo Mail, but that doesn’t mean Yahoo is lacking. I do read Yahoo News and visit My Yahoo on a daily basis. I also use the Yahoo Messenger, Yahoo Widgets, Yahoo Answers, Flickr, and Del.icio.us, just to name a few.

If Microsoft becomes the controller of Yahoo’s services, I am planning to cancel each and every one one of those services when/if it goes into effect. I won’t have any part of being a Microsoft web customer. Period.

Go away, Microsoft. Leave Yahoo alone!

After I recently upgraded my desktop machine to IE7, I actually tried using it for a night. In fact, I am using it right now as I write post to my blog, something I never normally do. I have to say I am fairly impressed with it. IE6 had become a dinosaur years ago. The new version can render pages much more quickly than its ancient predecessor. Tabbed browsing has finally arrived to IE, although a few years late in the game. Security is supposed to be tighter than the swiss cheese that plagued IE6. Time will tell on the security situation. One thing I do like about version 7 is how it behaves in full-screen mode. When you enter this mode, the browser window literally consumes the whole screen. The live web page reaches all the way up to the highest pixel. Impressive.

A long time ago, before Firefox, I used an overlay program for IE (now called Maxthon) to add tabs and a better interface. What Microsoft has now finally built into IE7 looks to me to be better than what the overlay program once was. The clean, uncluttered interface and overall polish of IE7 certainly deserves a nod. If you like using IE and haven’t yet upgraded, you should do so, and not look back.

Some have suggested yearly service packs, regardless of their content, that come out at the same time each year. I support this idea. I think that automatic updates have made Microsoft lazy about making service packs. Even if each of these is no more than a collection of updates that you have applied already, it would make installs and reinstalls easier, and provide some small piece of mind for users.

You should know I have played every version of Flight Simulator since version 95. Long, long ago, I even had an even older version that came on 1/4″ floppies. Ancient! I can’t imagine what it would look like today if it were presented side-by-side with its modern equivalent. Today’s 2004 version comes on 4 CDs and uses 3 GB of hard drive space if you choose the complete installation. Wow! A far cry from the old days of computing. To my dismay, you must keep the fourth disc in the computer in order to launch the game. I am sure this is to deter copying, but it is also a bit of an annoyance.

The new game has a lot to like. The graphics engine in the 2004 version uses the new DirectX 9.0. Scenery and landscapes look crisp and detailed. Improved Air Traffic Control makes the simulation very realistic with other airplanes in the sky around you. Communication with the ATC and airport tower are essential for safe flying. The game boasts having 24,000 airports around the world coded into the game. There are add-ons that one can purchase to add aircraft, graphics detail, and scenery to the game. I do not have any of these. The aircraft that come with the game give you a wide range of planes to enjoy. You can fly something as basic as the original Wright Brother’s airplane, a number of single-engine planes, up to a 747-400, and even a helicopter. I cannot seem to find a Concorde to fly, though I remember seeing one on the box cover for the old 2000 version of FS. Perhaps that plane is available in the Deluxe or Pro versions of the game. I don’t know. It doesn’t appear in my list and for that I am a little disappointed.

The game’s performance has been good, even though my computer is an aging Pentium-III. Lots of RAM and a great video card will help the performance. I have had good success while using modest settings in the game display. Of course, the better your computer, the more you can crank up the settings and detail. I’d imagine this game would look breathtaking if it was maxed out to take full advantage of it. I do not know why, but this game has crashed on me twice while I was flying. That upset me, but I am not ready to suggest that it is the game’s fault.

If you like airplanes and simulation games, then pick this one up. It is much more fun with a joystick. Using the keyboard is not smooth at all. The game has an online mode where you can fly in the skies with other real Internet users that are playing the game as well. I have not tried this feature, so I cannot comment on it. It sounds intriguing, though. My number one gripe about this game, as was true in the 2002 version, the airplanes do not crash properly when you hit the ground. The simulation simply stops and it says “CRASH”, without any fire or explosion of any kind. I think that sucks and takes half of the realism away. Also, make sure you don’t have the crash tolerance set too high the game, or your plane will bounce off of objects in a very cartoon-ish way, and keep on flying, which I don’t have to tell you, is ridiculous.

If you have version 9.0 (2004) of Flight Simulator, be sure to go online and download the 9.1 update.