With Summer Will Come Windows 7: Upgrade Considerations For XP and Vista Users

Microsoft's next Windows Operating System, Windows 7 will be released sometime this summer (expectations are July). Whether you're using Windows XP or Windows Vista, you'll have the option of upgrading to Windows 7 (instead of having to purchase a full clean install package), and of course licensing cost and upgrade path will be different for XP vs. Vista.
Common sense dictates that Windows XP users will have more issues to consider than will Vista users, since hardware and driver compatibility gaps are bigger and more numerous with XP than with Vista. As far as pricing for the upgrade paths from either XP or Vista, nothing is announced yet, but prevailing opinion is that users of XP will pay more to license Windows 7 for upgrade than Vista users, but still not as much as full retail price for a new copy of Windows 7.
If you'd like to find out more, here's a really informative article over at Ars Technica.

Coming Soon: My first impressions of a design & publish software; Canvas 11, Do you Twitter and Tweet?

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Find PDF Copies of Owner's Manuals at OwnerIQ

For every gadget, appliance, and machine there is an owner's manual. You've probably got a few dozen laying around your home (or stashed neatly away in a file for easy reference). If you're like many people, you probably have fewer manuals than you should...because we're human and sometimes we lose things. Maybe you're one of the proud few who've never lost an owner's manual in your life (good for you). Whichever the case, you'll want to consider popping over to OwnerIQ, a website that lets you download owner's manuals in PDF format for free.

So Owner IQ is an obviously good idea for those looking to replace the manual they misplaced, that's a no-brainer. It's also a good idea to get a PDF copy of manuals you already have, especially larger, more complicated manuals that are much easier to navigate as a PDF than a booklet. Think of those feature-rich high-end electronics you own, and the massive owner's manuals they came with.

When you go to the site, you might as well register then and there before doing anything else. Why? Because once you've located the owner's manual you need, you'll be required to create a free account before you download the PDF. It does make sense, because the site lets you build a collection of manuals into a little library. This means if you lose the PDF copy you've downloaded, you just get another one. Once you've registered, select the specifics from the four drop-down menus to find your manual. Easy as that.

Of course, you have no guarantee that you'll find the specific manual you're looking for. However, the collection is building constantly, and as more people are using the site, the likelihood of finding the owner's manual you seek increases.

Coming Soon: My experience with imo.im, First impressions of Media Monkey

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Online Instant Messaging Client: Imo.im Startup Looks Good

Yes, I just talked about instant messaging clients a week ago with my post about Digsby, but I just got some info about another one, and it looks pretty promising. In fact, this looks so good I have to share it here before I've put it through the paces myself.
There's a web-based instant messaging startup called imo.im in its alpha testing stage (not a final release version) that's now available for anyone to use. Since it's an online service, there's nothing to download and install; no resource-hungry IM application sucking memory on your machine. Imo.im supports AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, Windows Live IM (MSN Messenger), Yahoo, Skype, and MySpace IM. It integrates these popular messaging services with voice and video support too, not just texting capabilities. The latest additions to the feature set make imo.im comparable to other popular messaging clients; you can edit contact icons and display names, "star" your favorite contacts for quick reference, block/unblock contacts, move them between groups, find contacts online or off, and of course there's the option of signing in as invisible. I should also note that imo.im has multiple language support is available; including but not limited to Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, Macedonian, French, and Turkish.
As I stated above, I have not yet given imo.im the benefit of my practical usage. I will be doing exactly that over the next few days, and I will report back with my results.
In the meantime, you should give it a try as well, come back and make comments to let me and the other readers know what you think. Head over to imo.im. When you get there, take advantage of the helpful links at the bottom of the page before diving right in...a little info goes a long way.

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Tips: Get More Mileage From Open Source Software

If you've seen some of my earlier posts on open source software, you'll see I'm a big fan. I encourage everyone to look for open-source alternatives to the sometimes ridiculously expensive paid software out there. It's not because I'm cheap (I prefer frugal anyway), but because I prefer to have my opinions and feedback considered as a user (an area that's sorely lacking with most paid software customer support).
In the spirit of being helpful, here are a few tips to get some major mileage out of that open source software you're thinking of installing.

Explore
Before you actually decide to download and install, you should do your homework. You would definitely do this for software you're going to pay for, so there's no reason not to inform yourself. Is it useful to you? What can you do with it? How does it work? Asking these questions of open source is important for productivity, but also ensures you don't install a bunch of software that's just going to take up space. It's also important to explore because open source is usually more feature-rich than paid, and may be more efficient to use. Once you've installed it, look through it again to see what features you missed before, and learn how to use them.

Use the Community
Your new open source software comes with a community of developers (who actually write and code the software), testers, and users like you. I've noticed that these open source communities are usually much more active, involved, and centralized than their paid software counterparts. Explore these communities, ask questions and make suggestions.

Update Regularly
Unlike paid license software, which commonly languishes for months and months before issuing significant updates/service packs, open source updates more often with more significant improvements. Take advantage of this, and check on a regular basis (you'll get to know the usual pace once you've used it for a while).

Spread the Word
Are you really loving that open source application? Talk about it, tell your friends, co-workers, family. Chances are they don't know about it, so spill the beans...most people will appreciate the fact that you shared such a good thing with them.

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Amazon Kindle 2: A Great Idea For Books Just Got Better

I love a good book. If it's an engaging fiction or a truly interesting non-fiction, I'm a captive page turner until I finish. And, part of my love of books has always been the mechanics of that page turning, the ink on paper, a good reading font, etc. However, I also appreciate technological developments. And Amazon, the worlds largest online bookseller who merged books with tech, giving us the Kindle Wireless Reader over a year ago..are about to unleash the Kindle 2.

The Kindle's straightforward purpose of downloading, storing and displaying a book with easy-to-read text hasn't exactly taken the world by storm yet, but the Kindle 2's improvements over its predecessor may change that.

The Kindle 2 is roughly the same height and width, yet definitely thinner, the display resolution has been sharpened and improved, and the page refresh speed has been punched up a bit. It will download a book in 60 seconds from a selection of over 230,000 books, and can store more than 1,500 of them. It does offer newspapers, magazines, and even blogs over its wireless connection as well.

The Amazon Kindle 2 will be released Tuesday, February 24 with a retail price of $359. I know it sounds a little steep (definitely out of my league right now), but considering the benefits of such a device, it's worth considering for serious readers.

Find out more by visiting Gizmodo's First Hands-on with the Kindle 2, then head over to the Kindle 2 page at Amazon.

Coming Soon: Desktop docks for PC users, Gmail keeps cranking out new features, An online fix for lost product owner manuals

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