Lipstick On A Pig

No matter how much you slap lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig, and that's exactly what Windows 8 is. Well, metaphorically speaking anyway. I'm not sure why this isn't common knowledge: Windows 8 is nothing more than a touch UI (in this case metro) slapped on to a severely crippled desktop UI.

There's a reason why the start menu has held it's ground for so long: it is tweaked and optimized for a mouse. The desktop operating system is built for these input devices. I would understand if Microsoft took the metro UI and tweaked it to have all the same features as a desktop operating system would. I would love to see a Windows operating system built from the ground up to be optimized for touch and come tablet like hardware and have the capability to plug in to a second monitor. Imagine being able to throw videos to your monitor while browsing the web on the touch screen and you will understand the type of interface that I am hoping for in the future. As it stands, Windows 8 is just lazy coding on Microsoft's part.

aolOS?

Something occurred to me when looking at iOS 7. The colors are reminiscent of AOL back in the day when AOL was so brightly colored that the colors burned in to your retinas and felt like salt, lighter fluid, and fire (all at the same time) in your eyeballs.

What the HELL happened? Apple is supposed to have great design, right? Maybe they need to resurrect Steve Jobs. The reason that I love iOS is the software is so fine tuned and polished that it's pleasing to the eye and pleasing to work with. Why ruin one of those two things? What possible reason did they have to make their top operating system look like something from a teen girl's magazine (I occasionally glance over my shoulder in the checkout lane after grocery shopping...)? I'm not sure if the new features would be worth the eye strain. 

I'm Not Game

Recently, I came to the sudden realization that I haven't been a true gamer since I owned a Nintendo 64 back in the day. I am what some would call a casual gamer. I play games to pass time in between productivity. I can't stand to be on break, so I play Uno as a mindless task to stave off boredom. It's not that I don't enjoy gaming, though. I'm just extremely picky. I enjoy innovation and a good story. I enjoy things that entertain my brain. I love Portal and Portal 2 for this very reason.

If I'm going to spend a few hours on something, I want to be totally immersed in to another world. I want my brain to be exercised. I don't want to slump in to lethargy while killing yet another alien with a weapon that hasn't been invented yet. Unfortunately, that's most games. I am not interested in gaming consoles anymore. The real innovation has been occurring on the PC for awhile now, and so much so that consoles have been catering to independent PC developers. So why should I buy a console when I already have the innovative games on my PC?