Windows has its own 'Vim' (sort of)
It's definitely not vim. I'm just being snarky. But interesting to see how it does as it rolls out.
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Excel hits 40 years old
The excerpt that brought this to my attention was on Slashdot:
The business world's favourite software program enters its 40th year. The Economist: Excel has featured in plenty of workplace blunders -- though its defenders will be quick to blame human error. The financial world is littered with tales of costly spreadsheet errors. Excel has also been blamed for botching gene names in over a third of genomics papers (because it labelled them as dates); underreporting covid-19 cases in England (because it only had a limited number of rows in which to record the results); and disrupting the trial of January 6th rioters in America (because sensitive information was left in hidden cells).
Such snafus have not dented Excel's dominance. Might artificial intelligence (AI) steal its crown? With whizzy new tools powered by the technology promising to make data analysis easier, the familiar grid of numbers and calculations could soon feel outdated. Rather than replacing spreadsheets, though, AI might make them even better. Last month Microsoft introduced an AI assistant for Excel which lets users crunch data using natural-language prompts. Excel, and its faithful, aren't ready to be filtered out just yet.
To this I am reminded of a quote about the CIA: "Our failures are known, our successes are not." I think that's from a movie, but heck if I remember what.
Undoubtedly the snafus discussed above are big and important. But the literal trillions of dollars which are made and moved thanks to Excel is mind boggling and not reported on in the same way.
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An awesome list of Windows Freeware
I keep finding tools or apps I need to install on the new computer. As always, I went looking for lists of the best apps these days to make sure I haven't missed anything new.
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I find a certain amount of irony that I apparently had to use Windows to redeem my MLS Pass on Apple TV+. I tried to do in Linux and I kept getting an authentication error.
Also, when are they going to release an AppleTV+ app for Android? I'm going to be very frustrated not being able to watch matches on my phone.
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Process Explorer from Microsoft
I have had a weird ghost notification showing up on my computer and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It's a tiny window bar that says "Notification" and is always on top. No way to close it, etc. I can move it around the screen but it remains otherwise. I finally was able to find the culprit software by using the linked software tool from Microsoft. It lets you click on a window and find out the process driving it.
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I miss Linux
I miss running full Linux. Before my current laptop, Turk was running Lubuntu and I quite enjoyed it. This new laptop has a weird wireless card which Linux has not yet been compatible with. Every few months I try a new install to see if the card will start working, but no luck so far. And, sadly, my tech savvy is somewhat short of what is needed to figure it out. I've posted on forums a few times and have been led to believe the necessary driver is in the works and will be folded into Kernel eventually.
The weird thing is, I don't know why I miss it. There isn't something in Linux that I can't do in Windows. It's just different. I think part of it is that this computer has Windows 11 and I live in constant fear of it updating and bringing new ads into my life. I already have a pi-hole and various browser plugins designed to try and remove these internet nuisances from my life.
Or maybe, it's more the fear of being forced to subscribe to Windows one day. I know that won't happen without warning, but it seems an inevitable event and I don't want to participate in it.
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Interview with Nadella
A bit of a longread but I greatly enjoyed this interview with Satya Nadella. I didn't listen to the podcast and just read the transcription. Some great insights into how Microsoft, or perhaps Nadella, views Microsoft and its challenges. I particularly liked the insights that he gained during the pandemic.
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Remote Desktop 8 for Android
I knew Windows and Android were getting closer in their working together, but it was just today that I discovered there is an official Microsoft app for remote desktoping into a Windows machine on your local network. Very cool.
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