Category Archives: Reviews

Reviews

Windows 7 – my first impression

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I was at a preview session for Windows 7 last evening and in short, I am impressed.

I am quite excited and encouraged by what I saw in the demos and from having a quick play with it on a netbook. Microsoft just might have got it spot on this time around but at the very least it appears to be a big improvement on Vista.

Windows 7 Taskbar peek
Windows 7 Taskbar peek

First impressions

It’s fast. Starting up a 1GB netbook running Windows 7 took what seemed like 1 or 2 seconds. As our demo guy moved through various apps and processes it seemed very nifty indeed.

It’s clear. From the visual aspect (lots of semi-transparency, large icons and a general feeling of de-cluttering) to the levels of windows involved in various processes, the whole OS is more simplified, straight-forward and easy to use.

It integrates. The demo we saw only showed syncing of Windows Media Centre between a PC and X Box but it was easy, seamless and quick considering the volume of media that was on the machine.

It’s fun. One of the interactions that I took a shine to was by clicking, holding and shaking a window, all other open windows are hidden. Theme packs (based on traditional Windows themes) are bundles of wallpapers, interface colour schemes, soundscapes, bookmarks, RSS feeds and more based on a specific country. There’s 20 ‘official’ theme packs to choose from with an Irish one available post-release via the Microsoft website.

Searching in the Start menu
Searching in the Start menu

Other good stuff

For designers the re-organisation of the font library sounds like a welcome change. If like me you have a few hundred fonts installed, selecting fonts from dropdown menus in Photoshop, Flash or even just Word is a bit of a nightmare. Windows 7 will automatically hide seldom-used fonts from these menus. Within the font library itself you can manually show/hide particular fonts and font families to your own preference also.

PSR (Problem Step Recorder) is a new addition to the Windows OS. Essentially, it’s a small program that allows you to record a screen-capture sequence of an interaction on your computer and submit it to Windows support to help resolve problems.

Windows 7 will also have full bio-metric support as well as support for third-party multi-touch devices.

Bad stuff

Admittedly, I haven’t done a huge amount of reading on it but I hear upgrading from Vista and indeed XP might be a bit of a nightmare. There’s no option currently available for non-DVD drive netbooks but there may be a solution released some time in the future.

When can I have it?

It’s on sale to the general public on October 22. If you’re a business customer you can get it right now under volume licsensing. Prices on their website are in dollars (boo) starting at $120. Follow them on Twitter as @win7ireland for updates and competitions or find out about upgrading from XP and Vista and all that jazz over here.

I’ve got no idea how easy/tough it’s going to be to upgrade my parent’s PC to Windows 7 but I’m going to give it a go when I’m down there in a fortnight. I think it’s going to make life a lot easier for them.

Many thanks to all the folks at Microsoft and Edelman Ireland for the demos, Q & A and the lovely surprise of a copy of the OS to take home.

Reviews

Absolut Fringe – almost curtains time

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Absolut Fringe
Absolut Fringe

So the the fabulous Absolut Fringe festival is coming to a close this Sunday the 20th :(

I’ve been lucky enough to catch a variety of shows over the past 2 weeks and on a whole they’ve been fantastic, particularly La Clique, Group Therapy for One, Point Blank, Pregnant (review coming later) and Cirque de Legume.

If you’ve yet to sample the delights of the Fringe, here’s some suggestions for the weekend ahead:

See you out there :)

Reviews

The Chapters at Sol’s Sunshine Revolution

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I ended up at the Sol ‘Sunshine Revolution Party‘ at The Odeon (thanks to Christian) and I was hugely impressed by the event. Some complimentary Sol (naturally) and tapas and kick-ass live bands including The Chapters (above).

The video doesn’t really do them justice and while I have to admit they do sound like a hybrid of Kings of Leon and Republic of Loose, they rocked the place.

They’ve got a new website on the way but for now you can say hi and check them out on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

Reviews

Absolut Fringe reviews: Broken Croí – Heart Briste & Crash Test Cabaret

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Last night I caught 2 Absolut Fringe shows at Filmbase, one theatre and one variety. Here’s my thoughts on both:

Broken Croí – Heart Briste

“Manchán Magan is a disillusioned Gaeilge fanatic seeking revenge for the death of the language on his star pupil, a lonely 18 year old dancer. He offers the audience an opportunity to redeem the situation by answering some simple questions.”

well it went something like that :)
well it went something like that :)

Sitting before Gaeilgóir agus múinteor Manchán Maga while the cúpla focail were being thrown at the audience took me right back to my schooldays, back to the dreaded Gaeilge lessons in the seomra ranga. Manchán is fanatical and obsessed with the Irish language which proves to be both a little scary and funny at the same time, much like the teanga Gaeilge itself.

Enter “Cailín” – star pupil, moody teenager & troubled daughter all in one Max Factor-ed package. The Irish class descends into a series of arguments and exchanges between the two characters with Manchán desperately trying to understand the “trína chéile” mind of his teenage daughter.

Eva O’Connor who plays “Cailín” gave a superb performance in what was overall a good show but some aspects of it just didn’t appeal to me. While it posed interesting questions around language, communication and relationships I felt it suffered from what I call the “Tommy Tiernan effect” – just a bit too much unecessary swearing and vulgarity.

It’s at Filmbase every night at 7 until the 19th.

Crash Test Cabaret

“From the glitz of a glitterball to the grain of a security tape, comedy and zeitgeist culture collide in this shiny cabaret lucky-dip. Seasoned performers and virgin talents collaborate to create something you’ve never seen before.”

Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed with Crash Test Cabaret. The promise of random cabaret acts, audience participation and on-the-spot creativity somehow made me expect a lot more than I got for my few bucks last night.

The highlight of the show was the act “Red Wine” who came from the audience and provided some light relief in the form of a song set to some rather lovely guitar picking. Two of the lowest points for me included seeing an audience member being made topless and left on stage while a “feminist” treated us to some less than entertaining rap while one of the cast spent the entire show moving around the audience taking photos with his large, annoying and downright painful flash (we were sitting in darkness for crying out loud!!!).

Some seemed to love it, I sadly was not one of those. Crash Test Cabaret = crash and burn.

If you fancy a go, it’s at Filmbase at 9 until the 17th.

Reviews

Up – short & sweet review

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I was extremely lucky to get hold a ticket for the premiere of ‘Up‘ on Sunday evening and I have one of the most enjoyable evenings in ages.

Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of animated movies but I absolutely loved Up.

While at times I did wonder if some of the story elements were a little too grown-up for the mainly booster-seated audience, it’s a really gorgeous little movie that will have you leaving the cinema with a smile in your heart and probably one on your face too.

Up
Up

The basics

Meet Carl & Ellie, childhood friends and “adventure enthusiasts” who grow up and spend the rest of their lives together. After Ellie passes away, Carl decides to satisfy a long-held pipe dream of his darling Ellie – to move to Paradise Falls in South America. And so the tale unfolds of how Carl and his young scout recruit Russel move house (literally) to South America and the adventures and characters they meet along the way.

  • It’s visually stunning – it is Pixar after all and while living up to their usual high standard and the 3D adds a nice gloss overall
  • It’s moving – although Ellie the “living” character is only on screen for minutes, she is a huge presence for the rest of the movie – suffice to say I shed a tear or two!
  • It’s entertaining – at heart, it’s an adventure movie and there’s plenty of gasps & laughs all the way
  • It’s positive – you would have to be made of stone not to leave the movie happy and smiling.

It was actually so good I’m finding it hard to get that across so check out what others have said on Culch.ie and Movies.ie

Up is on general release from 16 Oct 2009, check your local cinema for preview dates. The official site has some lovely images & snippets here.