Windows 7, the next generation of the Windows operating system, is to go on sale October 22nd this year. Unlike the current beast, Vista, Windows 7 is getting generally positive reviews from the Beta testers. Clearly MS and the PC industry are teaming up to give folks who have tried to wait out Vista a reason to pony up for a new machine now. Being that I’m an IT professional and am well acquainted with the ins and outs of the technology, I’ll be sure to not be on the cutting edge when Win7 comes out.
We’ll let the other guys walk through the minefield first.
June 2nd, 2009
Posted by
ricjames |
Technology |
no comments
And the 1st part of GM to get sold off is…. Hummer! And you’ll just never guess what country they’re going to:
General Motors Corp. has a tentative agreement to sell its Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. of China, Jeff Flock of FOX Business Network has confirmed.
GM announced Tuesday that it has a memorandum of understanding to sell the brand of rugged SUVs, but the company didn’t disclose the buyer.
A formal announcement of the buyer’s identity was to be made Tuesday afternoon.
Sichuan Tengzhong deals in road construction, plastics, resins and other industrial products, but the person briefed on the deal says Hummer would be its first step into the automotive business. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not been made public.
General Motors has not yet confirmed the identity of the buyer or the price being paid for it’s SUV-only division, but said the sale will likely save more than 3,000 U.S. jobs in manufacturing, engineering and at various Hummer dealerships.
Really? You think a Chinese company – one currently involved in the manufacture of industrial products and with an interest getting into the automotive manufacturing business – will just keep plants here in the US running instead of pulling the manufacture of Hummers back to Sichuan?
The only jobs this deal will save in anything resembling the long run are the one working the showroom floors in dealerships. Last I checked, those aren’t union. Nor are they manufacturing jobs, which this whole deal is supposed to be saving. Next up: Korean Corvette?
June 2nd, 2009
Posted by
ricjames |
Economy, Politics |
2 comments
Having spoken with John Brownlee personally, I’m completely unsurprised by his tone and the class he displays in the e-mail sent to his supporters today wherein he urges support for Ken Cuccinelli. From that letter:
Dear Republican Friends:
Well, the Convention is over, the votes have been counted, and we came up a little short. Although the actual result will not be officially released (Dave Foster and I asked that Ken Cuccinelli’s nomination be made unanimous), we understand our campaign mustered approximately 42% of the vote in the 3-way race. For that, I greatly appreciate all who attended and supported our campaign.
As I said at the conclusion of the Convention, I endorse Ken Cuccinelli, I support him, and I will do whatever I can to ensure that Ken is elected the 45th Attorney General of Virginia. Steve Shannon, who served in the House of Delegates and as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Fairfax, will be a formidable opponent, and we all need to work hard to help Ken get elected. I told Ken on Saturday that I would help him prepare for the upcoming debates and would participate in strategy meetings if requested. We have held the Attorney General’s office for the last 16 years, and turning the office over to the Democrats would be disastrous.
To see the entire letter (and to avoid having me re-post what’s already out there) please follow this link to Virginia Virtucon.
Brownlee understands the need to get behind the candidates on our ticket and the need to urge his supporters – all of us – to join with him in the effort. Take it to heart, folks.
June 2nd, 2009
Posted by
ricjames |
Politics, Virginia Politics |
no comments
Doesn’t sound good:
Pilots flying a commercial jet from Paris to Rio de Janeiro for Brazil’s largest airline, TAM, spotted what they thought was fire in the Atlantic Ocean along the same flight path of an Air France jet that vanished Monday, the airline said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press.
Brazilian Air Force spokesman Col. Jorge Amaral said authorities were investigating the pilots’ sighting, according to the Agencia Brasil official news service.
“There is information that the pilot of a TAM aircraft saw several orange points on the ocean while flying over the region … where the Air France plane disappeared,” Amaral said. “After arriving in Brazil, the pilot found out about the disappearance (of the Air France plane) and said that he thought those points on the ocean were fire.”
Air France is reporting that the aircraft’s systems sent an automated message to their control centers advising of a failure in the on-board electrical systems and a loss of cabin pressure. No voice messages from the pilots have been reported.
More on this as I hear more.
Update: Search aircraft from the Brazilian Air Force have spotted debris including plane seats. That doesn’t confirm it’s the lost plane, true, but it’s strong evidence.
June 2nd, 2009
Posted by
ricjames |
Aviation, Human Interest |
no comments
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