R to the SS

A relatively new technology called Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a great way to stay up to date on the latest news and blog updates. With a simple aggregation tool or content manager, your inbox can be transformed into a news casting machine, receiving as many “feeds” as you’re subscribed to. Most users are not aware that their personalized start pages are consumed with RSS technology. According to online surveys, 88% of people online are unaware of RSS.

RSS collects Metadata from the XML source and extracts it to a feed. The feed is processed by the content aggregator to keep everything in order. Google Reader is a popular web based RSS reader. I use a custom Google start page, with an RSS feed compiled with technology news. I also use RSS in my Microsoft Exchange email. Though not as popular now, the button you see above used to be easily found on the address bar in Internet Explorer or Firefox.

The history of RSS is somewhat multicolored tainted with folklore. Some say RSS can be traced back to 1997 and the creation of Resource Description Framework (RDF). RDF stores Metadata, which is information about information. For example, Meta for a news article would be the information associated with the report, i.e. the author, copyright information and language. In 1999 Netscape created a standard named RSS 0.90. Netscape employee Dan Libby improved version 0.90 and deployed version 0.91. Here’s where the confusion starts. Dave Winer of Userland also created an updated version, again naming it RSS version 0.91. The names were the same, but the specifications were slightly different.

Netscape decided to abandon RSS, and O’Reily took over publishing RSS 1.0. RSS 1.0 isn’t compatible with previous version of RSS, because it’s based off the original RDF framework. This caused mass market confusion. Userland decided to mitigate the confusion by creating yet another standard, RSS v 2.0. Dave Winer sold Harvard Law the idea that competitors were leery of using a standard he had a hand in creating. They took responsibility for the future development of RSS.

Aeronautical Interfaces

Aero is the “new” graphical interface created by Microsoft for the Windows Vista platform. Interestingly, the acronym translates to Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and Open. This is a rather bold acronym, and some would argue the theme is precariously similar to any flavor of Linux or Apple OSX. Operating partisan choices aside, let take a look at what Aero has to offer.



The first thing that catches the eye is the translucent and glossy feel after entering in user credentials. Briefly after a successful login, the screen disappears into the monitor only for a second (depending on your machines specifications) only to reappear proud to show you the Windows desktop. Appropriately and uniformly dressed, the unmodified desktop stares back at you, anticipating and seemingly panting for the hand to mount the mouse. Keep in mind, backbone of windows (NTFS) is ever present; so many features will look and feel the same. There are two levels to Aero available to the operating system. Namely, “Windows Vista Aero” and “Windows Vista Basic” are the options that automatically conform depending on your machines specs.


Moving onto the desktop background selection, Windows presents a polychromatic display of grass roots selections. From dry wheat fields to frost over snow scenes, the background selection borders reality with high definition displays. Consider investing in a mid range video card for an optimal viewing experience. The interface is very demanding, and like many video games, the graphics options can be modified by navigating to the control panel.

The button repository has been completely revisited. Partnering with The IconFactory, Microsoft has developed new and aesthetically sounded pieces. For users, this means easier identification and navigation to Windows programs. I’m still unsure about some of the default Windows XP icons. The default font for Aero is Segoe UI typeface. The font works well with Clear Type technology becoming the standard.

Remember those annoying notifications that minimized the game you were playing only to tell you that you have unused desktop icons? The notifications are back, but less intrusive. The window appears and dissipates after a couple of seconds, kindly reminding you to update Windows. If you use any Windows Live service like Hotmail or Microsoft TechNet, you will notice the integration of the user interface. The Aero design layers almost all Microsoft products, web services and local PCs alike.

Overall, the Aero interface for Windows Vista is a more of a facelift to its predecessor. After toying around with Windows 7 which also uses Aero, It is beginning to grow on me. Features like Aero Shake which allow all dialogue boxes to be minimized except the one that is “shook” by hand gesture, is innovative and responsive. I also like the automatic resize of windows by dragging boxes to each side of the screen. The only thing that hurts Aero is Windows Vista.