Whether we want to or not, we have to face the Windows’s Desktop daily. The Start button, the applications’ buttons, the icons for the antivirus, network, video driver or Yahoo! Messenger, the icons dropped randomly on the screen, the Vista sidebar, and so on and so forth.

Obviously, this post is addressed to people that use Windows (I thought you understood that from the title … what are you doing here ? ). On Linux or *BSD or Mac they have different desktops, but … quite alike. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to say that Microsoft invented the wheel, I’m just saying that, slowly, the looks start to be alike. Of course, each operating system comes with news and tries to look different or to be able to do new stuff … but, for the main parts, things are leveling.

Does anyone remember where Windows was in the beginning, as an operating system ? Do you remember if you have had Quick Launch on Windows 95 ? Do you know which Windows first featured the “Refresh” option in the desktop’s context-menu ?

Maybe there are people that couldn’t care less, but I always found amusing to notice the little details that concern the Windows’ look. For example, did you notice that many error messages in Windows 95 were displayed in the Windows 3.1 style ? Or that Windows Seven was the first Windows to change the Install New Font window … after it remained in it’s original Windows 95 design for about 13 years ? Do you remember that in Windows 98 there was not “Lock the Taskbar” option, this causing the Quick Launch to have different widths from one Windows restart to another ?

The next few images will remind you, roughly, how Windows and it’s desktop changed over the years.

Have fun

About 2003, when I first heard of USB Flash Drives, I thought it was very interesting. Well, every male’s eyes stick to nice and handy gadgets. Or curves…

Of course I bought one for myself. It had the extraordinary capacity of 256 MB, was small, blue and transparent. It was the perfect toy. No more stress caused by diskettes, no more writing on CD-RW’s. Just like on a floppy disk, I could write and erase data as I saw fit … like on a CD, I could transfer a lot of data.

It did, also, make a big hole in my wallet. The huge 256 MB Flash Drive cost me, back then, almost a quarter of my salary. At the same price I could now buy a 16 GB, or even 32 GB, flash drive. I don’t see why I would do that, though, knowing the reduced transfer speeds of flash drives.

Recently, I found my Flash. It was one piece, functional, light blue and still transparent. As a bonus, I had data on it. Files from another era. Memories. A real treasure.

I inserted it in an USB slot in the front of the computer’s case and started checking everything on it. After a half an hour, amused, nostalgic, even happy, I went on the balcony for a smoke. When I came back, being caught in a discussion with a co-worker, I stepped right on the flash drive. I wasn’t content at all.

I looked at the remaining pieces under my show and I was quite surprised to see it almost intact. It was a bit bent, it stripped it’s blue plastic clothes and I could see the little control board which, too, was a little bent and seemed broken. I tried to insert the rests of the flash in the USB slot, but Windows said it couldn’t find a driver. Damn it! The only thought that went through my mind was that it needed another flash drive, not a driver.

I tried to unbend the control board, as delicate as possible, and I tried again. To my astonishment, this time it worked flawlessly. I copied all my data from it, and now … it’s a blog piece, as you can admire below.

[View with PicLens]

For a few days now I am bothered by the idea of modifying my blog as to be multi-language (having the same blog, but to allow me post in more languages and to display the posts according to the global language setting).

The first thought that crossed my mind was to install a new Wordpress for each language that I want to use, but when I thought of all those plugins, settings and all that crap that will bother me, I quit.

Unfortunately, there aren’t too many informations regarding the possibility of a Wordpress that supports more language at a given time. At a fairly deep search I found a single site that had some promises, so I kept it for when I would start testing.

Fortunately, there is also Smash in the world, who found me another two sites that seemed perfect.

I couldn’t wait anymore. I took xampp, installed it, I took Wordpress, installed it too, I took the database from the blog, imported it in my new localhost blog, adjusted the settings as to be as close to the original ones as possible and I went nuclear.

I started with qTranslate and I instantly dropped dead when, after I clicked on Activate Plugin, it displayed me a mile-long page cu errors. Good thing there was Google available.

The file “qtranslate_core.php” must be modified. More clearly, the next piece of code must be commented:

	if(is_object($text)||get_class($text) == '__PHP_Incomplete_Class') {
		foreach(get_object_vars($text) as $key => $t) {
			$text->$key = qtrans_use($lang,$text->$key,$show_available);
		}
		return $text;
	}

After modifying this file, the installation, activation and setting up the plugin are just a breeze.

All I still need to do is to modify the rest of the blog’s posts. I’m so screwed

Good luck with improving Wordpress !