Batch File Tutorial and Reference
The versatile MS-DOS/MSDOS Batch Language automates routine tasks with Batch files (lists of Batch commands). Learn how to write Batch files with this free, interactive Course and built-in Batch Reference.
Yup, Feeling “Geeky†just about sums it up. 
Pentagon Revises Nuclear Strike Plan
Look what boy wonder has more power to do now? Boy I feel safe… 
The draft, dated March 15, would provide authoritative guidance for commanders to request presidential approval for using nuclear weapons, and represents the Pentagon’s first attempt to revise procedures to reflect the Bush preemption doctrine. A previous version, completed in 1995 during the Clinton administration, contains no mention of using nuclear weapons preemptively or specifically against threats from weapons of mass destruction.
Holy crap this is cool. More info coming soon…
Superfetch will monitor the data and applications accessed by the user in recent months and preload those into its memory. This allows for faster access to data and applications. In current Windows versions the software loads applications and data only as the user asks for it. This takes time because Windows has to load not only the application itself after a system reboot but the drivers and other auxiliary applications. “Superfetch works great if you have a reasonable amount of memory, and it works fantastic if you have boatloads of memory,” Jim Alchin, group vice president for Windows platforms at Microsoft, told delegates in Los Angeles. “But even if you don’t have boatloads of memory, we have thought about that [with the USB option].”
Superfetch adds the memory on the USB key to the system’s virtual memory, which in turn is used to preload applications and data which the user accesses frequently. The USB option offers the ability to upgrade the system’s memory even if there are no physical memory slots, allowing laptop users to increase system speed, according to Alchin. The user can still remove the memory key at any moment without affecting system stability. To prevent security issues, the information is encrypted on the key to prevent data leaks. Superfetch is one of several new ways in which Windows Vista is designed to increase system performance. Other technologies will automatically defragment the hard disk, and provide a visual tool to allow the user to spot possible bottlenecks in the system’s performance.
Neowin.net: Microsoft Expression Suite
Today’s Microsoft keynote address at the Professional Developer’s Conference (PDC) blew away many attendees with the announcement of the Microsoft Expression Suite.
The new suite includes 3 programs along with extensions for Visual Studio 2005. The programs are:
* Acrylic: This has been in beta but based on how it was demoed isn’t so much of a Photoshop competitor but rather as a focused designer tool for software and web development.
* Sparkle: A visual design tool that lets designers create interfaces without having to write any code.* Quartz: A web-oriented tool for more easily taking rich content and putting them on the web.
Microsoft blogger, Robert Scoble, has made it clear that Sparkle doesn’t compete with Flash. Rather, Sparkle is a development environment. If anything, it competes with Visual Studio.But Microsoft made it clear that the idea behind Expression is to allow software developers and graphic designers to be able to work together more seamlessly.
“Now, designers can create the full application interface and hand it over to the developer to work with directly,” said a Microsoft spokesman. “Previously, developers would receive a mock-up of the application and then work to try to recreate the designer’s intent. Now, the designer becomes part of the development process directly.”
Check out the videos at Microsoft…this looks pretty nice. Again to sound like a broken record, I can’t wait to try out the web design part of this program. This looks to be quite promising especially considering they specifically point out that it is standards compliant. 
Microsoft Max lets you make lists of your photos and turn them into beautiful slide shows to share with your family and friends. Max is the codename for Microsoft’s flagship application based on WinFX and Microsoft’s new user experience.
Wow…this came out of absolutely no where. It’s an interesting idea, albeit a little bit useless, but maybe once it gains some more features it will be pretty and functional.
The whole UI for Office 12 has been overhauled. The main user experience is codenamed “ribbon” and will provide the central place for users to author documents they’re currently working on. Microsoft are removing the stack of task panes and menus/toolbars to look through, instead giving the user one place to look for commands.
A new feature named “galleries” gives users a visual representation of the kinds of formatting choices they can make in their documents. The galleries also offer “live previews†in many instances, so you can see exactly what the document is going to look like before you make the choice, which makes it easier to experiment and change content.
Here ya go…check out these pictures…I like the new UI a lot. I can’t wait to get the beta for this.
AJAX – Mozilla Developer Center
Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) is not a technology in itself, but is a term that describes a “new” approach to using a number of existing technologies together, including: HTML or XHTML, Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript, The Document Object Model, XML, XSLT, and the XMLHttpRequest object.
This is a very handy site for all things AJAX, and as an added bonus…this site in general, Mozilla Developer Center has a ton of information and links to all things a web developer could want.
That Vista Blog for WordPress 1.5.x
Any wordpress users out there? Bueler? …Yeah, I didn’t think so, but if you happen to be using that pitiful blogging engine this is a nice looking skin for it.
Microsoft Opens MSN To Developers
Microsoft is poised to provide an application-development platform for the MSN Web portal. The platform, which will give developers access to Redmond’s search, mapping and messaging services, could help Microsoft make up ground in the fiercely competitive search market. The software giant hopes that by creating a third-party developer ecosystem, the company can create new services and applications for MSN users. Among the resources being provided are application-programming interfaces (APIs) for MSN Search, MSN Virtual Earth and MSN Messenger.
All I really have to say is 1. About freaking time and 2. Woohoo …We may see some very cool things develop from these APIs.
Bush’s power to detain US enemy combatant upheld
President George W. Bush has the power to detain Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen who has been held in a South Carolina military brig for more than three years as a suspected enemy combatant without being charged, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday.
Does anyone else find this to be as disgusting as I do? 3 F-ing years this guy has been in prison without being charged of a crime. 
Wandering the Interwebs 