The Statue of Liberty | blog

Apparently Microsoft isn’t doing everything with Windows 7 differently from how it did Windows Vista.

As was the case with Vista, Windows 7 will get its formal launch in the Big Apple. CEO Steve Ballmer will preside over the October 22 event, with the usual array of hardware partners showing off their latest wares.

But that’s not the only Gotham event for Microsoft in October. The company is also doing a consumer open house at the Park Avenue Armory, led by Robbie Bach, on October 6. Microsoft plans to highlight everything from the Zune and new phones to hardware products like keyboards and mice.

Microsoft is hoping to turn that event into an annual event.

By: news.cnet.com     Read more >>

It’s hard to pick a clear winner for the US Open but you can’t really bet against Serena Williams when it comes to the Grand Slams, she has this knack of turning it on for the big events.

She hasn’t actually performed very well since Wimbledon, I’ve watched some of her matches and she’s lacked a bit of intensity and lost to players you wouldn’t expect, but I’m sure when it comes to a Grand Slam she’ll be very focused and turn it on.

But I do think the women’s draw at the US Open is so open, it’s really up for grabs.

It will be interesting to see how Kim Clijsters does having had two years out of the game. She’s made a pretty good comeback. In Cincinnati and Toronto she proved to everyone she can play well but I’m not sure she can go all the way.

It would be a great story if she did win the US Open but physically I wonder if she can play seven matches at that kind of level.

By: news.bbc.co.uk       Read more >>

Monty Python fans in Los Angeles have been looking on the bright side of life since “Spamalot” — the Broadway musical based on the irreverent 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” — opened in July at the Ahmanson Theatre (the medieval madness ends Sept. 6).

But here’s some cheery Python news from the Big Apple: The Pythons will meet again to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the creation of the troupe on Oct. 15 at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City.

While the event will feature no cows being flung by catapult (a highlight of both the stage and screen versions), the reunion will involve the complete troupe: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin (to the best of Culture Monster’s knowledge, no relation to Sarah).

In fact, today’s press release even states that Graham Chapman — who died in 1989 — will be in attendance. We don’t know what’s up with that — but this release does acknowledge that only the “surviving members of the Python team” will sit down for a Q&A after the show.

By: latimesblogs.latimes.com    Read more >>

In an economy where much construction has ground to a halt, charter schools are providing a minor but growing niche for the building and design industries in the New York City area.

According to the city, 21 new charter schools will open in September, though only two of them will be in new buildings. The state has 141 charter schools in operation, and about 100 are in the city.

“There’s a lot of construction of charter schools going on, especially relative to the slowdown in the market,” said David M. Umansky, the chief executive of Civic Builders, a Manhattan-based developer that specializes in charter schools.

By: nytimes.com       Read more >>