URL Shortening - The New Movement

Having just recently gotten into the blogger foray on a regular basis, I wasn't entirely familiar with URL shortening until now. I still don't totally get the concept, but I currently use bit.ly to shorten my links on Twitter (it's Twitter's default, but TwitterFeed lets you choose from a myriad of options). Bit.ly, probably the most recognized because it is Twitter's default service, is gaining quite a bit of company, however, as well as adding some services.

Bit.ly Pro is that provider's way of making "www" addresses a thing of the past. For instance, if you type nyti.ms into your browser, you will end up with the New York Times homepage. Other sites, such as The Onion, MSN, and the Wall Street Journal have also gotten into what is now the beta stage of bit.ly Pro, which also provides detailed statistics of use for those that sign up. Facebook has also entered the URL shortening mix, allowing users to either reach the Facebook homepage at fb.me, or utilizing Facebook's new username service by entering the username following a forward-slash.

URL shortening, albeit interesting, seems a little silly to me. Bookmarks became commonly used years ago, and users across the globe use them all the time to access their most frequented sites. Even if you are trying to attract new users, wouldn't it be easier to remember "newyorktimes.com" rather than "nyti.ms?"

Mossberg Pumps Up Windows 7

He may trash Vista in the article, but WSJ tech author Walter Mossberg enjoys his experience with Windows 7. He mainly boasts about the usability of the operating system, and how it finally gives XP users a reason to abandon the now 8 year old operating system. Despite seeming to be somewhat of an Apple fan, I've never read his articles before, Mossberg mentions he feels Windows 7 beats out OS X in terms of taskbar and window organization, as well as touch features.

The real question, and one that I've felt was answered for me in my testing with betas, was whether Windows 7 was faster than Vista in terms of booting, loading applications, etc. PC World seems to think not, particularly in terms of loading apps. Performance within the applications, however, once they were loaded seemed to improve with 7. I guess we'll all just have to see for ourselves October 22nd.