Woot is an internet closeout store. Each day, they put up a different product at a bargain price. They sell the product until either A) it sells out or B) the day ends. I’ve picked up some sweet (or so I think!) deals on Woot over the last few weeks:

2 Sandisk 256 mb mp3 players @ $10 each
1 Philips GoGear 2 GB mp3 player @ $30
3 Audiovox DC to AC power (for a car) @ $10 each
1 Logitech Curve headphones (2 pack) @ $5

No matter how many or whatever you buy, shipping is always $5. They even come in cool boxes that say Woot! on the side.

One of the coolest elements of Woot is the Woot off. Once every couple months, Woot engages in a Woot off. In a Woot off, Woot posts a new item each time an item sells out (as opposed to once a day). This usually lasts for 24-48 hours. It’s really exciting. Some items only last a fraction of a minute, while other, more expensive items sit for hours.

My beta of Windows Vista that I had been running on my Laptop was set to expire on May 1st, but I decided that I’d had enough of Vista before then. Vista, at lest in RC2 form, is crap. Hands down. I’ve reinstalled XP and I can’t believe the performance. And programs actually work! And configuring everything is easy! Vista is a nightmarish hell, especially for old hardware. Oh, and I also get to experience this nice thing called BATTERY LIFE. Good riddance, Windows Vista!

For a long time, I used WindowBlinds to skin my Windows UI. I even bought the program (the horror!). However, the new version has some performance quirks, especially when windows are moved over DirectX programs (read: WoW). Somehow I came across one of the few official skins for Windows, the Zune theme. It’s a simple theme, but much better than any of the builtins. It’s an orange on black theme, and I’ve always liked black themes. You can see a screenshot of it here:

http://zuneinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/Zune-Theme1.jpg

You can download the theme for yourself here:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=75078

And here’s a nice, matching wallpaper:

https://www.cuttlefishtech.com/uploads/11266.jpg