Back in 1996, Disney released a piece of software called "The Walt Disney World Explorer" that took users on a magical journey through the rides, shops, hotels and attractions at the Walt Disney World Resort. This was always a favorite of mine when I was in the mood for a little Disney World but couldn't visit the parks (although it just made me want to visit the parks more).







The program was pretty simple to use: Just move the cursor (Tinker Bell in this case) around the map and click on things you want to hear more about. When Tinker Bell's wand sparkles, you've found something to click on.





Click image to view full map





Frontierland & Liberty Square



There are also "Hidden Mickeys" throughout the program, and finding 10 of them unlocks a bonus video clip.







Some other areas of the program:





New Tomorrowland





Space Mountain





Disney Studios Florida (Now Disney's Hollywood Studios)





The original Discovery Island!





Future World at Epcot (Look at those classic attractions! Horizons and Food Rocks!)



I wish Disney would make an updated version of this. The latest version (Second Edition) was released in 1998. In my opinion, it gives you a much more in-depth look at the attractions and history of the resort than their website. The narration is top-notch, and includes the sights and sounds of the park, plus some 360-degree views. It makes me want to take a vacation! Their website is dull in comparison.



Note to seekers of this CD-ROM: It works on Windows 3.1/95/98/ME/2K/XP. It will not work on Windows 7 or NT 4. Also, the background ride noises won't play on versions of Windows other than the 9x series (95/98/ME). This may not be a big deal to you, and some of the narration is easier to hear without all the added noise on the map sections. But, if you are really anal about every last detail, you need Windows 9x. Also, lower your screen resolution to 640x480 if you can. On Windows XP, you can set the compatibility settings to do this automatically when you launch the program.



Copyright notice: All images used in this article belong to the Walt Disney Company. No copyright infringement is intended. Images are for informational use only.

I completely forgot to post the photos from my trip to Disney World when I got back! Luckily, forgetting to upload them here allowed me extra time to find this nifty feature on Flickr that allows me to embed albums on my website. Feel free to click through the album below and see what I've been up to!





Also, here's a video I took of Pirates of the Caribbean. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

One of the first 4K UHD recordings on my new HTC 10

Windows 10 has been out for about a year and a half now, and I still have absolutely no interest in installing it on any of my computers. I actually can't figure out why anyone would *want* to use Windows 10. It's a big, bloated (even more so than Windows 7 and 8) piece of spyware and adware that takes over your entire machine. So, why would anyone want to use it? I still don't have an answer, but let's take a closer look at why not to use it:

Privacy? What privacy?

As soon as you start Windows 10, it begins tracking what you do and sends who-knows-what-data back to Microsoft. Microsoft doesn't tell you what data Windows 10 collects or where it's going. I'm sure some of this data is used for ads within the OS (yes, you read that right. ADS WITHIN THE OS) and to make sure you're not using pirated software, but we don't really know what else they're collecting.

Ads, ads & more ads

Do you want ads flashing at you while playing Solitaire? How about on your Start menu? Me either, but Windows 10 includes them. And don't forget about the ads on the lock screen either.

Would I like to pay Micro$oft for my solitaire? No, thanks!

"Operating system as a service"

Windows is switching to an "operating system as a service" model for Windows 10. This means that your computer will automatically install updates, and the way your PC looks and works could change at any time. Just recently, an announcement has been made about "project Neon" with many changes to the Windows 10 user interface. I'm not sure why anyone would want their OS to constantly change how it looks and works, it seems to me that it will just confuse people and generate more calls to customer support.

So if you don't mind not having any privacy, having ads all over the place and constantly changing software, then Windows 10 may be for you. As for me, I will stick with Windows 7 and earlier for as long as I possibly can, and then I will switch to linux for new computers that don't support Windows 7. I've already been using Ubuntu 12.04 since it came out five years ago, and it still runs just as fast and smooth as it did they day I installed it.

Long live Windows 2000!

...and exhausted. The trip was very fun. However, it feels good to be back home, even if only for a couple days before I catch a flight to NJ for the holidays. A LOT of traveling going on this week! Pics from Disney to come.