Different computing degrees are similar yet distinct

I have been thinking about the different computing undergraduate degrees offered at Sydney University: software engineering (SE), computer science (CS) and information technology (IT). Each of these are offered by a different department: School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Science, and School of IT respectively.

So here’s what I think are the difference between them:

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Internet Explorer 8 RC is out, but not for Windows 7?

While IE8 RC 1 is available to everyone in general, the people who are more likely to try out the latest and greatest software are locked out of it.

I was really excited when I heard that the first release candidate of the next generation Internet Explorer 8 is out, and I went ahead and downloaded it.

There were options to download it for Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and 2008, in both x86 and x64 flavours. Hmm, it makes sense for them not to officially support Windows 7 before it is released. Thinking that the closest OS to windows 7 would be Vista, that’s the one I downloaded.

So here’s what the installer told me when I ran it “Internet Explorer 8 is not supported on this operating system”:

Hmm, interesting isn’t it? We dedicated guinea pigs of the newest Windows 7 didn’t even get a chance to update our IE8 to the latest! Arguably, we’re still ahead with the version number being 8.0.7000.0 even though that was from way back even before beta 2 came out…

Checking Windows Update didn’t help either – no updates for Windows 7 to download. Rather disappointing.

Google Chrome: A First Look

After using Chrome for about a week, I’d have to say that I’m not yet converted to it. No doubt some have taken the plunge and replaced whatever browser they have been using with the shiny new Chrome.

Interface. What I like about Chrome at first sight is that the interface is much cleaner than what I currently use – Firefox. The strategy used there was removing the all-to-familiar menu bar at the top, and pushing all lesser-used functions to the right of the screen. Wait – haven’t we seen that before? That’s what IE7 did to its revolutionary new interface:

Admittedly, Chrome’s interface does look a little more elegant than IE7, and shows off more of Aero with its abundance of space around the tabs.

Speed. Zipping around the web feels faster than Internet Explorer 8, and even Firefox 3. However, Firefox 3 still proves to be a good contender after a series of benchmarks.

I’m not converted.

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