So, the Windows Vista December 2005 CTP (Build 5270) is here. This is a big one! Paul Thurrott said it was so big that it took four parts to properly cover it. I’ll have a Tablet PC running the latest Windows Vista and some other stuff on it at the geek dinner next week if you wanna take a look (unfortunately my Tablet PC doesn’t have a good enough video card to run the latest glass theme, but everything else is there).

Paul’s conclusion? “Honestly, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this good about Windows Vista. I can see sweeping improvements across the board and, perhaps more important, a level of fit and finish that had never been present in pre-release versions of this product before.”

I agree. I’m using it more and more and it’s harder and harder to use my XP machines. 2006 is looking like it’s going to be a fun year to be a MSFTie.

Well, I’m outta here for the weekend. Have a happy holidays. Next week we’re in Santa Clara, CA. Looking forward to having a blogger/geek dinner in Palo Alto on December 30 at 6 p.m. in the Cheesecake Factory on University Ave.

Ahh, as Om Malik says, it’s a slow news day so rumors are running wild on the blogs. Is or isn’t Microsoft buying Opera? I have no freaking idea either way, but didn’t the Riya deal teach us anything? That rumors are just that — at least until the deal is signed? All the key players are on vacation right now, though, so I doubt something is up.

Just saw this one over on the forums on Channel 9. It’s Thomas Friedman on the Other Side of Outsourcing. Very eye opening video. Thomas Friedman is someone I want to have dinner with. He did this video for Discovery Channel but he’s the famous journalist for the New York Times.

I’m most of the way through this video. It’s a must watch.