Vista's 11 Pillars of Failure

"While the public's attention seems to be swinging toward Windows 7 (the next iteration of the OS)—a topic I'll address in the weeks ahead—the fact of the matter is that Vista remains. And it seems that the OS now has two distinct groups of users. One group happily uses Vista, with few concerns or complaints. In fact, many of them are baffled by all the grumbling. The other group is the fist-shaking Vista bashers who condemn each and every flaw the OS exhibits."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2286065,00.asp

Microsoft admits Vista UAC was designed to annoy users and developers

"Microsoft has a way of rubbing people the wrong way sometimes. In fact, so many people dislike Microsoft because of buggy code, the way it runs over competition, and the fact that it is the biggest player in the industry, that you wouldn’t think that Microsoft would actively attempt to annoy users, but it has. At the RSA Security conference last week, a Microsoft official claimed that annoying users was the actual aim of the User Account Control (UAC) feature in Vista. Microsoft’s goal, he said, was to try to force smaller software vendors to write more secure code."

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/tech-news/?p=2164&tag=nl.e019

Should Microsoft Throw Away Vista?

"Throw Vista away. That's what my colleagues at our fellow IDG publication InfoWorld have now argued that Microsoft should do. Give it a dignified resting place, as a stepping-stone OS, and come up with a replacement that's more sensible for enterprise IT. There is historical precedent in the consumer OS space for such a move; look at Windows ME and how it became a footnote in Microsoft history."

http://advice.cio.com/laurianne_mclaughlin/should_microsoft_throw_away_vista

UK standards body taken to court over OOXML

"The British Standards Institution has been taken to court by a group of Unix users in an attempt to get the standards body to recant its approval of Microsoft's Office Open XML document format.

The UK Unix & Open Systems User Group (UKUUG) said on Thursday that the British Standards Institution's (BSI's) controversial decision to vote for approval of OOXML in a recent International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ballot followed a flawed decision-making process."

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39408917,00

Did Microsoft use desktop dominance in OOXML standard?

"European antitrust regulators are investigating whether Microsoft abused its desktop software market dominance in its effort to get the Office Open XML file formats standardised."

http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39182864,00.htm

Ubuntu’s Shuttleworth blames ISO for OOXML’s win

Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth said the approval of Microsoft’s Office Open XML is a “sad” day for ISO and the computing public.

“I think it de-values the confidence people have in the standards setting process,” Shuttleworth said in an interview just hours after the news was leaked. The International Standards Organization (ISO) did not carry out its responsibility, he claimed.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2222&tag=nl.e019

Microsoft wins this OOXML battle, but loses the war

"You'd think that sooner or later even Microsoft would learn there's a right way and a wrong way to do things. But whenever it has a choice it persists in choosing the wrong way. There are lots of smart people who work there. Didn't even one of them think bribery and corruption possibly weren't the best way to get the OOXML document format declared an international standard?"

http://blogs.computerworld.com/microsoft_loses_on_ooxml

OOXML: What's the big deal?

"The OOXML specification has been both criticized and defended by a number of people, leading many to wonder what the big deal is. This article illustrates the basis of technical, rather than political, objections to treating OOXML as a standard."

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/x-ooxmlstandard.html?ca=dgr-lnxw02aOOXMLBigDeal&S_TACT=105AGX59&S_CMP=GR

On the meaning of Samaya

"Samayas or commitments are essential in that they aid the practitioner in refraining from mistakes which, if engaged in, would damage his or her practice and thus counteract progress on the path."

http://www.dhagpo-kagyu.org/anglais/science-esprit/fondements/general/samaya.htm

BuddhistForums.net

"Buddhist Forums was started as a means of allowing old and new students of Buddhism to connect in a meaningful way to discuss Buddhist topics in an open, friendly and supportive environment. The main aim of Buddhist Forums is to facilitate the learning experience of Buddhism and, to have a place for Buddhists to hang out on the internet."

http://buddhistforums.net/

Mindfulness In Plain English

The subject of this book is Vipassana meditation practice. Repeat, practice. This is a meditation manual, a nuts-and-bolts, step-by-step guide to Insight meditation. It is meant to be practical. It is meant for use.

There are already many comprehensive books on Buddhism as a philosophy, and on the theoretical aspects of Buddhist meditation. If you are interested in that material we urge you to read those books. Many of them are excellent. This book is a 'How to.' It is written for those who actually want to meditate and especially for those who want to start now."

http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

The Ngakpa Tradition: an Interview with Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche

"Jeff Cox: Not many people in the West understand what ngakpas are, though many have seen photos of these long-haired, white-robed yogis. Perhaps the one that is best known is the late Yeshe Dorje, who was His Holiness the Dalai Lama's "weatherman"—that is, he was called on to control the weather for certain occasions. I'd like to understand more about the pure ngakpa tradition.

Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche: Ngakpas can marry and have families. Their practice is essentially inward and a true spiritual practice. "

http://www.snowlionpub.com/pages/N76_1.html

Ngakpa, Ngakmo

"But it is also a myth that someone immersed in everyday life (married for example, or having a family), cannot achieve enlightenment or liberation and will thus remain a 'lay' person forever.
So the white robed Ngakpa with their traditionally long hair are just as valid and real Tantric practitioners as are their maroon robed monastic counterparts; they simply are different types of people and they actually form a second and often overlooked branch of the Buddhist Tantric community (Skt., sangha). This is clearly reflected in the Tibetan term dge bdun gyi sde (divisions of the sangha), which refers to the following two types of practitioners:

* those with shaved heads, bare feet and maroon robes form the Vinaya division (Tib., bdul ba'i sde)
* those with long, usually braided hair and white robes form the Mantra division (Tib., sngags kyi sde)"

http://www.yoniversum.nl/dakini/ngakmopa.html

The Mother Essence Lineage - GASSHO - Electronic Journal of DharmaNet International

"The greatest inspiration and role model for women, in terms of Tibetan Buddhism, is the enlightened yogini Yeshe Tsogyel (Ye-shes mTsho-rGyal). Yeshe means 'primordial wisdom', and Tsogyel means 'queen of the ocean-like quality of Mind'. She is the female Buddha of the Nyingma School. As an historical figure she is mother of all Nyingma Lineages. Yeshe Tsogyel, together with her incarnation and emanations are an inspiration to women as role models, and to men as teachers."

GASSHO Electronic Journal of DharmaNet International and the Global Online Sangha
Volume 1, Number 5, ISSN 1072-2971, July/August 1994

The Benefits of the Vajra Guru Mantra

"O, Noble Daughter, the Vajra Guru mantra is not only my essential mantra, it is the life-essence of the deities of the four classes of tantra, the nine vehicles, the 84,000 aspects of the Dharma, and so on. The heart essence of all the Buddhas of the three times, the lamas, deities, dakinis, Dharma protectors, and the like is encompassed by this mantra."

http://www.lotsawahouse.org/vajra_guru.html

Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods

"Established in March 1980, Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods is a center of Buddhist Learning, which serves the needs of the Buddhist community in the Kathmandu valley. It aims at enlightening Nepalese people about their own form of Buddhism, its philosophy and practice. Nepalese Buddhism is a unique tradition in itself. The nature of this tradition was observed centuries ago in Nalanda and Vikramasila Universities."

http://www.nagarjunainstitute.com/

The Berzin Archives

"The Berzin Archives is a collection of translations and teachings by Dr. Alexander Berzin primarily on the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Covering the areas of sutra, tantra, Kalachakra, dzogchen, and mahamudra meditation, the Archives presents material from all five Tibetan traditions: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, Gelug, and Bon, as well as comparisons with Theravada Buddhism and Islam. Also featured are Tibetan astrology and medicine, Shambhala, and Buddhist history."

http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/

Tiger's Nest

"Named after a famous Buddhist monastery in Bhutan, Tigers nest is initially inspired by the profound and beautiful teachings of Mahamudra and Dzogchen (Great perfection) teachings from Tibet, as well as any teachings that incorporate an integral practice to our lives, working with Body, Speech, Mind and Spirit."

http://www.tigersnest.com/

Windhorse Imports

" Windhorse Imports was founded in 1987 to provide high quality hand-crafted Dharma items from Nepal and India. We supply educational establishments, museums, retail outlets and individuals throughout the UK, Europe and the USA. Many of the products are made exclusively for Windhorse Imports to our own design."

http://www.windhorse.co.uk/

Lotsawa House

"Lotsawa House features translations of important buddhist texts from Tibetan into English and other languages by translators from the Wu Tai Shan Clan and their friends."

http://www.lotsawahouse.org/

http://lotsawahouse.wordpress.com/

The International Dunhuang Project

"IDP is a ground-breaking international collaboration to make information and images of all manuscripts, paintings, textiles and artefacts from Dunhuang and archaeological sites of the Eastern Silk Road freely available on the Internet and to encourage their use through educational and research programmes."

http://idp.bl.uk/

Zang Thal - Translations of Tibetan texts into English

"Zang thal is a Tibetan Dzogchen term with a range of meanings including " totally open, unimpeded, transparent, directly penetrating", describing the clarity of awareness of our true Nature of Mind. It seemed to me a good name for this site, in which I aim to share my translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts and teachings, especially those relating to Dzogchen, the Great Perfection. There is a growing interest in Dzogchen in the West, but there are still very many Dzogchen texts as yet untranslated. It is my hope to be able to contribute to spreading the knowledge of this unique tradition more widely."

-- Karen Liljenberg

Texts include: The Cuckoo of Awareness, The Small Hidden Grain, Advice to Kunzang Chögyal, Nine Considerations and Criteria for Benefiting Beings, Chöd, A Yearning Song of Faith, Bardo Prayers, The Queen of Great Bliss, Two prayers by Dza Patrul Rinpoche, The Dakini Prayer which spontaneously accomplishes the two goals

http://www.zangthal.co.uk/

Buddhist Teachings

"The root of both samsara and nirvana is the mind.
Apart from what is born of the mind, nothing else whatsoever exists.
The manifold dance of illusory form
Is overcome when its creator, mind the magician, is brought under control. "

-- A Guide to the Mind entitled Liquid Gold Vomited from the Stomach of a Dog

http://www.jungcircle.com/mist/buddhism.htm


Mip'am Rinpoche's ‘Liquid Gold’
Ga'rab Dorje's ‘Three Words Striking the Essence’ with a brief commentary by Kyabje Düd'jom Rinpoche
Mip'am Rinpoche's ‘Three Words Striking the Essence’
Dza Pältrül Rinpoche's ‘Supreme Doctrine of the Wise and Glorious King’
Ngagwang Künga' Ten'dzin's ‘Refined Gold Ore of Oral Instructions’
Nyöshül Khenpo's ‘Mirror of Mindfulness’
’The Pith–Instructions of Srî Singha’
The Sutra of the Heart–Essence of the Conqueress Transcendent and Perfect Insight
‘The Prayer of the All–Good Buddha’ from The Dzogpa Chenpo Tantra Elucidating the All–Penetrating Mind of Küntu Zangpo

The Chronicles of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

"It has been said that you can't practice meditation without post-meditation mindfulness. Mindfulness throughout our lives when we are not doing sitting practice is also a part of the practice of meditation. One has to have some kind of self-consciousness in order to lead one's life properly, to be meditative. Often the term self-consciousness is used pejoratively, which is not fair….The basic point is to be precise and direct and without aim. Be there precisely. There is a need for mindfulness, which is the equivalent of self-consciousness, if you like—light-handed self-consciousness. "

-- Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

http://www.chronicleproject.com/