Niall asks whether RSS search is coming on Monday.

No. Something else. ;-)

See, no need to call me to ask if a rumor is correct or not. Steve Rubel linked to it too.

Update: I hear Channel 9 will have the video at 9:01 PT tomorrow night. They moved the launch up a little bit. Some of you have already discovered that they are testing things out. Performance will be up and down until the official launch on Monday. Don't mind the dust!

Joseph Scott: "No where does Scoble actually address the issue of feature comparison between two operation systems. He completely dodged the question entirely, perhaps he should go into politics?"

Chuq Von Rospatch (he works at Apple): "Someone wake me up when it really ships, then we'll see if it matters." Heh, Chuq, wake me up when your Tablet PC ships (and answering the Newton already did doesn't count cause you couldn't run Photoshop on your Newton). ;-)

John Wulff: "I really enjoy Scoble's blog but sometimes he crosses the line from entertaining evangelist to petty mudslinger."

Alwin: I think the easiest response to Scoble’s challenge is, "Does Apple make an operating system and applications that aren’t the targets of every malware author in the world, malware so burdensome and odious that people will toss their old machines and buy new ones rather than try to fix them?" Ouch. Touche! But you're talking about our four-year-old OS, Windows XP, right? Have you looked at Windows Server 2003? It's a HUGE amount better in this department. So, we're heading the right way here.

John Robb: "Please don't argue with Scoble."

Ryan Boswell: "Honestly, how many people (of all computers users) actually use that piece of junk (Tablet PC)?" You should ask that over on Tablet PC Buzz, Tablet PC Talk, TabletPC Post, TabletPC Home, Tablet PC 2, Tablet PC Lounge, TabletPCWiki, or ask the Tablet PC podcasters. Or, ask Google. You know, those other guys who are kicking our behinds in the buzz department. Google's PR told me the guy who does the Google logo uses a Tablet PC.

James Robertson: Enough with the Tablet promotion.

There's more.

Read the comments. Here's some of the best flames:

Dave: "Huh? You make no sense Robert."

Brad Kellett: "Scoble, you totally missed the mark."

PXLated: "Robert...You're really stretching."

Ben: "You didn't address the quote at all."

Ceejoyoz: "Come off it."

Shannon: "your post was more of a schoolyard arguement than a real response."

Chris: "You're getting too defensive."

Joe: "Funniest. Scoble. Post. Ever."

John: "If you're going to try to bulls**t us, stop insulting our intelligence at the same time."

Ouch, I'm running home to cry to mommy, but these two said something I want to answer:

Alfredo Octavo: "None of the things he mentioned have sold well at all."

DL Byron: "Please remind us how well tablet PCs are selling? And, media centers."

Tablet PCs have sold more than one million. Media Centers have sold more than three million. Sales curves on both are going rapidly up. Both have seen a whole new round of hardware released in the past year (in the Tablet world in the past month).

To the folks who wanted me to argue the point, no I won't. The world of products is "who has the most scenarios covered?" Can you use your Mac while standing up and writing directly on the screen? Like this? If not, don't be telling me how our next operating system is gonna just copy features you already have.

Oh, and tell me how many Powerbooks Apple sold last quarter. Go ahead. I'll wait for you to search Google and look it up. Why is Apple a success when it's sold a few hundred thousand Powerbooks but Microsoft is a failure when it sells almost as many Tablet PCs?

One other question was interesting in my comments. Ben asks: " if all this is in currently shipping products, then why should I be excited about Vista?"

Ahh, wasabi, there are lots of reasons, but that isn't my point. My point is that it's the scenarios that matter (like can you record and playback TV or can you write on your portable computer's screen with a pen), not whether your OS has search or not (speaking of which, we gave our users MSN Desktop Search for free -- how much did your OS upgrade cost?)

Another way to put it, do you really care what OS is inside your iPod?

Heh, the restaurant in Atlanta where we're having a geek dinner at tonight has started a blog. See ya there!

Jeff Sandquist is raving about the new MSN screensaver.

MacDailyNews starts the name calling already: "Microsoft's Windows 'Vista' promises similar features to Apple's already-shipping Mac OS X."

Oh, really?

I didn't realize there's a Tablet Mac already shipping (is there a Mac that you can carry around and use a pen with?). Ours is already shipping, don't need to wait for Vista.

I didn't realize there's a Media Center Mac already shipping (is there a Mac with a TV tuner built in so you can do Tivo-like stuff?). Ours is already shipping, don't need to wait for Vista.

I didn't realize that there's a Mac phone that integrates with the Mac OS already shipping (is there a Mac SmartPhone phone equivilent already shipping?). Ours is already shipping, no need to wait for Vista.

I didn't realize that there's a Mac shipping that runs on Intel (there will be soon, yes, but I didn't realize it was shipping already!).

I didn't realize that there's a Mac shipping that'll integrate with the Xbox. Ours is already shipping, no need to wait for Vista.

I didn't realize that there's a Mac shipping that has integration with MSN Direct Watches. Ours is already shipping, no need to wait for Vista.

Wow, where do I get a Mac that does all that?

Jamie gives us the "real" scoop behind the Vista name over on Channel 9. He's a customer who does these cool cartoons from time-to-time. I wish he had an alert, though, so that I know to put down any liquids before I come across one of them. Makes me laugh!

Other news? Mike Hall took a picture of me last night with my new Vista hat and my Microsoft podcast shirt on. Yes, I'm a walking Microsoft billboard! Can I get paid by impression? Heh.

Jonathan Hardwick: Witness the awesome power of a fully-operational Channel 9 forum.

Tom's Hardware Guide: Acer introduces performance Tablet PC with largest display yet.

Hmm, we are now seeing the spread of Tablet PC's into both smaller (the new Motion 8.4-inch) to larger (including the Toshiba M4 and this new Acer). Yes, the Tablet PC market is starting to rock and roll. Took a while to get here, yes, but we are here now. Watch for Tablet PC sales to go way up this year.

Slashdot is reporting that Google offers hybrid satellite and map views.

Ahh, the map wars are on and customers win!

Come back Monday. 6 a.m. on Channel 9 to see our answer.

Do you know where you are?

Oh, and I have a guy named Arnold giving me heck in my comments cause Google's kicking our behind in the map department. Hey, Arnold, come back Monday, OK?

See, you don't need to call the CEO to get an answer on something. When I got off the plane I saw that Feedster had already started answering my post earlier that day.

And last night Scott Johnson, VP of Engineering, posted this: Understanding {noearlycompletion}.

Not only do I learn a lot about how their engine works, but you do too -- and they are working this weekend to make their numbers more accurate. Thanks Scott!