Saturday, March 31, 2007

Free, High-Quality T.V Shows and Movies!

I have found THE COOLEST SITE EVER! This site lets you stream T.V Shows and Movies and the quality is nothing to complain about. Check out 8 Mile and tell me if you have any complaints. This is better then many DVD rips I've downloaded.

The site's FAQ answers any questions you may have and I've pasted it below.

  • Who are you?
    Commoners.

  • Is this site legal? Don't make me call my lawyer.
    We provide links, nothing is wrong with that.

  • Money? Register?
    Nope.

  • I want to download an episode or two (or ten), tell me WHERE!
    We do NOT support downloading - do NOT ask us for it, do NOT mention it.

  • The move gets stuck in the middle!! You erroneous bastards!
    Sometimes random errors (usually caused by heavy load on the hosting site may occur while loading a video. This can usually be solved by closing the video and opening it again (preferably out of peak hours).

  • When do you usually update?
    Every day!

  • I want a link for THAT show, what can I do about it?
    Well, you could ask us, but better yet, ask at the forums!

  • How did you choose your slogan?
    I'm glad you askwed! :-) We actually had a lot of rejected slogans before eventually finding the right one.

  • I have found a broken link! Damn you all! emmm... what's next?
    Please let us know, and we will handle it as soon as possible.

  • Hot damn! The movie loads slowly.
    Rush hours, be patient.

  • Can I join you guys? Pretty please with sugar on top?
    For now, you can help us by reporting broken links, giving us ideas for improvement and by adding missing episodes.

  • The site's design, how can I put it softly..? SUCKS - change it, NOW!
    Just kidding - no one has ever said such a thing.

  • Can you add MULTI language support for the site?
    This English is not page for one contemporary interest. Alas! why do we even bother, they can't read the FAQ anyways.

  • UBeR l33t HaxoR n00bie, LOLLAASSDAROFL OMFG00DNess? FTW!!!
    What?

  • Hey, the screen is too wide, the movie stretches on it!
    Resize your window, and make it smaller.

  • The question I'm looking for is not here or/and I want to nag you.
    You are welcome to send us an e-mail. We try to answer each and every letter we get.

  • Who designed the website Look and Feel
    NARK, Niraj Paul on nirajpaul@hotmail.co.uk. Very nice work, Highly recommended
This site friggin rocks! Check it out here.

Friday, March 30, 2007

.XXX


.xxx is a proposed top-level domain (TLD) intended as a voluntary option for sexually explicit sites on the Internet. The name is inspired by the former MPAA and BBFC "X" rating, now commonly applied to pornographic movies as "XXX". ICANN announced in June 1, 2005 that .xxx would become a sponsored top-level domain similar to .aero, .travel, etc. but it was never implemented. On May 10, 2006, ICANN reversed its decision.[1], and on March 30, 2007, ICANN rejected the .xxx proposal a third time.

As of 2005, there is an alternative implementation of .xxx by New.net, a private domain registration service unaffiliated with ICANN, via an alternative DNS root. Its future - including that of domain names previously registered with New.net - is uncertain in the wake of the ICANN-sanctioned TLD announcement.

Another unofficial .xxx TLD was previously available through the alternative DNS root system administered by the now-defunct AlterNIC.

The .XXX debate roared on, until just recently. The controversial .XXX domain has been rejected by ICANN - the organisation that decides what domains can be for sale. This comes after intensive lobbying by certain countries that it is an inappropriate domain. The supporters of .XXX argued that it would help separate porn from the rest of the net.

The application proposed by the ICM Registry for a .XXX Sponsored Top Level Domain (sTLD), was voted against by ICANN's Board of Directors. The Board discussion focused on the criteria for the sTLD, including sponsorship, and the terms of the contract proposed by ICM, as well as compliance issues related to key terms associated with public policy concerns.

ICANN's Board voted 9 to 5 against the proposed agreement. Directors who voted against the approval were Vint Cerf (Chairman), Alejandro Pisanty (Vice-Chairman), Raimundo Beca, Demi Getschko, Hagen Hultzsch, Njeri Rionge, Vanda Scartezini, Paul Twomey (President and CEO), and Hualin Qian. Votes in favor of the proposed .XXX Registry Agreement were cast by the following Board Members: Veni Markovski, Susan Crawford, Peter Dengate Thrush, Joichi Ito, and Mouhamet Diop.

ICM had proposed additional terms in response to issues raised by ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee, particularly at ICANN's meeting in Wellington in March. The application has received much public comment and detailed discussion by the ICANN Board. ICM had requested that the ICANN Board vote on the proposed contract at their recent meeting. Additional details regarding the vote will be provided by ICANN later this week.

ICANN is an internationally organised, non-profit corporation that has responsibility for Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domain name system management, and root server system management functions. As a private-public partnership, ICANN is dedicated to preserving the operational stability of the Internet; to promoting competition; to achieving broad representation of global Internet communities; and to developing policy appropriate to its mission through bottom-up, consensus-based processes.

Sources

Wikipedia
Digg
domainsmagazine.com

New Macs feature dual or "quad-core" processors, says Apple

Apple Inc. this week inadvertently tipped its hand by revealing plans to include quad-core processors from Intel Corp. in an upcoming generation of Mac computers.
"Every new Mac features powerful dual-core or quad-core Intel processors, the world's most advanced operating system, and more," the company wrote on a section of its online store promoting Adobe's new Creative Suite 3.0 software. "Build your Mac to your exact specifications, or start with our recommended configurations that are optimized for Creative Suite 3."

The Cupertino-based Mac maker has not yet introduced systems with quad-core processors, but as AppleInsider reported exclusively back in October, an 8-core Mac Pro -- by way of two quad-core Intel "Clovertown" Xeon chips -- remains ready and waiting.

For Apple, the slip-up marks the second time this month that one of its online stores has published hints at the next-generation Mac Pro. A couple of week's ago, its UK shop accidently posted then removed a similar blurb.

"Now quad-core or 8-core processing power," said a caption next to the company's existing Mac Pro offering. "Configure yours today."

found on AppleInsider

TurboLinux offer a Dev Kit for their Linux DAP


TurboLinux made the front page some time ago with their first DAP (MP3 player) running Linux. Now TurboLinux is moving further by offering a development kit for those who want to add features to their 100% Linux MP3 player! Very good!

found on akihabaranews.com

Freaky Site


Have you ever had some sort of sick fantasy to operate on a stuffed bunny rabbit? Well luck you, you big sicko; your dreams have come true. Above you can see the cute little guy with his floppy little ears and you're told to click his belly, little do you know that if you click his belly his heart will stand still. Then you see the little guy again on the operating table where you shock him, shave him, and slice him open with a little scalpel.


As you can see below, things get pretty nasty. After you carefully slice him open by following the dotted line, you use your tweezers to remove what looks like and old Windows 98 cursor . Then you insert a pink pill that says 10 mg on it. If you did all this within the time limit the little guy gets all happy, twists up his ears and it says "10 mg Enlightens." All I know is this is a Dutch company, or at least located in the Netherlands, but I don't really understand what this sick, but very well animated, site is about. They have an about me button, but it shows a long video that I can't be bothered to watch so if anyone watches it, be sure to tell the rest of us what it is. Weird, WEIRD site.

World Record Transfer Speed Set: 25.6TB per Second

fiberoptics.jpg

Holy crap. The world record for fastest data transfer was just broken by Alcatel/Lucent, as they were able to transfer 25.6 terabits of data in one second over a single fiber strand. Well, that certainly puts my DSL line to shame.

Of course, this insanity isn't about to be hooked up to your house anytime soon, but just knowing that they've figured out how to do it means that eventually, at some point, people will probably have speeds similar to this when they connect to the Internet. Hell, even 1/10th of that speed would be totally bananas overkill. But I'd take it, oh yes, I would take it.

Rumor-based Mac Buying Guide Keeps Fanboys Guessing

apple_promo_calendar.jpg

Still wondering whether you should buy that new MacBook or Mac Pro? The gang at MacRumors has compiled the ultimate Mac-buying guide based on product refresh cycles and Internet rumblings.

Take the Mac Pro for instance. MR recommends you skip it cause it's been 234 days since its last refresh. What's 100 percent safe to buy? According to MR, only the Shuffle. Obviously you shouldn't live or die by these rules, but savvy shoppers could save a buck or two if they at least hold off for Leopard.

Mac Buyer's Guide [Mac Rumors via Crave]

found on Gizmodo

Some highlights of the Mac Buyer's Guide can be seen below and were not found on Gizmodo, but were found by myself.

Mac mini

Main article: Mac mini Buyer's Guide

The Mac mini is Apple's low end desktop.





Product
Mac mini
Recommendation: Don't Buy - Updates soon
Last Release September 06, 2006
Days Since Update 204 (Avg = 151)

iMac

Main article: iMac Buyer's Guide

The iMac is Apple's all-in-one form factor desktop.




Product
iMac
Recommendation: Don't Buy - Updates soon
Last Release September 06, 2006
Days Since Update 204 (Avg = 168)

MacBook

Main article: MacBook Buyer's Guide

The MacBook is Apple's consumer laptop; it was formerly known as the iBook.



Product MacBook
Recommendation: Neutral - Mid product cycle
Last Release November 08, 2006
Days Since Update 141 (Avg = 204)

MacBook Pro

Main article: MacBook Pro Buyer's Guide

The MacBook Pro is Apple's professional laptop, it was formerly known as the PowerBook.




Product
MacBook Pro
Recommendation: Buy only if you need it - Approaching the end of a cycle
Last Release October 24, 2006
Days Since Update 156 (Avg = 182)

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Apple introduces 'Complete My Album' on iTunes

Apple on Thursday introduced a service on the iTunes Store called Complete My Album. The service allows users that have purchased individual songs on an album to purchase the full album at a reduced cost.

“One of the great things is that you can only do this in the digital world,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, told Macworld. “It gives customers a great new way of getting music.”

Until now, if you purchased an individual song on iTunes and then decided to buy the whole album, you would have to pay the full price. Not only that, you would have two copies of the one song you purchased. With Complete My Album, Apple will give you a full $0.99 credit for every song you have purchased from the album.

Complete My Album offers customers up to 180 days after first purchasing individual songs from any qualifying album to purchase the rest of that album at a reduced price. However, Apple is giving users a grace period — you have until June 27, 2007 to complete any album that was ever purchased from the iTunes Store.

When users buy any song on iTunes the corresponding album will immediately appear on their personalized Complete My Album page with the reduced price listed.

“We thought it was a great idea to give people the opportunity to go back and buy albums without paying extra,” said Cue. “It’s hard to imagine a music fan not loving this feature.”

found on playlistmag.com

Apple Bootcamp 1.2 Adds Vista Support + More


bootcamp.gif

In what may very well be the last update to Boot Camp before Leopard is released, this version 1.2 of OS X's dual booting software gives Vista support to eager plaid jacket fans. For people who haven't updated to Vista yet (XP users), there's also:

• Better trackpad, audio, iSight, graphics, and modem drivers
• Apple Remote support in iTunes and WMP
• System tray icon for Boot Camp info
• Foreign language support
• Apple Software Update

We've been kind of holding out on loading Boot Camp because 1) we were happy running Vista elsewhere and didn't want to downgrade to XP, and 2) it sounded too much like physical exercise. Looks like it's time.

Google Notebooks Get Sexy!


Google Notebook has a new UI. The notebooks can be ordered alphabetically or by modified date, it's easier to add notes: just click in the space between any existing notes. Google Notebook borrowed the layout of messages from Gmail and placed the editing buttons at the top of the page so you don't feel any disruptive interface change when you edit a note. You can now add comments to notebooks and remove the title and the URL of a clipped note.



Google auto-saves each note, so you don't have to press a "Save" button. There's no option to search public notebooks anymore (but you can use Google search to do that).

found on Googlesytem.blogspot.com

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Find Out Who is Listening to Your iTunes Collection

Posted in Apple, Downloadable on Gizmodo
itunesmonitormain.jpg

With iTunes giving you the ability to share your music library I’m left wondering WHAT people are listening to when they are connected. iTunes Monitor, a Mac only program, does it show you who’s connected to your shared music, it also tells you what they’re listening to. Unfortunately it is complied for the PowerPC processor only, so on an Intel Mac your processor usage soars using this neat little utility.

"Make the Pie Higher!"

Today we take a break from the regular geeky posts to bring you this poem.

"Make the Pie Higher!" poem is composed of actual quotes from George W. Bush.

MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
by George W. Bush

I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen and uncertainty
and potential mental losses.

Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?

They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being and the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope, where our wings take dream.

Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher! Make the pie higher!

This poem is entirely comprised of Bushisms. To view the history of each Busism used, click here . To learn what a Bushism is, click here. And to visit my blog, click here.

iPhone to Have Unlimited Email Storage

iphoneyahoo.jpg

Thanks to Yahoo! Mail VP John Kremer's announcement of unlimited email storage from Yahoo, the Apple iPhone will have unlimited storage as well. The current email storage is 1GB for free users and 2GB for paid users, but everyone will be able to get infinite storage now. Paid users can get a $20 refund if they ask.

The upgrade starts in May, and Yahoo will actively warn and suspend email accounts that are "abusing" their unlimited status. That means no using it as disk storage or backup (unless you do it sneakily).

Technically the iPhone's storage won't be "unlimited" even using IMAP to only download headers, but at the rate you fill up the 8GB of flash storage, it's essentially unlimited anyway.

Yahoo Mail, with Unlimited Storage

Yahoo Blog announces that Yahoo Mail will have unlimited storage. They'll be rolling this out over a few months, starting from May.

The official explanation is that the cost of storage dropped and users send more attachments. "We have been closely monitoring average usage. We are comfortable that our users are far under 1 gig(abyte), on average. What we see are an increasing number of rich media files as consumers send more photos."

Yes folks, this does make Yahoo better than Gmail....for now.

Google Screensaver

Google Screensaver is a Windows screensaver that displays photos from different locations:

  • Your computer. You select a list of folders that contain photos and Google Screensaver monitors the JPEGs from these folders.

  • Picasa Web Albums. If you use Google's photo sharing site, you can view pictures from the most recently modified albums and from your contacts. It's probably the most interesting feature of Picasa Web Albums: you can monitor all the photos uploaded to your contacts' albums.

  • Web feeds. You can find them in photo sharing sites like Flickr, Picasa Web Albums or at this page. My favorite feed: Flickr's interestingness. To add a new source, right-click a link to a feed in IE and Firefox and select "Add to Google Photos Screensaver".

The screensaver acts like a slideshow so you can move to the next/previous photo using the mouse. The title and the author of a photo is always visible and you can go to the source of the photo by clicking to one of the links from the bottom of the window.

You can configure the visual effects (collage, wipe, pan and zoom, cross fade) and how often the photos change.


The screensaver is a part of Google Pack, but if you get it from this page you can install only the screensaver. Then you can uninstall Google Updater and keep the screensaver.

Update: AT in the comments points to the direct link of the screensaver installer (this link may change in the future):
gpdl.google.com/installers/ci_ss/en/2.2007.0323.1359/gpscrsav.msi (4.5 MB)

found on googlesystem.blogspot.com

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The New Google Mobile Search

found on googlesystem.blogspot.com

One week ago, Yahoo released a new interface for mobile search (available at m.yahoo.com) that focused on showing more local information, more direct answers, and less links. Now Google responds and launches a new version of Google Mobile Search.

The new site is location-aware, so you have an option to enter your location, so you get results related to where you are.

You can now create a mobile version for the personalized homepage right from your phone. Unfortunately, the list of options is limited to weather, stocks, movies and a list of popular news sites. But the good news is that the weather and movie listings are restricted to your location, which can be easily changed.

Because you've already told Google your location, you don't have to enter it each time you search. Here's a comparison between the old version of mobile search and the new one, for the query "pizza". Google shows 6 web results instead of 10 and the focus in on the business listings, which are targeted to my location.


You don't have to specify the type of search (local listings, for example), because the structure of the results is query-dependent. For some queries, you'll see image results or news articles at the top; for others, you'll see local results or only web results. Each section of search results can be expanded.

Another improvement can be found in web search results. Google optimizes the pages for mobile and splits them so you can easily read them on your mobile phone (that's not new), but now it sends you directly to the section that's most relevant to your query, highlights the query in the page, creates a table of contents for some of the pages and shows a link to the feed, so you can read it in Google Reader. That's pretty impressive.

If I search for "tea house google theme" and click on the result from Google Operating System, I'll read only the most relevant section of the page.


If you have a clever phone that knows how to handle web pages, you can deactivate Google's transcoder in the settings.

Google removed the option to search only mobile-optimized pages and merged them with the standard web pages. You'll notice that pages written for mobile phones have a small phone icon next to them in the search results.

All in all, there's an improvement. People can find more information relevant to them with fewer clicks (especially if they're in the US), but Google could have added unit conversations, mathematical calculations, facts, sport results, traffic information etc. For now, simple queries like "13*3.14" or "Italy population" don't return the right answer.

Google Mobile Search is available at google.com/m, although entering google.com into your mobile phone should work as well. You should see a link to try the new version at the top of the page.

Update: Here's a page where you can compare the old and the new version of Google Mobile Search with Yahoo Mobile Search and Windows Live.

Errors in Gmail!!!

ANNOUNCEMENT! Gmail is experience technical difficulties! Upon logging in users are blasted with this error message/apology. Could Google be changing something??? Or maybe they're fixing some kind of security breach we have yet to uncover. Maybe, just maybe the site is down for a make over or a new service is being added! One can only speculate at this point.


UPDATE!!! The error message happened world wide. Julio Dudu has posted the following picture on his blog, which you can see here, and was kind enough to share it with us!

Monday, March 26, 2007

Apple's Leopard reported to be nearing final candidate stage

Concerns that Apple Inc.'s next-generation Leopard operating has fallen behind schedule are overblown, according to one Wall Street analyst, who says checks indicated the software is rapidly approaching completion.

In a report distributed to clients on Monday, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu downplayed a recent report from Taiwanese-based DigiTimes, which speculated that Apple may push the release out to October in order to increase support for dual-booting Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista.

"From our analysis, we believe these concerns are overdone and believe that Mac OS X Leopard will ship on time in the 'Spring' timeframe, or Apple's June quarter," he wrote. "Our sources indicate that Apple's latest beta build has made noticeable improvements in stability and functionality from previous builds and that Apple is likely one or two upcoming builds away from reaching 'final candidate' stage to be released for manufacturing."

Wu noted that Spring technically runs from around March 20 to June 20 every year, which would give Apple nearly three more months to meet its self-imposed ship deadline. However, he acknowledged that a concerns amongst developers is that they are still in the dark on the software's "top secret" feature set.

"At some point, we believe Apple needs to 'publish' or enable these so-far undocumented features for wider beta testing," Wu wrote. "Many are hoping, including us, that it is virtual machine technology similar to that offered by Parallels, Inc. that allows seamless operation of Mac OS and Windows simultaneously. If so, we believe this would serve as a major catalyst for Mac sales."

For its part, Apple has publicly maintained that it will not introduce its own embedded virtualization technology with Leopard, indicating instead that it is very pleased with Parallels' solution and doesn't feel the need to compete. The company, however, has been known to intentionally mislead with some of its forward looking statements, as was the case in the lead up to the launch of the Mac mini.

In October of 2004, Apple chief financial officer told a teleconference of analysts and members of the media that Apple had decided not to compete in the sub-$800 PC market and instead would focus its efforts on its then booming music business and related products.

"We don't think we can make a lot of money there," the exec said. He must have missed the memo, because less than three months later Apple gave birth to the sub-$600 and sub-$500 Mac minis.

In his note to clients on Monday, Wu reiterated a Buy rating on shares of the Cupertino-based Mac maker, emphasizing his belief that the company is morphing into a four-prong (Mac, iPod + iTunes, Apple TV, and iPhone) vertically integrated consumer electronics firm.

"We see several catalysts in the quarters ahead, including Mac OS X Leopard, new Macs, new iPods, new movie and carrier partners, and lower cost cell phones," the analyst wrote.

found on AppleInsider

All Nike running shoes to be iPod compatible by year's end

Nike Inc. said last week that it plans to make its entire line of running shoes

compatible with Apple Inc.'s iPod nano line by the end of this year.

The comment was made Nike president and chief executive Mark Parker on Thursday as the shoe maker released its third-quarter results, saying it had a soft year with some specialty mall retailers.

The segment overall was down, according to Boston.com, with some companies like Foot Locker Inc. and Finish Line Inc. suffering from slumping sales. Nike, however, said it is poised to make major changes in retail this year with the help of leading retail partners that will build strength.

"I won't get into specific dates or executions, but you can expect to see some of these new Nike concepts at retail this calendar year," Parker said

Although the exec wouldn't disclose details, he hinted at changes to Nike's Shox and apparel lines, including plans to make all its running shoes compatible with its Nike+ technology by the end of the year.

Nike+ allows runners to track their workouts -- including distance, time and calories burned -- with Apple's line of iPod nano digital music players.

In September, Apple said that it sold over 450,000 of the Nike+iPod Sport Kits in its first three months of availability. The $30 kit includes a wireless module that fits into the sole of Nike+ running shoes and a receiver that plugs into the base of an iPod nano.

found on AppleInsider

Is JotSpot Google's Glue?

found on googlesystem blog...

Many people wondered why Google bought JotSpot, a wiki company. After all, JotSpot let you create and share documents, spreadsheets, calendars, photos, videos and more. Google already has different services for most of these types of files, but they aren't integrated (or the integration is very limited).

Guillaume Belfiore suggests that JotSpot could integrate all the communication services created by Google into a single interface - let's call it GDrive. "In the end, many existing Google services would be accessible in one place. To me it is pretty obvious that, should GDrive become true one day, it will make an extensive use of the JotSpot technology," says Guillaume.

To get an idea, visit this gallery from JotSpot that shows applications for their free-form wiki model ("everything is a wiki"):

* spreadsheets (think Google Spreadsheets)
* blogs (Blogger)
* forums (Google Groups)
* mail (Gmail)
* calendar (Google Calendar)
* photo gallery (Picasa Web Albums)
* and more (project manager, to-do lists, file cabinet, knowledge base)


Here's what Scott Johnston from JotSpot says about this:

"At Google we will continue to realize our vision of collaborative applications built on an integrated development platform."

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Apple says Leopard won't be delayed

By AppleInsider Staff on AppleInsider

Carve out another notch in the loss column for Taiwanese DigiTimes, which on Friday reported that Apple's next-generation Leopard operating system would be delayed till October.

Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg later spoke to Apple regarding the matter and was told the report is incorrect.

"Just spoke with Apple who confirmed the reports are wrong and Leopard is still scheduled to ship in this spring as they previously announced," the analyst wrote on his blog site.

"The rumor mill is wrong again."

DigiTimes had said that Apple would push Leopard's release out till October in order to bolster dual boot support for rival Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista operating system.

Handy New Addition to Gmail!


On the Google personalized page, one of the add-ons you can choose from is a cute little Gmail add-on that displays your mail so you don't have to go to gmail.com to see whether or not you have email. It's incredibly handy and I can't tell you how much time it saves, but I'm sure it's a lot. You can download it by clicking here.

The news however, is that this little trinket JUST got handier as of this morning! Yes, that's right with Google things just get better! Now there are two new buttons on the widget that let you compose a new email and hide preview. Compose Mail obviously lets you create a new email. Hide Preview however, can be very handy if you have friends who like to write embarrassing words in the subject field that may be totally innocent because it's an inside joke between the two of you, but to normal people you'll look like you're recieving pervy emails lol. So this hides the emails that the widget displays in a very easy way that by clicking on it you can just hide and unhide it. I just noticed the new features this morning so I don't know if there's more or not, but there's a picture of it above in case you didn't understand. I highly recommend the widget .

Saturday, March 24, 2007

NAVIsis Laptop Tablet: Every Laptop's A Tablet

20070320174648637.jpg

Most of the time if you read the words "laptop tablet", you'd figure that the laptop was a tablet PC. But most of the time you wouldn't be accounting for highly dependable Korean to English translation. The $130 Laptop Tablet by NAVIsis is actually an add-on for any laptop, converting your once gargantuan Dell XPS to a gargantuan Dell XPS tablet.

The unit attaches to the side of your laptop LCD (or any LCD, we think) and plugs into a USB port. Presto chango. You are cool (unless you attached this to your preexisting tablet, in which case you are double cool).

The only drawback, no pun intended, seems to be that most screens could not take the wear and tear of constant stylus/greasy finger pressure. But since becoming addicted to my DS Lite, the ease of touching icons would quickly replace the occasional awkwardness of my trackpad.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Farewell to Safari plugins, haxies, or whatever you want to call them

Posted in Apple by Derek at 4:20 pm on UneasySilence

Sad news for Safari browser users. According to an article by Ars Technica, Apple is disabling the use of InputManager plugins.

One more tip we got regarding Leopard, is that InputManager plugins are no longer allowed. That’s right… no more little hacks from anybody besides Apple. No more Apple menu hacks. No more Safari plugins.

Follow the post and comments on hicksdesign. Personally, I find this news unfortunate and discomforting. I will no longer enjoy the blazing speed of Safari + the multitude of "enhancements" provided by various developers. Farewell Saft, Inquisitor, and scores of other useful bits of add-ons for the Safari browser.

I’m going to save some time and start moving all my browsing habits back to Firefox. It will save me the hassle of moving bookmarks and settings later down the road when Leopard comes through. What’s this latest rumor that Leopard may not show until October! The reason being something about providing support for Vista?! Boo to that. Release and patch support later!

Apple may delay Leopard release till October

By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 09:00 AM EST on AppleInsider

Apple Inc. may postpone the launch of its next-generation Leopard operating system in order bolster support dual boot support for rival Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista operating system, DigiTimes reported on its website on Friday.

The Taiwanese trade publication cited "industry sources" in saying the launch delay is not due to software design problems with Leopard but instead is attributed to Apple's plan to have its new OS support Windows Vista through an integrated version of Boot Camp.

"Boot Camp is an Apple software application that currently assists in the installation of Windows XP on computers using Apple's latest OS," the publication said. "The company hopes with support for Vista, Mac computers using the new OS can grab more market share, according to the sources."

DigiTimes, whose accuracy in prediction Apple's future directions is mediocre at best, cited its sources in saying that if Leopard supports only Windows XP, then the chances of the new OS attracting Windows users to buy an Apple computer decreases.

For its part, Apple has maintained that it is on track to ship Leopard "this Spring." However, recent developer releases have raised suspicion over whether the Cupertino-based company will be able to meet that self-imposed deadline, as a number of critical issues reportedly remain in the software.

Apple has also stated that it holds some "top secret" Leopard features at bay, which haven't been exposed to widespread testing. It's widely believed that the company would first have to introduce those secret functionalities in developer builds before calling development of Leopard a wrap.

AppleInsider reiterates that DigiTimes' coverage of Apple has been historically inaccurate and therefore its reports should be taken with a grain of salt. Of note, however, the publication's recent predictions that Apple would use LED-backlit displays in its next-generation MacBook Pro line is believed to be accurate.

Google Tests a New Design for the Homepage

It wouldn't be the first time when Google tests new designs for the (classic) homepage or the search results pages, but this time someone saw a radical change. The links to Google's services were detached from the search box and were moved in the top left corner. Because there's no visible connection between the links and the search box, this move allowed Google to add non-search services: Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs. Now that anyone can get a Gmail account and services like Calendar and Docs & Spreadsheets have matured and reached a wider audience, Google plans to make them even more visible.


Note: the screenshot was slightly edited to fit on this page. Click to see the original screenshot.

found on googlesystem.blogspot.com

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Picasa Web Albums + Picnik!


I did a post about a very nice service called Picnik back in February. Picnik is an amazing, free service. With no install nessacary, Picnik is great for quickly editing all your online photos from one place. It's the easiest way on the Web to fix underexposed photos, remove red-eye, or apply effects to your photos.

Picasa web albums is the easiest way to upload and share photos online. So what happens when you put these two great services together? You get one mindblowing service. This will be done with Picasa's API. More information on API and what it has done for Picasa can be seen below.

The Picasa Web Albums data API allows client applications to view and update Picasa Web Albums content in the form of Google data API ("GData") feeds. Your client application can request a list of a user's albums, photos, comments, or tags, edit or delete content in an existing entry, and query the content in an existing entry.

Here are some of the things you can do with the Picasa Web Albums data API:

  • Include your public photos in your own web page, and allow users to comment on them (and have the comments stored in Picasa Web Albums).
  • Write a plugin to manage your albums and photos from a desktop or mobile phone client.
  • Create a custom screensaver to display your Picasa Web Albums photos on your computer.
More projects other than Picnik + Picasa are on the way and they can be seen below.

Have a camera phone? Use ShoZu to upload your pictures to Picasa in just one click!

Free bookmaking software for both PC and Mac. Make your own bookstore-quality books.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Googe's Tea House Theme

One of Google Personalized Page's more cartoony themes, Tea House. A lovely theme, really cute and the little characters in it move around through out the day as show below.

Night

Sunset

Mid-day

Morning

Sunrise

Microsoft Quarterly Pop Up


I'm running Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition and I just got this "quarterly pop up", something I've never gotten before. Maybe this is nothing, but I wasn't sure. Is this common?

Chapit Domestic Robot: Cute Little Monkey!



This cute, little monkey robot is not only adorable, but also very handy! Chapit is an "intelligent" robot companion with some amazing abilities. The little guy can recognize individuals and differentiate between a man, woman, or child. Best of all, not programming is necessary so less computer savvy consumers have nothing to worry about. This little cutie will also serve you with a few basic tasks like turning lights on and off or electric devices like you T.V or air conditioner.


The little guy can even talk! He comes with a 100 word vocabulary and can learn up to 10,000 words. Chapit even has an internet connection which allows distant control. Let's say your on your way home from work and you want your lights on so it looks like you're at home and those pesky neighbourhood kids don't get any ideas like breaking into your house. Just pull your car over to the side of the road, whip out your PDA or laptop and tell little Chapit to turn on the lights and T.V.



Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Update on Google Themes!

This is just a small, but very exciting update on the Google personalized page themes, it does indeed have international support. You just enter your city, country (ex. Amsterdam, The Netherlands). This should work, it worked for me. And yes I am confirm that the theme changes according to the whether and time of day and will be supplying proof of this soon. Keep checking back to this post.

Update 2: Not only weather changes, but objects in the theme such as the bicycles and stick people in the city theme according to a source that I'm waiting to confirm.

Update 3: Time of day changes are super cool and I'll be posting pictures very very soon!!!


Update 4: Weather changes!!!



Themes for Google Personalized Homepage


Google Personalized Homepage becomes a little bit more "customizable". Now you can select between the default theme and six other childish themes. Themes change the background, text colors, icons, Google's logo, button sizes and more.

The theme is actually an XML that contains a list of CSS files. Google says that the "theme will dynamically change to match your time of day, including local sunrise and sunset times", so you have to enter your location. If you look in the XML, you'll notice a lot of references to the weather, so it's likely that the theme will change depending on weather, as well.

Because the theme is actually just a CSS file (and its dependencies), Google could let users build their own themes and maybe even host those themes to improve the performance.

found on googlesystem.blogspot.com

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The above image is a screen shot of my personalized page pointing out the themes button and another feature I never noticed before that might be new, I don't know yet. Still waiting on confirmation. This feature is the option "you might also like..." by which Google recommends gadgets to you. Another feature is "Send to a friend" an option I also never noticed before. I wonder what else we can expect to see from Google.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Gizmodo's Guide for Gadget Designers: How to Please the Internet

laser.jpg
Dear Gadget Maker,
There, there, don't cry. I know Samsung and Apple got soooo much press this year. You want to fight back with a hit product that'll sweep the Internet like gadget-porno wildfire? You have to build a device that stands out from the background noise. You can't possibly win by turning out yet another cellphone with Bluetooth, a speakerphone, EDGE and that dials just fine. Will the gadget blogs pick it up? Will the Digg-horde descend upon the story with a rain of a thousand clicks? Will Chen put it in his pants? Likely, no.

Instead, here are a few guiding questions you might want to ask yourself as you create the world's next, hot gadget.

Does your gadget have a lot of buttons? Unless it's a phone—and, really, even if it is a phone—buttons are yesterday's news. No one likes to press anything—we like to touch, sure, but press? In the morning? Before coffee? Come on. So, if you've just made a hip new stereo that plays CD's, MP3s, and the thoughts of your enemies—take a book out of the iPhone page and give it a touchscreen, because touch beats out press any day of the week.

Is it made by Apple? Anything shimmering white or eternally black and made by Apple is a sure sell, but you can use this to your advantage by pretending your device is made by Apple. No matter if it's highly overpriced, no matter if it barely works, no matter if you can get the same thing for six times less, if Apple made it, people will not only buy it, they'll find themselves sexually attracted to it (I'm looking in your direction, PowerBook). Microsoft's J. Allard is slowly mastering this effect. Just look at all those $20 knockoff iPods from China. Say your company can't industrial-design itself out of a paper bag, and even knocking off Apple is too much to hope for. Then, just trademark everything with the letter "i" in front of it. (iPooPoo, for example.) And wait for the eventual conflict in trademark to give your low-profile gadget cough*ciscoiphone*cough a high-profile lift.

Does it have sexual appeal/undertones? There are the subtle gadgets—a phone that vibrates a little too much, or an MP3 player that looks surprisingly phallic, and then there are the gadgets covered completely with breasts. Whichever you are, subtle or blunt, sex sells, and nothing sells better than a computer monitor with a nice ass.

Does it do something Sci-Fi-ish?

1) Does it hover?
a) Is it a car?
i) Does it go really fast?
ii) Can it travel through time?
(1) Is it a DeLorean?
b) Is it a hovering iPod?
c) Is it a hovering bra?
i) What size is it?
2) Does it shoot lasers?
a) Do they burn?
i) How badly?
ii) Can you survive the burns?
iii) Does it burn enough to be funny but not enough to cause irreparable damage?
b) Can you annoy people in the theater with them?
i) Can you burn said annoyed people?
c) Do the lasers come in different colors?
i) Are the colors pretty?
3) Can you clone yourself with it?
a) Can you clone other people with it?
b) Can you clone people you've never met with it?
c) Can you do what the people from Weird Science did with it?
i) Will the chick not only be hot but be able to grant wishes?
4) Will it destroy Human Life?
a) Will it do so spectacularly?
b) Will it do it slowly, but with a lot of Robot-related involvement?
c) Will it create a black hole?
i) Will the black hole end up not killing us but sending us into some sort of gate to other planets. A Stargate, perhaps.
ii) Will the black hole send us into the past where we have to stop ourselves from destroying ourselves?
iii) Will the hot chick from Weird Science comfort us while we are torn apart by the horrors of whatever lay inside the black hole?

Does it help avoid the cruelties of life? Life isn't pretty—but a new cellphone that streams TV is beautiful. We all want to escape—so be it a good virtual reality game or a portable media center, people will not only buy it, they'll use it until everything they know and love leaves them, and they are left an empty shell—with nothing but your hip gadget held tight in their dying hands. Which means you and your company are doing well.

Does it help you get fatter? Sure, ice cream machines and chocolate fountains are fun, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about gadgetry that assures us, the consumer, that movement is not only unnecessary, but practically obsolete. Who needs to lose the calories? Gadgets like the Roomba, the Segway, or any number of robots that the Japanese have made not only succeeded because they're cool, but because we as a people hate anything to do with movement. Or exercise. Or not eating.

Can it do more than three things? In many ways, gadget features are like bathrooms—the more you have, the richer you feel. If your gadget can act as an MP3 player, a camera, a Tazer, a cellphone and a sufficient replacement for food, you're in. Just make sure it tastes good—my last RAZR tasted suspiciously like microchip.

Finally, is it actually useful? Sure, breasts are nice—but so is usefulness (which isn't to say that breasts are useless—just that you probably don't need to have your LCD screen covered in them). It's all good and well to make a bright, colorful gadget with 17 features and a promise to "revolutionize the world"—but you've really got to mean it. The market is as oversaturated with useless gadgets as the Internet is oversaturated with videos of naked people—make something useful, something that helps people or impresses them, and your gadget is a guaranteed success.

Lastly, can Chen fit it into his pants?

If you answered yes to any of these questions you've got your foot in the door; three to four, it's likely Giz will show you some love. If you answered yes to more than five, congratulations: You have created the best gadget in the world.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

What's With Google???


I just got this screen when I did a Google search and I did a few more after that to see if it changed back to the regular view and after 7 searches it switched back. I also saw this a few days ago, but didn't pay any attention to it. I HOPE this is NOT the new look of Google cuz it sucks.

Basic Search Refinements


Google Tag Cloud Maker is a Greasemonkey script that aggregates all the words from the titles and snippets of Google search results and creates a box that lists the most frequent words. If you hover over one of the words, you'll see the search results that contain that word in the title or snippet and if you click on the word, it will be added to the current query.

This is a primitive way to refine a query using some information from the search results, but it's also a way to see the big picture, to understand more about your query without visiting each search result.

The idea doesn't work well for all the queries, the popular words are not always placed at the top, and the box also clutters the interface. But it may be useful at times.

To install the script you need Greasemonkey for Firefox. Find more Greasemonkey scripts for Google services at this site.

{ via Lifehacker } found on googlesystem.blogspot.com

Miglia's TVMax+ Records For All Your Apple Gear

TVMax_MacMini_Front_w300.jpg
Called a "home entertainment hub", this Miglia TVMax+ lets you record your TV shows onto either your iPod, your iPhone, or your AppleTV. It's got coax, composite, and S-Video inputs, as well as an analog TV tuner that supports up to 125 channels.

The best part, in our opinion, is that it can record to DivX as well mpeg suited for DVD format, iPod format, and AppleTV format. The price is a little steep though, at $288, but looks like it's worth it for a quick and easy way to turn your Mac into a DVR.

Friday, March 16, 2007

You can now Maximize Cover Flow in iTunes!



There's a new feature in iTunes!!!! You can now Maximize Cover Flow!!!!! Check it out!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

$10 Sub-Pocket Sized SD Card Readers!


These mini card readers from Brando are easily the most handy keychains ever made; forget about your Swiss army knife and forget about your keychain flashlight because if you’re reading this blog you’re a nerd like me and the only use for those two keychains are when they’re use as tools to open up your tower and have a look around. This day and age is all about portability. I fortunately am blessed with a build in card reader in my sexy, glossy Presario V6000, but I thought this might just interest a couple good souls out there. The mini card readers come in three different versions that accommodate your choice of T-Flash/MicroSD memory cards, M2 or miniSD cards, and all three can read SIM cards from your cellphone.

Transfer files to the PC, or slide in your SIM card from your cellphone and back up all your contacts and other information. Handy? I think so and best of all it’s only $10, not too shabby.

Finally, Terrabytes Have Arrived!

Good news for all you ‘my hardrive is bigger than yours’ fanatics, Dell and Alienware just added the option for you to slap a 1 terabyte drive in one of their XPS, Area 51, or Aurora towers. That’s a whole lotta space people! This is some kind of techie milestone. Gizmodo says: That's a hell of a lot of space, although whether or not it's smarter to spread your storage out over multiple drives with less capacity or to consolidate everything into one gigantic drive is up for debate. It looks like getting the 1TB bragging rights will cost you $320 more than a 500GB drive, but it's only $20 more than having a 1TB RAID with 2 500GB drives.

New Feature in Google Talk

I don’t completely understand just yet, but it seems Google has some sort of new feature to Google Talk that will make it more like the Google Talk you use from within your inbox, but apparently it’s made with flash so of course it has a much richer interface. Some extra features, according to the Google System Blog, are listed below.


Some extra features:

* paste a link to a video from YouTube or Google Video and you'll see the title of the video and a thumbnail. If you click on "Play" an embedded player will show up and you'll be able to see the video inside the gadget.

* paste a link to an album or photo from Picasa Web and the gadget will display a thumbnail and some details. If you click on "View", the photos will be displayed in a small slideshow.

* you can also add links to videos and albums in your status. If your contacts use the gadget, they'll be able to see the content without opening a new page.

* the gadget can be added to your web page, although it won't be very useful there.

Taxi

Rumor has it that Vodafone has ventured into a new ad campaign. Taxis in Hong Kong will soon be sporting little USB modems and with them, passengers will be able to enjoy an internet connection while they sit back and are taken to their destination. The idea is to get as many of these USB modems installed as possible. I don’t know about, but I’m starting to get pretty sick of Hong Kong always getting the best new technology. I mean, c’mon; this is awesome. The ought to put it on trains all over Europe!