Archive for July, 2008
Hulu Content Gets More Impressive Daily
Posted by Joe on July 19, 2008 · Comments Off
Hulu continues to add quality content at a impressive rate. The catalog of old and new tv shows is very cool, and movies are being added at a fast pace, including fairly recent blockbusters like Underworld Evolution and Fever Pitch. There are advertisements, but they are short and infrequent. And issues with streaming quality (inturruptions, glitches, etc.) seem to have been fixed. Netflix Play Now video quality is better and more reliable, but then the content is much different and a subscription is required.
Hulu is probably the best service of its type, and is getting better all the [...]
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Making Wikipedia Smarter
Posted by Joe on July 18, 2008 · Comments Off
Wikipedia is considering implementing an approval process that will keep changes from appearing until a designated individual has verified that the changes are not vandalism, reports Noam Cohen.
Wikipedia content is surprisingly good given the nature of the current contribution and revision process, which allows anyone to write anything and have it appear on the site instantly — at least temporarily until someone decides to fix it. However, a change like this would potentially improve the content drastically. But Wikipedia contributors aren’t known for embracing change in “their” [...]
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Synchronicity
Posted by Joe on July 17, 2008 · Comments Off
I’ve been looking for a good solution for synchronizing files across multiple computers, and just today Lifehacker looks at 5 popular options. I’ll be trying some of these out to see if they meet my needs.
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Sony BDP-S350 Blu-Ray Player Shipping
Posted by Joe on July 16, 2008 · Comments Off
The new Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player is now available at retail. From Amazon, it’s $391.92 with free shipping (a few dollars below list price).
Features:
True 1080p Output
Dolby TrueHD compatible
Ethernet connection for BD-Live Compatibility and firmware updates
USB Port Allows More Storage for Access to More Special Features, Like Bonus View
Higher Bit Rates mean less video compression
Emmy-Award Winning Xross Media Bar Interface
Bravia Sync for Easy Connectivity
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Google Wants You To Digg Their Search Results
Posted by Joe on July 16, 2008 · Comments Off
I actually don’t want to help Google improve its search results…I want the results to already be good when I perform a search. Google is testing digg-like voting on search results, a system that seems ripe for gaming by l33t haxors. Then again, it may be a brilliant idea that improves Google’s already amazing search results. If Google adopts the new ranking system, time will tell.
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Google Docs Rocks Template Gallery
Posted by Joe on July 16, 2008 · Comments Off
Google Docs has launched a template gallery, including useful templates for documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Google Docs is an impressive suite of apps, and it keeps getting better (slowly but surely). The template gallery adds a lot of functionality.
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7 wannabe iPhone killers
Posted by Joe on July 16, 2008 · Comments Off
Fortune Magazine takes a look at 7 very iPhone-ish handsets:
These copycats also have touchscreens, built-in music players, a high-speed 3G network and, unfortunately, power-hungry batteries. Can they dent iPhonemania?
The Samsung Omnia is the phone that caught my eye (too bad it’s currently only available in Asia):
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iPhone eReader Now Available — I Finally Want One
Posted by Joe on July 15, 2008 · Comments Off
Now that the iPhone (and iPod Touch) has software available to turn it into a real ebook reader, I’m tempted to overlook all the other “issues” I have with the devices. The folks at eReader.com have dropped a version of their reader software into the iTunes App Store:
JUST RELEASED! eReader Pro for iPhone and iPod touch is an award-winning application used to read eReader eBooks on your Apple iPhone or iPod touch. eReader Pro has more features than ever before, including free eBooks, the ability to read dictionaries and more! Download your eReader.com or Fictionwise.com bookshelf [...]
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Blackberry Bold Gets Reviewed
Posted by Joe on July 15, 2008 · Comments Off
The Boy Genius Report has a hands on review of the Blackberry Bold — those sneaks have been playing with evaluating it for over a month.
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Radiohead: House Of Cards
Posted by Joe on July 15, 2008 · Comments Off
Radiohead has released a video for House of Cards shot with lasers instead of cameras. The video is amazing, and the song isn’t bad either. And we all love frickin’ laser beams!
There’s a “making of” video here.
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HP iQ506 TouchSmart PC – Stylish Touchscreen All-In-One PC
Posted by Joe on July 15, 2008 · Comments Off
The innovative new HP iQ506 TouchSmart PC is now available. The Touchsmart is an all-in-one multimedia PC with an integrated 22-inch touchscreen.
Features:
2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 processor
500 GB hard drive
4 GB RAM (max)
dual-layer DVD-R drive
NTSC/ATSC TV tuners with PVR capability
Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS HD graphics (up to 2047 MB total memory)
Tri-mode Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet
5 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 ExpressCard, 5-in-1 memory card reader
Pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit version); includes wireless keyboard and optical mouse
This is [...]
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When Geeks Attack
Posted by Joe on July 15, 2008 · Comments Off
A cyber-attack in San Francisco:
A disgruntled city computer engineer has virtually commandeered San Francisco’s new multimillion-dollar computer network, altering it to deny access to top administrators even as he sits in jail on $5 million bail, authorities said Monday.
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Netflix Streaming on XBox 360
Posted by Joe on July 15, 2008 · Comments Off
Netflix and Microsoft have announced an exclusive partnership to offer streaming movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the television via the Xbox 360 later this year. The service will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers. Xbox LIVE Gold membership costs around $60 a year, and the cheapest qualifying Netflix plan is $8.99 a month. Requiring the Xbox LIVE Gold membership seems like a pointless burden on consumers, but I guess Microsoft want to get paid, too. It’s definitely a sweet announcement for consumers that already have both memberships.
Netflix [...]
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Apple Takes On Clone Maker In Court
Posted by Joe on July 15, 2008 · Comments Off
Apple is going after Mac clone maker Psystar, AppliInsider is reporting:
The Mac maker filed a formal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on July 3rd, just one day after Psystar began distributing a modified version of the Mac OS X 10.5.4 Leopard update to customers who had previously purchased one of its unauthorized Mac systems.
While details of the suit are unclear at this time, AppleInsider has learned that Apple and its counsel at Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP filed the suit on grounds of copyright infringement.
The days of the “OpenMac” [...]
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FF Jumps To XBOX
Posted by Joe on July 14, 2008 · Comments Off
Wow, Final Fantasy XIII will not be a PlayStation 3 exclusive. The franchise is jumping onto XBox 360, according to an announcement at E3 today:
“Available on Xbox 360 at launch in North America and Europe,” said Square Enix. “We believe that bringing the game to Xbox 360 will allow us to provide a game to even more fans in North America and Europe.”
Way to keep a secret, guys.
According to Wikipedia, FF has been a Sony-only franchise since Final Fantasy VII, aside from the Final Fantasy XI MMO available on PC and XBox 360:
* Final Fantasy was released for the Nintendo [...]
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One Million 3G iPhones Sold
Posted by Joe on July 14, 2008 · Comments Off
It took 74 days for Apple to unload 1 million 1st generation iPhones. The 3G iPhone reached that stunning figure in just 3 days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. No wonder the activation servers were hosed.
Source: Apple Press Release
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Unstable iPhone Apps
Posted by Joe on July 14, 2008 · Comments Off
There’s an interesting discussion going on over at TUAW.com about stability issues with a lot of the new iPhone apps, and whether the blame lies with Apple’s flaky firmware upgrade or with the 3rd party developers. Cetainly, developers didn’t have much opportunity to beta test their applications with the new firmware. Apple’s obsession with publicity and high-profile “launches” can be blamed for that.
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Google Trends Hacked Again
Posted by Joe on July 14, 2008 · Comments Off
Gaming Google Trends is becoming a serious hobby for some folks. Last week it was a lame swastika search, and now it’s a much funnier anti-Google phrase that has been flipped upside down using alternate characters (this site can help you craft your own upside-down insults).
Find more details of the latest Trends hack at Bloggle.
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Palm’s iPhone Killer — Not Coming Soon (Or Ever)
Posted by Joe on July 14, 2008 · Comments Off
The 3g iPhone launch got me thinking about Palm’s place in the smartphone universe, and how they’ve squandered the huge lead they once had. Palm has been essentially updating the Treo 600 for years now, with nothing new and revolutionary even being hinted at. Don’t get me started on the still-born abomination that the Folio was.
What would it take for palm to make a comeback? Not as much as you might think. Imagine a pretty white Palm Centro, but with a full touch-screen instead of a keyboard. Palms already have touch screens, and past devices relied on software keyboards [...]
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Workbooks For Young Novelists
Posted by Joe on July 13, 2008 · Comments Off
The folks behind National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) are providing printable workbooks for young writers to help them get started:
You have found NaNoWriMo’s online Young Novelist Workbooks. Below, you will see that we have put together three of them—one dedicated to elementary school students, one to middle school students, and one to high school students. Inside each workbook you will find grade-appropriate, mind bending, creative-writing worksheets and activities to help guide you through your noveling journey this November. No matter what age you are, we encourage you to explore all [...]
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Computer Program Knows When To Hold ‘Em
Posted by Joe on July 13, 2008 · Comments Off
Ars Technica has a post about the recent defeat of expert human Texas Hold ‘Em players at the hands of the Polaris computer program:
In a series of matches that took place over the Fourth of July weekend in Las Vegas, the researchers’ Polaris poker program won against a group of top-ranked online poker players.
This is bigger news than it would seem. As computational power continues to increase exponentially, the capabilities of artificial intelligence and expert systems will drastically change our society. Then again, if dogs can play poker, why not computers?
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To The Moon And Back — In The ISS
Posted by Joe on July 13, 2008 · Comments Off
Send the International Space Station to the moon? That’s Michael Benson’s idea. It’s certainly past time to go back there. Of course, it would need to take along some sort of manned landing craft, or there’s really no point (Benson addresses this in the article).
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Blackberry Thunder Hands On Pics
Posted by Joe on July 13, 2008 · Comments Off
The guys at CrackBerry have posted some hands-on pictures of the upcoming Blackberry Thunder. The big landscape keyboard looks nice, but I’m not so sure about the predictive keyboard shown in portrait mode. Regardless, this will be an impressive phone.
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Yahoo! Domain Fee Skyrockets
Posted by Joe on July 13, 2008 · Comments Off
I have 1 domain name registered through Yahoo! Domains, which I grabbed a year ago when they were running some kind of sale. With my renewal notice today, I got this little tidbit:
Important note: Beginning on July 1, 2008, Yahoo!’s annual domain renewal price increases to $34.95 per year.
With GoDaddy.com charging under ten dollars for the exact same service, I’ll be switching the domain over ASAP. Domain registration is essentially a commodity. Why any company would think they can impose a 350% price increase on a widely available commodity and not drive customers away is beyond [...]
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iPod Touch Owners Saying No To $10 Upgrade Fee
Posted by Joe on July 12, 2008 · Comments Off
As everyone knows, Apple is providing 1st generation iPhone users with a free update to the new firmware that finally enables sanctioned access to 3rd party applications (via the Apple app store), among other things. However, Apple is asking owners of the iPod Touch to shell out $10 for the same update.
This seems outrageous to me — as I understand it, Apple blames Sarbanes-Oxley accounting requirements rather than simple greed for the fee. That’s bunk, of course. Other hardware manufacturers routinely offer firmware updates at no charge.
Apparently, at least a few Touch owners [...]
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