Google Press Day (New Stuff)

Google announced it was releasing four new products yesterday at its 'Press Day' conference in its Mountain View, CA headquarters (AKA GooglePlex).

• Google Trends: Allows you to monitor trend statistics of keywords and search terms by date and geographic location.
  
• Google Desktop (v.4): The next version of its Google desktop sidebar application, includes several new features and updated Gadgets (add-ins for Google Desktop).
  
• Google Co-Op: This one is a little strange, its not very intuative. Basically You subscribe to different data sources (i.e.: Digg.com, Fandango.com, etc.) and when you search you will see related information for the data sources you subscribed to.
• Google Notebook (will be available next week on the Google Labs page): Its a plug-in that allows you to store notes of text and other media types, such as: pictures, sounds and more.
  

Gone in 60 seconds--the high-tech version (Article)

CNET reports how new state-of-the-art vehicle anti-theft systems are able to be quickly defeated by a car thief with a laptop. IMHO, its really bothersome to see how quick some of these systems can be defeated. So if you have one of those expensive new cars with an RFID systems, make sure that you have your insurance premium all paid up.

HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray Format Wars

Depending on how old you are, you may remember the VHS vs. Betamax format wars. Between the two formats, Betamax had far superior picture quality, but VHS eventually won out. Not because it was better, but JVC was more liberal with its licensing, and the tapes met more of the customers needs (i.e.: like longer recording time).

The new HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray format wars, is just heating up. Personally I am putting my money on HD-DVD, not because its a superior technology to Blu-Ray. HD-DVD will win out because it will have better industry support, and its easier to produce the discs. Although, Blu-Ray has a few technical advantages over HD-DVD, mostly its higher capacity.

Ultimately what will win out is the one that is the most compatible with the existing equipment and media, and best price. When CDs and DVDs were first introduced, they provided such technical advantages over the existing technology at the time that people were willing to update their media collection.

Although, I don't believe HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray is compelling enough for me to want to replace all my movies with it. If I buy into this technology, I would be willing replaces some of my existing DVDs (for example Star Wars) with HD versions of the movie if the quality was that much better.

For more information on the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray, check out the following Wikipedia article. Here is an excerpt: There are many advantages to the fact that HD DVD discs will be the same size as current DVD discs. Backward compatibility will be available with all HD DVD players allowing consumers to only require a single player in their homes to play both HD DVD and DVD discs (also true with Blu-ray). DVD disc replication companies can continue using their current production equipment with only minor alterations when changing over to the format of HD DVD replication. Due to the structure of the single-lens optical head, both red and blue laser diodes can be used in smaller, more compact HD DVD players. Additionally there is a hybrid HD DVD which contains both DVD and HD DVD versions of the same movie on a single disc, providing smoother transition for the studios in terms of publishing the movies.

Rivals Agree On 802.11s Wireless Mesh Proposal (Article)

ExtremeTech reports "The Intel-and Firetide-led SEE Mesh, which had put forward a proposal to compete with Nortel's Wi-Mesh Alliance, resolved their differences and moved forward with a joint proposal that should be voted in as the draft standard for 802.11s, the IEEE mesh networking standard. ... A final standard might not be due until early 2008"

So are you confused by all 802.11 standards, such 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, etc. I have decided to include a brief breakdown of the different 802.11 standards:

• 802.11: up to 2Mbps, uses the 2.4GHz frequency (1997)
• 802.11b: up to 11Mbps, uses the 2.4GHz frequency (7/1999)
• 802.11a: up to 54Mbps, uses the 5GHz frequency (7/1999)
• 802.11g: up to 54Mbps, uses the 2.4GHz frequency (6/2003) [802.11b compatible]
• 802.11n: up to 600Mbps+, uses the 2.4Ghz and 5GHz frequency (2006) [has MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), uses multiple transmitter and receiver antennas to allow for increased data throughput.]
• 802.11s: Mesh networking. A mesh network is a network of WAP (Wireless Access Points) that act like one big network. If one of the WAP fails, the other WAPs will automatically compensate for it. See the following article for more information.
  

Notes:

• 2.4GHz equipment can incur interference from microwave ovens, cordless phones, and other appliances using the same radio signaling frequency range.
• The higher frequency 5GHz equipment signals has more difficulty penetrating walls and other obstructions.
• The 802.11n standard has not yet been finalized, only a draft specification has been ratified as of January 2006.

Ethanol explained (Article)

USNews.com reports: "Most people know that it comes from crops and that it's been around for a while. But advertisements touting ethanol, sponsored by General Motors and others, leave out a lot of the basics. "

This article provides a brief introduction to the alternative fuel known as Ethanol. It's written like an FAQ (frequently asked questions), so it might provide answers to some basic questions that you might have about the fuel.

Here is some additional reference material, if the article doesn't answer your questions:

• Moving Beyond a Petroleum-Based Economy
• Wired News: Biomass Adds to Ethanol Debate
• Pig Manure Converted to Crude Oil
• Ethanol Grows as Gas Alternative

The Self-Assembling Chair (Video)

The self-assembling chair is a robot in the shape of you guessed it a chair. This chair can spontaneously fall apart and then literally reassemble itself. Conceived by Max Dean and built by Raffaello D'Andrea, the creators of "The Table: Childhood," another robotic art installation.

Ryan vs Dorkman (Google Video)

This video was originally pointed out to me by a fellow associate, when we got into a discussion of some of the Star Wars fan films. If you don't know what a fan film is, its generally a unauthorized, and very low budget recreation or parody of a movie created by fans.

One of the grand daddies of these films is the original Hardware Wars. IMHO after Hardware Wars, there have been a few great fan films, like:

• Troops (This is Star Wars meets the TV series cops)
• I.M.P.S. the Relentless (My personal all-time favorite)
• Ryan vs. Dorkman (My new favorite)

The Ryan vs. Dorkman video started out as a friendly rivalry between two effects artists on the TheForce.net, for the lightsaber choreography competition. I would say its one of the best amateur lightsaber battles ever done in a fan film.

Car can travel 157 miles per gallon of gasoline

IfEnergy reports : "Founded in 2000, this new company developed a light-weight passenger car with outstanding aerodynamics. The one, two combination of light weight and tunnel tested aerodynamics allow this car to travel 157 miles per gallon of gasoline or 1.5 l per 100km! "

Democrats lose House vote on Net neutrality (Article)

CNET News.com reports: "By a 34-22 vote, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee rejected a Democratic-backed Net neutrality amendment that also enjoyed support from Internet and software companies including Microsoft, Amazon.com and Google."

'Net neutrality' as it is being called I believe is a good idea. Basically it prevents ISPs from charging large Internet site providers an extra fee for getting access to customers like you and me.

Also, what I have heard discussed is that some ISPs are not making enough profit from the Internet connectivity that they're sell us. So they want to provide tier service depending on how much information you download off the net. Basically as I understand the more you download, the more you pay.


What I have heard discussed is that some ISPs are not making enough profit from the Internet connectivity that they're sell us, so they want to provided tier service. Which someways they already doing this today, by providing different service plans for different fees.

Wages Climb and Climb for Skilled Tech Workers

eWeek reports: "Hourly wages for highly skilled technology professionals notably increased in the first quarter of 2006, following record levels in the last quarter of 2005, according to the latest Yoh Index of Technology Wages released this morning."

Which Superhero are you? Quiz

Take this quiz to find out which superhero you are. According to the quiz I am the Green Lantern. Just answer the questions about yourself and press the Done button.

Drugs companies 'inventing diseases to boost their profits' - World - Times Online

Times Online reports: "PHARMACEUTICAL companies are systematically creating diseases in order to sell more of their products, turning healthy people into patients and placing many at risk of harm, a special edition of a leading medical journal claims today."

Make sure to read the article to get the whole story...

Another Useless USB Beverage Cooler/Heater

Here is my open letter to all companies that produce USB peripherals that change the temperature of liquids while being powered by the USB port on your computer.

Dear companies,

Please stop selling consumers products that can change the temperature of liquids that are being powered off the USB port. The power that the USB port can supply is very finite, about 5 volts. This power is meant to power keyboard, mice, etc.

I don't think the designers of the USB port ever intended it for heating or cooling beverages. There are much better ways of providing this functionality, such as an external power transformer that can be plugged into the wall.

Thank you for you consideration,
Jason

USAirways Parking Brake Set Landing (Pictures)

If you click the link you will see what happens if you have the parking break set during the landing of an airplane. It’s not pretty what happens to the landing gear, but it is believed that everyone on board is safe. Although, you have to give a lot credit to the plane manufacture for being able to design a plane that can survive this type of landing.

I was just hunting UFOs, says Pentagon hacker (Article)

Computerworld reports: "To the U.S., he is a seriously dangerous man who put the nation's security at risk by committing 'the biggest military computer hack of all time.'

But Briton Gary McKinnon says he's just an ordinary computer nerd who wanted to find out whether aliens and UFOs exist."

This is going to be a case worth watching. I doubt if the US government will show him any leniency with a defense like his. I have to admit I find the story very amusing, but I would not like to be in his shoes.

Put a PC in your Car (Video)

A few years ago I would have laughed at the idea of putting any PC into the car for a few reasons. One its a distraction if you try to use it while driving you may get into an accident. Two, technologies change too quickly, so if you buy a system from a car manufacture it will quickly be left behind. Three, there are no standards for hooking up all this equipment or upgrading it, plus everything needs to be retrofitted or customized.

CNET has a video from a car PC manufacture at the Maker Faire that has the first system that I have seen that seems to be going down the right path. In order for this technology to be successful, it has to have the following things:

• It needs to be useful features that people really want (i.e.: navigation, internet access, playing music and video, etc.).
• It needs to be affordable, otherwise no one will install one of these devices in their car because they can't justify the cost of it.
• It needs to be easy to use, otherwise if its too complex it will miss a major market segment that doesn't want overly complex technologies in their vehicles.
• It needs to be upgradeable and expandable, nobody wants to buy proprietary equipment or something that they can't enhance later.
• Its needs to have a flexible design to retrofit into cars that weren't designed to have a system like this.

Seagate Ships 750-GB Drives; Standalones Due Next Week

ExtremeTech reports: "Seagate Technology officially brought its perpendicular-recording technology into the desktop drive market, announcing shipments of its first 750-Gbyte Barracuda internal drive Wednesday. A complementary external 750-Gbyte drive will be released this coming Monday."

A 1 Terabyte (TB) drive is right around the corner. The one bad thing about hitting the TB mark, is any drives that come after it will probably be produced is much smaller increments, such as 1.1TB, 1.5TB, 2.0TB, etc. Although the jump from 1TB to 2TB is huge, and any incremental change after that.

If you're part of the crowd that is wondering what you would do with 1TB of storage. Thing of things like a media center, large hard drives are a godsend. If you run a system multiple OSs, large hard drives are a godsend. If you have a large database with tons of data, large hard drives are... (you should get the idea).

One thing I want to point out is that this drive uses perpendicular recording to store its data. Hard drives for the last 50 years have used longitudinal recording, this is where the magnetic grains that are used to store data are laid flat along the disk platter. This consumes a huge amount of surface space on the disk. Perpendicular recording, works on the skyscrapers principle, which means that more bits can be stored closer together by standing the magnetic grains vertically.

For more information on perpendicular recording, see the following article.

Top 10 Geek Comedies of All Time

As promised, here is the second list which includes my top 10 geek comedies of all time. Like my previous list, it was really hard to select what I considered the best comedies.

I know that there were some good ones that I left out, but that was only because I tried to keep the list down to 10 movies.

• Airplane
• Animal House
• Blazing Saddles
• Blue Brothers
  
• Dark Star
• Galaxy Quest
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Office Space
• Space Balls
• Young Frankenstien

Like always, if you want to post your own list, addition, or comment, just click the link below to give your feedback...

Top 10 Geek Films of All Time

I hate to admit this, but I am a major movie fan. So I decided to create my own top 10 list of geek films of all-time. These are movies that just about every geek would love.

It was hard to narrow the list down to just 10 movies, there were several good choices that I had to omit. Whenever you create a list like this, some people will totally disagree with your choices, while others may totally agree with you.

I specifically chose not to put the movies into a numeric list because I could not decide which was the best and which was the worst. So I sorted them alphabetically instead.

• Fifth Element
  
• Indiana Jones (series)
• Kill Bill (series)
• Lord of The Rings (series)
• Matrix (series)
• Minority Report
  
• Star Wars (series)
• Terminator
• Tron
• War Games

You may have noticed that some comedies are missing from this list. This is because tomorrow I will publish my top 10 list of geek comedy films of all-time.

if you want to post your own list, addition, or comment, just click the link below to give your feedback...

High-Tech Employment Shows Promise (Article)

eWeek.com reports: "U.S. high-tech employment increased 1 percent in 2005, bringing the nationwide total to 5.6 million, with the greatest gains in the electronic manufacturing, software, and engineering and tech services segments, according to the Cyberstates 2006 report released April 18 by the American Electronics Association, a nationwide trade association representing the technology industry."

The more high tech jobs that there are the better. I say bring them on...

Horizontal Cooler Showdown (review)

If you build your own computers then you know that you have several types of CPU cooling options available. The most affordable and therefore the most common CPU cooling technology is the heatsinks and the fan. Although there are also some more exotic options available, such as liquid, and Peltier ('active') coolers.

ExtremeTech has done a great article on horizontal coolers. These are basically heatsinks and fans taken to its next logical level. Here is an except from the article that explains more, "Most factory CPU coolers blow downwards directly onto the CPU or heat spreader. Horizontal coolers elevate the heatsink radiator fins away from the base, directing airflow either toward the chassis exhaust point or channeled to help cool other motherboard components like the northbridge chipset, memory, or voltage regulators. Also, many of these coolers can be used without a fan. If you don't have a scorching hot CPU and don't plan to do much overclocking, some horizontal coolers can easily transform into silent passively-cooled solutions."

Anthology Solutions Yellow Machine P400T (review)

I am a big fan of network attached devices, such as NAS (Network Attach Storage), network attached printers, etc.. PC Magazine's just reviewed one of the coolest network devices I have ever seen. Its from a company called 'Anthology Solutions', and the device is called 'Yellow Machine P400T'.

What makes this device so cool is the that fact that it has so many great features. Although, some of the features may already be handled by other devices on your network (such as your broadband router).

Here is an except from the article, "Why buy and support a NAS device, router, firewall, switch, and Web server when your small business can get the same features in one toaster-size package -the Anthology Solutions Yellow Machine P400T? It supports RAID 0, 0+1, and 5 (the default), builds in 8 Ethernet ports, offers network services like DHCP, HTTP, and FTP, and is preloaded with excellent backup software- Retrospect Professional. I tested a P400T that came with four 250MB drives."

Free Old Time Radio Shows

Before video games, shopping malls, MTV, and the Internet, families used to sit in their living room each night to listen to radio shows such as Abbott and Costello, Superman, Groucho Marx, The Avenger, Gunsmoke, Sherlock Homes, and many others. RadioLovers.com offers hundreds of vintage radio shows for you to listen in MP3 format, all for free.

Download these shows an place them on your MP3 player, or rip them to CD for your grandparents. If you're really feeling nostalgic, copy them to a cassette, then give them to someone.

America's Secret Plan to Invade Canada (Article)

There is a site called 'Damn Interesting', that has posted an article called 'America's Secret Plan to Invade Canada'. Here is an excerpt from the article "At a length of 5,522 miles (8,891 kilometers), Canada and the United States share the longest non-militarized border in the world. Today we think of the two nations as the friendliest of neighbors, but at one time both nations had somewhat detailed plans for attacking one another... just in case."

I was not sure if this story was true, but I did some research, and several sources confirmed the authenticity of it. Below is a reference to another source confirming the story.

Raiding the Icebox
Behind Its Warm Front, the United States Made Cold Calculations to Subdue Canada
By Peter Carlson, Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 30, 2005; Page C01

Force Field Against RPGs (Video)

The Army has a new defense against RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and tank rounds for its ground based vehicles. The technology is called 'Trophy' and works by detonating the explosive part of a projectile before it can damage the vehicle. The technology was developed by an Israeli company called Rafael.

Kanguru 64GB Flash Drive

Kanguru is now offering a 64GB USB 2.0 flash drive. The drive comes in a rugged aluminum housing that can withstand the rigors of transporting it around. Its slightly larger than a stick of gum, and it works under Windows, Mac and Linux OS without any additional device drivers.

The drive also comes with KanguruShield security software (currently only works under Windows) allows users to password protect their data. The software also allows users to resize and format the flash drive space into public and private partitions.

There IS a problem with global warming... it stopped in 1998 (Article)

The Telegraph reported "For many years now, human-caused climate change has been viewed as a large and urgent problem. In truth, however, the biggest part of the problem is neither environmental nor scientific, but a self-created political fiasco. Consider the simple fact, drawn from the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, that for the years 1998-2005 global average temperature did not increase (there was actually a slight decrease, though not at a rate that differs significantly from zero)."

I believe the concept of 'Global Warming' is often used by certain groups and individual to promote some type of political agenda. I will be the first to agree that the weather seemed unusually bazaar over the last few years. I will also agree that we should reduce or eliminate the use of any form of pollution.

The real truth could be that our world is going through a standard shift in its climate. There are also natural forces that can cause climate changes, such as erupting volcanoes (i.e.: the Tambora volcano in 1815 in Indonesia), large asteroids hitting the earth (i.e.: the 1908 Siberia Explosion), etc.

All I am trying to say, is that sometimes we have to think different and be different. There are times we need to be the sheep and go with the crowd, and there are times we need to be the dog herding the sheep.

Prius hits 113mpg (Article)

Auto Express reports: "The firm's (Toyota) next Prius will be so efficient it will be the first production car capable of returning more than 110mpg."

Finally a Prius, that I would consider buying. The first generation of this car, only got mediocre gas mileage. In fact there were a few gasoline only engines that had gas mileage that was comparable.

One of the major points that you need to consider when buying one of these vehicles, is they get their best mileage when driving in slow and stop and go traffic. On the open road where you're able to drive at a faster speed, the car uses the gasoline engine more to power the vehicle.

The current Prius owners have car hacks (i.e. modifications) available to them to extend the MPG of their vehicles. Some of these modification include plugging the car into your house power at night, others include firmware upgrades to the car. See the following Google result set for more information.

Researchers Find Average Desk Harbors 400 Times More Bacteria Than Average Toilet Seat

Market Wire News posted the following story (here is an excerpt): "Working late again? You’re not alone, according to a new study by University of Arizona germ guru Dr. Charles Gerba. You have plenty of bacteria keeping you company.

The study, the first of its kind to measure normal bacterial levels inside offices across America, found paper isn’t all that’s piling up on desks. In fact, the average desk harbors 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat."

This study is going to make a few people very nervous, especially the hypochondriacs of the world. I have a problem with studies like these, in the fact they create fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD).

Over the last few months I have read a few more stores like this, such as:

• "Student finds toilet water cleaner than ice at fast food restaurants" (The title of the article says it all, so I am not going to comment any further, read the article if you want to know more.)
• "Get in the know about the cost of your H2O": Here is an except from the article: "In a study published in 2000 in the Archives of Family Medicine, nearly a fourth of bottled water samples tested had higher levels of bacteria than Cleveland tap water. In fact, a lot of bottled water is tap water."

The fact is bacteria is part of our everyday lives, and most of its harmless or beneficial. Don't get me wrong, there is harmful bacteria out there, but thank God it doesn't exist in the same quantities as the other forms.

In never hurts to be clean, but the key is not to become a fanatic about it. There are some basic things that you can do to help reduce your exposure to bacteria and help protect you.

The main one is wash your hands after certain activities (such as handling raw meat, using the restroom, etc.). Another thing you can do is once a week clean your desk and other work surfaces with antibacterial wipes or similar product.

MIT group develops 'mind-reading' device (Article)

CNet News.com reports: "Three researchers at the MIT Media Lab have developed a device that 'reads minds' and alerts wearer's to the emotional state of the person they're conversing with."

The device is known as a Emotional Social Intelligence Prosthetic (ESIP), is based on an OQO handheld, a tiny wearable video camera, an earphone, and a small vibrating apparatus. The device doesn't read minds, but it does read and analyze the facial expressions and nonverbal cues of other people. The researchers are hoping their ESIP will help people with autism with their social interactions, because they'll be better able to interpret social cues.

Affordable In-Home LASIK Surgery You Can Do Yourself!

"In the past, LASIK surgery was an expensive procedure that could only be performed by skilled professionals in a doctor's office or eye clinic. Often costing upwards of $1000 per eye and almost never covered by insurance, Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) was beyond the reach of most Americans.

Now the revolutionary LASIK@Home system makes clear vision affordable for everyone."

If you have not already figured it out, this is a joke. I hope you enjoyed it.

Port25 - Microsoft Open Source Software Lab

Microsoft has launched a new site called 'Port 25', this site is designed to allow you to have a view into its 'Open Source Software Lab'. The name of the site comes from the TCP/IP port used to send SMTP mail (translation: its the network connection used to send e-mail)

The site was created to promote dialog between Microsoft engineers and the open source projects community. It primarily consists of blogs from the Microsoft staff, but it also allows visitors to post questions about MS and its open source interoperability.

Top 20 Strangest Gadgets and Accessories (Article)

TechEBlog has an article called, the 'Top 20 Strangest Gadgets and Accessories'. After reading it, I will have to admit the article seems appropriately named.

Here is a brief example of some of the items that are available:

20. The Talking Lips
19. Portable Cardboard Speakers
18. Talking Japanese Watches
17. The Baller Cheating Pen
...

Apple Boot Camp: Welcome, Windows XP Recruits

InformationWeek reports: "But while Apple is making it possible to run Windows XP on the Mac, it will be up to users to buy and install the Microsoft operating system themselves. ... Apple is making it possible to run a copy of Windows XP on an Intel-based Apple Macintosh. But most home and business users will have to buy more copies of Windows XP in order to do so."

My question like always, what does this mean for the future. The Macintosh is now the only computer I can think of that can run three OSes: the Mac OS X, Windows XP, and Linux.

Security Watch: Theft of trust - CNET reviews

CNET reports: "Botnets, the latest cyber-based criminal threat, are not just about stealing our identities or credit, some are after something even more precious: our online trust."

First we had viruses, worms, trojans, then spyware, identity thief, and then phishing. Now we have rootkits and botnets, oh what fun it is to surf the Internet. If you don't know what a botnet, check out the following article.

Wikipedia: List of the April Fools Jokes for 2006

Wikipedia has a big list of all of the popular April Fools jokes that have happened today. This list is constantly growing, so you might want to check it out a few times throughout the day.

Google Romance

Google Romance is a place where you can post all types of romantic information and, using our Soulmate Search™, get back search results that could, in theory, include the love of your life. Then we'll send you both on a Contextual Date™, which we'll pay for while delivering to you relevant ads that we and our advertising partners think will help produce the dating results you're looking for.

(If you have not yet figured it out, this is an April's fools joke...)

Swiss Spaghetti Harvest (Video)

Today we are going to set the way back machine to April 1, 1957, when the BBC broadcasted a report about a bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland (which was really an April's Fools joke if you have not guessed yet). After the show ran, the inquisitive public flooded the station with calls requesting tips on how to grow a spaghetti tree.

The video is definitely 1957 vintage, it is also small and hard to see but you will get the idea. This video also requires the RealPlayer to be installed to view it. I tried to find a higher quality source in another format but this is the best that I can find.

Anti-Phishing Utilities for Firefox

Below are some browser extensions for the Firefox browser that are designed to help you detect if a web site has been spoofed. A spoofed web site is a site designed to look like another web site (generally a popular site like: eBay, Citibank, etc...) to steal your personal information (such as your user account and password or credit card information).

This is generally known as a 'phishing attack', a very popular trick that criminals use. It generally starts out when you receive an official looking email from a popular company, and it requests that you update your account information because of some event (like a database was compromised).

This email generally contains a link to the spoofed company web site and asked you to enter your account information. This is where the criminal will capture your information, then possibly send you to the real site.

• ShowIP
  Displays the IP address of the current web page you're visiting in the browser's status bar (at the bottom of the window). It also allows you to perform searches for certain IP related information (just right-click the IP address in the status bar). For example, you can see who owns the IP address (WHOIS), or display information from Netcraft (which tracks information on these addresses), you can also copy the IP address to the clipboard if you need to.
• SpoofStick
  This extension helps detect if the web site your visiting may have been spoofed. Using large and brightly colored words in the toolbar.

Note: Criminals are always coming up with new ways to make their spoofed web sites look more realistic and harder to detect. These utilities are no replacement for common sense, so never trust emails from any company that offers a link to their site, go their directly yourself.

GetHuman.com

When most people call a company to get help, ask a question, etc. they want to reach a real live human quickly. Although most companies phone systems are designed to make it difficult to reach a real person.

To stem the tide a site called GetHuman.com publishes a list of 800 phone numbers (when available) of several mass-market consumer companies in the US, and the process you have to go through to reach a person.

Google Finance is Now Online

One of Google's mottos is 'Our goal is to build products that organize the world's information and make it accessible to our users.' With that in mind, Google's new Finance site is the latest tool in its arsenal of information resources.

From this site you can check out the latest finance news and stock prices. One of the cool features of the site that really makes it stand-out is the interactive stock graphs. Here is an example, using Google's own stock symbol.

Star Wars series to run and run (Article)

BBC reports: "The TV series spin-off of the Stars Wars film franchise will run to at least 100 episodes, according to producer Rick McCallum."

The series is suppose to cover the missing 20 years in Luke Skywalker's life growing up.

A 1972 documentary on ARPANET (Video)

On Google Video: "A 1972 documentary on ARPANET, the early internet. A very interesting look at the beginnings of what is now a huge part of most of our lives."

If you're a computer history buff, then you want to watch this video. It discusses how the ARPANET was designed and setup, by some of its original creators. The ARPANET was one of the original networks which the modern Internet was developed from.

Microsoft sets Apple straight on security (Article)

The Register reports: "...a member of Microsoft's security team has blasted Apple for failing to coordinate its security efforts and to issue proper security advice.

Stephen Toulouse, communications manager for Microsoft's security response team, has blogged that Apple needs a "security czar" to batten down the hatches...."

I believe Microsoft is correct in warning Apple, they need to better coordinate their security efforts both internally and externally. The problem is that Apple and their users think they have the best and most secure OS ever created.

As I said before in my blog, I like the Apple OS X and I think it is the best OS Apple has ever produced. Although, even the builders of Titanic thought they built an unsinkable ship.

For more information, here is another post I have made on the subject.

Russian Scientist Blames Global Warming on Tunguska Meteorite (Article)

MOSNEWS.COM reports: "A new theory to explain global warming was revealed at a meeting at the UK University of Leicester. The controversial theory has nothing to do with burning fossil fuels and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels but blames the warming on the Tunguska Event of 1908 that happened in a remote part of Siberia, the Science Blog reported Wednesday. "

Harmless Computer Practical Jokes

I have to admit I love to play a good practical joke on my friends as long as its harmless. The problem is, how do you make sure that you don't hurt the victim, computer, or its data.

Below are a few suggestions for some computer practical jokes. If you have any suggestions, please post them in the comments:

Note: Perform these practical jokes at your own risk, I am not responsible for the results.

Keyboards and Mice:

• Remove the ball from the computer's mouse on the older mechanical mice. If its the newer optical mice, stick a small piece of tape over the optical sensor.
• Unplug the mouse and/or keyboard from the back of the computer. If its a wireless keyboard or mouse remove the batteries from the device.

Cables

• Almost every computer is a rat's nest of cables, removing the right cable (power, network, keyboard, etc.) can cause frustration for the computer user.
• Any good computer user will have a surge suppressor power strip where their computer is plugged into. Some of these power strip have a breaker, sometimes they manually allow you to blow the breaker. This will basically make the power strip a useless piece of junk until the breaker is reset.

Desktop

• This trick will drive the end-user mad, they will try to click on the desktop and believe the computer is frozen when nothing works. I have seen people reboot their computer several times before they figured out what is wrong. Use with caution, save all the user's work before using this trick.
  
• Take a screen shot of the computer's desktop (press PrtSc screen button). You might want to try taking the screen shot with open application windows, it might add to the realism.
  
• Then open a graphics program like MS Paint (under Start menu | All Programs | Accessories) and Paste the image into the application. Save the file into the C:\WINDOWS\ directory as a bitmap file (.BMP) and set it as the desktop background. (Note: if you're using MS Paint there is a command under the File menu to do this.)
• Then remove the icons from the users desktop, put them in a folder under the user 's'My Document' folder. You can right-click an empty space on the user's desktop, and uncheck 'Arrange Icons By > Show Desktop Icons' (Note: you may have to cycle through [press Alt-Tab] an application that fills the screen to force the desktop to refresh it self)
  
• For extra realism, you can hide the taskbar at bottom of the screen. (Hover the mouse over the top edge of the bar until you see the up/down arrow, then click and drag the taskbar to the bottom of the screen)

Miscellaneous:

• Turn the speaker volume up real loud on their computer and walk away.
• Try playing with the computer settings, such as the monitor, cursor, mouse and keyboard configuration in the Control Panels.
• Change the startup or other event sounds (such as changing the new mail sound, to something like the sound of someone passing gas [you know what I mean])
• Embed the following link into an email, and send it to your friends (http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/891/3dtetris8yi.swf). I promise they will hate you after you send it.
  

Phishing fraudsters aim to outpace site shutdowns (Article)

The Register reports: "Cybercrooks have developed new techniques in response to increasingly aggressive moves to identify and shut down known phishing sites. In a move designed to ensure potential phishing victims always link to a live website, fraudsters have developed so-called 'smart redirection' attacks."

The 'smart redirection' technique is designed to foil anti-phishing tools by making it difficult for the good guys to keep up with them. Read the article for more information.

Google G Drive is not a rumor (Article)

ZDNet.com reports: "An interesting article by Greg Linden points to some slide comments from Google's Analyst Day Power Point presentation last week. The presentation was removed from Google's website but the text is still available in Greg's post. These notes clearly state efforts have been put towards 'infinite storage' in terms of GDrive. In September I ran across compelling evidence that suggests a product by this name was either in the works, or at least being considered — at that time it was nothing more than speculation. Now, according to these notes it isn't far from reality."

Research Warps into Hyperdrive (Article)

Space.com reports: "Take one part high-frequency gravitational wave generation, then add in a quantum vacuum field.

Now whip wildly via a gravitomagnetic force in a rotating superconductor while standing by for Alcubierre warp drive in higher dimensional space-time."

Here is the latest information on possible new space engines that may one day take us to the stars. There is more speculation on advanced new technologies that may one day be a reality in this article, versus real technology.

X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (Trailer)

Are you an X-Men fan, you can now watch the new 'X-MEN: THE LAST STAND' trailer. Also, here is the official web site.

High-Res Images of the Declaration, Constitution and Bill of Rights

The National Archives is making available high-resolution images of the Charters of Freedom documents.

Extreme Survival Quiz

This is a fun test to see if you can survive extreme situations. For example what you should do if your caught in quick sand, a lightning storm, and more. Its a multiple choice test, so you have to pick the best answer. Just remember what you're instincts tell you can help or hurt you half the time in this test.

Is there going to be a 'Google Office' suite?

Google announced on Thursday that it will be acquiring a company called Upstartle, which makes a web-based word processor called Writely. With all the speculation going on about Google Calendar, there's now new speculation that Google might be trying to create a online office suite.

WowWee Unveils First Robot Media Hub (Article)

PC Magazine reports: "Looking unlike any robot I've seen before (or any of WowWee's previous products, SCOTY stands roughly two feet tall and consists of an ABS plastic metal frame with a series of illuminated rectangular panels affixed to it. The two uppermost panels are articulated so that the integrated camera can watch you and the room . Built as part of a joint venture with Philips Electronics, SCOTY is many months from release. Still, the prototype we saw used its head-mounted video camera to recognize us, microphones on top of the uppermost panel to hear us, and speakers to greet us and respond to our commands."

This is a real cool product, its unlike any robot that you may have seen in the past. It kind of reminds me of an interactive desk lamp (read the article and you will understand what I mean).

I would love to have one of these devices after they come out on to the market. Although, I don't know what I would do with it, but I think it would be cool to have.

Windows Live Search Goes Live as Beta (Article)

PC Magazine reports: "Microsoft today announced the availability of Windows Live Search beta which presents a new look along with more search categories and ways to organize, sort, and make use of your search results. You'll also find an updated version of Live.com and a Windows Live Toolbar beta as well. According to Microsoft, 'it's all about experiencing the next generation of unified services today.' To that end they've also bundled in Web clipping and RSS-related features which they acquired with their purchase of Onfolio. This is an exciting development from our perspective, and should make for a whole new level of interaction with Web content from within Microsoft's various apps."

Windows Live.com is really taking off, I am really impress with Microsoft's progress is making on the site. I am a big fan of Google, but I am going to start checking out Live.com more often.

Some of the new features of the site are: search preview, scoping tools, smart scroll, and more. Plus there are new search categories, such as: image, news, RSS feeds, mail, local search, shopping, and MSN Spaces.

Exclusive Screenshots: Google Calendar

This site claims to have exclusive screenshots of the much publicized 'Google Calendar' known as CL2. Currently CL2 is in a closed beta that has only been opened to about 200 participants.

Some of the new features of CL2 are suppose to be:

• Integration into Gmail
• Public and shared calendars (for individuals, families and groups)
• Integration with iCal and other desktop calendars, event creation, search, notifications (including SMS) and more.

AT&T to buy BellSouth for $67 billion (Article)

CNET News.com reports: "AT&T said Sunday it will acquire fellow phone company BellSouth in a stock deal worth $67 billion, creating a telecommunications giant that dwarfs its nearest competitor, Verizon Communications.

AT&T became the largest phone company in the United States after local phone company SBC Communications acquired long-distance carrier AT&T last year for $16 billion. The company, which changed its name after the acquisition was completed, serves 13 states, mostly throughout the western and southwestern parts of the country."

In 1984 the government split up AT&T into the smaller Bell companies to promote competition between all the carriers. Now it looks like AT&T is reassembling itself.

SBC was a power house all by itself before it acquired AT&T in 2005. Now we will have to see what the new AT&T will become after it aquires BellSouth in 2006.

Top 10 Strangest iPod Accessories

There are tons of useless accessories available for your iPod that you can waste your money on. Generally I would not even bother talking about this junk, but this site shows how much crap is availabe for this device.

Fun for about 5 minutes

Want to plays some cool games that will keep you interested for about five minutes? Both of these sites have cool little applets (that are Java and Flashed based) that will keep you interested for a very short period of time.

You can play a 'Massively Multiplayer Pong'. You and lots of your closest friends whom you don't know try to work together over the Internet to play a game of Pong. All the moves that all the players make are averaged, then the paddle is moved accordingly.

You can also play a cool 'Magic Cube 4D Applet' game. It's a Rubik's Cube in the forth dimension.

Have fun...

Life in the Googleplex Photo Essay

Time magazine has an interesting photo essay, it's a day in the life a Google employee at the Googleplex (Google's headquarters). It kind of reminds me of the pre-dot-com boom companies.

Windows OneCare Live

Microsoft recently released a new security subscription service called 'Windows OneCare Live'. This new security service is currently in beta testing phase. Some of new features of the service are: an improved software firewall, anti-virus, data backup and cleanup tools for your computer.

Microsoft also announced the pricing of the new service will be: $49.95 per year to protect three PCs. Currently now while its in beta, its free to try until April 30th.

Google Page Creator

Google recently announced a new service called 'Page Creator' that allows you to create and publish web pages easily. The site claims no technical knowledge is required to use this service.

Although, due to heavy demand they are currently not accepting new accounts right now. If you want, you can add your name to a waiting list by submitting your email address.

The woodpecker that destroyed the world... (Macintosh Security)

If you ever talk to a Mac user about security, they will sing the praises of their operating system. They will let you know how impervious it is too attack. I am exaggerating this point a bit, but there is truth in what I say.

Take for example a close friend of mind who is a Mac user. I am forced to listen to his rhetoric all the time about how much better the Mac is to other OSes.

I will agree that the Mac OS X is a great OS. It has a great GUI, and overall it appears to be fairly secure. I will also give the Mac high marks for being very powerful, and stylish.

Being a Windows user, I run several different layers of security on my home computer, and I make sure that I keep all my software up-to-date. I have been hit by a few viruses over the years, but never had my machine infected or any damage caused by it (Thank God).

I have also cleaned several systems that belong to friends of mine that have been infected by viruses. To be honest, after your system has been compromised by malicious software, you are better off to backup your data, format the hard drive and re-install your OS and applications.

The one big mistake that I have seen companies and individuals make over and over again is a claim that their operating system, application, etc. can't be hacked, or compromised. Fairly soon after the claim has been made, someone generally manages to penetrate these defenses.

For example, Larry Ellison once declared his company's databases were 'unbreakable,' until one day somebody managed to break it. My only point is that if you have a secure product don't flaunt it, it only brings trouble. Hackers love to prove companies wrong very publicly.

I don't have any recollection of Apple ever making any outlandish security claims. Although, as the Mac gains more popularity Apple will need to address its security problems more quickly.

In a fairly recent article from ZDNet, the opening paragraph states: "OS X contains unpatched security flaws of a type that were fixed on alternative operating systems more than a decade ago, according to a security researcher credited with finding numerous bugs in Apple's increasingly popular platform."

There also was an article in CNET News.com: "Just a day after experts warned of what is believed to be the first Trojan in the wild to target Apple Computer's Mac OS X, alerts are being published on a new worm that exploits an 8-month-old vulnerability in the operating system."

I want to be fair in saying that most of the attacks that I have seen against Mac OS X have been pretty benign. Although, I really believe that there is a false sense of security in the Mac community about how secure their OS really is.

Just remember, according to Weinberg'’s Second law: 'If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization'

Will Apple Adopt Windows? (Article)

John C. Dvorak reports: "The idea that Apple would ditch its own OS for Microsoft Windows came to me from Yakov Epstein, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University, who wrote to me convinced that the process had already begun. I was amused, but after mulling over various coincidences, I'm convinced he may be right. This would be the most phenomenal turnabout in the history of desktop computing."

This article will probably have every Mac owner cursing at Dvorak. Personally I don't believe Steve Jobs would ever let it happen. Although, it's an interesting idea...

Software pioneer Bricklin tackles wikis (Article)

CNET News.com reports: "In 1979, Bricklin released VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet for personal computers. Now he's close to finishing the beta for WikiCalc, an open-source, browser-based collaboration tool that mimics the functionality of a spreadsheet while leveraging the technology of wikis, which let anyone, anywhere manipulate data across the Web."

It will be interesting to see if this technology takes off. I think its a great idea, I would like to see how people will use it.

For more information about VisiCalc, check out the following web page. For more information about Wikis, check out the following web page.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 Teaser Video

I have no idea where this came from, but its suppose to be a Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 teaser video. I don't think its a real Microsoft video, but its still funny.

CryptoKids America's Future Codemakers & Codebreakers

The NSA (National Security Agency) has created a kid-friendly website, which uses games and cartoon characters to introduce kids to the exciting world of cryptography.

There are seven CryptoKids, which include Crypto Cat, versed in Navajo; Decipher Dog, a cryptanalyst; Joules, an engineer; Slate, the mathematician; T. Top, the computer scientist; and Rosetta Stone is the language analyst.

New Microchips Shun Transistors (Article)

Wired News reports: "For the first time, researchers have created a working prototype of a radical new chip design based on magnetism instead of electrical transistors."

New transistor-less microchips that use magnetism may one day replace conventional transistor-based chips. Because these devices don't use wires, these chips are suppose to be: faster, smaller, and less power-hungry (which means less heat) when compared to modern microchip technologies.

These devices also have a few advantages over the conventional micro-electronic chips, and that they're suppose to be less susceptible to power fluctuations, and they may also one day allow your computer to boot almost instantly.

Cool Product of the Week: WashDryIron

Do you like washing your clothes (I don't know anyone that does)? Well technology is getting ready to come to your rescue to make this tedious core much easier.

Oliver Blackwell a University of Plymouth (UK) graduate has created the ultimate washer, dryer, and ironing machine. It's called WashDryIron and it can wash, dry and iron your clothes, up to 16 items at once, including king size bed sheets. Blackwell expects his WashDryIron machine to retail for around US$1,400.

Intel shows off its quad core

CNET News.com reports: "Just as the bragging rights for dual-core chip supremacy are dying down, Intel gave the first glimpse of a quad-core chip coming next year."

First there was the Megahertz/Gigahertz speed war with AMD to see who could produce the fastest CPU. Now, we are entering into the multiple CPU core wars, to see who can put the most cores on a chip.

The only problem with running multiple cores is just because you have the extra cores doesn't guarantee you a huge increase in speed. For example, the speed increase you will get going from one core to two cores will be much greater then what you will get from going from two cores to four cores.

True 3D Display Technology Demonstrated in Japan (Article)

DailyTech reports: "By creating plasma in open air with lasers, Japanese scientists are working on a true 3D display"

This device is not the first of its kind, another company introduced the Helio Displays last year that offer a similar functionality. The article is brief and light on any real details about the device, but is still interesting.

PC Industry Looks to Transform Firmware

eWeek reports: "In a move that experts say promises to lead to fewer headaches for IT staff by creating more stable and manageable desktops and notebooks, the PC industry has begun transitioning to the United Extensible Firmware Interface. Dubbed UEFI, the interface offers a standardized way for a PC's firmware, the underlying software that controls its hardware, to interact with the operating system. The new interface offers a standard method for loading an operating system, as well as running pre-boot applications."

One of the leftovers from the original IBM PC that's still in most modern personal computers is the system BIOS. The BIOS (which stand for Basic Input Output System) is what your computer uses to load the OS into memory after it is turned on.

The technology that the current BIOSs is based on is more then 20 years old, in PC time that is prehistoric. The new UEFI specification will allow the creation of new features that's not available in modern the BIOS.

Google's new version of Gmail (Video)

Watch a video by a reporter from CNET News.com demonstrating Gmail's new chat feature. The new Gmail Chat feature is currently only available for Internet Explorer 6.0 (and higher) and Firefox 1.0 (and higher) and in the U.S. English interface only. Even though the chat features of Google Talk are integrated into Gmail now, you still must download the Google Talk client application to make voice calls.

Google Testing PayPal Killer GBuy (Article)

WebProNews reports: "Several retailers have been quietly testing a Google payment system called GBuy, and users will see a GBuy icon next to AdWords paid search ads. PayPal has dominated the online payment field for some time. It has been a profitable business, one which eBay purchased in October 2002."

Advantages of Being a Mother

Did you know that during pregnancy the fetus and the mother's blood mix, and that blood will stay in the mother's system for decades (this is known as 'physiologic microchimerism')? At first this was thought not to happen because the placenta acts like a biological filter preventing the blood from mixing. Later they found out this was wrong too.

After they discovered that the mother and child's blood mix, they thought this might cause problems in the mother making her more susceptible to certain types of disease. Actually, they now believe that the fetus's blood will help the mother by being able to repair tissue and possibly fight off some forms of sickness.

ref: (Khosrotehrani et al. JAMA. 2004 July 7;292:75-80)

Product of the Week: TeraStation Home Server

ExtremeTech reviewed the TeraStation Home Server. They ask the question whether you should buy a pre-built system, or D.I.Y. it.

If you build it yourself there several components that you will need to get started, such as: motherboard, case (with high wattage a power supply), drives, RAID controller (if its not already built into the motherboard), gigabit Ethernet card, and OS/NAS software (there are some prebuilt Linux distro that can handle this). After you have all the parts you have to worry about setting it up and configuring it.

Either way its your choice. If you you're in the market for this type of storage this might be a good place to start. Read the article for more information or check out these pictures.

Quote of the Day...

"The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things."
- Henry Ward Beecher

Send an SMS Message from Google

Google now allows you to send SMS text message to any SMS phone that supports this feature. This is a a cool technology if you're friends, family or colleagues have this service on their phone enabled, and you don't have any other way to send these messages.

The interface for the site is pretty barren, but functional.

Moving Beyond a Petroleum-Based Economy

I was listening to Science Friday on NPR, and they had a great program about alternative forms of fuel for our vehicles. The hot topic was how much petroleum America is consuming, and alternative forms of energy we can use to replace it.

It was discussed that the U.S. consumes about a thousand barrels of oil a second. At this rate, we are not going to have enough petroleum for current and future generations. Our country is very dependent on oil from other countries, and these countries are starting to use it as a political weapon against us.

We need to start changing our energy dependency on petroleum now, and not later. Although any significant changes can take a decade or more for it to happen. If we wait until the last minute, we will be in real trouble.

Two things need to happen for us to begin moving to a non-petroleum based economy. First there has to be a lifestyle change where we reduce our fuel/power consumption, commute more or use public transportation, buy more smaller and more fuel efficient cars and energy saving appliances. Second, we have to invest in the science and technologies required to create the new fuels, and to make the current technologies cleaner and more efficient.

There have already been big advancements in the types of alternative forms of energy and technologies that are available. Below is a brief list covering the most popular of these technologies:

• Ethanol: made from biomass (made from waste saw mills, farm product residue, switchgrass, etc).
  
• Biodiesel: made from soybean or vegetable oils (include wasted vegetable oils).
  
• Hybrid Cars (electric/fuel): cars engines that run on electricity from batteries or from fuel.
  

Future technologies:

• Hydrogen: creates energy by breaking down a fuel (such as gasoline, or water) into some type of energy.

By removing our dependency on petroleum, a lot of great things can happen to help our economy to flourish if we do it right. We can create new jobs, economic prosperity, and lead the rest of the world in the advancement of these technologies. We can also reduce our dependency on foreign countries for a major resource that we rely on to keep our country going. Finally we can make these technologies cleaner and more efficient to sustain ourselves.

Google at work on desktop Linux (Article)

According to the Register: "Google is preparing its own distribution of Linux for the desktop, in a possible bid to take on Microsoft in its core business - desktop software. ... A version of the increasingly popular Ubuntu desktop Linux distribution, based on Debian and the Gnome desktop, it is known internally as 'Goobuntu'."

There has been lots of rumors, speculation, and denial about this subject, but this is the first real article that I have seen that talks about the subject in any real detail.

25 words that hurt your resume

Did you know that there are 25 words that can hurt your resume? CNN.com reports: "Often, when job seekers try to sell themselves to potential employers, they load their resumes with vague claims that are transparent to hiring managers, according to Scott Bennett, author of 'The Elements of Resume Style'"

Ariel Atom 2 (Incredibly Fast Street Cars)

I recently watched a video on the Ariel Atom 2, and I was very impressed by this ultra stripped down track car for the road. Because of its powerful engine and light body, it can beat just about any motorcycle or car (yes even the Ferrari).

The car is powered by a supercharged Honda i-VTEC 2.0 engine putting out 300 horsepower on a body that weights about a thousand pounds. What makes this car fast is its power to weight ratio. For example, the Ariel Atom 2 produces about 600bhp per 1000kg, while a Porsche 911 Carrera produces about 237bhp per 1000kg.

Make a 3D Dodecahedron Calendar

Do you want to make your own 3D Dodecahedron Calendar? For those of you who don't know what a Dodecahedron is, its a 12 sided object. This seems like a great project for kids, or something to do when you're bored.

To make your calendar, follow the instruction below:

• Select the calendar you want to create (either: the regular dodecahedron [which requires glue], or the rhombic dodecahedron [no glue required].
• Select the year, language, and the day (Sunday or Monday) in which your week starts.
• Finally select the format (PostScript or PDF). If you don't know which to choose, select PDF. Note: You can modify the PostScript file if you want to add birthdays to the calendar.
• Press the download button, to get the file.
• Then print it out, make sure to legal size paper, letter size paper may be too small.
• Cut out the template, only cut on the solid lines.
• Fold along each dotted line. Then apply glue to each folded tab and paste the tab underneath the 'petal' next to it.

Cool Product of the Week: MicroOptical

There is a company that I read about at CES that I thought I would like to highlight. Its called MicroOptical, and they make ultra portable wearable displays that you can wear on your glasses.

I have been a big fan of wearable computers for a long time, but have seen them as very impractical, because the display and the hardware was much too bulky. I have watched this equipment shrink in size over the years, and have seen the capabilities increase to a point where its becoming more practical.

The MicroOptical head-up displays are very small, and light (they weigh about 1 ounce), and can accept standard VGA, NTSC, PAL, RS170 and RS-232 signals.

Google Local for mobile

This is one service from Google that I totally missed since it was announced at CES, its called 'Google Local for mobile'. The web site for the service states, "Combining directions, maps, and satellite imagery, Google Local for mobile is a free download that lets you find local hangouts and businesses across town or across the country — right from your phone."

I have not tested it on my mobile phone yet (it's a Nokia 6230, that supports J2ME which is required), primarily because I don't pay for the data services (which is also required). The main reason why I don't use the data services is that IMHO there have not been any worthwhile applications for it until now.

Scientists develop bird flu vaccine (Article)

PhysOrg.com reports: "University of Pittsburgh scientists say they've genetically engineered an avian flu vaccine that has proven 100 percent effective in mice and chickens."

This is great news for our livestock, but what about us humans? The vaccine currently only protects the livestock, which is important because hopefully we can stop that virus at its source. Although, if the virus mutates and passes to humans, were in trouble.

The bright side is that our livestock will live long and healthy lives.

Is the Earth's Magnetic Field Weaking? (Article)

Nova Reports "Like the plot of a sci-fi B movie, something weird is happening deep underground where the constant spin of Earth's liquid metallic core generates an invisible magnetic force field that shields our planet from harmful radiation in space. Gradually, the field is growing weaker. Could we be heading for a demagnetized doomsday that will leave us defenseless against the lethal effects of solar wind and cosmic rays? 'Magnetic Storm' looks into our potentially unsettling magnetic future."

This is an interesting article that discusses the consuquences of the Earth's magnetic field weakening. Which range from the end of the world, to the magnetic field reversing itself.

Disney buys Pixar (Article)

CNET News.com reports: "Walt Disney announced Tuesday that it's paying $7.4 billion in stock to acquire Pixar Animation Studios--a deal that puts Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs on Disney's board of directors."

Cool Product of the Week: Wallet Flash

I am starting a new section in this blog that I am going to be calling the 'product of the week'. These will be products that I find or hear about during the week that I will highlight here.

I am generally amazed about how innovative some USB products have gotten lately. There is a product from Walletex called 'Wallet Flash' that is a USB flash drive about the size of a credit card that can fit into your wallet.

I carry a flash drive with me just in case I need storage. Although I find a I rarely use it, like a boy scout my motto is always be prepared. This wallet flash drive I think is a great idea.

File Your U.S. Taxes for Free File

When the new year begins all of our thoughts turn towards April 15th, the day the tax man comes. Some people look forward to this time of the year because they know that they're going to get money back, and others dread it because they know that they owe money.

Whether you're getting a refund or owe money this year, did you know that you can file your taxes for free online? The IRS has provided a list of sites where you can file your taxes for free. Although there appears to be a catch, 'Free File services are limited to taxpayers with Adjusted Gross Income of $50,000 or less; or otherwise as noted.' (accourding to the IRS site)

If you're just looking for tax advise or tax forms (requires Adobe Acrobat), the IRS has a lot of free information on their web site. This site has become more useful over the years. I remember using it back in the early 90s, the only useful thing on the sitewas the forms that you could download.

Are virtual assets taxable? (Article)

CNET News.com reports: "...virtual-world community buzzing over a new question: Should online game players' assets--the weapons, characters, clothing and such--they've accumulated but not yet sold for real-world cash be taxable by the IRS?..."

I was kind of shocked to see this article, I didn't know how to deal with the fact that virtual assets can now be taxable. I believe in everyone paying his or her fair share, but part of me wants to think this tax is getting excessive when it comes to virtual items. Most of us are used to paying sales tax on the items we buy (unless you live in a state that doesn't have it), but having to pay a tax on an item that only exists as lines of code a server somewhere is a difficult concept for me to deal with.

Whether the items are real or virtual, real money is being used to pay for these virtual items. So taxing these items makes sense, but this doesn't mean that I have to agree with it.

Privacy in the World Today

Do you worry about your privacy, according to Sun's Scott McNealy, "You have no privacy, get over it." Sometimes it feels like we have no privacy, so I wonder if I should 'get over it'. Here is a funny video about what the world could be like if we truly have no privacy.

Google Launches Personalized Homepage For Mobile Devices (Aticle)

InformationWeek reports: "Mobile users can set it up to automatically display information including stock quotes, news headlines, GMail, local weather, and selected RSS feeds. ... The mobile homepage also provides at-a-glance access to Google Web mail, local weather and handpicked RSS feeds. The content is optimized for the smaller screens and low bandwidth associated with mobile devices."

Predictions for 2006 and Beyond

The future is so bright, you will need a flashlight to see it. The future outlook doesn't look too bright anywhere in the world. It seems that we are running out of a critical resource that drives all the world economies and that is oil (no new news here).

I really believe their might be bright futures in other forms of energy production. I also see continued growth and advancements in consumer electronic products.

Below is a break down of my of what I see happening to following industries:

Technology:

• The once powerful gaming industry will start to slow down. Although if you read this Google News page, you might think different. Personally I don't believe that it can keep the momentum it has had over the last several years.
  
• PC industry maybe slowing (or its just Dell), and processor companies will continue to confuse customers with their new branding? (I am really begin to miss the days of Ghz ratings, at least you knew what you were buying)
  
• Computer attacks (virus, worms, exploits, etc.) will continue to increase and grow in sophistication.
• The music and movie industry will continue to publish garbage, and then blame pirates for their profits.
• As consumer audio/video equipment becomes more sophisticated, there will be a lot of confusion among consumers about what hardware to buy. There are several competing hardware standards (i.e.: HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray) right now, and its only going to get worse. People want to buy technology and want it to work well. They don't want to be forced to choose a standard that might not be supported in a few years.
  

Energy:

• We should have put more money into alternative energies after the 1970/1980s energy crisis. We would be much farther a long in finding alternative forms of fuel to power our vehicles and industries.
  
• Oil rich countries will use their resources for political purposes.
• There should be an increase need for nuclear power production. This might scare a lot of people, but right now it might be one of our best alternatives.
  
• There should be an increase spending public transportation and ride sharing programs.
  
• There should be increase spending on alternative energy production.

World (generally more of the same...)

• The environment: more natural disasters to come.
• The older population will continue to rise, and the birth rates will continue to fall in most modern industrialized countries.
• The population will continue to increase in poorer countries, causing increased war, disease, and shortages of food and other resources.

Mobileplay Advertises Outside the Box to Offer Free Content (Article)

PC Magazine reports: "Mobileplay Inc., a venture backed by Los Angeles-based Rustic Canyon Partners, announced Monday that it has launched a beta version of its ad-based service offering free access to downloadable multimedia content for many mobile device users."

Mobileplay offers a free software download that allows you to access a variety of content on your mobile computing device such as: BlackBerries, PocketPC/Windows Mobile, and Palm OS. This multimedia content includes: news, games, weather, and more. Mobileplay supports itself by running small banner ads within the content. For more information, read the following article.

Google Pack Software

Google made an interesting announcement at CES, they unveiled a new package of software called the 'Google Pack'. This software bundles together several popular applications that you might use everyday into one package, and then helps you keep it up-to-date. Most of these applications are available free by themselves, but what is great about this package of software is that it all comes bundled together.

Below is a a complete list of the applications that are included in the Google Pack:

• Google Earth
• Google Toolbar for IE
• Ad-Aware SE Personal
• Google Desktop
• Google Pack Screensaver
• Norton AntiVirus 2005 SE
• Picasa
• Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar
• Adobe Reader 7
• RealPlayer
• Trillian
  

To download the the 'Google Pack' software, go to the following site.

Bye-bye hard drive, hello flash (Article)

Hard drives can consume up a lot of space and power, suck the energy out of your notebook's battery. Flash memory could soon offer a storage alternative for laptops. Cnet reports ,"By about the turn of the decade, NAND (flash memory) could even replace hard drives entirely in some mini notebooks because of the increasing amount of data the chips can hold". For more information read the entire article.

Hard to Find 800 Numbers

Some companies that you do business with don't publish their 800 numbers publicly or they make them hard to find by burying them deep in the bowels of their web site. Well stop pulling your hair out trying to find these numbers, and check out a site called 'Hard to Find 800 Numbers'.

Ipod My Baby

I recently came across a site called 'Ipod My Baby', were parents dress their children up as their favorite MP3 player. This is taking people's obsession with technology too far. The pictures are adorable and disturbing at the same time.

Would you dress your own child in one of these getups?

Simon Sez Santa

I like to post something fun for Christmas each year, and here is my submission for this year. Check out 'Simon Sez Santa'. Give Santa instructions like (jump, sit down, etc.), and watch what will happens.