Friday: March 19, 2010
- Netflix decides to do away with that friends feature that nobody used.
Maybe this would have worked better had they tried to incorporate into - I don't know, a popular social network perhaps? Seems like the right place where friends would want to exchange information about the types of movies they happen to be renting at the time. Maybe that's just me.
- External USB storage support might be coming to your local Xbox 360.
...with rumors and images of a slimmed down motherboard floating around the Internet, we may soon see a version of the system without slots for memory units at all. Whatever happens in the future, USB storage has become cheap; this news may cause a newfound interest in the Xbox 360 Arcade hardware.
- Want to keep your batteries working longer? Freeze them.
This is a handy tip for anyone who happens keeps a cache of batteries around at all times for various toys and gadgets. Another post on Lifehacker lists out all sorts of other battery hacks you may not have previously known about.
- A collection of tutorials on how to make a variety of different money origami.
Yes, you really can make anything from a dollar bill heart to a dollar bill t-shirt. My personal favorite is the dollar bill wallet. The sheer logic of putting money in something that is already made of money makes me dizzy.
- Seven things you should probably never say to your boss.
'This job is easy! Anyone could do it!' Maybe what you're trying to convey here is that you're so brilliant your work is easy. Unfortunately, it comes off sounding more like, 'This work is stupid.' Bosses don't like hearing that any work is stupid.
Thursday: March 18, 2010
- Google teaming up with Sony and Intel to infiltrate your television.
Google intends to open its TV platform, which is based on its Android operating system for smartphones, to software developers. The company hopes the move will spur the same outpouring of creativity that consumers have seen in applications for cellphones.
- Disgruntled employee disables hundreds of cars from the comfort of his PC.
I wouldn't call this so much of a 'hack' (or hacker according to Wired) but rather a disgruntled employee who happened to know his way around a most-likely poorl y designed online security system. If you put functionality like this online without proper security this is just an accident waiting to happen.
- Want to run Internet Explorer 9 on your Windows XP machine? Tough luck.
Microsoft has decided to give Windows XP users the finger and not allow them to use their latest and greatest web browser until they upgrade their OS over to Vista or Windows 7. Yet another reason why I'll be sticking with Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari or any other superior browser. Good work, Microsoft.
- Amazon pulls the curtain back on brand new Kindle app for the Mac.
Want to give e-reading a whirl without the aid of a Kindle or other e-book reading gadget? Amazon is here to save the day with a free download to do just that. The average Kindle book will set you back about ten bucks.
- Leaked photo of updated Xbox motherboard hints at upcoming slim version of Xbox 360.
This move would make sense given that Sony already has a much slimmer version of the PS3 compared to the bulky original one that was first announced. And while I don't mind the current design of the Xbox 360, it certainly could stand to lose a few extra pounds.
Wednesday: March 17, 2010
- Disney makes good use of their monorail system for some new ads. Tron-orails!
This is some particularly clever advertising from the folks over at Disney for the upcoming reboot of Tron (coming out December 17t h). Of course the effect may be lost if the monorail happens to be traveling in the opposite direction of the ad but that's a minor detail.
- Want a new way to get your coffee fix on? Try inhaling it.
First there was the chocolate aerosol that gave chocoholics all the flavour without the calories of their favourite snack. Now the same scientists have come up with the coffee spray that gives you as much caffeine as found in one single espresso.
- Fake Steve Jobs to get his very own half-hour television sitcom.
What makes this interesting is the addition one of the staff writers from 'Seinfeld' who will be pitching in on development of the series. Bring in the Mossberg puppet as the cranky neighbor and you've got a hit show.
- The great big red spot over on Jupiter has brand new glow about it.
Turns out that great big red spot is not just a plain old oval after all. It seems to act as a mood ring of sorts to indicate weather and circulation patterns for nearby storms systems. You can see this glow for yourself at home, assuming you have your very own infrared telescope facility.
- Blockbuster would like you to know that they may be going bankrupt in the near future.
'Our level of indebtedness may make it more difficult for us to pay our debts as they become due and more necessary for us to divert our cash flow from operations to debt service payments,' the company said in its filing.
- Eight common CSS mistakes and how you can fix them.
Yep, this about covers every mistake I've made along the way so far in my learning of CSS. Looking over my source code now it seems there are still a few I've yet to correct. Regardless, if you're just starting out learning the ins and outs of CSS, read this first - it may save you some tim e (and potential headaches). Good luck.
- Gandalf confirms that 'The Hobbit' will indeed start filming this June.
This news comes straight from Ian McKellen's website who will of course be reprising his role as Gandalf the Grey. Casting is already in progress and it's estimated that filming will take about a year or so over in New Zealand.
- Google's Nexus One phone considered a flop due to lagging sales.
Turns out that the Google has only moved about 135,000 of these units. This is staggering when you take into account that Apple had already sold a million iPhones by the same time in that product's life cycle.
- Ars Technica reviews Sony's much-anticipated motion control scheme for PlayStation 3.
It's bad news when you reveal a product this large, with so much riding on it, and within an hour people are putting down the controller and walking away from the demos.
- Turns out that more and more employers are using tech to track workers.
This post details just how easy (and cheap) it is in this day and age to monitor exactly what people are doing in the workplace. If you happen to have some sort of job in a tech-related field - it's even easier. If you think Big Brother is watching you - well, he probably is.
- Meet Pisco, the very first surfing alpaca.
Mr Pianezzi, 44, has introduced his alpaca Pisco to the waters of the Pacific Ocean over the past several months. Unlike dogs, an alpaca does not instinctively jump into the sea for a swim.
- Microsoft pulls the curtain back on Internet Explorer 9.
The good news is that there will be better support for web standards and a brand new JavaScript engine that promises to improve overall speed and page loading times. Bad news is that it's still Internet Explorer. You can take an early version of IE9 for a test drive on the other side of the click.
Monday: March 15, 2010
- The ten drawbacks of naming your city, state, or country to 'Google'.
2. Finding Pizza : Till date Google Search has enabled some awesome results when you search Pizza and your city name. For example – “Pizza in Jaipur“. For Topeka it will be now “Pizza in Google“
- Have a gander at twenty-six gigapixels worth of Paris, France.
Turns out that twenty-six gigapixels can make for some interesting aerial photography with some astounding details. For instance, try zooming in on that speck off in the distance, it's probably a building.
- Netflix decides to cancel new contest amidst privacy concerns.
The retreat announced Friday settles a lawsuit alleging Netflix's plans to release millions of movie-rental records that could have illegally exposed sensitive information about its subscribers' tastes and lifestyles.
- The folks at Digg would like you to know that a redesign is coming in the near future.
Wow, I haven't used Digg in a long, long time (reddit ftw) but I'm quite curious to see what new 'radical features' they have in store. One of the key changes according to the source article is an unlimited number of topics (aka subreddits). How original.
- Have a peek at the world's largest labyrinth recently constructed over in Buffalo, New York.
Recently built over in Buffalo for a winter festival, this maze consists of 2,200 blocks of ice which weigh about 300 pounds each. The maze itself m easured in at 12,855 square feet beating the previous record-owner by a whopping 4,575 square feet. Wow.
- This time around Apple says if your iPad battery fails, you get a brand new iPad.
Sure, it's a minor inconvenience when the battery in your Apple device won't hold a charge but in this case at least you'll be getting an entirely new device when and if it actually fails. The swap will set you back $99 bucks (plus shipping).
- The age-old art of blogging may have peaked thanks to introduction of Twitter.
Blogs are meant for people for whom being a writer, being a creator, is a passion, or perhaps a requirement of life. They're meant for people for whom Facebook's 'What's on your mind?' question can't always be answered in 500 characters or less.
Thursday: March 11, 2010
- LucasArts announces special edition of Monkey Island 2 coming this summer.
This should be a happy day for all fans of the Monkey Island franchise. The previous special edition of Monkey Island for Xbox 360 (and practically all other major platforms) was a joy to play. Guybrush even has a new haircut this time around.
- Sony finally pulls the curtain back on their new Wii-like motion controllers.
I like how Sony's marketing department is billing this a way to 'graduate' for respective owners of the Nintendo Wii console. Upgrading your current PS3 setup with these new motion controllers (with video camera) will set you back a hundred bucks or less.
- A list of ten useful website analytics tools for your analytical pleasure.
You may not have known but Google isn't the only game in town for getting some decent web statistics. This post covers some of the non-Google tools you can try out to gauge performance of your beloved web site or web apps.
- New survey shows that 12% of employees knowingly violate IT policies.
With 12 percent of those people actively working outside of stated IT policy (and plenty more who do so out of ignorance), IT admins certainly have their work cut out for them if they want to maintain a tight ship.
- Miniature cities, towns and things through the minuscule eye of Photoshop.
Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Lisa inadvertently grew a tiny city as a science project? This is kind of like that. Yes, it seems that I can relate any post to some kind of Simpsons episode. Now bring me some shoes.
