News
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Finally, the wait is over. It seems that the Virtual keyboard has quietly hit the market. Warrant that at current stages its not cheap, but definitely a step towards a future.
http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050124_174825.html
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/
Seems it connects to most laptops no problem, but why? Why would you want to use a virtual keyboard on a laptop that usually has one? I can understand if its a tablet PC, but a laptop? Oh well.....
Now I'm just waiting for this device to become ubiquitous and get embedded into furniture or walls. Remember how in Star Trek, on a starship, you're always able to just touch a part of the wall and bring up a console? With this device embedded in furniture, desks, and wall, you can do just that. Imagine 10 - 20 years down the line to be able to adjust the settings of your home security system or central air condition just by touch certain parts of the wall to bring up a virtual console. That's my dream home. :p Of course, at current stages, the red is just ugly, though I do agree that its more easily visible.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Laszlo.....that has been my obsession for the past few days every since I found out about it. As far as I can understand, it is an open source platform on which you can deploy rich web content and applications. The biggest draw for me, of course, has been the fact that it is developed using XML.
So, what can Laszlo do for you? Just check out the clock on the side bar. That is created from Laszlo. To find more components that you can add to your website, check out http://www.blogbox.com/ which has a few Laszlo applications.
The biggest catch for Laszlo is that it is like PHP, ASP, JSP, and all that jazz. It requires server side support. So, how can I run a Laszlo application even though I'm using a generic webhosting from an ISP? Well, that's where http://www.mylaszlo.com/ comes into play. That is basically a free place to host and test your Laszlo applications and other people's applications.
For more information, go to http://www.laszlosystems.com/.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Someone once asked me why the hell I need a DVD-ROM drive and a DVD Writer on my computer. To me, that was pretty much a no-brainer question, since I once had a CD writer in the same system (which mean I have 3 optical drives on one system). But to those less informed, I'll throw out my reasoning.
Just now, I am once again relieved that I do have 2 optical drives. To be specific, I have a NEC 1300A DVD +/- RW and a LiteOn 16x DVD-ROM. So, can't the DVD writer act as a DVD reader? The answer you'll get from your average BestBuy sales person is "Yes." The answer you'll get from me is "No." My reasoning? Well, its more practical experience than reasoning. I've learned in the past, during the CD writing phase, that my CD-RW drive didn't always read CDs it burned, while my CD-ROM drive was more reliable at that. And sometimes, its actually the other way round. So to be safe, ever since then, I've always had at least 2 optical drives of differing brands/manufacturer in my system. So, just now, after a simple firmware upgrade and some times just by random, my DVD writer actually refused to read a disc that I had burned with it about 3 weeks ago. So, I pop the disc into the other drive, and no problem there. So, once again, I'm glad I have two drives. Also, for those less informed, DVD writers can usually ONLY read DVDs at half the speed of a DVD-ROM (which is a pure reader).
As to my opinion how unreliable DVD writers can be when reading, I say its all because of the laser. Crash course in DVD writing and CD writing. The process involves upping the power of the laser that was originally meant for reading to a point where it can sort of "burn" data onto the disc. Another reason why the process is called burning. Now that whole process is a very fine tuned thing and any slight variations may be fatal. Also, there are issues with media and angle and all that jazz. So for me, I leave the reading to the dedicated reader and the writing to the dedicated writer. Much more reliable, if you ask me.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Well, once again, another week is over....
If you really ask me what happened this week, I'd say that I have no clue whatsoever. However, to start a new week, why don't we all smile a little at our own inherent stupidity and read the following article.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/14/toilet_brush_prize/
Sometimes, the most obvious things in life are the most ignored.
Sometimes, the dumbest statements in life are the most important ones.
....just some food for thought.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Well, in light of the tsunami disaster in south and southeast asia, somewhere in the back of my mind had wondered when something like what I read today was going to happen. And sure enough, it has, though I have to say that it took me off guard too. Since I still I have friends in Taiwan, I get their spam as well, which is good and bad. Sometimes I get light hearted jokes (99% of the time) and then on the crazy occassion, I get something that just throws me a curve ball.
The main issue was, why the hell should Taiwan's government help Indonesia and Thailand? Well, the American answer would be "...are you nuts? More than 150,000 people died in the region and the place is a f*cking mess! Of course they need help!" Well, the truth is, that's the westerner response, who may not be as well informed about relations in that region as people from the region.
See, there's been this thing going on about Indonesians and Thais and Chinese people. Let's just say the first two aren't on good grounds with the last (and that's putting it lightly). Nope, its a fact, Indonesians hate Chinese people and Taiwanese people. They're government is not exactly friendly towards us either. Well, technically they're friendly enough to take our money and then leave us outside for the wolves while they sit by their warm fire place in their brick house. So, how much do they hate us? Well, I hate to be blunt, but we're probably looking at the extent that middle-eastern terrorists hate Americans or how nazi Germans hate Jews. It's pretty bad. Of course, if its just tension, then that's no good reason....
The point of the e-mail I got, and the example they used was the 1998 riots in Indonesia. It included an article containing first hand accounts of what happened. Basically, that was a very bad time to be chinese, even worse if you're a girl....age didn't seem to matter either..... The content was so disturning that it even has me shaken up (though I'm usually fairly stoic and optimistic). So, basically, it was an organized ethnic hunt....leaving tens of thousands of chinese raped, beaten, or killed....
So...after reading all that...and the fact that no one seem to say anything about it afterwards, I kind of started wondering too..... As sympathetic as I am to the tsunami victims.... Its kind of a moral dilema..... Do you save your worst enemy so they can terrorize you some more in the future? Or do you just let them be and view it as "what goes around comes around...."
Well, I'm not going to venture further. I had to write something to clear my mind a bit because I'm just disturbed, majorly.
Just a side note....this is mainly towards Indonesians, it seems.....
I would post the article, but its in chinese and its way too graphic.....
Monday, January 10, 2005
It's that time of year again.....yes....the start of a new semester.
To me, its the start of some new headaches, like the girl from my class last semester asking me to seee if I can change her grade because of many technical reasons. I'd really love to say in with the new and out with the old, but some things you just have to deal with. I'm a nice guy, so I guess I'll still help her out.
As for news.....I need time to read them......
For those of you that haven't tried yet, Microsoft just released a beta version of their anti-spyware software. Actually, I should use the word "their" technically, since the piece of software was originally written by another company called GIANT, which MS bought up a few weeks ago. I've been trying it and feel pretty good about it. Well, I feel pretty good about the software, not my system. I found like 10 spyware on the first can, and 8 of them were classified as high risk. I installed it on my wife's computer and her's was clean.....kind of discouraged me, since I know she browses the net more than me......
Oh well, now that CES is over, there's less fuss on the hardware stuff. Now we must wait for the next big thing. :p
Thursday, January 06, 2005
The annual CES party is going on in Vegas as usual and all sorts of neat new stuff are being shown. Wish I could be there.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words...and the last one on this page may probably be worth more :D
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20564
They say a picture is worth a thousand words...and the last one on this page may probably be worth more :D
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20564
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Time to celebrate!!!!
Today is known as the birthday of PCs....!!! Its been exactly 30 years since the first Atari 8800 microcomputer was advertised and sold. Its incredible to see how far the PC has come to what it is today.
http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050104_122411.html
On a side note....another holographic storage device has appeared....along with the many other possible holographic storage solutions.....
http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050104_142527.html
Personally, I'm not as excited about it as I used to be, considering that I'm kind of burned out. Does anyone remember Constellation 3D? and their innovative Flourescent Multilayer Disks? I thought that was really cool, and it was. Using technology back in 2001 with red lasers, they were about to store more than 1 TB (1,024 GB) on a single disk no larger than a plain CD. It was cool technology with unparallel random access speed. However, the truth was, it never took off because they went bankrupt..... Actually, they were back in 2000.....
http://www.sysopt.com/articles/c3d-spot/index2.html
http://www.storagesearch.com/constellation3d.html
http://www.hardwareaccelerated.com/content/interviews/constellation.php
So, I'm not too excited about this new stuff, even though it seems that the FMD is cheaper to produce and have higher read write speeds.....not to mention it was backward compatible with every existing format....
Once again, we see the turth about the ruthless business market place where good ideas get squashed while archaic ideas that have market penetration stays put. The best example......cars that run on gas.
I know the whole tsunami disaster thing is serious, but this is just kind of funny from my point of view, especially what Powell says.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/05/asia.tsunami/index.html
If you think about it, well, duh! Of course you've never seen anything like this, because there probably hasn't been something like this. Now if the quote went, "...this reminds me of...." then we probably have to think twice.
Now I really wonder if all these over the top news reports we see everyday has a numbing effect on my senses....
Its always nice to find something to laugh about everyday, be it yourself, your wife, your friend, or just some random stranger. Here's something to laugh about for today.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/05/fotw_0501/
Man, you just got to love those crazy programmers who are always looking for ways to insert weird code in weird places.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20517
wonder if its a reproducable bug :p
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Well, seems you can buy Napster stock now......wonder if that's a good thing. The parent company Roxio sold all its other stuff and is now going to concentrate on Napster.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/04/napster_trades_naps/
Considering that Napster has gone from innovative to illegal and now to being a legal entity, I'd say there should be a few pages in the history books about it. If it continues to last, then it may very well get its own chapter. However, it does seem that it will have a hard time competing with Apple, whose iTunes is just eating the market alive. Last I looked, the iPod had majority dominance in the HDD mp3 player market in the US.....something like 82%. First they get you to buy and iPod. Then they get you hooked on iTunes. Lastly, it seems that Apple is ready to unveil a low-cost, sub $500, iMac in the next few months called "Think Secret." (edit note: the machine isn't called ThinkSecret....that's the website that broke the news.....sorry)
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20441
So, it seems that Apple has a grand plan of slowly converting people to Macs. I'm about to convert myself, whenever I get the cash. Who would have thought that market dominance in hard drive based mp3 players can lead o increase in platform penetration on the desktop and laptop markets. But as the way things go, it seems Apple can pull it off. They won't be dominant in the desktop or laptop market, but they will slowly gain a little more ground. PCs are still going to be around and Microsoft will still be ruler of the operating system for the general public, but Apple will definitely gain a larger audience.
A quick note on computer hygiene. Research has shown that the computer is probably the most germ infested area in the work place. I'm not talking about computer virus and stuff, but rather the real deal. So, as a rule of thumb, it is nice to occassionally wipe down your keyboard and mouse/trackball with some sort of disinfecting wipe. I personally use Lycol's disinfecting wipes on a weekly basis whenever I remember. Its a good way to keep things clean.
Just a piece of advice for anyone that might actually be reading this. :p
Back on the tech news front.....
Seems there are still people trying to cash in on the tsunami disaster in one way or another. However, I guess its all a matter of point of view.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/04/tsunami_auction_ourage/
And how can I miss the review of a beautiful laptop of dreams. If more like this were on the market and were actually affordable, I'd really consider laptops to be feasible again on my wishlist.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/04/review_samsung_q30/
My big issue with laptops have been that they are either light and portable and not have enough battery life or processing power, or they are large and not so portable with the right amount of number crunching power that I need. Its one of those things that you just go....."man, wish there were a middle grade." This is another reason why I feel true tablet PCs are about 5 years away. The need for light weight, long battery life, and enough processing power in a small tight package is still either too pricey or a few years away.
And, just a reminder of how safe the internet really is:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20504
