May 29, 2006

The Evolution of Dance

May 28, 2006

Make your own Dollar Bill Spiders

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You can make a spider with a few clean dollar bills. These are great tips at restaurants.

May 27, 2006

Motorola Q Review

The first full review of the Blackberry killer from Motorola is out.

The Q's major competitors are from Palm—the Treo 700w and the newer Treo 700p. The 700w is more expensive than the Q and has little to recommend it. The 700p comes with Microsoft Office document editors (not just viewers), has a higher-res screen, runs on both Verizon and Sprint, and is both faster and less buggy than the Q. On the other hand, it costs $200 more and is considerably chubbier. So while the 700p retains the Editors' Choice crown, the Q is an excellent machine and a terrific choice.

May 21, 2006

Link Roundup

3D Realms' Scott Miller Talks about Original IP Value

Economist on the Rise of Google

Google Notebook is Out

History of Videogame Console Prices - Inflation Adjusted and Absolute

Microsoft Windows Vista System Requirements

Straight from the horses mouth. The specs don't look too crazy as my current 2-3 year homebuilt PC meet them without any problems.

A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at least:

* A modern processor (at least 800MHz1).
* 512 MB of system memory.
* A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

Windows Vista Premium Ready PCs
To get an even better Windows Vista experience, including the Windows Aero user experience, ask for a Capable PC that is designated Premium Ready, or choose a PC that meets or exceeds the Premium Ready requirements described below. Features available in specific premium editions of Windows Vista, such as the ability to watch and record live TV, may require additional hardware.

A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at least:

* 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
* 1 GB of system memory.
* A graphics processor that runs Windows Aero2.
* 128 MB of graphics memory.
* 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
* DVD-ROM Drive3.
* Audio output capability.
* Internet access capability.

May 20, 2006

Apple CEO Steve Jobs Interviewed in NYC Apple Store



Great interview. Although Jobs doesn't say much, the interviewer knows how to ask all the right questions from iPhone, to expanding marketshare to 10%, and why the processor decision was made.

Nokia 6270 Review by stupot42



I just bought a new phone. The old one was driving me crazy cos the battery was on it's last legs. I had to charge it every day, which was a real pain in the rear!

I changed from a Nokia to a Samsung about 2 years ago, and could never get myself round to the Samsung way of thinking, so changed it back to a Nokia, the 7250i I've just replaced. The 7250 was a good little phone that did everything I wanted it to, but my only real niggle with it was the slightly tinny and poor sound quality from it. Now I know the president of Nokia has said they're not to be called "phones" any more (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ht...95_nokia14.html ), but primarily that's what it is, and that's what I use it for. So, I set out to find a new phone that I liked to use (Nokia seemed the front runner) and that had good quality sound.

I eventually found what I was looking for in the Nokia 6270. The 6270 is the poor sibling of the 3G enabled 6280. However, not having a 3G contract or the desire to get one it seemed silly to pay the extra for the 6280, which is essentially the same phone, but with another camera on the front for video calls. I've been quite impressed, with the phone over all.

My favourite feature is the recharge time. It charges the battery from empty to full in under and hour. My 7250 took 4 hours, and that was daily at the end of it's life. The phone is quite juicy running the battery down easily in the space of a day if you're playing games on it, or taking loads of pics or vids, which is unsurprising when you consider the massive and very impressive 2.25", 262k colours, 320x240 pixel wide/tall-screen. But if not using these power hungry apps, the batter will last well. 4 days on standby, and 4 hours of talk time seem to be average.

I like the new "Series 40" UI, which is very intuitive and easy to use. It follows Nokias sensible way of setting out the features that has been Nokia's best feature IMHO for years, but combines it with a Sony Ericsson style. The UI exudes quality. I particularly like the new SMS style. Picking the phone number to send to before writing your message makes sense, and should stop the sending a message to the wrong person. I also like the ability to pick a number of recipients, displayed in an Email-esque fashion.

I had considered the Nokia 6111, which is very similar, but chose the 6270 as I liked the larger screen (and personally I like a slightly bigger phone as I know it's in my pocket and it feels like you're using a phone, not a thimble!), and the 2 mega pixel camera. The camera takes some excellent quality photos, and has some nice features. It's not fantastic in the dark, and I'm not sure the night shot feature works particularly well (giving grainy pictures) and the flash is very gimmicky, but works ok in very dark conditions as long as your subject isn't too far away. Overall the camera is good for daylight shots, and not too bad at night, but in no way a replacement for a good digital camera. Ideal for capturing those spur of the moment shots tho.

The MP3 player is ok, but nothing special. It's not going to replace your Ipod, but the sound is ok. I hate the bundled headphones that, which come in a lanyard style that's just horrible. Worst of all because there's no headphone jack, you're probably stuck with them.

Calendar and other usual features are much the same as ever. All work well, and quickly. I've also been quite impressed with the bundled software, which allows you to send text messages from your computer using the keyboard, as well as sync the calendar, phonebook etc with your PC, and upload files. You can also use the phone as a removable hard drive with the mini SD card (128mb supplied) and supplied USB cable. No software is required either, with the phone prompting you to pick a mode when the USB is detected. The SD can also be hot swapped during operation without shutting down the phone... an annoyance of past Nokia phones.

Overall, I'm very pleased. I'd give it 8/10 [ Discuss ]

May 13, 2006

Unique Visitor Growth of Web Domain Growth from 2005 to 2006

Top Web Domains Unique Visitor Growth from 2005 to 2006

The winners are Google 21%, MySpace 318%, Blogger 528%, About 26%, MSNBC 22%, Target 26%, Wikipedia 275%, Apple 48%, IMBD 41%, City Search 185%

The losers are eBay -3%, Expedia -21%, Orbitz -17%, Overstock -16%, Microsoft's Passport -18%, Geocities -19%, Real -18%, Monster -20% [Discuss]

Playstation 3 is Too Cheap

Yup. The president of Sony Computer Entertainment, the insufferable Ken Kutaragi, has said the Playstation 3 at $599 is probably too cheap. I don't know what planet Ken is on, but that is a lot of money for most people on this living planet. You can get a Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii for probably the same price. Moreover look for Microsoft to cut prices within the next 12 months to further emphasize the price differential.

SCEI president Ken Kutaragi has defended the PlayStation 3's high price tag once again, declaring that not only will consumers be prepared to pay the cost but that the console is "probably too cheap." [Discuss]

Nintendo Wii Duck Hunt Video

Brings back the old NES memories with the Nintendo Wii Duck Hunt videos. [Discuss]

Halo 3 Teaser Trailer

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Here is the Halo 3 Teaser trailer that Microsoft showed at E3. Supposedly it is real-time and it looks pretty snazzy. With Microsoft getting both Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV (at same time as PS3) on the Xbox 360, in addition to the much lower price, Microsoft is sure to gain a lot of share in this generation. [Discuss]

May 07, 2006

New Super Mario Brothers Review

This is the top game on my "most wanted" list and it looks like Nintendo has not disappointed. Check out this review.

An official Super Mario game would have to be something special for it to exist on a current Nintendo system, which is why the release of New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS is so significant: it absolutely is something special. This game marks a brilliant return to Mario's side-scrolling environments, with a look, feel, and play that feels unbelievably classic, with new elements that do a fantastic job advancing the design. [Discuss]

May 06, 2006

Yahoo! Go TV Review

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I installed and tried Yahoo! Go TV today. Just days after acquiring Meedio, Yahoo released their re-branded media center/PVR software.

Pros
1) Great looking candy user interface and nice Tivo-like bloop sounds
2) Lots of potential with links to movie trailers, popular videos, news, and Yahoo Photos
3) Can get past the wife factor for easy of use and prettiness

Cons
1) Flickr connectivity to my personal pictures does not work. Only Yahoo Photos at the moment.
2) No USB-IRT support, which means I can't use my Tivo Remote
3) No plug-in support that Meedio used to have (I guess this may come in time). I doubt they will let people rip DVDs and do another cutting edge things however. Things like weather plug-ins are no brainers.
4) Can't use the keyboard to type in TV titles (hello?)
5) Doesn't like they enabled commercial skip (critical feature)

All-in-all it looks like its still a beta version. Not having USB-IRT support and commercial skip are critical negatives for me. I'm going back to GB-PVR. Yahoo better not kow-tow to the media networks (I suspect they will) and take out critical features from Meedio. The CEO is a ex-Warner Brothers executive, so I foresee a neutered PVR. I guess we can't complain too much because it is free, but GB-PVR is free also and has all the extra features. [Discuss]

May 02, 2006

May 01, 2006