Friday, December 31, 2004
Grim Macintosh Market Share Forebodes Crises
More doom and gloom for Apple - Opinion Column by John Dvorak (PC Magazine): Grim Macintosh Market Share Forebodes Crises here's a LOL quote: "But at some point (which may have been reached already), declining market share creates a relative lack of interest, and eventually, discontinuance. The Amiga fell prey to this." The Amiga/Atari/Acorn situation was completely different in my opinion - they were all multimedia computers for not a lot of money - suddenly PCs got better (capable of multimedia), and affordable, the Apple situation is unique - Apple survived the period where Amiga/Atari/Acorn died...
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Robots take over World Expo 2005 - Robots are the best!
Robots take over World Expo 2005 - Engadget - www.engadget.com "The 2005 World Expo, to take place in Aichi, Japan March 25 to September 25 next year, will have a handful of robots throughout, ones that clean floors at night, guide visitors with spoken English, Japanese, and Korean, and play games with kids. If you’re in the area come June 9 to 19, the prototype robot exhibition will feature a total of 63 different bots that snow-plow or even set the table."
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Gizmodo : Display-Less iMac?
Gizmodo : Display-Less iMac? something i reckon mac have been needing for a long time - a low-end super cheap imac without a screen. US price is expected to be around $499.
Friday, December 24, 2004
Interesting stuff and best/worst of 2004
Interesting stuff news roundup: Tom's Hardware Guide: Stress Test Tom stress tests a high end Intel system and a high end AMD system for 5 days. GameShout wonder whether Firefox is really more secure? I don't think they actually come to any conclusion though - and point out that IE has more bugs that they know about. Opera release a talking web browser, Apple gonna make a droppable ipod, something matt might be interested in boffins decode chromosome 16, ibm/apple's next chip to gets high end features, knoppix make live cd slimmer, a funny story here microsoft attempt to shutdown macslash. (in other bad guy stories: apple are suing various people: the people who leaked Tiger, and the people who leaked info about new mini flash ipods?)
2004 favourites/worsts: Cnet, kuro5hin's asshole of the year awards.
My 2004 Favourites:
- Really cheap DVD players - eg £25 multi-region at richersounds.com - $10 in the US!!
- Really good digital cameras - they are getter smaller in size, better with bigger screens, faster with quicker response, and cheaper. (Next year should be even better!)
- On-line shops are really cheap. (Amazon.co.uk are excellent - I've ordered loads of stuff and it's all been very cheap, sometimes way cheaper than anywhere else on the net, and always delivered in perfect condition)
- RSS / Bloglines is REALLY really good - like proper awesome! (you can read RSS on your ipod)
Bad stuff:
- Real shops are still WAY more expensive than on-line shops, and where they "say" they will price match the internet - they won't actually when you go in there.
- Firefox doesn't have a "blog this" button that you get with the google toolbar.
- Apple still way expensive
- Microsoft very dull this year. (XP still bad, IE still the same)
- Still waiting for Nano-itx from VIA, and still waiting for silent 1ghz mini-itx boards from VIA, and still waiting for 1.4ghz or more VIA cpus/boards (1.2ghz was out in around May!).
- Keyboards / Mice etc are still wired - why don't they just make them all wireless?
2004 favourites/worsts: Cnet, kuro5hin's asshole of the year awards.
My 2004 Favourites:
- Really cheap DVD players - eg £25 multi-region at richersounds.com - $10 in the US!!
- Really good digital cameras - they are getter smaller in size, better with bigger screens, faster with quicker response, and cheaper. (Next year should be even better!)
- On-line shops are really cheap. (Amazon.co.uk are excellent - I've ordered loads of stuff and it's all been very cheap, sometimes way cheaper than anywhere else on the net, and always delivered in perfect condition)
- RSS / Bloglines is REALLY really good - like proper awesome! (you can read RSS on your ipod)
Bad stuff:
- Real shops are still WAY more expensive than on-line shops, and where they "say" they will price match the internet - they won't actually when you go in there.
- Firefox doesn't have a "blog this" button that you get with the google toolbar.
- Apple still way expensive
- Microsoft very dull this year. (XP still bad, IE still the same)
- Still waiting for Nano-itx from VIA, and still waiting for silent 1ghz mini-itx boards from VIA, and still waiting for 1.4ghz or more VIA cpus/boards (1.2ghz was out in around May!).
- Keyboards / Mice etc are still wired - why don't they just make them all wireless?
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Web site compression / optimisation
Bandwidth right, serious bandwidth, like 16gb a month, costs money.
Opera the web browser says it's the quickest thing on the planet (it seems more buggy than firefox!), but it has a neat feature that tells you how much KB each webpage you go to is, for example www.dell.co.uk is 80kb. Anyway things you can do:
1. use html compression - link (using 'mod gzip' somehow)*
2. check your pages - here to see how much your webpages could be compressed, ie 62kb, could be compressed to 14kb.
3. there's a program called acdc that compresses images. adobe photoshop (imageready) is very good as well.
* mat - do you know how i install this on a webserver - you can download it for windows/apache etc but i don't know how to install it to get it working...
Opera the web browser says it's the quickest thing on the planet (it seems more buggy than firefox!), but it has a neat feature that tells you how much KB each webpage you go to is, for example www.dell.co.uk is 80kb. Anyway things you can do:
1. use html compression - link (using 'mod gzip' somehow)*
2. check your pages - here to see how much your webpages could be compressed, ie 62kb, could be compressed to 14kb.
3. there's a program called acdc that compresses images. adobe photoshop (imageready) is very good as well.
* mat - do you know how i install this on a webserver - you can download it for windows/apache etc but i don't know how to install it to get it working...
Monday, December 20, 2004
holy cow batman!
check out the size of the sony psp - it's tiny compared the atari lynx. Sony Playstation Portable review.
WebSense Blog - Marketing, Advertising, Media and Business -- Reshaped.
WebSense Blog - Marketing, Advertising, Media and Business -- Reshaped. This looks like an interesting website.
Main Menu -> Do you enjoy your work?
Why don't you join my mates forum and answer the following question: Do you enjoy your work?
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Zoolander (2001)
Zoolander (2001) get's 6/10! I'd rate this at 8/10 - it's just brilliant! (lots of laugh out loud moments) How would you rate it?
Saturday, December 18, 2004
MyMemory SD/MMC MP3 Player In Detail
£18 for an MP3 player that takes SD cards and has a screen pretty impressive MyMemory SD/MMC MP3 Player In Detail (512mb sd cards are about £23 at ebuyer)
Friday, December 17, 2004
Recently watched films: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) (pretty fresh new comedy - good) and The Incredibles - (very good, should have been longer though)
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Scientist claims he's developed robot 'genes'
Scientist claims he's developed robot 'genes' - Engadget - www.engadget.com "Professor Kim Jong-Hwan says his robot has 14 artificial chromosomes that can be passed on to offspring, creating new robots with unique personalities."
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
In response to Google's desktop search tool: "Microsoft has entered the desktop search fray, releasing a test version of its tool to find documents, e-mails and other files on a PC hard drive." hmmm... did Microsoft forget that there's already a (albeit crappy) search built into Windows? bbc news link, microsoft search tool, google desktop search tool.
ps - have you seen this? apparently the world's smallest 256mb mp3 player - i saw it in gadgetshop t'other day and it were chuffin small!
ps - have you seen this? apparently the world's smallest 256mb mp3 player - i saw it in gadgetshop t'other day and it were chuffin small!
Monday, December 13, 2004
i had this idea a while ago. well done for making it happen Lexar :) - i trust the cheque is in the post? ;)
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Last year...
Last Year... At the end of the year 2003, you could get a proper brand 2mp, 3x optical zoom digital camera for £99 (the Fuji A405) - at the end of the year 2004, you can get a few 4mp digital cameras with 3x optical zoom for £99 or less - even a proper brand - the Fuji A340 £99 (fuji refurb store). Other 4mp, 3x optical zoom digital cameras for £99 or less: BenQ DC C40 (£99 - Jacobs), Lumicron LDC4013 at Toys R Us (£79), Vivitar Vivicam 3826 (£82 - Microdirect.co.uk, and 'the computer shop'). However the majority of digital cameras for £99 are 3mp, with 3x optical zoom. (Canon a400, Olympus c310, Pentax S30, Kodak CX7330, Fuji A330 etc)
end of last year (2003): fuji 2mp,3x opt: £99, olympus 3mp: £149
end of this year (2004): fuji 4mp,3x opt: £99, olympus 4mp: £149 fuji/samsung 6mp,3x opt: £199
Next year? (if it's anything like this year) Budget 5mp, maybe 6mp, 3x optical zoom digital cameras will be around £99*, especially nearer the end of the year, and the majority of proper brand 4mp, 3x optical zoom digital cameras will be around £99 making them the default choice for most people. *The cheapest (new) 5mp/3x opt digital camera currently appears to be the: Yakumo MegaImage 57x at £118 / Premier DC5331 at £129 and the cheapest 6mp/3x opt digital camera currently appears to be the: Yakumo MegaImage 67x at £131 - so it shouldn't be too long now... (for digital camera news and reviews visit www.digicamreview.co.uk)
end of last year (2003): fuji 2mp,3x opt: £99, olympus 3mp: £149
end of this year (2004): fuji 4mp,3x opt: £99, olympus 4mp: £149 fuji/samsung 6mp,3x opt: £199
Next year? (if it's anything like this year) Budget 5mp, maybe 6mp, 3x optical zoom digital cameras will be around £99*, especially nearer the end of the year, and the majority of proper brand 4mp, 3x optical zoom digital cameras will be around £99 making them the default choice for most people. *The cheapest (new) 5mp/3x opt digital camera currently appears to be the: Yakumo MegaImage 57x at £118 / Premier DC5331 at £129 and the cheapest 6mp/3x opt digital camera currently appears to be the: Yakumo MegaImage 67x at £131 - so it shouldn't be too long now... (for digital camera news and reviews visit www.digicamreview.co.uk)
info ports at every bus shelter
imagine if every bus shelter had a place where you could plug in a serial lead and be connected directly to a bbs. Yeah well that's never gunna happen, get over it.
However mobile phone owners can connect to something almost as simple over infra red. see. One day the uk might just feel like a modern city: '95 stock has the ability to be driven automatically: however, Automatic Train Operation on the Northern Line isn't ready yet (actually, it won't begin to be installed until the re-signalling which is expected to happen in about 2005) and the trains are driven manually. from here
However mobile phone owners can connect to something almost as simple over infra red. see. One day the uk might just feel like a modern city: '95 stock has the ability to be driven automatically: however, Automatic Train Operation on the Northern Line isn't ready yet (actually, it won't begin to be installed until the re-signalling which is expected to happen in about 2005) and the trains are driven manually. from here
teletext
You can get irish teletext on the internet, but teletext uk haven't figured out what the internet is really for eg: where?
from teletext's FAQ: we can't figure out how to make money from the internet, so we're concentrating on selling advertising on the existing media.
Teletext has taken this decision in order to continue to invest in its core activities whilst withdrawing from activities that show little potential for commercial success.
from teletext's FAQ: we can't figure out how to make money from the internet, so we're concentrating on selling advertising on the existing media.
Teletext has taken this decision in order to continue to invest in its core activities whilst withdrawing from activities that show little potential for commercial success.
mad sheep sharp shooters
lost sheep shot
'The animal took up residence on the Commonhead roundabout near the Great Western Hospital at 9am, before being shot in a nearby field.'
So if they managed to get the sheep to a nearby field, erm, how was it a danger?
Dangerous chocolates banned
Sorry but any historically religious sponsorship of all schools must be stopped immediately.. (I wonder if you're allowed to wear shirts with football team's logos on at these schools)
'The animal took up residence on the Commonhead roundabout near the Great Western Hospital at 9am, before being shot in a nearby field.'
So if they managed to get the sheep to a nearby field, erm, how was it a danger?
Dangerous chocolates banned
Sorry but any historically religious sponsorship of all schools must be stopped immediately.. (I wonder if you're allowed to wear shirts with football team's logos on at these schools)
Thursday, December 09, 2004
"Come and see Santa in his Enchanted Castle." Since when did Santa have an enchanted castle? Perhaps he's bought a new house, and doesn't have to live in his Grotto anymore. Perhaps he's been manufacturing Nike trainers during the quiet months, with Santa's 'little helpers' - are they children, does that mean he's involved in child labour? are they elves or little chinese children? is Santa involved in running China's Nike sweat shops? It makes you wonder...
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Kodak Easyshare CX7330 3mp 3x optical zoom as new boxed
FS: Kodak Easyshare CX7330 3mp 3x optical zoom as new boxed (viewable after 9.45pm tonight).
ibm sells pc business to lenovo (there's now titles in this blog, but they don't disply on the actual webpage yet)
Link1. "tis official: the news just broke a few minutes ago that IBM is indeed selling their PC business to Chinese computer maker Lenovo. IBM settled for $650 million in cash and $600 million in Lenovo stock, a deal with gives IBM ownership of 18.9% of Lenovo. Lenovo gets all the associated “Think” trademarks, like for the ThinkPad and the ThinkCenter, and will hire on 10,000 or so of the employees in IBM’s PC division. We’re curious to see what Lenovo will end up doing with the ThinkPad, but we’re even more curious to see what IBM decides to do next."
Link2. "IBM, the pioneer of the personal computer business, has sold its PC hardware division to China's number one computer maker Lenovo. After days of rumours, the announcement heralds a $1.75bn (£900m) deal which will make the combined operation the third biggest PC vendor in the world. Lenovo, formerly known as Legend, has been pushing hard to spread its brand on the international stage. IBM, meanwhile, will be free to focus on its other more lucrative businesses."
Link2. "IBM, the pioneer of the personal computer business, has sold its PC hardware division to China's number one computer maker Lenovo. After days of rumours, the announcement heralds a $1.75bn (£900m) deal which will make the combined operation the third biggest PC vendor in the world. Lenovo, formerly known as Legend, has been pushing hard to spread its brand on the international stage. IBM, meanwhile, will be free to focus on its other more lucrative businesses."
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
eh up look what i found
matt's amazon wish list. (will the link work?) oh and here's mine. i couldn't find anybody elses. do you have one?
92million people have downloaded adware, and 41million people have downloaded spybot, and that's just from download.com! spyware/adware must be a common and flipping annoying problem - and the 92/41 million people who download these programs are the one's who know what to do with spyware / adware - think about the millions out there who don't know what to do - they end up with buggy crappy computers that have millions of pop-ups, search bars appearing in internet explorer, software being installed without their consent, and pcs that crash a lot. some of this spyware software will stop you from visiting ad-aware's website (www.lavasoft.de) and come up with an error page, and other's will change your google search results so you still can't find ad-aware's website and end up getting results that show you FAKE spyware removal software.
flipping (annoying) nightmare if you ask me! (even for me who knows what to do about it) For someone who doesn't know that they're doing it could be complete hell and could leave them with a completely innoperable computer - and this is just spyware/adware - this doesn't even touch on the hell that could be a spyware/adware infected pc that also has numerous nasty viruses / backdoor stuff (like email spam machine / hidden prawn sharing) unpatched windows vulnerabilities etc!
just goes to show how microsoft, even with windows XP sp1 weren't ready for the internet (it's only with windows xp sp2 that they have included built in firewall / virus protection). (remember they used to say windows 95 wasn't ready for the internet, or rather it wasn't till after windows 95 that they actually acknowleged that the 'internet' could be vaguely interesting)
flipping (annoying) nightmare if you ask me! (even for me who knows what to do about it) For someone who doesn't know that they're doing it could be complete hell and could leave them with a completely innoperable computer - and this is just spyware/adware - this doesn't even touch on the hell that could be a spyware/adware infected pc that also has numerous nasty viruses / backdoor stuff (like email spam machine / hidden prawn sharing) unpatched windows vulnerabilities etc!
just goes to show how microsoft, even with windows XP sp1 weren't ready for the internet (it's only with windows xp sp2 that they have included built in firewall / virus protection). (remember they used to say windows 95 wasn't ready for the internet, or rather it wasn't till after windows 95 that they actually acknowleged that the 'internet' could be vaguely interesting)
Monday, December 06, 2004
i don't know what's going on here, but maybe that's because i don't have sound. weird flash website anyways.
Get a free case, charger and batteries (worth £25) with the £99 Olympus C-310 - a neat 3 megapixel, 3x optical zoom digital camera.
Friday, December 03, 2004
the sega mega drive 6 in 1 games thingy that firebox have for £25 is currently £9.99 at argos!! bargain, especially if you wanna have a quick go of Sonic the hedgehog, or the classic Golden Axe.
BBC NEWS | Business | Apple iTunes 'overcharging in UK' "The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred Apple's iTunes service to the European Commission on grounds that it overcharges UK customers."
BBC NEWS | Technology | Freeze on anti-spam campaign "Freeze on anti-spam campaign This holding page has replaced the original site A campaign by Lycos Europe to target spam-related websites appears to have been put on hold. Earlier this week the company released a screensaver that bombarded the sites with data to try to bump up the running costs of the websites. But the site hosting the screensaver now displays a pink graphic and the words "Stay tuned". No one at Lycos was available for comment on latest developments in its controversial anti-spam campaign."
Amazon.co.uk: DVD: Monty Python: The Movies (5 Disc Box Set) [1971] crikey - only £13.97 fantastic or wot?
Thursday, December 02, 2004
"Follow up to phil's earlier post. A plan to bump up the bandwidth bills of spammers seems to be getting out of control. Earlier this week Lycos Europe released a screensaver that bombards spam websites with data to try to increase the cost of running such sites. But analysis shows that, in some cases, spam websites are being completely overwhelmed by the traffic being directed their way. The Lycos plan has also come under fire for encouraging vigilantism." link. (and what has that picture got to do with anything?)
NEC 16x dual layer dvd writer £44 inc vat. can you get 16x dvd disks yet? cos ebuyer don't seem to sell them. anyway - this is my crimbo present to myself from me and heather and santa. (and here's the media)
Easter on the Net - When is Easter? wondering when easter is this year? or next? this site chuffin well tells you. next year, if your holidays get "reset" in april, you may want to take into account the fact that easter is in march in 2005. ps - you may want to take your sunglasses with you when you go to the site.
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