What's New....

Yes, I went out and managed to find a "Mighty Mouse" at the Apple Store in Plano. I really like it. I think that it's a great move in the right direction. My initial impressions were good but now I think the price is a bit hefty still, however if it were wireless (I know that they're working on one as I write this) it would be a better deal. If you have a Mac and don't yet have a two button mouse, go pick one of these bad boys up but if you already have another branded mouse, you can wait until the Bluetooth one comes out.
I've been off of work and school for a little over a week now and I've really enjoyed the time. I've gotten to spend some time with friends, turned 21, and just gotten to relax. My car is in the shop right now which is sad for me but it should be covered under warranty. I'm dying for more storage space at my house because I'm almost out. Any one want to donate a few HD's or $ to me? I didn't think so.

A Sign Of The Coming Apocalypse?

Apple today introduced it’s “Mighty Mouse” multi-button mouse. The rumor of a multiple button mouse coming out of apple has existed over nearly the last 20 years since the Macintosh’s inception. I’m dying to ‘get my hands on one.’ Please pardon the pun. It’s a USB 1.1 and 2.0 compatible mouse. It’s also compatible with Windows 2000 and XP. On the Mac side of things it requires OS X 10.4.2. Below are a few links to some sites covering the story. Apple fans rejoice!!!

Apple
Slash-Dot
Mac Daily News
Think Secret
Apple Insider
Gizmodo

Longhorn is now Vista (Virus's, Infections, Spyware, Trojans, and Adware?)

Well, as you may have read, I've tinkered with Windows Longhorn Beta 5048. Recently Microsoft announced that Windows code name Longhorn will now be called Windows Vista. When I first heard the name it was nothing that I had expected. Personally I neither like it nor do I dislike it. I think a team at microsoft could have come up with a better name than that for Windows XP SP3 (LOL!).

Here is a story from Cnet that discusses the new name.

MIcrosoft's Vista Site

The MPAA, RIAA, ESRB, and DMCA can kiss my...

Grand Theft Auto has been in the headlines due to a mod that revealed sex scenes in the game. The scenes are unlocked by a downloadable mod titled "Hot Coffee" developed by hacker Patrick Wildenborg of Deventer, Netherlands, last month. Everyone from Hillary Clinton (If she becomes president I'm moving to Canada) to the ESRB have been all over this scandal. Hillary has been trying to use it at an attempt to further her 'carrier.' Well, here are some of the stories if you are interested in it some more:

Cnet News
Wired News

It's Alive!!!

Ya, I'm alive for the most part over here in Tyler. Not much is new. I'm getting hours where I can at work to pay my bills and going to my Operations Management class. I've had some fun in the last few days hanging out with friends.

I recently went to see Batman Begins. It was a lot better than I anticipated it would be. The movie was a lot darker than most batman's which made it great. I highly recommend it.

I have been playing with Microsoft's Longhorn (See previous posts) and I still love OSX on my Apple Powerbook a lot better. I have totally switched everything over to my Mac with the exception of gaming. Most of the better games are on PC so I have a nice gaming system still.

So how is everyone doing out there? I just thought I'd say hi and give a brief update.

Google's 3D Mapping Application

I'm sure about half of you have heard of or used maps.google.com to find a location, get directions, or just goof around. You may have even used the satellite imaging to see even closer. You have never seen anything like this: earth.google.com. Put in Dallas and turn on 3d buildings. It is unreal. Swivel, pan, rotate, etc. DANG that's cool!

Here is a link of Dallas, Texas with only the maping. Zoom in a little bit to see what you can do.
Here is the same link with the Satellite overlay. Zoom in here as well to see the detail you can get (Mainly availible in major cities now. Rural areas are not as clear).

Now go download Google's application to do a LOT more!

Longhorn Installation: Complete

I just finished installing Windows Code Name: Longhorn. It took a lot longer than I thought to finish the installation. I installed it on my extra laptop (Sony PCG-R505GL). Surprisingly it had the right driver for the video card. Windows XP Pro didn't last time I tried to install it on the unit. It is missing a few drivers (3 to be exact, such as the modem driver). The look is cleaner than previous versions of Windows, although it seems that Microsoft is copying Apple's Mac OSX style a little bit which is to be expected. Internet Explorer is arranged a little bit differently and so is the control panel. MSCONFIG no longer works as well. I am looking forward to getting a wireless card working on it as well as maybe finding a key that will let me go past 60 days of use. Wish me luck. I'll post more about it when I get to work with it more. TTYL:)

Code Name: Longhorn

I've just 'obtained' a copy of Microsoft's Next Gen operating system codenamed "Longhorn." It is a little bit larger than 800mb in size. It's on a DVD. I'm installing it now. I'll update you all later on how it went. Wish me luck!!!:)

Long time no see...

Well, it's been an entire month since I posted. Not a WHOLE lot's new. I'm taking my summer class (Operations Management / Senior Level Class). I'm working about 20-25 hours per week if I'm lucky. I've been gaming, going out, seeing a few movies like Batman Begins, which was a great movie... More to come later. TTYL!!!

Yet another reason why Apple's 'Mac OSX' is better...

This isn't really new news but here is Paul Thurrott's review of the most recent release of Microsoft's next OS, 'Longhorn' build 5048. He has always been a HUGE Windows guy and written about it for a long time. In this article he discusses how "hugely disappointing" the OS looks. Thurrott describes Apple's Mac OSX as a superior OS to Microsoft's upcoming release of Longhorn (or Windows XP SP3 as I refer to it...) "In many ways, OS X is simply better than Windows, especially for experienced computer users, and Tiger rubs Microsoft's nose in the embarrassment of shipping a key Longhorn feature--instant desktop search--a full year ahead of the software giant."
Think about it this way, Apple's OSX is out now in version 10.4 and is considered better than Microsoft's Longhorn which is still more than a year away. The choice seems very simple to me...

(Typed on my PowerBook running OSX 10.4.1)

Chris

Intel's CEO recommend's Apple!!! lol...

pboulang writes "noted in this article in the WSJ: Pressed about security by Mr. Mossberg, Mr. Otellini had a startling confession: He spends an hour a weekend removing spyware from his daughter's computer. And when further pressed about whether a mainstream computer user in search of immediate safety from security woes ought to buy Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh instead of a Wintel PC, he said, "If you want to fix it tomorrow, maybe you should buy something else."" (Compliments of Slashdot)

I just thought that was funny and ironic. It's late and I didn't get much sleep as usual. It's been a productive day. I got some things at UT squared away and I got to see Kristen. That was fun. It's late (not to late but I'm tired) so I'm gonna go to bed. TTYL and night all!!!

My day off...

Today I slept in until about 9am. I woke up to my dog barking. I think it was the garbage people outside. I cleaned my room, made lunch, put off laundry (I can do that later), and backed up my systems. After 3 I got to see Kristen. It was nice to see her. She thought she smelled bad but I didn't think so. I think that she looked hot as always. lol. We had fun. Time always seems to go by when that happens. I tired to file my FAFSA tonight to get it done but go figure I couldn't because my parents lost their pins. The only thing stopping me from submitting it~! Sucks! I just have to get an emergency loan now. I hope everything works out and that I'll get to see Kristen tomorrow as well. Night all.

It's been a while...

I know it's been a long time since I've posted. Finals have been murder but they are over and I passed everything. I went to see "The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy" and "Star Wars Episode III" with Kristen and had a blast. They were great movies and so was the company;) *Wink Wink...
I've been promoted at work and now work as a "Counter intelligence agent" for Best Buy's Geek Squad. It's a pay raise and something different. I'm enjoying it and the people that I work with.
I went to see my friend Josh in Austin (Actually San Marcos, but close). It had been to long since I'd seen him. It was good to catch up. We had fun. Two years is to long to see a good friend. I only wish that Kristen could have come too but that was my own fault due to the short notice.
Kristen and I have been spending a lot of time together and it's been great. She's a cool person and fun to be with. ;) :)

It's the end of the world as we know it....

Ha ha... It's April Fool's day. Obviously an interesting news day as mostly everything is fake. I love it all. It just goes to show some imaginations that people have and it makes me laugh a bit. Like the ipod going to use WMA format. RIGHT!!! Pigs are flying in frozen over hell.

Check out Cnet.com for the "Ultimate phone / mp3 player."
Here is another great version of the iTunes phone. Check it out:)! lol

iPods are getting it on!!!! Check out Think Geek for their April Fool's page.

Everyone is getting into the spirit. Check out Treo Central's lie...

I'm anticipating the official release date of Apple's OS X 10.4. I can't wait to give it a try someday... Have a great April Fool's Day!

Google Gulp

Google X

I'm sure that some of you know about 'Google X' or simply remember it. Google removed it within a day but not without several people saving it and re-posting it to their sites. Here are links to some of the best.

http://googlex.jamesgamble.net/
http://originalgooglex.jamesgamble.net/
http://googlex.jayssite.com/

Enjoy!

(And yes, if you click more you can drag and drop new links!)

OS X 10.4 Tiger...

The 'rumor' is that Apple's new version of OS X (10.4 / Tiger) will be announced on April 1, 2005. Yes, it is April fool's day and yes everyone has already thought of that but the rumors look to be substantiated. Actual release will probably be on or around April 15-16, 2005. Here are a few good links with Apple rumors:
http://www.macdailynews.com
http://www.appleinsider.com
http://www.macnn.com

New Treo Phone???

New Treo 670 / 700? Or perhaps old pictures of a concept Treo 700. You decide, either way I'm curious...

Open Source Software (I.E. Freebies!!!)

Open Source software is a vital resource for me and my multiple computers. Collaboration typically produces more unique, and stable software for end-users. A new release is the new Beta (Pre-Release version) of Open Office 2.0. Open Office is supported by Sun Microsystems and built by dozens of users with unique experience and knowledge that live lives like us and do it for free either for fun or simply to benefit others. Think of it as computer community service. There are several different titles that will replace everything from Yahoo messenger and others to Microsoft Office. There are also Anti-Virus Suites and imaging applications out there which are very functional and totally free. I suggest that you give these a good look for your future computer use. I do suggest that if you are able to, donate to them as they are a very good cause and they have bills like you and I.

***UPDATE*** Many of the versions numbers have changed in recent months but the links should still be valid. 7-25-05

FireFox 1.0.1 (A very stable, simple, tab-based browser to replace Microsoft's Internet Explorer)
Mozilla 1.7.5 (From the people who brought you FireFox)
Thunder Bird 1.0 (From the people who brought you FireFox, Mozilla. This E-mail application will easily replace a copy of Microsoft's Outlook)
Open Office 2.0 Beta (A suite of applications that will replace your over priced copy of Microsoft's Office)
Trillian 3.1 (ICQ/AOL/Jabber/Yahoo/MSN/IRC messenger that does it all. It's totally free for the basic version but I suggest picking up Pro to get video functionality)
AVG Free (A totally free Anti-Virus with updates and features galore)
LimeWire 4.6 (File Sharing application)
Advisor (An application that will display your internal hardware on your computer. This is great for when you need someone to work on your computer and they need to know what components you have)
Gimp (Now you are probably wondering what in the world Gimp is right? Well Gimp is an image editing program similar to Adobe's $700.00 Photoshop. Gimp is complex and I suggest it for advanced users)
D-Scaler (A video player that will play nearly any video format out there with loads of extra features)
AdAware (Spyware Removal tool)
SpyBot Search & Destroy (This tool will help you get ride of Spyware to)
Clean Up! (An application that removes all of the temporary files off of your computer. Most people that have used this the first time have removed about 1/2 gb of data that was filling their systems)
DB PowerAmp (A great program to convert music files to different formats. I.E. WMA to MP3, ETC.)
Eraser (A program that wipes out deleted files so that they can NEVER be recovered. Use this to 'erase' information like credit card numbers / free disk space / etc.)

SD / USB drive from Sandisk & New Micro Hard Drive...

Check this out. This is a new SD/USB drive combo from Sandisk. I have got to see one of these in person. Also, Toshiba has released a .85 inch 2-4gb hard drive. Check out this site to see a picture of this TINY hard drive. Expect to see this new drive in everything from a new MP3 player from iRiver and cell phones.

New iPod Mini due next week...UPDATED

According to Think Secret, Apple is going to release a new iPod mini next week. It is expected to be at least a 5gb player but may be 6gb as well. Another rumored addition is a color screen. If they do release a 6gb with color screen I may have to buy one. Time will tell.
***UPDATE***
Rumor has it that Apple may release an iPod with Bluetooth built in. If the mini has 6gb, color, and bluetooth I will have to get out my credit card and order one!!! Sweet!!!

Clean Up your computer...

Here's some software that cleans out ALL of your temp files. It works VERY well. Give it a shot. It's from this site.

Ahhhh... That feels better.... But not so fast...

I took a nice vacation this weekend before valentines day. It was relaxing and a very pleasant experience. I went to Dallas to do some shopping and catch a movie. It was a blast. But... Now I have 2 exam's today and that's stressful... Hopefully I'll be better. But I'm sure that you are not to interested in that so here is this... Check out this website. This guy is GOOOOOD.... http://www.benheck.com/ He 'hacks' game consoles to make them portable like PS2's, etc. He's very good at what he does.

Woman talks after 20 years in coma (Very Real)

HUTCHINSON, KAN. - A woman in Kansas who was knocked into a coma by a drunk driver 20 years ago has begun to speak and remember her past.

A hit-and-run driver struck Sarah Scantlin, then 18, when she was walking to her car in September 1984.

See this link. This is a true story. It's simply nothing short of a miracle. Amazing...

Microsoft vs. GM

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation"
warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

HP Fires CEO

Carly Fiorina Steps down per HP's board of directors. The change is effective immediately and Robert Wayman, HP's chief financial officer, has been named interim CEO and has been appointed to the board.

Microsoft Updates...

Microsoft products have "Security" problems. Well, that's nothing new but I just thought that I'd tell you that there are 10 (Yes, Ten!) new updates today which are mostly security fixes. Just keep your systems up to date to be safe. You should know how to update by now right? That's what I thought...

Treo 650 - Sprint PCS

I have a Treo 650 and I just put the hacked patch for DUN (Dial up
networking) on it and it works great. I just thought that I'd share
how I did it and where I got it from. Thanks again shadowmite!:)

RIAA sues dead woman... Yes, A dead woman...

Check this out. The RIAA is sueing a dead woman. Can you believe that? I can. Read all about it. Click here to see more posts by other news sites.


Inside iPod Shuffle

Have you wondered what's inside of the new iPod Shuffle? I did and here is what I found. Check out what AppleMatters.com has done to theres and what's inside.

Meet iPod Shuffle

The new Apple iPod Shuffle... He just thinks that he's so cool doesn't he? Well, time will tell...



I'd give credit for these photoshoped pic's but I don't remember where I got them. If you know message me and I'll give credit where credit is due. Nice work. Funny stuff.