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AiPodcast: Technology Show Review
Computers are about to take a quantum leap
Ths Artical is from Peter Judge of the The Guardian
Websit
Thursday February 8, 2007
A Canadian company with substantial venture capital backing claims to
have built a "quantum computer" that will ultimately solve problems
beyond the power of conventional systems - and will demonstrate it over
a live link next week. While most scientists believe a useful system
is at least 20 years away, D-Wave (dwavesys.com), based in Burnaby,
British Columbia, says it has a breakthrough in a field that already
promises revolution. The company says it expects to sell quantum
computers next year that can solve knotty problems from protein
structure to financial optimisation.
The company has persuaded investors to put $20m (£10m) into its radical
new take on quantum computing and promises to show a prototype next
Tuesday in its labs. A
quantum computer can, in theory, be vastly more powerful than a
conventional one because it uses quantum properties to carry out
multiple calculations simultaneously. That's because quantum systems
(such as various properties of electrons) simultaneously embody
different "states". The best known simile is that of Schrödinger's cat,
the thought experiment in which a cat in a box is both alive and dead -
until someone opens the box.
Ubuntu
Speed Test
This
Link is a review and tests a 3ghz PC running Ubuntu, Dual 1 gig
PowerMac G4, Intel-Based MacBook Pro running at 2ghz, Same MacBook Pro
running Ubuntu thru the Parallels virtualisation software. Parallels
running Ubuntu on MacBook Pro came out faster than the MacBook Pro!
There is some Why Would Anyone Want XP On a Mac etc comments so it’s
Linux and Mac bias, but that’s OK with me. Ubuntu Linux, Windows XP and
Mac OS X speed test. Click Here.
Windows Users and Ubuntu
This
Windows user is challenging Ubuntu's moto: "Linux for human beings". He
asks the hard questions at the end after admitting that there was some
sort of simplicity so far. “That’s the simple stuff done, but an
operating system isn’t much good on its own� he said. “What’s
pre-installed? Can we type letters? Send email? “ Click Here
New Ubuntu Screenshots
And
finally Ubuntu has officially adopted XFce into their lineup. OSDir has
a great selection of screenshots of Xubuntu 6.06 Beta which was
released on the 20th of April, 2006! I think it looks nice! Click Here and admire the screen shots.
posted by AiPodcast @ 6:27 PM
Apple, Microsoft, Linux, IE7 and lastly…Sony
Apple’s Steve Jobs announces a revamped Mac Mini at an unveiling at Apple headquarters in Cupertino,
on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006. The new Mac Mini also includes Apple's Front
Row software, already found on the newest Intel Core-Duo iMacs, so
users can connect it to their televisions and control their music,
videos, or photos with a remote control from across the room. Microsoft
“Origami” that has been teasing everyone that visited that website is a
new device of which will compete with the iPod and other devices in
that space. It will apparently be some type of a handheld electronic
device that can be shaped in to different forms. It will also be able
to play games, play music, and connect wirelessly via Wireless Protocol
and possibly Bluetooth. Beginning Ubuntu Linux: From Novice to Professional This
is the first book of its kind to cover the hottest new Linux
distribution, and will teach you how to make the most of your Ubuntu
desktop. First, the book introduces you to the world of Linux and the
open source community, and then outlines Ubuntu installation and
configuration in detail. You will learn how to wield control over your
newly installed operating system. Then you'll learn about system
customisation opportunities and fun tasks like listening to audio CDs
and MP3s, viewing movies, performing office and Internet-related tasks,
and maintaining your Ubuntu system in general. THE IE7 BETA 2 RELEASE
is now available here at Microsoft for evaluation purposes only. I gave
up on Beta 1 as it was so buggy it crashed every so often and that
eventually it became un-usable. I have not downloaded Beta 2 yet, but I
am sure it will be more suitable for users now as some four months of
improvements being implemented. I will try it as son as I get some free
time. Lastly,
do you remember the Sony fiasco over the rootkit scandal? I was amazed
to see that Sony Ericsson offers "Disc2Phone CD Ripping Software" for
its MP3 Phones. How can Sony justify suing people over copyright
infringements, and put malware on their CDs to stop people ripping
them, while at the same time providing a means and endorsement to copy
copyrighted material, such as MP3?
No one has ever mentioned
this in all the Blogs and podcast I've heard- Sony's new motto is
"money talks and Bullshit doesn't walk, it helps make more money".
VISTA, VIRUS, OSX & WINDIOWS
VISTA
With Yesterdays release of the Windows Vista Build 5231 Community
Technology Preview, Microsoft has openly highlighted the road to introducing
its new operating system. This release of Vista
is as close to complete as you will see. All of the essential components that Vista will eventually be releasing are now here on this
release.
Although the graphical users interface has not changed there is added functionality,
with both the current and new elements. They have added some new applications
like Windows Media Player 11 and Windows Digital Gallery, some updates to
existing features, such as the new Media
Center, including the
first reference to Windows DVD Maker.
A virus for MAC OS X…or Not
Last
week several antivirus software companies announced the first virus for the MAC
OS X, called Leap A. It spreads itself through the iChat instant
messaging program. If you are using iChat and somebody on your buddy list is
infected, you might receive a message asking you to accept a file called latestpics.tgz.
People receiving this think they are receiving pictures from a friend and
accept the file. When they open the file, their computers also become infected. This is as Apple described it, Not a Virus,
it is malicious software, and it doesn’t actually destroy any data. Yes it is spread through iChat, Yes, you do
have to accept to download the picture and Yes! You do need to input your
Administration password to allow it on your system, and Yes, you then have to
find it and click on it to run…..Why did he bother, less then ten computers
where infected. I get more spyware and rubbish on my PC in one 2 hour session
on the net then Mac’s do in 10 years.
They should arrest the geek for stupidity, not for the harmless spyware.
Not Virus, harmless as it may be, it is malicious software.
OSX86Project web site
Yet why
aren’t we dual booting already? He's refering to Windows booting on the new
Apple MACs. Money was the answer
according to Mashugly
who is the Administration and Founder of OSX86Project web site. If you don’t
know then be aware of “The Contest,” as it’s known which is giving a prise away
of currently $12,000 dollar and jackpotting that will be going to the first
person to make available a viable dual booting method /technique to the site’s
owner. Mashugly states “Now I have no problem with the idea of neither a
contest, nor the site owner (Colin… who is also a member in our forum) wanting
to capitalize on some great site traffic and press.” But “The problem with the
contest is that it encourages poor geeks (like me) who could use the extra cash
(like me) to try their hand at fixing the problem. In theory this would speed
up progress. But in fact it’s had the opposite, somewhat paradoxical effect –
it’s slowed things down.” Why? “This has occurred because said poor geeks
(like me) who are working on it know that if they post on a forum with some
ideas, those ideas could be taken and used by someone else to earn the money.”
Haaa..yes greed… Don’t you just love it?
End user license, Room 404 & Apple�s Windows XP
Microsoft has announcing a change to the End User License, worried? You should be! They�ve announced that a new motherboard is equivalent to a new computer, So hence you will be required to purchase a new Windows license. Here is the formal announcement from Bill� I mean Microsoft: �An upgrade of the motherboard is considered to result in a �new personal computer� to which Microsoft� OEM operating system software cannot be transferred from another computer. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created and the license of new operating system software is required.� The justification Microsoft gave is: �Microsoft needed to have one base component �left standing� that would still define that original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the �heart and soul� of the PC, when the motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created.� Microsoft sent a memo to its OEM partners asking them to enforce this new policy, every time they upgrade a computer for a client. This appears on the surface to only be talking about OEM version. I don�t know the price of the OEM Windows but I�d imagine that it would be between $50 and $100. By-golly you�ve done it again Bill�ionaire Mind you this is even more of a reason to move to Linux/BSD Ubuntu, Linspire, the new Novel Desktop OS� Gee what about MAC OSX� When you visit a webpage that is misspelled, incomplete or non existent a 404 error is dished out. While you know the meaning of that screen, do you know why the number 404 was chosen? To answer this lets go back in time, when the WWW was still not a standard, a group of young scientists in CERN Switzerland started to work on the WWW. This young group of scientists use the physical lay-out of CERN�s network and buildings as a metaphor for the �real world� they situated different functions of the protocol in different offices within CERN. They placed the World Wide Web�s central database in an office on the fourth floor, on room 404. Any request for a file was routed to that office. The requests grew; the database became bigger until a number of requests that could not be full filled usually because the person who requested a file typed in the wrong name for that file. Soon these faulty requests were answered with a standard message: �Room 404: file not found�. Later, when these processes were automated and people could directly query the database, the message ID�s for error messages remained linked to the physical location the process took place: �404: file not found� until the official release of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) when a browser makes a faulty request to a Web server. The room numbers remained in the error codes in the official release of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) when the Web left CERN to conquer the world, and are still displayed when a browser makes a faulty request to a Web server. In memory of the heroic boys and girls that worked deep into the night for all those months, in those small and hot offices at CERN, Room 404 is preserved as a �place on the Web�. None of the other rooms are still used for the Web. Room 404 is the only and true monument to the beginning of the Web, a tribute to a place in the past, where the future was shaped. Portions of text extracted from room404.com This article is reproduced from here Also an interesting read is John C. Dvorak�s article on �Will Apple Adopt Windows?� in this months PC Mag.com. In short he believes that Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple is positioning his company to move the Apple Hardware to Microsoft Windows software. He puts an interesting spin on things, as usual. Have a read, you'll love this if you Microsoft supporter. If you are an Apple supporter through and through... I wouldn�t read this as it could upset your equilibrium ... for the month.
Listen, Cleanup and Surf
Tunatic can hear it
Love that song but don't know who
it is playing or singing? Tunatic can tell you! Ever thought ‘what is this
song?’ Let Tunatic hear it and you will get the artist's name and the song's
title within seconds. Tunatic is the very first song search engine based on
sound for your computer. All you need is a microphone and Internet access. It
will search the net of for the music it is hearing and tell you what the songs
name is. You can download it here for Mac OS X and for
Windows click here
Prefetch files
Prefetch are files that XP uses to start programs faster. Windows XP
Professional monitors the files that are used when the computer starts and when
you start applications. By monitoring these files, Windows XP Professional can
prefetch them. Windows XP, by default, caches the files that are used during
the system boot. It does this to store data in the memory in order to be able
to boot faster. Prefetch files can begin to build up and should be deleted out
once in awhile. Follow this Guide to Do that.
Click on the Start Button and then on the run button, Type prefetch then enter
key. A window will open up with a bunch of files. All of these files are
prefetch files. Simply, click CONTROL + A to select all files, then hit Delete,
then Enter. Then hit Yes. You have now successfully cleaned up your prefetch
files.
Latest Oprea 9
I’ve downloaded version 9 and played with it. The most noticeable feature is
the addition of “widgets” run directly through the browser. Opera has created a
opera dedicated widgets community here. Installation
of widgets is done directly through the browser. After completing a download,
Opera prompts you asking if you wish to keep the widget. The overall execution
of the widget addition is superb. Widgets remain top level above all other
applications. Pressing F6 will toggle the widgets from view.
Just Some News
I came across LinClips.com website
that I found interesting in looking at what Linux software around now or at
least the more popular ones. LinClips.com is a Linux resource that demonstrates
through video casting desktop Linux operating systems. Each Linux
operating system (Distributions) video clip is for about two minutes. It a
quick look at the feel and offer little more than that, but I thought it was
interesting. Flash players are required for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux OS;
they are available on the site so take a look.
Apple Number One Brand in U.S.
Apple was ranked as the number one brand in the United States for 2005. The number
two brand was Google. In the worldwide market, Google took first place, and
Apple took second. Apple earned its ranking with the products released through
the year such as the iPod Nano and Video iPod, publicising the switch to Intel
and iTunes successes. These factors all lead to the popularity of the
Apple brand.
Speaking of the Intel switch by Apple, it appears that Apple has released it’s
Intel based MacBook Pro six months ahead of the target date. Unlike
Microsoft’s VISTA (Virus Infected Spyware
Trojan & Adware) which is now twelve months late. The two companies have different
focuses. Apples aim is to innovate and please the customer with eye candy
hardware and software with practical uses all built in to the package.
Microsoft’s focus is spent mostly patching and fighting the onslaught of
instability bought on by the Virus Infected Spyware, Trojan & Adware. ☺
The Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is set for release in late 2006 or early 2007,
as is VISTA.
iLoad™ is a little bit of hardware I stumbled across which allows you to
transfer a CD to an iPod®. It claims it can copy a full DVD in about 8 minutes
depending upon condition of the DVD and length of the DVD. iLoad
typically transfers more than 5 times “real time”. iLoad will not be
available for purchase until the end of March 2006. They have started the
manufacturing process, which will take them around 12 working weeks before
shipping. That gives iLoad a release date of mid-March 2006. You can see
and find all the low down on the iLoad at
Website.
2006 will bring.... What?
Welcome to 2006, with 2005 behind us we need to all look ahead and understand what is coming in tech with in the next twelve months. Let’s have a crack at this prediction thing.
I envisage some of the same in certain areas this year, such as Blogging to keep climb dramatically. Linux to be where it is now with no market growth or loss. I also would expect iTunes, iPod and the new Macintel range to keep going ahead in leaps and bounds as it’s been doing over the last few years now. So, what else is to be expected in the next twelve months. What I foresee are some of the following:
"We’ll see iPTV and video broadcasting over the Internet start to gain some serious growth and influence, especially with iTunes video casting and end user video production on such a high increase"
"2006 will also see the record companies force to deliver music through different channels and formats, such as, MP3 and download site, as well as other sources and formats"
"Web 2.0 Won't Happen. It doesn’t exist and never will"
"India can expect to see an I.T. sector growth of a thousand per cent in call centers. All fresh from the Asia pacific rim, the EU and the Americas" Gold bless those little curry munches
AMD is now, today, leading the way on the desktop front with their 64 Bit central possessing chips. The reason is they can out step the Intel Pentium 4 over a quarter mile race. However, Intel is leading the way with the Laptop mobile chip, the Pentium M, AMD do not have a formidable mobile chip. Given this and that the trend of Laptops in the home will over take the Desktop computer in sales this year, Intel will stay a head in the corporate battle. In addition, the Yohan Desktop Chip with Dual-Core might just put Intel back in front on the desktop velocity competition.
And of course, finally what of Apple and Microsoft? Well this time last year Microsoft’s CEO Bill Gates wallet was much larger than Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs. Over the last twelve months, Steve’s wallet no longer fits in his back pocket and although still not as thick as Bill’s, this might be the year for Steve to fatten his wallet even more. But is he taking Bill along with him? Apple has endured the suicide period of the conversion to Intel. Apple will, with out a doubt increase their market share due to this shift in hardware and don’t forget the iPod when thinking of sales. But Microsoft will also benefit from the Apple switch to Intel. There are people who will want to be able to switch from Windows to Windows and Apple. With the ability to be able to using their exciting software programs that run under Windows on the new Apple computers with the added benefits of the Mac OS X. Windows XP and Vista will all function on the Intel based hardware. This interoperability of a compatible Windows and Mac OS X hardware is more than anyone could ask for. Have a good 2006 and Happy new years
Wireless Setup: as in setup for a $100,000 fine
A report on channelcincinnati.com has some poor old bugger being blamed for uploading a movie, made by Paramount to a peer-2-peer site so others could copy the movie as well. Well, that according to Paramount. This person accused of pirating said that he didn’t even know what they were talking about, and that he didn't do it. It sounded as if he was computer illiterate. Apparently he had unsecured Wireless access point in his home. Paramount can’t find the movie that he is suppose to have pirated on any of his computers but they are going to prosecute the man to the tune of $100,000. Sad story? Yes definitely, why? Well, because I believe this man, indeed I do. What caught my attention was the nativity of this person when he made this statement, and I quote from ChannelCincinnati.com , “If I can do anything to make people understand that please, if you're using wireless Internet, have somebody install it that knows what they're doing,” he said. “Because if you don't, they could get in trouble just like me.” Are you one of these naive people? Need to know Basis my hairy bum, You Need to Know the Following. As us in the industry who know about wireless security, WEP is useless and WPA is suppose to be impervious to the hackers. Now at this point most people die and recover quickly to defend WPA. It is touted as the ultimate security protocol since sliced bread was invented. Well guess what, it is and it isn’t, more on that later. With WEP, MAC address filtering is transmitted unencrypted at the start of packets. SSID hiding is useless. You can acquire these by packet sniffing any wireless access point. WEP encryption is kaput and next to useless, other than keeping the honest people out. So I guess it would sound like the best way to go as far as wireless security is concerned, is WPA. Right? Right! So don't let anyone setup WEP for you as most hardware and software these days support WPA. WPA is the strongest wireless encryption available, even in its weakest form WPA encryption is secure, if it is setup in a correct manner. Ahhh! … What…! If done correctly? Yep! To clarify that, you must remember that the password is only as secure as you make it. 64bit and the longest phase you can ‘never’ remember. This type of a password or phrase must contain as many characters as possible from you QWERTY keyboard, this is then and only then absolutely unbreakable as long as no one gets your password or phrase. The password quality is the most important and critical factor for the home user encrypting the family Wireless access point with WPA. If your using WEP, it’s so weak that it basically will only keep out the honest person accidentally choosing your network connection that he can see on his options. So as our friend on ChannelCincinnati.com has said. “If you're using wireless Internet, have somebody install it that knows what they're doing.” Yes make sure it is WPA or you might WEEP  Strangely enough there are people out there that do leave their access points open for all to use. They all have different reasons for this; from a Good Samaritan to I can’t use all this bandwidth so I’ll share it, etc. I have mixed feeling about this practice: firstly you could end up like our friend from Cincinnati by sharing your wireless point. Secondly, the flip side is it’s nice to be nice, to be able to share what you can when you can. Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven you can justify it in the end
Their won’t be any trumpets blowing come judgment day
On the bloody morning after. Only one tin soldier rides away.
(Helen Ready, One Tin Soldier)
"I am what I am because of who we all are"
Ubuntu is the latest in a complete Linux-based operating system, freely
available which includes free delivery to your door. Just go to ubuntu and order your free CD.These
freedoms make Edubuntu fundamentally different from traditional
proprietary software: not only are the tools you need available free of
charge, you have the right to modify your software until it works the
way you want it to.
On their website they make the following commitment to its users:
•
Ubuntu will always be free of charge, and there is no extra fee for the
"enterprise edition", we make our very best work available to everyone
on the same Free terms.
• Ubuntu comes with full commercial support
from hundreds of companies around the world. Ubuntu is released
regularly and predictably; a new release is made every six months. Each
release is supported with free security updates and fixes for at least
18 months.
• Ubuntu will include the very best in translations and
accessibility infrastructure that the Free Software community has to
offer, to make Ubuntu usable by as many people as possible. We
collaborate as widely as possible on bug fixing and code sharing.
•
Ubuntu is entirely committed to the principles of free software
development; we encourage people to use free and open source software,
improve it and pass it on.
Ubuntu is also available to work with
the Apple hardware and Windows Hardware in both flavors of desktop and
server usability’s. The current Ubuntu release supports PC (Intel x86),
64-bit PC (AMD64) and PowerPC (Apple iBook and PowerBooks, G4 and G5)
architectures. As per the website, Ubuntu includes more than 16,000
pieces of software, but the core desktop installation fits on a single
CD. Ubuntu covers every standard desktop application from word
processing and spreadsheet applications to internet access
applications, web server software, email software, programming
languages and tools and of course several games.
Ubuntu have
picked the very best of the best application to include onto their CD,
which you can receive for free, to minimize cluttering up the operating
system with programs you would not use. For example, in other Linux
based Operating- Systems (OS) they will include 5 word processing
programs such as StarOffice, KWord, Flwriter, Ted, EZ, Lyx. For a
review on all these WP go to WPLDP
. What Ubuntu do is that they only add one word processor of that
period in time that is rated to be the best. So, currently Open office is the Linux
version of Microsoft Office and all files are compatible with each other. So thats what you will recieve on the Ubuntu CD.
Also
note worthy is that the Ubuntu OS is easy and fast to install, looks
similar to Windows, as most Linux OS do, and seems to not have any
issues with hardware. I’ve now installed it on three computers,
AMD64bit, Mac G5 and a Dell Pentium III notebook with no hardware issues. It found all the hardware.
The
other interesting point is how stable it has appeared to be on all the
platforms that I’m currently using. It feels like you have the stability of
the Mac OS X and the speed of Windows. I recommend this to any home
user who would use their computer for doing things such as:
: Surfing the internet
: Checking their emails
: Writing letters
: Bringing work Home and then back to work
: Photoshoping with GIMP
You can replace
your current Windows environment with Ubuntu or run them together and lose absolutely
nothing. What you will gain is free
libraries of software, no licensing fees or pesky registration hassles as with the
Microsoft products. The one thing that Ubuntu is lacking is games. Although there
are some good ones out their for Ubuntu, just not a lot of them.
A little bit of this and a little bit of that
Some good new
for the open office people is that Microsoft intends on submitting its
new ‘Office Open XML’ file system to the ECMA {European standards
organization International}. Apparently, Apple, Intel and Toshiba, will
also follow suit and will all make up a committee that will approve the
format as an open standard. That’s great! The highly contentious
Sony BMG digital rights management (DRM) technology placed on the audio
CD albums by Sony apparently can be worked around by applying a small
piece of tape to the discs, according to several Blobs and reports. A
piece of tape placed on the outer edges of the CD renders the data
track of the CD unreadable. Apparently, Apple is planning to
release its first entry-level iBook laptops with Intel processors next
January at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, highly reliable sources have
confirmed to Think Secret. It is not known exactly what processors or
price points the new models will debut at, but it is thought Apple will
expand the iBook line with one additional model and will lower
prices—in some cases possibly $200 or more—to entice current Windows
users and prove to the market it will be more competitive with the
likes of Dell, Gateway, HP and Sony. Story by ThinkSecret.com  A
bunch of reports are being posted on the net of the Xbox 360 crashing.
The screen grab comes from a video you can find here, showing the
system freezing with lovely static lines through the image. Lets hope
it’s a software bug, and not a physical issue. And finally for today
Registry Edits for Windows XP
Increase Menu Display Speed
When
ever you run your mouse over an icon that expands in the start menu, I
see no reason for there to be any Effects running which delay the Start
Menu when clicking an item. So let step into this and change it. Go to [Start] ->[Run] ->and type [Regedit]. Once the regedit has opened, navigate your way down the Registry Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop Now look in the right-hand column and locate MenuShowDelay. Now Right click and Modify the
Value Data Type: String Value // Value Name of the MenuShowDelay. The
Default data Setting for MenuShowDelay = 400. Change this to reflect
0(Zero) delay. Exit the Reg-editor and reboot
Epson R320 Printer
I’ve
had this Epson R320 printer now for three months and at the time I had
done a review while setting it up and left it sitting around. I
can say that in the last three months nothing, including my perception
in this review has change since I originally complete it. The print is still spectacular, and Epson still suck big time. The
Epson Stylus Photo R320 is a photo ink-jet printer that uses inks in 6
individual cartridges to print photos with or without a connection to
your computer. It also prints on CD/DVD with printable white surfaces.
Again you can design a label and print to the media with or without the
help of your computer. The method used to achieve printing without the
need of a computer is by saving the image you wish to print to a
memory-stick and as the printer has slots provisioned for the
CompactFlash Card Type I/II, SD Memory Card, XD-Picture Card, SmartMedia Card, Memory Stick Pro. You can use the 2” LCD screen to choose the image and function required to print the image to your needs. I have not seen this feature anywhere else, nor publicised by Epson. Another
point which is important to understand is that some manufactures of
inkjet printer have a Head-Assembly that is replaced with the purchase
of a new ink cartridge. This Epson model does not. The
significance of this is that a Head-Assembly can be very costly to
replace. If the head is clogged and lines appear through your printing
because of dry ink in the Head-Assembly, usually it works out cheaper
to replace the printer than the Head-Assembly.   
I started my paper testing by reading the manual {that’s a first for me} and then plugging it in and installed all the software available and as it also support the Mac, I did a Mac test as well. I have an iMac G5 (Mac) and an AMD64 Opteron 240 (IBM). The
installation was quick and smooth on both systems with no real issues
to speak of as far as the installing of the drivers and software went. In fact the installation from scratch to running up two installations and sending a test print took under 15 minutes. To
test the printing on both the Mac and IBM I did this one system at a
time, even though I used a Bluetooth connection for the IBM and the USB
connection with the Mac. While on the Bluetooth, it was quick communication for a Blue-tooth connection I felt and had no issues with it on the IBM. After I had completed the print testing I connected via the Bluetooth to the Mac (Please read below about that little drama). As you’d expect I also reversed the IBM to USB, with no issue. Communication
and connection wise, absolutely perfect for both Operating Systems with
the exception of the Bluetooth and other Mac OS Issues. Epson has done
well with their software for the IBM! To begin
the testing I printed five only text letters to asses the speed and
printing. The reason for the five letters was that I would use the six
base colors of the cartridges (except Yellow for obvious reason). I
found the text to be of a good quality in all five colours. It
appeared to be sharp and clear. The Epson’s time to print each letter
was good and would not annoy anyone with the ‘waiting for that letter
to print from an ink jet’ syndrome. Then I reproduced some CD’s and DVD
covers all on plain white paper, this was a graphics test to see the
quality and speed of the Epson R230. The Epson produced very clear and
smooth coloring of the graphics and not to shabby with the time it took
to print a full color DVD cover. I used Alien Verses Predator to test
this, I handed my wife the original and the Epson printed cover and
asked her to tell me which was the one that would get me put in jail?
She picked the Original Alien Verses Predator. That’s quality for plain
A4 paper print. I then got out my photo
paper. Though the R320 print times are not what you would call
exceptionally fastest for photo printing, its photo-image quality was
exceptionally accurate and saturated with Color. Examining the printed
photos for the obvious dot patterns which some areas of a photo can
produce under the inkjet printers, none where visible under the
magnifying glass. So is it that good, NO! There
were some serious faults with the software for printing and the
mechanics of the printer. When printing on a DVD from the Mac, it is
impossible to line up the image to print on the center of a DVD. It
misses printing more than half of the image as it is off the DVD
surface area in alignment. When I rang Epson support to assist me as I
thought I had not installed or had the settings set correctly. The
Epson helpdesk person asked me if I was aware that you could print to
the DVD via the SD Memory card (direct printing). The Epson support desk is disgustingly nauseating. They
did not acknowledge or attempt to resolve the problem. I then told them
that attempting to print from my Mac, which installed and totally
recognised the Bluetooth connection, would not print through Bluetooth.
Again the Epson helpdesk
person was disgustingly nauseating by referring to the Mac as an
inferior and that they don’t support Macs. When I asked him if they
don’t support Mac’s then why they would make software written for the
Mac OS X and printer drives. He replied that they are just there
as a convenience and is not supported. Also the paper feeder is
not the best as paper feed jams occur every 5 to 10 prints with the A4
plain paper only.
 Print Quality 8/10
Interoperability 7/10 Bluetooth 5/10 After sale service 1/10 Overall 6/10
LCD 17" CMV CT-720D
A
few week ago I received my CMV CT-720D that I now have had time to
evaluate a bit more in depth. The CMV CT-720D is a 17-inch 8ms LCD
monitor, with an RGB and DVI connector, it is the first I have seen
with a different LCD screen panel that lays claim to 8ms and
16.7Million colours. Did I hear some people say what? Well
you see, Benq and Viewsonic do not manufacture their own LCD screen
panels where CMV has in this model. Both Benq and Viewsonic purchase
their LCD screen panels from Optronics, which explains why some of
their models look similar in build.
White in colour it sports a sexy Apple architecture that does not look
out of place on my desk next to my iMac G5 and the G4 iBook. The CMV
CT-720D has good viewing angles. Sitting straight on it has a crystal
clear resolution at 1280 x 1024. The base feels well built and sturdy.
It has no swivel capability left to right built into to the base.
Manually turning the monitor to view at different angles from left to
right, or simply put, the wide-angle viewing was quite good and the
monitor held its resolution and contrast. The up and down
swivel was sightly difficult and stiff to raise and lower. But once the
monitor is in place I don’t really need to move it so I didn’t see this
as a big issue. But could inconvenience some users. The Viewing Angle
of 140° (V) x 160° (H) is much higher than other LCD’s, but I find it
comfortable.
Manufacturers have had to in the past and currently compromise on
colour in return for better response time for the 16ms and 12ms LCD
screens. When they got down to 8ms and now 6ms, it was taken for
granted that there was a loss of colour to these fast monitors being
designed to the gamers. Specifications of the CMV CT-720D claim to
support 16.7 million colours. Not only that, the LCD panel brags an
extraordinarily high 450cd/m² brightness rating. After testing the
monitor, I’m not totally happy with the colour of the CMV CT-720D,
their does appears to be some loss of the 16.7 million-colour pallet
that they claim in the spec sheet. One of the test I preformed
was to have the same picture up on four screens; a Dell c680, an iBook,
iMac G5 and the CMV CT-720D feed from an Nvidia GeForce 6800GT 256MB
PCI-E card in an AMD 64Bit tower PC. Have all my friends and wife
compare the picture with their naked eyes. It is disappointing
that there is some noticeable loss of colour on the CMV CT-720D with
the naked eyed. Everyone notice the lack of colour details in the
picture. I’ve been using the CMV CT-720D for the last month, with
comments of how bright and crystal clear the display was, No one had
ever notice the colour loss until I was re-evaluate it for this review
with them.
The Controls have the Basic Power, Auto-Calibration/Exit, Input/Turbo,
+ Selection/Quick Brightness, - Selection/Quick Contrast, Menu. On
Screen Display (OSD) has: Brightness, Contrast, Clock, Phase,
H.Position, V.Position, Sharpness, Volume, Mute, Color Temperature,
User Color, Language, OSD Timeout, OSD Position, Auto Calibration,
Recall, Analogue, Digital selection
In the sound department it has Multimedia 2.5W stereo speakers. When I
first received the monitor and plugged in the sound, I could not
hear any sound so I presumed there was some kind of a dilemma with the
sound card or monitor set up. So eventually I decided to plugged
my mixer into the Sound cards audio jack and the CMV CT-720D speakers,
I got sound, they worked just fine. So then I plug my
64 Bit AMD with an Audiotrak Prodigy192 Multimedia Sound Card directly
into the CMV CT-720D audio jack, and Jack $#i+ came out. No sound! So
I’m assuming that because there is no manual sound controls on the CMV
CT-720D that they are not pre-amped. But on the OSD under music
it has two setting of mute: On or Off and Volume: 0% to 100%. But
playing with these settings made no difference to the sound levels.
Overall this preforms well, I do like the monitor and its fast response
is noticeable especially under heavy graphics testing. But if you have
a requirement where colour is essential, then this is not the monitor
for you. As for the sound, again I don’t have that necessity but
if you do then consider a higher quality brand. The CMV LCD
screen panel while it’s satisfactory for the $280AUS, it just not a
high quality brand for serious graphic needs.
Can the Apple iPod video player kill the video and radio stars?
Can
the Apple iPod video incarnation be at the lead of another revolution?
Can the Apple iPod video player incarnation kill the video and radio
stars? 
The
Apple iPod has revolutionised the way music is purchased with the help
of the licensing deals with the record companies and putting up songs
for sale over the Internet. Apple seems to be trying to repeat the
scenario with the latest iteration of the iPod. With
the Apple iPod capable of playing videos it is developing the portable
music player into a multimedia platform for everything from TV shows to
music videos? Could this affect the MP3 market and the need for the
record companies by Apple in the iTunes store? Videos for the new
iPod will now be sold online next to songs on the iTunes Music Store.
The deal with the American ABC Television Group, will have episodes for
$1.99US ($2.60 aus) and according to all reports will be available the
day after they have aired on television in America. The purchased video
can be watched on a home PC or download for viewing on the Video iPod's
63mm or 2.5in" colour screen. So many questions that only time
will answer. So
how do they shape up in the affordability stakes? Available from next
week, the current 20 gigabyte and 60 gigabyte models, the non-video
iPods will be superseded by a 30 GB and a 60 GB video version. These
will sell for $299us and $399us respectively. Interestingly the iPod
Videos are called… ‘iPod’ yep! No Video in the name anywhere. 
Also
introduced on Wednesday October 12th were two newer, much thinner
models of the iMac G5 computer. The 17-inch and 20-inch models with
built-in iCams, a six-button remote control and software called Front
Row, appears to turn the G5 into a media centre, equivalent or better
to the Microsoft media Centre. There appears to be a new software
called "Photo Booth" that allows users to take quick snapshots and send
them to other users via e-mail. These two releases appear to be a strategy to kick some butt in the Windows media and in the music industry. Also
under the radar is the new iTunes 6 that has a new streamlined design
that apparently makes iTunes even easier to use. I haven’t noticed
anything more than the Movie label that comes up blank in iTunes bar.
Lets have a quick look at the new features as advertised by Apple.
Searching: a new Search Bar allows a faster and refined search with the
handy new bar. Smart Shuffle? I don’t know anyone who really cares
about this feature as much as Steve Jobs does. I have never used it and
probably won’t ever use it. 
iTunes
now supports iPod syncing for Outlook and Outlook Express on Windows
PCs. You can organise all your play lists into folders. Parental
Controls: this enables limiting kids’ access to the iTunes sharing
features. iTunes now also Syncs music to the Motorola ROKR E1 Mobile
Phone.
I'm rating the ipod video and the new iMac without having used them a seven out of ten based on features and innovation
What is the worst PC peripherals you have ever purchased
What is the worst PC peripherals you have ever purchased, due to missing information not listed on a website?
Well! Here’s a funny story for
you. About two years ago I decided to upgrade my Internet
connection from my trusty 33kbs dialup modem and move over to ADSL.
After weeks of agonising over ‘Broadbandchoice.com.au’ and running
endless comparisons of which provider was the best supplier and who had
the better plan that suited me. Finally after much
assessing, posturing and reviewing, I decided to go with best ISP
around …iPrimus. As part of any ADSL connection, in Australia, you are
expected to buy the recommended ADSL Modem from the ISP. Not that there
is pressure from them directly. They just push the fact that all
ADSL-modems are different and they don’t support other brands and
models, apart from what they sell. So I thought I could do better
than purchasing it for a premium of $220 from iPrimus and would go to
my regular ‘elcheapo’ websites and get one for half the price. After
another week of deliberating over who to purchase the modem from, which
was a Netcomm NB1300. I rang iPrimus to sign up and explain to them
that I would supply the Modem needed for the ADSL connection.
“Why
sure you can purchase your own modem, Sir.” said this sweet innocent
young voice as I harshly enquired about iPrimus’s policy on bringing my
own modem to the party. How dare they sell it for $220 and make you
feel like a Bull being hit on the bum with a Bango. “As long as it’s
one that we support you can purchase it yourself, if that makes you
feel better.” I was right on top of this and hammering this sweet
little know-all right into submission. “So their!” I van get it
for $120.” I pronounced, “Take this and take that and I can get it at
half your price… so what have you got to say about that, hey..! What
have you got to say about that.” Repeating myself. She
replied sheepishly, “Why that’s excellent, are we talking about the
NB1300, sir?” I replied, “ Nooo!” condescendingly, “The one sitting in
the space shuttle orbiting the earth.” Get sarcastic now, “Of course
the bloody NB1300!” At that point I was thinking I’m in for a great big
huge discount. “So you can get one for $120, is that right sir?”
“Yer! I just told you that!” “Well Sir, you must have failed maths in
grade one, because half of nothing is nothing….SIR!” “Talk sense girl,
what are you gibbering about?” “Well Sir, we are giving them away this
month” She forgot the Dickhead part on the end of that sentence. I now
have a NB1300 from my ISP. For Free! I knew I was in for a discount!
What’s
the lesson here you might be asking. Well I never checked to see
if iPrimus’s plans were as per the ‘Broadbandchoice.com.au’ website
said it was. Since then I’ve encountered a few more examples of
out of date websites. Others like ‘Broadbandchoice.com.au’ that run a
service that only checks a odd times such as bi-monthly that will be
missing vital information required for you to have in your possession
to enable you to make the best decision possible.
“Think about this when you’re next looking intently over the web for a better price”
Ipod Nano
 The iPod Nano
So
I decided to buy my wife the iPod Nano, which comes in two colours
either white or black and also in two different configurations, that
being the 2GB and 4GB versions.Unlike the 4th Gen iPod these store
music on a memory card rather than a hard drive. I have the 60GB Photo
iPod to compare to the Nano’s function and ease of use. So as for the
storage system on the Nano, it doesn’t appear to have any advantage
over the 60Gb hard disk drive of the Photo iPod, there is also a claim
that the hard disk drive skips. I’ve never heard of this until
the Nano came along. I jog with my iPod Photo and have never had
it skip. I don't believe this is an issue. There were more interesting
differences I noticed with performance than music skipping. One
of the differences I noticed was the quick syncing of the Nano on the
PC (also on the Mac). Scrolling through the menu was slick and
easy as you'd expect from a slick looking piece of hardware with some
real excellent sound being pumped out through a speaker system. I also
purchased the Logitech mm50 iPod Mobile Music System. I may review
these next week. Some of the features are 2" micro drivers and 3"
pressure drivers for incredible bass. Rechargeable Li-ion speaker
battery with 10 hours life. Dock-connector support for iPod nano,
3G, 4G, mini and Photo. Credit card-sized remote control. 3D
sound processing widens the stereo effect and simultaneously charges
speaker & iPod batteries.
 The Screen appeared to be brighter than the 4th Gen iPod. The scre  en
is a very crisp colour display. It sports the click wheel similar to
the 4th Gen iPod. But Unlike 4th Gen iPod, the headphone port is on the
bottom of the iPod Nano, right beside the dock connector. The Hold
switch is still on the top of the iPod Nano. Even with its small
delicate size and build, the Nano doesn’t feel weak or fragile. The
shiny plastic front and polished stainless steel back doesn’t bend or
warp in your hands. The iPod also isn’t that small so it feels
difficult to use its click wheel or Hold button. Viewing text or
pictures on it’s 3.8cm (1.5”) display is also easy on the eyes.
The iPod Nano can be synced to a Mac or to a PC by a USB 2.0 connection
supplied in the box. You can also, strangely enough, charge it with a
FireWire cable. This is an unusual setup, and unexplained by the
manual. In the iPod Nano’s box you’ll find all of the
standard accessories, the iPod 4GB in my case, a USB 2.0 cable, Apple’s
white earphones, two sets of black earphone covers, and an iPod Dock
Adapter and a white plastic insert ‘universal dock adapter’.
 Summary
Pros:
Clear and bright screen; photo viewing; quick syncs with Computer; with
no music skipping due to the flash memory; Has Responsive Controls.
Cons: Lacks support for viewing pictures on television; No FireWire support for syncing; Face scratches easily.
I love it; it's sexy, very stylish and my wife listens to it. Go buy one and enjoy it.
Computers are about to take a quantum leap
Ths Artical is from Peter Judge of the The Guardian
Websit
Thursday February 8, 2007
A Canadian company with substantial venture capital backing claims to
have built a "quantum computer" that will ultimately solve problems
beyond the power of conventional systems - and will demonstrate it over
a live link next week. While most scientists believe a useful system
is at least 20 years away, D-Wave (dwavesys.com), based in Burnaby,
British Columbia, says it has a breakthrough in a field that already
promises revolution. The company says it expects to sell quantum
computers next year that can solve knotty problems from protein
structure to financial optimisation.
The company has persuaded investors to put $20m (£10m) into its radical
new take on quantum computing and promises to show a prototype next
Tuesday in its labs. A
quantum computer can, in theory, be vastly more powerful than a
conventional one because it uses quantum properties to carry out
multiple calculations simultaneously. That's because quantum systems
(such as various properties of electrons) simultaneously embody
different "states". The best known simile is that of Schrödinger's cat,
the thought experiment in which a cat in a box is both alive and dead -
until someone opens the box.
Ubuntu
Speed Test
This
Link is a review and tests a 3ghz PC running Ubuntu, Dual 1 gig
PowerMac G4, Intel-Based MacBook Pro running at 2ghz, Same MacBook Pro
running Ubuntu thru the Parallels virtualisation software. Parallels
running Ubuntu on MacBook Pro came out faster than the MacBook Pro!
There is some Why Would Anyone Want XP On a Mac etc comments so it’s
Linux and Mac bias, but that’s OK with me. Ubuntu Linux, Windows XP and
Mac OS X speed test. Click Here.
Windows Users and Ubuntu
This
Windows user is challenging Ubuntu's moto: "Linux for human beings". He
asks the hard questions at the end after admitting that there was some
sort of simplicity so far. “That’s the simple stuff done, but an
operating system isn’t much good on its own� he said. “What’s
pre-installed? Can we type letters? Send email? “ Click Here
New Ubuntu Screenshots
And
finally Ubuntu has officially adopted XFce into their lineup. OSDir has
a great selection of screenshots of Xubuntu 6.06 Beta which was
released on the 20th of April, 2006! I think it looks nice! Click Here and admire the screen shots.
posted by AiPodcast @ 6:27 PM
Apple, Microsoft, Linux, IE7 and lastly…Sony
Apple’s Steve Jobs announces a revamped Mac Mini at an unveiling at Apple headquarters in Cupertino,
on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006. The new Mac Mini also includes Apple's Front
Row software, already found on the newest Intel Core-Duo iMacs, so
users can connect it to their televisions and control their music,
videos, or photos with a remote control from across the room. Microsoft
“Origami” that has been teasing everyone that visited that website is a
new device of which will compete with the iPod and other devices in
that space. It will apparently be some type of a handheld electronic
device that can be shaped in to different forms. It will also be able
to play games, play music, and connect wirelessly via Wireless Protocol
and possibly Bluetooth. Beginning Ubuntu Linux: From Novice to Professional This
is the first book of its kind to cover the hottest new Linux
distribution, and will teach you how to make the most of your Ubuntu
desktop. First, the book introduces you to the world of Linux and the
open source community, and then outlines Ubuntu installation and
configuration in detail. You will learn how to wield control over your
newly installed operating system. Then you'll learn about system
customisation opportunities and fun tasks like listening to audio CDs
and MP3s, viewing movies, performing office and Internet-related tasks,
and maintaining your Ubuntu system in general. THE IE7 BETA 2 RELEASE
is now available here at Microsoft for evaluation purposes only. I gave
up on Beta 1 as it was so buggy it crashed every so often and that
eventually it became un-usable. I have not downloaded Beta 2 yet, but I
am sure it will be more suitable for users now as some four months of
improvements being implemented. I will try it as son as I get some free
time. Lastly,
do you remember the Sony fiasco over the rootkit scandal? I was amazed
to see that Sony Ericsson offers "Disc2Phone CD Ripping Software" for
its MP3 Phones. How can Sony justify suing people over copyright
infringements, and put malware on their CDs to stop people ripping
them, while at the same time providing a means and endorsement to copy
copyrighted material, such as MP3?
No one has ever mentioned
this in all the Blogs and podcast I've heard- Sony's new motto is
"money talks and Bullshit doesn't walk, it helps make more money".
VISTA, VIRUS, OSX & WINDIOWS
VISTA
With Yesterdays release of the Windows Vista Build 5231 Community
Technology Preview, Microsoft has openly highlighted the road to introducing
its new operating system. This release of Vista
is as close to complete as you will see. All of the essential components that Vista will eventually be releasing are now here on this
release.
Although the graphical users interface has not changed there is added functionality,
with both the current and new elements. They have added some new applications
like Windows Media Player 11 and Windows Digital Gallery, some updates to
existing features, such as the new Media
Center, including the
first reference to Windows DVD Maker.
A virus for MAC OS X…or Not
Last
week several antivirus software companies announced the first virus for the MAC
OS X, called Leap A. It spreads itself through the iChat instant
messaging program. If you are using iChat and somebody on your buddy list is
infected, you might receive a message asking you to accept a file called latestpics.tgz.
People receiving this think they are receiving pictures from a friend and
accept the file. When they open the file, their computers also become infected. This is as Apple described it, Not a Virus,
it is malicious software, and it doesn’t actually destroy any data. Yes it is spread through iChat, Yes, you do
have to accept to download the picture and Yes! You do need to input your
Administration password to allow it on your system, and Yes, you then have to
find it and click on it to run…..Why did he bother, less then ten computers
where infected. I get more spyware and rubbish on my PC in one 2 hour session
on the net then Mac’s do in 10 years.
They should arrest the geek for stupidity, not for the harmless spyware.
Not Virus, harmless as it may be, it is malicious software.
OSX86Project web site
Yet why
aren’t we dual booting already? He's refering to Windows booting on the new
Apple MACs. Money was the answer
according to Mashugly
who is the Administration and Founder of OSX86Project web site. If you don’t
know then be aware of “The Contest,” as it’s known which is giving a prise away
of currently $12,000 dollar and jackpotting that will be going to the first
person to make available a viable dual booting method /technique to the site’s
owner. Mashugly states “Now I have no problem with the idea of neither a
contest, nor the site owner (Colin… who is also a member in our forum) wanting
to capitalize on some great site traffic and press.” But “The problem with the
contest is that it encourages poor geeks (like me) who could use the extra cash
(like me) to try their hand at fixing the problem. In theory this would speed
up progress. But in fact it’s had the opposite, somewhat paradoxical effect –
it’s slowed things down.” Why? “This has occurred because said poor geeks
(like me) who are working on it know that if they post on a forum with some
ideas, those ideas could be taken and used by someone else to earn the money.”
Haaa..yes greed… Don’t you just love it?
End user license, Room 404 & Apple�s Windows XP
Microsoft has announcing a change to the End User License, worried? You should be! They�ve announced that a new motherboard is equivalent to a new computer, So hence you will be required to purchase a new Windows license. Here is the formal announcement from Bill� I mean Microsoft: �An upgrade of the motherboard is considered to result in a �new personal computer� to which Microsoft� OEM operating system software cannot be transferred from another computer. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created and the license of new operating system software is required.� The justification Microsoft gave is: �Microsoft needed to have one base component �left standing� that would still define that original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the �heart and soul� of the PC, when the motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created.� Microsoft sent a memo to its OEM partners asking them to enforce this new policy, every time they upgrade a computer for a client. This appears on the surface to only be talking about OEM version. I don�t know the price of the OEM Windows but I�d imagine that it would be between $50 and $100. By-golly you�ve done it again Bill�ionaire Mind you this is even more of a reason to move to Linux/BSD Ubuntu, Linspire, the new Novel Desktop OS� Gee what about MAC OSX� When you visit a webpage that is misspelled, incomplete or non existent a 404 error is dished out. While you know the meaning of that screen, do you know why the number 404 was chosen? To answer this lets go back in time, when the WWW was still not a standard, a group of young scientists in CERN Switzerland started to work on the WWW. This young group of scientists use the physical lay-out of CERN�s network and buildings as a metaphor for the �real world� they situated different functions of the protocol in different offices within CERN. They placed the World Wide Web�s central database in an office on the fourth floor, on room 404. Any request for a file was routed to that office. The requests grew; the database became bigger until a number of requests that could not be full filled usually because the person who requested a file typed in the wrong name for that file. Soon these faulty requests were answered with a standard message: �Room 404: file not found�. Later, when these processes were automated and people could directly query the database, the message ID�s for error messages remained linked to the physical location the process took place: �404: file not found� until the official release of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) when a browser makes a faulty request to a Web server. The room numbers remained in the error codes in the official release of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) when the Web left CERN to conquer the world, and are still displayed when a browser makes a faulty request to a Web server. In memory of the heroic boys and girls that worked deep into the night for all those months, in those small and hot offices at CERN, Room 404 is preserved as a �place on the Web�. None of the other rooms are still used for the Web. Room 404 is the only and true monument to the beginning of the Web, a tribute to a place in the past, where the future was shaped. Portions of text extracted from room404.com This article is reproduced from here Also an interesting read is John C. Dvorak�s article on �Will Apple Adopt Windows?� in this months PC Mag.com. In short he believes that Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple is positioning his company to move the Apple Hardware to Microsoft Windows software. He puts an interesting spin on things, as usual. Have a read, you'll love this if you Microsoft supporter. If you are an Apple supporter through and through... I wouldn�t read this as it could upset your equilibrium ... for the month.
Listen, Cleanup and Surf
Tunatic can hear it
Love that song but don't know who
it is playing or singing? Tunatic can tell you! Ever thought ‘what is this
song?’ Let Tunatic hear it and you will get the artist's name and the song's
title within seconds. Tunatic is the very first song search engine based on
sound for your computer. All you need is a microphone and Internet access. It
will search the net of for the music it is hearing and tell you what the songs
name is. You can download it here for Mac OS X and for
Windows click here
Prefetch files
Prefetch are files that XP uses to start programs faster. Windows XP
Professional monitors the files that are used when the computer starts and when
you start applications. By monitoring these files, Windows XP Professional can
prefetch them. Windows XP, by default, caches the files that are used during
the system boot. It does this to store data in the memory in order to be able
to boot faster. Prefetch files can begin to build up and should be deleted out
once in awhile. Follow this Guide to Do that.
Click on the Start Button and then on the run button, Type prefetch then enter
key. A window will open up with a bunch of files. All of these files are
prefetch files. Simply, click CONTROL + A to select all files, then hit Delete,
then Enter. Then hit Yes. You have now successfully cleaned up your prefetch
files.
Latest Oprea 9
I’ve downloaded version 9 and played with it. The most noticeable feature is
the addition of “widgets” run directly through the browser. Opera has created a
opera dedicated widgets community here. Installation
of widgets is done directly through the browser. After completing a download,
Opera prompts you asking if you wish to keep the widget. The overall execution
of the widget addition is superb. Widgets remain top level above all other
applications. Pressing F6 will toggle the widgets from view.
Just Some News
I came across LinClips.com website
that I found interesting in looking at what Linux software around now or at
least the more popular ones. LinClips.com is a Linux resource that demonstrates
through video casting desktop Linux operating systems. Each Linux
operating system (Distributions) video clip is for about two minutes. It a
quick look at the feel and offer little more than that, but I thought it was
interesting. Flash players are required for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux OS;
they are available on the site so take a look.
Apple Number One Brand in U.S.
Apple was ranked as the number one brand in the United States for 2005. The number
two brand was Google. In the worldwide market, Google took first place, and
Apple took second. Apple earned its ranking with the products released through
the year such as the iPod Nano and Video iPod, publicising the switch to Intel
and iTunes successes. These factors all lead to the popularity of the
Apple brand.
Speaking of the Intel switch by Apple, it appears that Apple has released it’s
Intel based MacBook Pro six months ahead of the target date. Unlike
Microsoft’s VISTA (Virus Infected Spyware
Trojan & Adware) which is now twelve months late. The two companies have different
focuses. Apples aim is to innovate and please the customer with eye candy
hardware and software with practical uses all built in to the package.
Microsoft’s focus is spent mostly patching and fighting the onslaught of
instability bought on by the Virus Infected Spyware, Trojan & Adware. ☺
The Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is set for release in late 2006 or early 2007,
as is VISTA.
iLoad™ is a little bit of hardware I stumbled across which allows you to
transfer a CD to an iPod®. It claims it can copy a full DVD in about 8 minutes
depending upon condition of the DVD and length of the DVD. iLoad
typically transfers more than 5 times “real time”. iLoad will not be
available for purchase until the end of March 2006. They have started the
manufacturing process, which will take them around 12 working weeks before
shipping. That gives iLoad a release date of mid-March 2006. You can see
and find all the low down on the iLoad at
Website.
2006 will bring.... What?
Welcome to 2006, with 2005 behind us we need to all look ahead and understand what is coming in tech with in the next twelve months. Let’s have a crack at this prediction thing.
I envisage some of the same in certain areas this year, such as Blogging to keep climb dramatically. Linux to be where it is now with no market growth or loss. I also would expect iTunes, iPod and the new Macintel range to keep going ahead in leaps and bounds as it’s been doing over the last few years now. So, what else is to be expected in the next twelve months. What I foresee are some of the following:
"We’ll see iPTV and video broadcasting over the Internet start to gain some serious growth and influence, especially with iTunes video casting and end user video production on such a high increase"
"2006 will also see the record companies force to deliver music through different channels and formats, such as, MP3 and download site, as well as other sources and formats"
"Web 2.0 Won't Happen. It doesn’t exist and never will"
"India can expect to see an I.T. sector growth of a thousand per cent in call centers. All fresh from the Asia pacific rim, the EU and the Americas" Gold bless those little curry munches
AMD is now, today, leading the way on the desktop front with their 64 Bit central possessing chips. The reason is they can out step the Intel Pentium 4 over a quarter mile race. However, Intel is leading the way with the Laptop mobile chip, the Pentium M, AMD do not have a formidable mobile chip. Given this and that the trend of Laptops in the home will over take the Desktop computer in sales this year, Intel will stay a head in the corporate battle. In addition, the Yohan Desktop Chip with Dual-Core might just put Intel back in front on the desktop velocity competition.
And of course, finally what of Apple and Microsoft? Well this time last year Microsoft’s CEO Bill Gates wallet was much larger than Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs. Over the last twelve months, Steve’s wallet no longer fits in his back pocket and although still not as thick as Bill’s, this might be the year for Steve to fatten his wallet even more. But is he taking Bill along with him? Apple has endured the suicide period of the conversion to Intel. Apple will, with out a doubt increase their market share due to this shift in hardware and don’t forget the iPod when thinking of sales. But Microsoft will also benefit from the Apple switch to Intel. There are people who will want to be able to switch from Windows to Windows and Apple. With the ability to be able to using their exciting software programs that run under Windows on the new Apple computers with the added benefits of the Mac OS X. Windows XP and Vista will all function on the Intel based hardware. This interoperability of a compatible Windows and Mac OS X hardware is more than anyone could ask for. Have a good 2006 and Happy new years
Wireless Setup: as in setup for a $100,000 fine
A report on channelcincinnati.com has some poor old bugger being blamed for uploading a movie, made by Paramount to a peer-2-peer site so others could copy the movie as well. Well, that according to Paramount. This person accused of pirating said that he didn’t even know what they were talking about, and that he didn't do it. It sounded as if he was computer illiterate. Apparently he |
