This is the time of the year when contests--often run by newspaper Websites--challenge people across the nation to create dioramas that make extensive use of a familiar Easter candy: Marshmallow Peeps. Participants spend hours painting, decorating, arranging, and gluing squishy Marshmallow Peeps chicks and bunnies onto elaborate stages based on current events, movies, games, and popular culture. Our Peep-a-Palooza collection highlights the best tech- and geek-themed productions referencing Star Wars, Star Trek, TRON Legacy, Angry Birds, Mario Brothers, Nintendo Wii games, and more. Remember, these tableaux are built, not Photoshopped. Peeps and Buns also are popular with obsessed individuals who don't enter contests; we've included a few of their efforts as well. Enjoy! http://www.pcworld.com/article/226085/welcome_to_the_peepapalooza.htmlWelcome to the Peep-a-Palooza!
Mad geniuses across the nation immortalize games, movies, tech product announcements, and iconic sci-fi moments in dioramas built using our favorite Easter candy: Marshmallow Peeps. Take a look at some of the best.
The Best of Peep Dioramas Honoring Geeks and Tech
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Peep-a-Palooza! |
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Another Windows 8 |
By Joab Jackson, IDG News While Microsoft has not announced the release date, or even the official name, of its follow-up to Windows 7, an early pre-beta version of the OS has surfaced on the Internet, the second version to appear within a month. This is the second milestone release that has showed up on the Internet this month.Users of the Beta Archive Web site are claiming that the service's FTP servers contain a developmental copy of the next generation of Windows, Windows 8 version 6.2.7955.0 milestone 2. Access to the servers requires a user account. Microsoft Milestone releases are early pre-beta versions of its products, usually meant for internal use and testing. The first public beta release of the software may happen as soon as within the next few months, according to the WinRumors news site. Users of this Windows 8 software have said it features a Ribbon-based user-interface, similar to the one used in recent editions of Microsoft Office. This specific milestone build also has software for a Webcam, a new task manager, a PDF reader and an immersive browser. Microsoft is also developing a version of the software to run on ARM processors, in order to address the rapidly growing market for tablets. The news of the leaked software comes a week after Microsoft announced that, in the 18 months since its release, Windows 7 has sold more than 350 million licenses worldwide. Microsoft declined to verify the authenticity of the milestone release. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/226206/another_windows_8_prebeta_surfaces.htmlAnother Windows 8 Pre-beta Surfaces
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Homer Simpson |
By Ben Camm-Jones, macworld.co.uk Apr 26, 2011 11:34 pm The voice of Homer Simpson is available for the iPhone TomTom satnav app. The TomTom UK & Ireland iOS app costs £49.99, and Homer's voice is available as an in-app purchase for £3.49. Other famous fictional voices on offer include Darth Vader, C3PO, Yoda and Hans Solo. "Homer Simpson is one of the most familiar and fondly recognised cartoon characters on the planet. So to have Homer become uniquely available for our TomTom App for iPhone is really thrilling for us. We believe Homer will bring lots of fun and enjoyment to millions of fans around the world, as drivers' very own co-pilot," said Alain Pakiry, Senior Vice President for Marketing at TomTom. "Homer's skills will help keep drivers and fans entertained in a light hearted and familiar way. It's exciting to have him on board!" he continued. TomTom is also offering its TomTom Speed Cameras feature as an in-app purchase for drivers, costing £3.49 per month or £22.99 for a year. Drivers in the United States, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Portugal, Luxembourg, Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and South Africa can also get Homer's voice for the TomTom app. http://www.pcworld.com/article/226278/homer_simpson_comes_to_tomtom_ios_app.htmlHomer Simpson Comes to TomTom iOS App
Homer - voiced by Dan Castellaneta - will say things like: "Make a U-turn," "Ha ha, you've goofed," and, unsurprisingly "D'Oh!".
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Android |
By JR Raphael, PCWorld Apr 26, 2011 4:06 PM You know what I'm talking about, right? Every few weeks, a fresh analysis comes out with striking new details about how Android, iOS, and the other smartphone platforms are stacking up. Only every time, the results are basically the same: Android makes some meaty market share gains. Apple drops a bit, or maybe holds steady. The rest of the not-so-sexy contenders -- RIM, Microsoft, whozit and whatzit -- hang on for dear life. That trend's been repeating reliably for a good couple of years now. So when a study with some new type of insight crosses my desk here at JR Raphael World Headquarters, you'd better believe I sit up and take notice. Today is one of those enchanting occasions. A new report from Nielsen -- the same guys who handle ratings for TV and practically everything else on the planet -- finds an interesting shift not just in smartphone market share but also in smartphone desirability. It's something the Nielsen crew has been measuring for some time now, but this marks a rare instance where we see a noteworthy change. The change, in a nutshell, is that Android has now surpassed iOS in terms of consumer desirability. Or, in other words, more smartphone buyers are lusting after an Android than eyeing an iPhone. The difference itself isn't enormous, mind you, but what it represents is arguably quite large. According to Nielsen, 31 percent of mobile consumers surveyed from January to March of this year said they wanted an Android device. That's up from 26 percent in the previous period, in late 2010. Thirty percent, meanwhile, said they wanted an Apple mobile device in the most recent analysis -- down from 33 percent in the late-2010 window. http://www.pcworld.com/article/226354/android_outranks_apple_in_desirability_and_thats_huge.htmlAndroid Outranks Apple in Desirability -- and That's Huge
Either I'm an extraordinary psychic, or smartphone market share studies are starting to get pretty damn predictable.
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Angry Birds |
By Michael Kan, IDG News The popularity of Angry Birds continues to soar as the game has now reached 140 million downloads worldwide, according to an executive with its publisher Rovio Mobile. The game has been a large success after it was first launched as an Apple iPhone app in December 2009, said Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka, who goes by the title "Mighty Eagle," at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing on Wednesday. Angry Birds is now available on a wide range of platforms including Android, Windows, and video game systems like the Playstation 3. The game sells for $0.99 on Apple's App Store, but also comes in a free version. The success of the game, however, didn't come easy, and Rovio built 51 other games over a seven-year period before Angry Birds really started taking off, Vesterbacka said. Marketing has played a big role in the game's popularity, he added. Rovio has invested in producing Angry Birds merchandise to promote the game and created an ad that ran during the Super Bowl. Rovio has big ambitions for China. The company aims to reach 100 million downloads of Angry Birds this year, Vesterbacka said. He did not disclose the number of downloads of the game in the country so far. The company also believes it can make Angry Birds one of the most recognized brands in China. "We are now in the top three for the most copied brand in China," he said. "We are up there with Disney and Hello Kitty." China is potentially a large market for Rovio. The country has 889 million mobile phone users, according to the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/226383/angry_birds_reaches_140_million_downloads.htmlAngry Birds Reaches 140 Million Downloads
The download numbers represent a major surge from the 100 million downloads reported by Rovio in March, and puts Angry Birds further into the ranks of the top selling games of all time.
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Ultra-thin Lenovo ThinkPad |
By Melanie Pinola, PCWorld Apr 25, 2011 10:38 AM Part of a new generation of ThinkPads (which includes the highly-rated ThinkPad X220), a major feature of the ThinkPad X1 is its new battery technology. The X1 may last 3x as long as typical notebook batteries (up to 10 hours with the additional battery slice), and with Lenovo's "RapidCharge" technology, charge 2.5 times faster (80% in 30 minutes). http://www.pcworld.com/article/226183/ultrathin_lenovo_thinkpad_x1_a_match_for_macbook_air.htmlUltra-thin Lenovo ThinkPad X1 a Match for MacBook Air?
A surprisingly thin Lenovo ThinkPad X1 has just joined the ultra-thin laptop race, marrying the classic business sense of the ThinkPad line with the super sexy form of Apple's MacBook Air and its latest ultra-slim laptop competitors, the Samsung Series 9 and MSI X-Slim X-370. The unannounced ThinkPad X1 popped up for pre-sale in Europe and has been confirmed by internal Lenovo documents to be just 21.5mm (0.85 inches) thin and boast a fast-charging, long-life battery.
Click to ZoomAlthough the ThinkPad X1 is a tad thicker and may weigh almost a full pound more than the MacBook Air and Samsung Series 9 ultraportables, it may be the thinnest business laptop yet. The X1 also sports someimpressive specs. (See how X1 stacks up against MacBook Air competition) Running the Sandy Bridge Intel Core i5 processor, the ThinkPad X1 has a 13.3-inch display made of super-tough Corning Gorilla Glass ("Outdoor Panel"), an LED backlit keyboard, 160GB SSD drive and multimedia-friendly features like HD stereo speakers.
The Swiss site where the ThinkPad X1 was spotted shows an availability date of May 20, as well as a pretty steep price of around $2,900 (2,585 Francs). When the ThinkPad X1 launches in the US, we can only hope it will be more wallet-friendly, because otherwise the X1 may definitely give the MacBook Air a run for its money. The ThinkPad X1 leak also follows rumors of a Lenovo ThinkPad tablet arriving this summer, so mobile professionals have a lot to look forward to from Lenovo this year.
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Superlight Laptops |
7 Stylish Superlight Laptops
By Jason Cross and Jon L. Jacobi, PCWorld
You have to take only a couple of business trips or vacations with a 6-pound laptop in tow before you start thinking about switching to a PC with a little less meat on its bones.
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Lenovo ThinkPad X220
Although 14- and 15-inch all-purpose laptops are abundant and often inexpensive, just throw one into your backpack or briefcase and lug it around for a few days--your shoulders will soon beg for mercy. These days, fortunately, you can find plenty of laptops on the market that are slimmer, lighter, and more powerful than almost anything that you could have bought just a few years ago.
What qualifies as a "lightweight laptop"? We drew the line at 4 pounds. There's a marked difference in design, features, and feel between laptops under that weight and their heavier friends. It may not seem like much, but a pound or two can make a big difference. Consider the heft of a pint of water: 1 pound. The difference between the lightweight laptops featured here and your run-of-the-mill 5.5-pounder is the equivalent of two (or two-and-a-half) extra pints of water in your laptop bag. It gets tiresome pretty fast.
Of course, laptops that are more Olive Oyl than Bluto come with a few compromises. Giving up weight can mean giving up performance, battery life, and certain other capabilities. Most laptops that weigh less than 4 pounds lack optical drives, so forget about burning DVDs or watching Blu-ray movies without an external USB drive.
They also tend to be thinner, leaving less room for larger, longer-running batteries, and for heat sinks and fans to dissipate the heat from high-power processors, which in turn means limited processing power. Nor is there room for a high-power discrete graphics card, so gaming enthusiasts are out of luck. Finally, expect to pay a little more for a thin-and-light laptop, relative to the performance received. Sure, you can find cheap laptops under 4 pounds, but at any given price, you'll get more performance, storage space, and features if you're willing to deal with some extra weight.
Truly light laptops rarely have a screen larger than 13 inches, but they otherwise come in a variety of styles, sizes, and prices.
(For our comparison chart of the ultraportables discussed in this article--and our "find-it" to each one's full review--please click on the thumbnail at left.)
If superslim is your preference, look no further than the Samsung Series 9, the latest PC to seriously challenge Apple's MacBook Air for slim-computing dominance. Business users especially interested in usability will want to focus on the ThinkPad X220, which maintains Lenovo's excellent, long-running standards for keyboard quality and management features.
And for the more style-minded among us, Lenovo has a sleeker unit in the IdeaPad U260. Meanwhile, Sony's Z-Series VPC-Z137GX/S is a pricey alternative aimed at business executives who want it all, including a decent discrete graphics chip.
If you're on a tighter budget, the tiny size of Lenovo's ThinkPad X120e netbook should fit the bill. It's powered by AMD's Fusion E-series processor, giving it performance that's a step above the typical Intel Atom-powered netbook.
Let's look at these ultralight laptops in alphabetical order.
Lenovo's IdeaPad U260: Unexpected Style
Lenovo IdeaPad U260: With its copper (or “mocha brown”) cover, this IdeaPad could be a contender for design awards.
Despite generations of sober-looking, utilitarian forebears and a name that suggests a bad World War II submarine movie, Lenovo's $1199 IdeaPad U260 goes where the company's laptops never went before--into the queue for style and design awards.
And the U260 gives Apple and Sony something to think about. When closed and viewed from the back, with its dark copper shell (Lenovo calls the color "mocha brown") covering the black main body, this 0.75-inch-thick ultraportable laptop resembles an extravagantly bound book- or pad-holder.
When opened, the IdeaPad U260 presents you with an all-black, minimally populated keyboard deck consisting of a smallish power button, an ambient light sensor that adjusts display brightness automatically, a tiny OneKey system recovery button (accessible only if you use a pointy object), the best Chiclet-style keyboard I've ever typed on, and an equally elegant touchpad with smooth-operating buttons. In a break with tradition, Lenovo does not include an eraserhead or nubbin pointing device.
Style aside, the U260 earned mixed results in PCWorld Labs tests. Our review unit had an Intel Core i5 470UM CPU, 4GB of DDR3 system memory, and a 12.5-inch color display with 1388 by 766 resolution. But the 320GB hard drive spins at just 5400 rpm, which undoubtedly helped hold the U260's WorldBench 6 score to a pedestrian 75. (An update to one of Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs would certainly boost the laptop's performance.)
Gaming frame rates on our test machine were in the teens (or worse), owing to Intel's integrated graphics. On the other hand, every video we tried played smoothly, even at 1080p. Audio quality is so-so, and rather quiet through the speaker.
Your connection options consist of two USB 2.0 ports, VGA and HDMI video outputs, an AC jack, a gigabit ethernet port, and a single combination microphone/headphone jack. The laptop has no internal optical drive, and the wireless is 802.11n.
Lenovo includes 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium as the operating system, but no productivity software. You also get a VeriFace facial recognition utility that's quite cool, as well as a shock sensor and the CyberLink Webcam utility.
The U260 is an average performer overall, but its top-of-the-line ergonomics more than compensates for that. My main disappointment is the lack of an option for a faster hard disk or a solid-state drive, to improve performance.
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Too-high Android tablet |
Computerworld - While developer interest in Apple's mobile devices remains solid, interest in Android has stalled among programmers disappointed with tablet prices and pressed by Android fragmentation, a survey published today showed. "Interest in Android on tablets has stalled, or plateaued, however you want to put it," said Scott Schwartzhoff, vice president of marketing at Mountain View, Calif.-based Appcelerator. The poll, conducted two weeks ago by Appcelerator and research firm IDC, polled more than 2,700 developers who use Appcelerator's Titanium cross-platform compiler to produce mobile applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. The numbers reflect a growing frustration that Android tablets don't stack up against Apple's iPad, and that their biggest weapon -- lower prices -- has not been used. "After CES, there was a lot of excitement in Android tablets," said Schwartzhoff, referring to the January trade show were scores of tablets were announced. "But after the initial tablet devices were rushed to market, developers saw that they came with a higher-than-expected price. That's a major factor in the drop in enthusiasm." Of the developers surveyed, 91% said that they were "very interested" in creating apps for the iPhone, a slip of one percentage point from Appcelerator's last quarterly survey. Apple's iPad collected 86%, also a drop of one point. "The iPhone maintains that really lofty status from a developer perspective," said Schwartzhoff. But interest in Android on smartphones fell two points to 85%, while on tablets the "very interested" number was 71%, a three-point slide. Although the survey's margin of error is +/-2 points, Schwartzhoff read the drop in Android tablet development interest as significant. "How many times will we go through this cycle of [Android] tablet introductions to mixed reviews, and at higher price than expected?" said Schwartzhoff. "Then we wait for the next tablet, rinse and repeat. Every time that happens it reinforces the thought, 'I don't know about Android on non-phone devices.'" Schwartzhoff contrasted the new dip in Android interest with last quarter's enthusiasm, when Google's mobile operating system jumped five points on smartphones, 12 points on tablets. In that survey, developers identified the price of Android tablets as the top factor to their success. While several Android-powered tablets have appeared, notably Samsung's Galaxy Tab and Motorola's Xoom, Schwartzhoff argued that their prices are still too high for developers to bet on. One indication, he said, is that the 71% of developers who said they were "very interested" in Android on tablets wasn't matched with similar numbers when they were asked about interest in specific hardware. Only 51% said they were very interested in developing for the Galaxy Tab, and just 44% said the same of the Xoom http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9216180/Too_high_Android_tablet_prices_spook_developersToo-high Android tablet prices spook developers
Apple's iOS remains the top dog, but programmers cool to Android
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Dell |
IDG News Service - Dell on Tuesday announced a desktop workstation that acts like a server from which remote client PCs can exploit graphics processing capabilities. The Precision R5500 workstation renders and delivers pixels to client PCs over a network, said Don Maynard, senior product manager for Dell's Precision tower and rack workstations. Graphics can be delivered in 2D or 3D formats to Dell's FX100 thin client using the PC-over-IP (Internet Protocol) remote graphics protocol, or to standard desktops and laptops with VMware's View software. The new feature extends the processing power of workstations to more computing resources in organizations, Maynard said. The remote access technology could reduce the need to deploy multiple workstations, while centralizing engineering and graphics applications in one location. The workstation is targeted at organizations involved in design projects or content creation, Maynard said. The workstation can also be relevant in vertical industries such as mining and health care. Dell already offers servers with graphics processors, but the workstation has specific features that make it more relevant to client PCs, Maynard said. The workstation runs client operating systems such as Windows 7, which support engineering applications such as AutoCAD. The workstation also has the ability to provide more dedicated graphics processing power for such applications. The quality of images delivered remotely depends on the complexity of graphics and bandwidth, Maynard said. There could be some latency if the graphics are complex, or if a PC is far away from the workstation. Beyond remote access capabilities, the Precision R5500 is also a high-end desktop designed to run complex scientific and graphics applications. The dual-socket workstation runs on Intel's Xeon processors, and can accommodate up to 12 CPU cores. The desktop supports up to 192GB of RAM and has multiple storage slots. The desktop is offered with optional Nvidia graphics cards. The R5500 is priced starting at $2,551 and will be available in the U.S. and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) on May 3. It will become available in Asia-Pacific and Japan on May 10. Dell also announced new Precision laptop workstations that are desktop alternatives. The DM4600 and DM6600 include 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch screens, respectively, and run on Intel's latest Core i5 and i7 processors. The laptops support up to 32GB of RAM, and 750GB of hard drive or up to 256GB of solid-state drive storage. They will be available with optional graphics cards from Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia. They also will come with multiple USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, and multiple monitors can be connected through display ports. The M4600 starts at $1,678, while the M6600 starts at $2,158. The laptops will become available worldwide on May 10.Dell brings remote desktop capabilities to workstations
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Sony to launch |
Update: Sony to launch two Android tablets later this year
The tablets, which carry the development names S1 and S2, will be launched worldwide from the fall, Sony said on Tuesday.
The company didn't announce pricing details or specific launch dates, but it did offer some basic specifications and demonstrate prototypes of the two machines at a Tokyo news conference.
The S1 is a slate design and has a 9.4-inch screen with 1,280 by 800 pixels resolution. At first glance it looks similar to most competing tablets, but look more closely at its profile and you'll see it's shaped like a wedge. The upper portion of the tablet is thicker than the lower portion and that makes it easier to hold, said Sony.
The S2 is a folding device equipped with dual 5.5-inch screens, each with 1,024 by 480 pixels resolution. It has a rounded design and is small enough to fit in the inside pocket of a jacket. Unveiling the tablet at the Tokyo news conference, Kunimasa Suzuki, deputy president of Sony's consumer products group, reached inside his jacket and pulled it out.
Both tablets will run Android 3.0, the so-called "Honeycomb" version of the operating system, and can connect to Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular networks. Sony is building support for its Qriocity online audio and video services into both tablets, and users will also be able to browse and buy electronic books.
They are both based on NVidia's Tegra 2 processor and each has front and rear cameras.
Sony has built an infrared transmitter into the S1, so it can be used to control gadgets around the house, such as a television or Blu-ray Disc player. It also supports the DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) consumer electronics networking standard and can send audio and video content over a Wi-Fi network to be played on other devices. Using this technology, for example, a movie could be purchased on Qriocity and streamed to a DLNA-equipped television (from any manufacturer) through the tablet.
On the S2, the dual screens can be used for gaming. The top screen will show the game and the bottom display will have on-screen controls that can be manipulated with the touchscreen. The tablet will be PlayStation Certified -- a new program from Sony Computer Entertainment that extends the PlayStation gaming platform to other devices.
Sony appears to have a lot of hope that developers will find interesting and unique ways to use the dual screens on the S2. The company hopes by announcing the tablets now, software engineers will create applications that will help sell the S2 tablet to a consumer base that's become used to the iPad form-factor.
While not disclosing a launch schedule, Sony did say that launch timing might differ from market to market. The way the device is sold, bundled with a 3G connection or not, might also differ from country to country.
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Nokia |
By Daniel Ionescu, PCWorld Apr 27, 2011 5:44 AM Nokia will transfer its aging Symbian mobile phone operating system to Accenture, as part of the company's plans to develop smartphones based on the Windows Phone 7 OS from Microsoft. In the outsourcing process, Nokia will move around 3,000 employees to Accenture, who will still work on the mobile OS for the foreseeable future. The mobile giant, still the world's largest phone manufacturer by volume, is slashing 7,000 jobs, around 12 percent of its workforce. Besides the 3,000 workers moving to Accenture, 4,000 other people will be laid off, mainly in Finland, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Nokia is also axing around 1,400 people from the MeeGo team, a mobile OS developed with Intel that is yet to debut on popular consumer products. Along with Symbian, which will still be used in lower-end Nokia phones, the two mobile OSs represent Nokia's legacy operating systems, which pundits say do not measure up to modern competitors such as Android and iOS. Stephen Elop, Nokia's president and chief executive said: "At Nokia, we have new clarity around our path forward, which is focused on our leadership across smart devices, mobile phones and future disruptions. However, with this new focus, we also will face reductions in our workforce. This is a difficult reality, and we are working closely with our employees and partners to identify long-term reemployment programs for the talented people of Nokia." http://www.pcworld.com/article/226389/nokia_puts_symbian_os_out_to_pasture.htmlNokia Puts Symbian OS Out to Pasture
Nokia unveiled a partnership a partnership with Microsoft in February to develop smartphones based on the Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, but this will not happen until early 2012 (see official concepts). Until then, under new management (a former Microsoft executive), Nokia has to save almost $1.5 billion in order to better compete with the likes of Google Android, Research In Motion and Apple.
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Is Google Crazy? |
Is Google Crazy? Google.com May Harm Your Computer?
Google.com May Harm Your Computer?
Here is a screenshot, I searched Google in Google.com on Jan 31, 2009 06:47 PST, the site "Google.com" is marked "This site may harm your computer":
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Update |
I created a bookmarket to download YouTube Videos in Google Chrome on Oct 05, 2008. However, many readers leave comments to tell me that the bookmarklet can't work fine since last month. I just checked the YouTube site and noticed that YouTube modified the video parameters. If the old bookmarklet can't work on your Chrome, please use this: javascript:window.location.href = 'http://youtube.com/get_video?video_id=' + yt.getConfig("SWF_ARGS")['video_id'] + "&sk=" + yt.getConfig("SWF_ARGS")['sk'] + '&t=' + yt.getConfig("SWF_ARGS")['t']; More information about this bookmarklet, please visit Google Chrome Bookmarklet: Download YouTube Videos in Google Chrome (JavaScript Plug-in). http://www.chromefans.org/chrome-plugins/update-download-youtube-video-in-google-chrome.htmUpdate: Download YouTube Videos in Google Chrome
