Monthly Archives: July 2005

One of my personal favorite blogs of all time, Gizmodo, of the Gawker network has been going thru a couple of changes. First of all Joel’s last day was a few days ago, we’ll miss his 12 minimum daily posts. Second of all, which is all of the all, the site has had a facelift. Don’t worry boys and girls, the same fun and exciting gadget news and insight will still be force fed to you the way you like. Things can and always do end up changing, I’m calling these changes good and look forward to more Gizmodo goodness.

Google is a second nature reaction for anyone who knows what a mouse and keyboard are. What’s the Burmese Capital? Google it. But google isn’t just search anymore. They provide email, blogs, and a few soon to be features like a digital library and payment service. With all of this information stored up under one company’s roof, the potential for massive information theft is a ready concern. Google has been infiltrated before, but nothing catastrophic has happened as of yet (at least not to me and my precious gmail account).

Here’s just some of the ways Google can collect data on its users:
-One of Gmail’s selling points is its ability to retain e-mail messages “forever.”
-Google’s program for scanning library books sometimes requires usernames to protect copyrights.
-The company is testing software for making Web pages load more quickly; the application routes all Web requests through its servers.
-Google also provides driving directions, photo sharing and instant messaging, and it is developing a payments service that critics say could add billing information to user profiles.

I am a fan of logos. I love logos. I go to certain stores and restaurants simply because of their attractive logos. Palm’s old shiny metallic looking logo has been scrapped for a new young vibrant orange logo. I’m happy with the change, but there sure are other people are not. You can analyze, scrutinize, and ostracize the new orange Palm logo. But in my observations of logos there are only two things you can ultimately do with the logo: A.) like it or B.)dislike it.

Imagine playing an online video game where you’re kicking some major tail, and then all of a sudden find yourself in a similar situation, in reality. Chang Hsi-ming experienced just that not too long ago. You know Chang, Evil Dragon, Hsi-ming. He loved playing his video games, and ended up being caught via 130 policemen and two armored vehicles, who tracked his location using the IP address he was using. He went down with a gun fight however, and is in the hospital expected to make a full recovery.

(this image was the first google image search result for “evil dragon”)

I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand. The climate, the people, the scenery, and the fishing (yes, I like fishing) make the country an ideal place to hang out at for a while. The biggest problem is that umpteen hour flight to get there. Sure there’s a few poorly chosen in-flight movies, seven or eight in flight radio stations, and even an AC power socket so that I can plug in the trusty old laptop and type away. But a computer with no internet is like a flashlight with no batteries, a dance club with no music, a car with no stereo, a house with no maid!

Up until this point, I was just waiting out until Verizon or Boeing put broadband in flights, and that way I could easily spend 18 hrs connected and typing away with 4 minute lunch/dinner breaks at random times. Now there’s a twist on this not-yet-available service. The Feds want in, and they want total control. If they have their way they will track our mobile phone calls and online activity. This isn’t a concern of mine because I don’t plan on carrying out any terrorist attacks, I have a huge fear of heights. But I do fear that one friend of mine who will email me something along the lines of “hey, you’re on a flight right now? Dude, how are you going to detonate that bomb in your shoe? Haha.” Right after I get that email I can just see it: “sir, can you please come with us”.

My PIII 800 Mhz computer is just too slow for me, I never use it. If I don’t have multiple gigahertz in my metal box then that’s all it is to me, a metal box. That trusty old PIII still runs solid, and can perform 90% of my daily functions with no real issues (email, web browsing, chatting, MS office, etc.). Which is why these out dated machines are moving to a place where they aren’t out dated, Africa. Thousands of computers that would end up collecting dust in dark closets and garages are being sent to Africa for a new beginning. Schools and organizations that are too poor to purchase new computers have been given these facelifted computers. Could this be a corporate scheme to start outsourcing computer jobs to Africa?

Buying a cell phone sometimes involves considering a whole lot of disparate features. Do you need to check email messages, surf the web, make phone calls, IM, text message, play games? Can you use the phone as a modem or maybe a dessert topping?

For a variety of reasons, most notably Bluetooth so I can sync to my Powerbook, I have a Motorola V551.

I’m adding a new qualification to its list of uses — washability.

After realizing it was left behind in a side pocket to some shorts twirling in a washing machine, I had assumed the worst and began searching the web for my next phone. A couple of hours in front of a fan after rescue the screen came back. Gradually, over the past week, as various droplets of moisture evaporated from its innards, greater functionality returned.

Today, I believe everything is working and the whites have never looked so bright and fresh.

BitTorrent has revolutionized filesharing. If you don’t know what it is, check out www.bittorent.com, and then change out of your Brady Bunch trousers and into something a bit more up to date.

BitTorrent on your Windows Pocket PC is here. Why use your Pocket PC to download a 200 MB file when you can just leave a desktop PC at home to do this? Good question, and the answer will come to me shortly. But I see new things here, and with new things someone is bound to come up with a great idea for that new thing. I mean, I laughed at the first guy I met who had music on his computer. Now I’m still laughing, but for other reasons.

Email on the go is like having a pocket full of peanut M&M’s that never runs out. No, email on the go is better, because it will never melt in your hand, regardless of what that old M&M slogan was. Blackberry is the mobile email ruler as of late, but being king of the hill will only become tougher as time presses on.

Nokia, Samsung, PalmOne (or is it Palm now?), and Motorola are a few of the handset manufacturers out to “pick the Blackberry”. I hope that something happens soon because I’m in huge favor of more competition and competitive prices. Email on the go for *everyone.

*except my mom, that would only mean more mass forwarded messages and emails saying “look at our pictures” with no pictures attached.