LandShark's Blog: Tech

Google map

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 15:15:19 GMT

LMAO.....!!

You won't f#&king believe this!! A friend of mine just told me this!!

Go to Google Map, get direction, type in your address, then put something like Barcelona, Spain as your end address. Now carefully read the direction that it gives you!!

Bring the swim suit w/ you is all I can say..... LOL.....

Wii on the big screen!!

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:57:18 GMT

Couldn't resist! We got some crazy guys, but damn, that looks fun!!! Now think of what 360 or PS3 would look like on that screen!!!

HD DVD & Blueray "processing key" extracted!!

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 03:28:05 GMT

Arnezami, a hacker on the Doom9 forum, has published a crack for extracting the "processing key" from a high-def DVD player. This key can be used to gain access to every single Blu-Ray and HD-DVD disc.

Previously, another Doom9 user called Muslix64 had broken both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD by extracting the "volume keys" for each disc, a cumbersome process. This break builds on Muslix64's work but extends it -- now you can break all AACS-locked discs.

AACS took years to develop, and it has been broken in weeks!!

I can't wait to see the updated version so I could start my own HD movie collection!!! (oh, I think I'll need a few new hard drives too I guess....heheee.....)

Live Space finally support embed video!!

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:35:05 GMT

Yeah, finally!!!!

PS3 in game screen shots

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 17:10:04 GMT

Just added some PS3 in game screen shot that I took from a digital camera. However, it looks much better in person than here due to the fact that the pics in here is resized and compressed, and I'm not the best photographer at all. But the pics still looks amazingly photo realistic!! Especially in Gran Turismo HD demo!! I'll upload more pics included some Blueray movie shots later on.

One of the worst thing 'bout PS3...

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 18:09:27 GMT

IMHO, one of the worst thing 'bout PS3 is it doesn't included an IR port. It means my beloved Harmony880 remote control can't control it!! I just went to the local store to buy a PS3 Bluetooth remote so I don't have to use the controler when watching Blueray movies. Man, it's nice to see Sony trying to move forward by using Bluetooth technology, but com'on, at least they should've included an IR port for people to program their universal remote control to control the PS3!!

Well, I guess after all my effort of consolidating to a single remote control in the living room, I'm heading back to the multi-remote control age again...... TKS SONY!!

BestBuy opens it's first China store!

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 00:03:49 GMT

"Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy is opening its first outlet in China, teaming up with a local partner to tackle the hyper-competitive market for gadgets and appliances.

Best Buy, the No. 1 U.S. consumer electronics retailer, is one of scores of foreign retailers taking advantage of a lifting of limits on foreign competition to try to woo consumers in the world's biggest potential market."

As much as I love and shop in BestBuy (in fact, just bought 2 BlueRay movie this afternoon from there), I honestly not sure how well it will do over there..... Well, I'm sure there will be more stores coming and might even have one in Hong Kong too....

PS3 vs Xbox360 picture quality comparison

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:46:18 GMT

PS3

Xbox 360

As far as the screen shot goes, I must say the PS3 does have better detail and better anti-aliasing than the Xbox360..... Can't wait, can't wait.....

PS3 arrived in Japan

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 21:04:59 GMT

The Playstation 3 will easily be the one of this year's most sought after items. The wait, at least, for the Japanese gamers is over!!

Sony's new console launched in Japan yesterday, and was met with extensive lineups worthy of a human/ant farm colony simulation. Hundreds, if not thousands, quesed outside Yodabashi adn Bic Camera stores (big box retailers equivalent to our BestBuy or CircuitCity) the night before the release hoping to purchase a console. Japanese retailers typically do not offer midnight releases, like WalMart does, those in line for the console would have to wait until the morning.

For a peek at what the scene looked like during the queuing hours, watch these video clips from Yodabashi Umeda in Osaka.

Even with only 80,000 consoles expected for the launch, gamers still lined up even if their chances of getting a PS3 were slim. The Yodabashi Camera store in Akihabara cleared the street clutter by moving over 1,500 waiting customers into an undergound parking garage at a still-early 1:30am.

A black market had already developed for Playstation 3. Console demand has been so strong that Japanese consumers were paying nearly three times retail price for pre-order slips, similar to the situation here in North America. What's different (or perhaps "untapped") is that homeless men were paid/hired to join the line ups in an effort for scheming individuals to circumvent the "limit one per customer" rule!!

Playstation father and president/CEO of SCEI Ken Kutaragi made and apprearance at Bic Camera outlet in Tokyo to hand a console to the first customer in line, who was reportedly from China.

"I am so happy so many people are waiting," Kutaragi said to the crowd, "Thank you for waiting from last night. Please enjoy next-generation entertainment!"

Goggle launches new Mobile Gmail!!

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 20:14:19 GMT

Google has launched a version of Gmail designed specifically with mobile devices in mind.

The Java program is free to download to any Java-enabled handset. While it was possible before to access gmail through your mobile, the new application improves on the last build and allows users to access their male quickly through the application, rather than having to open a mobile browser to point at the Gmail site.

Users will be able to call email senders at the touch of a button, and includes the Gmail staples like threading and search. The new program also allows users to check out attachments in a mobile-specific full screen format.

Product manager for Google Mobile Tony Hsieh told CNET that, in his experience, if it takes someone over a minute or two to check email on their phones, they most likely won't do it: "It can take 11 clicks to delete or archive a message, but with the new application it will take just two." While the program itself is free, data charges of course will still have to be paid to network providers. You can get a hold of the app by pointing mobile browsers here.

p.s. I've just downloaded to my phone, a SonyEricsson K750i, it works fine and really a lot easier to access/read/write Gmail!! Give it a try!!

Today is The Apple Day!!

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 22:57:00 GMT

Today is THE Apple Day!! Apple annouced many new products today included the all new iPods, new version of the iTunes and it's new movie download service, updated iMac, plus the soon-to-be release iTV!!

The hottest one, at least to me, is gotta be the all new iPod Nano!! An all new aluminum case (can we say no more scratches?), and many new colors too (I'll take either black or blue please! )!! Also, I've been thinking to get a Mac Mini, install Windows in it, and use it as a HTPC client in my bedroom, but this iTV sounds pretty interesting too!!

Apple adds Core2Duo to All iMacs

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 22:47:56 GMT

Most Apple fans have been waiting anxiously for the news of new products today including the long-awaited all new iPods family. However, besides the newest iPods and iTunes, Apple's iMac lineup also received a quiet but significant update too!!

Apple has added the Core 2 Duo chip (codename Merom) to the entire iMac family while simultaneously lowering the price too!! Now, the base-level iMac comes with a 1.83GHz Core2Duo (aka T5600 model on the PC side), and costs only $999.

The star of the show, naturally, is the brand-new 24" iMac, affectionately dubbed by some as the "iMac HD". Its 24" screen is up to 40% brighter than the previous iMacs, and features a 1900x1200 resolution, and is able to show 1080p contect with no scaling! The inclusion of a FireWire 800 port on the 24" iMac allows for some super high-speed video copying too! Standard equipment on the 24" iMac includes a 2.13GHz Core2Duo (T7400) processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, a double-layer 8x SuperDrive, adn an nVidia 7300GT video card. This base configuration costs $1999 and is upgradable with more RAM, up to a 2.33GHz CPU (T7600), and an nVidia 7600GT video card.

Apple's new 7th-Gen iTunes!

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 22:14:44 GMT

Along with the iPods and the new iTV (see below), Apple is also introducing a new version of it's popular iTunes software. Available for both OS X and WinXP, iTunes ver. 7 will include three new expanded views for managing songs and videos. List view, album view, and cover-flow view are new to iTunes, and integrates album art along with song information for quick searching!! iTunes will also now download album art for FREE if you have an iTunes account!!

One of the biggest features (IMHO) of the new iTunes is that we will now be allowed to sync our iPod to different computers!! As long as you owns the account and authorization on the computers, the content in the iPod will no longer be wiped!!!

The new iTunes will also support the new H.264 encoded videos. Apply says that videos downloaded through iTunes will now be encoded at 640x480 instead of the previous 320x240 resolution! Increased resolution is definitely a step forward for Apple because today, Apple is also announcing that it's iTunes service will also offer full-length feature movies for download!

You can get this latest version of iTune over here.

Apple's Rumor Set-Top Boxis real!

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 22:01:03 GMT

Arriving in Q1 07' in a home theater near you!!

Along with the new iPods, Apple also revealed that it IS indeed working on a set-top box for home theater use!!

Currently codenamed iTV, the box will be roughly half the size of a Mac Mini and will included wireless video and audio streaming capabilities. Apple is planning to offically release the new set-top box sometimes in Q1 07'. For now, Apple is working on a number of things. Users will also be pleased that the new box will feature everything neatly integrated, included the big honking power supply brick that accompanied the Mac Mini.

Standard high-definition video interfaces will be integrated into iTV. HDMI, RCA outputs, and optical coonections will be available. Apple said the iTV will included something along the lines of wireless component video! (hmm... interesting.... )

The iTV will feature a next-generation interface along the lines of Front Row, since the unit will now able to tune into cable TV. Although Apple demonstrated DVD-quality video today, no details were revealed on what services the iTV would be able to accept(?). CableCARD and other details were absent too! Apple; however, demonstrated a copy of The Incredibles that was being played back at HDTV resolution -- whether or not Apple will be making HDTV downloads available in the future is unknown tho....

iTV will be priced at $299 when it is released next year!!

Apple Announces All New iPods

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 21:47:03 GMT

Apple's entire range of iPods receive a makeover!

Apple today announced a new refresh to its line of iPods that included the iPod, the Nano, and the Shuffle.

The new iPod will have a 60% brighter screen and have an increased video playback time of 3.5hrs, which is roughly 1.5hrs more than the current iPod. Apple will also be releaseing a bigger capacity iPod that sports an internal 80GB hard drive that can play video for 6.5hrs!!

The iPod Nano will also receive a refresh. The new iPod Nano, aka the "Nano 2nd", will now be all aluminum and available in various colors! Currently, the iPod Nano is made of plastics and was previously reported to be easily scratched! Available colors for the new iPod Nano are green, silver, black, pink, and blue. (I'll take a black or blue one please!! ) Apple will be making the new iPod Nano in three flavors: 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB! The 2GB iPod Nano will only be available in silver color.

2GB: $149 - Silver only

4GB: $199 - All colors except black

8GB: $249 - all colors

The new iPod Nanos will come with a new charger, armband, and new lanyard. Apple claims that the new Nano will be able to play for roughly 24hrs non stop.

Apple's iPod Shuffle will also receive a revamp. The new Shuffle has been reduced in size to roughly the size of iPod radio remote. The iPod Shuffle's body is now metal and comes in only a 1GB version for $79. Apple said that the new Shuffle will ship in October this year.

PS3 vs XBox 360... sorta....

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 15:52:28 GMT

The folks over at Games Radar have posted 16 images of a wooden mockup of the PlayStation3. Althought it obviously isn't a functioning system, Sony states that the design is 100% representative ot what theproduction PS3 will look like! A number of the images posted show the PS3 standing next to or sitting on top of the XBox 360 so that you can get a sense of the size difference.

From Games Radar:

The unit is certainly big, althought not drastically bigger than an XBox 360. Positioned vertically side-by-side, the PS3 stands about an inch taller than its rival, while laying the two down horizontally shows that - at its highest point - PS3's convex curve makes PS3 about an inch fatter. It's not the most beautiful looking beast, either. The underside is "stacked" with a couple of different sized layers and the overhanging midriff gives the unit a slightly awkward, uncomfortable look. But, hey, PS2 was never going to win any beauty contests either.

While this isn't the same thing as having a fully functional unit for testing, it does at least give us some sort of reference to the PS3 and XBox 360 and gets us all pumped up for the PS3's November 17th launch!!

Apple 4GB iPod Nano for just $169!!

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 02:18:27 GMT

Well, I just found out Apple sells' refurb'ed iPod and Mac for a very reasonable price!!

e.g. a 4GB Nano for $169 (regular $249), a 15" 1.83Ghz Core Duo MacBook Pro for $1549 (regular $1999)

And the refurb'ed products come with everything retail would come, and the same 1 year warranty!! How can one really go wrong!! If you are in the market for some Apple products, be sure to check this out first!!

iPod & Mac refurb sales.

M$ rumored to cut X360 price by $100!!

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:15:31 GMT

Microsoft is planning to cut the retail price of it's Xbox360 Pro system from currently $399 to $299 in an attempt to compete with the PlayStation 3, which will be launched in November of this year, according to Taiwan-based OEM component makers.

Hmmm...... $299 does sound very tempting..... However, I think I'll still wait for the PS3 tho.....

Read more....

World's Largest HDTV

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 16:48:59 GMT

Are you kidding me?! It cost $28 millions.....but it's 218 FEET wide tho!!! If only I had a better paying job, and a house that's large enough.... oh... I guess we'll need some biggest speaker to match it too...

Read more....

CopyProtection on Blu-ray/HD DVD already got hacked!!

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 16:31:25 GMT

A really really simple hack enables pirates to copy movies at full resolution for future formats just by using the print screen button on a computer keyboard.

The print screen function copies whatever is on the DVD one frame at a time and all a pirate has to do is come up with some basic code to automate the process and all the security functions on the next generation format are toast.

The hack was spotted by the folk at c't magazine who were using Intervideo's WinDVD, though it's likely that this hack isn't specific to WinDVD.

After c't rang up Toshiba about its hack, the outfit discovered it has updates planned to disable the screen capture function. It may also update the AACS key in order to force users to either patch their software or be unable to decode the content.

IE7 Beta 3 is out for WindowsXP!

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 04:04:58 GMT

This morning we released IE7 Beta 3 for Windows XP. This version includes improvements in reliability, compatibility, security, and a few end user features. Give it a try.

Based on your feedback, we’ve made some changes to IE7. Beta 3 returns the email button to the toolbar customize dialog (one of the most requested features), and enables reordering of tabs by dragging them to the left or right. In this version you can also scroll horizontally while zooming. To improve the RSS experience, IE7 now allows you to update all your RSS feeds on-demand as well as mark them all “READ”.

Beta 3 also contains all the security fixes addressed in the June IE security bulletin, so we encourage all Beta 2 users to upgrade to Beta 3.

Please remember to uninstall any previous IE7 builds before installing this one. IE7 Beta 3 runs on Windows XP SP2, Windows XP x64, and Windows Server 2003 SP1.

You can see what's the latest change of the IE7 Beta3 over at IEBlog.

You can download IE7 Beta3 from here.

Too bad, this version of IE7 doesn't support Windows Vista which I'm running on my main laptop right now....

Windows Live Messenger is offical!

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 02:32:54 GMT

Windows Live Messenger is offically out!! You can get it over here.

I've been using the Live Messenger Beta for a little while, it seems pretty good. One of the best thing that I like about is the share folder which allows you to share files within you contact list!! And my friend told me she can even share the music that she's listening across her office too!! Just updated my Beta to the offical version!

Vista become the largest download event ever!!

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 04:46:06 GMT

Everyone knew the public release of Windows Vista Beta 2 was going to be a rather big event for Microsoft. Not only could it give customers a chance to try out its latest operation system, but it would also get feeback/commentary from the millions of consumers using Vista before it's Q1 07' retail launch.

According to Microsoft, its public launch of Vista Beta 2 has gone well beyond expectations and is labeled as the "Biggest software download event in history"! If you just started to download this Vista Beta 2, you will most likely be stuck for a long time as there's millions of people are trying to download it like you even though Microsoft does have some serious bandwidth serving everyone, think 900+kb/sec IF you can connect!! Microsoft claims that if they served bits any faster, they'd risk the possibility of bringing the Internet to its knees!! Microsoft also states that they looked into BitTorrent as a possible delivery system, but decided against it.

Longhorn Blogs reports:

Q: What about BitTorrent?

A: We thought about Bit Torrent a lot, especially in the planning stages for this. There are legal and privacy issues which unfortunately make that not an option for Microsof to officially sponsor a BitTorrent. I really wish we could do it, but we can't. If someone BitTorrent's we can't guarantee that they've got an unaltered copy, etc.

I'm glad I had it downloaded within a day it was released! However, I haven't have a chance to get my hand on it though.... Will try to install it on one of my machine and play with it soon, hopefully within this week....

Windows Vista Beta 2 available for download!

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 03:43:16 GMT

Well, here it is folks! After announcing the availability of Vista Beta 2 for developers and IT professionals two weeks ago, the latest build of the upcoming Windows OS, code name Vista, is now available for public download!!

You will have to download the 3GB+ ISO file with a download manager provided by Akamai Technologies.

And you can go here to get the product activation key.

Considering that this is a huge software release for consumers, be sure to post in the comments sections about your thoughts/experiences/likes/dislikes about the new operating system. I've been using the Vista "theme" for a quite and love the new interface even tho it's only a theme/skinning. I'm eager to give the real Vista a try!!

Update: I guess I'll have to wait for a week or so before I'll download it again as the server is near impossible to connect right now.....

Update 2: you can also go here to download it!

CoreDuo power drain bug patched finally!

Sat, 20 May 2006 16:26:25 GMT

It has been known that Mircosoft's WindowsXP operation system has a bug when running on the latest Intel CoreDuo processor which power most new laptop computer. The bug will prevent the processor to go into "deep sleep mode" to save power if it's connected to a USB 2.0 device, like a built-in web cam in most notebook! Therefore, the laptop will have much less battery life than stated! This bug has been surfaced ever since Intel's latest CoreDuo processor release, yet it took Mircosoft more than 4 months to finally release the patch.

For those who are experiencing less than expected battery life, it's highly recommended you to try this patch!!

"Readers, who remember our initial article that uncovered the bug and a follow-up article that went into more detail, may remember that especially notebooks equipped with Intel's Core Duo processor appeared to be exposed to the bug - battery time loss was much more visible in Intel's newer dual-core Napa platform than in the preceding Sonoma generation.

Microsoft now confirmed this observation to TG Daily and mentioned that the power loss caused by a connected USB 2.0 is "much more pronounced" in Intel-based dual-core notebooks than in the previous, single-core product generation. In a statement sent to TG Daily, the company said that "anyone who is using any USB 2.0 devices while on battery on the latest generation of Intel chipsets (Core series), who is experiencing faster than expected battery drain should install this fix."

One reason for this circumstance is that "the USB code and power management code in Windows XP were designed for earlier generations of hardware and engineering robust solutions to work with all current new hardware as well as full backwards compatibility is difficult," Microsoft said."

Apple launches MacBook in black & white!

Wed, 17 May 2006 04:29:07 GMT

Apple has introduced the long-awaited Intel-based MacBook laptop - in black and white casings. It has also dropped the 1.83GHz 15.4in MacBook Pro and made the high-end 2.16GHz 15.4in machine a standard configuration, and with a price cut!

The new MacBooks are available in iPod Nano white or black, with either 1.83GHz or 2GHz dual-core Core Duo processors. Like the 15.4in MacBook Pros, they ship with 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM and either 60GB or 80GB of Serial ATA hard drive storage. As expected they sport a 13.3in 1,280 x 800 resolution display and a built-in webcam!

However, the memory's supplied as two SO-DIMMs and ONLY with 512MB(!), so upgraders will need to ditch BOTH if they want to add more RAM. This will be a major drawback for quite a few people (included me)!!

And on top of that, unlike their higher-end siblings, this "consumer-oriented" machines lack a dedicated graphics chip - they fall back on the Intel chipset's integrated GMA950 graphics engine and use a portion of system memory for the frame buffer.

At 1.08in, they're slightly thicker than the MacBook Pro, too.

Both MacBooks ship with a pair of USB ports, one FireWire 400 port and a Mini DVI connector to feed an external display through an adaptor. Bluetooth 2.0 is standard, as 802.11g Wi-Fi. Apple's bundling a remote control too, for use with Mac OS X's Front Row media playback interface. The new machines use Apple's new MagSafe power connector.

Three MacBooks are available: two white and one black model. The whites run at 1.83GHz and 2GHz, both with 60GB HDDs; the black at 2GHz with an 80GB hard drive. All three ship with 512MB of memory. The low-end machine has a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, the others ship with a DVD±R/RW unit. The three MacBooks are priced at $1,099, $1,299 and $1,499.

IF I haven't bought my Sony SZ lappy, I'm sure I'll be VERY seriously look into this and just install WinXP on it, especially the price isn't bad at all when compare to my Sony!!!

Apple's MacBook page.

Make your PC act like a Mac

Wed, 17 May 2006 04:03:22 GMT

Apple had released BootCamp for their latest Intel base Mac to run Windows within. This time around, someone had released a solution that make your PC looks like a proper Mac!!

Flyakite version 3.5 has been out for a couple months now. Just skip the Apple screen, introduce yourself and see it yourself!!

I haven't tried it (yet!), so, if anyone of you gave it a try, please let me know how it goes?!!

Sony's Playstation3 launch in Nov., cost at least $499 a piece!

Tue, 09 May 2006 17:12:02 GMT

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., announced late on Monday that it would launch its highly-anticipated PlayStation 3 game console in mid-November. The company plans to deliver up to 4 million new-generation consoles already this year, but the game machines will not be very affordable: $499 - $599, depending on the model.

The PlayStation 3 will be launched on 11^th of November in Japan and on the 17^th of November in Australia, Europe, U.S. and other regions. There will be two versions of the console available, one is equipped with 20GB hard disk drive – it will have recommended price of $499, another features 60GB hard drive – it will be offered for $599, which makes the PlayStation 3 the world’s most expensive game console. Even the premium version of the Xbox 360 has recommended price of $399.

However, a table in the document reveals that the 20GB PS3 will be severely handicapped in several ways. For starters, only the 60GB PS3A will feature a MemoryStick/SD/CompactFlash reader, though we almost certainly suspect there will be add-on readers. The 20GB PS3 will not feature integrated 802.11b/g. Furthermore, the 20GB version will not feature HDMI output.

Even though the PlayStation 3 will be a year late compared to Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s executives have said that the part would be more technologically advanced. Apparently, technological leadership comes not only because of Blu-ray optical drive, but also because a new wireless controller. Ken Kutaragi, head of the PlayStation division, showed off a (very cool!) new wireless game controller that will come with every PS3. Using the new controller, players will be able to interact with a game simply by moving the handset around!! For instance, a player can make an aircraft in a game roll to the right by tilting the handset in that direction!!

A recent research showed that the PlayStation 3 console will cost about $900 to build, which means that even at a rather extreme price of about $600 per unit, Sony will continue to lose money on every gaming machine it sells (which is pretty much a standard industrial strategy). According to Merrill Lynch research company, the most expensive component of the PlayStation 3 will be its Blu-ray disk drive, which will initially cost $350. The second most expensive part of the gaming machine will be the Cell processor which will cost Sony “at least” $230 per unit to make. Nvidia’s RSX graphics processor will cost $70, while for 256MB of XDR memory as well as 256MB of GDDR3 memory Sony will have to pay $50, believes Merrily Lynch.

Now it's about time for you (and ME) to start to think which of the gaming console going to sit in your living room! Xbox360? PS3? Both??....

Guide to avoide Spyware, Malware, Virus for FREE

Tue, 09 May 2006 13:37:25 GMT

The fact of the matter is that the internet is not safe for your computer. It can be, and with some education, you can have a spyware and virus free computer like I do and many other people do. Most people don't apply common sense to computing because they assume that anything out there is safe, and that's bad. By not thinking, you can do real damage to your machine, and it can be both costly and time-consuming to repair it. And unless you're someone like me or one of the other computer junkies on the Notebook Forum.com, messing with things you don't understand is a bad idea.

I'm not totally trying to instill fear into you as a reader and as a user. Your computer is a wonderful tool and for most users is perfectly safe. I'm also not telling you to go out and spend money on expensive subscription-based software to keep your computer safe. I AM going to tell you how to save potentially hundreds of dollars in service. There are some very simple things you can do to protect yourself.

Nokia open retail stores in USA

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 18:38:29 GMT

Nokia announced today its plans to sell mobile phones directly to customers with two new stores due to open this year. The company will open a store in Chicago on June 21, and another in New York later in the year. In addition to selling Nokia phones normally available through carriers, the store will also sell high-end multimedia models like the N93 and N91.

Handset manufacturers have traditionally sold their phones through wireless carriers and one-stop stores like Best Buy, Radio Shack, and CompUSA. Customers who agree to a yearly or multi-year wireless contract often get highly discounted prices and in some cases the phones are even free. But direct retail sales are common in Asia, where customers purchase handsets first and then purchase time cards afterwards.

I sure would like to visit the store in the future!!

You can't fire someone for web surfing

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 22:07:07 GMT

A judge has told the New York City council that it cannot fire an employee who was doing his work well just because he was sneaking a peek at the Internet.

Toquir Choudhri, a Department of Education employee of 14 years, was fired for looking at news and travel Web sites from his work computer, said news.com.

His union claimed that everyone was looking at the internet during downtime and Choudhri was singled out because he had filed discrimination charges against the Department of Education a while back.

Judge John Spooner said agencies should apply the same standard to Internet use as they do to other personal activities. Many agencies allow employees to take personal calls, or even read the newspaper, as long as those activities do not interfere with a worker's overall performance.

The ruling means that Mayor Michael Bloomberg firing of a city employee in February after noticing a game of computer solitaire on the his screen could be over turned too.

Would this ruling make YOU feel better at work now??

Chinese President chose to visit Gate over Bush

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 04:03:14 GMT

When the chinese president Hu Jintao makes a historic first visit to the US, he will not be rushing to the White House to have dinner with President George Bush Jr.

Sometime ago, the area surrounding Bill Gates' home was placed into a security "zone" by the US' Department of Homeland Security. The event was a private party hosted by Bill Gates for various people of state and other important VIPs. When the government sets up a secure zone, the zone temporarily becomes private property of the US government -- any trespassing is a no-no and being in the vicinity requires federal clearance.

This time around, security around Gates' mansion will be extremely tight, as more than 130 guests ranging from heads of government and leaders of Fortune 500 companies gather to welcome Jintao Hu, chinese president.

Hu's visit to the US alone already marks a history event between the China and the US, but a direct flight to Gates' estate before shaking hands with the US' own George W. Bush is unprecedented to say the least. Hu will of course visit Bush during his tenor but not before sitting down for an elegant three course dinner and toasting off to a bright future between Chinese PC manufacturers and Microsoft. China's government recently introduced a mandate that requires all PC manufacturers include a licensed operating system before letting shipments out the door. This caused various manufacturers to setup contracts with Microsoft to bundle Windows for the next three years. The agreements are estimated to total more than $400 million. Lenovo will join in on the mandate soon.

The intention of the government mandate is to reduce software piracy, for which China is notorious. Software companies have been complaining that piracy robs them of many billions of dollars a year and Microsoft software is the most frequently pirated of any commercial software -- whether done in China or elsewhere.

Along with Hu, other notable guests include Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire and Boeing Chairman and CEO W. James McNerney, Jr.

MSN Space is hiring engineers!!

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 20:35:05 GMT

Quote

We're hiring engineers!
Do you want to work one of the fastest growing products that has latched on to some of the hottest trends on the web today? Are you passionate for the web and the desire to create great new user experiences?

Heading off Apple's Boot Camp

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:48:36 GMT

Apple announced the Boot Camp last week -- a free public beta utility straight from above allowing users of Intel-based Macs to easily install WindowsXP alongside OS X -- people came out in droves to try it out. There were so many different reasons to want to dual boot, ranging from simply wanting to do it for geek points to wanting to play Eve Online to running proprietary Windows software for work while still keeping around the wonderful hardware and software goodness that we've grown to love from Apple in the first place. Boot Camp, by its mere existence, instantaneously made a lot of people's lives a lot easier.

We downloaded Boot Camp early on and installed Windows XP on a couple of our Intel Macs. What follows is some reflects on Boot Camp, a tale of our experiences using Windows on our Macs, and some tips on how to get the most out of Windows on your Mac. We'll also talk about how to install Windows Media Center Edition on your Intel-based Mac if you have a burning desire to do so. This, however, is not a "review" of Windows, or even a "review" of Boot Camp. This is taking a look at the ups, downs, and workarounds of running Windows on what used to be Mac-only hardware.

Why pay for WiFi?

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 21:12:55 GMT

Surfing the web while you are sitting at my favortie coffee shop is a very good way to spend your sunday afternoon. However, it's tough for me to justify paying for service at home and then ponying up extra $$ to get online at places such as Starbucks, where you'll pay $9.99 for a 24hrs T-Mobile day pass or $6 for a 60mins pay-as-you-go option!

That's why I started looking for cafes that offered WiFi access for FREE! My search led me to WiFi FreeSpot, a national free WiFi directory. To my surprise, there are a number of places locally that let you get plugged in for FREE (the site lists more than 30 in D.C. alone, plus more in MD & VA)! A few other chains such as Panera and Caribou have also joined the pack too!!

You probably can find me sitting in one of those local cafes on some sunday afternoon!!

However, you should be always be caution when accessing the web in those public place as data easily can be viewed by others, including those interested in stealing your passwords!!

Here's a few things to keep in mind before you go to any public WiFi spots:

Arrive at your destination early to get a seat. Most of those place (especially those offer free access!) fill up fast and finding a spot on the weekends can be next to impossible.
Be prepared to deal with any technical difficulties on your own! (don't expect the staffs at those free WiFi spot to help you when you can't get online) After all, you can what you "pay" for!
Charge your battery in case you can't find a place to plug in.
Consider using a web-based email service. You may have trouble sending email from Outlook or other programs as most of the public WiFi spot blocked off certain ports in concern of spamming.
NEVER conduct any secure transactions over public hotspots!! Most of the hotspots leave all security turned off to make it easier to access and getting on the network in the first place.
Keep an eye on your laptop at all time and take it with you if you need to use the restroom!

Enjoy your afternoon/evening at your local cafe and happy (FREE) surfing!!

SONY's latest Trade-In program!

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 20:46:21 GMT

For those who has a old laptop, and will most likely getting something from Sony, you might wanna give this a try and see how much your old laptp will worth. Well, in most case (for the older model), it's better to get something back (even it's not much) than just throw it out of the window.

Father of the internet regrets the double slash...

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 16:08:14 GMT

What//was I/ thinking// about?//?/?

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the "father" of the world wide web, has told Brian Runciman from the British Computer Society that he really wished that he had not invented the double slash for addresses.

Berners-Lee said that after 15 years of Interweb development he really regretted having such a clumsy address system.

He said that if he were designing the whole thing again he would dump the double slash as there was no need for it at all.

He would also have put the domain name in reverse order. So you would be reading http:/com.msn.spaces/landshark1

Although I can see that the double slash is a PITA and really no needed for, I'm not quite sure how effective the last change would be tho. You can read the full interview here.

Windows on your Mac!!

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 06:39:14 GMT

The hottest news on the net in the past couple weeks is the Contest of running WindowsXP on IntelMac machine!!

It all started when a guy who really want to run WindowsXP on his new Intel Macbook Pro notebook but don't want to just use Microsoft's VirtualPC junk (which is basically just a emulator that is sooo painfully slow!). He started a contest with a small prize that he donated for the first person/group who could install WindowsXP natively on the new IntelMac machines. Soon the word had spread and the final grand prize (from the donation from many people on the web who also want to see if it could be done) has reach over $13,000!!

For those of you unfamiliar with the contest, here were the rules for $13k prize:

Instructions must boot Windows XP (at least), not Vista or any other version of Windows.
Windows must be able to coexist with Mac OS X and each system may not interfere with the operation of the other (basically a traditional dual boot system where one OS is running at a time)
Your method, upon starting the computer, must offer the user to boot either OS X or Windows XP (hint: GRUB / LILO)

The hardest part of running WindowsXP natively on a new IntelMac machines is that Intel has bypassed the old fashion system BIOS that found in all modern PC, and use EFI instead!

Now, the contest had offically over!! A programmer named Blanka was able to get past all of the EFI issues and has provided a working solution to natively run Windows XP on an Mac. The programmer can now claim the $13,854 prize thanks to his video of the installation and booting of Microsoft's ubiquitous OS on an Intel-based iMac.

You can find the solution included a bootloader and a "how-to" guide over at OnMac.net! (I'm thinking of doing some donation for their Video Driver Contest too!) And Gearlog has do some test on the IntelMac running WindowsXP (from this solution) to see if it's comparable to a native Intel/Windows machine!

I know many of you just like me, love the Macbook's styling, but don't want to leave the Windows world. This solution will the be the best of the both worlds then!! Honestly, IF I haven't got my Sony SZ, I might go get a Macbook Pro instead and try this solution myself!! It would be really really KOOL!! You all know I'm a PC-fanatic, don't you?!

Man...guess I'll have to settle to this "lesser" LCD then...

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 22:00:59 GMT

Well, since I couldn't find any Canadian address to use for the 30" 3007WFP monitor , I guess I'll have to settle for this "lesser" one then..... The upcoming 27" 2707WFP from Dell, it should be (just) "ok" for me I guess..... Beep...beep...beep...dooo...target locked!! Heheee....

Dell's 30" LCD, dirty cheap in Canada!!

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:04:29 GMT

$1,499 CAD for a $2,300 USD 30" display!!

Dell Canada is running yet another "12 days sales" which included it's 30" mammoth LCD, 3007WFD! With this coupon code, the cost is ONLY $1,499 CAD for what normally is $2,100~2,300 USD!! That's almost 50% off!!

Now the only problem is...... it's for Canadian resident only! Meaning they will only ship to a Canadian address, not across the broader!!

Does any one of you have any friends/relatives live in Canada that I can use their address???

Dell bought Alienware. Yes, it's offical!

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 07:05:05 GMT

I think one of the hottest tech news in these couple days is the offical annoucement of Dell acquired Alienware, which had been rumored for a couple weeks already!!

All I wanna say is, "I don't like it it!!" Even though I like both companies, had own a Dell laptop, and wish to own a Alienware laptop, but I just don't like they got married!!

To me, and most, Alienware is the top tier, unique, boutique, cool, nothing but the best, (and last but certainly no least!!) expensive PC manufacturer. While Dell is more just a housewhole name, a company who's looking for volume over quality. It's hard to believe Alienware will retain it's own unique-ness, still being a boutique, quality over quantity PC manufacturer while being own by a mass production company.....

I remember someone had told me that, "You gotta own at least one Sony laptop in your life (b/c of it's prettiness)!" To me, and most PC enthusiast, "You gotta own at least a Alienware PC in you life!!)

I sure hope I'm wrong and Alienware will still be Alienware, but I honestly don't have much faith on it now....

p.s. I'm still looking forward to own an Alienware laptop one day IF everything will be the same.....

Wanna know more?? Here's what Alienware's co-founder had say (offically) on their web site. And TheInqurier happened to manage a copy of Alienware's internal email and Dell's memo to their employees.

IE7 Beta2 is out!!

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 04:25:17 GMT

M$'s latest browser, Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 is out!! You can read more about this release and future direction of the Internet Explorer in here. I haven't try it yet, but the previous Beta1 hasn't really impressed me much tho.

For those who wanna try the upcoming IE7 browser, you can download the latest build, Beta2, right here.

SONY PS3 delays!!!

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 18:42:55 GMT

Yes! The upcoming Xbox360 competitor, SONY PS3, was originally going on sale this coming spring; however, it's release date has recently re-scheduled to Nov.06 now!! Due to "some" technical diffculty. Rumor said it's mainly due to it's Blue-Ray drive.

I guess there's no more reason for those whose still standing on the fence deciding (a.k.a. ME!) whether to get a Xbox360 or PS3 now!! 'Cos the PS3 will not be out till this year's holiday season!! Yeah, that's sux!! Might as well just go ahead and get a Xbox360 for now, who knows if SONY will slip again......

Gaming on 24 monitors wall(!) display!!

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 05:42:38 GMT

I thought playing games on my 50" HDTV is kicking a$$ already, well.... it seems like I'm just bringing a knife to the gun fight when comparing to these guys!! Gaming on a 24 monitors wall!! Yes!! It's a wall that made up with 24 monitors (driven by 12 Linux server, 2 monitors per each server)!! I bet it's gonna be an awesome experience!!

Check out this high res. pic!!

Lego PC!!

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 18:51:19 GMT

I was, and sure most of you do/did, a huge Lego fan when I was a kid!! I remember I have a couple big buckets of Lego bricks and play with them all day. And I just recently came across this article of building a PC from Lego!! It looks really KOOL and would like to have one!! Needness to say, I of course entered the contest for a real working one!! Check out the Q&A, video, and the pics!!!

Oh, here's the artist's web site. Just look at what he did with Lego!! Really really awesome creation!!!! He "might" have my business someday!!

IE7 Preview

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 04:44:26 GMT

The latest IE7 (Internet Explorer 7) beta2 is available for public download!! I'm a big fan of Firefox and ever since it came out, I've never looked back to IE at all!! However, I've just downloaded the IE7 beta2 on one of my machine to try it.....

First thought, the multi-pages/tabs preview is a good feature especially when you have multiple tabs open and lost track on which tab you wanna see. However, FTP doesn't work (support?) on this version yet......

You can download it and try it yourself.

p.s. Be warned!! It doesn't seem like you can uninstall or roll back to teh IE6 tho....!!

Looking for a Keyboard?!

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 06:18:02 GMT

Just found out this new keyboard is under development!! All I say is AWESOME!! ME want one! ! ! ! ! They already has a mini three keys add-on key ready for pre-order!! I can't wait to see the full blown version keyboard!!! Actually I can't wait to get my hand on one of this!! That's really awesome especially for people (like me) who use different applications and like to use keyboard shortcut, e.g. gaming (no more memorizing keys for different games!!), photoshop, etc.

SONY will buy your Dell

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 22:41:01 GMT

SONY is offering a $500 trade-in program when you trade-in your working Dell laptop for a VAIO laptop ($300 on any other laptop)!! And it doesn't seem to have any other requirement than a "working" unit!! That could means your 5 yrs old laptop could still worth $300-500!! No laptop? No problem!! Just go buy some cheap used Dell laptop from eBay and traded in for $500 and get a brand new SONY laptop!!

Using your Gmail space as FTP server

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 17:26:05 GMT

With the 2+GB space from Gmail, I always wondering what I could do with all those space besides just filling it up with emails. I used to use an add-on called GDrive, which it make your Gmail account/space act like a network drive that you can store the files on it. However, Goggle keep on updating their code to break the function of the GDrive and the author hasn't really keep up with it.

Till a couple days ago, I came across this FireFox extension called GSpace, which it make your Gmail account act like a FTP server from within the FireFox browser. It really works great!! And since I was planning to setup a FTP server at home to allow me and my friend to upload & download files between us, this is the easiest way to do. Plus what you could do, like me, open a new Gmail account for just pure FTP service, like whatever_ftp@gmail.com, that way, the FTP server will not interupt your actual Gmail account.