YouTube Lab?

I accessed YouTube yesterday and was greeted with the picture above. The cartoon was cute, and I do appreciate inclusion of a cartoon in the downtime notice.

See the picture below at Google Lab. Seems like Page or Brin took a chemistry class at Stanford.


What do the two pictures have to do here? Yes. They have one thing in common: a notion of wet lab in both pictures. After acquiring YouTube, is Google introducing the idea of the "lab", as it has been used as a symbol for Google's testing ground, to YouTube as well?

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Google, YouTube, Lab

Handy Find

Handy Find (download) is indeed a handy search tool which can search in almost all windows with text field.

The best I like about it is that it can replace the default (inefficient) search in Notepad and Microsoft Word (I don't know why Microsoft doesn't improve its search in Office while it's doing a lot in Vista). The better thing it does than those default searches is "instant search" or "search as you type" which you cannot get even in Word 2007 (and for which Microsoft has been condemned by a lot of techies.)



You can compared the two figures included in this post and see how Handy Find will ease your search in Notepad and stuffs like that.

If you like to try it, here's the download link. It's less than 600 KB.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Handy Find, Notepad, Search

Windsor Knot

Just a small clip guiding you how to tie the Windsor Knot. Beautiful!

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Google, Video, Windsor Knot

WMP Annoyance

I really like Windows Media Player ever since I started using version 9. I love its Media Library and CD ripping capability (now in mp3 as well). In fact, Windows Media Player's Media Library is the best media management software ever rated. I also love WMP's increasingly better user interface.

However, there are a few minor things that I wish were changed or improved whenever there was a new version. But, sadly, they were never changed not even a bit. One thing, for instance, is its almost-decade-old Graphic Equalizer. I have never seen Microsoft adding more equalizer settings like Pop and Live. The list has never been updated since Version 9.


Another thing is when you hover your mouse on the right hand corner in Now Playing pane. It will show you a small button called "Bye" (Oops..."Buy") which when clicked, will take you to a music store that sells the song that you are "now playing". What's the rationale behind that? Why should I buy a new copy of a song that I have already owned and been playing?


Apart from these, I love Windows Media Player mainly because of its Media Library which has won me over its rival products. :)

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Microsoft, WMP, Windows Media Player

Lyrics Plug-in for WMP

I like singing along my favorite songs. But, sometimes it's a pain to search the lyrics of my songs and save it in the mp3 file metadata, so whenever I play that song, my Windows Media Player will display the lyrics in the lower left corner in a small little box which I have to scroll throughout the music playing.

I wanted a plug-in which will make this easier: automatically retrieve the lyrics for my songs and display them in a larger view so that I don't have to be always scrolling while I sing along my favorite song.



Now I found one! This Lyrics Plug-in for Windows Media Player 11 does the exact thing that I was longing for. You can see in the picture: I just play You Raise Me Up by Westlife and it does the retrieving and displaying the lyrics for me. There is one drawback to this plug-in in that its lyrics database is still not large enough to cover all the songs possible. But, you can help the community by editing the lyrics for some songs that the plug-in couldn't find. There's one more thing: you have to enter the correct information for your songs, of course!

I hope you like this nice little plug-in.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Microsoft, WMP, Windows Media Player, Lyrics

Universal Extractor

Universal Extractor is a tool for extracting any archive files. It can extract the installer packages as well. This feature is very handy when you have a single .exe or .msi installer package whose size is at least 100MB, as in the case of Microsoft Office 2007 Beta2 or Microsoft Expression Web Beta2.

Instead of directly activating the installer package, it's better to extract files from the package and later start the installation from the extracted (or decompressed) folder. I tested it on Expression Web Beta2; the single installer took me at least 15 seconds to see the installation windows while the extracted setup file took me less than 3 seconds to do the same thing. There is also performance improvement in the installation process as well (why? You can figure out yourself.)

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Software, Archive, Universal Extractor

Media Fire

I have been using YouSendIt.com to send large files to friends. But, recently, I have encountered some problems with YouSendIt and felt that it was not very efficient to use that service.

I was looking for a better solution than YouSendIt but until now I have found none. But, fortunately, I came across this file hosting service a few days ago. At first, I was in doubt whether "Unlimited File Size", "Unlimited Uploads", "Unlimited Downloads" were for real. The yet another better thing about this service is once I upload a file, it never expires, unlike YouSendIt and others where after about 14 days to 1 month, the link expires. Also, it is not like RapidShare which makes me wait, sometimes, like 53 minutes to download a file from friend.



You don't need to create a new account to use the service. But, if you do, you will get added benefits of being able to retrieve your file from anywhere with internet connection by just logging in with your email. This is cool.

I like this MediaFire.com for its unlimited downloads, uploads, file size, and no waiting time to download. The upload speed is also quite good as you can see below.



If you send large files frequently or you would like to share files with friends or just keep some files so that you can get it from anywhere, just go to www.mediafire.com and create a new account (optional).

I hope you like this service.

Until then...

Justin

Web 2.0

Very original depiction of Web 2.0!!! Funny and amusing.

Until then...

Justin

Yet another story

Battle Of Bloody Ridge - video powered by Metacafe


The true story of Sgt. Basilone awarded the medal of honor.

Until then...

Justin

Pykrete Aircraft Carrier Plan

2 Million Ton Pykrete Aircraft Carrier In WW2 - video powered by Metacafe


The Pykrete Aircraft Carrier Project which was canceled due to limited fund. Pykrete is made of sawdust and ice (majority) and is stronger than ordinary concrete. Read more about Pykrete in wikipedia.

Until then...

Justin

Metal Storm

Metal Storm Weapon System - video powered by Metacafe


Metal Storm weapons. Are electronic guns better than their mechanical counterparts?

Until then...

Justin

War Recount 2

Snipers Vs Marines - video powered by Metacafe


Another war record.

Until then...

Justin

War Recount

U.S. Marines Vs Chechyan Insurgents - video powered by Metacafe


A real war video in Iraq. Not a makeup story.

Until then...

Justin

Transparent Google Sidebar

Google has just released a new version 4.5 of Google Desktop where there are major changes in the Sidebar and the gadgets.

The Sidebar has always been bad-looking on my desktop, I let my daily gadgets to float on the desktop and keep the sidebar tuck in the right corner. Now, the sidebar has gone transparent which is a nice addition by Google. Check it out at http://desktop.google.com/features.html#new_1.

To-do and Scratch Pad and News also changed their icons, in which case Scratch Pad looks more alike to Sticky Notes.

But, one thing I notice is my desktop icons flickers whenever I pull out my new transparent sidebar from hiding. I don't know whether it is due to my built-in graphic controller or not.

Anyway, as a Google fan, I heartily welcome this change in Google Sidebar. At least it beats Vista Sidebar which Microsoft touted long time ago but proved an unsuccessful attempt to introduce the concept of Sidebar.

Hey, what's more? Google Desktop 4.5 is now compatible with .docx, .xlsx and .pptx and a lot other new Office 2007 formats. That's what I really really need!!

Until then...

Justin

SG Wireless Area

Wireless@SG project is going to be implemented in the very near future. The news is according to this website. It's very good that we can soon get FREE wireless access in major areas of Singapore (see picture below).


But how about the security? Unencrypted wireless network is as easy to tune into as it is for a radio to tune into an FM channel.

Anyway, this is a very good move towards the digital world and probably this is the Singapore's answer to Google's Mountain View, CA.

Until then...

Justin

NTU Student Survey Revealed

LOL LOL LOL...I wish I could write like that in NUS as well.

Until then...

Justin

New Westlife Song

I love this!

Lyrics: "The Rose"

[Shane:]
Some say love it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed

Some say love it is a hunger
An endless, aching need
I say love it is a flower
And you it's only seed

[Mark:]
It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance

It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give

[Shane:]
And the soul afraid of dying
That never learns to live

[All:]
When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong

[Mark:]
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow

[Shane:]
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring, becomes the rose

Until then...

Justin

Gmail interface changes

Gmail has gone through a few interface changes which are very subtle to be noticed. Gmail now shows the online status right on the left side of the sender's name and includes a new drop-down list where you can choose common tasks.

The Reply, Reply to All, Forward also undergoes slight changes and the message header received yet greater and better changes.

Until then...

Justin

Cool Pics: Biscuity City

Biscuit City

Until then...

Justin

Some Nasty Jokes

Man comes home , finds his wife with his friend in bed . He shoots his friend and kills him.
Wife says "If you behave like this, you will lose ALL your friends"

A small Boy wrote to Santa Claus," send me a brother"
Santa wrote back," SEND ME YOUR MOTHER"

What is the definition of Mistress?
Someone between the Mister and Mattress.

Husband asks , "Do u know the meaning of WIFE?? Without Information Fighting Everytime"
Wife replies," No, It means ,With Idiot For Ever !!!"

What's the difference between stress, tension and panic?
Stress is when wife is pregnant,
Tension is when girlfriend is pregnant,
and Panic is when both are pregnant.

Teacher: Do you know the importance of a period?
Kid    : Yeah, once my sister said she has missed one, my mom fainted, dad got a heart attack & our driver ran away.

A young boy asks his Dad, "What is the difference between confident and confidential.
Dad says, "You are my son, I'm confident about that. Your friend over there, is also my son, that's confidential!"


Until then...

Justin

Efficient?

This is from National Geographic. Enjoy.

Until then...

Justin

Impressive?

This is a place in Italy. Impressive?

Until then...

Justin

PS: Source

One Child. Now One Dog in China

The authorities announced Wednesday a “one dog” policy for many Beijing households as part of an effort to eradicate rabies.

The official New China News Agency said the limit would apply to nine zones in Beijing.

“Only one pet dog is allowed per household in the zones, and dangerous and large dogs will be banned,” the news agency said. “Anyone keeping an unlicensed dog will face prosecution.”

Until then...

Justin

PS: Source

Best Penalty Kick

It's funniest penalty kick i've ever seen! Until then... Justin

Pic: What hits your feet?

A front of water wave hitting the pair of feet.

Until then...

Justin

PS: source

An Alley in Italy

Until then...

Justin

PS: Source

Exercising Shrimp

Torture to animals?

Until then...

Justin

Cool Pics: USB Drives

USB Drives

Until then...

Justin

No seafood in 2048???

This is a dire message from the Boston Globe. A recent study has predicted that at the current rate of population collapses, there will be no seafood by 2048. This is an excerpt from the article:

An international group of ecologists and economists warned yesterday that the world will run out of seafood by 2048 if steep declines in marine species continue at current rates, based on a four-year study of catch data and the effects of fisheries collapses.

"We really see the end of the line now," said lead author Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Canada's Dalhousie University. "It's within our lifetime. Our children will see a world without seafood if we don't change things." ...

Is it that serious? The article presents two opposing view on whether this prediction is reasonable or not. Take a look at it here.

Until then...

Justin

The Hand of God

The (greatest?) goal in history!

These are the words from the man:





Until then...

Justin

Vista and Office release date

Nothing but just a piece of news from the net. Microsoft is going to release Windows Vista and Office 2007 to businesses (possibly to my school's Computer Center) on 30 Nov 2006. They will hit the consumer market in January 2007.

Next year, I do hope that I will see Vista computers around on campus. Possible hassle for me to upgrade the computers from two clusters which I'm currently in charge of. :(

Until then...

Justin

GTalk Offline Message

Finally, the Offline Message feature is now available in GTalk. I have always wanted this feature since other IM's have it long time ago and it is convenient to just send an offline message to my friend rather than to go to Gmail and write an email to him/her.

Below you can read the message from Google Talk page. So, enjoy the new feature using Google Talk.



Until then...

Justin

Joke: In 21st Century...

In 21 st Century...

Our communication - Wireless

Our dress - Topless

Our telephone - Cordless

Our cooking - Fireless

Our youth - Jobless

Our food - Fatless

Our labour - Effortless

Our conduct - Worthless

Our relation - Loveless

Our attitude - Careless

Our feelings - Heartless

Our politics - Shameless

Our education - Valueless

Our follies - Countless

Our arguments - Baseless

Our boss - Brainless

Our Job - Thankless

Our Salary - Very less


Until then...

Justin

Windows Vista, Office 2007 Packaging

Microsoft has released the packaging for the next generation Windows Vista and Office 2007. There will be five editions of Windows Vista, namely,

1. Home Basic
   
2. Home Premium
   
3. Business
   
4. Enterprise (not available in retail)
   
5. Untimate
   

As shown in the packaging pictures, Office will be in two major versions as always: Professional and Home & Student.

Microsoft also updated the icons in the latest build of Windows Vista (6000). The new icons are better in resolution and of course, cuter. Take a look at them:




Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag: Vista