Microsoft Surface

After showing off their future desktop, Microsoft now finally has made their next-generation desktop into a reality, the Microsoft Surface. It is a 30-inch table top computer without a mouse and a keyboard and where you can interact with it by your fingers.


It is a pretty smart programming and I do hope it will open new doors to how later software will interact with humans. But, a little concern is that people will mostly be using their index finger (both hands) and pointing it straight most of the time is not an easy experience for everyone (including me).

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Microsoft, Microsoft Surface

iTune to Sell DRM-free Music

iTune will start to sell music without Digital Rights Management which has raged many users who bought DRM-protected music and found that they couldn't play their music in other players.

But the DRM-free music will cost 30 cents more than the ordinary (DRM-protected) music and Apple will continue to sell both DRM-free and protected songs for both who want freedom and who don't want to spend 30 cents more for each song.

Apple will also let users who had previously purchased DRM-protected music files to upgrade their music to DRM-free. (Great!)

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Apple, iTune, Music, DRM

Google Gears Released, Reader Updated

Google released a new product (open-source), Google Gears that is intended to provide offline experience to the web applications like Gmail, Calendar, Docs & Spreadsheet, and Reader. Google Gears is installed as a plug-in for Firefox and is still in pre-Beta stage. Google expects Gears to be the universal platform for web applications to offer offline services to the users.


Google Reader is now the first web application that employs Google Gears to allow the users to read 2000 items offline by manually syncing the Reader. Sooner or later, it can be expected the sync will occur without user's notice and the data will be always available once the user get disconnected from the internet.




Reader also gets a new link, the Trends, which lets you view your reading pattern and discover the inactive feeds. Also, it has now got the ability to count more than 100, showing the exact unread posts instead of just 100+ when there are more than a hundred unread posts.

Until then...

Justin

{Google Reader Blog}

Technorati tag => Google, Reader, Gears

Bring Up the Vista Sidebar

Google Desktop and Windows Vista introduced the Sidebar and Widgets to our desktop. But when we have a lot of widgets/gadgets on our desktop (outside of the sidebar), and when we have many windows open, it is not a good way to have to minimize all windows to just see the widgets on the desktop.

Google Desktop provides a shortcut key to bring all the gadgets up: Shift twice. But, in Windows Vista, how do we do it? It also has a shortcut key to do the same: Win + Space.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Google Desktop, Vista, Sidebar

Street View on Google Map

The Google channel at YouTube has a new video that shows the new and very cool Street View feature of the Google Map. Now you can explore some cities in 360 degrees. The number of cities available now are quite limited, but it is expected to increase to cover all the major cities of the United States.

But there is this privacy thing again. Would people want to be photographed in the act and featured on Google Maps?

Until then...

Justin

{Official Google Blog}

Technorati tag => Google, Map, Street View

Metacafe Videos on Google Video Search

Google previously displayed metacafe video results on Google Video Search along with a "watch-video" button which, when clicked, plays the video in Google Video player. Now, Google is only showing thumbnails for metacafe video results now. I think it seems a more reasonable way to include and present other video sites' results on Google Video Search and I'm happy with that; otherwise, it would amount to stealing the contents from those sites.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Google, Metacafe, Video

View Google Result in Timeline/Map

Google Experimental Search has recently released two new views for Google results: Map and Timeline. Now, if you wanna see your result in Timeline view, search Google with your keywords and append your keywords with view:timeline. For example, to see the results of Burma in Timeline, search Google with the keyword Burma view:timeline and you can see the result like the one shown in the picture. To view results in Map, search with view:map.

But, you can't try using both views in your search. If you do, the first view option that appears in your keywords will influence your result page.

Until then...

Jusitn

Technorati tag => Google

Rough Waves

This is going to be crazy. What would you do if you were on that cruise ship? That's really scary. Next time when you go cruising, better check the weather beforehand.

There are some more impressive (and formidable) waves here and here too. You'll love seeing them but you probably won't want to be there though.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Ocean, Waves, Cruise

Cut an Onion without Crying

On a related note to the last post, this is a video on how to cut an onion without crying. But, I wonder if I can properly cut that out as shown in the video, especially when my onions are not that big.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Onion

Cutting a Pineapple

The Google channel has this video recently uploaded on YouTube. What a pity couple! They don't know how to cut a pineapple. :D

Oh...by the way, if you also don't know how to cut a pineapple properly or if you know but if you wanna know how to check if a pineapple is ripe, check out this video.





Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Pineapple

Gtalk Gadget Got Smileys

Gtalk Gadget has got cute smileys now. It gives you to choose from three sets of smileys. I love the second set with rounded square faces. I love them :)

But, for your chat partner to be able to see the smileys, he/she need be using the Gtalk Gadget too. Otherwise, the smileys are gonna be a visual addition for your eyes only.

Until then...

Justin

{From Google Talkabout}

Technorati tag => Gtalk

Gmail - Now with Bigger Attachment

Gmail has increased the attachment size from 10MB to 20MB now. The Gmail help says:

With Gmail, you can send and receive messages up to 20 megabytes (MB) in size. However, the precise amount allowable will depend on the attachment.

So, it is quite possible to send attachments even bigger than 20MB since we have been able to send attachments of size of 12-14MB when Gmail's attachment limit was 10MB.

Until then...

Justin

{From Google Blog}

Technorati tag => Gmail

Champion League Final 2007

After a rigorous game play, AC Milan has beaten Liverpool by 2-1 to lift the Champion League trophy now. But, I still believe the Liverpool are a better and more deserved team to have won the title.

Here is how Liverpool bounced back from 3-0 in half time when they won the title two years ago.





Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Champion League, Liverpool, AC Milan

Google Tech Talk: Away with Application

This is the Google Tech Talk on Application Interfaces. Quite an interesting video.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Google, Tech Talk, Video

Backup Bookmarks with FoxMarks

Foxmarks is a Firefox plug-in that backups/synchronizes your Firefox bookmarks and make them available online at the website. If you reinstall your OS and Firefox, you never have to worry about losing your bookmarks. Just install the plug-in and type in your user name and password; all your bookmarks will be restored, along with their keywords intact. When you go out and are using a public computer, you can still access your Firefox bookmarks online at the FoxMarks website.


You can also backup your bookmarks using Google Browser Sync. But, Google Browser Sync synchronizes more than just bookmarks and it's found to be slow on first use (restoring back your browser settings and bookmarks). And Google Browser Sync doesn't let you access your bookmarks online. If you want to, you'll have to use a different service, Google Bookmarks, and you need to have added your bookmark to it when you bookmark a page to your Firefox. Google Bookmarks uses Labels instead of Folders and it doesn't, until now, support sub-labels. So, when you access your bookmarks online, they can be pretty unorganized, while on FoxMarks, everything is organized into folders and sub-folders just as you have created them in your Firefox bookmark toolbar.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => FoxMarks

Ultimate Goal of Google?

Google BlogScope wrote about what Eric said in an interview with Financial Times. Below is the excerpt from the original post:

We are very early in the total information we have within Google. The algorithms will get better and we will get better at personalisation.

The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as “What shall I do tomorrow?” and “What job shall I take?"

And:

We cannot even answer the most basic questions because we don’t know enough about you. That is the most important aspect of Google’s expansion.

Google is now getting pretty creepy now!

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Google, Eric

ViStart Beta 4

Windows X has just recently released the Beta 4 of the ViStart, the Vista Start Menu with Instant Search made for Windows XP. In the Beta4, there was nothing apparently visible, the only changes being the bugs fixed. You can download the ViStart here.

Until then...

Justin

Update: Beta 5 has been released.

Technorati tag => ViStart

MiHD, a 2GB File Hosting

Most file hosting services on the net do not offer uploading a file of size as big as 2GB. MiHD is just the right service that you can use if you ever need to send very large files to your friends or colleagues. The download speed is also quite good for a free service: 100 KB/s.


Although being able to upload a file as large as 2GB in one stroke seems trouble-free, it wouldn't be the best solution to send the file to your friends: imagine how long it is gonna take for them to download the file at 100 KBps speed which is quite fast for a free file hosting service. A better solution is to split up your file into smaller parts so that you can upload them at the same time and your friends can download individual parts at the same time, achieving a virtual threading for downloading.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => MiHD

Google Trend Top 100

Google Trend now has come up with a pretty cool display of top 100 search keywords for each day. Since the page is updated with the data from just one hour ago, you can be pretty sure that what you see is the most current trend for the day. Currently, it only shows the top 100 keywords from searches in the US but sooner or later, I hope Google will start showing international data too.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Google Trends

Super Mario Bros 3 in 11 Minutes

I'm not enchanted by Mario these days. But, this video is really a nice play of Mario 3 in Eleven minutes. That's the best show of Mario I have ever seen and I wonder how the player managed to be exploiting all the physics of the Mario character. He just seems to be flying and in control all the time.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Mario

Mario Performance

This is a nice performance of various Mario theme music. Really an awesome performance!

If all the Mario music you have heard is from your game play, this is really a show for you!

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Mario

Musicovery - Online Radio

Musicovery is a free online radio site where you can listen to a myriad of songs from various genres. You can also choose the mood of the songs on a 2D panel and the playlist gets updated right away.



The quality of the songs is not very hi-fi for the free version. There's also a paid version but I have never tried it before though. But, the free version's quality is as good as that of the Yahoo's free radio.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Musicovery

Cool Pics: Just Taken at Right Angle

Pictures, when taken at the right angle (and the right time), can be really amusing.

Album Link


Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Picasa

Super Mario Bros in 5 Minutes

I don't know how this is possible without exploiting the programming errors which must be there. But, the dexterity of the player is awesome even if there is cheating in the game.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Mario

Hardest Super Mario Bros

This is a video of the hardest Super Mario Bros. The player makes some noises including a lot of F's and SOB's. But it is really fun to watch it. If you have about half an hour to spare, you can treat your mind a great fun.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Mario

Social Ants

The video is a nice production of the social behavior of ants. It's kind of long but the music keeps you from getting bored.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Video

Gtalk's going VoIP?

There appeared a new interface for Google Talk at a presentation for Google Apps showing the Phone Call features added to the current Gtalk interface. A number of watch-Google blogs are also hinting that the phone call feature is just a moment away from now. I do remember last year Google said they were trying to improve Google Talk into a fully VoIP client (hence the name Talk).





It definitely will have some limitations on which phones you can call from your Google Talk, but I don't think Google is gonna make it a paid service (although I wouldn't mind paying for it if it has the "Google quality" and a reasonable price).

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Gtalk

Cool Pics: People on Food

Album link


Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Picasa

Great Magic Show

This is probably one of the best magic show I've ever seen. A marvelous show. You gotta watch it!!!

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Magic

ManU Title Celebration

ManU have got back the Premier League title for the first time after Chelsea reigned the league for the last two years. This is how they celebrated with the trophy.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => ManUtd

Funny Soccer Events

Funniest clips from various soccer matches. You'll never stop laughing. :)

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Soccer

How ManUtd Won the Title Race

This is a nice archive video that records the title race between ManUtd and Chelsea. Watch 4:15 and that's when the Chelsea manager learned he has lost the race.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => ManUtd

Stupid Hotmail Promo Vid's

I can't just understand why Microsoft keeps making stupid ads and videos about its products. When Vista was released, they made the "WoW" factor on their homepage promoting their nothing-really-new operating system. This time, Microsoft is doing some stupid videos about its Windows Live Hotmail, which is the worst email out of the big three: Gmail (best), Yahoo (not bad), Hotmail (worst--both appearance and performance).

The videos can be found at this page if you wanna take a look at them.

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Live Hotmail

ViStart - the Vista Start Menu

What would you say about the screenshot above? Well, it is not a real Vista Start Menu from Windows Vista. It is a simulation by Windows X, a project named ViStart. The Start Menu that I was running is Beta 3 which has a search function as in Windows Vista--the search box works both as search and as the Run command. The only thing that this version lacks is the left pane which displays recently opened programs, but this feature will be included in the final version of the project.

I have tested it for quite some time and fount it quite stable by now. The memory consumption is around 16M. You can download it at this link if you wanna give it a try.

The ViStart will be included in the Vista Transformation Pack 7 which is set to be released in this month although there has been no specific date concerning its release.

Until then...

Justin

Update: The ViStart Beta 4 has already been released.

Technorati tag => ViStart

Yangon Flood in Pictures

I received these pictures in an email from a friend of mine. I do not know the owner of those pictures. I am not here to take credit for them since I do not own them. I'm here just to provide a way to view them easily for the Burmese people abroad who want to take a look at the flood that caused a lot of troubles in Yangon in the first week of May. Five people died and much property was destroyed by the flood. But I'm glad that the situation has improved since then.

Album Link


Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Yangon

Cool Pics: Laser Display

A spectacular display of laser light.

Laser Display

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Picasa

Cool Pics: Honeymoon Places

Really cool places.

Honeymoon Places

Until then...

Justin

Technorati tag => Picasa

New Analytics Design

Google is upgrading its Analytics design to a new and more streamlined one. This is a great effort after acquiring MeasureMap. In the new design, users will be able to add, remove and move the individual windows much like the way we can move around the iGoogle gadgets.

The whole upgrade process will take around one month. During this period, if your account has not been upgraded yet, a tour of the new design can be viewed here.

Until then...

Justin

{Google Blog}

Technorati tag => Analytics