Looks like iTunes is now going to have some awesome competition. I'm really not sure why anyone would buy from the iTunes store now that you can get DRM-free mp3s from Amazon. I might actually now be willing to buy music online since we are finally now seeing the long-awaited death of DRM.
Amazon uses a 256 kbps bitrate and sells their mp3s for 89-99 cents a track. iTunes uses only a 128 kbps bitrate and sells thier DRM-infested tracks for 99 cents. They do offer some higher quality 256 kbps bitrate DRM-free tracks, but you can looks to pay $1.39 for those.
I love Apple, but it does look like they are slipping hold on their market dominance. Add in the news about NBC pulling their shows from the iTunes store, and it's apparent that Apple is going to have to do something to keep their market share up.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Interesting Spy-Like Listening Device
This is an interesting device. You can stick your sim card in it and call it from anywhere to listen in on what's going on at anytime.
Also, I'm sure it's pretty trivial for some kind of audio recording software to be installed on any nearby computer, just incase anyone it super paranoid of being listened in on.
I completely do not condone the use of such devices, I like to cover such things for people to know that it's out there.
Chewing Gum Good for the Brain?
This study was done mostly as a joke, but actually resulted in an interesting find. The find being that with a group of students all taking the same exam, the students that chewed gum came out with better test scores than the students that did not chew gum.
The 591 students were all given a pack of gum before the exam. The students that were actually chewing gum during the exam came out with a mean score of 90 where the class mean being 78. Students the Chewed none of the pack before exam had a mean score of 60, those that chewed some of it had 81, and the students that chewed it all had a mean score of 86.
It's to be noted that this was an informal study. I personally think it coincidental, but maybe there will be more studies done. It states in the article that chewing gum actually increases the flow of blood to the brain, so it does actually kinda make sense that it would help with testing and such.
Link to article
The 591 students were all given a pack of gum before the exam. The students that were actually chewing gum during the exam came out with a mean score of 90 where the class mean being 78. Students the Chewed none of the pack before exam had a mean score of 60, those that chewed some of it had 81, and the students that chewed it all had a mean score of 86.
It's to be noted that this was an informal study. I personally think it coincidental, but maybe there will be more studies done. It states in the article that chewing gum actually increases the flow of blood to the brain, so it does actually kinda make sense that it would help with testing and such.
Link to article
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
32 AA Batteries For Only $4-5!
6 Volt Battery Hack! You'll Be Amazed! - video powered by Metacafe
More Tips on saving money on batteries. I was completely amazed when I saw this! Incredible.
Not as impressive, but still awesome:
8 watch batteries from a 12 volt battery.
12 Volt Battery Hack! You'll Be Surprised... - video powered by Metacafe
And, there are 6 AAA batteries in a 9 volt battery. No video for that though
I saw these posted on lifehacker, an excellent website. :)
EDIT: just a note of realization that the first video with the AAs could quite possiblt and probably be a joke. a somewhat off sense of humor. :)
Landmine Awareness Ketchup Packets
I love the campaign strategy, very well designed. If you cannot tell by the picture, when you open the packet, the kid's foot is being turn off and blood, err.. . ketchup oozes out of the opening.Link
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Photoshop as a Web App
Adobe is working on a free web-based version of Photoshop called Photoshop Espress. It's a completely new product aimed to "make Adobe imaging technology immediately accessible to large numbers of people."
Looks to me like this product is WAY too simplified, but for a free web app, i guess that is to be expected.
Link to Story
Water As a New Energy Source?
Claiming the most remarkable science discovery in 100 years.
This article claims that a method for burning salt water has been discovered. Essentially, if you expose salt water to a certain radio frequency, it will weaken the elemental bonds releasing hydrogen and allowing you to burn it.
My favorite part of the article is the fact that the Penn State Chemist doing the research is named Rustum Roy, what an awesome name! :)
Link to Story
This article claims that a method for burning salt water has been discovered. Essentially, if you expose salt water to a certain radio frequency, it will weaken the elemental bonds releasing hydrogen and allowing you to burn it.
My favorite part of the article is the fact that the Penn State Chemist doing the research is named Rustum Roy, what an awesome name! :)
Link to Story
Thursday, September 6, 2007
How to: Install Flash On A Machine that Wont Allow You
Ever been at a public computer and want to view a website that uses flash, but the computer does not have it installed? You might run into the problem of not having permissions to install flash. This is what you do.
This is a work around that is actually not installing anything at all, so you wont need the permissions to install anything.
First, you will have to make sure there is a working version of Firefox on the machine. If there's not, than you'll need to get PortableFirefox. The mentioned version of Firefox requires no install at all and is meant to be used on a USB drive, but you can just put it on the computer and it'll work fine.
Next, you need this: http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/xpi/current/flashplayer-win.xpi.
Right click/Save as. I believe it's a Firefox extension. I couldn't really find much info about it but it's from Macromedia's website and it works.
Unzip the file you just downloaded into the Firefox\Plugins directory. You'll need Winzip or Winrar. If neither of those two programs are installed on the machine you are at, there is a version of 7-Zip that does not require an install, 7-Zip Portable.
Run the .exe that you just extracted into the Firefox\Plugins directory and you are good to go!
If you have a USB drive, you can just keep a version of PortableFlash on it, and not have to ever worry about this. You'll also be able to carry around all of your bookmarks, extension, and personal settings.
This is a work around that is actually not installing anything at all, so you wont need the permissions to install anything.
First, you will have to make sure there is a working version of Firefox on the machine. If there's not, than you'll need to get PortableFirefox. The mentioned version of Firefox requires no install at all and is meant to be used on a USB drive, but you can just put it on the computer and it'll work fine.
Next, you need this: http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/xpi/current/flashplayer-win.xpi.
Right click/Save as. I believe it's a Firefox extension. I couldn't really find much info about it but it's from Macromedia's website and it works.
Unzip the file you just downloaded into the Firefox\Plugins directory. You'll need Winzip or Winrar. If neither of those two programs are installed on the machine you are at, there is a version of 7-Zip that does not require an install, 7-Zip Portable.
Run the .exe that you just extracted into the Firefox\Plugins directory and you are good to go!
If you have a USB drive, you can just keep a version of PortableFlash on it, and not have to ever worry about this. You'll also be able to carry around all of your bookmarks, extension, and personal settings.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
IM-5 - Pepperspray Paintball Gun For Personal Protection
So, it's not actually a paintball gun, but it's close. This is a non-lethal personal protection device, and it awesome! I'm not so sure about actually carrying it for protection, it looks a bit large. This thing even has a laser sighting!I put this at the top of my list of favorite personal protection devices.
newlaunches.com
Firefox Users Are Theives. And Will Be Blocked
I've seen this story pop up on a couple of websites, so I decided I would post it.
There is an extension for Firefox called Adblock Plus [that I've been a long time user of] that blocks ads. Users of Ad-Block can surf the web without the annoyances of the many many ads that plague almost every website. Some website owners are irate because they count on ads to make money. since Ad-Block users are visiting their site without seeing the ads, they think this is essentially stealing.
There seems to be some website owners that are now blocking Firefox users from visiting their site. There is no way to block only Adblock Plus users, so all Firefox users are being blocked. I haven't actually run into any sites doing this, and really doubt is will be a trend. If I ever do run into a site that is blocking Firefox users, so be it, I can go without whatever site that might be.
Here is a link to why Firefox is being blocked.
If you are not already a user of Adblock Plus, you should be. It makes the web so much more pleasant. I'm always amazed at how cluttered the web is when I use someone else's computer.
Ad-Block Plus
Adblock Filterset.G Updater
There is an extension for Firefox called Adblock Plus [that I've been a long time user of] that blocks ads. Users of Ad-Block can surf the web without the annoyances of the many many ads that plague almost every website. Some website owners are irate because they count on ads to make money. since Ad-Block users are visiting their site without seeing the ads, they think this is essentially stealing.
There seems to be some website owners that are now blocking Firefox users from visiting their site. There is no way to block only Adblock Plus users, so all Firefox users are being blocked. I haven't actually run into any sites doing this, and really doubt is will be a trend. If I ever do run into a site that is blocking Firefox users, so be it, I can go without whatever site that might be.
Here is a link to why Firefox is being blocked.
If you are not already a user of Adblock Plus, you should be. It makes the web so much more pleasant. I'm always amazed at how cluttered the web is when I use someone else's computer.
Ad-Block Plus
Adblock Filterset.G Updater
DIY: Burning Laser Pointer
Laser Flashlight Hack! - video powered by Metacafe
This is awesome, wish i had a spare DVD burner laying around so i could try this out.
Friday, August 17, 2007
NBC Dateline reporter at Defcon
I was trying to think of some great clever title for this one, but I have failed. It's not a greatly shot video, but it's pretty good none-the-less simply for what happens.
Defcon is a hackers conference. It is attended by hackers, experts in the field of security, press and even feds.
Dateline wanted to capture a great story about Defcon and the evils of the hacker community or some crap like that. I actually read they wanted to catch people doing illegal stuff infront of the federal agents that regularly attend the conference so they could have some great and tristed news story to tell.
Anyways, this is funny because Dateline thought they could slip one by a conference full of people that are into security.
Don't try to trick a trickster.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Bucking Fuggy: An Amazing Looking Web Based Game
The game looks absolutely amazing for running in a browser!
But, I'll pass on actually trying it out. The idea of having to install a plug-in just to view one website never sits well with my stomach.
www.buckingfuggy.com
1000Keybouards: YouTube for Authors
1000Keyboards is Youtube for authors to put it simply. Users can sign up to post short stories, or browse stories submitted by the community.
1000keyboaurds.com
1000keyboaurds.com
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Speed Painting Masterpiece In Less Than a Minute
The 1 Minute Painting - video powered by Metacafe
Not greatly interesting but pretty impressive!
Oh, and maybe not quite a masterpiece. :)
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Good Copy Bad Copy: Copyright and Culture
I just Finished watching Good Copy Bad Copy. This is a Danish Documentary on the current state of copyright and culture. A very good documentary on touchy subjects: intellectual property, copyright and piracy.
The film does an excellent job of giving the viewer a perspective of what is going on around the world and how other cultures deal with these issues. There are interviews with people from The United States, Sweden, Brazil, Russia, England and Nigeria.
One of my favorite quotes from the movie is this:
"57% of teenagers have created and shared content over the internet. That's not peer-to-peer filesharing, thats' about 99%. This is people actually creating material and making it available. To us, the coach potato generation, this is bazarre. But to them, it's the natural way to understand the world and create. You can call them criminals or pirates, and use all the tools of the law and technology to block them, or we can encourage them by making material available that give them a better understanding of their past and a better opportunity to say something about the future."
Good Copy Bad Copy is being distributed for free on The Pirate Bay.
Click here to download the .torrent
Or just over to goodcopybadcopy.net and watch a streaming version of the film.
The film does an excellent job of giving the viewer a perspective of what is going on around the world and how other cultures deal with these issues. There are interviews with people from The United States, Sweden, Brazil, Russia, England and Nigeria.
One of my favorite quotes from the movie is this:
"57% of teenagers have created and shared content over the internet. That's not peer-to-peer filesharing, thats' about 99%. This is people actually creating material and making it available. To us, the coach potato generation, this is bazarre. But to them, it's the natural way to understand the world and create. You can call them criminals or pirates, and use all the tools of the law and technology to block them, or we can encourage them by making material available that give them a better understanding of their past and a better opportunity to say something about the future."
Good Copy Bad Copy is being distributed for free on The Pirate Bay.
Click here to download the .torrent
Or just over to goodcopybadcopy.net and watch a streaming version of the film.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Google to Offer Free Cell Phones and Service Within the Year
Google is planning to introduce free cell phones and service within the year. Revenue will be [of course] created with the use of ads. Hearing an add before being able to make a call might be somewhat annoying, but as in often as i use my cell phone, it might not be a bad deal.
Link to Story
Link to Story
New Chopping Block Strips up
One of my all time favorite comic strips. I keep an eye on The Chopping Block, but it has not been updated for about five months. There have been three or four new ones posted in the last couple of days.
choppingblock.org...because serial killers are people too.
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