Technically Speaking

Imagine a harddrive that can access it’s data almost instantaneously, has no moving parts and has very low power consumption. Samsung has just introduced such a device to the general public; 32GB of storage, in a 1.8-inch enclosure, with a introductory price tag of $600 USD. The benefits of such a device is that you can extend the battery life of your laptop, much faster data access…it is said that Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise boots in as little as 35 seconds…You don’t have to worry about damaging and possibly losing the drive/data in the event of your laptop taking a fall.

With no moving parts, it does not need to spin into action or seek files in the way that conventional hard disk drives do.

The new SSD achieves a sustained read rate of 62M bps and a random read rate of 7,000 IOPS (inputs/outputs per second) for a 512-byte transfer—more than 100 times faster than most hard disk drives, the spokesperson said.

Taking advantage of this performance, a laptop PC equipped with SanDisk SSD can boot Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise in as little as 35 seconds, the spokesperson said. It also can achieve an average file access rate of 0.12 milliseconds, compared with 55 seconds and 19 milliseconds, respectively, for a laptop PC with a hard disk drive, the spokesperson said.

The new SSD features a low power consumption rate compared to the hard disk drive: 0.4 watt during active operation versus 1.0 watt.

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Adobe has released its latest version of Lightroom, Lightroom Beta 4. If you have been using the prior versions and liked them then you should surely like this one. One of the main things to note is “the achievement of full feature parity between the Windows and Mac OS versions of Lightroom”. Everything Lightroom offers on Mac can now be done in Windows. A few other enhancements have been listed below. Hurry up and get your free copy today.

Lightroom Beta 4 also features:
• Groundbreaking changes in the way tone curve adjustments are made and displayed, giving you the highest quality results in an interface that’s easier to use than ever before.
• More streamlined and elegant user interface - We’ve made several changes to the look and feel based on your feedback in the earlier beta releases.
• Customizable interface - You can now display only the controls you want to be visible.
• Precision white balance selection tool
• Facility to easily rename and convert files to DNG after they’ve been imported to the Lightroom library
• Increased interaction between Lightroom library organizational structure and the underlying file system
• Filter and search presets to more quickly find the photographs you want
• Better performance and improved interface for the Web module features
• Develop control improvements based on community feedback, including comments from the Pixmantec user community (welcome!)

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The browser wars are heating up, as the first beta of Firefox 2.0 is due on Tuesday July 11th, and Internet Explorer version 7.0 is now on it’s third beta release.

Firefox fans, and browser junkies have an opportunity to get a jump on Tuesday’s beta, as a public “release candidate” has been posted on the Mozilla FTP site. This nightly build is finally feature complete, although it’s still not completely ready for mass consumption.
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Reports from early testers compliment two of the significant new features: an integrated spell checker, and an anti-phishing tool. The spell-checker promises to make blog and forum postings more lucid. The phishing filter (an integrated component of IE 7.0 as well) works with locally stored lists of bad sites, along with Google’s site listing, and possibly others down the road.

The rest of the interface stays mostly the same, unlike the more radical changes in IE 7.0. Firefox 2.0 does include a horizontal scrolling capability for tabs, and an ability to close a tab directly from within the tab itself. The Options dialog has been reworked to include a horizontal, tabbed based interface, and numerous changes have been made under the hood.

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Some of you may know that I have been spending much of my time doing photography as of late. I am on the Canon bandwagon, I shoot with the Canon 20D. I’ve been using Canon equipment for about six years ago starting with the Canon G1. Each year Canon busts out with new and revolutionary advances in their equipment, this year is no different. I have been waiting for some time to see what the specs for the new DSLR, the 30D, would be. I am pleased to say that they are almost exactly what I was hoping for. Some of the improvements I like are, spot metering, ISO setting can now be viewed in viewfinder and a bigger view screen. (2.5 inches). There are quite a few more and definitely something that will entice you to either buy the model or upgrade from your existing model.

* 8.2 Megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor
* 5 fps and 30 large JPEG frame burst
* 2.5”, 230K pixel, 170º wide viewing angle LCD screen
* Picture Style image processing parameters
* Spot metering and High Precision 9-point AF system
* DIGIC II image processor with 0.15 sec start-up time
* Digital Photo Professional RAW processing software
* 100,000 cycle shutter durability and rugged magnesium alloy body
* Simultaneous RAW and JPEG recording
* Wide 100-3200 ISO range
* E-TTL II Flash
* PictBridge compatibility
* Complete compatibility with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites
* USB 2.0 Hi-Speed and Video Out connectivity

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I found a couple of great articles for the recently announced 30D, dpreview and Rob Galbraith Digital Photography Insights. Do check them out for more information about the Canon 30D.

According to the Google Blog, Google has acquired Measure Map, an analytics system for blogs, from Adaptive Path. There is a limited beta test up and running over at the Measure Map Website. Many users have been
using analytics to track stats on their sites - I wonder how this will stack up.

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I don’t know anything about analytics but if it is anything like what I am currently using, Site Meter, then I am sure I will be happy with it. Besides, Google has a knack for making all of their products free. Site Meter is charging me a monthly fee.

Rumor has it that Wyse Technology Inc is going to provide the hardware for Google’s new low-cost PC. The cost of their PC will be a low low price of $200. This is meant to be sold wordwide and if this all goes well then it would be expected that every household would have a PC alongside the TV.

The Internet giant reportedly is in talks with retailer Wal-Mart Inc. to sell the PCs, with the hardware being provided by Wyse and Google bringing in the software.

Wyse President and CEO John Kish mentioned during a presentation at the Red Herring Fall 2005 conference last month that his company was in discussions with Google focusing on a $200 PC that would be targeted at developing markets such as China and India, part of Wyse’s greater push to bring technology to such countries.

Google’s reported negotiations with Wal-Mart suggest a plan to sell such systems not only in emerging markets but also in such countries as the United States.

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Microsoft has created a thumbnailer/viewer for RAW images on your computer. It is a PowerToy application that makes it possible to view, organize, and print your RAW files within Windows XP.

This software offers the following benefits to digital photographers:

• High image quality. This software uses the camera vendors’ own processing libraries to provide the highest possible image fidelity for RAW images.
• Superior color fidelity. Windows Image Color Management (ICM) is used to render images in the correct color space as determined by the photographer when the image was captured.
• Familiar user experience. This software builds on the familiar Windows user experience and requires little or no learning curve.
• Performance tuned for rapid previews. The software uses background processing and other techniques to ensure a good preview experience even for large images.

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Check it out.

It is really unbelieveable that Janet would get caught like this agian, sunbathing nude. I really wonder what is she thinking. Oh well, we might as well enjoy the show!

Apple is stretching their iPod line to as thin as it can go. They have come out with a pencil thin version of the iPod that hold 1000 songs. The new addition to the product line is called iPod Nano and I must say that it will make it even easier to carry your music with you everywhere you go.

Quick stats.

Only .27 inches thin and 1.5 ounces, iPod nano packs a lot into its diminutive design. Up to 14 hours of battery life(1). 2GB or 4GB of storage.(2) A bright color display. The Apple Click Wheel. A Dock connector that fits an entire ecosystem of iPod accessories. With so many features like these, iPod nano can change the way you listen to music — and more. Click on a feature to see it on the iPod nano display, then read about it here

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This is newly posted to the Apple website and orders are being taken so hurry up and get in on it now.

Google enters the IM arena with an application that can make phone calls or IM over the internet. The technology is on par with that provided by Skype and thus Google is now in direct competition with them. The official launch date of the application is today and I am eager to try it out when I get home tonight.

When you go to download Google Talk, this will be what you’ll see:

They say talk is cheap. Google thinks it should be free. Google Talk enables you to call or send instant messages to your friends for free–anytime, anywhere in the world. Google Talk offers you:

* Choice: Get in touch how and when you want to–over email, IM or a call

* Quality: Talk through your computer but hear your friends as if they were in the same room

* Convenience: Your Gmail contacts are pre-loaded into Google Talk so inviting or talking to your friends is just a click away

Google Talk is in beta and requires a Gmail username and password.

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Download it here and if you need a Gmail account send me and email @ Tony-at-tonytalkstech.com and I will do what I can to give you an account. I don’t have many to give out at onetime so you may have to be patient if your requesting an email account.

Ok,…I have finally made a little time to upgrade and redesign this site. It has been a long time coming but it will take a little longer than I hoped. Over the next few days I will be making change here and there to get this template to my liking. Gone is the robot at the bottom that so many have complained about. I will try to keep this version clean and simple. After this project is complete I will have to find some time to get back into the swing of thing in terms of blogging again. So hold tight and watch the magic.

Firefox 1.0.5 security update has been released. About a dozen security exploits have been addressed including issues relating to remote code execution through shared function objects, node spoofing, javascript prompt origin spoofing, a “same origin” violation, code execution using the “Set as Wallpaper” function, and frame-injection spoofing. So as you can see this is a pretty serious patch. You get it here — Firefox 1.05

But it is a time for many to patch their products;
“It’s been a hectic day on the security patching front. Microsoft’s bulletins for July include patches for three critical vulnerabilities on the same day that Mozilla releases new security updates for Firefox and Thunderbird. Not to be left behind, Apple fixed two Tiger flaws while Oracle issued a critical database server update.”

This news comes as somewhat of a shock. Apple will cease to use the IBM chip architecture in their PowerPCs. In actuality, Apple has been preparing for this switch for sometime now, as Jobs explains:

In his speech, Jobs revealed that Apple has been developing all versions of OS X since its inception to run on Intel and PowerPC chips.

“Mac OS X has been leading a secret double life the past five years,” he said.

The move to Intel marks a tectonic shift for Apple, which has used processors from IBM and Motorola (now Freescale Semiconductor) throughout the life of the Mac. However, the company has changed architectures before, shifting in the 1990s from Motorola’s 68000 family of chips to the PowerPC architecture jointly developed by IBM and Motorola.

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The main reason for the switch is that the future of the IBM PowerPC chips has nearly come to an end. They can’t squeeze much more performance out of it and Apple was hoping to have a 3Ghz machine in 2006. With the PowerPC this would be possible.

As for why Apple was making the shift, Jobs pointed both to past problems and to the PowerPC road map, which he said won’t deliver enough performance at the low-power usages needed for powerful notebooks.

Two years ago at the same conference, Jobs introduced the first G5-based Power Macs and promised developers that the company would have a 3GHz PowerMac within 12 months. The company still doesn’t have a machine that fast. “We haven’t been able to deliver,” he said. Nor has Apple been able to introduce a G5-based laptop–something Jobs said “I think a lot of you would like.”

Things weren’t looking better in the coming months, Jobs said, saying that IBM’s PowerPC road map would only deliver about a fifth the performace per watt as a comparable Intel chip.

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With this change, I think that Apple will be able to tap into Microsoft’s market a lot easier. It might even be possible to have machines dual boot Longhorn and Leopard. An interesting thought, heh.

I found this letter written to the developer of DVD decrypter and was deeply saddened by its content. It appears that the copy protection law passed in October of 2003 applies to the use of this application. So our options for copying DVDs are quickly disappearing.

Hello world,

I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Let’s start with the good…. (tumble weed passes by) Ok, and now onto the bad: DVD Decrypter 3.5.4.0 is the last version you’ll ever see. We hoped this day would never come, but it has, and I can promise you, nobody is more gutted about it than I am.

What started as a bit of fun, putting a GUI around some existing code, turned into something that I can only describe as “part of me” – yes, I know that’s sad As I’ve recently been made aware (by a letter, hand delivered to my door, last Tuesday), due to some law that was changed back in October 2003, circumventing copy protection isn’t allowed.

Ok so it has taken a while (almost 2 years), but eventually “a certain company” has decided they don’t like what I’m doing (circumventing their protection) and have come at me like a pack of wolves. I’ve no choice but to cease everything to do with DVD Decrypter. I realize this is going to be one of those “that sucks - fight them!” kinda things, but at the end of the day, it”s my life and I”m not about to throw it all away (before it has even really started) attempting to fight a battle I can”t possibly win.

If 321 Studios can’t do it with millions, what chance do I have with £50?! As I’m sure most of you have already noticed, the site has been down for a few days. That surprised me as much as the next person (slight breakdown in communication), or I would have issued this statement on it directly.

So anyway, from this point forward, I’m no longer permitted to provide any sort of assistance with anything that helps people infringe the rights of “a certain company.” That means, no more emails, no more forum posts, no PM’s, no nothing! END OF STORY. The domain name will be transferred over to the company by the end of the week (9th June, according to the undertakings I have to sign) so don’t email it thinking “Oh, I’ll just ask LIGHTNING UK! for support on this.” You’ll not be getting the intended recipient and could be landing yourself in sh1t!

With 3.5.4.0 being the last version, it makes sense for everyone to disable the “check for new versions” feature, as obviously there won’t be any. Of course what I really mean is that you should all stop using the program out of respect for the company’s rights.

Anyone hosting DVD Decrypter is advised to cease doing so immediately. I’ve the feeling they won’t stop with just me. I’m having to contact anyone I know of that is (at the very least, the “mirror” sites), and tell them to stop. Copies of those emails must also be sent to the solicitors so they can check I’m doing everything I’m supposed to. If I don’t, I die.

It is of course down to the owners of those sites to react how they want to. It’s not my job to force you to do anything you don’t want to, I’m just giving you some friendly advice. Maybe it’s just me, but I see this as a bit of an “end of an era.” I realize there are other tools, but there’s no telling how much longer they’ll last, and not only that, mine was the oldest! I’ve met loads of great people over the years and I want to take this opportunity to wish them every success for the future - yes DDBT peeps, that includes you lot! : “( I hope you’ve all enjoyed my contribution to the DVD scene and maybe I’ll see ya around sometime.

LIGHTNING UK!
(Author of the once “Ultimate DVD Ripper,” DVD Decrypter)

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DVD Shrink and DVD43 might be one of the last great programs out there that can do the job for you. I suggest you get them now before they to are pulled.

It opens today in select theatres. Be assured that it is sold out everywhere and people got all dressed up in their finest. Below is a siting of Chewbacca, in London. This, being the last of the saga of Star Wars movies, shall finally complete the story. We will see how Anakin becomes Darth Vader. This movie must be seen in all its glory on the big screen. There will be no waiting for the video here. Although, I will wait until the crazed crowds die down a bit.

It’s a wonderful, small discovery when Anakin receives the name Darth Vader once he finally swears his allegiance to Chancellor Palpatine, who reveals himself here as Darth Sidious, a Sith master and the eventual evil Emperor. (And all the other words that ooze from Ian McDiarmid’s mouth leave you feeling so slimy, you’ll want to take a shower afterward.)

But the moment we’ve all been waiting for is one that simply must be experienced in a packed theater: when the mask goes on and the helmet comes down and Anakin takes his first raspy breath as Darth Vader in all his dark, gleaming glory. (You won’t hear anyone else breathing, it’s such an absorbing sight.)

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Yesterday, the world’s largest passenger plane, a double deck plane, successfully completed a 4 hour test flight. The Airbus A380 is visioned as the future of air travel with room for 840 people total. When it is in production the likely configuration setup for 3 classes will seat 555 passengers with options like bedrooms, gyms, bars, spacious lounges and even a basketball court. In addition to all of that, Airbus states the A380 will use 20% less fuel and will fly quieter, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than the 747.

The A380 is Airbus’s answer to the Boeing 747. Here are the stat comparing the planes and the future plans of Boeing in the super jumbo jet arena.

The Boeing 747 had dominated the jumbo-jet market for more than three decades, and the company has left open the possibility of trying to rev up dormant sales. Meanwhile, Airbus highlights these selling points for its plane, vs. the 747. The A380:

• Has at least 35% more seats. Depending on airlines’ specific orders, it can accommodate between 555 and 800 passengers.

• Flies 10% farther without refueling.

• Is more fuel efficient.

Instead of replacing the aging 747 with a new goliath-size plane, Boeing is championing the development of a 250-seat 7E7 Dreamliner. The high-tech, superlight plane can fly between almost any two airports in the world. The 7E7 is expected to be unveiled at the end of next year.

Steven Udvar-Hazy, CEO of International Lease Finance, the largest customer for both Boeing and Airbus, says there’s a need for both the 7E7 and the A380. “I don’t think the two compete as much as the press has made out of it. They serve two different segments of the market.” At the same time, Udvar-Hazy says, “Boeing miscalculated the 747 replacement market.”

Airbus has orders for almost 150 A380s. It expects to break even with another 100 orders.

None of the financially strapped U.S. airlines has placed an order. U.S. transport companies FedEx and UPS have ordered cargo versions of the A380.

Nevertheless, the plane should be much in evidence in a few years to passengers flying high-volume international routes such as London Heathrow to New York John F. Kennedy.

“The A380 is critical for us,” says Eryl Smith, director of planning and development at Heathrow. “It will change the face of Heathrow and the face of long-haul travel.”

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Currently, four prototypes will be used in a 2200 hours flight test programme lasting 15 months. Then upon certification the plane will hopefully go into production in the third quarter of 2006. Australian carrier Qantas became the first airline to commit to U.S. flights, announcing here that it will begin using the A380 between Melbourne and Los Angeles starting in October 2006.

Gmail has upped the ante. They are now giving account holders and new gmail users 2GB of free space.

Storage is an important part of email, but that doesn’t mean you should have to worry about it. To celebrate our one-year birthday, we’re giving everyone one more gigabyte. But why stop the party there? Our plan is to continue growing your storage beyond 2GBs by giving you more space as we are able. We know that email will only become more important in people’s lives, and we want Gmail to keep up with our users and their needs. From Gmail, you can expect more.

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More free space to come…. What will the response to this news be from the other email services?

An interesting article, found in the BBC news site last Wednesday, asks the following question: There are dozens of photo sharing websites out there, but one, Flickr, has caught the imagination of the global weblog community. Now it has been bought by Yahoo! So what makes Flickr unique?

I have been a member for some time now but only recently I have started posting images and getting involved with the community. Flickr is an addictive and time consuming website that is guaranteed to have something for everyone. Check out what the BBC has to say about it all.

Users can create a list of friends who also use the site - instantly building online communities through picture sharing. Friends can write a comment beneath your photos or even attach a discreet note to part of the image itself, turning the whole experience into more of a conversation.

This casual sociability is what makes the site so fun. Tom Coates, recent winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award for his weblog plasticbag.org, posts several photos every week from his phone and camera. “It’s not about taking artful shots,” he says, “it’s about capturing moments - things your eyes have got caught on - and doing what you’d do to a friend if they happened to be on the street with you, saying ‘check that out, isn’t that awesome’”.

But Flickr reaches beyond friends - its archive is open to everyone, so any stranger can see your photos, and vice versa.

While you can group your own photos into themed collections - perhaps a gallery of your holiday or of your pets - you can also set up, or join, themed groups. It could be a wedding, so guests can contribute their photos of the big day, or a public group devoted to pictures of your neighbourhood, your favourite hobby, or even objects (scooters, peeling paint, muscles…).

With so many photos on the site, how do you find them? Tags. When you upload a photo you can “tag” it with a few keywords describing the picture. Anyone can search for photos matching specific tags and create spontaneous collections of themed pictures taken by all of Flickr’s users. How about 21,050 flowers, 3,581 smiles or 764 photos of wind?

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That is about the extent of the site, but it is the people you meet and the things you see that make it all that more interesting. If you haven’t been to Flickr yet, go and check it out! Don’t be afraid to become a member and try it out. It’s free you know!

It looks like Yahoo has taken another step in arming themselves to compete with Google. It is now official that Yahoo has bought the online sharing service, Flickr. Along with their recent beta launch of Yahoo 360, a new blogging tool, their instant messaging, Internet radio and of course the search engine/portal, Yahoo may be sufficiently equipped to do battle. (Google has Picasa, Blogger, and the most popular search engine, and Gmail) But what exactly will Yahoo do to make them outshine Google?

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Flickr lets users upload digital photos from computers and camera phones, put together photo albums, and post photos to blogs, among other things.

Joanna Stevens, a spokeswoman for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo, confirmed the deal Sunday but did not disclose the terms.

“We look forward to working with them for their innovation and product development across the Yahoo Network in the coming months,” she said.

Stevens said Flickr will remain a standalone site for now. The company’s employees, however, will relocate to Sunnyvale later this year.

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Yahoo and Google have many other services that they provide but the ones listed seem to be the big “Money Makers” right now. I think that the search engine is the main component for both companies and Google has control in that arena. Next would probably be email and instant messaging. Yahoo has the upper hand here, for the time being. Once Gmail goes public who knows what will happen, but Google doesn’t do IM. For online photo sharing, Yahoo has it, but Google’s Picasa software is pretty powerful. Over all I think that they are fairly matched and Google may have the people behind them for now. Yahoo has done a great job of positioning themselves and SHOULD be able to tip the scale to their favor. I will be keeping a close eye on this one.

It has been reported, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Buzzworthy, that Google is randomly giving out Gmail accounts to users of their search engine. The above image depicts a link that you may see that allows the user to sign up for an account. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, this is what Google has to say about the matter:

Since we launched Gmail in April 2004, we’ve been focused on improving the service, relying on our users to spread the word and invite others to try it out. The response has been great, and now we’re ready for some more Gmail users. …

As we make room for more Gmail users, we want to first extend invitations to Google users. We’re still working to make Gmail better, so for now, we’re just inviting a small number at random. Looks like that’s you! We’re really excited to share Gmail with you and we hope you like it.

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