Free Opera browser today
If you don’t know what Opera is, then you are missing out on one of the better web browsers out there. Opera works on everything from Windows computers, to Linux and Mac. They also a version for cellular phones and PDAs which works very well. So if you are still using spyware-ridden Internet Explorer, please switch. Unfortunately, Opera costs money but for their 10th anniversary today they are giving it away for free.
I’d try Firefox first since it’s free but today Opera is free as well users can try both and keep whichever one they like better.
Disappointed with GTalk
I’ve been using GTalk for a few days now and I don’t think it’s cracked up to be the end all be all of instant messengers that the Google fanboys seem to claim. First of all, it is based on Jabber which is a great open standards based instant messaging protocol. However, Google decided to leave out the S2S capability built into Jabber which is talked about in depth by Nugget on his blog. That’s not all though, other standard Jabber features that were disabled by Google include:
- File transfers
- Offline messages
- Gateways to MSN, ICQ, Y!M, AIM, IRC
- Group chats
- Jabber User Directory and vCards
Maybe Google will activate these features soon, but don’t hold your breath.
New Mercedes Benz S-Class spied in San Diego
This 2007 Mercedes S-Class (W221) has black wheels meaning it’s a test mule but the body work is pretty much in its final state. The new S-Class brings some non-traditional design elements such as huge fenders which marks a big change from previous S-Class models but it still retains the classic Mercedes lines. In person the fenders are not as noticeable as the pictures seem to suggest.
Click the picture below to head to the gallery.
Ferraris parade across the Golden Gate bridge
(Note: Click the picture to go to the gallery.)
Ferraris parade across the Golden Gate bridge
After the Empire State Building, USA pays tribute to Ferrari againSan Francisco, 18th August - After the Empire State Building in New York City lit in red for one night in 2004 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Prancing Horse arrival in North America, the United States is once more honoring Ferrari.
On Wednesday, August 17, while about 100 new and vintage Ferraris participating to Ferrari North America’s Challenge Rally cruised by San Francisco, the city’s Mayor, the Hon. Gavin Newsom, officially proclaimed this day “Ferrari Day.”
Coming from the Napa Valley wine region, at 12:15 p.m. almost one hundred of the most beautiful and exclusive Ferraris present in the United States reached San Francisco parading down the world-wide famous Golden Gate Bridge at the tip of the Bay of Angels on their way to the conclusion of the three-day Ferrari Challenge Rally the event for owners and collectors that Ferrari North America organizes every year in the most beautiful areas of the United States and Canada.
“The tie between California and Ferrari is a special one, not only because this State is historically Ferrari’s largest market in the United States,” says Maurizio Parlato, President and CEO of Ferrari North America, “but also because of the presence, among California drivers, of some of the noblest names in the history of Scuderia Ferrari from Dan Gurney to Richie Ginther to the 1961 Formula One World Champion Phil Hill, whom Ferrari will honor Saturday at a gala event in Pebble Beach.
In the prestigeous setting of the Pebble Beach golf course, this weekend Ferrari will present its newest FXX model to a selected audience of American collectors and clients.
Video #1: 2006 BMW M5 (E60) vs. Ferrari 360 Modena
The new BMW M5 (E60) packs a lot of punch with its 5.0-liter V10 which is rated at 500 horsepower. It comes with a 7-gear sequential gearbox (manual w/o a clutch) which can shift gears in a mere 65 milliseconds. However, it is still a 4-door saloon which weighs in at about 4,000 pounds!
The Ferrari 360 Modena has been with us for quite some time now. It is equipped with a 3.6-liter V8 which pumps out 400 horsepower. It also comes with a sequential gearbox with 6-gears. Curb weight on the Ferrari is 3,000 pounds.
Top Gear’s test driver, known as the “Stig,” has already shown the M5 to be roughly 4 seconds behind (on a 1:22 course) the 360CS on their twisty test course. So we know that on a normal track it’s safe to say the Ferrari is faster.
So which one is faster in the straight line? I guess you’ll have to watch the video to find out. Right click and hit “save as…” on this link: Video.
Intel to move to common CPU architecture
Seems like Intel has some great products planned on a common CPU architecturethat will start showing up the second half of 2006. The articles are below with more details.
GoogleTalk Released
If having Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, AIM, ICQ, Ineen (EyeBeam), Gizmo, Skype and Hamachi weren’t enough, Google has just release GoogleTalk. This is Google’s own IM application which incorporates voice capabilities. It is also very closely tied with GMail which is an added bonus. Download it here and give it a try. I believe the service is based on Jabber/XMPP so you can use other clients (i.e. Trillian Pro, Adium, GAIM, etc.) to connect to the service if you desire. The only downside is that Google’s own client is the only one to support voice capabilities.
Mac OS X on a Dell? It’s true. (Picture & Video Proof)
Note: Some of this information may be out of date. Although I try to provide updates to posts as postscript, many times an entirely new post may be necessary. Click one of the tags above to find the latest entries by the subject matter you are interested in.
Apple announced many weeks back that they were switching to normal Intel hardware in their computers instead of IBM’s processors. It was no surprise to some in the tech industry because it was common knowledge that Apple had a working version of Darwin (OS X Kernel) for Intel processors freely downloadable for quite some time. Having a full version of OS X for Intel hardware (better known as: OSX86) in some hidden lab at Apple wasn’t that much of a stretch but always provided for a good debate.
Is it now possible to ditch your copy of Windows for a brand new copy of OS X? Not if Apple has anything to say about it. Apple has implimented hardware level security that will prevent normal users from installing the operating system on off-the-shelf Intel computers. However, some have managed to break the security and now have semi-working copies on certain types of hardware. The problem now is a wide number of drivers are not in the wild for devices so the chances of having all the hardware working on a given computer is not a certainty. Fortunately, this situation is changing because OS X is based on BSD so some people have began projects to write their own drivers. Below I have included both a screenshot of a desktop and video of an unnamed person dual booting Windows XP and Apple OS X on his Dell laptop. (None of the items are hosted on my server.)
Screenshot (click to enlarge):
Video (hit “play”):
Update (2.19.06): Original host for the video is down. Link updated.
As always, I don’t condone piracy so please don’t do anything illegal.
JVC 7310 Assembly Sheet and Part Numbers
The JVC 7310 has to be the single best laptop I ever bought. It’s about 2 pounds and about the size of half a sheet of notebook paper. It’s been rock solid for almost 2 years now and I wouldn’t trade the portability for anything. The only two problems that have crept up are a noisy ball-bearing within a fan assembly inside the laptop and screen hinges that are loose. Anyway, I found a spec sheet which shows how it is assembled with part numbers (I’ll be doing the ‘repair’ myself). The file is here.
I have some part numbers (with prices) as well (for my own info, complete list is in the PDF above):
04-N6K1KJPN3 KEYBOARD JPN $190.79 EACH PLUS TAX
13-N6R1AP011 TOP CASE ASSY $118.95 EACH PLUS TAX
13-N6R1AP030 BOTTOM CASE $171.60 EACH PLUS TAX
#37 - 13-N6R10P031
#24 - 70-N6L1B1000P
#18 - 13-N6K10P141
#19 - 13-N6K10L220
#36 - 13-N6R10P081
#17 - 13-N6R1AM010
There are a few reviews on the web worth looking at if you are interested.
Here is a link to buy it from Dynamism or Kemplar.
Note: The JVC 741 replaces the JVC 7310. It has a faster processor (1.1Ghz vs. 1.0Ghz ULV Pentium M), bigger hard drive (60gig vs. 40gig), and faster wireless (802.11b/g vs. 802.11b). If you are technically savvy, the hard drive, ram and wireless can all be upgraded on the JVC 7310 (the cpu is soldered not socketed).
The hidden currents powering Intel’s next gen chips
A very interesting article on the announcement to be made next week by Intel regarding a new processor core. It seems like they are taking the best ideas from Pentium 4, Pentium M, and Itanium and combining it with know-how from Alpha’s instruction translation software. Sounds rather unrealistically amazing but if they can pull it off then it’ll be another stab at AMD. At this point Intel needs a killer desktop CPU to compliment it’s Centrino smash-hit. Once this happens, then I can see the AMD fan boys running for cover behind the silly SCO-like lawsuit that was filed by their (AMD) overlords.
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