Well, how about that? I log in to my Hotmail account today to find a welcome note. It congratulates me, and says that an email account has been reserved for me, and I need to activate it. I click on the Activate button, and was presented with a squeaky clean mailbox. Apparently, I didn't log in to Hotmail the past 30 days, so Hotmail did some housecleaning for me - deleting more than 10 years worth of emails (and spam). Good job, Hotmail! I'll see you again in a few months.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Hello, Hotmail!
Well, how about that? I log in to my Hotmail account today to find a welcome note. It congratulates me, and says that an email account has been reserved for me, and I need to activate it. I click on the Activate button, and was presented with a squeaky clean mailbox. Apparently, I didn't log in to Hotmail the past 30 days, so Hotmail did some housecleaning for me - deleting more than 10 years worth of emails (and spam). Good job, Hotmail! I'll see you again in a few months.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Cockroaches Are Electrically Conductive
Even when I was in Manila, my sisters have been telling me that our Panasonic microwave oven (with inverter technology) is on the blink. The past one, two years that we've had the microwave oven, we don't even use it for cooking, merely to reheat leftovers. Hard to believe it's junk now. Anyway, they tell me that every time they use it, there's a fizzing sound. They see a few sparks, the oven gives off some bad smell, and trips the circuit breakers. Thinking it's probably some moisture trapped in the enclosure, I gave it a good cleaning, and it worked perfectly.....for a few weeks. Today, the symptoms came back, and we definitely have a problem.
With nothing to lose, I took the whole thing apart. Every thing looks all right with no burnt component in sight. Zeroing in on the source of the bad smell, I took a closer look at the transformer coils. I see one very thin copper wire sticking out, so I thought, oh this must the one giving the shorts. It looks too thin to be a wire, so I looked deeper. Guess what? Deep within the transformer enclosure is a burnt cockroach. Obviously dead, its body is nevertheless still conductive which shorts the coils every time the oven is activated. Now I know how Grace Murray Hopper felt when she found the bug in ENIAC. After disposing of the cockroach remains by shaking it out, the microwave is back in tiptop condition.
With nothing to lose, I took the whole thing apart. Every thing looks all right with no burnt component in sight. Zeroing in on the source of the bad smell, I took a closer look at the transformer coils. I see one very thin copper wire sticking out, so I thought, oh this must the one giving the shorts. It looks too thin to be a wire, so I looked deeper. Guess what? Deep within the transformer enclosure is a burnt cockroach. Obviously dead, its body is nevertheless still conductive which shorts the coils every time the oven is activated. Now I know how Grace Murray Hopper felt when she found the bug in ENIAC. After disposing of the cockroach remains by shaking it out, the microwave is back in tiptop condition.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Xbox Hard Disk Upgrade
During my last trip to Manila, I bought a 80Gb Seagate hard disk. I reckon it's time to replace the stock 10Gb one on the Xbox. I figure lots of people would be interested in knowing how to do this, so I'm putting the procedure down here.Things you need:
- a modded Xbox (read my earlier post on how to do a software-only mod)
- ftp access to the Xbox to back up some critical directories
- a new hard disk (obviously)
- Torx 10, 15, and 20 screwdrivers (for console disassembly)
- blank CD-R/RW (for the xboxhdm boot CD)
- PC with bootable CD-RW drive
- bios.bin
- disk.bin
- eeprom.bin
- hddinfo.txt
- hddkey.bin
Moving on, get yourself a copy of xboxhdm. As of this writing, the latest version is v1.9. Extract the archive on your PC. Transfer the contents of the Xbox' C:\ and E:\ partitions to the \xboxhdm\linux directory. Copy the eeprom.bin file to \xboxhdm\linux\eeprom directory. Once that is finished, navigate back to the \xboxhdm directory and run the make-iso-win.bat file. If all goes will, you should end up with an ISO file called linux.iso. In my case, things didn't go so well. mkisofs for some reason doesn't want to run. It just quits, giving me this error message: "Not owner. Panic not able to reset original uid." If this happens to you, too, just Google for the latest version of mkisofs and download a copy. Just doing this took me more that an hour because the ftp servers hosting the newest Win32 mkisofs binary kept timing out. I had to search far and wide just to get a copy that will work on my particular setup.With the linux.iso file, use your favourite CD-burning software to burn it on a CD-R/RW. Disconnect all the hard disks from the PC. Connect the new hard disk and set it as Single Master. Turn on the PC and boot from the xboxhdm live CD. Once the XboX HD Maker and recovery tool has booted up, choose Option 1 "Build a New Xbox HD from Scratch". After rebuilding the partitions and copying over the C: and E: contents, choose Option 3 "Boot Linux with Locking/Unlocking Utilities". At the prompt, type lockhd -a. After this step, your newly-prepared hard disk is ready to go.
Using the Torx screwdrivers, open up the Xbox console case. Remove the Torx screws holding down the DVD drive and the hard disk. Remove the old hard drive from its tray, and whack the new one in. Put everything back, and you've got yourself an upgraded Xbox.
If this post is still not detailed enough for you, try this one.
Xbox Hard Disk Upgrade
During my last trip to Manila, I bought a 80Gb Seagate hard disk. I reckon it's time to replace the stock 10Gb one on the Xbox. I figure lots of people would be interested in knowing how to do this, so I'm putting the procedure down here.Things you need:
- a modded Xbox (read my earlier post on how to do a software-only mod)
- ftp access to the Xbox to back up some critical directories
- a new hard disk (obviously)
- Torx 10, 15, and 20 screwdrivers (for console disassembly)
- blank CD-R/RW (for the xboxhdm boot CD)
- PC with bootable CD-RW drive
- bios.bin
- disk.bin
- eeprom.bin
- hddinfo.txt
- hddkey.bin
Moving on, get yourself a copy of xboxhdm. As of this writing, the latest version is v1.9. Extract the archive on your PC. Transfer the contents of the Xbox' C:\ and E:\ partitions to the \xboxhdm\linux directory. Copy the eeprom.bin file to \xboxhdm\linux\eeprom directory. Once that is finished, navigate back to the \xboxhdm directory and run the make-iso-win.bat file. If all goes will, you should end up with an ISO file called linux.iso. In my case, things didn't go so well. mkisofs for some reason doesn't want to run. It just quits, giving me this error message: "Not owner. Panic not able to reset original uid." If this happens to you, too, just Google for the latest version of mkisofs and download a copy. Just doing this took me more that an hour because the ftp servers hosting the newest Win32 mkisofs binary kept timing out. I had to search far and wide just to get a copy that will work on my particular setup.With the linux.iso file, use your favourite CD-burning software to burn it on a CD-R/RW. Disconnect all the hard disks from the PC. Connect the new hard disk and set it as Single Master. Turn on the PC and boot from the xboxhdm live CD. Once the XboX HD Maker and recovery tool has booted up, choose Option 1 "Build a New Xbox HD from Scratch". After rebuilding the partitions and copying over the C: and E: contents, choose Option 3 "Boot Linux with Locking/Unlocking Utilities". At the prompt, type lockhd -a. After this step, your newly-prepared hard disk is ready to go.
Using the Torx screwdrivers, open up the Xbox console case. Remove the Torx screws holding down the DVD drive and the hard disk. Remove the old hard drive from its tray, and whack the new one in. Put everything back, and you've got yourself an upgraded Xbox.
If this post is still not detailed enough for you, try this one.
Friday, April 13, 2007
3-Month Report in 2 Days
The impossible things one is capable of doing when one has to do it. I would never have thought that I can produce a set of quarterly reports within two days, given that all of the required statistics and measurements are still "out there" uncollected. Story is, I was filling in for this girl who's going on a maternity leave. For two afternoons, she was telling me where to pull numbers for all the platforms that she's maintaining, and how to generate the proper charts for the different parameters we're tracking. She was putting too much focus on this particular task, I had to ask her how often does she generate these reports. Quarterly, she said. Considering it's now April, I figure still I have three months to go, so no worries. Two days ago, I got an email from her manager inquiring as to how the reports are coming up because she wants them by tomorrow. A quick email to my "mentor" confirmed that no, she hasn't been collecting the stats all these months, and yes, that's now my problem. Right. Made worse by the fact that some of the data were missing from the systems. I can hear her shrug over the phone, "Yeah, I've reported that problem already." Well, thanks for nothing.
And what were my colleagues over at Pyrmont doing at this time? They're on a harbour cruise. One of them even called me and asked me to look out the window if I can spot their sailboat under the Harbour Bridge near Luna Park. Great, guys.
And what were my colleagues over at Pyrmont doing at this time? They're on a harbour cruise. One of them even called me and asked me to look out the window if I can spot their sailboat under the Harbour Bridge near Luna Park. Great, guys.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Nybble 2007.04.08
N Y B B L E M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R
A Free Ezine about Anything Tech and Everything Else
2007.04.08 Issue No. 187
Once in a while Nokia puts out a great phone. The E65 is one of them.
While most of my colleagues were getting the N73 multimedia phone, a
couple of us decided to go for the E-Series "business" phones even
though they have less features compared to the N-Series. The N73 is
truly one tricked-out phone: 3.2MP camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar lens,
front-mounted VGA camera for video calls, built-in stereo speakers,
FM stereo with Visual Radio support, MP3/AAC player, RealPlayer and
Flash players, direct upload to Flickr, QuickOffice, PDF viewer,
infrared, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, 2GB mini-SD card included, etc.
However, it lacks the one thing most E-Series phones have - 802.1g,
commonly known as Wi-Fi. This was the deal-breaker for me, that's why
I chose the E65. First choice was the E70 with the rotating screen and
fold-out full keyboard, but it just can't be found anywhere - even in
Manila. The Nokia Blackberry E61 is just too big for me, and it
doesn't have a camera, so E65 it is.
Two weeks after I bought the E65, I'm still lovin' it:
- 2MP camera, which is good enough for me
- QVGA screen with 16M colors, small fonts but awesome resolution
- 3G speeds and a full-featured browser makes for a pleasant browsing
experience
- 802.1g support, so I can do VoIP calls (fring, GTalk, Skype), IM
(all flavors), watch YouTube, listen to online radio stations, etc.
using my home broadband connection, instead of eating up my mobile
data package (I'm sure the boss with appreciate this)
- spring-assisted sliding action (love that thunk sound every time I
push it open)
- slim and sleek profile, metal and leather finish, tactile keypad
and controls, etc.
And I haven't even started customizing the themes and ringtones,
editing the playlists, uploading my OGGs and JARs, installing
applications, updating bookmarks, etc. Hmm, lots of fun to be had.
Have an answer, comment, suggestion, or violent reaction? Send them my
way by clicking on Reply or join nybbletalk@yahoogroups.com to discuss
a topic. If you think Nybble is good enough, do tell the Samsung and
LG lovers about it. Thanks.
_________TABLE OF CONTENTS_________
* Apple iPod as Aircraft Black Box
* Speed of Light Broken
* Nanocoating Creates Non-Reflective Material
* Free In-Home Wireless Broadband from Google
* No S3x for 100 Million Years
* Tata's Compressed-Air Car
* Internet via TV Airwaves
* World's Most Secure Hard Disk
* Nybblets
* Likeable Links
* Questionable Question
* Quotable Quote
* Trivial Trivia
* Laughable Laugh
_________APPLE IPOD AS AIRCRAFT BLACK BOX_________
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/02/22/212269/apple-ipod-set-to-swap-white-box-for-black-box-as-lopresti-launches-data-recorder.html
Vero Beach, Florida-based LoPresti SpeedMerchants, a light aircraft
manufacturer, announces that it will introduce Apple's iPod device in
the cockpit of its Fury piston aircraft as a flight data recorder
(FDR). The iPod, with suitable software, acts as a hard disk with the
ability to record over 500h of flight time data. It was not
immediately clear from the company's statement which parameters would
be recorded and for what purpose. Recorders are currently used to
collect data for maintenance purposes through system monitoring, for
post-flight analysis in training and safety-monitoring, and, when
suitably protected, for crash investigation.
Once certified, the iPod FDR could be deployed on other light
aircraft. It can also act as an audio recorder, and can be used to
capture two-way cockpit conversation and communication with air
traffic control.
_________SPEED OF LIGHT BROKEN_________
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2000/07/20/speedlight000720.html
According to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, nothing can go
faster then the speed of light in a vacuum, about 186,000 miles per
second. Scientists from the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, N.J.
seem to have broken that speed record. In an experiment, the
researchers manipulated a vapour of laser-irradiated atoms that boost
the speed of light waves causing a pulse that shoots through the
vapour about 300 times faster than it would take the pulse to go the
same distance in a vacuum. It raced so fast the pulse exited a
specially-prepared chamber before it even finished entering it. This
means that, when the waves of the light distorted, the pulse traveled
forward in time.
The experiment doesn't prove that Einstein is wrong though. It only
disproves the general misconception that nothing can move faster than
the speed of light. The scientific statement "nothing with mass can
travel faster than the speed of light" is an entirely different
belief, one that has yet to be proven wrong.
_________NANOCOATING CREATES NON-REFLECTIVE MATERIAL________
http://www.physorg.com/news91978273.html
A team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has
created the world's first material that reflects virtually no light.
With a refractive index of 1.05, which is extremely close to the
refractive index of air and the lowest ever reported, the new material
is an ideal building block for anti-reflection coatings. Window glass,
for comparison, has a refractive index of about 1.45.
Using a technique called oblique angle deposition, the researchers
deposited silica nanorods at an angle of precisely 45 degrees on top
of a thin film of aluminum nitride, which is a semiconducting material
used in advanced light-emitting diodes (LEDs). From the side, the
films look much like the cross section of a piece of lawn turf with
the blades slightly flattened. The technique allows the researchers to
strongly reduce or even eliminate reflection at all wavelengths and
incoming angles of light.
The new optical coating could find use in just about any application
where light travels into or out of a material, such as high-efficiency
solar cells, brighter LEDs, optical interconnects, high-reflectance
mirrors, etc.
_________FREE IN-HOME WIRELESS BROADBAND FROM GOOGLE_________
http://www.google.com/tisp/index.html
Google recently announced their (beta) TiSP program to provide free
wireless broadband service to people everywhere. To tackle the
last-mile connectivity issue, other companies have used satellite
dishes, copper phone lines, TV coaxial cable, fiber-optic cables,
power lines, etc. Meanwhile, Google is delivering their broadband
service via the users' plumbing system, taking advantage of
preexisting plumbing and sewage systems and their related hydraulic
data-transmission capabilities. The Toilet Internet Service Provider
(TiSP) project is a self-installed, ad-supported online service that
will be offered entirely free to any consumer with a WiFi-capable PC
and a toilet connected to a local municipal sewage system.
This is how it works. When a user signs up to TiSP, he gets a starter
kit, which includes a spindle of fiber-optic cable, a TiSP wireless
router, installation CD, setup guide, and a pair of sanitary gloves.
Put on the gloves, then attach the sinker to one end of the
fiber-optic cable. While grasping both end of the spindle, flush the
weighted cable down the toilet. The cable should quickly unravel as it
navigates through the plumbing system towards one of the thousands of
TiSP Access Nodes, where Google Plumbing Hardware Dispatchers (PHDs)
will remove the sinker and plug the line into Google's global data
networking system. On your end, attach the cable to the TiSP wireless
router. Insert the TiSP installation CD and run the setup utility,
which will automatically configure your computer's network settings.
That's it.
For best results, Google recommends you wash your hands before surfing.
_________NO S3X FOR 100 MILLION YEARS_________
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article1539281.ece
A tiny creature that has not had s3x for 100 million years has
overturned the theory that animals need to mate to create variety.
Analysis of the jaw shapes of bdelloid rotifers, combined with genetic
data, revealed that the animals have diversified under pressure of
natural selection.
The microscopic animals, less than four times the length of a human
sperm, are all female, yet have evolved into different species that
fill different ecological niches. Two sister species were found to be
living together on the body of a water louse. One of them specialised
in living around the louse's legs and the other stayed close to the
chest. Genetic analysis showed that the two creatures were distinct, a
fact backed up by observations that each type had differently shaped
jaws. The two species of bdelloid rotifer almost certainly arrived on
the louse as one species and later evolved to take better advantage of
the environment. Asexual animals and plants usually die out quickly in
evolutionary terms but the ability of bdelloid rotifers to diversify
may explain why they have survived so long.
_________TATA'S COMPRESSED-AIR CAR_________
http://gizmag.com/go/7000/
Tata, India's largest automotive manufacturer, has committed to
produce the world's first commercial compressed-air car. The MiniC.A.T
is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not
welded and a body of fibreglass. The heart of the electronic and
communication system on the car is a computer offering an array of
information reports that extends well beyond the speed of the vehicle,
and is built to integrate with external systems like voice
recognition, internet connectivity, GSM telephone connectivity, a GPS
guidance system, fleet management systems, emergency systems, digital
entertainment, etc. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the
car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights,
indicators, etc. There are no keys – just an access card which can be
read by the car from your pocket.
Most importantly, it is incredibly cost-efficient to run – according
to the designers, it costs less than one Euro per 100 kms (about a
tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the
most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a
factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of
motorists drive at less than 60 kms. The car has a top speed of 68
mph. Refilling the car will take place at adapted petrol stations to
administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of
approximately 1.5 Euros, the car will be ready to go another 200-300
kilometres. As an alternative, the car carries a small compressor
which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank
in 3-4 hours. Due to the absence of combustion and residues, changing
the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000 kms.
At the moment, four models have been made: a car, a taxi (5
passengers), a Pick-Up truck and a van. The final selling price will
be approximately 5.500 pounds.
_________INTERNET VIA TV AIRWAVES_________
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/12/AR2007031201395.html
A coalition of big technology companies wants to bring high-speed
Internet access to consumers in a new way: over television airwaves.
The coalition, made up of Microsoft, Google, Dell, Hewlett-Packard,
Intel and Philips, wants regulators to allow idle TV channels, known
as white space, to be used to beam the Internet into homes and
offices. But the Federal Communications Commission first must be
convinced that such traffic would not bleed outside its designated
channels and interfere with existing broadcasts.
Proponents liken the idea to so-called WiFi signals, which provide
wireless Internet access from phone or cable companies to users in
airports, coffee shops and elsewhere. Several analysts said a
TV-spectrum system might make the most sense in rural areas, where
high-speed Internet access via phone or cable lines is expensive to
deploy. Small companies might build some towers, beam white-space
spectrum to farm homes and cabins, and connect it to an Internet provider.
_________WORLD'S MOST SECURE HARD DRIVE_________
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsid=8227
Two years after first being announced by Seagate, the world's most
secure hard drive is now set to be put on sale in a real laptop, ASI's
C8015+, costing US$2,150.
As well as on-the-fly encryption integrated into the drive itself
using chip acceleration, the laptop also features a trusted platform
module (TPM), and fingerprint reader, security add-ons that have added
roughly 20 percent to the cost of what is otherwise a mainstream Intel
Core 2 Duo laptop. The drive included is the 80GB 2.5 inch Momentus
5400 FDE.2, but 100Gb, 120Gb and 160Gb versions are also waiting in
the wings.
The main cleverness of the Momentus FDE.2 lies in the way the drive
reads and writes have been tightly entwined with 128-bit AES-based
encryption right down to DriveTrust firmware level. The user has the
power to set a password to access the drive during system boot, but is
otherwise unaware that all data at rest is being encrypted and
unencrypted transparently. Data is never in clear text except when it
is being used by an application. Seagate claims the performance hit
for what is usually a CPU-intensive process is only a couple of
percent thanks to onboard processing, and that the user would not be
aware of any read or write drag.
_________NYBBLETS_________
* NZ TV station 45 South uses $10 kitchen wok as transmitter instead
of paying for a $20,000 commercial link
* South Korean government drafting an ethical code for human-robot
relations for the coming robotic age
* Duke graduate designs a remote-controlled fridge that can toss a
beer up to 20 feet
* Stephen Hawking says that the universe spontaneously popped into
existence from nothing
* Bill Gates, as Harvard University's commencement speaker in June,
to finally receive his Harvard degree
* To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Yahoo will be offering unlimited
email storage starting May
_________LIKEABLE LINKS_________
The Geek's Guide to Getting Free Stuff
http://www.rewardprograms.org/thefreegeek/features/the_geeks_guide_to_getting_free_stuff.html
LibriVox
http://www.librivox.org/
Audiobooks for free
Search Clock
http://www.chrisharrison.net/projects/searchclock/
Visualizing searches over time
4k Java Games
http://javaunlimited.net/games/
Listen to a Movie
http://power.listentoamovie.com/index.php
For the cubicle workers of the world
Everything You Need to Know about IPv6
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/ipv6.ars
_________QUESTIONABLE QUESTION_________
How do those dead bugs get into closed light fixtures?
_________QUOTABLE QUOTE_________
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick
themselves up and hurry off as if nothing has happened.
~ Sir Winston Churchill ~
_________TRIVIAL TRIVIA_________
What did table tennis have to do with champagne?
Table tennis was originally played with balls made from champagne
corks and paddles made from cigar-box lids. It was created in the
1880s by James Gibb, a British engineer who wanted an invigorating
game he could play indoors when it was raining. Named "Gossima," the
game was first marketed with celluloid balls, which replaced Gibb's
corks. After the equipment manufacturer renamed the game "Ping-Pong"
in 1901, it became a hot seller.
Source: Arcamax Trivia
_________LAUGHABLE LAUGH_________
I got this powdered water -- now I don't know what to add.
~ Steven Wright
_________DOWNLOADABLE DOWNLOAD_________
Yahoo!Go 2.0 (gamma)
http://mobile.yahoo.com/go
Yahoo! on your smartphone
gSyncit
http://www.daveswebsite.com/software/gsync/
Freeware Outlook plug-in to keep Microsoft Outlook and Google calendar
in-sync
That's all for this week. Nybble is and will always be a work in
progress. Please do send me your comments and suggestions on how to
improve Nybble. Just hit the reply button to you know, reply.
A Free Ezine about Anything Tech and Everything Else
2007.04.08 Issue No. 187
Once in a while Nokia puts out a great phone. The E65 is one of them.
While most of my colleagues were getting the N73 multimedia phone, a
couple of us decided to go for the E-Series "business" phones even
though they have less features compared to the N-Series. The N73 is
truly one tricked-out phone: 3.2MP camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar lens,
front-mounted VGA camera for video calls, built-in stereo speakers,
FM stereo with Visual Radio support, MP3/AAC player, RealPlayer and
Flash players, direct upload to Flickr, QuickOffice, PDF viewer,
infrared, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, 2GB mini-SD card included, etc.
However, it lacks the one thing most E-Series phones have - 802.1g,
commonly known as Wi-Fi. This was the deal-breaker for me, that's why
I chose the E65. First choice was the E70 with the rotating screen and
fold-out full keyboard, but it just can't be found anywhere - even in
Manila. The Nokia Blackberry E61 is just too big for me, and it
doesn't have a camera, so E65 it is.
Two weeks after I bought the E65, I'm still lovin' it:
- 2MP camera, which is good enough for me
- QVGA screen with 16M colors, small fonts but awesome resolution
- 3G speeds and a full-featured browser makes for a pleasant browsing
experience
- 802.1g support, so I can do VoIP calls (fring, GTalk, Skype), IM
(all flavors), watch YouTube, listen to online radio stations, etc.
using my home broadband connection, instead of eating up my mobile
data package (I'm sure the boss with appreciate this)
- spring-assisted sliding action (love that thunk sound every time I
push it open)
- slim and sleek profile, metal and leather finish, tactile keypad
and controls, etc.
And I haven't even started customizing the themes and ringtones,
editing the playlists, uploading my OGGs and JARs, installing
applications, updating bookmarks, etc. Hmm, lots of fun to be had.
Have an answer, comment, suggestion, or violent reaction? Send them my
way by clicking on Reply or join nybbletalk@yahoogroups.com to discuss
a topic. If you think Nybble is good enough, do tell the Samsung and
LG lovers about it. Thanks.
_________TABLE OF CONTENTS_________
* Apple iPod as Aircraft Black Box
* Speed of Light Broken
* Nanocoating Creates Non-Reflective Material
* Free In-Home Wireless Broadband from Google
* No S3x for 100 Million Years
* Tata's Compressed-Air Car
* Internet via TV Airwaves
* World's Most Secure Hard Disk
* Nybblets
* Likeable Links
* Questionable Question
* Quotable Quote
* Trivial Trivia
* Laughable Laugh
_________APPLE IPOD AS AIRCRAFT BLACK BOX_________
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/02/22/212269/apple-ipod-set-to-swap-white-box-for-black-box-as-lopresti-launches-data-recorder.html
Vero Beach, Florida-based LoPresti SpeedMerchants, a light aircraft
manufacturer, announces that it will introduce Apple's iPod device in
the cockpit of its Fury piston aircraft as a flight data recorder
(FDR). The iPod, with suitable software, acts as a hard disk with the
ability to record over 500h of flight time data. It was not
immediately clear from the company's statement which parameters would
be recorded and for what purpose. Recorders are currently used to
collect data for maintenance purposes through system monitoring, for
post-flight analysis in training and safety-monitoring, and, when
suitably protected, for crash investigation.
Once certified, the iPod FDR could be deployed on other light
aircraft. It can also act as an audio recorder, and can be used to
capture two-way cockpit conversation and communication with air
traffic control.
_________SPEED OF LIGHT BROKEN_________
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2000/07/20/speedlight000720.html
According to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, nothing can go
faster then the speed of light in a vacuum, about 186,000 miles per
second. Scientists from the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, N.J.
seem to have broken that speed record. In an experiment, the
researchers manipulated a vapour of laser-irradiated atoms that boost
the speed of light waves causing a pulse that shoots through the
vapour about 300 times faster than it would take the pulse to go the
same distance in a vacuum. It raced so fast the pulse exited a
specially-prepared chamber before it even finished entering it. This
means that, when the waves of the light distorted, the pulse traveled
forward in time.
The experiment doesn't prove that Einstein is wrong though. It only
disproves the general misconception that nothing can move faster than
the speed of light. The scientific statement "nothing with mass can
travel faster than the speed of light" is an entirely different
belief, one that has yet to be proven wrong.
_________NANOCOATING CREATES NON-REFLECTIVE MATERIAL________
http://www.physorg.com/news91978273.html
A team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has
created the world's first material that reflects virtually no light.
With a refractive index of 1.05, which is extremely close to the
refractive index of air and the lowest ever reported, the new material
is an ideal building block for anti-reflection coatings. Window glass,
for comparison, has a refractive index of about 1.45.
Using a technique called oblique angle deposition, the researchers
deposited silica nanorods at an angle of precisely 45 degrees on top
of a thin film of aluminum nitride, which is a semiconducting material
used in advanced light-emitting diodes (LEDs). From the side, the
films look much like the cross section of a piece of lawn turf with
the blades slightly flattened. The technique allows the researchers to
strongly reduce or even eliminate reflection at all wavelengths and
incoming angles of light.
The new optical coating could find use in just about any application
where light travels into or out of a material, such as high-efficiency
solar cells, brighter LEDs, optical interconnects, high-reflectance
mirrors, etc.
_________FREE IN-HOME WIRELESS BROADBAND FROM GOOGLE_________
http://www.google.com/tisp/index.html
Google recently announced their (beta) TiSP program to provide free
wireless broadband service to people everywhere. To tackle the
last-mile connectivity issue, other companies have used satellite
dishes, copper phone lines, TV coaxial cable, fiber-optic cables,
power lines, etc. Meanwhile, Google is delivering their broadband
service via the users' plumbing system, taking advantage of
preexisting plumbing and sewage systems and their related hydraulic
data-transmission capabilities. The Toilet Internet Service Provider
(TiSP) project is a self-installed, ad-supported online service that
will be offered entirely free to any consumer with a WiFi-capable PC
and a toilet connected to a local municipal sewage system.
This is how it works. When a user signs up to TiSP, he gets a starter
kit, which includes a spindle of fiber-optic cable, a TiSP wireless
router, installation CD, setup guide, and a pair of sanitary gloves.
Put on the gloves, then attach the sinker to one end of the
fiber-optic cable. While grasping both end of the spindle, flush the
weighted cable down the toilet. The cable should quickly unravel as it
navigates through the plumbing system towards one of the thousands of
TiSP Access Nodes, where Google Plumbing Hardware Dispatchers (PHDs)
will remove the sinker and plug the line into Google's global data
networking system. On your end, attach the cable to the TiSP wireless
router. Insert the TiSP installation CD and run the setup utility,
which will automatically configure your computer's network settings.
That's it.
For best results, Google recommends you wash your hands before surfing.
_________NO S3X FOR 100 MILLION YEARS_________
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article1539281.ece
A tiny creature that has not had s3x for 100 million years has
overturned the theory that animals need to mate to create variety.
Analysis of the jaw shapes of bdelloid rotifers, combined with genetic
data, revealed that the animals have diversified under pressure of
natural selection.
The microscopic animals, less than four times the length of a human
sperm, are all female, yet have evolved into different species that
fill different ecological niches. Two sister species were found to be
living together on the body of a water louse. One of them specialised
in living around the louse's legs and the other stayed close to the
chest. Genetic analysis showed that the two creatures were distinct, a
fact backed up by observations that each type had differently shaped
jaws. The two species of bdelloid rotifer almost certainly arrived on
the louse as one species and later evolved to take better advantage of
the environment. Asexual animals and plants usually die out quickly in
evolutionary terms but the ability of bdelloid rotifers to diversify
may explain why they have survived so long.
_________TATA'S COMPRESSED-AIR CAR_________
http://gizmag.com/go/7000/
Tata, India's largest automotive manufacturer, has committed to
produce the world's first commercial compressed-air car. The MiniC.A.T
is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not
welded and a body of fibreglass. The heart of the electronic and
communication system on the car is a computer offering an array of
information reports that extends well beyond the speed of the vehicle,
and is built to integrate with external systems like voice
recognition, internet connectivity, GSM telephone connectivity, a GPS
guidance system, fleet management systems, emergency systems, digital
entertainment, etc. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the
car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights,
indicators, etc. There are no keys – just an access card which can be
read by the car from your pocket.
Most importantly, it is incredibly cost-efficient to run – according
to the designers, it costs less than one Euro per 100 kms (about a
tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the
most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a
factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of
motorists drive at less than 60 kms. The car has a top speed of 68
mph. Refilling the car will take place at adapted petrol stations to
administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of
approximately 1.5 Euros, the car will be ready to go another 200-300
kilometres. As an alternative, the car carries a small compressor
which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank
in 3-4 hours. Due to the absence of combustion and residues, changing
the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000 kms.
At the moment, four models have been made: a car, a taxi (5
passengers), a Pick-Up truck and a van. The final selling price will
be approximately 5.500 pounds.
_________INTERNET VIA TV AIRWAVES_________
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/12/AR2007031201395.html
A coalition of big technology companies wants to bring high-speed
Internet access to consumers in a new way: over television airwaves.
The coalition, made up of Microsoft, Google, Dell, Hewlett-Packard,
Intel and Philips, wants regulators to allow idle TV channels, known
as white space, to be used to beam the Internet into homes and
offices. But the Federal Communications Commission first must be
convinced that such traffic would not bleed outside its designated
channels and interfere with existing broadcasts.
Proponents liken the idea to so-called WiFi signals, which provide
wireless Internet access from phone or cable companies to users in
airports, coffee shops and elsewhere. Several analysts said a
TV-spectrum system might make the most sense in rural areas, where
high-speed Internet access via phone or cable lines is expensive to
deploy. Small companies might build some towers, beam white-space
spectrum to farm homes and cabins, and connect it to an Internet provider.
_________WORLD'S MOST SECURE HARD DRIVE_________
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsid=8227
Two years after first being announced by Seagate, the world's most
secure hard drive is now set to be put on sale in a real laptop, ASI's
C8015+, costing US$2,150.
As well as on-the-fly encryption integrated into the drive itself
using chip acceleration, the laptop also features a trusted platform
module (TPM), and fingerprint reader, security add-ons that have added
roughly 20 percent to the cost of what is otherwise a mainstream Intel
Core 2 Duo laptop. The drive included is the 80GB 2.5 inch Momentus
5400 FDE.2, but 100Gb, 120Gb and 160Gb versions are also waiting in
the wings.
The main cleverness of the Momentus FDE.2 lies in the way the drive
reads and writes have been tightly entwined with 128-bit AES-based
encryption right down to DriveTrust firmware level. The user has the
power to set a password to access the drive during system boot, but is
otherwise unaware that all data at rest is being encrypted and
unencrypted transparently. Data is never in clear text except when it
is being used by an application. Seagate claims the performance hit
for what is usually a CPU-intensive process is only a couple of
percent thanks to onboard processing, and that the user would not be
aware of any read or write drag.
_________NYBBLETS_________
* NZ TV station 45 South uses $10 kitchen wok as transmitter instead
of paying for a $20,000 commercial link
* South Korean government drafting an ethical code for human-robot
relations for the coming robotic age
* Duke graduate designs a remote-controlled fridge that can toss a
beer up to 20 feet
* Stephen Hawking says that the universe spontaneously popped into
existence from nothing
* Bill Gates, as Harvard University's commencement speaker in June,
to finally receive his Harvard degree
* To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Yahoo will be offering unlimited
email storage starting May
_________LIKEABLE LINKS_________
The Geek's Guide to Getting Free Stuff
http://www.rewardprograms.org/thefreegeek/features/the_geeks_guide_to_getting_free_stuff.html
LibriVox
http://www.librivox.org/
Audiobooks for free
Search Clock
http://www.chrisharrison.net/projects/searchclock/
Visualizing searches over time
4k Java Games
http://javaunlimited.net/games/
Listen to a Movie
http://power.listentoamovie.com/index.php
For the cubicle workers of the world
Everything You Need to Know about IPv6
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/ipv6.ars
_________QUESTIONABLE QUESTION_________
How do those dead bugs get into closed light fixtures?
_________QUOTABLE QUOTE_________
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick
themselves up and hurry off as if nothing has happened.
~ Sir Winston Churchill ~
_________TRIVIAL TRIVIA_________
What did table tennis have to do with champagne?
Table tennis was originally played with balls made from champagne
corks and paddles made from cigar-box lids. It was created in the
1880s by James Gibb, a British engineer who wanted an invigorating
game he could play indoors when it was raining. Named "Gossima," the
game was first marketed with celluloid balls, which replaced Gibb's
corks. After the equipment manufacturer renamed the game "Ping-Pong"
in 1901, it became a hot seller.
Source: Arcamax Trivia
_________LAUGHABLE LAUGH_________
I got this powdered water -- now I don't know what to add.
~ Steven Wright
_________DOWNLOADABLE DOWNLOAD_________
Yahoo!Go 2.0 (gamma)
http://mobile.yahoo.com/go
Yahoo! on your smartphone
gSyncit
http://www.daveswebsite.com/software/gsync/
Freeware Outlook plug-in to keep Microsoft Outlook and Google calendar
in-sync
That's all for this week. Nybble is and will always be a work in
progress. Please do send me your comments and suggestions on how to
improve Nybble. Just hit the reply button to you know, reply.
Monday, March 12, 2007
First Impressions of Manila
Manila hasn't changed much since the day I left. Last night when I arrived, the airport terminal is exactly the same. The immigration queues are too long, but nobody is complaining. The people at the counters chat among themselves as they check your documents as if you don't exist. One improvement I've noticed is that there are no more lines at the customs area. I went straight through customs, and the lady at the checkout didn't even give me a sideways glance. Before, they would stop you and ask you to open your bags for inspection. Before they let you go, they'll hem and haw, and give you the nod-nod-wink-wink. If you still don't get it, then you're in trouble. There are fewer "standbys" at the arrival area. A few years ago, you'd have strangers come up to you offering to carry your bags or get you a taxi. I tell you, they're scary.
I flew in on a Sunday night, and even then traffic is heavy along Roxas Blvd. The front passengers have to put on seatbelts, but there is no such requirement for the backseat passengers. Remember to always lock your car doors because you wouldn't want to be robbed inside your car while caught in traffic. Most of the streets don't come with lane markings. There's a good reason for this.
Take any two-lane street in Sydney, bring it to Manila, take away the lane markings, and it becomes a three-lane avenue. Once the traffic starts moving, people just switch from lane to lane, trying to get ahead, *without* using any turn signals. Everybody honk their horns every few minutes. No offense meant. How I used to do that I can only reminisce.
This morning we had breakfast at Jollibee at Holiday Plaza. (How appropriate.) For those who has never heard of Jollibee, it's McDonald's biggest competitor. Jollibee started out as a small operation in Cubao.
Then it got smart. It copied everything on McDonald's menu and made them better, more suited to the local taste, meaning sweeter. Nowadays, you can come to Jollibee every day of the week, and still have something new on your plate: Yumburger, ChickenJoy, Champ, Jolly Spaghetti, The Champ, Jolly Hotdog, Palabok Fiesta, Burger Steak, Amazing Aloha, local dishes like tocino, longganisa, aroz caldo, beef tapa, corned beef, plus the staples like sundaes, fries, pies, pancakes, etc.
With every order of mango pie, you get a free copy of Philippine Star. Actually, order anything and you still get your daily paper. They're practically giving them away.
Is this the reason why the Philippine Star seems to be doing better than the Philippine Daily Inquirer? That marketing gimmick seems to be working. That's the thing with most Filipinos - the herd mentality here is very strong. If everyone is reading the Phil. Star, it must be good. So given a choice, I'd also go for it. (Background info: PDI came to prominence during the decline of the Marcos era. 
With its slogan of "Balanced News Fearless Views", it dared to openly criticize the Marcos regime. During the EDSA revolution, it cast its lot with Aquino, won big time, and never looked back. As a result, it dethroned Manila Bulletin as the nation's leading newspaper.)
Spent most of the day visiting our old neighbors. The surrounding area has changed a bit, but our neighbors are exactly the same as I last saw them three years ago. It's uncanny.
Like before, people are very much obsessed with their mobile phones. Rich or poor, everyone has one. When you meet the friendly neighborhood thief, he doesn't inquire about your wallet anymore; he wants your phone. You may have only 20 pesos in your wallet, but at the very minimum, your mobile is worth thousands on the market. One columnist theorizes that even the poorest of the poor in Manila has a mobile phone because it gives them an identity. They might not have a house with a street address, but with a mobile (with SIM card), they get an MSISDN (mobile number) that they can call their own. And that gives them a (wireless) connection to their friends and the society at large. I see people fussing with their phones every chance they get - sending "texts" (as they are called here), reading messages, changing wallpapers, downloading ringtones (the meowing cat is most popular at the moment).
And since phone-snatching is so rampant, the ladies do SMS inside their bags. (That's what backlights are for.) The guys put their phones in small pouches and stuff them in their pockets.
There's a new coin in circulation. The P2 coin is out and the P10 coin is in. Given that the basic jeepney ride now costs P7, your stack of coins won't last long. Man, I can still remember when you can ride a jeepney for only 75 cents.
We also have a new P200 bill, positioned nicely between P100 and P500.
Not one to waste time, I got down to business and visited my dentist in the afternoon. An hour and two tooth fillings later, I was short of P2000. That's peanuts in Sydney, but here in Manila, it's big money.
Badminton is still going on strong among the populace. It started to pick up when I left, and now it looks like everyone's into it. Just outside our place is a warehouse, now converted into a 6-court badminton place called Toss and Play. With no cable TV, no free-to-air reception, no Internet access, and no WiFi, I spent the night watching people play. I knew I should've bought my badminton racquet instead of the tennis one.
I flew in on a Sunday night, and even then traffic is heavy along Roxas Blvd. The front passengers have to put on seatbelts, but there is no such requirement for the backseat passengers. Remember to always lock your car doors because you wouldn't want to be robbed inside your car while caught in traffic. Most of the streets don't come with lane markings. There's a good reason for this.
Take any two-lane street in Sydney, bring it to Manila, take away the lane markings, and it becomes a three-lane avenue. Once the traffic starts moving, people just switch from lane to lane, trying to get ahead, *without* using any turn signals. Everybody honk their horns every few minutes. No offense meant. How I used to do that I can only reminisce.This morning we had breakfast at Jollibee at Holiday Plaza. (How appropriate.) For those who has never heard of Jollibee, it's McDonald's biggest competitor. Jollibee started out as a small operation in Cubao.
Then it got smart. It copied everything on McDonald's menu and made them better, more suited to the local taste, meaning sweeter. Nowadays, you can come to Jollibee every day of the week, and still have something new on your plate: Yumburger, ChickenJoy, Champ, Jolly Spaghetti, The Champ, Jolly Hotdog, Palabok Fiesta, Burger Steak, Amazing Aloha, local dishes like tocino, longganisa, aroz caldo, beef tapa, corned beef, plus the staples like sundaes, fries, pies, pancakes, etc.With every order of mango pie, you get a free copy of Philippine Star. Actually, order anything and you still get your daily paper. They're practically giving them away.
Is this the reason why the Philippine Star seems to be doing better than the Philippine Daily Inquirer? That marketing gimmick seems to be working. That's the thing with most Filipinos - the herd mentality here is very strong. If everyone is reading the Phil. Star, it must be good. So given a choice, I'd also go for it. (Background info: PDI came to prominence during the decline of the Marcos era. 
With its slogan of "Balanced News Fearless Views", it dared to openly criticize the Marcos regime. During the EDSA revolution, it cast its lot with Aquino, won big time, and never looked back. As a result, it dethroned Manila Bulletin as the nation's leading newspaper.)Spent most of the day visiting our old neighbors. The surrounding area has changed a bit, but our neighbors are exactly the same as I last saw them three years ago. It's uncanny.
Like before, people are very much obsessed with their mobile phones. Rich or poor, everyone has one. When you meet the friendly neighborhood thief, he doesn't inquire about your wallet anymore; he wants your phone. You may have only 20 pesos in your wallet, but at the very minimum, your mobile is worth thousands on the market. One columnist theorizes that even the poorest of the poor in Manila has a mobile phone because it gives them an identity. They might not have a house with a street address, but with a mobile (with SIM card), they get an MSISDN (mobile number) that they can call their own. And that gives them a (wireless) connection to their friends and the society at large. I see people fussing with their phones every chance they get - sending "texts" (as they are called here), reading messages, changing wallpapers, downloading ringtones (the meowing cat is most popular at the moment).
And since phone-snatching is so rampant, the ladies do SMS inside their bags. (That's what backlights are for.) The guys put their phones in small pouches and stuff them in their pockets.There's a new coin in circulation. The P2 coin is out and the P10 coin is in. Given that the basic jeepney ride now costs P7, your stack of coins won't last long. Man, I can still remember when you can ride a jeepney for only 75 cents.
We also have a new P200 bill, positioned nicely between P100 and P500.Not one to waste time, I got down to business and visited my dentist in the afternoon. An hour and two tooth fillings later, I was short of P2000. That's peanuts in Sydney, but here in Manila, it's big money.
Badminton is still going on strong among the populace. It started to pick up when I left, and now it looks like everyone's into it. Just outside our place is a warehouse, now converted into a 6-court badminton place called Toss and Play. With no cable TV, no free-to-air reception, no Internet access, and no WiFi, I spent the night watching people play. I knew I should've bought my badminton racquet instead of the tennis one.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
KrisWorld Movie Marathon
The best way to pass time on a plane is still to watch lots and lots of movies. Just watch three movies straight, or intersperse them with a few CDs in between, and you'll get to your destination by the time you're done. You don't even have to make small talk with your seatmate. Who knows, you might be sitting next to Tyler Durden.First movie I watched is Daniel Craig's first outing as Agent 007 in Casino Royale. I must say I liked this one. Not because I think Daniel Craig is the most wonderful British actor there is. Or maybe I'm just bored with the dashing Pierce Brosnan already. did is so ruthless. It's just not right to take advantage of a man when he's at his most vulnerable. I mean, 007 just got his license to kill, yet he's willing to leave everything on the table, and start a new life with Ms. Mr. Craig brings a breath of fresh air and drive to the role. The opening scene is not as extravagant and techie as the earlier ones, but wow, you should see the action. Just like Jackie Chan when he was just starting in the business. I'm not going to bore you with all the plot details, as I'm sure everyone has seen the movie already.
I just want to say that what Ms. LyndLynd. Yet she betrayed him. In usual Bond fashion, 007 was able to catch the bad guy. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to save the damsel in distress. He became a colder man that day Ms. Lynd drowned in the depths of Venice.Best bit of conversation in the movie:
Ms. Lynd: You know, James. I just want you to know that if all that was left of you was your smile and your little finger, you'd still be more of a man than anyone I've ever met.
Mr. Bond: That's because you know what I can do with my little finger.
Ms. Lynd: You're not going to let me in there, are you? You've got your amor back on. That's that.
Mr. Bond: I have no armor left. You've stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me, whatever is left of me, whatever I am, I'm yours.
To help clear the somber mood, I watched a comedy from Stephen Chow next. The movie is called Love on Delivery and also stars the luscious Christy Chung and his long-time sidekick Ng Man Tat. Stephen Chow also directs. Having watched Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, I'm deeply disappointed with this one. The movie feels like it's shot over a weekend, and Stephen Chow is probably having a hangover when he directed. The jokes are tired and banal and the plot virtually non-existent. Delivery boy Chow meets pretty student Chung. (She's even prettier with less clothes on.) After being humiliated by Chung's judo-teacher suitor, Chow gets some kung-fu lessons from an dodge convenience store owner, and get duped out of his savings in the process. Incredibly, Chow actually learned something and managed to defeat the judo teacher AND his teacher's nemesis in a tournament.
As I didn't get my comedy fix, I chose a Japanese movie next. Japanese are usually over-the-top and unpredictable, and that makes funny. Movie is called Kintaro, the White-Collar Worker (Sarariiman Kintarô). I'm sure the title sounds better in Nihongo. Anyway, movie started out all right. Story is about a young idealistic employee working in the construction business. Unfortunately, public works is a dirty business, full of insider dealing and rigged biddings. He didn't like the look of things, so he decided to fight the system. The whole company backed his cause in an effort to remain afloat. Things went downhill from there. His boss got bombed, his family got hurt, and he got mad. Mad enough to call on his former biker friends and start a gang war. 
Faced with a police barricade, he tried to go it alone and was jailed for 6 months. (What?! Not life?) Anyway, the day he came out of prison, there's a big crowd to welcome him and what he represents. Cheesy, I know, but you have to remember this is based on a cartoon series. As he walked to his waiting wife and son, the crowd parted like the Red Sea. The end.What have I done to deserve movies like these? I switched to audio mode and listened to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (by Tafelmusik and Jeanne Lamon). Now, you can't go wrong with that!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Mr. Iron Chef Final (1995) - The Continuation
There's a very good reason why last week's Iron Chef episode was cut short without any notice with 15 minutes to go. My first thought was that maybe they ran out of time, or maybe Rockwiz was running longer than usual, or maybe a technical glitch. Had SBS made any sort of announcement, then people might start thinking. Hmm, maybe the Iron Chef final ran longer than usual...a tie maybe...Yup, apparently, that's what happened. I didn't get to see the continuation, and my sister, who was at home, wasn't interested in the outcome. As far as I can pick up from the forums, there was a tie. That means Chen Kenichi and Michiba have to cook for an extra half hour. Michiba is definitely not pleased. Not sure why - maybe it's because he has already written out the intended menu in beautiful calligraphy, as is his custom, and he doesn't like editing it. The forums didn't say, but my guess is that Michiba won in the final battle. Makes for a nice birthday/retirement present, don't you think?
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