1. Epson launches next-gen Ensemble HD Home Cinema System

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/epson-launches-next-gen-ensemble-hd-home-cinema-system/

2. Video: Moto Lab’s multitouch display scalable up to 50-inches

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/video-moto-labs-multitouch-display-scalable-up-to-50-inches/

3. Sugar Labs debuts “Sugar on a Stick” beta, for LiveUSB-derived diabetes

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/sugar-labs-debuts-sugar-on-a-stick-beta-for-liveusb-derived-d/

4. Raser Technologies develops 100MPG Hummer H3 just to spite Al Gore

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/raser-technologies-develops-100mpg-hummer-h3-just-to-spite-al-go/

This particular article is very relevant to today’s green craze. Although personally i think too much emphasis is being put on mpg’s its a very hot topic for today’s auto industry. Raser Technologies has made a fully electric H3 Hummer capable of 100 mpg on only lithium batteries, very cool.

5. Ten years of TiVo: how far we haven’t come

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/ten-years-of-tivo-how-far-we-havent-come/

This article hits a very relevant segment in today’s technology sector, entertainment. It mentions Tivo’s 10th year anniversary, its accomplishments, but most importantly what it has not done, and what it has yet to do with future models. The fact that it is a “custom Linux rig with dedicated HD video hardware, Ethernet, and external storage support — the possibilities are endless.” Still having many things to be built in, such as search engines, youtube, and many other things common to one uses on the computer. Yay Tivo.

Google SketchUp is widely used for conceptual and architectural design while Alibre Design is primarily used for precise mechanical design. While it’s uses can far surpass mere architectural design. Google Sketch-up is a free downloadable program that any lay-man can figure out how to use. Google Sketch-Up could be used for any array of activities such as, house rennovations, city-planning, new buildings, object creation, fabrication, 3D cad drafting and much more.

Windows XP comes in both 32 and 64 bit varieties. The Maximum amount of ram supported is 4gigs. Average retail price is around $165. Release date was RTM: August 24, 2001. File system it supports is FAT(2gig), FAT32(4gig), and NTFS (2 and 4 respectively). You may search in the dos command or through the file searching system.

Features:

Built on the new Windows engine
Enhanced device driver verifier
Dramatically reduced reboot scenarios
Improved code protection
Side-by-side DLL support
Windows File Protection
Windows Installer
Enhanced software restriction policies
Preemptive multitasking architecture
Scalable memory and processor support
Encrypting File System (EFS) with multi-user support
IP Security (IPSec)
Kerberos support
Smart card support
Internet Explorer Add-on Manager
Windows Firewall
Windows Security Center
Attachment Manager
Data Execution Prevention
Windows Firewall Exception List
Windows Firewall Application and Port Restrictions
Fresh visual design

WINDOWS VISTA

Features:

Windows Vista supports both 32 and 64 bit applications and hardware. Maximum amount of ram is again like XP, 4gigs.

The new Vista file system works on the following (ACID) transaction principles:

1. Atomicity – In a transaction involving two or more discrete pieces of information, either all of the pieces are committed or none are.
2. Consistency – A transaction either creates a new and valid state of data, or if any failure occurs, returns all data to its state before the transaction started.
3. Isolation – A transaction in process and not yet committed must remain isolated from any other transaction.
4. Durability – Committed data is saved by the system such that, even in the event of a failure and system restart, the data is available in its correct state.   

Windows Vista has a search bar built inot its “Start” button on the bottom left, letting you search whatever file with the click of a button. Release date for vista was, RTM: November 8, 2006. Average retail price for Vista, depending on which flavor you got it in is around $300.

Linux Ubuntu

Features:

“Lower hardware requirements – Older systems which crawl with Windows, hum nicely with Linux” – Sorry, but I ran Ubuntu on a P2 450MHz PC and it was anything but humming nicely, same with kubuntu they both slow to a stop under normal usage much slower then if you were running winxp on it (with a few services disabled, as with ubuntu)

“Stability – Linux rarely if ever crashes.” – Oh please, this is possibly the worst one on there, I’ve tried at least 25 different distro’s on different PC’s (So no, it’s not bad configuration) and ALL of them have crashed more then Windows, sure it might not crash whilst not being used (read: servers) but it certainly does under normal desktop usage. Under heavy usage I’ve had a windows system without rebooting for 2+ months, and then only shutdown because of a power cut, but with Linux under heavy usage I’m lucky to get over 3 days. Sure, my old server that never gets touched has been up for over a year, and runs Linux, but it would have been up for the same time if it used windows… because it doesn’t get used.

“Ease of Use” – I’m sure my gran would beg to differ.

“Upgrades (especially with Ubuntu) are a breeze, and you can productively work while they are occuring with no impact on system performance” – Wait a second, didn’t I just finish reading an article about how a update for Ubuntu broke/misconfigured X?

“Choice of Office Suite, Web Browser, email client, rss newsreader, media player, etc. etc. etc.” – …You can’t install other programs on Windows? I wasn’t aware of that.

“LAMP – easily set up servers and database (Apache, MySQL, PHP) making development and testing of web apps quick” – WAMP does that for you at the click of a button (Well, ok, 5 clicks)

“Hardware Support” – Are you kidding me? I have a really enjoyable time setting up my wireless network cards because it has such good support. Granted it has got better, the latest version of SuSE 10.1 detected my external hard drive but then again, so does windows…

Ubuntu supports both 32 and 64 bit. The 2.4 kernel that Ubuntu runs off of can support up to 64 gigs of ram, but maximum in a motherboard is around 8 gigs. Ubuntu supports Ext2, Ext3, and JFS with a maximum file size of atleast 16gigs and a total maximum of 2 terabytes. Ubuntu has desktop search capabilities built into it. But many have commented that the search features are very poor. Ubuntu is run all by command prompt so I assume there is some search functions within that. Ubuntu’s initial release October 20, 2004. Ubuntu does not have a retail price, its free for the public as it is an open source OS.

BeOS

BeOS was an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. in 1991. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was optimized for digital media work and was written to take advantage of modern hardware facilities such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing modular I/O bandwidth, pervasive multithreading, preemptive multitasking and a custom 64-bit journaling file system known as BFS. The BeOS GUI was developed on the principles of clarity and a clean, uncluttered design. The API was written in C++ for ease of programming. It has POSIX compatibility and access to a command line interface through Bash, although internally it is not a Unix-derived operating system.

BeOS was positioned as a platform which could be used by a substantial population of desktop users and a competitor to Microsoft Windows and Linux. However, it was ultimately unable to achieve a significant market share and proved commercially unviable for Be Inc. The company was acquired by Palm Inc. and today BeOS is mainly used and developed by a small population of enthusiasts.

Be Inc. sued ^[1] Microsoft claiming that Hitachi had been pressured to dissuade them from selling PCs loaded with BeOS, and that Compaq had been pressured not to market an Internet appliance in partnership with Be. BeOS also claimed that Microsoft acted to artificially depress Be Inc’s IPO. The case was eventually settled out of court^[2] with no admission of liability on Microsoft’s part.

BeOS has support for 32 bit applications and hardware, and some 64 bit processors, with plans to make 64 bit fully supported. Maximum amount of ram is determined by the limitations on your motherboard, meaning there is no real limit. BeOS uses a file system called BFS which stands for BeOS File System, file size can be up to 1024 kb and 32k lines, with up to 255 characters per line.

Search Capabilities: n BeOS, file systems (even the native BFS) are handled via plug-ins called add-ons. Download a file system add-on, drop it into place, and you have the immediate capability to read (and often write to) alien file systems. Out of the box, every BeOS machine, whether x86 or PowerPC, can read and write BFS, HFS, HFS+, FAT16, and FAT32 volumes. It can also read (but not write to) ext2fs and NTFS. More obscure file system add-ons can be written by developers and posted for others to use. OS X did a great job of reading a FAT32 volume I stuck in my G4 for a while, but as far as I know, does not handle other file systems as elegantly.

BeOS was released in March of 1998 for Intel based systems. The suggested retail price of the BeOS is $99.95.

MAC OS X

Mac OS X (pronounced /mæk oʊ ɛs tɛn/)^[3] is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems. It is the successor to Mac OS 9, the final release of the “classic” Mac OS, which had been Apple’s primary operating system since 1984. Mac OS X, whose “X” represents the Roman numeral for “10″ and is a prominent part of its brand identity, is a Unix-based operating system,^[4] built on technologies developed at NeXT between the second half of the 1980s and Apple’s purchase of the company in early 1996. Its sixth and most recent version, Mac OS X v10.5 is certified UNIX 03 while running on Intel processors.

The first version released was Mac OS X Server 1.0 in 1999, and a desktop-oriented version, Mac OS X version 10.0 followed in March 2001. Releases of Mac OS X are named after big cats; for example, Mac OS X v10.5 is usually referred to by Apple and users as “Leopard“. The server edition, Mac OS X Server, is architecturally identical to its desktop counterpart, and includes tools to facilitate management of workgroups of Mac OS X machines, and to provide access to network services. These tools include a mail transfer agent, a Samba server, an LDAP server, a domain name server, and others. It is pre-loaded on Apple’s Xserve server hardware, but can be run on most of Apple’s computer models.

Apple also produces specialized versions of Mac OS X for use on three of its consumer devices; the iPhone OS for the iPhone, and the iPod Touch,^[5] and an unnamed version for the Apple TV.^[6]

^{OSX supports both 32 and 64 bit hardware applications.} since Leopard is a 64-bit operating system, it can support up to 2^64 bits of data. however, i believe the santa rosa chipset can only support up to 4GB of RAM. 2^64 > 4,000,000,000 bits hence “more than your laptop can support”.

HFS

HFS (Hierarchical File System) was the primary filesystem format used on the Macintosh Plus and later models, until Mac OS 8.1, when HFS was replaced by HFS Plus.

This section briefly describes the various filesystems supported by “stock” Mac OS X.

HFS+

HFS+ is the preferred filesystem on Mac OS X. It supports journaling, quotas, byte-range locking, Finder information in metadata, multiple encodings, hard and symbolic links, aliases, support for hiding file extensions on a per-file basis, etc. HFS+ uses B-Trees heavily for many of its internals. Max OSX supports HFS+ and UFS (Unix File System) and may be up to 255 characters long. Retail price is around $129.99.

3. With Facebook, and many other social networking programs alike these days, personal information is leaked without effort. If people want to know about you. Through spam adds, or just plain “creeping” if you need personal info about someone, it is easily had through facebook or alike. People can use it to fraud your identity, or use it to take advantage of you with access to your personal schedules and what not.

4. Some people have concerns about their images being used on social networking sites. I am not one of these people, but some things that could hinder a person would mainly be reputation.  Your image could be put into a social networking site without your direct permission and could be used to portray something you didnt intend or give people the wrong idea about you. People you know such as family or employers might also see this if it happened and pass wrongful judgement on you for something that might look to be incriminating but really isnt.

5. No i dont think employers should not use the internet to research possible hires or their current employees. I think privacy is one of our most basic rights as humans. If the employee shows to be a good candidate or proves that he is at work, by showing up on time and doing his/her job then there should be no need to go any further. I think using the internet to research a person is unfair and unconstitutaional, peoples personal live’s are seperate from their work lives, and it shoud remain this way. However I do beleive that employers could and probably do this, I do not agree with it in any fashion but, it probably happens none the less.

Definitions

HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. The reason it is used with web addresses is becuase every different kind of communication on the Internet requires a different protocol.

Browsers access information from remote servers much differently than say, a File Transfer client does. For this reason, protocols were established so that servers could understand exactly what it is the client wants.

HyperText Transfer Protocol is a defined set of steps that a client must follow in order to obtain data from a web server. This process, or protocol, is followed for each and every single piece of data downloaded from a web server, and this is why the prefix “http://” is included in every URL on web pages, even including the links.

DNS – The Domain Name System associates various sorts of information with so-called domain names; most importantly, it serves as the “phone book” for the Internet by translating human-readable computer hostnames, e.g. www.example.com, into the IP addresses, e.g. 208.77.188.166, that networking equipment needs to deliver information. It also stores other information such as the list of mail exchange servers that accept email for a given domain. In providing a worldwide keyword-based redirection service, the Domain Name System is an essential component of contemporary Internet use.

IP Address – Any computer or other technological device that is publicly connected to the Internet is given a unique number called an IP (Internet Protocol) address. IP addresses contain four groups of numbers that are separated with periods, and each number group can feature number(s) that range anywhere from 0 – 255. An example of an IP address is 1.123.13.231.

Traceroute or Tracert - When computers communicate over the Internet, there are often many connections made along the way. This is because the Internet is made up of a network of networks, and two different computers may be on two separate networks in different parts of the world. Therefore, if a computer is to communicate with another system on the Internet, it must send data through a series of small networks, eventually getting to the Internet backbone, and then again traveling to a smaller network where the destination computer resides.

Its seamless browsing and downloading skills made application downloading and phone functionality better and more personal than ever before. The ground breaking dual input touchscreen was revolutionary and inspiring for many Iphone clones and copies. Although call quality isn’t stellar the sheer vibrant display as well as sleek design, and an innovative multitouch user interface. Its Safari browser makes for a superb Web surfing experience, and it offers easy-to-use apps. As an iPod, it shines. The Iphone is an inspirational piece of tech for all.

http://www.britishtechnologyawards.com/BTA_winners/122312/and_the_winners_are.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-8gb-at/4505-6452_7-32309245.html

Second piece of technology is a very different sort of technology but it also won a presitigious award at the BTA’s, Google Maps won the “Most Indispensable Technology” award. If you don’t already understand what indispensable means it can also be worded as “necessary, needful, required, requisite.”

Google maps is a free online software program that has helped many people find their way. Not only is it much more efficient and more accurate than map quest or any other online competitor, it can be downloaded onto the I phone and some other mobile devices. Even though it is not as functional as a gps, it does the best job in the market for online map making software.

The only criticisms made about Google Maps is that it only works on java enabled phones which leaves people on Verizon out in the cold, and that people will have to shell out about $80 a month for a data plan. But the good far outweighs the bad being able to conduct searches reveal relevant information such as phone numbers and addresses; easy pan and zoom features; lets you find types of businesses in a particular area; step-by-step driving directions; click-to-dial feature in Google Local for Mobile. Which makes Google Maps a great revolutionary technology for 2008 and best of all its free!

http://www.britishtechnologyawards.com/BTA_winners/122368/most_indispensable_technology.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/online-software-services/google-maps/4505-9239_7-31591128.html
An important and highly anticipated game coming out in 2009. Final Fantasy 13, the legendary gaming series is releasing another of its beloved titles. This series has sexperienced tremendous success as you can see with 13 games is finally releasing another highly anticiapted sequel. I think this will be a very important if not the most important game to come out for xbox 360 in 2009. Final Fantasy has always been arguably the best rpg game to date, we will see if the legacy continues with the 13th installment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII

http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2007/07/20/final-fantasy-xiii-only-13-percent-complete-2009-release-likely.htm

8 bits = 1 byte

1024 bytes = 1 kilobyte

1024 kilobyte = 1 megabyte

1024 megabyte = 1 gigabyte

1024 gigabyte = 1 terabyte

1024 terabyte = 1 petabyte

The 2 base system consists of numbers 1 and 0. You can caluclate it simply by using the method below

128     64      32       16         8         4          2          1

How ever many “bits” are in your word size you can tick them off in sequential order. For example say you have “10011″ it would be 16+0+0+2+1 which would be 19 in Base 10. And this is how you translate a base 2 number to a base 10 number.

16     8     4      2     1

1       0     0      1     1

To do the exact opposite you do exactly that. Take the number y0u have, say its the number “9″. You would not use “16″ because that’s too large, you would take the “8″, and the “1″ and would end up like this:

“1001″

8     4     2     1

1     0     0     1

8+1 = 9

That wraps up binary code 101

Brack’s site features such media extra’s as Barack TV, Campaign Photo’s, computer downloads, mobile ringtunes and wallpapers, and music. His site even features it’s own merchandise store, where you can buy Obama presidential nick nacks.

McCain on the other hand offers a fairly weak in comparison website. It’s colours are un appealing, it has many banner ads, and things on the side that look distracting, and the only media he offers is press releases, tv ads, and speeches, the standard array expected. Not only that but Obama looks better than McCain, I mean thats half the battle, would you trust this man?

Here is an exert from an article about Barack’s use of technology. “Volunteers used Obama’s website to organize a thousand phone-banking events in the last week of the race — and 150,000 other campaign-related events over the course of the campaign. Supporters created more than 35,000 groups clumped by affinities like geographical proximity and shared pop-cultural interests. By the end of the campaign, myBarackObama.com chalked up some 1.5 million accounts. And Obama raised a record-breaking $600 million in contributions from more than three million people, many of whom donated through the web.” Barack’s campaign online organizer when it hired online director Joe Rospars, a veteran of Howard Dean’s web-heavy 2004 campaign, and lured Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes to build its own social networking site, myBarackObama.com. Obama also utilized text messaging as an effective election tool. He would send out text messages to target the younger voting body at strategic times to secure their votes.

“In many ways, the story of Obama’s campaign was the story of his supporters, whose creativity and enthusiasm manifested through multitudes of websites and YouTube videos online. It even resulted in volunteer contributions like the innovative Obama ’08 iPhone and iTouch application that enabled owners to mobilize their friends and contacts in battleground states through the Apple devices.”

Of course Barack intended his campaigning notions to be viral. All of his youtube video’s and other contenet that got multiplied onto other people’s site’s did nothing but help his cause. His campaign style turned into a pandemic and spread like wildfire through word of mouth very effective.

Obama has merely scratched the surface of what future candidates will be doing. I beleive some of the things that people have seen Obama have success in, future candidates will further explore. Presidential candidates to come will definatley have more involvment in video websites that are very popular such as youtube, and most likely create several accounts and groups on social networking tools such as facebook. Barack exposed a very lucrative way of attaining financial support, and the future presidents will most likely take advantage of this asset as Obama has. Obama’s campaign will go down in history as a textbook way to run a campaign utilising what tools you have at your disposal.

This was the first pieice of technology that caught my eye. This is the first attempt and successful attempt at making a holographic video player, and it looks out of this world. RealFiction’s Dreamoc blends holographic technology, 3D imagery and amazing looks that is what we see in the link below. this is a short description of the product ,” this box possesses the innate ability to “mix free-floating animation and video images with physical objects.”  Its not that relevant to me, simply because I would not be able to afford such a magnificent piece of technology, but at the same time shows us where technology is taking us.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/30/realfictions-dreamoc-3d-holographic-display-demoed-on-video/

Volt to make Star Trek sound effects, buyers to look for mute button

The Cheverolet’s new Volt is a great solution to the newage desire for a greener quieter car. While this eco friendly car will be very quiet as it is solely ran on electricity, we expect to hear some interesting sci-fi sound effects to make up for the lack of internal combustion. GM’s E-Flex Global Vehicle Line Executive Frank Weber saying to expect noises like “when on Spaceship Enterprise you hear the doors close, or use the transporter.” This sound effect feature is intended to bring extra personality to the electric car. You might also hear random blurts, bleeps, and blats when hit certain buttons in the car. My personal opinion is this would probably be a pretty cool feature for about a month, than you would probably get tired of being treated like “Captain Scotty” from Star Trek Enterprise. This sounds very gimmicky, but i’m sure Star Trek Fanboys will be all over this ride.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/30/volt-to-make-star-trek-sound-effects-buyers-to-look-for-mute-bu/

Shinoda’s 125-inch curved plasma to hit assembly lines by May, all 7.9-pounds of it

Shinoda’s 125 inch curved plasma is simply breathtaking. Some of its amazing features its incredibly light weight of only 8 pounds, and the flexibility of its plasma screens. Its only downside is the un-impressive resoution of 960 x 360. I thnk this TV is ground breaking. It looks amazing, its massive viewing surface would make playing games and HDTV sports broadcasts unreal! I think this is probably the direction of TV’s, now that the LCD and Plasma have been some what mastered, this is a new technology to continue to develope and expand. This TV is sick!

http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/30/shinodas-125-inch-curved-plasma-to-hit-assembly-lines-by-may-a/

Personally I like the idea of this device. It has good styling, and even better functionality, if it delivers what promised will be very successful. It not only provides an excellent second battery, but also a nice battery gauge. You don’t always have access to a power source or charger so in this sense; this is a very good product. One downfall to the Juice pack is its sheer size. The Iphone is already a large mobile device and when plugged into the Juice pack, would look ridiculously obtuse in your pocket. Besides the bulkiness of the product, the Juice pack looks like a very promising item that should have a good success in the tech market.