awesome beard bonazza

here is a sample.

http://www.drivl.com/posts/view/466

tour of Number 10

Virtual Tour of Number 10 Downing St.

http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/page41.asp

Another shockwave distance game ... but

with some weird Japanese / Anime twist to it.

http://www.learnhax.net/f/src/nanaca_crash_v107.swf

My PB so far is 2509.99m. Try to press your left mouse when you get the special power-up. And don't bounce the bloke into the geeky girl.

More Gran Turismo HD videos...

But this time insanely huge and high quality:

http://www.gran-turismo.com/jp/data/movie/20061222_gthd/gthd_replay_lancer_evolution.mov

http://www.gran-turismo.com/jp/data/movie/20061222_gthd/gthd_replay_yamauchi.mov

(if I made those links clickable then you wouldn't be able to save, download or whatever... only watch in the browser... so consider my laziness a favor).

Hm, time to buy a high def tv and a PS3?

Christmas Photo Tips for Newbies and Pros

Just in time for all the Christmas happy snaps...


16 Digital Photography Tips for Christmas [via Gizmodo]

Lacing up your shoes with no hands

From digg...

Clip: Little Girl Wii-Boxes Grown Man

Clip: Little Girl Wii-Boxes Grown Man

can't help wondering if they wii remotes are actually doing anything ?? she looks kinda cute standing there waving her little armies.

Geogreeting for y'all

http://www.geogreeting.com/view.html?zfNZMZj7+dLbu7MS+izJ0LrL+g.c

SI.com Most Interesting Photos of 2006

a round-up of 41 photos that are interesting for some reason or another...

Smokin' Man's Flash Diffuser

If you want to DIY a flash diffuser for your DSLR flash...

Cigarette Packet Flash Diffuser [via Gizmodo]

Google tells us the truth ....

about what the moon is made of  ; go to http://moon.google.com/ and scroll to the maximum zoom.

What Happens To Your Body If You Drink A Coke Right Now?

(sorry to spoil your afternoon soda.... - dp)

Have you ever wondered why Coke comes with a smile? It’s because it gets you high. They took the cocaine out almost a hundred years ago. You know why? It was redundant.

• In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
  
• 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)
  
• 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dialate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
  
• 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
  
• >60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
  
• >60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
  
• >60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours. (As little as two if you’re a smoker.) But, hey, have another Coke, it’ll make you feel better.

 

http://healthbolt.net/2006/12/08/what-happens-to-your-body-if-you-drink-a-coke-right-now/

Down boy! Bad Dog...

Humpin' Dog USB drive... need I say more?

The Daily WTF

Amusing read about many daily anecdotes regarding the stupid/amusing things about working in IT...

Many might have seen this before, but some entries make me crack up... :)

The Daily WTF

We'll all be gay when Johnny comes marching home!

... one of the 10 most dangerous play things of all time.

For the full listing including radioactive kits, flesh eating dolls and Battlestar Galactica killer missles .. clicky

funky pocket tripod for your camera

Definitive Proof of Alien Intelligence...
The Monsterpod

up tp 20oz. whats that in internationally recognised units of weight ?

David Pogue proves Vista is not copying OSX

Check out the video here:

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=d14603c1e23e6ce37920a8134a2e27b1405a4991&rf=bm

(courtesy tuaw.org)

got my itunes refund

Woot W00t ! I got my 1 song refund. Now to try to not spend it all at once ...

any suggestions ?

(couldn't work out how to put an image in a comment so starting a new post)

Pogue on Politeness

Whatever Happened to Online Etiquette?

685 diggs. “AWESOME astronomy poem.” (posted by MetsFan 3 days ago)

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.

Before long, the people’s feedback begins, like this:

by baddude on 12/11/06

What’s yr problem, moron. You already said it’s a star, why would you then wonder what it is. Get a clue, or a life.

by neverland2 on 12/11/06

Dugg down as inaccurate. Stars do not twinkle. It’s the shifting atmosphere that causes an apparent twinkle. Or were you stoned all through science class?

by mrobe on 12/11/06

yo neverland2–It’s a poem, idiot. Nobody’s claiming that stars twinkle. Ever heard of poetic license?

Honestly, the intellectual level of you people is right up there with a gnat’s.

…and so on.

I keep away from digg now as it is just full of mean mean meanies.

gmail troubles anyone else ?

anyone having bad gmail troubles today ? hours and hours of not being able to login or do anything :( including right now ...

those wacky willitblend boys

Not content with blending marbles or golf-balls, they blend a poor defenless 4G ipod.

Looks like you have to go to their web site, not youtubable yet.

http://www.willitblend.com/videos.aspx?type=unsafe&video=ipod

Happy Snap your MacBook hax0rs

Take happy snaps of people trying to guess your password on your MacBook... :)

Take iSight snapshots during invalid login attempts [via engadget]

weird response from iTunes support

OK, so I'm trying to do the right thing and pay for my music. You'd think that the iTunes music store would have excellently encoded MP3s. (with DRM that is of course, actually .m4p files) Well a track in the latest Moby Album has a digital defect that makes it annoying to listen to. Thought I might contact them and see what they say.

`Sounds Bad' is one of the predefined problem names.

I don't want a refund, just um a proper copy of the track. Should I persevere ?

Re: iTunes Quality Report

Dear David,

Your request for a refund was carefully considered; however, according to our Terms of Sale, all purchases made on the iTunes Store are ineligible for refund. This policy matches our refund policies and provides protection for copyrighted materials.
For more information, please review the entire Terms of Sale for the iTunes Store at http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/legal/policies.html.
Sincerely,
Brian
iTunes Store Customer Support
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/

Customer First Name : David
Customer Last Name : Pascoe
email : xx@ii.net
Web Order # : M305055025
Support Subject : Songs
Sub Issue : Sounds bad
Comments : iTunes Account Name: xx@ii.net
Platform : iTunes/6.0.4 (Windows; U; Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)) DPI/96
Song Name : New York New York (Rock)
Location : Specific time 00:01:33 (hour:min:sec)
Comments:

There is glitch in this file at 1:34, New York New York (Rock) by Moby. I get a burp at this point on both my iPod and iTunes on my PC. Is there anything you can do for me ?

thanks, davidp.

if you've got 5 mins to spare for this vid

awesome stop motion animation. quick give these guys a job for all their effort. I love how the grass changes underneath them when they fly over it ! 

Mac Dock Icon Pillows

Uh, yeah, someone created pillows to look like mac icons

via Mac DevCenter

Clutsy Robot

Poor Asimo takes a tumble.

wiimotion flickrpool

ModTaco 001, originally uploaded by alwonger.

Adding to the wii hype, there is a flickr pool of photos of people playing the wii:

http://flickr.com/groups/wiimotion/

Raving Rabbids

As a followup to Nick's post.

This is the reason why I'm into em rabbits..

Raving Rabbids Merchandise

This one is for Zan. [Link]

world's hottest chilli found in Dorset

The chilli so hot you need gloves

THE world’s hottest chilli pepper does not come from a tropical hot spot where the locals are impervious to its fiery heat but a smallholding in deepest Dorset.

Some chillis are fierce enough to make your eyes water. Anyone foolhardy enough to eat a whole Dorset Naga would almost certainly require hospital treatment.

Aktar Miha, from the Indus Bangladeshi restaurant in Bournemouth, said that even in its home country the naga chilli was treated with respect. “It is used in some cooking, mainly with fish curries, but most people don’t cook with it. They hold it by the stalk and just touch their food with it,” he said.

“It has a refreshing smell and a very good taste but you don’t want too much of it. It is a killer chilli and you have to be careful and wash your hands and the cutting board. If you don’t know what you are doing it could blow your head off.”

Scoville Heat Units

Pure capsaicin: 15m to 16m

US Police-grade pepper spray: 5m

Dorset Naga: 923,000

Red Savina habanero: 577,000

Scotch bonnet: 100,000-325,000

Jamaican hot pepper: 100,000-200,000

Cayenne pepper: 30,000-50,000

Jalapeno pepper: 2,500-8,000

Tabasco sauce: 2,500

Pimento: 100 to 500

Bell pepper: 0

Get a Mac Ads: The Christian Version

These Get-A-Mac ad parodies the difference between a Christian vs Christ-follower...

These are amusing and quite well done... :)

Christian vs. Christ-follower [via Gizmodo]

LED tail lights

Oh the effort some people put into these things!

Click on the video linked from here:

LED taillights

I reckon it needs programming to say 'back off' or something.

Heroes: the TV show

Continuing to hype a show that I haven't even seen yet:

tv.com summary of what the show is about

Sounds a LOT to me like Unbreakable the movie, but as a TV series. Which is a good thing.

XBOX360 vs PS3 comparison

Gamespot does it using roll-over image comparisons

Blank DVD media quality guide & FAQ

The thing that must be realized is that most media is produced by a relative small number of factories, located in several different places. These factories are mostly present in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, some European locations. There are more, but those are the largest ones. The best media generally comes from Japan and Singapore. The worst typically comes from Taiwan or China (in stores) and Hong Kong (online).

This being said, understand that the media brand means nothing. Apple is a great brand, but they do not make their own discs, instead outsourcing to MXL (Hitachi/Maxell) or MCC (Mitsubishi Chemicals). Verbatim became infamous in 2002 by switching from high-quality MCC ID media to the inferior CMC ID media, although they quickly returned to using MCC. Companies like Memorex, Fuji and Imation all outsource to media vendors. When buying media online always be aware of fake media too (see the fakes information farther down the page).

It is the media ID that is important, as it reveals the disc manufacturer. Unfortunately, this is not written on packaging or anywhere else. Companies want consumers to be oblivious to this sort of behind-the-scenes information. To learn the media ID code, a blank disc must be put into a computer DVD burner drive and the ID read by a special utility. Some burning software reads the code by default (DVD Decrypter, for example, in ISO write mode). There are also a handful of freeware or trialware tools available:

http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm 

Friday Apple Bashing

It's predictable. If Apple got into medical devices, people would come out of Steve Jobs' speech proclaiming "The iBag is the easiest, most user-friendly colostomy device I've ever encountered."

Perspective: The Apple phone flop

wifey chrissy pressie sortie-d

These are slippers with small flashlights built into the toe, to make navigating through your luxury penthouse late at night easier, without having to wake what’s-her-name from the club.

We say penthouse because, at $70, you have to be a person of considerable income to waste your money on this crap.

[via Flashlight + Slippers = WTF]

you can never have too many nipples

Like every Thursday lunch break, today we searched Yahoo! for the word “nipples,” and somehow it returned something SFW that we can share with you gadget-obsessed nerds.

The Yahoo! business site tells the story of the Nipple Adapter, a gadget every parent of an infant or toddler should have. Put simply, it turns the mouth of any ordinary water bottle (or beer, if you’re from Blake’s family) into a nipple, something babies like to put their filthy wet mouthes on.

It’s one of those inventions that should have been thought up years ago, but it took Tommy Habeeb, formerly of TV’s “Cheaters” to come up with it. Why not just give babies drinks of water? Because, like prom dates, “infants are unable to swallow without using their sucking reflex,” according to Habeeb. The thing only costs $2, and is a work of simplistic genius. I’ve ordered a box to use for Holiday gifts.

Former Host of CHEATERS Invents the Next Must-Have Baby Product [Yahoo! Business] [via Your Baby Wants Nipple Adapters]

Christmas Decorations degrade WiFi...

Apparently Christmas decorations degrade your WiFi signal, so if your brand new WiFi enabled gadgets that you got on Christmas morning doesn't find your access point very well... then move to another room... :)

Holiday Decorations Can Create Major Wi-Fi Disturbances [via Engadget]

Where Google gets all that gmail drive space

Wii control problem?

I'm not sure what type of people are buying Wii's. But it looks like some of them lack basic motor skills. If these people went and played real tennis.. would their rackets fly out of their hands?

Wii-linky...

It's only a matter of time before someone gets impaled.

GT5 HD Video

Hm, 720p video of GT5 engine rendering Nissans or something like that:

http://www.gran-turismo.com/jp/movie/d453.html

Just checking it out now.

egad ! iPod not mentioned in choice mp3 review

In fact Apple earned a Shonky award for the iPod.

An iPod is a significant investment, so you don’t want your APPLE to be a lemon. And if there is something wrong with it, you’d expect an easy repair and warranty service. Podluck.

Level 1. Several readers complained about cracked screens, faulty batteries and problems with sound reproduction.

Level 2. APPLE doesn’t allow retailers to handle complaints under warranty (which is their obligation under Fair Trading laws) — you have to send your faulty iPod to APPLE yourself via Australia Post. And if they decide the fault isn’t covered by the warranty, you’ll have to foot the entire bill.

Some retailers will still deal with Apple for you and they remain your first port of call if something goes wrong.

Mmmm not much lovin for the iPod over at CHOICE.

What to buy

Flash

iriver T10 2GB $139

 

Samsung YP-Z5FQB 2GB $239

Hard disc

 

iriver E10 6GB $299

Toshiba gigabeat MES30V $399

 

The verdict

Flash

The iRiver T10 2GB achieved an excellent score for ease of use and a very good score for sound. It has the longest battery life in the test using a normal akaline AA battery.

The Samsung YP-Z5FQB has very good ease of use and sound scores as well as the second longest battery life in the test. It has a built-in rechargable battery.

However, the seven products which follow these two in the table are all very good overall performers and well worth a look.

Hard disc

The iRIVER E10 6GB has the smallest capacity for HDD models in this test, but is very easy to use and has the longest battery life of the HDD models.

If you need the 30GB capacity,the TOSHIBA gigabeat MES30V achieved equal second best sound score in the test and a good ease of use rating.

The other HDD models all perform well overall.

wireless controller for Christmas lights

Talking tech: Christmas lights

An old computer, some lights and a lot of spare time turned Christmas high-tech for this Brisbane man.

... But this system was far from perfect, so the following year he introduced a computer to synchronise the flashing and patterns. Brad used the programming experience he gained while completing an Advanced Diploma in Computer Systems Engineering with information from the internet and a computer made from spare parts.

http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=105487&catId=100461&tid=100008&p=1&title=Talking+tech%3a+Christmas+lights

Now THIS is a coffee mod

 

http://www.slashgear.com/coffee-machine-modding-rancilio-silvia-gets-hacked-042750.php

The Asian Squat

I never could get it right... but now I'm inspired to try harder.

My local Borders imposes manga reading time limit

My local Borders imposes manga reading time limit

Zune

I'm a PC, and I'm a Mac. And I'm a Vaio?

Sony's done a Get-A-Mac spoof trying to flog their Vaio C Series...

But erm Sony... Aren't your Vaio laptops PC's?

Vaio C Series - the non-pc pc [via engadget]

Sketchfighter!

haha, man this game looks cool.

Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

canyon_de_chelly-13, originally uploaded by s.alt.

Saw a picture of this place via the photo history podcasts I'm going through (original photo by O'Sullivan, this pic found on flickr). This is a ruin called The White House which is embedded in the cliff face in the Canyon de Chelly.

How awesome does this place look? I'd love to visit it at some point in my life.

Is Microsoft Innovative ? Winer and Scoble go at it

Is Microsoft Driving Innovation Or Playing Catch-Up With Rivals?

Robert Scoble and Dave Winer exchange emails to share their views on this subject.

Dave Winer, 51, is a software developer and author of the Scripting News blog, which he has written since 1997. Mr. Winer has helped create several standards related to Web publishing, including Really Simple Syndication or RSS. He was the founder and chief executive of UserLand Software Inc., and a founder of Symantec Corp.

Robert Scoble, 41, writes the Scobleizer blog, which rose to prominence during his three years as "technical evangelist" at Microsoft. Mr. Scoble joined Microsoft from NEC, where he worked in technical and sales support. In June, Mr. Scoble left Microsoft to become vice president of media development at PodTech.Network Inc., which produces and distributes video podcasts.

I guess the shareholders (and lets face it, all those millions benefiting from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) all probably don't care about the answer to this question, just how much Microsoft will make in the next few years with Vista, Office 97, Xbox, Zune etc.

Google loos

How is this for the control panel on a Google loo?

The actual loo...

and the reading material...


Found at flickr... Linky

New Get-A-Mac ads are out!

w00t!

Get a Mac ads [via Gizmodo]

Goggles - google maps flight sim

http://www.isoma.net/games/goggles.html?loc=tsrqstqrqqrqssrrqss

life of the tech geek (unmarried)

Wiiiiide picture of Paris at night

I'd put it inline here but it is 14,929 x 526 pixel so will kill the blog.

http://framboise78.free.fr/Paris.htm

Look Who's Talking

Can you see the similarity?

dunstanbaby.com as featured on Oprah and channel 9 special

and...

Herb Powell's baby translator!

flickr time

A clock that uses flickr images for the digits

a) completely useless

b) pretty useless

asteroid's revenge

Get revenge on those pesky triangular spaceships!

Click here

(via kotaku via waxy.org)

Thesis Game gets snapped up by Sony...

Some Grad school thesis project which involves a flash game got Sony attention and have now commissioned an enhanced version which will be sold through the PlayStation Network.

The game is called 'flOw' and is pretty interesting...

How a Grad-School Thesis Theory Evolved Into a PlayStation 3 Game [via /.]

opera mini

I just got SMS spam telling me to download opera mini for my mobile phone.

http://www.operamini.com

I know this is perpetuating spam but i thought davo might find it interesting.

Apple Prototypes: 5 Products We Never Saw

Apple products that didn't make the cut...

Apple Prototypes: 5 Products We Never Saw [via /.]

The Making of…a LEGO

Businessweek.com article LEGO and the manufacturing process...

Few interesting tidbits like:

- "The bricks are so meticulously made that the company claims that out of every 1 million elements made, just 18 will be declared defective and removed from the set. Impressive numbers, considering that the LEGO Group is producing 15 billion components a year—that's 1.7 million items an hour, or 28,500 a minute."

- "Tire production accounts for some of that number; the factory also produces 306 million tiny rubber tires a year. In fact, going by that number, LEGO is the world's No. 1 tire manufacturer."

And more!

The Making of... a LEGO [via /.]

Testing: Funky Red Flower

IMG_1226, originally uploaded by Digital Davo.

Just testing if you can blog from flickr over to beta.blogger. Flickr seems to think you can. If you don't see this post, please let me know.

Things that you can't do when you are out alone with bub...

Number #23: Poop in a public lavatory...

Oh wait! Now you can!

The Babykeeper
[Mommysentials via Gizmodo]


Oh wait... and I suppose if little bubs is acting up, you can tell them that they need to spend some time in the 'Naughty Loo'... :P

getting comments back from nerdlink

hey nicko, blogspotboss ; can we see an email from comments posted on nerdlink ? I use Windows Live Write to compose posts and Google Reader to read via this RSS/XML techo thingo, so don't go to the web page v. often.

 

you guys run out of ps[2p3] stories ? testing 1 2, is this thing on ?

dSLRs take note, cleaning the sensor yourself

Digital Tip No 1 – Sensor Cleaning

If you own a Digital SLR camera and you change lenses, you WILL get dust on your sensor and it MUST be cleaned.  Sensor cleaning by a camera shop can be expensive (about $50-$80), inconvenient and time consuming.

Buy your own sensor cleaning kit at a specialist camera store. Visit http://www.visibledust.com/ for information.

I took mine in a while back because blue skies had blotches on them.

VisibleDust is quickly becoming the consumer's first choice for Digital Camera Sensor Cleaning. We research and test all current and new sensor cleaning products to ensure complete, edge-to-edge sensor cleaning.

Wicked sounding products like Artic Butterfly, Chamber Clean, Smear Away.

I think I'd let someone else do it still. You guys feel brave enough to do it yourself ?

Grand Canyon Skywalk

I haven't heard of this being constucted before. Thought it might be an urban myth until watching the video. Can't say I'd ever really thought of deviating on a trip to get to the olde big hole in the ground, but this might just make it worth the trip.

All I want to know now is "Will they let me base jump of it ?" 

http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/home.html

this is Nick's new workstation

 

Not much is known about this display from Siemens other than the fact that it uses eight LCDs. That and the fact that I absolutely must have it. So if anyone from Siemens is reading along, go ahead and have it delivered. You know where to find me.

That’s One Large Computer Monitor

Lightsaber Maker Gets Sued For Selling Pirated Replicas

have you got a genuine one Sam ?

http://crunchgear.com/2006/11/28/lightsaber-maker-gets-sued-for-selling-pirated-replicas/

 

 

Lucasfilm Ltd., filed suit today against William Osburn and his Maryland-based company High-Tech Magic, in an attempt to shutter his business of making and selling lightsaber replicas.

“When companies like the defendant in this case try to make a profit by confusing fans and flagrantly violating our trademark rights, we have to take action,” said Howard Roffman, President of Lucas Licensing, which oversees the global Star Wars merchandise business that was established after the success of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope in 1977.
“We owe it to our fans - as well as to companies like Hasbro and Master Replicas, which are producing excellent authorized toy and replica lightsabers - to stop this type of unlawful behavior,” Roffman said.

The case likely won’t go away easy either. Lucasfilm recently won a $20 million copyright-infringement case against U.K.-based Shepperton Design Studios, which made and sold pirated Stormtrooper and other Star Wars helmets. I’m not sure how long Osburn’s been building his sabers, but the cheapest fully assembled one appears to be $249 and the company sells a number of kits, light tubes and handles as well. And if they sold well, he could be in for a whopping loss.

 

The case likely won’t go away easy either. Lucasfilm recently won a $20 million copyright-infringement case against U.K.-based Shepperton Design Studios, which made and sold pirated Stormtrooper and other Star Wars helmets. I’m not sure how long Osburn’s been building his sabers, but the cheapest fully assembled one appears to be $249 and the company sells a number of kits, light tubes and handles as well. And if they sold well, he could be in for a whopping loss.

 

YouTube vs. Google Video vs. Revver

(from http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/11/27/youtube-vs-google-video-vs-revver/)

The idea here is that you have to press play on the following videos (in vertical order) so that they all stream to you at the same time. You may need to adjust the volume on each respective network, though. Press play on the top (YouTube) video, then immediately press play on the second (Google Video), and then press play on the third (Revver). Bam, bam, bam - and you should see ‘em playing back simultaneously.





Two dueling videos would have been too few. Four dueling videos would have been too many. Make sure you scroll down far enough so that you can see all three videos on your screen at the same time, then press the play button for each video. This will only work if you play the videos on the same page together:

Because of inconsistent timing issues, each time you try this, you should see / hear slightly different results. My secondary interest lies in how many people view the video from the respective video hosting networks (though I believe that YouTube will draw the most eyeballs, Revver the most revenue, and Google the least everything).

now THIS is a baptism !!

http://www.backyardmissionary.com/2006/11/i-like-this-kid.html

Hack a PS3 and own it!

Ok...

So the story is that this website is running on Fedora Linux on the new PS3, and the challenge is to hax0r the website to replace the pic on the website with another pic hidden in the deep dark reaches of the Fedora filesystem...

Winner is the first person who successfully does this task...

Own a PS3 and own it!

P.S. Had to post the pic from the website sporting a cute little girl modeling the nice new PS3 box... she's cute as a button, and I'm hoping I can take a similar pic of Hannah... :)

Battlestar Galactica versus Star Wars Video Mash Up

Video: Battlestar Galactica versus Star Wars

choice reviews high capacity batteries

 

Here's the final results

What to buy (in order)

Brand Price

Rechargeable (price for four)
DURACELL Rechargeable 2650mAh $20
ENERGIZER Rechargeable 2500 mAh $23
KODAK Rechargeable Digital Camera 2500mAh $20
FUJIFILM Rechargeable 2500 mAh $20
DSE NiMH 2200mAh $24

Non-rechargeable (price for two)
ENERGIZER e2 Lithium $10

google maps to help u find mounties

whipped up a couple of pages to draw a google map with custom shadow window thingo to show where 1) Mounties is currently meeting and 2) where the new facility will be.

• Mount Pleasant Baptist Church at Winthrop Somerville Campus
• Mount Pleasant Baptist Community College.

Linked off my very web 0.01 page http://members.iinet.net.au/~dp/mpbc/ which has been there for aeons. Just proves Mounties have never had a proper web page ...

ajax web boggle

This webboggle is great. You play against whoever is there at the time, it ranks you and gives a score at the end of each game. Some dudes must have a dictionary auto running or something or they are super word slueths and super fast typers.

 

 

Might be just the warm up for the next wi-fi party.

http://weboggle.shackworks.com/

Windows Changes for WDST

Looks like Microsoft just released it ;

Western Australia is introducing daylight saving on a trial basis for the next three years.

Microsoft products which are aware of daylight saving time changes need to be updated to include the new Western Australia time zone rules.

The following table shows the start and end dates for the daylight saving period in each year of the trial

Start End
the hour of 2 a.m. on 3 December 2006 the hour of 2 a.m. on 25 March 2007
the hour of 2 a.m. on 28 October 2007 the hour of 2 a.m. on 30 March 2008
the hour of 2 a.m. on 26 October 2008 the hour of 2 a.m. on 29 March 2009

Western Australian Daylight Savings Changes for Microsoft Windows for the Year 2006/2007

dude makes a scale life size google maps marker

so you keep seeing those icons on google maps. I keep wanting to run outside and see if it is dark when someone has a speech bubble hovering over their house ...

 

Take a map from Berlin at maximum zoom. build a `A' red marker at scale size. take some photos.

 

http://www.datenform.de/mapeng.html

 

(man those apartments look small)

African berry turns sour to sweet for Japanese on a diet

Thought this was kinda interesting. $3.50 a pop sounds like, well, a lot. Not new info, but new to me.

Tokyo dieters with a sweet tooth can enjoy cakes and fruit ices with minimal sugar and no artificial sweeteners at a new cafe that opened last week. The desserts are unpalatably sour in taste, but customers are instructed to chew on an African berry, called “miracle fruit,” which contains a protein that causes the taste buds to temporarily sense sour as sweet.

http://calorielab.com/news/2005/12/02/african-berry-turns-sour-to-sweet-for-japanese-on-a-diet/

Active ingredient is miraculin. "is a glycoprotein extracted from the miracle fruit plant, a shrub native to West Africa (Synsepalum dulcificum or Richadella dulcifica)"

The detailed mechanism of the taste-inducing behavior is still unknown. It has been suggested that the miraculin molecule can change the structure of taste cells on the tongue. As a result, the sweet receptors are activated by acids, which are sour in general. This effect remains until the taste buds return to normal.

While attempts to express it in E. coli bacteria have failed, Japanese researchers have succeeded in preparing genetically modified plants, such as lettuce, that express miraculin. This efficient method to produce miraculin might be able to be applied to create a new sugar-free sweetener.

This came from reading a Phil Baker post about `In Everything Give Thanks'. I like it.

"In Africa there is a fruit called the 'taste berry,' so called because it changes a person's taste buds in such a way that everything eaten after it tastes sweet. Giving thanks is the 'taste berry' of Christianity. When our hearts are full of gratitude, nothing that comes our way will be unpalatable to us. Those whose lifestyle is marked by thanksgiving will enjoy a sweetness of life unparalleled by any other." - Robert Strand, The Power of Thanksgiving (Evergreen Press, 2001) [Courtesy of Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox.]

spammers target social sites

I guess it was inevitable given the amount of traffic at stake - spammers are now gaming the social news sites to get links.

The ease of use and focused attention of the medium has also helped create new opportunities for spammers to automatically generate content, buy links, and get noticed by search engines and other points of aggregation. In this post I will break down the operations of one spam network utilizing social media technologies such as WordPress, Digg, del.icio.us, and more to climb the search results and generate revenue through ads and affiliate programs.

The Spam Farms of the Social Web

(http://www.niallkennedy.com/blog/archives/2006/11/spam-farms-social-web.html)

Of course I'd never stoop to using blogs to create blatant links to sites like Rosacea Support Group, Koala Self Storage or Four Rivers Organics. noooo never :)

Flickr: Camera Finder

You asked for it Nick - surf flickr by the camera people are using. Seems most of the world have stopped using the 300D and the 350D is more popular. I'm so last year. 

Link to Flickr: Camera Finder

Wii controller hits TV

Soon to be a common occurrence?

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/wiimote/wiimote-vs-television-215923.php

And a comic to address the issue (warning, the F* word used)

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/13

trioBike

This one's for you Davo...

trioBike

I won the auction for PS3! Yay! Oh wait... 3PS? Oh ***!!!

To follow up the post about the numerous PS3's on sale at eBay...

Overzealous eBayer drops $900 for "Sony PlayStations, 3 of them"

Oooops... :)

Optical Illusion - for after a beer or 2

http://www.clublaugh.com/es-items/712.swf

here's all those missing PS3s

http://davidciccone.com/2006/11/19/playstation-3-shortages-wonder-why/

some guy in singers has 200 PS3s for sale on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Playstation-3-PS3-20GB-Console-20-GB-READY-STOCK_W0QQitemZ270056843888QQihZ017QQcategoryZ62054QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

At least most people who feel like a wii can, um take one.

how the xbox 1 lost billions

or why Gates wouldn't want to trade places with sony right now.

Ever wonder how they make money when they subsidise the consoles so much ? It is much harder than you think. Nick, Sam - did you make Sony any money on your PS2s ? I guess they really are a money printing machine for Sony now.

So, if you have your console for three years, you’ve probably bought the 15 games that Microsoft needed to sell to break even. What happens in the fourth year? You buy games #16, #17, #18 and Microsoft (or Sony) starts making huge profits.

...

It’ll be interesting to see whether Sony can break this cycle and get more games sold per box (if Sony really is losing $300 per box it sells, it needs to see an attach rate that’s higher than Xbox to have any chance of breaking even).

http://scobleizer.com/2006/11/17/why-gates-wouldnt-trade-places-with-sony-in-console-wars/

But, will it blend ?????

Golf Balls

This one is for you Zan, see how to really slice a golf ball.

Check out the other `will it blend' series too.

http://scobleizer.com/2006/11/17/50-blender-youtube-huge-marketing-success/

Smash My PS3!

Oh the cruelty!

Erm, just some video of the guys from smashmyipod.com fame smashing a new PS3 out of the box just minutes after buying it from Best Buy in the US...

Oh the insanity!

Smash My PS3

Man breaks jaw in PS3 dash

How much longer until this thing get's banned for being a menace to society?

Clicky...

Armed Robbers get PS3s, XBox360s

I guess the console war is over. Armed robbers favor the PS3 and
Xbox360 equally.

http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=21616

<- linky

Skype Client in "3" Mobile phone

Today, as one partner participating in the 3 X-Series service announcement by Hutchison Whampoa's 3 Group, Skype has announced its first truly mobile offering where Skype users can make "free" Skype-to-Skype calls on a mobile phone. Starting December 1, 3 Group will launch a new flat fee mobile broadband Internet service in the UK. In the press release related to this announcement Skype CEO Niklas Zennström said:

http://www.skypejournal.com/blog/archives/2006/11/skype_goes_truly_mobile.php

I don't get excited about paying for another broadband service, but if this all truly works on a Nokia N73 then that sonds tre cool.

candle flame in low gravity

interesting, not what I expected

http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/combustion/graphics/candle_microgravity_lg.jpg

awesome image of snowflake

can this be for real ? man, amazing - how something like this could emerge from the chaos of the god-less universe :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Snowflake_300um_LTSEM,_13368.jpg

ultimate home made transformer outfit

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1719034

vid is a bit rough, but this is awesome.

So you want to be a fighter pilot?

Seeing the Red Bull Air Race is here in Perth this weekend, you might have aspirations to be a fighter after watching the pilots and their amazing flying machines this weekend...

So here is your chance!!!

Fighter Combat International, Western Australia

Wii Sports: US Weatherman gives it a try

Here's what happens when Al Roker (an American weatherman) tests out
Wii Sports. He and the lady suck terribly at it. But it looks fun(ny)
anyway:

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/al-roker/al-roker-sucks-at-wii-sports-215146.php

(republished to fix liink)
(re-fixified link for dave's sake)... (but pretending it was his browsers)

Zune dissed on CNN

Kinda ok review given by some tech bloke but then the anchor takes out her new shuffle and says "Why would I buy that [zune]?"

Linky

Online Couch Potato...

Well, if sitting in bed surfing the net on your WiFi enabled laptop isn't lazy enough for you, this contraption makes the experience a bit more ergonomic...

Easy Desk Aluminium

Installing the Zune... sucked!

I love the background images that they use..

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/13/installing-the-zune-sucked/

(posted by ZanMan by email)

Zune Incompatible with Vista

Too good to be true:

Click here

Testing Windows Live Writer

 

This is a test to see what Windows Live Writer does with images that you choose from your PC - how will it try to hos them somewhere ? 

Windows Live Writer is now working with blogger beta. yay ! It is nice having a wysiwyg that runs on your PC at full speed, no javascript delay everytime you try to do something ...

Picasa promises to fix BogThis! in their December release. I hope so, coz it is driving me nuts.

Aerial Videography

As promised... this is not... I repeat... *NOT* a PS3-related link... *gasp*

Neat little RC helicoptor with Video Camera... a touch pricey, but pretty cool nevertheless...

New Mini RC Helicopter and Video Camera Cuts Aerial Video Costs Using Infrared Self Leveling Technology

Current TV, user created content

A co-worker pointed me to Current TV's website, where advertisers indicate which products they want to advertise, then viewers go out and make ads for them. The top rated ads may be picked up by the company and run on normal TV. The example shown to me was this one for the Sony Ericsson w810i (my phone):

Asus R2H UMPC

Never really seen a UMPC in operation. Not sure that it makes me want to run out and buy one, but still interesting to see how quickly is runs full XP applications like office, Outlook Express. Maybe the next generation will be smaller, sexier etc.

Anyway quite a decent video if you can get past the dude swinging in his chair to start with and his inisistence on pronouncing it a-soooos. (next he'll be saying neesan and muzda).

http://www.gottabemobile.com/AsusR2HUMPCUsabilityInkShow.aspx

Ugly side to PS3 launch in Japan...

Yay! PS3 is now out in Japan, but turns out there is an ugly side to this launch where enterprising Japanese businessmen pay homeless Chinese nationals to line up for PS3's on launch day, then flog them off on eBay for much more...

Not sure what to think, but at least the homeless people get something out of it?

Foreigners And Fights, PS3 JPN Launch's Dark Side

PLAYSTATION®3 System Software User's Guide

Okay, so you don't have a spare AUD$1000-ish to spend on the new PS3 when it finally gets released here in Oz in March 2007, but you want to still sound knowledgeable when you post to forums frequented by the Sony fanboys and fangirls who has been lining up waiting for the launch of the PS3 in the US... :)

Check out the user manual that Sony released which details the new XMB menu interface that the PS3 has...

PLAYSTATION®3 System Software User's Guide

Wii Multimedia functionality

Click below for info on the multimedia capabilities of the Nintendo Wii:

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/wii/wii-media-playback-impressions-214194.php

How to take car photos

Tips from a pro photographer:

http://www.mattwatkinson.com/tutorial/

Back to the Future?

Interesting article drawing parallels between the launch of the PS2 back in 2000 and the upcoming launch of the PS3. Is history repeating itself? Not an article for more info about the PS3, or even cool new features or stuff that would make the Sony fanboy go ooooo and aaaaahhhh... but worth a read from a marketing and product strategy point of view...

PS3: Is History Repeating Itself?

Oh, and click on the link at the end of the page to another article which explains why analysts... (Beavis and Butthead giggles *hehehehehehe*) think that the PS3 will not be able to repeat the success of the PS2...

Unboxing the Wiiiiiiiiiiii!

Okay, to follow up on the videos of the Wii starting up, some unboxing pics of the joys of a new toy... :)

Wii hands-on, unboxing!

Automated Testing for Web Apps...

Okay, this is a semi-serious link...

Just got a demo at work from one of the guys looking at Selenium which is an automated test tool for web apps... Oh and it's open source and free so the price is right! :P

Currently there is only a plugin for Firefox which can record your tests, but it's not bad, and it's open source, and the advantage I see is that you can record your test, and it generates scripts (which is just a simple HTML table consisting of 'action', 'control name' and 'value') so you can add/remove/tweak stuff from your test, and replay it for good old automated regression testing.

Selenium

Oh, and you can play it back on other browsers like crappy IE etc.

Pimp up the bizhub

A weird mashup of LCD screen, DVD player, speakers and espresso machine intended as a business hub device... hence bizhub!

Pimp up the bizhub!

Video of Wii loading

Click below for some opinion but also a video of the Wii booting up and loading a game

http://kotaku.com/gaming/wii/wii-speedy-loads-be-slowed-by-boring-crap-213130.php

Skype 3.0 Beta

"Skype 3.0 Beta for Windows is now available. We recommend it only for experienced users, as we continue to work on it."

So if you don't remember what old skool telephony conversations are like, or don't know what a non-VOIP telephone looks like, then I'd recommend you to check it out... :P

Introducing Skype 3.0 Beta for Windows

Gaming Helmet

You would either feel like Darth Vader or Dark Helmet wearing this helmet that is being worked on by Toshiba R&D:

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/toshiba/toshiba-shocker-that-crazy-game-helmet-is-for-reals-213133.php

HypnoToad!

This site captures the essence of the hypnotoad.

Not really worksafe in that it has sound (best with sound!) and flashy graphics that will make everyone in your office pay attention (mine did!)

http://hypnotoadic.ytmnd.com/

Virtual Earth 3D

This is Microsoft's contender to rival Google Earth... currently in beta and I'm just posting a link to a Slashdot post as it's got numerous links off that which may (or may not) interest you...

Virtual Earth 3D Beta Launched

Why buy a DSLR?

For most of the contributors to this nerdlink, we have a DSLR, so for all you other readers out there... you know who you are... here is why you should get a DSLR, apart from trying to fit in with the rest of us... :P

10 Reasons to Buy a DSLR Camera

Smart Shopping from CHOICE

Interest rates have gone up for the third time in 2006 putting the average household budget under stress. Our quick tips help you save.

Smart shopping

Knowing how to beat the supermarket sales tactics and when to buy generic can save you hundreds each year. Use these CHOICE shopping tips:

1. Buy petrol on a Tuesday. According to the ACCC, petrol is usually cheapest on Tuesdays in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. In Perth it's cheapest on Sundays.

2. Make a shopping list before you go to the supermarket. It's the key to avoiding impulse buying. Meal planning also helps you focus on the things you really need.

3. Look up and down and avoid in-store displays. More expensive items tend to be right in the line of sight while cheaper or supermarket own-brands tend to be located on the higher or lower shelves. Don't assume in-store displays, particularly at the end of the aisles and at the checkout are a special offer — compare their price with the same items that aren't being promoted.

4. Buy your shampoo from the supermarket. The three brands most preferred by our trialists were supermarket 'cheapies', which stacked up better than some of the pricier, more prestigious salon brands. They are:

• FRUITRIENCE Raspberry and Pink Grapefruit Enriched
  
• DOVE Revitalising
  
• GARNIER Fructis Fortifying

5. There are plenty of good laundry detergents that cost 35 cents or less per wash. We consistently found Duo Matic Concentrate as the best value for money for front loaders.

6. Try 'no-name' and supermarket own-brands for staples like sugar, salt and flour — they tend to be hard to pick from branded equivalents. Our taste testers also found little difference between generics and expensive brands for English breakfast tea bags, spaghetti and baked beans.

7. Use tap water instead of expensive bottled water. Our taste panel couldn't distinguish between either of the two leading brands of bottled water (MOUNT FRANKLIN and FRANTELLE) and Sydney tap water. It may be different in other places.

8. Buy treats and snacks in the supermarket instead of going to the convenience store.

9. Get at least three quotes before renewing your annual insurance cover. For comprehensive car insurance we found average annual savings between $250 for claim-free adult drivers to $1650 for a young driver just by shopping around.

10. BYO lunch. If you bring your own lunch to work three to four times a week, you could save over $500 per year.

Battlestar Galactica-Inspired USB Snowbot

This one's for all the BG fanboys out there... and that means you Davo... :P

ThinkGeek's Battlestar Galactica-Inspired USB Snowbot

HP Now Does 30 inch

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/07/hp-outs-price-ship-date-for-its-30-inch-lcd-monstrosity/




Welcome to the 30-inch LCD age, where HP has just joined the fray against Dell and Apple. HP’s new display has a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 2560 x 1600 pixels and 178 x 178 degree viewing angles. The LP3065 also has three dual-link DVI-D inputs and two dual-link DVI cables. It’s available direct from HP for $1,699 and is expected to ship on-or-around Nov. 11.

If you’re in the market for a 30-inch though, you should keep in mind that the Dell can regularly be had for about $1,300. Something to chew on at least.

PS3 Web browsing video

A video from Gizmodo of the PS3 web browser in action.
I gotta admit it looks quite cool... and I'm a PS3 fanboy so that means nothing.

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/ps3/clips-ps3-web-browsing-212950.php

DSLR Face Off!

In this head to head we have Canon Rebel XTi vs. Nikon D80 vs. Sony Alpha A100...

Who will win? Who shall reign supreme?

Canon Rebel XTi vs. Nikon D80 vs. Sony Alpha A100
Head-to-Head-to-Head Digital Camera Review

Digital TV on the go

My USB Digital TV Tuner cannot be used in a moving car due to Digital TV signals not working well at speeds over about 60km/h, but have no fear! Elgato is here!

This device has two integrated receivers and two portable antennas, which is great for low signal locations and speeds at up to 160km/h!!! And it's made for the Mac too! :)

EyeTV Diversity Dual-Tuner DVB-T Stick

Google's PigeonRank™

Wow! And I thought it was done with Monkeys!?!?

The technology behind Google's great results

PS3 Road Trip

Kotaku takes their PS3 on a road trip to see the sights

Snap Circuits!

Nerdify and Geekify your offspring!

Snap Circuits Electronic Educational Kits

portrait lens tests

Some guy did tests on a whole range of lenses, mostly Nikon but there are comparisons to Canon lenses including the 50mm f/1.8. He's looking for sharpness and bokeh quality, and has made his own conclusions, but check it out for yourself.

The History of Photography: the college course

A podcast produced alongside a college course. Each podcast is a 2 hour lecture.

Yes, some will find this incredibly boring. But I think I'll find this interesting.
Note: I've listened to the first 50 minutes of the first podcast and it is all just an intro to the course, syllabus etc. Skip the first hour if you can.

Click here to begin studying!

Cool Sign...

Saw this sign during my lunch breaks while walking through Fremantle at a church on Market Street...

Didn't have my camera so I thought I'd try my luck searching for it on Flickr and what d'ya know? I found it... check out the other pics from the same guy as he does some funky shots of Moo business card prints....

weird but haunting music vid clip

Gnarls Barkley "Gone Daddy Gone" video



Direct Link

PS3 Sixaxis Controller reviewed by a kid

Click here for an excitingly dull video of a young kid testing out Ridge Racer 7 and the PS3 with the Sixaxis controller

GotchaBox!

This amuses me...

Gift boxes which have some (in)credible stuff printed on the outside, so you can hide some other present inside (say a PS3? *heh*)...

GotchaBox™ 3-Box Set

this kid knows how to laugh !!

Direct Link.

PS3, Cars, Bling!

Okay, PS3 in a ricer car... Need I say more?

SEMA 2006: Scion xA Powered by PlayStation 3

Make sure you check out the pics in the gallery

Mac Mini Cube...

Nice mod on how to gut your old G4 cube and put in a Mac Mini and making it look nice...

Project: Mac mini Cube

PS3 menu interface walkthrough

Yet another PS3 link... this shows the menu interface for the soon to be released PS3 in the middle of November in the US, us Aussies will get them in March 2007 I think...

PlayStation 3 menu / interface complete video walkthrough

The interface is very PSP'esque but with heaps more functionality and in all it's 1080p HD glory... :) Also look out for the novelty photo slideshow where your photos are dropped onto a matte background in a pseudo random manner and you can zoom in and move around like in a 3D world... interesting no doubt even for the non-Sony PlayStation fanboys out there... :P

Sony MDR-R10 'king of headphones'

These headphones are discontinued but they retailed for a mere $4000USD !!!!!

Here's the amazon.com listing for them with details on their magical properties

Sam & Max!

Episodic games of Sam & Max begin now!

For those of us who ever played this fun, quirky game by LucasArts and wished they would make more of it. This is one of those old 'wander from place to place speaking to people picking up objects and trying to work out how to use the peanut butter on the sasquatch' kind of games.

ok longreach link works now

so y'all can download the PDF for the Outback 320 and go ooh and ahh and
marvel at all the acronymic beauty.

http://www.longreach.com/products/switches/OutBack_320_Brochure.pdf

a day in the life of davidp

OK here we go, this is what I work on while at the office.

Longreach Networks sells a box called the Outback 320
http://www.longreach.com/products/switches/OutBack_320_Brochure.pdf
(longreach is having ISP problems today so check back later - please !)

It is the 3rd generation of a product I've worked on for more than 10
years. The list of interfaces and services is long and very technical.

It support lots and lots of protocols and lots and lots of interfaces.

Customers can order modules for the 4 modular ports. It comes with 2 x 100Mb
ethernet ports. Popular modular ports are OC3 (155Mbs fibre), 8xE1
telephony module (one port fans out to 8xE1 ports in another connector box), voice
compression module - and about 15 more types.

What's an E1 ? well it is the 2Mb digital interface that PABX's use to
connect 31 telephone lines to a exchange. Normally a large business might
have several E1s coming into their building to handle as many concurrent
phone calls as they need. You can ask Telstra for X phone lines, and they
provision them in bundles of 31, but can enabled one at at a time. An E1
can run on a copper link that looks exactly like Cat5 ethernet.

What bits do I work on ? I don't do much on the telephone protocols side.
I've worked mostly on the IP side of things - implementing protocols such
as SNMP, TFTP, HTTP, OSPF, RIP, Spanning Tree, VLAN, SNTP etc.

The processor is from a company called Wintegra. They basically put a
PowerPC core in with some communication controllers and some microcode to
enable things like fast routing. For eg. our box can route IP packets at
100Mb, which is quite impressive - something you can't really do in
software on its own, you need some hardware assistance.

The compiler we use is gcc (yes!) built as a cross compiler under windows
to the powerpc target. One geek (since left) in Sydney used his BSD box to
build the gcc binary and his compiles are much faster than ours under xp.
Maybe I might build a linux build server and use samba to edit files. I
use Vim (vi on drugs) all day long and love it. Just call me Mr. shortcut.
Who needs a manby panby mouse to edit files ? To give you an idea of the
size of the source file tree - the tags file is 28,853,215 bytes long. I'd
never find anything without ctags and Vim's ability to jump around, jump
around.

Now the stage is set, what am I working on ? well lots of the big telcos
are now thinking about running IP in their core network. This includes all
of the voice as well as internet. To do this on a large scale you need to
convert the voice protocols to IP, and uncovert them at the other end.

One of the building blocks of this coversion is SCTP - Stream Control
Transmission Protocol - sort of a TCP on drugs. It offers better
reliabiliy, faster recovery, greater parallel throughput over TCP. It is
naturally more complicated than TCP ....

We talk a lot about signalling packets. An E1 has 31 voice circuits in it
and one circuit is reserved to be the signalling circuit. This signalling
circuit tells either end what to do with each voice circuit - i.e. channel
1 is calling you, are you free ? channel 23 just cleared a call, please
free it etc. etc. These signalling packets are buffers of bytes with
reserved values, variable length data - structured packets that need to be
decoded and interpreted.

The task of SCTP is take multiple concurrent streams (up to 60 x E1 so
60x31 streams) from one IP host to another. The voice goes via another
path, using RTP the `real time protocol'. The bits I'm carrying using SCTP
are just the signalling packets.

BTW I didn't actually write the SCTP we are using a LGPL version -
something new for us, we normally write everything to own the IP
ourselves.

Sitting above SCTP is IUA - the ISDN User Adaptation Protocol - see
RFC4233 for the gory details. This bit we did write - it is responsible
for maintaining the link between the 2 ends of the SCTP, keeping the ISDN
(that is what is running over all of the 32 channels) interface happy.

another BTW; each channel is 64000 bps, so 31+1 x 64000 = 2048000 which is
the speed of an E1. In the US they use T1 which is 1.5Mb so they get 23+1
channels in their trunk. So your voice is normally carried over a 64K link
when you make a regular PSTN call.

So there we go, hopefully this was enough and too much info both at the
same time.

(submitted by dp Friday, 3 November 2006 2:34:22 PM)

stickykeys: something in windows I never knew

Running windows ? hit Shift 5 times and you get a popup telling you all about StickyKeys.

Having trouble withe <alt><sift><control><p> to achieve that 3 keystroke saving ?

amazing the things you can find on this interweb thing.

--------------

StickyKeys is designed for people who have difficulty holding down two or more keys at a time. When a shortcut requires a key combination such as CTRL+P, StickyKeys enables you to press one key at a time instead of pressing them simultaneously. This accessibility tutorial helps you adjust StickyKeys settings.

http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windows2000/stickykeys_select.aspx

-------------

So you've set up keyboard shortcuts for every single task you perform on your computer. Except now when you hit Ctrl-Alt-Shift-Windows-J it's like your fingers are playing Twister on the keyboard, and it's just as comfortable. Enter StickyKeys, a built-in Windows accessibility feature.

To turn it on, hit the Shift key 5 times in succession. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Once enabled, StickyKeys lets you hit the Ctrl, Alt, Shift or Windows key separately to launch your shortcut (plus you get futuristic beeping sounds and a little taskbar keypress tracker to boot.) Especially useful when you've only got, ahem, one hand free. Thanks, FizzyPopMan! — Gina Trapani

http://www.lifehacker.com/software/keyboard-shortcuts/sticky-keys-for-oneatatime-key-combinations-212088.php

google reader PM has a photo blog

This one's for you nick, Nick Baum has a photo blog

http://www.nickbaum.com/

What is this blog about? The short answer is anything I?m interested in.
The slightly longer answer is that it?s about good design, interesting
links, and occasionally something I actually produced (ideas, photos,
etc.). For the really long answer, explore the tags below!

One thing this blog is not about is Google. If you?re looking for hints
about upcoming product launches or savvy insider information, look
somewhere else. Just wanted to make that clear.

(submitted by dp Friday, 3 November 2006 11:16:35 AM)

See thru Bling!

Better hope you have some nice looking Brembo brakes before you'd consider these...

Clear Polycarbonate wheels!

And how hard would it be to get the brake dust off the inside wall of the wheel? :P

Aperture 1.51 30 day trial!!!

Finally apple has a 30 day trial of aperture for people who:

a) have a mac capable of running aperture (I do not! until my MacBookPro is returned)

b) are willing to fill out a registration form online

The link:

Aperture 1.51 Trial Download

3D Video...

Video walls are so yesterday...

I want this for my home theatre experience... Cheoptics360

P.S. Check out the vid... looks impressive, but I'll have to see it in person before I'm really impressed... :P

Video Strip-Tease for Geeks

This one's for you Davo... :)

Nintendo DS Lite Totally Disassembled

placenta supplement (pic)

Placenta supplement! Yum!

PSP Demos

Arstechnica has links to new PSP demos:

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2006/10/31/5809

PSP demos linked from here:

demos include:

• Exit 2
  
• Loco Roco Halloween demo
  
• Loco Roco demo 2
  
• Block Club ?
  
• Moto GP
  
• Ridge Racer 2
  

Wii 'launch' lineup

A full list of games to be available for the Wii around launch time or shortly after:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061101-8124.html

Working for Google?

Love Google?

Want to work for them?

Jobs @ Google Australia (Sydney)

and here is why you'll want to work for them! -> Top 10 Reasons to work at Google!

Abstract Gourmet

A cool Perth website where the guy reviews restaurants, cafes and puts up recipes he makes:

http://abstractgourmet.com/

by ntt

Google Reader Demonstration Video

http://www.podtech.net/home/technology/1406/google-reader-demonstrated

See Google Reader in action by the product manager himself, using a
macbook pro at Google HQ. The choice of PC ought to be enough for you to
watch it Nick :)

Their internet link looks pretty fast - surprise surprise.

(dp Thu Nov 02 13:18:51 WST 2006)

Train Man - interesting if you are into Jap culture

http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2006-10-31-n21.html

Densha Otoko (Train Man) is a Japanese novel, manga and TV series based on the alleged real-life events in the life of an Otaku (a Japanese geek) in his twenties. It is unclear how much of this is fact or fiction, but the original events unfolded on the real & highly popular Japanese discussion board 2ch.net. Wikipedia details the story like this:

welcome

post links here.
to start us off:

www.whattheduck.net
a photography comic