June 23, 2008
The Robots your kids love
Ever wonder what technology is actually inside that cuddly toy bear? Wonder no more.
Via Andrew Sullivan who was made "oddly sad" by the revelations.
Posted by Peter at 09:01 AM
May 05, 2008
Back to the Future
In years past in the days before television Radio had a rich selection of drama, comedy and adventure that people enjoyed in the family room. The previous links go to a great site for free downloads of old shows.
The rise of the iPod and the Podcast gives a great potential for a revival of this genre of entertainment. In addition to the old shows that you can get new products such as those offered by Big Finish productions might gather quite an additional following.
They already produce a line of original dramas based on canceled shows with the actual casts of Doctor Who, Dark Shadows, and Stargate SG1 to name just a few.
I would be shocked if we don't see many more things of this nature and am a bit surprised that we haven't seen this on the US side. It gives a lot of flexibility since for example a podcast version of say the Dick Van Dyke show or Cheers would not be limited by the physical ago of the actors at all.
Sounds like a great retirement plan to me.
Posted by Peter at 04:24 PM
April 25, 2008
Just what everyone needs
Hey computers are wonderful how did we ever do without the usb power heated slippers? It is #2 on the list of the Most Baffling Computer Gadgets Money can buy. The question is why would money want to buy them?
Posted by Peter at 03:55 PM
April 22, 2008
Do it yourself security
Robotics was once a field of fancy, now it is one pub owners neighborhood watch:
The Bum Bot's reputation, it seems, has preceded it.The electronic vigilante — on the beat since September — has enraged neighborhood activists, who have threatened protests. Street people say it's intimidating. And homeless advocates question the intentions of its inventor, who uses the Bum Bot as a marketing tool and a political prop.
Terrill, a 57-year-old ex-Marine, asserts his motives are pure: He says more police now patrol the area at night, the park across the street feels safer and he's had no break-ins since the cube-shaped robot, which Terrill controls with a wireless remote, has roamed the area. To Henrik Christensen, director of Georgia Tech's Robotics and Intelligent Machines Center, the Bum Bot exploits the kind of anxiety that underlies the Terminator movies.
To quote Glenn, I for one welcome our new robot overlords....
Posted by Peter at 10:47 PM
April 21, 2008
Ok that is a good use for a Blackberry
I must confess I haven't joined the Blackberry revolution but here is one instance that it really paid off:
Although the intruder had taken Wang’s phones and his laptop, he’d left behind Wang’s wife’s computer, which was buried under a bunch of papers.Wang crawled to the master bedroom, hid behind the bed and tried to think of who might have a BlackBerry on hand. The obvious answer: a Hill staffer like Pitts.
“I was just robbed at home by two burglars,” reads the e-mail Wang got off. “Laptop, phones and wallet all taken. They missed my wife's laptop. I dont' [sic] know if they're still around the house. Please call 911 and ask them to send police.”
“Calling now,” wrote Pitts at 4:16 p.m., a minute after Wang’s e-mail came in.
Unfortunately they didn't get the thief but if nothing else it shows that a blackberry in the right hands can help save the day.
Posted by Peter at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2008
Our time will come
Well we can't get them yet but PC Mag shows what is now in Asia but not here.
Oh BTW on a little semi mini vacation so blogging will be iffy.
Posted by Peter at 10:31 PM
April 03, 2008
The advantage of high speed
Via Geek Press what is the greatest advantage to a high speed connection? Dry Laundry.
So, after nine months with the ability to download a full high definition DVD in just two seconds or access 1,500 high definition HDTV channels simultaneously, how has Sigbritt's life changed?Not much, according to Hafsteinn Jonsson, who is heading up the fibre network operation for Karlstad Stadsnät.
"She mostly used it to dry her laundry," he told The Local.
"It was a big bit of gear and it got pretty warm."
Real life is just too odd isn't it?
Posted by Peter at 12:32 PM
March 30, 2008
You say you want a Revolution
In a few months you won't need to haul your laptop in order to play Civilization:
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution is the latest offering in the legendary award winning Sid Meier's Civilization series of strategy games, featuring the famous "just one more turn" addictive gameplay that has made this one of the greatest game series of all time. Civilization Revolution has been designed and built (by the legendary Sid Meier and his team at Firaxis) from the ground up for consoles and handhelds delivering graphics, gameplay and controls that take full advantage of the hugely popular gaming platforms.
Handheld civ will be a very nice addition to the civ family of games, it will be available for the Nintendo DS the X-Box 360 and the PS3.
Posted by Peter at 01:24 PM
March 16, 2008
Brave free world
From Geek Press blog some interesting news for us old timers. Most old Geeks like myself are fans of Star Trek and the Twilight Zone. CBS is now making all three seasons of the classic Star Trek uncut available for viewing and the first two seasons of the Twilight Zone as well. These episodes include some built in ads to pay for it but also include some of the old promotional and "next week" stuff that purists love.
It looks like on the twilight zone side we aren't talking the whole seasons well it still more timely than 1 a.m. on Si-Fi.
Of course since it is a net stream you need a download but you won't be paying $10 a cd or as my wife loves it will be that much less clutter in the house.
Posted by Peter at 02:27 PM
March 07, 2008
Scallops Anyone?
Another great use of the internet is to find info on topics you might not know. I do some cooking I'd never made baked stuffed scallops.
Lucky for me I have the internet and a search for Baked Stuffed Scallops turned up so many recipes that I couldn't make up my mind, so I decided to combine a bunch of them and make up my own which follows:
2 lbs large sea scallops
1 pkg Ritz Crackers (any similar brand will do)
2 sticks of butter
1/4 lemon
Papricka
Parsely
garlic powder
onion powder
Melt butter in Iron frying pan, add broken (but not crushed) Ritz crackers to mixture and stir allowing crackers to absorb butter. Add spices to mixture and brown. Clean scallops and put to one side.
In Oven safe China serving bowls put in a layer of the cracker mixture on the bottom of the bowl. Put a single layer of Scallops on top, spice the top of Scallops lightly with onion powder and Parsley. Repeat layer of crackers and scallops. Top final layer of scallops with a smaller amount of breadcrumbs and parsley and squeeze lemon juice on the top. Repeat for the other Bowls (If you don't have individual serving bowls you can use a single casserole bowl with a larger bottom and place layers accordingly)
Place bowls or casserole on baking tray back at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve in the bowl so you can dip the scallops in the butter at the bottom. Serves 4.
There are more cooking sites on the net than you can shake a stick at.
Posted by Peter at 07:20 PM
February 05, 2008
Glutton for punishment
One of the things about YouTube and the internet revolution. You get to see what might have been, these are things you wouldn't have seen before.
Arrugh!
Posted by Peter at 09:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2008
A techs idea of a good time
If you've ever wondered what a techs idea of a good time is check out this post from George Ou. Particularly the photos of one of the slickest home made pc's you will ever see.
The last time I built a wooden all-in-one 19″ LCD PC, my family wanted it in the kitchen and my mother wanted it in hers. To keep everyone happy, I built my mother another one (pictured above and below) out of 3/16th inch jet-black polycarbonate which makes the chassis look like the material from a grand piano. The result was something that was so glossy that I can probably shave in it, but I’m almost afraid to touch it and get finger prints all over it. Needless to say, she is very pleased with her new space saving computer.
My mother would rather have a gift card to the 99 restaurant.
Posted by Peter at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2008
See what video game tech can do!
Who says games don't help society? Or at least game technology:
the Mayo Clinic is teaming up with IBM to develop ways to create a 3-D image from an MRI or CT scan in minutes, thanks to microprocessor architecture developed for the Sony PlayStation 3, which amps those scans up like Sonic the Hedgehog.
I've found that when you develop things for profit they usually have other applications that can have a lot of altruistic uses.
Via Andrew Sullivan.
Posted by Peter at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
January 01, 2008
The great dumping ground
As I've mentioned most of my Christmas Shopping was done online. One location I didn't use was eBay. This is because I thought of it more as a repository of used items. This might be quite unfair to many of the fine eBay stores that exist but for me that's the way it is. (Of course I might have done better there then the Royal Mint where I'm still waiting for my months old Christmas order.)
Apparently I never thought of eBay as an alternative dumping ground for unwanted gifts:
Around a million unwanted Christmas presents are being sold on eBay including some still wrapped......Richard Kanareck, of eBay, said: "Re-homing a present means it will find a new owner who will really appreciate it."
Now that I think of it my wife ordered season 4 of the Adventures of Robin Hood for me from AMAZON.uk forgetting that she got it for me last year. Its not worth returning since shipping back to England is so costly. Maybe I should put it there.
Posted by Peter at 07:57 AM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2007
Don't forget the old classics
As Christmas approaches various online games might be choices that you will be considering. As this Wikipedia list shows there are literally dozens of such games available in all kinds of genres from World War 2 to Star Trek/Star Wars to Super Heroes to the World of Warcraft and of course the granddaddy of all role players Dungeons and Dragons.
Lets give a quick rundown on some that you should consider before buying:
#1. Does your system have the oomph?
Many of these games require a system with a very good graphics card and a fair amount of processor speed. It is also not uncommon for updates to the program to lead to system updates. Make sure you have a good enough system to play before you buy.
#2 Does your ISP have enough oomph?
Remember that online games are designed to be played in real time. Make sure your ISP and your router are good enough so that your gameplay can be worthwhile AND your other pcs won't slow to a crawl on the net while playing.
#3 Don't forget the fees
Many such games require monthly fees to continue, remember you will be paying for this game every month. Make sure you budget that time.
#4 Do you have the time?
Any old D&D player like myself knows that any RPG is a time eater. In the old days you would have to make time to get together to play, these days you have to just log on. Make sure your child or spouse has the free time to play. Real Life has to trump the game.
That last point is the big one, there is a big difference between enjoying gameplay and obsessive gameplay. Make sure your potential player has the ability to do the one without the other and make sure YOU don't mind the time spent.
Remember a membership in your local game center is always a good 2nd choice if you don't want this in your house. See our podcast on the subject for more info.
Posted by Peter at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2007
This will be so ho-hum in a few years....
.....but right now it is rather amazing, at least to me.
Yes I know it is the logical conclusion of the technology but understanding it is coming is one thing, seeing it for sale is another.
Posted by Peter at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2007
I'm impressed easy
Yesterday at K-Mart I came across the digital frames for the first time. It is an unsurprising development but a real change when you think about it.
Today I set up my first wireless digital camera. Again not a surprise but the first time for me.
I'm old enough to have used a manual typewriter, in my first computer position there was still one punch card machine, so this stuff still impresses me.
I hope you all have a happy thanksgiving tomorrow and reflect on all we have to be thankful for, including the never-ending supply of cool gadgets.
Posted by Peter at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2007
You can do anything with google
Google what a product, for all its faults you can do many things, shop, search, find maps, crack passwords:
Instead, I asked Google. I found, for example, a genealogy page listing people with the surname “Anthony”, and an advert for a house, signing off “Please Call for showing. Thank you, Anthony”. And indeed, the MD5 hash of “Anthony” was the database entry for the attacker. I had discovered his password.
The details are kinda technical but the bottom line is this, if he can discover passwords this way then somebody else sure can.
Via Slashdot.
Posted by Peter at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2007
Ghostbusters the game?
Clouded by other games saturating the market right now? Me too! Well a game being developed by Sierra should be a huge hit for ghostbusters fans, 80s fans and game fans in general.. I will even post a gameplay screenshot with The stay-Puft marshmello man and Slimer! Youre welcome! The game will feature the original cast from the films including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson! Im not sure who played the Stay-Puft marshmellow man but hes in it too! The games' story is actually written by the movie writers. You play as a new recruit to help rid Manhatten of its huge ghost problem. Just remember to not cross the streams and you'll be fine! Enjoy this gameplay footage and the screenshots. The game was just announced so to have this media tells us that we could have it pretty soon! Please visit ghostbustersgame.com for more information.
Click continue reading link below for screenshots!
Pictures from ghostbustersgame.com
Gameplay footage from G4tv.com (the feed)
Posted by Dustin at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)
my beowulf review
Just came back from seeing beowulf 3d and I just have to say. WOW! I went in thinking it was anohter failed atempt at motion capture and bad acting but I was so wrong. Not only was the acting good but the graphics were amazing! There are parts where you think its actually real. The effects, animations, sound and music were phenomenal! 3d was an awsome touch too, they made it so plenty of things fly at you and make you feel like your actually there fighting monsters. The story itself was very much inline with the story and all in all.. I'd say go to your nearest Imax and watch this.. youll thank me!
Posted by Dustin at 12:06 AM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2007
Marvel takes comics to the next level with Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited
Marvel comic books are hitting the web and fast! They just announced their digital comic book service and its looking pretty good. Theyre actually giving this service at a great price, $4.99 a month ( 59.98 anually ) or $9.99 a month ( billed monthly ). Once a subscriber you have access to the collection of old and new comicbooks, plus the ones that come out monthly. The quality is great, take a look at 250 free sample comic books they have up right now by clicking the following link:
http://www.marvel.com/digitalcomics/
Posted by Dustin at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2007
Dreamscenes for all Vista users!!
Stardock announces DeskScapes 2.0 with the ability to add dreamscenes to any version of Windows Vista not just Ultimate edition. What is a dreamscene? A dreamscene is a desktop background that is a video.. basically a moving background. Up until this point it has not been on other Vista versions.
Go to http://dream.wincustomize.com/index.aspx?c=1 for more information!
Posted by Dustin at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2007
and the nominies are ....
Well the 2007 Web blog nominees are now set. Make your choices among the various categories here.
You can vote for your favorites once a day in each category.
On the tech blog side there are 10 nominees. Smashing Magazine, Gearlog, GoodCleanTech, Tech Rivet, The Apple Blog, Lifehacker, Medgadget, Engadget, ReadWriteWeb and Gizmodo.
Take a peek there's a lot to see there but you only have till Nov 8th.
Posted by Peter at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2007
Where is part 2?
Exciting things have been happening here at HiWired. Unfortunately that means some other things have been pushed back, that includes part 2 of Chris Muir's podcast. We hope to have that up before the end of next week.
We are also interested in soliciting some suggestions for future podcasts. Do you have someone you want to hear from, let us know in comments.
Posted by Peter at 01:08 PM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2007
Fun with technology
What kinds of interesting things can you do with technology? You can take a closer look at one of the worlds great treasures:
A new high-resolution picture of Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper has been posted online, exposing the artist's finest brush strokes to conspiracy theorists across the internet.
The high resolution image allows viewers to see the finer details of the masterpiece.At 16 billion pixels, the image is 1,600 times stronger than those produced by a typical 10 million pixel digital camera.
The high-resolution allows art lovers to view details of the 15th century painting as though they were centimetres away from the work.
Details of the painting that can now been seen include traces of drawings Leonardo put down before the painting.
These are the type of things that you don't think of when you think of technology but they are there and they are cool.
Posted by Peter at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2007
An idea who's time has come? Manditory e-mail forwarding
As e-mail becomes the de-facto way of communication could this be in the future?
The post office forwards letters when a person moves, and telephone companies likewise forward calls. Should Internet companies be required to forward e-mails to customers who switch providers?There is no mandate governing e-mail forwarding, and industry officials say imposing one would be costly and unnecessary. But federal regulators are looking at the issue more closely following a complaint from a former America Online customer who claims an abrupt termination of service devastated her business.
Gail Mortenson, a Washington-based freelance editor, in July filed a six-page petition with the Federal Communications Commission, which opened a 30-day public comment period that ends Oct. 26, followed by another 30-day period for replies.
I don't think this can fly as the post office is a division of the federal government and the various e-mail providers are private providers, it might seem simple but I see huge liability issues over lost e-mails that would prevent it.
Posted by Peter at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2007
I wish I was there
Computer world chronicles the conversation between Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer and a rather frustrated analyst Yvonne Genovese at the ITxpo conference:
"I'm one of those early adopters of Vista," said Yvonne Genovese, an analyst who was interviewing Ballmer along with fellow analyst David Smith on stage at a conference forum. "My daughter comes in one day and says, 'Hey Mom, my friend has Vista, and it has these neat little things called gadgets -- I need those.'"Said Ballmer: "I love your daughter."
"You're not going to like her mom in about two minutes," said Genovese, while the crowd laughed.
Read the whole thing. There is also some interesting back and forth in the comments.
Checked YouTube for the exchange, its not there.
Posted by Peter at 07:02 PM | Comments (0)
September 25, 2007
Halo 3 is here
Wow!! That was crazy!! I just got back from EB Warwick (ok I lied I’ve been here for the last hour playing halo 3) and what a night it was. The National Guard was out showing off some machine guns and talking about how much they like Xbox, the line stretched 300 deep and the game fuel was flowing like water!! The line was filled with eager gamers, moms, dad’s girlfriends and people just wondering what was going on. Channel 10 news was also there covering the event. At one point someone was asked to do karaoke and received a halo 3 faceplate for his 360. Everyone there was extremely excited and the ages ranged from about 9 through about 59 ( 59.. now that dedication!) I did end up buying a halo 3 wireless controller since I could only stand in line doing nothing for so long but hey... I think it’s worth a day’s pay for a controller with some picture on it :). Sorry Jesse, I couldn’t get a legendary edition which means you can’t see my rock the helmet but I promise I will get to work in Photoshop right away. Interesting to note everyone... and I mean everyone wanted to know what the number on my shirt meant, my response “this represents the time Hiwired’s hard working techs spent, and please visit hiwired.com" I included some pictures for your enjoyment... Ok bye for now Halo 3 here I come!!
Posted by Dustin at 01:06 AM | Comments (1)
September 24, 2007
Like watching grass grow!!
Dustin, why are you writing a blog post at 2:14 PM on your day off the wife asks? Well because Halo 3 is just less than 10 hours away and I've already been to GameStop twice today to see what was going on. By mistake I popped a balloon since they were all over the ground. With all the people coming in to GameStop tonight I have a feeling that every balloon will be popped and it will sound like gun fire... but that’s what we all want to hear anyway, being halo fans and all. For the last few days now everywhere I go at least 5 people are talking about how they’re going to stay up all night, call out of work ( don’t worry Chris I'm coming in ) and how game fuel tastes great ( it actually tastes horrible ). For anyone reading this and interested in the latest screenshots here you are... more info to come including some pictures of the GameStop 12 AM launch :)
http://www.g4tv.com/games/photo_gallery/676/Halo_3__PreLaunch/index.html