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Archive for April, 2009

Andrew Nusca posted the following on ZDNet.

D-Link introduced its next-generation PowerLine adapter kit that connects computers, high-definition media players, game consoles, network attached storage and Internet content in the home.

The PowerLine HD Ethernet Adapter Starter Kit (DHP-303) allows the user to take advantage of existing home electrical wiring to create or extend a network by turning “every power outlet in the home into a wall-to-wall network for connecting” when connected to a switch or wireless access point. (The kit includes two wall plugs/adapters.)

Installation is plug-and-play, and the system can connect devices such as TiVo, Slingbox, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and others to the home network and the Internet. (The device will automatically be displayed in Microsoft Windows Vista’s Network Map.)

The PowerLine Adapter uses Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES) for one-button security and uses Quality of Service support to help prioritize data in the pipeline.

Source: ZDNet

Microsoft has confirmed that Office 14, also referred to as Office 2010, will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit editions. This will be the first time that Office is available as a 64-bit application. The 64-bit versions of Windows will no longer have to emulate a 32-bit environment in order to run Office 2010, provided that the user has the 64-bit version installed.

I was recently converting a free ebook that was formatted as an HTML document to a DRM free .prc file for use on my Kindle. The text contained HTML numeric values to represent some of the text; for instance, the latin small letter a with acute (á) was represented by the HTML number á …these values did not convert well to the .prc format. I learned that the keyboard shortcut of Alt+0225 would result in the actual symbol of á.

The HTML number for these are &#nn; and can be converted using the keyboard shortcut of Alt+nn. For instance, if you encounter an HTML number « you can replace that with the actual symol of ½ using the keyboard shortcut Alt+171. If you want a smiley in an email that you’re writing to someone, Alt+1 … ☺

I was able to perform global replacements for all of the various &#nnn values in the soucre HTML document with Alt+nnn equivalents and then successfully converted the reformatted HTML to a nicely formatted .prc file.

I later ran across a list of 255 Alt+ keyboard shortcuts that Brown Thoughts posted that I suspect will come in handy so I decided to post them.

Read the rest of this entry »

What Does one TRILLION dollars look like? All this talk about “stimulus packages” and “bailouts”…

A billion dollars…

A hundred billion dollars…

Eight hundred billion dollars…

One TRILLION dollars…

What does that look like? I mean, these various numbers are tossed around like so many doggie treats.

Stay with me … to get a sense of what a trillion dollars looks like.

Take it slowly….

We’ll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them; slightly fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go.

A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2″ thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for a week or two of shamefully decadent fun.

Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.

While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet…

And $1 BILLION dollars… now we’re really getting somewhere…

Next we’ll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we’ve been hearing about so much. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it’s a million million. It’s a thousand billion. It’s a one followed by 12 zeros.

It’s pretty surprising.

Ladies and gentlemen… I give you $1 trillion dollars…

(And notice those pallets are double stacked and how small the man looks.)

A friend sent me these pics of the 10 most expensive cars. I can’t believe the price that some people would pay for these. They are shown in order from least expensive to most expensive.

James Snyder found this is a Cuban tree frog on a tree in his yard in southern Florida that swallowed a Christmas light. How and why he ate this light is a mystery. At first James thought the frog was dead, having cooked himself from the inside. He was wrong. After James had taken a few shots he saw that the frog adjusted his position. He then pulled the light out of frog’s mouth and he was fine.

Source: neatorama

There’s a black dot in the center in the center of this picture below. Stare at the dot till the countdown ends, and the black and white picture should look like it’s in color…until you move your eyes!

iconPot is a site that list as whole bunch of icons that are great to use for your web development projects. It is different in that they only list icons which you can use for free on personal AND commercial projects AND without having to provide back-links/credit to the author.

Check out iconPot for your free icon sets.

engadget posted an article showing a new concept for a transporation device that you actually wear. It’s been dubbed the Chariot by it’s makers, Exmovere. The device is specfically targeted for amputees and people that have difficutly standing and walking. It moves at a speed as quick as 12 mph. Supposedly more robust versions will include on-board vital sign sensors, built-in wireless and cellular connectivity. Specialized versions are also planned for military and law enforcement use.

Source: engadget

Rumors are abuzz that Barnes & Noble may be coming out with their own eBook reader. Supposedly it would have Whispernet capabilities like the Kindle so users could download from B&N’s bookstore directly to the device. Apparently no information has leaked about the physical device but there are a number of manufacturers that they could team up with.

Source: engadget