Google Docs with Revamped Toolbar

Google has updated their Google Documents toolbar.



As you can see, choosing font type and sizes is now a lot easier and more intuitive. Choosing the font color and background is also less confusing.

Once again we see how convenient it is to use web apps, where these welcomed updates require no download or installs. You just browse to your documents and... you see the improvements. :)

via [Blogoscoped]

Eee PC Torture Test

If you think the small Asus Eee PC is a fragile device, you might want to check out this torture test video. One user decided to test how the Eee PC behaved under some extreme conditions. Stay tuned and check this video:

Torture Testing (shock, hot, cold) the Asus Eee PC
by ray2fr

[video]

Goodbye Compact Flash, Hello CFast

I talked about the new CFast cards some time ago, but the expiration date for the CF cards is growing near. Soon, millions of people will once again be forced to replace all their memory cards if they want to keep up with the evolution.

In the next 18-24 months, it's expected that CFast will completely replace the aging Compact Flash (CF) memory cards.

Although physically incompatible, these new cards use the faster SATA transport bus allowing them to have much faster data transfer rates. While CF cards were limited to about 45MB/s throughput, CFast allows 375MB/s.

We just need to wait and see if CFast will last as long as CF, or if it will soon give birth to smaller formats like mini-CFast, micro-CFast, or if other companies will implement their own proprietary similar updated format.
I hope this new format can unite all those devices using different memory cards, so that people can - once and for all - stop worrying about which cards their gadgets use.

Sony GTR-DG920

And now that you can finally start buying HD movies without worrying about the format war, how about upgrading/updating your old AV amp?

For that matter, Sony will be launching their GTR-DG920 in June with a nice feature list - particularly considering it's price: $600.

• 7.1channels
• 1080p + 60/24Hz
• 4x HDMI
• Dolby Digital Plus
• Dolby True HD
• DTS High Resolution Audio
• DTS HD Master Audio
• xvyCC
• Deep Color Sony's Digital Media Port
• XM Connect-and-Play ready (5.1)
• Auto-Setup in 20-30 seconds

Though I would still prefer a Denon or Onkyo, it's nice to see Sony improving their products at competitive prices.

Google Maps in Miles and Kilometers

Not everyone around the world uses the same measurement units. While for some, miles are the norm, for many others, Km are the one and only way to measure distances:



Now, you don't need to do the math. Just click on your desired units and let Google Maps do the math.

iPhone Remote TouchPad

At last, an excuse to buy an iPhone. :)

Why not use your iPhone as a WiFi touch sensing remote control?
It certainly would come in handy to control my Media Center, check the video:


[Youtube Video]

More info at Touchpad iPhone.

Phun Physics

Here's another program that will keep you occupied for a long time: Phun Physics.

Just watch the video below, and be amazed with what you can create with just a few mouse clicks. From rigid objects to liquids and motion devices like a simple "piston based" ball pusher, and much - much more.


[Youtube Video]

Optical Illusion

Here's another mind boggling optical illusion.
It uses the same principles as the one I've posted before, playing tricks on our mind using the dark/light contrast.



The inner circles are cycling through black and white, but they seem to be out of phase. However, no matter how hard it may seem, they're exactly the same color!

Press the remove border to check it out.
(I didn't believe that either, and cut two holes in a piece of paper to place over the screen to really make sure... and it is...)

If you want to read more about it and understand why this happens you can read it here.

Real Time 3D Facial Animation and Capture

If you want to see what you can accomplish - today - in facial expression capture and rendering, check this out:


Mova Contour Reality Capture in Unreal Engine 3

This capture system, from Mova - here shown using the Unreal Engine 3 and two NVIDIA 8800 GTXs in SLI for real time rendering - uses a camera array to create a 3D model from someone's face with 100,000 polygons accurate to one tenth of a millimete, without requiring reflective markers like other motion capture systems.

Pretty impressive. We're definitely on the right track for lifelike computer models for videogames and CGI movies alike.

If they can do this in realtime right now, what should we expect from James Cameron's Avatar? :)

via [Joystiq]

Create Your Own Google Maps PlaceMarks

You've probably already seen those placemarks popping up on Google Earth and Google Maps, showing detailed inforamtion about a particular place.

However, not many people know how to create their own placemarks. Well, that's about to change, as it is now a lot easier to create them without little knowledge about KML.

You just to enter some date into a spreadsheet.

The process is easier understood if seen, as you can attest by watching the following 5 minute video:


[Youtube video]

Or you can read the instuction in the link below.

via [Google Earth Spreadsheet Mapper]

Up Side Down Internet

I believe everyone should leave their WiFi Internet access open to easy access by everyone. How many times were you able to access something on the web thanks to one such WiFi "hotspot"?

Of course, this would be easy and simple to do if everyone behaved in a responsible manner.
However, we all know that - sooner or later - someone will show up using and abusing your internet connection.

When that happens, instead of simply turning up your WiFi security settings, why not have some fun?

What do you think about turning their internet upside-down? Or maybe blurr all their images?

That something you can easily do if you follow these instructions.

Now, you just need to imagine how their faces will look like next time they try to access a web page through your router.

Scheduled Blogger Posts

One thing I always "hated" about Blogspot was not being able to schedule posts. If you have to go away for a week or a month, there wasn't a easy way to have prepared post to be published at specified dates.

Well, that's not entirely true. In fact, it can be easily acomplished by just using Blogger in draft!

When you're writing your posts, if you enter a future date/time, the posts will be marked as scheduled, and will be published at the specified date!

What more could you ask for? :)

via [Bloggerindraft]

10 Best SciFi Movies ever

The American Film Institute has come up with a list of the best 50 SF films ever. Ten will be picked as the best of the best will air on a TV special on CBS in June.

If you don't want o bother with registering on the AFI site, don't forget to use BugMeNot ;)

The AFI defines "science fiction" as a genre that marries a scientific or technological premise with imaginative speculation.

And the list is:

1. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
2. Alien
3. Altered States
4. The Andromeda Strain
5. Back to the Future
6. The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
7. Blade Runner
8. Children of Men
9. A Clockwork Orange
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
11. Cocoon
12. Contact
13. The Day the Earth Stood Still
14. Destination Moon
15. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
16. Escape From New York
17. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
18. Fantastic Voyage
19. The Fly (1986)
20. Forbidden Planet
21. Frankenstein (1931)
22. The Incredible Shrinking Man
23. Independence Day
24. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
25. The Invisible Man (1933)
26. It Came From Outer Space
27. Jurassic Park
28. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
29. The Matrix
30. Men in Black
31. Minority Report
32. Planet of the Apes (1968)
33. Repo Man
34. RoboCop
35. Rollerball (1975)
36. Silent Running
37. Soylent Green
38. Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
39. Star Wars: Episode IV--A New Hope
40. Starman
41. The Stepford Wives (1975)
42. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
43. Them!
44. The Thing From Another World
45. The Time Machine (1960)
46. Total Recall
47. Tron
48. 2001: A Space Odyssey
49. The War of the Worlds (1953)
50. Westworld

I don't know if I could pick just 10 of them - though I would replace that Mad Max Thunderdome for the Mad Max II.
Besides, there are still a lot of movies that deserved to show up in there: Waterworld, Postman, Twelve Monkeys, Metropolis, Sunshine, Brazil, and even Serenity - and I could go on all day long...

What about you? What movies would you add to that list?

Laser Harps - a "New" 28 Year Old Instrument

I'm beginning to feel old...


[Youtube video]

When I see news like these, advertising laser harps as being a brand new and original thing -I can't help but wonder, where were these guys 20 years agos?
(Probably they weren't even born)

This is far from new, and I recall seeing Jean Michel Jarre using it many years ago, as you can see in the classic Rendez-Vous 2:


[Youtube video]

Multiply your PC

Sometimes, we need to have several people using a computer. But for some applications, having a computer for each one - even with today's cheap computers - it's overkill.

That's exactly what these boards from NComputing try to fix, allowing a single computer to host up to 6 extra terminals at a very low cost.

It's a simple process, you plugin a host card into your main PC, and you can then use regular network cables to connect it to 3 extension boxes. In these boxes you'll connect a new monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers.



Here's a small video to show you how it's done.


[Youtube video]

If 6 terminals aren't enough for you, NComputing has other solutions allowing you to use up to 30 terminals per computer - which would work fine for schools and similar activities.
With current dual and quad core computers spending most of their time idling, using it to serve extra terminals is something that is bound to attract some users.

Visit NComputing for more info.

Firefox Beta 3

Firefox 3 Beta 3 is out.

Almost 1300 modifications since the previous beta version.

... but the reason I'm really talking about it today is that: after facing a computer crash yesterday (which is not that common, to be honest, with my computer having uptimes of several months between reboots) I faced something I never experienced before:
When I restarted Firefox after booting, it was like it it was running for the first time. All my bookmarks were gone, it asked me again for all the "security" sending things over the internet, etc.

I know there are a lot of ways to keep my bookmarks safe (Google Toolbar, and others) but that's beside the point.

To make things "worse", in the FF 3 changes I see:

• Reliability: A user's bookmarks, history, cookies, and preferences are now stored in a transactionally secure database format which will prevent data loss even if their system crashes.

I have nothing against improving software, but... isn't this the kind of thing that should have been thought of right from the start?

I'm not arguing about other browsers being better or worse, again that's not the issue.
As a programmer, when I code something, besides making sure the program works as intended, I also try to anticipate all possible catastrophic scenarios that might cause my program to corrupt data, including computer crashes. Most programs I code must be (as much as possible) crash-proof, and able to withstand someone turning off the power at any time.

It seems that such concerns don't seem to worry many other programmers out there...

Flash Cloth Simulation

I'm a big fan of everything "physical" and particle simulations.

In this case, its a Flash cloth simulation where you can play around with several parameters, like cloth size and wind speed. Of course, you can also push and pull the cloth using the mouse.
Quite interesting to see what you can do these days using flash - considering these things used to require a lot of computer power and were almost unthinkable 15 years ago.

Just give it a try and see for yourself: Flash Cloth.

Xubuntu Vista

Some people say we shouldn't argue about personal taste. If there's something you can do with Linux environments, it's the complete customization of how it looks.

So, if you're into lightweight and effective Linux desktops (in this case Xubuntu) but you love Windows Vista look, how about turning your Xfce into a perfect copycat?

That's exactly what our friend Vincent at xubuntublog did.

Whether you do it for fun or to help someone switch over from Vista to Xubuntu, it will just take a couple of minutes to make your Xfce look exactly like Vista's Aero.

Just follow his instructions.

Optical Illusion

I can't stop being amazed to see how our brain processes visual information:





The square marked as "A" is exactly the same color as the square marked as "B". Mind boggling, isn't it? o_O

But, be free to open Photoshop and check for yourself.

More brightness illusions at R.Beau Lotto

Andrew Fentem Multitouch Interfaces

I've read this interview on Gizmodo, and I was fascinated with the projects of Andrew Fentem in the field of multitouch interfaces and kinetic surfaces. It is precisely this type of work that will revolutionize the way people interact with computers in the future.

Check this multitouch cube, which can be used in many more ways than a simple 21st century Rubik Cube puzzle (it can also be used to play Pac-Man, by the way:)



Or this High-speed detection "air-hockey" virtual table.


Though you can certainly find similar projects, keep in mind this one was built in 2001, and still beats current touch technologies when it comes to fast response times. Current systems need to improve their speed and work in such large areas.

If you visit his website, you'll be impressed with some of his projects.

I was mesmerized with his kinetic table, which blends virtual and physical action in a way that seems almost impossible:



But don't forget to check the interactiv floor surface, and the Led Eyes... who knows, maybe will see them in action in real applications before we expect it.

Yellow Day in Sweden

In Sweden, today is the day to wear Yellow.

The troops have been assembled by Peter Sunde (a.k.a. Brokep) from the famous torrent sharing site PirateBay.

In order to show support for the upcoming trial case, regarding the legality of hosting links to copyrighted material, they've asked supporters to wear yellow today.

The event was announced on their group in Facebook “Free The Pirate Bay” in “wear yellow for sharing” which is happening... today.

(And you can take a peek at ThePirateBay website to see they're taking it to the letter. ;)

Rearview Mirror Video Recorder

No, this camera doesn't record what's happening behind you; it records forward looking video. I can't say I would mind having one of these in my car permanently - so many are the dangers on the streets these days.

Besides the camera, you also get a small 2.5" LCD screen in the rearview mirror so you can watch your recorded videos.

And to prove it works, what about a real live action scence from a recorded accident?


[Youtube video]

The price? $450 USD.

Product page: [Brickhouse Security]

Flash Player Updates

If you haven't checked it yet, be sure to visit this Adobe webpage to check your current Flash Player version, and if required update it.

An outdated Flash player poses a very serious security risk, and I'm sure that's something you can live without.

If you use multiple browsers, like Firefox and IE, don't forget to repeat the procedure for each browser, as they use different Flash players and need to be updated separately.

Why Reinvent the Wheel?

Because now you can squish it. :)


[Youtube video]

Houston, We have a Problem

Some pictures are definitely worth a million words:


[Space Shuttle approaching ISS]

Double-Layer DVDs affect Wii

The latest game for Nintendo Wii: Super Smash Brothers Brawl is the first to use double-layer discs, and it's causing a lot of problems. Multiple reports of people experiencing lots of disc read errors have been complaining about it.

Now Nintendo has stated that these problems are probably due to dust build up on the DVD drive lens, as the double layer DVD requires more "sensitivity" to be read.
Drives that can read single-layer DVDs may fail when trying to read these DL DVDs.

The introduction of Dual-Layer DVDs seems to have been dictated by "copy-protection" reasons alone - as it's doubtful that such a game would require more than the disc space provided by single layer DVDs.
If that's so, lots of people will have problems when they buy this game, problems that would be avoided if they used a single layer DVD.
"Pirates" on the other hand, will continue to copy these games as usual, with reports of hackers already stripping the dummy data and placing the entire game in a single layer disc.