Although I'm a very big fan of watching a movie without any interruptions - and thankfully, most of the movie theaters I attend have no intermissions - for others, that's almost impossible.
Of course, I'm referring to all those people who can't stand away from the WC for more than 1h.
So... what can we do? How can you ensure you're not missing one of the most important scenes while you're running to the WC for a quick pee?
For each movie, this site will tell you the best moments for you to quickly run to the WC without worrying about missing an important part of the movie.
You don't even have to worry about spoilers, the text is garbled at first - and even afterwards, it tells you just as little as possible for you to recognize when you have to leave.
A recommended site for everyone with a small bladder. :)
Most of you have certainly heard of IMDB before. Whenever you need to check some thing about a movie this is the first site to visit.
Today, I present you IMSBb - The Internet Movie Script Database - that will also appeal to most movie lovers. This IMSDb offers you the largest collection of movie scripts on the web.
Ideal for anyome wanting to plunge into the sordid details of movie making and read every tiny little detail about a movie.
Google is getting ready to make some waves again - just wait till you see their upcoming Google Wave.
According to them, this is what "email" would look like if it were to be invented now.
What is a wave?
A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.
A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.
A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.
Here's their Google Wave video.
As a side note, almost two decades ago, I was already using a "wave" to communicate with people all around the world using computers. Back in the days of 1200 and 2400baud modems, is there any reader here that still remembers using the Blue Waveoffline mail reader when BBS's ruled the computer world? :)
Feeling kind of nostalgic? Miss those old flipping time clocks?
Now you have one around in your pocket with this FlipTime(iTunes link) for the iPhone.
(It's a pity it's not free, but spending $0.99 on a quality App such as this one can't be said to be a bad move.)
If you've been around for some time, you'll probably know that while I'm a satisfied owner of an iPhone... I can't stand using iTunes!
I just sync it once every other month, to keep a backup of my iPhone and nothing else. Besides... if it wasn't required to activate and update the iPhone's firmware, I probably wouldn't have even installed it.
Proving that web development tools are becoming increasingly important, this Mozilla's Jetpack now allows the web to rewrite itself.
Instead of wasting time learning a new programminig language to write a Firefox plugin, you can now do it using the web tools and languages you already know.
Impressive!
It's no secret that the space around our planet is no longer a vast empty space.There are lots of satellites and rocket bodies - and worst of all - lots and lots of debris.
But... as they say, seeing is believing. And now you can see it all in real time, in Google Earth:
AGI has created a KML file for Google Earth allowing you to see all the space objects around our planet, in real time as tracked by USSTRATCOM.
It's over 13,000 objects including active and inactive satellites, rocket bodies, and - for the most part - debris.
A must-have KML for every Google Earth (or space) enthusiast.
If you use Google Reader to manage your feeds and share interesting news with your friends, I'm sure you've wished you could do the same with some info you've come across in some other website.
This videos shows how you can easily do that, sharing pages and clips from any webpage - with or without RSS feeds - with your friends via Google Reader.
Today, I have received some "complaints" that some of my blogs were causing errors in Internet Explorer.
The error shows up in different IE versions, from IE 6.0 to IE 8.0 and pops up an "Operation Aborted" error windows.
I googled around and found references to sitemeter (which I don't use) and problems with scripts accessing the body element in IE.
The problem is... I haven't changed anything in my blogs lately... so... I was wondering what could have been causing this.
I suspected it might have been one of the widgets I use, so I proceeded to remove those... but the problem was still there.
Even stranger, in some blogs - using the exact same widgets - everything worked fine... while in others, it didn't.
In Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera, everything worked fine as usual... this was just affecting IE.
In the end, after removing most of the external scripts and widgets, my attention turned to Google's own services: all that is left is Google Ads and Google Analytics (besides Google's own blogger plataform blogspot.)
A few minutes ago, a friend told me the Google object in javascript was indeed causing some errors.
After about 8 months, Google Chrome finally gets its largest update ever.
In this new version you'll be able to notice some improvements, such as:
you can now remove athumbnail from the start page
full-screen mode
form auto-fill
And, some less-visible but equally important ones:
improved stability (over 300 bugs were fixed)
increased speed
If you're already using Chrome, this update should be in your computer before you know it, using Google's somewhat stealthy update services. If not, just head to Chrome site and download it.
Instead of pushing an overweight OS into a tiny netbook, why not use an operating system specifically designed for it?
That's what Intel is trying to do with its Moblinproject that is arriving at its 2.0 version.
As you'll be able to see in the following video, it is looking better by the day.
If you like to squeeze the most out of Firefox you really need to see this Juice in action.
Besides allowing to explore the web in a more streamlined fashion - you just need to drag and drop a text clip to automagically get a relevant page from wikipedia, amazon, etc. - it also integrates with Last.fm, Yelp, Facebook, and even Twitter.
Check out the following video to better understand how you can profit from Juice.
Have you ever wondered how it would be to use your Eee PC as an eBook reader - or simply, how it would be to use it in portrait mode?
Well, all you need is this Eee Rotate and you can see for yourself. Just press CTRL+ALT+RIGHT to rotate the screen 90º clockwise, or press CTRL+ALT+UP to get it back to its original setting.
Better yet, the trackpad input is rotated as well, to match the screen orientation. (Though external USB mouses won't have the same treatment and become pretty much useless, unless you really have an extrordinary eye-hand coordination. :)
If you were asked to create a virtual city withou using a single photograph or stock texture, how would you do it?
This PixelCity shows you how it can be done, using just procedural methods. And as you'll be able to see in the following video, the results are... amazing.
A few weeks ago, there was a viral video running around the internet showing an "impossible" continuous shot done with a Samsung videocamera - though it wasn't really that difficult to figure it out if you paid close attention to some details.
Well, now you can see for yourself how it was done:
You've probably heard it before - the famous expression used by Carl Sagan (oh, how I miss the time I spend glued to the tv screen watching his Cosmos TV program) to describe our planet as seen from the edges of our solar system: a pale blue dot.
This is the photo that Carl Sagan referred to when he said that, the photo that inspired him to write the book with the same name: Pale Blue Dot.
This photo was taken by Voyager 1, in 1990, when it was over 6 billion kilometers from Earth. Our planet is that small tiny dot in the middle of the screen (according to Nasa our planet takes just about 12% of the size of a single pixel.)
When Voyager had completed all its mission objectives, it turned back to our own solar system and took these amazing photos - and idea by Carl Sagan himself.
But, it wasn't just Earth that Voyager photographed from that amazing distance, the same thing was done to all other planets originating a composite photo of our solar system known as "family portrait."
In spite of its weird look (due to the different exposure and filters used to maximize each shot) this composite offers an unique - and unmatched - view of how it feels to look to our solar system from the "outside."
I don't know how it makes you feel, but... realizing we're all living in a single speck of dust in this vast Universe... really makes us think twice about those "big problems" everyone thinks they have. Doesn't it?
Yesterday, myself and few couple other Google users (just about a few million - 14% of Google's users) have been unable to use Google by about an hour.
Google's official explanation is simple: they were simply rerouting us through Asia, causing a massive data traffic jam that rendered their services inaccessible to most of the affected users.
During that time, while millions complained on Twitter, there were a few ISP that were certainly having a good time, as you can see in this chart...
Can you spot when Google traffic was missing from the regular traffic usage?
Well, next time Google decides to send me to China, I just hope it does that by sending me a plane ticket - preferably a first class ticket.
At last, Google has decided to add 'to do' tasks to the place they should have been from the start: Google Calendar.
Until now, you could use 'tasks' in Gmail, using a Gmail Labs feature - and while I find useful to be able to link a task to a particular email, the truth is there isn't an easy way to see what tasks you have pending in a timely manner.
Among the millions of apps in Apple's App Store, there are certainly those that are certainly ingenious.
Just check this Email'n Walk for the iPhone, which claims to turn your emailing while walking a bit safer.
How does it accomplish that? Simple...
Instead of writing your email in a white background, this Email'n Walk uses your iPhone camera to show you youre surroundings as you walk. Just like you were typing on a transparent screen.
I can't really vouch for its "safeness", but... considering its a free App, it won't cost you anything to try it out.
Now that the hot Summer days are almost here, here's something you might not know.
The following image is real and you might see it in your iPhone's screen:
Don't panic, this temperature warning is very real and will show up whenever you iPhone detects its operating above it's maximum operating temperature (though it will still let you make emergency calls.)
If you happen to get this screen, I recommend using the "hotfix" (should I say "coldfix"?) used by the person that posted this image: just place your iPhone between two cold beers! :)
I know there are lots of option when it comes to USB car chargers, but I'm sure you'll all agree this micro auto USB charger from Belkin to much more interesting than most.
You can get your own for $15 USD ($20 with an iPhone/iPod cable.)
There's also a buklier version with 2 USB ports, which might be more useful... but certianly won't look as good as this micro-sized one.
Just yesterday I wrote about a location service for the iPhone, but according to some new screenshots, the tricks required to have someone clicking on the app to update your iPhone's location can soon become obsolete.
The new iPhone will almost certainly have an electronic compass.
For those wondering why you'd need an electronic compass when you already have GPS, I simply ask you - when you're standing at a crossroad and plan a new route, can you be sure which way to start walking?
The GPS can only estimate your direction once you're actually moving, until then... it can't tell you where to face.
Besides, having an electronic compass to assiste its accelerometers will enhance its precision when navigation without a GPS signal (while travelling underground, in tunnels, etc.)
Not to mention a much cooler streetview experience (as shown in the following video, showcasing the compass in Android)
However, the most important thing for me was seeing a "General Location" screen with a Location Daemon service.
Does this mean will have a background service updating our location constantly without requiring a running app to do it? It sure look so - and it would make perfect sense.
As you all know, not being able to run a App in the background is a major problem - especially when you consider such geolocation services that would require you to do so.
Manually updating your location whenever you'd remember to do so, isn't acceptable anymore, and I'm glad to see Apple doing something about it.
Let's hope this new Location daemon won't affect your battery life much, though... as it's a delicate balance, offering such a range of features while keeping a decent battery life.
Are you concerned your precious iPhone might be stolen at any moment?
Better be safe than sorry... First thing you should do is to ensure you have an updated backup to protect all your data, contacts, photos, music, etc. This is simple to do, as iTunes will do it for you as long as you sync your iPhone frequently.
However, if you hope to recover your iPhone once it has been stolen, you might find GadgetTrack useful.
This GadgetTrack for the iPhone (available also for other cellphones, and computers) allows you to track where you equipment is.
The process is simple:
Download the free GadgetTrack App from the App Store.
Choose your home page in "Settings" under "GadgetTrak".
Check your iPhone serial number (you can see it in iTunes when you select your iPhone.)
Run the App, register for free (email and password)
Go to http://www.gadgettrak.com/ and log in to enable the service.
When you run the App in your iPhone, it will open your selected homepage exactly like Safari -but it will be sending GPS coordinates and many more info to gadgettrack's website, allowing you to know where it is.
As you can't have background running Apps on the iPhone, we need to resort to "tricking" the burglar into running this app.
That's why GadgetTrack's icon looks similar to iPhone's own browser Safari. You just need to switch the icon placement in your iPhone screen. Putting GadgetTrak where Safari usually is.
If you iPhone gets stolen, the burglar will be fooled into running the gadgettrack app while thinking he's running Safari. You just need to login to your GadgetTrack account and find where it is - and pass that information to the police.
Tired of replacing ink cartridges and toners? It can all become a thing of the past if this new solid ink technology from Xerox is as good as advertised.
This new Xerox color printer uses solid ink - not unlike the crayons we all know - instead of the traditional color powder toners used in laser color printers.
These ink blocks are melted to produce the ink for the printing process, and allow you to print in types of paper that traditional laser printers can't.
For now, this printer is targetting the office/enterprise market - but, if it really works as we expect it to - it should be just a matter of time to see this technology trickle down into consumer grade printers.
One thing's for sure: no longer will you have to complain about your ink cartridges drying out.:)
Everything we can do is wait.
Wait for Gmail to come back online, wait for an explanation on why this happened.
(Using Gmail through my iPhone email client still works fine.)
Update: and Gmail is back online, though the status page still shows otherwise. For me it was down for about 15 minutes. What about you? Is it working already, or haven't you even noticed any problem?
A lot of people keep asking me what's the best program to download videos from YouTube.
There are lots of options, from complex to easy to use programs, but... you can download those YouTube videos without having to install any of those.
It couldn't be any easier: when you're in any youtube web page, just insert "kick" just before the youtube.com in its url, so that it becomes kickyoutube.com (as shown on the following video.)
You'll be taken to a kickyoutube webpage showing the exact same video, but with lots of different formats you can download that video in (mp4, flv, avi, mp4, HD, 3gp, iPhone, PSP, MP3, ogg, and even GIF.)
So... that's my preferred method to get any YouTube video.
(And if by any chance you've arrived to late and got that dreaded "This Video is no longer available" or "... it has been removed" - you can always check the YouTomb site.)
Have you ever wished ypu could have all the sharing and collaborative editing features of Google Docs with the more advanced functions of a native desktop application like Microsoft Office?
Well... now you can. Just see what OffiSync has to offer:
There are dozens of apps to transfer images and contacts between iPhones and iPods Touch. However, this Moover really makes it stand out from the rest.
You just need to slide your files around... and that's it.
... better check the video to fully understand how cool it is!
There's no doubt about it: bigger is often better, especially when applied to screen real estate.
When Asus first launched its soon-to-become sucessful Eee PC its biggest problem was its smallish 7" screen and its nearly unusable 800x480 low-resolution.
Asus took its time, but then realized it was indeed a mistake. Newer models were much better, with a 9" and 10" LCD offering a much nicer 1024x600 resolution.
Well, get ready... at the end of the month you should be able to get a new Eee PC with a 11.6" LCD and - hopefully - enabling higher resolutions.
To be honest, the current 1024x600 are still a bit cramped (though inifintely better than the previous 800x480 of the original Eee PC model.) For that form factor, a 1280x800 resolution would be a lot more useful and prevent a lot of vertical scrolling while browsing - not to mention they would be able to attach a new HD Ready sticker to it, enabling you to watch 720p HD videos.
Let's wait a few more days to see if we get detailed specs for this new Eee PC.
If you can't live without emoticons in your emails and think the one in Gmail are not enough, you'll be pleased to know that... you have a bunch of new emoticons waiting for you in the Labs section!
You just need to enable the "Extra Emoji" setting and you'll be able to use many more icons:
Fancy a glass of ?
Or maybe you just want to hop around like a ?
Or maybe even just around in a path of happiness.
Just enable your extra emoji in Gmail and start spreading the emoticon love around! :)
Easy: RunPee.
Most of you have certainly heard of IMDB before. Whenever you need to check some thing about a movie this is the first site to visit.
Among the millions of apps in Apple's App Store, there are certainly those that are certainly ingenious.
I know there are lots of option when it comes to USB car chargers, but I'm sure you'll all agree this micro auto USB charger from Belkin to much more interesting than most.
If you're curious about the latest Windows 7 from Microsoft, you can now try it from Microsoft's official site.
