Monday, November 30, 2009
My Own Youtube Channel
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Smartbook AG launches absolutely gaudy $3,000 Swarovski-laden netbook
Taking a break from making headlines over infringement rights, Smartbook AG has found an entirely new way to get our attention. Introducing the Zenid GC Crystal, a "smartbook" that's, as Netbooknews.de points out, one of the most common Chinese ODM netbooks, the S40 -- 10.2-inch WXGA LED screen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N280, 2GB DDR2 RAM, WiFi, and so on. You can get a non-crystal version for 299 euros, but really, we know you're wanting to go ridiculously lavish here, and that's precisely where the Crystal variant doesn't disappoint. Completely encrusted in Swarovski crystals, the asking price jumps to 2,001 euros, or approximately $3,000 in currency from across the pond. We'd like to point and laugh more, but deep down, we know there's enough comically wealthy people out there to probably justify this.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
YouTube adds 1080p HD
The world’s most popular video-sharing site is planning to offer content in all of its high-resolution glory. YouTube announced that it will allow users to upload and view video in full HD; a 1080p test video is now available. All of you viewers with fast computers and even faster broadband connections will soon get to indulge in much more.
It’s been about a year since the Google-owned broadcaster made 720p video available. In that time, full-HD camcorders have become relatively common and more of YouTube’s content has been uploaded as 1080p, though it wasn't viewable as such. The company plans to re-encode all of this previously created material so that viewers will be able to take advantage of its original resolution.
It’s hard to believe that YouTube has only been around for a little over four years. It will not be the first video-sharing site to offer full HD, but it will almost certainly be the one to bring it to the masses. Alternately derided and celebrated for blockbusters like “Charlie Bit My Finger,” YouTube has recently become eager to present commercial content and compete with the likes of Hulu, a joint venture of three major broadcast networks. Last spring, YouTube began to offer some premium content from Hollywood; the term “premium” should be used loosely, however, since the pickings have been slim. In September, the Wall Street Journal reported [subscription required] that YouTube was in serious talks with major film studios to stream movies on a rental basis.
The move to 1080p should support those initiatives. It’s conceivable that YouTube could provide Blu-ray quality streams for paid content. For regular folk, full HD will mean the chance to share those bloopers and family videos on a wall-size screen. Would-be auteurs should be aware that, for now, YouTube will still limit user-generated content to 10 minutes in length. It seems plausible, however, that the current 2GB file-size limit will get a lift, considering how monstrously large those 1080p videos will be. Get those cameras rolling!
10 Fascinating Facts about Black Friday
Nov 15, 2009 6:45 pm
Like it or not, it's coming soon. Black Friday is only days away, and the 2009 edition of Busiest Shopping Day of the Year will boast some impressive bargains. Here are ten things you should know:
Netbook and laptop deals are hot. Leaked Black Friday ads show impressive door-buster bargains from big box retailers. Examples from BlackFriday.info include:
- $400 Toshiba 16-inch laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo chip, 3GB RAM, 250GB hard drive) from Best Buy
- $250 Acer 11.6-inch netbook (Intel Atom Z520, 2GB RAM, 250GB hard drive) from Radio Shack
- $380 Acer Aspire 15.6-inch laptop (AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core L310, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive from Office Depot
Of course, stores will have limited quantities of these loss leaders. Are you an early bird?
Wal-Mart will stay open 24 hours. The deals may start at 5 a.m., but the world's biggest retailer will open hours before that. After last year's tragic trampling death of a Wal-Mart employee in Long Island, New York, the world's biggest retailer will open very early to ease crowds.
The bad economy may lure more shoppers. Unemployment rates are the highest they've been in nearly three decades, and retailers are worried that consumers will be frugal for the holidays. As a result, there may be more competition for those $299 laptops and $99 Blu-ray players on Black Friday.
$3 appliances at Target. What costs less than that venti mocha you're drinking outside Target at 4 a.m.? How about a new coffeemaker? Target is practically giving away some Chefmate appliances, including toasters, and coffee and sandwich makers. Somewhere, George Foreman is crying.
Social networks for screaming buys. Why scour newspaper flyers and discount sites for the hottest deals? Many major retailers now use social media sites to trumpet their doorbusters. Staples, for instance, is using Facebook and Twitter to get the word out.
HDTVs have gotten really cheap. It's no secret that tech gear always gets less expensive and more powerful, but high-def TVs are looking particularly economical this season. Examples from Black Friday Ads include a $663 Sony 40-inch LCD 1080p HDTV from Best Buy; and a $590 Toshiba 40-in 1080p LCD set from Sears. (Caveat: These aren't the latest models. The Sony set, for instance, has a 60Hz refresh rate, which isn't the best for sports and other fast action. Newer models have 120Hz and 240Hz refresh rates.)
Yes, the desktop really is dead. You'll find a smattering of deals on desktop PCs, but the real action is with netbooks and laptops. Come to think of it, desktops have been collecting dust on store shelves for some time now.
There's an app for that. Thanks to shopping site dealnews, iPhone users can download a free app to browse Black Friday ads from top retailers. And once Black Friday ends, the dealnews app will list Cyber Monday sales too.
Even Macs are on sale. Apple typically doesn't duke it out with the Windows PC boys in the bargain basement. But that doesn't mean that Mac fans won't find deals. Best Buy will give a $150 gift card to shoppers who buy a $1000 MacBook (13.3-inch display). MacMall and other retailers have Apple deals too.
Black Friday has already begun. It started in early November, in fact, as JCPenney, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart all kicked off Black Friday-style specials, both online and in their brick-and-mortar stores. Indeed, Black Friday is no longer a single day of discounts, but rather a month-long extravaganza of consumerist frenzy.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Get six Mac apps absolutely free
No strings attached, just six worthwhile Mac apps for the grand total of $0.
Remember MacHeist from earlier this year? For $39 you got nine complete, unlocked Macintosh programs worth about $600. And 25 percent of your payment went to one of several deserving charities.
I've got good news, better news, and bad news. The good news is that MacHeist is back, this time with a bundle of six Mac apps worth $154.
The better news is that this time, the bundle's free. Really. Just...free. Download it and be on your way.
The bad news, of course, is that there's no money for charity, nor even an option to make a donation. That's disappointing, and I can't help wondering why the organizers went that route.
In any case, the MacHeist nanoBundle includes Hordes of Orcs, Mariner Write, ShoveBox, WriteRoom, TinyGrab, and Twitterific. I'm not really familiar with any of them (except Twitterific, which is great), but you can read complete descriptions on the MacHeist page.
As it happens, Mariner Write is "locked" until MacHeist reaches 500,000 participants (they're currently just shy of 100,000). I could understand the logic behind this system for the previous bundle, when there was money involved, but now I don't get it.
I don't mean to sound so pessimistic about this. After all, it's free software, and Mac users don't usually get a lot of freebies. So, by all means, grab this bundle while you can: The offer ends five days from now.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Best Halloween Costume
This costume is a well-thought-out peice of work. It's obvious that it's based upon the Transformers, but just watch him transform... :)
