Switchblog

From CNN: "Google, the popular search engine company, registered for a $2.7 billion initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday."

Amazing. Now I have to read how stocks work to fully understand the impact of this news! I can't recall if we actually did discuss stocks in my business classes. Which makes me wonder... what if I go to college again? Maybe most of my classes would make sense to me now that I can see the practicality of all of the subject matters.

Posted by Joel at 07:49 AM | Permalink

If you're using the new Palm Desktop 4.2.1 for Mac, chances are you might encounter an iSync conflict. Here's what I did to solve the problem:

Go to Hotsync Manager.
On the menu bar: Hotsync - Conduit Settings.
Set the following:
Backup - Backup
Install - Install Files
ISync Conduit - (checked)
Others - Do Nothing

(I use a Clie UX50 and iSync via Bluetooth with my Powerbook)

Posted by Joel at 01:24 PM | Permalink

Why are two of my favorite programs, iCalViewer and LaunchBar suddenly using orange colored icons?

Posted by Joel at 10:43 AM | Permalink

Free downloads schedule... 1 down, 7 to go. I'll then make an iMix with this 1st anniversary free song collection.

Posted by Joel at 10:32 AM | Permalink

Just when I was enjoying new features streamlining my web efficiency within Opera, I suddenly could not send email. I checked Mail prompting me to make a screenshot of the number of "new" mail collected since I last used Mail. Mail was able to receive and send email.

I could not trace the problem so I posted my experience at the newsgroups. Hopefully, it is a problem at Opera's side and not within the Powerbook. I would hate to hunt down a rogue setting that's causing all this.

That's the Firefox icon up there too. I fire it up whenever I check my Gmail account.

Posted by Joel at 10:24 AM | Permalink

"Using iTunes 4.5, you can DJ your own parties with Party Shuffle, share playlists with friends, print jewel case inserts, and much more."

With "much more" is music video, movie trailers, and WMA support to name a few. With these kinds of updates, how can anyone beat iTunes? Of course what would be nice is a new version of the iPod, offering video support perhaps?

Posted by Joel at 12:50 AM | Permalink

PalmOne now features the new Zire models. My first PDA was the USRobotics PalmPilot. My current PDA is the Sony Clie UX50. Looking back, I cannot help but look with awe at all the PDA innovations. It's nothing but good things for us in the future!

Posted by Joel at 04:04 PM | Permalink

I got a 100-pack blank CD-R at eBay. Not only did I wait for more than a month for it, the CD's plastic wrapper burst. The box was big to begin with and the guy just put in one small bubble pack and loose paper to "protect" the CD pack. I went through the CDs and found four which might be unusable.

Together with this order was a 128MB Lexar Jumpdrive . Though the package was already opened, the drive is still in pristine condition.

eBay will pretty much burn you if you're not careful. A good rule is to only deal with people who have 95%-100% positive feedback and would have a large number of successful transactions behind them. Communication is helpful too. Most important, do not ever be "trigger happy" in eBay. Use the search function, compare prices, and email the sellers. With all these in mind, you'll most probably benefit from the vast market eBay offers.

Posted by Joel at 03:12 PM | Permalink

Atheros has mass produced an 802.11g chip. This could mean faster wireless capabilities for handhelds. Being so, I think Sony has one of their own and will be releasing this together with their first OS6 Clie.

Posted by Joel at 02:45 PM | Permalink

Cocktail 3.4.6 is out and features:

Significantly improved startup time

Fixed "System version stamp is missing" error

Added Log Out option to Pilot

Added possibility to stop scheduled Pilot tasks

Added new features to Specifications

Added compatibility with Unsanity ShapeShifter

Added Commands (BSD General Commands Manual) reader

Other minor fixes and improvements

There are free alternatives like Onyx, but Cocktail was the first I've used on a Mac. In my Powerbook, Cocktail is set to run at 1:00AM Mondays.

Posted by Joel at 07:21 AM | Permalink

I have been doing the school's yearbook for most of the year now. We have chosen to have everything printed in the mainland so there were deadlines to meet. I was able to ship 1/3 of the yearbook ($5.75 at the local post office) last Friday. Last weekend, I was planning to do the 8th grade events -- which I've delayed making because of the lack of ideas for the design. (and because of that exercise jump start).

I was able to make a collage for the 8th grade after cleaning up several of their solo shots. This should make me happy but I became cranky instead when the entire image won't import into Pagemaker! I'm still figuring out alternative plans.

Posted by Joel at 11:18 PM | Permalink

I badly need to exercise. Last Saturday at Westin, I just travelled two flights of stairs and was already slightly gasping for breath. Gasping for breath does not usually happen to me so this is a cause for alarm. So I decided to clean the car to jump start my body to remember how to strain itself. I realized I'm out of shape because weird aches and pains resulted from this.

Posted by Joel at 11:15 PM | Permalink

Over the weekend, I learned that my TH55 was dispatched (UK's own term for "shipped"). I've bookmarked Royal Mail and have been inputting the TH55's tracking number knowing full well that, like all post offices, Royal Mail is closed on weekends. The TH55 " is currently progressing through our network for delivery abroad."

I can't believe how excited I am. I have already ordered a leather case, a retractable sync cable, a screen protector, and screw covers. These have already arrived and are aching to be used.

Posted by Joel at 03:36 PM | Permalink

I haven't visited the iTunes record store for quite a while now. It was a welcome surprise to see the Disney Records all available! I'll be buying the soundtracks beginning from The Little Mermaid, very soon.

A few years ago, I lost some of my CDs when some people borrowed them and decided to forget to return them. Now I won't be losing any more of my collection.

Posted by Joel at 03:52 PM | Permalink

Gmail can now run in Safari. It's still in its testing phase but I've just tried it and it does work.

Posted by Joel at 01:04 AM | Permalink

"Opera Software today released the beta 1 of version 7.50, redesigned from the bottom up for Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD and Solaris. Today's release marks the first time that upgrades for all desktop platforms have been released simultaneously, with Opera now bringing its Mac browser up to par. Opera 7.50 offers users a significantly improved user experience, with added Internet functions and an entirely new user interface."

Check out the screenshot to see Opera's latest look and download from there. Here's more info.

This beta version has become even better than the recent Previews. It's something I'm even prouder to recommend. Enjoy!

Posted by Joel at 07:21 AM | Permalink

I got invited to try out Gmail! I haven't played around with it extensively but here's the catch...

I'm confirming that Gmail cannot be accessed in Opera, IE, OmniWeb and Safari! I was only able to access my account through Firefox. Opera set to identify as IE 6.0 brings you to an ActiveX error screen, while identify as Opera just brings you to a blank screen. I'm sure support for Safari and the other browsers would come soon. Safari and IE just brings you to a blank screen too.

Google ads are working but I don't mind seeing them. In fact, Yahoo Mail and MSN look more cluttered compared with Gmail. The issue of privacy is fine by me because I'm pretty sure ad search code is just being run and the messages are not monitored by real people.

There's a marking system called stars. "Stars let you give messages a special status to make them easier to find. To star a message, click on the light blue star beside any message or conversation." This is also known as flags in other email apps.

Reply boxes can be "torn off." You can choose to reply in a regular text entry box but clicking on a button can open a reply box in a separate floating window.

Clicking through feature links within Gmail brings up the features fast. It seems like everything is pre-cached.

There are still other features I haven't tested yet but here's a page showing some more of what Gmail has to offer.

Posted by Joel at 02:35 PM | Permalink

I think I haven't posted any picture of my lab so there it is. I basically live here workday to workday. Sometimes I even go on Saturdays. There are two large airconditioners making my stay as comfortable as possible. Some of my students complain that it gets too cold so I raise the temperature when that happens. One door leads the comfort rooms (for faculty) and onwards to the Faculty Room which has its own small reading room and kitchen. My Murano is just parked outside.

About the Macs, we have 9 classic iMacs (2 Blueberry, 7 Bondi), 15 iMac DVs, 2 eMacs, 2 PowerMac G4s, and 1 iBook. Everything is networked and runs on a single DSL line! My experiences in this lab helped me to decide to switch. So on November 2003, I got a 17" Powerbook.

Posted by Joel at 03:59 PM | Permalink

What is it?

"VoodooPad is a new kind of notepad. It's like having your own personal hypertext library, where you can jot down notes, web addresses, to-do lists... Anything on your mind. VoodooPad automatically links each page together, to form a miniature world wide web, on your desktop! Anybody familiar with the WikiWikiWeb will feel right at home with VoodooPad."

I've been delaying trying this out because I have zero experience with wikis. Now that there's an update, I think I'll play around with it and see what I can get out of it.

Posted by Joel at 03:43 PM | Permalink

I've been fascinated with a GPS being used as a tracking device. I even plan to buy one for the Murano or even what Reggie has posted at /gadget. However, I saw this at The Gadgeteer, it's Blue Tag. It's a Bluetooth tracking device.

With the new BlueTag, the BTBT004, comes a new and unique functionality; the alerts button. The button is placed on front of the tag and is used to automatically send off an alert to specified individuals. The BTBT004 is a natural choice for amusement parks and zoological gardens wanting to supply their customers with a child location service.

Posted by Joel at 09:40 AM | Permalink

Apple has reportedly filed a patent for a rotating display! Engadget likes to see it on a new Newton but I couldn't help but smile because screen orientation has been in the wish list of Clie users for quite a while now.

Since the Newton came into the picture again, if Apple comes out with a PDA, I'm surely going to go for it.

Posted by Joel at 07:04 AM | Permalink

Winners of the 2003 Nebula Awards were announced at a banquet Saturday evening, April 17, in Seattle, Washington.

NOVEL
The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon (Ballantine)

NOVELLA
Coraline, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)

NOVELETTE
"The Empire of Ice Cream", Jeffrey Ford (Sci Fiction, 26 Feb 2003)

SHORT STORY
"What I Didn't See", Karen Joy Fowler (Sci Fiction 10 Jul 2002)

SCRIPT
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair & Peter Jackson (New Line Cinema; based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien)

Other awards, as previously announced, were presented: the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award was given to Robert Silverberg, and the Service to SFWA Awards were presented to Ann Crispin and Michael Capobianco.

This is a wake up call for me... to start reading again! I've been prolonging reading Coraline and now that it's a winner (a Nebula!) I have no excuse to delay finishing it.

Posted by Joel at 11:35 PM | Permalink

OSAKA (Kyodo) Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Apple Computer Inc. of the United States have jointly developed an editing system for television programs targeting high-definition broadcasts, Matsushita officials said Monday.

The new system consists of a device that replays and edits recorded tapes and software that edits visual images and inserts subtitles, the officials said. The functions can be performed on a computer screen.

The system will be sold to TV production houses and TV stations for nearly 4 million yen -- much cheaper than the more than 50 million yen for existing systems with similar functions.

The Japan Times: April 20, 2004

Posted by Joel at 10:55 PM | Permalink

I'm beginning to post at palmonecity. Lance, our editor-in-chief, has stepped down and from now on, Reggie, Ced, and I will be handling the news. It's a bit of a challenge to find Palm-related news after getting used to looking for Clie-only news. I'm taking this slowly so my plan is to post single news items first and let Ced handle the multiple-item news. Once I've been broken-in, I'll do my normal three-item news.

Posted by Joel at 10:13 AM | Permalink

from left to right:

ecto - a blog client that takes advantage of the flexibility of Movable Type. I use this 90% of the time for Switchblog but when I'm not near my Powerbook, I use Movable Type's web-based interface.

LaunchBar - I'm testing a beta version. Pressing Command+Space and a letter will launch a file beginning or containing that letter. It can uncannily predict what app you want to launch. It's exclusive to OS X and it's something to show-off to Windows users.

Adium - handles my MSN, ICQ, and Yahoo IMs. I've configured the contacts window to be 100% transparent making it appear as if text is part of my desktop background.

Transmit - an ftp program. Though I also like Fetch, Transmit just looks like a normal Finder window with its Aqua interface. (I'm a sucker for Aqua-interfaced apps because I like it when developers take an extra mile to take app design into consideration). It's also cool to see that truck bounce when you first launch the app.

Opera - what can I say? Opera is my default browser, news reader, and email program all rolled into one. I discovered Opera during my Windows days and I can say that the Mac Elektrans (Opera for Mac developers and testers) are the most dedicated bunch of developers I have the pleasure to work with. Currently in Preview 4, Opera for the first time, has released a simultaneous update for all its platforms. Opera is for the brave and for the adventurous ... Safari, Firefox, Mozilla, IE are fine but ... well... they're boring.

Mail - yeah, I said Opera is my email program but sometimes I fire up Mail to search for very old email. Look at that the number of "new" mail in that icon! That's how long it's been since I've accessed my mail. I'll post a pic soon just to get a kick of seeing a huge number of "unread" mail.

Posted by Joel at 09:33 AM | Permalink

This morning, I closed down the lid of the Powerbook and disconnected the network cable before I left for work. When I got to my destination, I opened the Powerbook and nothing. The white, blinking latch light was off. Pressing the spacebar didn't wake it up too. .. it's as if it was in a deep sleep. I had to press the power button for about 5 seconds to force a shutdown.

I've restarted and here I am. I don't know what caused that but I'll surely do some spring cleaning this weekend.

(Maybe the Powerbook has felt that I overslept too. This morning, I didn't even hear the alarm clock and it was supposed to be ringing for 10 seconds, every three minutes, for 30 minutes!)

Posted by Joel at 12:45 PM | Permalink

"Popular Mechanics decided to investigate Apple’s claims that the G5 PowerMac was the world’s fastest personal computer, but found out it was a lot trickier than they expected (Apple actually was forced to rescind those claims by the Independent Television Commission in the UK)."

"Computing technology evolves at an astounding speed. AMD now has its Athlon 64-bit chip, which probably beats the G5 (we didn't have one to test). But at press time there were rumors that Apple was set to introduce a 2.6-GHz G5 within weeks, likely leapfrogging the competition again. Who's fastest? We suppose it depends on when you ask and what tests you run.

But in a way, the controversy over Apple's use of SPEC benchmarks, the discarding of the "fastest computer" claim and the adoption of new tests may call into question the idea of benchmarks themselves rather than Apple. A computer is a system of components that work together. The CPU, RAM, data bus, hard drive, operating system and video card must work together to produce today's blazing speeds. Any one of those components can drag down the overall speed of a system. Simply measuring a single component tells very little about the system's total performance.

Maybe instead of asking which computer is the fastest, people should ask which is the most useful for what they want it to do."

From Engadget and Popular Mechanics.

Posted by Joel at 09:59 AM | Permalink

Ok... why do I still have 4MB of standard Yahoo!Mail storage when new members get to have 6MB?

Posted by Joel at 09:25 AM | Permalink |

Opera 7.50 Preview 4 is now available.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you're witnessing history. With this release, Opera Software marks the first time in its history that updates for all our desktop platforms based on the same code have been released simultaneously.

Opera 7.50 Preview 4 for Mac is available for download. As usual, discuss the new version in opera.mac and in the my.opera.com Opera for Mac forum. Please do not distribute the download link directly, but link to the post in opera.mac or in the my.opera.com Opera for Mac forum."

=== Major Changes ===
* Improved OS Integration *
* Continued User Interface Experimentation*
*Improved Opera Mail Resource Usage *
* Optimized Performance *

A detailed list of changes is available at http://snapshot.opera.com/mac/m750p4.html#detail.

That's my screenshot up there.

Posted by Joel at 09:09 AM | Permalink

The iPod Mini has become so popular that it's already backordered. Some believe that the shortage is true but others say that Apple is just tweaking the iPod Mini because of some audio problems. Meanwhile, there are reports that Apple is offering a 15GB iPod "upgrade" to those who have backordered iPod Minis.

Posted by Joel at 08:51 PM | Permalink

Apple has announced the updated eMac.

1.25GHz PowerPC G4
256MB DDR333 SDRAM
40GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo drive

$799.00

1.25GHz PowerPC G4
256MB DDR333 SDRAM
80GB Ultra ATA drive
SuperDrive

$999.00

I was surprised that Apple did this but I don't mind. The price is right for schools or for those who are planning to get their first Mac. The eMac's screen is protected behind a glass front panel as opposed to the suspended and unprotected flat panel screen of the iMac. When you have kids using Macs (or basically any computer) you'll notice that fingerprints usually find their way on the screen.

The eMac also comes with a 17-inch flat CRT screen and a 32MB ATI Radeon 9200 graphics card.

Posted by Joel at 02:54 PM | Permalink

I noticed it once or twice but I never really tried to identify the computer. The Apprentice had this computer that has a huge screen. It turns out that it's the TekPanel 300. It sells for $6495 and is "perfect for multi-taskers, conference room presentations, video editing, home theater/gaming and PC computing."

Here are the full specs:

Processor
Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 2.4 GHz w/512K L2 Advanced Transfer Cache and 533MHz FSB
(Processor upgrade available)

Memory
512MB DDR SRAM expandable to 2GB

Storage
IBM 120GB ATA100 7200RPM Hard Drive (Optional expansion to 200GB)

Media Drives
Toshiba® E-IDA 16X/10X/40X/12X CD-RW/DVD-ROM

Display
30” WXGA LCD/TFT Full Color ACTIVE MATRIX w/176° viewing angle (S-IPS)

Graphics
ATI All-In-Wonder® Radeon® Graphics Accelerator

Audio and Speakers
Bose® MediaMate® Sound System w/dual inputs and source mix controls

Modem
V.92 56K USB 2.0 Modem

Network Connectivity
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet

Keyboard & Mouse
Wireless

Input/Output
NTSC or PAL-TV, Cable, Satellite, DVD, PC, USB 2.0, 10/100 Ethernet, HD-TV Ready, Dolby Digital AC-3 “Home Theater”

Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Posted by Joel at 05:36 PM | Permalink

If you want to be exposed to a myriad of points-of-views and IE-only HTML code, then visit Xanga. If you're brave enough to go in there, here are some things to remember (these were borrowed from another site by the way)...

"Here are some things to think about when you read a teens blog.

1.) Take everything lightly.

2.) Don't believe everything you read.

3.) If you read your kids blog, make a promise to yourself that you won't get angry no matter what."

Posted by Joel at 02:52 PM | Permalink

It was an unusually tiring day today. The day began hunting for a camera that was never there. Walking to and from the church was something I thought that was good to wake me up on a Monday. This continued on to running around with kids during a late Easter egg hunt.

Just when I was about to take a break (half an egg salad sandwich and a gatorade which I was looking forward to eating), I was called to take pictures. I lugged around my stuff but decided to leave the sandwich and drink near the floor outside the door (hoping cats won't deprive me of my midday treasure) because it would be impolite to bring it with me while taking pictures. After the pictures were done, I ran to the kitchen to almost greedily consume my self-given prize.

Now fueled, I rushed to my Powerbook to export pictures for the web. All the while, I was wondering why greek mythology was being taught during 5th grade computer class.

I welcomed my classes back as soon as it was my turn to teach. I was impressed to see them eager to draw their product inventions.

Real snack time was spent with the other 5th graders because they needed to have their class picture taken for a full page ad they were planning to create (with my help, as I began to understand later on).

Back to lectures for my other 7th grade class and 8th grade class! I really did miss giving lectures. I don't know what side of the brain controls this activity but I actually found it refreshing.

For lunch, I had fried chicken, a Pepsi, four Reese's cups, and a Hershey's truffle. "Can you handle all that sugar?" a co-teacher asked. "You don't know what I've been going through." my mind answered as I smiled back.

Then is was my last class for the day. This 8th grade class is always a challenge to handle because I believe their mindset is always on dismissal time.

And it was dismissal time but I still had to run to fix an Appleworks problem, figure out a network disconnection, create a rough draft one page ad (and print it too), and wondered how I will be able to finish my lesson plan!

Dash and I went shopping for a few "Oh so you're having a kids party!" stuff and had dinner at KFC in the mall. I showed Dash how to play Unreal Tournament 2003 before I went home to begin constructing my lesson plan.

I'm done with my lesson plan by the way. I had to create new lesson for my other classes but I couldn't help but stare at the April calendar from time to time -- two more weeks for my 8th graders, a month more for my other classes!

What happened today was unusual and I felt it had to be unusually blogged too. Gotta sleep now, my neurons are complaining.

Posted by Joel at 11:36 PM | Permalink

I've finally decided to register ecto. My trial registration has expired a few days back and I've been using Movable Type's online interface. Movable Type's web interface is great but ecto is more flexible for me. I can have easy access to HTML commands, upload controls, and there's even iTunes support. Besides that, I always feel a thrill whenever I buy an OS X product. It seems that more thought goes into the design of the product compared to those in other platforms. I also bought Unison and I'm evaluating Transit but I'll talk about those programs next time.

Posted by Joel at 02:53 PM | Permalink

If you use Appleworks, chances are you've been experiencing that the program gets slower and slower each time you use it.

Here's how to speed up Appleworks:

1. Delete everything in Documents/Appleworks User Data/Starting Points/Recent Items
2. Delete everything in Documents/Appleworks User Data/Autosave/

That's it. Repeat steps 1 and 2 every time you experience that Appleworks seems to be slowing down. Appleworks has a bug that does not automatically delete or clear what's no longer used in those folders so we would have to manually clear it at the moment.

Appleworks is still my choice for writing, doing spreadsheets, and creating databases.

Posted by Joel at 11:19 PM | Permalink

The Sony Clie TH55/E is backordered in all shops in the UK. Sony apparently did not expect this Clie to be so popular. I believe the reason is Bluetooth capability. For inexplicable reasons, Sony did not provide Bluetooth for the US TH55.

I've ordered my unit originally from Amazon UK but I cancelled it due to poor customer support. I've since moved to Clove and communication with them through email has been perfect. Here's hoping that I could get my unit same time next week.

Posted by Joel at 02:11 AM | Permalink

This blog can be viewed using my handwriting font. So if you'd like to see how it would look as if I've written it on paper, then feel free to download the font. Install it then refresh the page.

The font was created for free at Fontifier. If you have your own scanner, you could make your personalized font too.

Posted by Joel at 11:41 AM | Permalink

Dash and I decided to have lunch at Long John Silver's in Hagatna last Monday. We ordered a sampler together with a full array of sauces (tartar, shrimp, malt vinegar, and hot) and chose to sit near a painting called "Drive Thru Man" (which we loved after figuring out what it was all about). The LJS batter is unusually crunchy and hard for the shrimp and a mixture of hard/soft for the fish. I don't know if this is really how they do it at LJS's but I prefer lighter (but still crunchy) batter (think tempura). We also learned not to mix sauces: let tartar be for fish and shrimp sauce be for shrimps and you should be able to appreciate how everything was designed to be experienced. Finally, we think the soda machine was not calibrated... the Diet Pepsi was a little too bland for our taste.

So that's it, our first adventure at Long John Silver's. Nothing unusual. I think its popularity is a bit too overrated. I believe I'll find myself leaning towards Taco Bell rather than Long John Silver's next time.

Posted by Joel at 11:06 AM | Permalink

I found another use for my Memory Stick Pro and the card reader in the PCMCIA slot. I now use it together with Backup 2.0. Though Backup allows you to create a copy of anything in your Mac, I just chose the most vital files to store in the Memory Stick.

I backed up the following:
Address Book contacts
Stickies notes
iCal calendars
Safari settings
Keychain (for passwords)

Later on, I'm planning to purge the Powerbook from its extra contents (ie. Renew which is currently eating up 141.4MB by just running in the background) and would make my first full backup on a DVD. By the way, there's another application, I forget its name, that allows you to backup on a DV tape!

Posted by Joel at 10:46 AM | Permalink

Guam is in condition 4 right now (destructive winds of 50 knots or greater are possible within 72 hours). It's a good thing that the typhoon is not going to hit Guam but it might go straight at Yap and on to the Philippines. Still the winds are picking up and sometimes, the places in the periphery of the typhoon do get damaged by the winds.

What I admire most in Guam is disaster preparedness. A few days before a storm, a list of necessities is flashed every so often in the info channel on TV (and repeated in the news and printed in the papers). I like the fact that among the list are pregnant women -- they are required to go to the hospital whenever there's a storm coming in.

What I hate are stores taking advantage of the situation. There are laws in place regarding price gouging but still, some smaller stores get away with it. Hah! What goes around comes around...

Posted by Joel at 10:08 AM | Permalink

If you have plans of adding links in your blog but find it a daunting process to add html code in your template then blogrolling.com is for you. Blogrolling offers a web-based interface to organize your blog links. Plus, the site is full of links to interesting blogs too. Right now, I've added two of my former students' blogs in my links list. More would follow of course.

I've just signed up and you can see the results on the lower right part of the sidebar.

Posted by Joel at 06:56 PM | Permalink

It's brought to us by shellen.com. Jason Shellen is an employee of Google.

Looking through the screenshots, I think I'd be getting an account. Not only are the ads unobtrusive, the email space is astronomical as well. There have been privacy concerns regarding how Adwords are generated based on your email but I don't mind.

Spymac is offering 1GB of email space too but the term "spymac" is not something I'd want to be associated with.

Posted by Joel at 06:11 PM | Permalink

Here's one cool site that only (!) works in Internet Explorer: Starship Dimensions.

What is this site all about? "The images below are all exactly to scale, 10 pixels to a meter. Internet Explorer users may Click and Drag the starships to compare them as you like. At the bottom of the image are some contemporary vehicles and buildings for reference. Have fun!"

I don't know why I was draw to this site. I guess it's just the sheer thrill of comparing existing objects to fantasy ones. It's the first time, I've seen many ships from different sci-fi shows side by side in one page.

I found myself dragging ships and objects beside each other and thinking how these would look like flying or floating around each other. I dragged the Eiffel Tower beside the Borg Cube to get an idea of how immense the Cube really is. I even dragged the SDF-1 beside the Borg Cube, imagining if it's easy for the SDF-1 and its complement of fighters to take on the Borg.

Excellent site overall. If you're a sci-fi fan this site is something you won't forgive yourself for not visiting.

Posted by Joel at 01:40 PM | Permalink

"We are pleased to inform you of the result of
the Lottery Winners International programs held on the 8th
November,2003.

Your e-mail address attached to ticket number
370982217413-7240 with
serial number 4708-325 drew lucky numbers 2-34-28-13-41
which
consequently won in the 7th category, you have therefore
been
approved for a lump sum pay of US$3.5,000.000 ( Three
million five
hundred thousand United States Dollar
CONGRATULATIONS!!!"

I knew from the start that it's a hoax. I was tempted to email the guy to play around with him a bit but it might lead to more spam. I had a good laugh anyway.

Here's a news article at the Sunday Mail, Australia.

Posted by Joel at 09:39 PM | Permalink

The other day, I saw a picture of the new Batmobile! It's a completely different design. Someone commented that Batman does not care for the environment by driving this type of vehicle. But then, which superhero is really caring for the environment? Anyway, my main concern with the Batmobile is, wouldn't the front wheels throw dust and debris on to the windshield?

Posted by Joel at 03:09 PM | Permalink

SMBMate is a freeware product and Hands High Software requested that it be not distributed anymore. There was a heated exchange of posts at Cliesource.

Just this morning, I received the following:

"I wanted to reply to the many concerned people on this group and give some background as to why I asked that SMB Mate stop being distributed. I am sorry for the pain and suffering our request caused.

First of all, I have no intention of impinging any free-speech rights, nor am I threatening anyone with law suits. Also, as pointed out, the SMB Mate license currently gives you license to distribute the product non-commercially.

The reason that I asked Joel to remove it from distribution was that we try to support our products, including some level of support for our free products, but we would prefer not to support SMB Mate in its current form. If it is widely distributed by others, then these support requests will take away energy that we should be putting into the new WiFile product. Even though the license says it is not supported, people will ask.

In addition, WiFile has the ability to reset a server. This "feature" has given some system administrators concern, and can be used maliciously. If you find SMB Mate personally useful, I encourage you to continue to use it. However, if you choose to distribute it, please do so with responsibility.

Some have raised the question of whether SMB Mate uses any code from Samba. The answer is no. The SMB code was developed independently over many painstaking months with a packet analyzer.

I hope that you will like the new version of WiFile when it comes out. We have taken a very different approach to the user-interface, and are trying to make setting it up and using it as easy and intuitive as possible. I am sure some of you will be disappointed, though. While WiFile adds some things, there are features in SMB Mate that will not be in the first version of WiFile. However, I think for most users, they will find it an enjoyable experience.

Murad, the author of SMB Mate, works for Hands High Software now, and has become an important member of our team. Your support of WiFile will directly benefit him.

In the future, if you have concerns, please feel free to email us at support@handshigh.com.

Thanks,

Shannon Pekary, President
Hands High Software

Posted by Joel at 11:23 AM | Permalink

That is really a screenshot for the first person shooter Daedalus 3D running on a Clie UX50. The game's fluid and fast and that's surprising for a game running on the UX50. Most of the developers have been having a hard time working with the UX50's processor called the Handheld Engine. It's a good thing to see that at least one company has learned how to develop a game that's working well. Right now, the game runs on the TJ-series, TH55, and UX-series. UX series owners would be in an advantage here because of landscape support.

Posted by Joel at 11:12 AM | Permalink

Congratulations to my sister for getting her driver's license! More so, I'm proud of her for driving from Manila to Quezon City to Caloocan on her own. If you've experienced driving in the Philippines, you'd know that it's no easy task to drive solo all around town.

Posted by Joel at 10:39 AM | Permalink

I think I'm really burned out but have not cared to even consider it. For the past few days, all I was looking forward to was the Easter break. Sure I would do my work but it's more focused on my classes. I wanted to do more of teaching but I'm always sidetracked by other work that requires my attention at a different level. As a result, I become mentally exhausted. Now that it's just a few hours before the break, I dread that I will be doing work during vacation. I guess I would have to cram in everything during the next few days so that I'll get to spend more time on my vacation.

Posted by Joel at 09:38 PM | Permalink