Yeap, you heard right, it’s a 300Gb optical disc. It looks, from the pictures, about the same size as a normal CD/DVD. There are even plans for a 800Gb re-writeable version in 2008. This is all made possible with holographic storage techniques - which enables the storage of data throughout the media, not just on the surface as with traditional CDs.
Sounds great until you check out some of the stats.. The transfer rates of the new CD work out at 20Mb/s (equivalent to X2 on a standard CD-ROM.) That equates to roughly 4.2 hours to read an entire disc.. Ouch..

A bit of probing shows that [InPhase Technologies] appear to be the originators of this technology and the transfer rates of their tapestry system is hitting 200Mb/s - although this is using their own format/drives.
[link]

Space cube? Yeap it’s a Rubik’s Cube just off the moon’s orbit.. No, hang on, it’s really a tiny PC. I believe it first arrived out of Asia from a Japanese company about 6 months ago or so. Spectacular in the fact of it’s tiny just-over-2-inches form factor that it sports. But also, I got thinking that using it as a PC would be such a waste of it’s tiny size. Ideas I’ve had (so far):

A small email server, for dealing everyone - via linux - their daily dose of spam!

A firewall. Again a great use of linux if you have a limited spec device.

The ideal solution for a print-server if you have a printer that only has a USB port.

An entry level PC for the in-laws, that perhaps live down a well without a lot of space..

OK, maybe I’m being stupid now. But I reckon there are so many places for such a small PC (perhaps hiding inside a door entry system, verifying biometrics or something?) that just using it as a “PC” seems a bit of a waste. Who has more ideas for this tiny marvel??

[link]

Yeap, I know, a bit of a cop-out. But I enjoyed these games today, which are purely flash-based. There are some good ones, some old ones and some brand-new ones that I hadn’t seen before. Check them out below!!

[pointer]
Navigate a maze with your mouse pointer!

[tactical assassin]
Cool game that gives you a sniper rifle and stick men to shoot. Tactics required!

[bowman]
One of my personal favourites!! A head shot is truly something to behold. Better than bowman II IMHO.

[curveball]
Curveball reminds me of an old ST game I used to have. It’s pong down a tunnel.

[demon]
A recent stumble. Separate the balls. Blue on the left, red on the right. Warning! Lots of Fun!!

[stickman sam 4]
Not that I’ve played the other 3, but this was a good waste of half an hour.

[raiden x]
Raiden gets a flash make-over with this fast paced vertical scroller (now there’s a genre you don’t hear a lot about!!)

OK, so they’ve not exactly shown their happiness publicly, but at a recent visit to Microsoft I picked up that for all of their presentations, they were using Windows Vista - and newsflash, it worked pretty damn well! Not once did it lock up or bomb out (not that I would expect it to of course) but it does just go to show how happy Microsoft are with the soon-to-be-released product that they’re prepared to put their necks on the line and run Vista in front of IT professionals! Of course, Vista was only running Powerpoint 2007.

So, after seeing this, it kind of filled me with a little less trepidation into the eventual move to the new OS. At home I will probably purchase a version fairly quickly, but being in the IT business, I won’t be moving over the PCs at work just yet. I usually wait for the first Service Pack and lots of peer reviews before even thinking about deploying a new Operating System.

[link]

Great website for those web developers out there that need a form quickly, for people to fill out questionnaires, or emails on your website. Just type in the details for the form, name, what version of PHP installed and away you go. Of course when it’s complete, you can amend to your own tastes to get it to fit in with your own site. A useful tool in any developers arsenal.

[link]

Yeap, I’ve threatened it for a LONG time, but finally I’ve made a true leap (without just dipping my toe in the water!) I’ve transfered to linux, whilst still keeping a dual boot system with XP.

I’m not going to turn this into a daily account of my findings, because basically everything is quicker, slicker and easier to use (yes you heard me right.) I think a good testimony is my wife who (without being insulting) is a “regular” user. She knows some technical stuff, being married to a geek, but otherwise just expects things to work. Well I’ve transferred her over and she LOVES it. I mean, she really LOVES it!

And if you think dual-booting will be a problem, trust me it’s not. Ubuntu explains everything during the installation. Of course I’m fortunate to have 3 HDs in my system, so could install Ubuntu on a 40Gb drive - it might be a bit different if you have a 1 drive system.

Of course, once it’s installed, the transition begins and to be honest it took a bit of work. Thankfully because Ubuntu is so well known now, all you have to do is google “mp3 playback issues ubuntu” and you’ll pretty much find your solution quickly, which moves me on to my next points - the tiny problems faced..

The biggest thing for me was music. MP3s! I’ve spent hours and hours of my life converting all of my CD collection to MP3, so I was pretty disappointed when I couldn’t hear any of them!! Shock, linux doesn’t “do” mp3s!!! Wrong, I just needed to easyubuntu which is [here] to solve my problems..

I think, even though the package you download is called “easy”Ubuntu, they still expect a very small knowledge of linux. Of course, don’t be put off, you’ll get there, and you can always send me an email if you get stuck!! Anyway, everything is sweet now - mp3s, internet radio - all good.

Next problem? Firefox 1.5.0.7 as standard (after an upgrade) and no mention of 2.0!! Shock! Again a quick google provides a script [here] which solved 45 minutes of frustration - Why don’t we just google everything in life????

Copying files over from the windows HD is no problem, if you have knowledge of fstab (thankfully due to my Unix days - a LONG time ago, wasn’t too much hassle) then you should be fine. However, google will again provide answers to explain how to view your other devices in linux..

Last problem? iTunes. I can’t find a nice slick version that works in Ubuntu (because for some wierd reason you can’t get iTunes in linux) so I’m at the moment trying to get my head around amaroK. If you have a choice, I would aim for this one (in my limited capacity) just because potentially it appears to do everything that you will need. I just need to wrap my skull around how to get it to work - any comments will be appreciated regarding amaroK and podcasts/iPods and such things!!!

So initially, everything is swimming. The only thing that XP is used for now is the games (sorry “Planet Penguin Racer” fans!) and iTunes, until I figure things out! Comments regarding a users first experience with linux or leaving a windows environment will be appreciated!!

Anyway, Windows people, don’t be mad. If you have the means, at least give it a try. You only need to invest a few hours for the OS and a few more for the conversion and you’re done. Click the link below for more info!

[link]

If anybody’s played games such as Riddick, you’ll already be familiar with the concept.. The technology that would enable a gun to only fire in it’s owner’s grip is close to completion, according to US scientists. Due to ever-increasing incidents involving children playing war with their parent’s guns, and people stealing guns to be used in robberies, it seems like a good idea to attach a weapon to a person.

[link]