Well I finished my final exams this past week. I think I did very good on both of them. Now I start my new classes this week, English Composition and Business Systems Analysis, which I hope won’t end up being that bad or hard.
In other news, Lakers won against Phoenix 99-98. The Lakers are leading 3-1 against the Suns. Kobe hit the buzzer shot in overtime to win the game. Also the Bulls won game 4 against the Heat, 93 to 87, making it a tie at 2-2.
At last, I am on my last week for 2 classes of mine, Network Principles and Database Essentials. I am more worried about my Database Essentials final than my networking class final as I am sure I’ll do good on that.
Then next week I start my 2 new classes, English Composition and Business Systems Analysis. Sorta worried about them both but that is always hot it is when I start new classes.
Last week I received an email from FreePay for a $400 SuperGiftCertificate and immediately redeemed it for 4 $100 BestBuy Gift Cards. Today I received them physically in the mail from FedEx! I am now finally fully done with FreePay. I chose to get the $400 gift card instead of an Xbox 360 because I already have owned an Xbox 360 since release date and who knows when I would actually receive it from FreePay and how far down I am on their list to receive one. Plus now I can get something else instead if I want.
If Philips has their way you may not be skipping through TV commercials much longer. In fact, you might not even be able to change the channel on your TV during a commercial.
Philips has filed a patent application to stop people from changing channels during commercials or fast forward commercials for pre-recorded shows. According the patent application, Philips solution is to use MHP (Multimedia Home Platform) to read flags in broadcasts. If an advertisement is marked as such, your STB (Set-Top Box), DVR or even your TV could stop you from changing the channel or skipping past commercials. MHP software is already built into most digital TV receivers and recorders available today.
Philips knows that the patent would be “greatly resented by viewers” and could even cause end users to believe their equipment is broken. To remedy this, Philips suggests that the flag also trigger a notice on the screen to notify users of what is going on.
The patent application also suggests that end users be able to pay a fee to be allowed to skip commercials. The fee would probably be set by your cable or satellite provider.
As we move into the digital age, it seems more and more that we as consumers are at the mercy of these big companies. This is starting to look like the Telco business. First we have Caller ID, then Caller ID blocking, and now Anti-Caller ID blocking. What’s next, anti-commercial forwarding blocking?
Source: Philips Patent Application
Planet C&C has confirmed that the June issue of PC Gamer with the promised big scoop on an old franchise is indeed Command & Conquer 3. The Dutch magazine PC Gameplay also has a cover story on this big breaking news in the C&C world.
Obviously we cannot post scans of the magazines, however the Planet C&C forum post regarding this news story does contain the cover shot and possibly one or two scans of the story itself. I have no other information to pass on to you, other than wild rumor and speculation so far. One rumor is the game takes place in the Tiberium universe, and will have a dark atmosphere unlike the previous Red Alert 2. That’s about it right now. Once EA hands down its official press release and lets loose more information including screenshots you can be sure I’ll post it for all of you to gawk at.
Source: Planet C&C
Source: Planet C&C Topic Discussion
View: View PC Gamer Cover
So finally after waiting a few weeks of being STV for a $400 gift card (super gift certificate) instead of the Xbox 360, today I finally received the $400 super gift certificate in my email. I can now move ahead from freepay and not have to worry waiting forever to have received the xbox 360 through them.
Appearantly they had a meeting today as well and said they will be sending out limited numbers of xbox 360s each week too, finally! Though I am happy with the $400 gift card which I redeemed for 4 $100 gift cards through best buy and will just buy either another xbox 360 through them or something else. I am still undecided as to what to buy. It is good news for everyone else though that has been waiting forever and did not jump in on the gift card or whatever other reason.
24 star Kiefer Sutherland has signed a deal to stay with the Fox show for three more years, through May 2009, reports Variety.As part of the pact, Sutherland will establish a production company on the 20th Century Fox lot to produce series programming for both broadcast and cable networks.
As part of the pact, Sutherland will establish a production company on the 20th Century Fox lot to produce series programming for both broadcast and cable networks.The deal makes Sutherland one of the highest-paid drama actors on television.Sutherland, currently co-executive producer on 24, will be bumped up to executive producer for the upcoming sixth and seven seasons of the show. He shares that title with creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, as well as Howard Gordon and Evan Katz.
He shares that title with creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, as well as Howard Gordon and Evan Katz.Finally, while the deal with Fox is for TV only, Sutherland said he and the show’s producers continue to believe in the idea of bringing the 24 franchise to the big screen. The earliest the movie would begin shooting, however, is late spring 2007, Sutherland said.
Quality control is the chief reason a 24 feature couldn’t shoot during the upcoming hiatus, Sutherland added.
“It was really Joel and Bob and Howard realizing that if we were going to squeeze it in during the break, we would have been rushing it,” he said. “If we were going to do it, we would do it next summer. It’s still a big ‘if.’ We would not go forward unless we thought we could do it right.”
The film likely would depart from the series by condensing an entire day into about two hours, rather than unfolding in real time.
Sutherland isn’t shooting a feature this hiatus in anticipation of working on a 24 film next summer.
Apple Becomes Windows PC Platform, Launches Boot Camp
It doesn’t get much more clever. You’ve flogged consumers an expensive Intel PC, with OS X, and then let them pay for the privilege of running Windows XP on it. Welcome to 21st century Apple, and say hello to their latest software offering called Boot Camp.
“Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple’s superior hardware now that we use Intel processors,†said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “ We think Boot Camp makes the Mac even more appealing to Windows users considering making the switch.”
Despite the sickening smugness, Schiller is right. Apple’s boxes amazingly seem to run Windows rather fast, making it a very attractive choice for end users. The software makes Microsoft, and frankly, its OEM PC partners, look decidedly dated – as their product page attests. ” Macs use an ultra-modern industry standard technology called EFI to handle booting. Sadly, Windows XP, and even the upcoming Vista, are stuck in the 1980s with old-fashioned BIOS. But with Boot Camp, the Mac can operate smoothly in both centuries.”
Boot Camp will simplify what has hitherto been a rather difficult and risky process of installing Windows, by creating a partition and creating a driver disk to make sure everything works. Previous efforts had been community driven, and involved raising a significant prize fund eventually won by two coders. But it’s not just about making life easier for these users. It’s about making the switch decision a lot easier. With Vista delayed, the much hyped Apple re-birth as more than just an iPod maker seems clear and solid.
Boot Camp will be fully available in the next version of OS X, code named ‘Leopard’, but a beta is available online now. It requires 10GB of free space on your hard drive, and a copy of Windows XP with SP2. Note that Apple makes it very clear it does not support users who install Windows XP on their Intel Macs. Just encourages it, and enjoys it.
Download: Boot Camp
View: Boot Camp FAQ
Five girl gamers (aged 16 – 17) in Ravenna, Ohio found a website showing how to make life size replicas of the item boxes found in the NES classic Super Mario Bros. They made some boxes and placed 17 of them around their town for April Fools. Unfortunatly some residents who didn’t know the meaning of the boxes thought they might contain bombs and called the police and bomb squads were dispatched only to discover the boxes were empty.
Ravenna Police Chief Randall McCoy told the online edition of the Record-Courier that one girl came into the police department with one of her parents and claimed responsibility, saying it was just a joke. McCoy said even though no harm was intended by the girls, they could face criminal charges for their actions.
Source: Revo-Europe.com
View Pictures: Mario Items Pictures
The 10.4.6 Update is recommended for all users and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes for the following applications and technologies:
– login and authentication in a variety of network environments
– file access and byte range locking with AFP file sharing
– network access when using proxy server automatic configuration files
– connecting to Cisco VPN servers using IP/Sec
– using Bluetooth wireless devices
– searching iWork ’06 and Microsoft Office documents with Spotlight
– saving Word documents automatically when using a network home directory
– creating Automator workflows for iPhoto 6
– synchronizing contacts and calendars to .Mac and mobile phones
– mounting and unmounting iDisk volumes
– compatibility with third party applications and devices
– previous standalone security updates
You can get this Mac update via “Software Update…” or go to the Apple site. The update is 65.8 MB.