Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, March 21, 2008

One Seriously Tight Light Bike

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/255626055/

Like to ride your bike after the sun sets? Are you a real Night Rider? Confused as to why trucks don’t seem to notice your pleads for attention and keep slamming your bones around the city streets? Well if you like life and don’t want to die while cruising down the avenues after dark, this bike design by Niklas Galler called “Tong City Bike” just might be all the vehicular enlightenment you’ll need. The designer’s concerns for your safety have manifested in this brilliant (pun intended) bike design that is not only low maintenance, but also safe and secure. The low maintenance aspect is in the all-in-one housing for the brake system, drivetrain, shock absorbers and gears. The safe aspect comes from the use of integrated light tubes that can be customized to any color you desire, making you a more obvious target. Last but not least, this rolling rig even comes with a mini lockable safe, for storing your mobile phone, wallet, light saber or Batphones.

Designer: Niklas Galler

Niklas Galler

New Blog Aggregator from AT&T That Can Read Stories For You

Source: http://www.labnol.org/internet/blogging/buzz-blog-aggregator-tech-read-stories/2634/

buzz-blog-aggregator Telephone company AT&T has launched a nice blog aggregator (called Buzz) that collects the most popular stories from blogs across different categories such as Technology, Sports, Gossip, etc.

While you are reading a story on Buzz, you also get to see reactions from other blogs on the same story which I think is really useful.

And if you are doing something else like checking email or reading another site, Buzz has a 3D avatar that can read the current story for you in the background. Not bad either.

Buzz.com may be no substitute for our favorite Techmeme but still a site worth checking out. And I have now clue how they pick blogs for including in their index.

New Blog Aggregator from AT&T That Can Read Stories For You - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

Read DOCX Files in Internet Explorer - No Word 2007 Required

Source: http://www.labnol.org/software/tutorials/docx-reader-open-docx-files-internet-explorer/2637/

Question: How do you quickly read a docx document on some computer that has no Microsoft Office Word 2007 and is neither connected to the Internet (online conversion is therefore ruled out).

Solution: No worries, you can make a docx reader out of Internet Explorer or any other text editor (like notepad) - just follow these steps:

Step 1: Change the file extension of your docx file to .zip (hello.docx -> hello.zip)

Step 2: Extract the contents of this zip file locally using Winzip or any other unzip utility.

docx-reader Step 3: Open the “word” folder in the extracted files and you should see a file called document.xml.

Open document.xml inside Internet Explorer and there you have the full text of your docx document.

If there are any images or charts, they’ll be available under a sub-folder called media.

Though you get to read the text without formatting, it’s still a useful technique to know.

Read DOCX Files in Internet Explorer - No Word 2007 Required - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

Interesting Quotes Spotted on Twitter

Source: http://www.labnol.org/internet/favorites/interesting-twitter-quotes-recently-spotted/2644/

google-searches

install-microsoft-office

Interesting Quotes Spotted on Twitter - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

Login Into Multiple Google Talk Accounts At Once

Source: http://www.labnol.org/software/tutorials/login-multiple-google-talk-accounts-gmail-ids/2654/

multiple gmail gtalk id It can be frustrating if you maintain two or more accounts on GTalk especially when there are no overlaps and each account has a different set of friends.

You need to log off Account A in order to chat with friends of Account B and vice-versa.

I face this problem all the time because my old Google Talk ID, that has most friends, is associated with a Gmail account while the newer one is on Google Apps.

Though there are hacks that allow you to run multiple instances of Google Talk simultaneously using the nomutex paramter with gtalk.exe, a much better solution is Disgby.

With Disgby, you can chat with multiple Gmail IDs simultaneously in one client. You can even switch to offline or invisible modes, a privilege currently not available in the standard Google Talk client.

Best of all, you can use the same Disgby client to read Facebook messages and Twitter updates. Highly recommended.

www.digsby.com | Check out some more Google Talk Hacks

Intel's Smart Security Watches You, Distinguishes Your Behavior From an Attacker's [Security]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/255530321/intels-smart-security-watches-you-distinguishes-your-behavior-from-an-attackers

Intel's Proteus security software starts out by getting to know you better—understanding your habits and network demands—using those statistical guidelines to clamp down on stuff that, let's face it, doesn't really sound like You. At least, not the You that Proteus has grown to love. This kind of learning really helps when trying to protect company-owned portables: Not surprisingly, typical behavior at work and typical behavior at home turn out to be two very different things.

Many security programs simply trigger an alarm when bandwidth demands exceed a certain point. They can be dumb, and might not know that it was you who wanted to download four movies at once, or send picture e-mail to 100,000 of your closest friends. This thing sees what you're doing and how you're doing it, and can safely say more frequently that some bizarre behavior is acceptable—though maybe not to your boss.

The software also watches for regular pings to computers across the net. By seeing not just the location but determining the intervals of the calls "home," Proteus can even figure out which malware is in use.

The reason this is so effective is that it differentiates systems that otherwise look identical. Corporate laptops all look the same, software wise, right? If someone can crack one, they can crack them all. If Proteus gets deployed, hackers have a much harder time with the old virtual B&E. Even when, say, a spambot was in place, it would have to know when each user would typically be in the mood for more bandwidth in order to fool Proteus.

Since this comes from Intel, word is that the company is trying to figure out a way to hardwire this stuff right into the chips, rather than let it be some subscription program that pops up every so often to scare you with over-the-top allegations of your system's vulnerability. [Technology Review]

MacBook Touch Concept Based on Apple's Latest Transparent Displays Patent [Apple]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/255530319/macbook-touch-concept-based-on-apples-latest-transparent-displays-patent

Gizmodo reader David Mcmillan has sent us a heads-up about his MacBook Touch concept, based on one of Apple's latest patents: using a transparent multitouch display that can work as a control surface on two sides, both while the device is open and closed. Could this really be the holy grail of tablet computing? Judge from the gallery shots and tell us your opinion after the jump.

As the concept shows, the patent could avoid twisting screens completely on tablet-type computers. The transparent touch display will take the normal role of a multitouch surface when the computer is closed. The moment the computer is opened, using a normal clamshell move, the surface will display a keyboard or any other kind of user interface.

While the concept itself is really cool, specially to display other types of user interfaces in the touch screen (like specialized controls for video or music editing programs), I'm still not convinced about typing on a flat surface.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

[AppleInsider Forums]

Sony Has the Balls to Charge You $50 to Not Install Bloatware on Your New PC [PCs]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/255590134/sony-has-the-balls-to-charge-you-50-to-not-install-bloatware-on-your-new-pc

We all know that bloatware, the crappy, useless software that computer manufacturers load up their new computers with, sucks. It clogs up the pipes and makes your brand new computer run slower right out of the box. Well, Sony feels you. That's why it's offering a new "Fresh Start" option that wipes all the bloatware from a new computer. And they're so generous, they'll only charge you $50 to not have all that garbage on there. Boy howdy, thanks Sony! It's only available on the TZ2000 so far, but I'm sure Sony'll be willing to take your money to not install software on your new computer for many more models in the near future. [Engadget]

Up close with Dell's Latitude E4300 and E4200 ultra-portables with DisplayPort

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/255474264/

Filed under: Laptops

Ultra-portables are by the far the sexiest class of laptops. Especially when they start at just 2.2-pounds (1kg) like Dell's upcoming 12.1-inch E4200 or 3-pounds for the 13.3-inch E4300. Both pack LED backlit displays; Centrino 2 chipsets; Firewire, eSATA, 2x audio, ExpressCard 34, and at least 2x USB ports; integrated UMA graphics; DDR3 800MHz with Intel Turbo Memory 2.0; DisplayPort; and a host of security features to keep corporate IT types happy. The E4300 differs with a higher WXGA+ resolution, modular optical bay, peppier CPU options, and a choice of beefier hard disk drives instead of the 32GB or 64GB SSD restriction of the E4200. Plenty more in the gallery including a head-to-head comparison's of each new model with the D430 they'll replace. Stay tuned as our exclusive Week o' Dell Scoops continues.

Gallery: Up close with Dell's Latitude E4300 and E4200 ultra-portables with DisplayPort

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The world's worst toaster

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/254891674/the-worlds-wors.html

We recently acquired what might be the worst toaster in the history of the world. It's pretty fancy and shiny and microprocessor controlled. And it makes toast.

But here's what I have to do to use it:

Choose the number of slices, and bagel or bread.
Remember whether it counts the slices from the left or the right (the left).
Insert the bread.
Push down the handle.
Choose toast or defrost.
Make sure the darkness level is right. (This doesn't count, because it usually is).
Press on.
Wait till it beeps.
Lift the handle I pressed in #4.
Turn it off.

Most toasters, of course, consist of steps 3 and 4 only.

I thought about this when I got a note from eBay asking me to pay my bill for an item I sold last month. It says:

To view your invoice and make a payment:
1. Go to http://www.ebay.com and click "My eBay" at the top of most eBay pages. You will need to sign in.
2. Click the "Seller Account" link (beneath "My Account" on the left side of the page).
3. Click the "View invoices" link, and then select the invoice you want to view from the pull-down menu.
4. To make a payment, click the "make a one-time payment" link in the "eBay Seller Fees" section.

It took me more than 11 clicks to send them $6.

The opportunity online is to fix your toaster. When you want to make toast, the site should get out of the way and let you make toast.

Gigayacht Actually More Like a Freaking Personal Floating Island [Boats]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/254920568/gigayacht-actually-more-like-a-freaking-personal-floating-island

How big and disgustingly opulent does a yacht have to be to be considered a private island? This big and disgusting. Gizmag has a piece today on Wally's luxury yachts and their 325 foot flagship. While Paul Allen's Octopus is bigger at 410 feet, the Wally Gigayacht can be oufitted, with pools, tennis courts, mini soccer fields, or the garden you see above. And of course, room for 40 crew, 24 guests, a helipad, and two 45-foot speedboats that deploy out the back, powered by the blood of the poor. [Gizmag]