Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, September 21, 2007

Mandelbrot Demo using a WorkerPool

Nick Edgar started to play around with the Workerpool component and decided to build a distributed Mandelbrot generator:

A UI/administrator task would farm out work (columns in the Mandelbrot set) to different worker tasks, possibly running on different machines. As each worker sent in its result, the UI would draw the column, and respond with more work for the worker. It was a cool example, and looked cool too: due to different machines running at different speeds, you would see the results kind of shimmer in, with faster machines generating the leading edge, and slower machines trailing and filling in the blanks.

He put together a demo using Workerpool and without to compare.

After you start the simulation, click on the toggle button to see how the UI can remain responsive in the Workerpool case. Although you would be foolish to rush to use Workerpool thread for every little thing you do, it is nice to have this in the arsenal for truly long running actions.

some things are better left un-sent

Augustine: if such an error did make it through QA of marketing pieces, suck it up and honor the price for those customers who DO come in to buy the unit. This would lead to such positive and rapid viral spread across the internet that would amplify the intended outcome of the ad in the first place (drive-to-store, plus sales). And, economically speaking, how many more people would jump to buy the 50-inch HDTV between Sept 23 - 29 anyway? So the "costs" are limited, while the positive upside is unlimited.

Instead, by sending this email to "valued Best Buy customers" they have created the exact opposite -- they may have limited their costs of selling 50 inch TVs at $1799 but the PR and word of mouth downside is unlimited. And they might have a while longer to continue looking forward to my next visit to their store.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Best Buy <BestBuyInfo@emailinfo.bestbuy.com >
Date: Sep 21, 2007 2:14 PM
Subject: Important 9/23 Ad Correction

As a valued Best Buy customer, we want to inform you of an error that will appear in the September 23, 2007 Best Buy^TM ad. On the front cover we mistakenly listed the price of the 50" Panasonic Plasma TV (TH_50PZ77U- 8501711) at $1799, before $90 savings. We intended to advertise the 42" Panasonic Plasma TV (TH-42PZ77U-8501757) at $1799, before $90 savings.

Best Buy will not be honoring this price on the aforementioned 50" Panasonic Plasma TV.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and we will offer a $100 Instant Rebate on all Plasma Televisions from Sunday, September 23, 2007 through Saturday, September 29, 2007. This Instant Rebate will be deducted from the price you see in the store, including our regular sale prices.

Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to seeing you in our store soon.

(c) 2007 Best Buy

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Banner Blindness: Old and New Findings (Jakob Nielsen)

Banner Blindness: Old and New Findings (Jakob Nielsen)

A new research by Jakob Nielsen proves: users rarely look at display advertisements on websites. Of the four design elements that do attract a few ad fixations, one is unethical and reduces the value of advertising networks.

Sparkling Salt

from IDEAS IN FOOD by Aki Kamozawa & H. Alexander Talbot

I had the pleasure of watching brilliance this morning. Aki came into the kitchen, muttering to herself, and finally asked where our neutral pop rocks were. In the meantime she had pulled out our togarishi and maldon salt and blended them together. When I handed her the pop rocks, she added them to the mix and then ground everything into a fine powder. She had me taste and it was amazing. I experienced a ton of tastes and sensations in just a few grains.

Aki had taken inspiration from Oriol Balaguer's presentation at the Star Chefs event, ICC, where he passed around chocolates seasoned on the inside with pop rocks. The effervescent chocolates seemed to bring a quiet to the audience as chefs chewed and then seemingly melted into smiles and childhood memories.

Aki's seasoning blend brings a whole new approach to salt and spice blends added to dishes at the last moment. The addition of the pop rocks adds motion to the dish. The spices and the interplay of textures and motion creates a much more complex blend of well, anything we choose. While today we have sparkling spiced salt tomorrow could be carbonated coffee crumbs and the next day popping pistachios.

Design Concept: Portable DVD Player with Sexy-Flexy Display Transforms Into Mini-Theater

from Gizmodo by Charlie White

Here's a wild-ass looking portable DVD player (PDP) that reminds us a lot of that player we showed you last month that looks like a butterfly knife . This concept takes that design a few years into the future, looking like it's about the size and unpocketable shape of that crazy iPhone clone Intel was flaunting the other day. Like a transformer, it twists around and gives you a turntable on which to spin the DVD while you unravel its sexy flexible OLED screen to feast your eyes.

Designer Yeon-shin Seung says he plans to use Sony's full-color flexible organic electroluminescent display on this device because of the screen's thin and lightweight form factor. Here's hoping that he doesn't use the ancient DVD format is a playback medium, eschewing that old fossil for a dual-format Blu-ray and HD DVD player.

Hey, this looks like it would be a perfect companion on a transpacific flight, that is, if the batteries can hold out for at least three movies' worth. But wait a second. By the time this actually comes to market, if ever, you'll be able to stream Internet video from your airplane seat and everywhere else, so physical media will be irrelevant. Oh well, timing is everything. [Yanko Design]

Seoul Semiconductor's 420-lumen LED puts the sun to shame

from Engadget by Evan Blass

We're not really sure if Seoul Semiconductor is completely accurate in the assertion that its new 420-lumen (peak) LED is the world's brightest at 8-watts, but considering that we were pretty impressed by the company's 240-lumen model late last year -- and the fact that even the most blinding LED-based tactical flashlights rarely exceed 200 lumens -- this still seems like a fairly notable development. We should start seeing commercial products sporting these mini-suns sometime before the end of the year, so now might be a good time to check up on your insurance plan's optical coverage.

DRM violates Canadian privacy law

from Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow

The University of Ottawa's Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic has just released a huge, deep report on the privacy implications of various DRM systems. They examine 16 different systems in depth and conclude that DRM is a grave threat to personal privacy.

Our assessment of the compliance of these DRM applications with PIPEDA led to a number of general findings:
• Fundamental privacy-based criticisms of DRM are well-founded: we observed tracking of usage habits, surfing habits, and technical data.
• Privacy invasive behaviour emerged in surprising places. For example, we observed e-book software profiling individuals. We unexpectedly encountered DoubleClick - an online marketing firm - in a library digital audio book.
• Many organizations take the position that IP addresses do not constitute "personal information" under PIPEDA and therefore can be collected, used and disclosed at will. This interpretation is contrary to Privacy Commissioner findings. IP addresses are collected by a variety of DRM tools, including tracking technologies such as cookies and pixel tags (also known as web bugs, clear gifs, and web beacons).
• Companies using DRM to deliver content often do not adequately document in their privacy policies the DRM-related collection, use and disclosure of personal information. This is particularly so where the DRM originates with a third party supplier.
• Companies using DRM often fail to comply with basic requirements of PIPEDA.

PDF Link (via Michael Geist)

$130 Zunes -- $10 Woot credit mocks Apple

from Engadget by Thomas Ricker

If the $150 white Zune was too rich to Woot, then how does 30GB for $130 sound Zune boy? Yup, $129.99 to be precise, which leaves you with half of the 2 cents required to sound-off in the comments. In a tip of the hat to their customers (and a mocking poke at Apple), Woot's "Emergency Open Letter" offers a $10 Woot credit for anyone who purchased at the higher price. My my, how consumer expectations are changing.

BenQ launches uber-quiet MP622 / MP622c projectors

from Engadget by Darren Murph

Although BenQ prefers to market its MP622 and MP622c projectors to the suits, we see no reason these bad boys can't be carted home after the nine-to-five for a little fun. Both DLP units sport a 1,024 x 768 (XGA) resolution, a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, ultra-quiet 26dB noise level whilst running in economy mode, and a sexy "midnight black high gloss exterior." The MP622 offers up 2,700 ANSI lumens while the MP622c musters just 2,200, but you'll find VGA / S-Video / composite video inputs on each to compliment the audio in jack and integrated speakers. Word on the street puts these two units on store shelves later this month, with the MP622 ringing up at around $999 and the MP622c costing $849. [Via FarEastGizmos]

Clever USB: 19-inch Monitor from Samsung Connects to your PC via USB

from Gizmodo by Addy Dugdale

New from Samsung is the CX940UX, a 19-inch monitor that you can connect to your PC via USB. From the Syncmaster range, it's got all sorts of tricks up its sleeve, such as being able to control up to six further monitors linked to your computer. You can forget about needing extra graphics cards or new drivers to manage the multiple screens too, as Samsung claims the CX940UX can do it all itself. There's also a couple of USB ports, so you can use it as a mini hub. Clever, Samsung, very clever. [Samsung]

WASH CYCLE ATMs Become Handy Tool For Laundering Dirty Cash

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119033266947734601.html?mod=hps_us_pageone

With Small Deposits,
Couriers Outwit Banks;
Bag of Money in Queens

By MARK SCHOOFS
September 21, 2007

At 8:50 a.m. on March 15, 2006, Luis Saavedra and Carlos Roca began going from bank to bank in Queens, New York, depositing cash into accounts held by a network of other people, according to law-enforcement officials. Their deposits never exceeded $2,000. Most ranged from $500 to $1,500.

[Luis Saavedra]

Around lunchtime, they crossed into Manhattan and worked their way up Third Avenue, then visited two banks on Madison Avenue. By 2:52 p.m., they had placed more than $111,000 into 112 accounts, say the officials, who reconstructed their movements from seized deposit slips.

Confederates in Colombia used ATM cards to withdraw the money in pesos, moving quickly from machine to machine in a withdrawal whirlwind, the officials say. "The organization at its height was moving about $2 million a month," estimates Bridget Brennan, Special Narcotics Prosecutor for New York City.

Messrs. Saavedra and Roca were arrested in June and charged under state money-laundering laws. Officials say they were moving money for a Colombian drug-trafficking organization that sells cocaine and the club-drug Ecstasy. Prosecutors say the two men engaged in a laundering practice called "microstructuring," a scheme notable for its simplicity. To evade suspicion by banks, they always made small deposits. In Colombia, getting at that money was as easy as pushing buttons on an ATM.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

New Induction Cooktops from GE Are the Highest Wattage Ever

from Gizmodo by Jason Chen

Our cooking experience barely goes beyond "Fire. Bad. Keep. Away," but these GE Monogram and Profile induction cooktops have the highest wattage element from an induction cooktop ever. The 3700-watt cookers use magnetic fields to heat up your food, as opposed to gas or electric cookers. Induction cooking's been around for a while, but as evidenced by the small shot of a bunch of ice cubes sitting on the same plate as a tray of boiling water, this technology is fancy. Just cause they're as close to Star Trek as you're going to come in the kitchen, save for the microwave or something. [GE]

Solar Power: Floating Solar Island Will Produce Energy While Annoying Plankton and Fish

from Gizmodo by Jesus Diaz

Ras al-Khaimah &mdash one of the United Arab Emirates, not a relative of Batman's nemesis &mdash is going to install this floating solar island, which will be 0.62 miles in diameter when completed. Due to the lack of space in land, the micro-state contracted the Neuchâtel's Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology to design it, paying $5 million toward the construction of the project. The island will produce electricity by heating up water to produce vapor and will be able to propel itself in case bad weather strikes. [GoodCleanTech]

Brilliant: FIQL Avoids Copyright Trap Through Music Videos

from TechCrunch by Michael Arrington

FIQL is a nice niche social network focused on music playlists. Users upload, categorize and share their playlists with others. People who view the playlists can buy songs through links to iTunes and other music services. But for the most part they can't simply listen to the songs online, other than through somewhat cumbersome links to Napster and Rhapsody, which allow people to listen to songs for free with certain restrictions.

Since listening to music on playlists has so many restrictions, the service hasn't grown much - it has just 15,000 playlists from 50,000 registered users since launching in 2005.

But at 9 AM PST I have a feeling they will be getting a whole bunch of new users and a lot more playlists when they launch a new product called FIQL TV. That's because they figured out a brilliant, if somewhat obvious, end-around to copyright laws that restrict them from playing music outright: music videos hosted on third party video sites like YouTube.

It's widely known that music videos are available on video sharing sites (some of them are even distributed legally). In fact, sites like Middio have sprung up that do nothing more than provide music video search for YouTube and other sites. There are a number of services that also allow people to download these videos to their hard drives (see our own YouTube download tool) - and converting them to iPod format is only a small additional step.

Videos are regularly pulled down as copyright holders complain, but they are quickly re-added by other users. That means bookmarks of videos often go stale, but using a search engine will always help you find what you're looking for in no time.

FIQL Leverages Music Videos To Avoid Copyright Trap

So here's what FIQL has done - users can create a playlist on FIQL, or import an existing one from iTunes or other services. FIQL will then go out and grab music videos from the third party video sites and add them to the playlist. You and others who view the playlist can then play the videos.

FIQL has also created an embeddable player for those videos that can be dropped in to MySpace and other social networks and websites, or add it to their Facebook application. So now, if you have a favorite playlist in iTunes, you can simply export it to FIQL and get an embeddable player back that plays the music videos of all your songs. An screencast overview of the new service is here.

Problem solved.

Or, mostly. Technically FIQL is still subject to copyright claims. But they've pulled themselves one step away from direct contact with the content owners, who are mainly focused on the sites that actually host the infringing content. Case law is still developing in this area, but they are under little real threat of litigation.

Is Your Computer Connecting To Websites Without Your Knowledge

from Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal

If you are worried that some programs on your PC are secretly making connections to websites in the background, here's a quick tip that uses a simple DOS command to detect and prevent such suspicious activity:

1. Type cmd in your Windows Run box.

2. Type "netstat -b 5 > activity.txt" and press enter. After say 2 minutes, press Ctrl+C.

3. Type "activity.txt" on the command line to open the log file in notepad (or your default text editor)

computer internet connections

The file activity.txt will have a log of all process that made a connection to the Internet in the last two minutes. It will also show which process connected to which website in this time. And not just the web browsers (like iexplore.exe or opera.exe), the log will also show your IM clients, download managers, email programs or any software that requires a net connection.

Scroll though the activity.txt file and look for any process names or website addresses that you are not aware of. If you track one , go to the task manager (or Process Explorer) to find the location of the executable on your computer and eliminate it.

© 2007 Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal

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