Category: Techie

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Philips forces ad viewing on TV

Boo…

Philips, one of the major electronic company is filing for a patent that will force the viewer to watch ads!  You can’t change channel when it comes on!

Read it here!

Can you say “boycott”?!!  I mean, I know TV broadcasting companies have to make money but come on!  And why does Philips have to jump on this boat?!  I’ve respected this brand, but no more!  I’m on to you, Philips!! 😡

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My next mp3 player…

I currently use the venerable Creative Zen USB 2.0 20 GB mp3 player.  It is good for what it does.  However, the built-in HDD sounds like it may die soon… which will “force” me to find a replacement!  😛

It’s really nice having a HDD-based mp3 player.  Why?  I get to carry ALL of my CD collection (200+) on it!  So my next mp3 player would also be 20 GB (or better yet, 30 GB!) player… the biggest $1m question is… “Which one?”

There are million brands out there and then there’s the Apple’s iPod.  I for one don’t care much (if any) for it.  I care more for functionality and value over how pretty it is and what color it comes in.  Hee…

Additionally, with the advancement in technology, I decided that I’d want to watch stuff on it too!  😮  How cool would it be to watch my TV shows on it whenever I get a chance to!  And in this category, it seems that my motherland of South Korea has two really good offerings!

1. Digital Cube’s i-Station i2 and the new V43 (higher res screen!)

Here’s a pic of V43!  It has 4.3″ screen with 480 X 272 TOUCHSCREEN!

And the slightly older i2 (and smaller at 3.5″)…

And next… we have…

2. Cowon A2 with 4″ LCD screen!  I gotta stop drooling…  😛

Both support DivX-encoded videos and both have at least 20 GB storage… the final question?  The price!  Ouch… don’t ask yet.  At least $300 in Korea last time I checked…  Oh well…  I guess watching “24” on such tiny thing wouldn’t be that awesome!  (Oh, yes it would!)  K… bye for now.  😉

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Arcjets and Me…

What is “arcjet”?  Here’s a google search… to get you started… 

I was asked to help out a co-worker who’s bombarded with work to work on this… Shuttle tiles are going through some major testing and NASA/JSC uses arcjet to create plasma (very high temperature gas with dissociated particles) and recreate entry conditions.

Arcjets work by sending high amp current through gas and the electrical energy increases the particles’ energy and gets accelerated through nozzles.  I got to visit the JSC Arcjet Facility today and am quite excited!  10 MW (at max) ability!  Wow… 

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Nifty scooter called “Zac”

I saw this nice battery powered scooter called Zac on Gizmodo.com today.  The nice thing about is that it can do about 12 mph on a charge for about 40 min!  I can get to work using this sub-$500 gadget!  And no gas would be needed!  Wow…

Anybody got some money?  It would be a great thing for students and people who live only few miles from work.  It’s foldable and you can recharge it while at work!  😀  The only down side is that it’s only sold in Portugal at the moment…  🙁

Here’s to importing it soon and price drop to more reasonable range!  I’d buy one at $300!!  Cool gadget of the month indeed!

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Dell buys out Alienware!

Dude, you are getting … an Alienware!

What was once known as flagships of high tech computers is now a sell-out and is now owned by Dell!  Alienware, though expensive, has been famous for high tech computers and awesome quality overall.  Unlike Dell.  Until now.

Alienware sold themselves out.  I just read the article last month on Alienware and how it started up with two guys set out to make top quality PCs for die-hard gamers and unrelenting service now turned over their values and such for hard cash.  🙁

I’m ticked.  The two founders swore that they would not sell out.  Downright liars.  There goes innovation…  Another sad day in the world of computing and technology…