An interesting combination of Google Maps that is presented using only ASCII characters. Cooling looking, but quite uselss functionality-wise.
Month: May 2006
ABC.com: Full Episode Streaming
Did you miss last night’s episode of Lost or any other ABC show? You can view the show using there flash video player, but you cannot download the video itself.
Logitech Quickcam Orbit MP
I really like the new Logitech Quickcam Orbit MP – you can record videos and add live video effects and also use avatars. I’m going to poke around the files that they use to see if I can make my own. The camera is motorized, so it’ll do face tracking too – when I get back from Interop I’ll post up some projects with it once I take it apart…
This quite the cool webcam though $130 for a webcam is definitely a bit much.
Mail Letters Online
The epitome of laziness and modernization. Want to write a physical letter, but you’re too lazy to more your hand and find paper? Great, this is a the service for you. This also is a very interesting juxtaposition. You use an electronic form to write the letter that will then be written out by hand.
Vista search seems fair, regulators say
Vista search seems fair, regulators say
While criticizing Microsoft for its implementation of its existing antitrust accord, regulators appear satisfied with the software maker’s plans for Windows Vista, including a new search box that is part of Internet Explorer 7. As part of its status report on Microsoft’s antitrust compliance, the Justice Department said that it had reviewed the search box and concluded that Microsoft’s implementation “respects users’ and (computer maker’s) default choices and is easily changed.”
“While plaintiffs were still investigating the matter, Microsoft reached an accommodation that gives all (computer makers) additional flexibility to customize the first-boot experience and to promote non-Microsoft middleware.
This is in regards to my earlier post regarding how ridiculous Google’s complaints were regarding Internet Explorer 7’s default search behavior.
Eat that you whiny little bastards (Google). 
Windows Media Player 11 build 4826 Leaked
Windows Media Player 11 build 4826 Leaked
Only days after revealing that WMP11 XP would in fact be released for public preview on May 17th, it has very recently leaked onto the net. This new build does appear to have all the publicly mentioned features. Along with that, stability has been greatly improved since Windows Media Player 10, and appears to consume less resources.
Features in WMP 11 for XP (June 06):
* New UI
* Support for better synchronization for portable devices
* Album “stacks†of album art
* Indexed libraries with search-as-you-type features
* User controlled downgrade of quality for DRM content to allow for smaller files
* DRM content will contain metadata that shows what the user is allowed to do with the file
* Includes Microsoft and MTV’s Urge music storeFeatures in WMP 11 for Vista (Early 07):
* Everything that is in the WMP 11 for XP
* Playing content (including DRM) on your PC from another PC or device
* Viewing content from the Vista Media library on other PCs or digital devices, such as Tivo
* Playback of High Value video content
* Shell integration with Windows Media Player
* Content Indexer change notification to sync My Music and WMP library
* DVD Fullscreen playback enhancements
* DRM Transcode
* High quality video streaming over home networks
* Media foundation for playback
The build string is 11.0.5358.4826 for those that may be curious. Also, I should mention in case you didn’t read the stuff above, it will be publicly available on May 17th so if you wait just a little bit longer you can get the official beta preview direct from Microsoft.
From my opportunity to play with this it is quite nice. It’s much quicker than WMP10, it’s a lot more visually attractive as well as being significantly more intuitive to navigate. My old gripe is that it definitely is noticeably slow when you have a fairly large library of music (lets just say it’s fairly large um k?).
How to install this leaked build:
- Step 1. Find it yourself
- Step 2. Extract to a new folder
- Step 3. Double click wmfdist11.exe to install Media Player 11 codec
- Step 4. It will ask you to reboot, but you don’t have to
- Step 5. Double click wmp11.exe to install Media Player 11
- Step 6. Again, you don’t actually have to reboot
- Step 7. Enjoy, you now have WMP 11 without any validation
…oh, and here’s proof of it running on Windows XP SP2.
Google wants special treatment in IE
Google wants special treatment in IE
His remarks centered on the default search engine in the Web browser. Right now, when people update their version of IE, the software won’t change their default search settings. “If you pick Yahoo, it will stay on Yahoo,” Ballmer said in a hallway conversation Thursday, after a speech he gave at the Churchill Club here.
Google, however, has complained about how the system works. The complaints could be taken as a disguised way to help that company grow its segment in search, Ballmer suggested.
“Google wants us to prompt the users to change the defaults. They want to see a list of search providers, with the No. 1 search provider listed first,” said Ballmer
Let me just say this, I completely agree with what Steve Balmer is saying. Google is attempting to complain that Microsoft is using it’s internet browser to promote it’s search engine. If you re-read the quote you may understand my problem with this whining. What percentage of users of Internet Explorer 7 will be upgrading? I would say roughly 95% of all users that will be installing IE7 will be existing IE6 users. This being said, when you upgrade it will not touch your default search engine. So that being said, 95% of users will not have to choose anything or change anything when it comes to there search engine of choice. My question is this, Firefox defaults to Google which using Google’s current argument should pop up a window prompting the user to pick which search engine to use upon installation. According to Google’s logic Microsoft should have to prompt users to decide on there default search engine upon installing IE7. This would consist of a list of search engines likely (if Google has it’s way) ordered by market prevalence (i.e. Google at the top of the list). I think it’s pathetic and ridiculous that Google is trying to use this sad argument to prevent a competitor from possibly gaining ground. I think whomever views this complaint will throw it out simply based on the fact that the default search engine will remain untouched for all upgrading users. We shall see.
Wandering the Interwebs 