Technology Gadgets Food Toys Fun and Games

Well, the domain has been pointed back and some of you should see the site  - as the evening progresses more people will be directed in.

Stuff completed ,

1-  redirect during code upgrade

2 - complete code upgrade

3 - database upgraded

4 - domain repointed here

some things will look funky for a time until I get everything cleaned up but overall I think the whole deal went pretty well.... Instead of updates tonight I'll be working on fixing and styling.

WOOT

Bam! - and it's the weekend! - We've all made it. Some of you have 2 feet of snow coming (happy it aint us this time)

I have a fantastic batch of goodness for you all tonight - sit back - crack open a beer with that pizza (or have some wine with that chocolate) and enjoy yourselves. This is the big game weekend - some of you will watch for the football .... some for the commercials ... some will avoid the TV altogether and there's always those of you watching the Puppy Bowl.

Whatever you're up to have a great weekend !

Rob

ok, I'm anxious and work isn't letting up - so I'm scheduling the big upgrade for next week - Monday I'll let ya all know what days we'll be offline.

Rob

Best get your Superbowl food shopping done now as no one is delivering in 2 feet of snow.

You did get the chips and beer and salsa already right?

Link: http://mashable.com/2010/02/04/facebook-redesign-4/

Facebook confirmed to us that the redesign is already rolling out to users. Everyone will get access to the new homepage shortly, and Facebook plans to post an update to its blog announcing the changes later today.

The pics show a much larger and more prominently placed search bar, which is just another example of how Facebook means business with search.

Facebook added real-time search features several months ago, and many of its recent privacy changes were made in the hopes that users would make some of their updates public so others could search for information just like they already do on Twitter and some other networks.

Many of the items (like groups and events) that were kept in the Applications menu in the bottom left have been moved back to the left sidebar on the main page. Rather than taking you to a new page, these now open within the main window where the feed usually appears.

That and more - did you get the new updates yet? If not you will soon.

Link: http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/03/madden-predicts-saints-win-super-bowl-xliv/

Seeing the uncanny prediction of last years Superbowl I'm really curious about this - tho I'm betting on the Saints too...

Link: http://www.gorillamask.net/gm_media.php?show_page=video&page_id=28724

Lasses, if you're all cranked up by the waterbowl/stick prank from last time - some lady just got revenge on men for ya...

Grr - not embedding nicely so follow the link for the goodness .. (sorry!)

Link: http://adland.tv/SuperBowlCommercials

This will kill off almost an entire day - and those of you who are snowed in could use it - 38 years worth of Superbowl commercials online - Awesome!

Link: http://web.appstorm.net/roundups/10-fun-and-free-browser-based-games/

Want a new game and have no cash? No Problem! here's 10 for ya to pass the time with.

Many of these games attempt to duplicate (to a lesser degree) desktop games, which require significantly higher computer hardware capabilities. The specifics on minimum requirements for hardware can be difficult to say (especially for browser-based games), so in general you’ll need a relatively capable computer and updated browser. Of course, another common requirement will be broadband internet. I’ve tried to list the main requirements for each game but your system may vary.

Link: http://www.carsforagrand.com/

Aint got a lot of cash? Who says there arent a ton of cars our there for less than $1000 ? Just look here...

You CAN buy a used car for $1,000 or even less. Believe it or not, there are thousands of people out there trying to sell a car for under a thousand bucks. Our software is constantly searching the internet gathering cheap used cars for sale, updating our used car listings every minute.

Link: http://www.hardocp.com/news/2010/02/04/amds_ati_radeon_hd_5450_video_card

And a little bit in respectable gaming too - Easily HL2 and Crysis without all the bells and whistles.

Blaze - remember that 600.00 HTPC ? - add $50 to that and forget the onboard video -

The ATI Radeon HD 5450 is not meant to provide the best gaming experience, but it does bring DX11 API support and other features like Eyefinity down to the $50 price point. This means that AMD now has a DX11 GPU in every market segment, while the competition simply does not.

Link: http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=5390

Oh they knew about it for years... someone (from Google) just had to make some noise for them to move on it. Also in the general patch bucket - a whole bus load of other patches - (26 vulnerabilities)

So don't miss next Tuesdays updates eh?

Link: http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/6286330.php?

Ok this makes perfect sense - open it for dipping (fries) or open the top for squeezing - (burgers)

I'll miss the old packets tho - when I was a kid we would fold 'em in half - put 'em under our sneakers and step down hard when a person with white shoes walked by.

BLAT! - instant funny.

p.s. don't do this if you can't keep a straight face

Link: http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2010/02/banned_super_bowl_ads_2010_cbs.php

The results are in - here's all the commercials that were banned for one reason or another. Enjoy!

This one shoulda made it - I've seen much worse

There's so many fun levels to this - Mr big fisherman insulting the Geese and then the retribution and the way he takes it like a schoolgirl .... oh yes, rife with Irony. - Nice going Hercules.

Link: http://lifehacker.com/5462520/remove-a-stripped-screw-with-a-rubber-band

Here's an idea - and it's a good one. Well ok - in my case the screw is so far stripped it's now time to get the drill... but, if you catch it early this just might work.

I'd be curious to know if this really works - cus honestly I enjoy drilling and re-tapping too much to try it.

Link: http://cybernetnews.com/amazon-warehouse-deals/

Yeah me neither - apparently you can get some decent deals and Cybernet News hhas the goods on it...

What about an Amazon outlet store? What happens to all of those items that end up getting returned, which is inevitable considering the volume of their sales? WarehouseDeals.com – that’s where Amazon sells (at a discounted price) the items that have been returned and verified in working order.

Are the deals really that good? As with any outlet the deals will vary based upon how well the item actually sells. The site makes the deal a little deceiving because they tell you what the list price of the item is, and then what the outlet is selling it for. They conveniently leave off the price that Amazon.com typically sells it at. I took a few random items to compare the pricing though:

* Samsung 32-inch LED TV – Amazon.com: $969 vs. WarehouseDeals.com: $805 = 17% off
* Panasonic Lumix Camera – Amazon.com: $639 vs. WarehouseDeals.com: $579 = 9% off
* Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) – Amazon.com: $46 vs. WarehouseDeals.com: $34 = 27% off

Certainly worth looking into - nice find!

Link: http://www.betanews.com/article/Comcast-to-rebrand-cable-Internet-services-as-Xfinity/1265250092?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bn+%28Betanews+Full+Content+Feed+-+BN%29

Yup, apparently being help captive to a single company you can't change anyway isn't enough - now they want to change their name to not only keep you captive in the monopoly but make you bend a knee to the new tech name.

Beginning February 12, Comcast will begin rebranding its cable, Internet, and digital voice services in 11 markets under the Xfinity name, which it first debuted in December when the company began the process of acquiring NBC Universal.

At the time, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told investors, "We basically are creating two Comcasts."

Oh super - as if one wasn't enough - why stop there? make 4 so we can bitch about all of em.

Any new features? no. Any lower prices? no. Any gains for the consumer? no. It's like renaming taxes to "experia"

any way ... you'll all notice this on the next bill.... that is all.

Link: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/analysis/1590073/apple-mac-os-x-secure-windows

It's a Unix OS - and it's not hardened for security.

However Apple is also actually more insecure because of the attitude of its customers. A computer's security, if it exists, is only as good as the user. Unfortunately in the case of the Mac the user is a smug, technologically illiterate person who believes they are invulnerable because they use a Mac. Such people randomly press buttons, visit sites that sensible people don't and download things carelessly because Apple's marketing tells them they are safe.

Amen brother! - that about sums it up....

You want a giggle don't ya? Of course you do, it's Friday.... Watch this clip and try to keep a straight face. .... How Obama did without spitting out the water he was drinking is beyond me.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/02/microsoft-warns-of-ie-flaw-affecting-windows-xp-users.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Super - when are people gonna stop using this beast?

Microsoft has issued Security Advisory (980088) to address a publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer that may allow information disclosure for Windows XP users or for users who have disabled Internet Explorer Protected Mode. The advisory explains that content can be forced to render incorrectly from local files in such a way that information can be exposed to malicious websites.

No fix yet - maybe next months patch Tuesday? For Pete's sake go and download Firefox,Opera or Chrome eh?

Link: http://mashable.com/2010/02/02/budweiser-facebook-super-bowl/

According to AdAge, Budweiser is this year’s biggest advertiser — privy to five minutes of air time. The beer company launched its social media campaign on Friday, and already thousands of people are taking part. The idea, essentially, is to infiltrate every level of Facebook (Facebook). First, you might see the targeted ad for the campaign in your newsstream (see the photo above). If you are so inclined to vote, you must first become a fan of the beer:

That's a bit tough to swallow eh? - I'll not become a fan of Budweiser - but their commercials are usually great.

Link: http://www.thevirtualpiano.com/

I don't see how you could play chords or anything - but if you're like me and enjoy playing the keys - well you can play one at a time real nice right here.

oh wait - you can play chords - I just read the instructions.... wow that's a first.

Ok, things are gonna get rather rocky here soon - basically here's the scoop.

1 - The software that powers this site (b2Evolution) is way ahead in codebase - I'm on 2.4 and the current is 3.3.x

2 - The new page design is done ( offering a true liquid layout for widescreen monitors and many other upgraded features )

So, I need to update - this is going to cause some problems because of....

a - The code is so different I will have to delete everything and then start fresh with the new code.

b - the database for this version needs to be upgraded to the new version which will require a conversion

c - all of the plugins that are currently in use on the site will be deleted - some of which are old and can't be replaced simply.

So, this is what will be happening ( I don't know the exact date yet )

- when I delete everything the entire site will go down and during the update / database process I would imagine visitors would see all freakin sorts of crazy errors. Instead, during this time the site will redirect to a temp page offsite - With the domain redirection and code work I figure the better part of an evening you'll not see the real page )

- once that is done I'll add the new skin and then the page will function ... but I'll be missing my spam filters - links won't automatically open in new windows - no recent comments display - no Google Analytics etc....

- then I'll have to change all the hard coded links from the test site (menu/RSS etc)

- finally I'll need to reinstall what I can and invent what I can't.

When all this is done there will still be a good deal of fine tuning - then I can start adding features like instant bacon. So be aware, I'll try and give sufficient warning, but if you see errors - just stop by later or the next day.

The new version (2.0 Raptor) replaces this version (1.1 Dragon)

( a slightly interesting side note is I've been using b2Evo since 2003 when the version was 0.4 )

Well, it's late and the new design has taken a turn far afield of what was last posted, using the comments and suggestions I got I came up with

This design

Last round for comments - what do you think?

Phew - made it to the middle of the week somewhat ahead of my posting schedule ( tho plenty of stuff left to do today )

Here's some linky goodness to accompany those 6 more weeks of winter eh?

Rob

Link: http://www.simplecomfortfood.com/2010/01/31/loaded-baked-potato-soup/

This one's slightly different from the last in that you actually start by baking the potatoes....

Looks hella good eh?

Link: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118014278.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1

It's like AOL has an unlimited amount of bad ideas to use before admitting they should just close shop. Here's another along those lines.

The company has acquired StudioNow, an online platform for video creation and distribution for $36.5 million in cash and stock.

Like YouTube, AOL is eyeing online videos, especially original programming, as a way to boost its bottom line, especially from advertising.

Nothing to see here .... move along.

Link: http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/44/fans

Tag your (cough) Tweets and Flikr photos with #SB44

The NFL is looking for stuff for their live site.

The NFL is highlighting the user-tagged Super Bowl content on its new Tag the Super Bowl site, which offers a visually stimulating and unfiltered interactive view of tweets and images that football fans are sharing on Twitter and Flickr with the #SB44 hashtag.

Link: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-sites-for-free-sound-effects-downloads/

Need a sound effect? How bout a lawnmower - or bird chirping? Where do you go to get royalty free sounds ?

This list will hook you up.

Before you open up your wallet for expensive software or try to make your own sound effects, you may easily be able to find free sound effects on the Web. There are plenty of great resources available online. Best of all, it doesn’t have to cost you anything!

Have your headphones ready? Here’s the top 5 websites for free sound effects downloads.

Link: http://www.abelssoft.net/filewing.php

Every now and then we all delete something that we meant not to - if this is your issue try out this software, it just might save your butt.

* Restores deleted files (undeleter)

* Wipes files securely making undeletion impossible

* Also works for digital cameras

* 100% free of charge

* Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7

I know, I know, I'm getting you all psyched up for the Superbowl commercials aren't I? -By the way - tonight at 8pm there's a show called "the greatest Superbowl commercials" ...

I dunno what network but it'll keep you going for a bit.

Link: http://instantbazinga.com/

All you Big Bang fans now can have a Bazinga at the press of a re shiny button.

That's it - we've finally annoyed the parody from within the parody - I think the universe will collapse now.

Link: http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=7123&tag=wrapper;col1

With a respectable HTPC case no less - this is the way to go if you want HTPC goodness but don't plan to play the latest games on it.

What I’m going to outline here is an entry-level system that’s going to be able to handle all the basic tasks that you’d expect of an HTPC system. It’s going to be able to handle HD resolution video (1080p and 720p), cope with streaming video, upscale DVD, ad will even be good for playing games, as long as you’re not too greedy when it comes to resolution. It’s also going to have plenty of storage space so you’ve got plenty of room to store your ever-growing library of media.