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Archive for March, 2011

Follow The Cycling Season Online

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 7:30 PM on March 14, 2011

If you are fan of Pro Bike Racing, specifically of the big stage of the European circuit, then there’s a great resource to follow it live with both data and video.  You will want navigate your browser to ProCyclingLive and follow their Twitter feed and also their Live Stream.

What you will get when you follow them?  Follow them on Twitter and you will get a live stream of updates from every major race, updated every few minutes with leaders, time gaps, distance, and lots of other tidbits.  If you have Twitter on your phone then this really becomes indispensable when your are away fro home.

But, even better, if you go to their website and click Live Streams you will find links to video feeds of the major races with multiple links for different languages.  Video can be spotty at times and you may have to try a second link on occasion, but it’s surprisingly solid most of the time.  Video does tend to be somewhat time delayed so if you don’t want a spoiler then don’t check Twitter while watching it.

There are lots of somewhat sketchy sites that carry online video of live sports, but ProCyclingLive is a reliable, above-board site that you can rely on.  Most of these races are not carried on American TV, which makes it a must-visit for US fans of the sport.

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Posted in Twitter, video

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Microsoft Wants to Kill Off Internet Explorer

Posted by Andrew at 5:10 PM on March 14, 2011

Internet Explorer 6, that is. In 2011, IE6 will be 10 years old and to celebrate, Microsoft has decided to kill it off.  Not before time frankly.

Surprisingly, IE6 still has a worldwide market share of 12%, though this fell in the last year from 21%, so Microsoft’s target is to get IE6′s share down to 1% or less. And to publicise this, Microsoft has setup  an Internet Explorer 6 Countdown website which monitors use and provides some interesting facts and figures about the use of IE6 round the world.

For example, the IE6′s share of the browser market in China is 34.5% with South Korea at 24.8%. China’s use represents nearly half (5.9%) of the global use on its own. At the other end, usage in Finland and Norway is down to 0.9% and 0.7% respectively, which is where Microsoft wants it to be. The USA and UK are at 2.9% and 3.5%. Looking back at the peak of its popularity in 2002 and 2003, IE6 accounted for 90% of the browser market.

Microsoft is encouraging organisations to put a banner on their website that’s only visible to IE6 users and to stop supporting the browser. There are few big names on the list such as msn and CNET.

If you know anyone who is still using IE6, encourage them to upgrade to something more modern. Both they and the web will thank you for it.

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Posted in Microsoft, Web Browsers

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AZiO Keyboard for the iPad

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 11:15 AM on March 14, 2011

AZiO Keyboard

I needed a bluetooth keyboard that I could use with my iPad. I did take a look at the Apple keyboard, it looked very nice, but expensive. I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend $70.00 on something that there was a good chance I would spill something on or leave it somewhere. So I kept looking, I was on the Newegg site picking up an HDMI splitter and I saw the AZiO Keyboard. It said it was iPad ready and it was white, plus it was about $40 cheaper then the Apple keyboard. It is like the Apple wireless keyboard in that it doesn’t have the number keys on the side, but since I never use them anyway I don’t miss them. It does have an extra column on the right hand side which has function keys f14 thru f16, plus page up and page down, so it is slightly larger then the Apple keyboard.

While connecting the keyboard to the iPad I did have to push the connection button on the keypad twice , when it lost connection. However once it was connected and I entered the number given I have not lost the connection since then. The keyboard feels like it was build out of lego parts, another words a little plasticly and cheap. The keys are like chiclets and do make a clicking sound when you type. The Apple keyboard feels much more substantial and better made. If you want a keyboard that looks good and is silent then I would lean toward the Apple keyboard. However if you just want a keyboard that you can throw in a bag with your iPad and it works, but it you loose it no big deal, then the AZiO KB333BM keyboard is perfect. It is available through various sites, including NewEgg where you can get it for $39.00.

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Posted in Accessory, Gear, Information

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NHK World TV iPod App

Posted by tomwiles at 8:59 PM on March 13, 2011

Like millions of others, I’ve been glued to news sources to get as much current information as I can about the ongoing disasters in Japan following the massive earthquake, tsunami and ongoing nuclear plant disasters. This has to be the biggest natural disaster that has occurred in my lifetime.

In pre-Internet days, we had to rely on newspapers and television for news. Those forms of information have their problems. This is the Internet age. I want current information directly from the source NOW, not later. I want current information of my choice, not what news agencies that aren’t directly on the scene think is or is not important for me to know. If I want 24/7 disaster coverage, in the Internet age that becomes possible, allowing me to completely bypass limited conventional coverage.

It took a while for me to find, but there’s an iPhone/iPod/iPad/iOS app from Japan’s NHK called NHK World TV Live. The app is free. Once the app is installed, it operates very simply. You simply open the app and the live video directly from Japan’s NHK World news service immediately begins streaming. Search iTunes for NHK World TV Live.

The service has an English translator that talks over the lowered volume of the original Japanese broadcasts. The English translators aren’t slick and you can hear them become a bit confused from time to time.

There’s also an app from the Al jazeera TV English news network that operates live out of Doha, Qatar. Al jazeera TV English is highly produced from a beautiful state-of-the-art studio. The on-air newsreaders seem to be British nationals. Though Al jazeera gives more news from the Arab world than the typical American is used to, they do a pretty good job of covering international news, including the situation in Japan. Search iTunes for Al jazeera English Live.

Savvy TV news agencies in today’s world have to make themselves available if they want to continue to be relevant. News agencies such as the BBC, CBC, CNN, Fox, etc. seem to be dragging their feet regarding available-to-anyone-anywhere 24/7 Internet TV broadcasting. I believe they are already losing world market share.

 

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Posted in Apple, application, internet, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, ipod, IPTV, itunes, New Media, news, TV

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IOGEAR HD Audio/Video Switch

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 8:11 PM on March 12, 2011

Like a lot of people the number of devices that I have that require an HD connection have out grown the number of connections on the back of my monitor. So I went looking for an HDMI switch. I ended up picking up the IOGEAR GHDSW3KIT2 HD Audio/Video Switch It has 3 ports where you connect the devices to and one connection to the monitor. It comes with one HDMI cable and a IR remote control. It does not come with a power source, although it does have a power input. According to the IOGEAR site for most devices a power adapter is not require, but there are still some devices that don’t deliver enough power through the HD cable so the IOGEAR can be connected a adapter to offer the power.

It is easy to set up simply connect your devices into one of the three inputs and then connect the IOGEAR to the monitor. This will even work with DVI devices through a HDMI to DVI adapter. Once everything was connected it worked immediately. It can handle 480I, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p video resolution and up to 8 channel surround sound. Switching with the remote works well. If you connect through a DVI adapter the switching may not be as smooth as a direct HDMI connection, but it still works. One of the reasons I chose this adapter over others in the same price range ($39.99 on Newegg) is that it comes with a remote. I have only had the switch for a couple of days and the only problem that I have seen is that one time it switched by itself. Or at least I think it did. I was working on something and I looked up and it had switch to a different device, It is possible I hit the remote without knowing it. Other then that I have had no problems with it and am glad I purchase it. Although I do wish I had waited till this weekend because its on sale for $21.99 on Newegg.

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Posted in Gear, Information, video

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Thoughts on Japan

Posted by geeknews at 3:24 AM on March 12, 2011

As many of you know my wife is from Japan, specifically from Okinawa which has not been affected by the disaster in Northern Japan. That being said we both have American and Japanese friends that live in Japan who are yet to be accounted for in the areas affected.

With the additional situation developing with the Nuclear power plants, and the recent explosion at the Fukushima plant the disaster is growing by the minute. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Japanese people and hope that International support can be brought to bear to contain the radioactive fallout.

Such a sad day Japan.

Posted in Information

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Amazon Reviews – Gaming the System?

Posted by susabelle at 3:22 PM on March 11, 2011

I’m always looking for quick, easy ways to boost my income or get points to get things I want.  I’m a busy mom and wife in addition to working a full-time job, and life can get expensive.  I have a debit rewards card from my favorite gas station that saves me 2 cents a gallon gas and gives me 1% cash back on everything I use it for each month.  I use reward caps from bottles of diet coke to get cool things like telescopes and coupons for the Nike store.  I tend to lean towards easy and things that I can do here and there as I have time.

I was recently informed of an opportunity to write reviews for pay for Amazon.com.  If I write 11 reviews for products I own or have tried, or books I have read, I can get a $5 Amazon gift card.  Despite the fact that is relatively easy to do, and would be an easy way to earn a little bit of extra, the fact that I’m being paid to write reviews makes me a bit uncomfortable.  Reviews written by paid reviewers will not be marked as such on Amazon’s site, making this a really iffy deal in my mind.  There’s no requirement that I had to buy the product from Amazon or even prove that I own or have ever owned the product.

When I am on a website with a review system, I want to believe that that system is unbiased.  If you’re paying people for reviews, then how do I know you’re not paying for positive reviews, and not for negative reviews?  It’s a very sticky wicket, that’s for sure.

What are your feelings on such things?  Do you trust reviews from Amazon now that you know they are paying people to write them?

Posted in amazon

Comments 1 Comment

Sony Pictures Releases ‘My Daily Clip’ For Apple Devices

Posted by Don at 8:27 AM on March 11, 2011

Sony Pictures’ ‘My Daily Clip’ app is now available for iPod, iPhone and iPad from the App Store. Everyday, 365 days a year, the app will show us a different clip from one of Sony Pictures’ films. We’ll have the option to watch the clip and if it’s a movie we’ve never seen or would like to own, it gives us a link to the movies iTunes page where we can purchase the entire movie. There’s also trivia for each clip and a calendar so we can go back watch clips from previous days.

I’ve spent a little time playing around with the app and so far it’s pretty cool. Right when the app boots up you’re introduced to a memorable scene from one of Sony’s past films. When we click to play the clip a quick trivia question pops up. For instance, today’s clip was from the classic military drama ‘A Few Good Men’ — “You can’t handle the truth!” — and the question was in regards to leading ladies Jack Nicolson has worked with. More specifically, it wanted to know which of the given choices was a leading lady that Jack Nicolson killed on screen — kinda gruesome but, fun nonetheless. When the trivia question comes up you have a short amount of time to answer. The faster you answer the more points you get, that is of course if you answer right, which I did not. I’m not entirely sure what the points will grant us other than bragging rights but, everyone likes to test their movie knowledge once in awhile, right?

The clip loaded up surprisingly fast and looked great. ‘A Few Good Men’ is a movie I’ve seen countless times but, the app did a great job pulling me in, leaving me wanting more. Needless to say, I hit the calendar and found a bunch of movies from previous days. Just like the clip of the day, each of the previous clips throws another trivia question at you regarding a character, crew member or actor from the film. It’s a great way to kill some time and I will surely be going back. The calendar shows you what clips will be shown in the coming days and I’m looking forward to the quick trivia questions regarding movies I’m more familiar with — I want those points!

Another cool feature My Daily Clip provides is the sharing option. If you load up the app and happen to find a clip that you and a bunch of your friends love, you can share the clip via Facebook or e-mail to spread the movie joy. My Daily Clip is available now from the App Store and won‘t cost you a penny, unless it inspires you to make a movie purchase via iTunes which is clearly Sony’s goal here. Either way, it’s worth the free download so check it out.

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Posted in Apple, application, Film, IPAD, iPhone, ipod, mobile, Sony

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GNC-2011-03-11 #654 Tsunami Inbound!

Posted by geeknews at 1:39 AM on March 11, 2011

The massive earthquake hits Japan just as I start my show, we are under a Tsunami Warning here in Hawaii with first strike due at 3am local. Based on what has happened in Japan it could be bad. The Ohana watching the show live were feeding me information, kinda weird to talk about a live event in which I knew most of you would be listening post show. Needless to say lots of tech to talk about tonight as well.

Note: My home is 1000 feet above sea level we are safe.

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Show Notes:
Drupal
Jobs digging on Samsung.
Clearwire Class Action Suit.
Planet Protection Officer.
Apple Purchase Policy.
AOL Fires 900.
NYT Editors call us Pirates.
Instapaper 3.0
iPhone App Identifies Bills.
Rover Model.
New Way of Watching TV.
Hide Search Results.
Brain CFL Light.
Customized Figurine.
Disk Storage History.
SuperMoon Joke.
Star Shockwave.
Solar Flare.
Aliens will comes as Machines.
Voyager up to new Tricks!
Near Earth Asteroid.
Mercury Images.
Limewire Settles?
Pirate Roundup.
P2P Uploader Arrested.
iPad Garageband Review.
Flat Scissors.
Sleep Phase Alarm.
See through Hard Drive.
Sheen Using Social Media to make Cash!
Apple TV Live Programming.
Branded Entertainment Spending.
Sand Prices Drop.
New Zealand Interactive Disaster Map.
Ink for all my Friends.
Clearwire CEO Quits.
FCC to Arrest Cell Phone Jammers.
ISS is Complete?
Sony 3G Camera.
Control-Alt-Delete Origin.
New Fuel Advances.
VMware App.
Winamp for Android.
iOS 4.3 Sync Issues?
Motorola Xoom Mod.

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Posted in Podcast

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Review of AirPlay on the iPad

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 7:58 PM on March 10, 2011

IOS 4.3 is now available for download through iTunes . One of the things that came with the update was enhanced AirPlay. Which not only allows you to play iPad videos on your Apple TV as it did before, but it now also allows you to share your Itunes library including videos to your iPad, iPhone (3GS and 4) and iPod Touch. One of the coolest new features is the enhanced Airplay. Prior to this you could send video from your iPad to a T.V. that is connected to an Apple TV. The enhancement is now you can share your Itunes library on your iPad. To get this to work there are a couple of things that you will need to do. First turn on sharing in iTunes. To do this go to the Advanced tab and turn on Home Sharing. At this point you will need to enter your Apple ID and password. Then under Preference and the Sharing tab you can decide what you want to share. You can choose you whole library, just specific playlist or only certain types of media. You can also add a password, to limit the sharing to only those you give the password to. While you are in iTunes you may also want to check to make sure that what you are sharing can be played on your portable device. iPad can play H.264 MPEG4 and Motion JPEG video. For video I use Handbrake to do the conversion.  You will also need to have VLC installed for this to work. The iPad can handle ACC, MP3, Apple Lossless, AIFF and Wave audio files. Itunes itself is good and converting audio files.

Once you have everything set up on your computer, you are ready to set things up on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. On your portable device go into Settings the iPod fill in your Apple ID and password and you are set. Now when you open up the ipod app if you tap on Library at the top you should see My iPad and your shared library. Tap on your shared library and it will show up on your iPad. As it is working you will see a little circle fill up. One of the things that confused me for a minute was that I wasn’t seeing any of my movies or TV shows in my iPod application. Then I realized there is a separate app on the iPad called Video, that is where all the video files were.  Although video podcast do show up in the iPod application.

There are a couple of things that I did notice at this point. First it takes some time to load all the videos screenshots. The second thing I noticed and its definitely a bug is sometimes if you have the Info button highlighted and you hit play an error message will pop up and “Says Can Not Play Movie.”  Then in the same movie if you have the chapter bar highlighted and hit play it works fine.   I am sure this is a temporary problem and will be fixed quickly. However if you are having trouble playing videos you may want to try that, until Apple gets a fix out.  Once the video start to play they look and play fine. For someone like me with a 16 GB iPad being able to keep your videos on your computer or a network hard drive and play them on the iPad is a great solution.

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Posted in Apple, Information, IPAD

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