Got a memory card?
It’s OK to boil your memory card: official | The Register
Posted by akaDruid on 26 Aug 2004 at 12:08 pm
Posted in with 0 Comments (Visited times)
I have a new desktop background, at least at work. A program that automatically generates a view of the earth, or any other planet, updating automatically as the planet rotates relative to the sun. You can also map realtime cloud images onto the view, producing a realistic simultation of the earth from space.
You can produce some fascinating images like this. My own desktop is currently a view of the earth from about 20 degrees south of my own position in London, England. I have a screenshot of it as it is right now. You can use it to tell the time and weather too, just looking at the areas that are in daylight. The areas that are dark are equally fascinating, as you can see the millions of lights lighting up crowded places like England, while areas like central Africa are pitch black.
Haven’t decided whether to keep the clouds yet. they are really interesting, but they tend to blot out some of the places that are more interesting to me, like the whole of England for starters.
One downside I found was that it was a real pain install and configure, being mainly designed for Linux gurus and patched for lowly windows users afterwards. Still, it works really well one you’re done, so it’s worth the effort. I also used the XPlanet Control which is linked from the main site.
The software is open source, and is available from it’s website at sourceforge:
Xplanet
WXplanet for Windows
Posted by akaDruid on 25 Aug 2004 at 03:08 pm
Posted in with 0 Comments (Visited times)
I’m still pondering various ideas for the layout and design elements of this new site I’m working on. I’m buzzing with ideas for exciting content, but the layout has me puzzled. I can’t tell whether it’s my own lack of artistic talent thats at fault or just the world in general, but I’m struggling to assemble a clean, friendly, layout that is flexable enough for my needs and simple to set up.
The arrival of Doom 3 notwithstanding, I can see me doing a lot of work on this new site, and even my own in the future. My own site is starting to annoy me now. The simple design with the dark background seemed quite cool at the time but i think it looks dated and childish now.
Anyhow, here’s a site I like. It’s got some nice design elements, but like many popular sites, its just a little too busy for my taste.
Spymac
And another one offering a CSS which I may just end up incorperating:
BlueRobot.com
Posted by akaDruid on 17 Aug 2004 at 02:08 pm
Posted in with 0 Comments (Visited 1059 times)
The best info I’ve found on allofmp3.com and the legal issues is at museekster.com. I don’t know what reputation this site has, but they have a lot of information and links. Check it out:
Allofmp3 FAQ
They also link to this article in The Guardian:
Can’t stop the music
The Guardian article is unfortuanately short on facts. It does quote Alan Dixon, general counsel of the London-based International Federation of the Phonograph Industry, as saying that Spanish-based Weblisten.com, a similar service, is not legal (But then he would eh? Conflict of intrest). Apparently six lawsuits and two criminal proceedings have failed as yet to take weblisten.com down. Should any of these suceed, it may create a precedent for lawsuits against allofmp3.com – however the laws will of course be completely different in Russia. Museeker’s page (linked above) has a comment on that statement from Andy Mincov, a Russian lawyer, contridicting Alan Dixon. Read it all for yourself on the above links.
Posted by akaDruid on 10 Aug 2004 at 10:08 am
Posted in with 1 Comment (Visited 1031 times)
Another review of allofmp3.com, from TheTechGuide.com this time. Less heavy on the legal details, but a nice summary with pictures. Check it out:
AllofMP3.com Review
Posted by akaDruid on 10 Aug 2004 at 10:08 am
Posted in with 0 Comments (Visited times)
I’m always interested in more details on allofmp3.com since I started using it, particularly on the legal aspects of it. Here’s an interesting piece in the ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’s technology section. They consulted a local barrister on the legal aspect, and he seemed comfortable with the legal aspect. Check it out here:
Russian site is music to the ears – TheEdge – smh.com.au
Posted by akaDruid on 10 Aug 2004 at 10:08 am
Posted in with 0 Comments (Visited times)
Another site that made me smile – someone’s patented ‘a mouse with a printer in it’… How does anyone think that could ever be useful? Please do let me know if you think of a real world use for such a dumb idea, I’d love to know. Anyhow, here’s the link:
IPWatchdog.com – Obscure Patent of the Week
Posted by akaDruid on 03 Aug 2004 at 04:08 pm
Posted in with 0 Comments (Visited times)
We’re off paintballing on Sat, for my mate’s stag do. I had to organise it, cos I’m the best man, and I picked this place:
Holmbush Paintball Fields.
It looks quite good fun, so we’ll see on Sat. Just had to put the deposit down on my ccard, which was a bit of an ouch cos there’s 12 of us going!
Posted by akaDruid on 03 Aug 2004 at 04:08 pm
Posted in with 1 Comment (Visited times)
I was looking for a good legal way to download music, and I discovered this website:
allofmp3.com
It’s based in Russia, and is 100% legal under their copyright system there. Since they have a different system to us in the UK, and things generally cost less there anyway, this website is able to offer legal mp3 downloads at an astonishingly low cost.
You pay for what you download on a per-megabyte basis, and you choose what format and quality you want your music in. The albums I have downloaded so far have worked out at about 60-70 pence per album.
Unlike some of the US based sites such as iTunes, they have a huge selection of albums from every record label, and a very nice program to browse and preview anything you are interested in.
If you’re looking to make the jump to legal music downloads, I would recommend this.
The US ‘Big Four’ lead sites are going to need to sit up and take notice. For price, selection, and ease of use, this site is miles ahead.
Posted by akaDruid on 02 Aug 2004 at 10:08 am
Posted in with 0 Comments (Visited times)