Network Geeks Rejoice - Comprehensive Port Listing

From the fine folks at iana.org.

Yahoo! acquires Konfabulator

I guess I'm not the only one that likes Konfabulator. Yahoo! recently acquired Pixoria.

Way to go guys!

(Oh, and Konfabulator is now free. Now there's no reason not to try it.)

ANOTHER remake?! "The Fog" joins the list.

During the previews before The Island there it was--the remake of John Carpenter's The Fog.

Ugh.

Although no cinematic masterpiece, the original did have one of the early scream-queens, Adrienne Barbeau.

Can four hot women form a band that totally rocks?

If you ask me, in the 80's Vixen proved that “yes they can.”.

In the 90's we had The Donnas, and today we have Bond (below).

If you aren't familiar with the latter (Bond), you owe it to yourself to check out their music. (String quartets have never been this sexy--visually or aurally.)

Why do we (you) work so hard?

Just read. It might change your life.

"Zathura" by any other name is, "Jumanji"

I just saw a preview for the former and as struck by how similar it is to the latter.

Ah, they are both based on books from Chris Van Allsburg.

Trouble is, the release of the former supports my earlier post. Sigh.

Scotty Beams Up One Last Time

James Doohan, “Scotty” of Star Trek fame, died early today from complications of pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease. RIP, chief, RIP.

It's Official -- Hollywood is Out of Ideas

The number of remakes (of TV and movies) already out, coming out in the near future, or in production is staggering. Let's count--I'll start and ya'll can fill in what I miss (in comments).

• Starsky and Hutch
• The Dukes of Hazzard
• Bewitched
• War of the Worlds
• King Kong
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (aka, Willy Wonka...)
• Bad News Bears

And that's not counting all the damn sequels that shouldn't be made. I think we've found the problem with the “no blockbuster” summer--no originality. IMO, this is a pretty disturbing trend.

Laws of Blogging

I'm not sure that there are any rules, let alone laws, for blogging, but funny/sexy girl Mindy Raf and techy Matt Olson have some tips for bloggers who can't otherwise write and wankers (respectively).

(Funny stuff, but it makes me feel I should be a little more responsible when I post.)

40 Things That Only Happen In Movies

Amusing. (via nostagiacentra.com)

The Ritual of Email Forwarding

An interesting report on the study by US researchers on the ritualistic implications of forwarding email.

Call Screening via Robotic Squirrel

Yeah, read the title of this post again. Now read the rest (below)...I don't get it either.

The “Cellular Squirrel” is a project by Stefan Marti of the MIT Media Lab Speech Interface Group that embeds a telephone answering agent in the body of a stuffed squirrel. The agent answers your cell phone, engages the caller in a dialog to determine the importance of a call, compares the importance to what is going on in the immediate area, and decides whether to announce the call to the cell owner. The squirrel interfaces to a (nearby) PC for computing power and vibrates at various levels to indicate the importance of the incoming call.

Although the guy is pretty cute for a receptionist (but the eviscerated pic [above] is a bit creepy), I can't help but think how pissed off callers would be if they have to be vetted by a robotic squirrel in order to get through to the intended person. I get peeved when I have to make my way through an automated or human intermediary.

Coolest Keyboard Ever?

The Optimus keyboard is still in the initial stages of production but will (hopefully) be released in 2006.

What makes this keyboard so cool? Each key is a OLED capable of dynamically displaying its current function. This means that the keyboard can be multi-lingual, multi-function, and truly dynamic.

Still, with a price close to a “good mobile phone”, I doubt I'll want to bang on it while gaming.

Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs

Very cool. incompetech.com has several graph/grid paper generators online. You can specify, generate, and print graph/grids of various types.

Thanks to Boingboing for the lead.

Comprehending Migraine Pain

I've often wrestled with describing migraine pain to folks that haven't ever had one. Then I read this article, on ice cream “brain freeze”, which ties the causes and pain of brain freeze and migraines together. It's right, migraines are very similar to brain freeze.

So, for those that have never had migraines, I envy you. That's what they feel like--but for extended periods of time.

Reminder: New Season of Sci Fi Channel Starts 7/15/05

Battlestars, Stargates, and more. Oh my.

Hands-free Phone Use Still = Accidents

Research done in Australia shows that hands-free cellphone use doesn't necessarily lessen the chance of having an accident (less than non-hands-free cellphone use). Huh. You mean paying attention to the road instead of the phone is the key?!

The Confusion Created Around “Palm”

Gizmodo has an interesting take on the rise, fall, rise, er, etc of the Palm environment.

Big Ship

Guys like big shit, like this big ship.

Don't disregard the article based on my line above, the ship is an amazing piece of technology, from its size and capabilities to haul cargo, to the controls available to the crew. Read on, techies, read on!

Herb Alpert and the most recognized album cover (at least by males currently ~35-45 years old)

It started by reading a kinda stupid story at BoingBoing during the week. Because the story involved whipped cream propellant, Boing matched the story with a pic of the famous album cover from Herb Alpert's “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” (below).

(Come'on guys, you know this cover--every little bubble of cream...)

Like many, my parents had this album while I was growing up. Besides the memorable cover, the music on the album was remarkable. The image conjured up fond memories of the music and I rushed out to my favorite online music store and purchased the CD. In preparation for this article I did some more surfing on Boing and found that the album has a soft spot in their hearts as well. Check the links below...and go buy your own copy.

Cheap-Ass Cereal

We've taken a stroll down breakfast cereal memory lane before, now we get to visit “Cheap-Ass Cereal” (via TheSneeze).

Slingbox - VERY Cool Technology

I've been interested in accessing my TiVo over the Web since I first read about TiVo mods. For regular TiVo users, this became a non-issue with TiVo's online services. However, for us dumb schmucks with DirectTV TiVos, there is no joy in online-town. DTV doesn't even have online components scheduled for development, let alone deployment.

I read the release reviews of the Slingbox (released around 7/3/05) and was intrigued. Actually broadcasting my TiVo over the Internet, not just controlling it? Too good to be true? Probably. However, the gadget-fiend in me wouldn't let skepticism get in the way of trying it.

So one trip to CompUSA and -$250 later, I had the Slingbox home and began the install. About 30 painless minutes later the device was installed and I was watching video on my desktop computer. It was good video by computer standards--that is, about what I'd expect from a good capture card. But, could it stream to my laptop over my wireless connection (which is one reason I got the Slingbox)? Thankfully the answer is yes. In fact, it did an amazing job.

(The Slingbox installs between the device you want to control and your TV. It allows the signal to pass through to the TV so you don't need to dedicate an output on the device for the Slingbox. It supports RCA audio (stereo) and video plugs as well as S-Video connections. The box itself is kinda funky in design, but only about 12" long so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. It does require the proprietary SlingPlayer software to view the remote 'casted video.)

The next day I tried the connection over the Internet, watching and controlling the TiVo at work. Because of the reviews I expected acceptable quality. I was unprepared for almost flawless video--but a bit dismayed at the few pronounced flaws (see below). I can now watch my TiVo from anywhere over the Internet. (Well, anywhere where I have my laptop [with installed SlingPlayer software] that has broadband.) This would have been incredibly useful when I traveled more--I wouldn't have had to rely upon local channels, HBO's lineup (although impressive), and Spectravision for entertainment. I could have watched anything that I would have been watching at home--live or recorded.

The device has a few limitations and shortcomings. Among those that I've noticed:

• There is a noticeable delay between the time a remote button is pushed and the TiVo responds
• Using the remote interrupts the video flow (but mastering the “control mode” helps a lot)
• The SlingPlayer software only acts as one specific remote--I'd love to use the player to access several devices (DVD player, VCR, and TiVo) which are all connected to the same TV
• There's an annoying audio glitch that causes feedback when the video gets too bright
• The price tag is a little steep

I don't have a real practical use for it--I mean I can't exactly watch TV all day at work (but being able to watch TV on my laptop anywhere in the house is a plus). Still the Slingbox is one of the hottest gadgets I've seen (and place-shifting a cool concept). I can't wait to see their PDA and phone players.

The Hulk's Blog

Because what else have you got to do with your time? Go. Read. Now.

"The Duel" - Cool Animation from Anzovin Studio

Pixar is good, but there's a lot of talent in the world. Take Anzovin Studios, for example, who put together “The Duel”, a simple but nicely choreographed animation.

Follow the link above and visit the Animation Master Films site for more animations using Hash's Animation Master.

Rubbermaid Paint Buddies

Very cool product spotlight at Boing Boing--Rubbermaid Paint Buddies. The Paint Buddy is a storage and touch-up tool in one. Some online folk have reported seeing the Paint Buddies at Lowes, if anyone is interested...it looks like a cool concept.

Review of The Matrix Online

Gamersinfo.net has a good review (and overview) of The Matrix Online, just in case you were thinking of giving it a try and wanted to know more about the MMORPG.

Bottom line seems to be that those that like the movie(s) will like the game. Everyone else might want to find something else.

MMORPG Leveling - Essay from afkGamer

Good piece about the Grind to the “next” level.

Yeah, I always look.

More Sync -- Not Coming Soon ... to An Xbox Near You

Seems that “The Godfather” is coming (as a game) to the Xbox. Read Sync's ideas of other movies ripe for video games...like “Brian's Song”:

Think Madden's pretty realistic? Try this for reality: You're a promising running back for the Chicago Bears, stricken with cancer in the prime of your career. Inspirational as that may be, it's not stopping defenders from wanting to tear you apart, bone by brittle bone. The first sports game guaranteed to make you cry.

Sync's Gangsta Gadgets

Priceless.

DENIM - Sketch out your web interface

DENIM is a tool that “helps web site designers in the early stages of design. DENIM supports sketching input, allows design at different refinement levels, and unifies the levels through zooming.”.

In layman terms it allows you to build prototype web interfaces by sketching them out--the system supplies the underlying code to empower the interface.

It looks interesting. If you design interfaces, give it a look.

(Anyone else thinking about the scene in Spinal Tap where Nigel draws his vision of a prop for Stonehenge, but mistakenly puts 18" next to it?)

Google Desktop Search Plug-ins

For those that might have missed it, Google released a desktop version of their search engine technology about a year ago. The app lives on your computer and indexes your files in the background. You can run GDS to find files on your hard drive and/or have those files included in online Google searches (handy if you have forgotten that you had info at hand and didn't need to find it on the net afterall).

Although somewhat limited in scope as to what it can search, the GDS has a fairly robust SDK which has enabled various coders to create plug-ins for GDS.

(Thanks to downloadsquad.com for the reminder about GDS plug-ins.)

Domino Harvey Dies

I stumbled across some disturbing news while researching the release date for Domino, Tony Scott's biopic about Domino Harvey--fashion model turned bounty hunter. Domino Harvey died on June 27th.

The movie is scheduled for release in August and the studio plans to hold that date despite the subject's death.

Domino stars Keira Knightley, along with Mickey Rourke, Mena Suvari, Lucy Liu, Christopher Walken, Jacqueline Bisset and Macy Gray.

"'cause we are here forever, man"

The oft-forgotten movie Tango and Cash has a scene where Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell walk into a prison shower naked, showing a gratuitous shot of both their butts. Rumor has it that during shooting of the scene Sly noticed that Kurt was holding his breath and flexing his cheeks. When Sly asked “why?”, Kurt replied “'cause we are here forever, man,”--referring to the fact that their asses were forever memorialized on celluloid.

Recently the same concept was brought up regarding blogging, when documents surfaced that BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen wrote and posted online some time ago. Said documents made Cohen's coding motives suspect, making him look much more piracy-driven instead of the shining knight of moral responsibility he is currently known for.

The lesson? Bloggers be careful, because we are here forever, man.