Tech Blog

[#1]

Another week, another technology event
Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference started the week off with a lot of buzz, rumors of a new Apple netbook or tablet computer, rumors of Steve Jobs presenting...basically a lot of curiosity and anticipation. So what happened?

No Steve, no netbook or tablet. But, thre was a whole slew of cool announcements, including a new iPhone with a new version of the iPhone OS, and a new version of OSX Leopard (Called Snow Leopard. OSX is the Macintosh operating system).

As well, there were some updated hardware announcements and new pricing. You can get the full details in Tris Hussey's WWDC Coverage, and more detail on the iPhone announcements in Triss' item here.

A fun little bit from WWDC, AppleInsider did a cool item on an Apple Appstore art installation that showed Appstore downloads / purchases as they occurred. Mesmerizing.

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Binary Business Blues
Two articles caught my attention earlier this week. The first article in Macleans Magazine looks into some of the reasons why You can't buy that here; Canadians are prevented from many different types of online purchases.

The next one was this item from Reuters news service, describing how digital downloads may kill the corner videogame store.

But gamers -- especially on personal computers -- are increasingly turning to alternative methods to play and buy games, such as downloading or "streaming" online games, rather than trekking to a store.

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Microsoft changes position on Netbooks and Windows 7
Earlier this week MS backpedaled on it's 'three application only' position for the netbook 'Starter edition' of Windows 7.

For the first time, we will be making Windows 7 Starter available worldwide on small notebook PCs. We are also going to enable Windows 7 Starter customers the ability to run as many applications simultaneously as they would like, instead of being constricted to the 3 application limit that the previous Starter editions included.

Pundits believe that if MS had enforced this three-app limit, Linux-based netbooks would have been the sure winners.

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Snoozing on Social Media
If you're Canadian and use Twitter, you're in the minority, according to an Ipsos Reid survey reported by CBC.

When asked "Are you aware of Twitter?" just 26 per cent of more than 824 respondents answered yes during the online survey conducted in March, Ipsos reported Thursday.

A concerning social media story crossed my desktop earlier this week -- Leaving 'Friendprints': How Online Social Networks Are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security. According to a Wharton School of business researcher, "The way privacy has traditionally been defined is being challenged."

The lengthy article goes on to discuss the evolution of online privacy and current accepted practices. Interesting reading, especially if you're trying to determine what your online fingerprint looks like.

Facebook unlocks the holy grail of social media identity...allowing users to have their own vanity URLs. Buzz Bishop has the full story. I'm now facebook.com/brad.grier. Woot.

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Science/tech and other stuff
Canadian scientists plan to build an inflatable tower to space. Yep, inflatable. NewScientist reports:

A GIANT inflatable tower could carry people to the edge of space without the need for a rocket, and could be completed much sooner than a cable-based space elevator, its proponents claim.

Lucky: Fourteen year old hit by speeding space meteorite...and survives to tell the tale! Sorry, this is starting to sound like supermarket-tabloid news, but according to The Telegraph, it happened.

A red hot, pea-sized piece of rock then hit his hand before bouncing off and causing a foot wide crater in the ground.

Back to real, if not hard science for a bit...CBC is reporting that a new element has been produced and will be added to the Perodic Table as element 112, called Ununbium for now, until the permanent name is announced.

Message Edited by bgrier on 06-13-2009 07:59 AM

Message Edited by JS on 07-24-2009 11:53 PM

Message Edited by Laura on 08-24-2009 02:48 PM

Message Edited by ElizabethS on 09-10-2009 07:21 PM

[#2]

Wait a minute... "A red hot, pea-sized piece of rock then hit his hand before bouncing off and causing a foot wide crater in the ground."

Let me get this straight, it first hit his hand THEN cause a food wide crater in the ground.

Is this kid super human or what.

[#3]

@morfanos "...reports where that after seeing another metor coming he whipped off his glasses and ran towards a phone booth..."

[#4]

So I guess he was lucky this wasn't a Kryptonite meteorite then.

[#5]

Did someone say "Krypto"nite?? 

[#6]

Back on the serious side of things, I was also reading about the meteor story on Viigo (on my BlackBerry) and apparently this sort of thing happens a lot more often than we might think.

[#7]

You mean bouncing of someone then making a crater? If so, it would be very interesting to know the reason as to why (in term of non comic book physics) it does so.