General – Page 82 – Paul's Tech Talk

Wii-saber for budding Jedi Knights

PaulNovember 26, 2007

Since the Wii was released with waggle controls, everyone has been looking forward for a Star Wars title to appear on the horizon, where they will be able to wield the lightsaber just like how the Jedi Knights in the movies did. They are now able to relive those experiences with a Wii Light Sword – sure, it isn’t exactly a lightsaber per se, but at this point in time I think we fanboys would take anything we can get our hands on. All you need to do is have a Wii and a Wiimote in hand – something that might be a little hard to do considering the scarcity of Nintendo’s console. This add-on gaming peripheral will set you back by £15, or you could always save your money and use your imagination instead.

Wouldn’t that be fun to have around the house. I can just see people saying “I broke my HDTV with a Wii Light Sword!” Oh boy would that be funny!!

Why Everyone Should Use Google Calendar

PaulNovember 23, 2007

If you’re not using Google Calendar, you don’t know what you’re missing. I’m not suggesting that you stop using whatever calendar software you’re currently using. I’m saying that Google is super powerful as a secondary calendar, or even as a non-calendar resource that does all kinds of useful jobs for you. Here’s how to use Google Calendar to make your own local “city guide”; never forget birthdays and anniversaries (with a neat trick); build a just-in-time information system; nag yourself; and provide information at your fingertips no matter where you are. Here’s how you can IMPROVE YOUR LIFE WITH GOOGLE CALENDAR.

I use Google Calendar and love it. I can schedule events with people and remind myself of to do list. Go try it out for yourself.

Free Nature-Based Wallpaper

PaulNovember 23, 2007

Editor alumnus Kyle Pott pointed us toward a collection of striking, high-quality wallpaper images, all available free from Microsoft Technical Evangelist Mike Swanson’s blog. The images are mostly nature based and available in common desktop and laptop resolutions. Most are nature-based, and all of them shot with an eye for icon placement and light balance. For more free desktop dressing, including fonts and icons, check out Gina’s Top 10 roundup of free wallpaper, fonts and icon sources.

Wallpaper Images [Mike Swanson’s Blog]

Sesame Street DVD Deemed Adult-Only Entertainment

PaulNovember 19, 2007

theodp writes
“The earliest episodes of Sesame Street are being made available on DVD, but the NYT notes Volumes 1 and 2 carry a rather strange warning: ‘These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.’ So why are they unsuitable for toddlers in 2007? Well, in the parody ‘Monsterpiece Theater,’ Alistair Cookie — played by Cookie Monster — used to appear with a pipe, which he later gobbled. ‘That modeled the wrong behavior,’ explained a Sesame Street executive producer, adding that ‘we might not be able to create a character like Oscar [the Grouch] now.'”

Oh Brother what is going on here, they should know better than that. I bet when they release 2007 in about 20 years it will be the same. Get over it and understand that KIDS will probably see this without a shrug from parents.

AMD launches quad-core Phenom — Intel shrugs

PaulNovember 19, 2007

Just like we heard, AMD has gone live with Phenom. With it, we’ve got an entire new platform, codenamed “Spider.” The Spider PC platform combines AMD Phenom quad-core processors, ATI Radeon HD 3800 series graphics, and AMD 7-series chipsets with CrossFireX and AMD OverDrive software for what AMD calls the “Ultimate visual Experience.” That’s the hype. Early reviews, however, are pretty much “underwhelmed” by the launch. Oh, the HD 3800 cards are ok (for mid-range graphics) and the 7-series chipset “is in good shape,” but AMD needs to roll-on those clock speeds beyond the 2.2GHz Phenom 9500 ($251), 2.3GHz Phenom 9600 ($283) and 2.4GHz and 2.6GHz Phenon 9700 and 9900 (available in Q1 2008 for $300 and $350, respectively), and do it quick, if they hope to pull ahead of Intel’s quad-core offerings. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem likely.

Read — AMD Spider press release

Read — PC Perspective benchmark
Read — HotHardware benchmark

Nice I would love to have one of those Quad cores. Maybe later.