Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

2-4-09

BBC America has announced 3 genre shows coming "later in 2009" (whenever that happens to be - I wish they'd been more specific): Being Human (vampire, werewolf & ghost share a flat), Survivors (post apocalypse), and 3rd season Primeval.

Google Maps has a new mobile application called Latitude, which lets you share your location information with friends and family (you can set level at specific address, city level, or not shared on a person-by-person basis) once you install the app on your mobile device (but not the iPhone yet). Sources: SF Gate (AP), Wired, CNet.

Yahoo is discontinuing their Briefcase. I'll have to check what files I have there and move them. I used to use it to store files I wanted access to at both home and work, but I mostly use my flash drive for that now. The CNet article mentions other services that you can use to replace your Briefcase if you still use it.

Since Microsoft released the beta of Windows 7, there has been a bunch of news and reviews about it (most of which I've left off this blog), but here are a few good links. Ars Technica takes an in-depth look at the new taskbar and CNet breaks down what they like and what they don't like about it.

While looking at Microsoft releases, there are also reviews of their IE 8 release candidate. I'm sure I'll stick with Firefox whenever I can, but if you're curious, there is a photo gallery at CNet and a full review at PC Magazine.

The Galaxy Express has a 2-part look at SF Romances (the good, the bad, and some history). See Part 1 & Part 2.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

11-18-08

A new Firefox extension will expand a java game to full screen, even if the game wasn't designed to have that option. I can think of one or two I want to try with this.

Mozilla also now has a service to help guide you through selecting which add-ons you want to customize your Firefox installation, and installs them all at once, not one at a time.

Google Image Search will now include photos, images, and etchings from Life Magazine dating all the way back to the 1750s, some of which were never published. Here is the direct link to the archive.

DVR for tonight:
8pm House
9pm Fringe

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

10-1-08

Google is resurrecting January 2001 in an archive site as part of their 10th birthday celebration.

Space.com has an article on predictions and plans for NASA's next 50 years.

The Mercury News has reviewed and ranked a few of the multitude of taco shops in my neighborhood. I'm a bit amazed that someone was up to the challenge. Of course, they left off one of my favorites.

As a side effect of HBO's True Blood series, all 7 of the Sookie Stackhouse books are now in the New York Time's Bestseller list (ranging from #3 to #19).

DVRs for tonight:
8pm Bones (FOX)
8pm Pushing Daisies (ABC - season premiere!!)
8pm Knight Rider (I'll skip this for now & catch up online if I like the 1st one when I see it)
9pm Private Practice (ABC - season premiere)
10pm CSI:NY (CBS)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

8-26-08

Torchwood season 3 has begun filming. Check out the article at Futon Critic for recurring characters who will appear.

Researchers using Google Earth images from around the world have found that cows tend to rest in a north/south orientation, showing they have an internal compass that nobody noticed before. Sources: Yahoo article, CNet article, LA Times story.

Wallace & Gromit are the new fashion models for British department store Harvey Nichols. It is amusing to see Wallace wearing something other than the same old sweater vests, but I hope this doesn't delay the next movie too much.

Cat story of the day: A German cat survived being walled in beneath a bathtub for 7 weeks. She lost 9 pounds, but has now (18 days later) recovered almost completely.

ABC has picked up 5 new shows for midseason. I don't know if any of them will be watchable, but they all have good cast/crew people. The shows are: "Cupid" (Rob Thomas is remaking his show from the 90s), "Castle" (with Nathan Fillion), "Single with Parents" (with Alyssa Milano, Annie Potts, and Beau Bridges), "The Unusuals" (with Amber Tamblyn, Harold Perrineau, and Adam Goldberg), and "Better off Ted" (with Jay Harrington and a writer from My Name is Earl).

It sounds like they might be building a carbon-neutral ziggurat in Dubai that could house up to 1.1 million people.

The script for Transformers 2 has been modified to include Shia LaBeouf's hand injury (which he got in a car accident last month) so he doesn't further injure himself completing the movie.

Looking for a reading list? Books that have had at least one nomination so far for the 2008 Nebula Awards are listed at nebulaawards.com. This is not the preliminary ballot, but it is likely the books making the preliminary ballot will be a subset of this list.

DVR for tonight:
Eureka
Greek (2nd season premiere)

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Roundup for 9-13-07 part 1

Morgan Fairchild will play herself in an upcoming episode of Men in Trees.
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Exclusive-Men-Trees/800022149?rssDate=12345678

Jon Stewart will host the Oscars again next year.
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20070912abc01

Google is co-sponsoring a $20 million grand prize (with $10 million in other prizes) for an unmanned moon landing by a private industry group.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070913/wr_nm/space_prize_dc_1
http://www.space.com/news/070913_google_xprize.html

By analyzing the orbit of Mars, they think it has had 40 ice ages in the past 50 million years (approx. every 120,000 years), with the wobble causing the sun to either dry out the soil or cause ice sheets to form right under it, alternating in location. Wow, makes life seem pretty much impossible anywhere remotely near the surface.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070912_mars_ice.html

Not all red giant stars act the same way. And some planets could survive the death of their suns. Could Earth? Doubtful, but it allows for some interesting speculation, and none of us will be around to know for sure.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070912_rgiant_planet.html

Vampire star found = article about a star that siphons gas from another star close by.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070912_neutron_object.html

For $1.3 million a year and the loan of their planes for research missions, Google founders will get to park their planes at Moffet Field. I think it sounds like a great deal for all involved (Moffet gets more funds to stay open and active in research, and Google gets airport access right next to their headquarters), but there is concern over just how many flights will be allowed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/technology/13google.html?em&ex=1189742400&en=d65a97aea29c0825&ei=5087%0A
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/12/BUDJS3IOT.DTL&feed=rss.technology

New water bottle filters anything under 15 nanometers (viruses are 25), so it can purify the grossest water imaginable without chemicals and can go at least 4,000 liters before changing the filter. Military agencies bought up his entire supply within 4 hours, but I'm sure he'll be making more soon (he designed it for disaster relief).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=3R3S1NAZ1X2NVQFIQMFCFFWAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/09/12/nwater112.xml

Solar aircraft sets records
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/10/1917254&from=rss

A stinky weed with an oily seed may be your next source of auto fuel. It is apparently really easy to turn into biodiesel.
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/10/1734254&from=rss

Student film version of Rama. (I still need to check out.)
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/005624.html

Friday, August 24, 2007

8-24-07

I mentioned the new Google Earth the other day, and today it featured on MyStanford's home page. Stanford was 1 of 7 winners (out of 300 schools competing) of a Google prize for 3D mapping of the campus.
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/august22/google-082207.html

Subterranian Press has started putting their latest magazine online for free. I've never checked these out before, but they include stories by Charles deLint, John Scalzi, etc. and most issues have an audiobook.
http://subterraneanpress.com/magazine

Paul Reubens will have a recurring role on Pushing Daisies.
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=1&id=43513

The report of JK Rowling writing a detective story was part of a joke reported as fact. Nobody knows what her next project will be yet.
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=5&id=43515

A Torchwood producer talks about the origins for the idea of the show (US shows like Buffy, X-Files & BSG among others).
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=1&id=43570

John Williams will be doing the music for the final Harry Potter movie and Indy 4.
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=3&id=43552

Astronomers have found a huge empty hole in the universe.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070823_huge_hole.html

Fairly interesting article about all the fighting going on about setting up high speed rail from LA to SF (the argument being the route and the funding).
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_6706923?source=rss

Great article on cord blood. If you've been paying attention, you know I think this is a medical marvel being thrown away far too often. This covers pretty much all the issues.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-08-22/news/a-cure-for-all-that-ails-you

Stargate full series box images are at TVShowsonDVD:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7927

Stanford Shopping Center is planning to expand.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_6706360?source=rss

Sony has developed a bio-battery that runs on sugar. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have ecologically-friendly batteries?

Any DVD that comes packaged with a barf bag is clearly not trying to sell to my demographic. Am I the only one who finds this disturbing?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070824/film_nm/dirtysanchez_dc_1

Tor books is going to podcast from the Worldcon in Japan next week.
http://www.tor-forge.com/podcasts

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

8-22-07

The upcoming HD-DVD release of Star Trek: TOS will have standard DVD on the flip side of each disk. This totally goes against the usual "make them buy it as many times in as many formats as possible" Star Trek marketing and makes it much more tempting to me.
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7914

From the "I can't believe I haven't heard everything yet" files: They are now making scratch-n-sniff "musty book smell" stickers for people to apply to e-book readers so they can have the smell of a book while reading electronic copies.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070822/wr_nm/internet_books1_dc_1

Another depressing article about how few people actually read books. It's based on the "Reading at Risk" study I linked to a few weeks ago, but they added quotes from people who do/don't read. Laurel: Sorry, I know you've seen this already.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/08/21/reading.ap/index.html

Documentary on the history of SF TV. It's 30 minutes, so I've only seen the very beginning. It looks good though, so I'll probably watch the rest later.
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/005510.html

I've never used Google Earth, just their online maps, but they just added some great features: a virtual telescope called Sky, which shows you the view from where you are and lets you zoom into Hubble photos and click popups with info, and a Book Layer, which tells you what has been printed about a location in public-domain books.
http://news.com.com/2300-1032_3-6203876-1.html?part=rss&tag=6203876&subj=news
http://www.space.com/news/070822_google_sky.html
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/005514.html (about book layer)
http://earth.google.com/index.html

A new wine cafe has opened in Woodside for local wineries too small to have their own tasting rooms. Sounds nice.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_6686781?source=rss

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

8-14-07

Reports are that Lucasfilm has filed for approval for 6 different titles for Indy 4. Which do you think they'll use (assuming they all pass)?
"Indiana Jones and the City of Gods"
"Indiana Jones and the Destroyer of Worlds"
"Indiana Jones and the Fourth Corner of the Earth"
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
"Indiana Jones and the Lost City of Gold"
"Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Covenant"
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news07/070812e.php

Anjelica Huston will guest star on 6 episodes of Medium this season.
http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-hustonmediumcasting,0,5749087.story?track=rss

Good music news:
- John Lennon's solo work is now available to download (legally) making George Harrison the only iTunes holdout of the Beatles (although his Traveling Wilbury's songs are available).
- Paul McCartney reports that the Beatles library is being remastered for download now and should be available by the end of the year.
- James Taylor is putting together a retrospective of 40 years of songs, to be sold in Starbucks by the holidays.
http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=1d503605-2558-4325-89f1-a566c1c48d59&entry=index&sid=rss_topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories

There's a competition to make the Jetsons a reality: build a personal plane that can be used like a flying car. It clearly has a long way to go, but the concept and pics are fun.
http://us.f831.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.rand=d8klcqo7h1uek

Someone has developed a tool to uncover self-interest edits of Wikipedia (like Diebold removing criticism of voting machines). I'm glad someone is defending the accuracy.
http://slashdot.org/articles/07/08/14/1453223.shtml

Old-school game fans: They have found the source code for Adventure (the very first text adventure game - even before Zork).
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/14/011230&from=rss
http://brain.lis.uiuc.edu:2323/opencms/export/sites/default/dhq/vol/001/2/000009.html
Now if they could only find a version of Welltris that plays like the original (sigh). Mom, while thinking of this, did I mention that the creators of Heaven & Earth have provided the game as a free download and it works on XP? I found it a week or 2 ago.
http://www.iangilman.com/software/heavenearth.php

Pictures from NASA's underwater training for the moon.
http://news.com.com/2300-11397_3-6202245-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg

Serenity now has a Collector's Edition DVD. To see what's new, click:
http://www.serenitystuff.com/2007/08/10/serenity-collectors-edition-dvd-a-guide-to-whats-new-whats-not/

Google Maps just keeps getting better. The new feature to debut next week: you can embed a functional map into a web site or blog (even My Maps and driving directions) by just clicking a button and copy/pasting a few lines of HTML.
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9759703-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20