Wolfram|Alpha being released soon

Wolfram|Alpha, found here, is touted to be a potential google killer. It is a “computational knowledge engine”, or in other words a search engine that intelligently finds answers to your questions. Although a largely secret operation, it is has been highly anticipated in the Internet community not only as a google killer but also as revolution for search engine technology. It is also touted as an efficient way to search the web and data mine. It is currently accepting a few select individuals for alpha/beta testing before its launch date of sometime in May, 2009.

Read more here.

NeHe.com

Hey everyone. For any of you who want to start learning OpenGL or are having trouble with it, I found a great site wtih tons of OpenGL tutorials called nehe (Neon Helium). The examples are really useful and it goes all the way from setting up OpenGL on your OS all the way into advanced features including animations and shading. Check it out here:

Conficker attack begins

Ass see here , experts are seeing conficker, a virus disguised as a fake antivirus software, is begging to attack it hosts. Many experts have found computers infected with the virus are being used as ’slaves’ for spamming others and spreading the virus. Lets just hope it doesn’t spread too much, or security of the ‘net’ will be in the hands of only a few.

Atlantis in Google Earth??

Below: the picture that started it all

Just a few hours ago cnet newsjust reported that there is a picture of atlantis of the coast of Africa. Check it out here. Pretty weird huh? Like the article says either its Google trying to hide something or its Atlantis. Maybe we actually can go party up with the lost city! Who knows?

the lurker

Crackle.com – Movies, Comedy and MORE!!!

Hey, I was just watching a movie on Crackle, Starship Troopers to be exact and was very impressed with their service. They have around 30 free movies that you can watch in crystal-clear HD quality, which I think is a really good deal. On top of this I only had to watch one 15 second advertisement through the whole 2 hour long movie. In addition to this Crackle.com has some great independent viral comedy such as the Hustler and others. For me at least, Crackle.com is a really good site if you wanna watch free, quality content online that A. Doesn’t takes ages to buffer and B. is in 720p HD quality! If you wanna know more, check them out at Crackle.com . You can also check their Crackle channel on youtube, although there channel has no where near the amount of stuff that you can find on their website. Also for those sick of US only free online movies, you can be assured that crackle movies can be watched from everywhere.

P.S.
For those that want ot know about downloading and/or watching movies legally check out this site for more.

the lurker

Advances in Nano Electronics

This is pretty crazy how small electronics have become nowadays. Seriously! Now here are two U.S. teams of scientists that have just recently made breakthroughs in this field and promises to make already small computer technology even smaller.

Amazingly one team has made a transistor that is a quarter the size of modern day silicon chips and the other has made a film that can store data from 250 DVD-ROMs on the size of a single coin! They just published their results on Thursday in the journal Science. The first team who made the tiny transistors is from the University of Pittsburgh while the other is a joint team made up of participants from University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of California Berkeley. The Pittsburgh team crafted their atom-sized transistors by applying voltage to the the tip of an atomic force microscope to create a miniscule conducting wire between two materials. This conducting wire can also be erased by reversing the electrical charge of the voltage applied. This tiny transistor is probably the smallest electrical circuit every made, or at least thats what the team claims. This invention, at the very least will revolutionize computers, as it will miniaturize CPUs, processors and microchips, allowing for more power, in a smaller amount of space. On the other hand, the other team’s amazing high storage film is an equally amazing feat of scientific endeavour. To keep the structure of the film, the team, lead by Thomas Russell (of the University of Massachusetts) heated sapphire crystals to create a specific ridges on the surface, which serves as guide for polymer film.

I hope both of these technologies become succesful as they could revolutionize computers and their processing power, and create smaller, more powerful machines. To read more about these amazing inventions, check out Nano Electronics. To learn more about nanotechnology and nano-sized electronics check out this article at SciAm.

the lurker

Microsoft is Going to Open Retail Stores?

I just checked this article out while on cnet.com. Weird huh? At least I think so. I mean Microsoft isn’t like Apple, its supposed to work by having many partners working together, not have a ‘its all about the experience’ motto like Apple. I mean I think it is a bad idea to go in this direction. Microsoft makes software, not hardware, so why should it need retail stores to sell software in? First of all, everyone knows that the best way to sell software is online, not in a dedicated store. Second of all, Microsoft focuses on making software for many, partners, and they don’t run the ‘whole show’ themselves, so they shouldn’t be selling it in Microsoft stores by themselves. All in all though, I don’t think it really matters as Microsoft already has a damaged reputation, and in the end, nothing can stop its downfall.

the lurker

What OS do you use?

Cool and Innovative Wallpapers

About a day ago or so I was searching to find some new wallpapers. While browsing through the cheap and nasty wallpaper sites, I found something that got my attention – Pixel Girl Presents.com. Although some of them are not very good, most that are there are very beautiful and could be considered works of art. In fact, right now I’m using one for my desktop – Pillarheads. What also caught my eye is that many of the wallpapers are very minimalistic and simple, which makes them all the more enjoyable and easier to live with. I don’t know about you, but very detailed or complex wallpapers do tend to get annoying after a while. In addition to that, you may want to check out GUIdebook, as it has useful info on everything GUI. Anyways I hope you check it out,

the lurker

Six Finger Fist – Sketch Comedy

Hey everyone.

Not long ago I found this sweet comedy website called Six Finger Fist. Seriously, these guys are really cool. What the basis behind Six Finger Fist is that the audience submits titles, adn the popular titles get voted on and the title that has the most votes is declared the winner. Now the producers of the films at Six Finger Fist don’t even know what title they are going to make a short film on until the results come in. The cool part is that they produce these films on just titles in 48 hours! Check them out here: .

Hope you enjoy the films,

the lurker