dailygleaner.com - Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada

Virtual Box

Aside from the minor pain of having to set up the proper user permissions, I'm rather impressed with VirtualBox, a nifty piece of software that lets me run Windows XP in a virtual machine alongside Linux.

With XP on the Dell laptop running alongside Ubuntu 8.04, I can now run iTunes and access iTunes shared music. This cuts out alot of the work I had to do under my previous home network setup.

On the whole, I'm impressed with Hardy Heron. On the Dell, which has a 2.0 Ghz Core2Duo, 2 gigs of Ram, Intel-based shared graphics card and 80 gigabyte hardrive, the Linux OS runs fast and smooth.

I haven't had any of the problems I had under Gutsy and my previous Dell with video drivers or multimedia playback, although I still had to install a bunch of codecs that should have been installed by default.

10 years ago this week... The iMac is launched

From Apple's original iMac press release:

Apple Unveils iMac
The Internet-Age Computer for the Rest of Us

CUPERTINO, California -- May 6, 1998 -- In a major move in to the consumer market, Apple Computer, Inc. today unveiled iMac -- the "Internet-age computer for the rest of us." iMac features a striking design, easy Internet access and Pentium-toasting PowerPC G3 performance for US$1299.

"We designed iMac to deliver the things consumers care about most - the excitement of the Internet and the simplicity of the Mac," said Steve Jobs, Apple's Interim CEO. "iMac is next year's computer for $1299; not last year's computer for $999."

"Today we brought romance and innovation back into the industry," added Jobs. "iMac reminds everyone of what Apple stands for."

iMac is a complete Internet-age computer right out of the box, featuring:

• A speedy PowerPC G3 microprocessor running at 233MHz with a high speed 512k backside L2 memory cache;
• Built-in 15-inch high quality display with 1024x768 resolution, 13.8-inch diagonal viewable image size;
• Easy connectivity - one button Internet access, internal 33.6Kbps modem, 10/100Base-Tx Ethernet, 12Mbps Universal Serial Bus (USB), and 4Mbps infrared port (IrDA);
• The world's easiest to use operating system, Mac OS 8.1, which runs thousands of Macintosh software titles;
• All housed in a stunning translucent enclosure that breaks new ground in industrial design.

iMac, available worldwide in August in one configuration for US$1299, will also include:

• 32MB SDRAM (expandable to 128MB);
• 2MB SGRAM (expandable to 4MB);
• 4GB IDE Hard disk drive;
• 24x CD-ROM drive;
• 10/100Base-Tx Ethernet;
• 33.6Kbps software modem;
• Two 12Mbps Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports;
• 4Mbps infrared technology (IrDA) port;
• Built-in stereo speakers with SRS sound;
• 66MHz system bus;
• Mac OS 8.1;
• Apple USB Keyboard and Apple USB Mouse.

Apple Computer, Inc. ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II, and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is now recommitted to its original mission - to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.

Now what I find interesting here is that while the iMac has undergone signficant revisions since 1998, it's price point has stayed in roughly the same range, with a low end machine at $1,199 (all figures USD) and the high-end at over $2,000.

In an industry that the is infamous for the downward pressure on prices, Apple has consistently been able to charge a premium for its well-engineered and superior-OS equipped iMacs.

You can check out the latest iMac models here.

Back on the Linux bandwagon

Now that I've got a replacement laptop, I'm back to using Linux.

I've moved up to the latest Ubuntu release, 8.04 "Hardy Heron". The first installation did not go well as the CD I had burned in XP using a free utility and an ISO image did not burn correctly.

A key lesson? Never try an install if the disk fails an integrity check.

Once I overcame that hurdle, things have gone fairly smoothly, although installing my Mac OS X Dock-like application, Avant Window Navigator was a real pain last night.

During the setup process I tried two other dock-like programs - Cairo Dock and SimDock, neither of which particularly impressed me.

I'm now in the process of setting up Windows XP in a virtual machine using VirtualBox.

Edit: Thanks to some subtle sarcasm, I've fixed a minor typo. I'm now heading to the back of the short bus.

Average Cubans allowed to buy PCs

Now that the oh-so-generous communist leaders of Cuba have allowed the citizens of the island state to buy computers, I wonder if they'll be given access to the Internet?

My bet is Cuba will buy some nice filtering and blocking software from that other bastion of freedom - China.

Check out the Cuba story here.

You know, this could be an interesting situation from an OS choice perspective. I wonder if Cuban PCs will be powered by Windows, Linux or if they'll be Macs. Without Microsoft's entrenched monopoly in the local market, I wonder what will play out.

Viva the revolution!

BusinessWeek writes:

It's a people's revolution, of sorts, with workers increasingly pressing their employers to let them use Macs in the office. In a survey of 250 diverse companies that has yet to be released, the market research firm Yankee Group found that 87% now have at least some Apple computers in their offices, up from 48% two years ago. "There's always been this archipelago of Macintosh use" among graphic artists and advertising managers, says Scott Teissler, chief information officer of Turner Broadcasting System (TWX). "My sense is that CIOs are more willing to see that expand without putting up as much resistance as in the past."

Read the full story here.

I can personally attest to the desire of workers to use Macs in the office. But while I can't have a Mac, at least I have Linux.

A new low - drunk driving in GTA IV

As someone whose family has been devastated by the effects of a drunk driver, I find the inclusion of a drunk driving "feature" in Rockstar's latest Grand Theft Auto video game upsetting.

"MADD is (...) calling on publisher Take-Two Interactive and developer Rockstar Games to consider stopping distribution of the game — which analysts expect to sell 9 million copies and make over $400-million at launch — “out of respect for the millions of victims/survivors of drunk driving.”

In the critically acclaimed open-world game, players have the choice of patronizing a bar and then attempting to drive drunk. While virtually under the influence, the screen becomes blurred and the controls are more difficult to use. Players also have the option of hailing a taxi or walking. The intoxication effects wear off after a few minutes in the game."

Too many people treat drunk driving like a game already. Thanks Rockstar for further trivilizing a violent crime that's 100 per cent preventable.

See the full story here.

The SkyNet Alpha

This hasn't been the best two weeks for those of us concerned about the increasing sophistication of military robots and artificial intelligence networks:

"A van full of insurgents speeds through the desert. They do not notice a series of networked ground sensors that have begun tracking their every move.
Hovering somewhere overhead, a tiny robot points its camera at the van and takes note of its color scheme and markings. An even bigger drone, thousands of feet above its hovering kin, maintains a God’s-eye vigil on the whole hunt.
Everything these robots see is radioed to monitors thousands of miles away -- and into the targeting systems of a B-52 bomber winging, silent and nearly invisible, several miles overhead.
This scenario, played out at a remote Nevada facility last week, was the first major test of the Army’s $160-billion, 20-year plan to build a high-tech family of networked robots and hybrid-electric armored vehicles. The “Future Combat Systems” program, co-managed by Boeing and consultants SAIC, aims to equip roughly a third of the Army with 14 new vehicle types that are connected constantly to a vast communications net.
The theory behind the FCS is that dispersed, intelligent robotic systems plugged into a universal communications network can help small numbers of U.S. troops riding in new vehicles to control huge swaths of terrain. Any ship, airplane or tank fitted with the FCS network devices will be able to see everything the others see.
The SkyNet-like network and dynamic coordination “is the most important thing,” Brigadier General James Terry says."

Read the full story here.

Everyone Hates Vista

A seach for I hate Vista turns up 60,800 hits.

A search for I hate Mac OS X? 585.

That's got the Motley Fool asking some hard questions about Microsoft here.

iPhone in Canada

From CTVNews.ca / Canadian Press:

TORONTO -- Improvements in fundamentals across the board helped major telecom firm Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B) more than double first-quarter profits and the company said it's finally bringing Apple's long-awaited iPhone to Canada, though it didn't say when.

...

"We're thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year,'' president and chief executive Ted Rogers said in a release.

"We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.''

The CP story can be found here.

My take: I'm excited, but I want to see what the monthly phone bill for voice and data for this bad boy will be. Also, I'm seriously hoping it is the 3G iPhone.

Terminator 1.0

From the Associated Press:

NES TZIONA, Israel - Israel's newest "soldier" can see at night, never nods off on sentry duty and can carry 300 kilograms without complaining.

The Guardium, a remote-controlled, unmanned vehicle commissioned by the Israeli military and shown to The Associated Press on Monday, is among the first such machines to be ready for the battlefield. The army said it had not yet entered service, however, and declined further comment.

The four-wheeled vehicle is designed to replace human soldiers in dangerous roles, and sometimes tedious missions, cutting casualties.

Like the pilotless drones that have become a mainstay of air forces in Israel, the U.S. and elsewhere, the Guardium is operated from a command room far from the front line. It can carry cameras, night-vision equipment and sensors, as well as weapons like machine-guns.

The Guardium even has a limited capability to operate on its own.

Check out the full story here.