What's RIYA?

Glad you asked. Riya is a new online service that is currently in limited alpha testing. What it does is both awesome and disturbing at the same time. It is a facial-recognition package for the web. You upload your pictures and it finds the faces in them and asks you who the people are. Eventually (in a very Skynet way) it learns the faces of all your friends and identifies them in the pictures automatically.

Combine what will eventually be a huge online database with the EXIF data that your digicam happily records and you have a fairly scary proposition. But also it's so damn cool! Read more and decide for yourself...

First Screen Shots of Riya @ TechCrunch

Sweet - SG-1 GO For Season 10!

Oh, and Atlantis too. Not much else to say about this other than "cool" and "more Vala!"

Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis renewed @ Gateworld.net

Headline: Local Fools Ruin Airsoft

It had to happen sooner or later I guess. Some jock morons at Lincoln High School were f'ing around in the locker room and somebody got hurt. YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT KID!

This is a delicate time for the sport of Airsoft in Nebraska. As any of you that play know it's not terribly established yet but it is starting to catch on and more and more people are learning about it all the time. Unfortunately thanks to these dopes (and many others to come I'm sure) many people are going to learn about Airsoft through negative articles in the newspaper and police reports. All it will take is for one insanely pissed off and vocal parent to start preaching about the evils of the plastic BB and before you know it not only will our sport have a huge black eye but I'm sure that the politicians will jump at the chance to protect us from ourselves.

So if you have half a brain it's up to you to try your best to not be a goddamn idiot. Respect others, use eye protection and BE SAFE. It sounds corny but the future of Airsoft is up to each and every player and only we can keep the sport on the positive side of public perception.

LHS athletes had pellet guns in locker room @ journalstar.com

New Site Admin at Linksys?

I visited Linksys this morning to check on a possible firmware update for a friend's router and was greeted with the RHL default page! I wonder if it's just a bad case of rm -rf *.

Mordor or Mortar?

This is a great animated GIF for LotR fans. Somehow it got screwed up when Blogger resized the thumbnail below so be sure to click on it to view the full-size version. Unfortunately I don't remember where I got it from so I can't credit the original author.

Apple's New Strategy

Seems like Apple is well on the way to providing a great media center experience in the livingroom. If they come out with an Intel CPU MacMini with an iPod dock connector and TV Tuner support my XP MCE machine will find itself "repurposed" in a heartbeat.

Read the article Apple lobs grenade into Microsoft media center camp from apcmag.com and it will all begin to make sense.

Latest Spy Tech - Google Earth!

The Register recently had a contest for people with too much time on their hands and a love of squinting at their computer screens. They asked if people could use Google Earth to spot black helicopters and if they did to send them some images of them. Judging by this quote I guess they had quite a large response.

"If your stuff isn't included, don't take it too hard: we had so much material that it would have taken us another month simply to knock it into shape for publication."

So far I have looked at images of SR-71's on the ground at Edwards AFB, NSA headquarters, the entrance to Cheyenne Mountain... All before I made it to page 5! Too many cool pictures to view in one sitting probably - check it out when you have a nice chunk of time to browse. (And they did find a fair number of black helicopters...)

Link @ The Register

PC Mag Windows Covers

Does anybody remember when PC Magazine was closer in size to a small town phonebook than to a magazine? PC Mag was responsible for a good portion of my "PC education" when I started working at a computer store and had to expand my previously Atari-specific computer knowledgebase.

The nice people at PC Mag have put together a collection of magazine covers and quotes from each release of Windows (1.0 to XP.) My favorite comment:

"While Windows 1.0 certainly showed us the promised land of consolidated video and output device drivers, it left a lot to be desired in the speed department. It also had some user interface inconsistencies. . . . Windows 2.0 corrects all these flaws and has enough new features left over to make it a strong graphical platform for DOS."

Link @ PCMagazine.com

My Kind of Jesus Fish

Your own... Personal... Jesus Fish... (Click to order.)

Arrogance + Ignorance = Americans?

Isn't it great how incredibly stupid Americans can be? I'm sure that we don't have the market cornered on stupidity but we do seem to have a big fat ton of people who aren't quite smart enough to know that they don't know. Get ready to be ashamed before you watch this clip from CNNN where a reporter asks Americans what country "we" should invade next.

Link - CNNN On the Streets of America @ what tian has learned

Air Force Testing New Transparent Armor

From the article:

"The Air Force Research Laboratory's materials and manufacturing directorate is testing aluminum oxynitride -- ALONtm -- as a replacement for the traditional multi-layered glass transparencies now used in existing ground and air armored vehicles."

"In a June 2004 demonstration, an ALONtm test pieces held up to both a .30 caliber Russian M-44 sniper rifle and a .50 caliber Browning Sniper Rifle with armor piercing bullets. While the bullets pierced the glass samples, the armor withstood the impact with no penetration. "

Link @ af.mil

Why Apple Hasn't Used Intel Processors Before

RoughlyDrafted.com has done a great job of explaining why Apple hasn't had the desire or ability to move to Intel CPUs before now. Read on bra!

Link

The M14 Is Done!

Ok, maybe not 100% done - but very, very close!

Heed This Warning!

New UTG Sniper Pic

The Right Drug?

While we're on the subject of drugs, here's one you all should try.

Trendy Poser or True Psychological Anomaly?

I have to wonder after taking the Adult ADD Quiz (and scoring an 80) whether most "normal" people would score as desperate drug-needing Adult ADD fiends or if it's just me. The whole "we're the drug company and we think you really, really need our drug even though you had no idea you needed it before we just told you" thing really rubs me the wrong way. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for better living through modern chemistry... It's just that when the profit margin figures in there it tends to peg the bullsh_t meter.

"The Signal" Serenity Firefly Podcast

Check out The Signal when you have a minute. Unlike many podcasts it is well produced, very informative and quite funny at times. Highly recommended!

PS: If you haven't seen the movie yet DO IT! If you have seen it... Go again and bring a friend!

Before you ask...

When Kittens Attack - The REVENGE!

If cats could talk... "AAAAARRRGH!"

Tiny Drives in the iMac G5?

Bummer about the hard drives in the new iMacs...



Ok, so it's a typo... Will OS X even run on a 160MB drive? Original article at TUAW here.

Full House Uncensored Video

Why why why why are we cursed with shows like this? And why why why why do they have to get played on MY TV???

View uncensored video outtakes.

PVR News: MCE Update & BeyondTV4

Microsoft is getting ready to roll out an update to MCE called "Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center 2005." I haven't read much about it but it sounds like the BIG features (mostly online stuff like being able to buy and view movies over the Internet as well as some kind of E-mail integration) don't interest me. eWeek has more information here.

In related news Snapstream is getting closer to releasing the next major version of their Windows based PVR software BeyondTV. Version 4 of BTV will have some nifty features such as unlimited multiple tuner support (Version 3 had 2 analog tuner support out of the box with an additional fee for more than that), DivX encoding and support for OTA HD cards. I own BTV3 and my experience with it has been so-so, hopefully they'll get it all fixed up for verion 4. Preview and screenshots here.

Computer Museum FOR SALE!

From the "my wife would kill me" department...

Holy CRAP this would be fun to buy! This guy is selling a "Classic Vintage PC Collection" that includes a TON of super cool Atari (400, 600XL, 800, 800XL, 65XE, 7800, Portfolio, XEGS, 130XE), Apple and even Commiedork stuff. There are tons of other goodies too: Acorn, Altair, AT&T, Coleco, DEC, Heathkit, Kaypro, Osborne, Timex Sinclair and even some Trash-80s thrown in for good measure.

BID NOW! (Auction ends on 10/5/05 at 10:00 PDT.)

Cool Free App - Desktop Sidebar!

If you're not into the Google or MS desktop/sidebars check out this free tool - Desktop Sidebar. It's skinnable and has many fine plugins available for your enjoyment. The only complaint I have read about it is that for some people it uses too much RAM... But hey, what else are you going to use those 2 Gigs for?

Sonic T-Amp 2

Looks like Sonic is releasing a newer version of the cheapie/awesome T-Amp with a much nicer case, knob and connectors.



Link @ retrothing.com
Review @ 6moons

Turn Off That Goddamn Phone!

From a Florida news station:

"A substitute teacher in Lake County, Fla., was terminated and banned from teaching in the county after he ripped out a student's insulin pump during class apparently thinking it was a ringing cell phone..."

Teacher Mistakes Boy's Insulin Pump For Phone, Rips It Out

Why is Jesus Named After a Swearword?

From the article:

"A Christian charity is sending a film on the Christmas story to all 26,000 primary schools in Britain after hearing of a young boy who asked his teacher why Mary and Joseph named their baby after a swear word."

Link @ news.com.au

Best E-Mail Subject From Yesterday

This is a capture from my E-Mail inbox - shortened so it will fit on the page and with the sender's name obscured but still DAMN funny.

UTG Sniper Rifle $100?

ShortyUSA has added some information on their page for the upcoming M324 sniper rifle from UTG. It sounds pretty amazing and I'm really looking forward to them getting over here to the states!

Star L85A2 Series Coming Soon!

I'm man enough to admit it - I've been enjoying my un-earned L85 in BF2. Star is making an Airsoft version so maybe I can enjoy it on the airsoft field as well.



Supposedly release is coming within a month. Get more info at Star's web site.

BF2 CD-Key $21.95

I have no idea how legit this is but here is a link to a site that sells BF2 CD-Keys for $21.95. (They sell other game keys as well, of course...) Keep in mind that the BF2 media is copy-protected and as the site says it's only supposed to be used for games that you actually own.

Inside Serenity on HowStuffWorks

Read and enjoy this article on HowStuffWorks about Serenity. Then pack a lunch and get pulled in reading about how a bunch of other stuff works.

2005 Halloween Candy Review

Is it wrong that I coveteth the kids' Halloween candy? I mean, sure - I COULD just go to the store and buy a bunch. (Ok, so I DO go to the store and buy a bunch, but hey - that's not what this is about. Err... Ok, so it IS what this is about...) Check out this page with loads of tasty looking pics of some new candies for the season.

Link

Sonic Alarm Grenade

Could be used for Airsoft... :)



Sonic Alarm Grenade @ I Want One of Those

The 1.03 Patch Can Go To The Special Hell

Wow - the 1.03 patch for BF2 is out! Yay! Wait - it lowers the points needed to get ranks! WTF? So much for any sense of purpose or the eventual feeling of accomplishment in gaining a higher rank. Now any 733t n00b that plays the game for a week or so will be a SGT. And don't even get me started on the "no TKs with arty" crap... Yes, I hate being a commander when my idiot troops run into the BIG RED CIRCLES and the themselves killed BUT I always felt that the TK possibility was an important part of deciding where and when to call in fires as a commander.

Thanks a lot EA and DICE for lowering the bar.

Play MPEG-4 and MP3 on your GBA

If you're a Nintendite and you're having a bad case of PSP envy then whip out your credit card and order this baby right now. It's a GBA-sized cart that has an SD slot on it for playing videos and music on the Gameboy Advance/SP/Micro and DS. I like the idea of using this in combination with the Micro for a MobileMultimediaExperience(tm).



Buy it Now for $79.90 @ Lik-sang

Upcoming Apple Event 10/12/2005

Apple is having an invitation only event on October 12th at the California Theatre in San Jose. It seems that most everybody thinks that there is a chance that there may be a slight probability that there just might be an announcement about a Video iPod.

I haven't bought a Nano yet. Hell, my iPod doesn't even have a color screen... So I have to wonder if I'm really even interested in a Video iPod.

Link @ Engadget

CarPC? HTPC? UnderbedPC? Go Mini-ITX!

Mini-ITX is nothing terribly new - it's a small form factor motherboard spec that makes for neat little PCs in cubes and other SFF cases. I can't recall what led me to this site but it has all kinds of news and a store for Mini-ITX cases, boards, etc. The store defaults to displaying prices in Pounds instead of Dollars so it's probably more of an information resource than it is a source for parts.

Link

Paul Ens Blogs About Serenity

Paul Ens is the director of Lucas Online at LucasFilm. He recently posted a message in his blog about Serenity - here's a quote:

"If you're a fan of Star Wars, you really owe it to yourself to check out the Serenity movie. Unless, of course, you don't like adventure, excitement, laughter and fun."

Read the entire post here.

Join the Browncoats

Step 1: See Serenity.
Step 2: Join The Browncoats using the linked banner below.
Step 3: Have friend repeat steps 1 and 2 in any order.

Lincoln Man Is Stupid Criminal

Too bad our fine city has to get THIS kind of pub.

IBM customer support nabs a thief @ Engadget

Need a PC for your car?

I don't. I shouldn't. I can't. But wait... It's so friggin' cool! And think of all the cool GPS stuff I could do with it... It looks like an amp too.



Minimalist PC @ Gizmodo

Sonic T-Amp "Audiophile Quality" Amp for $20

It appears that I'm a bit late getting to the party on this one but I think it's worth writing about anyway. A California company named Sonic Impact Technologies has put together a small, cheap power amp that is based on the Tripath TA 2024 chipset and it's been creating quite a stir in the audiophile community. The amp is called the "Sonic T-Amp" or the "Sonic Impact Model 5066." It is a single-input stereo amp that provides 6 watts per channel into a 8 ohm load. From the pictures it looks like a cheapie pastic box junk amplifier but from the reviews I've been reading it should not be judged by it's appearance!

From the TNT-Audio review dated 15 January, 2005:

"It is not easy to describe how a 20$ amplifier performs. First of all, as said, it has no competitors. The cheapest integrated amplifier I can think of costs 6-7 times the T-Amp. Trust me, it is NOT this kind of amps you should have in mind when comparing the T-Amp. In order to evaluate it you need to forget its price. Difficult? Not at all! It becomes very easy once you listen to it: tonal balance, dynamics, 3D imaging, transparency, detail...consider all these parameters critically and you'll be amazed by the results."



I may have to give one a try even though most (ok, all) of my music listening is done on an iPod* or via iTunes these days. Here are some more links:

Froogle Search
Second TNT-Audio review of the T-Amp by Carlo Morsiani
Reboxing Your T-Amp
SI+ Tri-Amp Chassis

* Actually this amp looks like it's targeted at the mobile audio market but I'm afraid that the other cube dwellers at work wouldn't appreciate the gift of my music as much as the should.

So we saw Serenity last weekend...

Tami and I saw Serenity last weekend at the Edgewood. I have to say that it was pretty good even though I got the impression that there were quite a few inside jokes that I wouldn't get unless I had watched the TV show. I did get the vague feeling that there were some important bits that were left on the virtual cutting room floor but I wouldn't say that's unusual.

Later on that Saturday we went to BB and picked up the Firefly DVD box set. If you keep in mind that it really is a space western (space ships that look like horses are funny instead of corny) you will probably find the show quite enjoyable. Considering the vast improvement that Sci-fi shows normally make between seasons 1 and 2 I can only imagine that if Firefly had not been FoxAxed(tm) it would probably have been most excellent. (Guess we need Sci-fi to pick it up and continue it now...)

More Remixed Trailer Goodness

First things first - "Titanic" as a horror movie trailer is here.

Now that we have that out of the way feel free to visit The Tattered Coat for tons more info and links about the remixed trailers.

iTunes 5 for PSP Fakeout

This guy wanted us n00bs to know how easy it would be to create faked screenshots of iTunes running on other devices (cough, cough Windows cough Mobile cough.) Now that you all know that people can create fake digital images you can rest easy. Well, except those of you that thought you had nekkid pictures of all your favorite Star Trek hotties - you may have to cry yourselves to sleep.

Link

"West Side Story" Trailer Remix

Another "trailer remix" ala the earlier one from "The Shining." This time it's "West Side Story" as a horror movie.

Link