Tampilkan postingan dengan label technology. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label technology. Tampilkan semua postingan
Sabtu, 31 Desember 2011
Dell Inspiron 600m Notebook Computer
After twelve years of owning desktop computers, I finally opted for a laptop so I would no longer be chained to my desk. After months of research and weighing various makes and models, I settled on the Dell Inspiron 600m Notebook Computer. This particular model has exceeded all of my expectations and at a price that is hundreds of dollars lower than many competing brands.
For several months I agonized over my next computer purchase. I knew I needed to be more mobile and only a notebook computer would permit me to take my "show on the road." Still, the decision making process was not easy as the number of different makes and models out there is mind boggling. Ultimately, I settled on a Dell in part because of previous good experience with the company as well as affordability of their product line.
The model I chose was the Inspiron 600m. As with almost everything that Dell builds, it is a "new" model; at least the 600m designation is. That is one of the confusing things about Dell and some other manufacturers: every month Dell introduces new models and you need a scorecard to compare one model with all the others. Fortunately, Dell's website allows you to do just that.
Key features of the Inspiron 600m include:
Lightweight: Just over five pounds.
Mobile Centrino Technology is standard.
14.1 inch screen
Pentium M 725 Processor
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
256MB DDR SDRAM 1 Dimm Memory
Wireless Network Card
Extended Battery
Microsoft Windows XP Home Addition
WordPerfect Productivity Pack
I kept my computer fairly basic but I did opt for the latest version of Norton Security, a surge protected cable, a wirless router, and a wireless mouse. I selected the wireless mouse as I thought the keyboard's mouse would be difficult to use. After two days I quit using the wireless mouse as I quickly got used to the built in one.
The screen is bright and the keyboard is solid. The mouse keys, however are noisy, almost clunky; you wonder if Dell could have used a quieter spring for each key.
The battery lasts at least four hours without recharging and when I do need to recharge I can go from nearly dead to fully charged in less than one hour.
For the price -- I paid just over $1100. for everything including shipping and local taxes -- the Dell cannot be beat. I haven't had to call customer service yet, so I cannot comment on that although in years past your call would be routed to a technician in India. This model comes with a standard one year limited warranty; I avoided a later sales pitch over the phone to get a three year warranty. Their top of the line warranty sends a technician to your house to fix your computer, so it can be option for those of you who do not want to ship -- and thereby lose the use of -- your computer back to Dell for repairs.
You will find the Inspiron 600m to be adequate for standard business work. Check out their myriad of other models if you do plenty of graphic design or if you need a larger screen. I am happy with the 14.1 screen, but you may prefer their 17" model.
Kamis, 18 Agustus 2011
A Song Of Ice And Fire: A Game Of Thrones
Advantages: Complex characters, plot told from different viewpoints, realistic morality
Disadvantages: Depressing
The first book of the Song of Ice and Fire series is my first foray into George R.R. Martin’s world. Before I was introduced to his work, I was mainly a Robert Jordan fan. Upon reading A Game of Thrones, I realized that I was missing a huge part of the high fantasy genre.
From beginning to end, I was not sure whether or not I really liked the book. The plot was interesting enough. If it’s worth anything, I spent a couple of sleep-deprived nights reading A Game of Thrones! Now that I think back, I would say that the complexity of the characters and the plot as a whole is what made me hold back. Other fantasy novels usually define the line between good and evil very clearly. We have the good characters on one side and the evil powers on the other. George R.R. Martin manages to reflect reality by emphasizing the moral gray areas. Characters are not boxed into single moral categories. There is no clear protagonist. A “good” character is not totally likeable. An “evil” character seems to be a nice person on the inside. Good and bad is so maddeningly intertwined you can’t help but see a reflection of the real world.
This book is not for the faint of heart. If you are looking for light reading, free of violence and sex, you might not want to read A Game of Thrones. There were times when I thought Martin was overdoing it a bit. I decided I would just chalk it up to artistic freedom.
Another frustrating aspect of the book is that as the story progresses, it seems that the “good” guys are getting killed off one by one. If that isn’t enough to make you depressed I don’t know what is. Of course this is only the first book in a yet uncompleted series -the story is yet to unfold.
The storyline is gripping. It leaves you craving for more. One good thing about discovering this series at this late date is that you wouldn’t have to wait for the next few books to be written. A Feast for Crows, the fourth and latest book of the series, has been out since last year. Once you start with A Game of Thrones, you might want to pace yourself so as not to have to wait too long for the fifth book.
Disadvantages: Depressing
The first book of the Song of Ice and Fire series is my first foray into George R.R. Martin’s world. Before I was introduced to his work, I was mainly a Robert Jordan fan. Upon reading A Game of Thrones, I realized that I was missing a huge part of the high fantasy genre.
From beginning to end, I was not sure whether or not I really liked the book. The plot was interesting enough. If it’s worth anything, I spent a couple of sleep-deprived nights reading A Game of Thrones! Now that I think back, I would say that the complexity of the characters and the plot as a whole is what made me hold back. Other fantasy novels usually define the line between good and evil very clearly. We have the good characters on one side and the evil powers on the other. George R.R. Martin manages to reflect reality by emphasizing the moral gray areas. Characters are not boxed into single moral categories. There is no clear protagonist. A “good” character is not totally likeable. An “evil” character seems to be a nice person on the inside. Good and bad is so maddeningly intertwined you can’t help but see a reflection of the real world.
This book is not for the faint of heart. If you are looking for light reading, free of violence and sex, you might not want to read A Game of Thrones. There were times when I thought Martin was overdoing it a bit. I decided I would just chalk it up to artistic freedom.
Another frustrating aspect of the book is that as the story progresses, it seems that the “good” guys are getting killed off one by one. If that isn’t enough to make you depressed I don’t know what is. Of course this is only the first book in a yet uncompleted series -the story is yet to unfold.
The storyline is gripping. It leaves you craving for more. One good thing about discovering this series at this late date is that you wouldn’t have to wait for the next few books to be written. A Feast for Crows, the fourth and latest book of the series, has been out since last year. Once you start with A Game of Thrones, you might want to pace yourself so as not to have to wait too long for the fifth book.
Kamis, 17 Februari 2011
Lucian's Place
Lucian’s Place - Book Review
Lucian’s Place is a tale of far-fetched proportions, yet so close to the possibilities of our own present technologies that it is quite believable.
The idea of three people and their immediate surroundings (a high-tech self-sustained ranch) being thrown back in time might seem a trifle wild, yet the author gives it all a sense of normalcy that distracts you from that. As the characters discover they are defending their very lives from strange creatures from another time, the dangers never relent. With the help of an aware computer that thinks acts and feels like a human, the battle to simply survive is eased somewhat, however the question of returning to their proper time is inherent.
Belle Smith gives us a great science fiction read without the typical concoction of space travel and high-tech aliens. Instead, she keeps us on Earth with a taste of what computers, combined with nano-technology and human creativity, may achieve for us in the not too distant future… or should I say past? Her unique vision of how civilization might be rebuilt from scratch with minimal impact on the environment makes for an inspiring read.
Lucian’s Place is a definite page-turner and a book I found very hard to put down. Guaranteed to make you think differently before cursing your home computer!
ISBN#: 1-4137-6963-2
Author: Belle Smith
Publisher: Publish America
Pages: 364
Lucian’s Place is a tale of far-fetched proportions, yet so close to the possibilities of our own present technologies that it is quite believable.
The idea of three people and their immediate surroundings (a high-tech self-sustained ranch) being thrown back in time might seem a trifle wild, yet the author gives it all a sense of normalcy that distracts you from that. As the characters discover they are defending their very lives from strange creatures from another time, the dangers never relent. With the help of an aware computer that thinks acts and feels like a human, the battle to simply survive is eased somewhat, however the question of returning to their proper time is inherent.
Belle Smith gives us a great science fiction read without the typical concoction of space travel and high-tech aliens. Instead, she keeps us on Earth with a taste of what computers, combined with nano-technology and human creativity, may achieve for us in the not too distant future… or should I say past? Her unique vision of how civilization might be rebuilt from scratch with minimal impact on the environment makes for an inspiring read.
Lucian’s Place is a definite page-turner and a book I found very hard to put down. Guaranteed to make you think differently before cursing your home computer!
ISBN#: 1-4137-6963-2
Author: Belle Smith
Publisher: Publish America
Pages: 364
Rabu, 13 Oktober 2010
The Science of Robosapien
At a glance, Robosapien looks great versus the old school box on wheels with clear dome head. ‘Ooh,’ you say, looks kinda like a muscled storm trooper and the fart button now that’s a hoot. We nod in polite agreement, but behind your back, we snicker at your total lack of appreciation of the advanced robotic theory involved.
Robosapien is a modern day turning point in the evolution of robotics and is the first-ever robot based on the science of applied biomorphic robotics. (That’s what you should have been telling friends and family all this time rather than pointing out amusing cat-chasing ability.) Biomorphic robotics stems from Mark Tilden’s innovative new concepts in BEAM technology.
A New Philosophy for Robot Kind BEAM is an acronym for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics and Mechanics. Dr. Mark W. Tilden founded this relatively new branch of robotic sciences in 1989, based on the premise that behavioral-rich robots need not be the wickedly complex projects reserved only for well-funded labs and cartoon villains.
Put another way, traditional approaches to creating robots have started with creating a sophisticated brain to maneuver the mechanics of the body. Though not discounting the incredible engineering feats of robots built this way, most notably the Sony Qrio and Honda Asimo, Mark Tilden strongly contends that this is the wrong approach to take.
It’s like trying to emulate a human when modern technology and research can’t realistically copy a bug from your garden. “[It’s] an evolutionary dead end,” says Tilden. BEAM robotics is about taking the bottom-up approach, to start from mastering the simple bug and moving up from there.
Rather than attempt to create a centralized robo-brain to process every variable input and spit out a decision (much, much harder than you may think), why not use a system known as "subsumption architecture.’’ Subsumption architecture is a clever technique where the actions of a robot are managed in layers, each layer controlling one facet of the robot’s operation.
For example, a low-level layer could be ‘Walk Forward,’ which the robot will happily do until it bumps into something. At this point, the slightly higher level ‘Lift Leg Higher’ kicks in, overriding the ‘Walk Forward’ layer until the robot successfully climbs over the obstacle, at which point ‘Lift Leg Higher’ stops, and the low-level ‘Walk Forward’ takes over again. *
Egocentric Bugs
So Tilden began building robot bugs on this principle, and more selfish creatures they could not have been.
Why’s that? Well Tilden decided that Asimov’s famous Three Laws of Robotics:
1. No hurt human.
2. Listen to human unless told ‘Do hurt human’.
3. Try to live with that.
were antiquated notions that left no room for a good practical joke at parties.
So one dark and stormy night he penned Tilden’s Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot must protect its existence at all costs.
2. A robot must obtain and maintain access to a power source.
3. A robot must continually search for better power sources.
informally known as*:
1. Protect thy butt.
2. Feed thy butt.
3. Move thy butt to better real estate.
1. He justified this robotic declaration of self-interest as the only way robots can start evolving the way humans may have came from guppies looking for a good time by leaving the ocean.
From Bugs to Sapiens
Needing to find a lighter-minded group of people from his government and NASA days, Tilden decided to go and join a toy company. Who better than one audacious enough to self proclaim themselves, Wow Wee! It was a great match, and they gleefully began working on toy dinosaurs and bugs based on Tilden’s now renowned expertise.
Then came the master project that one could fairly say would change the landscape of robotics altogether. FartDude, later named Robosapien after initial market testing, was to be the culmination of Tilden’s work, finally bringing to bear a humanoid (sapien-like, if you will) robot capable of an impressive list of moves and rude sounds.
In Robosapien, you see the basics of BEAM philosophy and technological research. It follows the B as a biomorphic rendition of humans, E for the fact you can’t throw it in a bathtub, A because it’s stylin the latest magazine covers, and one heck of a lot of M going into the robo dancing capability.
That’s Mr. Sapien
Like no robot ever before, the Robosapien is affordable to the unwashed masses. The Robosapien is a crowning accomplishment when it comes to mobility, power consumption, programmability, and maybe most importantly: hackability.
Each arm has full 360 motion ability allowed by the, ahem, biomorphic shoulder joints and flexible elbows. Ending in three articulated fingers, Robosapien is capable of picking up, gripping, and throwing objects. The genuine full walking motion (most robots don’t genuinely walk outside a lab) is made possible design of the large feet and well placed sensors.
And do you know how much power it usually takes to run a robot Fuggedabowdit. Regular robots are dishonorable little battery-eaters always hungry for more, more, more! And who’s going to pay for these batteries, hmmm’ Well Robosapien brings no shame to itself when consuming power, essentially due to the astounding mechanical physics. It runs a full 6 to 10 hours on just one set of batteries. In fact, if you move Robosapien’s arm you’ll actually generate power for it! Hey man, that’s shrewd.
For those of you who want a robot that will fetch you a frosty one from the kitchen, you lazy bums will just have to wait until later versions. But you can program your Robosapien to do some pretty cools things in the meantime, like wander around taking swings at things, guarding your bedroom while you sleep, and a hilarious game of ‘pull my finger’. Try teaching your dog that trick smart guy.
So what’s so hot about the hackability, and is that even a word you ask? You’ve got some nerve. Tilden went through some serious, serious effort to be sure that robot enthusiasts could take apart the robot, as he would have done as a child, and tinker with modifications. Everything’s color-coded in there to make things easy for those of us without PhDs, and by all accounts, there’s plenty of additional room and power to accommodate whatever Frankenstein thing you can think up. There are entire books written on the subject should you wish to learn, so go forth and hack away. If it’s a good one, send it in and we’ll publish for all too either mock or applaud.
And Another Thing
So the next time you look at your Robosapien give a respectful nod to the world’s first-ever robot based on the science of applied biomorphic robotics. Then go chase a cat with it.
* Graciously lifted from Dr. Tilden’s excellent ‘Junkbots, Bugbots & Bots on Wheels’ book.
Robosapien is a modern day turning point in the evolution of robotics and is the first-ever robot based on the science of applied biomorphic robotics. (That’s what you should have been telling friends and family all this time rather than pointing out amusing cat-chasing ability.) Biomorphic robotics stems from Mark Tilden’s innovative new concepts in BEAM technology.
A New Philosophy for Robot Kind BEAM is an acronym for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics and Mechanics. Dr. Mark W. Tilden founded this relatively new branch of robotic sciences in 1989, based on the premise that behavioral-rich robots need not be the wickedly complex projects reserved only for well-funded labs and cartoon villains.
Put another way, traditional approaches to creating robots have started with creating a sophisticated brain to maneuver the mechanics of the body. Though not discounting the incredible engineering feats of robots built this way, most notably the Sony Qrio and Honda Asimo, Mark Tilden strongly contends that this is the wrong approach to take.
It’s like trying to emulate a human when modern technology and research can’t realistically copy a bug from your garden. “[It’s] an evolutionary dead end,” says Tilden. BEAM robotics is about taking the bottom-up approach, to start from mastering the simple bug and moving up from there.
Rather than attempt to create a centralized robo-brain to process every variable input and spit out a decision (much, much harder than you may think), why not use a system known as "subsumption architecture.’’ Subsumption architecture is a clever technique where the actions of a robot are managed in layers, each layer controlling one facet of the robot’s operation.
For example, a low-level layer could be ‘Walk Forward,’ which the robot will happily do until it bumps into something. At this point, the slightly higher level ‘Lift Leg Higher’ kicks in, overriding the ‘Walk Forward’ layer until the robot successfully climbs over the obstacle, at which point ‘Lift Leg Higher’ stops, and the low-level ‘Walk Forward’ takes over again. *
Egocentric Bugs
So Tilden began building robot bugs on this principle, and more selfish creatures they could not have been.
Why’s that? Well Tilden decided that Asimov’s famous Three Laws of Robotics:
1. No hurt human.
2. Listen to human unless told ‘Do hurt human’.
3. Try to live with that.
were antiquated notions that left no room for a good practical joke at parties.
So one dark and stormy night he penned Tilden’s Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot must protect its existence at all costs.
2. A robot must obtain and maintain access to a power source.
3. A robot must continually search for better power sources.
informally known as*:
1. Protect thy butt.
2. Feed thy butt.
3. Move thy butt to better real estate.
1. He justified this robotic declaration of self-interest as the only way robots can start evolving the way humans may have came from guppies looking for a good time by leaving the ocean.
From Bugs to Sapiens
Needing to find a lighter-minded group of people from his government and NASA days, Tilden decided to go and join a toy company. Who better than one audacious enough to self proclaim themselves, Wow Wee! It was a great match, and they gleefully began working on toy dinosaurs and bugs based on Tilden’s now renowned expertise.
Then came the master project that one could fairly say would change the landscape of robotics altogether. FartDude, later named Robosapien after initial market testing, was to be the culmination of Tilden’s work, finally bringing to bear a humanoid (sapien-like, if you will) robot capable of an impressive list of moves and rude sounds.
In Robosapien, you see the basics of BEAM philosophy and technological research. It follows the B as a biomorphic rendition of humans, E for the fact you can’t throw it in a bathtub, A because it’s stylin the latest magazine covers, and one heck of a lot of M going into the robo dancing capability.
That’s Mr. Sapien
Like no robot ever before, the Robosapien is affordable to the unwashed masses. The Robosapien is a crowning accomplishment when it comes to mobility, power consumption, programmability, and maybe most importantly: hackability.
Each arm has full 360 motion ability allowed by the, ahem, biomorphic shoulder joints and flexible elbows. Ending in three articulated fingers, Robosapien is capable of picking up, gripping, and throwing objects. The genuine full walking motion (most robots don’t genuinely walk outside a lab) is made possible design of the large feet and well placed sensors.
And do you know how much power it usually takes to run a robot Fuggedabowdit. Regular robots are dishonorable little battery-eaters always hungry for more, more, more! And who’s going to pay for these batteries, hmmm’ Well Robosapien brings no shame to itself when consuming power, essentially due to the astounding mechanical physics. It runs a full 6 to 10 hours on just one set of batteries. In fact, if you move Robosapien’s arm you’ll actually generate power for it! Hey man, that’s shrewd.
For those of you who want a robot that will fetch you a frosty one from the kitchen, you lazy bums will just have to wait until later versions. But you can program your Robosapien to do some pretty cools things in the meantime, like wander around taking swings at things, guarding your bedroom while you sleep, and a hilarious game of ‘pull my finger’. Try teaching your dog that trick smart guy.
So what’s so hot about the hackability, and is that even a word you ask? You’ve got some nerve. Tilden went through some serious, serious effort to be sure that robot enthusiasts could take apart the robot, as he would have done as a child, and tinker with modifications. Everything’s color-coded in there to make things easy for those of us without PhDs, and by all accounts, there’s plenty of additional room and power to accommodate whatever Frankenstein thing you can think up. There are entire books written on the subject should you wish to learn, so go forth and hack away. If it’s a good one, send it in and we’ll publish for all too either mock or applaud.
And Another Thing
So the next time you look at your Robosapien give a respectful nod to the world’s first-ever robot based on the science of applied biomorphic robotics. Then go chase a cat with it.
* Graciously lifted from Dr. Tilden’s excellent ‘Junkbots, Bugbots & Bots on Wheels’ book.
Jumat, 20 Agustus 2010
Press Release: Why SEO Experts Should Not Use Press Releases
Rumor has it that press releases are the next big thing in the SEO business, and many companies are spending top dollars trying to write the next big press release announcing the next big balloon breaking technology. But is this really the next big thing?
By definition, a Press Release is a kind of news item released by the company on whom the news is being reported. As such, you will have to compete with all the other press releases and hope that your will get picked up.
Why Will Your Press Release Be Trashed?
1) Unless you are writing a press release about Microsoft, Adobe, Sony or one of the other mega-companies, or at least about a company that is relatively well known, forget about it. Journalists and news editors receive thousands of press releases a day and there is no way that they will waste more than a quick glance. So why should you pay a company seven to eight hundred dollars for them sending your press release to thousands of editors and journalists when they are going to junk it anyway?
2) Unless you are announcing a truly revolutionary product or technology (which I assume you are not since you are only interested in using the professionally paid and written press release to boost your search engine rankings), whatever you make up or announce such as some new free deal or new portal offering something unique, your chances of being picked up are very slim. Yes, the PR companies will tell you that they have vast experience in writing Press Releases that will make yours stand out and get picked up but this is not accurate. The only way your PR is going to get picked up is if it truly is something out of the ordinary or something that no one has ever thought off.
3) Unless you plan to spend millions of dollars and then just by sheer volume your site will go ahead in the search engines, this is not a good option. Why? If you send a large number of press releases then these will be placed on the different PR companies websites main page. Since most of these home pages have a very high page rank, your site will get a boost. The question is whether this boost is worth the large amount of money you will put into the PR companies pocket. No it is not. Use that money to buy (though I do not recommend this) links from high-ranked websites and you will pay less and receive more benefit.
4) Any press release, even if it has been accepted, will remain on the different pages for just a short time, making the time and effort and even more so the amount of money you paid fruitless.
Conclusion:
A press release is useful if you wish to contact the press and maybe get some free publicity, but it is of no use if you wish to use it as a tool in order to advance your website in the search engines.
By definition, a Press Release is a kind of news item released by the company on whom the news is being reported. As such, you will have to compete with all the other press releases and hope that your will get picked up.
Why Will Your Press Release Be Trashed?
1) Unless you are writing a press release about Microsoft, Adobe, Sony or one of the other mega-companies, or at least about a company that is relatively well known, forget about it. Journalists and news editors receive thousands of press releases a day and there is no way that they will waste more than a quick glance. So why should you pay a company seven to eight hundred dollars for them sending your press release to thousands of editors and journalists when they are going to junk it anyway?
2) Unless you are announcing a truly revolutionary product or technology (which I assume you are not since you are only interested in using the professionally paid and written press release to boost your search engine rankings), whatever you make up or announce such as some new free deal or new portal offering something unique, your chances of being picked up are very slim. Yes, the PR companies will tell you that they have vast experience in writing Press Releases that will make yours stand out and get picked up but this is not accurate. The only way your PR is going to get picked up is if it truly is something out of the ordinary or something that no one has ever thought off.
3) Unless you plan to spend millions of dollars and then just by sheer volume your site will go ahead in the search engines, this is not a good option. Why? If you send a large number of press releases then these will be placed on the different PR companies websites main page. Since most of these home pages have a very high page rank, your site will get a boost. The question is whether this boost is worth the large amount of money you will put into the PR companies pocket. No it is not. Use that money to buy (though I do not recommend this) links from high-ranked websites and you will pay less and receive more benefit.
4) Any press release, even if it has been accepted, will remain on the different pages for just a short time, making the time and effort and even more so the amount of money you paid fruitless.
Conclusion:
A press release is useful if you wish to contact the press and maybe get some free publicity, but it is of no use if you wish to use it as a tool in order to advance your website in the search engines.
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