Finally, LOST is found (temporarily)!
The 4th season premiere of (my absolute favorite series) LOST airs tonight on ABC @ 9pm. A one-hour recap show is being shown the hour before to get both Losties and non-Losties alike caught up on the last three years of sheer madness.
After watching last season’s finale last night, I am super excited for some real TV…forget all this reality BS that has taken over the airwaves since the WGA strike began last November.
Although only 8 episodes have been produced, something is definitely better than nothing!
Less printing = more trees, more $$
I just stumbled across GreenPrint. The company aims to reduce the amount of wasted paper and ink by allowing users (currently Windows only) to send each print job through its GreenPrint World software.
The standalone program was recently released as freeware for home (non-commercial) users. After a quick installation, GreenPrint will appear as one of the “printer” options when selecting print in any application. Once a user has selected GreenPrint, a preview of what would normally print out is displayed; this is where the software attempts to reduce paper and ink by allowing the user to eliminate unwanted pages as well as certain text and images.
The idea of GreenPrint is very respectable. In practice, the software is a tad slow (apparently because one of the perks of purchasing the ad-free version is faster performance) but operates as advertised. It might take some patience and small adjustment to reviewing each and every print job, but, in the end, saving paper and ink ultimately cuts down on costs and environmental impact.
(via Crave)
Another reason to hate speed bumps!
A recent study by the UK’s AA motoring group has documented proof that speed bumps (aka speed humps in the UK) directly effect a car’s MPG.
Researchers found that a car capable of achieving 58mpg fuel economy when cruising at an uninterrupted 30mph speed would only deliver 31mpg when it’s forced to slow down for a series of speed bumps.
There ain’t No Country for Old Men
I don’t even know where to start with this film. I spent all day yesterday (after seeing a 1:35pm matinée) thinking about whether I liked No Country for Old Men or not.
With all the rave reviews, both from critics and friends, I had unusually high expectations for the latest Coen Brothers’ movie. Without hesitation, I can definitely see why it has garnered so much positive attention - the acting, casting, and cinematography are all excellent.
What else do I want, you ask? Well…I’m never 100% sure that I can get on board with the Coens’ requisite underlying moral of the story . This is my only real fundamental problem. I won’t say anything more (as the title does enough by itself), but in the end, the film is captivating and extremely well put together.
rating: 4 | 5
Smartphones - what a novel idea!?
This past Tuesday, the USPTO issued a patent for a “Mobile entertainment and communication device.”
As a student of intellectual property (disclaimer: I’ve yet to take a proper course in Patents), this new patent seems extremely suspect. One of the fundamental elements in obtaining a patent is that the invention be novel.
Through the strenuous process of deduction, the grant of this patent implies that the USPTO believes that the concept of a Smartphone was not known before the patent application was filed back on November 20, 2003. Hard to believe…
Ready, Set, Tesla Roadster
Tesla Motors is set to begin production on its long-awaited Roadster on March 17, 2008. The initial batch of Roadsters will be slightly less than perfect, sporting a work-around transmission, increasing the all-electric sports car’s 0-60 time from 4 seconds to 5.7 seconds.
Tesla is promising to retrofit earlier cars at no cost once it’s sure DriveTrain 1.5 works. Those who get a Roadster early will find themselves getting a substantial boost in performance some time down the line.
Along with the resolution of recent transmission-related setbacks, the Tesla Roadster has also passed all of the required federal safety and emissions test making it legally available for sale and operation in the U.S.
(via Wired | img Tesla Motors)
Throw away your television (provider)
As pointed out on numerous blogs and new media sites, the continuing Writers Guild of America strike may represent a tipping point in the future of TV (in America) as we know it.
With online media outlets springing up like weeds, more and more people turn to the web to catch their favorite shows. It seems like a natural and somewhat obvious progression of today’s marketplace.
With the popularity of time (DVRs) and place-shifting (Slingbox) devices on the rise coinciding with faster broadband connections (wired and wireless) and more efficient video compression options, webTV is definitely here to stay. As the line between computer monitors and TV displays continues to blur (see iMac, XPS One) and more consumers use their computers as media servers/hubs, the reliance on “traditional” TV viewership will no doubt continue to wane.
For more on some of the available IPTV options, be sure to check out these two (somewhat overlapping) lists: USA Today | PC World
(via Slashdot | image edt.com)
When all else fails…
Probably the most b@d@$$ USB hub out there - the USB Doomsday Device Hub has “three levels of failsafe protection” (and 4 USB 2.0 ports).
If sh*t hits the fan, flip the 2 switches, insert and turn your authorized key, and push the glowing red button. What happens next is anyones guess…
(available @ ThinkGeek)
Inspector Gadget’s iPhone spotted in the wild
Some things just deserve to be posted (and re-posted), regardless of their actual utility. One such gadget is the Conice 6×18 Zoom Attachment for iPhone. Wow, with a name like that…
Anyways, this hilarious Inspector Gadget-like accessory will enable those savvy iPhone detectives to better photograph their unsuspecting targets from unspecified distances. Why didn’t Apple think of this?!
(via Engadget)
Less worky, more golfy
What’s better than doing your work/homework? Procrastinating, of course! Say hello to your new partner in crime, the World Golf Tour.
After playing my first round, I can definitely see how this game could become a serious distraction.
The game is still only a demo; in its current state, you play nine holes of a closest-to-the-pin competition…A half-dozen real courses will be online by year-end. That’s when business life as we know it grinds to a halt.
The combo of solid graphics, speedy load times, and free play is proof that mainstream gaming, like news and media before it, has real potential over the interwebs.
(via Fortune)
