Easy Weather Search

Well, Google is at it again.  Making life easy for us.  Damn them!

If you want to find out what the weather is like where you are, just type 'weather' and the city name in to the Google main page search search box.

You'll get something like this!  

 
Then, under the current conditions and forecast it will give you the option to get a more detailed forecast from The Weather Channel, Weather Underground or AccuWeather.


Thank you Google!

Two Way Skype Video Calling Has Come To IOS

Skype has finally added two-way video chatting to its iPhone app! They are a little late to the party (Face Time & Fring) but well worth the wait since Skype use is a lot more wide  spread.

 

 

With the app update you can use either 3G or Wi-Fi to place two-way video calls, in both portrait and landscape modes. You can mute a call, place or answer a call with just audio or with audio and video, and swap between the front-facing or rear-facing cameras.

While you can only broadcast video on on Apple devices with rear or front-facing cameras like the iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4, and iPhone 3GS, you can also receive incoming video broadcasts on the iPad and third-generation iPod Touch. But I think the most important aspect is the ability to Skype to someone with just a regular computer using your Apple device.  

 

Source

Apple To Announce Verizon iPhone By Valentine's Day

Apple is expected to hold an event "very soon," perhaps by Valentine's Day on February 14th, to unveil a new CDMA version of the iPhone compatible with U.S. carrier Verizon's network.

In a report issued Wednesday evening by Bloomberg Businessweek, the alleged coming debut of the iPhone on Verizon is portrayed as an "enormous problem" for AT&T, the current exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the U.S. While AT&T has had sole access to the iPhone since 2007, problems with its network have caused bad press, including a recent reader poll from Consumer Reports ranking AT&T the worst carrier in America.

The report said that Apple would hold one of its own "splashy product introductions to announce a new version of the iPhone that work's on Verizon's network," and said that event would "maybe" come by Valentine's Day.

Some have speculated that Apple would instead allow Verizon to announce the product at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January, an uncharacteristic move for the typically controlling iPhone maker. But the report specifically stated that a CES unveiling is not in the plans.

More

1,000-Core Chip Could Make PCs 20 Times Faster

Scottish scientists have built a 1,000-core processor, claiming it will run 20 times faster than today’s chips while using less power.

Instead of the built-in circuitry of conventional desktop computer chips, these processors can be customized. So with some extremely clever programming, the research team was able to divide the processor into 1,000 cores, each capable of its own computation.

The researchers gave each one of the cores its own dedicated memory, speeding it up even more. Remarkably, they were able to leverage all this extra speed and power without using more energy.

Will we be seeing these processors in our laptops anytime soon? Not exactly.

Source

Ways To Stay Cool - Mentally

Not too long ago I wrote an article about ways to stay cool, physically, which involved buying things.  So, as the summer heat wave continues, I thought with this blog entry we would talk about ways to stay cool, mentally, without spending any money.

Watch a cool movie

And We're not talking cool as in hip.  I mean films that are set in either arctic climates or which take place during winter time.  My two suggestions are The Shining and The Thing.  Both are also horror movies so you'll cool off from watching all the snow and the suspense will "chill" you!

View a cold climate webcam

The image above is from the Halley Research Station in Antarctica.  Either click on the picture or use THIS link to check out the live webcam.  On the opposite end of the Earth there's the North Pole Environmental Observatory.  To see their webcams, click HERE.

Plan for the upcoming winter

Make up a list of things that you might need to get to survive the cold months ahead. 

*  Snowblower

*  Skis

*  Boots/hat/gloves

*  Bag of ice melt

*  Ice scraper for your car

 I know it's still July but this is a sure fire way to mentally cool you off.

My 3 Sci-fi Remake Wishes

The ugly trend of re-making classic (or not so classic) television into movies and new TV shows continues, with varying degrees of success.  So, I thought maybe, if I put together a list of the shows that I want re-done, maybe someone in the film industry might see this and take my advice.  I doubt it, but let's do this anyway though.

And of course, me being a Sci-fi nut, all of these will fit that genre.

This was a British science-fiction television series that originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and sending it and the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha hurtling uncontrollably into space.  From there the adventure begins.

For the updated version of this show, I envision a more realistic plot.  I mean, an explosion knocking the moon into deep space seems highly unlikely.  How about instead of the base being on the moon we put it on an asteroid with a bunch of miners.  It's hurtling through the solar system anyway so problem solved!    Now about that title.  Space 2029?

More about Space 1999 here.

This was a short-lived series which aired on NBC from November 6, 1994 to June 4, 1995. The show followed the journey and settlement of a small group of humans called the Eden Project, with the intent to journey to an Earth-like planet in an attempt to find a cure to an illness called the Syndrome.

There is absolutely nothing that would need to be changed about this series if it were brought back as a TV show or film.  I could really see this as something Syfy would take on as a re-boot.  Much like they did with Battlestar Galactica.  

One of the cool things about Earth 2, or should I say two of the cool things, were the aliens who lived on the planet, and their names. Grendlers and Terrians.  One type was cute.  The other, not so much!

Read more about them and the rest of the series here.

BR was a series produced by Universal Studios and ran for two seasons, between 1979 and 1981.  The interesting thing about this show was that it debuted as a feature-length theatrical film several months before debuting on NBC.  It was based upon the character Buck Rogers created in 1928 that had previously been featured in comic strips, novellas, a serial film, and on television and radio.

The only thing I ask if this were ever to be brought back as a movie or TV show is that it NOT include Twiki the robot.  The original series was cool and all.  But, it just seemed silly whenever Twiki was on the screen.  But what can you expect from a television series that was made in the 70's.  I mean the decade's middle name was "camp."

 My favorite part of Buck Rogers were the space ships.  And they had a better variety of them than the original Battlestar Galactica, which was on around the same time.

Check out more about the series here.

Ways To Get Your Geek On

Today, (Tuesday, July 13th, 2010) is Embrace Your Geekness Day.  Since I'm writing this with only a handful of hours left to celebrate I thought we could focus on everyday ways to embrace your inner geek.  These are some things you can do on a daily basis.

Learn to speak like Yoda


If you've always wanted to talk like the Jedi master himself, here's your chance with The Yoda Speak Generator website.  Just type in what you want translated, click the button and it will display on the screen.

http://www.yodaspeak.co.uk/index.php

Teach Yourself HTML


Ya never know when you might need to create a website (like in an emergency or something) and this will help.  It's the language of the Internet.  And besides, it might impress your friends!

Here's a link to myhtmltutorials.com

Get Some Geek Glasses

Even if you don't need any assistance seeing, a pair of specs will help get your Geek on, literally.  Go to  www.geekeyeglasses.com and choose from many different styles and colors.