yuck

he he

Microsoft winds back Office ribbon

Microsoft has modified its new interface for Office 2007 after complaints from beta testers that the 'ribbon' system took up too much space on screen.
Office 2007 has ditched the traditional drop-down menu approach of most Windows applications in favour of the ribbon, which displays functions in new categories such as Home, Insert and Mailing in a strip across the top of the screen.
Microsoft says the new interface makes it easier for users to access the wide range of features in applications such as Word, Excel and Access.
However, in the next technical refresh of the Office 2007 beta, users can set the ribbon to automatically minimise whenever it is not being used, effectively making the ribbon headings look like traditional menus. (Windows has long offered a similar auto-hide option for the taskbar.)

Astronomers say Pluto is not a planet

Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight.

After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is - and isn't - a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one.

Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn Bell Burnell - a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings - urged those who might be "quite disappointed" to look on the bright side.

"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which
the dwarf planets exist"

Blogger Beta Issues

So I switched to Blogger Beta today, and I have issues connecting with Flickr, MS-Live Writer and others..

Ox cart in Sarchi

Ox cart in Sarchi
Originally uploaded by la-chica.

Taken from Kasia's Flickr site

Cómo leer a Isaac Asimov

En orden cronológico de la acción:

Yo, Robot y demás relatos de robots. (1950-1976)
Las Cuevas de Acero (1954).
El Sol Desnudo (1957).
Los Robots del Amanecer (1983).
Robots e Imperio (1985).
Las Corrientes del Espacio (1952).
En la Arena Estelar (Las Estrellas, como Polvo) (1951).
Guijarro en el Cielo (1950).
Preludio a la Fundación (1988).
Hacia la Fundación (1993).
Fundación (1951).
Fundación e Imperio (1952).
Segunda Fundación (1953).
Los Límites de la Fundación (1982).
Fundación y Tierra (1983).

En orden cronológico de publicación:

Yo, Robot. (1950)
Guijarro en el Cielo (1950).
Fundación (1951).
En la Arena Estelar (Las Estrellas, como Polvo) (1951).
Fundación e Imperio (1952).
Las Corrientes del Espacio (1952).
Segunda Fundación (1953).
Las Cuevas de Acero (1954).
El Sol Desnudo (1957).
Los Límites de la Fundación (1982).
Los Robots del Amanecer (1983).
Fundación y Tierra (1983).
Robots e Imperio (1985).
Preludio a la Fundación (1988).
Hacia la Fundación (1993).

En orden Mixto:

Yo, Robot y demás relatos de robots. (1950-1976)
Las Cuevas de Acero (1954).
El Sol Desnudo (1957).
Fundación (1951).
Fundación e Imperio (1952).
Segunda Fundación (1953).
Los Robots del Amanecer (1983).
Robots e Imperio (1985).
Preludio a la Fundación (1988).
Hacia la Fundación (1993).
Los Límites de la Fundación (1982).
Fundación y Tierra (1983).
Las Corrientes del Espacio (1952).
En la Arena Estelar (Las Estrellas, como Polvo) (1951).
Guijarro en el Cielo (1950).

Google Operating System: Synchronize Google Calendar With Outlook

Google Operating System: Synchronize Google Calendar With Outlook: " Remote Calendars is a COM-.NET Add-in for Outlook 2003 that allows you to subscribe, reload and delete a remote iCalendar. This open-source has added support for Google Calendars, and except for some limitations, you can now synchronize Google Calendar with Outlook 2003"

The Devil's Advocate: Mac UI Ain't All That: The Future & History of the User Interface || The Mac Observer

The Devil's Advocate: Mac UI Ain't All That: The Future & History of the User Interface The Mac Observer

The current state-of-the-art User Interface (UI) we've been enjoying has remained largely
stagnant since the 1980s. The greatest innovation that has been
recently released is based on video card layering/buffering techniques like Apple's Expose.
But, there is a large change coming. Rev 2 of the UI will be based on multiple
gestures and more directly involve human interaction. Apple is clearly working in the area as some of the company's patent filings demonstrate. Nevertheless, these videos might make Mac (and Windows) users experience a huge case of UI envy, as a
lot of UI development (in XGL in particular) makes the current Mac UI seem
creaky and old fashioned.
I've been collecting these links to cool new UIs
for a while (yea, I know, what a geek). Despite its geekiness, I thought some of
you might enjoy them as well. It seems there is a good chance that
multi-gesture/multi-input (MGMI) UIs will be in our future at least on some
level (apparently they will be accompanied by no dearth of techno
music).
Basically the rest of the article has a bunch of links, and brief
descriptions to those links, to cool videos of various UI that include: Wobbly
Window UIs (WWUIs), Multi-touch UIs, Mixed Physical UIs, Brain UIs, Art tools,
and even a little bit of history on the UI. Enjoy!

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | YouTube aims to show music videos

BBC NEWS Entertainment YouTube aims to show music videos

YouTube says users watch more than 100 million videos a day Video sharing website YouTube is in talks with record labels about offering current and archive music videos.

YouTube co-founder Steve Chen told Reuters news agency it was hoped that within 18 months the site would 'have every music video ever created'.

CNN.com - Proposal would increase planets from 9 to 12 - Aug 16, 2006

CNN.com - Proposal would increase planets from 9 to 12 - Aug 16, 2006: "Our solar system would have 12 planets instead of nine under a proposed 'Big Bang' expansion by leading astronomers, changing what billions of schoolchildren are taught about their corner of the cosmos."

What's The Greatest Software Ever Written?

What's The Greatest Software Ever Written?:

The list is:

12. The Morris worm
11. Google search rank
10. Apollo guidance system
9. Excel spreadsheet
8. Macintosh OS
7. Sabre system
6. Mosaic browser
5. Java language
4. IBM System 360 OS
3. the gene-sequencing software at the Institute for Genomic Research
2. IBM's System R
1. Unix

The details on this article by Charles Babcock on InformationWeek

First look at Windows Vista build 5472 - News - ZDNet

First look at Windows Vista build 5472 - News - ZDNet:

Another step forward for Microsoft's operating system
Intended for developers and not available to the public, build 5472 fixes known bugs and includes enhancements to Windows Media Center and various utilities. CNET's Robert Vamosi looks at what's changed

Windows Live Writer - Blog Publishing Tool

Windows Live Writer is a new tool from Microsoft that allows you to publish to your blog using a desktop client. While the software is integrated with Windows Live Spaces, you can also use it with Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, WordPress.

What's nice about Windows Live Writer is that it reads your blog's template and it lets you preview your content while creating it. It's like seeing your blog post growing.

The rich-text editor is not impressing, as it contains the usual elements and doesn't produce clean code (you'll notice many unneeded tags). When you insert pictures, you've got more options: you can resize the picture, add a nice shadow, adjust brightness and even use some simple effects like sepia. Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't allow you to publish images for the hosted blogs.

Windows Live Writer also lets you insert maps using Windows Live Local and the maps can be customized to show the aerial view or bird's eye detail.

When you select the preview mode, you'll see how your blog would look if you published the post, so it takes the idea of preview one step further.

Windows Live Writer is available to download here [4.74 MB, Windows] and it's still beta. The simple interface and the innovative additions make this tool a good replacement for the standard blogging interfaces and it's a good alternative to Performancing for Firefox, Qumana, but it's still far from a commercial application like ecto.

Google Operating System: The New Blogger

Google Operating System: The New Blogger
so.. they have a new blogger but they don't let me switch to the beta...

Solo en Costa Rica

Nacion.com, San José, Costa Rica [Sucesos]

y luego preguntan que por qué las ticas tienen fama....

El resultado de un examen de paternidad practicado a gemelos dejó atónitos a los expertos de la sección de bioquímica del Laboratorio de Ciencias Forenses de la Policía Judicial.
La madre reclamaba el apellido de su excompañero, pero los exámenes determinaron que cada niño, pese a haber compartido al mismo tiempo el vientre materno, era de padre diferente.

NASA loses 'one small step for man' recording

CNN.com - 'One small step for man,' 700-box tape loss for NASA - Aug 14, 2006: "'One small step for man,' 700-box tape loss for NASA"

The U.S. government has misplaced the original recording of the first moon landing, including astronaut Neil Armstrong's famous "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," a NASA spokesman said on Monday.

Websites that changed the world

The Observer | Review | Websites that changed the world: "Websites that changed the world "

Amazon used to be a large river in South America - but that was before the world wide web. This month the web is 15 years old and in that short time it has revolutionised the way we live, from shopping to booking flights, writing blogs to listening to music. Here, the Observer's Net specialist charts the web's remarkable early life and we tell the story of the 15 most influential websites to date. Tell us what you think of our choices here

Finally... K&S August 5, La Banda Viajera

Trouble with Blogger and IE7

It seems to me Blogger post editor doesn't support IE7... I cannot upload pictures using IE7 and their post editor... however it works good on Firefox.

emailing my blog

Well, it happens that you can email your blogger and send stuff to it.  It doesn't support attachments nor pictures, but at least it's a fast way of uploading content.

 

They need some kind of utility for easy fast publishing from a desktop computer..

The Evolution of GUI 1984-1986

Room 101 published a nice gallery of screenshots of GUIs from 1984 to 1986

OLGA Shut Down by DMCA (again!)

OLGA is currently offline while we resolve legal issues with the archive. We greatly appreciate your support and hope to return to providing resources to the aspiring guitarist as soon as possible.

Experts' vote could mean demotion for Pluto

Astronomy group to offer definition in 'planet' debate

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is streaking at 43,500 mph toward a 2015 rendezvous with Pluto. When it arrives, will it encounter the solar system's ninth planet or a demoted celestial has-been?

Nearly 3,000 astronomers and planetary scientists from around the globe will gather in Prague, Czech Republic, next week to answer that question by voting on an official definition of "planet."

For decades, schoolchildren have learned that nine planets circle the sun. But that number could drop to eight or soar to dozens, depending on the new International Astronomical Union definition.

The wording of the proposed definition has been a guarded secret since it was drafted in June.

The clandestine nature of the deliberations has heightened anticipation among scientists who have argued about Pluto's status for years. Many say it's time to resolve this thorny issue and move on.

"I have a well-developed opinion on this topic, but I'm willing to abide by whatever the IAU decides,"

University of Colorado planetary scientist Larry Esposito said.

"I'm willing to give up my position for the interest of a good, solid definition that professional astronomers can agree to,"

said Esposito, a team leader on the Cassini mission to Saturn

News leaks about the planet definition began to spout late this week, as the authors prepared to present a draft resolution to the IAU's executive committee Sunday in Prague. The IAU is the official arbiter of all issues related to astronomical nomenclature.

In a story that aired Thursday, unnamed sources told National Public Radio the proposed definition would include Pluto in a new class of small planets. A source also told the Rocky Mountain News on Thursday that a member of the seven-person definition panel said Pluto will remain a planet.

IAU Vice President Bob Williams described the reports as "interesting speculation" but would neither confirm nor deny them.

STARTREK.COM: ST XI

STARTREK.COM: ST XI

CNN.com - IBM PC turns 25 - Aug 11, 2006

CNN.com - IBM PC turns 25 - Aug 11, 2006

IBM PC turns 25

The May-December marriage of a young company called Microsoft and business powerhouse IBM would change the landscape of offices and homes across the globe.
August 12 is the 25th anniversary of the IBM personal computer launch, a pairing of MS and DOS, Microsoft and the disk operating system.

"MS-DOS moved computer access from a community measured in thousands to one measured in millions,"

said Benn Konsynski, professor of business administration at Emory University's Goizueta Business School.

"It was a key transition from the hobbyist and 'geek' environment to business applications,"

he said.

Several popular home computers existed before the 1981 IBM PC launch. But the regimented business world considered Apple, Commodore, and Radio Shack's Tandy products "toys."

The IBM stamp of approval on a personal computer changed that mentality for good.

"Almost overnight, with IBM introducing the PC, it became OK to use it for real business applications,"

said Tycho Howle, CEO of nuBridges in Atlanta, a provider of business-to-business services.

Howle remembers with fondness his first desktop PC.

"In 1981 I had an IBM PC, two-floppy system,"

Howle said.

"To give young people these days a comparison: It would take 10 of those floppy disks to be able to hold the music that is on one MP3 song,"

he said.

A floppy disk is a thin, plastic disk that was coated with a magnetic substance used to store data. Earliest disks were 8 inches wide, more efficient disks shrunk to 5 1/4 inches, then 3 1/2 inches. Unlike a CDs or DVDs of today, the disks were floppy, or flexible.

IBM, the 800 pound gorilla of the business world at the time, flooded trade papers and television with promises that this new device would provide

"smoother scheduling, better planning, and greater productivity."

The Daily WTF - Pop-up Potpourri: Announced By God

The Daily WTF - Pop-up Potpourri: Announced By God

Esto está tomado de The Daily WTF. Algunos programadores estrella presentan:

Taken from the Daily WTF: Annual About Security

I'm sure we've all heard an old-timer gruff "burglar alarm system? pmmfff! When I was a kid, we left all of our windows and doors open, and the only burglar alarm we needed was a Labrador; and we were all fine!" Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, old man. What I don’t think many of us realize is that *we* will eventually become that old fogey. Except, it won't be with burglar alarms: "eight-factor biometric synchronous quantum authentication? Pmmff! When I was a kid, all we needed to know was where the power button is and what side to boot the floppy to; and we were all fine!" So with the new drive to bigger and greater security, Brian K was happy to see that at least one company took a more nostalgic approach. He only wishes that, firstly, it wasn't the company that he just started working for; secondly, that he would have found out about it another way than being asked to join the Weekend Password Change Team; and, thirdly, that they had chosen somewhere other than one of the publicity accessible share drives to store passwords.xls, the spreadsheet which he was to work off of.

From: Network Operations Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 3:21 PM
To: Everyone

Subject: 2006 Password Change

It's that time of the year again, time for everyone to choose their new passwords. For new employees, we apologize for the inconvenience, but this a practice we follow to maintain theintegrity of our network security.Please reply to this email with the new password(s) you want touse for the systems outlined below. Starting next Friday evening,we will work through the weekend to change everyone's passwordsand anticipate being complete by Monday June 5th at 6:00am.

IT IS ESSENTIAL that you reply to this email no later than Friday, June 2nd at 5:00. If you fail to reply, you will be unable to access all of the systems below.

Windows Logon
All users receiving this email will need to submit a new passwordto use to log on to their workstation. This password must be exactly 8 characters long and can be any combination of lowercase letters and numbers. No special characters ($,@, etc.) orproper names (Mary, John, etc.) are allowed.
EmployeeNET+
Only full-time employees will need to submit a new password.This password will be used to log in to the EmployeeNET+ system and must be exactly four numbers.SPM, CRL, and EMS Systems

Only submit a password if you use these systems. The passwords for these systems need to follow the same guidelines as the Windows Logon password, and may be the same or different fromeach other.When we receive your reply, we will let you know if the passwordsmeet the guidelines outlined.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your continued cooperation,

Network Security & Operations

En total, RACSA ofrecerá a partir del próximo mes tres nuevos servicios de acceso vía cable módem:
• “ Internet Básico ”, con velocidades de 256 kilobits por segundo para bajar información y 64 kbps para enviar, por una tarifa de sólo $16.95 mensuales, que incluye tanto el pago a la empresa cablera por el transporte como a RACSA por el acceso a Internet. (Anteriormente la tarifa más económica de acceso vía cable módem era de $32).
• “Internet Plus”, con velocidades, de 1 Megabit (1.000 kilobits) / 256 Kbps, a $34.95. Si las velocidades son de 2 Mbps./256 Kbps. a $49.95, y si son de 3 Mbps./256 Kbps. a $69.95.
• “Internet Gold”, que permite hasta 2Mbps./512 Kbps. por $69.95, 3 Mbps./512 Kbps. por $99.95, y 4Mbps./1Mbps por $168.95.
Previsible migración de clientes a mayores velocidades:

Descripción:
Por medio de estos nuevos servicios, RACSA facilita a sus clientes ubicados en la velocidad ½ Mbps./128 que pasen a la velocidad de 1Mbps./256 pagando la misma tarifa de $34.95.
Los clientes cuyos contratos permiten velocidades de 1 Mbps./256 Kbps. y los que cuentan con ½ Mbps. /128 kbps., como por ejemplo las pequeñas y mediana empresas (Pymes), podrían pasar a la velocidad de 2 Mb/256 Kbps. pagando la misma tarifa actual de $49.95.
A su vez, los clientes con velocidades de 2 Mbps/256 Kbps. y 1 Mbps./256 Kbps. pasarían a la velocidad de 2 Mbps. /512 Kbps. con una tarifa mensual de $69.95. En este caso, los clientes de 2 Mbps./256 Kbps. percibirán un aumento de velocidad con la misma tarifa, y los clientes de 1 Mbps. /256 Kbps. no sólo aumentarían la velocidad sino que también percibirían una disminución en su tarifa.
Asimismo, los clientes ubicados en las velocidades 2 Mbps./256 Kbps.y 1/2 Mbps. aumentarían su velocidad a 3 Mbps./512 Kbps. pagando la actual tarifa de $99.95.
Por último, los clientes ubicados en la velocidad de 1 Mbps. se trasladarían a la velocidad de 4 Mbps./1 Mbps pagando una tarifa menor, pues en vez de $249.95 pagarían 168.95 mensuales.
En resumen, todos los clientes de RACSA se verían beneficiados con la aplicación de esta nueva estrategia tarifaria que incluye tanto rebaja de tarifas como un importante incremento en las velocidades, según la cual la mayoría de sus clientes se beneficiarán con velocidades mucho más altas por el mismo precio que pagan actualmente,
Nuevas ventajas y atributos:
Los nuevos correos electrónicos tendrán una capacidad de hasta mil millones de kilobytes (1Giga mail - 1 GB Mail ), Agenda Electrónica Personalizada, el servicio de Messenger, y otras.
El Internet Plus y el Internet Gold contarán con 5 y 10 horas respectivamente de acceso gratuito vía telefónica y WiFi (“Wireless Fidelity”), de RACSA, que permite conexión a Internet sin necesidad de alambres, lo que facilita la conectividad a la vez que la movilización del cliente en un radio promedio de 250 metros de la antena de transmisión..
También, el Internet Plus cuenta dentro del paquete con una dirección IP Pública Dinámica, mientras que el Internet Gold cuenta con una dirección IP Pública Estática. No obstante, y atendiendo las necesidades del mercado, si el cliente requiere direcciones IP Públicas Estáticas adicionales RACSA se las proporcionará con un costo adicional de $ 3 cada una hasta un tope de 3 por plan.