Windows Performance Rating

Post ImageThere are lots of great new “little” features coming in Windows Vista, features that you might not hear advertised or that you may not experience right away. One of those features (unless it becomes advertised in stores which would be great) is Windows Performance Rating, a numerical value that represents the performance of your computer:

“The idea behind the Windows Performance Rating is to help average consumers easily understand their Windows Vista PC’s overall performance, and to simplify the process of determining whether certain software applications will run smoothly based on their system components,” Microsoft said in a statement provided to CNET News.com.

It’s not exactly clear how the rating is calculated, or if it will have the same scale as what is currently available in beta builds, but that doesn’t matter. This feature is going to be great for consumers. No more worrying about how much RAM a machine has, or how fast the processor is, etc. What’s the performance rating? That’s all you need to ask.

This rating is similar to the change in processor naming that happened recently. You no longer have to compare clock speed to determine relative performance. Instead, you simply look at the model number (for example, Pentium 4 Processor 630 versus a Pentium 4 Processor 651). This method gives a much more accurate picture of relative performance.

And even better, the performance rating appears to go beyond simply performance, and takes into account other system components to determine how well they improve the Vista experience.

Read: CNET News.com

Dell to buy Alienware?

Post ImageDid Dell buy Alienware or not? Word spread around the web yesterday that the deal was already done, but Dell has said otherwise:

Dell has moved to quash rumors that suggested the company has acquired rival PC vendor Alienware. Speculation about a possible buyout has been rife since Rahul Sood, CEO of original equipment manufacturer Voodoo PC, posted his thoughts on such a move on his blog two weeks ago.

Questioning the accuracy of the information, Paul McKeon, Dell Australia and New Zealand spokesman, said the original source–Voodoo PC–is unreliable since the company is an Alienware competitor.

I would be somewhat surprised if Dell did buy Alienware, simply because Dell is not known for making acquisitions. On the other hand, they haven’t denied it. All McKeon did is suggest reasons why it might not have happened.

Read: CNET News.com

Windows Vista Presentation Tonight

Want to learn more about Windows Vista? And especially the development side of things? Then you’ll want to attend the Edmonton .NET Wizards event this evening! John Bristowe will be in town talking about Vista, Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Presentation Foundation, and much more:

You’ve heard a lot about Windows Vista from the user’s perspective. But what about the developer? How does one target this platform? In this session, we’ll cover WinFX, which represents the evolution of Win32, the programmatic interface to the Windows operating system. You’ll hear about how to interconnect applications through the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and provide a rich and compelling user experience through Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). Along the way, you’ll see how Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) provides a flexible workflow engine for co-ordinating automated and human-based activities.

The event is free, no registration required. All you have to do is show up! Here are the vitals:

WHAT: Windows Vista Presentation
WHEN: Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 at 6 PM
WHERE: ETLC 1-007, University of Alberta

For maps and more information, click here. Hope to see you there!

Read: .NET Wizards

Teaching Kids About Cyber Security

Post ImageFor all the fuss about hackers and spam and viruses and all the other malicious entities that exist in the digital world, there is very little done about education. It makes sense to teach kids about ethics and cyber security in an attempt to reduce viruses and exploits doesn’t it? I think it does! Looks like the United States is taking the lead:

A group of students at Rome Catholic School are learning how to become the future defenders of cyberspace through a pilot program that officials say is the first of its kind in the country. The program teaches students about data protection, computer network protocols and vulnerabilities, security, firewalls and forensics, data hiding, and infrastructure and wireless security.

Most importantly, officials said, teachers discuss ethical and legal considerations in cyber security.

I wish I could have taken a class like that in high school! Would have been much more interesting and relevant than some of the other stuff I had to take. Sure beats typing! And the content is useful on a day-to-day basis too, as our world becomes increasingly more digital. My only concern is that teachers won’t be qualified to teach such a course! Apparently they have a special training week for instructors.

Read: Wired News

Notes for 3/12/2006

Here are my weekly notes for this Sunday:

  • The Oilers need a goalie! So far, Roloson does not seem to be the answer to our goaltending problems. I really hope Lowe deals for someone good in the off-season.
  • Thanks Megan for the Bill Clinton ticket! We went to see/hear him speak on Thursday evening – it was great!
  • The new projector is sweet! The only problem we have discovered so far is that it gets extremely hot underneath.
  • It was a big week for Paramagnus! We won the Wes Nicol competition and were officially selected as finalists for the VenturePrize competition. We’re getting really close to the final showdown – the next couple weeks should be pretty interesting. We’re updating our business plan again tonight.
  • Pick Pickler! Pick Pickler!
  • Thanks for dinner the other night Annie and family! We watched Bend It Like Beckham, which I hadn’t seen and rather enjoyed. I like the way Keira Knightley says “bollocks”.

Sex Podcasting

Post ImageOkay, admit it. The only reason you read my blog at all is for the sex-related podcast news right? Well it seems that’s why some people read my blog anyway. I discovered today that my blog made it into AVN Online’s February 2006 resource guide called Sex and the Podcast:

Here are some of the sites that either offer podcasts of adult content, maintain directories of adult-oriented podcasts, offer podcast search engines, or syndicate podcasts. New ones are being created daily.

And just in case they take it down, here’s an image from the page:

So if you’ve come to my blog looking for sex podcast related content, here it is:

It never ceases to amaze me what can be accomplished with a Google search and an aptly titled blog post or two.

Read: AVN Online

U of A ExpressNews Podcast

Post ImageAs Dickson mentioned yesterday, the University of Alberta has decided to get more involved with podcasting, joining many other universities like Duke, Princeton, UBC, and the University of Western Ontario. The brand new ExpressNews podcast is a project of the UofA’s Office of Public Affairs:

Stories in the inaugural newscast include a fascinating interview with forestry researcher Dr. Mel Tyree, complete with the sound of trees drinking; a Parkland Institute report calling for a five-year moratorium on new oilsands projects, a reading by former U of A writer-in-residence David Adams Richards, and more.

The coming weeks will see a greater expansion of the podcast, with the development of a web page dedicated to audio and video files.

This podcast will probably become the U of A’s most well known, but it was not the first. Our ever-ahead-of-the-game Library has been experimenting with podcasting since September of 2005, and the Library site is full of links to other podcasts from around the world.

I’m really happy that my school has seen the light and will start podcasting. I only wish that Paramagnus could have helped them do it!

Read: U of A ExpressNews

Thought Typing

Post ImageI’m sure you’ve heard of “touch typing” but have you ever heard of “thought typing”? Imagine being able to control the computer simply by thinking it. The technology has been developed, and the latest demonstration took place at CeBit in Hanover, Germany this week:

The Berlin Brain-Computer Interface (BBCI) – dubbed the “mental typewriter” – was created by researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute in Berlin and Charité, the medical school of Berlin Humboldt University in Germany.

The machine makes it possible to type messages onto a computer screen by mentally controlling the movement of a cursor. A user must wear a cap containing electrodes that measure electrical activity inside the brain, known as an electroencephalogram (EEG) signal, and imagine moving their left or right arm in order to manoeuvre the cursor around.

Apparently it only takes about 20 minutes to “train” the device. Obviously, there are many huge benefits to technology like this, benefits that go well beyond typing without having to touch the keyboard. Medical uses are the most obvious and will likely be the first applications of such technology. Longer term though, this could lead to new interfaces for games, automobiles, just about anything that can be hooked up to a computer (and really, that’s almost everything these days).

I’d love to try something like this out. The great thing about it is that it’s non-invasive. I bet the experience is still pretty crazy though!

Read: New Scientist

An Evening with Bill Clinton

Post ImageLast night Megan and I went to “An Evening with Bill Clinton” at Rexall Place here in Edmonton. The former president was in town to talk about his life, his work, and to offer some advice and guidance on the future. Patrick LaForge of the Edmonton Oilers, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, and a representative from CIBC Wood Gundy (didn’t catch his name, sorry) were also on hand to make some opening remarks and do their part to introduce the man of the evening. Ralph screwed up though, or someone did at least, as he introduced Mr. Clinton to the stage when really he should have introduced the guy from CIBC! It was kind of funny.

The president talked a lot about security and terrorism actually, more than I thought he would. It was part of his “framework” for looking at the world. His main argument is that the world is interdependent, and we need to recognize that and move towards integrated communities. So whenever he reads a news article or sees a report on TV, he asks himself the same question – does this help us move closer to an integrated community or not? Based on that, he takes the proper course of action. Obviously he layed it out in much more detail.

He also spoke about the worldwide problem of obesity, other security threats like biological and chemical weapons, the spread of disease, and climate change. Seems he has done work in each of these areas since leaving office. The evening finished with a short Q&A, where we learned that the last movie he watched was Crash, and he doesn’t know whether or not his wife Hillary will run for office in 2008. He did say, however, that if she did run, she’d do a magnificent job. He said many great things about her. We also learned that the thing he misses most about being the president is the work.

The takeway, he told us, is that we can effect change without being rich or doing huge things. He talked about the opportunities provided by the Internet, and shared some really interesting stories of people he has met over the years who have made a big difference through small action. He also mentioned the rise of non-governmental organizations, and when he did so, he almost sounded proud. I got the feeling that he has special respect for NGOs.

Bill Clinton is actually a rather engaging speaker, much more so than I expected (his hair is also a lot whiter now than I thought it was). As is often the case with these kinds of events, it was his stories and experiences that were the most interesting to hear about, and he certainly has had lots of those. It was a really great event, I’m glad I was able to go.

You can learn more about the Clinton Foundation and the work Bill Clinton does at their website. The Wikipedia entry on him is quite extensive with lots of great information too.

Our New HDTV Projector

Post ImageAs Dickson mentioned yesterday, the HDTV projector we ordered about a week ago arrived. The projector is an Optoma MovieTime, and supports HDTV inputs and has a built-in DVD player. Even though it goes against my rules for buying electronics, I think we made a good purchase (and it was a steal of a deal from Costco). We watched Into The Blue yesterday, and I brought in my Xbox 360 from home today – gotta love that widescreen!

The reason we got the projector was work…no really! We are always scrambling to find a projector for our Edmonton .NET Wizards meetings, and we can definitely use it for Paramagnus-related stuff too. Okay, okay, we’ll also use it for the odd movie or gaming session 😉

I’ve got some pictures up at Flickr if you want to take a look.