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Filed under: Web, The Sarah Connor Chronicles

If you stop to try to figure out time travel plots from TV shows and movies - whether it's Back to the Future, Star Trek, or Frequency - it can really give you a headache. So many things about time travel just don't make sense, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't make for a fantastic plot device.

I've been thinking about that since Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles started. The show is supposed to take place after T2, though it's been a while since I've seen that flick (or the original for that matter) and I'm not sure if everything goes together and makes sense or not (T3 seems to be ignored, at least for now). But Todd Seavey is doing an extensive examination of the show and has come up with some interesting observations.

Continue reading Does The Sarah Connor Chronicles get the series timeline right?

 

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Filed under: OpEd, Project Runway, Episode Reviews

(S04E08) Finally, a challenge where the designers really pushed the limits and showed us just how far they could take things. However, I knew things were too good to be true, because the elimination was pretty upsetting. Well, it was upsetting for me, anyway.

Also, I thought this was too good to pass up. Heidi dropped this gem of a quote during the runway critique: "If they had executed it in a beautiful way, with beautiful materials, it could have worked." Oh. Oh really, Heidi? I didn't know it was all about the execution and materials. I thought it was just a matter of marvelous post-justifying on the catwalk and sliding a few Lincolns and a Ziploc baggy of M&Ms under Michael Kors' dressing room door.

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Continue reading Project Runway: On Garde!

 

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Video

Quite frankly, it was hard to take Netflix's sudden freeing of its Watch Instantly feature as anything but a response to Apple's forthcoming iTunes movie rentals, but according to a piece at The New York Times, the two are actually aiming at different markets. After speaking with Netflix's Reed Hastings, it was found that the vast majority of its streamable content was "older," and considering that users of this service can never look forward to brand new releases being available, the cost (i.e. free to most mail-in subscribers) makes sense. As for Apple, it's able to focus on crowds who are looking for a more robust, generally fresher selection, but of course, you'll pay the premium each time you indulge. Furthermore, Netflix has yet to make transferring video to any display / device other than your monitor easy, and while an LG STB is indeed on the horizon, the differences in content selection are still likely to lure separate eyes. For more on the how's and why's behind the battle that probably isn't, go on down and tag the read link.

 

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

If you're looking to gain respect for your gear as a serious business-class tool, there's no better way than to infiltrate those Big Four accounting firms still using Lotus Notes. According to a piece carried by the Associated Press, Lotus Notes eMail is coming to Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. We kid you not. The announcement is expected as early as Sunday the 20th, the day IBM's annual Lotusphere conference kicks off in Orlando. The software is free for those with existing licenses which means IT is going to have a hell of a time keeping it out of users' hands. If true, the application would presumably be the first official, third-party application developed with Apple's new iPhone SDK. IBM is also expected to announce their free Lotus Symphony flavor of OpenOffice for the Mac at the same time. An IBM spokesman seemingly confirmed the announcements by saying that Apple and IBM have, "a lot in common. We're going to cross-pollinate." Let's just hope they manage to untangle that jumbled Notes UI for finger-friendly navigation during the mating ritual, eh?

[Via MacRumors]

 

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Filed under: Wearables

Let's face it -- that VHS camcorder you're still holding on to would probably do you more good as a Salvation Army donation than anything else, but if you've got even a single DIY bone in your person, don't hand it over just yet. The same fellow that brought you the $40 spy glasses is at it once more, this time concocting a night vision "headset" with just a VHS camcorder viewfinder, a dozen ultra-bright LEDs, black / white mini camera and a few other nuts and bolts. After all was said and done, we're left with a device that enables you to easily see in darkness and record your journey. We know, you can't wait to tell your SO how right you were about hanging on to that clunker for one more year, so after you return, click on through for the instructional video and get to work, you hear?

Continue reading VHS camcorder viewfinder hacked into night vision headset

 

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Just days after the first scareware for OSX, researchers are pondering the problems of an iPhone exploit that could lead to larger issues. The Trojan pulls legitimate apps off the phone if you try to remove it, but it only infects iPhones that have 'been modified or opened through a security hole in the system.' Though this worm is more of an annoyance than anything else, it could be a proof of concept for a more serious attack.

The fear is hackers may be experimenting and gathering research that will increase the dangers of a more malicious attack in the near future. It is clear at least one writer -- the author of this piece at Web Worker Daily -- thinks that the iPhone should be left on the dresser in the morning. She offers several reasons that the device isn't a good corporate tool.

News source: /.

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New York (NY) - Open minded people are more likely to purchase a Mac, according to a new survey released by Mindset Media. The company interviewed 7500 people and found that liberal thinkers were 60 percent more likely to buy a Mac. These same people were also less modest and more sure of their own superiority than the rest of the population.

Mindset Media places these "enlightened" people into a category called "Opennes 5's" folks. People in that category are also more "receptive to their own inner feelings and may feel both happiness and unhappiness more intensely than others."


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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter, has been denied a shot at the Olympics... for being too fast. The runner -- who uses carbon-fiber, prosthetic feet -- was reviewed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (or IAAF), a review which found the combination of man and machine to be too much for its purely human competitors. According to the IAAF report, the "mechanical advantage of the blade in relation to the healthy ankle joint of an able bodied athlete is higher than 30-percent." Additionally, Pistorius uses 25-percent less energy than average runners due to the artificial limbs, therefore giving him an unfair advantage on the track... or so they say. Oscar is expected to appeal the decision, saying a lack of variables explored by the single scientific study calls for deeper investigation into the matter. Our suggestion? Prosthetic legs for all!

[Via Medgadget]

 

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Microsoft Corp. has warned corporate administrators that it will push a new version of Internet Explorer 7 their way next month, and has posted guidelines on how to ward off the automatic update if they want to keep the older IE6 browser on their companies' machines.

The IE7 upgrade scheduled to roll out via WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) on Feb. 12 was announced last October, when Microsoft said it would no longer require users to prove they owned a legitimate copy of Windows XP before they were allowed to download the newer browser. Microsoft explained that the move was prompted by security concerns.

View: Full Article @ Computer World

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AT&T Inc said on Wednesday it will replace 17,000 batteries mostly used to back up power supply for its U-verse television network after two fires and two explosions in a little over a year. The company said no one was injured by the incidents and the replacement of the batteries housed in outdoor telecommunications equipment cabinets would not change its spending plans for 2008. The communications company said the incidents did cause some damage to surrounding property but it did not immediately give details.


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