Author: Serkadis

Filed under: Etc., Videos

McLaren Formula One engineers use their laptops to find out what their MP4-series F1 cars are doing. Put one of the teams many computers in front of Lewis Hamilton, and he uses it to make the car do things – in this case, make a little music and dance a little jig. It’s just his, and Vodafone’s, way of saying Merry Christmas, folks. Follow the jump to see the vid.

[Source: Vodafone UK]

Continue reading VIDEO: Lewis Hamilton wishes you a Merry Christmas with his F1 car

VIDEO: Lewis Hamilton wishes you a Merry Christmas with his F1 car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Muito se tem falado da falta de programadores para continuar a desenvolver a versão macOSx do reprodutor de vídeo opensource VLC, no entanto o projecto está em grande e pretendem agora lançar um editor de vídeo opensource multi-plataforma.

Chama-se VLMC (VideoLAN Movie Creator) e é sem dúvida um dos projectos opensource mais falados do momento. O VLMC vai permitir a edição básica de vídeos em várias plataformas sem que o utilizador tenha que pagar um único cêntimo por isso.

Veja abaixo um vídeo do software a correr em Ubuntu:

VLMC (VideoLAN Movie Creator) is a free video editing software,
offering features to realize semi-professional quality movies,
but with the aim to stays simple and user-friendly.

VLMC will be available very soon in a pre-release version for Linux, Windows and Mac, stay tuned !

via VLMC

WebTuga – VLMC – Editor de vídeo gratuito e multiplataforma

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone, App Store

Need a refresher on the Google Voice and Apple saga? Let’s recap the story to date:

Apple pulled all Google Voice related apps from the App Store back in July, which led to an FCC inquiry, which led Apple to claim they had not rejected but were “studying” Google Voice, which Google contradicted. The biggest surprise in the whole scenario is that AT&T said that they had no problem with Google Voice on the iPhone.

Yet here we are, 4 months later, and still no decision (that we know of) has been made. I’ve previously referred to this as Apple’s pocket veto of Google Voice where they are able to say they haven’t rejected it when they have, in effect, rejected it. Put it all together, and this has led me to put up a website for your “Google Voice on iPhone” questions, which I narrowed down to IsGoogleVoiceAvailableForTheiPhone.com?

As it stands today, the answer is a qualified “No” in that there are no Google Voice apps available from the App Store, but I was curious to see what options are available. I found three tools that you can use today, and one more which is on the horizon.
1) Google Voice’s Mobile site: Using Mobile Safari, you can get to Google Voice’s Mobile site and access a variety of features, including turning phones on and off, making calls or sending SMS through your Google Voice account. This works, albeit slowly, and you are unlikely to want to make many calls this way, it’s just too much of a hassle. And did I mention that it’s slow? Especially compared to a local app, it’s pokey.

2) Google Voice Bookmarklet Generator: David Friedman came up with an ingenious method for creating Google Voice “bookmarklets” for calling people using your Google Voice number. He then shared that idea on his website, which led someone else to write a Python script which will convert your entire address book to Google Voice shortcuts. His goal was not to reproduce Google Voice functionality, but simply to make it easier to call people through Google Voice.

Check out the article where he explains how this works for more details. It’s fairly geeky, but some of you may find it a good tool for your utility belt.

3) GV Mobile: One of the apps pulled from the App Store was GV Mobile by Sean Kovacs. Rather than see his work go to waste, Sean released GV Mobile for free to the jailbreak community through Cydia. Jailbreaking involves trade-offs (then again, so does “not jailbreaking”), but if they are trade-offs you are willing to live with, this is perhaps your best alternative today.

What if there was another option? What if there was a way to get most of the benefits of a native app, local speed, offline access… but without having to wait for the App Store approval process?

This is becoming an increasingly attractive solution to folks who are put off by the App Store delays, not only for initial approval (and the possibility of being yanked at any moment if Apple decides to “study” your app) but for updates. For example, what happens when you create a Twitter client for iPhone but Twitter makes API changes which render some or all of your app inoperable? Or, what if Google changes the authorization method for Google Voice? This happened recently, which broke some Google Voice apps that people had bought and downloaded before they were pulled off the App Store. Those developers have no way to get bug fixes to those customers who paid to buy their apps, which is bad for the developers (who get support requests for a problem they can’t fix) and for customers who paid for apps rendered useless by Apple’s arbitrary decision.

It turns out there is another option. Neven Mrgan of Panic.com recently released an iPhone game called Pie Guy which is a web app, but is stored locally using HTML5. What that means is that it feels very much like a native app running at native-app speed, and it can be used offline.

Riverturn, which had developed a native Google Voice iPhone app called VoiceCentral, is looking to make the same approach for Google Voice. Instead of waiting for Apple to figure out if they are going to allow iPhone clients for Google Voice, Riverturn is developing an HTML5 web app which you download to your iPhone. It is called VoiceCentral Black Swan Edition and it is currently in “very limited beta.” Those who have Google Voice accounts can sign up for the beta list at the website, which has some additional information and screenshots.

Riverturn provided access to the beta to a few of us at TUAW and the response was a unanimous “Wow.” Quite frankly, if someone handed you an iPhone which had Black Swan already set up, I’m not sure that you would be able to tell it isn’t a native app. I used it to place a few calls and it worked quickly, easily, and reliably. The best part is that when the app is updated, all users will immediately get the updated version. No waiting for Apple to approve it.

Web apps are not a panacea for the issues in the App Store. Before the iPhone SDK was announced, Apple promoted web apps as the best (and only) way to develop for the iPhone. It didn’t measure up: many users knew it, developers knew it, Apple knew it (they had already developed native apps, proving that for some cases they were needed).

That said, there is a lot more than can be done with “web apps” than you might imagine, especially with HTML5 and local databases. Pie Guy is a great example of a web app game, and BlackSwan looks like it is going to be another great example of what developers can accomplish even when Apple gets heavyhanded about what can be offered on the App Store.

In my opinion, Apple has been overly restrictive with the App Store, keeping worthwhile apps from the hands of users who want them. These apps don’t violate Apple’s initial list of limitations of what would be allowed in the App Store (as discussed previously):

1. Illegal
2. Malicious
3. Porn
4. Privacy
5. Bandwidth hog
6. Unforeseen (the handy catch-all)

Google Voice apps do not fall under any of those categories (well, you could argue any app that didn’t exist at the time Apple made its announcement was “unforeseen”). Apple had approved several of those apps and profited from them; then, without warning or explanation, removed them. It took an inquiry from the FCC to get Apple to make any statement about it at all, even if that statement includes the laughable suggestion that Apple needed more time to “study” Google Voice. They said that four months and two days ago. Apple could have completed an entire college semester course in study of Google Voice by now. Still we wait, with no recourse, and no alternatives other than jailbreaking our iPhones — an action Apple considers hostile enough to violate the iPhone warranty.

I suspect that others will say “if you don’t like the iPhone, don’t use it.” Except that I’m now in a contract with AT&T, a contract that I made based, at least in part, on Apple’s promises regarding the availability of apps which did not violate the above 6 points. Even if I wanted to abandon my iPhone now, would Apple pay my early termination fee? Should we start yet another class action suit against Apple? Wouldn’t it be easier on everyone involved if Apple would simply go back to its original guidelines for the App Store? How much faster would the review process be if the reviewers only had to worry about those 6 things?

As hopeful as I am that Apple will loosen its grip on the App Store, I’m not holding my breath, which is why I’m glad to see innovative developers like Neven Mrgan and the folks at Riverturn finding alternative solutions.

I’m planning a full review of VoiceCentral Black Swan when I’ve had more of a chance to use it. In the meantime I’ll try to help you keep track of Google Voice’s official status on the iPhone. I still hope that Apple will allow Google to release its iPhone app for Google Voice, as well as allow customers who have already bought and paid for apps to get bug fixes, etc. I applaud the folks at Riverturn for their ingenuity and creativity, and hope Black Swan is a terrific success. Perhaps it will inspire other developers to look at locally stored web apps as a development option.

TUAWIs Google Voice available for the iPhone? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With rising concerns for privacy these days, advertisers are having an increasingly difficult time gathering personal consumer data. MobileRL, an Israeli start-up, is looking to change or “revolutionize” the way information is collected for ad purposes. The Israeli company wants you to download software onto your phone which will allow them to turn it into an eavesdropping device. Your phone’s microphone can be turned on at any time, at MobileRL’s discretion, so it can listen to what’s going on at any given time. This new “data collection tool” is obviously going to need user consent since you have to download it yourself, so that might mitigate most legal issues (unless you live in a place where they can force something like this on you). But we know the real issue here, and if they can turn your phone’s microphone on at any time and run it for how long they want, how will that affect your phone’s battery life?

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The United States Department of Agriculture recently offered members of Congress an opportunity to sample commodity foods that are part of the current school lunch program.

Meals still have bad reputation

The goal, officials said, was to show legislators how healthy and tasty meals are under the current system. The agency has been working hard to make school lunches healthier by cutting back on salt and adding more fruits and vegetables, for example, but the meals still have a bad reputation as being nothing but oily pizza, chicken nuggets and vegetables from a can.

The USDA is now providing schools with green beans that have 64 percent less sodium than commercially available beans, and the agency’s mandate for sodium levels in canned vegetables is 71 percent less than what’s deemed healthy by the Food and Drug Administration.

Kids who eat school lunches get 95 percent lean hamburger patties, while the leanest meat commercially available is 92 percent lean.

In 1981, the USDA offered just 54 different fresh and processed options to schools; now there are more than 180. The program provides between 15 and 20 percent of all food served in American school cafeterias. And school officials say it is possible to make good, healthy meals with those options, such as choosing brown rice, unprocessed meat and dried fruit and nuts.

You can lead a kid to the lunch line . . .

The food may be better quality and healthier than it used to be, but that doesn’t seem to be helping kids much, given that a third of American kids are overweight or obese.

One big problem has always been that kids simply don’t want to eat school lunches, and it can be difficult for schools to produce healthier, less processed meals when they lack real kitchen facilities and the workers aren’t really trained to cook (many schools just reheat meals these days).

The USDA hopes Congress will provide more money to fund the school lunch program when it considers the reauthorization of the program early next year. Child nutrition programs, including school breakfasts, lunches and the WIC program, are now funded at $12 billion a year. USDA head Tom Vilsack says more money is needed because healthy foods are more expensive.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

From the RSS feed of CalorieLab News (REF3076322B7)

Congress gets a taste of school lunches

It’s the final Christmas morning of the decade, and considering that there are only two or three of these left before the world ends, we certainly hope an exuberant Santa Claus dropped off a fairly swank stash of gadgetry overnight. ‘Course, today just wouldn’t be today without pigging out on calorie-infested foods and spending copious quantities of time with folks you dearly love and desperately loathe, but frankly — we’re just interested in learning what kind of gizmos entered your life this morning for the first time. Tell us what you did (or didn’t) get in comments below, and be sure to tell us if you reacted similarly to the kids posted up after the break (no fibbing — Sir Kringle is already making his list for next year, don’tcha know?).

When you’re done, check out what people got excited about in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Continue reading So, what’d you get?

So, what’d you get? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the new Efficient Air Cooling (EAC), the internal air cooling system from Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH, Bad Oeynhausen, pipe manufacturers are now easily able to improve the quality of their pipes and simultaneously increase their production output.

The new system can be used in the production of both mono-layer and multi-layer polyolefin pipes. It is suitable for all pipe diameters between 63 and 2,000 mm with wall thicknesses of up to 150 mm. A special advantage is that EAC can not only be directly integrated into new dies, but also easily retrofitted to any existing VSI die. The benefit of EAC becomes immediately evident in production: the innovative cooling system allows a significant increase in production output or shortening of the cooling section, which is a considerable advantage especially where space is limited. At the same time, EAC ensures an improvement in product quality. The sagging effect is avoided, and the deformation of pipe ends following cutting significantly re-duced.

Efficient Air Cooling has already left its development stage behind. The first system is in operation at Westfälische Kunststoff Technik GmbH (WKT), Sprockhövel, Germany, in combination with a PO 500 VSI (T) die. “We are enthusiastic about the in-crease of up to 50% in output in the same pipe size. We have not found any impairment in product quality either. The inner surface of the pipes is absolutely smooth, and the deformation of pipe ends following cutting has been significantly reduced”, Stefan Depmer, WKT is pleased to note.
EAC provides effective cooling of pipes from both inside and outside, using nothing but air. In the interior of the pipe, cooling is effected by means of air exchange, with the hot air being sucked off. Simultaneously, the mandrel inside the die is cooled via a special mechanism, and finally the outside of the pipe is also supplied with cooling air. In this way, the pipe is very evenly cooled, which reduces tension inside the pipes and deposits on the inner surface. Systems using exclusively air for cooling are not only efficient but also easy to operate and require little maintenance.

A positive side-effect can be achieved by using the hot air sucked off from the interior of the pipe for pre-heating granulate. This reduces the extruder’s energy consumption and boosts the efficiency of the line. This means that the ROI for an EAC is reached very quickly, in less than one year.

The EH models by JULABO are a low-priced series for routine applications in laboratories. The new circulators were upgraded with additional functions. The EH models now feature temperature calibration (ATC) and an electronic timer. A new user interface features intuitive operation a fresh design, fewer keys and easy handling. As before all EH-circulators incorporate a low liquid and high temperature protection classification III (DIN 12876-1) and qualifying them for unattended operation even with flammable liquids. They convince with a large and bright temperature display (LED) which is easy to read across the room, PID temperature control, a splash-proof keypad for trouble-free operation, and a temperature stability of ±0.03 °C. This series includes immersion circulators, open heating bath circulators as well as refrigerated circulators. Refrigerated instruments up to 920 Watt of cooling with a working temperature range from -35 °C to +150 °C.

5Amp. USV for 24V and 12V supply
– All complete in one Unit –

The Accupacks LDR4012 and LDR4024 with charging regulators serve to buffer 12Volt- and 24Volt systems.

The Accupack LDR will be connected between the line voltage and the installation, in order to provide DC to the equipment. In the event of a mains power failure, the “on board” sealed batteries supplies the system, connected to the outlet. The supply-duration depends on the load current of the consumer. The batteries could be easely replaced, if necessary.
To provide the needed power and in order to maintain a wide input voltage range, a switch-mode power-supply is built-in. That means for AC – input voltage a range from 85 to 270Volts and for DC – input voltage a range from 150 to 400Volts. During the online operation the AC/DC converter supplies the accumulator with optimal charging-voltage as well as the output load, in a way that under normal operation-conditions the batteries are allways properly charged. These modern power supply is designed in acordance to the relevant international regulations and works with high efficiency.

The output-voltage follows hereby the batterie voltage level. In any kind of operation, normal or emergency, the full load can be drawn from LDR4012 as well as from the LDR4024. For a limited period, the peak-current could exceed the nominal current up to 50%. The output is short-circuit-proof and effectively protected against polarity failure.

The 2 build in Relays allowed a remote monitoring of the significant status of the LDR.

Special Advantages of the LDR40:
– no extra Power-supply required
– Input voltage range: 70……270VAC
– Accus integrated
– Accu monitoring integrated
– High capacity cells
– Easy Accu-replacement
– Remote monitoring by Relay
– Safety acc. to VDE, EN. UL,CSA

With Engadget running stories on Bluetooth HID support being hacked onto the iPhone, it is useful to remind ourselves that of course Windows Mobile supported this for many years already.

The video above shows the Logitech Dinovo Edge Keyboard paired with the HTC HD2.

For full-touch devices like the HTC HD2 this is obviously a real advantage, and ironically the Apple bluetooth mini-keyboard works particularly well with the device, with of course no App for that needed.

Read more about compatible keyboards and issues in this XDA-Dev thread here.

Bruce Schneier wrote a great piece on the unencrypted Predator drone video feeds, noting that the drones were built for a post-Soviet, pre-insurgent era and that encryption, in the case of a live feed, is more of a problem than a threat.

The problem is, the world has changed. Today’s insurgent adversaries don’t have KGB-level intelligence gathering or cryptanalytic capabilities. At the same time, computer and network data gathering has become much cheaper and easier, so they have technical capabilities the Soviets could only dream of. Defending against these sorts of adversaries doesn’t require military-grade encryption only where it counts; it requires commercial-grade encryption everywhere possible.

While I agree with him whole-heartedly – Bruce knows his stuff – this is a huge PR mess for drone warfare. Luckily, these are drones and drones don’t have feelings and I suspect that once insurgents notice that they’re on a drone’s live feed, it’s probably too late.

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Paul, TJ, Ginger, Oscar, and Zoey have created one of their finest pieces of multi-media entertainment for your holiday viewing pleasure! These guys just get funnier and funnier! Enjoy!

Good news! You woke up to find a shiny new computer waiting for you under the tree this year. Whether it’s a Windows PC, Mac, or Linux box, here’s a quick starter guide to getting it running on all cylinders.

Photo remixed with help from Shandi-lee.

We’ve separated this little get-up-and-running guide into sections depending on whether the machine you got is Windows-, Mac-, or Linux-based, so just find the section that makes sense for you and get going.

• Windows Section
• Mac Section
• Linux Section

So You Just Got a New Windows Machine

Get to know Windows 7: Chances are pretty good that this is the first time a lot of people will be using Windows 7—and even if it’s not, take this opportunity to get to know Microsoft’s solid new offering with our Complete Guide to Windows 7. While you’re schooling yourself on Win7, you’ll at the very least want to check out:

• The Master List of New Windows 7 Shortcuts:
  Windows 7 adds loads of great shortcuts for switching between apps, moving windows around your screen, moving them to another monitor altogether, and much more. Here’s a quick-reference master list of the best new Windows 7 shortcuts.
• Windows 7’s Best Underhyped Features:
  It’s these less sexy, but very useful features, that make me think the more I use Windows 7, the less chance I’ll ever use Vista or XP again.
• Set Up and Use XP Mode in Windows 7:
  Windows 7’s new XP Mode lets you seamlessly run virtualized applications alongside your regular Windows 7 applications-so your outdated software will continue to work.
• Turn Your Windows 7 PC Into a Wireless Hotspot:
  Everybody’s got a wireless network at home, but if you’ve ever wanted to get your iPod touch, iPhone, or other wireless device connected, but all you’ve got is a wired network at work, school, or elsewhere, Windows 7 makes this process trivial.
• Master Windows 7 Jump Lists to Boost Your Win7 Productivity:
  For those of you that haven’t yet tried out Windows 7, when you right-click on a taskbar button in Windows 7, a menu slides out with recent documents and application tasks. You can even access it with the left mouse button if you choose. Here’s a rundown of our favorite Jump List boosters.
• Dual-Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu in Perfect Harmony:
  Windows 7 and Ubuntu, despite their opposing missions, can get along like best pals on a single computer. Here’s how to set up a dual boot system that lets you enjoy the best of both worlds in perfect harmony.

Get rid of the bloat: There’s nothing like a fresh machine. It’s free from an overloaded system tray, bloated application installs, and disorganized file structures, right?

Unfortunately that’s not always the case. A lot of machines ship with a whole lot of pre-installed software that you didn’t ask for and surely don’t want. Our suggestion: Before you go nuts installing the software you really want, download Revo Uninstaller (a tool for getting rid of apps that’s superior to Windows’ default Add or Remove Programs tool) and get rid of all of the software that shipped with your machine that you don’t want or need.

Install your favorite apps in a snap: Now that you’ve cleared out the crap, it’s time to install the applications you really want. We’re huge fans of previously mentioned Ninite, a simple utility that lets you tick off checkboxes of your favorite apps, then downloads them and installs them in the background. That means no more hunting all over the internet to find and download the apps, and no more mindless Next -> Next -> Finish clicking. If you’d like a little help finding the best apps around to fill up your Programs folder, check out the following:

• Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Windows Downloads:
  We feature downloads of all kinds every day at Lifehacker. Here, we’ve bundled all the best free downloads for new computer owners, re-installers, would-be geeks, or anyone who wants to save time installing the best stuff out there. This is our 2009 Lifehacker Pack for Windows computers.
• Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities:
  It’s the little things that make a Windows system great—like utilities that use less than 10MB of memory to make your life easier. Here are 10 apps that pack a lot of greatness into very little space.
• 61 Free Apps We’re Most Thankful For:
  As we prepared to stuff our faces with a bountiful Thanksgiving feast, we turned our Thanksgiving spirit to the gobs of free software we love to say thank you to the developers, and to give our computers a feast of their own.
• Top 10 Windows 7 Booster Apps
  Windows 7 is a big improvement over Vista, and a pretty convenient OS in general—but it’s by no means perfect. These 10 downloads improve Windows 7’s looks, functions, and make it easier, safer, and more convenient to upgrade to.

So It’s a Mac, Is It?

Dive into your Mac: Whether this is your first Mac or your first time in Snow Leopard, we’ve got you covered:

• Hack Attack: A guide for switching to a Mac:
  If you’re new to the Mac platform—fresh off the Windows world—this guide to switching explains how to make sense out of all the differences between Windows and OS X, highlighting how to accomplish the same things in OS X you’re already completely familiar with doing in Windows.
• Snow Leopard’s Four Best Improvements (for Civilians):
  Most of Mac OS 10.6’s changes are deep in its underpinnings for developers to put to good use. But what do the rest of us get out of Snow Leopard? Modest, but nice, improvements to the everyday Mac workflow.

Install some killer apps, make a few useful tweaks: Once you’ve got a better understanding of what’s going on with your new computer, you’re ready to go on an application installation binge and do a little tweaking.

• Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Mac Downloads
  We’ve featured countless apps of all sorts over the years, but if you just want a quick look at the best free downloads for your Mac, this post’s for you. This is the 2009 Lifehacker Pack for Mac OS X.
• Secrets Updates for Snow Leopard, Still Tweaks Every Dark Corner of OS X:
  If you’re not a big fan of using the Terminal but love hidden features in OS X, Secrets is the preference pane for you. Secrets provides a list of hidden features (and descriptions of each) that can be easily toggled on and off with a simple click of a checkbox.
• Get More Precise Font Smoothing in Snow Leopard
  Among the many changes in OS X 10.6 was a simplification of the font smoothing options to a yes or no toggle. If your monitor text isn’t quite right, here’s a quick Terminal tip to get nitty-gritty control.
• SnowChecker Determines If Your Applications Are Snow-Leopard Compatible
  Free application SnowChecker runs a scan of your installed applications and tells you which may have problems running in Snow Leopard.

Linux-Lovers, This One’s for You

An overview and a few handy Linux tweaks:

• First Look at Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala Beta
  Take a look at the new features in the latest major point release or Ubuntu.
• Make Compiz Run More Smoothly on Linux Desktops
  If you’re running the Compiz window manager on your Linux system—known as “Desktop Effects” in Ubuntu—you might notice it doesn’t slide windows around smoothly, and causes occasional video tearing. Here’s the fix.
• Dual-Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu in Perfect Harmony
  Windows 7 and Ubuntu, despite their opposing missions, can get along like best pals on a single computer. Here’s how to set up a dual boot system that lets you enjoy the best of both worlds in perfect harmony.

Now let’s get downloading: If you’re a Linux person, you can rest assured that your system is likely running lean and mean right out of the box. (That is, without the bloat of pre-installed crapware some Windows systems start off with.) So let’s get right to the downloading!

• Top 10 Ubuntu Downloads
  From Ubuntu tweaking to desktop customization and productivity boosting launchers, these apps promise to seriously enhance your machine.
• Allmyapps Bulk-Installs Your Favorite Apps, Makes System Rebuilding Less Painful
  One of the most irritating things about reinstalling your operating system is installing all the non-OS applications you love. Allmyapps lets you select all your favorite apps and roll them into a bulk installer to make rebuilding easy.
• Top 10 Cross-Platform Apps that Run on Windows, OS X, Linux, and More
  Whether your important data lives in the cloud, on your laptop, or on a different operating system, you shouldn’t have to use sub-par tools to get at it. These cross-platform apps run on your Linux machine, but will also work when you’ve got to move to a Windows machine for work or wherever you may end up.

Happy holidays to everybody, whatever it is you may or may not be celebrating. Enjoy that new gear, and let us know what else has helped you get up and running in the comments.

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The guys from WME have inspired me to do a driving video comparison of the Omnia2 and the Touchpro2. The video is quiet and is just me driving around holding the devices to show you the camera quality and since I do not have a car kit, its a bit shaky.

Right now in MN we have about 10+ inches of snow on the ground and there is more snowing every second, so this wasn’t very safe. Enjoy

Filed under: Etc., Toys/Games

All of us here at Autoblog would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas. We hope that Santa treated everybody well, and that you all have a great day catching up with family and friends. Have fun and drive safe.

If you’re bored during your travels, we highly recommend you fire up your smartphones and check out additional shots of the latest masterpiece from Lego mastermind Lino M. – the ’66 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible shown above. As you can see, Santa and his Russian mail-order bride, Natasha, roll in style. (We wonder what Mrs. Claus thinks.) Check out the full set of photos of this killer custom Lego build at Lino M.’s Flickr stream.

[Image: Lino M./Flickr]

Merry Christmas from Autoblog! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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幸福遇見 | 林依晨 (2009)
oh well, i don’t know who she is. but the front & back cover caught my attention instantly. her name is 林依晨 (lin i-chen / ariel lin) a taiwanese actress / singer.

幸福遇見 (xingfu yujian / encounter of happiness) is her debut album with her lovely debut single 甜蜜花園 (tianmi huayuan / sweet garden), followed by the second single 螢火蟲 (yinghuochong / firefly), come to me, and 接近無限的藍 (jiejin wuxian de lan / closer to the unlimited blue). the album contains 10 mandarin pop songs and one korean version of the song 惡作劇 (ezuoju / mischief). the complimentary dvd contains three videos including the famous video 螢火蟲 in two versions; regular version (5:30) and summer story version (10:00). watching her video is blissful just like her album’s title.

There ain’t much to go on just yet, but one thing’s for certain: MSI will be unveiling a trio of new machines at CES in just a few weeks. Over on the Wind Top side, it’ll be introducing the all-new AP1920 all-in-one PC, which will measure in at 35mm thick and sport an 18.5-inch display, Atom D510 or D410 CPU and a power-sipping attitude. The nettop lovers will be thrilled to know that a new duo of mini PCs will also get unwrapped, as the Wind Box DC500 and DE220 step in with Intel’s newest Pine Trail processors and a whole slew of companion components that we’re still waiting to hear more on. Hey, we told you it was just a tease.

MSI teases Wind Top AP1920, Wind Box DE220 and DC500 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda Performance Development announced yesterday the conclusion of the agreement it had with de Ferran Motorsports for the testing and development of Acura’s sports-car program. Following two motorsports seasons of testing and developing the Acura ARX-01b and ARX-02a for the American Le Mans series, the partnership between the two sides comes to an end.

"Economic pressures have required us to change our plans, so we must regretfully conclude our testing and development agree… (read more)

Merry Christmas, everyone, and a happy new year!

My family and I are lucky enough to be celebrating the holiday season in Aspen this year. We’re playing, resting and relaxing before the new year begins. Before I get back outdoors, mimicking Grok in the snow, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their support this year. Thank you for reading Mark’s Daily Apple, for participating in the forums, for commenting on my articles and for being active participants in this little experiment meant to change lives for the better. I couldn’t do it without you! Happy Holidays!

And here are a few articles that I think are fitting for this holiday season:

Benefits of Benevolence

Spirituality and Health

The Many Uses of Junk Food

Cooking As a Spectator Sport

Choose Your Booze: A Guide to Healthy Drinking

Dear Mark: Low on Willpower

Will Momentary Compromises Derail Your Efforts?

Social Wellness, Or Why Friendship Should Be a Health Priority

80/20 Principle

80/20 Principle Revisited

The Power of Holiday Tradition

10 Active Ways to Celebrate the Holidays

Savoring the Holiday

What Happens to Your Body When… You Carb Binge?

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Related posts:

1. Merry Chrismahanakwanzakah (and Festivus too!)
2. Dear Mark: How to Politely Pass on Dessert
3. The Power of Holiday Tradition

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