Category: News

TiVo has finally dropped the price on the HD and HD XL DVRs. These models have been rocking their initial MSRP for years now, but now they can be had for a little bit less. The 160GB HD model is now $249 and the 1TB model, $499 down from $599. Of course you still have to pay a monthly fee to use these DVRs, but I’m not one to snub a modest price drop.

I wonder if this was a reaction to the Moxi price drop from last week. Probably not because these things are usually planned months out, but you never know. Maybe TiVo is starting to feel a little heat from their closest competitors, who now have a 3-tuner DVR by the way…

Oeufs en cocotte, with their simple elegance, make a for a charming, nourishing breakfast and are well-suited to a variety of accompaniments: fresh herbs, raw milk cheeses, ham or bacon or even my favorite – homemade gravlax.  Easily prepared in single-serving portions, oeufs en cocotte are perfect for those cooking for only themselves or for a very small family.   On hectic mornings – which, I might add, is nearly every morning – it’s easy to crack an egg into a dish, season it and slide it into a waiting oven.  By the time I’ve finished my shower, breakfast is ready.  This is fast food – in the true meaning of the words and without the disturbing additives or discomforting ecological, economical and social impacts.

Eggs make for a good breakfast – packed with vitamin A, riboflavin, selenium and other micronutrients in beautiful combination with wholesome fats and protein.  Better yet if your egg comes from a hen raised on pasture.  Research into the nutritional composition conducted by the Weston A Price Foundation indicates that the yolk of a pasture-raised egg contains 8 times the vitamin A of a conventional, store-bought egg.  It’s no wonder.  An comparison of the yolks alone yields a remarkable story itself.  The yolk of a pasture-raised egg will be a rich orange compared to a conventional egg which is pallid and dull by comparison.  Remember, where there’s color and flavor, there’s nutrients.

In this recipe, I combine pasture-raised egg with pecorino romano cheese, unrefined celtic sea salt and home-cured gravlax.  The gravlax, with its salty sweetness, adds a lovely richness to the dish and contributes much needed omega-3 fatty acids including EPA and DHA.  Gravlax is a raw food – cured at home easily and, in the best tradition of real food, without complication.  Wild-caught salmon or other oily fish combines with unrefined sugar, salt, fresh herbs and spices, is weighted down and allowed to cure in the fridge for a few days or up to a week before being served.  Wary of cooking’s effect on fragile polyunsaturated fatty acids found in salmon, I prefer to serve my fish raw or cured.

When you’re rushed for time, consider the minimal effort and spectacular nutritional composition of this simple, wholesome dish.  It takes only a few minutes, and is well worth it.  If you don’t have gravlax on hand – and it’s likely you won’t as it’s not a regular feature in most kitchens – you can substitute purchased lox or smoked salmon, herbs or even ham or bacon.

Oeufs en Cocotte with Lox: The Recipe

This recipe serves 1; however, it is easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled … For a heartier breakfast, consider serving these eggs with buttered sprouted grain toast and fresh fruit or a tomato salad.

Quick and Easy Breakfast

• Oeufs en Cocotte with Lox and Herbs
• Rooibos Tea with Cream and Honey
• Sprouted Wheat Bread, Toasted and Buttered
• Fresh Peaches

Oeufs en Cocotte with Lox: The Ingredients

• 1 Egg from a Pasture-raised Hen
• 1 Tablespoon Raw Milk Artisan Cheese, Grated (see sources)
• 1 oz Lox, Smoked Salmon or Home-cured Gravlax, Chopped Fine
• 2 Teaspoons Chopped Fresh Herbs (Parsley and Chives work well for me)
• Unrefined Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste
• ½ Teaspoon Butter from Grass-fed Cows (see sources)

Oeufs en Cocotte with Lox: Instructions

1. Butter a small 4-oz ramekin.
2. Crack the egg and pour the contents into the buttered ramekin. Take care not to break the yolk.
3. Add the lox to the dish.
4. Sprinkle the cheese, herbs, salt and pepper to the egg.
5. Bake in a water bath at 350º F until egg white is set, but the yolk is still runny or done to your liking.  Baking takes approximately 12 – 15 minutes – just enough time for a nice long shower.

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More from Nourished Kitchen

Looking for grass-finished beef or wild-caught fish? What about that exotic sourdough starter you’ve been after? Or water kefir grains? Check out the Nourished Kitchen Where to Buy List that outlines great companies that sell or support real and traditional foods.

Don’t forget: I’m not a doctor, I’m a mom who loves preparing wholesome, natural foods for her family and I enjoy sharing our reasons in choosing these nourishing foods. Read the disclaimer and advertising/link policy and the privacy policy.

© Jenny for The Nourished Kitchen, 2009. |
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Remember the good old days when video game machines ALWAYS came with a free game? Sometimes even two! Nintendo had Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt, Sega had Hang On! and Astro Warrior. Well that gravy train ended a while ago but you can hop back on, today only, as Amazon is offering a free game or headset with the purchase of a white Nintendo DSi.

Now don’t get too excited just yet. Your game options are limited to Style Lab: Makeover, Style Lab: Jewelry Design, Dinosaur King, or Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood and your headset options are limited to just the Nintendo DS Ear Force D2.

Here’s to hoping that there’s a kid in footy pajamas somewhere out there begging his or her parents for a white DSi and Style Lab: Makeover and that those parents say, “Sorry honey but we only have $170 to spend! We can only afford the DSi, but not the game. Now give us some quiet time to read CrunchGear.”

If that’s you, enjoy. Offer’s good today only.

Buy a White DSi, Get a Select Game or Headset Free [Amazon.com]

Most records and documents created and filed within court systems and police departments in the U.S. are public. And Google is trying to make it feel that way.

The company that conquered the web and coined the phrase “Don’t Be Evil” announced yesterday in a blog post that it was adding full-text decisions from federal and state legal courts to Google Scholar.

This announcement means the free web becomes a richer source not only for education and research, but also for those of us trying to overturn injustice through the court system.

The law is still a paper profession. It’s changing, but slowly. Google’s move only covers opinions filed by courts; those are currently among the easier documents to find. For real reform, we need a sea change in the way the law looks at data. We need to bring the digital revolution to the courtroom and the police station. During the Presidential campaign last year, Barack Obama talked about a Google for Government. He’s right. We need to Google-ize our courts.

(more…)

Wrath is a retro space shooter for the BlackBerry Storm. Using the accelerometer or touchscreen, you control your ship as it picks up power-ups and blasts space aliens. If things look like they’re getting messy, click the screen to super-nuke everything.

One of the coolest features in this game is the ability to listen to your own music while you play. Just make a playlist in the BlackBerry Media player, and Wrath will use it for the in-game music.

Wrath, the retro space shooter for the BlackBerry Storm, is on sale for $2.49 (regular price $4.99).

© BlackBerry Cool for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

One last note before proceeding to the list of Left 4 Dead 2. If you encounter errors or issues with Left 4 Dead 2 that are not included in the list below, issues which the solutions listed does not resolve, Tell us about it by Posting it in the comment box at the bottom of this page (No registration required). Include details about the Left4Dead 2 error and the specifications of the system you are running L4D2 on. It doesn’t have to be a fullblown dxdiag log, just the Video Card, Processor and amout of RAM and of course the Operating System (and service pack versions) you are playing Left 4 Dead 2 on. REMEMBER to check the comments at the bottom of this post.

List of Known Left 4 Dead 2 errors and solutions/workarounds

Problem #1 : Left4Dead 2 error message “Incomplete Installation (35)”
Fix : make sure your firewall allows outbound TCP connections to port 27019 and 27031.
credits: Richkaethler

Problem #2 : L4D 2 slowdown/lagging everytime the map is changed
Fix : Tab-out and get back in the game again
credits: Heino Kaveri

Problem #3 : Left 4 Dead 2 freezing/stuttering/lagging every x seconds
Fix #1 : Turn off mutli-core rendering
Fix #2 : Turn off Vsync
credits: Dunastrig

Problem #4 : L4D2 Pink/dark texture problem
Fix : no known fix as of this posting

Problem #5 : Left4Dead 2 headless models problem
Fix : Update your graphics card to the latest version

Problem #6 : L4D2 error “Unable to load library client”
Fix : no known fix as of this posting

Problem #7 : Left 4 Dead 2 always crashes on Windows Vista 64bit
Fix : START > MY COMPUTER > WINDOWS > RIGHT CLICK ‘CSC’ > PROPERTIES > SECURITY
Make the ADMINISTRATOR own the folder
credits: Havok

Problem #8 : L4D2 always crashing randomly
Fix :
1. Close Steam
2. Go to ..\steam\steamapps\
3. Delete left 4 dead 2 common.ncf, left 4 dead 2 client.ncf
4. Restart Steam
5. Right Click L4D2 click Install
credits: Freyar

Problem #9 : L4D2 can’t run after install: Verify steam service is running
Fix :

To Fix (First Try)

* Exit Steam
* Open a ‘Command Prompt’ (cmd.exe if you are using ‘Run…’ from the start menu)
* Run: “c:\Program Files\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe” /repair
* Note: Change “c:\Program Files” to wherever you have steam installed. For a 64 bit OS the default would be: “c:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe” /repair
* Start Steam

To Fix (If that didn’t work)

* Exit Steam
* Delete the file:
32 bit Windows: “c:\Program Files\Common Files\Steam\SteamService.exe”
64 bit Windows: “c:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Steam\SteamService.exe”
* Restart Steam

To Fix (at your own risk)

* Exit Steam
* Kill SteamService.exe from the task manager
* Copy the version from \Bin into \Common Files\Steam
* Restart Steam

To Fix (Safer, or if the above doesn’t work)

* Exit Steam
* Open the Control Panel
* Open ‘Programs and Features’
* Right Click on ‘Steam’ and select ‘Repair’
* This operation can take awhile.

credits: JoeR

Problem #10 : Left4Dead 2 problematic lag(freezing intermitently), slowdown and eventually crashing
Fix 1 : Disable multicore rendering
Fix 2 : mat_queue_mode 0 (console command)
Fix 3 : Update Nvidia Drivers to Beta 195.39
credits: oct42, redninja, mic

Problem #11 : Left 4 Dead 2 CTD (crash to desktop) fix
Fix :
1)Navigate to your windows folder (usually c:/windows/)
2)Inside there, goto the CSC folder
3)Try to open the folder and it should fail (if it doesn’t, you have a different problem). It’ll come up with ‘You don’t currently have permission to access this folder’ at which time you keep pressing continue until it says you’ve been denied.
4)Right-click the folder, go to properties.
5)Go to the security tab at which point it’ll say ‘To continue, you must be an administrative user with permission to view this object’s security properties’ at which point you click continue.
6)Click on admin in the owner tab which will swap the owner to the administrator then click OK.
7)You then click on OK once again which will bring up the security tab.
8)Tick ‘full control’, press OK twice to get out of the properties tabs.
9)Run the game.
credits: fuloran

Problem #12 : Post Your Left 4 Dead 2 error at the comment box below if you are experiencing errors that are not listed here
Solution : Help out and post solutions to L4D2 errors at the comment box below if you know one
credits: YOU!

Important!: If you are experiencing errors with Left 4 Dead 2 that are not listed above or is not solved by the specified fixes, Tell us about it by posting in the comment box below (include system specs, OS, and description of the error you encounter in Left 4 Dead 2), NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO POST/ASK QUESTIONS/POST SOLUTIONS

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The debate over Droid v. iPhone rages on, but lots more Android surprises are on the way. Get ready for the Google Phone. It’s no longer a myth, it’s real.

The next “super” Android device will almost certainly be a HTC phone that’s much thinner than even the Droid or iPhone – The Dragon/Passion. This is the phone the senior Android guys at Google are now carrying around and testing, at least as of a couple of weeks ago. If you’re willing to give up the Droid’s keyboard, the Dragon/Passion is going to be a really cool phone. It should be fully available very soon.

But it isn’t the Google Phone. Everything up until now has just been a warm up to the Google Phone.

Way more interesting are the rumors we’ve been hearing for months about a pure Google-branded phone. Most of our sources have unconfirmed information, which we describe below. But there are a few things we have absolutely confirmed: Google is building their own branded phone that they’ll sell directly and through retailers. They were long planning to have the phone be available by the holidays, but it has now slipped to early 2010. The phone will be produced by a major phone manufacturer but will only have Google branding (Microsoft did the same thing with their first Zunes, which were built by Toshiba).

There won’t be any negotiation or compromise over the phone’s design of features – Google is dictating every last piece of it. No splintering of the Android OS that makes some applications unusable. Like the iPhone for Apple, this phone will be Google’s pure vision of what a phone should be.

That’s it for confirmed, super-high confidence information, which frankly isn’t a whole lot more than we all heard back in late October. But we also have a few more details as well that we’ve gathered from a number of sources. Everything that follows we still consider to be just well-sourced rumors:

For years, Microsoft has been among the loudest complainers concerning “piracy” in China, so it’s a bit of a surprise to see things switched around a bit. Mesanna was the first of a few to alert us that a Chinese court has found Microsoft guilty of violating the intellectual property of a local firm, Zhongyi Electronics, and demanded that the company cease selling Windows XP throughout China. The issue is the Chinese character fonts. According to Zhongyi, Microsoft licensed them for Windows 95, but not other versions. Microsoft, of course, insists that it is not infringing, and says it will appeal the ruling.

Still, with this ruling, as well as the recent attack on Google for violating copyright in China, it makes you wonder if China is doing this in an attempt to show American firms what might happen if they actually get what they “want” in terms of stronger copyright enforcement in China.

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Berry Wars has been given a huge update and is now a visually stunning BlackBerry game called Druglord Wars. The game is just like the original Dope Wars, where the aim is to buy low and sell high, all the while avoiding the cops.

Some new features to the game include:

• Global online leaderboard to compare your skills to the world.
• 17 drugs to buy and sell in 11 beautifully rendered cities.
• 18 weapons and storage containers to take down enemies and hold more drugs.
• Over 125 custom designed images just for BlackBerry.
• Save games and preview progress before resuming.
• Unlimited gameplay mode to see how far you can take your drug empire.

The game is currently on sale for $3.99 until November 20th (regularly $4.99). Druglord Wars is available for OS 4.6 and up with 480×320 or 480×360 screens, and there are plans to support 4.5+ with 320×240 soon.

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

The wait for Google Chrome OS is almost over as the company is getting ready to reveal the upcoming operating system in an event tomorrow at Googleplex, the company’s headquarters. It’s unclear whether Google will release any actual code or a rough, working version, but there will definitely be plenty of details and an in-depth overview of the web-based OS as well as more clearly laid out plans for the launch schedule.

Rumors about an impending launch surfaced last week and Google has now more or less confirmed them, with the only unknown left being the issue of whether there will be any code available or not. Google sent out invites to several industry insiders announcing that it would reveal a lot of information on the project. The event will be lead by Sundar Pichai, Google’s VP of Product Management, and Matthew Papakipos, Google engineering director for Google Chrome OS.

Google will show the audience just how far along it is with the OS which was only revealed last summer. The dev team must be confident enough with the state of the project if it’s ready to reveal it to the world and judging by Google’s usual pace and the state of the initial releases of its products its safe to assume that the foundation is well laid out by now. The project, though, is likely to be very rough around the edges and,… (read more)

Microsoft’s cloud container continues to evolve. The company has unveiled the next generation of its data center container at its Windows Professional Developers Conference, and it includes significant design advances over the existing containers deployed in Microsoft’s Chicago data center.

The 20-foot container on display at the PDC is an example of Microsoft’s Generation 4 Modular Data Center design, which abandons the raised-floor architecture that has been a staple of modern data center design in favor of a container-based model. Microsoft says the use of server-packed containers – known as Pre-Assembled Components (PACs) – will allow it to slash the cost of building its new data centers, which will have no roofs.

Optimized for Outdoors?
The Generation 4 container on display at PDC looks to be completely optimized for outdoor use, with a design that relies upon fresh air (”free cooling”) rather than air conditioning. While we’re not on-site at PDC and haven’t been able to inspect the container, it features louvers on the exterior of the container to draw fresh air into the cold aisle and expel hot air from the rear of the hot aisle.

UPDATE: Microsoft’s Bob Muglia has more on the design. “ Ambient air is drawn over a membrane onto which a small amount of water is released,” Muglia tells InformationWeek. “I think it’s two gallons an hour. The slow release of water drops the temperature of ambient air coming in through a system of louvers by 20 or 25 degrees and that’s sufficient to keep the servers cool enough. ”

Here’s a look at a video of the container shot by a PDC attendee:

The container features the branding for Windows Azure, Microsoft’s developer-focused cloud computing platform. Windows Azure will run at facilities in Chicago, San Antonio, Dublin, Amsterdam, Singapore and Hong Kong.

This is a departure from the current Microsoft container design, which features one container filled with IT gear and another holding the power and cooling infrastructure. Here’s a look at one of the double-decker data center containers currently in use at Microsoft’s  Chicago data center:

Microsoft’s $500 million Chicago facility uses a hybrid design built around data center containers. The lower level is a vast space with a high ceiling and diagonal parking spaces for the 40-foot container stacks.

The first phase of the 700,000 square foot facility can hold up to 56 containers, and a second phase (currently shell space) offers identical capacity. That gives the Chicago facility a total capacity of 112 containers holding 224,000 servers.

In laying out its Generation 4 design, Microsoft said its future data centers would require no water and have no roofs. The company says the new design may reduce capital investments by 20 to 40 percent by creating a “competitive and innovative supplier landscape.” It is also designed to accelerate Microsoft’s data center deployment process, shrinking the timeline from 18 months to as little as three to six months.

RELATED STORIES:

• Inside Microsoft’s Chicago Container Data Center
• Inside Microsoft’s Dublin Mega-Data Center
• Microsoft Goes All-In On Container Data Centers
• About Those Roofless Data Centers
• Microsoft Unveils Its Container-Powered Cloud
• Video: Microsoft’s CBlox Data Center Containers 

UPDATE: The Bold 9700 battery just died. The BlackBerry Cool official time is 19:22, exactly 29 hours. This is 29 hours while using the device heavily. Let’s see an iPhone do that!

UPDATE: 16:19 and 26 hours into the test, with 10% battery left. Part 2 of the test has sort of changed. It started off as a test of the music playback under more strenuous network conditions and has turned into a test of how long the battery will last under power user conditions. I’ve been playing music, tweeting, taking pics, using Google Maps, running several other apps simultaneously, making and taking calls and constantly pulling data from both Maps and Twitter. There was a break when I went to sleep but I left all the connections and apps running so it was still very much active.

UPDATE: 14:16, 24 hours into the test, and the battery is at 25%. Something I’ve noticed is that making calls depletes the battery much faster than anything else. I knew this intuitively but the test really made it obvious. Streaming music doesn’t seem to have much impact on battery life at all.

UPDATE: 10:40 went through the night and we’ve been back on WiFi, radio for a couple hours. At 30% and around 20 hours we’re definitely going a full day no problem.

UPDATE: It’s 02:29, 12 hours into the test. The batter reads 40% and I have been using a very decent amount of apps and data. Holding the BlackBerry Button, it shows the following apps: Messages, UberTwitter, Home Screen, BlackBerry Messenger, Media, Radio Companion, Setup Wizard (I switch devices a lot), Visual Voice Mail, Google Maps, Browser, Gmail and Phone. I’m going to give the updates a rest until around 8 AM.

UPDATE: It’s 23:11 and I have been out and about for the past 2 hours. During that time, I wasn’t listening to music but I was burning through data and the battery pretty fiercely. I was Tweeting pics, using Google Maps and calling friends. I’m not sure if this corrupts the test or anything, but I’m back at the office and on WiFi, streaming music on Bluetooth. At 55%, the battery is still going strong. We’re about 9 hours into the test.

UPDATE: 20:11 and the battery is at 65%. I’ve been using the device pretty intensely over the past 6 hours. On a normal day, I’ll probably use 20 minutes on headphones and the BlackBerry Media Gateway for 30 mins the odd time. So far, I’ve used about 5 hours of streaming Nobex on WiFi and Bluetooth, and another hour on radio and headphones.

UPDATE: The time is 18:14 and the status screen is telling me the battery is at 80%. By the looks of the meter, I would say it’s around 95%, but we’ll see. We are almost 4 hours on WiFi, taking in emails, BBM, and SMS, streaming music using Nobex and playing it via Bluetooth over the BlackBerry Media Gateway. Go baby go!

UPDATE: The time is 15:55, just over an hour into the test and the battery hasn’t budged, we’re still full bars. I’ve had a few BBM’s, and about 10 emails come in through WiFi, all the while streaming music using Nobex and playing it off the BlackBerry Media Gateway. Things might change if I leave the office and get off WiFi.

UPDATE: Okay we’re good to go. I have the Bold 9700, running all connections, using EDGE, roaming on the Rogers network and this bad boy is sucking in data like a Dyson vacuum. The time is 14:22 and we’re starting off on WiFi, at my office, listening to the Bold 9700 via Bluetooth on 7.1 surround sound. I know, it doesn’t make a difference that it’s 7.1 but it’s still cool. I also made sure to make the amplifier read Bold 9700. Oh yeah, and I’m running Nobex Radio Companion for the music because Pandora and Slacker figured out I’m Canadian. We’re full battery.

So it turns out the BlackBerry Bold 9700 can play music for up to 38 hours, as advertised (the BlackBerry Cool official time is just short of 39 hours).

It seems as though we tested the Bold 9700’s music playback in a similar way that RIM would test it. There might be a standard for such a test somewhere, and maybe the National Institute of Standards and Technology could comment.

Let’s get on to Part 2 because it’ll be much more interesting. Playing the Bold 9700 with the radio turned off is really throwing RIM a bone. It’s time to test the Bold 9700 under some decent Power User conditions. For Part 2 of “Stress Test: How long can the BlackBerry Bold 9700 play music?”, I’m going to use the device as a primary communication and music device. I think the following conditions would be cool:

• Radio On.
• WiFi On.
• American SIM and device roaming on Canadian Network.
• Streaming Slacker Radio during down time.
• Headphones On, Volume Full and Bass Boost On.
• When at office and home, connected via Bluetooth and playing to stereo (this is a personal shout-out to BlackBerry Cool Reader Caspan).
• Taking emails, calls and SMS.
• Taking advantage of GPS and maps when appropriate.
• I might even take a pic or two.

So take your guess, how long will the Bold 9700 play music under heavy usage conditions? Comment your predictions and we’ll see the discrepancy.

© Kyle for BlackBerry Cool, 2009

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This is the first known bird attack against a Google Street camera. But it’s not surprising. Birds have a right to a certain degree of privacy too. [via Jalopnik and Geekologie]

This week, the 15th GeoCAP Annual Conference is gathering around 350 European experts to discuss the latest innovations in remote sensing technologies and their application for supporting agricultural subsidies controls. Since the introduction of remote sensing controls EU regulations in 1992, satellite images have proved to be an efficient tool to verify that agricultural subsidies are correctly paid to farmers. In 2008, on a total of 8.3 million declarations made by farmers, 629,000 checks were performed on the spot, of which 55% were done using remote sensing imagery. The same figures are expected for 2009. Very High Resolution satellites or aerial orthophotos allow to accurately check the size of the parcel, their cover type and possibly cover status, thus reducing considerably the need of physical checks in the farms and consequently contributing towards a more effective and efficient management of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

It was barely a month ago that we re-reviewed TwitterBerry. We originally reviewed it in early 2008, but the company behind it, Orangatame, brought it up to date, adding many features that users demanded. Unfortunately, TwitterBerry is no more. Orangatame has changed the name to OpenBeak in hopes that it “allows the app to grow beyond both the Twitter platform and BlackBerry smartphones.” With the name change comes a few new features, including two that I had complained about in the TwitterBerry review. (more…)

A quick glance at the Casio EX-G1 doesn’t revel that the camera is a rugged-type model. It’s just too good looking. But then you might start to notice that the dials are recessed and reinforced and the case seems like it could work underwater. (it can) It’s just that Casio managed to out a 12.1 MP ruggedized camera that’s actually a looker.

The camera’s equipped with all the standard modern conveniences too. It sports a 12.1 MP sensor, a 960 x 240 2.5-inch reinforced LCD, a 3x zoom, and microSDHC storage. But more importantly the camera is shockproof, dustproof, freezeproof and waterproof up to 10 feet for 60 minutes, which makes it an awesome option for those that enjoy beaches, snowbording, and surfing. (not me) The EX-G1 should be out for $300 in December and available in both red and black.