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Saturday, February 02, 2008

eBooster: ReadyBoost for Windows XP

eBoostr - ReadyBoost for Windows XP

eBooster breathes new life into your old Windows XP machine.

MDO Ltd. has brought out eBoostr, saying it's a complete substitute for Microsoft's ReadyBoost technology for Windows XP machines. The software is now available for a test-drive and bestows ReadyBoost-like technology to older, but still useful Microsoft Windows XP PCs, providing many of the same benefits to the end user.

eBoostr betters the speed of a PC or laptop without having to upgrade its internal components or the operating system. Using USB flash pen memory drives or flash memory cards, permits Windows XP to access hard drives to a much lesser extent. This results in upgraded performance and responsiveness of  Windows XP and all running applications.

Continued...

The booting of your operating systems and program startup get much faster thanks to the smart caching mechanism. It seems to make use of XP's prefetch data to cache files on a faster flash drive. Then, if there's a system reference to the file, the eBoostr service directs access to the cached version instead of the drive.

System Requirements

  • Windows XP (32 and 64 bit support), Windows 2000 , Windows 2003
  • USB 2.0 port version or memory card reader
  • Flash drive or memory card with at least 2.5 MB/sec random read speed

Besides the added functionality, eBoostr also allows the use of up to four flash devices to speed up a system. That's a lot of extra capacity though I can't see anyone needing this. Still it's nice to know the option is always there if you need it.

The software also supports slower, less expensive flash memory and cards, providing an inexpensive way to upgrade a computer's performance.
eBoostr also promises noticeable performance benefits even to PCs that already have additional RAM installed.

I'm a laptop user and the added power savings on laptops increases your battery life when on the go, due to reduced disk activity. This will also extend the life of your drives saving you additional costs and inconvenience.

The cost is just under $30 and of course, you'll need some flash memory making it an economical option for extending the useful life of your XP machine.

eBoostr software is easy to install and very intuitive. The trial version has no time expiration and you can evaluate it for as long as you wish but it only boosts your system for 4 hours from boot up. It's available in 16 languages so people all over the world should have no trouble installing and using it.

eBoostr is an efficient, money-saving and is technically the most simple solution to the problem of insufficient RAM or slow hard disks.

Final Note:

If you use eBoostr and still have speed issues, you may need to do further system optimization. For useful tips on speeding up your PC or laptop, see this post about speeding up laptops.


Read more!

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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Instant Messaging Acronyms and Abbreviations

IMchatInstant messaging acronyms can be as cryptic as a serving of Spaghettios or Alphabet soup.

If you ever get an instant message or text message from someone that just comes out looking like jibberish, this guide will be here to help you translate the text chat lingo into plain old English.

It's useful for instant messaging, e-mail, Internet and online gaming chat rooms, discussion boards and cellphone text messaging.

The guide provides the definitions of more than 500 frequently used chat abbreviations and acronyms. Bookmark it so that you can use it whenever you need to refer to it.

Continued...

If you know of any text messaging abbreviation that should be included in this list, please contact us.

Numbers & Characters A B C D E F G H   I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Click here for Smiley Faces & Emoticons

Abbreviation
Meaning

Numbers & Character

?
I have a question

?
I don't understand what you mean

?4U
I have a question for you

;S
Gentle warning, such as "Hmm? what did you say?"

^^
Meaning read line or message above

<3
Meaning sideways heart (love, friendship)

<33
Meaning heart (more 3s is a bigger heart)

@TEOTD
At the end of the day

.02
My (or your) two cents worth

121
One-to-one (private chat initiation)

143
I love you

19
Zero hand (online gaming)

20
Meaning 'location'

2G2BT
Too good to be true

2MI
Too much information

404
I don't know

411
Meaning 'information'

420
Lets get high

420
Meaning "Marijuana"

4COL
For crying out loud

4EAE
Forever and ever

4NR
Foriegner

^5
High-five

555
Sobbing, crying. (Mandarin Chinese txt msgs)

55555
Crying your eyes out (Mandarin Chinese txt msgs)

88
Bye-bye (Mandarin Chinese txt msgs)

9
Parent is watching

A

A3
Anytime, anywhere, anyplace

AAF
As a matter of fact

AAK
Asleep at keyboard

AAMOF
As a matter of fact

AAMOI
As a matter of interest

AAP
Always a pleasure

AAR
At any rate

AAS
Alive and smiling

AASHTA
As always, Sheldon has the answer (Bike mechanic Sheldon Brown)

AATK
Always at the keyboard

ABTA
Meaning Good-bye (signoff)

ACD
ALT / CONTROL / DELETE

ACK
Acknowledge

ADAD
Another day, another dollar

ADD
Address

ADN
Any day now

ADR
Address

AEAP
As early as possible

AFC
Away from computer

AFAIK
As far as I know

AFK
Away from keyboard

AFPOE
A fresh pair of eyes

AIGHT
Alright

AISB
As it should be

AISB
As I said before

AISI
As I see it

AITR
Adult in the room

AKA
Also known as

ALCON
All concerned

AML
All my love

AOTA
All of the above

AOYP
Angel on your pillow

ASAP
As soon as possible

A/S/L
Age/sex/location

ASL
Age/sex/location

ASLA
Age/sex/location/availability

AT
At your terminal

ATM
At the moment

ATSITS
All the stars in the sky

ATSL
Along the same line (or lines)

AWC
After awhile crocodile

AWOL
Away without leaving

AYDY
Are you done yet?

AYEC
At your earliest convenience

AYOR
At your own risk

AYSOS
Are you stupid or something?

AYT
Are you there?

AYTMTB
And you're telling me this because

AYV
Are you vertical?

B8
Bait (person teased or joked with, or under-aged person/teen)

B/F
Boyfriend

B/G
Background (personal information request)

B4
Before

B4N
Bye for now

BAK
Back at keyboard

BAS
Big 'butt' smile

BAU
Business as usual

BB
Be back

BBC
Big bad challenge

BBIAF
Be back in a few

BBIAM
Be back in a minute

BBIAS
Be back in a sec

BBL
Be back later

BBN
Bye, bye now

BBS
Be back soon

BBT
Be back tomorrow

BC
Because

BCNU
Be seeing you

BCOS
Because

BD
Big deal

BDN
Big darn number

BEN
Big evil grin

BF
Boyfriend

BF
Best friend

BFF
Best friends forever

BFFL
Best friends for life

BFD
Big freaking deal

BFG
Big  freaking grin

BFN
Bye for now

BG
Big grin

BGWM
Be gentle with me

BIBO
Beer in, beer out

BIF
Before I forget

BION
Believe it or not

BIOYN
Blow it out your nose

BISFLATM
Boy, I sure feel like a turquoise monkey! (unverified)

BLNT
Better luck next time

BM&Y
Between me and you

BOL
Best of luck

BOLO
Be on the look out

BOOMS
Bored out of my skull

BPLM
Big person little mind

BRB
Be right back

BRD
Bored

BRT
Be right there

BT
Bite this

BTA
But then again

BTDT
Been there, done that

BTW
By the way

BWL
Bursting with laughter

BYOB
Bring your own beer

BYOC
Bring your own computer

C

C&G
Chuckle & grin

CD9
Code 9, Meaning "parents are around"

CIAO
Coffee in, coffee out

CICO
Good-bye (Italian word)

CID
Crying in disgrace

CMAP
Cover my a** partner (online gaming)

CMIIW
Correct me if I'm wrong

CMON
Come on

CNP
Continued (in) next post

COB
Close of business

COS
Because

C/P
Cross post

CP
Chat post (or continue in IM)

CR8
Create

CRB
Come right back

CRBT
Crying really big tears

CRS
Can't remember stuff

CSG
Chuckle, snicker, grin

CTC
Care to chat?

CU
See you too

CU
See you

CU2
See you

CUA
See you around

CUL
See you later

CULA
See you later alligator

CUL8R
See you later

CWYL
Chat with you later

CYA
See you

CYAL8R
See you later

CYE
Check your e-mail

CYO
See you online

D  

DD
Dear (or Darling) daughter

D/L
Download

DL
Download

DL
Down low

DLTBBB
Don't let the bed bugs bite

DEGT
Don't even go there

DH
Dear (or Darling) husband

DIIK
Darned if I know

DIKU
Do I know you?

DM
Doesn't matter

d00d
Dude

DQMOT
Don't quote me on this

DS
Dear (or Darling) son

DTS
Don't think so

DV8
Deviate

DW
Dear (or Darling) wife

DYOR
Do your own research (common stock market chat slang)

E

EBKAC
Error between keyboard and chair

EF4T
Effort

EG
Evil grin

EMA
E-mail address

EMFBI
Excuse me for butting in

EMSG
E-mail message

ENUF
Enough

EOD
End of day

EOL
End of life

EOM
End of message

EVA
Ever

EZY
Easy

F
Meaning female

F2F
Face to face

F2T
Free to talk

FBM
Fine by me

FC
Fingers crossed

FFS
For 'freak' sakes

FICCL
Frankly I couldn't care a less

FISH
First in, still here

FITB
Fill in the blank

FOMC
Falling off my chair

FOMCL
Falling off my chair laughing

FRT
For real though

FTBOMH
From the bottom of my heart

FTW
For the win

FUBAR
Fouled up beyond all recognition

FUBB
Fouled up beyond belief

FWIW
For what it's worth

FYEO
For your eyes only

FYA
For your amusement

FYI
For your information

G

G
Grin

G
Giggle

G/F
Girlfriend

G2CU
Good to see you

G2G
Got to go

G2R
Got to run

G9
Genius

GA
Go ahead

GAL
Get a life

GB
Goodbye

GBU
God bless you

GDR
Grinning, ducking, and running

GD/R
Grinning, ducking, and running

GFI
Go for it

GF
Girl friend

GFN
Gone for now

GG
Gotta Go

GG
Good Game (online gaming)

GGP
Got to go pee

GIAR
Give it a rest

GIC
Gift in crib (online gaming)

GIGO
Garbage in, garbage out

GJ
Good job

GL
Good luck

GL/HF
Good luck, have fun

GLNG
Good luck next game

GMBA
Giggling my butt off

GMTA
Great minds think alike

GN
Good night

GNSD
Good night, sweet dreams

GOI
Get over it

GOL
Giggling out loud

GR8
Great

GRL
Girl

GR&D
Grinning, running and ducking

GT
Good try

GTG
Got to go

GTRM
Going to read mail

GTSY
Great (or good) to see you

H

H&K
Hugs & kisses

H2CUS
Hope to see you soon

H8
Hate

HAGN
Have a good night

HAGO
Have a good one

HAND
Have a nice day

HB
Hurry back

HF
Have fun

HHIS
Head hanging in shame

HOAS
Hold on a second

HRU
How are you?

HTH
Hope this helps

HUB
Head up butt

HV
Have

I

IAC
In any case

IAE
In any event

IANAL
I am not a lawyer

IB
I'm back

IB
I'm back

IC
I see

ICAM
I couldn't agree more

ICBW
It could be worse

ICEDI
I can't even discuss it

IDK
I don't know

IDTS
I don't think so

IDUNNO
I don't know

IG2R
I got to run

IGN
I (I've) got nothing

IGP
I got to (go) pee

IIRC
If I remember correctly

ILBL8
I'll be late

ILU
I love you

ILUM
I love you man

ILY
I love you

IM
Instant message

IMAO
In my arrogant opinion

IMHO
In my humble opinion

IMNSHO
In my not so humble opinion

IMO
In my opinion

IMS
I am sorry

IMTM
I am the man

IMU
I miss u (you)

INAL
I'm not a lawyer

IOMH
In over my head

IOW
In other words

IRL
In real life

IRMC
I rest my case

ITYK
I thought you knew

IUSS
If you say so

IWALU
I will always love you

IYKWIM
If you know what I mean

IYO
In your opinion

IYSS
If you say so

J

j00r
Your

JAC
Just a sec

JFF
Just for fun

JIC
Just in case

JJA
Just joking around

JK
Just kidding

JMO
Just my opinion

JP
Just playing

JTLYK
Just to let you know

JW
Just wondering

K

K8T
Katie

k/b
Keyboard

KB
Keyboard

KB
Kick butt (online gaming)

KEWL
Cool

KEYA
I will key you later

KEYME
Key me when you get in

KISS
Keep it simple, stupid

KIT
Keep in touch

KOC
Kiss on cheek

KOL
Kiss on lips

KOTC
Kiss on the cheek

KOTL
Kiss on the lips

KNIM
Know what I mean?

KPC
Keeping parents clueless

Abbreviation
Meaning

L

l33t
Leet, meaning 'elite'

L8R
Later

L8RG8R
Later, gator

LD
Later, dude / Long distance

LEMENO
Let me know

LERK
Leaving easy reach of keyboard

LGH
Lets get high

LHM
Lord help me

LHO
Laughing head off

LIK
Meaning liquor

LMAO
Laughing my a** off

LMBO
Laughing my butt off

LMIRL
Lets meet in real life

LMK
Let me know

LOL
Laughing out loud

LOL
Laughing out loud

LOLH
Laughing out loud hysterically

LOLO
Lots of love

LQTM
Laughing quietly to myself

LSHMBH
Laugh so hard my belly hurts

LTNS
Long time no see

LTS
Laughing to self

LWOS
Laughing without smiling

LY
Love ya

LYLAS
Love you like a sis

M

M8
Mate

MEGO
My eyes glaze over

MFI
Mad for it

MIRL
Meet in real life

MMK
Meaning okay? (as a question)

MNC
Mother nature calls

MorF
Male or female?

MOOS
Member of the opposite sex

MOS
Mother over shoulder

MSG
Message

MTF
More to follow

MTFBWU
May the force be with you

MUAH
Multiple unsuccessful attempts (at/to) humor

MUSM
Miss you so much

MYOB
Mind your own business

N

n00b
Newbie

N1
Nice one

NADT
Not a darn thing

NALOPKT
Not a lot of people know that

NBD
No big deal

NBFAB
No bad for a beginner (online gaming)

NC
Nice crib (online gaming)

NE
Any

NE1
Anyone

NFM
None for me / Not for me

NH
Nice hand (online gaming)

NIFOC
Naked in front of computer

NIMBY
Not in my back yard

NLT
No later than

NM
Nothing much / Never mind

NMH
Not much here

NMU
Not much, you?

NO1
No one

NOOB
Meaning someone who is bad at (online) games

NOYB
None of your business

NP
No problem

NR
Nice roll (online gaming)

NRN
No response/reply necessary

NT
Nice try

NVM
Never mind

NW
No way

NWO
No way out

O

O
Opponent (online gaming)

OIC
Oh, I see

OL
Old lady

OM
Old man

OMG
Oh my God

OMGYG2BK
Oh my God, you got to be kidding

OMW
On my way

OO
Over and out

OOH
Out of here

OOTD
One of these days

OOTO
Out of the office

OP
On phone

ORLY
Oh really?

OTB
Off to bed

OTFL
On the floor laughing

OTL
Out to lunch

OTOH
On the other hand

OTT
Over the top

OTTOMH
Off the top of my head

OTW
Off to work

OVA
Over

P

P
Partner (online gaming)

P911
Parents coming into room alert

PAW
Parents are watching

PCM
Please call me

PDH
Pretty darn happy

PDS
Please don't shoot

PDQ
Pretty darn quick

PITA
Pain in the a**

PLMK
Please let me know

PLS
Please

PLU
People like us

PLZ
Please

PM
Private Message

PMFI
Pardon me for interrupting

PMFJI
Pardon me for jumping in

PMSL
Pee myself laughing

POAHF
Put on a happy face

POS
Parent over shoulder

PPL
People

PROLLY
Probably

PRON
Meaning pornography

PRT
Party

PRW
People/parents are watching

PTL
Praise the Lord

PTMM
Please tell me more

PXT
Please explain that

PU
That stinks!

PZ
Peace

Q

Q
Queue

QIK
Quick

QSL
Reply

QSO
Conversation

QT
Cutie

R

RL
Real life

RLY
Really

RME
Rolling my eyes

ROFL
Rolling on floor laughing

ROFLMAO
Rolling on the floor, laughing my a** off

ROTFL
Rolling on the floor laughing

ROTFLUTS
Rolling on the floor laughing unable to speak

RSN
Real soon now

RTFM
Read the freaking manual

RUOK
Are you okay?

S

S2R
Send to receive (meaning send me your picture to get mine)

SAL
Such a laugh

SC
Stay cool

SETE
Smiling Ear-to-Ear

SH
Same here

SHID
Slapping head in disgust

SICNR
Sorry, I could not resist

SIG2R
Sorry, I got to run

SIS
Snickering in silence

SIT
Stay in touch

SLAP
Sounds like a plan

SMHID
Scratching my head in disbelief

SNAFU
Situation normal all fouled up

SNERT
Snot nosed egotistical rude teenager

SO
Significant other

SOL
Sooner or later

SOMY
Sick of me yet?

SorG
Straight or Gay?

SOT
Short of time

SOTMG
Short of time, must go

SOWN
Someone with me

SPK
Speak

SRSLY
Seriously

SPST
Same place, same time

SRY
Sorry

SS
So sorry

SSDD
Same stuff, different day

SSIF
So stupid it's funny

SSINF
So stupid it's not funny

STR8
Straight

STW
Search the Web

SUITM
See you in the morning

SUL
See you later

SUP
What's up?

SWAK
Sent (or sealed) with a kiss

SWAT
Scientific wild a** guess

SWL
Screaming with laughter

SWMBO
She who must be obeyed. Meaning wife or partner

SYL
See you later

SYS
See you soon

T

T+
Think positive

TA
Thanks a lot

TAFN
That's all for now

TAM
Tomorrow a.m.

TAU
Thinking about u (you)

TBC
To be continued

TBD
To be determined

TBH
To be honest

TC
Take care

TCB
Take care of business

TCOY
Take care of yourself

TDTM
Talk dirty to me

TGIF
Thank God it's Friday

THX
Thanks

THNX
Thanks

THNQ
Thank-you

TIA
Thanks in advance

TIAD
Tomorrow is another day

TIC
Tongue-in-cheek

TILIS
Tell it like it is

TLK2UL8R
Talk to you later

TMB
Text me back

TMI
Too much information

TMOT
Trust me on this

TMWFI
Take my word for it

TNSTAAFL
There's no such thing as a free lunch

TNT
Til next time

TOJ
Tears of joy

TOY
Thinking of you

TPM
Tomorrow p.m.

TPTB
The powers that be

TSNF
That's so not fair

TSTB
The sooner, the better

TTFN
Ta ta for now

TTTT
These things take time

TTYAFN
Talk to you awhile from now

TTYL
Talk to you later

TTYS
Talk to you soon

TU
Thank you

TY
Thank you

TYT
Take your time

TYVM
Thank you very much

U

^URS
Up yours

UCMU
You crack me up

UFN
Until further notice

UGTBK
You've got to be kidding

UKTR
You know that's right

UL
Upload

UR
Your / You're

URH
You are hot (U R Hot)

URTM
You are the man

UV
Unpleasant visual

UW
You're welcome

V

VEG
Very evil grin

VFF
Very freaking funny

VFM
Value for money

VGC
Very good condition

VIP
Very important person

VM
Voice mail

VN
Very nice

VNH
Very nice hand (online gaming)

VRY
Very

VSF
Very sad face

VWD
Very well done (online gaming)

W

W/
With

WAM
Wait a minute

WAN2TLK
Want to talk

WAREZ
meaning pirated (illegally gained) software

WAS
Wild a** guess

WAYF
Where are you from?

W/B
Write back

WB
Welcome back

WBS
Write back soon

WC
Who cares

WCA
Who cares anyway

W/E
Whatever

W/END
Weekend

WE
Whatever

WH5
Who, what, when, where, why

WIBNI
Wouldn't it be nice if

WDALYIC
Who died and left you in charge

WDYK
What do you know?

WDYT
What do you think?

WIIFM
What's in it for me?

WISP
Winning is so pleasurable

WITW
What in the world

WIU
Wrap it up

WK
Week

WKD
Weekend

WRT
With regard to

W/O
Without

WOMBAT
Waste of money, brains and time

WRK
Work

WRUD
What are you doing?

WTB
Wanted to buy

WTF
What the **** ?

WTG
Way to go

WTGP
Want to go private (talk out of public chat area)

WTH
What the heck?

WTM
Who's the man?

WU?
What's up?

WUCIWUG
What you see is what you get

WUF?
Where are you from?

WWJD
What would Jesus do?

WWYC
Write when you can

WYD
What (are) you doing?

WYGAM
When you get a minute

WYHAM
When you have a minute

WYLEI
When you least expect it

WYSIWYG
What you see is what you get

X

X
Kiss

XD
Meaning "really hard laugh" (where D is a smiley mouth)

XOXOXO
Hugs & Kisses

XLNT
Excellent

Y

YA
Your

YBIC
Your brother in Christ

YBS
You'll be sorry

YCMU
You crack me up

YF
Wife

YG
Young gentleman

YGTBKM
You've got to be kidding me

YGG
You go girl

YIU
Yes, I understand

YKWYCD
You know what you can do

YL
Young lady

YMMV
Your mileage may vary

YR
Your

YR
Yeah right

YRYOCC
You're running your own cuckoo clock

YSIC
Your sister in Christ

YSYD
Yeah sure you do

YT
You there?

YTG
You're the greatest

YW
You're welcome

YWHNB
Yes, we have no bananas

Z

ZOT
Zero tolerance

ZUP
Meaning "What's up?"

ZZZZ
Sleeping (or bored)


Smiley Faces -  Showing Emotions In Text Chat

A 'smiley face', frequently called a smiley or emoticon, is utilized in textual conversations to communicate an emotion within a text message. Showing emotions within text messages helps the receiver to accurately translate the intention and meaning of the message you've sent them.

To create a smiley face you use your standard keyboard characters and punctuation marks in sequences that look like facial expressions might. When viewing text smiley faces, they are all sideways. Here are some basics to get you started in understanding what the faces are:

The close bracket represents a sideways smile   )
Add in the colon and you have sideways eyes :
Put them together to make a smiley face :)
Use the dash - to add a nose :-)
Change the colon to a semi-colon ; and you have a winking face ;) with a nose ;-)
Put a zero 0 (halo) on top and now you have a winking, smiling angel 0;) with a nose 0;-)
Use the letter 8 in place of the colon for sunglasses  8-)

Some chat and instant message programs will automatically translate text smiley faces into graphical emoticons. In AOL Instant messenger (AIM), for example, if you type out the characters to make a "happy face" followed by "sad face" followed by "cool sunglasses"  you would enter the following characters:

:)   :(   8-)

Once you've entered the text however, AIM converts the smiley text to graphics, if it can recognize the smiley pattern, and what you see on the screen in your AIM window will look like this:


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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

Livescribe Pulse Smart Pen LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen is a new device that lets you store audio with your notes as you write and play them back later by simply clicking a link on your note paper.

It makes recording business meetings, lectures, speeches or any other audio a real breeze. It lets you associate audio with your notes as you write on special dotted paper, and stores those notes inside it electronically. Other devices currently on the market, only capture data onto your PC but the Pulse is the first to link intelligent audio capability with data entry giving you an efficient way to save and replay your notes while you're on the go.

This opens up new possibilities for tools that enhance personal productivity, learning, communications, and entertainment and could possibly launch a new era in mobile computing.

Continued...

Somewhat bigger than a Montblanc style pen, Livescribe’s smartpen was developed to substitute the common, workaday pen as a computer user’s main writing tool. Employing new breakthroughs in memory, storage, microprocessors, connectivity and component size, the smartpen is an innovative, advanced paper-based computing device, with both audio and visual feedback, hefty processing capabilities and substantial built-in storage of up to 2 GB.

The "mobile-computing platform", as described by LiveScribe founder Jim Marggraff, consists of:

  • the Smartpen, a fountain-pen-sized computer with audio/visual feedback and memory for handwriting capture, audio recording and applications
  • paper with Dot Positioning System technology that creates interactive documents using plain paper printed with microdots
  • software applications, including audio/ink capture, handwriting recognition and Internet connectivity
  • and tools for consumers and developers to create, publish and share new applications and content online

Basically, how Pulse works is this:

While taking notes during a discussion or lecture, the smartpen records the conversation and digitizes the handwriting, automatically synching the ink and audio. By later tapping the ink, the smartpen replays the conversation from the exact moment the note was written. This makes it easy to find an exact quotation without having the bother of scanning the audio of a lengthy discourse using traditional means. Shortening the time it takes to find these audio tracks is bound to save a lot of time for many people who report and write for a living.

This makes it an ideal tool for students, lawyers, doctors, journalists, bloggers and no doubt plenty of other professionals who need a more natural way to transcribe, record and find information quickly while on the go.

From a practical point of view, the only thing that concerns me about this great new techno toy is the cost of the special paper and ink used by the pen. The pen itself is inexpensive with 1 GB and 2 GB models going for $149 and $199 respectively but the last thing I want to do is get bogged down with pricey consumables. I didn't see any pricing regarding that on their website, so I can't report on it just yet but have you checked out the price of ink cartridges for printers lately? Anyway, before you decide to try this new toy out, be sure to check out those prices so you don't get roped into expenses you didn't count on.

Regarding the paper itself, I would have liked to have seen some form of writing tablet accessory that would replace the paper in some cases. This would eliminate some additional expense and save a few trees in the process. Perhaps, the company will take that into consideration in the future.

One last note for any developers out there, the LiveScribe has an SDK and CDK that will be released by mid 2008, so if you're interested in possibly doing some development for this new platform, check out their website and sign up for the developer program.

Here is a YouTube video courtesy of CNET that shows Jim Marggraff, the founder of LiveScribe, demonstrating the use of the LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen.

 

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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

YouTube Mobile

YouTube Mobile

YouTube Mobile first debuted in November of 2006 as a deal to deliver a handful of video clips through the VCast service of Verizon Wireless. Last year it created a mobile Web site accessible on many Sprint and AT&T phones that only carried a tiny sliver of YouTube content. And it has another subset on the iPhone. That short-coming has recently been corrected with their new mobile website for cellphone users that want to view YouTube videos on the go. And it doesn't matter which carrier you use. Any carrier with a data plan will suffice.

The company has just unveiled a new mobile service at m.youtube.com that will carry MOST of YouTube’s catalog which includes tens of millions of videos. The site will also have the personalization and community features that it lacked previously, so that users will be able to log in and subscribe to certain channels or have easy access to their favourite videos. And you’ll be able to upload videos directly from your mobile device.

“The mobile experience will be much closer to the Web experience,” said Hunter Walk, a YouTube product manager.

Continued...

This is an interesting and exciting way to use YouTube since you can see, shoot and share your videos on the fly making it a speedy way to report the action happening right in front of you. Bloggers and journalists should find this feature especially handy. Look for this feature of YouTube to become the new way to report and view the news. Once cellphone data services drop in price, that is. And then there's those tiny screens but you can always add the video to your favorites and then view it later on your PC or laptop.

But before you get too excited, don't forget to upgrade your cellphone plan to an unlimited data plan. You want to avoid the whopping charges for downloading videos that you';re sure to incur when watching a lot of videos online with a regular plan.

Watching videos on mobile phones remains a niche activity at the moment. YouTube said its mobile site will be accessible from devices that are capable of streaming video and that run on 3G networks. According to the company, globally that’s about 100 million devices, a small fraction of the more than 3 billion cell phones in use around the world. What’s more, many of those devices, especially overseas, run on limited data plans, so watching videos can prove expensive, as YouTube notes on its mobile Web site: “YouTube Mobile is a data intensive application. We highly recommend that you upgrade to an unlimited data plan with your mobile service provider to avoid additional charges.”

There are 2 ways to watch videos. One is web based and the other is software based. In order to use the software you need to own a Nokia N73, N95, E65, 6110, 6120 or Sony Ericsson k800 and w880. If you use the web based version you will need to be able to have a 3gp player installed which shouldn't be an issue for most mobile phones.

For now, the new site will be free of all ads. Mr. Walk said the new site is intended to get existing users of YouTube mobile to spend more time on the site and to increase the YouTube mobile audience. “We want more and more people try mobile video for the first time,” he said.


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Sunday, January 27, 2008

Free Internet TV - Miro

Free

Free Internet TV using Miro is as easy as using your TiVo. Miro makes it a simple matter for you to boot up your laptop or PC and watch a 10-20 minute video about something amazing while having a bite of breakfast.

I've been using Miro for several weeks now and frankly I'm not sure how I got along without it. It's become THE answer for me when it comes to finding, saving, sharing, organizing and viewing online video content. It's a welcome addition to my software toolkit and the fact that it's free and open source just sweetens the pot.

Continued...

Miro was formerly known as "Democracy Player". I didn't know about it then, but I guess the concept was and still is to provide free Internet TV and video for everyone. That's a noble concept and one I support. We don't need another Time-Warner media giant controlling what we see and raking in billions from advertisers. Commercial television is for the birds and everything now is "Pay this" and "Pay that". This is TV without advertising.  Well, almost anyway. Video makers sometimes put a watermark or an ad clip at the beginning or end of their presentations. But there's none of the annoying "We'll find out after this commercial" stuff you see on game shows like  Deal or No Deal.

A lot of the content is just individuals and small companies looking for an audience but there are some big guys as well. National Geographic, Wired Magazine, Reuters and lots of others. There's over 2500 channels and you can make your own channels from YouTube searches and RSS feeds. There's almost unlimited free video content to be enjoyed by just about everyone.

The YouTube search feature is what I like the best. I just search on a topic like "Polar Bears" and presto I'm presented with loads of polar bear videos. If I want to make this search into a channel, I just right-click and turn it into the "Polar Bear Channel". Then whenever I start-up the program, Miro will automatically search for new Polar bear videos and give me the option to play them or not. Nothing could be simpler or more efficient.

Other features include:

  • full torrent support, so you can download and view torrents in the same app
  • folder watching to manage only the hard-drive folders you specify for new videos
  • resumable playback so you can continue viewing where you left off
  • channel surfing, which organizes video feeds by topic
  • video sharing and hosting
  • and assistance in creating and publishing your own videos

The player incorporates VLC, which is the open video player that can play pretty much every file-format available on the net today.

The only thing lacking in Miro is the support of more commercial TV networks. That's only natural though, since there's really no money in it for the big concerns. Miro doesn't really replace commercial television but I can tell you that I have enjoyed just about everything I've watched so far. And as far as learning is concerned, Miro takes the prize hands down. I've learned more about my areas of special interest in a couple of weeks using Miro than I have in a couple of years of TV viewing. And it's stuff I can use in a lot of cases. If there's a student in your family, this is a no-brainer.

It's available for the Mac, Windows and Linux, with all versions being released at the same time. You can download it here. You'll need a beefy processor for video playback and large hard drive to store the videos you want to save. I use an external drive myself and I recommend that you use one too.

Miro makes Internet TV and video less frustrating and more enjoyable because it gives you a way to quickly and easily mine the vast video resources available on the Internet. If you're looking for an alternative to commercial and pay TV that gives you more viewing options for free, I highly recommend you download it and try it out for yourself.


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