One of my favourite films of all time, 1984's The Terminator, is being added tot the U.S. National Film Archive:
WASHINGTON -- One of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most famous one-liners will be back for generations to come, now that 1984's "The Terminator" has been selected for preservation in the nation's film archive.
The low-budget film directed by James Cameron set a new standard for science-fiction and made Schwarzenegger, now California's governor, a star. The Library of Congress announced Tuesday morning that it's one of 25 films being added to the National Film Registry. The formal unveiling was scheduled for 8 a.m.
The move will guard Schwarzenegger's deadpan, "I'll be back," against deterioration, along with the sounds and images of the other culturally significant picks. Other titles being added to the registry include the groundbreaking all-black-cast film "Hallelujah" from 1929; Richard Brooks' 1967 film adaptation of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood"; and the 1972 film "Deliverance," based on James Dickey's novel about four businessmen on a nightmarish canoe trip in the remote Georgia wildnerness.
Since leaving daily journalism this fall, I've been working on an exciting project - helping build a new website for the University of New Brunswick.
UNB was among the first universities in Canada to launch a website for the public in the early 1990s. Since then, the site has grown to over 200,000 pages. While the site grew, technology also changed at a rapid pace, creating two major challenges for UNB.ca: keeping content accurate and fresh while also making the site look good.
In order to tackle this massive project, UNB adopted a phased approach, tackling development in careful, planned stages. The new site, available at www.unb.ca, creates a host of new opportunities for the university to tell its stories to prospective students as well as the broader public.
A learning experience
I’ve really enjoyed the transition from daily journalism to this web project. As a web content developer, I still get to tell great stories - thanks to a prominent feature on the homepage for displaying articles that highlight how UNB has an impact locally, provincially, nationally and internationally and articles that highlight amazing students and alumni.
The future of communications
If social networking has shown us anything about the web, it’s that relationship building is one of the most powerful advancements for the Internet so far. Social networking has become an entrenched part of the modern Internet not because it’s the latest and greatest thing, but because it helps meet one of the most fundamental human needs - the need to connect with others.
For me, websites aren’t just about static content. They’re not Internet versions of television ads or print publications. They’re a new kind of dialogue.
And like all conversations, they have to engaging, interesting and dynamic. To me, that’s the greatest success of this first phase of UNB.ca - it’s move towards dynamic, engaging content.
For everyone out there who still has the sense of humour of a teenager:
(Via MacDailyNews.com):
Thousands cried out for its availability in the app store. Petitions were formed. Candles were lit. And now, Apple has returned Pull My Finger to the App Store!
Throughout the annuls of time, man (and woman, but mostly man) has used this noisome pestilence to cause laughter, shock, and awe to those in their immediate surroundings. Advances in technology brought new ways to deliver the package. The hand under the armpit was good, but the invention of rubber brought the whoopee cushion, and new heights were reached. Then came the electronic version, and the whoopee cushion was no more. However, we asked ourselves over and over, why must I always carry a phone, iPod, AND electric fart machine? Can’t something be done to converge these oft carried items?
Today, friend, innovation has struck again. Now you can have your choice of sounds with you always, waiting and ready for when the perfect moment arrives. Tap a character’s finger, and it plays a unique sound. Some people say this is no big whoopee, but we think it’s a work o fart.
Having been brought up Jewish, my wife and and I never had the opportunity to actually decorate our homes with holiday lights. That being said, we appreciate a nice display, and have come to think of ourselves as connoisseurs and critics of the very best (and worst) in holiday light entertainment. Over the years, we’ve developed a set of guidelines for holiday lights. This year, we decided to codify them and to distribute citations (click to download PDF file, if you’d like to issue them too!) to local residences for exceptionally good (and exceptionally bad) light displays.
For as long as he can remember, Le Trung has been obsessed with robots.
"When I was a kid, we watched a lot of anime robots," the 33-year-old told CTV.ca in a phone interview from his parents' home in Brampton, Ont.
"Gundam, when I was a kid...or Volton, Macross, whatever," Trung said, rhyming off the popular Japanese anime shows that fuelled his dream to build a robot of his own.
"Your head starts thinking: 'Robot, robot.' And I had to build one."
...
Aiko is a 32-kilogram female android that Trung began building in August of last year.
She is just under five feet tall, has brown eyes that can distinguish 300 faces per second and speaks 13,000 English and Japanese phrases.
Her skin is made of silicone and her insides are made of an expensive collection of wires, motors and various sensors.
I don't know what his head his thinking but mine is thinking this is a bad idea.
SAN FRANCISCO — MySpace is teaming up with Internet search leader Google Inc. in a campaign to extend MySpace's reach and counter the expansion of their common rival Facebook Inc.
The alliance, unveiled late Monday in Paris, builds upon MySpace's seven-month-old effort to make it easier for its 127 million worldwide users to connect with their social circles while they're at other Internet destinations.
MySpace is trying to pull it off by making its login system, called “MySpaceID,” compatible with any website that wants to embrace it.
Will it work? I don't know. What I do know is that social networking will be for the next 10 years what search was for the last - the main technology play online with the best revenue stream (advertising).
While the iPhone is the king of the hill when it comes to consumer-level smartphones, there may be a new leader when it comes to the geek crowd: Google's Android G1.
Good news if you're a developer itching to get your creative developer hands on a T-Mobile G1--and especially good news if you happen to be a developer who lives outside an area covered by T-Mobile. Google has announced a SIM- and hardware-unlocked version of the first Android smartphone.
To get an Android Dev Phone 1, you'll first need to register as an Android developer on the Android Market site, which entails a one-time setup fee of $25. Then the device will cost you $399 (free shipping here in the States). To accommodate demand, Google says it's one device per developer account--for now.
The device will be available for purchase in 18 international markets, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan, India, Canada, France, Taiwan, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and Hungary. And more territories are on the way, Google says.
Apple Inc.’s latest MacBook packs a whole lot of computing power in a sleek new package.
The most obvious change for Apple’s popular laptops is in the looks department. The once white plastic-clad laptops are sleeker, thinner, lighter and tougher than their predecessors.
Crafted out of a single block of aluminum, the new MacBooks look and feel like their more expensive and larger cousins, the MacBook Pros, which also received a new design this fall.
While Apple has built a reputation for creating must-have gadgets, the Cupertino, California-based company has outdone itself with its latest consumer-level computer. Overall, the new MacBooks feel more pleasant to hold and comfortable to touch.
But the new design is about more than good looks – the new construction technique used to manufacture MacBooks has led to a case that’s exceptionally strong and light. As well, the bottom of the new MacBook rarely gets hot, even under the most demanding circumstances such as playing a 3D game or doing video editing.
Aside from the new case, the MacBook’s other most noticeable feature is its LED display screen, which is thinner and brighter than the LCD’s found in the earlier models. The new LED screens on the MacBook’s are also glossy, which can make the screen look crisper but can be annoying in bright, sunlit rooms or outdoors. For those who don’t like glossy screens, a simple off-the-shelf matte screen cover can fix that issue.
Another important new feature of the new MacBooks is the large, multi-touch trackpad. The trackpad on the MacBooks allows users to do finger swipes that can active useful features within Mac OS X Leopard such as its window-switching program, Exposé. The trackpad also doesn’t have a traditional button. Instead, the whole glass pad can be physically pushed.
A nice feature of the new trackpad is the ability to use the bottom right corner as a right click, cutting out the new for Mac users to do cumbersome key combinations along with clicks to access alternate menu functions.
The keyboard on the new MacBooks is similar to the black one introduced with the MacBook Air and a noticeable improvement over the previous generation. The keys are responsive and pleasant to use. The MacBook line also has a backlit keyboard on the more expensive 2.4 GHz model.
One of the most significant enhancements to the MacBook line is the introduction of Nvidia’s latest mobile graphics chip – the 9400. The new graphics chip in the MacBook is a significant improvement from Intel chipset used in previous models. Unlike the Intel video chipset, the Nvidia 9400 has its own dedicated graphic processing unit. Like the Intel chipset, the Nvidia 9400 still uses system RAM. Nonetheless, the 9400 offers up to five times the speed of the Intel integrated graphics chip.
The MacBook performed adequately in a series of gaming tests ranging from a trial run of World of Warcraft in Mac OS X to a test of Battlefield 2 in Windows XP, which was installed through Apple’s handy Bootcamp utility.
The new MacBooks also boast faster DDR3 ram and are available with either a 2.0 GHz or 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor.
Upgrading the MacBook laptops is easier than ever thanks to some helpful design improvements. Both the hard drive and RAM on the MacBook are relatively easy for users to remove and replace, which can help maximize its lifespan.
For those concerned about the environment and their health, the MacBook is one of the most progressive laptops on the market. Its aluminum shell is full recyclable and the move away from LCD technology to LED has helped Apple reduce the use of harmful chemicals in its laptops.
For those who’ve invested heavily in FireWire-based peripherals such as external hard drives or camcorders, the elimination of a FireWire port on the new aluminium MacBooks may be a deal breaker. Those who still want or need a FireWire port can buy the cheaper white MacBook, which still has the previous generation’s plastic case or they can shell out a few hundred dollars more for the MacBook Pro.
Overall the new MacBooks represent one of the best computing options on the market for students, educators and even business professionals. They’re light and durable and pack a great deal of value for their price. They also are the only computers that can run both Mac OS X and Windows either side by side via virtualization software or as boot options at start-up.
Mac OS X itself is arguably the most compelling reason to buy an Apple computer due it’s stability, security and ease of use. Apple’s iLife suite of apps, ranging from iPhoto to iMovie and Garageband, are perfect for creating and organizing digital media.
The new aluminum MacBooks are priced between $1,349 and $1,649 with Apple’s education discount ($1,399 and $1,749 regular retail). You can learn more at www.apple.com/macbook.
