Today Google announced Public DNS. The aim is to speed up your connection speeds and security. Lifehacker reported on it earlier today. The idea is to replace the DNS server your router uses (typically provided by default from your ISP) with a “Google Public DNS.” I decided to put their speed tests to work. Read on to see my results. Read more…
Many people don’t realize that as a Star Alliance Gold flier, they are entitled to certain Star Alliance lounges with their elite membership card. I’m a United 1K and Red Carpet Club member, but even if I had no RCC membership (heck I could even be Premier Executive!), I would still be entitled to Star Alliance lounge access. This is really useful in some places, and not in others. One place that it’s GREAT is in Detroit’s airport. All of the United gates are jammed in the far left corner of the terminal, but that happens to be where the Lufthansa Lounge is. By just showing your Star Alliance Gold card, you will be allowed access to the lounge. The only caveat is that the Lufthansa lounge is only open if there is a Lufthansa flight within a few hours of your being there. Otherwise, it’s closed. But when open, the food is GREAT! You could easily have an entire lunch there, and in fact, I have many times. Free booze as well! The pic above shows an example of the spread there. They actually have two full rooms with excellent seating, little to no crowd, and great amenities. So if you find yourself in DTW, do yourself a favor and swing by the lounge for some free treats!
I have always been intrigued with getting some sort of networked music playing system in my house. Sonos looked great, but it was always too pricey. I really liked the open source DIY nature of Squeezebox Players and Squeezebox Server, but I figured that building a server in addition to buying all of the players would be too pricey. The Logitech Squeezebox Radio was recently announced, however, and I REALLY wanted it. So… I ordered it. 
. I am on a mission to build a Squeezebox Server for $100 or less. I’m going to be doing a few posts about the parts I chose, how I’m configuring everything, and whether or not I’m successful or not. I think there’s a chance I may have to buy more expensive hardware, but I’m doing my best to get this done for less than $100! Read on to see my parts list and how I’m thinking i can configure this thing up…
So I’m currently staying at the Courtyard by Marriott Billerica/Bedford about 20 miles north of Boston. After finishing my delicious meal at The Loft, I returned to the hotel and found a stack of fliers and a poster advertising that the hotel was now hosting birthday parties. HOW FUN! Chuck E Cheese’s, broomball establishments , and the local family fun centers better watch out! J.W. Marriott is going to come and throw the biggest and baddest kids’ parties of them all. I mean after all… the poster DID advertise great things like a 32″ television… Anyhow, I just thought it to be pretty hilarious that someone would actually pay the Courtyard by Marriott over $20/head to host a birthday party with no entertainment other than a large room and a not so large television. Click the image below to see the flier I grabbed.
Thanks to Tech Report for the update. DigiTimes reports that Intel is gearing up to release up to seven Arrandale CPUs in the first quarter of 2010. The great news is that these chips are coming – the bad news is that they’re not coming until 1Q10. Initially, there were rumors that these CPUs would squeak into 2009. Apple is expected to use these chips in their MacBook & MacBook Pro line.
These chips are based on Intel’s newer, smaller 34nm build process. Currently, Intel’s Penryn Core 2 Duo chips use a 45nm build process. The smaller process should yield lower power usage and less heat output. Furthermore, these chips have integrated graphics processors. It will be interesting to see what Apple does with the integrated graphics chip, given the interesting legal battles between Intel and nVidia. Theses future-MacBook CPUs will be launced at 2.4, 2.53, and 2.66ghz. I’m holding off upgrading my MacBook Pro until I can get one with these CPUs.
While driving around the bay area recently, I’ve seen a couple interesting license plates that I thought I’d post here. Up first is one I saw on the Embarcadero on my way downtown… And man that iPhone camera did a great job of snapping up the action shot!
Is this the Rolando creator's car?
For those of you not familiar with Rolando, I definitely suggest you check it out. They just released the Sequel, Rolando 2. My first impressions are positive, but I haven’t had the time to beat it yet. Moving along, I saw this license plate driving on 880 just south of the Oakland airport a couple months ago. Could this be Will Wright?? Or does someone else just have great taste in vanity plates?
Will, are you in there? Can you pass me some simoleans?
So, have I spotted two tech celebs? If anyone knows, I’d love to hear in the comments!
Look... Closer...
Earlier today I was riding the MBTA Commuter Rail today from Framingham into Boston, getting some work done, checking out tethering on my new iPhone 3GS. I was toiling away diligently, only to be distracted by large man who sat in front of me. I noticed he had quite a large FUPA. However, the situation became slightly more interesting to me when I noticed that because he was wearing sweatpants, his FUPA gave way to some indecent exposure! I decided to check out the new iPhone camera and secretly snap a pick.
As you can see from the closer look, he’s showing me a bit more than I wanted to see! It’s a shame the iPhone camera isn’t slightly better. If you still don’t know what i’m talking about, here’s a hint.
There were a lot of great games announced this past year’s E3, but one of the games I was most excited about really didn’t get that much press. That game is Modnation Racers for the PS3. To get an idea about this game, picture the cute characters and addicting gameplay of Mario Kart. Then cross that with the complete customizability of LittleBigPlanet. You get Modnation Racers. They showed a demo (video after the break), and the track creator really looks amazing. You get a blank slate of land resembling the start of a sim city. Then you adjust the terrain, water levels, etc. Then you use the track tool to make whatever kind of wacky track you want. Afterwards, you customize it with scenery. It looked INCREDIBLY deep, and I was very impressed. You can also customize your characters. There will be a large social networking component to the game so we can all share tracks with each other. As far as gameplay, it really reminds me of old Mario Kart. The newer versions of Mario Kart have a cheapened feel so that anyone can play, but the real challenge is gone. Plus, I HATE how if you’re in last place, they make your kart go much faster, just to even out the game. Modnation Racers really looks like one to watch.
Does the internet feel different this morning? Apparently it should. Today Opera took the wraps off its newest web browser, Opera Unite. For those not familiar with Opera, it is a web browser that has recently made its name with the increase in popularity of Opera Mobile / Mini. Opera is also the engine powering the Nintendo Wii and DSi web browsers. While their client software for mobile devices and game consoles has gained popularity, their desktop browser seems to have fallen off the map a bit. Apple’s Safari is fast as ever, Firefox continues to get better, and even IE isn’t half bad anymore. Throw Google Chrome into the mix, and the browser market may be too crowded for Opera. Click on to find out!
Well lookie lookie here. That’s the first dual core Atom 330 based netbook I’ve seen yet. Thanks to Overclockers.com for the heads up. Netbooks have become quite popular, and my personal favorite is the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. Ubuntu Netbook Remix makes a great fit for it, but if I had one complaint about the netbook, it would be that it bogs down during multitasking. It’s a great music player, video viewer, web browser, word processor, etc. Try to do three of those at once and you have a problem. That’s where the Atom 330 should help out. Packing twice as many cores as the N270 / N280, these should really help to blur the line between netbook and notebook. Initial thoughts are that this thing is speedy! Judging from the language on the link, I doubt this netbook will come stateside any time soon, but keep your eyes open for a mainstream computer maker to produce one of these in the near future.
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