Launching rajasaads.blogspot.com

Pengumuman,...
Saya informasikan bahwa ada blog bagus yaitu rajasaads . Coba dech buka....
Sebenernya blognya udah agak lama di buatnya, cuma baru di kasih tau aja...
Kunjungi blog saya itu ya....
Tunggu blog saya berikutnya.

Launching rajasaads.blogspot.com

Demo Buruh 1Mei

Berhubung tanggal 1 Mei jatuh pada hari libur, "katanya : demo buruh di pajuin tanggalnya jadi tgl 30 April". Wah repot ya,.... Sebenernya demo boleh2 aja, tapi mesti inget beberapa hal, misal : jaga ketertiban, jaga aset,.... Jangan sampe ngerusak aset di perusahaan. bisa repot nantinya.
Gak banyak sich harapan dari demo, "memperoleh penghasilan yang lebih baik" betul ga??? (jwb sndiri ya).

Demo Buruh 1Mei

Belajar SAP

Sudah 3 bulan ini saya belajar SAP di Perusahaan yang ada di bandung, banyak banget yang saya peroleh dari pembelajaran ini. Memang, perlu waktu yang cukup lama untuk mahir dan lebih mengerti mengenai bisnis proses dari R/3 SAP. Saya konsentrasi belajar SAP R/3 di Modul PM (Plant Maintenance).

Belajar SAP

aroel_tsm mulai update blog

Pusing juga ya untuk update blog. Meski sulit, tapi itu semua mengasikkan ko. hari ini saya sudah menambahkan beberapa conten, misalnya : pelacak IP address, Head line & comment feed. Semua saya pelajari dari blog "kang rohman". Thanks ya kang rohman, ilmu yang kau pasang sangat berguna, tentu bukan cuma saya yang merasakannya.

aroel_tsm mulai update blog

aroel_tsm Mengucapkan Selamat Datang

Selamat Datang di blog saya, udah lama saya ingin buat blog sendiri. Akhirnya pada hari ini dan detik ini impian saya sudah tercapai. Saya buat blog ini bukan berarti saya pintar dalam membuat blog, tapi saya hanya berusaha untuk memulai dari awal dengan belajar dan terus belajar.

Begitu banyak blog yang ratingnya sangat bagus seperti "blog kang rohman", saya akan banyak belajar dari blog kang rohman. Sekali lagi, tidak ada waktu yang terlambat untuk sebuah awal yang baik.


Untuk info yang mendukung saya, saya bisa menerimanya. kirim email ke nurul_nur_rachman@yahoo.co.id

aroel_tsm Mengucapkan Selamat Datang

casio futurist lcd watch is retro fabulous

I just love the design of this new LCD watch from Casio. Combining the simplistic styling of the earliest digital watches from the 1970s, paired with decidedly modern innards, the Futurist LA-2002G is definitely one to put on your wish list if you like a little flash on your wrist.
Not only does the Futurist look great, it’s quite functional, offering 29 time zones around the globe, a 1/100th-second stop watch and countdown timer. The watch offers up to five independent daily alarms, and day/date display.



It’s all housed in a matte gold finish stainless steel case with a textured body and articulated metal band. While Casio lists the watch as a women’s design, I’d say it looks pretty unisex from the photos.
ntil recently, the Futurist was available only in Japan, but watch importer TokyoFlash is now taking pre-orders for the watch for approximately $149 USD.

casio futurist lcd watch is retro fabulous

Windows XP going off market in June: What it means

Microsoft originally announced over a year ago that Windows XP would be going off the market in January 2008. XP was later given a brief stay of execution, to June 30, 2008. That deadline is fast approaching, which has led to much panicking from people who aren't quite sure what XP's "going off market" means, exactly.

People are still as confused as ever. So let's take a stab at clarifying, once again, what's going to happen by answering some frequently asked questions about XP's imminent disappearance.

Will Windows XP really no longer be on sale after June 30? Sorry for the double negative, but no. All this means is that Microsoft will stop selling the OS. Finding a computer with XP preinstalled will likely be very difficult, as well. However, you'll still be able to find copies for the foreseeable future, and likely the unforeseeable one, too. See for yourself: You can find copies of just about any Microsoft product, including ancient versions of Windows and even MS-DOS, by simply searching online. But hang on to your current copy of Windows XP. You may need it down the road if you don't want to move to Vista.



Will I be forced to upgrade to Vista soon? No. But it will get harder and harder not to, especially since new software and peripherals are likely to stop working with XP. That could take years.

Will my XP machine stop working in June? No, but Microsoft will stop releasing non-security software updates to the masses on April 14, 2009. But let's be clear: XP will continue to "work" even after this point.

Will Microsoft shut off product activation for XP after June? No, that would be crazy. While no one has said this will happen, it's conceivable that Windows could shut down product activation for XP at some point. But that would only happen after XP reaches its end-of-support term (when all support plans expire). The good news for you: That happens on April 8, 2014, which should be plenty of time to get the kinks worked out of Vista-or switch to a Mac, Linux, or anything else. Bottom line: Your copy of XP will work, totally legally, for at least six more years.

What about this exception for Windows XP Home Edition I hear about? Doesn't apply to you. Microsoft will continue to sell XP to makers of ultra-cheap laptops like the Asus Eee PC until 2010 because they just can't run Vista. But it is not going to make XP Home Edition available as installable software to end-users.

What about after 2014? Well, that's unclear. But it's possible XP will stop being installable at that point. Microsoft's official policy is that these dates have "no affect [sic] on how long you can use a product," which may imply product activation will work forever. However, two things come to mind:

1) Even the most die-hard XP enthusiast will probably be ready to upgrade at that point (as XP will be nearly 15 years old, and your PC will be dead by then, I'm sure).

2) Even if Microsoft shuts off product activation, the hacker community will certainly make dozens of tools to let you continue using XP with abandon. Fret not.

Can I install XP on a PC that has Vista already on it? Yes. You can delete any partition with any OS on it (and reformat it) during the installation of XP. If you're feeling brave, you can even run both OSes at the same time by setting up a dual-boot machine.

Whew! Does that clear everything up? Feel free to continue sending your queries and adding your comments below.

Note: This post was originally created in April 2007 and updated with new and changed information in April 2008.

Windows XP going off market in June: What it means

Windows XP going off market in June: What it means

Microsoft originally announced over a year ago that Windows XP would be going off the market in January 2008. XP was later given a brief stay of execution, to June 30, 2008. That deadline is fast approaching, which has led to much panicking from people who aren't quite sure what XP's "going off market" means, exactly.

People are still as confused as ever. So let's take a stab at clarifying, once again, what's going to happen by answering some frequently asked questions about XP's imminent disappearance.

Will Windows XP really no longer be on sale after June 30? Sorry for the double negative, but no. All this means is that Microsoft will stop selling the OS. Finding a computer with XP preinstalled will likely be very difficult, as well. However, you'll still be able to find copies for the foreseeable future, and likely the unforeseeable one, too. See for yourself: You can find copies of just about any Microsoft product, including ancient versions of Windows and even MS-DOS, by simply searching online. But hang on to your current copy of Windows XP. You may need it down the road if you don't want to move to Vista.



Will I be forced to upgrade to Vista soon? No. But it will get harder and harder not to, especially since new software and peripherals are likely to stop working with XP. That could take years.

Will my XP machine stop working in June? No, but Microsoft will stop releasing non-security software updates to the masses on April 14, 2009. But let's be clear: XP will continue to "work" even after this point.

Will Microsoft shut off product activation for XP after June? No, that would be crazy. While no one has said this will happen, it's conceivable that Windows could shut down product activation for XP at some point. But that would only happen after XP reaches its end-of-support term (when all support plans expire). The good news for you: That happens on April 8, 2014, which should be plenty of time to get the kinks worked out of Vista-or switch to a Mac, Linux, or anything else. Bottom line: Your copy of XP will work, totally legally, for at least six more years.

What about this exception for Windows XP Home Edition I hear about? Doesn't apply to you. Microsoft will continue to sell XP to makers of ultra-cheap laptops like the Asus Eee PC until 2010 because they just can't run Vista. But it is not going to make XP Home Edition available as installable software to end-users.

What about after 2014? Well, that's unclear. But it's possible XP will stop being installable at that point. Microsoft's official policy is that these dates have "no affect [sic] on how long you can use a product," which may imply product activation will work forever. However, two things come to mind:

1) Even the most die-hard XP enthusiast will probably be ready to upgrade at that point (as XP will be nearly 15 years old, and your PC will be dead by then, I'm sure).

2) Even if Microsoft shuts off product activation, the hacker community will certainly make dozens of tools to let you continue using XP with abandon. Fret not.

Can I install XP on a PC that has Vista already on it? Yes. You can delete any partition with any OS on it (and reformat it) during the installation of XP. If you're feeling brave, you can even run both OSes at the same time by setting up a dual-boot machine.

Whew! Does that clear everything up? Feel free to continue sending your queries and adding your comments below.

Note: This post was originally created in April 2007 and updated with new and changed information in April 2008.

Windows XP going off market in June: What it means

Brainwave-reading headphones need no batteries

15:00 18 April 2008
NewScientist.com news service
Phil McKenna

A lightweight battery-free headset can continuously monitor human brainwaves, and is powered by body heat and sunlight.

The portable electroencephalogram (EEG) device resembles a set of headphones. It could provide wireless monitoring of patients at risk of seizures, have cars or other machinery respond to stressed users, or provide new ways to interact with computer games.

Researchers at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), in Belgium, created the headset.
Brainwave

It generates some power using thermoelectric materials which turn heat gradients into electrical energy, using the difference between a warm human head and the cooler surrounding air.

A previous prototype relied on that alone, but was sometimes short of power.

"If there is a lot of sun, it is quite hot, the temperature difference between the body and the environment is small," says Guy Beaucarne of IMEC. That means thermoelectric materials can harvest less power.

Adding two solar panels to the device can address that. "Typically in such conditions you have more sunlight, so the solar generator compensates for the low thermoelectric power." The solar panels also have heat sinks that cool the device to preserve the thermal gradient needed by the thermoelectrics.

The new headset is also more comfortable. The original had to cover the skin of the forehead to harvest heat. The new version uses comb-like structures to collect body heat through hair, and is worn like a pair of headphones.



Power supplied

The new headset can generate at least 1 milliWatt of power in most circumstances. That is more than the 0.8mW needed to detect electrical activity observed in the brain, and transmit it over wifi to a computer.

"Using both power sources, you get twice as much power, so it's roughly half the size," say Chris van Hoof, also of IMEC, comparing the new headset to the previous device.

Van Hoof says small, preclinical trials show the headset collects data identical to those of EEGs used in hospitals. The portable headset should provide a look at the brain in environments it has not been studied in before.
Bedtime brains

The low weight and mobility of the latest device would make it ideal for providing biofeedback on soldiers, says Van Hoof.

Cars able to track the brainwaves of drivers can reduce people's mental workload at times of stress by responding to brain states. A portable headset could make that possible on the battlefield or in other areas.

It could also be used to monitor patients at risk of seizure or as an interface for computer games.

Van Hoof says one immediate application is to allow studies of sleep in people's own homes, instead of in hospital wards where sleep patterns can be disturbed. "The more portable and unobtrusive the system, the more true to life the data will be," he says.
Bright future

Arthur DiMartino, of medical technology company TechEn in Milford, US, says perfecting such small autonomous power sources could open up a host of new applications.

"This shows the evolution of what is coming," DiMartino says. His company has developed a bedside device to monitor brain activity by using near-infrared spectroscopy to image blood flow within the brain.

"If your body can provide the basic power, then there are a myriad number of devices, ranging from brain stimulation to glucose monitoring systems, that become much more practical for long term, continuous use," DiMartino says.

The Human Brain - With one hundred billion nerve cells, the complexity is mind-boggling. Learn more in our cutting edge special report.

Brainwave-reading headphones need no batteries

Brainwave-reading headphones need no batteries

15:00 18 April 2008
NewScientist.com news service
Phil McKenna

A lightweight battery-free headset can continuously monitor human brainwaves, and is powered by body heat and sunlight.

The portable electroencephalogram (EEG) device resembles a set of headphones. It could provide wireless monitoring of patients at risk of seizures, have cars or other machinery respond to stressed users, or provide new ways to interact with computer games.

Researchers at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), in Belgium, created the headset.
Brainwave

It generates some power using thermoelectric materials which turn heat gradients into electrical energy, using the difference between a warm human head and the cooler surrounding air.

A previous prototype relied on that alone, but was sometimes short of power.

"If there is a lot of sun, it is quite hot, the temperature difference between the body and the environment is small," says Guy Beaucarne of IMEC. That means thermoelectric materials can harvest less power.

Adding two solar panels to the device can address that. "Typically in such conditions you have more sunlight, so the solar generator compensates for the low thermoelectric power." The solar panels also have heat sinks that cool the device to preserve the thermal gradient needed by the thermoelectrics.

The new headset is also more comfortable. The original had to cover the skin of the forehead to harvest heat. The new version uses comb-like structures to collect body heat through hair, and is worn like a pair of headphones.



Power supplied

The new headset can generate at least 1 milliWatt of power in most circumstances. That is more than the 0.8mW needed to detect electrical activity observed in the brain, and transmit it over wifi to a computer.

"Using both power sources, you get twice as much power, so it's roughly half the size," say Chris van Hoof, also of IMEC, comparing the new headset to the previous device.

Van Hoof says small, preclinical trials show the headset collects data identical to those of EEGs used in hospitals. The portable headset should provide a look at the brain in environments it has not been studied in before.
Bedtime brains

The low weight and mobility of the latest device would make it ideal for providing biofeedback on soldiers, says Van Hoof.

Cars able to track the brainwaves of drivers can reduce people's mental workload at times of stress by responding to brain states. A portable headset could make that possible on the battlefield or in other areas.

It could also be used to monitor patients at risk of seizure or as an interface for computer games.

Van Hoof says one immediate application is to allow studies of sleep in people's own homes, instead of in hospital wards where sleep patterns can be disturbed. "The more portable and unobtrusive the system, the more true to life the data will be," he says.
Bright future

Arthur DiMartino, of medical technology company TechEn in Milford, US, says perfecting such small autonomous power sources could open up a host of new applications.

"This shows the evolution of what is coming," DiMartino says. His company has developed a bedside device to monitor brain activity by using near-infrared spectroscopy to image blood flow within the brain.

"If your body can provide the basic power, then there are a myriad number of devices, ranging from brain stimulation to glucose monitoring systems, that become much more practical for long term, continuous use," DiMartino says.

The Human Brain - With one hundred billion nerve cells, the complexity is mind-boggling. Learn more in our cutting edge special report.

Brainwave-reading headphones need no batteries

11 policemen killed in Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Taliban militants attacked a police checkpoint early Monday in a dangerous region of southern Afghanistan, killing 11 policemen in the latest assault against the nation's vulnerable police force
Insurgents opened fire on the police in the Arghandab district of Kandahar province, said deputy provincial police chief Amanullah Khan. Preliminary reports indicated that one of the policeman had links with the Taliban, he said.
Meanwhile, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said two of its soldiers were killed and two wounded in a separate explosion Sunday in southern Afghanistan. NATO did not say which country the soldiers came from or where the blast occurred.
Militants killed more than 925 Afghan police last year — more than 10 percent of the country's 8,000 insurgency-related deaths documented by the U.N.



Police make inviting targets for Taliban attacks. They have less training and less firepower than the Afghan army or NATO soldiers. They also tend to work in small teams in remote parts of the country where they can easily be overwhelmed by a small insurgent force.
Monday's ambush was the latest in a string of recent attacks on police in the south. Eight police were killed Saturday — four while destroying opium poppies in Kandahar and four who were manning a checkpoint in Helmand. Seven police on the poppy-eradication force were killed April 7 in Kandahar.
U.S. officials say police are the focus of Taliban attacks because they are the weakest link in the country's security chain. Taliban militants often suffer devastating losses when they attack U.S. or NATO forces that have been stationed in the country since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that drove the Taliban from power.
They have also largely abandoned ambush attempts against the increasingly capable Afghan army.

11 policemen killed in Afghanistan

Mac cloners to Apple: Come and get us

The company that began selling a $399 Mac clone earlier this week is still in business, and it's even got a new, $999 model with more horsepower. Meanwhile, lawyers are saying that Apple might have a tough time fighting the Miami-based Psystar in court.

[Update: Psystar, the company that claims to be selling the Mac clones, is coming under scrutiny after bloggers failed to find its office—or, indeed, any solid record that the business actually exists. The site, which has been sporadically on- and offline in the past few days, was up the last time I checked (around 5:30 p.m. EST), but I'd suggest holding onto your cash until more details emerge.]

InformationWeek got a hold of a Psystar employee (identified only as "Robert") who said that the company will continue selling its Mac clone, now dubbed the Open Computer (it was called the "OpenMac" on Monday). "We're not breaking any laws," said Robert.

The Open Computer, as you may recall, is the new PC-like beige box that's designed to run Mac OS X with the help of various emulators and drivers. Psystar charges $399 for the Open Computer itself, and it will pre-install Mac OS X if you buy a copy of the OS.

Of course, there's that sticky provision in Apple's user license for OS X "Leopard" that forbids installing the OS on non-Apple hardware.

But according to lawyers contacted by Wired News, the penalties for violating the license tend to be pretty weak—maybe just the wholesale cost of Leopard, which constitutes "a few dollars." And if Psystar is buying Leopard from a legit distributor, Apple wouldn't be able to go after Psystar directly.

That said, Apple may have another weapon against Psystar, according to Wired News—software updates. In its FAQ, Psystar warns that some Apple software updates may be "decidedly non-safe" for the Open Computer, requiring a reinstallation of Leopard.

So (a la hacked iPhones), Apple could simply roll out some must-have updates that are specifically "non-safe" for the Open Computers, forcing Open Computer owners to stick with outdated version of OS X.

In any case, the $399 Open Computer is still on sale—along with a $999 juiced-up version called the OpenPro Computer, which comes with a faster processor and a dedicated GeForce video card.

Personally, I'm all for it—more choice is better, and if you don't like Psystar's beige boxes, by all means, cough up the cash for Apple's aluminum monolith.

What's your take? Would you consider a Mac clone, even if software updates were iffy?

Mac cloners to Apple: Come and get us

PC maker looks to sell $399 Mac clone

The OpenMac would come in a big, decidedly non-Apple beige box with a 2.2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 250GB hard drive, and (for an extra $155) Mac OS X pre-installed. But the Miami-based company that's hawking the machine had better brace itself for the wrath of Apple's legal department.

The Web site for Psystar, the company that’s selling the OpenMac, has been down for the count all morning—probably due to the crush in traffic after the story broke early Monday.

But according to Ars Technica, the OpenMac supposedly will run Mac OS X "Leopard" natively, thanks to a series of emulators and drivers that fool Apple’s OS into thinking it's running on Apple hardware.

Indeed, getting Mac OS X to run on various non-Apple gadgets is a favorite pastime of tech hobbyists and hackers. But Psystar’s attempt to sell the OpenMac commercially is sure to draw the attention of Apple legal, especially since (as Ars Technica points out) the Leopard license specifically forbids installing the OS on non-Apple hardware.

Still, the story harkens back to the tale of Power Computing, the company that made Apple-authorized Mac clones back in the '90s. Personally, I thought it was a great idea—why not give us consumers more (and cheaper) choices for buying Mac hardware?

But Steve Jobs clearly isn't a fan of the Mac cloning business; Apple snapped up Power Computing in 1997, after Jobs returned to Cupertino, and that was that.

So, what do you think? Would you be interested in cheaper Mac clones, even if they don't come in sleek aluminum cases?

PC maker looks to sell $399 Mac clone

The worst computer viruses of all time

If you haven't experienced a computer virus yet, just wait -- you probably will.

Fortunately, you missed the real heyday of computer viruses when anti-virus software wasn't very widely used, and virus attacks caused millions of dollars in damages overnight. Today's viruses can still be nightmarish, but for the average user, cleanup is considerably easier than it was just a few years ago, when the only solution in many cases was reformatting your hard drive and starting from scratch (and even that didn't do the trick sometimes).

So join me on a trip down memory lane as we revisit some of the worst viruses of all time and count our blessings that our computers are still up and running despite it all. (Though, please note, "worst" is a matter of considerable debate in the security industry, as the number of infected machines and amount of financial loss is always estimated. If you think another virus was worse than these, please post it in the comments to remind us!)

The worst viruses of all time

Brain, 1986
It all started here: Brain was the first "real" virus ever discovered, back in 1986. Brain didn't really hurt your PC, but it launched the malware industry with a bang and gave bad ideas to over 100,000 virus creators for the next 2 decades.

Michelangelo, 1991
The worst MS-DOS virus ever, Michelangelo attacked the boot sector of your hard drive and any floppy drive inserted into the computer, which caused the virus to spread rapidly. After spreading quietly for months, the virus "activated" on March 6, and promptly started destroying data on tens of thousands of computers.

Melissa, 1999
Technically a worm, Melissa (named after a stripper) collapsed entire email systems by causing computers to send mountains of messages to each other. The author of the virus was eventually caught and sentenced to 20 months in prison.

ILOVEYOU, 2000
This was notable for being one of the first viruses to trick users into opening a file, which in this case claimed to be a love letter sent to the recipient. In reality, the file was a VBS script that sent mountains of junk mail and deleted thousands of files. The results were terribly devastating- one estimate holds that 10 percent of all computers were affected, to a cost of $5.5 billion. It remains perhaps the worst worm of all time.

Code Red, 2001
An early "blended threat" attack, Code Red targeted Web servers instead of user machines, defacing websites and later launching denial-of-service attacks on a host of IP addresses, including those of the White House.

Nimda, 2001
Built on Code Red's attack system of finding multiple avenues into machines (email, websites, network connections, and others), Nimda infected both Web servers and user machines. It found paths into computers so effectively that, 22 minutes after it was released, it became the Internet's most widespread virus at the time.

Klez, 2001
An email virus, Klez pioneered spoofing the "From" field in email messages it sent, making it impossible to tell if Bill Gates did or did not really send you that information about getting free money.

Slammer, 2003
Another fast spreader, this worm infected about 75,000 systems in just 10 minutes, slowing the Internet to a crawl (much like Code Red) and shutting down thousands of websites.

MyDoom, 2004
Notable as the fastest-spreading email virus of all time, MyDoom infected computers so they would, in turn, send even more junk mail. In a strange twist, MyDoom was also used to attack the website of SCO Group, a very unpopular company that was suing other companies over its code being used in Linux distributions.

Storm, 2007
The worst recent virus, Storm spread via email spam with a fake attachment and ultimately infected up to 10 million computers, causing them to join its zombie botnet.

Thanks to Symantec for helping to compile this list

The worst computer viruses of all time

Internet addictions: A real medical menace?

Alcohol, drugs, food, sex, and even shopping are all candidates for medical treatment and are recognized as genuine mental disorders, so what about the Internet? Internet addiction -defined as "excessive gaming, sexual pre-occupations, and email/text messaging" - is becoming so common that at least one psychiatrist says it merits inclusion in psychiatry's official handbook of mental illness, the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders."

Dr. Jerald Block of the Oregon Health and Science University is the latest voice pushing for this inclusion, noting that tech junkies display genuinely debilitating behavior, including drug-like cravings, withdrawal, and a constant need for more and better gear - just like a substance addict might exhibit.

But other doctors comment that Internet addiction, while it may be real, is too new of a condition and needs further study before being medically classified. There might be something to this: No one wants people being medicated or institutionalized if they aren't genuinely ill.

The "Manual of Mental Disorders" won't be published again until 2012, but an early draft will arrive for public comment in 2009. Meanwhile, mind docs say the problem is growing, now possibly affecting up to 10 percent of Internet users. Recent studies are surprising, indicating the problem is worst not among game-obsessed teens, but rather among middle-aged women who stay at home, constantly on the computer as a way of connecting to the outside world.

Is computer use (or computer downtime) causing a problem in your life? If so, you might be an addict. But you'll have to wait a few more years to find out for sure.

Internet addictions: A real medical menace?

Say hello to the iProd

They???ll have to call it the iProd.

Apple has filed a patent application on a hand-held, touch screen gadget that will provoke you to take some exercise - or some other activity you're interested in.

It looks a lot like an iPhone or iPod Touch in the diagrams. The user would first answer questions about their nutrition and health history, which allows it to work out a personalised fitness programme.

Using heart-rate and motion sensors - either wireless and worn on the chest and ankles or built into the gadget - the device checks that you are sticking to the regime. If you don't, it offers on-screen comments designed to get you back on the wagon.

But it doesn't end with exercise. Apple imagines this approach working for other life experiences for the likes of expectant mothers, students, pensioners, new parents, soccer fans, gourmets and tourists.

Apple's patent says it wants the device to "coordinate multiple corridors of experiences in a person's life". It could be an interesting move. Goofing around with Dr Kawashima's Brain Training on the Nintendo DS - in which you get to answer quick-fire questions in a bid to boost mental agility - is already great fun. The idea of having a gadget suggest and help you meet real world achievements is appealing.

Of course, virtual coaches to help us humans along have been toyed with before. But with Apple's appetite for trying to break open pre-existing markets, that probably won't deter them.

Paul Marks, Technology Correspondent

Say hello to the iProd

Say hello to the iProd

They???ll have to call it the iProd.

Apple has filed a patent application on a hand-held, touch screen gadget that will provoke you to take some exercise - or some other activity you're interested in.

It looks a lot like an iPhone or iPod Touch in the diagrams. The user would first answer questions about their nutrition and health history, which allows it to work out a personalised fitness programme.

Using heart-rate and motion sensors - either wireless and worn on the chest and ankles or built into the gadget - the device checks that you are sticking to the regime. If you don't, it offers on-screen comments designed to get you back on the wagon.

But it doesn't end with exercise. Apple imagines this approach working for other life experiences for the likes of expectant mothers, students, pensioners, new parents, soccer fans, gourmets and tourists.

Apple's patent says it wants the device to "coordinate multiple corridors of experiences in a person's life". It could be an interesting move. Goofing around with Dr Kawashima's Brain Training on the Nintendo DS - in which you get to answer quick-fire questions in a bid to boost mental agility - is already great fun. The idea of having a gadget suggest and help you meet real world achievements is appealing.

Of course, virtual coaches to help us humans along have been toyed with before. But with Apple's appetite for trying to break open pre-existing markets, that probably won't deter them.

Paul Marks, Technology Correspondent

Say hello to the iProd

How to increase RSS feed burn subscriptions?

Feed stats counter, is basically like a website counter, only it doesn’t show aggregate data of all the visitors of all times, only the live subscribers who bookmarked the website or visited it through feed today, which means - your daily returning and subscribing visitors. It’s a really good way to show off your website’s success to other. Let’s say you visit a blog, it looks like a good and interesting content, then you take a look at the feed counter - 15 subscribers. Eh? Guess it’s not too popular. It can do a lot of damage when you come to sell links or promote your website, people would misjudge your website’s popularity by the feed burner. So, let’s see how can we improve the situation…

1. Forum’s last posts. Most vBulletin based forums has the ability of displaying your last blog’s post though a feed. Here comes the trick, paste your Feed Burner’s URL in that field of your profile in all the forums you participate at. Did it in 10 forums? Good, now you have 10 “subscribers” more. Cheap trick, but works perfect.

2. Offer ads free version. If your blog is showered with annoying ads such as interstitials and inline ads, you can offer to read your blog through the feed, without ads at all. You won’t lose much money from it unless your blog has 10,000 visitors a day out of which 7,000 will subscribe. Don’t worry, not many will subscribe anyway. In this case, however, you have to offer a full feed.

3. Put the RSS button above. As obvious as it sounds, put the RSS feed button in the upper part of your blog, and make sure the button is visible on all resolutions, and your design does not “swallow” it in any browser. This is important, remember - virtual visitors are a lazy nation, they want to have everything under their nose, so the bigger and more visible is your button, the better are your chances to get a subscription. Don’t forget, link the feed button to your feed burner’s url, and not “just” your regular feed generated by the blog. Ever since I replaced the tiny orange button at the lower part of my sidebar with the juicy, glossy big button you see this blog has at the beginning of the sidebar - the amount of my subscriptions raised from 55+ to 65+. Worth it, ain’t it?

4. Don’t display small count. If your blog has a small subscribers count yet, do not publish it. As I said in the beginning of this post, it will look bad and cause more damage than you think. “If the blog is soooo unpopular, should I subscribe to it? Slim chance it’s good, right?” - this is visitors logic, believe me, and you don’t want them to think it about your blog.

5. Ask friends to subscribe. No shame in asking friends to subscribe. Although they may not visit on a daily basis (which means after one day of their subscription it will be useless), but they will have you in their feed pages and may drop by sometime. Also, if they bookmark and visit through bookmarks, it will raise your daily count.

I know, nothing ground breaking in these 5 advices, but I hope they would help some of you to get started and not to just sink in despair over blog’s little subscriptions count. Good luck!

http://www.tutorialized.com

How to increase RSS feed burn subscriptions?

How to increase RSS feed burn subscriptions?

Feed stats counter, is basically like a website counter, only it doesn’t show aggregate data of all the visitors of all times, only the live subscribers who bookmarked the website or visited it through feed today, which means - your daily returning and subscribing visitors. It’s a really good way to show off your website’s success to other. Let’s say you visit a blog, it looks like a good and interesting content, then you take a look at the feed counter - 15 subscribers. Eh? Guess it’s not too popular. It can do a lot of damage when you come to sell links or promote your website, people would misjudge your website’s popularity by the feed burner. So, let’s see how can we improve the situation…

1. Forum’s last posts. Most vBulletin based forums has the ability of displaying your last blog’s post though a feed. Here comes the trick, paste your Feed Burner’s URL in that field of your profile in all the forums you participate at. Did it in 10 forums? Good, now you have 10 “subscribers” more. Cheap trick, but works perfect.

2. Offer ads free version. If your blog is showered with annoying ads such as interstitials and inline ads, you can offer to read your blog through the feed, without ads at all. You won’t lose much money from it unless your blog has 10,000 visitors a day out of which 7,000 will subscribe. Don’t worry, not many will subscribe anyway. In this case, however, you have to offer a full feed.

3. Put the RSS button above. As obvious as it sounds, put the RSS feed button in the upper part of your blog, and make sure the button is visible on all resolutions, and your design does not “swallow” it in any browser. This is important, remember - virtual visitors are a lazy nation, they want to have everything under their nose, so the bigger and more visible is your button, the better are your chances to get a subscription. Don’t forget, link the feed button to your feed burner’s url, and not “just” your regular feed generated by the blog. Ever since I replaced the tiny orange button at the lower part of my sidebar with the juicy, glossy big button you see this blog has at the beginning of the sidebar - the amount of my subscriptions raised from 55+ to 65+. Worth it, ain’t it?

4. Don’t display small count. If your blog has a small subscribers count yet, do not publish it. As I said in the beginning of this post, it will look bad and cause more damage than you think. “If the blog is soooo unpopular, should I subscribe to it? Slim chance it’s good, right?” - this is visitors logic, believe me, and you don’t want them to think it about your blog.

5. Ask friends to subscribe. No shame in asking friends to subscribe. Although they may not visit on a daily basis (which means after one day of their subscription it will be useless), but they will have you in their feed pages and may drop by sometime. Also, if they bookmark and visit through bookmarks, it will raise your daily count.

I know, nothing ground breaking in these 5 advices, but I hope they would help some of you to get started and not to just sink in despair over blog’s little subscriptions count. Good luck!

http://www.tutorialized.com

How to increase RSS feed burn subscriptions?

Computer spending slowing along with economy

People are still buying computers, but the number of those planning to do so has fallen to the lowest level it's been in over a year (at least). The economy seems to be hurting everyone: Both consumers and businesses are buying fewer computers than they have in months.

The news is part of research from ChangeWave, an investment and technology research group, and it shows the outlook for technology spending looking pretty grim for the foreseeable future. Even the number of those planning to purchase Apple computers, which have shown an incredible rise over the last three years as the Mac has seized market share, is slightly softening for the first time since 2005 (though Apple still outpaces the rest of the consumer buying market considerably and purchase plans remain near their record high).

What's behind the fall? It's easy to blame the economy, but one need look no further than ChangeWave's telling graph measuring satisfaction ratings from corporate computer users to figure out one big reason for what's happening. While Mac OS, Linux, and Windows XP all merit 40 percent-plus on the "very satisfied" scale, Microsoft's latest, Windows Vista, managed to merit just 8 percent of users saying they were very satisfied with the system. I don't find it a stretch to believe that corporate computer buyers, greatly disappointed with Vista, are simply waiting it out with XP and biding their time while Microsoft develops Windows 7. Makes sense to me.

Computer spending slowing along with economy

Computer spending slowing along with economy

People are still buying computers, but the number of those planning to do so has fallen to the lowest level it's been in over a year (at least). The economy seems to be hurting everyone: Both consumers and businesses are buying fewer computers than they have in months.

The news is part of research from ChangeWave, an investment and technology research group, and it shows the outlook for technology spending looking pretty grim for the foreseeable future. Even the number of those planning to purchase Apple computers, which have shown an incredible rise over the last three years as the Mac has seized market share, is slightly softening for the first time since 2005 (though Apple still outpaces the rest of the consumer buying market considerably and purchase plans remain near their record high).

What's behind the fall? It's easy to blame the economy, but one need look no further than ChangeWave's telling graph measuring satisfaction ratings from corporate computer users to figure out one big reason for what's happening. While Mac OS, Linux, and Windows XP all merit 40 percent-plus on the "very satisfied" scale, Microsoft's latest, Windows Vista, managed to merit just 8 percent of users saying they were very satisfied with the system. I don't find it a stretch to believe that corporate computer buyers, greatly disappointed with Vista, are simply waiting it out with XP and biding their time while Microsoft develops Windows 7. Makes sense to me.

Computer spending slowing along with economy

Mac cloners to Apple: Come and get us

The company that began selling a $399 Mac clone earlier this week is still in business, and it's even got a new, $999 model with more horsepower. Meanwhile, lawyers are saying that Apple might have a tough time fighting the Miami-based Psystar in court.

[Update: Psystar, the company that claims to be selling the Mac clones, is coming under scrutiny after bloggers failed to find its office—or, indeed, any solid record that the business actually exists. The site, which has been sporadically on- and offline in the past few days, was up the last time I checked (around 5:30 p.m. EST), but I'd suggest holding onto your cash until more details emerge.]

InformationWeek got a hold of a Psystar employee (identified only as "Robert") who said that the company will continue selling its Mac clone, now dubbed the Open Computer (it was called the "OpenMac" on Monday). "We're not breaking any laws," said Robert.

The Open Computer, as you may recall, is the new PC-like beige box that's designed to run Mac OS X with the help of various emulators and drivers. Psystar charges $399 for the Open Computer itself, and it will pre-install Mac OS X if you buy a copy of the OS.

Of course, there's that sticky provision in Apple's user license for OS X "Leopard" that forbids installing the OS on non-Apple hardware.

But according to lawyers contacted by Wired News, the penalties for violating the license tend to be pretty weak—maybe just the wholesale cost of Leopard, which constitutes "a few dollars." And if Psystar is buying Leopard from a legit distributor, Apple wouldn't be able to go after Psystar directly.

That said, Apple may have another weapon against Psystar, according to Wired News—software updates. In its FAQ, Psystar warns that some Apple software updates may be "decidedly non-safe" for the Open Computer, requiring a reinstallation of Leopard.

So (a la hacked iPhones), Apple could simply roll out some must-have updates that are specifically "non-safe" for the Open Computers, forcing Open Computer owners to stick with outdated version of OS X.

In any case, the $399 Open Computer is still on sale—along with a $999 juiced-up version called the OpenPro Computer, which comes with a faster processor and a dedicated GeForce video card.

Personally, I'm all for it—more choice is better, and if you don't like Psystar's beige boxes, by all means, cough up the cash for Apple's aluminum monolith.

What's your take? Would you consider a Mac clone, even if software updates were iffy?

Mac cloners to Apple: Come and get us

Mac cloners to Apple: Come and get us

The company that began selling a $399 Mac clone earlier this week is still in business, and it's even got a new, $999 model with more horsepower. Meanwhile, lawyers are saying that Apple might have a tough time fighting the Miami-based Psystar in court.

[Update: Psystar, the company that claims to be selling the Mac clones, is coming under scrutiny after bloggers failed to find its office—or, indeed, any solid record that the business actually exists. The site, which has been sporadically on- and offline in the past few days, was up the last time I checked (around 5:30 p.m. EST), but I'd suggest holding onto your cash until more details emerge.]

InformationWeek got a hold of a Psystar employee (identified only as "Robert") who said that the company will continue selling its Mac clone, now dubbed the Open Computer (it was called the "OpenMac" on Monday). "We're not breaking any laws," said Robert.

The Open Computer, as you may recall, is the new PC-like beige box that's designed to run Mac OS X with the help of various emulators and drivers. Psystar charges $399 for the Open Computer itself, and it will pre-install Mac OS X if you buy a copy of the OS.

Of course, there's that sticky provision in Apple's user license for OS X "Leopard" that forbids installing the OS on non-Apple hardware.

But according to lawyers contacted by Wired News, the penalties for violating the license tend to be pretty weak—maybe just the wholesale cost of Leopard, which constitutes "a few dollars." And if Psystar is buying Leopard from a legit distributor, Apple wouldn't be able to go after Psystar directly.

That said, Apple may have another weapon against Psystar, according to Wired News—software updates. In its FAQ, Psystar warns that some Apple software updates may be "decidedly non-safe" for the Open Computer, requiring a reinstallation of Leopard.

So (a la hacked iPhones), Apple could simply roll out some must-have updates that are specifically "non-safe" for the Open Computers, forcing Open Computer owners to stick with outdated version of OS X.

In any case, the $399 Open Computer is still on sale—along with a $999 juiced-up version called the OpenPro Computer, which comes with a faster processor and a dedicated GeForce video card.

Personally, I'm all for it—more choice is better, and if you don't like Psystar's beige boxes, by all means, cough up the cash for Apple's aluminum monolith.

What's your take? Would you consider a Mac clone, even if software updates were iffy?

Mac cloners to Apple: Come and get us

PC maker looks to sell $399 Mac clone

The OpenMac would come in a big, decidedly non-Apple beige box with a 2.2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 250GB hard drive, and (for an extra $155) Mac OS X pre-installed. But the Miami-based company that's hawking the machine had better brace itself for the wrath of Apple's legal department.

The Web site for Psystar, the company that’s selling the OpenMac, has been down for the count all morning—probably due to the crush in traffic after the story broke early Monday.

But according to Ars Technica, the OpenMac supposedly will run Mac OS X "Leopard" natively, thanks to a series of emulators and drivers that fool Apple’s OS into thinking it's running on Apple hardware.

Indeed, getting Mac OS X to run on various non-Apple gadgets is a favorite pastime of tech hobbyists and hackers. But Psystar’s attempt to sell the OpenMac commercially is sure to draw the attention of Apple legal, especially since (as Ars Technica points out) the Leopard license specifically forbids installing the OS on non-Apple hardware.

Still, the story harkens back to the tale of Power Computing, the company that made Apple-authorized Mac clones back in the '90s. Personally, I thought it was a great idea—why not give us consumers more (and cheaper) choices for buying Mac hardware?

But Steve Jobs clearly isn't a fan of the Mac cloning business; Apple snapped up Power Computing in 1997, after Jobs returned to Cupertino, and that was that.

So, what do you think? Would you be interested in cheaper Mac clones, even if they don't come in sleek aluminum cases?

PC maker looks to sell $399 Mac clone

PC maker looks to sell $399 Mac clone

The OpenMac would come in a big, decidedly non-Apple beige box with a 2.2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 250GB hard drive, and (for an extra $155) Mac OS X pre-installed. But the Miami-based company that's hawking the machine had better brace itself for the wrath of Apple's legal department.

The Web site for Psystar, the company that’s selling the OpenMac, has been down for the count all morning—probably due to the crush in traffic after the story broke early Monday.

But according to Ars Technica, the OpenMac supposedly will run Mac OS X "Leopard" natively, thanks to a series of emulators and drivers that fool Apple’s OS into thinking it's running on Apple hardware.

Indeed, getting Mac OS X to run on various non-Apple gadgets is a favorite pastime of tech hobbyists and hackers. But Psystar’s attempt to sell the OpenMac commercially is sure to draw the attention of Apple legal, especially since (as Ars Technica points out) the Leopard license specifically forbids installing the OS on non-Apple hardware.

Still, the story harkens back to the tale of Power Computing, the company that made Apple-authorized Mac clones back in the '90s. Personally, I thought it was a great idea—why not give us consumers more (and cheaper) choices for buying Mac hardware?

But Steve Jobs clearly isn't a fan of the Mac cloning business; Apple snapped up Power Computing in 1997, after Jobs returned to Cupertino, and that was that.

So, what do you think? Would you be interested in cheaper Mac clones, even if they don't come in sleek aluminum cases?

PC maker looks to sell $399 Mac clone