Microsoft has deployed the flux-capacitor to get 2010 here a month or so early. The Year We Make Contact is also the same year that the next version of Microsoft Office is due. The Beta out now for public consumption is a 760MB download and looks to be following the successful Window 7 model of getting so many people to download and try it that they will rush out an buy it.
In addition to Office 2010 there is also the SharePoint 2010 Beta available for download.
Time Capsule Memorial
Apple’s Time Capsule backup device is a wi-fi router and single hard drive in one box. Although rather expensive compared to the cost of a stand alone external hard drive they do have the advantage of the slick Apple styling.
Unfortunately it appears that the, as advertised “server grade” hard drives don’t last as long as some might expect. The Time Capsule Memorial site currently lists over 500 devices that have died, with an average lifespan of 17 months.
Many people have previously stated that a backup solution based on a single hard drive was flawed from the outset.
Google Chrome Logo
Google’s Chrome internet browser that was launched last year is being turned into an operating system for laptop and desktop PCs. The move coincides with Gmail and Google Docs coming out of perpetual Beta.
A Chrome OS would remove the requirement for any Microsoft products in the stack with OS, browser and web applications all being provided by Google.
Google Earth API allows you to add Google Earth into your website. Currently the Google Earth plugin is is only available on Windows.
Driven by you…
Ford is introducing parental controls on some cars. The BBC reports that the top speed, stereo volume and seatbelt alarm are some of the features mooted. The MyKey system will be introduced on Ford Focus models from 2010.
QinetiQ built solar powered UAV the Zephyr-6 has completed a 3 day flight. Indicates the future of communication UAVs for use over the battlefield.
The WD MyBook Home Edition 1TB once formatted gives a usable capacity of 913GB. The drive has 2x Firewire 400 connections, USB2.0 and eSATA and DC power on the back. In addition there is a power button on the back and an LED activity and usage indicator on the front.
The drive works well with Time Machine and installing the supplied management software adds a “WD” icon to the menu bar displaying drive usage as a percentage. Unfortunately it does nothing more than this and seems a little bit pointless. Amazon are currently selling the drive for around 130GBP.
After much website searching I have finally purchased the Sony HDR-TG3E. The camcorder works well on a Mac although the software is only for Windows. However iMovie 08 has no problems with the HD content from the 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo compressed with AVCHD. The menu system isn’t as straight forward as I would have hoped, a minor point, but otherwise the camera is better than expected. The size is close to that of a digital stills camera although a little heavier.
There is a lot of information about the camera on an active AVForums Thread covering the Sony HDR-TG3E with around 700 posts at the time of writing. There is a Sony TG3E review at Engadget.
The Powerball has been doing the rounds. Have eventually got round to buying one but not broken any world records with one yet. I did manage to get up to 9,000RPM, a long way short of the 16,000RPM record!
