The Ouranos Blog

Random activity detected: OVER 9000!!!

Ouranos — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:52:39 +0000

So i stopped bothering with the site because it’s overrun by bots and my site webmaster quit on me so my google ads never got setup, but i did notice since I stopped maintaining it myself, we’ve reached over 9000 bot comments! Huzzah!

A rant about video cards

Ouranos — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:39:01 +0000

So another post from me today. For those of you in the tech know, you may have heard of nvidia’s next-gen gaming video cards, the GTX470 and 480, based on their new codenamed “Fermi” GPU chip. These things look great in my opinion. i see alot of potential coming from the Green Gurus, and really hoping the Red Stain will be lifted from the walls you see of the internet. I can’t wait to get my hands on a 470 so I can compare it to my lovely little GTX275, see how it stacks up. Maybe if I’m lucky my humble little site will be allowed a sample for testing. I doubt it, but hey, we can all dream, eh?

As far as my opinion of ATI… uck. The hardware is there, the potential is there, but Catalyst will ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS AND FOREVER, keep me from those cards. Too many bad experiences with their crappy, poorly written software over the time I had my only ATI card in my life that I know better then to ever go back to that filth.

The TV computer-repair scam

Ouranos — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:47:07 +0000

So, no news link on this one. Because this is form me. Sick to death of all these retarded commercials from finallfast, doublemyspeed, mycleanpc, etc on tv. Nothing but scams and garbageware that are logn on promise, low on guarentee, and lacking results. In fact, at times they have been literally OPPOSITE of promises made, with numerous reports of these programs installing real spyware on a system after telling you your (perfectly operational and virus-free) system was infected. To my readers out there (and I know you’e out there….) dear god don’t even think of trying these guys. They’re junk.

Steve Jobs’ Bash on Flash is answered

Ouranos — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:44:13 +0000

“When Steve Jobs badmouthed Adobe Flash to The Wall Street Journal, he said it was buggy, littered with security holes, and a “CPU hog”. It’s hard to argue with the first two, but a new study claims the Apple cult leader was wrong about the hog bit.

According to tests from the Streaming Learning Center – an online media consultancy that conducts public seminars on the delivery of net video – Flash is no more of a CPU drain than the HTML5 setup favored by Steve Jobs. The issue is not whether you use Flash or HTML5, says Jan Ozer, who conducted the tests, but whether you back them with hardware acceleration.” – http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/12/flash_v_html5/

Heh. Heheheheheh. Steve Jobs needs t be put in his place. Sorry Steve, the ego hasn’t helped your market share any. Tone it down.

Shortage of Rare Earth Elements Could Thwart Innovation

Ouranos — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:40:18 +0000

“Silicon may represent one of Earth’s more common elements, but it transformed Silicon Valley into a high-tech corridor and helped usher the world into the Information Age.

Now rare earth elements with exotic names such as europium and tantalum hold the key to hybrid cars, wind turbines and crystal-clear TV displays – that is, if a looming supply shortage doesn’t stop innovation in its tracks.” – http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100216/sc_livescience/shortageofrareearthelementscouldthwartinnovation

In other words, China’s being greedy. And we’re letting them! Yet again our country is allowing other country’s to control world-wide supply of a precious resource we could find on our own soil if we were just willing to produce it. Same with oil, we have enough oil between the Dakotas and Alaska to put the Middle East outta business, but do we drill it? Nah, the caribou might be affected. Right.

Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Pentagon Looks to Breed Immortal ‘Synthetic Organisms’

Ouranos — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:15:56 +0000

“The Pentagon’s mad science arm may have come up with its most radical project yet. Darpa is looking to re-write the laws of evolution to the military’s advantage, creating “synthetic organisms” that can live forever — or can be killed with the flick of a molecular switch.

…The plan would assemble the latest bio-tech knowledge to come up with living, breathing creatures that are genetically engineered to “produce the intended biological effect.” Darpa wants the organisms to be fortified with molecules that bolster cell resistance to death, so that the lab-monsters can “ultimately be programmed to live indefinitely.”

Darpa’s got to prevent the super-species from being swayed to do enemy work — so they’ll encode loyalty right into DNA, by developing genetically programmed locks to create “tamper proof” cells. Plus, the synthetic organism will be traceable, using some kind of DNA manipulation, “similar to a serial number on a handgun.” And if that doesn’t work, don’t worry. In case Darpa’s plan somehow goes horribly awry, they’re also tossing in a last-resort, genetically-coded kill switch:” – http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/pentagon-looks-to-breed-immortal-synthetic-organisms-molecular-kill-switch-included/

Dude. Genetic uberness, with a power off switch. Why? Watch the newer of the two modern Hulk movies. Abomination? Uh oh, crazy green dude, press the button, bam, he’s down.

Windows 7 Bests Mac OS X Snow Leopard in Satisfaction Measuring Contest

Ouranos — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:13:50 +0000

“Windows 7, which hit the shelves on October 22, 2009, boosted the level of consumer satisfaction for the software giant to on less than 67% for the entire week after launch. The increase was substantial, no less than 3% in a single day. Certainly, it was more substantial than the jump that Mac OS X Snow Leopard delivered to Apple, just 1%, bumping the consumer satisfaction level to 65%.

At the same time, Windows 7 managed to keep its momentum throughout the end of 2009. No less than 73% of respondents declared that they were satisfied with Microsoft on December 31, namely a 14% growth. By comparison, Apple customer satisfaction only grew by 6.9% by the end of the past year.” – http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-Bests-Mac-OS-X-Snow-Leopard-in-Satisfaction-Measuring-Contest-134018.shtml

So. Checking the scoreboard, we have Apple 0, Windows…. alot. Look, Apple, you have your place. It ain’t mainstream. And Windows 7 is proving it. Windows 7 is growing, and growing, and growing, while Apple is…. yeah.

Liquid Glass spray in the works.

Ouranos — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:30:23 +0000

“Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products.

The liquid glass spray (technically termed “SiO2 ultra-thin layering”) consists of almost pure silicon dioxide (silica, the normal compound in glass) extracted from quartz sand. Water or ethanol is added, depending on the type of surface to be coated. There are no additives, and the nano-scale glass coating bonds to the surface because of the quantum forces involved. According to the manufacturers, liquid glass has a long-lasting antibacterial effect because microbes landing on the surface cannot divide or replicate easily.” – http://www.physorg.com/news184310039.html

Saw this, thought it was awesome. Want somethin thiny, but tough? Liquid friggin glass man. Laptops that are tougher without getting heavier, phones that don’t break as easy, and paintjobs that last longer. Sexy ideas eh.

GPS. The myth goes pop!

Ouranos — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:39:20 +0000

So here’s my rant on GPS. I’ve used em before, couple differant units across two brands. Had a buddy using handheld once too. They suck. Horribly. Their accuracy as to where you are leaves alot to be desired, and their maps, especially in cities, are terrible. They are GREAT for going cross country, but driving to another city and then navigating through town? Bad. First time I used one it couldn’t find the place I needed to go (was an office that had been in the same spot for 6+ years but I had never been) so I was lucky to get there on time. Well, actually more lucky everyone else’s GPS was just as bad and I happened to get there first. But anyway, yeah, GPS? Failtech.