There will always be a time in our life in which we need to read something...fast. Whether it be a large blog post, or an important document given to your by your boss; you're going to want to speed read if you need to finish it fast. Speed reading is a skill that everyone should have. If you're a good speed reader, you can read faster and understand more. Plus, even your boss will be amazed at how efficient you were. However, the problem is that it's really hard to practice speed reading. Worry no more.
There is a website called Spreeder which is designed to help you practice your speed reading skills. Just paste in the block of text that you want to read, click on settings, and change them to suit your needs. If you're starting out, you should change it so that you're reading less words per minute and make the words bigger. It might seem boring at first, but if you paste in all the articles you're going to read that day into spreeder, you can slowly increase the WPM that you read.
This is a great tool for everyone who spends a lot of time reading. Go out there, learn to speed read, and be the first to finish a long blog post. Remember; On the internet, the faster you are, the more fans you get. You'll be the first to translate a tech story. You'll be the first to submit something on digg. You'll be the first to taunt a guy for a stupid blog post. Whatever it is, you'll always be first.
These days, you pay for download speed, and the less your wallet weights, the faster your connection. Time Warner wants to change all that. Instead of making you pay for your connection speed, you're going to pay depending on how much bandwidth you use. So, the more you download, the more you're going to have to pay.
I personally don't like this at all. I mean, it would be great for those people who don't download anything at all, but I really enjoy watching movies, and if I'm going to get charged every time I want to see someone get kicked down the Sparta Well, I'm not going to be a happy little bugger. I know that this is an genius move for all those who want to get rid of pirates, it's still slightly unfair to those people who are really interested in watching video's and downloading games. Another problem is that most people don't even know how much bandwidth they are using, and they would probably be shocked when they first see the bill because they didn't know that they downloaded all those things. It this goes well for Time Warner, I'm sure other ISP's are going to resort to this instead of blocking BitTorrent traffic (Comcast? Are you there?).
This would be a great way for casual e-mail browsers to get internet without having to spend a lot of money. You guys have fun. If anyone needs me, I'll be sitting underneath my desk strangling my bandwidth.
I know that we're all secretly dreaming of wearing contact lenses and watching certain, ahem, "videos" without people knowing. That just might be possible in a few years time.
Researchers at the University of Washington managed to embed an electronic circuit and LEDs directly into contact lenses, which seemed to look good on rabbit eyes. Though the circuit is not functional and the lights don't light up, the development shows that future applications like direct video to the eye may indeed be possible.
Although it doesn't look like anything you'd want to shove in your eye socket at the moment, it's only going to get better in the future. The people developing this want to make it delicate so it won't damage your eyes (duh..), but also make intricate enough so it can perform many tasks. It's still in the prototype stage, and it doesn't really do that much at the moment, so you'll have to wait a few years before you see anything major. Perhaps we'll even be able to surf the internet using these things. Wouldn't that be dandy? Of course, this technology would be embraced heartily. I mean, who wouldn't want to keep everything they see and do a secret? No one would be able to see what sites we're on, and no one could say "That's a gay site." Can't wait for this.
These days, gaming is everything. Everyone plays them, whether it be nine year olds rocking Guitar Hero or a Grandma pwning everyone online. It's just part of what we all do now, and what with all the games available, there are games for everyone. Online games are one of the biggest fads in the game industry because we are all demons inside and we love the prospect of smirking silently when we totally owned someone. With online gaming comes chat, and with chat comes certain words that many gamers will use. Here are some of the basic words that gamers would use. If you're interested in gaming, learn these words, and you'll be as pro as Leroy Jenkins.
1. l33t This word is 'Leet' which is basically saying that you are elite. And you are. Make no doubt about it. If ever you do something that is somewhat cool, or if you just want to add in a few filler words. 'Leet' would be it. Note that you need to spell it with the '3' not the 'e'. Don't forget that you and only you are leet. Everyone else is not leet. You own them.
2. n00b Possibly the most used word in any online game. Use this to insult anyone and everyone. Did someone just sneak up on you? They're a n00b. A sniper? n00b. Teammate who made fun of your weapon choice? n00b. That hippie from across the street? n00b. Someone crash your dragon raid? n00b. Everyone who even thinks for a second that they are better then are n00bs. Kick them down like they are the scum of the earth and make sure that they themselves know they are a n00b. They are all newbs.
3. stfu Literally, "Shut the **** up". Be sure to add 'n00b' to then end of this word. Use this whenever you're annoyed by that little bugger who you can't seem to spot practicing his ABC typing skills in the chatbox. Of course, cursing at him using the real words would be a lot better then usually slang. Nevertheless, saying 'stfu' is bound to get you some attention.
4. laggg This word is a life saver. It's your excuse for everything. And I mean everything. Accidentally shot all your teammate? laggg. Forgot to rush along with everyone else? Lag. Died? Lag. Didn't remember to heal a teammate? Lag .Got lost? Laggg. Whatever the problem, you can always blame lag. Remember, it's never your fault. It's your internet connection that's to blame. Always.
5. hax If someone is really good, tell them they are 'Haxing'. It does not matter if you see them hit you. It doesn't matter if they were spraying. It doesn't even matter if they threw a grenade and killed everyone. They are 'haxing'. If they complain and try to say that they aren't hacking, call them a haxx0r anyway because they are denying it.
6. gey Almost exactly like n00b. You can use this in any situation you feel necessary. And anything can be gey. Weapons can be gey, maps can be gey, people can be gey, and anything else you can think of of can be gey. They are all, and all well be, 'gey'. Except you of course.
7. w00t The word of 2007. Who wouldn't use it? Use this whenever your happy about something. Did you just bash up your n00b? w00t! Found the Sword of a Thousand Truths? w00t. Friend got laid? w00t! Use this whenever you like. Be warned that if you use it too much, people will think you're on something, and will request that you share that something.
8. pro You are pro. You are. A. Pro. You are the best of the best, strongest of the all, smartest in the bunch, and sexiest out of everyone you're playing with. You are the king. You are the pro. Of course, if the strongest person on the server were to appear in front of you, it wouldn't hurt to call them pro now would it. Other then that, you are the only one entitled to this word. Carry it well young Jedi...
9. kill steal Whenever you shoot someone, and someone else kills the person and gets rewarded for that kill; they just kill stole you. Beat the hell out of them. Swear, scream, make up "Your Mom" jokes, taunt, and do whatever you can to make them feel miserable because they are the biggest n00bs ever. No one kill steals you. No one. It doesn't matter if you only did 1 damage. They kill stole from you, and they deserve to die. Make them suffer.
10. pwn Pwn. Say it to everyone you killed, everyone you beat, everyone you owned. Show them just how strong you are. Show them how many people you can kill. Show them that you're better then them. Pwn them like they are Barbie Dolls. Show them who's boss. You pwn, and they are n00bs. That is the law now.
There you go. Misspell, swear, freak out, and most of importantly, have fun. And don't forget one of the most important quotes ever: The cockier you are, the longer your E-Penis.
I enjoyed almost everything I read over at Engadget about the Keynote earlier today. However, the thing that made me think Apple was out of their mind was when they announced that they would be charging $20 for five 'new' applications (which include Mail, Maps, Notes, Stocks, and Weather) on the iPod Touch. What an idiotic idea.
1. Apple must have hired someone from Microsoft because this is going to screw them over. Charging money for applications when people can get it for free by jailbreaking it? Please. I own an iPod Touch, and I wasn't planning to Jailbreak it because of the SDK coming in February. If the SDK has a catch like this, then I'm going to jailbreak my iPod in a blink of an eye. You're just steering people away from official Apple programs with this. Jailbreaking looks like the brighter side of the moon compared to this. Charging $20 dollars isn't going to make people buy it. Maybe 5 dollars. Maybe 99 cents. But $20? Way to steal candy from the kids Steve. This is just going to encourage people to jailbreak their iPods so they can get better features. Not only would jailbreaking the iPod give the user a larger variety of applications, it's free. Seriously. Steve Ballmer must have a mask on, and is an undercover Apple employee.
2. It's not fair for the early adopters. Apple said that the newer iPods were coming out with these. Why punish the early adopters? We should be awarded for being so loyal to the company that we would wait in lines for hours just to get one of your new products. You should be giving us flowers, not taking more money from us. Why can't you just give these things out for free like all those iPhone updates? And what about all those people who got their iPods on Christmas or during the New Year? Are you going to penalize them too? It just isn't fair that the early adopters should have to pay for something you can get for free when you buy an iPod now. I have a feeling this is going to end up like the thing with the iPhone price drop. Apple's going to get tons of complaints and end up free giving out these applications for free. 3. These aren't the exactly revolutionary applications. You can find all five of these applications in the iPhone already. It's not new. I wouldn't mind paying $20 to get an application which would let me play flash games on the iPod, but this isn't anywhere near that. These applications are things that we can all live without. We can all survive without buying the applications, and I doubt that people would really buy it. Again, it's $20. With that money, I could get Far Cry, Half-Life, Counter-Strike as well as other great games. I could buy twenty songs from the iTunes Store. I could rent over 8 movies from the iTunes store. I could be doing so much more with my money. Why should anyone have to spend money buying something that isn't even going to 'Wow' them?
4. You guys don't even need to charge $20! This technology isn't new. You already have it on the iPhone, and the new iPods are going to come out with it. What's with this $20 price tag you've put on it? This just makes it seem like you're not just thinking up of ways to take money. You don't need to charge us $20, you want to charge us $20. Keep this up, and you'll be losing customers...
5. I've usually liked all your products Apple. But this? Are you guys all giddy on all that booze you drank after hearing about Bill Gate's last day or is there really a Microsoft worker amid you. You know what, I think I'm going to take my twenty dollars and buy used underwear on eBay because that's a better way of spending $20.
I'm going to warn people to hold off your urge to buy these applications (as if there were actually people who would. This is a "just in case" sort of thing). Mix the lack of purchases along with the number of complaints, and within three weeks, all these applications are going to be free. Complain on.
As most of you probably know, the Macworld 2008 Keynote, and Steve Jobs introduced some cool (and other not-so-cool) products you should look forward to. Here are some of the highlights.
You're heard of the 'Time Machine', and now there is something called the 'Time Capsule'. Time Capsule is just a backup product which includes an Airport Extreme unit and a hard drive along with 802.11n wireless. With this, you'll be able to backup all your Macs wirelessly with the push of one button. Shipping in February, you can a 500G hard drive for $299 or a 1,000G hard drive for $499
Today is the 200th day the Apple iPhone has been out on the market. 4 million have been sold.
iPhone firmware 1.1.3 is now available, and there are 5 great updates for the iPhone. There are the new Map features (which you can see below), along with a customizable home screen. With the new update, you'll be able to have up to nine home screens, and can scroll through them by flicking it. You'll also have lyrics, subtitles, and languages on the iPhone.
You can get 5 new applications: Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather, and Notes on your iPod Touch. The catch? You need to pay $20.
iTunes 7.6 is out, and you will soon be able to rent movies from the iTunes store. It'll be $2.99 for an old film, and $3.99 for a new release. After renting a film, you have 30 days to begin watching it, and 24 hours to watch as many times as you wish.
Apple TV 2 is now out. It supports AirTunes, and you can stream your movies directly. You'll also be able to rent movies on Apple TV, but those movies will stay on Apple TV. You won't be able to export them. So sorry.
MacBook Air. This is probably one of the more exciting announcements. A new laptop called the MacBook Air is going to be out in two weeks. What's so great about it? Well, it's the thinnest laptop ever. Weighing in at 3 pounds, it has a 11-12 inch screen and is .8-1.2 inches thick. It's so thin that it can fit in one of those manila envelopes. You can get an 80G HDD or a 60G SDD, and the computer comes with 802.11n Wi-Fi. It all seems all fine and well, but the price is quite a shocker. This thin computer comes at the price of $1799. Perhaps version two would be cheaper.
There are just times when we want a disposable e-mail account. Maybe we are forced to sign up using our e-mail address. Then, after registering, we never have to e-mail the site, yet we still get tons of spam regarding 'Hot Deals!'. Other times, we just don't trust a site with our real e-mail address. Who knows what type of 'things' they'll send us? I certainly don't want man-on-vegetable action in my inbox. Luckily, there are a few services out there which allow us to get a disposable e-mail account for free.
Before handing out the links, I just wanted to explain how most of these sites worked. When you go to the site, there will be a temporary e-mail address created for you. Use that address to register for a site, and you'll be able to access the e-mail account from the site. If you need more time, just click on "Give me ___ more minutes".
10MinuteMail - The title says it all. You get an e-mail account that expires in 10 minutes. DodgeIt - When using the free account, your DodgeIt e-mail expires in seven days, and it isn't password protected. You also make up your own e-mail address. (___@Dodgit.com)
Spambox.us - With this site, you'll be creating a spambox account which will forward e-mails to your real account and then expires. This will help because you'll be getting the registration e-mail in your real e-mail account, but the site you registered on won't be able to send you spam (that is, if your spambox account has expired). You can choose between 30 minutes to 1 year. GuerrillaMail - Great site for a disposable e-mail account. Gives you a 15 minute e-mail account.
MintEmail - Probably one of the best sites for a disposable e-mail account. Just go to the site, and an e-mail account will be created, and copied to your clipboard. The account will last 4 hours, but you can change that. Like spambox, MintEmail also allows for e-mail forwarding.
To many people, gadgets are everything. They would kill to be first to buy a revolutionary gadget, and would cry in pain if their valuable gadgets were scratched. No more. A product was shown at CES 2008 called the InvisibleSHIELD which was basically a 'shield' for your gadgets. The InvisibleSHIELD is a protection film developed by ShieldZone, and was once used in the Military to protect helicopter blades. The film is made of urethane, a clear and almost invincible substance. It's also extremely flexible so it will fit your gadgets wonderfully. Here are some pictures demonstrating just how strong the product is.
As you can see, this is an extremely durable substance. If you still don't believe me, here is a video demonstration. This video also gives you the most of the information you need. Watch and learn.
Right now, they support more than 400 devices, such as iPods, Smart Phones, Laptops, Cell Phones, Portable Gaming Devices, and much more. Get them while they're hot. Most of your questions can be answered in their FAQ.
Oh, and did I forget to mention that if the film gets scratched or ripped, the company will replace it for free, for a lifetime? I know. It's awesome.
We all get bored at some time or another. Here are some sites for you to waste time whenever you feel like you're getting bored.
Meebo - If you're on a computer that doesn't allow you to download anything, and you just want to talk with some friends, Meebo is for you. SIgn up, and log into clients like ICQ, AIM, MSN, and more.
k2xl - Ten extremely fun games for you to play. My personal favorite is Boomshine. Try to get all the dots!
xkcd -The best comic ever. Must see. "A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language" Indeed.
Explosm - Home of the popular 'Cyanide and Happiness' Comics. More stick figures. Yeah!
ArmorGames - ArmorGames has a massive collection of games for you to play, including the new Portal Flash game.
LineRider - Play around with some physics as you create your own landscape. Then watch the boy 'ride' down. Endless fun.
Picnik - Edit all your photos in your browser. Quite fun to mess around the tools.
Digg - Find just about anything in the great social site. Browse through the hottest news, videos, and images with this great site.
Urban Dictionary - Might have some profanity, but this site has the definition of everything. You can even make your own definitions. A great place for some laughs.
Flash Flash Revolution - The online version of DDR. You don't even need to sign up (though you'll miss out on some features)
About - The place to go if you want to learn about something. For those curious or for those who want to learn more.
Open Hulu - A version of Hulu that doesn't require you to get a Beta Invite. Watch full episodes of your favorite TV shows.
Way Back Machine - Ever wondered what a website used to look like? Head on over, and check out what the most popular websites looked back in the old days.
Slacker - When you want to listen to come music, just sign up, and fire up Slacker. There are tons of categories, and great for those who just want some music.
Odeo - Want to listen to come Podcasts or Music? Odeo is the place to be. This old site probably has the largest list of podcasts and music out there.
Keybr - Instead of spending all that free time wasting time, why don't you practice your typing skills? Keybr will help you do just that.
Jooce - Currently in Beta, Jooce will allow you to play around with a virtual desktop within your browser. Watch videos, chat, and share files all in the comfort of a great UI.
Fark - Greatest source for news. Or rather, 'Not News'.
Technorati - Check out Technorati to find the best blogs for you to read. Tons or categories, tons of blogs.
Metacafe - Learn how to crack a safe, build a laser, and much more. Have fun while learning in the process.
Instructables - The site for 'Do It Yourself'-ers. Plenty of guides, and a place to go if you want to make something.
This is for all you podcast lovers out there. I love podcasts and waste most of my life listening to them. There was just a slight problem. Whenever I wanted to listen to a podcast, I had to turn on my computer and start iTunes. Then I would wait for iTunes to download all my podcasts before syncing them with my iPod. I just felt like that was a waste of time. I wanted something better.
After searching around, I found an amazing site called Podlinez which basically lets you listen to your podcasts on your phone. Just enter the URL of the podcast RSS feed, and Podlinez will create a phone number which you can call to listen to the entire podcast. Note that these are toll-free calls, so if you're going to be doing this on a cell phone, make sure you listen during a time your phone service gives you unlimited minutes. I've tried this service out, and was surprised at how well it worked. You could get a ton of podcasts. The directory includes a list of 2000+ podcasts, and although the quality isn't that great, you still got to listen to your podcast. It updates quite frequently, so if you have some free time, fire up your phone and listen to those podcasts.
