Confusing Vista error message

"You do not have permission to view the current permission settings for Properties, but you can make permission changes."

Sicko

Micheal Moore's newest film is missing a scene. Because Americans would not believe it. Watch it here

Asus eee PC-701 update

So the Asus eee PC-701 has hit the USA while Europe has to wait until its launch on november 9. In the meen time, test-drive this great interactive review, and read this review about the Linux interface.

History of the Amiga, part 4

Ars Technica has just released it's 4th chapter in the Amiga history, read it here

What to call a |

- pipe
~ - tilde
& - ampersand
# - number sign, hash or pound
^ - caret
` - grave accent
! - In programming - "bang"
... - ellipsis
{ } - braces
< > - chevrons, angled brackets
( ) - parenthesis
[ ] - brackets

Ever wanted to live in an underground missile base?

Yes? Well than this is your chance. For only $1.5 million, you can be the proud owner of a genuine Titan ICBM Missile Base in central Washington.

Location: former Larsen Air Force Base complex 1A Titan ICBM facility, central Washington between Moses Lake and Ritzville. The complex consists of 16 underground buildings and measures about 57 acres. It includes 3 - 160' tall missile silos, 3 (4 story) equipment terminal buildings, 2 antenna silos, a 100' diameter control dome building and a 125' diameter power dome buidling.

Take an aerial view via Flash Earth.

Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it? Here's a screenshot of the eBay page, in case bidding has ended, and an aerial view.

I made my first nickle!

Long live Google Adsense! I just made my first nickle. And I'm not going to tell you how long it took me :P

Storing passwords online

I have a lot of passwords laying around, and an equal number of usernames to match them. Keeping track of all this data is far from trivial. I used to have a text-editor with the option of saving files encrypted. I stored both the text-editor and my passwords on a USB-stick and carried it everywhere. This worked fine, untill I lost my stick. I ahve no idea where I lost it, but up to this moment, none of my accounts seem to be compromised. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Anyway, something had to be done.

I thought it would be handy to store my password online somewhere. That way, all I needed was a working internet connection to access them. And as I only needed the passwords to access stuff online, this was not a problem. I started looking for a suitable tool.

Not long thereafter I came across a PHP script called 'Online Key Manager', OKM for short. It seems to be made just for me. It uses PHP/MySQL, is easy to install, and is simple to use. No fancy bling-bling, just a password managing tool.

After reading the security warning the author left behind...

PLEASE NOTE Storing passwords online can be a security risk!
If you don't know how to protect your stuff, don't use Online Key Manager!
You have been warned.

...I plunged ahead and installed OKM. I made sure all the security features where in place and to this day, all seems well.

Cool stereo picture effect

How simple this is. I could have thought of it myself :)

Take to pictures at the same time, but slighty offset from each other. Put the 2 images together in an animated gif, and voila, great 3d effect!

More samples here

HP retro calculator

The Hewlett-Packard calculators of the 70's and 80's still have a reputation unsurpassed to this day. The legendary HP-55, introduced in 1974, was the first affordable scientific, programmable(!) pocket calculator in the world. The HP-12c is arguably the most succesful calculator in history. Introduced in 1981, it is still in production today. And offcourse the HP-48 series can not be left unmentioned. It is the mile-stone for engineering calculators.

But that was all history. At some point HP lost it completely, and started making horribly designed models like the HP-33. I can not imagine anyone wanting to be seen with that in public. Public outcries like these to bring back the legendary models long went unheard by Hewlett-Packard. Untill recently that is. Because now the retro designed HP-35 is available directly from HP, and for only $59.99.

Contractor on tranquilizers

More building errors here.

Tafiti: very sexy Silverlight search engine

This one you MUST see: http://www.tafiti.com/
It's a search engine front-end from Micrsoft, using some new Silverlight UI possibilities. Now the web is really going to look sexy!

Paint.NET v3.10 released

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.

So much for the sales talk. I use Paint.NET for all those small things Photoshop just takes too long to start up for.

Download Paint.NET v3.10

A history of the Amiga

As a kid a had a Commodore 64 (I still have one). I spend many long nights behind the flickering tv-screen hacking the machine in any way possible.

Then one day, my then best friend got a brand new Amiga 500 for his birthday. It was the ultimate computer of the time. It supported real multitasking when most other computer could not even run more than one application at a time. It had custom chips for audio and video acceleration, a heafty 32 bit 68000 CPU, and 1MB RAM. Oh, how I wanted one!



But, it was not to be. I eventually bought an IBM compatible when I had the money, and the Amiga slowly faded from memory.

Now the guys at Ars Technica are writing an excellent article about the history of the Amiga. This brings back a lot of memories..., and makes very good reading!

Part 1: Genesis
Part 2: The birth of Amiga
Part 3: The first prototype

Name a country that starts with a U...

And these people think they rule the world. At first I thought I was angry, now it just makes me sad...

How cool is this: Google maps of Mars!

Google, in collaboration with NASA researchers at Arizona State University, have created some of the most detailed scientific maps of Mars ever made. And they are all available for everyone to enjoy!

Asus eee pc starts shipping in september

According to this article, the eee pc should be shipped in bulk from early september. American prices range from $199 to $369, European prices will probable be in the same range, except the $ will be a €.

Lovely

A Linux server the size of a book

A complete Linux server in the palm of your hand? Have a look at the decTOP: It houses a 10GB, 3,5" disk, 128MB RAM and an AMD Geode processor running at 366MHz. All parts are easily upgradable. The RAM is a 200-pin SO-DIMM module, and can be upgraded to 512MB max. The harddrive is 3,5", which means an upgrade won't cost a fortune. Also in the box are USB 1.1, VGA (1600x1200), audio in and out and 9 V92 modem. Ethernet is supported via USB. And best of all: it is currently shipping for only $99,- !!!

Oh yeah, it also runs Windows CE 5.0, for those interested. Now, I'm mostly a Windows guy myself, but CE isn't really my taste. I haven't been able to find anyone who managed to fit any other Windows version on the device.

So, check this manual for installing Ubuntu, and have loads of fun.

P.S.: I am in no way related (business wise or other) to the guys behind decTOP.

Asus eee pc

At the Computex Taipei 2007 Asus presented their Eee PC701, which seem to combine the best properties of notebooks and PDA in one.

It's x86 based, runs a customized Linux (and is rumoured to run Windows XP as well).

Watch this flic I found on youtube

Some geeks have allready started a eee hacker site, that's real enthusiasm!

With the alledged introduction price of $199,- I would devinitly buy one!

Update: the European introduction prices are now set at €239,- for the 2GB version and €399 for the 4GB. Unfortunatly the introduction prices haven't been maintained, but it still look like a good deal to me.

Icy world

After my encounter with the Snow Cruiser, I had a closer look at the environment it was supposed to operate in. The Snow Cruiser reached Antarctica in januari of 1939 for it's intended journey to the magnetic South Pole. Unfortunatly, it never got there. But what is at the South Pole is the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station. At present it houses about 50 persons during winters, and an additional 100 in summer time. The nearest human settlement is 900 miles away, so it is one of the most barren places you will find on earth.

Have a look around this fascinating place.

Snow Cruiser

Have a look at this awesome piece of machinery!

It was constructed in the 1930's for intended use on Antarctica. It was eventuelly shipped to the South Pole, but never became a real succes. One of its flaws was its limited offroad ability. After driving off the ship at Bay of Whales, it sank to it's axles into the snow and the smooth rubber tires just spun helpless. The crew tried mounting spare tires doubling the front wheels, and mounted chains around the back wheels for extra traction, but performance was never as expected. Read the full story on the Snow Cruiser.

Some really strange laws

Today I came across some really strange laws that still exists in this world. Let me show you some examples:

• In Victoria Australia, only a licensed electrician is allowed to change a lightbulb.
• In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation.
• In Switzerland it is against the law for men to urinate standing up after 10pm which is the same time that it is illegal to flush the toilet.
• In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants – even, if she so requests, in a policeman’s helmet.
• In Birmingham, England, it is illegal for a man and a woman to have sex on church steps after sundwon.

Here is the complete list of strange laws