Links

Places on the web that are of most interest to me:

  • PubMed. The premier site for literature searches in biomedical science.
  • Slashdot. Feel the pulse of today's most pressing issues in science, technology, and rights in the digital age.
  • OSNews. Another geeky news site geared towards articles around the web that concern the "future of computing."
  • Pybliographer. Need a bibliography manager in Linux? Look no further, this program is jam packed with features and competes with many current commercial software packages.
  • Using LaTeX for your thesis proposal and dissertation (from http://www.rpi.edu/computing/software/latex/thesis-info.html [Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute]). This is an excellent starting document for those of you wanting to learn more about LaTeX. By all means, spend the time now to understand this wonderful package and it will save you lots of headache and heartache in the future when you need to whip out a scientific paper, review, or book.

The following are links to my family and friends' web pages:
  • Hieu Vu. My brother is a graduating Chemical Engineer. He's has a number of experiences in the field and is looking for a job, can you help him out?
  • Tone's "The World from Mine Eyes". In need of a good chuckle?
  • Jeffrey T. Mason. He's a childhood friend who has always had a passion for radio and music. He DJs in the Chicago listening area for a popular dance (WKIE - 92.7/5) radio station. Check his site out and listen to him live on the Jeffro Show, 7 pm to Midnight CST.
  • Dragonsfolly.com is my cousin's site. It has excellent prose and sci-fi fantasy fan fiction. Check it out for an interesting read.
  • Pham-Tom Designs is a friend's design company. Browse his pages if you need art design for your website.
  • Color Negative is yet another friend's design company. Browse his pages if you need art design for your website.
  • Minh Pham is a close friend who happens to be a real estate broker. His passion is motivational speaking. Please peruse his site if you need a speaker for your next conference or meeting.
  • Oanh Le is in the IT field in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area (soon to be in the New York City area). She has more than a few years of on-the-job experience under her belt. Follow the link if you need a consultant for contract work.
  • Looking for a snazzy pair of sneaks? Swing on by to gotkickz? and order "two per of those er force ones." In fact, do your holiday shopping early, tell them I sent you.

Some recent deals and news

Channel: dealnews - 7 most recent deals.

  • Wagan Tech Hi-Speed Portable Air Compressor for $28 + $6 s&h. Wagan Tech Hi-Speed Portable Air Compressor for $28 + $6 s&h Today only, Yugster.com offers the Wagan Tech Hi-Speed Portable Air Compressor, model no. 2592, for $27.97 plus $6 for shipping. That's $52 off and the lowest total price we could find. This 3.4-lb., 100-psi air compressor is powered by your car's 12V cigarette lighter outlet. It features a 10-foot power cord, 2-foot air hose, built-in work light, and more.
  • Samsung 55" 120Hz 1080p LED LCD HDTV for $1,600 + free shipping . Samsung 55" 120Hz 1080p LED LCD HDTV for $1,600 + free shipping Amazon.com offers the Samsung LUXIA 55" 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LED-Backlit LCD HD Television, model no. UN55B6000, for $1,599.99. (Add it to your cart to see this price.) With free shipping, that's $249 under our December mention and the lowest total price we could find by $190. This LED-backlit HDTV measures 1.2" deep and claims to use 40% less power than conventional LCDs. It features a native resolution of 1920x1080 (1080p), 120Hz refresh rate, 4ms response time, 3,000,000:1 "mega" dynamic contrast ratio, Ethernet and USB connectivity, four HDMI inputs, and VGA, component, and other video inputs.
  • Netgear 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch for $32 after rebate + free shipping. Netgear 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch for $32 after rebate + free shipping Buy.com offers the Netgear GS105 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch for $41.99. This $10 mail-in rebate slices it to $31.99. With free shipping, it's the lowest total price we could find by $14. Rebate ends March 31.
  • Refurbished Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20 10MP Camera for $155 + free shipping. Refurbished Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20 10MP Camera for $155 + free shipping Sony Style offers the factory-refurbished Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20 10.1-Megapixel Digital Camera in Black for $224.99 with free shipping. Add it to your cart and the price drops to $154.99. That's $75 under the lowest total price we could find for a new, factory-sealed unit, although we saw this refurb for $5 less in Janaury. Sales tax is added where applicable. It features a 10x optical zoom lens, 3" LCD, face detection technology, Memory Stick PRO Duo slot, and USB 2.0 connectivity. A 90-day Sony warranty applies.
  • Excalibur Fox Sports 7-in-1 Plug-and-Play Sports Game for $10 + free shipping. Excalibur Fox Sports 7-in-1 Plug-and-Play Sports Game for $10 + free shipping Buy.com offers the Excalibur Fox Sports 7-in-1 Plug-and-Play Sports Game, model no. FX-VR206, for $9.99 with free shipping. That's $5 under our February mention and the lowest total price we could find by $16. It comes with a console (which plugs right into your TV's AV input) and a wireless, Wii-like controller. Games include baseball, ring toss, bowling, golf, and more.
  • Toshiba 500GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive for $70 + free shipping. Toshiba 500GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive for $70 + free shipping For its "M" Club members only, mwave.com offers the Toshiba 500GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive in Liquid Blue, model no. HDDR500E04XL, for $69.99. ("M" Club membership is free; click here to sign up.) With free shipping ($0.14/GB), that's $7 under our February mention and the lowest total price we could find by $10. This drive has an 8MB cache and runs at 5400 rpm.
  • Refurbished LG 42" 600Hz 720p Plasma HDTV for $499 + free shipping. Refurbished LG 42" 600Hz 720p Plasma HDTV for $499 + free shipping Today only, 6th Avenue Electronics offers the refurbished LG 42" 600Hz 720p Widescreen Plasma HD Television, model no. 42PQ30, for $499 with free shipping. That's $51 below last week's mention of a new, factory-sealed unit and the lowest total price we've seen for this model. Features include a 1024x768 (720p) native resolution, 600Hz sub-field drive, 1,500 cd/m² brightness, 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, USB port, three HDMI inputs, and component and other video inputs.

    No warranty information is provided.

Channel: Techbargains.com

Channel: xpBargains.com deals RSS feed

Channel: Slashdot

Channel: OSNews

  • *Peering at Paldo 1.21*. One of the things I love about software, particularly open source software, is innovation can come from anywhere. Sometimes it appears out of large tech companies such as Red Hat, IBM or Sun and other times it can come from one person writing code on a second hand computer in their college dorm. Software is really the expression of ideas and concepts, which can come from anyone. So I really enjoy seeing small open source projects try new things. Some will succeed and be adopted and some will fade away, but the amazing thing is to see people put their idea out there and present it to the world. Which is why I was thrilled when a few people directed me to Paldo and suggested it was worth a look. Read more on this exclusive OSNews article...
  • Palm Releases Plug-in Development Kit Beta. Palm has released the PDK for the webOS, which allows developers to code in C and C++, while also providing access to, for instance, the 3D chip. "The PDK complements the Palm webOS Software Development Kit, letting developers use C and C++ alongside the web technologies that power the SDK and mix them seamlessly within a single app. The PDK enables new functionality, including immersive 3D graphics, and gives developers who have built games for other platforms an easy way to bring their titles to the webOS platform. Developers can download the beta PDK and start developing today, but distribution of games built with the beta PDK will require functionality provided in an upcoming Palm webOS update."
  • Mozilla Borrows from WebKit to Build Fast New JS Engine. "Mozilla's high-performance TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, which was first introduced in 2008, has lost a lot of its luster as competing browser vendors have stepped up their game to deliver superior performance. Firefox now lags behind Safari, Chrome, and Opera in common JavaScript benchmarks. In an effort to bring Firefox back to the front of the pack, Mozilla is building a new JavaScript engine called JaegerMonkey."
  • The Secret Origin of Windows. "Few people understand Microsoft better than Tandy Trower, who worked at the company from 1981-2009. Trower was the product manager who ultimately shipped Windows 1.0, an endeavor that some advised him was a path toward a ruined career. Four product managers had already tried and failed to ship Windows before him, and he initially thought that he was being assigned an impossible task. In this follow-up to yesterday's story on the future of Windows, Trower recounts the inside story of his experience in transforming Windows from vaporware into a product that has left an unmistakable imprint on the world, 25 years after it was first released."
  • Cisco Unveils Next Internet Core Router. Cisco Systems today introduced its next-generation Internet core router, the CRS-3, with about three times the capacity of its current platform. "The Internet will scale faster than any of us anticipate," Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers said during a webcast announcing the product. At full scale, the CRS-3 has a capacity of 322Tbit/sec., roughly three times that of the CRS-1, which was introduced in 2004. It also has more than 12 times the capacity of its nearest competitor, Chambers said.
  • Schwartz Recalls Apple, Microsoft Patent Threats Against Sun. In response to Apple's lawsuit against HTC, Jonathan Schwartz, former CEO of Sun Microsystems, has written a very intriguing blog post providing an insight into how major companies like Apple and Microsoft treat patents. He recounts two occasions on which Apple and Microsoft threatened to sue Sun - and how Sun retorted.
  • European Parliament Opposes ACTA, Votes Wednesday. We have some very, very good news for Europeans (which happens to include myself): we have the European Parliament on our sides when it comes to battling ACTA. If you may recall, ACTA is basically an attempt by the US to impose upon the rest of the world draconian measures like three strikes laws and the DMCA. All parties within the European Parliament have together put forth a resolution that would effectively tackle ACTA.
  • The iPhone Developer Program License Agreement Leaks. So have you actually read the iPhone Developer Program[me] License Agreement? The EFF, using a freedom of information act to shrewdly get a copy legally off of NASA, look into the details and don't like what they find. As well as trying to prevent anybody from so much as mentioning the existence of these terms, Apple owe you no more than $50 if they sink your company by removing your apps for any reason they so please. It makes for scary reading, that is--if you think the terms are enforceable in court. I hope to see this very thing challenged as soon as possible.
  • Cisco To Unveil News that Will 'Forever Change the Internet'. Cisco Systems says it will make a major announcement on Tuesday, news that the technology giant says "will forever change the Internet". Shares of Cisco gained 3.65% to close at $26.13 Monday, hitting a new 52-week high of $26.36 intraday, as some analysts speculated that the tech giant is rolling out new gear to help wireless phone companies cope with rising video Web traffic. Cisco had sent out invitations to analysts and the media for a "significant announcement" that it says "will forever change the Internet and its impact on consumers, businesses and governments". Let the speculation begin!
  • QNX: The First OS to Support a PC Hard Drive. You know what's fun? Making claims on the internet about how something or someone was first with something or someone - if you catch my drift. You know what's also a lot of fun? QNX, the microkernel realtime operating system that powers just about any possible piece of kit you can think of. As it turns out, QNX was the first operating system to support a hard drive on a PC. On a related note, a new pre-release has been released of QNX 6.5.0.
  • Android Coders Get High-Speed Graphics Ability. "Want better games on your Android phone? They may be coming sooner now, at least for Android 2.0 models. Google has let programmers tap directly into mobile phone graphics power by releasing a third version of its Android Native Developer Kit on Monday."
  • Valve Brings Hit Games, Steam Service to Mac. "It's officially official: Valve will bring its Steam online distribution service and titles from its massive library of hit games to the Mac this April, the company confirmed Monday. The successful content-delivery service will bring Valve titles like Left 4 Dead and the upcoming Portal 2, as well as games from other publishers, to Apple computers for the first time. The move was telegraphed last week in a series of teaser posters that mashed characters from Valve games into retro Apple ads." The big thing: native! Native! No emulation! Great news for Mac fans, and hopefully, a Linux version is on the way too.
  • W3C Pulls Former Novell CTO for CEO Spot. "Filling a position left open since 2008, former Novell CTO Jeffrey Jaffe has taken on the role of chief executive officer for the W3C. Jaffe will work alongside Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who will remain the organization's director. While Berners-Lee will concentrate primarily on the direction of the W3C's standards, Jaffe will look to streamline the W3C process of working with members."
  • RSA 1024-bit Private Key Encryption Cracked. "Three University of Michigan computer scientists say they have found a way to exploit a weakness in RSA security technology used to protect everything from media players to smartphones and ecommerce servers.RSA authentication is susceptible, they say, to changes in the voltage supply to a private key holder. The researchers - Andrea Pellegrini, Valeria Bertacco and Todd Austin - outline their findings in a paper titled "Fault-based attack of RSA authentication", to be presented 10 March at the Design, Automation and Test in Europe conference."
  • It Doesn't Add up: Mathematics in Wonderland. We're probably a little off-topic here, but with the renewed interest in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (the proper title), due to the Tim Burton film, people are starting to pick up Lewis Carroll's books again, which I can only see as a good thing (being an Alice fan myself and all). The New York Times is running an interesting article about an aspect of the Alice books you won't see in most adaptations: the mathematical one.
Channel: CNET News.com