Yahoo! Today, I’ve just recieved my ordered free pressed Kubuntu CD’s from Canonical Inc from the Netherlands. Well, what I did first is smell the air inside the package wondering if the air from the Netherlands get stuck there. Hehe. Actually, when I recieved my free Ubuntu CD last year, that was exactly what I did the first time it arrived. The package includes 5 free Kubuntu CD’s with a nice CD design and container.

The test…

I boot the CD so I can test it without affecting my files in my hard drive. The initialization was fast as well as the loading time. Within 3 minutes, everything was up and running… all configured up to the last driver. I was so amazed that it recognizes my Network Interface Card unlike in the Breezy Badger version of Ubuntu. In no time, I can surf the net like what I’ve been doing on Windows. The interface and the desktop was so unique and fast enough to perform tasks. I havent’s spend much more time on googling all the unique softwares that came bundled with this outstanding OS. I’m not yet willing to install this on my computer since my brothers play online games in it. Most games played on Windows are not compatible with Linux Kubuntu. So, I think when the right time comes when it’s capable to do a dual boot on my system without my brothers issuing a protest.

Click the images to view a larger image:

"kakasulat ko lang ng blog about the new upcoming version of digg tpos ok na, na launch na nila pag-check ko ulit after 1 hour since nagpost ako. We’ll inedit ko uli tong article pra nman sa new design ng digg website."

Digg v3

As I access digg.com, I was surprised too see the newly designed website. The update and the rollout of the new design was so fast. I think they implemented it within 4 hours. As I look around the site, I noticed that the right panel that contains the definition of Digg, the menus, are transferred onto the opposite side, left side of the digg contents. Also, when you go to this site, it defaults it’s digg topics in technology related articles. There are now tabs on the top-right below the diggnation podcast ad that indicates the default selected "popular stories" and another tab "upcoming stories".

Digg Design

Nothing much had changed. The same old blue-gradient filled background header with the digg logo on it as well as the search. Today, it appears more streamlined, cleaner look and feel.

Digg topics

On the panel on the left, you can select what topics to view. The default is "technology". You can also select "View All" with the asterisk sign to view all digg topics regardless of what category they’re in. Other topics are labeled with "beta" and those subscribed with digg.com and digg beta testers are able to view them.

Digging Tools

Here, Digg Spy was the former name of Spy. This tool let’s you view topics that are digged in realtime. You can see them fall and rise to the list, indicating the realtime events clicked/digged by the users.

I’ve just recieved a SMART FREE TEXT ADVISORY:

"Ang dating 258 Unlimited Text, maari nang ibenta! Sa UNLI 30 (SRP P30), P3.50 ang kita. Sa UNLI 40 (SRP P40), P4.50 ang kita."

Before, to avail of the P30 pesos 2 days unlimited texting you will go to a SmartLoad retailer to load you P30 worth of airtime load. You can then type 30 and then send to 258 to register for the Unlimited text. Today, we (retailers of SmartLoad) can now issue and load Smart subscribers unlimited text worth P30 and P40. No need for the subscribers to register, just go to their nearest SmartLoad reloading station/store and immediately be subscribed into the unlimited text.

Right now, I’m still waiting for the menu to be updated so I can issue 30 and 40 Unlimited service.

Meteorite Collision　

click here if the video is not playing or other problem arises.

"Explanation"

What happens when meteorite collide with each other? We tried to
find the answers: Simulation Experiment. We presumed that the collision
happened with the earth in order for lucid distance and location. The
diameter of the meteorite is slightly bigger than the breadth of Honshu
Japan. The collision point is located at the 3,000km south from Japan
in the ocean. The velocity of the meteorite is 70,000km/h. But the
meteorite is bigger than we can imagine, so that it appears much
slower. In the impact at the same time as colliding. The earth’s crust
of 10km in thickness where ground in the earth is composed is wholly
peeled off. This is called,"Earth’s crust tidal wave". There is 1km
width of the rock, and it flies to the sky it by the impact. The impact
surges to the Japanese Islands and,as a result, the Japanese Islands
are crushed. The splinter of the crushed rock easily exceeds the height
of 1000Km. After exceeding the atmosphere it reaches space. Afterwards,
the splinter of the rock falls again in surface of the earth. The edge
of Crater completed by the collision of the meteorite is 7000m in
height. It looks like a huge mountain range. The diameter of Crater has
4000Km. Crater is big to swallow a part from Guam to a Chinese
continent. But,it was only an introductory chapter of the tragedy that
would start in the future…..

The leading part with the accident is seen in Crater when seeing
from space immediately after the collision of the meteorite. Seeming as
shine to scorching color, and huge mass. The mass of the rock of which
this turned into the gas and the name are said, "Rock Vapor". The
amount of the rock that becomes a gas is about 100000000000000kt. "Rock
Vapor" extends in all directions on the earth after it swells up like
the dome. "Rock Vapor" generated by the meteorite’s having been dropped
to the sea located in the south of Japan will arrive at Himalayas in
three hours. In "Rock Vapor", the velocity of the wind is 300 meters.
It becomes the hot wind of a terrific high temperature of 4000℃ in
temperature and burns Himalayas. In the world covered with "Rock
Vapor", even a thick snow that piles in the coldest place named
Himalayas is instantaneously melted. There is no time to make the river
and the snow is evaporated instantaneously. "Rock Vapor" will reach
Amazon that lies to the other side of the collision of the meteorite in
a day. Tropical forests of Amazon cause the autogenous ignition for the
hot wind by "Rock Vapor" and the region is burnt up. Tropical forests
of Amazon turn into sea of flames in less than no time. Surface of the
earth from the collision on the first. It is covered with "Rock Vapor"
and it turns into a scorching star. "Rock Vapor" wraps the earth for
one year or more, and burns everything up at the terrific high
temperature. It is the same as making the sun innumerable near the
earth. On the other hand, the accident happens also in the sea. The sea
began to bubble violently. The sea boils by the heat of "Rock Vapor".
Tremendous heat of the "Rock Vapor" reduces the sea level at the speed
of 5cm a minute. The naked sea bed is relentlessly exposed to the
intense heat and melted down like lava. The sea of 4000m in average
depth has disappeared one month after the collision of the meteorite.
At this point, the earth becomes a star where the living thing cannot
live. Thus, the earth turned into the star of the death…..
… (more)

An email from Bill Gates was posted on Bink.nu website sent out to all Microsoft employees and subsidiaries.

From: MSBILLG
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 1:41 PM
To: Microsoft and Subsidiaries: All FTE
Subject: My Transition Plans

I wanted to take a moment to share some of my thoughts, as well.

As
Steve’s mail indicates, I’ve decided that two years from now, in July
2008, I want to devote more time to the work of the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation.

Right now and for the next two years, my
full-time job is here at Microsoft, and my part-time job remains the
Foundation. Beginning in July 2008, I will switch that, to be full-time
at the Foundation, while remaining involved with Microsoft as Chairman
and an advisor on key development projects on a part-time basis.

To
prepare for this change, we have a well-thought-out transition process.
Again, I will continue at Microsoft full-time for the next two years,
but over the course of those two years, my day-to-day responsibilities
will shift to a team of incredible technical leaders who are already
doing amazing things at the company.

I feel very lucky that
we’ve got extraordinary technical leaders at the company, like Ray
Ozzie and Craig Mundie, who can step up to assume the roles that I’ve
played. I’ve known Ray for the last 20 years, and he has created some
of the most important developments in the industry. Craig and I have
worked together for nearly 14 years, and he’s been a technical
visionary and a leader on policy throughout his career. With Ray and
Craig stepping up, I feel very confident that the technical stewardship
of Microsoft is in very capable hands.

And I feel the same way
about our business leadership. Our core businesses are strong and we
have a clear vision for how we will meet new challenges and
opportunities. We just had our first $12 billion quarter, and we
continue to generate almost a billion dollars in profit every month. We
are about to launch breakthrough versions of Windows, Office and
Exchange, which are already generating a lot of excitement.

Six
years ago, Steve and I made a major transition when he stepped up to be
CEO. He’s done a fantastic job by every measure, whether it’s the
people he’s brought in, the new ways he’s running the company, or just
the objective results - like doubling our revenue in six years. Steve
has driven us to make bold bets on things like Xbox, Real Time
Communications, business applications, IPTV, and many others including
the Live platform. Steve is the best CEO I could imagine for Microsoft
- he is changing the company in ways it needs to be changed. He is
bringing in new leadership at all levels. And, he is focused on the
long-term - making Microsoft a great company not just today but for
decades to come.

With Steve’s organization of the company into
three divisions led by our incredible presidents - Jeff Raikes, Robbie
Bach, and Kevin Johnson - we’ve laid a solid foundation for greater
autonomy, agility and entrepreneurial spirit in our product groups. And
with the great addition of Kevin Turner as our COO, our leadership team
has never been stronger.

Our deep technical strength is one of
the key reasons I believe Microsoft is well-positioned for great
success in the years ahead. I’m very pleased that in addition to Ray,
Craig, David and Rick, Steve has asked J Allard, Bob Muglia, and Steven
Sinofsky to play an expanded role in shaping the company’s business and
technology strategy. And when you consider all of our remarkable
Technical Fellows, Distinguished Engineers, all of the brilliant
researchers working at our MSR labs around the world, and all the
technical people in the business groups, I can safely say that our
technical talent has never been stronger or deeper.

Obviously,
this has been a very hard decision for me. Microsoft will always be a
huge part of my life, and I’m lucky to have two callings that are so
important and so challenging.

On a personal note, I know that my
work on global health and education issues at the Foundation would
never have been possible without the enormous success of Microsoft, so
I want to thank you and all of the employees past and present who have
contributed so much to this company.

For these last 31 years,
I’ve had the best job in the world. I’ve worked with some of the
brightest and most passionate people in the world. Together, we’ve
built a great company whose products have empowered people around the
world.

We’re only at the beginning of what software can do, and
I’m excited about the impact that Microsoft can have. I’m going to take
an extended vacation this summer with my family, but I’ll be back in
late August and I look forward to working with all of you for the next
two years and beyond, to make those dreams a reality.

Thanks.

Bill

*The following article is excerpted from James Proud’s Blog - click here

The following extracts are un-altered and hot off the press.

“Demand
for Beta 2 has been huge – which we expected. But, we are hitting
ceilings on bandwidth. Right now we are serving out product keys 10x
faster than we can serve the downloads. Already this is the biggest
software download event in history.”

“1. We are pumping out
bits as fast as we can. If we pushed out bits any faster there would be
a measureable impact for the Internet.”

“So, we are literally
saying that if we increased our bandwidth any further there’s a
possibilty of taking down the Internet – people might have problems
with World Cup viewing, etc”

“So, it isn’t that we weren’t
anticipating demand – we were and are – it is that we are at the
threshold of what the Internet can bear”

“2. We want to encourage people who can wait to order the DVD.  The DVD guarantees you RCI upgrade (as long as you activate).”

And what is that, Microsoft considered bittorrent as a distribution method?

“We
thought about Bit Torrent a lot, especially in the planning stages for
this. There are legal and privacy issues which unfortunately make that
not an option for Microsof to officially sponsor a BitTorrent. I really
wish we could do it, but we can’t.”

And what you all wanted to know, how many downloads, well, “no comment”.

So
Microsoft are holding out on the numbers of PIDs given and the total
bandwidth used, but I have been assured that within a week or two,
these figures will be available.

Click the links below to see images

1. Image001 - Enchanted Kingdom
2. Image002 - Ninoy Aquino International Airport
3. Image003 - SM Megamall
4. Image004 - Alabang Town Center
5. Image005 - San Juanico Bridge
6. Image006 - Dela Salle University - Dasmarinas, Cavite

Before you read the details about the new beta version of Google Earth 4, check out this images by clicking the links below.

1. Image001 - Splash Island
2. Image002 - Makati Central Business District
3. Image003 - McDo San Pedro
4. Image004 - Sogo San Pedro (hehe)
5. Image005 - Amazing Grace School
6. Image006 - AMA Makati
7. Image007 - Glorietta
8. Image008 - Antonino Building
9. Image009 - Bahay KOOO!
10. Image010 - Festival Mall

      

Google Earth (Release 4 - BETA)

      

The latest version of Google Earth is being released in beta form. We’ve added several new features that will make your Earth browsing even better.

      

Less Is More - A New UI
        The most obvious change is a new and, we think, simpler user interface.

      

      

We’ve reorganized the data layers to make it easier to find layers and turn them on and off. The nav panel at the bottom of the screen is gone, freeing up more real estate for actual imagery. The nav panel tools are still accessible, though; the nav controllers are now in the upper right and the tools (measure, print, email) are in the new tools bar along the top.

      

Free Feel To Change Your World
  Seeing buildings in 3D is one of the coolest things about Google Earth. And with this release, this feature is even better. For the first time, we support "textured" 3D buildings, meaning the bricks look like real bricks, the glass like real glass, and overall, the world looks more like, well, the real world. It’s just one more step on the path of creating a life-like 3D model of the whole planet. There’s just one catch - there aren’t many photorealistic 3D building models out there. Yet.
          That’s where Google Sketchup comes in.

      

       
         

         

         

       

         

         

       

      

Non-textured buildings	Textured buildings             Load KML

      

With Google Sketchup, you
        can now create
        your own textured 3D models. Here are some
        examples:

      

       
         

         

       

       

         

         

       

      

City Hall, San Francisco             Load KML	Chase Field, Phoenix

      

Creating and Sharing Geographic Information – A New Type Of KML
           The best thing Google Earth’s got going for it is the creativity
of the millions of users who are
adding and sharing geographic information. And with Google Earth (Release
4 BETA), we’ve expanded that capability in “KML,” the file format Google Earth uses to add and share data.

      

       
         

         

       

       

         

         

       

      

San Francisco 1946               Load KML	Yosemite Valley             Load KML

      

One of the reasons that Google Earth is so fast is that when you’re flying around, you’re only
        streaming in the pieces of the imagery that you need. But until now, importing KML meant loading everything – it was either all on or all off. This meant that loading, for instance, the topographic maps for all of Yosemite would grind Google Earth to a halt. For this new release, we’ve built
        the same smart loading techniques into KML, which means you can overlay large data sets
        without sacrificing performance.

      

Additional Features:

      

• We’ve released  versions of Google Earth in French, Italian, German, and Spanish.
• We’ve made  improvements to our GPS support (Google Earth Plus only)
• We’ve improved the  terrain, so peaks and valleys are more realistic

   

Before anything else, it’s been a month since I last posted in this blog. Busy with testing those new software version which I have now on my pc. So here it is.

Bon Echo Alpha 2 & 3 (Soon to be Firefox 2.0)

Mozilla, company behind the successful browser Firefox, tests it’s pre-release version of soon to be the next version of it’s browser namely Firefox 2.0.

Alpha 2

What I’ve seen so far with this release is the new search bar located on the top right (well it’s been there since Firefox debuted) with a new "icon" alongside (the magnifying lens icon). This new search bar let’s you preview suggestive search results as you type by showing in a drop down menu format. Other changes include renaming of "extensions to add-ons". Some plug-ins and extendsions doesn’t work on the alpha version of Firefox at the moment. In my case, the site-advisor plug-in from McAfee and the no-script plug-in doesn’t have any problem at all. The best change I’ve noticed so far is the memory usage. They somewhat manage to deal with this problem before in the earlier versions of Firefox which consumes a lot of RAM. On my system, the process firefox.exe indicates it’s memory usage not more than 70 MB. Unlike before when I see it’s process eating away 150 MB of my precious RAM.

Alpha 3

They change the search bar again with minor adjustments. By segragating the suggestive search resuts from the actual search while you type your search on it. Surprisingly, they added an "anti-phising site" capability to it’s browser powered by Google (well almost). Through this, they’ll boost their security from those fake and illigitimate websites who’s intention is to steal your valuable information. The anti-phising capability alerts you if you visit one of these scam sites by comparing them to a list of known banned sites.