Dave was checking out Google Reader the other day. Here’s an update of the famous 1min introduction video.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Category: product endorsements
newest version of Facebook improved
I never understood any of the previous versions.
But the most recent is very functional. And easy to navigate. Well done Facebook.
screenshot
Bill Gates – Thank You for Not Smoking
XLNT.
Smoking is stupid and unhealthy. I applaud this action.
Bill Gates and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced on Wednesday that they would spend $500 million to stop people around the world from smoking.
The World Health Organization estimates that tobacco will kill up to a billion people in the 21st century, 10 times as many as it killed in the 20th.
This time, most are expected to be in poor countries like Bangladesh and middle-income countries like Russia. In an effort to cut that number, Mr. Bloomberg’s foundation plans to commit $250 million over four years on top of a $125 million gift he announced two years ago. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is allocating $125 million over five years.
Since 1999, the Gates Foundation has spent more than $2 billion on AIDS programs and about $1.2 billion on malaria. Mr. Gates has just left his Microsoft post for full-time foundation work and said he intends to form partnerships with other philanthropists. …
NY Times – Billionaires Back Antismoking Effort
I first got so tremendously angered when I saw what Big Tobacco was doing in South America to addict a new generation: enticing third world youth to smoke (2006)
Cambodian Dental Vacation
When I was in Cambodia last week I bumped into a Kiwi dentist teaching at the University there. He recommended one clinic for visiting tourists:
Here’s a comparison of some costs between them and my clinic in Mazatlan, Mexican Dental Vacations:
Extraction $60 in Mexico, $25 in Cambodia.
Crown on gold $500 in Mexico, $450 in Cambodia.
Root canal $350 in Mexico, $100 in Cambodia.
The one in Mexico is 40-50% of the cost of dental work in Canada. Cambodia closer to 25-33%.
On the other hand, Mexico is much closer to me in terms of travel.
… I’m definitely considering the Cambodian option. Especially now that I have friends in that city.
Apple bungles iPhone 2 launch
Many of Apple’s biggest fans are “disgusted” with the many problems with last week’s introduction of the latest Jesus Phone
Steve must be furious.
On the other hand, Apple sold over 1 million iPhone 3Gs. And handled over 10 million downloads from App store.
Both way over expectation.
Best advice is to update an iTouch or iPhone 1 with the new firmware. Skip the iPhone 2 unless you really need one and live in a big American city.
August Rush
Not a perfect film. But it certainly is “feel good”.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I love the scene where August hears music in the blowing grass.
my new bike – Diamondback Response
Today made the final commitment to compete in an Adventure Raceon July 26th called Ocean Blue AR, in California near Half Moon Bay and El Granada in the Pillar Point Harbor area.
That’s in preparation for the BIG race: Big Blue Adventure, Lake Tahoe, California – September 20th, 2008.
The final commitment was securing a bike for both races.
I just paid $540 including tax for the 2008 model bike, upgraded pedals, mounted light, lock, 2 cages with water bottles and a one year service package.
Read reviews on Rate It All and MTBR. It’s considered a great value for the low price.
Dave and Lisa Adlard will transport my new wheels to both races, along with their own, by vehicle.
I’m still city commuting with my excellent Kona “Blast”. I’ll keep both bikes for now, the DB dedicated to Adventure Racing.
Mac the Ripper – copy DVDs
Finally got around to trying this acclaimed open source free software.
MacTheRipper is a free DVD ripper (extractor) for Mac OS X. It can extract commercial DVD movies to your hard drive, minus all the copy protections and region controls put in place by DVD publishers. You can then use various tools to burn the movie back to DVD-R for use in DVD players, or convert the movie to different formats for playback with a variety of devices. MacTheRipper is intended to backup DVDs you have legally purchased for personal use. Any copyright-infringing activity you choose to perpetrate using this application is illegal, immoral, and beyond our control.
What is the legal, moral Windoze equivalent, Warren?
Opera 9.5 versus Firefox 3
Seth Rosenblatt compared my two favourite browsers in a very subjective test concluding, I think, that Firefox is slightly faster, perhaps slightly better than Opera.
It’s close, however.
Both have the full IMAGE and TEXT zoom now, the most important feature to me.
IE has it as well. But not Safari.
Most people would prefer Firefox 3, I think. But I normally have both browsers open on my Mac.
Rick McCharles 