Goo-gle p-a-g-e-s, ..., zzzzz

Alright, I told you I'd get back to you about Google Pages and I have recently been granted an account on Google's Web Page Service.

To be frank, if you are at all experienced with web page design or anything of the sort you will be disappointed. I design web pages for a side job and use Adobe Dreamweaver for design. It is much more powerful and you can build a site a lot better using this program. Heck, you could make a better web site with Microsoft FrontPage.

I all seriousness, you may get free hosting and a web page designer for free as well, but you are not receiving anything more powerful than Blogger. And Blogger does all the work for you.

If you want to sign up for Google Pages please click here or click on the title.

PSone Dead?

According to Gamespot, Sony has turned the power switch off on the little system and has put all its focus on the newer systems.

The PlayStation has been built since 1994 to the delight of many gamers and has now been discontinued. The system has sold over 100 million units around the world.

Good news for gamers though. Sony has announced that they are developing a PSone emulator for the PSP. This means that every system to date will have the capability to play PlayStation games. The PS3 will also be able to play PSone games along with it's PS2 compatibilty as well.

FIREFOX 2.0 ALPHA

I have downloaded the 2.0 alpha version of Firefox. I have been toying around with it for the day and all I can say is that it is awesome.


The image above is a screenshot of techno_babble online using Firefox 2.0a (code name "Bon Echo"). As you can see from the screen-shot it is very close to 1.5 but there are some key differences.

The browser itself seems to be much faster even though this version is in alpha. I even turned the browser memory cache off and it ran the same. The menus are basically the same and the browser still supports skins and extensions.

The options menus is same containing the same security and connection options.

For an alpha version Firefox is very stable.

As the alpha progresses I will update information about FireFox 2.0a.

NOTE: This product is only available for Windows and Linux. You see my screenshot looks like Apple however it is just a skin by windoblinds.

IPOD FM TRANSMITTER TESTING - DLO TRANSPOD

I am testing a new FM transmitter for your car. There is a picture to the left of it and it appears they have upgraded as per the link. The transmitter is made by DLO and it is called the Transpod.

At first glance the system has a full FM range and a small backlit LCD screen. The system works with all iPods that have a dock connector.

I am using my old 4G iPod in testing and so far is sounds pretty good. Better than my iTrip transmitter.

This system also charges your iPod while it's plugged into the Transpod dock.

I will have more information in the future when I have completed the testing.

UPDATE: I have completed my testing of this product.

It has definately surpassed my expectations. The unit performs almost flawlessly in all conditions. I don't seem to get much interference from other local radio stations. Even if you did you can change the transmitter to any other frequency in the FM band that you want.

I tested my 5G iPod video in the transmitter and it also performs just as well however the iPod doesn't fit the dock as well. It is way too thin.

In conclusion, for $99.00 (CAN) you're getting a very powerful FM transmitter that docks your iPod.

PLAYSTATION 3 UPDATE

As per the Sony website there has been a change of release date for the Playstation 3. The PS3 is now going to be released in November 2006.

This is the most logical move for SONY and I'll explain below.

It has been said that the delay is due to the DRM integrated in the PS3's BluRay drive.

We know at the moment that Samsung is due to have a BluRay player in the next couple of months and by that we know that the PS3 must be complete by then.

This is pure speculation but this could mean that between June and November Sony could just be stocking the PS3 for release making sure they can keep the shelves full unlike Microsoft's XBOX 360.

MOZILLA'S SEAMONKEY - WHAT IS IT?

Many people have heard of the internet browser and email client that Mozilla offers to the masses. If you haven't Mozilla's internet browser has become a very popular internet browser for those that wish to keep their computer systems free of spyware of which Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Mozilla also has an Outlook email client killer called Thunderbird.

So what is this "SeaMonkey"? Well, contrary to popular belief, SeaMonkey is not a monkey at all. It is an all-in-one browser, email, instant-messenger, and address book. It is basically a re-hash of Mozilla Suite, which has been discontinued but still downloadable, continuing thetradition of the big and mighty internet experience.

I have been playing around with SeaMonkey lately and will give you some information about the suite.

First of all, it is just about as fast as Firefox and has basically the same button setup. If you are switching from Netscape, it will be the same setup. The suite loads very quickly (of course this will depend on the speed of your computer; I am running a Sempron 3000+ with 512MB RAM) and has your home page open right away. The browser is just as easy to use as Firefox. It even includes a download manager. That's still better than Internet Explorer (IE).

Second of all, there is a composer. The composer is very close to the Thunderbird program. It is fairly quick as well as updates fairly quick as well. I haven't found any glitches as of yet and it supports all the IMAP and POP systems out there.

Thirdly, there is an address book. It also has the same basic setup as Thunderbird. It is fairly simple to import your previous addresses from Outlook and create new entries in the program. You can browse all the entries via search bar at the top of the screen.

Lastly, SeaMonkey includes an IRC client. I don't use IRC but I would like hear from someone who does. Please comment by clicking on the comment button below. I will post it below if the information is good.

All in all SeaMonkey looks like a good all-in-one browser. I prefer to use Firefox and Thunderbird just because the interfaces seem to be a little slicker.

I think if you like to use the all-in-one suites than use them. If you like to choose individual programs that use what you want.

If you want to keep your computer free of spyware please use Firefox. You can get it here.

If you want to use Thunderbird you can get it here.

ORIGAMI PROJECT, NOW UMPC, TO BE AVAILABLE SOON

Microsoft has announced at CeBIT 2006 the release of "Origami" or officially the "Ultra-Mobile PC".

Basically the system is a 7.5 inch screen with a Windows table-PC OS and a Celeron-M in the background. It will be able to play music and video as well as surf the internet.

You will also be able to type on it with thumbs. I dunno how but that is what I've read.

This is basically another try to get the tablet-pc to move again but at the $1000 (US) price I won't be buying one soon when I can buy a more powerful laptop for $200 (US) less.

*The image used in this story is sole property of Microsoft and has only been resized for reasons of bandwidth and desktop space.

CEBIT 2006 - NVIDIA QUAD SLI

Nvidia's press release states that they've released Quad-SLi systems with some major computer companies.

Namely:

• Alienware
• Dell
• Voodoo

All three of these companies are well known for their high-end gaming systems and are preparing release gaming computers with the Quad-SLi technology in the systems.

Having this technology would create a system with super HD power and extremely fluent and crisp graphics. The resolution supported will be 2560x1600.

If you want more information click on the title to read the press release from nVidia.

*The image used in this story is sole property of nVidia and has only been resized for reasons of bandwidth and desktop space.

TOSHIBA RELEASES NOTEBOOK WITH CORE DUO PROCESSOR

Toshiba has released a new notebook computer with the new Intel Core Duo processor installed following similar moves by of other companies like Dell.

The notebook comes standard with:

• Intel Core Duo (doesn't state speed in specs)
• 1GB DDR2 RAM (with a maximum of 4GB)
• 100GB Hard Drive
• DVD-R/RW (including dual-layer)
• 14.1 monitor (@ 1280x800 resolution)
• 128MB integrated Intel Graphics Media accelerator 945GM
• 5 in 1 media card reader
• 1 Firewire
• 4 USB

You'll notice that I left out the battery power. You may buy this product for the power but you do sacrifice the battery life. Toshiba only installs a 6-cell battery in these thus leaving less battery life (go for an 8-cell next time Toshiba). This battery lasts about 3 hours according to their website. Compared to another product of theirs with the Core Solo processor it only gets half of the battery life. This other notebook is rated at 6 hours battery life.

You get all of this though for a small price actually for a notebook. Prices are at $1 799.99 (CAN) for the notebook. My own Satellite A10 cost the same amount and it was a 2GHz P4M (no not a Pentium M, it was a Pentium 4 M), 512MB RAM, 64MB Intel Extreme Graphics (weren't really extreme at all), 40GB hard drive, and to top it off, 2hrs of battery if your lucky (I'm currently at 5 minutes of battery now).

The M100 is a steal and if you're looking a adequate laptop for multi-media this is the one. And seeing that it is small is is portable as well.

*The image used in this story is sole property of Toshiba and has only been resized for reasons of bandwidth and desktop space.

WHERE'S THE NEWS?

I dunno.

Beyond the somewhat hyped announcement from Apple there really hasn't been much news to share on techno_babble this week.

There will be a new podcast up soon (this week I hope). Cee, Kev and I have been sick all weekend again and I lost my voice so I really couldn't do a podcast. We did purchase some new microphones for the podcast and are excited and quite ready to use them.

SORRY FOR THE PAUSE OF NEWS

I was away on a trip from Friday to Sunday and was sick from Sunday night to Tuesday night but I'm better now and we're now preparing for a new podcast.

We are purchasing new PS2 microphones if you can believe it. They're actually really good if you use them right (unlike the way we did last time). With the new microphones we will be able to have Jeff, Cee, and Kev all talk at the same time. It will be a good podcast and we'll have a better layout and hopefully some intro music instead a somewhat copyrighted transporter sound.

Keep reading and listening. You can find our podcast on podcast pickle.

STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II REVIEW BY KEV

STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT ll

It's not just shooting blasters and going commando against your opponents, but even becoming the great jedi to defend the universe, or be the enemy with the powerful sith. Yes, you guessed it, I'm talking about STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT ll. Let's take a look at it.

Check it out at Kev's gaming blog by clicking on the title. We will do a complete review on the techno_babble podcast.