Echo Binary

There’s a new concept mouse from Sony — VN-CX1 is a USB optical mouse-phone compatible with Skype which combines phone and mouse in one. I really like the idea and it looks stylish too. I just think it’s better if it is wireless or bluetooth-enabled, not wired.

When there’s a call in Skype you simply flip it open and it instantly becomes a USB phone. Flip it back and you can use it as a mouse again. The scroll wheel serves as the volume regulator during phone-mode. It doesn’t look ergonomic or comfortable because of its shape but it’s very trendy.

Links:
Sony VN-CX1: Skype Mouse Phone [ via Share Skype ]
Technorati Tags: Skype, Sony, optical+mouse, mouse

Note for my thesis groupmates –

After hours of testing I finally got MyODBC to work…

*Phew* I think I’m just an idiot for not discovering this tool earlier. This article on how ODBC access MySQL in .NET made the concept clearer to me. I thought using MySQL in Visual Studio 2005 would require hand-coding the database connection. It’s easier than I thought because there’s a query builder in it, yet it’s still peculiar to me. I have to check the MyODBC manual on how to use it effectively since stored procedures and views were added to MySQL 5 already. I guess this is a good sign as we can concentrate more on the the application logic and spend less time building complex database query.

Here’s a small screenshot of my workspace doing the n00bish query in VS.NET 2005 from MySQL 5 database (a dummy wordpress database dump)

Here’s the output of my simple query…

Looks simple, right?

So what’s the big deal with MyODBC? Hint: it’s all about $$$. If we can use MySQL 5 instead of MS SQL Server 2005 then we can save a lot of money not only in the development but also in the deployment of the web application. Initially we wanted to use the L.A.M.P. (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) to power our web application — all open-source. Cool. However it’s very idealistic since we cannot possibly code the entire application with our current knowledge and skill level. Not Cool. The server that we are going to deploy is going to be a Windows Server 2003 (we have no choice!) so in line with Windows Server 2003, we might as well code in Visual Studio. In addition, if we are going to race with time then Visual Studio is the right tool for rapid development — not necessarily the best but it serves its purpose.

Finally Thunderbird 1.5 is out. This new version has automated update system, RSS feed and podcast support, in-line spell checking, and a lot more.

What’s new in Thunderbird 1.5

• Automated update to streamline product upgrades. Notification of an update is more prominent, and updates to Thunderbird may now be half a megabyte or smaller. Updating extensions has also improved.
• Sort address autocomplete results by how often you send e-mail to each recipient.
• Spell check as you type.
• Saved Search Folders can now search across multiple accounts.
• Built in phishing detector to help protect users against email scams.
• Podcasting and other RSS Improvements.
• Deleting attachments from messages.
• Integration with server side spam filtering.
• Reply and forward actions for message filters.
• Kerberos Authentication.
• Auto save as draft for mail composition.
• Message aging.
• Filters for Global Inbox.
• Improvements to product usability including redesigned options interface, and SMTP server management.
• Many security enhancements.

Links:
Mozilla Thunderbird
Read the release notes
Technorati Tags: Mozilla, Thunderbird

I’m really impressed with this new Mac laptop powered by Intel Core Duo processor. It’s called MacBook Pro, a new brand name to celebrate the very first Apple laptop with Intel mobile processor. The new Intel logo also looks different on the MacBook Pro — sleek, black and shiny.

The MacBook Pro 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo is 4 times faster than a 15-inch PowerBook G4 1.67GHz. It will run Windows with some hacking and it’s thinner than the original PowerBook — it’s just an inch thick and weights only 5.6 pounds.

MacBook Pro At a Glance

• 15.4-inch widescreen display
• 1.67 or 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
• 667MHz frontside bus and main memory
• PCI Express architecture
• Up to 120GB Serial ATA hard drive
• ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with up to 256MB memory on 16-lane PCI Express
• ExpressCard/34 slot
• Dual-link DVI, VGA adapter included
• One FireWire 400 port, two USB 2.0 ports
• Optical digital and analog audio I/O, built-in microphone and stereo speakers
• Slot-loading SuperDrive
• Illuminated keyboard, Scrolling TrackPad
• Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11g), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and Gigabit Ethernet
• Mac OS X Tiger with iLife ’06 featuring iWeb, iWork ’06 trial, and more

For the complete package you can check the complete specification of MacBook Pro.

Price:
$1,999.00 for 15.4-inch 1.67GHz Intel Core Duo
$2,499.00 for 15.4-inch 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo

Link:
Apple: MacBook Pro
Technorati Tags: Apple, MacBook, MacBook+Pro, PowerBook, Mac+Intel

Skype 2.0 had been released and there are great features added in this release as well as many bug fixes. It’s currently available in Windows only. There’s a new release for OS X but it doesn’t support video calls yet while Linux has not received any update yet so let’s hope that both OS X and Linux will be updated with video capabilities soon.

For starters, this new release boast the best ever call quality of Skype. The developers had fine-tuned the codec and the sound quality is supposed to give you clearer calls. Skype 2.0 also added the most anticipated feature of all: video conversation. Now you can make video calls one-on-one anywhere in the world — for free! Contacts can also be sorted into different groups. You can also display your mood so that people know what you feel on the spot and you can display your local time so that your Skype buddies can tell the time difference of your Skype buddies. New sounds were added and were set as default. You can always revert to old tones if you don’t like the new ones. I personally don’t like the new ones so I changed them all back to old tones. I think it would be better to have tone themes rather than changing the individual tones one at a time. It’s just too annoying and time consuming.

Aesthetically, the new Skype 2.0 had undergone some redesign. New icons has given Skype a new face lift with its shiny new icons. New interface had cleared some of the clutter. I like the new over-all user interface design because it’s more streamlined and compact.

Technically this release has a better CPU utilization and smoother video playback than the previous builds. For a more detaiedl list of enhancements and bug fixes you can view the Skype changelog.

Kudos to Skype team!

Links:
Download Skype for Windows
Technorati Tags: Skype, VoIP