Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Pictures will release its film adaption of the final "Harry Potter" book in two parts, saying doing so is necessary to stay true to the tome.
Part one of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will open during the holiday season of 2010, with part two to be released the following summer. The first five films in the series have grossed $4.5 billion globally. The sixth movie, based on "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is due to be released in the U.S. on Nov. 21.
My buddy Bill helped start a radio station at his kids' elementary school, and it just got a nice write-up in The Des Moines Register.
Parents at Cowles Elementary School, 6401 College Ave., can tune into a radio station in the school parking lot at dismissal time and hear a live broadcast of students announcing school news.
It's all thanks to one parent's technology hobby.
Bill Paxson, who has two kids at Cowles, is a stay-at-home dad who keeps up with the latest technology. One afternoon a few years ago he was sitting in his car in the school's crowded parking lot at dismissal time waiting to pick up his children. As he waited, he was using one of his latest gadgets - a low-power transmitter that allowed him to listen to music from his iPod on an FM station on his car stereo.
"I was thinking if these people knew what frequency I use to listen to my iPod, they could all listen if they wanted to," Paxson said. "Then it got me thinking, what if I had information for parents on my iPod and they all listened to that frequency. Then one thing led to another and I started exploring."
The new Apple notebook computer's major attribute is its sleek profile: it's about three-quarters of an inch thick and weighs three pounds. The Macbook Air features a full-sized keyboard, a 13-inch screen, a built-in camera, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, all powered by an Intel Corp. dual core chip.
Appearing on stage at the company's Macworld expo, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said the computer, which he called "world's thinnest notebook," will cost $1,799 and is scheduled to ship in about two weeks.
Monkeysoft Office Upgrade ($20). OK, I don’t even know where to begin. This kit includes software for a Windows PC, a foam caveman-style hatchet and a U.S.B. motion sensor. You affix the U.S.B. sensor to the back of your monitor. Then, the next time your PC starts driving you crazy, you grab the mallet and start pounding your screen. SMASH! CRASH! SHATTER! With each pound, realistic sounds and animations make it look like you’re breaking the glass of the screen. And then, on the fourth smash, the glass shards fall away to reveal what’s really causing your computer problems: a roomful of juvenile, out-of-control monkeys. O.K., how does someone even come up with something like this—and who’d believe in a product like this enough to bring it to market? Well, whatever. I’m just glad someone did, because it’s hilarious.
Morning Edition, June 14, 2007 · Studies show that computer keyboards have more bacteria than toilet seats. But it's hard to clean all those keys. So some people advocate an extreme solution: Throw your keyboard in your dishwasher.
At first glance, this seems insane. But the computer-keyboard-in-the-dishwasher advice is all over the Internet. And don't we wish it were true? My keyboard is an old Hewlett Packard that's encrusted with a kind of mysterious black grime. I thought, "Well, why not try my KitchenAid?'"
Dudes - an air can and a Clorox (tm) wipe work great!
Thanks to John D. on the LU list for the reminder to blog this...
AudioBook recommendation: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. Great multi-voice recording - Alan Alda, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner, Mark Hamill and others. Very thought-provoking.
I discovered this a bit ago, but forgot to post it. Flickr posts in 'real-time', linked to where in the world they're being posted from. Kinda cool, and rather distracting on a hot Monday afternoon. Here's a shot I grabbed, coming from NW Europe:
They've probably had it for a few days...but I've been buried in New Website Launch Hell for nigh on a week. Think good launch thoughts at me on Thursday! Bah.
So I'm noodling around del.icio.us trying to get an answer to a technical question and I run across the following:
For the record, I'm pissed that Stargate is being cancelled just as they add both Ben Browder and Claudia Black full time. They rock my world. But that's a geek rant for another time.
