Today Google stepped up and responded to Microsoft’s bid on Yahoo. Needless to say, Google is not all that thrilled over the possibility of a Microsoft/Yahoo merger, and Google Senior Vice President, David Drummond, made some pretty aggressive statements about the scenario on Google’s blog in a post titled “Yahoo! and the future of the Internet”:
One of the interesting things mentioned at the Foxtel HD+ launch last week was that Foxtel hope to put an iQ box into every subscribers home later this year.
When I asked for clarification, I was informed that later on in 2008, Foxtel will be launching another iQ box, which will essentially be a slightly higher-specced version of their current offering (maybe with an HDMI output and a bigger hard drive – or maybe not). It will also have a more appealing price structure to try and entice more people over to the joys of their PVR (as opposed to the $15 per month it costs at the moment).
There’s no more information available than that, but if they do offer an iQ box that doesn’t require a $15 per month subscription fee, I am so there.
[Foxtel]
Palm hacker Allen Wong caught our attention last year with his Palm Pilot Notebook, and now his sights are set on designing a greener version. Wong’s SolarPalm is essentially a solar powered Palm TX. While its 312mhz speed won’t set the world on fire, this shows how coupling efficient solar energy with low power computers could result in a device as ubiquitous as your primary school solar calculator. [Allen Wong]
We know that, as geeks, we’re all tempted to take Valentine’s Day to the “next level.” Just so you know, this fibre optic rose is not that level.
After Reader Jason’s tip last week that Microsoft would be updating Office 2004 for Mac to give it native XML Support, Microsoft have just dropped me an email confirming the whole thing. Their response: In about 4-6 weeks, Microsoft will release a final file format converter which will allow Office 2004 for Mac users to read & write Office Open XML files. For example a customer would open a Word document sent from an Office 2008 for Mac user, and Word would do the conversion in the background. There are no extra steps. All existing features that will be in Office 2008 for Mac will be converted with no loss. New features in Office 2008 not available in Office 2004 will undergo some type of mapping into the old format. These features include equations, themes (font, colour and effects), OfficeArt, charts and diagrams.
The Mac BU will offer the only free, suite-wide converter tool available for users to access Word, Excel and PowerPoint Office Open XML files. In addition, our converter will offer both individual and batch file conversion.
The final Office 2004 converter will be a fully integrated solution that allows customers to both read and write Office Open XML files directly from within Office applications. Mac BU will also provide a converter for Office v.X, which will be a standalone drag & drop converter.
Mac BU are offering the converter so Office 2008 for Mac customers are able to share their documents with older Office customers & that Office 2004 for Mac & v.X users are able to read the new file formats.
Mac BU has always been open about this final converter when we released the Beta File Format Converters mid year we mentioned that final converters would be available post Office 2008 for Mac launch.
[Thanks Jason!]
Along Highway 1 in Western Finland, some rest stops have bathrooms that can be opened only via text messaging. Otherwise locked, a number is posted on the door to which you text “OPEN.” The door unlocks and you can do your business.
Lite-On Technology’s Moldable Mouse may be the most exciting event to grace the humble PC mouse since you almost had sex with it three-years ago. (Bad times, eh?) The Moldable Mouse will allow you to shape your trusted mouse into any shape you choose, as it will be constructed of a “non-toxic lightweight modelling clay, covered with nylon and polyurethane blend fabric”
While we opted not to go to med school—a choice that we celebrate every day by working in our underwear (though also a choice we regret after catching ourselves in the eye once with a Wicked Laser, true story)—the scales may have tipped were this Operation Pen around several years back. Your favourite game on an obnoxiously oversized writing device, the organs are even fastened to the game with string so you don’t lose all the pieces during your first particularly shaky weekend after losing rights to that prescription pad.
In an era when smokers are subjected to the hostile smoking environment of…fresh air…our friends at Philip Morris are ready to accommodate those looking to expedite the process stepping outside. They’ve packed the same amount of nicotine goodness into a smaller package—think of it as the iPod Nano of the lifespan cigarette world.
