Looking At Star Trek - Then And Now

No surprise, I'm a Star Trek fan from way back! No, I don't have a model of the Enterprise or a uniform, and I don't travel the globe attending conventions... but I have been to all of the movies and followed most of the various series, the original was my favourite. Star Trek aka "Star Trek XI" is a real tribute to the original series with a fantastic upgrade that takes advantage of modern FX.

For those interested in the franchise, Wired has put together a gallery of images, "Then and Now" that is definitely worth a look, as is the movie...

Ever Wonder What The Googleplex Is Like?

Around the Googleplex in 200 seconds...

New Kindle - Bigger Is Better?

On Wednesday Amazon introduced a new larger version of the Kindle e-reader, saying that it is a new way for people to read large format documents such as textbooks, newspapers and reports. They also hinted that new partnerships that are in the works that may put Kindles in the hands of university students and newspaper readers. The Kindle DX (deluxe), has a screen that is two and a half times the size of the two older versions and will go on sale this summer for $489, or $130 more than the Kindle 2.

Regarding text books on the DX Rik Kranenburg, group president of higher education, professional and international publishing at McGraw-Hill said. “Currently on college campuses, the vast majority of students have computers, most of them laptops, and that’s the main vehicle for digitally accessing our content now. But we are eager to experiment with devices like the Kindle, iPhone and the Sony e-reader.”

Source: New York Times

Curve Out Sells iPhone In Q1

The LA Times is reporting that "Research in Motion's BlackBerry Curve replaced the iPhone as the best-selling smartphone among consumers in the first quarter, the NPD Group said Monday. The iPhone came in second, with two other BlackBerry models -- the Storm and the Pearl -- right behind." The NPD Group is attributing the shift to an aggressive advertising campaign by Verizon Wireless who offered a buy-one-get-one deal on Blackberrys. "The more familiar and less expensive Curve benefited from these giveaways and was able to leapfrog the iPhone, due to its broader availability on the four major U.S. national carriers," Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD, said in a report.

Terminator Salvation - The Video Game

Halcyon Games President Cos Lazouras, provides G4 with a guided tour through the battlegrounds of Terminator Salvation. A new blockbuster movie and an awesome looking new game... no work this summer! Release date is May 19th on Playstation 3, XBox 360, and PC.

Video Games - Video Game Cheat Codes - Xbox 360

Startup Plans To Shrink Devices With Thin Chips

Start up, Vertical Circuits, has developed a technique for packing large amounts of flash memory into a tight space by using a patented ooze that creates electrical connections between chips. The company dribbles a silver-based epoxy over their chips, reducing the need for wires or bulky packages that group chips together. “The thing that has stunned me is how much a Dell or Apple will pay for thinness,” says Bill Watkins, former chief executive of Seagate and current Vertical Circuits board member. “There’s a big difference for them between 2mm and 1mm on some of this stuff.” Expect to see the technology being used in many handheld devices over the coming months.

Source: NYTime Bits Blog

Man Delivers Baby With Aid Of YouTube

Marc Stephens and his wife Jo had planned to have their forth child at home with the aid of a midwife but when Jo woke with contractions and the midwife was too busy to attend the Stephens' were told to call an ambulance. While waiting for the paramedics Marc, an engineer, decided to turn to turn to YouTube for assistance just in case. As it turned out the baby arrived before help and Marc used his newly acquired skills to deliver the couples first son, Gabriel.

"The videos gave me peace of mind. I think I would have coped, but watching videos made things much easier." said Mr Stephens. "This is our fourth child now and while for our first I spent most of the time at my wife's head, now I'm not afraid to go down to the business end."

BBC news (video)

Report: Canada Lagging Behind In Innovation

A report released Wednesday suggests that Canada is lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to business innovation. Robert Brown, the chair of a panel assembled by the Council of Canadian Academies, and an author of the report said "Too few Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs choose strategies that emphasize innovation,"

When compared to other countries, the report found that Canadian businesses are relying on outdated business models, are slow to incorporate new technology, follow the lead of other countries and don't get the same payoff from research spending. Innovation is defined by the report as "... new or better ways of doing valued things. An 'invention' is not an innovation until it has been implemented to a meaningful extent,"

Source: CBC

Swine Flu Spam Carries Malicious Payload

Symantec Security Response is reporting of a document entitled "Swine influenza frequently asked questions.pdf" which is showing up in e-mail in-boxes and being used to drop malware on computers when opened. The file, known now as Bloodhound.Exploit.6, utilizes an old Adobe vulnerability to drop a malicious "infostealer" file on the user's computer. "We see so many of those and all they're doing is they're trying to steal your personal information, like you're credit card number, your online bank credentials," Marc Fossi, manager of security response at Symantec, said Wednesday. The best defense of course is to avoid opening e-mail attachments and to keep your software patch levels up.

Source: CBC

Keeping An Eye On Swine Flu

Swine Flu, the mysterious outbreak that has killed in Mexico and is spreading globally is top of mind for a lot of people and is definitely all over the media. If you're looking for a graphical representation of the outbreaks check out The New York Times "Tracking Swine Flu Cases Worldwide" and Google Flu Trends. I expected to see a lot more activity on Flu Trends but perhaps it takes some time to affect change on the site, we'll see.