Happy New Year!!! (bis)

As I wrote a year ago: "It is customary to say 'Happy New Year' to everyone on 1st January, so now it's done (it was quick!), I can go on with my usual silly things I found.

Let's have a look at what will happen this year:"

2009 has been designated as the:

• International Year of Astronomy.
• International Year of Natural Fibres. [SL: I'm not surprised after the International Year of the Potato.]
• International Year of Reconciliation. [SL: I'm not sure it'll be successful.]

Predicted events:

• January 1 - Slovakia adopts the euro and becomes the 16th member of the Eurozone.
• January 20 - Inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States.
• January 26 - Annular solar eclipse.
• February 12 - Darwin Day, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Events are already being planned at the London Natural History Museum. [SL: I doubt Americans will celebrate this…]
• February 13 - The Unix time number reaches 1234567890 seconds at 23:31:30 UTC. [SL: funny.]
• February 22 - The 81st Academy Awards will be held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. [SL. For the first time since 2003 BeTV will broadcast the ceremony so I won't miss it this time!]
• June 4-7 - The European Parliament election 2009 will take place, the exact date varies depending on country. [SL: really nice of 'our' European representative to organise this election while millions of students are taking exams… I also predict that we'll have to go to the polls for the Belgian federal election.]
• July 1 - Sweden takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from the Czech Republic.
• July 22 - Total solar eclipse. The longest lasting total solar eclipse of the 21st century.
• September - The Burj Dubai in Dubai, UAE will be completed. It is already the tallest man-made structure ever built. [SL. It's currently more than 800 metres high!]

And, sadly, as I wrote a year ago:

"Furthermore, the Iraq war will continue, as well as the War in Afghanistan, the Conflict in Darfur, and also the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

"Computer friends"

A nice promoted video on YouTube today, partly praising Apple computers qualities:

I'm a Gates… and I'm a Seinfeld

Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld to challenge "I'm a Mac… and I'm a PC" ads?



Here's the first commercial featuring Gates and Seinfeld:



(Note the picture on Bill's discount card!)

Here's another one, featuring the long version:



Of course it didn't take much time for Apple "I'm a Mac… and I'm a PC", mocking the fact that Microsoft spends $300 million on an advertising campaign instead of fixing Vista bugs… (*tuttering*)

Bill Gates' giving a speech to a Harvard class. (From Uncyclopedia.)

Next generation computers

On 14 October 2008 Steve Jobs held a keynote presentation about Apple Inc.'s brand-new laptops: the new MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. I definitely have to get my hands on one asap.

Part I: The state of the Mac: Apple gains momentum!



(Talking about achievements)
"The next stuff is something we didn't do: Vista."

At 9:33 --> I'd like to see that once in my life!



Part II: Some new ways to build notebooks





Part III: New graphics and new trackpads for notebooks and introducing the new MacBook Pro



Brilliant stuff! The graphics are awesome (yeah, the word applies this time) and the trackpad is revolutionary. And LED display — "just gorgeous!"

"This is a 'tour de force' on engineering."



Part IV: the two MacBook Pro models, and the new MacBook Air, enhanced with the new graphics, bigger hard drives



"The things we're proud of, are the things we left out." --> This is what I like with the Apple philosophy: let's get rid of silly PC ways like "Click on 'Start' to shut down".


Part V: 24" LED cinema display, continuation of the 'MacBook white'



The unibody aluminum enclosure is definitely what I really was looking forward to. I'm just not surprised the batteries don't last longer than 5 hours; my iBook G4 can run for 4 to 4,5 hours. Of course, PCs are no match: I always laugh when I see PC users who always RELY on the presence of a plug in the room so as to make the PC run.



Part VI: Summary and promotional video



Conclusion: fantastic.

SuperEnvelope: the world's biggest envelope

Dell's response to the launch of Apple's MacBook Air.



Made on a Mac, of course! Long live !

Tomorrow I'll talk about the new MacBooks, so stay tuned.

iCock nano

What happens when Bill Gates from Microsoft meets Steve Jobs from Apple, Inc.?



"You want to see my Dick?"
"Ah yeah, sure…"
"Here."
"Yeah, that's tiny also!"
"Yeah, I was born like that!"

--> Genius

(This sketch comes from the Harry and Paul show.)


On Windows Vista you can sometimes see crazy notifications pop up…

“At least I don't have to press the "START" Button to SHUT MY COMPUTER DOWN any more. That didn't make any sense.”

~ Oscar Wilde on Vista

“You do know that this is still called the "START" button, right?”

~ Me on Oscar Wilde's quote

I prefer Rutte 98, if you want my opinion…

"I'm a Marvel" / "And I'm a DC"

Let's have a look at this spoof on the "I'm a Mac" / "And I'm a PC" commercials made by Apple. Today Batman (DC) talks with Spiderman (Marvel):



Now take a look at those vilains, Lex Luthor (DC) and the Green Goblin (Marvel):

Mac Rules

What can you do apart from saying "Aaaahhhhahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"? And wait, watch the guided tour:



Ok, this laptop doesn't have an optical drive, but the wireless technology sorts out the problem quite simply by accessing an optical drive of another computer ("Remote Disc" function). I admit it's a little bit insane. Basically, this laptop is wonderful if you just want to have the world's thinnest notebook, but apart from that, I don't see the point in making it so thin that you don't even have an optical drive… What if you're on a train and want to watch a DVD? You're kind of pissed off.

PS. It will be in sale in a couple of weeks' time on Apple Store; prices starting at €1700.

I found those silly animations on Uncyclopedia, and I just wanted to show them to you…

And this one, about Darth Ratzi, aka Satan Claus:

Santa Claus, pleading to the Soviets after an exploding cigar vaporized his beard

One word: ROFL.

Mac or PC?

Most of you know the answer to that question. Here's an awesome rap about it:

I'm a right-clicka
I'm an iBook flippa
Macs and PCs - no fight gets bigga
Surf Safari or browse in I.E.
Better know what you rep(resent) - a Mac or PC!

USB 1-2.0, son, you don't know
watch my data flow
From MS-DOS command line prompts
Black backgrounds, no special sauce
Well I've only been around since '84
But my ease of use has done so much more
From a Plus to a Classic to a II GS
To a PowerPC, my OS is the best
So clickable, design is lickable
My aqua interface makes XP dispicable
Quick I pull the RAM stick out the slot
Then I swap it with generic
cause the port is hot

If you see life through an LCD
Betta know your brand is it a Mac-or-PC?

Take a look at Vista
enjoy the view
I suggest Premium or the ultimate skew
cop a Dell with a graphics card - super fast
turn the arrow on and lick the glass
Tiger's fast as hell
But Leopard's got the boom
Time machine is mad mean
You're absurd - what's a zune?
Middle name: innovate
All features integrate
Now stay the hell out of my developers' conferences!
Nonsenses - I'm networking
You're not working
Stop staring at your built-in webcam
YouTube surfing
Ha! 1,000 views is pretty fresh
ComputerGal36 even says I'm the best

He is the best with his videos
And cuts them all on his Final Cut Pro

Mac, PC, and Me, At Last

When I run IT'S A iPOD!
Talk IT'S AN iPHONE!
Stuff I gotta have no matter what
It's an iLOAN!
I want an Intel, plus CS3,
but for now I'm streamin keynotes in bed
Listenin to Steve
Uh! Compatibility
Everybody fits with me
All the applications wanna get with my virility
At any time
Yo, it might go off
And you can ride it
Til it's Micro-Soft
Huh! Pay attention
I got a new invention
Steal your next idea
At the MacWorld Convention
But guess what
You'll always be behind
Cuz Mac is a state of mind

Everything they say is sooo true!

MAC RULES!!!

"I wan' it!!!" (Andy Pipkin, Little Britain)

When I first saw what the iPhone looked like, I was struck! It looked awesome! Since I've been using the same mobile phone for nearly four years, I think I'll buy one like that at the end of the year, when it's released in Europe. Meanwhile, I can (and you too) can appreciate this flavourful mobile phone/iPod/GPS/internet-linked device by watching this:



I admit I feared that such a screen would quickly be scratched (I take care of my video iPod, but there's a lot of scratches on everywhere!), but Apple apparently hired scientists to sort it out, as you can see:



I was scared when this man dropped his $600 iPhone, but it held up well…

I definitely want one like that!