Adi Rabinovich on adir1

Happy Pi Day: Merka.cloud Project Update

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Happy Pi Day! 🥧

It feels like the perfect day to share a short status update on our open-source project, Merka.cloud.

Lately, it has been exciting to watch how popular OpenClaw has become. In many ways, its rise validates the direction we’re heading, as it shares several similarities with Merka.cloud. However, the vision for Merka extends far beyond just building a personalized agent.

Battle of LLM AIs - Programming Language Juggernauts - Kotlin vs Go - April 2025 Edition

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 11:11:11 +0000

Overview
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As AI continues to evolve at absolutely astonishing rate, I wanted to take it back to basics. If we make an assumption that programmers augmented by AI should be almost “Immediate Polyglots”, it makes more sense to revive age old battle of which Programming Language is the best. It is also something I keep reflecting on for myself in an effort to Never Stop Learning!

Introducing Merka Cloud Open-Source Project!

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 11:11:11 +0000

Overview
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Part 3 of Next Programming Revolution series, reinventing distributing computing! Jump to Part 1 and then come back here. What does it take to Rethink distributed computing - notice I didn’t say Cloud computing, Merka aims to include your own (or company owned) devices as a First-Class citizens. The goal is to utilize your available compute/storage efficiently, and also avoiding the all too familiar “where did I leave that?…” syndrome.

Uncovering Human Developers Major Edge over AI

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 11:11:11 +0000

Overview
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As a continuation of my Programming Revolution series, today we explore one major area where Human Developers can still outperform the AI (IMHO)! Though, I believe this should be very much a collaborative effort due to AI’s ability to analyze vast amount of data (including sources) and find common concepts and ideas.

Composability, Virtualization, Efficiency, Security - Can we have it all?

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:11 +0000

Overview (TLDR)
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Composability is one of those longest and toughest challenges in software, and it doesn’t look to me as we have solved it just yet. Industry move to Virtualization and Containerization brought with it many benefits, but also additional overheads that we must keep in mind and analyze. In this part 1 of the series, I recount where we are and how we got here.

Search Transformation Into AI Agents - Today (2024) and Tomorrow (2025+)

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:11:11 +0000

Overview
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It has been a breakthrough year in Artificial Intelligence, and many industries are already transforming. Interestingly, Seems like Google missed the importance of their own AI research! Still - I would like to argue that No Other Company Today is better positioned to replace Search with AI agents. The closest competitor, in my opinion, is Apple - although currently their AI is really struggling.

TikTok is stealing your emails and I found out why!

Sat, 07 Sep 2024 11:11:11 +0000

TLDR
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(Disclaimer: Title written by my 11yo son who insisted it must be a click-bait 😃) Today we noticed that TikTok website is leaking registered emails. Considering TikTok scale it is likely possible to slowly siphon out all their registered emails in the background over period of time, without them noticing.

Swimming in the Dark Pools. Musings on the Morals of Algo Trading.

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 11:11:11 +0000

TLDR
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I discovered the amazing world of algorithmic trading probably about 10 years ago. I was already enjoying the exploration of market dynamics, their correlation with human psyche, economic cycles, and companies hype/performance. This post is my musings about AI impact on Black Box algo-trading, and even if one perfects their AI to make endless profits - is it ethical? No prior Quant expertise required to participate, but basic stock market understanding is a plus!

End Of An Era - Thank You Amdocs for Amazing 30 Years!

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 01:11:11 +0000

Thank You
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WOW - I am truly at loss for words. Most posts just pour out of me, but this is the toughest one to write yet.

Netflix Cancels Their Best Shows! Is Big Data Lying?

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 11:11:11 +0000

TLDR
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Netflix again cancelled several of our favorite shows, me and the family are Fuming! In this post I explore what might be Netflix decision process, and try to identify potential flaws in it. At the end I offer some solution ideas, because I like to improve things, not just complain about things.

Life Snippets

Sun, 15 Jan 2023 00:12:22 -0500

Overview
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This is a collection of random Best-Of images I collected over the years, most from my own camera but some are cameos. With the move to digital photography, and shortly thereafter to mobile photography, we all know how easy it has become to take endless number of amazing shots. My most recent Best-Of images can be found on my Instagram, but from time to time I may upload from other sources. Who knows, I may return to using some fancier lenses some day…

Hello World (Again!)

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 11:11:11 +0000

I am Back!!! After unfathomably long hiatus - the World and I have changed much! Hope you are ready for even Crazier writing from me!

As you notice, the site is vastly improved! I was eyeing JamStack for several years, but it is such a major departure from WordPress architecture that I was hesitant. The process was every bit as painful as I thought, but it is Worth It! Initially I tried to use Gatsby, but I couldn’t find theme to my liking. So I continued the search and ended up with Hugo, and amazing Blowfish theme.

Duplicate MAC address on Cable Modem – The Fight Goes On

Sat, 17 Oct 2015 16:07:16 +0000

TLDR: Arris/Motorola SurfBoard Cable Modems (and perhaps others) are constantly showing up with Duplicate MAC Addresses, even though each manufacturer must only make Single device with same address.

Looks like it is time for another fiasco/fight with Comcast for us, something that has become at least annual affair. It all started about a month ago, when we saw Comcast truck nearby adding another “happy” customer to their poor network.

My Advice for Dealing with Anxiety (Social, Disorder or Otherwise)

Sun, 23 Aug 2015 17:25:12 +0000

Featured Art: By Destiny Blue on DeviantArt

Overview
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First, a quick primer to anxiety itself – it is actually an important human feature which evolution perfected over many millennia. Humans (just like animals) needed to be able to elevate themselves above their normal “calm” state to “energized” state, boosting every function of the body to fight for survival. However seldom in modern society are you faced with real threats of this nature, nor will it help you to climb the nearest tree with just your bare hands in order to survive.

Biggest Microsoft Security Lapse in Recent History – Skype’s achilles heel

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 06:03:42 +0000

Yet again I come to you with rant, but this time seems like the reason is Microsoft’s huge lapse in basic Skype account security. Probably like mst of you, I have created my Skype account Many years ago.

SteamBurglar Malware – Theft in the Digital Age

Fri, 14 Nov 2014 06:45:22 +0000

Featured Photo: By Ed Hardie on Unsplash

My son started screaming few hours back, scaring us half to death. Apparently he reacted this way to what seemed like a virus infecting his computer, after he ignored all long standing advice from me and clicked on nasty link from another Steam user sent via chat.

The Zeitgeist Movie Series – My Take

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:38:16 +0000

Let me open by saying that these movies are a classic definition of Propaganda. They follow the tried and true model of massaging real facts to their own needs, and using strategic omissions or worse. That said, I have long wondered whether monetary system is the best way to organize Planet’s resources at this stage of evolution for our mighty civilization. It is rather clear to me that human race is much further along thanks to invention of Money and evolution of Markets and Banking, but is Monetary System in it’s current form truly the best method to propel us onto the next stage of evolution as a species?

Tivo Disaster – If it Ain’t Broke, Why Fix It?

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:58:29 +0000

It is really basic premise, and I didn’t even invent it. Alas I have to warn other potential Tivo customers, after giving company many chances to make things right and a month of monumental efforts (mostly mine). Also, this is Not an investment advice regarding Tivo Inc (NASDAQ:TIVO).

The ‘final’ Frontier in Java

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 16:30:51 +0000

Introduction
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Although this post came about primarily to help my son learn Java, it still amazes me how many professional developers do not understand this basic premise in Java (Programming Language) even after working with it for Years. I am yet to find any Java book that opens with Big Chapter on this very critical topic, instead they mention it in a few hardly intelligible sentences. Meanwhile Java continues to gain momentum as most popular language, primarily because of how easy it seems to use! Let me be the first to tell you that Yes, it is Easy, provided you fully grasp the concepts outlined below.

Finding Life’s Riches

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

EDITOR NOTE: Recovered from Draft, so Old but Newish Post!

While I walk this Earth like (most) of you, I have set myself a goal of Life Long Learning. Perhaps this is one of the reason I find computers so fascinating, as it is a never ending universe that we are constantly creating. Hundreds (thousands?) of Programming Languages were invented thus far and the pace only accelerates. There is constant influx of new and exciting technologies, both physical and virtual.

How to Print To your iPhone or Android Phone

Sun, 06 May 2012 21:19:36 +0000

Yes, this is not a typo – printing To your iPhone, I know it sounds weird! It is actually very handy, saves plenty of trees and makes “printouts” easier to carry around and find in the future. There are specific cases where you want to “print” a confirmation of an appointment from a website, both to remind yourself and to show at the business you are heading to. Other times it could be a receipt for online order, or any other “generated” page which you can’t easily link to, but may need to reference in the future. Some places will accept coupon printed this way, where you can simply show it to the cashier or scan it from the phone.

Getting Rickrolled by Rick in BrowserQuest

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:36:48 +0000

This one is definitely filed away under Weekend Fun! Kudos to Mozilla foundation, though a bit sad that it doesn’t play on iPad (and some other browsers) yet.

Zen and the Art of iOS

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:40:06 +0000

Today I want to reflect on Zen of iOS and overall Apple philosophy. But first, there’s a disturbance in the force that I must deal with. My overall tranquility has been compromised, and by Apple Genius Bar employees, no less.

The Adventures of the Me-2 Ship

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:55:38 +0000

This famous ship sailed the seven seas for years and years. It rode the waves up and down, and often seemed like it will capsize, but it managed to survive. The ship’s crew has long lost hope of finding the promised land, depressingly they pressed on, forgetting why they embarked on this voyage to begin with. And worse yet, their captain lost all hope as well, misguidedly he just stood on the lookout, blankly staring onto the endless sea

Solved: The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Ide\IdePort2

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:53:09 +0000

My son and I went through rather painful ordeal with this Event 11 that Windows quietly generates. It took us few weeks to fully work out why Windows suddenly started hanging, misbehaving or even crashing with blue screen. Now that I feel it is fully resolved, I thought I’d share my conclusion (and the process) – hopefully it will help few others out there who are struggling with this. Ridiculously, many people are likely affected by this issue, but unless they open Event Viewer and search for this event id 11, they will not realize that hanging is not “normal” behavior, even for Windows! OS seems to silently recover from this problem 10 to 60 seconds later, which is really strange in my book – considering that user isn’t even alerted to this serious atapi error.

11/11/11 And Our Binary Future

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:11:24 +0000

Just had to post today, such a special day in history of the World. I entertained a plan to a day off, but ended up working harder than ever.

My Sandbox! (aka: Liability Fiasco)

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:52:01 +0000

It is that time again – time to decide how much credit we should allot to our users, versus how much we should “protect the user from him/her self”. Ah, the eternal dilemma – but wait, Apple to the rescue? Didn’t they pioneer the “we know what you want better than you do” model?

Turning Point – Steve Jobs Book Purchase

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:33:33 +0000

Short post – more of a call to arms, to discuss burning point for many people today. That is, What Platform to choose to purchase this iconic Steve Jobs biography eBook. I am completely at a loss – what could have been price war between heavyweights in this category, turned into a paralyzing situation for consumers (like me) preventing our purchase completely. My interpretation is that Publisher insisted on same pricing across all platforms! What Gives?

Annual eBay Bashing – or Mini How-To for Large Software Base

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 06:37:42 +0000

I fondly call my wife lately Commodity Investor, as she loves to scout out best deals on eBay. In fact, I would easily bet that we are in their top 10% of customers list, and let’s just leave it at that. So why is it that they allow themselves to continuously upset us?

The (prison) state of social (media)

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 02:30:02 +0000

Sitting in Starbucks, where I seldom go, and reflecting on my nearly ended "night on the town". With many activities going on today, I ended up in Downtown Atlanta all alone with 3 hours to burn. First stop – Foursquare – where I did find people congregating on few fun activities. Alas, numbers were ridiculously small – versus what seemed a Car-and-Human apocalypse happening around me. We are probably under 1 in 100,000 checking-in on Foursquare. Are they checking-in on Facebook? Perhaps Google+, which has rather refreshing public posts with location feature. Nope, seems like not even via Yelp.
Two conclusions – we need a better way of sharing "hotspot" information. While we all value our privacy – I think there is a way to keep that and yet share major "outings".
But here is even bigger kicker – information segregation is a killer right now. Sure Foodspotting will tell you they have API, and they managed to hook up with ScoutMob even now. Heck, but it is yet another App and hence Silo in a way, locking in my photo of wonderful Frappe there. This will only continue to grow, as barrier to entry becomes smaller and smaller.
Facebook is leading the pack with the most users right now – yet their Check-in features are rather pathetic. Worse yet, most users don’t know about them at all.
I think we need to scrap our check-in approach and instead replace with:

GeekGasm 2011 (aka: Dragon*Con)

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:34:19 +0000

I managed to get out to Dragon*Con this year, but it ended up short and unpleasant experience. Granted, my planning was poor (read: non-existent). After repeatedly asking my family about it in the past few weeks, I got a very clear and solid NO from all other family members. Not wanting to hang out alone, I decided to not go this year.

It is HP Touchpad weekend – Join In!

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:03:00 +0000

While earlier in a week I read (just like many of you) that HP is getting out of Tablet (and most PC / Mobile Hardware) business, I only reflected on how that will change landscape of our mighty Industry. Instead, I should have been pondering what will HP decide to do with hundreds of thousands of HP Touchpads out there in supply chain!

Software Patents – Oxymoron

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:30:19 +0000

Just a quick post regarding the Software Industry drama unraveling here, here and here. Quick recap: Google is upset with “patent trolls” extracting fees from Android manufacturers via Patents. This ends up costing device manufacturers, and probably ends up making more money for Microsoft than they make from their Windows Mobile 7 sales!

The Minecraft effect on our computing power

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 04:21:45 +0000

I spent last two days working hard on setting my youngest son up with his own dedicated desktop PC. What is interesting, is that his prime gripe about his earlier system was that it couldn’t run Minecraft properly, especially with some add-ons!

Bad US Regulations or Google Incompetence?

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 20:05:15 +0000

First, this is a response to a blog post here (via Techmeme). If you are too lazy to read it, here’s an executive summary: Google is saying they will delete 2 years worth of email and all other Google Account data for 10 years old Alex (Who is naturally crying now). All because he is under 13, which they just now learned about.

Polar – HealthySchools – How to fix IE9 Issue

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:54:57 +0000

My children are participating in summer classes this year, and ran into this issue. Looks like Polar site has a little trouble with latest and greatest Internet Explorer 9 – so here is very easy fix: Compatibility Mode. Internet Explorer 9 can “behave” like previous IE, simply by triggering compatibility soon as soon as you arrive on healthyschools.net site.

OMG! Why did you buy a Drunken Hobo?

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:09:23 +0000

That is what my daughter exclaimed, after learning that we purchased Kobo eReader from Borders and mishearing the name. She came to this natural conclusion after seeing that our new device prefers ePUB books to feed it’s appetite for content!

Free Latest eBooks and Audiobooks on your Mobile device – Legal Too

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 04:51:13 +0000

Forgive the loud title of this post, but I promise that it is totally relevant! For the past few weeks I have tremendously enjoyed several audio-books from my local library. Our local Gwinnett county library had Digital Downloads for a long time via OverDrive Media Console. However, the big breakthrough is my discovering that they are offering iPhone App!

USA Today Supports Scam Ads? Is This What’s Next In Online Advertising!?

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 03:48:08 +0000

Yesterday, while reading an article on USA Today, my eyes gazed over to prominently displayed “News Stories” on the right side of the page. Clicking through seems to reach respectable site, apparently presenting TV affiliated news site, complete with anchor photos, videos and long authentic looking article.

Your Computer Refresh of 2011

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 05:51:54 +0000

Welcome to 2011, oh how time flies!

Android – Free Brand Advertisement

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 04:07:22 +0000

As I drove home from the office today, I was bombarded by an unusual amount of Android Billboard Advertisements. What is most interesting is that Google did Not pay for any of it, as far as I know! Majority were paid by Samsung, making sure everyone hears about their new Galaxy Tab.

Tablet PC Glut Incoming – It is an iPad Holiday!

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 04:05:56 +0000

Now that Apple’s iPad is officially a hit, all the computer makers (and computer makers Wanna-Be’s) woke up and are planning to Flood the market with Tablets. Most will try to rush something out for this holiday season, even half-baked, so around Black Friday and shortly thereafter expect to see them Everywhere!

Blog Action Day 2010 – Water

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 03:52:50 +0000

Change.org|Start Petition

Here are some interesting related news:

10/10/10 Milestone and Where Do We Go Next

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 03:49:13 +0000

So it’s not 2012 yet, but this one looks to be very significant date. Although, I guess we didn’t all focus ourselves on 09/09/09 as much last year. So today I am trying to reflect on our collective thoughts, as species. Naturally the first place I go for that is Google Trends. This shows the hottest Searches right now, and as we all know, this (and the Twitterverse) is really best real-time representation as to what is on our minds. So I started off with Google Trends.

Dead Trees Information Platform – Dead?

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 03:41:48 +0000

This isn’t any news to anyone, it is just something that was proclaimed long ago and yet books are refusing to die. What inspired me is the fact that I am at Barnes and Nobles now, looking at giant Nook display right at the entrance.

Internet Explorer 9 – 64 Bit Beta – With Flash (beta) – Finally!

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:50:40 +0000

Yesterday IE 9 Beta landed on the web. It’s a major rework of the most popular browser, with support for fancy new features (like HTML 5 and CSS 3) and Hardware Video acceleration. I of course installed it right away, and then was even more ecstatic when I saw in my Google Reader feed that Adobe (Finally!!!) released 64 Bit version of their ubiquitous Flash Player.

The Next Series: Part 3 – Apps Marketplace

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:49:26 +0000

The Apps Store is all the rage nowadays and everyone says how “Apple Invented this Revolutionary Concept”. As I recall – Windows had a Marketplace for Apps and Accessories going way back…

Napster is back with a vengeance

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 18:08:35 +0000

I recently signed up for Napster, and so far it’s a pleasant experience. The price proposition convinced me – unlimited music streaming to your computer AND you can purchase Un-protected (DRM Free) songs for keeps. When you buy 3 months at a time, it comes out to $5 per months which gives you 5 songs and Unlimited streaming of their huge library, whole month.

iPhone 4 – First Impressions + Secret Feature

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:44:45 +0000

Ok, here’s the summary: Wow!!

Overall I really love it so far, and although I experienced the famous disappearing bars issue first hand, I am really not concerned. One negative so far I noticed is the camera. There are comparisons to other smartphone cameras that say iPhone 4 is better, so maybe I just expected too much… Here’s best shot I managed today, judge for yourself (click for original). This one was outside, but inside photos not as nice, even with flash…

My iPhone 4 is here – One Day Earlier!

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:16:53 +0000

Yep, my iPhone 4 arrived via FedEx today and so far all I did was Shamelessly Fondle It all over. It is in the long process of synching with iTunes, and filling it up with Apps and Stuff.

Mass Effect 2 – On Sale Today

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:47:26 +0000

We interrupt your regularly scheduled (aka: nonexistent) blogging to bring you this special message.

I raved about Mass Effect 2 in the past, it’s a Movie gone Game, or Game gone Movie, either way makes for amazing Sci-Fi experience. I also love Steam, with their sensible license allowing you to install the game you purchase on your PC and on your Laptop, and play on either one, depending on what you happen to be on at the time.

Even better than Google’s 80/20 approach!

Sat, 29 May 2010 21:35:47 +0000

YouTube
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Keeping this text here is required for the YouTube to display properly SMH

Got Flash Blues? Dalvik VM to the Rescue!

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 20:22:27 +0000

Adobe Flash Platform got some bad press lately, and its exclusion from iPad is a major slap in the face to Adobe by Steve Jobs himself. Even though millions of sites out there (including this one) use Flash to liven up things and provide extra interactivity, Apple is willing to leave users to stare at Big Empty Boxes on iPad, rather than add Flash support.

Annual Tax Time – My Take

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:33:33 +0000

I have been working this weekend (not enough of it, granted) on organizing and preparing our household 2009 taxes for filing. There is plenty of time before April 15th deadline in United States, but I like to have breathing room as this process always takes way longer than one expects (and hopes). I have been self-filing via software for many years now, and this year again opted for H&R Block software for Home and Business, which is newly renamed TaxCut software from prior years.

Chrome Browser – Now Proven More Secure

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:12:12 +0000

Lately I use multiple browser, more so than ever, in this order: Google Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer 64 bit.

HP Printer Drivers are now Adware?!

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:00:20 +0000

So, we picked up this nice HP Photosmart Plus All-in-one. I can’t speak to the printer quality much, only time will tell, but I can report my initial observations around setup process:

Mass Effect 2 is coming – Amazing!

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:30:11 +0000

I was holding out to play Mass Effect one for the longest time, until I finally picked it up via Steam a month or so ago. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Classic Sci-Fi adventure game with artful combat system. Story line was short, but interesting. Yes, I did get to famous sex scene, and found it to be very tasteful, much more so than one may see on occasion on broadcast TV.
So, I am one of many now looking forward to upcoming release of Mass Effect 2. This recently released sneak peak of voices and stars behind Mass Effect 2 shows you how much of a movie-like production it has become. In my mind, the fact that you get to play main character inside this vast universe of stars (pun intended) is a grand bonus that soon will be a must for most people:

Breaking News – nVidia Hates The Sims

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:32:59 +0000

What started as a simple upgrade of my daughter’s video card, turned into afternoon of sheer terror. I don’t really know if it’s nVidia to blame, or some incompetence of EA developers, but result is tragic just the same.

Windows 7 and Vista Side by Side Adventures

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:47:03 +0000

It was really straight forward to setup side-by-side Windows 7 and Vista on the same computer, simply put them on separate hard-drives (either physical or separate partitions). Installation was no troubles, and I was happily booting between them back and forth as needed, until I hit a snag last night, MAJOR SNAG!!!

Windows 7 64 Bit – Installation & My First Week

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:29:09 +0000

As you may have heard from me in the past, I was very impressed with Beta and RC version of Win 7, so I was among the many people preordering a copy when special $50 offer was available for a limited time. In fact, local MicroCenter store offered $40 preorder option at the time, so I jumped onboard. I also decided to use this opportunity to migrate to 64 Bit and fully utilize my 4Gb memory (which I think I will upgrade to 6 GB or more in the future).

Technology to Improve Our Human Experience – Priceless

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:41:11 +0000

I am excited, awestruck, humbled and overall happy and serene, all at once! What brought on these emotions is my first interaction with newest version of Google’s amazing Picasa product. But of course, it’s years of photos in my collection that bring on these wonderful memories, and combined with amazing new technology to present and organize them, is where Picasa really shines.

WordPress Security Breach – First Response Steps

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 07:17:29 +0000

Word gets around on Internet quickly, but apparently not quickly enough for me. I do recall noticing somewhere a word about small security breach in WordPress 2.8.2 few days ago, but it wasn’t clear to me that all earlier WordPress versions were affected, so I did not rush and act right away.

Admission – I was a Netbook Holdout

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:47:40 +0000

Yes, there, I am out in the open now, ready to admit it. For the longest time I’ve been watching Netbooks, saying to myself – it’s really a useless toy, why spend money even?

Internet – Basic Utility or Luxury?

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:06:45 +0000

I am posting this courtesy of my good neighbor, who willfully provided a password to his wireless network to save us from going completely crazy and self-destructing as a family.
You see, we are over a week now without Internet!!!!
It feels that almost every aspect of our family life is crippled, and thus far Comcast seem to have done little to resolve our issue. After their tech didn’t show up for an appointment (which we already waited almost a week for), they said that all they can do is schedule us for Next Saturday….. All our pleas on the phone and even via twitter, didn’t help the situation thus far. Worse yet, it is pretty clear that outage is outside our home, and most likely affecting other houses.
But onto the main topic — Is Internet a Luxury or basic utility of our times? From school assignments even for our youngest new K student, everyone expects use of Internet on daily basis. Without going too much into longest list, it feels like every other moment we are reminded that something cannot be accomplished because there is NO INTERNET!
I ask myself — Is Internet really a Luxury and our family is just spoiled here and too centered around it? Or are we the new norm, where most activities, whether for school/study/work/shopping or after-hours gaming and video viewing, require fast Internet connection?
If Internet indeed such an integral part of life and such a basic utility, should any self-respecting provider allow themselves outages for weeks at a time? Would you agree to live without Water for a week? Or Electricity? Of course I would understand if there were a major storm and some serious damage that took time to repair, but this feels like simple incompetence where overloaded lines caused entire neighborhoods to loose signal, and no-one cares…
There, rant done! Weigh in on how you see things and whether I should seek immediate “Internet Rehab” for entire family or instead consider switching to new provider (which may be available all over town!).

Facebook Ad Machine – Scary or Ultimate?

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:00:38 +0000

I am back from vacation, and it was very rejuvenating. To totally relax this time I spent few free minutes between activities on some casual gaming, mostly on Facebook and Steam. I have been a long fan of Steam, but the improvements in Facebook games were a surprise for me. I love how Steam lets you purchase digitally and then just install and play on your different computers, as much as needed, with no discs to store or find.

The Next Series: Part 2 – Where Is My File?

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:45:49 +0000

In the future, there will be No More Files (and most likely No Folders either).

Have I completely lost it, you probably wonder just about now?

All modern Operating Systems, from latest Linux to upcoming Windows 7 or Mac OS Snow Leopard, still share this fundamental flaw. I think designers and engineers have long known that Computer Industry has a major trouble with how it gets our generation brought up and used on the concept of “Files”. Bill Gates was very bold to try and change this notion with a Database based file system, but it was too soon and the biggest issue of backwards compatibility couldn’t be properly solved at the time.

Best Free Movies on Hulu – 2009 Edition

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:28:59 +0000

I noticed that they took down Most of the movies I liked on Hulu as my recommendations, a year ago. Only Girl Next Door remains, which brings up a thought of a Chicken-n-Egg situation. Specifically – Do they put Young Guy attracting movies because that is their demographics, or is their demographics this way because they put Young Guy attracting movies?

Windows 7 – only $40 at MicroCenter or $45 at Costco

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:28:56 +0000

The title is all you need to know. The special price only at your local MicroCenter store and only for 3 days. Of you don’t have one, check local Costco. Or, I will have a link to Amazon, which promised to deliver on Oct 22, on here later today.
Posting from my iPhone, so signing off now.

Microsoft With No Money, iPhone 3 and More

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:04:31 +0000

I’m back, and just posting quick update on little “big” things that are going on with me. Filing this one under “Random Thoughts”, FYI.

Microsoft announced officially last week that they are discontinuing Microsoft Money product. This Really saddened me, frankly. Something in the way they presented it made me especially sad. I was always expecting MS-Money desktop software to die, and to be replaced by cloud based solution (like Quicken.com and MSN Money). But instead of telling us to use Web solution, they just told us to “Go Away”…

Business Apps at 30 Frames Per Second

Fri, 22 May 2009 04:08:42 +0000

Today I remembered a curious little application, which I wrote back around 1989, if memory serves me right. So, decided to document this for the future generations and you, loyal readers.

Your Data Is Safe…… Not!!!

Mon, 11 May 2009 05:47:07 +0000

Poor attempt at a Not joke? I had a rough day, but I want to promptly document it for everyone’s benefit. Our story begins during late night hours, somewhere deep in the tough Ulduar area in World of Warcraft Instance.

This Week In Startups – Podcast

Tue, 05 May 2009 03:17:27 +0000

Few days ago, while driving, I heard about this new podcast that Jason Calacanis and friends have put together. Sounds rather interesting, learning more about the tough and exciting world of Startups and Ventures.

The Next Series: Part 1 – Simulated Past

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:41:22 +0000

I have decided to have a few posts focused on discussing what’s next in the world of computing. The idea is to look at progression thus far, and see what makes sense to be researched and improved next. This simple formula can be surprisingly effective, due to collective “creationism” that defines computing industry. In other words – we create our future (just like in real life) by focusing research efforts (aka: wishes) on particular things. Thus, we can foresee now what will the future bring, simply by assuming that our research pans out.

Future of Marketing?

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:12:31 +0000

I normally enjoy Robert Cringely’s insightful articles, but the one I heard today was nothing like his other works. In fact, my first reaction was “Grow Up, not the whole World revolves around you!”. But few seconds later it hit me – this is a modern reincarnation of Sales Pitch!

Microsoft Envisions Our Computing Future

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:11:47 +0000

This is amazing demonstration by Microsoft Office Labs, what they called vision for 2019.

For me, the main focus in this demo is on computing interfaces. Notice how many different ways of interacting with the “computer” are shown. Amazing ones are on little cards/devices, that “sense” the motion of the device and respond by showing you different parts of the content, zooming in, etc. Actually, this is something easy to develop on the smart phone today, though I only know of very few apps that do that.

iPhone 3.0, Nintendo iDS and Walled Gardens

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:04:11 +0000

Before you scream – SPELL CHECK, STUPID – The error in the title is intentional. Nintendo’s device should be called iDS, but opting not to alienate Apple they called their “i” device Nintendo DSi.

Safety, Privacy and Security – Can we have it all?

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:59:04 +0000

I watched another excellent Nova show today, called The Spy Factory. It is an excellent in-depth investigation of the failure of US Intelligence when it came to preventing the 9/11 attack. I won’t go further into details, as the entire show is available for online viewing right on the official PBS.org site, so I recommend you watch it. Once you finished (or perhaps you already seen it on TV), come back here for some more afterthoughts of mine.

Microsoft Phone – Micro-Phone or Soft-Phone?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:38:05 +0000

I just couldn’t resist the title, it’s just too funny. But on a serious note, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform is in serious trouble. Rumors flamed up again about Microsoft making their own MS branded hardware device, presumably with Zune functionality built in.

Windows 7 – Cool, but no 64 Bit for me?

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:15:57 +0000

I think as any responsible techie, I downloaded both 32 Bit and 64 Bit editions of Windows 7 beta, the first day it came out (naturally). Got 2 keys also (one for each edition).

Jones in the Fast Lane – Classic Game is Back!

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 21:29:41 +0000

I am thrilled this weekend! Ecstatic! I have been looking for a knockoff or even this original classic game, for at least a year now, hoping to introduce my kids to it and have some fun playing together!

NYSE System – All Buggy? Or cruel joke?

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 06:41:03 +0000

Yep, I am talking about New York Stock Exchange Computer System here! Actually, I am not laying any blame, but Google Finance and MSN Money both show a quote of 28.67 for AMD (NYSE:AMD), which translates into an increase of 946% – Overnight!! Meanwhile, Yahoo Finance is still correct!

Zune 30GB early demise?

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:31:22 +0000

I use my Zune 30GB daily, but not today, thus far. I was afraid to even try today, but decided it is important to, for you, readers. So, found my Zune also Dead this morning, though it was fine last night. It’s hung now, during boot-up, so doesn’t boot… As I learned on the Net this morning, some bug associated with Dec 31st caused all original 30Gb models to fail.

Amazing Fight Short set in World of Warcraft – Awesome

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 06:33:40 +0000

The Craft of War: BLIND from percula on Vimeo

Be sure to click through to Vimeo to watch in HD (if your connection allows). Also, for the record, I love this music and the whole thing is excellent!

Happy 2009 Holidays and Prosperous 2010 !

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:53:36 +0000

EDITORS NOTE: I used a little-known hack in WordPress 3.1 to actually adjust a time stamp of this post, originally posted December 24, 2009 – to timewarp into December 2008. Enjoy!

Wow, so much has happened this past year, that I find it virtually impossible to even try and predict next year. But, I guess it’s somewhat of a tradition on this blog, so I will give it a go:

Post 100 – WordPress 2.7 and Other Updates

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:29:10 +0000

Having realized that this is a post number 100, I had very hard time to decide what to blog about to make it “special”. So instead, I decided to blog about Nothing (in particular)!

Introducing the Next Big Diet – Gaming Diet

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:56:04 +0000

Looking at this image from NYTimes this morning, it hit me that I already know and use the secret best-ever diet. This one is a sure-hit for 21 century and beyond.

Netflix on Tivo – Killer App that scores high!

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:10:10 +0000

While I really appreciate that Microsoft and Netflix finally got XBox 360 going with HD streaming, I myself still wasn’t able to check it out. The reason is the silly requirement of being a Gold member. I do plan to check it out soon, as we are going to go Gold for the Winter Break this year.

The Simpsons – Mypods and Broomsticks

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:16:54 +0000

Apologies to all my International blog readers. This is an official Simpsons episode, and I think it only is watchable inside the US right now. I am certain if you do a quick YouTube search, or Veoh, etc, you will find another openly available copy.

Google Does it Again – Picasa 3

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 04:44:15 +0000

Hi, Happy Thanksgiving!

This is just a quick post to tell you that Google has released Picasa 3, and it is even better than the earlier versions. This is undoubtedly best software to manage your photo collection. I have been using it since version 1 and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

New XBox 360 Experience – Really Cool!

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:59:11 +0000

We just received the new XBox 360 Experience, and I decided to blog about it right away (I know, totally untypical!). I expected much from this major upgrade, and I have to say so far I am impressed!

Google App Engine and Language Wars

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:40:55 +0000

Yesterday I attended Google Application Engine Hackathon in Atlanta. I guess it’s the kind of thing that one could call Geeky Weekend Fun, programming all day, with like-minded folks, trying to create something.

How To Kill Economy in One Easy Step!

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:12:40 +0000

Well, perhaps I exaggerate a bit. No, not about one step part, but about it being Easy. It is a little harder for regular folk like me and you.

Netflix Netflix everywhere – Bring It On!

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:08:59 +0000

With more and more TV shows being available via Netflix “Watch It Now” feature, including the grand hit Heros, which we still plan to catch up on (never started), momentum is building for easy on-demand streaming of shows/movies, to your Living Room TV.

And The Clouds Shall Set Us Free

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:58:32 +0000

There is still about two weeks to Microsoft’s acclaimed Professional Developers Conference 2008, where all (or at least a lot) will be officially revealed. But I want to jump the gun and theorize, or perhaps even Dream, of what’s to come. It is widely expected that Microsoft will launch their next generation Cloud OS (Operating System), named Strata. Obviously this is mostly targeting servers, but the concept of servers and clients is becoming more and more obsolete as the computing devices undergo daily transformation.

My Xbox 360 is Back – And so am I

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:43:19 +0000

Wow, sorry for disappearing on you. So much happened in the past few weeks, that instead of posting all those brilliant (aka: weird) thoughts I am having, I’ll just summarize recent events in my life:

Flickerize me, Captain

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:37:37 +0000

Creative titles aren’t my specialty… Anywho, today I decided to try something that really made sense, and strangely enough, it does exist! Perhaps this is not news to anyone, but I really don’t recall seeing such a handy Map and Photo mashup available on our beloved Flickr.com site, just try Explore feature!

More on Vista, plus Virtual PC 2007 and Ubuntu

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:30:54 +0000

Despite the long title, I’ll try to keep this post short. I had two completely opposite experiences with Windows Vista today.

My First Few Days with iPhone 3G

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:15:15 +0000

It’s been only few days since I got my phone, but I feel like I can type up 10 posts about it, and still not be done. But, I will try to focus on most important points for now, with more to follow, for sure.

Short post – 3G style

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:52:30 +0000

This my first post from an iPhone 3G. I am practicing typing with both hands and it is working pretty well, surprisingly so!
For small posts on the go this is awesome! Now, I wonder if I can add photo on this thing?
Also, anyone knows good IM clients for iPhone?

Beijing 2008 Olympics – Free in HD On-Demand

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:39:09 +0000

Today we watched opening ceremony in HD on our big screen. A day late, but I prefer to watch things on my own schedule, even sporting events! The ceremony was Inspiring, especially in all the High Definition glory on the wall.

iPhone Blues – Somebody Save Me!

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:32:21 +0000

I am calling upon you, my readers, family, friends, everyone, Save Me from this madness that is iPhone 3G Mania! Everything and Everyone and Everywhere, all they talk about is the new iPhone 3G.

Free Full Length Movies on Hulu

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:08:23 +0000

UPDATE (Jun 2009): Hulu.com took down most of these excellent movies, and replaced with (*expletive censored*). So I had to come up with a new list of recommendations.

I just came across some excellent full length movies on Hulu, that appear to be available to everyone (in USA probably) completely free and legally! Here are some examples:

Upgrade Tip for WordPress 2.6 – Don’t Upgrade!

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:15:37 +0000

I just spent most of today upgrading to WordPress 2.6 platform, which is powering my site.

Our exciting new features are…… well, there aren’t many new features actually. The big change is that I scrapped Categories completely, in favor of Tag Cloud based approach. Now, under each Post title are relevant Tags instead.

Finally – Simple Fluorescent Light Bulbs Recycling

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:53:55 +0000

I am heading to local Home Depot, where finally it should be Easy to recycle those old broken fluorescent light bulbs. All of them contain Mercury, a very dangerous Cancer causing chemical, even in small quantities can be inhaled and cause all kinds of nasty things.

Adobe Reader 9 is here – Why make us suffer?

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:46:57 +0000

So Adobe Reader 9 is here, and someone somewhere claimed, for whatever reason, that it is actually faster to start.

Top 10 How-To web sites, keep for reference!

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:49:18 +0000

I wanted to catalog this for myself, and I think everyone else should find it very useful! Skillful folks at the fine Mashable blog have put together a handy list of Top 10 How-To sites. These sites tell you How to do things, and most use Videos to help explain things.

Free Disney movies on the web

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:54:28 +0000

Now this is big news for all you parents out there! Free official Full Length Disney classics streaming on the Internet this summer.

iPhone 2.0 3G GPS and What Not

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:19:16 +0000

I’ve been reading all the live blogging just like the rest of us, all too excited about “what’s next” from the over-hyped Apple brand. Finally Starts at $199 now, finally has built-in GPS (pretty much standard nowadays), and seems to have improved 3rd party apps support. Also looking especially lucrative is the 7 hour battery time when playing video, that should be awesome on long flights and overall most impressive. Internet always was a great feature, and with 3G speeds, it’s finally very viable. Plus, more and more popular web-sites coming up with iPhone optimized edition.

Recursive Algorithms and other sins

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:19:56 +0000

My sister is just starting studies for Computer Sciences, and unlike what I remember from my days, in the first Intro course, they are trying to fill her head with nasty recursive algorithms.

I’m back to blogging! Ya, Rly!

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:05:28 +0000

Sorry I have been away for a while. I have so many excuses, but the truth is, I think I got “afraid” somehow. The more people know and read my blog, especially of those people who know me personally, the more I got worried about being judged based on the posts I write.

Web Services? Cloud Computing? Both? Neither?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:25:22 +0000

An important announcement from Microsoft, something called Mesh, is happening tonight at Midnight eastern time.

I am into guessing game, again, mostly because it is fun, but also because in a funny coincidence, I left a rather long rant at Yahoo’s own Jeremy Zawodny’s blog. What started as a short comment, turned into longer and I think worthy read about future of operating environments for us all. Jeremy doesn’t post too much, which is exactly how I prefer it and thus he is on my ‘read-first’ list. Check out my comment right here.

Battlestar Galactica – Finally on Hulu

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:38:22 +0000

Hulu.com has been growing nicely, you may recall that I wrote about them back when they were in private beta. Well, since then they have opened to the public, and constantly adding new shows! If you crave some quality entertainment, they are becoming my first destination to check out, Kudos!

Sony is down to swindling from customers now?

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:39:18 +0000

I am just outraged now, so that is usually when I do my best writing 🙂

I’ll try to keep it brief, if possible. My son and I came across a strategically positioned CD in local GameStop about a month and a half ago, showing Final Fantasy XI Demo for PC for $2 . At a moment of weakness, we decided to give Final Fantasy XI a try, since we generally enjoy online play, as you probably know by now.

Death at a Funeral is even funnier than the title

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:15:08 +0000

I hope you are checking out ‘Now Playing on My Netflix’ rubric on the right sidebar of my web site. Last week a movie Death at a Funeral was listed there, as it always shows the movies I have at home.

More on Windows Vista versus Mac

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:08:28 +0000

Yesterday Scobleizer reminded me about the whole Mac versus Vista debate, with his post about Vista on Dell’s Tablet. It seems not only Robert is having that issue, here is an Attorney with similar complaint:

Are you LOST?

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:42:12 +0000

I have decided to write a series of thoughts on Happiness. This being the first official one, otherwise known as Happiness through TV viewing.

Many of us like to "unwind" by watching some TV. And somehow most of us migrate from this little occasional unwinding, to being addicted to yet another weekly TV series. So what went wrong?

Stage6 from DivX is shutting down

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:15:39 +0000

I went to visit my old time favorite Stage6 site from DivX, which most of you readers of my blog are familiar with, by now, and was stunned to learn that they are closing.

My Prediction for Secret Microsoft Project

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:46:06 +0000

Robert Scoble stunned us today with admission that Microsoft Research project that he saw behind closed doors, made him cry with joy. But, of course, he can’t tell us what it is, just yet!

Today is that day!

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:23:40 +0000

I was going to write some cheesy commentary about how nVidia should branch into making computer CPUs, and finally be bought by Intel, or die out altogether. Coupled with some analysis into the future of multi-core systems and the many cores it takes to run today’s 3D applications, games, OS, and what not.

Watch quality Nova shows Free

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 07:58:38 +0000

I was wondering when PBS will jump on the web bandwagon and offer their shows on-demand via the Internet.

3D Web browsing for the masses?

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:10:19 +0000

I am still here! The family and I went through a rough patch of little winter stomach virus, but I think we’re about climbing out of it. I have few interesting articles that are in the works!

Free the Music

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:01:00 +0000

In light of most recent RIAA suicide attempt (which finally may be a successful one), I thought it would be a good opportunity to tell everyone about a great music site I discovered some time ago.

Costco Rocks!

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:36:46 +0000

I want to apologize for light blogging this past week.

Without going into too much detail, I’ll just say that our Plasma TV of long had some troubles that could not be repaired. Thanks to Costco and their Concierge Service, we now have brand new TV that everyone loves.

Happy New Year!

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:14:34 +0000

Welcome to 2008!

I am not into putting together "year end review" of 2007, like some other bloggers, and I especially don’t like all the posts on New Year Resolutions for 2008. One of the late lessons you learn in life is that when you Talk about doing something in the future, and you keep talking about it, chances are you will not do it. The more you discuss doing something (instead of actually going for it!), the more you realize that it probably isn’t all that great, or something could go wrong, or just loose interest in general…

Kraft – Foods & Family

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 04:05:29 +0000

Season Greetings! This post is probably a bit overdue, but maybe you’re still planning a big bash for New Year’s and this is definitely something useful for the new year!

Free Shows and Videos for Zune and Everyone

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 09:57:01 +0000

True short story! A lady came up to me as I was coming off the airplane from a recent business trip and exclaimed: "Is This A Zune!?". She continued to explain that she never seen anyone with Zune and she actually has one herself. But, her biggest beef with it is that she can’t figure out how to get Videos onto it! She bought it for bigger screen, which isn’t much help without Video content!

Starting FCC Petition! Join In!

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:01:40 +0000

FCC hasn’t been doing it’s job in regulating our home TV delivery choices! Seriously, so many years later and we still have no a-la-carte channels! But, this post is Future, not past…

Cutest Apple iPhone Commercial Yet

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 06:41:03 +0000

I just couldn’t resist re-posting this. Remember the positive, folks, when I post some perspective on Apple within the next week or so.

Comments
#

Comment by Boris on 2007-12-11 16:21:03 -0500
#

I am just to remind that I’ve sold my iPhone, after two weeks of using it. And you know HOW I LOVE gadgets…

SyncToy 2.0 Beta is out!

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:07:58 +0000

Ever heard of SyncToy? It’s yet another secret software from Microsoft (much like FolderShare) which is just so awesome that they never advertise it, anywhere. I have been using their 1.x version for about a year and it "simply works", which is the best compliment ever, in my book, especially for a little utility.

Happy Hanukkah and Thanks for Reading!

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:10:52 +0000

Happy 2007 Hanukkah everyone! It starts tonight, actually I am cooking right now and decided to take a short break just to wish everyone All The Best!

I also came across this wonderful 30 seconds rendition of Hanukkah Song on YouTube. Great voice, I think you will enjoy it!

TabletPC Is Back, plus Too Much TV

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 02:20:38 +0000

Looks like it takes a good game for people to start talking Tablet PC again. And this game does appear to be good clean geeky fun! The game is called Crayon Physics Deluxe, but it is not ready just yet, apparently.

Hulu.com is Excellent

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:59:50 +0000

Today I got invite to private Hulu.com Beta. Looks like they are expanding their beta user base, and I was lucky to get in on this next round. Though, pretty soon they will go public, I’m sure.

Dude, we bought a Dell

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:09:57 +0000

As many of you know, after months of planning and research I bought my wife a lovely birthday gift. It’s a top notch Vista Laptop, from Dell’s Vostro Small Business Line. Naturally, I am typing this mini-review on it right now.

Spore is Finally Coming Out!

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:27:52 +0000

But First – Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and special Thanks for reading!

While browsing Amazon’s Black Friday Deals, I stumbled across a Pre-Order page for the revolutionary game called Spore. Will Wright, one of the best known game designers, who created titles like SimCity and The Sims, is the creative Genius behind this one.

Fix Adobe Flash and watch 11th Hour Trailer

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:30:32 +0000

I am continuing to encounter strange Adobe Flash problems in Internet Explorer 7. We have a bunch of PCs here at home, and after upgrade to IE7 several had broken Flash. I had to search all other the web and try many different things before fixing it.

New Zune Software is Great but Buggy!

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:50:22 +0000

This is an early report on the new Zune software, since it just came out this Tuesday (two days ago). It is a major overhaul of Zune Firmware as promised, but the Desktop software redesign seems less dramatic.

Deinterlace your Videos – Silly Amateurs!

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:59:41 +0000

Seriously, I just can’t take it any more! I am all excited about the release of the newly redesigned Zune software and firmware, which is coming out tomorrow. So, I was thrilled to watch first videos from around the web showing the new Zune features and User Interface.

Weekend Fun – Gaming Style

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 18:26:43 +0000

"We are boring people to death" – I believe is the exact quote from non other than Electronic Arts CEO. He was referring to the endless sequels to established games, which bring little more than shinier graphics and few more features.

Wives versus Mistresses

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:19:57 +0000

I guess I walked into this one, who knew that this would be such popular topic on everyone’s mind 😉

Disclaimer: The discussion henceforth is purely theoretical in nature.

I have been thinking lately about this whole Mistress as a concept. Especially after watching some good sexy yet mostly comic situations with mistresses in this new Dirty Sexy Money show.

PodCasts – Coming soon to a Zune near you

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:59:30 +0000

Yes, there is a Zune near you! And if you had your own Wi-Fi enabled Zune, you would see that other Zune and be able to share media wirelessly.

A Very Important Post about Nothing!

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:17:07 +0000

Welcome to November! Time sure flies when you’re having fun, NOT! You know it’s all downhill from here, when I am opening with a Not joke.

Weekend Fun – Educational Edition – Sort off

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:39:08 +0000

Changing pace from negative Cyber-terror post, lets recapture our fun. Today’s video is not music video, nor is it anyone playing at the beach.

It is very informative 8 minutes or so video, helping to explain the intricacies of Financial Markets Turmoil that occurred recently, including the infamous Sub-Prime Lending fiasco. British humor at it’s finest! Thanks, Marc, for the tip!

Cyber Terrorists have Won

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 04:29:13 +0000

It is becoming increasingly clear to me that Cyber Terrorism has won. It has all of us running scared, increasingly not trusting our own PCs, we are afraid to visit even secure bank web sites, and overall don’t trust the Internet.

Why get your own Dot Com blog?!

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:56:08 +0000

When I launched this site, several months ago, a good friend asked me why would I bother the expense, the time and the complexity of having my own separate Dot Com blog, when there are so many other web sites out there for blogging these days.

Frequent posting + Weekend Fun

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:08:57 +0000

I think I tackled this in the past, but here is a brief reminder, yet again. I am against bloging senseless! I really don’t enjoy blogs that post 10+ times each day, that’s just ridiculous! Yes, there may be a lot to blog about, and there is a lot going on in the world all the time. But, putting this many posts ends up only hurting your readers, in my humble opinion. It becomes impossible to read every post, and since there is no way to know which posts may be important to you without reading them all, people just stop trying!

Watch your Favorite TV Shows – On Netflix?!

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:05:40 +0000

Netflix quietly rolled out yet another wonderful feature! By now most of you have heard about Watch Now feature on Netflix, which allows you to watch up to your monthly dollar amount of hours of Movies "On-Demand" over the Internet. For example, if your subscription is $18 per month, you get 18 hours of Watch Now viewing for anything you can find in their, still limited, online library of movies.

Blog Action Day – The Environment

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 02:54:02 +0000

Today’s post is about The Environment. Our Planet, and what are You doing to help save it? What actions are You taking daily to better the planet for our Children?

Friday Fun – Linkin Park’s latest classic

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:45:01 +0000

Little known fact (or maybe it’s famous fact?) about me is that I am a video technophile. I love to capture/convert/archive videos in all their form. Whether it is first time my child walked, or my favorite Music Video, and so forth.

New ways to Love your Prime Time TV

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 03:50:46 +0000

While all signs pointing to upcoming demise of TV as we know it, I think we should try to make the most of this transition period.

Today, I compiled a short list of resources to help everyone’s TV addiction, now that Prime Time TV season is back with their best entertainment offerings. What’s more, this year almost all Prime Time shows are presented in glorious HDTV, delivering not only the increased resolution, but an overall improvement in clarity and color accuracy.

Plaxo – so far so good + Vista in your XP

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 05:14:20 +0000

I signed up for Plaxo account today, following a little reminder of their existence. I have been watching their progress for a while, and looks like they are on the right path and have stamina needed to survive rough startup waters. The core functionality that they were always about is maintaining a type of ‘self-updating’ Address book on the web. It’s great, because even if your friends change phone numbers (new job, new home, new phone provider, etc.) The idea that if I update my phone number, it will automatically update address book of all my friends. This is something I have been waiting for a while. But I never wanted to work hard to migrate my address book into ‘yet another web site’, but their latest auto-sync with Yahoo! and Google features have finally convinced me.

WARNING: This Blog Post is Simulated

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:00:31 +0000

Lately I felt that I have been posting way too much on Technology or plain fun stuff, and not at all enough on Meaning of Life, as the sub-title of my blog implies. I have been contemplating for a while to break this trend, and today, the opportunity just screamed out at me while driving to work.

Windows Vista Wow – Part 2

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:35:51 +0000

This is the reality part, and frankly, I just felt the first post was big enough and didn’t lend itself to becoming even longer, to include all the flip side of the new Vista wow.

Windows Vista – I found the WOW!

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:42:24 +0000

Granted, this post is a bit early, I’ve only been using Vista on the my new PC for about a week and a half, but I just had to blog about it!

More weekend fun + Amazon, Please take my MONEY!

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 01:31:08 +0000

Enjoy a little break from the geekyness of this blog. This is one of the latest Hilary Duff videos, and it seems to be her most adult style ever, which is great by me 😉

Amazon MP3 Download is finally here

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:53:39 +0000

I have been waiting too long! Welcome, everyone, to the Digital Music age! What, I missed the revolution?

Jealous Computers and other fun stuff

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:49:47 +0000

Don’t worry, I didn’t disappear anywhere. I was busy most of this week planning and building my latest and greatest PC, and I am really proud of this one.

I built it from the finest cost-effective components. From Q6600, the Quad Core that is really reasonably priced and delivers awesome performance, to MSI P6N SLI Platinum and 2 GB SLI memory by OCZ. Everything started with woot! deal over last weekend, which I couldn’t resist since I’ve been contemplating finally upgrading that 2Ghz AMD64 that I had. I also got one nVidia 8600GTS OC card by MSI, though it probably works better when there’s two of them. I plan to add second one once it’s cheap enough ($50 or so).

There goes yet another startup opportunity of mine

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:23:08 +0000

As I mentioned in the title of my Ventures page (which is still unfinished, as yet another testament to what happens with my Ventures…), most of my ideas get implemented not by me.

Joost is growing and is as revolutionary as ever

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 03:51:37 +0000

Are you all Joost‘ed up yet? This video platform is revolutionary and is truly disruptive to Video on the Web, and even Cable TV for home.

Future is here folks, and it ain’t cheap

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:15:54 +0000

When this amazing gadget shows up in your run-of-the-mill neighborhood warehouse club, this truly takes it mainstream.

Turn your web browsing up a notch

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:33:11 +0000

Short post today, since it’s very late.

I tried out Opera 9.50 Alpha today, and while it may be as lightening fast as they claim, that doesn’t help me any. If it can’t render Google Reader properly, which is critical web app for me, it’s no good… I realize it is Alpha, so I will just let them work on these kinks for now.

eBay Gone Berserk? Lost All Marbles?

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 22:52:08 +0000

We have been eBay patrons for many many years, probably almost since it’s inception. But lately, it seems to become more and more of a wild west and less and less of organized trusted marketplace.

Learning to Fly

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:14:33 +0000

So, most of you are wondering where is it I disappeared to, for the last few days. Over the labor day weekend I was learning to fly, of course!

Actually, at first I just decided to make a push as soon as I hit level 67, to reach 68 in record time. You see, level 68 is when Druids get their flying form. That is, magical creature that is Druid, it is able to morph into various animals. But the bird form is something that is achieved only on level 68 with Burning Crusade expansion.

Some labor day weekend fun

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 08:54:24 +0000

Oh how fast they grow up…. Seemed just not too long ago they were some kids on Disney channel. And how does it work exactly? Hollywood Records it says, but they started with Disney and I am guessing they still are with Disney, in a lot of things. But the important part is that this clip is well produced and fun, so, enjoy!

For my women readers

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 20:17:52 +0000

Linking to Porn is a sure way to get lots of hits, right? But, most porn is really guy oriented, so I was happy to come across some Porn specifically for Women!

Summary of Videos, Please, Mr Scoble!

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 05:09:52 +0000

Mr Scoble, I am really becoming agitated here, and sorry to say, I’m very close to unsubscribing from your otherwise excellent blog.

I’ve been reading your blog for many months (years?), but this latest trend of just linking to Videos is not working for me! Really, this latest video is 20 minutes!!!

Image manipulation breakthrough

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:04:13 +0000

It amazes me that in this day and age it is still possible to come up with revolutionary algorithms in computer science. One would think that by now we have figured out how to do Image manipulation, but, as they say, We Don’t Know Jack!

Video Compression and Toiler Paper

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 04:03:45 +0000

Wow, I am thrilled with all the comments and excitement surrounding my recent Geeky post about hand soap.

Is this blog "Geeky" ?

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 05:24:03 +0000

A friend, who shall remain nameless, has asked me if this was a “geeky” blog that she should stay away from due to it’s inaccessibility to the normal folk, presumably.

The new host awaits

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:19:05 +0000

Well, after whole of 2 weeks, this site already needs more room 🙂

So, this blog is moving to a new host, which should lead to better performance, or so I hope. The new host is geographically very near me, so it is much faster for me to maintain the site, but I think their servers are faster overall, and you should see improvement also.

Yourminis is not very user friendly

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 02:10:30 +0000

I decided to add some widgets from yourminis to my blog, but Alas, it isn’t nearly as simple as it should be. I consider myself pretty web savvy, but configuring the embed script that it generates is been nothing but trouble. Most of ones I tried are too wide for my sidebar, and resizing them breaks most of them, sad sad times…

Did you subscribe to this site yet?

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:06:01 +0000

You really should subscribe, to avoid unpleasant situation that CNN ended up in. Today they finally discovered and broadcast a Video that my readers saw a week ago.

adir1.com — Your best source for early and relevant news! Well, except for natural disasters, political debate and other such depressing things that I will avoid reporting on.

It is official – Tipping point for H.264 reached

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:34:21 +0000

I am glad to see I called this one correctly. Looks like tipping point for H.264 is finally here, and hopefully the support across the industry will accelerate from here on.

We have no Internet?

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:56:20 +0000

Yep, our Internet is gone. Some very smart people from Atlanta Gas & Light (or so we hear) have dug out our neighborhood fiber-optic cable. This is even though entire ground is marked everywhere they worked, marked in all directions that it can!

Miro – Internet Video at it’s finest

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 05:39:06 +0000

Miro is a new name for old time favorite Democracy player. Along with a new name, it got a grand redesign, which I like.

Happy Friday

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 02:26:11 +0000

I guess I am just in a Happy Friday mood, so when I came across this golden oldie, while cleaning the over 2000 unread emails from my mailbox, I decided it warrants a post. Enjoy!

iPhone bill Blues

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 06:21:37 +0000

First, I am glad that I am on e-billing, although I don’t have an iPhone yet.
Second, I am sure we had to work hard to produce such a huge bill 😉
Third, I wonder if AT&T will consider modifying bill format or otherwise amending customer agreement to avoid needing to send this calamity, especially on mostly Unlimited plan!!!

MP4 on Windows Vista – Part Two

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 04:17:42 +0000

I am still struggling with exact instructions on creating not just any old MP4 file, but one that is XBOX 360 compatible. It turns out to be very very hard, for unknown reason. I’ve emailed Major Nelson from XBox at Microsoft, but so far he’s busy, obviously.

Codec Wars and other plagues of our times

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 02:45:56 +0000

So, which Codec are you storing your Media in? Things like Home Movies, or recorded TV shows? How about your Music collection? Don’t even know or care what Codec is?

One Week Anniversary for the blog

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 18:42:18 +0000

First, I promise not to celebrate each week in the future 🙂 , but I think the first week was so thrilling that it’s worth writing about.

Lets start with words on the platform itself, which is WordPress. I actually tried Drupal first, but found it too cumbersome for just managing simple blog. WordPress was simple to install and extend. I ran into some issues with some widgets, but overall, it’s excellent and very recommended.

Dell and Game Changing Idea Storm

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 02:41:00 +0000

Unbeknownst to most people, Dell launched a radically excellent web site to facilitate improved communications with their customers.

Windows Vista Thoughts

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 04:51:42 +0000

I have been using Windows Vista since the second Beta. Lately I am increasingly accused of being Bill Gate’s fan boy and Windows Vista proponent, so here’s a post about my take on Vista.

Iraq, Prosperity and our Dangerous roads

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:34:44 +0000

I decided to give Prosper.com a try about a month ago (read my original thoughts on that), and today came across an interesting listing from our brave soldier currently deployed.

I do hope, for his sake, that the listing’s photo is real and of his own financial accounts. However, the most interesting thing must be the Questions and Answers section of the listing. When asked, out of genuine concern from Prosper investors about being repaid in case of his fatality in a dangerous deployment, the answer was:

Cosmic Link

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:46:01 +0000

Right after I spent my whole weekend pondering the question of which Platform to use for this very blog, Mashable comes up with a neat post about all kinds of Host options for your Blog.

About

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 00:12:22 -0500

Note: I refreshed this site in early 2023, but keeping this page with an original content, as a sort of homage.

About This Blog
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This is my thoughts blog, and as such it is a hybrid between Technology and Software Industry insights and The Meaning of Life revelations. You will not see cute kitties in this blog, simply because they aren’t in my thoughts, ever. Instead you should expect to encounter different kind of fun things here, like gaming, gadgets and more!

Hello World!

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 04:12:22 +0000

Welcome to my blog.

Friends and Family finally convinced me to setup my very own corner of the web, so here it is. WordPress, which is what powering this awesome web site, sets you up with the first Hello World post, which I decided to keep, symbolically.

Adi Rabinovich on adir1

Happy Pi Day: Merka.cloud Project Update

Battle of LLM AIs - Programming Language Juggernauts - Kotlin vs Go - April 2025 Edition

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Introducing Merka Cloud Open-Source Project!

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Uncovering Human Developers Major Edge over AI

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Composability, Virtualization, Efficiency, Security - Can we have it all?

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Search Transformation Into AI Agents - Today (2024) and Tomorrow (2025+)

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TikTok is stealing your emails and I found out why!

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Swimming in the Dark Pools. Musings on the Morals of Algo Trading.

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End Of An Era - Thank You Amdocs for Amazing 30 Years!

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Netflix Cancels Their Best Shows! Is Big Data Lying?

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Life Snippets

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Hello World (Again!)

Duplicate MAC address on Cable Modem – The Fight Goes On

My Advice for Dealing with Anxiety (Social, Disorder or Otherwise)

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Biggest Microsoft Security Lapse in Recent History – Skype’s achilles heel

SteamBurglar Malware – Theft in the Digital Age

The Zeitgeist Movie Series – My Take

Tivo Disaster – If it Ain’t Broke, Why Fix It?

The ‘final’ Frontier in Java

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Finding Life’s Riches

How to Print To your iPhone or Android Phone

Getting Rickrolled by Rick in BrowserQuest

Zen and the Art of iOS

The Adventures of the Me-2 Ship

Solved: The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Ide\IdePort2

11/11/11 And Our Binary Future

My Sandbox! (aka: Liability Fiasco)

Turning Point – Steve Jobs Book Purchase

Annual eBay Bashing – or Mini How-To for Large Software Base

The (prison) state of social (media)

GeekGasm 2011 (aka: Dragon*Con)

It is HP Touchpad weekend – Join In!

Software Patents – Oxymoron

The Minecraft effect on our computing power

Bad US Regulations or Google Incompetence?

Polar – HealthySchools – How to fix IE9 Issue

OMG! Why did you buy a Drunken Hobo?

Free Latest eBooks and Audiobooks on your Mobile device – Legal Too

USA Today Supports Scam Ads? Is This What’s Next In Online Advertising!?

Your Computer Refresh of 2011

Android – Free Brand Advertisement

Tablet PC Glut Incoming – It is an iPad Holiday!

Blog Action Day 2010 – Water

10/10/10 Milestone and Where Do We Go Next

Dead Trees Information Platform – Dead?

Internet Explorer 9 – 64 Bit Beta – With Flash (beta) – Finally!

The Next Series: Part 3 – Apps Marketplace

Napster is back with a vengeance

iPhone 4 – First Impressions + Secret Feature

My iPhone 4 is here – One Day Earlier!

Mass Effect 2 – On Sale Today

Even better than Google’s 80/20 approach!

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Got Flash Blues? Dalvik VM to the Rescue!

Annual Tax Time – My Take

Chrome Browser – Now Proven More Secure

HP Printer Drivers are now Adware?!

Mass Effect 2 is coming – Amazing!

Breaking News – nVidia Hates The Sims

Windows 7 and Vista Side by Side Adventures

Windows 7 64 Bit – Installation & My First Week

Technology to Improve Our Human Experience – Priceless

WordPress Security Breach – First Response Steps

Admission – I was a Netbook Holdout

Internet – Basic Utility or Luxury?

Facebook Ad Machine – Scary or Ultimate?

The Next Series: Part 2 – Where Is My File?

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Thank You
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YouTube
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Comments
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Comment by Boris on 2007-12-11 16:21:03 -0500
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