Apple WWDC 2008

Tomorrow (Monday, June 8th) at 1 pm eastern time, or 2:30 Newfoundland Time, Steve Jobs the CEO of apple will deliver his keynote speech at the Apple WorldWide Developer Conference. It is expected (almost 100%) that a new 3G (= faster) 8 GB iphone will be announced, the current ones are 8 GB and 16 GB. For more details on this and photos visit Mac Rumors . Another rumor that hopefully will happen is a new redesigned Macbook, either way I'm buying one in August. I am totally addicted to Apple now, and I don't even own a Mac. The whole Apple image is just smoking hot, its the cool thing to have, and it works, and makes life easier, Apple is da bomb!!

Google Spreadsheets

Google Spreadsheets is part of the Google Docs software that is free and done online. It has standard spreadsheet features such as a ton of functions (equations), freeze rows/columns, and insert images/charts, although this is a bit limited. Hopefully in the near future they will add a quick button for producing a line of best fit (aka trendline). What I love about Google Spreadsheets and the whole line of documents is that it is done online which equals to  zero file transfers. I can work in my office on a spreadsheet, and save it (it autosaves very frequently, kind of like blogger) and then view and edit the same spreadsheet at home without transferring any files. I can easily invite friends to view or edit the spreadsheet, and it can be published to allow people to see it. When editing the spreadsheet, it is done in real time, such that me and a colleague can be edition the same spreadsheet but on different computers. 

Those geniuses at Google have also solved the problem of loosing your internet connection. They refer to this as "offline access", all you need to do is install Google Gears, and it is done by "cloud computing." Microsoft feared this feature so much that they came up with their own version, but it is extremely slow and you need the expensive Office software in order for it to work. Googles version is fast, with minimal delays. 

Compared to other popular spreadsheets like Excel and Calc, it is somewhat basic, but I think it is good for the average persons needs. Features are constantly being added that are based mostly on user demand and it has advanced quite alot since its release. If you need help, you can search Google Groups which has all of the answers to most problems plus Google Docs has a good help page. Google has yet another hit software product. 

 

    Google Docs Offline Access

Ethanol as Biofuel

Thursday night I watched a really good episode on the use of ethanol as a biofuel in Canada, it was aired on CBC's The National. The main points of the story were:

1. Neither environmentalists nor business wanted to use ethanol as a biofuel, it was a government thing. 
2. Government created a market for ethanol by requiring all gasoline sold in Canada by 2010 to contain 5% ethanol. 
3. There are some ethanol plants in Canada, but there is not enough corn grown so it has to be imported from the US.
4. Major environmental problems of this include high CO2 and smog emissions released from combustion of it, agricultural runoff from farmlands used for growing corn leads to eutrophication, ethanol which is very water soluble can enter ground and drinking water and eventually may end up in drinking water supplies, land that was once used for growing food is now used for biofuel source production thus decreasing food supply and increasing prices, and producing ethanol is very energy intensive.
5. If all of the agricultural land in the world was used to make ethanol, it would only meet a fraction of the world's energy demand. 

I guess the final point that we can take home from this is that ethanol is definitely not the solution to our energy supply problems and we should be focussing more on energy reduction and more environmentally friendly renewable forms of energy.

Gmail Labs

Today when I checked my Gmail account, and went under Settings, I discovered a new feature titled labs. I had been familiar with Google labs where new products are released and public users provide feedback. After discovering this new feature I went to the Gmail blog and did some "research." Currently there are 13 features, with many more on the way. I really haven't played around with them, but there are some excellent ones such as Superstars which adds additional star icons, Custom Keyboard Shortcuts (self explanatory), and Mouse Gestures which allows the mouse to control navigation of email messages. Its because of this openness, and features such as a 7GB storage, and access to photos, calendars, and documents all within the Gmail interface that makes it so appealing. I love Gmail!!!

                                Reasons to Use Gmail

Chlorine Disinfection ByProducts (CDBPs)

As the name says, these potentially and possibly carcinogenic chemicals, both small and large, are produced as a result of chlorine that is used in chlorination reacting with dissolved organic matter (DOM, the stuff that gives some water a yellow-brown colour) in natural waters. In my neck of the woods, Newfoundland and Labrador, it is a real problem, some communities have values of the most well studied group, trihalomethanes (which contain chloroform), at 800 parts per billion (ppb), this is 8x greater than the Canadian Drinking Water Guideline. The actual mass/volume consumed may not seem like alot, but one should realize the amount of water consumed over a week, month, or year. I should mention that this problem is not just a Newfoundland and Labrador thing, it is in most places that use chlorine as a form of chlorination and researchers think that there are over 500 different compounds produced. We could simply stop using chlorination, but the untreated water may cause sickness from bacterial growth. Other forms of disinfection are available, but these are not as simple and cheep as chlorination, or have a residual effect, and some such as ozonation also produce toxic byproducts. The question is, what should we do?

itunes Movie Rentals Comes to Canada Eh!

Today Apple announced that in Canada (and the UK), movie rentals and purchases can now be done through itunes, this is amazing!! The current selection is at 1200; if I wanted to watch Juno, it would cost $4.99 (all prices are in Canadian) to rent, or $19.99 to buy, no more driving to the local Blockbuster!! I think that you have 28 (or 30) days to watch the rental, but if you start watching the movie, you have 2 days to finish it. I haven't actually tried it yet, but when I do I'll post something, although I am really cheep. On another note, as things are moving online, such as music and movies, some of the evil internet providers like Rogers  are starting to place download limits on customers and if they go over this, they have to pay extra, what a bunch of idiots!! Everything is moving online, including the once "desktop" software, I think it is outrageous they are doing this, we all have to fight the power!!

Definitely Buying a Mac!

There has been an executive decision made by me, myself, and I, a Macbook will be purchased sometime this summer for Sheldon Huelin. Today Apple announced the Back to School promo which is very attractive; if you buy a Mac for college, you can get a free ipod nano or touch. There are some restrictions, but basically it applies to students, faculty, and staff and you can get up to a $319 (Canadian) rebate toward the ipod, so you really get an 8GB ipod touch for free. I am definitely going for the ipod touch, woo woo!!

                                Touch the ipod touch