I'm giving a try to Online / Offsite backups

When my sister's Macbook harddrive crashed a year ago, we learned the leason. Backups are vital! So, we bought an external harddrive and upgraded to Mac OSX Leopard, that has Timemachine built-in (an in-site backup solution from Apple). Timemachine is cool, but what happens if my backup drive crashes too? Now, I want to try-out an off-site solution.

Now Im giving it a try to Mozy. Mozy has a free account type that lets you use 2GB for backups. Its cool since it runs on my Mac and I configured it to backup every night. Since I "only" have 2GB of online storage, I'm using it just for my personal pictures (got 1.6 GB already only in pictures from 2007 and 2008!).

It runs unattended each night and it feels nice having my data on a server (or servers) somewhere in the world. If my Mac's harddrive crashes some day, I'll have my backup Harddrive, and if that crashes too (hey, disasters happen!), I can have my Mozy backup ready for restoring. The unlimited space account is just $5 per month, and I think that's a good deal.

If you want to be nice to me giving me 256MB of free storage on Mozy, please, click on the next link and subscribe to Mozy:

https://mozy.com/?ref=M7G7DF

On your first backup, I'll be given my free additional storage! Thanks if you want to do that!

30GB Zunes Failing worldwide!

Wow, just read some posts stating that Mirosofts Zunes (30GB HDD model) are failing all over the world... It seems that they are rebooting by themselves and then freezing. How weird is that?

Sorry for my friends who own a Zune :-) No cure yet...
And for making things worse, Microsofts support lines aren't open today! What can I say? Get a Mac :-)

What will happen this New Year switch from 2008 to 2009? Better be far from a Zune!

And what do you think will bring New Year for you? Are you sure you will be alive the whole year? Please visit www.goodpersontest.com

Bye!

Google attention to details and the G1

OK, I generally love Google software. A lot of my data is in their servers (mail, photos, calendar, feeds, blogs, pictures) and they are awesome. Today, they unveilled the new G1, Google's first Android phone, with T-Mobile.

Looks cool, and totally open (you can even unlock the Sim after 90 days of use). However, I concur with this gizmodo post about how the G1 fails in paying attention to details...

Check the analog and the digital time in this image:



9:10 or 2:47? What are they thinking in?

Yes, its just a mockup, but where is the coolness in a gadget that doesn't even show the correct time? Also, when you look at the apps they have no consistent UI style.

Well, maybe you'll wanna check this gizmodo post and take a look at other images...

Got a Stack Overflow error? (or any other programming related question?)

If you're like me, you frequently search the web for answers on programming stuff, and its frustrating to just find old forum posts with losts of spam or irrelevant answers. And maybe you've found a place that boasts in having the exact right answer but it's a paid suscription site!

Well, I just read that Stack Overflow has become a public beta!

In their own words:

Stack Overflow is a programming Q & A site that's free. Free to ask questions, free to answer questions, free to read, free to index, built with plain old HTML, no fake rot13 text on the home page, no scammy google-cloaking tactics, no salespeople, no JavaScript windows dropping down in front of the answer asking for $12.95 to go away.

Just check it out the next time you got a programming related question!

Just learned what's a Mashup

I'm studying for a speech about web technologies, so I'm all consumed in new terms. One of them is Mashups. Check the article in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_%28web_application_hybrid%29.

One example is Flickrvision:

Flickr is an image storage site that allows users to organise their collection of images and share them. Through the use of its Application Programming Interface (API) the content can be used by other sites to create a mashup. Flickrvision is an example of a mashup made using Flickr's API.

It even gives you a unique perspective of the last photos that have been uloaded to Flickr, on a Google Maps, and it even can give you a 3D perspective! That is cool.

The history behind Google Chrome (video)

Right now I'm writing this from Google Chrome, Google's new web browser. It's built on top of The WebKit Open Source Project, the same as Apple Safari web browser.

They built it from scratch and is thought to be a web brorswer that can keep the fast pace of evolution of the Internet. The javascript engine is really fast and also the rendering of pages I feel that is very fast.

Check this explanation video from the Google team who developed it:



If you'd like to watch it with Spanish subtitles, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15qUN0Mzh3A.

And Safari?

I'll surely keep an eye on this Google project, but I really really like the minimalistic style of Apple Safari browser and I haven't found a more beautiful rendering of pages.

Below is a comparison of the rendering of the New York Times website.

Microsoft's First Seinfeld Ad Airs: Shoe Circus

Hey, have you seen the really good TV Ads from Apple? http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/.

This is just one of the ones I like the most:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci2D1ig4df4

These ads have hurt a lot Microsofts Vista's image on customers... Including myself! I really dont like Vista. But know what? Microsoft is going to air several TV ads with Jerry Seinfield! How cool is that? They are even paying him $10 million for that "hard work"...

And the result? The worst TV Ad I have ever seen! Check it out:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz6amk3P-hY

More comments about the ad: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=556832. I like this one:

Worst
Ad
Ever?

Seinfeld reminds me of the mid 1990s. Kinda like Microsoft...

haha, Get a Mac :-)