And the winner is....

About a week ago I've pledged to give away a $25 USD gift certificate to whoever comes up with the funniest comment on the photo below. Most, if not all, comments were lame. And as I couldn't be arsed to create a poll for readers to vote, I asked a very good friend of mine to help. The winner got selected based on effort and creativity, not humor unfortunately.

And the winning comment is: "nice work johnson, weve been after this hamburglar for months" By Dantana Runner-Up comment is: "officer: shu keef al shu'3ol ma3ak abu shryek? MacMan: ya zalmeh oskout khalyha 3ala allah, tezey mesh 3aref a7kouha." By Ibrahim Owais

Unfortunately, Dantana couldn't be reached as his/her blogger profile is not enabled. Dantana, you have 3 days to contact me with your details, otherwise the prize will go to Ibrahim.

Tags [Contest] [Winner]

why i love flickr

Flickr! Brilliant fucking idea, well exectued... bla bla bla!

The reason I worship Flickr however is that technical mumbo jumbo is constantly replaced with humorous banter. I logged on last night to find this:

You can’t be cross reading that can ya?!

While you're at it, check this out You can replace yazan with whatever you like, no spaces: ;-)

JordanPlanet Bloggers fight for popularity

The lights dim and the crowds cheer as 4 brave bloggers enter the boxing arena. Every Planet Citizen anxiously awaiting and speculating the result of the battle. I should warn you ladies and gentlemen the scene is gory and not for the timid; contestants will fight till the last blogger is standing. Roba Assi vs Lina Ejeilat [Click here to watch the fight] On the left side; we have our challenger for the title Roba Assi on the right side Lina Ejeilat. The bell rings, and the fighters approach; Lina takes a Jab at Roba. Roba quickly maneuvers out of the way and put an end to the battle with a quick knockout! 1-2-3 … that has got to go down as the shortest boxing match in history! The referee tries to stop Roba as she tries to spray paint Lina with her pink signature. Roba Assi vs Jameed [Click here to watch the fight] Enter the Karaki Stallion…. Roba be prepared you’re about to face one of the toughest opponents of your career… Jameed dances around Roba looking for an opening and lands a punch that knocks her to the floor. Roba quickly gets up and confuses her opponent with art terminology, and surprises him with a direct hit that knocks him down. For the final match Roba is going to face our defending champion Roba Assi vs Ahmad Humeid [Click here to watch the fight] Eager to win, Roba quickly approaches Ahmad and lays a punch, only to be blocked by a wave of sound generated from his iPod Shuffle. Artsy words do not confuse our champion. Nor do quick punches. Ahmad smiles victoriously at the lame attempts of his challenger; his music shield impenetrable, and his punches unblocked. Roba falls down on the ground and pulls out a can of turpentine and sprays the chemical of happiness around Ahmad. He falls laughing on the floor and breaks the Shuffle; and suddenly the music stops and the crowd gasp. The referee is counting, Ahmad is still laughing… 3-2-1 we have a winner ladies and gentlemen. More Interesting Battles: - Microsoft vs Linux - Microsoft vs God - Bill Gates vs Linus Torvalds - Britney Spears vs Shakira - Oprah vs Dr. Phil - Work vs Holiday Note: This is a twisted and bizarre post about GoogleFight. Bloggers were selected randomly; I didn't enlist myself because I'm too cool and cannot be arsed; sore losers and angry crowds can direct their hate mail to the comments segment.

OpenWengo: An Open-Source / Open-Standards Skype Alternative?

From Wengo comes WengoPhone (WP) an open source Voice over IP aletrantive to Skype. Although lacking in several areas in my opinion especially GUI wise, WP brings the ability to make and receive SIP calls, send SMS as well as video conferencing. I'm not going to debate whether open-source code is good or bad for you. I'm perfectly fine with a closed-source code solution provided that it follows industry standards. What makes VoIP potentially disruptive to the communication industry as we know it today, is the existence of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). SIP allows different VoIP services to interoperate over the internet directly without ever hitting the traditional phone network (PSTN). Simply providing the kind of interoperability and interconnectivity we have come to expect from the Internet. So what's the big deal? Skype and several other VoIP services DO NOT ALLOW their users to call anyone outside their service over the internet. For example, if you're a Voiceglo user you cannot call a Skype user without hitting PSTN. If that didn't paint a crystal clear picture it might be useful to think of Skype as an island excluded from the rest of the world. WengoPhone on the other hand is an Open-Standards Platform, which means that you're able to call and receive calls from users that are not using the same software. The media has not yet grasped the significance of this, and still report about VoIP in the same old terms; still considering the traditional PSTN as the only means to interconnect. OpenWengo is currently available for Windows Only, and with Linux, OSX and WinCE clients in the work. Related

• [Microsoft Ventures inVoIP]
• [Intel takes a stake at Skype]
• [Ahmad Humeid's Project Gizmo: An “open standards” Skype replacement?]
• [OpenWengo Developer Resources / Wiki]
• [PhoneGiam]

Tags: [Softphone] [VoIP] [Skype] [OpenWengo] [SIP] [Session Initiation Protocol] [Voice over IP]

Apple iPod Nano Photo

I can't wait to lay my hand on one of these (Note: this is a mock up, not the actual product) Click here to enlarge Tags [Apple] [iPod] [iTunes] [Nano] [Rocker] [Motorolla] [ROKR]

Tomorrow's Announcement: What to expect from Apple?

Why wait till Wednesday to know what products Apple has in store for you? - Cingular will announce an iTunes compatible phone called the "Rocker" or "ROKR" - A new Flash memory based 2GB iPod called "Nano" will be launched. It's a mesh between the iPod Mini and the Shuffle, estimated price is $199 USD. Click here for a photo of Nano. - No video iPod will be launched. [Digg this story] Tags [Apple] [iPod] [iTunes] [Nano] [Rocker] [Motorolla] [ROKR]

Linspire 5.0: Linux Evolution or Windows on Steroids?

Yazan Malakha takes Linspire FIVE-O for a spin If you've missed it, the people at Linspire (Previously Lindows) are giving away free digital download version of their latest operating system, a $49 USD value, for a limited time. After countless attempts to register on their website; I finally managed to download and install the much-hyped-about Linspire 5.0 (For some reason or another their Linux based servers has difficulties coping with 250 concurrent users, what a bummer). Downloading frustration aside, I was actually impressed by how lucid and unbelievably simple their installation is. The CD offers 2 options, a live feature which allows you to run the operating system directly off your CD Drive. And an installer option similar to the one you’d find on Windows XP CD, it took approximately 10 minutes to install the software on VMWare, and less than 2 minutes to configure it, although booting was unusually slow for a Linux system. Hardware support was trouble-free: all my peripherals (except for the webcam and satellite card) were detected and worked without a hitch, in both VMWare and Native mode. Now before I go on, I should point out that I’m all about Gnome; I’ve used KDE in its early stages, but never long enough to form an opinion. What struck me upon booting the system was the resemblance this system bears to Windows XP! Aside from using Windows XP naming conventions like (“My Computer”, “My Documents”, “My Music” and so on); everything has been copied or mimicked. The login screen almost looks identical, the green start menu button, bookmarks in the file explorer, some of the icons are a complete knock-off. It also starts off with an audio tutorial demonstrating all of the OS features. On the other hand the system does have a close resemblance to Mac OS. The curvy look of windows, the circular shaped minimize/maximize buttons, the inclusion of multimedia programs such as Lphoto and Lmusic (iPhoto and iTunes anyone?), not to mention the Load Screen, which reminded me of OS 8/9 days. I should mention that it comes with instant messaging software and open office, making the system ready for an average user. One of the most impressive features was CNR, which stands for Click-N-Run; it takes exactly one click to install an application, again quite similar to Mac (a click and a drag). They offer a CNR library that spans hundreds of Linux programs that provide alternatives to just about any Windows application you’ll ever need. So what impact can Linspire cause in a world full of Linux Distros? Can Linspire live up to it’s goal of delivering a system that won’t make Linux users wish they had paid their Windows tax? I think so, although I think there’s still room for improvement. The clean interface, simple installation, and resemblance to windows, makes switching to linux a breeze, even for the novice user. No more will Linux be reserved for the technically-advantaged. At a fraction of the cost of Windows XP; you get an operating system that includes all the tools you need to perform any type of computer work. In a simple and user-friendly interface. Perfect for a newbie or a bargain-hunter. Some Screen Shots Tags: [Linux] [Linspire] [Freespire] [Windows] [MacOS] [OSx86] [Lindows]

How Apple may deal with the dreaded "intel inside" sticker

Click for a larger view Photo Credits: www.joyoftech.com Tags [Apple] [Mac] [Intel] [Intel Inside] [Mac OSx86]

Contest Update: 25 Bucks for the funniest comment

So far there has been 8 maybe 9 sorry attempts to make me laugh; none of which resulted in a popped spleen (not even a smirk in some cases). It's quite obvious Jordanian Grumpiness has taken over the best of you; there's still enough room to prove me wrong though. So feel free to drop a comment here. Notes: - Winner will be announced on Friday 9th September 2005 - If sorry arse comments are to continue, the best four will be polled for a winner. - Anonymous entries will be disregarded, if you're a non blogger, leave your name or email address. - Prize is a $25 USD gift certificate at any place where a Jordanian-Issued Credit Card is accepted. - May the funniest (wo)man win. Good Luck :-) Tags [Contest]

Microsoft Ventures in VoIP

Intel is not the only one venturing into VoIP, last wednesday Microsoft announced the purchase of VoIP software and service provider Teleo. Microsoft will work on integrating Teleo’s technology into its own VoIP products and IM clients. Teleo's ability to make PC-to-Phone calls will position Microsoft as a direct competitor to Skype; and they're definately not wasting any time, they expect to have Teleo technology integrated into MSN Messenger by the end of this year. You can expect Microsoft to leverage the relationship it already has with businesses through its Microsoft Office Suite by integrating VoIP features. They're in a powerful position to offer communication solutions to their customers; it's surprising it's coming to the game so late with this purchase. If anything, this is a sure sign that VoIP is gaining momentum. Related Links [Microsoft Press Release] [Teleo] [eWeek's Article] Tags: [VoIP] [Skype] [Teleo] [MSN Messenger] [Voice Over IP]

Weekly Technological Roundup: Does Apple Even Own iPod, Intel's stake at Skpye, FreeSpire and more..

Does Apple Even Own iPod? Earlier on I've blogged about Microsoft patenting iPod Interface; Creative Technologies decided to raise another legal threat to the iPod music player, and has been awarded a U.S. patent for a song-navigation technology it claims is used on Apple Computer's market-leading devices. "Apple tried to claim invention, but this patent dispels that," said Craig McHugh, president of Creative Labs, a Milpitas-based subsidiary. "We are going to look at all the alternatives that the patent provides. We can look at legal remedies." No word yet on how Creative intends on enforcing it's patent. More iPod Related Stories: [Apple's Secret is Out] [iPod Phone] [Microsoft Patents iPod Technology] Google Maps Update New Orleans Google Maps has updated its service by adding a ‘Katrina’ button alongside the current ‘Map’, ‘Satellite’, and ‘Hybrid’ options. Satellite images were taken on August 31. In order to view the new images enter “New Orleans” in the search bar. To view a “before & after” click the satellite button to view older images. More Katrina Stories: [In the Wake of a Storm] [Katrina in the News] More Google Related Stories: [Google Eying Talent] [Google Talk] [Google Knows] FreeSpire, a free copy of Linspire (Limited Time) The people at Linspire are giving Linspire 5.0 away for free (digital download only) until September 6th. Simply go to purchase the $49.95 digital edition, and then enter coupon code ‘freespire’ to receive a $49.95 discount.” More on Freespire [Freespire Press Release] [Linspire] Intel's Disruption Trying to repeat the success of its Centrino brand for notebook computers, Intel said it will launch a set of technologies geared specifically for entertainment PCs. Look out for "Intel Viiv" sticker, coming to a computer near you. Intel also seems to have bought a stake in the in internet phone phenomenon Skype Tags: [iPod] [Linux] [Freespire] [Google Maps] [Technology News] [Intel] [Skype]

Reminiscing the Good Old Days: The Evolution of Mac

Such a difference a zero makes, the following site takes you back in time and demonstrates how Mac OS evolved from version 1.0 to 10.4 [Via Indigo 3d]

Google Eying Veteran or Fresh Talent?

Now here’s a creative way to snatch new talent. Adorn a page with a “Work at Google” ad upon a vanity search; or perhaps snatch up those interested in their careers? Google any of the following names:

• Udi Manber, head of Amazon.com's A9 search subsidary
• Prabhakar Raghavan, Yahoo's research head
• Or Susan Dumais, on of Microsoft's top search researchers.

A bold move to snatch away top talent from competitors and academia and those interested in them? It's a novel recruiting tactic!! Amazon.com serves up a similar ad alongside a couple of these names, but Microsoft and Yahoo are no where to be found. Reference: Google's Crafty Star Search By Ben Elgin: Business Week September 12th 2005 Edition

Contest: 25 Bucks for the funniest comment

Here's a challenging picture that I couldn't come up with a comment for. I’m dedicating a $25 USD Amazon gift certificate (or from another site if desired) to whoever comes up with the most humorous comment on the picture below. You have to make me laugh hard enough to pop my spleen. There must be at least 3 people that enter for a prize to be handed out. Otherwise, the only recognition will be a dedicated post for your humorous comment.

Note: Prize will be handed out in a week. Fairplay Baybee! Note 2: Please refrain from posting anonymously. If you're a none-blogger user please add your email address to the comment in the following format youraddress [at] somewhere [dot] com example:john.doe [at] gmail [dot] com. Invalid addresses and Anonymous Comments will be disqualified.

OSx86: The Ultimate Guide on how to get OS X up and running on your Intel Box

Ever since I put up Screenshots of Mac OS X running under Windows a few weeks back, I’ve been bombarded with all sorts of questions on how to get it installed, what kind of machine is needed to get it up and running, and most importantly where do I find the files needed for this and so on. Here’s an attempt to answer all of your questions please let me know if there’s anything I’ve missed. Question 1: Where do I get MacOSx86? Authorized users should obtain the OSX files from Apple. It is illegal to obtain them from torrent sites by searching under and of the following keyword combinations: "VMWare files for patched Mac OS X Tiger Intel" or “Deadmoo” or “OSx86” Question 2: What kind of machine do I need to run Mac OS X? Any machines that has SSE2 is able to run OS X86, you will need SSE3 in order to run Rosetta, a workaround to run Rosetta on SSE2 is available. Its CPU intense however as it translates every SSE3 instruction into SSE2 Question 3: How do I find out if my machine has SSE2/SSE3? Download the About CPU-Z application and run it on your machine, it will tell you what kind of instructions your CPU has (see screenshot below). Question 4: I have a Prescott CPU and I’m unable to run Rosetta! I ran into the same problem on my installation, Mac OS X is unable to resolve whether you have SSE3 or not if your motherboard has an 865PE chipset. You can either replace your motherboard or run the SS3 2 SSE2 Patch Question 5: What’s the ultimate machine to run Mac OS X on? I’m not sure if this is the ultimate configuration, these are the specs for the machine that Apple is currently leasing to developers. CPU: must support SSE3 Chipset: Intel 915 chipset (others may work if they support ich4 or ich5) GPU: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 Motherboard: Intel D915GUXLK I would definitely recommend having at least 1 Gigabyte of RAM, although we ran this emulated on a laptop with 256 MB and several applications running in the background. Question 6: How would I know if my current hardware would run? Well there’s no official hardware compatibility list, OSx86 Project and several other sites rely on Wiki to report whether hardware would work or not. You can check HCL | NON-COMPATIBLE HARDWARE LIST Question 7: There’s no Networking or Sound on VMWare! Yes, VMWare was not designed to run bootlegged operating systems. There are no drivers for sound and networking on VMWare, I don’t think anyone has bothered to write drivers for it; as it can be run Natively. Here’s a list of soundcards and Ethernet cards that would work with a native OS X installation: Sound: -ADI AD1985 -Audiotrak Maya 5.1 USB Audio -C-media AC’97 -C-Media USB Audio -Creative SB Live! 24-Bit External USB -Griffin iMic -Intel ICH4/ICH5/ICH5R/ -Intel ICH6 AC’97 -M-Audio Revolution 7.1 (Uses OSX drivers) -Realtek AC’97 Audio for VIA a.k.a VT8235 (try SPDIF-output) -Realtek ALC650 -Realtek ALC655 -Realtek ALC850 (nForce4 Audio, needs edited kext) -Realtek ALC855 -Realtek ALC860 -Sigmatel C-Major Audio (copy over AppleAC97 kext from Darwin) -Sonica Theater (USB) -SoundMax Integrated Digital Audio (AC97) -VIA VT8233, VT8237 Ethernet: -3Com 3c900 (10mbit only) -3Com 3c905/3c905B/3c905C NIC -3Com 3c920 10/100 Integrated -Broadcom BCM4400 10/100 integrated controller -Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5705M Gigabit Ethernet -Intel 82559-based NIC (EtherExpress Pro/100+) -Intel PRO/100 VE and PRO/1000 -Intel 82557 EE PRO/100 -Intel 82540EM Gigabit Ethernet -Intel 82547EI/82562EZ -National Semiconductor DP83816 “MacPhyter” -Netgear FA311 - ( http://homepage.mac.com/yukidon/mac/en/dp8381x.html ) -Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC -Realtek 8100C -Realtek 8139 - D-Link DFE-530TX+, also many generics/onboard -Realtek 8169/8169S - Gigabit NIC’s (Netgear GA311) - -SMC-1211TX (Recognized as RTL8139 [Realtek] -Surecom EP-320X-R 100/10/M Video cards/chipsets: - Integrated i915G Intel GMA900 (works with all resolutions, Quartz Extreme, Core-Graphics and 2d/3d acceleration) - Almost all other video cards will work properly, but no hardware acceleration is used Question 8: How do I install OSx86 natively? There are several guides on to do this here’s one of my favorites http://www.xplodenet.com/blog/?page_id=11 Question 9: These look very complicated is there an easier way? Well you can replicate the tiger-x86 image onto a separate hard driver (Separate partition will not do). You can lookup the guide on www.osx86-project.org Question 10: But that requires Linux and looks complicated! Isn’t there a way to do this on windows? Well I’m not particularly a fan of making things complicated; again you will need a separate harddrive, a separate partiontion will not do! I repeat will not do. You can also use an external drive if you wish (make sure your BIOS supports booting from USB devices)

1. Obtain the OSX files from Apple. It’s illegal to get the from torrent.
2. Unrar the files to the root of your C Drive
3. Download the Forensic Acquisition Utilities or Rawrite DD (http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/rawwrite/dd.htm)
4. Unzip these files and copy dd.exe (as well as every file in that directory to the root of c: drive as well)
5. Download WMI Tools from Microsoft, and install them; go to programs > WMI Tools and run WMI Object Brower, an Internet Explorer page will fire up (if you have SP2 installed allow the blocked content)
6. Select WIN32_SystemPartitions.PartComponent in the left column then right-click on the drive device id (Disk #0, Partition #0, etc) in the right column and select Go to Object
7. The device window will open and click the associations tab
8. Exploring with this tool you should be able to match drive letters (Win32_LogicalDisk.DeviceID = “C:”) to its physicaldisk reference (Win32_DiskDrive.DeviceID = “\\\\.\\PHYSICALDRIVE0”)
9. Now that you know the Physical ID of the drive you want to use the following command to do it: dd if=c:\tiger-x86-flat.img of=\\.\PhysicalDriveSomething Where something is the Physical Drive ID
10. The command will seem to hang, but you’ll notice your drive is firing up, just let it complete it’s business, it would take anytime from 10 minutes to hours depending on your hardware configuration
11. Once it’s done, reboot and select the new drive as your boot drive, Voila! You’re done

Question 11: My friend has Mac OS X86 installed on his machine, can I replicate it from there? Yes you can! You can even map a real hard disk to your virtual machine and replicate it from there check this guide: http://www.bombich.com/mactips/image.html Question 12: You mentioned windows applications running on Mac OS X86 is this true? Yes, buggy but true. I managed to run a few applications, nothing too hardcore. Darwine allows the Windows API to be created in x11 terminal, and thus run win32 applications through the help of Winehelper. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Darwine team for their great achievements of porting the open-source Wine (http://www.winehq.org) to Mac OS X. I bow to you guys!

Winston's Lego Computer

The lengths to which some Lego enthusiasts go to build their plastic sculptures are often as amazing as the structures themselves. From replicas of Taj Mahal to Homer Simpson. Below is probably the one that impressed me the most. A modded computer case built entirely using Lego Blocks. Lego Computer Case Documentation Site

Apple's Secret is Out

The secret is out, but is it JUST the iTunes phone? Would the be launching the video iPod too? Click the image for Apple Insider's Article == Update 1:25PM - Links have been updated. It should take you to the correct article now.