And it’s coming soon… Been busy taking snaps, experimenting with my new kit!

I didn’t want a MacBook Pro. It’s not white ‘n’ shiny.

Here’s to the crazy ones…

You’ve seen the video, but whoda thought that Johnny Appleseed was behind the TextEdit icon? Now you know what it says, you don’t have to be as equally sad as me and spend 10 minutes brainstorming everynight before you go to bed.

Check out the nifty Windows computer icon that found it’s way into Leopard.

Some PC users got a little bit huffy over this, but to be perfectly honest (and as a PC user), I merely think Apple has a wicked senes of humor. via Wired.

Ever wondered what lay beneath Master Chief’s helmet? In this exclusive review, all is revealed… My Halo Master Chief Mimobot from Mimoco arrived yesterday and I’ve had some great fun already toying with it. So, what the heck is Master Chief doing, stuck outta the front of my computer? Well for one thing, he’s not got himself in trouble with any brutes (for once!) and is behaving himself rather niecly, providing 2GB of storage.

I’ve not had chance to get any tech specs yet for the designer USB stick yet (transfer times, etc) but the drive is currently performing at a wickedly fast speed, more so than my existing 4GB sansisk USB key. Costing $50 for the basic 1GB version, $70 for the expanded 2GB edition (the one I’m using) or $110 for the 4GB behemoth, the Master Chief mimobot is limited in production to 5,000 only. Coming in Red Spartan and Blue Spartan variants, Halo fans are covered from all angles. This would be a great time for me to say something along the lines of… “Just in time for the holiday season!” …but in all reality, these babies are gonna sell out within a very short period of time.

Each mimobot comes in an individually hand-numbered case and arrives at your door-step (via a nifty courier service) pre-loaded with a ZIP full of Halo goodies. A special edition of “This Spartan Life”, presented by Damian Somebody-or-other is included, along with a few quick tips for Halo 3 gameplay, excerpts from the upcoming Halo novel, exclusive artwork, some screensavers for both Windows and Mac and a cool looking little “soundByte” application which unfortunately I’ve not been able to install yet.

In all reality, it’s a small price to pay for such great content and a spiffy designer USB key. Works on both Windows and Macs, using the USB2.0 platform. Head on over to the official site and grab your own limited edition, kick-ass Halo 3 USB key before they sell out! Rock on Mimoco and thanks for the schwag!

SIDENOTE: And that’s the last post for a few days I’m afraid - I’m off to Venice, Italy first thing tomorrow morning and I won’t be back until late on Friday. I’ll bring back some photos though.

Muhahaha! You thought the 3-year old’s incredible cubic stunts were impressive? Check out this guy solving a set of TWO Rubix Cubes simultaneously, in 41 seconds. Holy cow…

That’s what I call some serious hand-eye co-ordination, coupled with an incredibly powerful, fine-tuned (albeit slightly sad) brainpower included. Maybe only because I’m jealous… And now for something we CAN actually try out at home (though probably shouldn’t)…

Enlighten me, my electrodic readers.

Sheesh - just when you thought you were good at something, some other child prodigy comes along, kicks you up your butt and doesn’t even bother stopping in to leave a comment on your blog. 6-year old Hoo Ulf Wong managed to solve a Rubix cube in just 37 seconds.

And then there’s the 3-year old Chinese girl who sits in a high-chair, solving rubix cubes in less than two minutes.

Just to completely rub it in, ya’ know. What’s your best time? I think I border somewhere along the 57-hour mark.

Since news is short and all there is to talk about is the rather inappropriate Motorla Penis scandal (don’t ask - hit the link for the full kapowey), the Google Phone (or not, as the case may be) grabs the limelight once again.

Gizmodo drew up a ‘must have’ list for the ever-so-adeptly named GPhone.

• Picasa: A 2MP camera with decent color and low light performance should take a shot, and upload it directly to your Picasa web storage as a mirror. Likewise for YouTube uploads.
• Google Talk: Both IM and VoIP makes this a fancy web communicator. The carriers may not like this, but we’ve got a feeling Google will sell this sans carrier. Oh, and other IM client support.
• Google Video and YouTube: To at least match the iPhone, they have to have their video sites ready for mobile usage. Uploading
• Google Earth: Google Earth for 3D maps, with GPS and app integration.
• Google Docs support with full read like the ones for iPhones, Windows Mobiles and BlackBerries, but real with full editing right on the phone, and support for multiuser editing.
• Google reader for RSS.
• Product Search, including camera phone barcode reading for quick price comparisons.
• Google Transit, Google Ride finder (taxis, limos and shuttles) integrated into maps.
• Third-party Support: Allow an open platform for other people to develop for. Even a company as big as Goog can’t do everything by itself, and with niche apps developed by end-users, you can service minor target segments that wouldn’t otherwise be cost-effective for you to cover.
• Those apps should be native, or at least widgetized for performance reasons. Native apps just run faster. We don’t mean Java apps either, because those are even worse in terms of battery usage.

What can I say? Gizmodo are spot on… Google needs to utilize its existing resources, applications and programs to create a truly spectacular offering.

• This thing is going to be a data transfer hog while it swaps info with all Google’s online services. A 3G connection that toggles on for heavy downloads and uploads, but reverts to Wi-Fi or 2G for background email checking, etc. (To save battery.)
• Push GMail and exchange server support.
• A music player that doesn’t suck: It’s not going to be an iPod, but it’s gotta have something in terms of media features that can top Windows Mobile phones. Try Rhapsody support. Stay away from WMPlayer as a load program, please.
• Search from the home screen: Bring Google’s search-centric features to your phone, letting you search contacts, the web, your emails, and every other bit of data right from your home screen, much like the Helio Ocean does.
• Hardware Keyboard: The iPhone’s virtual keyboard is passable, but we still love the solid feel of a key clicking. Our favorite is HTC’s slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which is great because HTC is the rumored contractor for the Google Phone’s hardware.
• Touchscreen: Since it’s probably going to be an HTC-made phone, a 3-inch touchscreen on par with Windows Mobile phones is the least they can do. While it would be nice to have multi-touch gestures, it’s not completely necessary.
• Long Battery life: We don’t mind sacrificing some portability for a battery that can last an entire day, even with heavy screen and 3G usage. Nokia’s are known for optimizing battery life without sacrificing too many features, but the Google apps may be too processor intensive—especially when combined with 3G.
• Form-factor: We love the slide-out form factor that HTC usually uses, which gives us a spacious keyboard as well as a big screen on top. A Treo-like shape with keys on the front wouldn’t be too bad either, but would sacrifice screen space.

In all fairness, some excellent points have been raised. I’d like to chip in on the price argument before anybody beats me to it. A long lost rumor I dugg up through some contacts in San Francisco seemed to reckon that the phone could be made freely available, with a dirt-cheap contract and that the profits would be made through the phone’s AdSense subsidised software. Even if AdSense were not to be embedded within the applications, it stands to figure that the extra profit from the searches generated by the phone alone should cover the costs. Just my twenty-seven cents (my average cost per click).

image via Giz. predictions via Giz.

Geek de la Geek, only the geekiest can make it. Weighing in at 530, the Scan Rhino!

Scan - Nifty.

Oohrah! But is it any match for the almighty voodoo killing machine?

Voodoo - Radicalised.

Or will Vadim prevail once more?

Vadim - Kicka$$.

Maybe even the beast will make a guest appearance and show it why it is named so?

BEAST - Roar!

Or will the lightning-fast FPS specialists shoot ‘em all before they get chance?

Wired2Fire - Hot, eh?

I think it’s time we splashed out a lil’ and had some fun. Readers from all nations, I have a dream… That all computers will one day unite upon this blog, and bask in the spiffyness they deserve. Send in any geeky computer pictures or just post your specs to show off. Geekness for the winner!

A bad day all round on the computer security front at the TechZi HQ. I found and deleted a trojan horse that had been sitting on my system (thankfully unactivated, for I hadn’t opened the EXE despite the fact it had been sitting on my DESKTOP of all places for several months) and TechZi got… Well. Messed up. Anyone who noticed that the site and RSS feed were down, their e-mails to me were bouncing and that anything remotely TechZi-related at all was showing errors might be interested to know that Nate’s hosting got in a tizzy, after someone or something managed to create 30-GIGABYTES of error data, overloading the server’s hard-drive and causing the whole network to fall on it’s knees.

I’m curious as to what could have caused it and want your views. Maybe a brute force attempt to gain access to one of the sites that Nate hosts? Maybe a bot over-excessively trying to find a non-existant file, getting itself stuck in a loop, and being determined to find it - logging up hundreds of millions of errors? Who the heck knows - any security experts step forward.

On a slightly more cheery note, Apple’s latest OS X, Leopard - is scheduled for release on October 26th, something I (for once) picked up on before any of the major blogs, more by chance than anything. I’d been thinking of getting a MacBook for a while to help speed up the Affiliate Defined development, but knowing Leopard was just around the corner, I’d held on. This morning at school I quickly log on to check my e-mail, wander over to the Apple site to show Luke what the heck a MacBook is (only to find him not remotely interested) and notice Apple tooting it’s own horn over Leopard. Engadget and Gizmodo were still fast asleep. Pity about having to rush of to Maths though, else I would ‘ave blogged it.

Anyhow - October 26th. If no rumors pop up in the meantime or in the week or so following the release, I think it’s safe to say I’ll be grabbing a MacBook within the next few weeks. Unless of course Apple runs an after-Christmas sale, something I’m not sure about. If anyone has any scoops, tips or blatently obvious information I’ve somehow managed to miss, send your junk to Stupid-Editor@TechZi.net - Thanks guys! pics via Engadget

Introducing… The Citroen C4 Bumblebee Transformer Linkbait Photo Incredible Monster Chinese-Built Non-Working Model Thingy Thing.

Not all that much to say I guess, but weighing in at 1323 pounds (give or take a few), it’s one pretty hefty beast. There’s a little confusion as to whether the model bumblebee shoots fire out of it’s fist, jumps onto cars or flies through buildings, but all-in-all, I’d have to say even if it didn’t, it’s one pretty impressive feat. via Sci-Fi