Lose weight with the Blogger diet

The Blogger diet, is a motivational group of bloggers, started by Colin D. Devroe, helping each other reach their respective healthy weight goals. Anyone can join, and be part of the group by adding a comment to this post here.

Since it is very hard to compete for pounds, or percentage of body fat, etc - we’ve decided that we’re just going to try to help each other lose weight until we reach our goal weight.

Once you have joined, they ask that you post your weight for tracking purposes on your blog on the weigh-in days. They have also started a Flickr group for posting images on weigh-in days, if you choose to. You can find a list of all bloggers participating here.

So, if you need to lose a couple of pounds(or more), you don’t have to do it alone. Join the community to help yourself and others stay motivated and inspired towards reaching your goals.

Nintendo Wii Release Date: November 6th

We ran into a gaming website claiming that they were able to get some inside information from Nintendo in regards to the Wii release date. According to their sources, as of right now, the Nintendo Wii release date is scheduled for November 6th.

… we pushed our source a bit further to see if they had an idea of a more exact date. Today, we were provided with the following information…

“So, at the moment Nintendo are aiming to launch the Wii on November 6th”

Our source emphasised that this date is correct at present, but pointed out: “Nintendo aren’t going to have an exact date in mind until they are sure they can meet the deadlines”.

Since Sony has already announced the PlayStation 3 release date, and Nintendo did announce a Q4 launch date at this years E3, it makes sense that Nintendo would do everything possible within their power, to get their new console out into the market before Sony launches the PS3.

Please take the November 6th launch information with a grain of salt, as nothing has been confirmed by Nintendo yet.

Infinium Labs changes name to Phantom Entertainment

Remember Infinium Labs?

Infinium Labs™, Inc. was founded by a management team with extensive experience in interactive media, entertainment and technology. The company is set to launch a cutting edge online gaming service. The Phantom® Game Service will be delivered online over any broadband network and will offer a broad library of games designed to appeal to both the avid gamer as well as the casual player.

If not, Infinum Labs is the company that promised to deliver The Phantom, an on-demand video game service, delivering games via an online subscription. After blowing through an estimated $62.7 million over 3 years from investors without ever launching a single functional product, and with their former CEO under investigation for stock fraud, Infinium Labs, is now changing their name to Phantom Entertainment(ok - that’s just funny!).

Infinium Labs, won 3rd place at the 2004 Wired Vaporware awards, and 1st place at the 2005 Wired Vaporware awards.

Apparently, they have now scrapped all plans for The Phantom as they have decided to double the amount of outstanding shares issued in an effort to raise additional cash, to focus on getting their gaming “lapboard” peripheral to market.

The Tanita BC-502 : Health made easy lazy

Tanita, a Japanese company specializing in health equipment is introducing a brand new scale.

The Tanita BC-502(only available in Japan as of right now) is the perfect scale for the lazy athlete in all of us.

This scale, just like most of Tanita’s other semi-professional and professional weighing scales can measure your weight, as well as your muscle mass and fat ratio. However, unlike the other models which connect to your PC via USB so you can keep track of your progress, this little devil can transmit the measurements via Bluetooth to your computer, or even directly to your cell phone.

WordPress Caching: WP-Cache Plugin - Blank Page Bug Fix

Last week we wrote a quick how-to on caching with WordPress, by using the WP-Cache 2 plugin. It seems that there is a small bug in the code which may effect some people.

After you install and enable the plugin, if you are getting a blank page when you first go to your site, you need to follow these instructions to fix the bug.

1. Disable the WP-Cache plugin.
2. Switch to the “wp-content/plugins/wp-cache” directory.
3. Make a backup of all the files in this directory.
4. Open the “wp-cache-phase2.php” file.
5. Search for “ob_end_clean()“.
6. Replace it with “ob_end_flush()“.

Now, you should be all set. Go ahead and Enable the WP-Cache plugin, and you should be able to pull up your website.

Microsoft XBOX 360 Update coming with major enhancements

Microsoft has announced the first major XBOX 360 update, which is coming next Friday(June 2nd), and it will include some major enhancements.

Here is a list of the new features and changes:

• Background Download Manager: This was probably the most requested feature for the 360. This new feature will allow you to download XBox Live Marketplace content in the background, as you use your XBOX to play games or do anyting else. The download manager will pause downloads automatically during multiplayer experiences, and continue downloading once you are finished playing online.
• Dashboard Boot-Up: Probably the second most asked for feature. Your XBOX 360 will be able to boot directly into the dashboard, instead of whatever game or movie that you have loaded in the DVD drive. This will be an option which can be changed at anytime.
• Xbox Live Marketplace: The Marketplace is finally getting a make-over, to make it easier to navigate and find content.
• Control Marketplace Videos: You will be able to fast-forward and rewind marketplace content.
• Enhanced Photo Viewing: This will allow you to preserve folders on memory cards when you transfer to your 360 and also tweaks the slideshow.
• Music Player and DVD Playback Improvements: DVD Bookmarking comes to the XBox 360. Your 360 will remember where you stopped a movie, and continue playing where you last watched from, even if you have changed discs, or have powered it off.
• Friends Status Update: When your 360 screen saver comes on, your online status becomes “away”, just like AIM/ICQ.
• Xbox Live Vision: Support for the upcoming 360 camera will be added on with this update.

Source: Kotaku

Apple MacBook “Moooing” sound identified and explained.

A brave Apple MacBook owner took it upon himself to find out exactly where the “Moooing” sound heard in a lot of the new MacBooks is coming from. By taking apart his brand new Apple MacBook computer and removing some of the casing, he was able to confirm everyones suspicions that the sound is indeed coming from the system’s fans.

It seems that the fans turn on at a specific temperature, like they are suppose to, but only stay on for a few seconds, as the temperature very quickly drop by a few degrees. The “Moooing” sound that is heard is produced by the fans turning on and airflow starting to move through the MacBook enclosure.

It’s entirely possible that Apple had intended to make the fans hyper-sensitive, to avoid draining extra battery power, and to keep the MacBook as quiet as possible. However, if this is something that really is a problem, Apple should be able to fix it by changing the temperature at which the fans go on or off, with a firmware update.

Update: Here is the discussion of this issue over at Apple.com

Official Nintendo Wii launch price announcement: Under $250

Today, Nintendo made an official announcement on the Nintendo Wii launch release price. The system will not cost more than $250 in the US. This means that it could be $249, or $199 or possibly anywhere in between. We’re still hoping that Nintendo sticks to their accustomed $199 release price.

Following its overwhelming debut at E3 2006, Nintendo today announced the current fiscal year unit shipment forecast for its new home game system, Wii™. Nintendo also confirmed that the price of the Wii system, which incorporates unique freehand control, will not exceed $250 in America, or ¥25,000 in Japan. The company plans to ship 6 million systems to retailers around the world between its launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2007.

The projections are part of a full-year financial forecast that sees growth of 18 percent in sales globally, based on anticipated continuing strong demand for the Nintendo DS™ portable game system, as well as a successful launch for Wii.

The company also said it expects to sell 17 million Wii games in the period. Exact launch dates, identification of the launch library of titles and details on the unique Virtual Console aspect of Wii will be announced soon.

Nintendo Wii $199 release price hinted by Satoru Iwata

It looks like we have been on the right track with our analysis and explanation of why the Nintendo Wii should be released at the retail price of $199. In a recent interview done by Game Daily Biz with Satoru Iwata, Mr. Iwata hinted that the launch price of the Nintendo Wii might be similar to the release price of past Nintendo consoles.

BIZ: I know that Nintendo has not officially announced a price for the Wii, but a rumor we spotted this week in EGM suggests a $249 price tag. Do you want to comment on that?

SI: [Laughs] As you know, that is speculation and we did not comment on the price point at all. What we’ve been repeatedly saying is that it’s going to be an affordable price point, and when we say affordable, you may want to check our past records of price points, launching price points for any past hardware… I think you’ll agree that we always come up with an affordable price point. So when we announce the Wii price point in the near future, I believe you are going to say, “That’s an affordable price point.”

Read our original article(A brief history of Nintendo consoles, and why Nintendo Wii should be $199) here.

The MacBook StarWars Kid

Matthew Haughey of MetaFilter and A Whole Lotta Nothing put his brand new Apple MacBook to good use. Using a great little app called the MacSaber, he re-created the StarWars Kid video.

I went for accuracy, combing my hair down, putting on tight khakis and a striped tight shirt, and following his first set of movements.

If you have been living under a rock, and you haven’t seen the original, take a few minutes and check it out here.