Apple and Nike making us healthier

Since everyone has blogged about this already, we really felt left out. So, we’re going to give in to the blogging social pressure and blog about it to. So, here goes!

Apple and Nike are joining forces to help make everyone a little healthier. The $30 Nike+iPod Sport Kit, comes with the Nike+ sensor which slips into your Air Zoom Moire shoe pocket(about $100 for the shoes), which then communicates with the included iPod Nano antenna to transmit information to your iPod, such as speed, time, distance and calories burned.

You never have to look at your iPod to check the information, as it will speak your progress to you, as your are working out. Once you have completed your workout, you can then upload the data to your computer to keep track of your workouts and progress(it has neat little graphs too!). You can also upload your information to Nike’s site, which will keep track of everyone’s workout information. The best part is that you will be able to challenge anyone around the world to a virtual race through Nike’s site.

Wordpress Caching How To

On Friday afternoon one of the articles we posted made front page of digg. After about 3-5 minutes the server load shot up to about 200, which pretty much took the machine offline. Our host was able to get on the machine, disable the site temporarily, and get the server functional again.

We spent the next half hour researching caching options for wordpress. We finally decided to setup WP-Cache 2.0.

WP-Cache is an extremely efficient WordPress page caching system to make your site much faster and responsive. It works by caching Worpress pages and storing them in a static file for serving future requests directly from the file rather than loading and compiling the whole PHP code and then building the page from the database. WP-Cache allows to serve hundred of times more pages per second, and to reduce the response time from several tenths of seconds to less than a millisecond.

Once we setup caching we were then able to bring the website back up, and keep the server load to about 10-15, which was more than acceptable, especially for being on the front page of digg.

So, here is a quick how-to on setting up caching on your wordpress to be (a little more) prepared for a high burst of traffic.

1. Download WP-Cache 2.0
2. Unzip the file, and place the contents in wp-content/plugins/wp-cache/
3. Create wp-content/cache directory, and make sure that Wordpress can write to it
4. Activate the plugin in the Plugins screen
5. Add the following line to you wp-config.php file: define(’WP_CACHE’, true);
6. Under the Options screen, select “WP-Cache” and enable caching.

• For further instructions and troubleshooting, please read the README file included in the zip.

Your wordpress should be caching now. You can now play around with the settings in the WP-Cache screen to customize it to your liking. You can also see how many pages are being cached, in that same screen.Please be aware that although you are now caching, depending on your hardware and connection type to the internet, your server might still not be able to handle all the load.

XM Satellite Radio responds to the RIAA lawsuit.

Here is what XM Satellite Radio had to say about the lawsuit that was filed by the RIAA earlier this week(this was emailed out to all 6+ million subscribers):

Statement to XM Subscribers – The XM Nation

Everything we’ve done at XM since our first minute on the air is about giving you more choices. We provide more channels and music programming than any other network. We play all the music you want to hear including the artists you want to hear but can’t find on traditional FM radio. And we offer the best radios with the features you want for your cars, homes, and all places in between.

We’ve developed new radios — the Inno, Helix and NeXus — that take innovation to the next level in a totally legal way. Like TiVo, these devices give you the ability to enjoy the sports, talk and music programming whenever you want. And because they are portable, you can enjoy XM wherever you want.

The music industry wants to stop your ability to choose when and where you can listen. Their lawyers have filed a meritless lawsuit to try and stop you from enjoying these radios.

They don’t get it. These devices are clearly legal. Consumers have enjoyed the right to tape off the air for their personal use for decades, from reel-to-reel and the cassette to the VCR and TiVo.

Our new radios complement download services, they don’t replace them. If you want a copy of a song to transfer to other players or burn onto CDs, we make it easy for you to buy them through XM + Napster.

Satellite radio subscribers like you are law-abiding music consumers; a portion of your subscriber fee pays royalties directly to artists. Instead of going after pirates who don’t pay a cent, the record labels are attacking the radios used for the enjoyment of music by consumers like you. It’s misguided and wrong.

We will vigorously defend these radios and your right to enjoy them in court and before Congress, and we expect to win.

Thank you for your support.

It’s great to see XM Radio standing their ground and not allowing the RIAA to bully them around. Sirius should thank XM for fighting this battle for Satellite Radio.

Update: Sirius also has had their share of problems with record labels, as tussel points out.

RIAA sues XM Satellite Radio

The Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) sued XM Satellite Radio on Tueday alleging its Inno device(an iPod like device) that can store music infringes on copyrights.

The suit accuses XM Satellite of “massive wholesale infringement,” and seeks $150,000 in damages for every song copied by XM customers using the devices, which went on sale earlier this month. XM, with more than 6.5 million subscribers, said it plays 160,000 different songs every month.

XM said the Inno, which is manufactured by Pioneer Corp., are legal devices that allow consumers to listen to and record radio just as the law has allowed for decades.

XM said it will vigorously defend this lawsuit on behalf of consumers and also called the lawsuit a bargaining tactic.

It was only a matter of time before the RIAA tried to get their greedy hands in the pockets of Satellite radio.

Source

Digg VS Slashdot on Google Trends

In April of 2006, Digg surpassed rival website Slashdot, and entered the top 100 sites of the internet on Alexa’s rankings. According to Google Trends, Digg has now also passed Slashdot on google searches.

A little bit of background info.

Digg started by Kevin Rose, Owen Byrne, Ron Gorodetzky, and Jay Adelson in November of 2004, digg has quickly become one of the most visited websites on the internet. Digg is a community based news site, where users submit stories which are then placed in a holding area where they are voted on by the community. If a submission gets enough “diggs”, it is automatically placed on the front page. Digg has very quickly become one of the fastest growing websites on the web surpassing 200,000 registered users in April of 2006.

Slashdot(often referred to as /.) was started by Rob Malda in 1997, and is now owned by the Open Source Technology Group, part of VA Software. Much like digg, slashdot is also a community based news site. Users can submit news, which is also placed in a holding area. However, unlike digg, slashdot mods control what makes it onto their front page.

When a story makes it to the home page of either site, any linked sites associated with that story get flooded with traffic. Slashdot is know for it’s “Slashdot Effect”, which usually is referred to websites crashing from the flood of incoming traffic.

Although the core audience of these sites is different, they are often considered rival websites.

Google Notebook Launches

Google Notebook has launched. “With Google Notebook, you can browse, clip, and organize information from across the web in a single online location that’s accessible from any computer. Planning a trip? Researching a product? Just add clippings to your notebook. You don’t ever have to leave your browser window.”

Clip and collect information as you browse the web.

• Clip useful information.
  You can add clippings of text, images and links from web pages to your Google Notebook without ever leaving your browser window.
• Organize your notes.
  You can create multiple notebooks, divide them into sections, and drag-and-drop your notes to stay organized.
• Get access from anywhere.
  You can access your Google Notebooks from any computer by using your Google Accounts login.
• Publish your notebook.
  You can share your Google Notebook with the world by making it public.

Apple MacBook is alive

This morning Apple released the long awaited MacBook, replacing the their iBook family of laptops.

The MacBook comes in white and black, depending on which model you choose. Starting at $1099, the entry level features a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor, while the two higher end models come with the 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo processor. All models have a 13 inch widescreen displays, built in 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0+, and iSight cameras.

Apple is offering free shipping on all systems, with a shipping date of 1-7 days from the purchase.

A brief history of Nintendo consoles, and why Nintendo Wii should be $199

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

US Release: October 18, 1985 (limited initial release)
US Price: Initial limited release $100, later sold for $199 as the NES “Action Set”
Units sold: 60 million

After the video game crash of 1983, Nintendo help revive the video game industry with the release and it’s first home console, the Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES, an 8-bit video game console, was released in limited markets in the USA in October 18, 1985, followed by a nationwide release in February of 1986. The NES(bundled with “Super Mario Bros.”, the first modern platform game) sold 60 million units worldwide.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
US Release: August 13, 1991
US Price: $199
Units sold: 49 million

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES was the second home console from Nintendo, better known as the Super Famicom in Japan. Nintendo became the best selling 16-bit video game console, despite it’s late start, beating out other home console’s like Sega’s Genesis. The SNES, which was release on August 13th, 1991, and was bundled with “Super Mario Word” went on to sell 49 million units worldwide.

Nintendo 64

US Release: September 29, 1996
US Price: $199
Units sold: 32 million

Nintendo’s third home console, the Nintendo 64, was first introduced as Nintendo Ultra 64(referring to it’s 64-bit processor) on November 24, 1995(code named “Project Reality”). On February 1, 1996 just five months before its Japanese debut, Nintendo dropped the “Ultra” from the name, due to a possible trademark infringement. With only 2 launch titles, the Nintendo 64, or N64 was released in the US on September 29, 1996. The N64 sold 32 million units worldwide.

Nintendo Game Cube

US Release: November 18th, 2001
US Price: $199
Units sold: 20 million

The Nintendo GameCube was Nintendo’s fourth home video game console. Released in the US on November 18th, it has sold over 20 million units as of early 2006. Code named “Dolphin”, the GameCube is the most compact and least expensive of the that generation’s era consoles.

Nintendo Wii

US Release Date: November 2006 (?)
US Price: TBA

First announced at E3 2005 as the Nintendo Revolution(code name), the Nintendo Wii will be Nintendo’s fifth home video game console. On April 27, 2006, Nintendo announced the official name of the console as Nintendo Wii.

“Wii sounds like ‘we,’ which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.”

Shortly after the new name of the console was announced, Nintendo received a mixed response of criticism, disbelief and sometimes confusion.

What makes Nintendo Wii special and different from the XBOX 360 and PS3 is the motion sensing controller(or wiimote).

From wikipidia:

The primary controller for Wii uses a one-handed remote control-based design, which, when turned on its side, can be used like a gamepad. Named the “Wii Remote” (often referred to as the “Wiimote”), the controller communicates wirelessly with the console via Bluetooth, with which it is possible to operate up to 4 Remotes as far as 10 meters from the console. Using internal sensors and an external sensor bar placed near the display screen, the movement and position of the Wii Remote can be sensed in 3D. The controller also contains an internal speaker and a rumble motor for audio and force feedback functionality.

The Wii Remote features an expansion port, with which it is possible to augment the controller, with various shells and add-ons. Nintendo has announced several such expansions, including a “nunchuck” controller with an analog stick, a “classic controller” for playing games that require more traditional gamepad functionality (such as Virtual Console games), and a “zapper shell” for traditional shooting gameplay.

Why the Nintendo Wii should be priced at $199

Looking back at the history of Nintendo, you can see that every video game console which they released was priced at $199. Even when the PlayStation, PS2 and XBOX came out at $299, Nintendo kept their launch price at $199.

It is probably safe to assume that Nintendo will keep the same price strategy for Nintendo Wii, and analysts seem to agree. Nintendo has lost a great deal of market share over the past few years, especially with the GameCube. However, with the release of Nintendo Wii, they have a chance to win back some of this market share, and the pricing of the console is probably going to be on of their biggest strategies. With the lower end XBOX 360 and PS3 systems starting at $299 and $499 respectively, a price of $199 will drive a lot of sales for Nintendo.

Bet on the Wii will selling for less than $200, says Scott Steinberg, vice president of marketing for Sega, one of the major game publishers for Nintendo consoles. Prices for both the Microsoft and Sony machines are higher due to their heavy-duty processing power, and the PS3 will also feature Sony’s next generation Blu-Ray DVD drive.

It’s clear that Nintendo stole the show at this year’s E3. There is a lot of interest out there in their next-gen new-gen concole, and priced at around $200 will definitely help Nintendo recapture some of the older and more casual gamers that they have been going after, as well as the hard-core player.

Nintendo is expected to release pricing and availability date information sometime in August or September.

Concept: Foldable Screen DVD player.

This is perfect for those long flights in coach, when you are cramped up, and can hardly maneuver as the person next to your drools all over your arm. When not in use, the Origami DVD Player folds down to about the size of a portable CD player.

The Origami DVD Player is a portable DVD player concept that could be manufactured with a new e-paper (a full-color flexible display technology) being developed by Mag-Ink in Israel. As a product, it would target the business traveler who wants a convenient way to watch DVD movies.

Halo 3 Officially Announced. Download the trailer now!

Halo 3 was officially announced at Microsoft’s E3 Pressconference this afternoon. You can download the Halo 3 trailer now on Xbox Live Marketplace, or you can just head over to Bungie’s site to download it on your computer.

Release date seems to be 2007.