Tag: Geek Stuff

Internet Explorer Global Market Share Dips Below 60 Percent

Remember when Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was the dominant web browser with over 90 percent of the market? It’s crazy that upstarts like Apple’s Safari, Mozilla’s Firefox, and Google’s Chrome have been growing so rapidly that IE’s global market share dipped below 60 percent in April 2010. Here are some more facts and figures from Ars Technica:

Between March and April, Internet Explorer dropped a significant 0.70 percentage points (from 60.65 percent to 59.95 percent) and Firefox increased 0.07 percentage points (from 24.52 percent to 24.59 percent). Chrome jumped a sizeable 0.60 percentage points (from 6.13 percent to 6.73 percent), Safari gained 0.07 percentage points (from 4.65 percent to 4.72 percent), and Opera dipped 0.07 percentage points (from 2.37 percent to 2.30 percent).

I am totally loving Google Chrome. Its speed and features have made it my primary browser. Firefox is my secondary, but I don’t use it nearly as often. As for IE, I only use it to see if certain web pages are rendering properly across all browsers.

What web browsers are you currently using? Has your usage changed in the last few months?

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Old T-Shirt + $49 = Laptop Sleeve + Supporting a Good Cause

Hello Rewind lets you use an old t-shirt to create a protective sleeve for your laptop, iPad, Kindle, etc. The cost is $49, which seems steep, but if you buy one of these sleeves you’ll also be supporting a good cause. The company trains and employs women that were brought to New York through sex trafficking. According to a company blog post:

We’re working with the women to train them in the skills that will help right now — English, sewing, and basic business skills. The training programs are free in conjunction with the services Restore NYC already provides them. We do training in the same location we sew the sleeves on the same machines we bought. We tell them about Hello Rewind. We tell them again about Hello Rewind. We show them the sleeves and tell them how much they can make for each sleeve. It’s not as much as they can make working at the brothel, but it’s still more than what minimum wage or welfare could ever hope to provide them, and more than they could earn elsewhere.

I hope some of you consider getting a Hello Rewind laptop sleeve. You’d have an awesome one-of-a-kind product and the satisfaction of aiding someone in a difficult situation.

Source via Engadget

Coffee Talk #133: KFC Double Down vs. IHOP Pancake Stackers

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been fascinated with the KFC Double Down — cheese and bacon sandwiched by two slabs of boneless fried chicken. It is one of the most ridiculous fast food concoctions I’ve ever seen in my life. Ergo, I need to have one…but I’m more than a little scared of it. I’m not really sure why. After all, I did eat a double Big Mac (four all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun) in Thailand, simply because of how preposterous it looked. For some reason, I chicked out (*snicker*) of the Double Down the last few times I passed my local KFC. It’s an intimidating sandwich.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the first round of the NBA playoffs, the WWE draft results, or Manny Pacquiao’s campaign, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been fascinated with the KFC Double Down — cheese and bacon sandwiched by two slabs of boneless fried chicken. It is one of the most ridiculous fast food concoctions I’ve ever seen in my life. Ergo, I need to have one…but I’m more than a little scared of it. I’m not really sure why. After all, I did eat a double Big Mac (four all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun) in Thailand, simply because of how preposterous it looked. For some reason, I chicked out (*snicker*) of the Double Down the last few times I passed my local KFC. It’s an intimidating sandwich.

Yesterday a friend showed me IHOP’s Pancake Stackers. The press release says it features “sweet and silky crustless cheesecake layered between two world-famous IHOP buttermilk pancakes, crowned with a choice of cool strawberries, blueberry or cinnamon apple compote and crowned with creamy whipped topping”. Wow. A cheesecake sandwich that uses pancakes as the bread?!? And I thought the Double Down was ridiculous…. Still, I will eventually have one of these too.

Here are my questions for you today. What the hell is going on with food in America?!? Who would win in a fight? The KFC Double Down or IHOP’s Pancake Stackers? Have you tried either of these combos yet? Are you planning to? Or are they too extreme for you?

Stephen Hawking Believes in Aliens + Poll

Certified genius Stephen Hawking believes in alien life forms, but warns that that citizens of Earth shouldn’t go out of their way to find them. He recently told The Times:

To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.

While finding a nice alien like A.L.F., E.T., or Starman sounds really cool, Hawking believes that there’s a high chance that any aliens earthlings encounter will be bastards:

We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.

If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.

Do you agree with Hawking’s assessment? Do you even believe in aliens? Kindly take today’s poll and share your opinions on the matter.

[poll id=”37″]

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Street Fighter High is Totally Awesome!

Street Fighter High is the best video I’ve seen all month. It puts several of Super Street Fighter IV‘s world warriors in a high-school drama. Screw Glee. I want to watch more Street Fighter High! Highlights include a Ryu vs. Ken football rivalry, C. Viper dealing with teen pregnancy, Sakura’s crush on Ryu, Ryu’s crush on Chun Li, Chun Li’s crush on Guile, Cammy and Juri being the new girls in school, and Blanka not being able to get a date.

Watch it! It’s awesome!!!

Amazon Kindle Coming to Target on Sunday

Target has announced that it will be selling Amazon Kindle e-readers starting Sunday, April 25. The device was previously available as an Amazon.com online exclusive. According to the company’s press release:

As the first brick-and-mortar retailer to carry Amazon’s Kindle, Target will make Kindle available at its flagship downtown Minneapolis store and 102 south Florida stores beginning April 25, rolling out to more Target stores later this year.

This could be potentially huge for Amazon. There are some people that just don’t like buying consumer electronics without trying them first. There are also some people that don’t understand the benefits of e-ink displays. Getting in a major chain like Target should provide a great sales boost for the Kindle.

Do you think the Kindle will do well at Target? Or do you think Amazon is getting desperate in reaction to the iPad’s initial (and impressive) sales? Also, I love my Kindle!

Chief Justice John Roberts Doesn’t Know What Email Is

United States Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. doesn’t know the difference between email and a pager. I find this troubling. A man in an extremely powerful position being unfamiliar with basic technology that millions of Americans use every day?!? Come on!!! According to Lawyers USA:

The first sign was about midway through the argument, when Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. — who is known to write out his opinions in long hand with pen and paper instead of a computer — asked what the difference was “between email and a pager?”

Wow. Initially I was going to dismiss it as some old guy being out of touch, but I vaguely recalled that Roberts isn’t all that old. I looked up his age and discovered that he’s only 55. Surely a 55-year old man should know what email is, right? Does anyone else find this tidbit as disturbing as I do? Or am I just overreacting?

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Coffee Talk #127: What Magazines Do You Read?

To be completely honest, this edition of Coffee Talk is 30% self serving. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Amazon currently has some great deals on magazines — including some “buy-one-year-get-two-years deals. If there’s anything there that interests you, a subscription would really help out the site. That said, I’m also genuinely curious to learn what kind of magazines you ladies and gents read.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Mosley/Mayweather 24/7, your batting average being higher than Mark Teixeira’s, or losing iPhone prototypes at a bar, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

To be completely honest, this edition of Coffee Talk is 30% self serving. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Amazon currently has some great deals on magazines — including some “buy-one-year-get-two-years deals. If there’s anything there that interests you, a subscription would really help out the site. That said, I’m also genuinely curious to learn what kind of magazines you ladies and gents read.

I subscribe to a bunch of magazines…but don’t read most of them since the Internet keeps me filled with info. I have ESPN: The Magazine, mainly for “Insider” access. I read Entertainment Weekly to keep up with pop culture. The books I receive, but usually don’t get to include Tennis, Interview, GQ, and The Atlantic. All of those subs are Internet specials that cost a few dollars. The sole gaming magazine I receive is Game Informer; EIC Andy was nice enough to put me on the comp list and I’m friends with a bunch of those guys, so it’s nice to read their work.

Now it’s your turn! What magazines do you read regularly?

Why Does President Obama Want to Send NASA to an Asteroid?

I’m really hoping one of you is a NASA fanboy so that I can get a good reason why President Obama is determined to send astronauts to an asteroid (say that ten times fast!). According to The Associated Press:

Landing a man on the moon was a towering achievement. Now the president has given NASA an even harder job, one with a certain Hollywood quality: sending astronauts to an asteroid, a giant speeding rock, just 15 years from now.

Wow. Really?!? I realize there are longterm aspects to Obama’s job, but should he really be allocating millions of dollars to some silly venture when the country has so many problems? I’m totally not getting it. Did he watch Armageddon recently?!? (Though sending Ben Affleck to an asteroid in real life would be kind of cool.) I’m sure the project would lead to some impressive scientific discoveries, but the whole thing seems ridiculous to me when the employment rate is hovering around 10-frickin’ percent!

Keep me in check boys and girls. Am I overreacting? Perhaps I really hated Armageddon and the movie is clouding my judgement. Or maybe I’m angry about still being unemployed. *shrug*

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