Tuesday, June 25, 2013

A view of that pc tablet, why are we here in the present day

In early 70′s, comics legend Jack Kirby produced a solidly woven science fiction mythology series entitled ‘New Gods’. One of these series’ most memorable creations was that of a ‘Mother Box’, a fancy device the characters carried around with them. The Mother Box was to blame for numerous mundane tasks as it was fantastical ones, it could calculate unachievable reams of data, heal the sick and provide information as and when desirable.


 


Now, a tablet pc may not cure the sick, but other than that, I’d say that Mr. Kirby was quite ahead of the curve on that specific call. A great tablet inside your back pocket could be a substitute for almost everything.


 


Rather than doggedly listing all that a pc tablet can perform, it might be far quicker to cobble together the things a tablet can’t do.


 


Progressive technology regularly borrows its innovations out of the realm of fantasy. The Mother Box, or pc tablet, might be one of the best model of this. A tablet is a slice of the future, and everyone who buys one knows it.


 


We live in a persistently bright age. Gleaming spires touch the sky, reaching formerly impossible heights, PC programs map the complete geometry of our planet and communication the world over has never been simpler. The pc tablet is yet one more brilliant, shining example of restless Human invention, the type that were science fiction only a few short decades ago.



A view of that pc tablet, why are we here in the present day

Monday, June 24, 2013

Legendary musician Ray Manzarek, dies at seventy four

Ray Manzarek, the influential keyboard player best recognized for his work with iconic American rock band ‘The Doors’, has passed on to the great beyond aged 74.


 


Manzarek was in Rosenheim, Germany, being cared for bile duct cancer.


 


Manzarek’s life reads like a rock n roll fairy story, with many of the pieces falling into place at precisely the right time.


 


Ray manzarek had taken piano lessons since his childhood in Chicago, Illinois, but he in addition had a love for movies. It was this eagerness that led young Manzarek to enrol in UCLA (University of California) and move to Los Angeles in ’62.


 


Originally, Ray performed in the band known as ‘Rick & The Ravens’ with his brothers Rick and Jim. The band was moderately successful, releasing three singles.


 


At the same time as studying at UCLA, Manzarek met impending Doors singer/lyricist Jim Morrison and both planned to create a group together in 1965. He also met his future partner, Dorothy Fujikawa, at UCLA. The pair were married in ’67.


 


Ray manzarek and Morrison teamed up with guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, forming ‘The Doors’ (they procured the name from a book by Alduous Huxley).


 


As a result of lack of a bass player, the multi-talented Manzarek usually played the bass notes on his piano.


 


A year after creating, The Doors released their debut album on Elektra records; it’s, obviously, a hit.


 


The Doors went on to make several more albums, taking an iconic spot throughout the chronicles of Rock n Roll and galvanizing a generation. The group has ever since sold more than one hundred million records worldwide.


 


In 1971, lead singer Jim Morrison died under unexplained circumstances in Paris, France. The band lasting for two more successful records and tours, before disbanding in 1973.


 


Following the group’s split, Manzarek went on to be a producer and a Grammy-nominated solo performer in his own right, in addition to performing and recording with really high-profile Doors fans as ‘Echo & The Bunnymen’ and Iggy Pop.


 


In 2002, following a couple of of intermittent reunion shows, Manzarek and Robby Krieger joined up with ‘The Cult’ musician Ian Astbury to form ‘The Doors of the 21st Century’. The group, even though a very successful live show, also suffered from controversy, due to some court case from ex-Doors drummer Densmore.


 


In addition, Ray manzarek’s autobiography ‘Light My Fire’ made him a bestselling writer upon its release in ’98.


 


He died with his wife Dorothy and his brothers at his bedside.


SOURCES:


 


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22604798


 


http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ray-manzarek-doors-keyboardist-dead-at-74-20130520


 


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/20/185608273/ray-manzarek-founding-member-of-the-doors-dies



Legendary musician Ray Manzarek, dies at seventy four

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Superman Celebrates 75th Birthday

This week sees the seventy fifth anniversary of the first arrival of Superman.


June 1938 saw the 1st copy of ‘Action Comics’, which contained the very initial appearance of the character that will inspire millions of people worldwide. It is, to all intents and reasons, the birth of the superhero tale.


The character was an instant winner, inspiring not only the entire genre of superhero fiction, but also radio plays, film serials and reams of products.


Superman creators Jerry Siegel (writer) and Joe Shuster (artist) had worked for years, first to generate the character and to retail him to the publisher.


In 1932, the twosome created a fanzine called ‘Science Fiction’ which enclosed the tale ‘Reign #of the# Supermen’, featuring a infamous, all-powerful being. Later that very same year, this embryonic ‘Superman’ was re-tooled into the greater heroic version we know today.


The concept for this new Superman actually came to Siegel one restless nighttime, during which he wrote the whole story that will eventually appear in ‘Action Comics’ opening issue. The following day, Shuster built the character’s iconic appearance and a hero was born.


In 1933, following a series of rejections, a gloomy Shuster actually set fire to this early version of the story. All that survived was the cover art, an image that has ever since become iconic.


Editor Sheldon Mayer was the 1st person to take a chance on Superman, giving the colourful hero a cover look on the first issue of Action Comics. This issue, in mint form, can now reach prices as high as $2Million.


Superman has remained popular in comic book series like ‘Superman’ and ‘Action Comics’ also as abundant spin off series starring his supporting characters like Superboy, Supergirl, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen.


He has also drawn crowds with hit movies like Richard Donner’s 1978 ‘Superman’ film as well as the 2006 movie ‘Superman Returns’. The character can also be a Television mainstay, being depicted in profitable series such as ‘Lois & Clark’ and ‘Smallville’ also as many kid’s cartoons.


Superman’s seventy fifth anniversary will see DC Entertainment unveiling a brief Superman-themed logo celebrating this milestone anniversary.


The particular event will be commemorated by an innovative new Superman comics series entitled ‘Superman: Unchained’ made by the creative team of Scott Snyder (writer), Jim Lee (artist) and Scott Williams (inks).


Elsewhere, the modern Superman movie ‘Man of Steel’, starring Henry Cavill, will open in theatres from Friday 14th June, ensuring the occasion is well and truly marked.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUPERMAN!



Superman Celebrates 75th Birthday

Playstation 4 trumps the xbox one on announcement day

Japanese tech giants Sony have announced the 4th instalment of their hugely popular Playstation series.


The games console, which was officially revealed at this year’s E3 Trade show in Los Angeles, California, has been vehemently anticipated.


Though several of the console’s features and upgrades were unveiled in February, Sony had kept prospective buyers guessing on some important information, including the general design of the PS4.


Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, said that the PS4 represents, in some ways, a very new Playstation.


Possibly the reports which has many people discussing is the declaration that the PS4 will gravely undercut its close rival, Microsoft’s Xbox One, on price. Mr. House announced that the PS4 is offered at US $399 (£349) upon release, whilst, at the identical fair, Microsoft had earlier revealed how the Xbox One would be US $499 (£429).


One more important announcement came when it was revealed that Sony would not be introducing any limitations on second user games. In fact, the PS4 is not going to even need players to regularly validate their machines via the Net so as to continue play.


Conversely, Microsoft has added further limitations concerning who a gamer can purchase second-hand titles from. The company has even gone so far as to require Xbox One players to connect to the web once each day in order to use their machine.


In response to Sony, there are around one hundred forty Playstation 4 games currently in progress, with one hundred or so expected to go for sale in the Playstation 4′s 1st year of issue. Trade insiders have speculated that Sony are attempting to reach out to indie designers, mainly those that feel muted by Microsoft.


Drawing a huge cheer out of the audience, Jack Tretton, boss of SEA said, “PS4 will not impose any new limitations for your use of PS4 game discs,”



BBC correspondent Dave Lee reported that, “If console battles were decided through the frequency and volume of whoops and cheers from highly strung gaming fanatics, then Sony has won it hands down”.


The present Sony machine, the Playstation 3, outsold Microsoft’s Xbox 360 by a good margin, but was consequently outsold by Nintendo’s Wii. It is consideration that Sony are trying to rectify this with the release of the Playstation 4.


Sony’s announcement has been seen by some as a calculated hit against Microsoft, with IGN.com’s UK Editor-in-Chief Alex Simmons recounting it as a extremely public slap across Microsoft’s face.


Sony declined to offer a release date for their new machine, but strongly hinted the PS4 ought to arrive around Christmas time.



Playstation 4 trumps the xbox one on announcement day

Saturday, June 22, 2013

google nexus 7 improvement coming in the summer

Update – this website post was found in the course of the customary lunchtime surf of that internet, coincidently on a asus nexus 7. I concur with the website how the google nexus 7 is one of the first things used in the mornings and is used through the day. But the main point of that article is that an upgrade of the current nexus 7 is pending this summer, as they say this is not an official statement, but making an allowance for how quickly the tablet pc market moves I wouldn’t be surprised.


 


My tablet of choice these days is my Nexus 7. I use it constantly. It’s my alarm clock (thanks to Gentle Alarm and the over-priced dock), my eReader, a remote control for watching YouTube on my Google TV or PS3, and of course what I keep up with all my news feeds on. It’s the first device I use in the morning and the last one I use before turning out the light at night.


But the Nexus 7 is almost a year old now, and while I don’t really have too many complaints about its performance (Chrome could be a bit faster), I’m enough of a tech-head to always be looking forward to the next new thing.


So I was really happy to read a Reuters piece that claims a new iteration of the Nexus 7 is due out in July. This isn’t an official announcement and Reuters don’t name sources, but does say it has two. And it isn’t at all a far-fetched rumor; you pretty much have to expect (at least) an annual update on tablets and phones these days.


Assuming Reuters has it correct, the new Nexus 7 will run on a Snapdragon SoC rather than an Nvidia Tegra; the source says this was because of power consumption and while that might be part of it, I wouldn’t be surprised if cost factored in as well. The new Nexus 7 is expected to be priced at the same $199 as the current model, or possibly even less ($149). I can’t imagine Google/Asus (Asus will be the manufacturer once again) being able to ship a Tegra 4 device for that low a price as early as July, and they wouldn’t want to launch a new tablet with the same Tegra 3 that powers their old one.


Aside from the processor, Reuter’s sources say the new tablet will have a higher resolution display and a thinner bezel (reducing overall size). How much higher and how much thinner wasn’t quantified, nor do we have specifics like RAM or storage options. The current Nexus 7 has a 1280×800 resolution screen, just for the sake of reference.


Google I/O runs from May 15th-17th this year, and it seems as good a time and place to announce the new Nexus 7 as anywhere. That’s probably when Google will be talking about the next version of Android: Version 5, a.k.a. Keylime Pie. Will every Google I/O attendee get a new Nexus 7 with a development build of Android 5 on it? That would certainly fit their pattern from the past few years.


I’ll have my credit card at the ready on May 15th; hopefully Google will start taking Nexus 7 Mk II pre-orders right after the keynote!


 


Source – http://www.itworld.com/personal-tech/350922/next-iteration-nexus-7-tablet-coming-july


 



google nexus 7 improvement coming in the summer