What happened in 1969? On June 20, Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon's surface. How exactly did we as a country get there? It wasn't a bunch of English majors or people with degrees in Broadcast Journalism or History. It was America's mathematicians and engineers; those geeks that nobody really liked that were thought to be lame and good-for-nothings. America today has maybe one of the crappiest education systems on the planet, and less and less students are seeking careers in degrees that will truly make us the most advanced country in the world. What happened in the 60's that sparked our willingness to land a man on the Moon? It was the Russian launch of Sputnik, and there was no way the U.S. was gonna let the Soviets get away with it. Thus, the U.S. got on the ball and landed American astronauts on the friggin' surface of the Moon! We need another Sputnik, and maybe it will kick-start America's creativity and desire for technological advancement. I'm sick and tired of hearing about India's and China's engineers. Simply, we as a country need to get crackin'.

News Epic Fail

A Hamster Murder (MySpace Exclusive)

Setting up your computer to be a media server for XBOX 360 and PS3

For Windows Media Player 11 (NOW SUPPORTS DIVX AND XVID)

Very Important: Your PS3/XBOX 360 must be connected to the same network as your computer, this can be done by simply connecting it to the same router that your computer uses. Make sure this is done before anything else, your PS3/XBOX 360 must be connected to the network before continuing the following steps, otherwise some features in Windows Media Player will not show up or be enabled.

1. Download and install Windows Media Player 11 (as I'm sure many of you already have).
2. Click on the Library tab
3. On the left you'll see a tree structure. Right click on Library in the tree structure.
4. Click Media Sharing
5. Enable your options, what folders, devices, etc.***
6. When your PS3 turns on and scans, Windows will pop up and ask if it's ok to allow the device. Allow it.

Also, Windows Media Player does not have to be open for media sharing to function. The computer and PS3 only need to be connected to the same router. The router should be UPnP enabled (Universal Plug-n-Play, don't worry, most routers now-a-days are UPnP).

Be sure to remember to add files to the Windows Media Player library so they will be shared. Media Player can automatically scan for files. When I browse files on my PS3, I tend to browse by folder, so I don't worry about organization within Media Player or playlists.

***If you are not sure on what to do on this step, do the following:

1) Click on Tools in the title bar
2) Click on Options
3) Click on Library
4) Click on Configure Sharing
5) Click on Settings
6) Make sure Allow New Devices and Computers Automatically is checked
7) Make sure All Ratings are checked
8) Click on OK

Say Hello to Windows 7

Microsoft, despite not releasing the price and ship date of the new upcoming Windows 7 (codenamed Vienna), has described in detail the different versions of the new operating system. Windows Vista was criticized for its performance. Compared to Windows XP, Vista was a resource hog, arguably had too much security, and it had problems after problems with hardware and software compatibility. Windows 7 plans to change all that, once again releasing an operating system that will have the same impact that XP did. I believe that Microsoft plans to diffuse the increasing popularity of MAC computers and Linux (which I also use), by releasing this totally revamped system.

What are the new versions?
Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, and Windows 7 Ultimate. Windows 7 Home Basic will also be sold, but only to emerging markets.

So what versions will I able to buy in a store?
Consumers will only be able to buy either Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional at retail—and deliberately so; Microsoft wants to try and limit consumer confusion by only putting the two versions in front of consumers. Windows 7 Ultimate will be included on both discs, but will require a user to go through the upgrade process, either online or offline, to access them.

Except for Windows 7 Starter, each version will be available in either a 32-bit or 64-bit version.

It should also be noted that Microsoft sees the progression as a good-better-best scenario: Home Basic is better than Starter, and Home Premium is better than Home Basic. Windows 7 Professional is positioned as a step up from Home Premium, and the Enterprise and Ultimate editions are the premium Windows 7 offerings.

Let's talk upgrades. I'm a Vista user; can I upgrade directly to Windows 7?
Not without buying a Windows 7 disc and installing. But once you've purchased and installed Windows 7, you can upgrade to different versions using what's called Windows Anytime Upgrade, or WAU. In this case, the "base" versions are Home Premium and Professional, or the Starter version that will come preinstalled on lower-end computers. We'll talk about Starter later. It appears that Home Premium Users will be guided to upgrade to the Ultimate version, and that Business users will be encouraged to upgrade to the Professional Edition.

In each case, you'll have to pay to unlock each additional operating system: in other words, to jump from Starter to Home Premium to Ultimate will require two paid upgrades. Whether Microsoft will offer any discounts for those upgrades is unknown.

Can XP users upgrade to Windows 7? Can Vista users perform an in-place upgrade?
Yes, and yes. Customers can purchase upgrade media and an upgrade license to move from Windows XP to Windows 7, according to Microsoft; however, they will need to do a clean installation of Windows 7, including backing up data, installing Windows 7, and re-installing the programs, and then the backed-up data.

For PCs running Windows Vista, consumers have the option of an in-place upgrade of Windows 7, keeping the data and programs intact, or performing a clean install of Windows 7. The upgrade maintains all your settings, installed programs, files, and customizations, although Microsoft recommends that you back up your data.

How will the upgrade process work?
With Windows 7 WAU, there are two processes by which a customer can upgrade from one edition of Windows 7 to a higher edition of Windows 7:

• Online Purchase & Upgrade: Consumers will use the WAU Tool to go online, shop, learn, and purchase a product key for the upgrade. This key will be delivered automatically to the customer's machine via the Internet. Once the key is received, the WAU Tool will initiate the upgrade process.
• Offline Purchase & Upgrade: Consumers will have the opportunity to purchase what's known as a Media-Less Key (MLK) at retail. When they return to their PC, the customer will use the same WAU Tool to manually enter the Product Key printed on the MLK.

Windows 7 appears to be the real deal. It is only a matter of time to see wether this new operating system flunks, or if Microsoft once again revolutionizes home computing. For more information, go here.

A small (and constantly updated) list of rants.

Here's some things that really grind my gears, I'm sure some of you feel the same.

-When people say "Ohhh, I can't wait!" Because I'm sure they can.
-When people buy hotdogs but no buns, or vice-versa.
-Vegetarians/Vegans (because it's "healthier").
-Vegetarian/Vegan Recruiters.
-PETA.
-When you don't check the temperature of the shower head water before getting in,
so when you're in on the opposite side of the shower controls, there's a waterfall of lava.
-Hannah Montana.
-When you rip open a bag of cereal abruptly, where each time you pour, some of the poor cereal pieces fall into the abyss that is the bottom of the box.
-When people ask for a favor online, which is immdiately followed by "Thanks!", so you cannot refuse.
-When someone fatter than you gives you diet advice.
-When people make some pictures private on Myspace, even to friends, so only they can view them.
-When people set ALL of their pictures to private on Myspace, so only they can view them.
-When people get denied a job because they are "overqualified".
-Ridiculously large signatures.
-That George Bush still hasn't been shot.
-When people post URL's that aren't linked, so you must copy and paste to view the mentioned website.
-The fact that batteries don't last forever.
-The French (calm down, people FROM France, so it's OK.)
-Opening a DVD case, only to find that another movie resides in it.
-When people don't clear their microwave numbers.
-When people (mostly women) don't clear the damn shower drain after they finished washing off 3 pounds of hair.
-When I am handed the receipt and change at the same time in a bundle.
-People who ask "Can I ask you a question?" I think you already did.
-When you score on yourself in foosball or air hockey.
-Websites with huge pages that require horizontal scrolling.
-When people use their credit cards at a store line, only to find that their balance is zero.
-When people use "We" when speaking about a certain team, like as if they are part of it.
-When people are walking and walk as if they do not want to arrive at their destination.
-How Minesweeper is harder than clearing an actual mine field.
-When students demand from their parents money for getting good grades, which is something they should be doing regardless.
-Those gay Emo kids
-People that still believe we didn't go to the moon.

Just to get this blog down...

Now, this blog isn't just about computing technology and all that other geeky stuff. This is a blog about technology, period. What better way then to showcase one of America's crown jewels of technological advances? It is the world's first stealth fighter, not designed for air superiority, but for air supremacy. This aircraft is virtually immune to radar, only appearing as a small bug. It has the world's highest angle of attack, extreme maneuverability, and the ability and engage targets well beyond visual range; all without the enemy's knowledge until the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile hits their fuselage. As the USAF puts it: It can take on 6 other aircraft simultaneously, and even then it wouldn't be fair. Of course, im speaking about the F-22 Raptor.

NVIDIA Tesla Super Computers

NVIDIA® is taking a leap into personal supercomputing. They have introduced the world's first teraflop many-core processor. NVIDIA® Tesla™ GPU computing solutions enable the necessary transition to energy efficient parallel computing power. With 240 cores per processor and based on the revolutionary NVIDIA® CUDA parallel computing architecture, Tesla scales to solve the world’s most important computing challenges—more quickly and accurately. Most of today's high-end computers have four cores, these babies have up to 240. You do the math. For more information, go here.

Intel's i7 Processors

Intel currently has had the new i7 brand of processors out for a while, but they continue to out perform any other brand of processors with no response from the other major companies such as AMD. There are many performance charts out there proving Intel's mastery of CPU engineering, such as the charts at Tom's Hardware. Took a look at it here.