PC & IT 01 (May 08 - Oct 08)

[sesdaqfan]

Its a fantasy just like any other man. Me included.

[blid2def]

Another add-on I just put into my FF today:

Prism for Firefox: http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/03/major-u ... tegration/

This is still a prototype from Mozilla Labs. You can pull web sites into "desktop apps" and run them in a separate process. Still very early days... but for those who like to try out stuff, play around with it.

[la papillion]

Hi GD,

Wow, I had been looking forward to such a thing in the past! Does it work well?

[blid2def]

Eh... it's still very early days. This is something from Mozilla Labs; maybe it'll go into FF4 next year. Well, it works, is all I can say, but without bells & whistles.

For example, if everything was in your browser, then you could have Adblock to block the ads. Once you put in Prism, you can use the add on to create a desktop shortcut to the site you want. When you click the icon, you get the web site loaded in its own "slim" browser window. This window is devoid of any of the add-ons (no add-ons are supported at this point) and other stuff (searchbar, navigation buttons), bookmarks, etc. It's supposed to be a "separate app".

Good and bad lah. The good thing is - you now have a separate process for each web app/site/page if you want it to run in its own space. The bad thing is that no add-ons are supported at this point. Give it a try and see.

[ishak]

Sony recalls Vaio laptops
19 models in danger of overheating; 85,000 users in Asia-Pacific affected
ST, Sep 6, 2008

ABOUT 85,000 people in the Asia-Pacific region, including Singapore, are carrying around Sony laptop computers that are in danger of overheating.

The Japanese electronics giant on Thursday called for owners of 19 models of its Vaio TZ series to have the machines inspected and repaired for free, if necessary, at its offices.

Sony said heat emitted from around the input point for the power adapter and the frame of the screen may cause 'deformation' of the laptop's plastic casing.

A spokesman for the firm also told The Straits Times that some units had wires positioned wrongly near the hinge of the laptop, or a dislodged screw inside the hinge, or both.

This may cause a short circuit and the notebook to overheat.

Seven people - five in Japan, one in the United States and one in Italy - received slight burns as a result.

Sony did not have a breakdown of the number of laptops affected here, but it is known that nine of the 19 models were sold here between May last year and last month.

As of the end of last month, 209 reports about overheating laptops were received from users worldwide. Fewer than 10 were from Singapore, said the Sony spokesman.

Notebook computers from the affected series are still in stores, but those for sale are fine, she said.

This is Sony's second major overheating-related recall exercise. In 2006, it recalled some 10 million laptop batteries worldwide due to concerns that they would overheat and catch fire.

The Financial Times reported yesterday that shares of Sony Corp fell by more than 4 per cent to hit the lowest in almost three years after the latest recall was announced.

Laptop repair companies interviewed said overheating was common for such machines, adding that about 70 per cent of all the laptops brought in for servicing had such problems.

One possible reason was that 'laptops are getting smaller and smaller and smaller these days', said Mr Tan Ching Hwee, 29, who owns laptop retail and repair company PC Dreams.

'The smaller they are, the more cramped the components are inside, and the harder it is for the heat to dissipate,' he said.

Mr Muthiah Nagappan, 46, managing director of repair firm Worldwide Computer Services, said overheating was also common because users leave their machines on for long stretches of time.

Contrary to the name laptop, it is not advisable to put the laptop on your lap for prolonged period of time.

[blid2def]

Some news about FF 3.1 in the works.

FF 3.1 Alpha 2 released: (note this is a test product; not a stable release)
http://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/in ... -download/

This is interesting:
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/roadmap/ ... pdate.html

[blid2def]

Another interesting add-on from Mozilla Labs: Ubiquity

http://labs.mozilla.com/projects/ubiquity/

Only problem is organization of commands... you can imagine tons of commands out there, can kill man. Very power though... can imagine having quite some fun with it (esp. for those who like to fiddle around with scripts).

[blid2def]

Simile Project. Some cool projects from these guys...

"SIMILE is focused on developing robust, open source tools that empower users to access, manage, visualize and reuse digital assets."

http://simile.mit.edu/

[blid2def]

Convert web page to PDF:

http://www.htm2pdf.co.uk/

Happened to stumble upon this while testing some of the commands that came with the Ubiquity FF add-on.

[la papillion]

For conversion to pdf, i like to use open office. Just one button to convert But the online one that GD posted is good too