Author: Dr. Bill

The “Thunderbolt” technology built into the new MacBook Pros is making big news! Thunderbolt is FAST! Faster than USB 3.0… so fast it can transfer a full DVD movie in 30 seconds! Yep… the mind boggles! WANT!

Canon announces future cameras will have Thunderbolt

“Spurred by Apple’s desire for a consolidated, universal cable, Intel unveiled Thunderbolt last month. Previously known as Lightpeak, Thunderbolt not only offers data throughput speeds that put the likes of USB 3.0 to shame, it also merges your computer’s sundry cables into one super umbilical, capable of doing everything from video to audio to data transfer.

It’s fantastic technology, and we can’t wait to see what happens with it. The only problem is that right now, only Apple is really supporting it in their 2011 line-up of MacBook Pros. Sure, a few of the usual accessory makers have said they’ll release the usual line of external hard drives and the like with Thunderbolt capabilities, but we haven’t seen a lot of other big names join the standard.

Consider that remedied. Camera maker Canon has just thrown its support behind Thunderbolt.”

Apple Insider is reporting that Apple may reach the 1 MILLION mark in iPad 2’s sales by this weekend! DEWD!

Don’t be surprised if Apple sells 1M of iPad 2 this weekend, analyst says

“With expanded availability, two colors and a buzzworthy magnetic case, the iPad 2 could more than triple last year’s sales debut and reach a million units over the weekend, one analyst believes.

Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said in a note to investors on Friday that he “would not be surprised” if sales of the iPad 2 reach 1 million over the weekend. That would easily best last year’s sales of 1 million in just 28 days.

White said the sales pace will also likely continue into the coming weeks, as Apple plans to launch the iPad 2 in 26 more countries on March 25. Friday’s 5 p.m. sales start applies to the U.S. only.”

I knew there were a lot more reasons to love Google Chrome, my favorite browser! At “Pwn2Own” at the CanSecWest security conference participating hackers attempted to hack the major browsers in the field: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. The idea being that the first team of hackers to be able to do it woudl win a $15,000 prize AND the new computer that they were using at the conference to do the hacking!

Sounds cool! BUT… Chrome was not hackable! Dewd! THAT rocks! Why couldn’t they do it? Because the Chrome browser has a “sandbox” that things run in… which creates an isolated area of memory to run in. Cool stuff!

We have a new venture here at Dr. Bill Bailey.NET! It is called “VirtZine” and it is “The On-Line Magazine of Virtualization and Cloud Computing!” Check out the link below:

VirtZine – The On-Line Magazine of Virtualization and Cloud Computing!

I know, I know, ONE more thing! I am already too busy! But hey! You gotta go with your interests, what motivates and excites you! Watch for what we will be doing, AND be sure to subscribe to the Newsletter! (Over on the right column of the VirZine web site…) We will keep you updated on plans there!

Yep, it is back. Google blamed a software upgrade on losing some of it’s “Cloud based” data stores. While only 2% of users were hit, it is still a cautionary tale! Things CAN go wrong in computing! I kinda feel for them, actually! But, service, and data, have been restored, so my guess is, that, with time, this too shall pass! Hang in there Google!

I’m not sure that I want to be concerned over, “Am I offending my PC?” Yeeesh! One reason I am a geek is that computers DON’T get all emotional over things. Now, they want to change that? Give me a break, guys! (OK, just kidding!)

Computers Are Starting To Get Emotional

“Researchers and startups have begun to focus on the final frontier for our silicon-based buddies — teaching computers to read and respond to human emotions.

They haven’t quite designed a real life Andrew from the Bicentennial Man, but they have lead computers to grasp the basics. At Cambridge University in England, they are trying to teach computers to measure stress, detect how it effects facial expressions and then to interact using a persona that mimics a proper emotional response. Basically, they are building an emotionally sensitive computer. Researchers at Cambridge are building Andrew’s precursor.

They aren’t the only ones. Kay Stanney, owner of Design Interactive says that people give off measurable indications of their mental/emotional state, from heart rate to eye tracking to electroencephalography (EEG), the measurement of brain waves. EEG is for real — there are controllers and apps on the market right now that let you control a computer game using an EEG-based headset.”

As you know, we “ran out” of “normal” (IPv4) addresses at the end of last month, so we need to start getting familiar with IPv6. So, in that spirit, here’s your “Factoid of the Day!”

With IPv4 there are a possible 4.3 billion addresses… and yes, the last ones were officially assigned last month. (Obviously, this means “public facing IPs,” not “NAT’ed ones.”)

With IPv6 there are 340 undecillion addresses, or 64 billion IPs for every square centimeter on earth!

Wow!