Of course, this “freedom” has a corresponding addition in responsibility, and if you do decide to go for it, one of the things that you will have to face is a data center service. Any online business – and many offline businesses, for that matter – will need some place to store its data. The most viable way to go about it is to pay for data center service.

The main reason for this is that your online business will definitely need a place to store its data and having to set up your own data center is too costly. Not only do you have to think about the set up costs – equipment, technology, etc. – but you also have to consider all the maintenance costs. Then you have security to consider. Of course, you will want to ensure that your data is secure and that only authorized people will be able to access it. More so, you will also want to be assured that your data will be available whenever you need it, without having to worry much about the technical aspect.

With a data center service, you will be get all these things and more (depending on the data center service provider that you use). You will be able to focus on the core activities of your web business and have higher chances of making your dream come true. So if you are thinking of pursuing your dreams and starting your own online business, make sure you don’t overlook the role of data center services.

Photo credit: apecceosummit2008.org

The DVD to iPad converter rips the audio and video files from the CD to the iPad. It can convert MP4, MPEG-4, H.264 videos and MP3, AAC and M4A audios. When extracting the files from DVD to iPad, the file are ripped at the best resolution so that the you, the viewer, enjoys the same listening and watching pleasure you would get from watching the film on a DVD player.

This program has amazing editing features. If you want to watch the first half of the movie, you can split the DVD movie and convert the video segment into the iPad. In addition, you can capture movie stills, preview other DVD movies, and even customize conversion parameters so that that movie being converted doesn’t take up too much memory space. The actual converting of files from DVD to iPad can cover up multiple files in the movie at one time. In other words, you don’t have to worry about transferring each file from the DVD one at a time. The program allows you to do the transfers per batch.

This solution would allow a localized production facility that makes enough hydrogen to fuel the family car for errands or short trips around town. The said home-scale production plant would be powered by solar panels further reducing their carbon footprint by removing the otherwise dirty need for power from the grid. It also allows small fuel plants to be installed at bus stops and other public transport system hubs that can make enough fuel to propel the vehicles to their next destination or stop. These forms of green technology are growing into our best solution to the already bad environment we live in as we work more to veer away from fossil fuels due to their unwanted byproducts that have accumulated to enough levels that a hole in the earth’s ozone layer has formed with no signs of its growth slowing. This has been result from years of uncontrolled venting of polluting gasses that end up as acids in the atmosphere as they react with the sun’s ultraviolet rays. This acid rain can even filter down to the water table rendering them useless worsening the already troubled water supply.

Hydrogen fuel is clean and it produces no gasses that harm the environment but many technologies still have to be developed to make it safer and easier enough to convince the average homeowner to shift to hydrogen fueled vehicles from their oil based predecessors. Safety is one of the key issues for hydrogen gas is highly explosive and combustible that any problem with containment has to be addressed well ahead of its implementation. The efficiency of engines is still quite low but they do have zero-emissions which is the main lure of the technology. The infrastructure for supporting such hydrogen based vehicles is quite expensive but that has been proven to be un-needed with the above mentioned home-based/local production facilities, the prototype being as big as a filing cabinet. Further research and development might allow it shrink considerably allowing home use.

So guess how old he is? Hard to believe, but the person we all fell in love with as Captain James T. Kirk is now 79 years old! Time does fly by so fast, doesn’t it? And, flattery aside, he doesn’t look his age at all!

I like Curtis Silver’s write up about Shatner’s life – a tribute, if you wish:

James T. Kirk was the greatest iteration of a fictional space captain the world had ever seen, and is still a character that is hard to beat today. Shatner brought a flair to the job, a brash and emotional style, that has yet to be duplicated and probably never will be. Kirk was thoughtful and sympathetic but also decisive and combative. He was a lover to green alien chicks. He was always thinking, even if he appeared to be always fighting. To us, this was William Shatner. There was no difference between the two. We imagined this is how he was. Later we’d see that while similar, Shatner is a man full of life and humor, never afraid to show it to the world.

Indeed, this guy is something else. Even though many actors may have portrayed more popular roles in science fiction, I think that William Shatner is a notch above them all. What say you?

David Anderegg, professor of psychology from Bennington College, says that these terms are derogatory and liken them to racial slurs. His opinion is that even if we try to make these terms cool, it only highlights the fact that they are of a negative nature.

Now I am no professor, but my take on this is that there is NO NEED to ban “geek” or “nerd.” Turn your television on and what do you see? Music geeks dancing and singing on Glee. We have geeks – and nerds as well – making us laugh till we bust our seams on The Big Bang Theory. Even shows which are not mainly focused on geeks and nerds have at least one character that fits the description. Think Criminal Minds. I love Spencer Reid, don’t you? Penelope Garcia?

If our society is slowly – or maybe not even that slowly – opening itself to the idea of cool and fun geeks and nerds, why should be even consider banning the words? Do they offend you? I certainly am not offended!

The new supercomputer is known as the Vayu, and is the result of joint funding between the federal government, the CSIRO, and the Australian National University. The people who are in charge of operating and overseeing the Vayu, however, are from the National Computational Infrastructure.

So what is there to drool about? After all, just because a machine has been dubbed a supercomputer, it doesn’t mean that it’s THAT great, does it?

Let’s begin with this: the Vayu falls under the Sun Microsystems Constellation class. It has 11,936 processing cores – yes, THAT MANY. It’s not a SUPERcomputer for nothing. If you’re overwhelmed by the figure, just think of it as roundabouts 6,000 of your desktop PCs put together.

As for the memory, the Vayu has an impressive 36 terrabytes of RAM. That is about 18,000 times as much as the average PC at home has! The storage space, when formatted, is about 600 terrabytes. The unformatted state is 1 petabyte. Last, but definitely not the least, the Vayu can operate at 140 terraflops.

Impressed yet? Maybe the price of this big baby will take your breath away even more. From what I hear the Vayu costs AT LEAST $6 million. Whew.

For those who are on a continuous quest for knowledge, here is a Halloween treat for you – 100 free courses for geeks! I came across a comprehensive list of free online courses for anyone and everyone who would like to take them. Onlinecourses.org outlines 100 courses which you can take online – all of them for FREE!

The list is divided into several categories, namely Computer Science and Engineering, Computer Security, Programming, The Web, Information Technology, Communication Technology, Technology in Education, Tech Math, and Technology and Society. I tried accessing some of the courses under each category, and they seem pretty comprehensive! The ones I accessed were pretty text heavy, meaning that you have to be patient enough to read through LOTS of material. A good thing that I noticed is that the treatment of the topics is practical, meaning that you can easily relate the theories to real life situations that you may encounter.

I had never heard of these free online courses before, but I am glad that I now know about them. I think I am going to be busy reading up on the materials in the next few months! You should check the site out, too.

Just as the perception of people regarding tattoos has changed over the years, the kinds of tattoos that people get have also evolved. It used to be that we saw flowers, names of loved ones, gang signs, tongues sticking out, naked women, etc. all the time. Now, we have a new “breed” of tattoos – geeky ones!

The trend is for whiz kids to lift “cool” symbols off their textbooks and diagrams and bring them to life by using them as images in tattoos. Take a look at that picture above, courtesy of The Telegraph. It’s the widely known symbol for the USB, tattooed on the arm of some guy. And the USB symbol is not the only tattoo that you would see these days! Don’t be surprised if you see guys (and gals) wearing tattoos of the equation for Pi, binary codes (probably representing something significant to the wearer), and even the Apple logo.

I think it’s brilliant, and I love the idea! I am not tattooed myself but if I were to get one, I think that I should get a geek tatt. What symbol would YOU choose?

The Big Bang Theory has gotten quite a following, prompting CBS to renew it for two more seasons. The second season has ended and this group of geeks made it big at the TCA (Television Critic’s Award).

I’m still not making sense to you?

Well, you really should watch the show. It’s basically about the lives of the four characters I mentioned in the first paragraph. They’re “scientists.” Leonard and Sheldon are Caltech prodigies who are roommates. Across the hall lives Penny, a hot blonde aspiring actress who currently works at The Cheesecake Factory while she waits for her big break. Howard is a Jewish engineer, the only one in the group who is not a “doctor.” He still lives with his mom, and is a total loser when it comes to girls. Raj is from India and is afflicted with muteness every time he is around women – that is, unless he is drunk.

Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the general plot of the series! It is in the details where you will find the beauty of this show. Season 3 is coming up around the corner and I suggest that you take a look for yourself to see what I am talking about. Trust me, you just might be proud to be a geek yourself!

As you can see, the kid plays Mr. Crowley on Guitar Hero, on Expert mode no less. Not impressed? Watch. He plays the song with his elbows. Yes, his hands are busy with something else. While he plays the song, he goes on to solve one of the most popular puzzles there is – the Rubik’s Cube.

Just like those endless infomercials, here’s the part where I say “But wait, there’s more!” Not only does he solve one, but he solves two Rubik’s Cubes. This is exactly what happens by the time JRefleX93 – yeah, that’s his online name – finishes with old Mr. Crowley. Impressed yet?

In the interest of fairness, JRefleX93 does not get a hundred percent on the song. He does get a decent 77%, though. I am pretty sure that not everyone who calls himself a geek can get a 100 percent playing this song on expert. Using his hands. Without using his elbows. Without having to solve a Rubik’s Cube.

So what is this achievement going to do for JRefleX93? The heck should I know! all I can say is that this video is pretty impressive and fun to watch when I do not have anything else to do.