Information Overload

Happy Halloween!

The pocketbook is happy that there were no new Mac Book Pro's equipped with Blu-ray drives this year. Instead, Apple gave Apple TV users a treat and played another trick on Palm.

Have a great Halloween and stay safe out there tonight!

Apple TV 3.0

Apple TV 3.0 is a welcome free update for all of Apple's home theater media players. The new software overhauls Apple TV's interface to be more worthy of an Apple product. It also introduces features such as Internet Radio (finally!), iTunes Extras, and iTunes LP. Apple also released iTunes 9.0.2 yesterday primarily to support Apple TV 3.0, and to discourage Palm from forging their USB-IF Vendor ID.

Google Chrome For Mac

The latest developmental version of Google Chrome for Mac released last week is shaping up to be a contender among Mac web browsers. It's a helluva lot faster than Firefox 3.5, and features an interesting spin on private browsing called Incognito mode. Incognito state is window specific rather than being modal for the entire browser as in Safari. Might use Chrome on a more regular basis once 1Password is available.

Fling Chocolate Bar

Finally tried a Fling Milk Chocolate Bar because the new office has a different snack selection (albeit out of a coin-op vending machine). Mars' bar is targeted at the female demographic although their TV ad also appeals to guys. A 170 calorie Fling pack consists of two bars similar to Twix, but without the satisfying experience. The vending machine dispenser probably caused the Fling bars to break into smaller nuggets. They initially taste better than some low cal treats, but this blogger would ultimately prefer to eat a single 140 calorie Twix bar that doesn't leave behind a cottony aftertaste.

20% Off Virgin America Flights

Virgin America is celebrating their new routes between the Golden State and Florida's Gold Coast by giving all of their Elevate members ten discount codes to share good for 20% off most any VA flight booked by November 6th.

Happy World Pasta Day!

It's World Pasta Day today! Buca di Beppo is celebrating by giving away a free 8-ounce portion of spaghetti, and a package of Rummo Italian pasta. Yours truly is a big fan of various pasta, and would eat them more frequently if they didn't contain a ton of carbs.

DIRECTV RC64RB Backlit Universal Remote Control

The DIRECTV RC64RB universal remote controller is basically the same as the RC64R except that it features buttons that can be illuminated in the dark. The backlit version also feels slightly lighter perhaps due to the different button material. There's a button (above the orange REC button in the photo below) positioned on the right side of the remote that toggles the backlighting only when desired, which is a nice design. It was a breeze to setup the second remote to control a DIRECTV HD DVR via RF, and the A/V receiver and TV via IR.

International Day of Climate Action

Hmm... 350 parts per million of CO₂ in the world's atmosphere is quite the challenge to achieve let alone maintain given global population growth and industrialization. Good luck!

National Cyber Security Month

Yesterday's release of Windows 7 was a reminder that October is National Cyber Security Month. It's a bit confusing because Microsoft and the Department of Homeland Security seem to endorse the National Cyber Security Alliance while the President refers people to OnGuard Online. Yours truly prefers the President's pick, especially since the NCSA (not to be confused with the NCSA) blogger didn't spellcheck the title of his post.

In addition to staying vigilant online, PC users should be sure to install and maintain anti-virus software. Microsoft recently released a free AV solution called Microsoft Security Essentials that works quite well. PC users who aren't running a genuine copy of Windows (tsk! ;) can download something like AVG for free. AVG will nag about upgrading to a paid version, but doesn't care how one obtained Windows. Apple users should checkout Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS X.

Windows 7 Ships Today

Windows 7 ships today, and it's a whopper of a service pack for Vista. It's such a major improvement that Windows users will need to perform a clean install to upgrade from Vista or XP. Windows 7 is totally worth it for Vista users. XP people will probably want to get a more powerful PC or Mac to actually run it. Apple announced new hardware on Tuesday that should run Windows 7 well—plus Macs are the only personal computers that can also run Snow Leopard. Best of all, your local Apple Store can transfer all of your files from your old PC!