Griff Live

We do hate to say we told you so, believe it or not, but Macworld Expo 2009 is going on without so much as a big product launch or a major celebrity showing up at a keynote to greet the Mac crowd. Even the new 17-inch Macbook Pro isn’t a surprise, as that had already been promised way back when the Macbook unibody was launched November last.

In the runup to this (last, or next to last?) Macworld show, the Dark Satanic RumourmillTM had been running on overtime as Mac sites churned out non-stop speculations about new announcements, from an Iphone Nano through an Apple netbook to a Mac Mini with a TB of storage. It turns out that none of those made it to the show, at least not on Day One.

Breaking down the day’s top announcements into three parts, first up was Apple’s Phil Schiller introducing some new elements to Fruitella’s software products, namely the 2009 editions of Ilife and Iwork.

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Tags: 2009, Expo, MacWorld

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As Perth’s newest tourist attraction gets ready for its first paying passengers, it interesting to compare it to two other wheels that i have seen while on holiday in the UK. Firstly there is the The Wheel of Manchester and then the really impressive London Eye. The wheel of Manchester has 42 capsules which are lifted to a height of 60 meters and the London Eye has 32 capsules which are lifted to a height of 135 meters. The new Perth wheel has 36 capsules which are lifted to a height of 50 meters.  View more wheels around the world on the World Attractions website.

Read the NEWS BLOG on the west.com.au - Will you ride the Wheel?

There are some very interesting comments on the blog below. Here are a few of my favorites.

“What a pathetic bunch our politicians and mayor of Perth must think we are that we need to be ammused and sit on a wheel to look at the view of Perth.”

“Measure the wheel it will be more like 44 then 50 meters. Small gondola’s you can not even stand up in them. To compare this baby wheel with the London eye or the Singapore flyer is simply a joke.”

‘Just when I thought I couldn’t be more embarrassed.’

For me i think it is just another eyesore on the foreshore that joins the Bell Tower and that shocking Convention Centre. I agree that the Perth city council is totally out of touch to come up with this idea. It also makes me remember that episode of the Simpsons called Marge vs. the Monorail, particularly the closing sequence.

As the camera pulls away from the scene, Marge’s voice narrates: ‘And that was the only folly the people of Springfield ever embarked upon.  Except for the popsicle stick skyscraper.  And the 50-foot magnifying glass.  And that escalator to nowhere.” The magnifying glass focuses the sun’s rays on the skyscraper, igniting a fire.  Meanwhile, people rise to the top of a huge escalator, only to fall off when it reaches the top.

PS: want a great view of Perth, simply go to Kings Park and the best part is, it’s free!

Tags: foreshore, Perth, wheel

The first passengers should be able to ride the Wheel of Perth on the Swan River foreshore next week.

Construction began on the 50m high attraction just before Christmas and a team of Dutch engineers has worked through the holiday season to erect the wheel. They expect to install the last of its 36 passenger capsules this morning. Jason Todd, a spokesman for World Tourist Attractions, which will operate the wheel, said that fully loaded with 284 passengers, the wheel would weigh 278 tonnes.
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Tags: foreshore, River, Swan, wheel

If you enjoyed visiting DMFail, which surfaced Twitter messages intended as private messages on a public website but ultimately failed, you’re bound to get a kick out of this: F*** My Life is a service in beta where registered users are given a public platform to complain about just how screwed up their lives are and why.

In true Web 2.0 style, other users can comment on the short revelations and indicate that they in fact agree about the fact his / her life is f*cked up, and/or if the submitters actually deserve it. Thanks to those groundbreaking features, you can filter down stories based on the number of people who agree or think it’s well deserved, and you can also get a top-down list of the most discussed or most favorited life stories.

Visit F*** My Life

Tags: twitter

The iPhone and iPod Touch have taken the world by storm. In just a little over six months time we
’ve witnessed the doors of the iTunes App Store opening to the 10,000 app marker being crossed. Some of these apps stand out much more than others do, so we’ve tried to hone in on the cream of the crop.

read more | digg story

Tags: Apple, Apps, iPhone

A Chinese court has convicted 11 people involved in a massive piracy ring that, if it were a legitimate business, would have been a significant retail outlet in its own right — raking in more than $2 billion for selling counterfeit software.

The Futian People’s Court handed down sentences on Tuesday ranging from 1.5 years to 6.5 years in prison, including the longest sentences handed down in China’s history for this type of crime.

The 11 sentenced had been arrested by Chinese authorities in July 2007, following an investigation led by the FBI and China’s Public Security Bureau (PSB).

The scale of the criminals’ operation had been huge, with counterfeit software found in 36 countries on five continents. Investigators found fake but high-quality versions of 19 of Microsoft’s most popular products, produced in at least 11 languages.

Read Full Story

Source: Internet News

Tags: China, Microsoft, Office, piracy, Windows

The Federal Government’s controversial internet censorship scheme may extend to filter more online traffic than was first thought, Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy revealed today.

In a post on his department’s blog, Senator Conroy today said technology that could filter data sent directly between computers would be tested as part of the upcoming live filtering trial.

“Technology that filters peer-to-peer and BitTorrent traffic does exist and it is anticipated that the effectiveness of this will be tested in the live pilot trial,” Senator Conroy said.

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Tags: Filter, government, internet

• Web filtering trial set to begin next week
• Government still evaluating applications
• ISPs don’t know yet if they’re taking part

A Live trial of internet censorship technology is set to begin in less than a week, but the Federal Government still hasn’t decided which companies will take part.

Two of Australia’s largest internet service providers Optus and iiNet have applied to take part in the pilot, due to start next Wednesday, but are still waiting to hear if they have been accepted into the program.

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Tags: Filter, government, web

Over the past year we
’ve reviewed sites from just about every cross-section of the web. And yet, so many ground breaking new services haven’t received the recognition they deserve: we aim to set that straight. From niche social networks to job sites and alternative search engines, each of the following excited us in 2008

read more | digg story

Tags: Underrated, Websites

Perhaps Digg really is the future of the news business. The headline-discussion site, once an icon of the Web 2.0 movement, is losing millions of dollars a year.

read more | digg story

Tags: digg