World's First Hard-Disk Drive

Computer geeks the world over can thank the people at IBM for today's Hard-Disk Technology was introduced about half a century and revolutionized our lives. The first Hard-Disk was called the IBM 350 Disk Storage Unit and it was huge, I mean it was man-sized dude. It was revealed to the world on September 4 1956 and it changed the way Computer Geeks stored their info. Before the IBM 350 Disk Storage Unit storage unit was created, Technology Geeks used storage drums to store information.

The IBM 350 Disk Storage Unit had a 24" diameter disks and could only store about five megs of data, about the size an average MP3 file. This is actually pretty amazing considering that today, there are companies that offer data warehouse solutions, incorporating thousands of terabytes of storage space for their customers.

The IBM 350 Disk Storage Unit weighed about one ton and required special shipping and handling, see image. Today, you will only find this peice machinery in a museum but it is amazing how Computer Geeks have transformed this hunk of metal into the sleek and powerful hard-drives that we use today.

What Cool Stuff Are You Getting This Christmas

Christmas is around the corner and many of you last minute shoppers are putting your game face on and heading out to graze. Whether you're looking for the latest cell-phone technology or LCD flat screen TV you've always dreamed of, there is someone out there hoping to sell it to you. There are many Cool Technology stores out there but only a few of them are worth visiting. If you are like most people out there, technology is on your shopping list. However, there are gadgets & gizmos businesses closing every day due to lower demand for technology, is society finally getting sick of it? or are we just choosing different places to purchase from, like online shopping?

Digressing, I am sometimes inclined to think about Cool Technology as a lifeline. It may sound odd but I have found that electronic technology is by far the easiest thing for most people digest if it is a necessity for life. Awesome technology increase its effectiveness considerably when it is part of your job. You could do this with it but it would take forever. With Cool Technology, the efforts will benefit both sides. From my own personal experience and experiments I have seen many a Cool Technological toys and equipment. With more companies getting into the tech gadgets business, the demand for unusual technology has never been higher, but sometimes I feel that we as a society are merely catering to gadgets and gizmos.

That said, Cool Technology is particularly important to me. I love Spy gadgets, which in my opinion blows any other Cool Technology out of the water, but there aren't many of us who think this about Cool Technology. That is, if you know what you're doing it can be the most fun and doesn't always have to be hi-tech.

So, let's check into the Cool Technology hotel and check out this fascinating lo-tech gadget called brief safe. “Brief Safe” is designed for the traveler, with the hope of deterring the cleaning ladies and gents from running away with your valuable stuff. They are very realistic and as nasty looking as can be, noticed the streak of fake dung. “Brief Safe” comes with “fly-accessed 4″ x 10″ secret compartment with Velcro closure” and unless the cleaning lady or gent has a nasty fetish, then your money will stay safe, and I think its one of those great gift ideas for those hard to please people.

Google's I'm Feeling Lucky Search

Here's some cool shit to try if you are bored and don't know what to do with yourself. Bring up big G and type in the following as specified below, after you type each word, press the ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ button. That's all there is to it.

Type: ‘google santa’

Type: “Find Chuck Norris”

Type: ‘elgoog’

Type: ‘g00g13′

Type: ‘google klingon’

Type: ‘google bork’

Type: ‘easter feature’

Type: ‘google valentine’

Type: ‘google doodle’

Type: 'google gothic'

Type: 'elmer fudd'

That's it for the cool Google stuff, hope you enjoyed it and if you think of any more feel free to leave it in the comments. Cheerio!

Are Gadgets Good Or Bad?

I wouldn't advocate cogitating on what my fellow psycho geeks will say when they read what I've got to say about technology, but I think its important to say it anyway.

It turns out that there are common patterns that underlie Technology. What happens when Technology does not serve society anymore? Yes, technology lets you run away from it all but is it a productive way of living?

I am often reminded of all the gadgets we purchase, if useful, they can make us more productive, but often they are just pieces of junk filling our cupboards, like the dozens of kitchen gadgets that I'll never use. In theory, cool technology would have contributed to our standard of living, if done in moderation, but we don't do moderation do we? As most likely happens, we often get bogged down in technology that it has become a detriment in many cases. Take for instance, email. Most of us can't live without it, but consider how much easier it would be if at your place of work you would forgo email for a face to face chat with your co-worker. The point is that I'm passionate about really cool stuff, but when Technology takes up all our time, then it's time to reconsider its place in our society.

As I have said before, Technology means more than a lot to me, its my life, but it is also my curse. I'm like a lot of you, if a gadget exists, I've probably have given it a try. And I really do love technology, for the wide variety of uses that help create a whole new way of understanding things. But I wanted to look deeper into Technology, into the social ramifications of this cursed enchanting junk. There are many factors involved with cool things that need to be digested thoroughly. Let's face it, Technology can still cost you many hours of lost productivity if used incorrectly. As I've mentioned, email is a great example of this.

I do want to partially defend the essence of technology, because it is important to modern society. But if you spend all your time with cool downloads instead of working or talking with your co-workers, it isn't at all to your benefit. I think you'll find this great advice to think about for your Technology.

Lastly, I think that Technology is a forgotten path to increase the power of productivity. Will it eventually control us is still to be seen.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: Cool Firefox Easter Egg

Like the previous releases of Firefox, Firefox 3.0 is also hiding a cool Easter egg surprise.

Follow the following steps to see this cool Easter egg:

1. In the Firefox Address Bar type the following: about:robots
2. Press Enter.
3. Behold, a great Easter Egg will appear on your screen. It is a message from Gort the Robot from the movie 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' and reads as follows:
   

Welcome Humans! We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill! * Robots may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. * Robots have seen things you people wouldn’t believe. * Robots are Your Plastic Pal Who’s Fun To Be With. * Robots have shiny metal posteriors which should not be bitten. And they have a plan.

As many of you know, the updated version of the 1951 classic ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ featuring Keanu Reeves' as Klaatu will soon be at a theater near you. And with virtual visionary insight, the people at Mozilla seemed to be on the ball that this would be the year of the retelling of ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’, fascinating indeed.

Cool Stuff To Do To Make Windows Run Good

If your PC is starting to sputter out, then it's time for an action plan. Regular PC maintenance is vital to keeping that ugly beast called Windows running better longer and Mr. Gates will love you too, I swear it. Are you cool? Cool, here are cool Tech Tips on how to keep that Windows OS purring like a pussy.

1. Clean Out the Temp Files:

Go ahead and amaze yourself, honest, go do it right now with some cool house cleaning. You'll be surprised how much junk Bill gates and the Internet puts in you computer. So get cool and get rid of that crap, do it now YO!, just do it and be cool, it's all good.

2. Defragment Your HardDrive:

Defragmenting the hard drive(s) at least once a month is vital to keeping things cool. Remember, large downloads and everyday computer use puts a hard demand on your hard drives, and a good long defragment will keep that biotch happy.

3. Update that Anti-Virus File And Run It Often:

Look it, if you want your PC running good, then you need to do this. Stop whining that you can't, just be cool and do it. Run that Anti-virus at least one time a week.

4. Get A Firewall:

A Firewall is not what it used to be, granted, but it will still help keep that effing geek cracker jack from prying open your PC like a can of sardines.

5. Turn System Restore On:

System Restore is a Windows way of covering its proverbial ass when things get messed up in your PC. System Restore keeps snapshots of your system settings and when the BS hits the fan, no sweat, you can restore you PC to a place in time, it will save your pathetic life.

6. Disable Those Startup Progs:

I know you don't know it yet, but right now as we speak, there are programs loading up with your Windows OS that you don't know about. That's right, someone has decided to make their program run without you knowing and it's taking up space in your RAM memory and goofing all that shit up. When you disable these progs, your system will load faster.

7. Windows Updates Is Your Friend, So Install All Security Updates:

The title speaks for itself, just do it.

8. Get Spyware Checker:

Spyware, these days are taking over. Your computer is probably infected with that crap, sending all sorts of nasty crap your way. You know, like porn and shit. And it pops up at all the wrong times, like when your Spinster Aunt Clarrisse, pays a visit. Download anti-spyware progs and use them all the time.

9. Download From Reputable Websites Only:

If you download garbage from any old site, man, you're asking for it, hard. Don't get stupid, use only sites like download.com and other well knows sites. These guys scan their offered downloads, it's wise to scan yours too.

10. Uninstall Progs You Don't use:

OK, this goes out to all you sniveling pack-rats out there, you know who you are. You download and install all sorts of garbage on your machine and wonder what the hell happened when things slow down. Do yourself a favor, if you don't use a program uninstall it.

That's all for today Ladies, It's all good and it's all cool stuff.

Cool Stuff

Where Does The Term Computer Bug Come From?

Have you ever heard the term ‘there’s a bug in the software?’ or ‘this software needs debugging?’.

In September 9, 1945, Harvard, computer computer geeks found moth trapped in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator that they had been working on. Those geeks took the moth and taped it to a computer log, which you can see in the image. After that incident, word got out someone had ‘debugged’ the system, and so the popular term, 'debugging' was popularized.

There are people who state that the word ‘bug’ is actually much older, and being used by Thomas Edison. That may or may not be true, but we can state with certainty that actual popularization occurred back in 1945.

Cool Stuff First Mouse

What the heck is this crazy cool stuff in that picture? It looks more like a chopping board not a gadget, but this little wooden block was at the forefront of technology in the sixties. It was invented by Douglas Engelbart in 1964 at Stanford Research Institute. Beautifully shellacked, square and cumbersome this puppy ushered in a new age in technological sophistication






Unlike the mouse we use today, that uses either a ball or light to move your screen pointer, this mouse had two wheels perpendicular to angle that allowed the mouse to move up or down on the screen. So now you know my little techno-noobs, you'll get more cool stuff later.

Remember the Sony Walkman?

Remember the original Sony Walkman TPS-L2? No? Go ask your older brother or sister, they probably had one. That old clunker was made by the Sony Corporation in 1979, and it ushered in a new age for music. Man, being able to carry your music with you, anywhere, that was priceless. Oh, yeah, you're probably thinking, "What about the Ghetto Blaster?, that was portable". I say get real dude, the Ghetto blaster was too 'in your face' and unsophisticated. You couldn't get away with it if you were high-broughing it with high society and all that.

The idea behind the Sony Walkman was simple, ‘Shrink tape player, add headphones, make lotsa dolla’. Music was now in the domain of the individual and not the group, it was a private thing, your thing, no one could guess that even though you looked like a gorilla, you were listening to Beethoven 9th in B flat-ulence. Walkman users and abusers could go everywhere, tuning it all in and tuning the world out.

Oh yeah, the Walkman was also a great way to meet chicks. Basically, the girls knew that you had two things going for you, one, you had the music and two, you had the money. Not just any Joe Shmoe could afford the hefty price, don't ask me what the price was cause I forget things, but it was up there with up-town hookers and the clap. What I really liked about the Walkman, you ask? 'Public singing'... which was often the domain of crazy people now a non-exclusive club for all. Gotta love those good old days, man good times bubba, gooooood times.....

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