The New Facebook is Here

Looks like the new Facebook will be here to stay. Its seems as if the people at Facebook are going full force into the new design. Even though many of the users hate the new redesign of the site, many people have been getting messages after signing in saying,

“New Facebook will soon be the only Facebook. Soon we’ll be switching Facebook over to its new design.”

Thirty million of Facebook’s users have actually checked out the new platform (which is about 35% in total) and many like it. Stats indicate that a lot of users using the new design have reverted back to the old Facebook though, but still that information is not enough to convince the company to leave it be. Facebook is trying to let people know about the new design which will give them a better idea of whether or not its users like it or not.

It does not matter what will happen though. Facebook will change its design and just like what happened with the news feed and such, everyone will hate it and then there will be groups and petitions to go back to the old Facebook.

A Short Review of Google Chrome

I’ve been using Google Chrome for the past day, and its pretty nice. I have so problems though where it will freeze up for a few seconds every time I click on a link. It makes me think that the program ran into a serious run-time error or so and is not responding anymore, but after those few seconds will works fine.

I like how the homepage on it shows you your most visited websites in thumbnail pics so you can just click onto your favourite website instead of typing it in just like that internet browser application…dam I forgot what it was called (I believe this feature is on Opera as well).

The design is very simple, I like the user interface but I’m not that much into the cotton candy blue or whatever blue it is they used. The design reminds me of Ubuntu for some reason.

Chrome takes a few minutes to get used to. The hardest thing to get used to is the fact that it does not have the file menus at the top just like in every other browser or application for that matter but the options and settings for Chrome are easy to find. The program does not have the bar at the bottom that shows you what link you are clicking on or where it is when it is loading and stuff. I was not used to it but I was shocked and enlightened when I found out that the bar pops up every time you hover the mouse over a link which is really cool.

The best part about Chrome is the download manager. It is so amazing. With IE, when you download multiple things they each download in separate boxes which can get really annoying and confusing. Firefox is better with a window popping up showing a list of all your downloads and their progress. What is really kick ass about Chrome is that the download manager actually pops up at the bottom of the browser and shows a list of all your downloads. You can actually click beside the downloads and then a new tab will pop up and there is an actual search field to search for your downloads. That is amazing!

So that’s it with my short review of Google’s Chrome internet browser. I have to see what else I can do with this baby.

TWiT: Security Now 159 - Is Vista Safe?

I am a regular listener to the TWiT network which is hosted by none other than TechTV alum and ‘Call for Help’ host Leo Laporte. I finally got a chance to listen to last week’s Security Now netcast hosted by Mr. Laporte and Steve Gibson (the man who discovered and coined the term, ’spyware’) and once I heard Steve say, “I mean, for example, we’re seeing an increasing number of Mac exploits and vulnerabilities now. I mean, those are happening. We’re getting security patches from Apple at an unprecedented rate compared to the past because hackers have Macs now. It used to be that they predominantly had Windows machines. Now they’ve got Macs, and they’re poking around
in there.” I knew my prediction was true.

Since now, Apple has become basically a fashion statement where its cool to use Apple products like the iPod and the iMac - lets not forget about the iPhone, I see so many people buy and use these products. Many people buy Apple products because they want to be cool like everyone else and they look nice and stuff. I understand that because no one wants to be the outcast, the one person who does not have th product that all the cool kids at school have. I’ve been there and I’ve definitely seen it.
In this case though with Apple products, I say, “you guys are so stupid.” No matter what, just because it looks cool doesn’t mean its better and don’t give me that bullshit saying that the Leopard OS is safer than Vista or even XP because its not. It is only ’safer’ because hackers predominantly use Windows/Linux and hack into other Windows machines because Windows is the only OS people have. Now, all these hackers have macs and they’re developing and finding exploits to use against all the fan boys out there. Once you get infected with a mac virus or worm, GG to you. Its just like using Windows all over again.

Soon enough though, when enough people use macs, Leopard will become like Windows and then no one will be able to trust either Microsoft and Apple anymore and then everyone will say, “Fuck it, lets go with Linux!”

Careful of What You Post on Facebook Part 2

I could not manage to find out where on the internet I saw this interesting story, but I finally found it today. I did not write it in my original article Careful of What you Post on Facebook as I could not find it but now I did and I believe this deserves a separate post.

If you are planning to take a sick day so you can party all night long, do NOT post any of it on Facebook. Kevin the intern found out the hard way.
Basically it all comes down to this: Kevin was an intern at a banking company in New York, he worked somewhere along wall street or so. He e-mails his boss saying that he needed a sick day in October to take care of some family issues. His boss uses Facebook and uncovers pictures of Kevin at a Halloween party the same day he was supposed to take care of some “family issues.” The worst part about this story is that Kevin was dressed up as a fairy at this Halloween party and his bosses sent a picture of him around to everyone in the office. Now that is very, very embarrassing.

Death Magnetic Leaked

So a few hours ago, or so I have read Metallica’s new album ‘Death Magnetic’ was leaked onto the internet. The record was due to be sold on Septmber 12 2008 but a French music store a couple of copies to patrons and one posted it on Blabbermouth with pictures of the cover album and disc.

The track listing of Death Magnetic includes:

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. Broken, Beat & Scarred
04. The Day That Never Comes
05. All Nightmare Long
06. Cyanide
07. The Unforgiven III
08. The Judas Kiss
09. Suicide & Redemption
10. My Apocalypse

Surprisingly, the band is not worried about the album being leaked out onto the internet. They believe in the long run, record sales will not be affected by this leak. It is interesting in what Lars Ulrich had to say about it as after the controversy Metallica created against Napster and P2P, “Listen, we’re ten days from release. I mean, from here, we’re golden. If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me. Ten days out and it hasn’t quote-unquote fallen off the truck yet? Everybody’s happy. It’s 2008 and it’s part of how it is these days, so it’s fine. We’re happy.”

No one would expect them to be comfortable with this leak, but there is no point now in worrying is there?

The leaked album is already all over the internet on fan sites and such and no doubtingly on the torrent websites with massive amounts of activity.
Well lets just hope that the album is good and people will actually buy it and say it was worth the money.

Prison Break Season Premier: Disappointing

If you haven’t seen the premiere yet, this contains spoilers.
I watched the season four premiere of Prison Break last night and I was truly disappointed in it. Now instead of breaking out of prison, they are going to break into a complex owned by ‘The Company’ so they don’t have to face further jail time. Fox has been dragging this show out for so long. It should have ended at the end of season two but now they are in their fourth season and this better be the last season because from what it looks, viewership will go down and they might even have to cancel this show mid-season which I don’t think is a great way to end a fantastic (well used to be) show.

When I watched the season premiere, I expected to get blown away by a secret revelation that just hits you right in the face and you say, ‘WTF!?!?!’ Instead they show you predictable events and uncovering of secrets that make you say, ‘oh, wow….REALLY? Is that the best they can do?” I certainly was not impressed with anything the season premiere threw at me. The biggest thing on the show was when they realize they needed the information from six different Scylla cards to actually get all the black book information on the company. That somehow did not surprise me as knowing that all Prison Break episodes end in a new problem for Michael to face. When they discover this fact, I just slumped on the couch, knowing the next few episodes will be about them gathering the last five keys. I would be really pissed if they drag this out even more and make the entire season about the group finding the remaining pieces of the pizza. THEN in season five, they finally get a chance to break into The Company’s headquarters.

What really pissed me off about the season premiere is that made quick fixes for everyone:
- Sucre and Bellick get caught, Sucre faces jail time for escaping Fox River and Bellick for aiding him.
- Lincoln, once again ‘murders’ an agent working for the company and the police take him into custody. I like the fact that he decided to stay and wait for the police to ‘cuff him instead of running away ‘causing another manhunt.
- Sucre, Bellick, and T-bag manage to escape from Sonah due to a fire that burned the entire prison down and now they are on the run
- I don’t know what is up with T-bag but he will manage to track Michael and the gang down and use his cunning and wit to screw them all over in the end
- Mahone now has nothing to lose as the assassin (the new Gretchen) kills his wife and child or if that is what they make us think
- Whistler is now dead, shot from behind by the assassin and it all happened so fast too
- Gretchen is now being held against her will because she failed to realize that Whistler was plotting against the company under her nose
- After what happened in the beginning, I’m pretty sure the show just got rid of LJ and Sophia so they probably won’t show them ever again. Well they will, the last we saw of them is that they both ran off together after Lincoln kills the agent

What pisses me off the most about this season premiere is the fact that Sarah Wayn Callies refused to come back for season three even after the show tried to accomodate her and change everything around for her. It is a sham that they had to use a body double in season three and they were forced to kill her off because she would not return. Now she wanted to come back and they had to make some minor changes to the plot which leads to Gretchen telling Michael that she never killed her and that Lincoln and LJ were tricked by their senses. She comes back though out of the blue waiting for both Michael and Lincoln after posting bail for them (well I’m pretty sure the old guy posted bail for them. I can’t remember his name but he was killed off by The Company’s assassin). They never explain in the premiere what she did during season three and how she escaped and hid for all this time, but I’m very sure they will explain it all in the next upcoming episodes.

Now since all the major characters are in trouble, the FBI comes in and gives them a deal to break into the complex and gather all the secret information from The Company or else, they all go back to jail and will get killed by the assassin. I don’t like the casting of Michael Rapaport. I can see that Fox recycles all their actors. To me, after watching ‘Boston Public’ and ‘The War At Home’ he just does not seem like an FBI agent with a hidden agenda. He did not play the part very well in my opinion. He was supposed to sound authoritative and lay down the law against the criminals but the way he does it just doesn’t seem convincing and his hidden agenda which makes it seem like he is actually working for The Company. I loos weird how he portrays the FBI agent. I hate how the new guy was cast, Roland (James Hiroyuki Liao) the crazy tech genius who faces major jail time because he invented a device that steals any type of information held electronically. He does not fit in well with the group and his acting is poor. I especially do not like how they introduced him to the audience. Rapaport shows them the warehouse they will be working in and oh hey, this guy will be working with you too. He is in the same boat as the rest of you. I can see that Roland will be killed off after they manage to get all the information contained in each card.

I did not like how Michael got his entire body tattoo removed. That was the trademark of the show, that was the reason why so many people got hooked onto the show. Everyone sees the promos for the first season of the show and they see, oh this guy goes to jail to break his brother out - Oh hold on, what’s this, what a crazy tattoo this guy has, I think I’ll watch. Now with the trademark gone from the show, Prison Break will turn into Saved by the Bell when they went to college.

The only good thing to watch about this show is having them explain Sara’s situation, the character development of the assassin and how he will manage to find them and try and kill them all, and also Gretchen’s situation and how she will come into play and affect everything. T-bag being the mischievous manipulator that he is, I know he’s going to come back and figure everything out and try to make a deal with Michael. In the end will try and screw everyone over…or he may get killed which I think is a possibility.

Early Review: Starship Soldiers Vs. Starship Troopers

I’ve been reading the novel ‘Starship Soldiers’ or what it is known as by many, ‘Starship Troopers’ written by Robert Heinlein. The futuristic novel published in 1959 follows the life of Juan Rico in views of flash backs after he graduates from high school and enlists in the Terran Mobile Infantry.

I have only read up to Chapter VIII (Chapter 8 ) so far and it is much, much, more different than the movie, ‘Starship Troopers’ which was released in 1997 starring Denise Richards, Neil Patrick Harris, and Casper Van Dien. First off, this book explores the deep and unknown reality that war veterans face after a war and how the government screws them over. The book even explores political themes and how politics always affects everyone and everything. I am not at the part yet where they start fighting the war with the bugs but from what I have been reading so far, it does not even seem like they will be fighting bugs, just super tall and skinny humanoid beings. The movie is all about action and explosions. Everyone has a gun and is shooting at a bug. Blood, guts, gore, napalm, body parts, and bugs. That is pretty much what the movie is about.

The major differences that occur between the movie and the book are the major scenes that you see in the movie. Most of the memorable scenes from the movie always end up in someone being killed or injured. The first discrepancy between the book and the movie is that ‘Dizzy’ is not female but he is male and dies in the first chapter due to mortal wounds, not due to an insect leg impaling her through the chest. There are also the MI capsules that all the soldiers are launched out of. In the movie, all the soldiers are carried down to the planet in supply ships but in the book, every soldier is launched out of the base ship from orbit while in a capsule waiting to crash land onto the planet to start fighting.

What I find very interesting about the scenes that Heinlein wrote about is whenever there is a conflict of man vs. man he writes at least two pages of political and philosophical ideals that represent the situation and also as well diffuses and gives each problem closure.

Very memorable scenes in the book are the same memorable scenes in the movie but instead of shooting, there is a major explanation diffusing the situation. The scene where ‘Ace’ complains to drill instructor Zim that why they need knives, Heinlein explains philosophically in three pages why one man should be skilled in knives and why one should have one. It does not even end up with Zim throwing the knife at Ace’s hand like in the movie. Another scene where Zim breaks the arm of a recruit, Heinlin writes a logical and political description of the rules of fighting and in which ways to fight someone. The biggest scene so far in the book is when a soldier disobeys Zim’s orders and actually hits the drill instructor which by law is punished by flogging and also being relieved of his duties. The entire chapter deals with how and why to never hit your superior and why the superior, Zim let his guard down and let the recruit sock him in the eye. This scene leads to Rico’s flogging which many remember that he got one of his subordinates killed by taking off his helmet. In the novel, the Mobile Infantry uses power suits which basically turns the human operator into a super freak. Rico was in charge of his company in a drill and he shoots a missile to prevent the attackers from killing his teammates. Unfortunately, he did not really think about his decision and could have actually possibly killed his own teammates and he was given five lashes due to negligence.

If you ever get to read this book and expect a plethora of explosions and insect body parts flying all over the place, think again. This novel was nothing like I expected it to be, which makes me very disappointed in how the movie turned out. The movie barely explored the themes presented in the book written by Heinlein and if you are not into philosophy and politics, this book will have you asking yourself, ‘what the hell did I just read?’ It can get so boring that you will forget what you just read. The movie, ‘Starship Troopers’ is nothing like the novel, ‘Starship Soldiers’ so if you are one of the fans who loved the movie, you probably will not like the book and find it too boring to read.

I on the other hand am actually going to mission this novel out and hope that they actually do fight some bugs!

The New Asian Stereotype

Stereotyping, a problem that everyone faces everyday. It is a minor problem in today’s society but often used for humour. Stereotypes can lead to racist remarks and very wrong first impressions, but on the other hand it is the best source of information to make someone laugh. When you first see a brown person down the street, what do you think? Shit, a terrorist. When you see an Asian driving a car, ‘oh shit that guy’s gonna hit someone.’ When you see a black person you hold on to your wallet or purse more tightly hoping he won’t try and rob you. When you see a white person you think…well pretty much nothing, other than that guy’s so racist. Stereotyping has its pros and cons, there are many positive stereotypes like being super smart in math because your Asian but then there are the negative stereotypes where no one wants to be a passenger while you drive because they think since you’re Asian, you will probably hit someone and somehow get someone killed. Well Unfortunately adding insult to injury you can add another negative stereotype towards Asians, “crazy psychopath who will crack one day and kill everyone in his path.”

There are the positive Asian stereotypes:
- Smart in math and science
- hard worker, smart, eventually be successful
- prodigal musician
- 1337 combooter h4×0r
- pro coder
- the tech guy who knows everything about technology
- third degree black belt in karate, Taekwondo, all types of Kung Fu, Ju Jitsu, Judo –> A.K.A: NINJA

Then there are the negative Asian stereotypes:
- small penis
- loud and obnoxious
- AWTH when driving a car
- smart snob who won’t help you with homework because he thinks you are stupid
- competitive asshole who will give you the wrong answers on purpose so you will fail and he’ll look much better compared to everyone
- can’t speak English well
- Loner pro gamer who stays inside all day and eats, sleeps, games and on the special occasion, studies 5 minutes before a math test (well the 5 minutes is used to see what topics he needs to know for the test)

The list can go on and on, but adding on to the negative, “crazy psychopath who will crack one day and kill everyone in his path using his ninja skills.” This is a serious problem, this type of stereotype will be on the list one day. It may not be phrased as what is written down, but will be very similar. This stereotype has developed (at least in my head) due to the crazy things that Asians have been doing in public. First there was the Virginia Tech massacre in which thirty-two people were killed and many more were wounded by a gun wielding man by the name of Seung-Hui Cho, a South Korean student attending the post-secondary institution. Then there was the incident in Canada where an Asian man decapitated a passenger sitting beside him on a Greyhound bus. The gruesome event occurred over the summer and the murderer Vincent Li out of the blue just stabbed the man sitting beside him. He stabbed his victim around fifty times and cuts his head off. During this time everyone else on the bus evacuated and he apparently ate some flesh and showed everyone the decapitated head. The crazy stuff that Asians can do, they are the nice quiet type who you think don’t mind what you are doing but one wrong move and the next you know, you’re face to face with St. Peter.

David Duchovny in Rehab

Mr. Duchovny does not seem like the man who would go into Rehab for sex addiction but after knowing that he starred in ‘Red Shoe Diaries’ and in his new show ‘Californication’, I knew this guy had to be some sort of Nymphomaniac. It looks like he is bringing his work home with him.

I would think of a sex addict to be a bachelor/bachelorette for life, a player banging 365/24/7 with a body housing pretty much all of the world’s known STDs…or a porn star.
I never would have thought a sex addict would be an Ivy League alum who is married and has children. I wonder what his wife thinks. She probably doesn’t mind him being a sex addict, I mean they had to have some crazy, kinky sex.

Maple Leaf Foods Hit Hard due to Listeriosis

The Listeriosis outbreak has become headline news on the television and in the newspapers. Everyone is frightened and outrage not understanding why or how Maple Leaf Foods has let this happen. It is kind of easy to let it happen though, all you have to do is not clean a machine for a day or two and voila, there you have it. The outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes bacterium found in a couple of meat products from Maple Leaf Foods are the causes of ten deaths in Canada: 8 in Ontario, 1 in BC, and 1 in Alberta.
The outbreak is obviously bad news for Maple Leaf Foods and no doubt is a bad thing for any company that deals with food. Maple Leaf Foods have now recalled practically ALL of their products ranging from raw meat to cold cuts. The outbreak has now been linked to one of the processing plants in Ontario that Maple Leaf Foods owns.
After this outbreak has been announced, no one (and I checked) has been buying any type of meat at grocery stores except for fish. It looks kind of weird watching how a grocery store looks when everyone is on one side of it looking at the fruits, vegetables, and wheat products while no one (except for the random kid running around with snot on his nose) is in the meat department. It was very informative for the president or CEO to make a commercial about the outbreak apologizing for what has happened and publishing public apologies in newspapers and such.

The outbreak has taken a major toll on Maple Leaf Foods. Its stock went down hard.
On August 18th when the stock market in Toronto opened, the shares for Maple Leaf Foods were being traded at $10.97 with 39 000 shares being traded.
Buy the end of the week though, trading went up six-fold as 238 500 shares were traded at $9.80.
When the announcement came, panic stepped in and the shares dropped to $7.60 with about a million shares being traded.
The stock price dropped four dollars from August 18th to August 22nd, that is not good.

Somehow though, the company has rebounded and now its trading at around nine dollars a share.