5 Apple's Products We Never Seen

For every Apple product we see on the shelves, there are dozens that never make it to production. Sometimes, these rare gems surface on the web for us to take a look at, and ponder what might have been. Scouring through the interweb, I’ve compiled this list of 5 Apple products that only the most hardcore of hardcore MacAddicts have ever stumbled across.

Surprisingly, some of these products, over 10 years old, are still being speculated about in one form or another to this day. Will we see new products based on these old prototypes? It’s far more likely that anything resembling the devices listed below have been rebuilt from the ground up, but still, it’s fun to look back on the products that didn’t make it to the mass market.

[Full story at AppleGazette.com]

X'mas Spirit from Live.com

Christmas is just around the corner. Get more spirit by adding Windows Live.com Happy Holidays Christmas Template to your Live.com


Get the template from here.

[via LiveSide.net]

Google Answers is Dead

Google Answers, the service where you could ask questions in exchange of a sum of money, is now officially dead. "We considered many factors in reaching this difficult decision, and ultimately decided that the Answers community's limited size and other product considerations made it more effective for us to focus our efforts on other ways to help our users find information."

The problem? While Google Answers is almost invisible, Yahoo Answers is a big success, produces results for many search results page and has a big community. The big difference between the two services is that Yahoo Answers doesn't involve money: no one pays or gets paid. While Google's researchers give more detailed answers, Yahoo uses the advantage of having a strong community" and sorts the good answers.

So what happened to Google Answers?

[Full story at Google Operating System]

High-Tech Toys Make Kids Smarter?

Fran Molloy, The Age Australia, wrote an article about the impact of high-tech toys to kids.


It starts in utero, intensifies when babies are learning to crawl and hits a frenzy about the time they are learning the alphabet: the push to get smarter has created a global industry dedicated to training young brains.

And if you think you're off the hook when your children are out of nappies, think again: a new generation of tech toys for the elderly means that, from cradle to grave, the relentless push to make you smarter never lets up. Tech toys aimed at improving intelligence are designed for the under-10s, and particularly for the ages when children are learning to read, write and count.

It's here that manufacturers are reaping big dollars from anxious parents who are more than ready to part with their hard-earned cash to make sure their children have a winning edge in the brain race.

Toys are no longer purely about fun and entertainment: smart kids are what it's all about.

[Read Full Story]

Singapore to Build Training Facilities for Space Tourists

Sebastian Rupley from PC Magazine, wrote an article about Singapore that is currently building a spaceport which will provide suborbital flights and astronaut training facilities for space tourists. The $115 million facility’s construction is being financed by Space Adventures (which has already launched private explorers into space) and a consortium from Singapore.


Prices for the suborbital spaceflights aren’t set yet, but tourists who take off from Spaceport Singapore will reach a maximum altitude of 100km and will experience up to 5 minutes of continuous weightlessness. As many as five space tourists will be able to travel together.

In addition to these flights, the spaceport will offer various high-altitude simulation activities. These will include parabolic flights that induce weightlessness, G-force training in a centrifuge, and simulated space walks in a neutral buoyancy tank. Myasishchev Design Bureau, a Russian aerospace organization, is overseeing the development of the aircraft and space systems.

If you’re Earth-weary, start saving your pennies.

3D Golf Simulator

Interested in playing golf indoor. A golfer's inn in Manheim, Germany offers a 3D Golf simulator that allows you to play golf like a real golf. Here is the video clip on how it is work:

[via GolferManual.com]

Top 10 Worst Internet Acquisitions Ever

James Nicholson has his own analysis about the top 10 worst Internet acquisitions. The factors that he considered to be the worst are money and contribution to the acquiring company in its long term strategy.

So, here's the result: (1 = the worst)

1. Broadcast.com - acquired by Yahoo! in 1999 for $5 billion.
2. AOL - merged with TimeWarner in 2000.
3. Excite - acquired by @Home in 1999 for $6.7 billion.
4. GeoCities - acquired by Yahoo! in 1999 for $3.56 billion.
5. Netscape - acquired by AOL in 1998 for $4.2 billion.
6. Lycos - acquired by Terra Networks in 2000 for $4.6 billion.
7. BlueMountain.com - acquired by Excite@Home in 1999 for $780 million.
8. MySimon - acquired by CNET in 1999 for $700 million.
9. Skype - acquired by eBay in September 2005 for $2.6 billion.
10. Hotmail - acquired by Microsoft in 1998 for about $400 million.

Based on the list, Yahoo is the most company which wasted money for $8.56 billion to acquire GeoCities and Broadcast.com, and ended up with nothing.

Windows Vista Custom PC Design

Microsoft and Dell recently teamed up to create a super-cool customer PC in celebration of Microsoft releasing Windows Vista to manufacturing earlier this month.

Here are the system specs:

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Processor
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX
• 4GB RAM Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 667mhz
• 1Terabyte RAID0 SATA HDDs (2x500MB)
• 48x Combo + 16x DVD+/-RW Double Layer Burner
• Dual TV Tuners (Analog)
• Dell 30" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
• Full 5.1 Surround Sound

[via: WindowsVistaBlog]

Cannot Access New Microsoft Homepage?

Since couple weeks ago, Microsoft has closed the access to its new homepage via http://preview.microsoft.com. Now that page is being tested by a randomly selected set of users, so you must be lucky enough to be one of them :)

For you that still want to access the new homepage: Don't give up, my friend. You still can access the new homepage from Microsoft Labs.

The new homepage itself is due to the end of this year.

Remove Windows Vista Shortcut Arrow

Unlike Windows XP, in which you can remove the shortcut overlay arrow using TweakUI. In Windows Vista, currently there is no native way to remove the shortcut overlay arrow or to even customize it in Windows Vista.

Rich Crusco has written the Vista Shortcut Overlay Remover utility to enable you to do just that. You can download this util for free from his blog.

Keyholder for Him, and for Her?

If you are looking something new to decorate your house or your bedroom, you might consider this keyholder.


This keyholder is made from metal and has size 80(w) ×110(h) ×15(d) mm. When the interior is small with such design will give your room a uniqueness :)

[via Youmos]

International Clock

Need to travel all the time? And getting frustrated to adjust your clock to the correct time? Why don't you get yourself an International clock? Just rotate your clock to the city where you are. See the picture below.


However, this International clock has a limitation in handling daylight saving time. Some countries in the different hemisphere have a reversed schedule and the starting times vary from country to country.

If you want to create one by yourself, this website has a step by step instruction. Have fun :)

"Get a Mac" Turning Japanese

If you have ever watched the Mac ads featuring John Hodgman and Justin Long and wondered what their Japanese counterparts must look like, the Japanese have their own versions of the ads.

Basically, the ads are similar to the American version, except with two funny Japanese dudes talking in Japanese. If you prefer to watch the high-quality videos go to Apple website, or watch the lower-quality versions with English subtitles here.

Who is the Real "iPod Killer"

Just days after Microsoft released Zune which touted as an "iPod killer", TimesOnline.co.uk reported that the real treat to iPod domination is came from far east not from Redmond.

Hundreds of sleek and cheap MP3 players made by dozens of manufacturers in Taiwan and China are flooding Western markets. Many are just as slender, powerful and good looking as the iPod Nano, some as powerful as the Zune.

Moreover, those devices only cost between $20 and $100, are soaring on eBay and Amazon and at big US stores such as Wal-Mart and Target, with British retail outlets expected to follow.

A group of “open-source” software developers is creating a universal operating system to make the cheap devices more reliable and just as versatile as their expensive competitors.