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Electronic House picks Home of the Year 2008 winners

The most anticipated list of best homes selected by Electronic House. Interestingly enough, this year's winners are quite different than the champs of 2007, and we suspect all that talk of green these days has something to do with it. Yep, for the first time ever, an "energy-efficient, sustainable" home snagged the highly-coveted gold, but make no mistake, this domicile is packed to the gills with electronic goodness (some of which actually helps keep energy waste down). Even if that doesn't pique your interest, EH has selected a plethora of other swank abodes to highlight, including the best home theater, a pimped out yacht and cribs with hidden treasures. Go on, get lost
in the pages upon pages of snapshots and descriptions below -- and feel free to brag in comments if your pad wound up a winner.

Researchers design "malicious circuits," warn of potential risk

Everyone knows viruses can be delivered via hardware, but a group of researchers from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are now warning that we may not have seen anything yet. As New Scientist reports, they've apparently managed to develop their own "malicious circuits," which they say can interfere with a computer at a deeper level than a virus, and completely bypass traditional anti-virus software. To accomplish that slightly unsettling feat, the researchers created a replica of the open source Leon3 processor, and added about 1,000 malicious circuits not present in the original processor. Once they hooked that up to another computer they were apparently not only able to swipe passwords from memory, but install malware that would allow the operating system to be remotely controlled as well. Of course, they admit that sneaking such malicious circuits onto a chip isn't exactly an easy proposition, given that someone would either need to have access to a chip during its manufacturing process, or have the ability to manufacture their own. Or, as the project's lead researcher puts it, it's "not something someone would carry out on weekends."

Google Ocean

As a natural progression from Google Earth and Google Sky, the Mountain View monolith now plans to create 3D maps of the Earth's oceans and seas and make it available via Google Ocean. The software will allow users to navigate the aquatic bottom and see the topography that exists down there. Google also plans to include interactive data about various subjects such as weather patterns, coral reefs, shipwrecks and currents. The goal for Google Ocean is to use as much high resolution photography of the underwater terrain as possible, offering more than just a map. But researchers say such a process could take upwards of 100 years.

Why Hulu is The Future

Imagine being able to watch all of your favorite TV shows at the click of a mouse. Did you miss last nights episode of The Office. What ever shall you do? Ask your friends if they Tivo'ed it? or download it off of iTunes right? Paying for that episode, and watch them on your Apple TV, iPod, and computer? At first I too would have said the same, however I can do you one better. Its called Hulu. You can enjoy watching all of your favorite shows for free in excellent stream quality. Did I already mention that its free? Oh yeah, and its FREE. Hulu embraces the same idea of that of YouTube, however with improved video quality and none of the legal issues of protected content. The downside to this experience is there are in fact ads you must endure. However I would venture to say that they are not as bothersome as you may think. The main issue here is being able to watch the shows you want, when you want at your convenience. You can create playlist of the shows you would like to watch and in the order you like. Its like creating a TV station made especially for you. Hulu has also added many full length movies for its users to enjoy. We all owe Google a big hug to thank them for proving the AD based model does indeed work!

Set Psystar's to Stun

A company that goes by the name Psystar recently released a line of computers called "OpenMac". These units are running Apple's most recent version of their operating system Leopard. Starting at $400 these units include a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo E4500 processor, 2GB of memory, integrated GMA 950 graphics, 250GB disk and 20x DVD burner. Far less expensive comparatively speaking to an authentic Apple system. Where the controversy begins is where this company's profits end. As noted by Paul McDougall of Information Week, this product is a direct violation of Apple's licensing terms. To be more specific, the terms forbid third-party installations of Leopard, as is the case with the "OpenMac". The end-user license agreement explicitly states installation of the OS on third-party hardware, either for re-sale or for individual use is prohibited. However Psystar released an official statement Monday stating the company believes Apple's terms violate U.S. monopoly laws. This establishes an interesting situation for the sale of these units. Can Psystar legally sell the OpenMac? Can buyers legally use these units?

I believe that Apple should realize that there is a far greater demand for their computers than they are willing to see. I understand working through the business model, a company has a choice to compete on either cost or differentiation, and clearly Apple is competing on differentiation, hence the higher costs of their products. Lowering prices allows a producer to move higher quantities of products and increasing prices moves fewer units however a company may still enjoy the same amount of profit. This is perhaps why Apple chooses to not lower their prices, they are comfortable with their position. However I would argue that a generous price drop from their current price points would tremendously increase their bottom line. I believe Apple could sustain its premium brand image while extensively expanding their user base in turn they hold the proverbial "Holy Grail" in their hands, brand loyalty over the masses.

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The Amazing Apple Machine

Before the release of the iphone I have had little to no general interest in Apple as a company or their products. However since the release of the iphone my opinion has completely changed. The way by which Apple is able to release products and place them into set price points is amazing. Its like an assembly line. The designs Apple produces seem to get more and more attractive with every rollout. I have been following Apple through online blogs like Engadget and Gizmodo and read the bickering of the elitist "Apple fanboys". All of the hype has caused me to suddenly have an interest in Apple and basically have had me hanging by a thread with every bit of news that has been released. I have been contemplating on purchasing an Apple Macbook or a Macbook Pro but following the rumor mill has left me apprehensive on the purchase. The latest is the potential release of "refreshed" Macbooks. If this comes to fruition in June, I m hoping aboard. This now poses the question, I m I an Apple fanboy? Those guys are geeks. I m not an Apple Fanboy. I still dig all things windows. I m just ready for a new challenge with the Mac OSX.

Damn You Memphis!

Last nights championship game was a good one. The way a championship game should be. Back and forth. The game was not won by the Kansas Jayhawks, it was lost by the Memphis Tigers. It was the first and only time that I have ever rooted for a team from Tennessee, and now it will probably be the last. Memphis held a nine point lead with two minutes left in the game...and they blew it. When Kansas hit that shot at the buzzer I knew Memphis was done. Every kid on that Memphis team was hanging their heads, and I knew they couldn't come back. The momentum shift was too great. This is unfortunate for Memphis because they may never see another season like this ever again. However with NBA commissioner David Stern and the NCAA agreeing to increase the required age to play in the NBA from 19 to 20 years of age, they may have a chance to compete at a high level next year. Although I do not believe that they will, there is always a chance. Never say never.

The Pregnant Man

When I saw the news headline on the pregnant man I said to myself, "They finally figured it out, Arnold Schwarzenegger was really ahead of his time in the movie "Junior". But I knew it was too good to be true. Just like when you were a kid and you would beg to get that box of cereal to get the toy inside, but only to find that the toy was a cheap piece of crap. Its the same story here. The overnight nation wide interest of the "man" who is 6 months pregnant made me choke on my orange juice last night. Why is this news? The second I saw the headline and put a face to the story it was obvious what was going on. The pregnant "man" clearly use to be a women at some point. The person may have tried to alter their appearance on the outside but biologically inside, he is still a she. Can "he" produce "his" own seamen? Nope! Not a male. Sorry. Give me a break, this is not news.

A Savage Nation

I find myself listening to a lot of conservative talk radio while driving in my car. I sporadically will turn it to a liberal station just to gain a better perspective on differing views. But man, what is Michael Savege's deal? I can't figure out whether or not he's a on the right or the left. He bashes on what the conservative are doing then he bashes on the liberals, but then says that if the democrats get into office the nation is going to hell in a hand basket. Interesting stuff.
However, I can honestly say that I just cannot not buy into the ideas of the political Left. I don't believe people should have their hands held through life. The government should indeed be available as a safety net to a certain extent, but with all the talk from Hillary and Obama about universal health care, are you joking? How can people buy into this stuff? Its the people such as this that will bring this country down. The people that feel entitled to "free" everything simply because our nation is America. If you want those things move to Canada. I believe in the merit system, you are only worth as much as you have done. So why should I have to pay for the 40 year old guy who can't afford to pay health insurance, when he has had a 27 year head start on me in terms of having the opportunities living in this country brings? There is no excuse for this. The people I feel for are the children. They are sucked into those types of situations, they don't have a choice and they cant help their own circumstance. The parents are a different story. If universal health care is a pressing issue then make it available to kids up until they turn 18. When they turn 18 they are legally considered an adult, their parents then face no binding obligation to care for the child any longer... should be the same instance for the government.

The Time Machine

Back to the Grind

Ooooooooohhhhhh boy. Coming back to Missoula from California has been pretty rough. Going from 80 degree weather and shorts on the beach to bundling up and freezing in 35 degrees has been quite the adjustment. Coming back to Missoula reminds me of how small this town really is. Its amazing how I would tell myself how much this town has grown and perhaps how significant it has become. I was wrong. This town has a long way to come, and go for that matter. However I still do love this place. I look forward to visiting when I have moved after graduation. Then I can recall all the time I spent here and think about how I couldn't wait to leave. I m sure there will come a point when it is I cant wait to be back.

Close Up Camera One

And for my first trick.........my first blog entry. I don't believe that there is a better time to start a blog than now. After Spring Break. This was my first time in Southern California, and now I can finally understand all the hype. I dig the weather but the traffic... forget about it. I did the typical stops in Hollywood, Universal Studios, and of course the beach. However move down the coast a bit to the little "Beach Cities" as they are referred to on the interstate signs to Laguna Beach. Yeah the same place where the teenie boppin' MTV show was filmed. To be honest it was the one of the coolest little towns I have been too. Very comfortable, very warm, very.... well California I suppose. Lots of BMWs, Benz, Lexus, and Range Rover filled streets, defiantly a place I could get use too. Aside from the $125 taxi rides from LAX.