Community Open Day - 16th Feb - Kuwait

The Porsche Virus, part II

Another video from that wonderful experience I had yesterday.

I've been infected, with the Porsche Virus!

My brother-in-law, God bless him, was able to get me an invitation to the annual 'Porsche World RoadShow', where a number of people get the opportunity to test drive a number of Porsche's.

By test drive, I don't just mean, take-it-around-the-block test drive, I mean, a real pedal-to-the-metal test drive. I always heard about 3.6 second 0-to-100 acceleration and 220+ kilometer-per-hours speeds, but this is the first time EVER that I actually experience this.

Among the cars we tested were: 3 Cayennes (a Turbo, an S and naturally aspirated one), 3 Carreras (a 4GS, a Cabriolet and a normal one) and a Boxster S.

I mean, we were on fire! Naturally we had police escort. I took pictures (and a coupla videos) of the speed-o-meters while driving (yes, I'm mad!) just to prove to myself that this wasn't a dream; and to show everybody that I really did this!

I wish they'd invite me next year, and the year after that...  and the one after that...

My favorite one was the Cayenne S.

Check out the video!

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/v/lCyOE0dPlgI

Microsoft's Zune: Round 2

Ok for all of you out there who take their music seriously; Zune 2 is out. Yes, and it comes in new sizes, colors, capacities and of course, prices.

Here are a few of the update details for Zune 2 (source: ZuneScene):

1. Glass: The plastic screen has been replaced with actual glass. On a hardness scale of 1-10 where 10 is a diamond and 1 is an iPod, glass is 5.5. This is a major improvement over the Zune 30.
2. Video Out: The new Zune 80 will have a video out resolution of 720x576 maximum. This is for TV output and easily beats the original Zune's 320x240 output. The LCD itself is the same 320x240 however. Warning to Zune 4/8 shoppers, there is not video output to TV on those flash memory units.
3. Smaller: Yes the Zune 2 is much smaller in size this generation. It actually weighs less than the latest 80gb iPod. This weight difference could be and advantage for Tour de France competitors and people who don't like to weigh down the school backpack with hefty devices.
4. WiFi: Would you like to be the first on the block to sync your player from the car in the driveway? Very 007-ish, Q would be proud.
5. FM: Most players require an expensive ($49) add on accessory that sticks out the bottom of the player. Built in FM is just smart.
6. Squircle: The Zune Pad offers both tactile d-pad type control and also touch sensitivity. Have your cake and eat it too.

I'm actually considering one!

Links:
http://www.zune.net/en-US/meetzune/
http://www.zunescene.com/
http://www.news.com/2300-1041_3-6211316.html?tag=ne.gall.rbcs

MSDN Roadshow: Gaining Insight Tour 2007

I've just received an email (actually I received the email yesterday but this sounds better) about Microsoft's upcoming MSDN and Technet Roadshow. This is Microsoft's technology promoting tour of the Gulf region. If you've never attended one, this is your chance to do so.

This time their sideline is 'Gaining Insight Tour'. Insight into what? Here's the list:

• Windows Server 2008
• SQL Server 2008
• Visual Studio 2008
• Silverlight

Plus, there are sessions on:

• Unified Communications
• Virtualization, and
• IIS7

Coming to a theatre near you! Check it out!

Links:
https://profile.microsoft.com/RegSysProfileCenter/wizard.aspx?wizid=e1dcb941-a365-4d4b-8e0f-1c3a8946ecb1&lcid=1033

Visual Basic Power Packs 2.0

Line and Shape controls, PrintForm component, and Printer Compatibility Library Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Power Packs 2.0 includes a new set of Line and Shape controls and updated versions of the two previously released Visual Basic 2005 Power Packs, the PrintForm Component and the Printer Compatibility Library. All three are now included in a single assembly making them even easier to use and redistribute with your application.

Links:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vbasic/bb735936.aspx

Partnership: Microsoft & Facebook

Hey, all you Facebook fans out there, Microsoft and Facebook have launched a partnership and Microsoft has released a 'Facebook Developer Toolkit' which allows you to create applications for Facebook using Microsoft Popfly and Visual Studio Express.

You can even create a Windows Forms application that connects to Facebook using Facebook's API!! Now that I like!

Enjoy!!

Links:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/express/bb510381.aspx