threegee

Third (or is it fourth?) generation Eee box coming real soon now. Much smarter.Fixes the (dumb) criticism that it doesn't have an optical drive.Gets rid of that awkward "front door".Adds performance with a dual core (four hyper-thread) Atom N330, and NVidia Ion graphics.Comes with a bigger hard drive (250GB) and 2GB RAM as standard.Shipped with Windows 7 Premium (not starter). It still has 'N' Wifi and Gigabit ethernet. At £330 this is actually better value than the original B202 still selling at around £200 (they bumped the price for a while due to shortages), or indeed any of the in-between models. Can you still bolt it on the back of a monitor/panel TV with a Vesa bracket? Dunno yet, but I'd be dissapointed if there isn't a Vesa bracket in the box as this was one of the coolest features. Asus Eee Box EB1501 I built an Atom N330 machine with an early chip a while back and compared it side by side with the original N270 Eee Box. It was significantly better on video, even with the same Intel graphics chip. The NVidia Ion graphics is way better though - which should make this a great media box! This is turning out to be a very successful format, now copied by the likes of Acer!

Bigger (11.6" screen) and more expensive than a netbook the Acer Aspire Timeline 1820PTZ is fitted with the latest 45nm dual-core ultra low voltage Pentium, and a decent graphics chip. I haven't seen any CPU benchmarks yet but I'd guess this packs at least three times the power of an Atom N270 based netbook, and perhaps more. So no problems with HD Video then; which is good seeing that it also has an HDMI socket to plug it straight in to your HD TV. But despite this raw computing power Acer are claiming an up to 8 hour battery life. That's 45nm chips for you, so roll on 32nm and beyond! Price? Well... this (with change), or an iPhone 3G? Talking of Apple, expect an announcement of a similar multi-touch machine from there in two or three weeks. Of course it will cost twice as much, have 1/10 the software available for it, and (to Appleheeds) be the only multi-touch machine ever made! Chances are it will use the same 45nm CPU if not the same graphics engine. Interesting to see if it has 'N' WiFi like the Acer or if Apple have fitted something a couple of dollars cheaper - to keep the price down! Added 4th Jan.: Link to Acer UK pages

Sorry - link fixed! Except your copy of it!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1239424/Russia-send-spaceship-knock-asteroid-Earth-threatening-path.html?ITO=1490&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailymail%2Fworldnews+%28World+news+%7C+Mail+Online%29 He was vague about the evidence of a possible hit but said he had heard from a scientists that the asteroid is getting closer. 'I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032,' he said. "several hundred million dollars" seems a much better buy than spending countless billions on climate change. And, the scientific basis of this "it seems to me" sounds a lot firmer. Plus, we get two shots at it seven years apart, and so can take turns scheduling them in peak viewing time. Think of the viewing figures for Armageddon: this time its for real! and Armageddon2: the last last picture show? You don't get those showing an Al Gore bollocksumentary! All in all a no-brainer with no need for yet another several hundred million dollar international junket. Where do we send the cheque Boris?

A lot more permission than you've got for that Golly! You don't know the grief that caused me with A. Nother moderator. It's only still there because I stood up (well, more correctly sat down) for your right to party!

For some strange reason Gordon Brown has stopped reminding us on a daily basis that the UK recession is a global problem, and the global warmers have shut-up (for now) in the face of near record low temperatures in the UK. But here's a real global problem that won't go away so easily - to diplomatically quote the Chinese: women's "different sense of distance". China shopping centre builds 'car park for women' Do we need special "parking bays ... one metre (3ft) wider than normal spaces" in Bedlington?

I'd have put this in the computer section but on reflection it has much wider interest: VAT goes up on 1st January and the Christmas rush is over, so now seems like the best ever time to buy that deferred purchase. Avoid inflated pre-Christmas pricing, and avoid increased tax. At first sight that seems 100% logical; but is it really? Tracking prices of desirable computer gismos I see very few bargains at the moment. Yes, there has been the odd gismo at an unbelievably good price, but they were quickly cleaned out, and at the moment there's not much on sale that wasn't available at similar prices in the run up to the festive season. So could it be that retailers are extending their Christmas pricing to catch those who have been deliberately deferring purchases until the sales? A sort of double guessing the market? I think that generally there's a strong case for believing this. It may be time to double guess the double guessers for a real bargain! In other words retail-wise things are set to go very very flat in the Spring (if not before), and retailers will have to respond to others slashing prices to move any stock at all. That VAT rise is only 2.5% and will be easily absorbed; in many cases a reduction wasn't really passed on in the first place, and was used to bolster margins. So unless a bargain is utterly irresistible there will be surely be a better one to be had by holding back a little. Sit on your money (or your credit card slack) for now must be the best advice.

Santa Lives! But sadly Top Cat is dead. Though at 91 that's a pretty good innings for a cat! Heard one of the Munich air disaster survivors just died too.

Have a Souper Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year From the GGG family to all Bedlington.co.uk members everywhere.

It's a rogue idea I know, but somehow I can't help being a builder of a very similar association. Wouldn't surprise me to learn they are sons is too!

// Sample code only, needs exception handlers ttd order_pizza( char* delAddr, enum pizzType, int pizzSize=8, int pizzTopping=NONE ); if (order_pizza( dadd, ptyp, psiz, ptop) > 45) { cancel_pizza(); order_fishnchips( dadd); post_message( "The Bedlington Consumer", "Slow Service!", comptxt*); } else post_message( "The Bedlington Consumer", "Good Service!", praisetxt*); while (eating) { poll_chat(); }

Nope. The clue was Bedlingtonians - think Bedlington.

Is there an order_a_pizza method yet? Suggested prototype: yumminess order_pizza( pizzType, pizzSize, pizzTopping, delAddr); Just starting work on a fist draft of htpdl: -- Hypertext Pizza Description Language

There's an even bigger laugh Mons. It seems that the two guys at computerwebstore that are attracting so many customer complaints both share the surname p**** Go on have a totally wild guess Bedlingtonians!

Not available in the UK (yet?) this Japanese netbook stores one screen under the other. It doesn't use one of the usual Atom chipsets but an AMD Neo / ATI graphics combo. There's built-in TV which you can watch on one of the screens as you work, though both screens form your desktop. The screen size is 10.1" x2 and the weight is 1.8Kg. Battery life is quoted as 4.5 hours max. ...and in case you don't think the idea will catch on, see: http://onkyodirect.jp/pc/dx/

Nice looking website with 100% glowing testimonials from happy customers which: "We have not changed or altered ... in any way what so ever". But, before you place an order google on the name first! Nuf said.

Internet wins! Should HM The Queen be nervous?

She had a low forehead, a dull grey eye, a vast pendulous nose, a huge mouth full of uneven teeth and a chin and jawbone... Ah, yes - the mandatory ugly sister!

It would fold before it got started.

If my dish rotator goes missing I now know where to look. Guess we won't be doing this on this four year old netbook then!

SM says 6 pm but I haven't found where that is stated. If that isn't the best time it's still somewhere to start from. But, the top of the chat forum seems a much beter place to show a window than in a side column of the main index. Enables people who don't want chat to ignore it, but chatty folk to still find it easily. Good move I think.

Too many Hollywood films? King Ralph (1991) ======================== Phipps: Sir Cedric! Sir Cedric! Good news. We've finally found an heir! Sir Cedric Willingham: That's wonderful, Duncan. Who is he? Phipps: His name is Jones. Ralph Jones. Sir Cedric Willingham: A good man? Phipps: [embarrassed] Well. He has his strengths and his weaknesses. You see, he's [uncomfortable pause] Phipps: American. Sir Cedric Willingham: Quickly, Duncan! The strengths! ---------- Phipps: When in public, a royal personage must refrain from chewing gum, using profanity, picking his nose, scratching his p... p... p... p... private parts and staring down the bust lines of visiting female dignitaries. Ralph Jones: What the hell! That's everything!

Don't believe Merlin. It's actually an IQ test to become a BNP MP.

I'm going to float the idea that live chat should be re-enabled over the holiday period.