Fully Utilizing Your X-Core CPU

Almost all systems sold nowadays have at least a dual-core CPU, even
triple- or quad-cores are getting cheaper and getting standard in the
near future. But how to utilize your shiny x-core to it’s full
potential, with applications that are only utilizing one core ? With
Linux, which has strong multitasking capabilities as all unixoid
operating systems, there is an easy possibility to parallelize tasks
which are normally only using one core of an x-core CPU.

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Web development can be tricky and time-consuming. To be more effective and productive, we, designers and developers, can integrate useful tools in our daily routine. Also, handy resources can be very valuable as they can help us enhance communication with clients and other developers as well as improve the quality of our work. We are permanently looking for new tools, techniques, resources and services that can improve your workflow and increase your productivity.

In this post we present a couple of extremely useful and valuable tools and resources that we found over the last months. Please make sure to follow us on Twitter for a stream of useful resources, tools and design-related articles.

Getting Inspired: Interesting Redesign Projects

Boarding Pass / Fail
A boarding pass redesign project by Tyler Thompson, the Creative Director at Squarespace. How would you design a boarding pass? The result is very impressive.

You’re killing me, Zappos
Andrew Wilkinson’s attempt to redesign Zappos.

Dollar ReDe$ign Project
An attempt to rebrand the US Dollar, rebuild financial confidence and revive our failing economy. Created by Richard Smith.

Useful Front-End and Back-End Tools

ie-css3.js
CSS3 pseudo selector emulation for Internet Explorer 5-8. ie-css3.js allows Internet Explorer to identify CSS3 pseudo selectors and render any style rules defined with them. Simply include the script in your pages and start using these selectors in your style sheets — they’ll work in IE. An alternative is Offspring.js.

CorMVC
CorMVC is a jQuery-powered Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework that can aide in the development of single-page, web-based applications. CorMVC stands for client-only-required model-view-controller and is designed to be lowest possible entry point to learning about single-page application architecture. It does not presuppose any server-side technologies, or a web server of any kind, and requires no more than a web browser to get up and running.

Typograph
A typographic tool that generates CSS for beautiful web typography, according to traditional scale and vertical rhythm.

Venkman JavaScript Debugger project page
Venkman is the code name for Mozilla’s JavaScript Debugger. Venkman aims to provide a powerful JavaScript debugging environment for Gecko-based browsers namely Firefox 3.x, the Netscape 7.x series of browsers, Netscape 9.x series, Mozilla Seamonkey 1.x and Mozilla Seamonkey 2.x. It does not include Gecko-based browsers such as K-Meleon 1.x, Galeon 2.x and Netscape 8.x. The debugger is available as an add-on package in XPI format. Venkman JavaScript Debugger has been provided as part of the Mozilla install distribution since October 3rd 2001.

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Having just got back from CES 2010 I’m exhausted and need to catch up at work.  In the mean time I’ll be taking some products I’ve received @ CES 2010 through their paces.  Here’s a quick list of products that I have and will have a piece coming shortly:

AblePlanet Prototype Headphones:  Can’t say much aside from they are the successor to the white sound isolation headphones.
OrbitSound T3 Portable Speaker
Tunebug Vibe
IvySkin Quattro T2
MiPlug T
BandShell
Yurtopia
KonoAudio iPopperz
Pineapple Rumble KW

Some manufactures didn’t have press demo’s available at the show and said they would send me a unit after.  I’m only going to list the ones I’m really looking forward to and that really have a promising future in the consumer and military market.

FrameWizard from FaceCake
DataJack
Wink Glasses
Kidos
i2i Stream XR from Aerielle
Casio EX-G1
AudioEngine w1
Album2
5barz

Some interesting things to come.  Check back shortly for more info.  And remember, these won’t be just reviews or tech specs but rather also possible use cases and how these products fit into personal military usage and lifestyle.

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This is a short summary post as there was not much here to see.

CISCO CES 2010 Press Confrence
This is a short summary post as there was not much here to see.
Cisco CEO John …  talked about cisco’s move into the consumer market and how they believed that the consumer market was the next target for Cisco.
They talked about the Flip and the new MinoHD and how popular its becoming.  But we’ve already seen the flip and it’s not something new and still has its downsides.  Hey, what can you expect for a $100 camera.
The focus of the show was the home video confrencing kit that cisco plans to bring to market.  They said field trials will begin spring 2010 so we can expect a lauch by the end of 2010.  Again, this is not a new product but rather cisco’s existing stronghold in video confrencing brought over to the consumer market.  They slapped a slick UI on it and called it a done deal.
I poked around the PR people to get an accurate answer as far as bandwidth requirements.  The only reply I got was that it requires 1.5 mbps symmetrical (up/down).  How this possibly makes sense is beyond me as household dynamic broadband is never symmetrical and upload speeds often cap out at 756 kbps, while download speeds get into the 20 MBps.
I also posed the question of what if you actually do have 1.5 MBps up on a home broadband service, what about the other factors in play?  The PR rep indicated that that is why cisco is doing the field trials.  I think this is another product they are jumping into head first without thinking.  They don’t seem to be taking into consideration other network factors that happen on a shared network.
Anyhow, this is becoming more of an opinion piece, but the point is this is looking more like vaporware that will never happen.

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