And more positive news, I bought a Led Zeppelin Box Set today

Don’t judge a book by its cover, right?

Post sponsored by The Bronze Faucet.

Oh, HRP-4C cost 3 million dollars to develop. So we might have to wait a while before we can let one of her sisters roam around our houses.

For more details check this ABC News article.

Johannes Brahms was a German composer, and is Condoleezza Rice’s favourite composer. She calls Brahms’ music “passionate but not sentimental”.

NASA scientists late last week were hopeful that the latest attempt to fire up the Hubble Space Telescope’s long-dormant backup computer will be successful.

An effort to start the system a week earlier was halted because of two “anomalies,” said Art Whipple, chief of NASA’s Hubble systems management office at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Whipple said the main systems on the 18-year-old orbiting observatory were running smoothly late last Thursday, shortly after the backup computer was restarted.

Read more…

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve heard of the 700 billion-dollar bailout plan (politicians prefer the term “rescue plan”) of the Bush administration to keep major financial institutions from collapsing. Now most of us will agree that the situation requires some dramatic action. Yet we have different opinions on whether it is wise to spend 700 billion dollars to help out these companies.

$700 billion is an impressive amount, just to illustrate how much it really is:

- It’s about the same amount as the entire Australian economy (IMF, PPP).
- You need about 12 times Bill Gates to come up with that amount.
- The Iraq War cost almost the same so far.
- You can buy more than 2 million Rolls-Royce Phantom sedans with 700 billion bucks.

The US House of Representatives has already rejected the bailout plan. Today, the US Senate will vote on a slightly modified package. Proponents of the plan insist that this package is needed to keep the US and global economy running, opponents fear that it will reward money hungry bank executives.

What do you think? Use the money to feed the poor, a fancy war against Iran, or perhaps not spend anything?

We have to survive on old images from Hubble:

“Of course it’s worth upgrading Hubble,” said Mario Livio, an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. “The part that failed even has as redundant side to it. If all goes well, science operations could be up as early as the end of this week. So you shouldn’t worry about that. It’s definitely not the end of the world.”

The now-broken electronics box had been working steadily since the telescope launched in April 1990.

“These things happen. It’s been up there in orbit, outside the protective atmosphere of the Earth for 18 years,” said Heidi Hammel, an astronomer at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Co. “Glitches happen. It’s an incredibly robust instrument. Think about your computers — you don’t still use computers that are 18 years old.”

Full article : Is Hubble Worth Saving?

Good move if you ask me.

Europe’s mobile phone operators are to be warned to cut the cost of texting and internet access while customers are overseas or face regulation.

A text sent while abroad can cost as much as 49 pence ($0.95) and a study found that transferring 1 megabyte (MB) on average costs £4.11.

Mobile phone companies have begun to cut costs, with O2, Vodafone and 3 lowering some tariffs.

Click here for the article at the BBC.

For the first time the report provided a detailed break down of the classes of Internet users in mainland China. Amongst the Internet population in 2007, the rising trend in Internet users from various social levels is very apparent. Specifically the growth in users aged under 18 and over 30 is bigger than any other age group. Internet users educated at junior high school level and under are also increasing faster than other social groups; more and more low-income earners are starting to get in touch with the Internet.

Click here to read more..

It arrived 2 days ago. The KEF speakers are not here yet, so had to hook up my JVC speakers to the receiver. The sound quality was already way better. Clarity and volume both increased. Both Harman / Kardon and KEF are renowned audiophile brands. I might have to wait for another week until the speakers arrive, I am looking forward to that day. It’s like a kid getting his or her new toy.

Harman Kardon AVR 247 specifications:

- 7.1-Channel A/V Receiver With HDMI™ Switching and Audio/Video Processing
- 350W: 50 watts x 7 (All channels operating at full-rated power), THD <0.07%, 20Hz - 20kHz into 8 ohms
- 595W: 85 watts x 7, THD <0.07%, @1kHz into 8ohms

Click here for the official product page.

Kef KHT-3005 specifications:

- Frequency Range : 70Hz - 55kHz
- Maximum Output : 108dB SPL @ 1m
- Impedance : 8?

Click here for the official product page.