If you are a stuent yourself or know someone who is, listen up and listen good. Right now under the title The Ultimate Steal, Microsoft is offering Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 for a rediculous $64 Canadian for all acredited students! That means a discount of about 91% off the regular price. The offer is also available in the USA and other countries and gives students an all important leg up when it comes to learning and using the ubiquitous office software package.

The Office Ultimate kit contains not only the staples such as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint but also a series of tools that will greatly enhance learning and collaboration in the form of Groove, InfoPath and OneNote.

The name of this promotion couldn’t be more accurate; this truely is The Ultimate Steal. Makes me wish I was a student again just so I could get my hands on it. But be quick: Who knows how long this is going to last…

t’s back-to-school time and students the world over are being innundated with ads for the latest and greatest in PCs to help them through the coming year. Problem is with so many options it’s hard to figure out exactly what you need and what to get. Should I get a notebook or one of those new tiny netbooks? And what is a “desktop replacement”? Then there is the question of brand, processor, hard drive and other specs. I’m not surprised people are confused – people often turn to me as a tech expert and even I can’t come to a firm conclusion when it comes to buying a new notebook.

To help you get a better idea of what kind of computer you should get for school (whether you are a high-school student, at university or college or even a parent looking for something for your kid), here is Dabbler’s guide to buying a computer for school.

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With the introduction of Windows Vista Home Premium with its built in PVR (Personal Video Recorder) capabilities, the PC has taken a giant step toward becoming a permanent fixture in your living room. But who wants a huge and ugly PC tower propped up next to their TV? Sure, there are custom Home Theatre PC cabinets for sale (at exorbitant prices) but they are designed with the HTPC enthusiast in mind and rarely find their way into the homes of normal people. But now all that is about to change.

Dell Studio Hybrid

This week Dell announced their newest offering: The Studio Hybrid. This computer marks a whole new chapter in the way PCs are designed and intended to be used. The Studio Hybrid is a tiny and sleek unit about the size of a regular external hard drive that has everything built in – massive hard drive space, DVD or Blu-Ray player, DVI and HDMI, digital audio and lots of other options. And not only is it small, it’s cheap and effective. The base model is selling for $499 (though if you want to use it as an HTPC you’ll end up spending over $800 for an upgraded model) and Dell claims it uses 70% less energy than a conventional PC.

But what makes this computer interesting is the incredibly small and stylish form factor. Its curved design is accentuated by the ability to choose between a multitude of colored shells including a real bamboo housing. It is also designed to be placed either horizontally or upright to accommodate any space. Finally it has a slot-in disc drive so there are no annoying disc trays that can pop out and break off.

As far as I can tell, the Studio Hybrid’s small design is achieved by using laptop parts. This would also explain the low power consumption and cost. Of course it also means that you are severely limited in upgrades and expansions: For one you cannot install a TV tuner card in the computer so if you want to use it as an HTPC you have to get a USB tuner card for it (can be added to the order during purchase from Dell.com) and you can expect the computer to become sluggish and hard to use after a couple of years.

Is the Studio Hybrid for me?

What are you looking for in a computer? If you want a basic computer to do web surfing and word processing that also looks nice, this is definitely a good and cheap option. In addition it also looks great on any desk or table and ups the coolness factor of your house. If you want a basic HTPC running Windows Vista Home Premium one with a few upgrades like a better processor, more ram, a bigger hard drive and the USB TV tuner will work splendidly. If you are doing hard core video editing however, you should look elsewhere.

Let me put it this way: If I didn’t already have several defunct computers lying around my house I would probably buy one of these and use it in my living room. Though I’d wait until around or right after Christmas to buy it to let the prices come down a bit. That way Dell will also have time to smooth out whatever kinks are present in the early models.

On the outskirts of Silicon Valley lies LS9, a company that may just have found the solution for the world’s present oil crisis. The term ‘renewable petroleum” may sound like an oxymoron but to Greg Pal, Senior Director of LS9 Biofuels Company, it’s tangible reality. The dark substance in the jar above is remarkably, diesel fuel produced by genetically modified bugs. That’s right folks, someone has found a way to reproduce crude oil (which can be refined into other products like petroleum or jet fuel). Quite unbelievably, LS9′s bugs are single-cell organisms, invisible to the naked eye and start out as industrial yeast or nonpathogenic strains of E. coli, the DNA of which are modified so that when the bugs feed on agricultural waste like wheat straw or woodchips, the microscopic wonders excrete a substance that is almost pump-ready.

According to a Times Online article that I read, the company claims that this “Oil 2.0″ will not only be renewable but also carbon negative – meaning that the carbon it emits will be less than that sucked from the atmosphere by the raw materials from which it is made. But then it points out that LS9 has only been able to produce one barrel a week in a lab that takes up 40 sq ft of floor space. This means that with America’s weekly oil consumption of 143 million barrels, you would need a facility that covers about 205 square miles, an area roughly the size of Chicago.

33-year-old Pal claims however, that construction of a commercial-scale facility will be well underway by 2011, with the resulting oil production costing a mere $50 a barrel! Considering that existing oil deposits take what? 10 lifetimes to form? and are the biggest pain to dig for, extract, and transport, this is one lofty promise. But if this is all true and possible, I think ABC has found its next Bachelor.

Original article from Times Online.

Whether or not we can slow down global warming or curtail its devastating effects, I think planning for a worst case scenario is probably not a bad idea. You’ve all heard or read about the eventual rise in ocean levels that will lead to the disappearance of not just cities but entire countries, displacing tens of millions of people globally. So what’s the most logical solution? Live on water of course! According to 31-year-old award-winning Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut, by the year 2100, a large population of ecological refugees will live in amphibious cities like his latest creation: the Lilypad. This amphibian half aquatic and half terrestrial city will be able to accommodate 50,000 inhabitants and its fauna and flora will thrive around an artificial central lagoon.

Click on to see more of this fully sustainable, zero emission ecopolis! Read the rest of this entry »

My parents come to visit tomorrow and thus, I am vacuuming my apartment. But if I’m being honest, I usually walk around with socks on so that I don’t end up with dirty feet. It’s not that I’m unclean; I’m just really lazy, and vacuuming makes me work up a sweat that causes me to realize I’m embarrassingly not as fit as I once thought. Unfortunately, this extreme state of denial doesn’t change the fact that people I care about (and who, as family, have the right to openly criticize me) will be visiting tomorrow. With its patented Root Cyclone Technology, Dyson’s new Dyson Ball DC24 vacuum claims to have all the incredible suction power of a regular Dyson, with improved maneuverability to boot. With the hallowed hoover in hand, I took a swipe around both my apartment and my work to see just how great this little wonder is. Read the rest of this entry »

The wait is over. The Microsoft Zune will be available in Canada on June 13th. We first reported on this a few months ago and Stasia got The Goods on it soon thereafter. Now you can get your very own ‘iPod killer’ and start arguments with all the Cult of Mac members on the SkyTrain.

Today: Download free Zune software and join the Zune online community site at www.zune.ca

June 13, 2008: Zune players available in stores across Canada

Zune 80GB: SRP $249.99 CDN (available in black or red)
Zune 8GB: SRP $189.99 CDN (available in black, red or pink)
Zune 4GB: SRP $139.99 CDN (available in black, red or pink)

Details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Sick and tired of hearing everyone say “Just Photoshop it”? Well, if that’s because you don’t have the expensive software, then guess what? You can now join the club of users because earlier today, Adobe launched Photoshop Express! It’s a web-based application for anyone who wants to store, sort and show off digital photos with eye-catching effects without having to slave over a manual. And the best part? It’s totally FREE! So check it out and create your own visual masterpieces. Read on for more details! Read the rest of this entry »

Let the games begin! Put Apple and Microsoft in the ring and see who’s left standing. What’s the battle over? Portable media players. I bought my iPod about two years ago and never looked back. I carry it with me whenever I leave the house, just in case I’m left with a spare minute to kill. The Zune is Microsoft’s answer to the iPod, in a market completely dominated by the signature white earphones. We are living in an iTunes nation. After a month of trials, would I trade my mint green iPod for a sleek black Zune? It’s Jobs vs. Gates again…this should be quite the throwdown. Read the rest of this entry »

Erase my stress? As in gone? Completely? This is one claim I just can’t possibly believe. But the StressEraser by Helicor Inc. seems to think it can do just that. A life without stress has been a dream of mine ever since the day I could spell the word stress, so forgive my skepticism on this one. At $299 Cdn, it’s going to have to be pretty damn good to get my seal of approval. Let’s see if the StressEraser lives up to its name. I, Stasia “Stressed Out” Siscoe, am putting it to the test! Read the rest of this entry »