Yestrday google released their own browser called Chrome.  You can download it from www.google.com (link under the search box)

Goolge also have a comic to explain some of the new features of the browser at http://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/

The first thing I noticed was how stripped down and uncluttered the interface is. Google has also integrated the address bar with the search bar.  So instead of going to a search engine site or using a search bar, you can simply type your search terms in the address bar and it will return your results in the main window.  The search engine it uses for this is selectable by you and you can change it at any time.

Another nice feature is that the default homepage contains thumbnail links to your most visited websites, and your most recenlty used bookmarks are on the right hand side.

Default Homepage

You can enable the bookmark bar and add your bookmarks directly to it.  You can also group it in folders.  All your other bookmarks will be kept on the right hand side in a folder called “other bookmarks”.

Bookmarks bar

Like most browsers these days it also supports tabbed browsing.

On the right of the address bar is the page and settings icons.  With the page icon you can open new windows or tabs etc. 

Page options

You can change your default settings using the settings icon.

Settings icon

Settings

Chrome also has a nice advantage in that every tab runs in its own memory space – this means that if something in a tab crashes, only that tab will go down and not the entire browser.  Chrome also has its own taskbar where you can monitor how much resources a particular tab uses.

Chrome Taskbar

On the privacy side it also has a feature –incognito mode- where you can browse a page and it will not show up in your history.  It will not save any of your searches in this mode.  It will also wipe the cookies once you close it.  You can open an incognito window from the page options or rightclick on a link.

incognito mode

I’ve only used Chrome now for a few hours, but so far it seems like a nice alternative to the others that are out there.

Last week after I finaly finished GTA IV I had some free time on my hands. Instead of using it in any meaningful way I did what any responsible adult would do and go and waste it!

I surfed the web and found the following site: http://www.morphthing.com . On this site there are pictures of celebraties you can mix and match to morph their faces. After a while this became a bit boring and I decided to register and upload my own images.

I quickly took this picture using my Nokia N82.

My picture

Since The Dark Knight is the flavour of the month, I got this nice picture of the Joker.

The Joker

I then morphed the two to get the following one:

Riaan as the Joker!

Before you can start morphing your uploaded pictures, the site will take you through a brief wizard getting them ready. This basically involves telling the program where the morphing points are on the picture.

Here are some of my other morphs.

Riaan-Gollum

Riaan-Conan Obrien

Riaan-Arnold Schwarzenegger

Riaan-Daniel Craig

My review of The Dark Knight

A few weeks ago I went and saw the new Batman movie – The Dark Knight. Before I continue I must confess that I am and always was a huge Batman fan and will always be biased in favor of anything that includes the Batman.

Until Batman Begins came along my favorite Batman was the one from the animated series (voiced by Kevin Conroy) and off course the comic books.

Batman and Joker

With the Batman of Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton in the 80’s and 90’s I really missed the dark, brooding, introspective Batman from the comic books.

Then Christopher Nolan came along and gave the Batman series a well deserved “reboot” with Batman Begins. This opens the door for The Dark Knight to really kick off without having to do too much explaining in terms of back story, etc.

So, on to the Dark Knight. There are some spoilers here, so if you still want to see the movie, don’t read on!

For me it’s the first “comic book movie” that can really stand alone as a proper crime drama, almost like The Departed or Heat. It was shot on location in Chigago and this gives it a real gritty feel and rooted in reality.

The film kicks off with a bank robbery by The Joker and his mates. This co-incides with Batman contemplating retirement and handing the torch as the defender of Gotham to Harvey Dent. Harvey is Gotham’s DA and its “White Knight”. Fighting the good fight in the courts and in City Hall, not confined to the shadows like Batman – Gotham’s “Dark Knight”.

However, with the new menace on the block, Batman has to pull out all the stops to save Gotham and himself from being pulled under by the shear madness of The Joker.

Most of the hype around the movie has been around the late Heath Ledger’s portrail of The Joker. Believe me, this hype is not without merrit!! Heath delivers a fine performance, delving into the demented character of the Joker and bringing it to life like no other actor could so far. Another “twist” is that there is no backstory for the Joker. He simply arrives on the scene and leaves a trail of death and destruction in his path. The Joker is so unpredictable that everytime he is on screen you start to feel a nervous sense of dread. This guy is not some clown in a mask. He is a genuine lord of chaos that lives in the shadows of his own dementia. I think Alfred (played by Michael Caine ) sums up the Joker the best when he says: “Because some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

Batman and Joker

The Joker himself sums it up like this:

“Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just, do things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon’s got plans. You know, they’re schemers. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I’m not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. So, when I say, ah, come here, when I say that you and your girlfriend was nothing personal, you know that I’m telling the truth.

It’s the schemers that put you where you are. You were a schemer, you had plans, and uh, look where that got you. I just did what I do best. I took your plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Hm? You know what, you know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!

Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh and you know the thing about chaos, it’s fair.”

The Dark Knight is a dark (almost black), uncompromising movie with no happy ending and that should satify both the comic book and crime genre lovers. Never during the 2,5 hours do you shed the sense of fear and dread for the saftey of Gotham city or its citizens.

Even if you don’t like Batman, or comic book movies, you should go and see this one. You will be surprised.

I haven’t written on my new blog for a couple of weeks now.  The main reason for this is the fact that I got my hands on GTA IV (Xbox360) and has been trapped in Liberty City for most of the time!

One word to describe GTA IV is “amazing”. 

The story starts with your arrival in Liberty City by boat.  You play the part of Niko Bellic a Russian immigrant with a dodgy past.   Here you team up with your smart-talking cousin Roman who has a taxi company and has a passion for gambling and mixing with the wrong crowd.

Liberty City is loosely based on New York and the environment is so full and rich it’s almost good enough just to take a walk and listen to all the people around you.  There are street vendors, beggars, gangsters and cops all over the place. 

Each part of the city has its own unique look and feel.  There are also a lot to do when you’re not out stealing, hustling or killing for the all mighty dollar.  You can visit bars, pool halls and go bowling.  If you feel like it you can go on a helicopter tour for a few dollars.  The better option (and a lot more fun!) is to steal a chopper and go fly round the city.  There are bikes and boats and the subway too. 

A nice touch is the fact that on some missions you can choose whether a target lives or dies.  The decisions you make will influence your options later in the game.  You also have a cell phone this time around.  Using it, you can call any of your contacts to go out with them to a bar, play pool or even take them out to a strip club.  This is useful for networking and getting more and more jobs from them.  You can even dial 911 to send a paramedic if the hospital is too far away!

You also have access to the internet and email which you can also use for your missions. 

The graphics, sound effects, game play and storyline compliment each other extremely well.  The game also eases you into the controls and how you can use the environment.  You also have a very nice GPS system to keep track of where you want to go without getting lost.

The most fun, as always, is to get your wanted level up and try and shake the cops and get out alive.  This time the wanted level is a bit different than previous GTAs.  When your wanted level is 1 a small circle will appear on your GPS.  This circle is basically the search area where the cops are actively looking for you.  Each time a cop spots you (while in the circle) the circle midpoint will move to where that cop is.  So if a cop car is chasing you and keeps you in sight the circle will also move with you and will be difficult to move out of.   As your wanted level increases the circle will get bigger and bigger. You can still go into a pay ‘n spray to change the colour of your car, but you will only loose your wanted level this way if there are no cops around to see you enter.

If you hijack a police car you can also use the onboard computer to access police files and search for targets.  Another nice touch is the fact that you can call a taxi to take you to a destination instead of driving there yourself.  The soundtrack is really great – 19 radio stations having each a unique sound.  You can also watch TV when you are in your flat.

I can go on and on about how well built this game is, but the best way is for you to go out there and get your copy and experience it!