Google will pay “up to $10” for collecting data for a local business! This is great, I was very impressed when Google started taking pictures of streets in major cities like New York City (see here). Now Google is taking one step further and adding to it’s large information database, the goal of the program is to essentially expand the popular Google Maps application. It’s $2 for each successful submission that Google approves and $8 when the local business that you canvassed approves of the information being accurate.

“As a Google Business Referral Representative, you’ll visit local businesses to collect information (such as hours of operation, types of payment accepted, etc.) for Google Maps, and tell them about Google Maps and Google AdWords. You’ll also take a few digital photos of the business that will appear on the Google Maps listing along with the business information. After the visit, you submit the business’ info and photo(s) to Google through your Local Business Referrals Center, and we’ll pay you up to $10 for each listing that is approved by Google and verified by the business.”

I’m a canvasser for NYPIRG so this job should be easy for me, the only difference between this and canvassing for NYPIRG is that the complete rates will be a lot higher, you will get more “YES” and you get to work when you want! I already knock on hundreds of residential homes a week so this won’t even phase me! I’m not saying this to say NYPIRG isn’t a good job, in fact, it’s the best job I’ve ever had!

So go ahead sign up! Also see the FAQ’s. It looks like anyone can make lots of money doing this!

New stylish sleek design, that’s the description from the visuals of the Apple iMac announced today. I have to say it’s not much different than the mock-ups that were recently rendered. I noticed that Apple is again moving the design away from it’s simple white polish and moving towards the brushed metal and black theme. This iMac almost looks like an iPhone, in fact it looks better than the iPhone. It also comes with an ultra thin keyboard that almost looks like a piece of metal cardboard (this is the new keyboards that have been rumored as well). The new thin keyboard now features a on/off button to it’s top right hand side which is very convenient.

The design is awesome (5 out of 5 stars) but the technology is just as impressive!

Intel Core 2 Duo processor

All iMac models feature advanced dual-core Intel processors along with other improvements that pump up the performance. Learn more

Glossy widescreen display

Your photos, movies, and games will come to life with richer, more vivid colors. Choose from 20- and 24-inch widescreen displays. Learn more

Built-in wireless

Banish the clutter. The latest 802.11 Wi-Fi networking and Bluetooth technologies come standard with every iMac. Learn more

Advanced graphics

New ATI Radeon HD graphics deliver a stunning visual environment with more vivid, lifelike images. Learn more

Built-in iSight camera

The high-quality camera is so neatly integrated, you’ll hardly notice it’s there. Learn more

More storage and memory

Now you have more room for your video and photo collections. And iMac now supports up to 4GB of memory. Learn more

Connections and ports

iMac has all the ports you need for your USB, FireWire 400, and FireWire 800 devices. Learn more

SuperDrive

The slot-loading SuperDrive lets you play and burn your own CDs and DVDs. Learn more

Apple has really taken over the computing market in terms of sleekness and design. Damn I want this so bad. But if I’m going to get a Mac, I’d wait till after October so they can come pre-installed with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Oh and other news, iLife 08 and iWorks 08 has also been announced and is shipping now! Apple fan boys haven’t always been good at guessing how unreleased products will look like, but this time it was pretty close. Take a look at this incredible mock-up!

Mock-up Video

More information about these 3 new products announced today, visit of course, Apple.com.

After several instances of failed attempts to install Beryl on my openSUSE machine, I’ve finally had time and decided to try compiz-fusion. Compiz-fusion is a combination of Compiz and Beryl which are both enhancements of different window managers in linux using C and OpenGL technology. Compiz is no different from Beryl and Compiz-fusion is a Beryl with plugins from Compiz.

Before I go into the steps to install it, I’d like to map out my current system specifications first:

Processor: Pentium 4 3.0e HT
Memory: 1Gb DDR PC3200
Video: GeForce 4 MX AGP

As you can see, the specs are not that great, my processor is about 3 years old, the graphics card is about 4 but it runs flawlessly with the default settings of Beryl Manager and Emerald Themes. The developers made sure that you didn’t need “Vista Aero” type cards to run it which is great!

Okay, here comes the installation part, these exact steps worked for me. If you follow some tutorials online, there are extra steps that mess up your installation so if you have similar hardware like mine, then follow them. I will assume that you have nVidia graphics drivers for openSUSE already installed.

1) Add “http://software.opensuse.org/download/X11:/XGL/openSUSE_10.2/” to your YaST repositories.

2) Search in YaST and install the following: (Make sure no other Beryl installation is installed)

• beryl-core-snapshot
• beryl-plugins-snapshot
• emerald-snapshot : window decorator
• emerald-themes-snapshot
• aquamarine-snapshot
• beryl-settings-snapshot
• beryl-manager-snapshot

3) Enter the terminal or konsole under super-user mode and run the following:

	nvidia-xconfig --composite

	nvidia-xconfig --allow-glx-with-composite

 	nvidia-xconfig --render-accel

	nvidia-xconfig --add-argb-glx-visuals

	rcxdm restart

	beyrl-manager

	beryl

Thats it, by this point, beryl manager should be running and beryl should work without a problem. I have consolidated many steps into 3 simple steps that are easy to do. Feel free to post any questions or problems you may be having and I will be glad to troubleshoot it.

Currently migrating files from Windows hard drive.. goodbye Windows.