romacities notepad

Acid3 is a test page from the Web Standards Project that checks how well a web browser follows certain selected elements from web standards, especially relating to the Document Object Model (DOM) and JavaScript.
When successful, the Acid3 test displays a gradually increasing percentage counter with colored rectangles in the background. The percentage displayed is based on the number of subtests passed. It does not represent an actual percentage of conformance as the test does not keep track of how many of the subtests were actually started (100 is assumed). In addition to these the browser also has to render the page exactly as the reference page is rendered in the same browser. Like the text of the Acid2 test, the text of the Acid3 reference rendering is not a bitmap, in order to allow for certain differences in font rendering.

I personally decided to check how all latest browsers available on the market today (mostly in beta status) responding to ACID3 tests.

Starting with my favorite Google Chrome version 6.0.472.14

As you see Google Chrome passed the test successfully which is actually only recently introduced. A few builds back Google Chrome browser was failing ACID3 test almost at the beginning of the test.

Next in line Internet Explorer 9 preview 4

Internet Explorer 9 preview 3 was failing the test at start just like Google Chrome’s previous builds, but the version that just came out today – IE9 Preview 4 is getting close to the finish line at 95/100 of the ACID3 test. This is good news for those who like or prefer a browser from Microsoft. Internet Explorer 9 preview 4 is actually the fastest browser today. It uses not only CPU, but GPU of your computer. More on this you can research on the Internet Explorer 9 page.

Opera 10.60

Opera frankly didn’t surprise on this 100/100 result and it was expected. They reached 100/100 a few builds back and it’s been smooth since then. This is the most paradoxical browser because it’s probably the best, but is least popular. I’ve got an idea: Google should purchase Opera .

Next browser I tested was Safari 5.0.1

Safari has just surprised us too with its latest build by passing 100/100 ACID3 test. Just couple weeks ago it was failing and most recent version is passing the test. I was able to test only on Safari for Windows. Mac OS was not available for me as even on Macbook Pro I installed Windows 7 .

Believe it or not, I almost forgot to test Firefox a favorite browser for many and most popular after Internet Explorer. I tested latest Firefox 4.0 beta 2.

I was surprised by this Firefox result in a negative way. 97/100 is very good, but I was expecting it to simply pass at this stage of the most popular open source browser in the world. It is expected to be 100/100 by Firefox 4.0 release though.

Now before we finish, I’ve got a surprise for you. I have also tested a Safari browser on iPhone 3GS with iOS4.01.

Before writing this blog post, I was not even planning to post iPhone results here and I was expecting the browser to just fail. When I got the 100/100 result, I could only say: WOW. As you can see on the image the ACID3 test shows 100/100, but it still kind of failed a little in the right top corner by showing red X and a red corner-shaped figure to the right of the text. More and more people use Safari on iPhone and iPod Touch every day, so this mobile browser test shows we can browse standard compliant web sites even on our SmartPhones.

What do you think about ACID3 tests passing and not passing on new browsers? Do you even care about such things and do you think it is important? Please post your comments below.

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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For all of you who don’t yet know, Google Chrome browser is the fastest growing browser today and is one of the best and my favorite. Other than its great extensions, features and w3 standardization, it has the best look and appearance. It’s very minimalistic and the main goal of Google Chrome is to show a web page as much other than the browser itself.

Google Chrome is open source browser based on Chromium Project and just like most open source projects, Google Chrome has a few cycles or channels of updates:

• Stable Channel
• Beta Channel
• Dev Channel

The last channel – Dev Channel is the most interesting. It is stable enough and is being updated about once a week. I’ve been using Dev channel for many months now. Just recently Google has added another channel that is being updated almost every day, aka Nightly Builds. It’s called Google Chrome Canary Build .

I’m still cautious to use the Canary Build for all my tasks but at first look it seems very stable and I might start using it more and more. What’s very convenient is that Google allows to sync all my bookmarks, settings, extensions with Google Apps cloud storage and if I do any changes on one Chrome or one computer, it will be applied to all my computers! So switching between chrome versions is a breeze.

Since I’m using Dev channel more, I didn’t notice the new updated theme that is coming soon, but it’s already available on the Canary Build.

Remember Google Chrome is all about providing a user more real estate of the web page and minimizing pixel by pixel how much Google Chrome is taking off your screen.

See the screenshots below and compare. The changes are small but very cool.

Google Chrome 6.0.472.11 dev

Google Chrome 6.0.480.0 canary build

Notice that Google Chrome Canary Build has also different logo – yellow

If you like Google Chrome and excited about the updates or maybe you are an update freak and have a Software Updates OCD, I will not torture you anymore and here you can get the latest versions of Google Chrome dev and canary builds:

Google Chrome Dev and other Channels

Google Chrome Canary Build (nightly build)

Enjoy and leave your comments below. I can’t wait to see critics and judgments. I’m talking to you Firefox lovers. I’ve been one of you before. Just try using Chrome for 1 week.

I am pro-Microsoft and would love to use IE9 maybe some day, but Google Chrome is a winner right now!

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Almost all ancient civilizations left behind megalithic structures – giant stone buildings, pyramids, etc. Many relics have been preserved to our days. We can see them around the world and wonder: who and how managed to build such cyclopean buildings?

Blocks weighing hundreds of tons are frequently encountered in the base of the Egyptian pyramids and the walls of temples around the world.

In Baalbek, Lebanon on the west side of the Temple of Jupiter in the masonry there is a so-called Trilithon – three huge limestone blocks weighing up to a thousand tons each. However, the heavy blocks are not at the ground level. Also at the top of the blocks you can find smaller stones, but it is still very impressive.

In the granite quarries of the Egyptian Aswan there’s an unfinished obelisk which weighs almost two thousand tons. It seems that ancient experts were convinced that they could successfully complete the job and deliver a stone colossus to its destination.

But how could they do it? It was impossible to achieve it manually by using man power. Traditional historians tend to believe in exactly that, but people with technical education believe that the megalithic structures scattered around the world is the handiwork of a completely different, unknown and highly developed civilization.

The discussions and debates about who could build such structures have lasted for a few decades, but no one can convince opponents of their cause.

Meanwhile, there is a fairly simple way to put an end to this dispute. Think of it this way: many of us can determine what tools treated wood, because saws, hatchets and knifes leave a characteristic mark on a tree. The same happens to stones and a specialist can easily determine what instruments used on a stone surface.

Ancient Tools

During expeditions to Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Syria, Lebanon and Iran, a group of scientists has found evidence not only of simple stone technologies that belong to the ancient people, but the tools that are beyond the capabilities of modern equipment. This is not the only example – there are hundreds of them.

For example:

1. On a block of black basalt in the temple by the pyramid of the pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty Nyuserre from Abusir, there are traces of the circular saw. Moreover, the position of the disc during the surface treatment was changing. Remember, the black basalt is a very strong and durable material. It is virtually impossible to dig into it using primitive tools even a dozen centimeters. It would require more sophisticated equipment.
2. At the center of the Karnak Temple there was done a decorative V-shaped incision on the granite gates. Nowadays it is possible to make an incision, but it would not have such a sharp V-shaped angle because modern equipment will not stand such a stress.
3. In Ollantaytambo, Peru so called ‘ancient builders’ cut off a huge piece from an almost vertical cliff, thus creating a horizontal area similar to a parking lot or a landing spot on buildings. Then they cut the area into a grid of fine edges measured in millimeters.
4. Similar findings were made in Bolivia, Tiwanaku. At the destroyed monument Pumapunku there is a granite block with a very smooth vertical incision and round holes about a couple of millimeters in diameter.

So what does this all mean?

This treatment of the rocks implies an existence of a mechanical drive, because manually it was simply impossible to do such work. Thus there was some kind of equipment that ensured the functioning of the drive.

In addition, to handle such hard rocks as granite and basalt the ‘ancient masters’ must have had very strong tools.

Analysis of samples taken at Karnak and Ollantaytambo did not record any traces of copper or bronze at the cut end – hence, neither copper nor bronze tools have been used.

It was impossible to do using stone tools. And as we know, Egyptians and Incas did not use any other.

The message is clear: speaking of the ‘megalithic builders’, we must not imply the ancient Egyptians, Incas or Mayans, but consider some highly technologically advanced civilization.

This theory is being denied by modern historians, but our ancestors have never doubted the existence of such civilization. They called it the representatives of the gods, who lived side by side with people many thousands years ago. The evidence is considered to be myths, but there seems to be proof in many ancient legends that we know today.

Revived Legend

During many expeditions scientists have detected traces of events that are reflected in mythology – the so-called ‘war of the gods’. Some buildings in Peru and Bolivia have preserved traces of total destruction comparable to the effects of mass explosions.

For example:

1. In Sacsayhuaman, Peru there was some sort of a mysterious force that effortlessly pulled hundred ton pieces of the temple that were carved in the granite rock and scattered them in different directions.
2. At the top of the pyramid at Tiwanaku, Bolivia there’s a huge crater, which historians and archaeologists think was dug by Indians and have named a sacred pond. Frankly, there is a chaos of scattered multi-ton granite blocks around the ‘pond’ which is looking more like a result of a missile attack.

There is sometimes direct and sometimes indirect evidence of other legends:

1. In South America there are numerous traces of a tsunami that devastated high-tech facilities in urban areas at an altitude of more than two and a half miles! The tsunami left behind distinct traces in the form of mud deposits along several hundred miles of the Pacific coast.
2. In Cholula, Mexico there is a giant pyramid completely covered with many-layer clays. Clay is normally a part of mud torrent, but there are no mountains anywhere near where the stream could go down from with such a disastrous power. Historians assert that the Indians have been manually filling pyramid with mud to hide it from the Spanish conquerors. But how did they manage to do such massive work that is comparable to the construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza so quickly?

There’s so much data and real evidence accumulated about catastrophic events on a global scale on different continents that the data of archeology, paleontology, geology, climatology and other sciences lets us restore almost all the details of the Great Flood.

According to the data reconstruction we are dealing with the consequences of a giant meteorite that stroke the Philippine Sea about the middle of the 11th millennium BC (~13500 years ago). The disaster has affected megalithic structures and the unknown civilization.

• Will we ever know more about the great civilization?
• Where did they come from?
• Is their origin a planet other than Earth?
• Were there many other civilizations?

The questions and answers are extremely controversial but if you are an open-minded person, stay tuned for an incredible adventure we are going to take in this blog’s history and science categories.

Please post your questions, thoughts and suggestions below in the comments area. If you liked the article, please rate and retweet.

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Once upon a time in a data center far, far away … there lived a boy named Anaxagoras. Now you may ask yourself, “Why such a name?” Well, being highly skilled in the areas of science and mathematics, Anaxagoras was named after an ancient Greek philosopher who also happened to excel in science and mathematics. No one knows how Anaxagoras came to be in the data center, but one day, around the turn of the millennium, he just simply appeared. One fact that is known however, that Anaxa knew his way around a computer like he knew his own name. He could repair a server with his eyes closed and both hands tied behind his back. Day or night, Anaxa could be found fiddling with this server or that one, always making improvements, always upgrading system hardware, always working. Anaxa loved servers so much; it was his dream one day to own his very own business. But not just any business, a successful web hosting company. His company would have so many servers; he would have to build his own data center just to house them. He would have so many servers; he could run up and down the rows of the data center and never see the same server twice. Yes, this was Anaxa’s dream, there was only one problem, he didn’t have even one server.

One day while eating his lunch, Anaxa noticed some items sitting beside the garbage, some cables and boxes, nothing unusual. Then he saw something else, something that appeared to be a server. “It couldn’t possibly be,” Anaxa thought, “who would toss away such a treasure?” As Anaxa neared the garbage he realized that indeed it was a server. A server no one wanted. A server that was now his. This had to be his lucky day; finding a server after almost giving up hope of ever having one. Anaxa brought the server to his workstation to look at it. Just as he had suspected, the server had been misused. Covered in dust, hardware broken or missing and a case full of dents; Anaxa wasn’t sure if it would ever work.

Over the next several months, Anaxa spent every second on his server. Living in a data center, he had easy access to unattended parts or pieces of hardware that had been thrown away. He went through more hardware than he had ever seen, finding pieces that fit but often didn’t work. Using mismatched this and that; he replaced the main motherboard, inserted new memory sticks, added a brand new CPU and upgraded all it’s software. The case was tricky, he had to hammer in the dents, but eventually he got it all smoothed over, looking brand new. As a finishing touch, Anaxa gave his refurbished server a new shiny coat of silver paint. It was done.

Anaxa couldn’t believe it, after all the hard work he put in, his server was finally ready. Now all he had to do was hit the power and hope it turned on. Here it was, the moment of truth; Anaxa reached for the power switch, flipping it on with one finger, and … nothing. Once again, Anaxa flipped the switch, and … nothing. “What could be wrong he wondered?” “Oh, I forgot to plug it in,” he said to himself foolishly. Anaxa plugged the server in and there it was, the quiet revolutions of the fan, the glowing luminescence of the LED light, the hypnotic sounds of each system speaking to one another, it was perfect. Anaxa had never been so excited, now he could finally begin fulfilling his dream.

He called his brand new web hosting company “ASPNIX”, combining two phrases which come from different sources. “ASP” which is a Microsoft technology for web applications and “NIX” referring to an open source giant called “UNIX.”

Being keen in mathematics, Anaxa knew that in order to grow a business the right way, he had to start from the bottom and work his way up, and that’s just what he did. In the beginning he had only five clients, but through hard work his client base grew to 50, and then 100, and then 1000. This growth allowed him to purchase more servers and grow even further. Never losing the passion he held with him, Anaxa cared for his servers with diligence and made sure everything ran the way it should. Consistently, Anaxa brought new technologies to his servers, which meant his clients were better taken care of, and by giving attention to his servers like he always did, his clients always would be taken care of.

Several years have now passed and ASPNIX is an established company. However not much has changed for Anaxa and his dream, at least not when it comes to what’s important. Providing clients with the most reliable servers, equipped with the newest technologies is still at the top of the list. Knowing everyone at ASPNIX is here all the time for support can give our clients peace of mind. Making sure our family is cared for is what it’s all about, because without you, Anaxa would still be sitting in the data center, fiddling around with this and that. Thank you!!!

The future is bright for the ASPNIX family and we are glad you are here to come with us and Anaxa!!!

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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