(Part 7of7)
PREMIERE DATE: 9/20/2004
Drift Racing, Photoshop Bling, HTML Color Palettes
Top O' the Show
Alex and Kevin nonchalantly sauntered onstage escorted by a pair of "umbrella girls." What, may you ask, are umbrella girls? Well, many racing teams employ comely young women to wear tight outfits on race day and, well, carry umbrellas. (It can get pretty darn hot in the sun on a race track, you know.) Why Alex and Kevin would need the sun-shielding services of these women in an enclosed studio that's refrigerated to approximately 30 degrees Fahrenheit at all times is beyond us. But it probably had something to do with today's main topic, drift racing. That might also explain the heap of Yokohama racing tires (MSRP: $350 each) piled on the studio floor.
What's up with all the racing gear? Apparently, Yoshi has become a fan of the newfangled motor sport that involves sliding your car in a controlled sideways drift. "I want to do it all the time!" Yoshi declared. "I think I'm addicted." (Automobile drivers in the Los Angeles area may want to take note.)
Also, it's worth mentioning that our Firefox Throwdown is going swimmingly: Not only has spreadfirefox.com's challenge of 1 million downloads in 10 days get blown out six days early, but The Screen Savers is the #1 referrer with a commanding 27,000. (Second place goes to Overclockers Club with 12,000. "Bring it on, Overclockers Club!" raved a frothing Alex.)
TSS Live Calls
Call #1: Kevin of East Windsor, New Jersey has a 1998 Compaq with a 450 MHz Pentium 2. What can he do to improve its performance with a $100 budget?
Call #2: Tim from Broadview Heights, Ohio had his AOL account hacked, and he thinks it was from a bulk spam. Would a firewall have prevented this?
Drifting Away
Yoshi and Dan filed a taped report from the first-ever North American Formula D Championship for drift racing held just last August in Irwindale, Calif. While Dan preoccupied himself with the previously mentioned umbrella girls, Yoshi got into the pits with drivers to find out more about this new sport.
So what the heck is drift racing? Well, it's not a "race" in the traditional sense -- it's more of a showdown to see who can drift their car sideways with the most style and control. In other words, it's a fight with the laws of physics to look cool.
"It's figure-skating with cars," said Ken Gushi, the youngest driver on the U.S. drift circuit. (Ken had his driver's license suspended recently. "For all the young fellows out there, no drifting on the street," he said.)
American Formula D Champion Samuel "The Crazy Swede" Hubinette visited The Screen Savers and offered a small demonstration in the parking lot. Although he drives a Dodge Viper in competition as a member of Lateral G Racing (and is actually sponsored by DaimlerChrysler's racing unit, Team Mopar), Samuel smoked the tires on a new BMW. How did a Swedish citizen find himself drift racing in America?
"I'm used to sliding on snow and ice, so I thought I'd try it," said Samuel. "It's exciting for both the driver and the spectators. It's explosive -- you can watch it all happen in 30 seconds from start to finish."
Meanwhile, female racer Verena Mei aims to prove that drift racing isn't just for male competitors.
"There are a lot of challenges," Verena said. "People don't expect me to get in the car and be fearless. But every step of the way, I'm progressing."
For more information on drift racing, go here.
From Boring to Bling
Photoshop expert Bert Monroy made his way to our new L.A. studio to show us how to customize our rides the affordable way. With a few clicks of the mouse, you can see what your car will look like with everything from neon lighting to racing strips. For Bert's step-by-step directions, take a look at his article.
LED vs. Laser: Which Will Rule?
Kevin and Alex got the latest Logitech laser mouse to see how it'd perform against the tried and true LED models from Microsoft. The Logitech purports to have 20 times more sensitivity to surface detail than a traditional LED model. The guys placed both mice on a white surface and discovered that, yes, the Logitech's laser tracking was far superior. However, they still liked the feel of Microsoft's "Tilt Wheel" scroll button over Logitech's "Cruise Control" rocker. So if you're a gamer, you might consider staying with the ol' MS LED models.
Logitech MX 1000
Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0
Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer 2.0
Not shown on TV, but our favorite (corded) mouse for gamers is still:
Logitech MX 510
Sarah's Site of the Night: ColorMatch Remix
Need a little color inspiration for your next HTML adventure? Then give ColorMatch Remix may be source of your salvation. You pick the core color and this site will show you the complementary colors. Read Sarah's article for more info.
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