Ramsinks

Adventures: From iPhone to Android

2011-01-05T13:40:00.058-07:00

I've been an iphone user for a long time. I've owned every version of the iphone and know the product well. I'm use to syncing it with iTunes on the mac and love how simple it is. However I do jailbreak so I can do whatever I want with it. The primary use of the iphone for me is : texting, email, facebook, twitter, podcasts, music and random apps (games and tools). I use it for TomTom GPS while driving and sometimes as a remote control for the home theater PC. Sometimes I use the 3G for wifi tethering too. I like this device and the iphone4 is the best device i've ever used next to the 13in Macbook Pro.
I know of Android. I know it's openess and feature sets. I know it's GPS turn-by-turn is better than iphones. However I also know there is no centralized management system like that of iTunes. How do you subscribe to podcasts? How do you mange music on it? What is the best app store (there seems to be many)?. There are a lot of questions, all of which I'm about to find out.

This will be a log of me coming from the iphone and going to android for a full month.

I've ordered a mico-SIM adapter so I can take the SIM from the iphone4 and just put it into the NexusOne. I already have a grandfathered account for AT&T on unlimited data plane. I'm already full "google" - meaning that on my iphone all my contacts, Voice, docs, calendar, Reader and mail are already setup with Google and synced. This was kind of a foresight a while ago when I set this up so I could move back and forth from iphone to android at any given time, so the transition will be simple (i assume). So obviously Google ownz my ass (let's hope they always like me).

Will I switch all the way and never use iphone again? I doubt it, but I'm going to full jump in to android and not touch my iphone4 for a whole month. I'll update this post as I go through the experience.

NexusOne - 2.2.1

--------

Day One:
I received the Nexus One in the mail. It came with Android 2.2.1, 4GB Micro SD and no SIM. Just as I thought it would. I have already made a purchase of a Nexus One Otter box case, 16GB Class6 microSD. I am still waiting on these items.
So I booted up the N1, made my language selection, set it to connect to our wifi at work and am "playing".

First off, I notice the weight of the N1 vs iPhone4. The iphone4 has the bumper case on it, the N1 is naked. They feel really close to the same weight, but I'm pretty sure the IP4 is slightly heavier, but they are really close.

The iphone is faster and easier to spring awake than the N1 is from a sleep. Using one hand anyways. This is due to the iphone having the home button and slider next to the thumb you want to use ; the N1 makes you reach to the top edge, then back down to the bottom to slide and unlock. Sounds strange to say, but you notice it. As an iphone user, you attempt to use the little buttons or the little ball at the bottom to wake it up, but that wont work.

The N1 display is slightly larger than the iphone. The iphone4 is a higher rez screen, but the N1 looks so good, you don't notice it.

I logged into my google profile on the N1 and there was my life - brought down and put into place for me. My phone contacts, email and calendar where all there. I wont have a cell SIM in it until tonight, so I cannot make calls. But everything is working on wifi just fine. Knowing the Google Maps 5 just came out and caches maps for you (meaning you don't need to be connected to a cell tower once you plot a map), I installed this update and plotted from work to home. I want to see if I can use this turn-by-turn even without a cell signal. (ill update this once I know).

GPS and phone

Google Maps 5 worked as I thought it might. I didn't have a SIM in the phone so no cell service or was not online at all to get turn-by-turn directions. If you plot you course while on wifi, then you wont need to connect at all. Which is great. This tells me I could use the NexusOne as a standalone in-dash GPS/MP3 player with no service fees. Don't expect to be able to hit 'layers' and add Gas stations or anything new while driving with no connection however.

Although I must say, the TomTom on the iphone is a much better turn-by-turn GPS system. It's not built in and costs, but it's faster, smoother and more accurate. TomTom app is about 2GB. So it has all the maps locally - you don't need to have the iphone connected to a carrier either.

Got home, turned off both devices, pulled the microSIM from the iphone4, put it into the adapter and put this into the N1. Powered on the N1. It worked from the start for calls/SMS.

One major the N1 has over TomTom is the voice to address. Just speak where you want to go. That is much more efficient. Also Google GPS speech got some street names wrong.

Phone calls sounded fine. On speaker phone, this N1 sounds very 'tingy' and not very good. I think we all know though, you can buy the same iphone over and over again and the speakers always seem to be slightly differant. But for these two devices I have, the iphone on speaker phone sounds much better.

The call quality on the phone seems to sound a bit better on the N1 over the iphone4.

Notifications:

I am now noticing a blinking green light. I assume this is the magic "light button" that all BB owners get hard0ns for. Green must be for SMS, I thought I witnessed white earlier.. are there different colors or am I going crazy?

Anyways, moving on.

Of course having this pretty blinking notification light telling you to "get over here", you want to push this pretty button. When you push this flashing ball, nothing happens! (why is this thing here again?). You have to use the two-handed unlock to get the phone to be ready. Not only that but right after doing it I still don't know who sent me a message or what was said! So far I'm into many steps to get an SMS message.

Ok, it's not that bad, but hearing your phone and looking at the screen was too easy.. maybe I was spoiled.

Once android was awake and ready, you can now slide down the top of the screen to see your message. To reply, you have to hit another button. It's fine and works. I'm sure I've seen screenshots of people having messages on the lock screen. Maybe that's 3rd party software, maybe that's an app I need in the Market Place - not sure yet.

Network:

The wifi works great so far. I turned it off and the phone went to Edge. This is a T-Mobile Nexus One so I wont get 3G on AT&T with this, only 2G and wifi. Nevertheless, I didn't have to call AT&T, just swap the SIM and it works.

TV Media:
I was installing applications. It then hit me. Android users always boasted about flash.. and how wonderful it was. I then tried to find the apps for Hulu and Netflix. Well, they don't exist. I have been enjoying Netflix and Hulu+ on the iphone4 in the past few weeks. We know it will come, but as of today these two main apps don't exist.

(no really, why do I have this little ball on the phone?)

2nd Day: (alarms, notifications, 2g streaming)

Woke up an hour late. The alarm went off at 8am as it should have, then I hit snooze. That's the last thing I remember. Not sure what the default snooze alarm is (someone told me 10min), but I need to make sure it's working.

I jumped in the car, hit the Pandora app (still no sync cable yet) and drove to work. Streaming Pandora over Edge was fine.

I'm noticing this little light ball. I've seen yellow, white, blue and green flashes. It seems it's a different color depending on what notification you are getting. This means I should be able to set certain applications to certain colors - which is cool, I'll look at that later.

However I'm still not sure why this is a "ball button". They could have just made this a flush LED. I wish the iphone had this LED. It would be nice to look across the room and know what notification you have depending on the color of the LED.

Day 3: (apps)

Got the Otter case. VERY nice case. I just use the rubber part, not the hard shell over it. I like the non-slippery feel.

I'm discovering most apps are the same on iphone and android. Although once I found out the little ≠ button at the bottom of the phone is the "settings" button for each app that is brought up front. I'm used to the app having a settings button on their own, but this is fine. Angry Birds is better on the NexusOne due to the slightly larger screen.

I do notice the apps on the iphone feel a bit more polished and fluid. It's not a difference in "what one should I buy", it's just something an iphone user notices.

There is a strange/quick vibration when you navigate around the phone. It almost has that feeling of when your hand gets near electricity and you can feel the vibration from almost getting a shock. It's cool.

Day 4: (music, podcasts and camera)

The 16GB microSD card and USB cables came. Turned off the phone and installed the SD card.

The N1 seen the card right away and it was ready.

Using the MarketPlace is pretty simple once you use it for a while. It took me a while to find the "top" lists (apps, all apps). I'm still not sure how to tell the apps to go to the SD card. It seems you can go into the N1 settings and tell some apps to "move to SD", but not all. What if there where an app that was 1GB in size that had to be downloaded?

Also, if apps are on the SD card, does that mean I can backup the SD card and it also backs up the data for that app as well?

What I like better on the android market is that the market doesn't kick you out of the store each time you acquire a new app, nor does it have you log in every time either (iphone picks the annoying choice in both cases).

In order to drag MP3s to the SD card, you have to plug in the phone, slide down the notification window, select USB sync. Then the drive mounts. I then had to create a folder on the SD manually labeled "music", drag MP3s into that. Apparently the phone knows what to do with this new directory.

This is not ready for "my mom".

To get podcasts pulled down to you, you need an app. It seems 'Google Listen' is the app of choice. I'm a person that can figure things out, but there is noway most people I know would be able to set these things up. You have to go into Google Reader on the desktop, subscribe to the podcast RSS, mark it as a "listen" device, then the app on the phone picks that up a few seconds later.

Can't we just have a "Google Podcast" app? Search, Subscribe, they get pulled over wifi or 3G. done. (would you like these to go to SD?)

The music player is quite horrendous as well. It's like playing music was an after thought (a much, much, much later thought) on android. Although, maybe it's cheating coming from an 'ipod phone' and being spoiled with the long-worked on music platform that is itunes.

Google Voice still does not allow MMS, this is not a comparison from the iphone to android, since it's the same on the iphone.

The N1 has a 5mp camera, so does the iphone4. The iphone4 camera is much better. It's fine, the N1 does take good pictures, but with the iphone4 I felt as though I didn't need to carry a standalone camera. With the N1, I would.

Day 5: (hacing/unlocking)

This is who I am. Play for a while, then hack it.

Decided to root the N1, then install custom ROMs. A ROM is basically like an OS version of the phone. I've heard lots of good things about Cyanogen, so I wanted to get his ROM fist.

So to root android (for the nexus one anyways) I had to play for a while. Decent instructions here. Although.. it was more of a pain than jailbreaking an iphone. Don't worry about "ABD", I found after fighting with it, I really didn't need it.

After downloading the full Android SDK, Fastboot and rooting the N1, I decided to first do CyanogenMod 6.1.1. Once I got through a few snags, I really liked this ROM over the stock 2.2! Tons of tweaks including Trackball wake (like iphone!), bakcup ROMs, install ROMS from SD, etc.

But I still really wanted 2.3 Gingerbread. So I found MicroMod777 Nexus One 2.3 ROM.

The things I liked about Cyanogen ROM where here, but lots more! The N1 looks better, it's more fluid and faster. MUCH improved over 2.2.

Gingerbread is good and getting closer to replacing the iphone.

Day 6:

I had to turn my iphone on. Only for 'TV Forecast' app. I use this all the time and as of now, there is nothing that compares to it on android.

Otherwise, I think android has a ways to go. It's new compared to iOS, but it seems promising. I could get away with only using android, most apps are there it's solid and works well. It's not quite as fluid nor does it really have that integrated feeling, but I think the the things that pull me back most is the lack of a quality camera of that on the iphone4 (tap to focus for one), music organisation and player feel, and podcast integration. If these are not on the top of your list, then either are just fine. If these are what are most important to you, then it's the iphone you want.

For now, I'll hang on to both platforms so I can test and play with either. I like to use custom software and hack them. I can easily say, you cannot come from android to iphone without jailbreaking the iphone - and why not, it's so easy to do on iphone.

My perfect iphone:

- If the iphone quit wasting screen real estate and made the display larger.
- The iphone gets a blinky LED for notifications. (color by type)

- The iOS app store didn't kick you out for each "buy".

My perfect google phone:

- Make the OS and key functionality of a portable computer platform more integrated.

- Get some camera geeks there and wip out something great. Your MP is fine, get software.

- I don't think "the ball" is coming back, but let's not do that again.

- Made rooting android an "on switch". why not. just add disclaimer/warnings.

Winner Winners:

Camera +iphone4

Call quality +NexusOne

Display +NexusOne (larger>rez to me)

Music +iphone4

Podcasts +iphone4

wallpaper +NexusOne (live wallpapers rule)

GPS TbyT +NexusOne (although add $50 for TomTom on iphone, then iphone wins)
App store +NexusOne (less annoying /faster)

App choices +iphone4

App management +iphone4

Speaker phone +iphone4

Jailbreak/root +iphone4 (just easier)

Alarm clock +NexusOne (set multiple day "sets")

Jailbreaking i-Devices

2010-08-06T12:11:00.014-06:00

Break in, do it.

DO NOT upgrade to 4.0.2 - or this wont work.
(read below for iphone4 with 4.1 - how too)

It appears the media has made it a big "to-do" that it is now legal to jailbreak your iphone. Don't get me wrong, it's a great achievement by the EFF and open community. This news however doesn't really apply to us who do jailbreaking because it has always been "our device" to do what we wish with it anyways.

Whether or not you think you need somebody to allow you to do something to something you bought, jailbreaking is something everyone should do. There is no reason not to at this point and there has never been an issue in jailbreaking iphones. Even at the worst case scenario, something goes wrong and your phone wont boot, all you have to do is plug it into iTunes and do a restore. It's just software, so it can be cleaned as a new device at anytime.

The other issue in jailbreaking an iphone that you WILL have to deal with is the fact that Apple puts out new software versions of the iPhone OS (right now we are at 4.0.1 of iOS). After you jailbreak 4.0.1, you will not be able to upgrade to "4.1" unless you are willing to do a restore and start over. Also, I wouldn't upgrade until the new "4.1" has a jailbreak out and has been hacked. So starting over is really the biggest annoyance of jailbreaking each time there is a new version of the iOS. However, I typically don't upgrade to every update. You have that choice of not doing it. I look at the changes in each new version and make a judgment call to see if it's going to be worth it - ' are these new changes good enough to justify me starting over?'. Typically no. However right now if they have a fix for the proximity sensor, that would be worth re-jailbreaking.

With that out of the way. Why would you jailbreak? How do you jailbreak?

As of right now, any iphone, iPad, Touch can be jailbroken by opening Safari and going to Jailbreakme.com . Just swipe the bar and let it do it's magic. It will take a bit and will reboot your device. Once done, you will notice a new icon on your springboard. Cydia.
Cydia is basically like the iTunes store, with free and paid apps.

Inside of Cydia, I like to go to "manage", "sources". In sources, do Edit, Add. I'll add the new repository: http://cydia.hackulo.us/

Once added do a search for AppSync for OS 4.0.(or 4.1) I'll install this so basically I can "try before I buy apps". I do buy the apps that I use. However, I'm not going to give TomTom $50 without trying it first. For finding apps, there's an appCake for that.

NEW: For iphone4 with 4.1 software:

- Use greenpois0n, instructions

Other apps inside of Cydia that are worth buying/getting:

- 3G Unrestrictor. ($1.99) This app allows you to trick a list of apps to make them think your always on Wifi and not 3G - such as FaceTime, Skype, Pandora, YouTube, etc.

- MyWi. ($19.99) This app allows me to tether my iphone and make a wifi hotspot for the laptop. I'm glad AT&T allows tethering now, but they want way to much for yet another internet connection when I'm already paying $30 a month for "unlimited". I justify myself as being in the right.

- flashlight. (free) If you have an iphone4, just buy the $0.99 app on the app store that allows you to use the LED. But if your on a 3G/3GS, get the flashlight app on Cydia. No screen flashlight app in the app store allows the LCD screen to be very bright. However this one is Cydia is VERY bright and free.

- Poof. (free) This app allows you to hide those annoying apps that Apple doen't let you get rid of from the springboard. ('Stocks' for instance).

- GV Mobile. (free) This is basically Google Voice app. Works very slick

If you buy any app from Cydia (or Rock, which is like Cydia), you can come back after another jailbreak and login to re-acquire these apps. No worries.

Typically I stay away from "themes". If you going to break your phone and have to do a restore, it's most likely going to be from themes or large GUI changes.

Have fun.

Right now my iphone4 can do FaceTime over 3G, used as a wifi hotspot for laptops/iPads, try before I buy, native google voice, skype over 3G, etc. It just feels like MY phone again.

jamie~

4.0.2 just came out today. The only thing is does, is kill this happiness. Don't do it.

Same with your iPad, don't go to 3.2.2.

Google could do better with minor changes

2010-03-15T13:51:00.015-06:00

Gmail, Docs and Chrome. If a few tweaks where made, it would be on top.

My mail was flowing nicely into my OSX mail.app for three domains. Nice, however I was tired of relying on one computer where my email resides. I'm a super geek, but never really have ventured out much - even though I recommend these services everyday - I myself was still doing it the old way. Firefox and mail.app where my "men".

Now all three domains get "poped" right into Gmail, color coded as to what domain, easy to filter and skin. Setup the iphone to pop Gmail and I'm done. My Macbook could explode but all my email/settings/contacts are still in the cloud. What makes this sing even more is the Gmail extension notifier.

Recently I decided to jump in with both feet and go all "google". I know Chrome is fast by means of webkit. I know gmail is solid and has many customizations. I've setup Gcal for many clients and businesses. It just works. Realistically if your using a pop client, your behind the times (we know, your 'corporation' requires it.. and they are behind too).

Now that Chrome has extensions like firefox, there is no reason not to use Chrome. The Mozilla foundation is seeming a bit lazy these days. Firefox is getting slow, logging out of sites that I tell it to keep me in for no reason and wont be HTML5 compliant anytime soon.

Chrome out of the box syncs and backs up all of your favorites right into docs so any computer you sign into Chrome with - bam, there is "your world".

I don't write blog posts much. However I am enjoying my two feet-jump into Google but a few things need to be said. It's amazing all of this is "free", so nobody can really complain too much. After jumping I did come across a few things that don't make since to me as to why they are.

Lets just hit the points:

Chrome: (updated below)

- Spell check. Why is that I cannot right-click a misspelled word, get suggestions and fix the misspelled with two clicks? Google has the best dictionary in existence and we know this can/is being done with Firefox. Why not? This is actually something many of us geeks rely on.

- Standard RSS. Try to look at your standard RSS feed. It's all gibberish. Now go look at it under any other web browser - it looks like it should. WHY!?

Docs:

- 1-by-1. Docs is awesome and now Google allows us to upload any file type for online storage. You receive 1GB of storage for free, however you can buy larger storage starting off at $5 a year for 20GB - which I immediately did. But if I would have known the main limitation, I would have not. This being that you can only upload a file - one -by - one. No, don't try to upload those files from your dropbox account that are all organized in folders the way you want them. You must only upload a file - 1-by-1. Ugg. It wont replace my dropbox account for now and I will not renew my $5 a year account. It's not really meant to replace dropbox I guess, but it could very easily bring people over if they just allowed folder uploads. Google doesn't even have to make it "sync" and it would still be a winner.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fanboy otherwise I wouldn't be writing this blog post. As Google grows and people really learn the power that they could have in a cloud/mobile arena, there is almost no reason not to do it. But as with anything, there are a few things that could use improvement. Using Google Voice, Docs, Cal, Mail all together is almost the mothers milk.

It's not like Microsoft or Yahoo are even close to catching up and maybe that's why some of these smaller issues are not ironed out quit yet. Once HTML5 is rolling, the functionality and customizations is going to be crazy (or it could be...).

What other items do you find in your googlevers that makes you say "wtf, really google? Why?"

Burke~

Update!

Found the issue with "two click spell check fix".

- Instead of highlighting the word first as we did in firefox, just right-click the red/underlined word without highlighting.. it works! weird..

Update!

Found the fix for RSS feed pages. Install this extension.

lol

2006-07-06T20:37:00.000-06:00

Dell Offers Linux tutorials

2006-06-07T23:07:00.000-06:00

You heard right!

Dell's Linux tutorials.

The ClearWire truth.

2006-06-07T17:47:00.000-06:00

Is Clearwire good for gaming online?
A. No. It's accually quite slow since Jan 1 06. Since this date the company decided to throttle connection speeds which made a huge impact on online gaming.

Is Clearwire good for bittorrent or P2P app's?
A. No. Since Jan 1 06, Clearwire decided to block many (or all) P2P and torrent ports on there end. This means you cannot download the latest linux distro torrents. You can get around the port's by changing the torrent ports - but this only helps minimally. (see question 1).

Is Clearwire unlimited bandwidth monthly?
A. No. Clearwire decided to limit each client to 200GB a month data usage. Now, for most this wont be a problem (it's not like you can use torrents, or use that amount in a month because it's too slow)

Who is Clearwire good for?
A. Clearwire is good for the small family or the individuals who want to be "mobile" and doesn't care about online gaming or P2P applications. It's "fast" for - email, web surfing, photo sharing, site building etc. However I did have issues with FTP'n. The concept and ease is great for Clearwire, just not for the "g33k".

Does Clearwire offer any NNTP?
A. lol

I have detached my Cable to test Clearwire at my house for a week.. I'm a power user and gamer. Back to a non-restrictive fat pipe for me.

Burke~

uTorrent VS ClearWire

2006-06-06T21:32:00.000-06:00

Ok, CableOne was killer for torrenting. Testing out clearwire now. They used to not block the default port of uTorrent ( 32459) - however now they do. So I have found that using port 3000, setting Protocol Encryption to "endabled" , "UPnP port mapping "unchecked" and "allow incoming legacy" checked = work pretty good on Clearwire. Not like CableOne.. nor is there any NNTP... but it's ok.

Be sure to only be using one PC per one port on the netowrk. (HTPC is port 3300, gaming PC is port 3000 etc)

I'll keep testing and update this when I find anything new.
If anybody els has some experiance with torrent and clearwire.. let me know.

Gift-in-Kind

2006-05-31T11:58:00.000-06:00

Software is done!

GIK software

Toshiba HD-DVD Player Torn Apart

2006-05-16T23:23:00.000-06:00

With video. Scroll down - sombody posted a better vid link.
Just a linux PC. I'd say update that RAM first.
Where is the Source Code?

read more |

Global SMTP

2006-05-14T08:50:00.000-06:00

I was tired of trying to send mail from Thunderbird and not being able too unless I was on a "cableone" connection.
So, now I use my free Gmail SMTP server. Now it doesn't matter anymore.

smtp.gmail.com
TSL auth.
port 587

But now there is a new problem. Google changes the "reply too" to your Gmail account. So everybody who gets my mail replays to the gmail one. So... To fix this issue.::

Log onto gmail.com. At the top choose "settings", "Accounts".
Choose "add another email address". Here add your proper address (burke AT ramsinks.com) . Then under that click on " Specify a different "reply-to" address"
Add that same address there. They will then send you a conformation email to verify that is you. Do that - your done.

This email was used with these settings.
Hope this helps, I know I needed it.

Burke~

Illegal Aliens in the US?

2006-05-01T00:20:00.000-06:00

Since when was it "ok" for them to be here? Did I miss something? I probably did.. I don't watch the news really and I do sleep a lot. So maybe I'm lost.

Just switched to OS X? Hereâ��s a list of stuff you might want

2005-12-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

A discussion on useful OS X applications for users that have just switched over from Windows. Includes office suites, networking, blogging, graphics, programming and other, with emphasis on free, open source and shareware apps over comercial products.

read more | digg story

Linux gurus join forces to perfect the Linux desktop

2005-12-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

"Architects from two dozen desktop-oriented Linux projects converged in Portland, Ore. last weekend to collaborate on perfecting the Linux desktop." --- Good Stuff! Gotta love Open Source!

read more | digg story

Need a schematic?

2005-12-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

This page has it all, build a Digital entry lock, Toxic gas detector, audio amplifier, a bee counter, ping pong game, RF transmiters/recevers, speed controler, etc... If the schematic is on the web, this page has a link to it!

read more | digg story

Boot Windows from a USB Drive

2005-12-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

The Bart PE Builder software utility takes Windows XP and shrinks the OS to your USB flash drive.

read more | digg story

Play doom and doom 2 online Free

2005-12-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to play doom online? Well, here is your chance.

read more | digg story

Jake2, a Quake2 game written in Java

2005-11-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Jake2 is a Quake 2 game written in Java. Game can be started directly from the web page via Java WebStart technology. Performance of the game is similar with the original C version.

read more | digg story

New version of AVG Free now available!!

2005-11-24T19:19:00.001-07:00

The newest version of the popular AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is available for download. The new version of AVG Free provides increased scanning speed as well as additional improvements which include a new event-history log and added options for filename extension definitions.

read more | digg story

Damn Small Linux 2.0 Released

2005-11-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

Are you nerdy enough to carry with you Linux on your usb stick for no good reason? Well, version 2.0 of the 50 MB big Linux operating system is released. Now you have something to show on parties.

read more | digg story

The new Java IDE (flash demo)

2005-11-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

it really looks like they are aiming at Visual Studio (and itâ��s free!)

read more | digg story

The new Java IDE (flash demo)

2005-11-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

it really looks like they are aiming at Visual Studio (and itâ��s free!)

read more | digg story

Build your own LCD for your computer

2005-11-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

If you want to have your own LCD to show anything you want on your computer, you could build, connect and interface it with your computer and forget about buying one.

read more | digg story

VIDEO: Steve Jobs S.N.L. sketch

2005-11-20T10:42:00.001-07:00

Video of the Steve Jobs Saturday Night Live sketch.

read more | digg story

Free, legal ROMs!

2005-11-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

this is a great website. it has almost all the old time games (NES, SNES, Genesis, etc...) and arcade games (MAME and NEO GEO) that aren't protected by the IDSA for free! there's no porn ads, no annoying "Vote for us a million times to download this ROM!" just straight up ads, a cool forum, IRC chat room, and the emulators to run all the games!

read more | digg story

The Complete Concise History of GNU/Linux

2005-11-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

As a Linux user, do you know how Linux came to be the robust OS it is now? I didn't until I read this excellent article on the history of Linux. And as the title indicates, it is really short too. Moreover you can come face-to-face with the stalwarts of GNU movement.

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Apple's Growing Army of Converts

2005-11-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Windows users are trying Macs in increasing numbers...and it's not just a function of the iPod "halo effect.

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Internet Explorer Destroyer

2005-11-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

A site that is getting serious about the switch to FireFox. Indepth detail on the advantages and the many uses of this fantastic browser.

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Fix your dead LCD monitor

2005-11-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

now you can fix that dead lcd monitor gathering dust on your bench! how cool is that! Could be the best idea ever.But does anyone know how to tell if it is your backlight or inverter that is shot?

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Game Mod Database

2005-11-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

Mod Database has an archive of over 3000 game mods. This site shows progress of upcoming mods and is a great place to start a mod. There are many cool features to www.moddb.com such as the mod of the month award and the reviews on new games and mods. This is a definite bookmark for all PC game modders!

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HL2: Lost Coast Released!

2005-10-27T22:31:00.000-06:00

Lost Coast the HDR demo for HL2 has been released! Restart steam if you have HL2 to download it.

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Create mayhem at your local cybercafe

2005-10-27T18:48:00.000-06:00

Learn why wireless networking is not that secure after all, render images or messages on others browsers at your local cybercafe and watch their reaction with this great tutorial.

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Video Game Consoles: 1972 to the Future

2005-10-24T09:52:00.000-06:00

Here, you'll find information on nearly every video game console ever created and info on their accessories and games. A great buyer's guide, collector's guide or history lesson for anyone interested in gaming.

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HDTV definitions

2005-10-22T21:37:00.000-06:00

Wondering what all of those HDTV acronyms and terms mean? Want to know the difference between interlaced and progressive? How about brightness and contrast? This list of 35 terms and definitions help bring some basic clarity to high-definition television.

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Programing for Hackers

2005-10-22T21:32:00.000-06:00

A good C tutorial that will teach you how to read most of the exploits you can find on line or create your own. Also some assembler is taught which is useful too.

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List of Printers Which Do or Don't Print Tracking Dots

2005-10-20T07:50:00.000-06:00

I don't really do anything illegal that I would need to worry about...but on the off chance that I decide to, there's a list of printers I can actually use and not get caught with.

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OpenOffice.Org 2.0.0

2005-10-19T17:15:00.000-06:00

It appears that OOo 2.0.0 (final) is starting to appear on all of the mirrors.

ftp://ftp.uwsg.indiana.edu/pub/openoffice/stable/2.0.0/

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The top 10 Commands any Linux user should know

2005-10-19T17:14:00.000-06:00

"This is it, the Moment all you newbies have been waiting for, this is the list of the top ten commands that every new linux user should learn about to save time, effort and usenet flames."

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Father of Wiki Quits Microsoft; Moves to Open-Source Foundation

2005-10-18T21:03:00.000-06:00

Ward Cunningham, one of Microsoft's high-profile hires, is leaving the Redmond software company to join the open-source tool group, The Eclipse Foundation.

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Windows-Tools on CD-ROM (or USB stick)

2005-10-18T16:43:00.000-06:00

Dirk Loss has a list of more than 600 free utilities that can be burned to a pocket CD-R or a usb stick. He has compiled a small list of instructions on how to create a bootable CD image to create a rescue disk complete with all these utils!

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"Free" SkypeOut calls?

2005-10-16T13:08:00.001-06:00

"These days, several people have asked me this. (Also noted here.) â��Was SkypeOut hacked?â�� Actually, all is in perfect order and itâ��s just an interesting way of different services working together."

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Prince of Persia in flash

2005-10-16T13:08:00.000-06:00

I just recently found this on the net and it brought back a lot of memories of playing it when I was 6. Hopefully it'll do the same for some of you.

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1000 Feet of cat5e; Buy it pennies on the dollar.

2005-10-15T17:31:00.000-06:00

Computer Geeks, or Geeks.com, is selling 1000 feet of category 5e Ethernet cable, a high quality crimping tool, 100 RJ-45 crimp-on heads and a battery operated cable tester for under $50 in one package. The cable comes down to costing less than 2.5 cents per foot.

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Map a windows drive via FTP or WebDav

2005-10-14T17:55:00.000-06:00

There's a free tool from Novell that lets you map a drive via FTP or WebDav. Great for maintaining your hosted web site. Makes your favourite ftp client obsolete.

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Watch NOVA programs online for free !

2005-10-12T19:40:00.000-06:00

This is great. The Einstein piece on E=mc^2 isn't online yet, but for now you can watch "Elegant Universe", "Cracking the Code of Life", "Life's Greatest Miracle", "MARS - Dead or Alive?", among many others. . .

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MSCONFIG update

2005-10-06T18:29:00.000-06:00

Microsoft updates the MSCONFIG utility in Windows XP with a new "Tools" tab.

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F.E.A.R Multiplayer Demo Is out!

2005-10-02T17:34:00.000-06:00

Jump into some fast-paced multiplayer action with the hot new F.E.A.R. multiplayer demo! F.E.A.R.â�¢ (First Encounter Assault Recon) is an intense combat experience with rich atmosphere and a deeply intense paranormal storyline presented entirely in first person.

http://38.119.37.21/L?T=G&PID=0078700558&source=&gameid=3203

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Another Government Agency Dropping Micro$oft

2005-10-01T22:51:00.000-06:00

NWS Office of State Revenue decides not to be held hostage by Microsoft new Licensing for Windows Vista.. Will move to Linux Desktops..

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Call of Duty 2 Demo Today

2005-09-27T09:31:00.000-06:00

Activision revealed that the official Call of Duty 2 demo is due out this afternoon.

Download here:
http://videogames.yahoo.com/predownload?eid=398695

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Write a virus for OSX and earn $500

2005-09-26T23:51:00.000-06:00

Wil Shipley, independent Apple software developer, has offered a $500 bounty for anyone who can exploit a base OSX install with the latest security patches. It's time to put up or shut up.

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Windows Is Offically Broken - Microsoft has admitted it

2005-09-25T23:11:00.000-06:00

Windows is broken and Microsoft has admitted it. In an unprecedented attempt to explain its Longhorn problems and how it abandoned its traditional way of working, the normally secretive software giant has given unparalleled access to The Wall Street Journal, even revealing how Vice President Jim Allchin, personally broke the bad news to Bill Gates.

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Leo and Kate had the Ultimate Gaming Machine in 1998

2005-09-25T11:32:00.000-06:00

Leo and Kate overview the Ultimate Gaming Machine back in 1998. This was unreasonable in 1998 with 128 of SD RAM!

I remember drooling over this when this aired. Now I through away PC's like this daily.

watch this video

10% Ebay Coupon

2005-09-18T15:46:00.000-06:00

Lets celebrate 10 years of ebay by saving some $$! This coupon is valid until September 28,2005 12:00 a.m (Pacific). The coupon is good for a purchase price of $25 or more, not including shipping. This coupon also cannot exceed $25. The payment must be made using Paypal, with the coupon code CELEBRATE.

Get it while it's hot.

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Red Hat, IBM join forces in Linux deal

2005-09-18T15:12:00.000-06:00

Red Hat say it will joine forces with IBM to help accelerate the development and adoption of Linux-based solutions in emerging markets.

Come on Novell.. Suse can join the club too. ;)

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Saving your "live distro" session online:

2005-09-16T21:07:00.000-06:00

Everything you modify, create or download during a Live-CD session is kept in memory until the computer is rebooted; then it's all lost. More precisely, it WAS lost until SLAX came out and the new era of portability began...

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Firefox 1.5 Beta 1 now available!!!

2005-09-08T23:39:00.000-06:00

Title says it all... Available as Beta 1 for Windows and Linux, and as Alpha 2 for OS X.

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Online Scams.

2005-09-07T22:57:00.000-06:00

If your a geek of any caliber - it's easy to spot online scams of "Fixing your PC software". We are tired of having our clients tricked into these cheesy-no-talent-scams setup by con-artists. Take "WinFixer" for instance. WinFixer IS spyware itself. Why would anybody pay actually money for "cleaning" software when the absolute best is totally free?
Take StopSign Antivirus - another horrid piece of software. I actually installed this for testing purposes - ran spybot and ad-aware (the real cleaners us geeks bet our asses on) and found tons of spyware. They called me and asked me how I liked it.. Needless to say after manually fixing my WinSock - I'd never recommended it.
Why do you think I'd never put Google ads on this web page or my software webapge? - Due to n00bish software being linked from MY page - would never happen unless it's this post. Any website that dosn't take care to see who they are really linking too is just as bad as the cheesy software maker.

Not as bad is Norton. I actually un-install Norton from clients machines daily (then educate). After using NOD32 or AVG and pulling tons of Worms, Trojans and Spyware - what is Norton really doing? Just scamming I can promise. If I don't hear anything from Symantec - I will start carbon coping my work orders and showing everybody what it's really worth. This has been going on for a couple years now.

Start designing REAL software - or you will fail.

If you need GOOD software - check out the list.

Burke~

iPod Nano / Cingular Rocker (digg exclusive)

2005-09-06T21:35:00.000-06:00

New products coming out Wed: Cingular will announce an iTunes compatible phone called the "Rocker", and a new 2GB ipod called the "Nano". *digg exclusive*

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Katrina

2005-09-04T14:51:00.000-06:00

Isaiah 24
The LORD has spoken! The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted the instructions of God, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth and its people. All the joys of life will be gone. The merrymakers will sigh and mourn. The clash of tambourines will be stilled; the happy cries of celebration will be heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp will be silent. Gone are the joys of wine and song; strong drink now turns bitter in the mouth. The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out looters. Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has reached its lowest ebb. Gladness has been banished from the land. The city is left in ruins, with its gates battered down , only a remnant is left.
But all who are left will shout and sing for joy. Those in the west will praise the LORD's majesty. In eastern lands, give glory to the LORD. In the coastlands of the sea, praise the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 16Listen to them as they sing to the LORD from the ends of the earth. Hear them singing praises to the Righteous One!

Let us all pray for these hundreds of thousands.
Burke~

Steve "child" Ballmer.

2005-09-03T19:29:00.000-06:00

Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer has apparently vowed to kill Internet search leader Google, according to documents filed in the increasingly bitter battle between the rivals." From the article: "At some point in the conversation, Mr. Ballmer said: 'Just tell me it's not Google,'' Lucovosky said in his statement. Lucovosky replied that he was joining Google. 'At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room hitting a table in his office,' Lucovosky recounted, adding that Ballmer then launched into a tirade about Google CEO Eric Schmidt. 'I'm going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to f***ing kill Google.' Schmidt previously worked for Sun Microsystems and was the CEO of Novell."

Ya, bring it on MicroJunk.

Sony PS3 price a bluff?

2005-08-30T22:04:00.000-06:00

Our ideal is for consumers to think to themselves, ‘OK, I’ll work more hours and buy it.’ We want people to feel that they want it, no matter what.I’m going to only say that it’ll be expensive. I’m aware that with all these technologies the PS3 can’t be offered at a price that’s targeted towards households.

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Opensource Music

2005-08-26T23:16:00.000-06:00

MagnaTune.
What a awsome idea. In fact, this is the way it will all go eventually. "Real" musician's submit thier "work" and get 50% of the sale's. No DRM, no RIAA - somebody with brains at work (DRM only annoys honest users). You can listen to tracks for free and pay for the stuff you like. Check it out. link.

New PodCast comming!

2005-08-26T10:25:00.000-06:00

Tech Unplugged!

Drum Roll Please!

Thanks for the numerous submissions to our open casting call. We have now selected our fourth host, his name is Jamie Burke. For those of you who visit Yoshi’s forums frequently you know him as [GF] Burke. Jamie brings a vast amount of knowledge with him, since he has been in the industry for a bit of time and is a big proponent of Linux. So you will be guaranteed a lot of fun hearing us bickering between Windows and Linux viewpoints. Now that we have our permanent hosts in place, you should hear our premiere Podcast shortly.
Posted by John Witt on 08/26 at 08:46 AM

w00t. Thats me.
TechUnplugged.com

The best Firewall just sold out!

2005-08-24T09:06:00.000-06:00

Well the crappy "AOL" of security just bought Sygate. Sygate was the best of Firewall technology on the market. Now that Symantec just bought them - of course it's going to turn to $hit (everything they touch does). I may host the latest version for a while of Sygate, but if not - Get Outpost instead.
It's a sad week. :(
Discuss

Publish a real book and sell it to the real world

2005-08-17T11:22:00.000-06:00

From the makers of RedHat Linux comes a new wave of editorial craze. Now you can write a book, take full control of the design, copyright and design. No more "middle man" sucking up all your revenue. They can kick out books as they are ordered it real time. You keep most the profit. Check it out. link

Secret Hollow Book

2005-08-14T22:29:00.000-06:00

When sneaking items from point A to point B, it's always nice to be covert. AuD1073cH shows you how to give life to those old hard backs you may have laying around or can find for cheap. Check it out. link

Notes by John Carmack

2005-08-13T10:17:00.000-06:00

Keynote by John @ QuakeCon.

There were also a couple surprises in store, including how he plans to release the Quake 3 source code under the GPL license within the next week or so! Parts of the talk, as always, were pretty technical so once again (with apologies to the Slashdot crowd) we'll do our best to boil it down to layman's terms.

link
Ya, Slashdoters are kind of slow.

Mac OS X for Intel

2005-08-11T20:25:00.000-06:00

Lets work together to get it working! Great forum by the community coming together in order to get Apple OSX installed and running on PC hardware. Check it out. link Wiki
This is the torrent you are looking for.

Opensource MP3 Player

2005-08-10T23:52:00.000-06:00

dsc01068,
originally uploaded by Brokentoaster.

The time is here when many people can start building there own custom media players for cheap!

Make your own Soda!

2005-08-10T16:39:00.000-06:00

Check this out: Making your own carbinated water - or go the full step and make your own soda (or - in Idaho we say "pop"). Very cheap to do! link

Linux that feels just like XP

2005-08-07T15:26:00.000-06:00

For those of you who want a superior operating system - that is free and feels "at home" - Check out Barnix. Here is a screenshot. This is great for mom's computer. No more spyware, worms, trojans and viruses. I'm installing now to try it out. Here is the Torrent file to download.

The Hot Stuff In Tech

2005-08-06T13:19:00.000-06:00

The Hot Stuff In Tech
"Tech Man" - and his own Blog. Great technology "newness".

F.E.A.R. Demo out.

2005-08-06T13:07:00.000-06:00

Looks to be a fun game. Free Demo's are always good. Game may be repetitive, but I'll check it out. Here is the Torrent. Screenshot.

Testing Spyware on Vista

2005-08-05T14:46:00.000-06:00

I know that Windows Vista is just in beta and will be updated later. I also know that scumware is not written to work in Vista yet. However that dosn't stop us from trying.

Backing up your DVD's

2005-08-05T14:28:00.000-06:00

I have a full tutorial of how to backup your DVD's. Either to anther DVD or just the hard drive to watch later. link.

XP pirates.

2005-08-05T11:28:00.000-06:00

Microsoft to make you verify that you have a legal copy of XP before you can do critical updates. Also if you want to download the Microsoft Anti-Spyware. If you use my software list - you will notice update XP with firefox and I host M$ Anti-Spyware. Although from what I hear you people out there who use the "XP Pro Corp" version - checks out as "Genuine". ;)

Free wireless for Idaho.

2005-08-05T10:40:00.000-06:00

Currect project is setting up Linux servers for venues - in the effect to aquire free Hotspots for the people - and revenue for venues. sneek peak