Posts from other blogs and news-sources are in smash's shared links. (check-it)

--- Monday, October 31, 2005

The future of the Apple's Media System?

Permalink: 10/31/2005 11:28:00 AM

I commented briefly on Apple's recent online ventures in my Front Row post, but I feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg. "It's interesting that instead of bothering with making a Media Center competitor, they're just selling TV shows online for $1.99 and making a slick commission! They're very smart over there at Apple. :)"

What we have to take into consideration for the home is the following products/services/features Apple currently offers/has:
1. Airport Express
2. iTunes Network Sharing

In other words:
1. Airport Express -- Soon to be updated with video support, possibly hi-def, bringing the "media center"-like system to my TV with the same, Front Row remote control that I can carry around the house.
2. iTunes Network Sharing -- My Mac downstairs in the kitchen can watch content that I've received upstairs from the iTunes Music Store.

So who would pay $1.99 a show? Let's take my situation as an example. I like to watch about 5 to 7 shows a week. That means I'd pay around $14 to own that show, without commercials. $14 x 4 weeks in a month (average) = $56. How much do we pay for cable, with commercials? It tends to vary, but the difference is fairly slim for most with DVRs, Hi-Def digital boxes, and "Third-Tier Digital Platinum Plus" add-ons and the like. If Apple added a hi-def tuner option via Firewire 800, or even built into their Airport Express? Well, maybe not.

I feel that obviously the iTunes system won't replace the television right away, but as more and more people are dropping their cable/satellite systems for online offerings through BitTorrent trackers and local MythTV systems, it'll be interesting to see what kind of marketshare Apple can conquer in the TV market as their library of shows expands.

UPDATE: "Apple: ITunes Video Sales Top 1 Million" [in first 20 days] -- Link

What's next for Apple? Buy a movie "ticket" online, and watch it at home in your own "theater"? Hmmm.... :)

--- Sunday, October 30, 2005

It's Fall.

Permalink: 10/30/2005 11:27:00 AM

Ready to pounce... :)

Link

Cranberry Bogs on Google Maps

Permalink: 10/30/2005 08:01:00 AM

Pretty cool. These pictures must have been taken in the fall.

Link

--- Friday, October 28, 2005

"How does a digital cable descrambler/filter work?"

Permalink: 10/28/2005 11:19:00 PM

"There are TONS of ads for these "digital descramblers". They are NOTHING MORE THAN A HIGH PASS FILTER! They do not work!

What these things do is prevent a cable modem or digital cable box from talking back to the cable company, therefore it will not report Pay-Per-View purchases back to the cable company. Here's the catch though: The cable company is constantly polling the digital box for signal levels, purchases, and troubleshooting information. If it doesn't hear back from the box, they will flag your account and roll a service call truck on it. Since there is no way for you to clear the PPV purchases out of the boxes' memory, you're going to end up getting charged someday anyway.

Don't waste your money."

-- Source: http://www.dslreports.com/faq/6893

I always saw ads for these things and googled... this came up. :) Sneaky, glad I didn't buy one of those, heh.

HOWEVER:

On the Comcast DVRs there is a way to erase them completey and reset everything. I'm *not sure* if this will dump the order list/history or whatever... but if you're interested anyway here's how to do it:
To format the drive, you go into diagnostics mode (turn the box off then immediately press select) then press replay, replay, replay, my dvr, my dvr, my dvr, live, live, live. That quick formats the drive. Give it a try.

--- Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Google Maps... Google Local

Permalink: 10/26/2005 09:45:00 AM

It appears Google has pulled their Maps service out of beta, and renamed it to Google Local. "Makes sense...."

Link

--- Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Front Row for your Mac

Permalink: 10/25/2005 04:36:00 PM

I love this program, very cool. It's interesting that instead of bothering with making a Media Center competitor, they're just selling TV shows online for $1.99 and making a slick commission! They're very smart over there at Apple. :)

Attached is the Front Row app. [via UNEASYsilence, thanks.]
-- I added the icon to the Application for you already.

To install.
1. Copy the .app file to your Applications folder.
2. Also copy it to the /System/Library/CoreServices/ folder on your hard-drive.

To use, either:
1. Restart your computer, and hold down 'Esc' on your computer for three seconds.
2. Or, if you're impatient like me, just go into Applications, open Front Row, and then hold down 'Esc' there. Ta-da, but you'll have to click Front Row in your Dock before pressing any keys.

You can navigate around with your arrow keys and use 'Enter' to select, while using 'Esc' to go back. iPod-like functionality.

TIP: If you have a Sony Ericsson phone, you can use either Salling Clicker, or the phone's built-in Remote Control features on your Bluetooth-enabled Mac. This saves you from blowing more money on Apple's expensive remote, and there's nothing else to plug-in.

Gotta love that full screen artwork:

The video selection's pretty cool. It shows the first frame of the video for a few seconds, then it actually starts playing it to the side for you to preview. Very nice.

Definitely check this out.

Poplockin'

Permalink: 10/25/2005 02:34:00 PM

"From popping to locking and the eletric boogaloo, poplockin.com is a fusion of all great funk styles. Put your best moves together in grooves. Or test your skills in battle."

Link

--- Saturday, October 22, 2005

Awesome... Giant 'Futurama' Panoramas

Permalink: 10/22/2005 10:26:00 PM

I'm not sure how long this site will be up since I'm sure these are copyrighted, but I highly recommend printing some of these out for posters or something!

Link

--- Thursday, October 20, 2005

My new iPod is here!

Permalink: 10/20/2005 01:37:00 PM

Wow. The screen is massive... feels hi-def to me.

And it plays my videos:

Totally recommended. The black is awesome.

--- Wednesday, October 19, 2005

ASCII Movie Player (Quicktime/Terminal for Mac OS X)

Permalink: 10/19/2005 04:33:00 PM

This is probably the coolest freebie app I've seen. It uses Quicktime to draw out movies in ASCII through the Mac OS X Terminal. Schwing. Full sound support. You may need to resize the terminal to cover the full-screen of your mac to see the clip properly.

Requires: Quicktime 6 or 7, on Mac OS X 10.3 or 10.4+

Installation Instructions: (by me)

1. Download the linked app.
-- UPDATE: There's actually a color version as well. (thanks iMeowBot) I don't think it's as good but it's not bad. The Terminal can only display 16 different colors, so you'll see some odd colors elsewhere.

2. Open a new Finder window and press Apple+Shift+G.
3. Enter: /usr/bin
-- (and press enter)
4. Drag the "ASCIIMoviePlayer" app (only the file with the black console icon) to /usr/bin

Usage:
1. Open the Terminal from /Applications/Utilities.
2. For this example, we'll open a movie file off the Desktop. So, copy a movie there, and then, in the Terminal, type: cd Desktop
3. Now, type: ASCIIMoviePlayer "nameofyourmovie.mov"
-- Tip: If you can't find your movie's name, instead of typing that, first type simply "ls" (that's 'ell-ess') without the quotes for a list of files.

Ta-da.

Link

--- Monday, October 17, 2005

Great Songs.

Permalink: 10/17/2005 06:35:00 PM

I've been totally swamped with coding and IT work lately, barely any time to play guitar or post. SO, here's a few cool songs to check out:

1. Stab My Back
2. Move Along
-- by the All-American Rejects (off their new album)

And of course, a few ambient chill-out tracks:
1. Lean On Me (Solarstone's Afterhours Remix)
-- by Sounds From The Ground
2. Center of the Sun (Solarstone's Chilled Out Remix)
-- by Conjure One Featuring Poe

Download/Buy those for sure.

--- Friday, October 14, 2005

VW GTI -- iPod Install

Permalink: 10/14/2005 06:12:00 PM

So with all of the money I saved by doing the iPod switch-a-roo (got a free iPod, sold it the night before the new video ones came out for $350, got a new video iPod for $399 shipped) I bought a CD Changer interface. Basically, this tricks the stock stereo into thinking there's a changer in the trunk, when there's actually an ill iPod in my arm rest!

I ordered this from Crutchfield, along with some stereo keys. It turns out that the plugs on the back of the stereo are different than the one in the trunk, so I was pissed that I couldn't just hook the thing up there. (this particular attachment, at least) This was also after I learned that I actually needed 4 stereo keys to remove the radio, not 2... and they get stuck in there until you remove the radio. Luckily, I searched the forums online and found out that you can just cut an old credit card to the same shape as the key and you're all set. Niiice.

Once the radio was back in and the trunk was, instead, open, I just ran the cable under the spare tire mat, around the back seat, and under the driver's seat. The arm rest comes apart pretty easily, so I was able to wire the iPod cable into the compartment by drilling only a single hole. The adapter box and extra cable coiled up nicely under the driver's seat. Awesome.

The adapter box does this, automatically:

The sound quality is amazing (way better than the stock CD player)... you can really hear the highs and lows. The best part is, the stereo actually charges the iPod's battery. You create a few playlists with iTunes... VW1, VW2, through VW5, to symbolize the first 5 discs, then VW6 is all songs stored (great for shuffle mode). There's a switch on the adapter box, too, that can change disc 6 to the RCA (red/white) input for something like a satellite radio. I highly recommend this mod.

All done:

--- Wednesday, October 12, 2005

mobile17 anniversary, new iPods

Permalink: 10/12/2005 01:48:00 PM

mobile17 was launched just over 7 months ago, and last night it had its 400,000th mobile content request! Lately, the site has been mobbed with people loving the service.

In other news, Apple just annouced video-capable iPods. I successfully sold my old 60GB last night for a great price and will be upgrading when they're released next week, hehe. Also available in Black, and with a protective case.

UPDATE: New iPod Video ad posted on Apple's website. It appears the eMac is no longer being sold (at least to home users), and the U2 iPod was also dropped for the new line-up. (it was basically the same as the new black ones, minus the autographs on the back and red click-wheel.)

--- Tuesday, October 11, 2005

View of all of VW's Upcoming Models

Permalink: 10/11/2005 01:19:00 PM

Here's a few pics of cool new cars Volkswagen is putting out. My favorite is, of course, the new Scirocco. (clearly going to be my next car)

Link

Salling Clicker 3 released (Now for Windows, also!)

Permalink: 10/11/2005 01:09:00 PM

This was one of the first programs I bought when I switched to Mac a few years ago. The support for my Sony Ericsson K750i is pretty slick, especially the iTunes interface:

Link

--- Monday, October 10, 2005

DARPA Race

Permalink: 10/10/2005 03:11:00 PM

Definitely the coolest vehicle of them all was the VW Touareg, which has this great website. (with video) Definitely check it out.

The car's fully driven by three Mac Minis. Apple must be proud!

Link

--- Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Why SSX3 sucked.

Permalink: 10/05/2005 12:46:00 PM

SSX Tricky was awesome, but SSX3, the successor, was a lil' on the lame side... here's why.

One of the early XBox titles was Amped... it was awesome. EA decided, "Oh, we better add a free-roaming mode for the mountain" but failed miserably. How? The free-roam mode is boring and makes no sense. Mountain trails are nothing like that, and there are always other snowboarders. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for PS2 was one of the best games I've ever played because of the other skaters at the parks... running around, skating, setting up cinematics. Totally awesome. However, this was still absent from SSX3 and left me bored and not wanting to play it. The only social elements it still had were those left over from SSX Tricky -- players shouting at eachother. (funny things, crying in pain, etc.)

I was really disappointed to see this game flop because a) I paid good money for it and b) there are so many elements of the game that Amped could never match -- mainly, the whole fantasy layer that seals SSX and other games like Final Fantasy from the rest of the bunch. Bright, yet soothing colors spotlighted on snow... especially on night-time levels. Fantasy towns, cities, and other scenery that you skate through. Nothing matches it... but I still never play this game because of what's missing. Luckily, you can still just select levels from the menus and stuff, but that's no fun. The only serious improvement over SSX Tricky was the awesomely-long tracks, such as Happiness, which is now the only track I sometimes play. (Sometimes = My time divided the one hour a week I play games divided by the amount of time SSX3 can keep me interested)

Why must you do this to us, EA?

"Unlock [a] Starfox Ship in Zelda Game"

Permalink: 10/05/2005 11:12:00 AM

I love stuff like this, but you need a GameShark to get at it.

Think of it as Hot Coffee, but without all of the lawsuits and sex. Looks like some goofy Nintendo programmers slipped an Arwing fighter from Starfox into Ocarina of Time. A reader sent me this screen cap along with a link to the video. In it you can see Link spotting the spaceship.

The linked article also has a video.

Link

Adbrite, mobile17, and Technorati

Permalink: 10/05/2005 06:59:00 AM

UPDATE: The ad did TERRIBLY. I received 80 clicks from my $100... which calculates to probably the biggest rip-off ever. DON'T, I repeat, DON'T buy AdBrite space from Technorati, and be extremely careful when using AdBrite. It feels like one complete scam to me. (I'm just glad I didn't spend anything more than that.)

Well so the buzz these days is about Adbrite... kind of like Google's AdSense, but in more of a direct marketplace. As in, I can buy ads on your site, and you could buy some on mine, instead of by keywords like Adsense does it. Link

So anyway, Technorati, the blog search engine, was running a deal for an ad on their homepage for $100 a day. So I bought that space for today. :) Link

I'll post results tomorrow... consider this my way of testing the market. Hell, maybe I'll start selling some link-space on some of my sites!

In other news, mobile17 recently hit 375,000 orders... woo-hoo. Link

--- Tuesday, October 04, 2005

iPod Rumors

Permalink: 10/04/2005 06:21:00 PM

UPDATE: Looks like this is it after-all! Link

UPDATE 2: Looks like this isn't it. Link

UPDATE 3: Looks like it is! Engadget/iLounge just posted a leaked pic, and it looks just like the Photoshop I did back in August based on what I heard through the grapevine.

So the buzz this week is about Apple's 2nd Big Announcement. Last time it was the iPod Nano, and Motorola ROKR Phone with iTunes... this time people are speculating an iPod Video.

To be honest, I think this may be it. Reasons:
1) iTunes for Windows/Mac already plays videos, and the content offered through music videos and video-enabled podcasts is at least enough to hold demand for now.
2) iTunes Movie Store icons were already found in iTunes version 5.
3) Even though the iPod Photo bombed, that didn't stop Apple from releasing it anyway!

Apple wouldn't hold a music related event just to release new iPod Hard Drive sizes. However, there is a chance that they'll release the iTunes Movie Store now, and the video iPod later. Even still, I've decided to sell my iPod Photo on eBay... considering that I like never use it and if they do release something new, I might want to upgrade. (eBay auction linked)

If not, I'll buy a black iPod Nano and just copy the few playlists I actually listen to onto it and wire it into my car. Win/win situation! Somebody with a more vast music library will enjoy the 60GB capacity, and I'll get something ill for my car. Schwing.

Link

How to give your [iPod] Nano 200 GB of storage

Permalink: 10/04/2005 10:14:00 AM

UPDATE: Apparently this is fake, but still cool/funny nonetheless.

Aka, "how to void your warranty and demolish your iPod for a few chuckles." Some enterprising young fellow has figured out how to take a 200 GB IDE drive and jack it in to the nano. Sure, the battery only lasts 6 seconds, but you've got a million songs in your winter coat pocket!

So basically, all you need is an external battery. :) Hell, I'd carry around one of those lantern batteries for that kind of space!