Category: Gadgets
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Things We need for mp3 players and podcasts.
I finally got around to reinstalling the Creative mp3 management program for my Creative Zen Touch player. It actually works better than I remembered it. I’ve avoided touching itunes (except when helping my brother load mp3s). But here are two features I really need: Setting quotas and pruning options for content on the device Keeping…
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How to Know You are a True Geek….
an extremely long thread on the Dell axim site. My fave: “. . . you don’t get settled into your hotel room until you’ve checked the WiFi signal . . .” An Axim user compares the Axim PDA with the iPhone and finds that the 2 year old Axim still wins. Some diabolical PDA people…
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Network Media Servers
I am really close to buying a Network Area Storage solution. The frontrunner: Buffalo Technology Linkstation gigabit 250 gigabyte solution for $200. Actually, I may upgrade to the 300 gig solution ($280) after learning that installing the linkstation open firmware lets you install a server and media player software like swisscenter or twonkymedia (which apparently…
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Nokia 770 becomes better, much better….
I’ve been surfing through the maemo catalog for Nokia 770 PDA. I’ve noticed that growing pains have been solved, and a newly released Beta version of the OS promises to greatly improve the PDA’s functionality. On the bulletin board users are estatic about the improvements, although it is still only beta software, so users like…
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Proprietary Soap
4 Soap Dispensers Originally uploaded by tantek (thanks Matt). Tantek on why proprietary solutions will fail: Note the fact that there are not one, not two, but FOUR soap dispensing “mechanisms” here. Why? This makes no sense at all from the user’s point of view. Note: they are all empty except the bottle dispenser on…
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Taking a Risk with Ebay
I did something today I thought I never would do: I bought a laptop from ebay! It’s scary, and the biggest stumbling block turned out to be the ebay seller’s failure to fully identify itself on ebay. Turns out the company does have a web presence , but I had no way of knowing that…
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One Awesome Battery Recharger
While ordering my Marantz PDM 660 with basic mod, Mr. Oade referred me to an “awesome battery recharger.” I read some more about it, and gosh, it is absolutely awesome. Among other things you can change the settings to discharge completely, switch between fast recharge mode (which apparently is harsh on battery life) and gentle…
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SXSW Torrents are Back!
I won’t be posting much for the next week or two, but I wanted to correct a point in a previous point about being robbed: SXSW already has links available to music torrents for SXSW 2005 and SXSW 2006. That’s awesome! On another note, I bought a replacement mp3 player, the Creative Zen Touch 40…
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Dell + linux + laptop
Some resources: Dell linux community forum Dell Laptop yahoo group Jarod Wilson MythTV How to page (for FC4) and TV Tuners for linux laptops
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Finding Rootkits on Windows/ Yum in Linux
Rootkit revealers for Windows. From a slashdot forum on how to know if your machine is a zombie. The thought of this terrifies me. Here’s a list of valuable linux tools. Last night I made the switch to fedora (though I haven’t configured wireless or networking). I have to admit; I’m spoiled by gentoo’s emerge…
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Egress for PDAs
Egress, a RSS Feed Reader for Pocket PC PDAs. Cost $12. Cool.
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Ebooks vs. Simple HTML for PDAs
The most interesting/useful content on my Axim PDA is not ebooks but my recipe collection. And basically I just save the files AS IS from my web browser. That is a bitch; lots of websites generate their pages dynamically so it is cumbersome (if not impossible) to download them offline. I like ebooks, but there…
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Destroying an Ipod
What does it take to destroy a nano ipod? Quite a lot, apparently. (thanks, Geek Radio). The 2GB iPod nano displayed amazing resilience to abuse during a stress test by Ars Technica: after throwing the device from a speeding vehicle at up to 50 Mph and running it over twice failed to stop the music…
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The Real Apollo 13
After watching Apollo 13 for the gazillionth time, I finally went on the Internet and read up some more. Here’s a great longish 3 page article that sheds new light on the complexity of the rescue mission. Here are a few points I found interesting: Unlike the film, the real crew didn’t figure out that…
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Media Centers with HDTV?
Using a modded Xbox as a media center. You may not be able to play HD signals unless you upgrade the chip. Speaking of media centers, Haupage has some cool media/networking solutions, although it’s unclear about HD support. A slashdot discussion on the topic.
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More DRM Perils
I was thinking of buying a new mp3 player/recorder, the Iriver H340. It’s a high end product costing $350-400. H340 can play .wma files, which is a real plus. (My local library lets you download .wma audio books). That is partially a reason I need to buy this. On the other hand, a firmware upgrade…