Geek Minute

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2006-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

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Thunderbird 1.5 Released

2006-01-11T18:33:00.000-08:00

Mozilla has released the first major update to Thunderbird. Version 1.5 includes an automated update system, in-line spell checking, an a bunch of other additions and improvements.

I use Thunderbird for all of my RSS needs. 1.5 is stable and a great product. Upgrade today.

read more | digg story

C|Net Best Of CES

2006-01-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

Now that CES is over, many places are posting what thye found to be the best products in their opinion.

Some of the items on their list include:

Creative Zen Vision:M
Pioneer Inno
Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology
The D-Link SecureSpot All-in-One Internet Security Appliance
Belkin CableFree USB hub
Nvidia GeForce Quad SLI
Pioneer AVIC-Z1

Read about those and more over at Best of CES

SploitCast - A New Podcast for Hackers

2006-01-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

"This is an interesting new podcast that has a rather unique format. The first SploitCast episode features a roundtable discussion on the WMF exploit.

I listened to the first episode the other afternoon and found it very entertaining. I have subscribed to it. Check it out.

read more | digg story

Netvibes Portal Page

2006-01-11T18:14:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I ran across another AJAX customizable home page that reminded me of the google.com/ig page discussed previously.

It provides many of the same features. Some people like it better just because it is not another way for Google to track you. I think I will stick with Google for now.

Cheap Web Hosting!

2006-01-11T17:08:00.000-08:00

DreamHost.Com

** New Users Only**

~1 Terabyte of Bandwidth a month
~20 Gigabytes of storage
~Unlimited Sub-Domains
~And More!

$9.24/Year

This is only good for a year, but it is an amazing deal. It comes with a free domain name and a bunch of other stuff.
Follow these directions to sign up. I already did!

Dual-core Centrino

2006-01-09T17:31:00.000-08:00

"The new Core Duo based laptops give out more performance and in many cases, with even more battery life. Anand was keen to emphasise the fact that all variables were kept constant during the test and only the chipset and the CPU were changed. "

I have been waiting for these to hit the public. I own a centrino based laptop and have been dreaming about how a dual core processor would perform. I want one!

Full Story

Microsoft recommends ATI hardware for Vista

2006-01-09T17:29:00.000-08:00

"We managed to see a rather interesting Microsoft document that recommends to people who want to show off Vista to use ATI over Nvidia. It says that: "ATI is preferred to Nvidia at this time due to superior driver support"."

Nvidia! ATI NVIDIA!!! ATI!!! Microsoft: ATI!

The ATI Lovers should get a kick out of this one. Something they can shove in the face of the Nvidia users.

Full Story

SD/USB Card

2006-01-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

No protruding usb dongles on this one!

USB and SD card all in one.

read more | digg story

Dell may use AMD processors in the future

2006-01-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

"Michael Dell, Dell's Chairman, announced at CES that future computers may use AMD processors in place of Intel's processors that Dell is known for using."

I love AMD. I usually try to find equlivant servers from HP because they offor many products featuring AMD processors. It is always great to see more big companies sell AMD products.

read more | digg story

picoPsu 120watts of Tiny Power

2006-01-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

"We have been looking at the ecosystem growing around VIA's ITX and Nano-ITX platforms and we've just discovered what has to be the smallest PSU around.

The picoPSU, by MiniBox, is barely the size of an ATX connector. It's 120W, and has a couple of molex connectors and a floppy connector, as well as an input jack for mains power."

So, you like small silent computers? This go great with a Via mini-itx motherboard/processor combo. More details available.

Great Radio Line

2006-01-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

I was listening to Hitzradio.com shoutcast stream today while catching up on some work and I heard a great line I have to share. The DJ said, "This might not be your favorite song, but then you may not be our favorite listener. So here it is..." and they started playing the song. Nice funny line to hear while trying to debug a chunk of code. Have a good weekend everyone.

Google Pack: All that is Google in One Download

2006-01-06T21:54:00.000-08:00

The beta release of Google Pack has been released. It is a one stop places to download useful Google and non-Google applications.

The list includes:

Google Earth
Google Desktop
Picasa
Google Pack Screensaver
Google Toolbar for IE
Google Talk
Google Video Player
Firefox w/ Google Toolbar
Ad-Aware
Norton AntiVirus
Adobe Reader
RealPlayer
GalleryPlayer HD Images
Trillian

It has a simple interface. What else would you expect from Google.

I used the program to install Google Talk and the Pack Screensaver. As you can see it detected all the other programs that is supports that I have installed. It also has the ability to auto update all of these programs. That might be a useful in the future.

It looks like Goole is one step closer to taking over the world.

Worst Buy Screws up XM Radio Installs

2006-01-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

"Suprise: Best Buy will say anything to get you to buy. Also they don't know what they're talking about."

I don't think I would ever let Best Buy touch my car... Read this sad story.

150 GB Western Digital Raptor Hard Drive

2006-01-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

The Inquirer posted up the announcement of the release of the 150GB beast. They tried to incease the storage space since it is easy to buy a 300GB+ hard drive for the same price. They still offor amazing performance mostly thanks to the fact it is 10,000rpm like it predecessors.

First Wi-Fi phone for Skype introduced

2006-01-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

"Broadband gear maker NetGear Inc. is introducing a cordless phone to dial Skype Internet calls over any Wi-Fi connection without a personal computer, joining a parade of new products at the International Consumer Electronics Show bringing online telephony to the mainstream.

Other announcements at CES involving VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, included new phones from two major names in consumer electronics, Panasonic Communications Co. and Philips Electronics NV."

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of these. If wifi hot spots continue spreading like they have been you could use your phone in many places around town. It looks like VoIP is really battling to further become a mainstream technology.

Full Story

10 Things You Should Know about WordPress 2.0

2005-12-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

Guest writer Aaron Brazell on Problogger.net has posted an interesting story that describes 10 things you should know about that will appear in WordPress 2.0 when it is released on December 26^th. They include:

Thumbnails of Downloaded Themes
Capabilities and Roles
Importing from Other Blogging Platforms
Built In Caching
Image Uploading
Use WordPress for Social Networking
Hooks and Filters
Built in Anti-Spam
Don’t Use the Rich Text Editor
WordPress as a Content Management System

Currently this site is run from blogger, but I plan on moving to WP in the next month or two.

Out of Town

2005-12-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

I will be out of town for a few days. I am going to try to post anything I find over this time period but I am not promising anything. Have a Happy Holidays everyone!

Christmas: What did you get?

2005-12-25T20:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas is the time to recieve new geek toys. Only a few of my presents this year were tech related.

Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speaker Set

40 watts RMS Satellites
120 watts RMS 8' long throw subwoffer

Hauppauge PVR-150

PCI TV Tuner and IR Remote

I will put up reviews of each of these items as I use them over the next few weeks.

Intel's multi-FSB chipsets go back to the future

2005-12-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

"While many other high-end processors had multiple buses, scalable SMP interconnects and so on long time ago, alleviating the SMP scaling bottleneck somewhat, Intel still sticks to the old "single clogged FSB" approach. That results in choppy SMP scaling performance even when using CPUs with humungous caches, like the 8 MB XeonMP or 9 MB Itanium 2. If there wasn't Opteron, Intel could probably continue like this forever, but, as we all know, Opteron is here and, despite AMD's sometimes amateurish business attitude, it does, with its superb scaling, steal quite a bit of high-end dough from Intel these days."

The article continues to talk about the plans Intel has to combact AMD. They also show how Intel's current plans are similar to Alphas years ago.

Full Story

Netflix wins first round in online DVD rental war

2005-12-25T18:12:00.000-08:00

"The companies switched places in market value over the course of an intense, yearlong price war, with Netflix -- which has no debt -- now worth $1.5 billion, compared with Blockbuster at $684 million and more than $1 billion in debt."

This is really interesting. Over the holidays I have seen numerous commercials for Netflix on TV and I am kind of curious to try out the service. After reading this article, it looks like many other people are using it.

Have you tried Netflix or any other online/mail rental services?

read more | digg story

Xbox 360 mod chips almost available

2005-12-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

"According to cdrinfo.com, a mod chip for the Xbox 360 is likely to show up within weeks.

[...]

Everyone of us is endeavoring to develop a mod chip with complete functions. With the chip, gamers will access all functions of Xbox360."

Full Story

Fun with Firefox Chrome URLs

2005-12-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

"Some really neat tricks for Firefox 1.5. By typing chrome URLs into the browser address bar you can have Firefox nested inside a tab in another Firefox, make your Firefox think its an alert or open your bookmarks in a tab like Flock."

This is pretty fun. There are lots of useful tricks. One that I think might be the most useful is the ability to open the javascript console in a tab. Check them out.

read more | digg story

PS3 launch title is Unreal Tournament 2007

2005-12-22T22:52:00.000-08:00

"After more than half a year of waiting, we finally have confirmation from the January 2006 issue of PSM. UT2007 will indeed be coming out for the PS3. Furthermore, they plan on launching the game right along side the console itself, perhaps as early as this coming spring."

For those of you wondering what games will launch with the PS3, here is a good one to add to the list.

Full Story

Google Hires Inventor of Python

2005-12-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

"Since Google uses Python extensively in its own projects, perhaps it was only a matter of time..."

Now he will be able to spend 20% of his time improving a popular language.

read more | digg story

X.Org 7.0 and 6.9 Released

2005-12-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

"X11R7.0 is the first release of the complete modularized and autotooled source code base for the X Window System.
First major release in over a decade!

Many new features, including EXA Acceleration."

It is exciting to see that there is finally an updated release. I hope this becomes a regular thing.

read more | digg story

Dell will bundle Firefox in the UK - CONFIRMED!!

2005-12-21T23:13:00.000-08:00

According to Blake Ross (one of Firefox developers) Firefox is bundled in Dell laptops in the UK.

No Dell just needs to start selling AMD and they will be doing great! Way to go Firefox!

read more | digg story

8-foot long Star Wars Attack Cruiser

2005-12-21T23:10:00.000-08:00

"This huge piece was "designed by LEGO Master Builder Erik Varszegi exclusively for display at Star Wars Celebration III, San Diego Comic-Con, Legoland California and several other national LEGO events". Current bidding is up to $32,000 (by a legitimate buyer).

This thing is huge."

Seagate buys Maxtor for $1.9B

2005-12-21T22:52:00.000-08:00

"Reuters reports that Seagate Technology would buy rival computer disk-drive maker Maxtor Corp. for $1.9 billion. Seagate is already world's largest hard drive manufacturer and Maxtor is the third largest after Seagate and Western Digital."

I love Maxtor Hard drives and Seagate offors great warranties. I hope the two joined together provide a good combination.

Full Story

Classic SETI@home has ended

2005-12-15T22:13:00.000-08:00

"After 6 years of operation, SETI@home Classic sent out its last workunit. We will clean up and synchronize the Classic stats with the current SETI@home project in the coming weeks. Thanks to all SETI@home Classic participants for their tremendous dedication to the project. You made SETI@home into something of lasting significance."

SETI started the switch over to the BOINC platform a few years ago. BOINC is Berkeley Open Infrastructure For Network Computing. It is a software platform that allows people from all over the world to volunteer their computer resources to a variety of projects including ClimatePrediction, LHC@home, Predictor@home, Rosetta@home and many more.

Xbox 360 file system de-coded

2005-12-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

"The Xbox 360's DVD file system has been exposed, a coding group calling itself Pi, has claimed.

[...]

According to the Pi people, the Xbox 360's file-system is essentially the same as the one employed by its predecessor console: "Once you get past the protections and down to the raw bits on the disc, its just the standard xboxdvdfs, however the offset and layer breakpoint are different."

One step closer to modded 360's if you can afford one in the first place.

Full Story

Wikipedia Class Action

2005-12-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

"There is a problem with the operation and functionality of Wikipedia. The basic problem is that none of the Trustees of Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., nor any of the volunteers who are connected with Wikipedia, consider themselves responsible and therefore accountable for the content.

They believe themselves to be above the law.

WikipediaClassAction.org is currently gathering complaints from the entire Internet community, including individuals, corporations, partnerships, etc., who believe that they have been defamed and or who have been or are the subject of anonymous and malicious postings to the popular online encyclopedia WikiPedia."

Idiots!! Wikipedia is amazing. If everything that was incorrect on the internet led to a lawsuit, there would be no more internet. I hope they fail miserably. What do you think?

Buy an IPod for $4.99??

2005-12-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

"Police say Baldino used homemade bar codes to buy electronic gadgets at prices far below any legitimate discount. The 19-year-old is facing three counts of being naughty - one of them a Class 5 felony.

Baldino was detained by Target security Wednesday after he purchased a $150 iPod with a bar-code label of $4.99."

[...]

Busted, Baldino begged for a little yuletide forgiveness.

"I will NEVER EVER DO THIS EVER AGAIN and I am once more terribly sorry," Baldino wrote in a statement for police. "Please let me go for I am terribly sorry!!! I'm only a kid! Help me out. I just want to go home. I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it. Please! Please! Please!"

Nice try. It was a clever idea, but there is no way you are going to beg your way out of it. You are in college and you used a computer to create bar codes. They know you are not stupid...
TIP: Don't try this at home.

Full Story

Mars Rovers Showing Signs of Age

2005-12-11T17:01:00.000-08:00

"Spirit and Opportunity, the two robotic vehicles roving the red planet, have lasted more than 22 months, far longer than anyone anticipated"

Even though they have lasted longer than the initial 90 days, there are signs of wear and tear on the rovers. So far Opportunity's mechanical arm has stopped moving and one of its steering actuators has blown out. Spirit is in much better condition. Its only problem is its rock abrasion tool wore out after taking 15 samples. The tool was only supposed to be able to take 3 samples, so researchers are happy with the information they have received.

The Spirit and Opportunity have traveled 5.5 and 6.5 kilometers respectively in temperatures that can change up to 100 degrees Celsuis each day. Together, the 2 rovers have sent back 130,000 images of Mars.

Read the Full Story Here.

Hacker Tries To Sell Excel Flaw On EBay

2005-12-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

"An unknown security researcher tried to sell a vulnerability in Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program on eBay, but the online auction site pulled the listing late Thursday.

The unusual route to vulnerability profit-taking was squashed by eBay after the listing--offered by someone only identified as "fearwall"--was bid up to just under $60."

[...]

He also took several potshots at Microsoft, saying that the opening bid of $.01 was "a fair value estimation for any Microsoft product" and offered a 10 percent discount to any Microsoft employee who mentioned the discount code "LINUXRULZ."

Funny, but did the seller really think they would get away with it. Well, I guess I have seen plenty of other weird things sold on EBay. Check out the Full story here.

Gaim V2.0 Screen Shot

2005-12-10T23:01:00.000-08:00

"We're really close, now, to releasing our first beta. Check back next next Friday, December 16th. It really should be out by then."

I can't wait to test out the beta!

Gaim News Page

College Finals

2005-12-09T13:44:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year. Finals are here. My post count has been lower because I have been studying. I just thought I should let you all know why things have been slow around here lately.

Lights Out

2005-12-09T13:39:00.000-08:00

"Cops asked a Deerfield Township, Ohio, man who covered his house with 25,000 Christmas lights rigged to dance when holiday music plays to pull the plug on the display after a car wreck"

I was suprised to see this story after having discussed the lights display here before.

It was exciting to see it was not a fake video, but the work of an EE. He programmed 25,000 lights to perform the 12 minute show for drivers passing by. It cost him $10,000 to build. It's sad to see it is being turned off after 2 months of construction and all the money that he invested. It was neat while it lasted.

Full story here.

Dell 30 Inch Wide Screen LCD

2005-12-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

Now this would look great on my desk!

Display Size: 30 inch
Response Time: 14ms
Brightness: 400cd/m2
Contrast: 700:1
Viewing Angle: 178/178
Native Resolution: WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
PC Connectivity: DVI-D (Dual link) x 1 with HDCP
Others: 4-Port USB Hub, 9-in-1 Multimedia Card Reader/Slots, Height Adjustable Stand, Swivel & Tilt. (No pivot)

Release for North America is scheduled for December 21

(via Engadget)

New Google Referral Firefox Ads

2005-12-03T23:58:00.000-08:00

It appears Google has released a few new ads for the Firefox referral program. They are the same demisions are previous ads, but with new unique colors. I wonder why they picked these particular ones....

Top Javascript Functions

2005-12-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

Top 10 custom JavaScript functions of all time
"If there was ever a universal common.js shared among the entire develosphere, you'd fine these ten (plus one bonus) functions. It would be the swiss army knife no developer would go into production without. They have no doubt been tested tried and true and have proven usefulness and helpfulness to all those who've used them. So without further ado, here are what I believe to the top ten greatest custom JavaScript functions in use today."

I just recently delved back into the world of web programming and have been learning the basics of javascript. These functions have given me something new to learn and study.

The list of functions include:

addEvent()
addLoadEvent()
getElementByClass()
cssQuery()
toggle()
insertAfter()
inArray()
getCookie()
setCookie()
deleteCookie()
$() Prototype Dollar Function

The Comments section has numerous suggestions on ways to imporve the code given and other common functions. Check out this great list of javascript functions.

The Best of Hubble

2005-12-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

See some amazing pictures here!

GMail Get Virus Protection

2005-12-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

What's new on Gmail?

Just Launched!

Virus scanning is here!
Get an automatic check-up every time you open or send a message with an attachment. We even try our best to remove viruses so we can protect you against all the ones we find. You're on your own with the common cold (try chicken soup).

Keep your computer and email virus clean!

SNL iPod Skit

2005-12-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

So, how many different iPods are there currently? This SNL Skit (QuickTime) pokes fun at all the different versions of the iPod.

"Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update anchors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host special guest *Steve Jobs* who unveils a whole new line of iPods. The parody of Apple's planned obsolescence program for the iPod includes the debut of the iNvisa media player."

(via: Forever Geek)

Laptop Scroll Touchpad

2005-11-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

Do you have a laptop with a plain old boring touchpad like mine (Dell 600M)?

Do you wish you had a fancy one with scroll bars and a middle mouse button?

Well, you might and just don't know it. The following might vary depending on your laptop manufacture and installed touchpad drivers.

You can add these features to any touchpad by setting some options in Windows. In the Mouse Settings in the Control Panel there is a tab called Gestures. Here you will find the advanced options for your touchpad.

Here you can see I have the Scroll Functions added to my touchpad. I also have the Middle Click mapped to the top left corner of the touch pad.

You can also set the corner clicking to pop up the run dialog, shortcut menu, and other options. You might also have noticed that there is the option to add Back/Forward Buttons. I was really excited about these, but they did not work for me. Let me know if they do for you.

Overall this was a great find. All I was trying to do was change a mouse cursor and found a lot more to play with. So far the extra functions being added to the touchpad have not been in the way of normal usage. For any of these functions to work, you must be up against the very edge of the touchpad so it is hard to accidentally press them. Let me know your laptop has similar options.

Samurize System Monitor

2005-11-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

A few friends have seen this on the bottom of my screen and wondered what it is.

Samurize.Com

Samurize is the popular advanced system monitoring and desktop enhancement engine for Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/2003. IT professionals, overclockers, gamers and desktop modders alike use Samurize for system information, weather reports, news headlines and much much more. And best of all, Samurize is 100% free.

The best part about Samurize is that it is completely customizable. Ex: This is the config of one of my friends

It has a great WYSIWYG/Drag and Drop Editor for easy customization.

You can simply click and drop around all the different objects on the screen to make a configuration that is unique to your needs. There are numerous screen shots available on the Samurize homepage.

Finally, Samurize offers the ability to add in endless functionality via scripts and plugins. There are currently 185 Skins, 447 Configs, and 396 Scripts & Plugins available for download directly from Samurize.com Download it today!

Firefox 1.5 Released

2005-11-29T13:07:00.000-08:00

Rumors are flying that the Final version of Firefox is available via the FTP server for Mozilla. The main Firefox page has not been updated to say whether or not the final version has been released or not. MD5 Sums shows that it is the same executable as the 1.5 RC3 release so people are still skeptical.

Windows Version

All Versions

Update: GetFirefox.com Download Link

Visual Studio 2005 Bugs

2005-11-28T15:38:00.000-08:00

Even though I downloaded the latest version of Visual Studio 2005 a few weeks ago, I did not install it until this past weekend. Oh was that a mistake. I should have stuck with the Beta.

Usually when moving between betas of Visual Studio, you have to do a whole bunch of manual steps to remove all the remains of the beta version. With this release came a nifty uninstall tool. First you manually remove SQL Server 2005 components. After that the uninstaller does the rest.

After installing the final version, everything was ok for a few hours. Until...

After that is was all down hill... Eventually I reformatted and reinstalled Windows to see if left overs from the beta was causing the problems. Nope, everything was just as bad as before. Finally I have found that the majority of the crashing was caused by editing a file while debugging. The great new feature doesn't work. I am going to stick with it for now, but I hope an update is released soon.

Video (7MB)

Keep Your Feet Warm

2005-11-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

Now I have seen it all, USB Powered Slippers...

Christmas Lights and Music

2005-11-24T16:42:00.000-08:00

I was sitting around with the family today and my Dad sent me a link to this video.

Fresh Video from BlogTelevision.net (Source)

I wonder what their neighbors think...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-23T22:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Combine Internet Connections

2005-11-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

"Say you have access to multiple links to the Internet, such as several wireless networks in range. Wouldn't it be nice to combine all that bandwidth into one big fat pipe for your downloading pleasure?"
Howto

Yeah, this can be used to steal your neighbors internet, but my personal interest is for using multiple ports here at college. I would like to try joining multiple ethernet connections and a wireless connection. The way the network here is setup, being on multiple ports could have its advantages. Let me know if you try this out.

Skype at RadioShack

2005-11-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

"Skype Technologies SA makes its debut appearance in 3,500 RadioShack stores across the U.S. today, a distribution move aimed at bringing VOIP to a wider set of U.S. broadband users.

RadioShack is selling a “Skype starter pack,” which consists of a 4-inch-by-4-inch clear plastic sack containing the Skype software, a white plastic ear bud headset with the Skype logo, and a voucher for 30 free minutes of SkypeOut toll service.

The "pack" looks like something one might find in a gumball machine or a box of Count Chocula, but for now it can only be found at the 'Shack. Retail price: $4.99 until Christmas"

This is pretty cool. I really like Skype and use it currently with a bluetooth headset. It would be nice if more of my friends and relatives picked this up and started using it.

via: Forevergeek

CSS Fun

2005-11-21T23:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the site looking so messed up for the past few hours. I uploaded the previous article and ran out the door without checking it. I found later that the site was a wreck. After playing with the css for the site template I finally realized that everything was caused by a missing quote in the url from a link in the previous post. It just goes to show how easily everything can break in the wonderful world of the internet.

Download Wikipedia

2005-11-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

Most geeks know the power of wikipedia. For those of you that don't know, wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that is created by people on the internet. It is a wiki, is a group of Web pages that allows users to add and edit content.

Now you can download the entire wikipedia database to your computer. The information is downloaded in xml format. These can be used to load your own local database. As you can guess, it takes up a large about of hard drive space. Don't worry, its a small download, a mere 14.1 GB for the articles. This article will help you import the xml

via: Digg

Copy URL+ Firefox Extension

2005-11-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

The Copy URL+ extension enables you to copy to the clipboard the current document's address along with additional information such as the document's title, the current selection or both. It makes creating blog posts extremely efficient. I can copy a block of text I want and with a quick right click and menu selection I can have al the important information at my fingertips.

Copy URL + Homepage

For an example, I copied the text from the previous post using this extensions. This is the result:

Geek Minute
" "The new London GooglePlex office, located near Victoria Station, currently houses 200 workers, but plans are underway for a massive recruitment effort.""
http://geekminute.com/

As you can see, it gives me the Page title, selected text, and url from the address bar. It even places quotes around the text to same you time.

6/7 Star Extension

London GooglePlex Pictures

2005-11-20T12:51:00.000-08:00

"The new London GooglePlex office, located near Victoria Station, currently houses 200 workers, but plans are underway for a massive recruitment effort."

I want a big G!

Picture Gallery

KDE 3.5 RC1 Available

2005-11-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

"The KDE Project announced that KDE 3.5 is almost finished, so the group has prepared a first release candidate."

Sounds like I need to do some compiling tonight...

via: digg

Busy Weekend

2005-11-20T12:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of posts over the past few days. A few people came to visit from out of town so I was pretty busy. Some of you might have also noticed that I redid the css for the site. I just found out that on other computers the page layout was all messed up. I switched to static sized columns. I still have a few problems with IE, but you all should be using Firefox anyway ;-)

New Firefox RC Release

2005-11-17T23:07:00.000-08:00

There seems to be a lot of releases of 1.5RC lately. My browser just updated to a new build. Upgrade yours today!

Simpsons Sites Are Real!

2005-11-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

Fans of The Simpsons will know that many amusing web site names are mentioned in the show such as WhatBadgersEat.com, Dorks-Gone-Wild.com and my favourite; SpringfieldIsForGayLoversOfMarriage.com. Don't forget to check out SexySlumberParty.com too which isn't on the list!

Wow! I never knew this. I am suprised over the years I have never tried punching in one of the sites. Simpsons Rule!

(via: digg)

AIM Buddies

2005-11-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

Have you logged into AIM lately? Well, if you have you met 2 new "buddies" that have been added to your list. They are Moviefone and ShoppingBuddy. I guess they want me to have IM conversations with some bot to find a movie or gift to buy for Christmas.

AIM Conversation with ShoppingBuddy:

Jon: Hi
ShoppingBuddy: Welcome. Now you can search for products with AOLShopping. Type main to get started. To read our privacy policy, type privacy anytime.

Jon: main
ShoppingBuddy: Main Menu
Enter something for me to search for or type a number

1 - GAP HOLIDAY FAVORITES
2 - Search
3 - Top Searches
4 - Shopping List
5 - Wish List
6 - Deals & Steals
7 - Gift Shops
8 - Alerts
9 - View Top Categories

You can also check out AOL Shopping

It really looks like this thing would be a pain to try and use. I can't see anyone actually using this over a simple google/froogle/amazon search. Thanks AOL for the spam.

Adsense Firefox Extension

2005-11-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

Another one of my favorite extensions displays the details of your adsense ad earnings in Firefox's lower status bar. Install Link

Example Statusbar:

The extension also lets you pick exactly what you want to see.

7/7 Star Extension!

Google Analytics

2005-11-15T16:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Google released it newly aquired service Google Analytics. It is based off Urchin Analytics that it purchased in March. It provides a lot of detailed data that all webmasters love to get their hands on. it can also present you with AdWords statistics on the ads that were click and such. it use to cost $199/month, but now is free.

I signed up for the service but do not have a lot of data collected yet. I will give details and my opinion in a few days.

(via: Problogger)

My Favorite Firefox Extensions

2005-11-14T15:12:00.000-08:00

Over the next few days, I am going to add a post each day that describes my favorite Firefox extensions. I am a huge Firefox fan and use a lot of extensions!

One of the first extensions I always install is ForecastFox.

7/7 Stars

Forecastfox obtains their weather data from AccuWeather.Com. You can view your current weather info, 2 day forecast, and current radar. You can also select the amount of detail that is shown within the Firefox toolbar if it is already pretty full like mine.

Overall it is fast, customizable, and very useful.
Definitely a 7 star extension!

New Apartment

2005-11-13T19:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this weekend. I was out of town searching for a new apartment. I am graduating in December and will be moving to a near by town. After 2 days of searching, the perfect place was found!

It is a really nice place. The building is brand new. Some of the features of the apartment include: Dishwasher, Full sized washer and dryer in the apartment, the biggest bedrooms and living room we had seen, nice deck and outside storage area, and 2 swimming pools and a hot tub on site.

So, how many computers can be put in an 11x11 room... :-)

Man buys virtual space station for $100,000

2005-11-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

"In what is being billed as the largest virtual property deal, a film director has bought a virtual space station in the online game Project Entropia for $100,000 real US dollars."

The article goes on to describe that the man plans to make around $20,000 a month from the purchase. Personally I think he is crazy. What would you do if the game company went out of business the next day....

(Via: Inquirer)

Firefox 1.5 RC2 Released

2005-11-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 2 is now available for download.

Linksys Portable VoIP Phone

2005-11-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

"It will allow you to make phone calls using your braodband connection whether your at home, in the office or a public hotspot."

It's a pretty slick looking phone.

Happy Birthday Firefox!

2005-11-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

Today Forefox turned 1. Happy Birthday!

Linux Worm

2005-11-09T12:28:00.000-08:00

It's not ofton you see a Linux virus spreading around.

"Security outfit McAfee has published details of a Linux worm that it has found in the wild.

The worm is a modified derivative of the BSD/Scalper worms and spreads by exploiting web servers hosting vulnerable PHP/CGI scripts."

Via: Inquirer

Portable Firefox 1.5 RC1 Released

2005-11-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

I have been using this program for a few months now. It is a tweaked version of Firefox that is able to run off a USB flash drive. It is convient being on a college campus. I cam walk up to any computer and have Firefox at my hands instead of having to use... IE...

Portable Firefox

From the same site you can also download: Portable Thunderbird, Portable OpenOffice, Portable AbiWord, Portable NVU, Portable Sunbird, and Portable FileZilla

I always have Firefox, Thunderbird, and Filezilla on my drive. This way I can do all major internet tasks from any computer and not have to install anything.

New Microsoft Products Released

2005-11-07T20:24:00.000-08:00

Final versions are finally released. Have fun everyone.

Broadcast Your Misfourtunes

2005-11-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

When I turned on my TV today, I was presented with someone elses misfourtune. At our college, the school radio station is broadcasted on channel 3. A powerpoint slide show runs on the screen displaying ads for different local events. Today was a different story.

Someone has a problem with a virus. You think before they started the clean up process, they would have unplugged the TV broadcast cable...

Well, I left it on the channel for a little bit while I checked my email just to see if they ever noticed and unhooked the cable. Well, it never happened. After a few crashes they rebooted into safe mode. Now we're getting some where.

Well, lets try another virus scan...

If you look closely, you can see they already have 757 items quarantined.

BOOM!

Crashed again! Again the computer reboot while the person was in the middle of doing something. This time they let it reboot, logged in, and started up the slide show again. I guess they gave up on fixing the virus problem.

A World Without Power

2005-11-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

As I was typing up the previous post about the new Yahoo Maps last night, my apartment lost power. A large storm had been rolling through town for an hour or so before it finally knocked out the wonderful electricity. The first thing I noticed was the rest of the room had gone dark except for my desk area which is all run off my UPS. I shutdown my computers and realized I did not have a flashlight or anything else at hand. I proceeded to plug my desk lamp into the UPS until we lit some candles.

A few of our friends from next door stopped by and we all chatted for a while. None of us knew what to do. All our entertainment was in electronic form. The best idea we had was to watch a movie off my laptop, but the battery did not have enough power to last the whole time. The only board game we had was TV Scene It... wait, no TV/DVD player... Also no xbox, no computer, no tv, no movies... what are we suppose to do on a dark rainy night? Well, we finally gave up and headed to Steak n Shake for a milk shake and something to do. By the time we got home, the power was back on and we watched some TV and chatted. What is a geek suppose to do without power...

Yahoo Maps Beta

2005-11-05T19:13:00.000-08:00

Yahoo has released a new version of it's map service. It looks very much like Google's with the ability to search for items on the map and drag the map around via the mouse cursor.

As you can see, they look very much alike. I do like Yahoo's little mini map overview. On the Yahoo page, you can also collapse the side bar with all the search textboxes by clicking the little arrow. All in all, they are similar services until you recall that Google Maps can do Hybird Maps with Satellite imagery. I love this view because you can actually see what is there along with the road you will need to take to your destination.

Firefox Plus Google Toolbar

2005-11-05T13:57:00.000-08:00

If you look on the right side of this site you will notice a banner similar to these has been added.

This a new referral program from Google that is part of adsense. They are promoting the installation of Firefox and the Google toolbar as a single package.

I already had a Firefox download link posted before but, this one helps webmasters like myself earn a bit of the cost of running a website back. It earns money just like an adsense ad click. If you run a website that has adsense ads add this and help support the spread of Firefox.

It nice to see two great companies partnering up to provide a great product and a means of distribution. I am a Firefox lover!

Office Space

2005-11-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

As some of you might have seen, a special edition of Office Space was recently released. I was wandering around Best Buy and noticed that they had the movie along with a special edition box set of goodies. Office Space has to be one of my favorite moves of all time, but I have yet to purchase the DVD. I figured this was a good time to do it.

The big box

It opening like a file cabinet

All the goodies inside...

As you can see, the box contained the DVD, Red Stapler, Lumbergh Coffee Mug, Mouse Pad, Magnetic Picture Frame, Pen and Pencil Set, and TPS Report Notepad. This box set was a Best Buy special, but you can pick up a copy of the movie anywhere.

Goolge Print is Alive....

2005-11-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

Google Print
The beta of Google Print is finally available to the public. Check it out.

MS Windows and Office Live

2005-11-02T12:03:00.000-08:00

Most of you have most likely seen stories around that Microsoft is going to release a web version of Windows and Office to fight with Google. Well I decided to check out the page today and see what it was like in IE, since it is Microsoft...

At first glance, it looks very similar to the http://google.com/ig/ page I discussed here a few weeks ago if you ask me. There is only one major difference, it look horrible in Firefox.

But wait... what is that on the top of the screen...

Are they serious?!? Are they going to support Firefox... I can't believe it. Microsoft is going to support the little guy. I would have to say this is a big day for Firefox, being accepted by Microsoft as a browser to support. One day, Firefox will rule the world!

Firefox 1.5 RC1

2005-11-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

"Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 1 is now available for download. This is the first release candidate of our next generation Firefox browser, to be released later this year, and it is being made available to our developer and testing community for compatibility testing and to solicit feedback..."

Andrews-Curtis Project Porgress

2005-10-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

So far I have managed to create the base objects that will allow for the manipluation of the words and letters. I chose to represent each letter as a number. a->1 b->2 c->3 ... To represent the inverse, is store -1, -2, -3... it is easier to play with numbers that letters. This also makes reducing extremely. If a number + its neighbor = 0 then you know they are inverses and can be reduced out.

Alabhabet represents the alphabet of lettes that can make up the words. It can also be used to obtain a random letter or random word.

Public Class Alphabet
    Public Max As Integer
    Private rnd As New Random()

    Public Sub New(ByVal Mx As Integer)
    Public Sub SetMax(ByVal Mx As Integer)
    Public Function RandomLetter() As Integer
    Public Function RandomWord(Optional ByVal Size As Integer = -1) As Word
End Class

Word reperesents a word. It holds the letters and the different operations that can be performed to a word.

Public Class Word
     Public Letters As New ArrayList

     Public Sub New()
     Public Sub New(ByVal ary As ArrayList)
     Public Sub New(ByVal LettersString As String)
     Public Function Inverse() As Word
         Public Sub MultiplyBefore(ByVal Wrd As Word)
     Public Sub MultiplyAfter(ByVal Wrd As Word)
     Public Sub Reduce()
     Public Sub ReplaceNumber(ByVal OldNum As Integer, ByVal NewNum As Integer)
     Public Overrides Function ToString() As String

End Class

Words holds a collection of words. It lets you manipulate a group of words all at once.

Public Class Words
     Public wrds As New ArrayList
     Private rnd As New Random()

     Public Sub New()
     Public Sub New(ByVal ary As ArrayList)
     Public Sub AddWord(ByVal Wrd As Word)
     Public Sub ClearWords()
     Public Function Count() As Integer
     Public Sub ReplaceLetter(ByVal OldNum As Integer, ByVal NewNum As Integer)
         Public Sub MultiplyBefore(ByVal j As Integer, ByVal k As Integer)
     Public Sub MultiplyAfter(ByVal j As Integer, ByVal k As Integer)
     Public Sub InverseWord(ByVal Wrd As Integer)
     Public Sub IverseRandomWord()
     Public Sub MultiplyRandomWord(ByVal Wrd As Integer, ByVal Random As Word)
     Public Sub Reduce()
     Public Overrides Function ToString() As String

End Class

All this allows me to easiy represent the objects within in the program. I am still working on the details of how to use these to show that the theorm is true or false. Does anyone else have any progress to report?

Andrews-Curtis Conjecture

2005-10-28T17:05:00.000-07:00

Problem
The Bradley BEAR group that I am involved in is looking to prove/disprove the following concept.

Definitions
Alphabet: X={x₁, x₂,..., x_n}

Syllables: x₁^±1, x₂^±1,..., x_n^±1

Words: Strings of syllables
    Ex: x₁ x₂ x₁^-1 x₅

Syllables are words of length one.
The (unique) word of length zero is denoted *.

Words are multiplied by using concatenation (and reduction)
Ex:
w₁ = x₁ x₃ x₂^-1
w₂ = x₂ x₃^-1 x₄

w₁ * w₂ = (x₁ x₃ x₂^-1) * (x₂ x₃^-1 x₄) = x₁ x₄

You can only reduce when the inverses are touching.

Given w, to form w^-1 read right to left and change the signs (NOTE: w * w^-1 = *)

Ex: w = x₁ x₃ x₂^-1 → w^-1 = x₂ x₃^-1 x₁^-1

List of Moves on Collections of Words
Let (r₁, r₂, ..., r_n} be a list of n words on n letters.
(1) r_j → r_j^-1
(2) r_j → w₁r_jw₁^-1
(3) r_j → r_j r_k or r_k r_j for some j≠k
(4) In all words, replace x_i throughout with
       i) x_i^-1
      ii) x_i x_k (k≠i)
     iii) x_k x_i (k≠i)
(5)Add one new letter x_n+1 and one new word r_n+1 = x_n+1 to the list
(6)The opposite of (5), if possible
(7)Just add * to the list
(8)Remove * from the list

Equivalence
Two lists of words, W₁, W₂, are T-Equivalent if one can be transformed to the other by a sequence of moves of type (1)-(8). W₁ ^~_T W₂

Two lists of words are N-Equivalent if one can be transformed to the other by a sequence of moves of type (1)-(6). W₁ ^~_N W₂

Let {W_o} denote the trivial list of words.

Andrews-Curtis Conjecture (1960's)
If W ^~_T {W_o}, then W ^~_N {W_o}

I.e. if a collection of words can be transformed to {} by moves (1)-(8), then it can be transformed to {} by moves (1)-(6).

It is believed that AC is false. Potential counterexamples include:
{c^-1 b c b^-2, a^-1 c a c^-2, b^-1 a b a^-2}
{b a ² b^-1 a^-3, a b² a^-1 b^-3}
{a b a b^-1 a^-1 b^-1, a⁴ b⁵}

These are known to be T-equivalent to {w_o, but cannot be shown to be N-equivalent.

If there is no algorithm to reconize balanced presentations of the trivial group, then AC is false.

Visual Studio 2005 Released

2005-10-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today is the release date for the latest version of Microsoft Visual Studio. It is only availabe to MSDN subscribers right now, with everyone having access to the software on November 7^th. Being a VB.Net programmer, this is very exciting news. I have been programming in the latest beta for the last few months and it wil be nice to move to the final release version. You can can read about some of the new features here

Update:
Even though it was just released, the download speed it doing good.

Exxon in biggest ever US profits

2005-10-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

US oil giant Exxon Mobil has posted a quarterly profit of $9.9bn, the largest in US corporate history, on the back of record oil and gas prices.

Profit was up 75% and revenue rose 32% to more than $100bn.

So why was I paying $3.00+/gallon...

BBC Exxon in biggest ever US profits

Microsoft Hosting Sharepoint

2005-10-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

Information Week Story

I'm scared... There is just something about having Microsoft host a web site of mine. I hope they at least keep up with Windows Updates :-)

Personally, I don't hate Microsoft and IIS. This site is hosted on a Windows 2003 Server with and up time of 50 days right now. I just don't know if I would trust Microsoft with the same up time and service quality you expect from a hosting company. It'll be interesting to see how this works out.

(via: Slashdot)

Dilbert Blog

2005-10-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

For those of you that love Dilbert, the writer just launched a blog. It contains rejected versions of cartoons and other funny items to keep you busy. I am excited to watch this blog mature. Check it out!

(via Blog Herald)

Google goes up, up, up...

2005-10-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Man I wish I was in to the stock market...

Congrats to anyone that owns Google stock!

RSS Reader

2005-10-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

After writing about how much I love Google Personalized Homepage I realized I have out grown it. I have slowly been acquiring a rather large list of blogs and news sites that I track, and they are filling up the Google page. I guess I will finally have to switch over to a installed program. I could use some of the online sites that can track blogs, but I'd rather just have it download. It's kind of similar to the Webmail vs. Pop email. I like it to be a local app rather than a webpage.

Google! Find me some RSS Readers please!
...
What more could I ask for: Wikipedia - List of news aggregators

This site is amazing! It has every program I have ever heard of plus 100's more. After browsing down the list I spotted Thunderbird. I am a lover of Firefox and use Thunderbird for my email while in Linux so I figured I would give it a try.

So off I ran to Thunderbird's Homepage to download the the latest v1.5 beta 2.

Here you can see it has the standard email interface you would expect from most modern email clients with the clean look you expect from a Firefox relative.

It is extremely easy to add another blog or other RSS feed site to Thunderbird. The only thing that keeps throwing me off is you must include http:// before the url of the feed and I keep forgetting it.

After that the interface is slick and simple, just the way I like it.

I have been thinking about try some of the other programs on the list, but at this time I do not have any reasons to spend the time looking. I only wish there was an option of minimize Thunderbird to the systray, but I can live without it. The beta2 have been completely stable so far and I am happy with the whole setup.

So, what do you use for feeds?

Gaim 2.0 on its way

2005-10-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

I have been a long time Gaim user and love their multi-platform, multi-protocol messenger. I recently was having a small bug appear and headed off to Gaim's Site to check for any updates. There I found this:

"We've shifted all our efforts to finishing Gaim 2.0.0. Gaim 2.0.0 has a ton of great features, fixes every problem you've ever had with Gaim, makes drastic changes to huge parts of Gaim---especially status, includes three new protocols, and does a bunch of other amazing stuff. We're looking to feature freeze at the end of this month and release a month or so later"

[...]

"On a related note, the gaim-vv project—which aimed to offer a framework for voice and video support in Gaim—is being merged back into Gaim proper for hopeful incorporation into Gaim 2.0.0. This will be used to support Google Talk's voice as well as MSN and Yahoo! webcams."

This is very exciting news. Hopefully those of you that have tried gaim in the past and decided to not use it will check out the newest version upon release. I will be sure to but up my review of the product as soon as I try it out.

What's Your Brower Homepage?

2005-10-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Mine is http://www.google.com/ig

This is our good friend Google's Personalized hompage.

After Signing in with a gmail account you can start to customize your home page. I love this site mostly because it can pull xml/atom/rss feeds from various web sites. I can instantly check the major sites I visit almost every day.

And scrolled down a bit...

You can see how much information is easily accessable everytime I open my browser.

Now, how does it work... Adding content to this page is extremely easy. It is all drag and drop. If you click the "Add Content" Link in the top left you will be presented with this screen.

Here you can add content from all different types of new sources, gmail account inbox, movie tickets, xml feeds, and much more. You can also see to the right that I am currently moving the Bookmarks section. Rearranging the page is as easy as dragging a section to another part of the page.

Overall, I believe this is an amazing page. I only use a few of the built in content features, but with the ability to add custom feeds it is very extendable and convient. So, whats your homepage?

About Me

2005-10-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

I decided it was about time to tell you about myself. My name is Jon Heizer. I am currently a 22 year old college student attending Bradley University in Peoria, IL, USA. Its a nice mid sized private school in the middle of the state. When I am not in school, I live just outside on St. Louis, Missouri in Belleville, IL.

I started this blog a few months after I became very active in my school's ACM chapter. I was giving a lot of presentations on different interesting things I ran across during the previous week. People were always asking for details so I decided to start this site with all the things I present plus the ones that don't quite make it in to a meeting presentation. Hopefully you will learn something new or read something interesting.

Here you can find all of my contact info.

I hope you all enjoy what you find here and visit often.

Contact Info

2005-10-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

In the age of the internet and 5 ga-zillion messengers, there are plenty of ways to contact me.

AIM: heezer7

Yahoo: jonheizer

MSN: heezer7@hotmail.com (I don't check this email)

Google: jheizer

Email: jheizer (at) charter (dot) net

Feel free to send me an email or IM any time. I would love to chat and hear what you have to say.

Simpsons Season 6 Released

2005-10-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

The Simpsons Season 6 DVD set was released this past week. Any of you that know me personally know that I love the Simpsons. This season covers the episodes released between 1994 and 1995. It was released in a collectors edition Homer Head box.

So far I have watched the first disc and love it. There are some really great episodes that aired during this season. Pick up yours today!

Moved things around

2005-10-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

I moved a few more things around to make the area around the tv look better. Man I love this tv!!!!

Back to Linux

2005-10-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days I have been installing Gentoo on my laptop. I have left a small partition for Windows XP and Visual Studio development, but I am running in Linux full time now. It is great to be back!! This afternoon I set the goal of getting my lcd light to turn off when the lid is closed and to make use of my power and sleep buttons. I have a Dell Inspiron 600M. It's a great little laptop.

To make use of any of this, you will need to have acpi enabled as part of your kernel.
Next, you have to install the acpi deamon to watch for the different events to occur.

# emerge acpid

You also will want it to load on boot...

#rc-update add acpid default

Now, I wanted the power button to shut down my computer and the sleep button to put it into suspend-to-disk (hibernate). Being a college student, I am also bouncing from place to place to hibernate is a must.

All the files we will need to edit as located in /etc/acpi/

#cd /etc/acpi

The files in events/ are set up to catch certain or all acpi triggering events. Upon install, there is a default event that catches all events. It then calls the script /etc/acpi/default.sh. I added made my changes to this file. At first I was making seperate scripts for each event but I figured, what's the point so I combined them all afterwards.

My default.sh:


#!/bin/sh
# Copyright 1999-2004 Gentoo Foundation
# Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2
# $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo-x86/sys-power/acpid/files/acpid-1.0.4-default.sh,v 1.1 2005/03/15 19:15:53 ciaranm Exp $

# Default acpi script that takes an entry for all actions

set $*

group=${1/\/*/}
action=${1/*\//}

case "$group" in
button)
 case "$action" in
  power) shutdown -h -t secs 0
   ;;
  sleep)
   echo -n disk > /sys/power/state
   ;;
  lid)
   state=$(echo `cat /proc/acpi/button/lid/LID/state | awk '/state:/{print $2}'`)

   if [ "$state" = "closed" ]; then
           radeontool light off
   else
           radeontool light on
   fi
   ;;

  *) logger "ACPI action $action is not defined"
   ;;
 esac
 ;;

*)
 logger "ACPI group $group / action $action is not defined"
 ;;
esac

For each button there is a command or series of commands run to react to the button being pressed.

Power and sleep are the simplest with one line command results. The lid button event has to check the current state of the lid by checking /proc/acpi/button/lid/LID/state for the current state and acting acordingly.

New TV!

2005-10-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

After commenting just a few days ago about how I use my computer monitor for a tv, I receive a new TV for my birthday! It's a Samsung LN-R268W. This thing is amazing!

26" Wide Screen HDTV
1366x768 Pixel Resolution
3,000:1 Contrast Ratio
500 cd/m^2 Brightness
170 Deg Viewing Angle
12ms Response Time
HDMI, 2 Component Video, S-Video, VGA Inputs

It is a really sharp looking TV. I currently have the computer hooked up through the VGA port and it looks great. I can now sit across the room and easily read the console text. The picture quality still astounds me. This is my family's first HDTV and I think we are all hooked. More pictures to come. I am still rearranging things to make it fit.

Mythtv Impressions

2005-10-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

My latest project has been converting my pvr/dvr/htpc/(what ever you want to call it) over to a mythtv box. For those of you that don't already know, those acronyms above stand for presonal video recorder, digital video recorder, and home theater pc. Basically they act like a TiVo using a standard computer and a tv tuner card.

Myth tv is an open source project that runs on Linux. It is great project that makes everything you could want in a video recording device possible.

Hardware
AMD XP 2000+ Overclocked to 2600+
Asus NForce2 Motherboard
512MB 400MHZ Corsair XMS DDR
200GB SATA HD
Gainward GeForce4 4200
ATI TV Wonder PCI

For the last year or so I have used Power VCR and the software that comes with the ATI Card to do all my TV watching and recording. It has not been a pleasurable experience. The software would lock up and not record shows, things would hang, constant need for reboots, etc...

I had been debating making the switch to MythTV for a few months, but I have not had the balls to do it. See, I do not actually own a tv. I use the tv tuner and my 19" monitor for all my tv watching. If attempt to install Linux and MythTV and run into a lot of problems, I will not have a working tv for a few days. I finally had the balls a few days ago and gave it a shot. After a bit of tinkering, it was pretty much up and running. My first impression is that it is am amazing piece of software. I will dive into more detail of the next few days about some of its features that have impressed me the most and further explain the entire MythTV project.

Welcome!

2005-08-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome!
Here you will find the lastest geeky things that I run across that I believe would be of interest to you. More updates to come soon!