Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category


Use a bookmark to resize your browser window

Monday, August 21st, 2006

I found this tip via Macworld a while ago, but it was meant for use in Safari. However, in making my switch to Firefox, this was a feature that made the jump all the more interesting because it works in this browser as well. Here’s how it breaks down from Macworld.

Launch Safari (or your favorite browser) and create a new bookmark. Most browsers will require that you bookmark a specific site. In Safari, open a site and then choose Bookmarks: Add Bookmark. Give the bookmark a name that will help you remember the screen size, such as 800×600 or 1024×768. Next, edit the address of the bookmark—in Safari, go to Bookmarks: Show All Bookmarks and navigate to your newly created bookmark. Change the Address portion of the bookmark to:

javascript:self .moveTo(0,0);self.resizeTo(800,600);

Open any page in Safari and select the bookmark. You’ll see that page in an 800-by-600-pixel browser window. You can then duplicate this bookmark and create other sizes as needed; just change the name and the relevant code. When you’re done, move your new bookmarks to a convenient location; then click on them when you want to test your pages at different resolutions. [macworld]

I like to have three of these bookmarks in my toolbar. From small, medium, to large, it gets very useful. I’ve even gone as far as making them slightly button-like, naming them “-”, “+”, and “++”. You can minimize and maximize windows all you want, but to make it quick and simple, just hit your bookmark and you’re done.

This might not be too handy for those folks out there that don’t have a lot of real estate on their monitor. If you run a monitor at the screen size of 1024-by-768, then you might not see the advantage. I can’t be sure if this works in the world of PC’s, but it stands to reason that it should. It’s great for previewing how websites you are working on look, but I just like it for the simple reason of keeping everything on my screen in a more controlled state of chaos.

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Filed under: Apple, Computer Tips, Firefox, Geeky, Safari, Technology

Sequeunce mode pictures on my Nokia

Saturday, August 19th, 2006

Rebecca is the one that made this discovery after getting her very own Nokia 6682 through the buzz marketing campaign by Matchstick. The cellphone will take a series of six pictures at a time when in sequence mode. I tried it out while having dinner on Robson Street and made it into an animated gif.

Nokia on sequence mode

This is actually a group of two sequences. I know that you can make movies just as well, but I wanted to at least show the phone’s ability to capture images like this. It struck me as being a cool feature. If you want to see the sequence again, just click on the pic.

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Filed under: Geeky, Mobiles, Technology

Losing the biggest step for mankind

Wednesday, August 16th, 2006

There is something about this that really bugs me. You would think that some one would have marked these tapes in big, bold letters, but then again, I taped over the VHS my cousin’s first communion with Beavis and Butthead[wiki] during my adolescence days.

NASA no longer knows the whereabouts of the original tapes of man’s first landing on the moon nearly 40 years ago, an official of the US space agency said.

“NASA is searching for the original tapes of the Apollo 11 spacewalk on July 21, 1969,” said Ed Campion, a spokesman for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, a Washington suburb.

The tapes record the famous declaration of Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, as he set foot on its surface: “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”

The original tapes could be somewhere at the Goddard center or in the archives network of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Campion said. [breitbart]

Where the originals could be? The U.S. Declaration of Independence[wiki] and Constitution[wiki] is protected with bullet proof glass and armed guards. The Enola Gay[wiki] is on display at the Smithsonian[wiki] to showcase the history of the only time nuclear weapons were used in combat, not to mention as a symbol of American military triumphs. Even the plane that the Wright brothers[wiki] used for the first, manned flight in history is there. And yet, no one knows where the original vidoes of man’s first steps on the moon went to?

Doesn’t this bother anyone else? It is one of the greatest achievments that humanity has made since the wheel, fire, or the industrial revolution. This is history that is bigger and more impactual than anything that has come before it. Scientists are looking back to Project Apollo[wiki] today to help future exploration of the Moon and Mars. Talk about a picture perfect version of bureaucracy at its finest.

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Filed under: Buh?, News Item, Science, Technology

Dell battery recall could cost you time

Tuesday, August 15th, 2006

If you have a laptop from Dell, then you’ll want to check out their website for a massive battery recall that is going on.  And by massive, I mean Dell wants a few million of them back because they might catch fire on you.  A ticking time bomb?  Not exactly, but you’re better safe than sorry.

Hold on, though.  The exchange process can leave you crippled and plugged into a wall for a few weeks until your replacement arrives.

Laptop owners seeking replacements for recalled batteries will receive priority if they use the Dell special site set up to handle the recall, the company said today. However, users of many Latitude, Inspiron, Precision, XPS, and mobile workstation models may still be stuck with only AC power for a few weeks.

Dell has been “cranking battery production over the last couple of weeks” with its battery suppliers in preparation for this massive recall, says spokesperson Gretchen Miller. If you determine via the Dell Battery Recall site or by calling the company at 866-342-0011 that you have a potentially defective battery, Dell will send a replacement along with postage-paid packaging to return the old one. But it may take weeks to get the new battery, or longer for certain out-of-production models.

In the meantime, you can safely use the laptop with the AC power cord. But since replacement batteries are not available in stores, only from the Dell Web site, the recall process is likely your fastest option, Miller says.  [pcworld]

Something to consider if portability is important to you.  Just plan accordingly.  I want to make a “dude” joke here, but it’s probably better left unsaid.

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Filed under: News Item, Technology

Thoughts on Jobs’ keynote at the WWDC

Tuesday, August 8th, 2006

WWDC 2006 Keynote Streaming Re-Broadcast (apple.com)I’m sitting here, being my classic, Apple geek self, watching the stream of yesterday’s keynote speech by Steve Jobs[wiki] at the World Wide Developers Conference. I figured that I would throw some of my thoughts about it while I watch it.

Why? I dig this type of stuff. It’s not about being on top of everything that comes out there in terms of technology. It’s exciting. It’s a spectacle. I’d do the same thing about the NAB in Las Vegas, but I don’t make it down there for it, nor is there anything comparable to what Jobs does during these keynotes.

Dude, it’s just fun.

Phil Schiller[wiki] always kills me, and I think it’s great that he came out to unveil the Mac Pro. Yes, say good bye to the PowerMac and the legacy of the G5. I’m actually sad to say that. That word “Power” had a nice ring to it, but getting back to the basics is alright with me. My parents bought an original Macintosh when they came out in 1984. Life changed a lot then, and damn… look at where we are now.

(more…)

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Filed under: Apple, Geeky, Technology

Hacking a MacBook via Wi-Fi

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006

Attention MacBook owners: you might want to pay attention to this.

LAS VEGAS–Flaws in the software that runs wireless-networking hardware could let an attacker break into a PC over Wi-Fi, security researchers warned Wednesday.

An attacker could gain complete control over a laptop by sending malformed network traffic to a vulnerable computer, David Maynor, a senior researcher at security service provider SecureWorks, said in a presentation at the Black Hat security event here.

Maynor, along with researcher Johnny Cache, showed a video of a successful attack on a MacBook, made by Apple Computer. However, the attack is possible also on other computers, both laptops and desktops, and not just MacBooks, the researchers said. [cnet]

Of course, this isn’t just limited to MacBooks, but the idea of Apple products being safe from hackers is not as true as the commercials may lead on. The article continues to go on to say that this isn’t a wide-spread issue, but it is something to be concerned about. The important thing is for developers to take this into consideration and cut it off before these vulnerabilities become easy to exploit.

Still feel uneasy about your machine getting hacked wirelessly? Here’s good advice from the article.

Consumers should be streetwise when using their laptop by not connecting to networks they aren’t sure they can trust and by disabling the wireless radio when it is not needed, Maynor said. “There is no need to run out and rip your wireless card out of your laptop, but you should take precautions,” he said. [cnet]

The other thing to note is that this comes from flaws within drivers. These are easy to remedy through updates. It would be a good idea to be paying attention over the next few months to see if there are warnings and updates issued for the stuff you are using.

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Filed under: Computer Tips, Internet, Technology

Plasmas beat out sports cars and diamonds

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006

It appears that if guys want to really score with chicks these days, you’re better off going for technology than you are for the bling in order to woo(buy) her love.

Diamonds are no longer a girl’s best friend, according to a new study that found three of four women would prefer a new plasma TV to a diamond necklace.  [...]

The Girls Gone Wired survey of 1,400 women and 700 men aged 15 to 49, which was conducted by market researcher TRU, found that given the choice, women would opt for tech items rather than luxury items like jewelry or vacations.

The study found 77 percent of women surveyed would prefer a new plasma television to a diamond solitaire necklace and 56 percent would opt for a new plasma TV over a weekend vacation in Florida.

Even shoes lost out. The study found 86 percent would prefer a new digital video camera to a pair of designer shoes.  [wired]

Interesting that TV’s win out here.  You can get something that would make her want to stay inside and be a couch potato versus going out and actually doing something fun out of the home.  On the other hand, it is Florida we’re talking about here.  I might want to stay home and watch Anderson Cooper report live as yet another hurricane slams into the sunshine state in high-def.  I also feel like I should be making a correlation here of this to obesity rates and laziness.

Still, and I think Rebecca would agree with me, we’ll take a trip before we toss down money on a flat panel TV.  Tech can be cool, but memories last a life time.  So does screen burn in on a plasma.

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Filed under: Geeky, Internet, Technology

Audacity is great when it works

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006

I’ve been fighting with editing a bunch of audio that we recorded in Stanley Park over the weekend. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and Rebecca was happy to accompany on a little adventure through the park, on and off the trails. We had a lot of fun and got lots of great stuff recorded, but it’s not that I am fighting with the pains of editing it all.

I’ve become comfortable with editing within Audacity when it comes to projects like this. However, I got bit by not living by my own mantras, “save and save often.”

I was nearly three quarters of the way through everything when Audacity puked and quit. And from beginning edit to where I was, I hadn’t saved a thing. Heartbreak doesn’t even begin to describe it. It’s more along the lines of constant profanity for a good fifteen minutes. I’m fighting with starting over, and it’s so depressing.

After the meltdown, I got curious and decided to check on the latest news about Audacity. If you’re strapped for cash, it doesn’t get better than using this program to edit because it’s completely free. It’s fairly powerful with what it can do, but you have to really master it until you become comfortable. I’ve used my fair share of applications to edit audio, so the task wasn’t overly daunting. Obviously, it can’t always be relied upon for it’s stability.

It’s been stuck at the same version for a while now. There is a newer, beta version going through the trial process, but that has been a constant for a good number of months. This is open source development at its best. One can’t expect things to be done at an incredible rate when there isn’t a lot of money to be exchanged. Just make it more stable, guys. That would be great, mmmkay?

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Filed under: Podcasting, Technology

Apple recalls batteries to certain Mac Book Pros

Monday, July 31st, 2006

Just passing on the word for those who might not pay attention to news like this like I do.

Apple has initiated a worldwide battery exchange program for certain rechargeable batteries that were sold for use with 15-inch MacBook Pro computer systems from February 2006 through May 2006.

We recently discovered that some 15-inch MacBook Pro batteries supplied to Apple do not meet our high standards for battery performance. To give our users the best experience possible, we will replace these batteries for customers free of charge. [apple]

These exchange programs are relatively painless. Go to the Apple page, find out if you have a battery within the serial number range they are recalling, and fill out the form on the web. Apple ships you the replacement, and all you have to do is put the recalled battery in a prepaid, preaddressed shipping package of some sort. Usually this is done through FedEx, so the final step is tossing it into your nearest drop box or arranging for pick up.

I had a buddy who got bit by this once, not knowing that his power adapter was recalled until it over heated and died. It only took a few days to get the replacement, but if he would have been aware of it before hand, the lack of power for his laptop could have been avoided.

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Filed under: Apple, Technology

Oh boy, I can’t wait to go to camp

Friday, July 28th, 2006

Via Kris Krug[post], I’ve signed myself up for BarCampVancouver.

Who?
Tech creatives: Local technologists, geeks, innovators, enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, tech writers, tech managers, bloggers, podcasters, video bloggers and hangers-on. We can only accept ninety people, so register early.

What?
A 24-hour ad-hoc, all-play unconference where everyone who attends participates by presenting or helping out.

Where?
Bryght Offices, 1 Alexander St. (suite TBD); Gastown, Vancouver: Map

When?
Friday, August 25, 6:00pm to Saturday, August 26, 6:00pm

Why?
Because it’ll be a fun party and totally informative, all at the same time. Here’s the full rundown: https://barcamp.org/BarCampVancouver

[barcamp]

I think this takes me into a whole, new classification of geek, but that might not be the most horrible thing. There are a lot of really interesting people in the Vancouver that are going to be at this event. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to contribute, but once you get me talking about podcasting, it can get difficult to make me stop. Just ask Rebecca, who will be in attendance as well.

I’ll have to think about doing something with making a recording while I’m there. maybe even a few. With hope, Ubercaster will improve to make it more efficient to do it on the spot. That would be sweet, but more on that program another time.

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Filed under: Podcasting, Technology, Vancouver
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