06May10
Every time I try and run Ubuntu on one of my main machines, I’m stonewalled by some Windows-only requirement. LogMeIn is one of those requirements that I just can’t do without. I’m frequently in a situation when I can only access the web through the standard HTTP and HTTPS ports, so LogMeIn is the dead-simple solution.
Guacamole has just eliminated that need. This HTML5/JavaScript VNC viewer requires no software or plugin, and works with any HTML5 compatible browser. Because you can run Guacamole an HTTPS server (Apache Tomcat), the entire session is encrypted and secured. The setup is pretty easy, but if you don’t already have Tomcat set up with HTTPS, you’ll be spending most of your setup time configuring that. Thanks, Guac!
05May10
I’ve finally worked up the courage to deactivate my Facebook and Twitter accounts. It’s been about 2-3 years since I shut my MySpace account down, but I kept Facebook for two reasons: (1) as a backup method to contact people and (2) spare myself the wrath of friends and family. I started using Twitter last year, in an attempt to figure out what the hype was about, but I couldn’t get into it. I guess I just don’t have the urge to constantly update my life onto the equivalent of the Facebook status bar. Twitter was no heartbreak, but Facebook took some courage. I downloaded all of my pictures and finally pulled the plug, however. I can’t remember the last time I actually needed it for something, so all it’s doing is being a liability. With Facebook’s recent changes to their privacy policy (in conjunction with their poor track record with privacy issues) my stagnant account is a security problem waiting to happen. Plus, you never think what would be on there that reflects poorly on you in the professional world, so I’d rather opt for the safe side and let companies assume I just have my privacy settings maxed out. Toodles!
05May10
I haven’t pirated a video game in 3 months. That may seem like nothing to a console gamer or someone who hasn’t ever stolen a video game, but anyone who knows me will tell you that this is shocking news. That’s right, folks, I have stopped pirating video games. I didn’t decide one day to stop, but I just happened to notice the other day that it’d been a while, I didn’t plan on it any time in the future, so realized then and there that I’d stopped. After thinking about it for a while, I’ve landed on the reason for this switch, and I think that it’s in the software development (or digital media as a whole, actually) community’s interest to understand how someone like me could be converted. Continue reading
05May10
Another androgynous conversation between Mike and I.
me: You know how you mentioned that song you liked, and when you looked up who the girl was, you found out it was a Guy?
Was it that “whattaya want from me?” Song?
Mike: I don’t.. think so..
I have the tune in my head
but I know none of the lyrics
which makes it hard to google
me: Haha
“Hey, Google, you know that song that goes ‘dun dun Dun dun-dun…?”
“Yes. Yes I do.”
Michael: wtb that
Turns out that he was actually talking about
Panic Switch by Silversun Pickups. Neat song.
18Nov09
I’d been using a mediocre (read crappy) phone for long enough, and decided it was high time to get on the smart phone bandwagon. I love Google’s Android OS, and being a Verizon Wireless customer, the Droid looked mighty appealing. My New Every Two isn’t up until January, but I read a few posts on The Consumerist about Verizon customers having their New Every Twos bumped up for the Droid. Apparently Verizon really wants to get these phones out there. I decided to bank on this and also take the opportunity to play with the phone myself. Continue reading
13Feb09
I have had my new gaming machine assembled for a month now, and I am still just so happy with it. It’s been years since I had a top-of-the-line computer, so I’ve been throwing as much at it as I can, and Fuzzdump (as I affectionately named it) is working like a champ.
Specs
- Asus Crosshair II Formula Motherboard
- AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition
- 4 x 1GB PC1066 RAM
- XFX Geforce GTX260 Black Edition
- WD RaptorX 150GB 10k rpm HD
- WD 1TB Green SATA HD
I played all of my new coveted games that my old machine couldn’t even run, like Dead Space and Assasin’s Creed, the games that my old machine could barely run, such as Left4Dead and Unreal Tournament III, and the older games I wanted to see graphics improvements on like Counter-Strike Source, the Half-Life 2 games, Guitar Hero III, etc. Fuzzdump absolutely crushed them, and I can’t say how happy I’ve been. Continue reading
12Feb09
I got a chance to play with the new Verizon Hub yesterday. I must say, it’s definitely fun to play with, has some interesting features, and I could actually see myself using this. I like being able to have a calendar back home that sends me updates via text. I know that any web service (ie Google) completely trumps most of these features, but it’s an interesting idea, and it is a beautiful device. Sorry for the poor picture/video quality. All I had was my phone:
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03Dec08
Introduction
I recently bought one of Dell’s new Mini 9 netbooks as my girlfriend’s Christmas present. To save some cash I got it with Ubuntu pre-installed. If this were my machine I’d just keep Ubuntu on there, but she will almost certainly hate it. So, this guide is intended for people who don’t have Windows XP installed from the factory, so we don’t have that nice folder with all the drivers to port over to Vista. Of course a lot of this process applies to anyone who wants Vista on the Mini 9, so I’m happy for anyone to get some help.
The guy over at http://dellmini9.blogspot.com has already documented his Mini 9 experience. He’s gotten Vista (and now even a beta of Windows 7) running on his machine, and his site has a lot of great tips. I will do my best to combine the tips I found useful from that site with this particular process. His install was from XP so he was able to skip a few steps. Please add any comments for any mistakes I will certainly make. I’ll do my best to update the guide to accommodate for as many situations as possible. Read on for the guide…
Update: My girlfriend loves the Mini 9 (although I’m pretty sure she was expecting it after all my hints.) Go Dell!
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23Jul08
This is my first post from the recently released WordPress App for the iPhone and iPod Touch! I have been waiting for this App to come out for quite some time, and hopefully this will increase my rate of bog posts.
It’s nice to see a Photo publishing feature in the first release. Combined with the 2.0 firmware’s Home+Power button screenshot feature I can easily make posts like this all from my iPod Touch!
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14May08
I have been loving my 8GB iPod Touch since I got it last Christmas, and after jailbreaking it the moment I got it I have played with all the fun (and useful) community-built applications for it. There are reasons why I don’t have an iPhone yet, however. I’d love to use one as it could make my personal and accelerating business life much more efficient. I have a few major caveats that I expected the Internet community to have solved a while ago: I have Verizon, and like it (for now), so I have to wait for the 3G version to come out this summer, but where is a hacked USB interface for the iPod Touch and iPhone? I hate iTunes, and since the entire filesystem and bootloader for both devices has now been hacked and made accessible, why hasn’t anyone rewritten the USB interface on these devices to let any program access and manipulate them?
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