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Wednesday, December 31, 2003

Samsung PCS Phone with Bluetooth and Camera

Ahhhh!!!!!!!   

This is just a little snigglet of information, but I thought it might brighten the last day of 2003 for you PCS users - it looks like Samsung is releasing the SPH-E3700, a CDMA (PCS) phone with Bluetooth 1.1 support, a "megapixel" camera (1.0 megapixels? 1.3?), and MMC support. It also has a rich set of Bluetooth profiles, including dial-up networking, hands-free, LAN-DT, OBEX, and a few others. One would hope that the carriers who carry Samsung phones in North America would be adopting this phone soon enough. Finally, a cool Bluetooth CDMA phone! That is, if it's CDMA. I've spent the last 10 minutes doing Google research and talking to smart people, and technically PCS can refer to GSM or CDMA, although in North America we're used to thinking of PCS being the same as CDMA. I'm going to bet that this is a CDMA phone, which is great news for you two-device folks that want a Bluetooth phone.
[Pocket PC Thoughts]

Toyota's new robot

I can see the ad now.  Can’t wait on grandma any longer?  Need help with the kids?  Just buy a JohnnieBot!  All joking aside, if I could afford one I would get it. J  I wonder if it would wear a maid’s outfit though? 

It's still a while off, but Toyota's planning to introduce a new humanoid robot at the Aichi World Exposition in 2005 that will be able...
[Gizmodo]

First external USB HDTV tuner

oooooh 

In a way we're amazed it's taken this long, but the first external USB high-definition TV tuner for PCs is coming out. The OnAir USB...
[Gizmodo]

If you are not reading SlashNOT you just don't know what's really going on in...

Funny stuff.  I need a stuffed penguin!

 

 

And a new spatula! J 

If you are not reading SlashNOT you just don't know what's really going on in the world of technology:-). The following is quoted from SlashNOT, the best tech amusement on the net: "ForwardSlash: 2004 Predictions. Matthew writes: At the beginning of each year, SlashNOT predicts the top 10 tech trends. The 2004 predictions are:

  • Anti-spam software will finally become useful, allowing you to blame it for not getting e-mail from people you don't want to talk to.
  • Every tech job in America will be outsourced to India. Americans will still be fat and rich, but even less deservedly so.
  • SCO will go down in flames after a federal court rules that they don't actually own the rights to UNIX. Linux users worldwide will break out in celebration, scaring the crap out of the 99% of the world who have no idea why geeks are running naked in the streets and dancing with stuffed penguins.
  • Microsoft will cut the price of Office in half as it's hit with four consecutive quarters of its first-ever decreasing sales numbers. Microsoft will put X-Box on the street in smeared makeup and wobbly heels in an attempt to make quick money.
  • Opteron will destroy Itanium, forcing Intel to launch a "64-bits is 32 bits too many" ad campaign. The new era of 64-bit computing will usher in a lasting age of brotherhood, peace, and global harmony.
  • Republicans will begin to purchase Apple computers for the first time.
  • Dell commercials will suck so badly that a few people will actually die watching them.
  • iPods will outsell traditional Pods.
  • Voice over IP will flounder as corporate America realizes that it doesn't really need phones to be as reliable and expensive as computers.
  • Microsoft will announce that Windows XP Service Pack 2 fixes the major security holes. One month later, the "Reaper" worm will take down every Windows XP machine that isn't behind a firewall. [SlashNOT]"
    [Edward Mitchell: Common Sense Technology]

Astronaut's little helper

This sounds neat!  I wonder how much they cost? 

NASA is working on a canteloupe-sized "Personal Satellite Assistant" for astronauts designed to follow them around during space walks and record their activities via streaming...
[Gizmodo]

Tuesday, December 30, 2003

Samsung PCS Phone with Bluetooth and Camera

Ahhhh!!!!!!!   

This is just a little snigglet of information, but I thought it might brighten the last day of 2003 for you PCS users - it looks like Samsung is releasing the SPH-E3700, a CDMA (PCS) phone with Bluetooth 1.1 support, a "megapixel" camera (1.0 megapixels? 1.3?), and MMC support. It also has a rich set of Bluetooth profiles, including dial-up networking, hands-free, LAN-DT, OBEX, and a few others. One would hope that the carriers who carry Samsung phones in North America would be adopting this phone soon enough. Finally, a cool Bluetooth CDMA phone! That is, if it's CDMA. I've spent the last 10 minutes doing Google research and talking to smart people, and technically PCS can refer to GSM or CDMA, although in North America we're used to thinking of PCS being the same as CDMA. I'm going to bet that this is a CDMA phone, which is great news for you two-device folks that want a Bluetooth phone.
[Pocket PC Thoughts]

Toyota's new robot

I can see the ad now.  Can’t wait on grandma any longer?  Need help with the kids?  Just buy a JohnnieBot!  All joking aside, if I could afford one I would get it. J  I wonder if it would wear a maid’s outfit though? 

It's still a while off, but Toyota's planning to introduce a new humanoid robot at the Aichi World Exposition in 2005 that will be able...
[Gizmodo]

First external USB HDTV tuner

oooooh 

In a way we're amazed it's taken this long, but the first external USB high-definition TV tuner for PCs is coming out. The OnAir USB...
[Gizmodo]

If you are not reading SlashNOT you just don't know what's really going on in...

Funny stuff.  I need a stuffed penguin!

 

 

And a new spatula! J 

If you are not reading SlashNOT you just don't know what's really going on in the world of technology:-). The following is quoted from SlashNOT, the best tech amusement on the net: "ForwardSlash: 2004 Predictions. Matthew writes: At the beginning of each year, SlashNOT predicts the top 10 tech trends. The 2004 predictions are:

  • Anti-spam software will finally become useful, allowing you to blame it for not getting e-mail from people you don't want to talk to.
  • Every tech job in America will be outsourced to India. Americans will still be fat and rich, but even less deservedly so.
  • SCO will go down in flames after a federal court rules that they don't actually own the rights to UNIX. Linux users worldwide will break out in celebration, scaring the crap out of the 99% of the world who have no idea why geeks are running naked in the streets and dancing with stuffed penguins.
  • Microsoft will cut the price of Office in half as it's hit with four consecutive quarters of its first-ever decreasing sales numbers. Microsoft will put X-Box on the street in smeared makeup and wobbly heels in an attempt to make quick money.
  • Opteron will destroy Itanium, forcing Intel to launch a "64-bits is 32 bits too many" ad campaign. The new era of 64-bit computing will usher in a lasting age of brotherhood, peace, and global harmony.
  • Republicans will begin to purchase Apple computers for the first time.
  • Dell commercials will suck so badly that a few people will actually die watching them.
  • iPods will outsell traditional Pods.
  • Voice over IP will flounder as corporate America realizes that it doesn't really need phones to be as reliable and expensive as computers.
  • Microsoft will announce that Windows XP Service Pack 2 fixes the major security holes. One month later, the "Reaper" worm will take down every Windows XP machine that isn't behind a firewall. [SlashNOT]"
    [Edward Mitchell: Common Sense Technology]

Something from Technodaddy

I am soo sorry I missed this one when you posted it.  I almost wet myself.

Be warned, extremely funny content.

 

 And finally, 15 things to to while bored in Wal-Mart. (#15 is my fave)

Cool site of the day

http://www.mbuzzy.com

 

Leave it to the sales reps.  The Sprint guy was here and suggested that I try the above site for ringtones and such.  Some good stuff out there (if you are on Sprint). 

Mars Crater Theory Tries To Explain Missing Beagle

Some Martian must have an awesome collection of remote control toys! J 


[Slashdot]

Monday, December 29, 2003

Something from Technodaddy

I am soo sorry I missed this one when you posted it.  I almost wet myself.

Be warned, extremely funny content.

 

 And finally, 15 things to to while bored in Wal-Mart. (#15 is my fave)

Dell has integrated 802.11g mini-pci cards!

I found this wile browsing the other day and it slipped my mind… 

Now if I could just find a place on the Dell site to buy one….  Of course, then I would need to go get a G router…

Studios Fight Piracy With Education

If you read this article you can see that the main problem is overseas where folks in China are mass producing pirated movies.  How does spanking a kid in Kansas for using Kazza to get a cam of “Return of the King” help them?  It hasn’t really worked for the RIAA as you can still just as easily get just about any album off the internet before you can get it in stores.  The bottom line is that folks are only going to pay for stuff that’s worth it.  I know a few folks out there that already have copies of Return of the King on CD but I bet they have the DVD from Wal-Mart when it comes out.  Make crap, loose money.  Now don’t get me wrong, I think what the folks overseas (and even those that do it over here) are doing is wrong, but with money being tight as it is these days how can you blame folks for downloading something before they fork over $30 for something that they might not watch all the way through the first time? 

Movie industry executives are struggling to come up with a policy to thwart the illegal distribution of bootleg copies of movies on the Internet.
[New York Times: Technology]

Hootenanny Phun


The only thing scarier than this picture is the fact that I got the picture to actualy work. :)

Boy we shure had phun at the Hootenanny! At least I *think* we did....


Did I sing country?



Why is Robin pouting?


I had wondered where those teeth marks came from...

There are more pictures but I won't post them here... :)

Sunday, December 28, 2003

Dell has integrated 802.11g mini-pci cards!

I found this wile browsing the other day and it slipped my mind… 

Now if I could just find a place on the Dell site to buy one….  Of course, then I would need to go get a G router…

Thursday, December 25, 2003

I ate too much

Uuuugh, Christmas time means gathering with friends and family to do the one thing that Phil can’t do much of any more….  Eat.  Gifts have changed hands, stories told and now we all sit in the post-engorging time festivities.  I can hardly move but thank goodness Santa brought 802.11b to my Grandpa!    

Get ready for 802.11n wireless networking

Alphabet soup!  Just when I was thinking about upgrading to G…  I wish they would make one where you can just upgrade the firmware of the device to go from B to G to N…  Oh well, I guess they wouldn’t be able to make the $$. J 

Just at the point when most of us were getting used to saying 802.11g rather than 802.11b, we're already starting to look ahead to 802.11n,...
[Gizmodo]

Wednesday, December 24, 2003

I ate too much

Uuuugh, Christmas time means gathering with friends and family to do the one thing that Phil can’t do much of any more….  Eat.  Gifts have changed hands, stories told and now we all sit in the post-engorging time festivities.  I can hardly move but thank goodness Santa brought 802.11b to my Grandpa!    

Get ready for 802.11n wireless networking

Alphabet soup!  Just when I was thinking about upgrading to G…  I wish they would make one where you can just upgrade the firmware of the device to go from B to G to N…  Oh well, I guess they wouldn’t be able to make the $$. J 

Just at the point when most of us were getting used to saying 802.11g rather than 802.11b, we're already starting to look ahead to 802.11n,...
[Gizmodo]

Monday, December 22, 2003

Is it just me?

Or does the new Winamp 5.0 sound better than Windows Media Player 9?  Playing the same files from the same source I get a much richer sounding environment with Winamp… Are they doing something or am I just weird? 

RetroTechno: walkie-talkies?

 Seems that nothing is immune to the retro-cool phase that all other areas of our culture has fallen prey to.  Is it “push-to-talk” or is it a subliminal realization that half-duplex conversations are better than always asking people to repeat themselves over poor analog cell conversations?  Besides picture sharing it seems that P2T is starting to become the next “in” thing.  I wish they would get on with it and make those cameras to full 30fps video and let us have video calls!!  The Samsung A-600 even comes with a swivel so that you can easily see the screen and have the camera see you too.  This would make it seem that they are preparing for an application that would let you do this (provided the other user is using a camera phone too).

 

Some obscene percentage of the population of Hong Kong have cellphones (something like 99%, according to the Office of the Telecommunications Authority there), but apparently...
[Gizmodo]

Sober.C spreading rapidly

Great…  At least I know what I will be doing this week. 


[Neowin.net]

Sunday, December 21, 2003

Is it just me?

Or does the new Winamp 5.0 sound better than Windows Media Player 9?  Playing the same files from the same source I get a much richer sounding environment with Winamp… Are they doing something or am I just weird? 

RetroTechno: walkie-talkies?

 Seems that nothing is immune to the retro-cool phase that all other areas of our culture has fallen prey to.  Is it “push-to-talk” or is it a subliminal realization that half-duplex conversations are better than always asking people to repeat themselves over poor analog cell conversations?  Besides picture sharing it seems that P2T is starting to become the next “in” thing.  I wish they would get on with it and make those cameras to full 30fps video and let us have video calls!!  The Samsung A-600 even comes with a swivel so that you can easily see the screen and have the camera see you too.  This would make it seem that they are preparing for an application that would let you do this (provided the other user is using a camera phone too).

 

Some obscene percentage of the population of Hong Kong have cellphones (something like 99%, according to the Office of the Telecommunications Authority there), but apparently...
[Gizmodo]

Saturday, December 20, 2003

[Phil's NewsPhlash] New Comment Posted to 'Vonage goes to Iraq'

Is this my first Blog SPAM?  Should I feel honored or offended?

 

A new comment has been posted on your blog Phil's NewsPhlash, on entry #123
(Vonage goes to Iraq).
http://www.intrasection.com/moveabletype/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=123

IP Address: 24.228.72.252
Name: bbphone
Email Address: broadband_telephone@yahoo.com
URL: http://solarice.typepad.com/packet8/

Comments:

For more info on Packet8 and to get $20 off Packet8 service, visit http://solarice.typepad.com/packet8/

--
Powered by Movable Type
Version 2.64
http://www.movabletype.org/

[Phil's NewsPhlash] New Comment Posted to 'Vonage goes to Iraq'

Is this my first Blog SPAM?  Should I feel honored or offended?

 

A new comment has been posted on your blog Phil's NewsPhlash, on entry #123
(Vonage goes to Iraq).
http://www.intrasection.com/moveabletype/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=123

IP Address: 24.228.72.252
Name: bbphone
Email Address: broadband_telephone@yahoo.com
URL: http://solarice.typepad.com/packet8/

Comments:

For more info on Packet8 and to get $20 off Packet8 service, visit http://solarice.typepad.com/packet8/

--
Powered by Movable Type
Version 2.64
http://www.movabletype.org/

Friday, December 19, 2003

Free PSTN calls via FWD

I got this in my email this morning:

 

When you use your Free World Dialup account, today through the end of the year, you can now place calls into the USA and Canada, for free, by dialing *1 and the areacode and number.

 

We hope you are able to take advantage of this special promotion and take the time to tell others about it as well.

 

Best Wishes for the Holiday season,

 

The Free World Dialup Team 

Vonage Goes Portable

Woohoo!!!  I guess they really to listen to the suggestions of the customer!!

 

<snip> 

Om Malik breaks the news that Vonage will soon have laptop and PDA-based software client for its service: It's not news that Vonage has tens of thousands of subscribers, nor that they offer a high-quality, full-featured hardware-based broadband voice-over-IP service that allows you to map multiple incoming real phone numbers to your virtual line. It also not news that you can get high-quality software VoIP clients; I'm personally enamored of Xten's suite, which work with Windows, Mac OS X, LindowsOS, and Linux. They're beautiful and come in free and paid flavors, including a multi-line conference version. The Xten clients can interface with any standard SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server, and many of the VoIP providers who offer long-distance over the Internet use standard SIP gateways. But getting from Xten outbound to the VoIP provider is a pain: I had to have the CEO of Xten provide me the details for a couple of VoIP services; those details aren't on the VoIP long-distance service sites. Then there's the question of inbound service. Even though you can use Xten as the default client with Addaline.com, it's unclear whether you can receive inbound calls via their service. Most of the VoIP in software is focused on making calls to the PSTN and receiving calls from other folks using services like Free World Dial-up, which provides you with a free non-PSTN VoIP number and SIP gateway. Om's scoop is certainly that Vonage is going to package the software and PSTN offering into a no-configuration package that will be as easy to use as their hardware service. Vonage's hardware solution is pretty simple: open the box, plug it in, wait a minute. You're done. Voice mail calls can be alerted via email, and other features can be enabled through the Web site's dashboard for your account. Because Vonage works over broadband, a Pocket PC or a laptop equipped with their soft client in turn connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot or access point means free phone service everywhere -- it's another incentive to lower cell phone plans (for roaming purposes) and increase the number of hot spot locations. [Update @ 3.45 pm: Andy Abramson of KenRadio wrote in to note that this is a public beta for existing Vonage users as of Dec. 8, which they reported on, and that there's no Pocket PC beta nor one that's in the works, as far as he's aware.]...
[Wi-Fi Networking News]

Thursday, December 18, 2003

Vonage Goes Portable

Woohoo!!!  I guess they really to listen to the suggestions of the customer!!

 

<snip> 

Om Malik breaks the news that Vonage will soon have laptop and PDA-based software client for its service: It's not news that Vonage has tens of thousands of subscribers, nor that they offer a high-quality, full-featured hardware-based broadband voice-over-IP service that allows you to map multiple incoming real phone numbers to your virtual line. It also not news that you can get high-quality software VoIP clients; I'm personally enamored of Xten's suite, which work with Windows, Mac OS X, LindowsOS, and Linux. They're beautiful and come in free and paid flavors, including a multi-line conference version. The Xten clients can interface with any standard SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server, and many of the VoIP providers who offer long-distance over the Internet use standard SIP gateways. But getting from Xten outbound to the VoIP provider is a pain: I had to have the CEO of Xten provide me the details for a couple of VoIP services; those details aren't on the VoIP long-distance service sites. Then there's the question of inbound service. Even though you can use Xten as the default client with Addaline.com, it's unclear whether you can receive inbound calls via their service. Most of the VoIP in software is focused on making calls to the PSTN and receiving calls from other folks using services like Free World Dial-up, which provides you with a free non-PSTN VoIP number and SIP gateway. Om's scoop is certainly that Vonage is going to package the software and PSTN offering into a no-configuration package that will be as easy to use as their hardware service. Vonage's hardware solution is pretty simple: open the box, plug it in, wait a minute. You're done. Voice mail calls can be alerted via email, and other features can be enabled through the Web site's dashboard for your account. Because Vonage works over broadband, a Pocket PC or a laptop equipped with their soft client in turn connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot or access point means free phone service everywhere -- it's another incentive to lower cell phone plans (for roaming purposes) and increase the number of hot spot locations. [Update @ 3.45 pm: Andy Abramson of KenRadio wrote in to note that this is a public beta for existing Vonage users as of Dec. 8, which they reported on, and that there's no Pocket PC beta nor one that's in the works, as far as he's aware.]...
[Wi-Fi Networking News]

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Ding, fries are done

I found this program called Xingtones that lets you take any .wav, .mp3 or .mid file and turn it into a ringtone.  It’s kind of neat in that you don’t need any wires to transfer the song from the PC to the phone.  You load your music, trim it till you get it just right, push upload and you get an SMS message on your phone.  From here it may differ on different providers but for Sprint you have to follow the URL by pushing “go” and then download the ringtone.  Of course you get a warning stating that the ringtone is not from Sprint and blahblah but it works like a champ.  So far my favorite is the “Rock and pool” song that Gollum sings followed closely by the “Ding fries are done”… 

Toshiba Readies Coin-Size Drive: Sub-one-inch Hard Drive Will Offer up to 3GB of Storage

 Here is another posting about the small hard drives about to hit the market.

 

<snip>

"Toshiba plans to begin sample production next year of a coin-size hard drive that can hold up to 3GB of data, the company says. The new drive contains a disk platter that is 0.85 inches in diameter and the whole drive is about the size of a coin. It has a data capacity of between 2GB and 3GB, says Midori Suzuki, a spokesperson for Toshiba in Tokyo. Toshiba will demonstrate a prototype of the drive at the CES show that takes place in Las Vegas in January 2004 and plans sample production from the middle of 2004. Commercial production could begin as early as 2005, Suzuki says." Hard drives keep getting smaller and smaller, but where are the devices adopting these new, smaller drives? Sure there's the super-cool Rio Nitrus, but what else? In order to achieve the "take all my data with me anywhere on any device" nirvana, I'd need at least 20 GB, and that's not including any of my music. And never mind the fact that synchronization software is still a mess - there's no clean way to keep multiple data stores updated yet without ugliness. But I digress...how about those tiny hard drives? ;-)
[Pocket PC Thoughts]

Packet8 / FWD Update

This new info from Mr. Pulver. If you haven’t tried FWD you should. 

For those of you looking forward to being able to call to/from the Packet8 Network into/from Free World Dialup, my expecation is that this is something that will be going live in January, 2004. Last week we were successful in...
[The Jeff Pulver Blog]

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Nokia testing cellphone TV next year

 Near the bottom of this article it talks about a hard drive the size of a nickel with 2-3 Gig storage.  That’s way cool.

Nokia is teaming up with television networks and cellular carriers in Finland to launch a commercial TV broadcasting for cellphones using what's called Internet protocol...
[Gizmodo]

Got Hormones? Not This Dairy

What is that strange taste?  Oh it’s the growth hormones!

<snip> 

Monsanto hopes to settle its lawsuit against a small Maine dairy that labels its milk as hormone-free. The agricultural giant says the labels hurt its business for Posilac, a hormone that increases milk production. By Kristen Philipkoski.
[Wired News]

OK/Cancel

 Hehehe, that’s funny.


[MS Exchange Blog]

Talk about blogstipation

I don’t know what I was thinking.  I had so much in my newsfeed list that every hour I was receiving more than 100 entries.  If you go more than a few days without checking it you are totally backed up..

I weeded out some that I found I don’t really do much but “mark as read” and things are much better now.

 

-P 

EMC eyes the server with $635 million VMware buy.

Jumpin’ Jehosiphat!!!!  I wonder what this will do to VMWare the product as I use it just about every dang day. 

The Register: EMC eyes the server with $635 million VMware buy.
[Hack the Planet]

Use a cellphone, get suspended from the NFL

Seems kind of harsh but kind of funny. 

The NFL is thinking about fining or even suspending Joe Horn, that football player for the New Orleans Saints who in the middle of a...
[Gizmodo]

HP's iPAQ 6000 Pocket PC Phone?

Better than a SmartPhone?  I don’t know… Technodaddy might though. 

One online store is already taking pre-orders for what purports to be HP's long-rumored iPAQ 6000 Pocket PC Phone, which would combine quad-band GSM/GPRS with...
[Gizmodo]

Navy Tries Out Vocera

Can you say “Kirk to Enterprise?”, good. 

Crew on the USS Coronado are trialing Vocera's Wi-Fi badges: I know that hospitals and other organizations are already using the system from Vocera but I just don't see it. Depending on what the Navy wants to use them for, this sounds like a recipe for disaster. What if it's noisy and the badge can't pick up the user's command to dial someone? I'm still very cautious about anything that uses voice recognition because I've yet to see anything that works well....
[Wi-Fi Networking News]

CompactFlash USB Host Adapter card for Pocket PCs

Now, the thing I want to figure out how to do is this….

 

With the USB card in my PocketPC, connect the FutureDial USB cable to my SprintPCS phone and get on the internet. J 

From Twin Paradox and Cypress Semiconductor, a new CompactFlash USB Host Adapter card for Pocket PCs with two USB ports for connecting peripherals like keyboards,...
[Gizmodo]

New Gun Shoots Around Corners

This seems kind of odd… 

Need to nail a bad guy without exposing yourself to unfriendly fire? A new weapon -- soon to be in the hands of Israeli fighters and maybe U.S. police teams -- could change the rules of urban combat.
[Wired News]

bloggidy

Blog blog.. 

Monday, December 15, 2003

OK/Cancel

 Hehehe, that’s funny.


[MS Exchange Blog]

Talk about blogstipation

I don’t know what I was thinking.  I had so much in my newsfeed list that every hour I was receiving more than 100 entries.  If you go more than a few days without checking it you are totally backed up..

I weeded out some that I found I don’t really do much but “mark as read” and things are much better now.

 

-P 

EMC eyes the server with $635 million VMware buy.

Jumpin’ Jehosiphat!!!!  I wonder what this will do to VMWare the product as I use it just about every dang day. 

The Register: EMC eyes the server with $635 million VMware buy.
[Hack the Planet]

Use a cellphone, get suspended from the NFL

Seems kind of harsh but kind of funny. 

The NFL is thinking about fining or even suspending Joe Horn, that football player for the New Orleans Saints who in the middle of a...
[Gizmodo]

HP's iPAQ 6000 Pocket PC Phone?

Better than a SmartPhone?  I don’t know… Technodaddy might though. 

One online store is already taking pre-orders for what purports to be HP's long-rumored iPAQ 6000 Pocket PC Phone, which would combine quad-band GSM/GPRS with...
[Gizmodo]

Navy Tries Out Vocera

Can you say “Kirk to Enterprise?”, good. 

Crew on the USS Coronado are trialing Vocera's Wi-Fi badges: I know that hospitals and other organizations are already using the system from Vocera but I just don't see it. Depending on what the Navy wants to use them for, this sounds like a recipe for disaster. What if it's noisy and the badge can't pick up the user's command to dial someone? I'm still very cautious about anything that uses voice recognition because I've yet to see anything that works well....
[Wi-Fi Networking News]

CompactFlash USB Host Adapter card for Pocket PCs

Now, the thing I want to figure out how to do is this….

 

With the USB card in my PocketPC, connect the FutureDial USB cable to my SprintPCS phone and get on the internet. J 

From Twin Paradox and Cypress Semiconductor, a new CompactFlash USB Host Adapter card for Pocket PCs with two USB ports for connecting peripherals like keyboards,...
[Gizmodo]

New Gun Shoots Around Corners

This seems kind of odd… 

Need to nail a bad guy without exposing yourself to unfriendly fire? A new weapon -- soon to be in the hands of Israeli fighters and maybe U.S. police teams -- could change the rules of urban combat.
[Wired News]

bloggidy

Blog blog.. 

Monday, November 24, 2003

QtFairUse: Cracking iTunes' DRM

As long as there are locks out there that people say are un-crackable, thousands of idle minds will stop at nothing until they can say they cracked it….

<snip> 

If the sound plays through your speakers, it must exist in decrypted form somewhere in your computer's data path. If it exists in decrypted form, you can tap it and extract the decrypted data.
[infoAnarchy]

Tritton's new network drive

I’ve been looking at getting another network attached blob of disk..  This looks like it might be a winner…. 

A new 120GB hard drive with an Ethernet from Tritton that connects to router so that the files on it can be accessed by all of the users on the network. The TRI-NAS120P also has a USB 2.0 print server for hooking it up to a shared printer. Read...
[Gizmodo]

The sight of Phil in a towel

 Vegitales folks will get that, but it seems that my last post caused MT to go bezerk!!!  After doing some fancy footwork, I have restored everything to its proper place.

 

Note to self: No more talking about naked stuff as it hurts the movabletype. J

Sunday, November 23, 2003

QtFairUse: Cracking iTunes' DRM

As long as there are locks out there that people say are un-crackable, thousands of idle minds will stop at nothing until they can say they cracked it….

<snip> 

If the sound plays through your speakers, it must exist in decrypted form somewhere in your computer's data path. If it exists in decrypted form, you can tap it and extract the decrypted data.
[infoAnarchy]

Tritton's new network drive

I’ve been looking at getting another network attached blob of disk..  This looks like it might be a winner…. 

A new 120GB hard drive with an Ethernet from Tritton that connects to router so that the files on it can be accessed by all of the users on the network. The TRI-NAS120P also has a USB 2.0 print server for hooking it up to a shared printer. Read...
[Gizmodo]

Friday, November 21, 2003

Conference calls: excuse for nudity and websurfi

One more try:  For those of you at SOI, I was *ALWAYS* dressed for my con calls… Really, I was! 

An international survey reveals that nudity and inattention are astonishingly common among particpants in conference calls:

So what are they doing instead? Twenty-nine percent of British workers say they doodle, while 22 percent of Germans surf the web. Twenty percent of Americans say they have side conversations with someone else during conference calls.

It gets weirder: 22 percent of Hong Kong workers admit they weren't fully dressed during their last teleconference, while 14 percent of them were doing their makeup or hair.

Link (via FARK)
[Boing Boing Blog]

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Blogstipated

It’s been a while but I am still here.  I have finally gotten my home media center server (Not the MS OS) running.  I feel it has reached the level of completeness that I can at least talk about it.

 

I have an older 700Mhz Duron machine that is running windows XP.

I installed a GeForce NVidia card (the 128 meg kind) and an AverTech TV tuner in the thing a while back and also purchased SnapStream from http://www.snapstream.com a while back.  This is almost, but still not quite, a replacement for my Tivo.  The one thing I like is the fact that you can stream the shows to other computers on your network (even the internet as some of you know).  I have it hooked into the entertainment center in the living room so that we can switch between Tivo, SnapStream, DVD, Xbox, and oh yeah… A VCR. K

Since my buddy TechnoDaddy got me hooked on SLIMP3 (http://www.slimdevices.com) I have been on a quest to make it also live on my media server.  That is now complete.  I have quite a bit of tunes now and the kids have all learned how to watch their cartoons (recorded on the snapstream) and also listen to the music recorded on the media server.

Add to that, I just got my hands on an Audrey made by 3Com.  It took some poking around but I found a reference with google on how to fix a shoutcast streaming MP3 error and applied that to my device.  Viola!  I am now able to listen to my SLIMP3 stream on the Audrey…  The music quality on this device is awesome!.

Lastly I was trying my darndest to get my iPAQ to listen to the SLIMP3 stream too as it already can watch shows from the SnapStream.  I found a program last night called gsplayer that runs on the PocketPC that will stream mp3 music quite well.  It even shows the song that is playing, unlike windows media player on the PC…  My PC only shows “Welcome to SLIMP3” but on the PocketPC it will show the track and song title derived from the MP3 tag info…Kind of cool.

That’s all for now, I have a few servers to build today.

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Exchange 2003 Move Mailbox

First off, let me say WOW.  I am so happy to see this in the mainstream client.  Having said that I should also add: “About time!”  Some of us, Thanks Mr. Odom, have been able to do this for quite some time now. J

 

It looks like it *was* a good idea after all. 

Over the next few weeks/months, I'll be looking at the new administration features in Exchange 2003. I'll start by looking at how the ability to move mailboxes in Exchange 2003 has been vastly improved.

Moving Mailboxes With ESM

The most obvious new feature is that you can now move mailboxes from within Exchange System Manager (ESM) in addition to the old method of using Active Directory Users & Computers. In ESM, you drill down to the mailbox store that contains the desired mailbox and underneath the mailbox store you'll find the Mailboxes object. Clicking this object reveals a list of mailboxes contained within the mailbox store. If you now right-click the mailbox you wish to move, you'll see the familiar Exchange Tasks menu, as shown below. Don't forget that you can select multiple mailboxes by holding down the CTRL or Shift keys, which is really useful if you need to move multiple mailboxes at the same time.

ESM Exchange Tasks

Multi-threaded Moves

Whilst on the subject of moving multiple mailboxes at the same time, this leads nicely onto one of the major performance benefits of moving mailboxes in Exchange 2003. The move mailbox task is now multi-threaded to the point where four mailboxes can be moved at the same time. Although you could select multiple mailboxes for moving in Exchange 2000, the actual move task occurred one after another; the new move mailbox task will actually move four mailboxes in parallel. If you are about to embark on your Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 migration project using the move mailbox method, you can already see that you should be able to generate significant savings in time during the move mailbox process.

Scheduling Your Moves

You can now schedule when your mailbox moves will take place, as shown in the figure below. The obvious benefit here is that you can set the move to occur during periods of low activity on your system. You'll also notice an option to cancel the move tasks that are still running after a certain time. The good thing about this is that if a mailbox is currently being moved when the finish time is reached, the messages are rolled back to the source server; all other mailboxes that have been moved will remain in their new location.

Schedule Moves

Handling Corrupted Items

One of the more annoying features of the Exchange 2000 move mailbox task was that if it failed to move one of a series of mailboxes, the entire process would stop. I bet that there's quite a few administrators out there who, like me, have kicked off the moving of a batch of mailboxes and then gone home, only to find out later on that the move mailbox task failed on mailbox number 2!

The new move mailbox task gets around this issue because it can now handle corrupted items. There are two options available within the task, as shown below.

Corrupted Item Handling

If you elect to just create a failure report, a report is created for the problematic mailbox and that mailbox is not moved. If you elect to skip the corrupted items, then you should understand that this option assumes that the corrupted items are to be deleted when the mailbox is moved. Also, if the number of corrupt items exceeds your stated threshold, then the messages that have already been moved are moved back to the source server.

Move Mailbox Reporting

A detailed log file of the move mailbox operation is saved in XML format into the \My Documents\Exchange Task Wizard Logs folder. To make these a bit nicer to read, just apply an extensible style sheet to the log files. The Exchange 2003 SDK has XSL/HTA files that show how the format of XML reports can be changed to a more readable format.

And Finally....

Another useful snippet of information for you. If users try to login to their mailbox when it is being moved, the following event log will be generated. This includes access via OWA as well as via MAPI clients.

Event 9660


[MS Exchange Blog]

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Two New Exchange Articles

This sounds neat!  I know a few of you out there are messing with E2k3 so check these out. 

Two new useful articles have been published over at www.msexchange.org.

First, Jakub Synoradzki gives a run-through of the new improvements in Exchange 2003. This article details new features such as the Recovery Storage Group, Query-Based Distribution Lists, etc.

Second, Lee Derbyshire gives the low-down on the useful feature Outlook Web Access Segmentation, which allows you to hide various folders/features from the view given to users in OWA.


[MS Exchange Blog]

Friday, November 7, 2003

Thanks Technodaddy!

I’ve started using slimp3 quite a bit now thanks to a phone call with the great TechnoDaddy.  Check it out on http://www.slimdevices.com and you will find out what I am talking about.  I haven’t gotten a device yet, but I am able to stream the music to my laptop quite well.  The kids can all listen to what ever they want in their rooms and I am going to try (but I expect it to just work) using my iPaq this weekend to listen while in the back yard. 

You say to-may-co; I say to-mac-co

I was going to pass this one over until I read that the tomacco plant has nicotine in it!!!!  This is just too darn funny.  Want to kick that smoking habit? D’oh!

Mmm . . . tomacco: Oregon man crosses a tomato with tobacco plant
[Ars Technica]

Sony hypes "next-generation Walkman"

OK, so Ars has lots of cool things today.

 

This looks way cool.  But you wouldn’t want to clip it to your belt.  The concept pictures look awesome.  I would want it to dock at my desk and become either USB storage or just replace my laptop by having a docking cradle (like a tablet PC) to hook a keyboard/mouse and monitor.  Having that with cell phone/MP3/gameboy stuff in it (along with calendar/contacts, etc.) would make this the end-all device eh?

 

We shall see…. 

Sony yesterday showed off a prototype of its new gaming/cell phone/mp3/video device
[Ars Technica]

Behold the Google Deskbar

I know quite a few people who use the IE plugin so here is something new for your googling. 

Google has done it again. We all know about the Google toolbar... probably one of the most redeeming factors for sticking with Internet Explorer (it doesn't work on other browsers). Now meet the Google Deskbar for Windows.
[Ars Technica]

DARPA Robotwars++ worth $1,000,000

This is just too darn cool.  Follow the robotic cars link to get more on the story but it seems that they are putting together a competition to put Robot-Wars to shame.  One step closer to robots on the ground (instead of just the air) in combat.

The DARPA said last Thursday that 86 teams have submitted technical papers describing their proposed robotic cars that can drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on an off-road course in 10 hours, with a top prize of $1,000,000
[Ars Technica]

Fiber gets faster

Looks cool!!!  When can we get it to the house/desktop? 

The ITU approves a new standard for transmitting data across optical fiber. And it's fast. Very fast.
[Ars Technica]

Thursday, November 6, 2003

Thanks Technodaddy!

I’ve started using slimp3 quite a bit now thanks to a phone call with the great TechnoDaddy.  Check it out on http://www.slimdevices.com and you will find out what I am talking about.  I haven’t gotten a device yet, but I am able to stream the music to my laptop quite well.  The kids can all listen to what ever they want in their rooms and I am going to try (but I expect it to just work) using my iPaq this weekend to listen while in the back yard. 

You say to-may-co; I say to-mac-co

I was going to pass this one over until I read that the tomacco plant has nicotine in it!!!!  This is just too darn funny.  Want to kick that smoking habit? D’oh!

Mmm . . . tomacco: Oregon man crosses a tomato with tobacco plant
[Ars Technica]

Sony hypes "next-generation Walkman"

OK, so Ars has lots of cool things today.

 

This looks way cool.  But you wouldn’t want to clip it to your belt.  The concept pictures look awesome.  I would want it to dock at my desk and become either USB storage or just replace my laptop by having a docking cradle (like a tablet PC) to hook a keyboard/mouse and monitor.  Having that with cell phone/MP3/gameboy stuff in it (along with calendar/contacts, etc.) would make this the end-all device eh?

 

We shall see…. 

Sony yesterday showed off a prototype of its new gaming/cell phone/mp3/video device
[Ars Technica]

Behold the Google Deskbar

I know quite a few people who use the IE plugin so here is something new for your googling. 

Google has done it again. We all know about the Google toolbar... probably one of the most redeeming factors for sticking with Internet Explorer (it doesn't work on other browsers). Now meet the Google Deskbar for Windows.
[Ars Technica]

DARPA Robotwars++ worth $1,000,000

This is just too darn cool.  Follow the robotic cars link to get more on the story but it seems that they are putting together a competition to put Robot-Wars to shame.  One step closer to robots on the ground (instead of just the air) in combat.

The DARPA said last Thursday that 86 teams have submitted technical papers describing their proposed robotic cars that can drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on an off-road course in 10 hours, with a top prize of $1,000,000
[Ars Technica]

Fiber gets faster

Looks cool!!!  When can we get it to the house/desktop? 

The ITU approves a new standard for transmitting data across optical fiber. And it's fast. Very fast.
[Ars Technica]

Stick it in your ear

Hehee, now this is funny..  I would use one but what happens when the person you are talking to wants to say something to the kids?  Here son, let me put my finger in your ear. J 

From Japan (of course), a wristwatch phone called the Finger Whisper that uses vibrations to turn your finger into an earpiece -- the catch is that you have to actually stick your finger into your ear to get it to work, something that might get rather tedious. Beginning or finishing a call with the Finger Whisper is as simple as touching your forefinger to your thumb. Read...
[Gizmodo]

Exchange 2003 Tools Descriptions

For my Exchange friends out there. J

 

 

You should now already be aware that Microsoft provide Exchange 2003 tools all in one handy place on the main Exchange site. After all, it has been mentioned on this blog before, you know!

However, I'd like to share with you a nice description of each tool, along with a direct link to that tool. It's great to have this information all on one link!

Add Root Certificate

Use the Add Root Certificate tool to add your own root certificate onto your Pocket PC device. For security, organizations often wish to use secure connections (SSL) when syncing or accessing a server. A number of Pocket PC 2002 applications use root certificates and SSL. If your organization prefers to use its own root certificate, you must install a custom root certificate on to the device. This tool will help you do so. Please note that this tool is for Pocket PC 2002 devices only. Pocket PC 2003 devices do NOT require a tool to install certificates.

Address Rewrite

Use Address Rewrite to rewrite return e-mail addresses on outgoing messages sent from a third-party mail system to Exchange, and destined for external or Internet addresses. This feature is similar to the Exchange 5.5 tool, ReRouteViaStore. Address Rewrite enables address rewrite on each SMTP virtual server. The intent of this feature is to rewrite addresses only for mail coming from the partner/subsidiary company (externally SMTP submitted) coming into your company’s e-mail servers and then going out to the Internet. Address Rewrite is useful in merger or acquisition scenarios in which you want all e-mail addresses to reflect the parent company’s name.

ArchiveSink

Use Exchange 2003’s enhanced ArchiveSink to log all message and recipient details of an e-mail message for incoming and outgoing messages on an Exchange server. ArchiveSink, a diagnostic tool, is a custom script that enables message archiving. When message logging is enabled, ArchiveSink will create an additional XML file for each message that is archived.

Authoritative Restore

Use the Authoritative Restore tool to force a restored directory database to replicate to other servers after restoring from a backup. This tool allows you to restore one server (the server with the most recent pre-mistake backup) rather than all servers. With the Authoritative Restore tool, object versions and USNs can be advanced on all writable objects held by that directory so that the data held on the backup appears to be more recent than any copy held by other servers. You can receive assistance using this tool from Microsoft Product Support Services.

Importer for Lotus cc:Mail Archives

Use the Importer for Lotus cc:Mail Archives tool to import cc:Mail archive files to folders in an Exchange 2003 mailbox store or to one or more personal folder (.pst) files. After you install the archive importer, you can import all cc:Mail archives yourself or you can distribute the archive importer program (Ccmarch.exe) to users who need to import their own cc:Mail archive files. The archive importer imports cc:Mail archive files containing e-mail messages directly from users' desktops to Exchange folders.

Disable Certificate Verification

Use the Disable Certification Verification tool to allow users with Windows Mobile devices to connect to Exchange servers without verifying the root certificate authority against the certificate trust list on the device. The device still uses SSL to connect to Exchange, but the Exchange Certificate check allows certificates from un-trusted certificate authorities to be used without generating errors.

DNS Resolver

Use the DNS Resolver tool to simulate the SMTP service’s internal code-path and print diagnostic messages that indicate how DNS resolution is proceeding. The tool must be run on the computer where the DNS problems are occurring. DNS Resolver works only on Exchange servers running Windows Server 2003.

Error Code Look-up

Use the Error Code Lookup tool to determine error values from decimal and hexadecimal error codes in Microsoft Windows operating systems. The tool can look up one or more values at a time. All
values on the command line will be looked up in Exchange’s internal tables and presented to you. If available, informational data associated with the value or values will also be shown.

Exchange Server Stress and Performance 2003

Use Microsoft Exchange Server Stress and Performance (ESP) 2003, a highly scalable stress and performance tool for Exchange 2003, to simulate large numbers of client sessions by concurrently accessing one or more protocol servers. ESP includes multiple modules that you can use to simulate a wide variety of protocols and loads. You can run modules concurrently from multiple hosts, thereby more realistically simulating physically separate client machines. There is no limit to the number of computers on your network that can host ESP modules.

Inter-Organization Replication

Use the Inter-Organization Replication tool to replicate free and busy information and public folder content between Exchange organizations. The tool allows for the coordination of meeting, appointments, contacts, and public folder information between disjointed Exchange organizations. The tool consists of two programs: the Replication Configuration program (exscfg.exe), and the Replication service (exssrv.exe). The Replication Configuration program creates a configuration file for setting the replication frequency, logging options, folders to be replicated, and accounts to be used. The Replication service continuously updates information from one server (designated as the Publisher) to one or more Exchange servers (designated as Subscribers).

Exchange Deployment Tools

Use Exchange Server Deployment tools and documentation to lead you through the entire Exchange Server 2003 installation or upgrade process. To ensure that all of the required tools and services are installed and running properly, it is recommended that you run Exchange 2003 Setup through the Exchange Server Deployment Tools. When you use Exchange Server Deployment Tools, you can run specific tools and utilities to verify that your organization is ready for the Exchange 2003 installation.

Mailbox Merge Wizard (ExMerge)

Use the Mailbox Merge Program to extract data from mailboxes on a Microsoft Exchange Server and then merge this data into mailboxes on another Microsoft Exchange Server. The program copies data from the source server into Personal Folders (.PST files) and then merges the data, in the Personal Folders, into mailboxes on the destination server. The ability to merge data to and from an Exchange Server makes this program an invaluable tool with a variety of uses- especially during disaster recovery. The program can also replace existing data instead of merging new data if specified by the Administrator. Mailbox Merge has some limitations. Please read the tools documentation before using this program.

GUIDGen

Use the GUID Generator to generate globally unique identifiers, or GUIDs, that you can use to identify your ActiveX classes, objects, and interfaces. The GUID is copied to the Clipboard in one of four different formats for insertion into your application's source code.

Jetstress

Use Jetstress to verify the performance and stability of a disk subsystem prior to putting an Exchange server into production. Jetstress helps verify disk performance by simulating Exchange disk Input/Output (I/O) load. Specifically, Jetstress simulates the Exchange database and log file loads produced by a specific number of users. You use Performance Monitor, Event Viewer, and ESEUTIL in conjunction with Jetstress to verify that your disk subsystem meets or exceeds the performance criteria you establish. After a successful completion of the Jetstress Disk Performance and Stress Tests in a non-production environment, you will have ensured that your Exchange 2003 disk subsystem is adequately sized (in terms of performance criteria you establish) for the user count and user profiles you have established. It is highly recommended that the Jetstress user read through the tool documentation before using the tool.

Load Simulator 2003

Use Microsoft Exchange Server Load Simulator (LoadSim) 2003 as a benchmarking tool to simulate the performance load of MAPI clients. LoadSim allows you to test how a server running Exchange 2003 responds to e-mail loads. To simulate the delivery of these messaging requests, you run LoadSim tests on client computers. These tests send multiple messaging requests to the Exchange server, thereby causing a mail load. LoadSim is a useful tool for administrators who are sizing servers and validating a deployment plan. Specifically, LoadSim helps you determine if each of your servers can handle the load to which they are intended to carry. Another use for LoadSim is to help validate the overall solution.

Information Store Viewer (MDBVU32)

an style='font-size:12.0pt'>Use Information Store Viewer (also called MDBVu32) to view or set details about a user’s message storage files, which consist of the private information store, the personal folder file (.Pst), the public store and the offline folder file (.Ost). The Information Store Viewer shows the properties available for each message, how you can use them, and in what format they appear.

Management Pack

The Exchange 2003 Management Pack extends the capabilities of Microsoft Operations Manager by providing specialized monitoring for servers running Exchange 2003. This Management Pack includes a definition of health for an Exchange 2003 Server and will raise an alert to the administrator if it detects a state which requires intervention.

MTA Check

Use MTA Check, a command line tool, to check the MTA database consistency of Exchange message transfer agent (MTA) and to repair the MTA database if necessary. MTA Check will analyze and correct problems in the MTA. Run MTA Check if you suspect corruption in the MTA database or see errors written in the Event Log.

SMTP Internet Protocol Restriction and Accept/Deny List Configuration

Use the SMTP Internet Protocol Restriction and Accept/Deny List Configuration to programmatically set or view Internet Protocol (IP) restrictions on an SMTP virtual server and to add or remove IP addresses from your global accept or deny lists. Microsoft Exchange 2003 provides connection and relay control for its Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) virtual servers. Additionally, Exchange 2003 provides connection filtering that allows you to configure IP addresses from which you want to accept connections or from which you want to always deny connections. These settings are configured in global accept and deny lists in Connection Filtering. An administrator can use these controls to limit the computers that can connect to a virtual server or that can relay e-mail to outside the Exchange organization.

Up-To-Date Notifications Troubleshooting

Use the Up-to-Date Notifications troubleshooting tool to solve common notification issues. An administrator can input user and administration information (on the default page of this application). The information page shows the user’s device information (a list of devices the user has, what delivery method and address the device uses) to help an administrator narrow down notification issues that the user might be having. The tool also allows an administrator to send test e-mail to the specified devices.

WinRoute

Use WinRoute to determine the link state routing information as known to the routing master. The WinRoute tool connects to the link state port, TCP port 691, on Exchange 2000 or 2003 server and extracts the link state information for an organization. The information is a series of GUIDs that WinRoute matches to objects in Active Directory, connectors and bridgehead servers, and presents in human-readable format. This tool should be the first step in troubleshooting routing in an Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2003 mail-handling environment.


[MS Exchange Blog]