Zorglub's Web

iPhone 3G vs. 3G S

2009-06-10T08:13:00.001Z

Apple has published a handy chart comparing the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3G S. As you might expect, it does not clearly portray some key problems.

First, existing iPhone 3G customers cannot upgrade to a 3G S for $199 or $299. Those prices are for new customers only. You will pay $599 or $699. Yeah, really.
Amazingly, several software features Apple showed off yesterday will arbitrarily not be made available to other iPhone users. These include Voice Control and Compass. What??
Also...

Tethering, a feature of iPhone Software Update 3.0, will not be made available in the US. (Thanks AT&T.) If it happens later, it will be after AT&T adds a more expensive data plan.

MMS, another feature of iPhone Software Update 3.0, will also not be made available in the US.

The white iPhone 3G is being discontinued. If you want a white phone, you have to get a 3G S. (Not a huge deal, just pointing it out.)

By the way, was anyone else amused at the sly way Apple "countered" the Palm Pre's useful and easy-to-use multitasking capabilities? In the iPhone 3G S Guided Tour video, the commentator notes, "The first thing you'll notice is how quickly you can launch all your applications, return to the home screen, and then launch another one. Or jump between apps using embedded links." See! It's just like multitasking!

via SuperSite Blog

I'm back

2008-11-29T12:11:00.004Z

I'm back from the top secret location where I worked on a even more top secret project with *censured* and *censured*. Next year is going to be excellent! I cannot wait! See you all in a few weeks, worms!!!1

2008-07-28T00:00:00.001Z

Waiting for the worms...

HD DVD is officially dead

2008-02-19T18:54:00.001Z

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba announced earlier today in Tokyo that it would cease production of all HD-DVD related appliances.

In a statement to the press, Toshiba declared that "it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders." The company will continue to product support and after sale services, while tapering shipments of HD-DVD electronics to a halt by the end of March 2008 and assessing what role HD-DVD may play in the PC market.

The announcement marks an end of a “format war” between Toshiba’s HD-DVD and Sony’s Blu-Ray high-resolution DVD technology. The results work out well for Sony, as the PlayStation3 is equipped with a Blu-Ray compatible DVD player. Now that the war is over with Toshiba, there may be an increased interest in Sony’s expensive gaming console.

It is best for everyone – the corporate and the consumer – that this contest between the two formats is finally over. One goes the way of the Beta-Max, the other, the way of the VHS. But hey, at least when we buy a DVD now, we won’t have to worry if it’s the right kind.

via BBC, PCWorld

Theo de Raadt Details Intel Core 2 Bugs

2007-07-09T11:59:00.000Z

"Recently, Intel patched bugs in its Core 2 processors. Details were scarce; soothing words were spoken to the effect that a BIOS update is all that is required. OpenBSD founder Theo de Raadt has now provided more details and analysis on outstanding, fixed, and non-fixable Core 2 bugs. Some choice quotes: 'Some of these bugs... will *ASSUREDLY* be exploitable from userland code... Some of these are things that cannot be fixed in running code, and some are things that every operating system will do until about mid-2008.'"

Found on Slashdot.

Vista is Watching You

2007-07-09T11:54:00.000Z

"Are you using Windows Vista? Then you might as well know that the licensed operating system installed on your machine is harvesting a healthy volume of information for Microsoft. In this context, a program such as the Windows Genuine Advantage is the last of your concerns. In fact, in excess of 20 Windows Vista features and services are hard at work collecting and transmitting your personal data to the Redmond company."

Found on Slashdot.

iPhone ads

2007-06-10T11:07:00.000Z

After these ads, I want it even more! ;-)

Also, check out Apple's site for all ads - even i HD.

Phone Calls in Google Talk soon?

2007-05-21T11:09:00.000Z

We didn't see any update for Google Talk in the last 5 months (the latest major feature was Vista support), so next release must add something important. A plausible hypothesis is phone calls. Google inserted this screenshot "from the future" in a presentation for Google Apps. We can see revealing messages like: "Show dialpad", "Call details", "Enter a name or phone number".
Great stuff!

Adobe To Release Full PDF Specification to ISO

2007-01-30T08:29:00.000Z

I Think I'm in Love

2007-01-11T20:38:00.000Z

Apple iPhone. In stores... somewhere in June 2007. I want one!

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray AACS DRM Cracked

2006-12-28T12:00:00.000Z

On Slashdot:

According to this article on Endgadget, the AACS DRM used in HD-DVD and Blu-Ray has been cracked. The program allows one to decrypt and dump the video for play on a users hard drive, or it can be burned to a blank HD-DVD and played on a stand-alone player. According to the accompanying video, a source release for the program will be made available in January.

I'm not surprised here. This was totally coming. Hooray to the crackerz! W00! Pwned!

One thought

2006-12-27T23:25:00.000Z

I'm just a straw pulled at random by elastic organic shadows in a spasm while operating the future breed machine beneath the paradoxical spiral ;-)

And by the way, Meshuggah is great!

Installing 200 Firefox extensions at once

2006-12-07T08:36:00.000Z

Sony Adds PS3 Support to Linux Kernel

2006-12-07T08:28:00.000Z

As part of the 2.6.20 development process, patches adding support for the "PS3 game console and other devices" (built on top of the IBM Cell) have been merged. The code has been written by Sony.

Very interesting stuff. I don't like consoles, and I'm not a gamer, but this is good move by Sony. One of the few.

Found on OS News.

Gadgets, gadgets, gadgets

2006-12-02T15:18:00.000Z

What's the first thing you want to know whenever a new device comes out? Whether you can play Doom on it, of course.

Okay, but the next question is usually whether you can install Linux.

Oh, so true :-) Think about it!

ATI Offers DirectX/OpenGL Converter

2006-11-13T11:08:00.000Z

On OSNews:

Graphics chip maker ATI Technologies has released HLSL2GLSL, an open source application designed to help programmers convert graphics code optimized for Windows’ DirectX 9 Application Programming Interface to OpenGL, which is used on the Mac. Binaries for Mac OS X and Windows are available for download.

This is exciting news! We'll see what interestings things will come out of this...

GMail spam count

2006-11-10T17:25:00.000Z

A few months ago, I decided to not to delete spam mesages, just because I can keep them all thanks to Gooooogle ;-). And than I noticed something very interesting with my GMail spam count. At first, I thought that I didn't remember the correct number, but than I decided to make a screenshot each day at the same time. The result is a little strange...

The number of spam e-mails is bigger one day, and smaller the next day. WTF? I cannot explain this, but it's freaking me out, man! ;-)

Microsoft to Announce Linux Partnership

2006-11-03T11:11:00.000Z

Spotted on Slashdot:

Microsoft is entering into an unusual partnership with Novell that gives a boost to Linux, people familiar with the companies tell WSJ.com. From the article: 'Under the pact, which isn't final, Microsoft will offer sales support of Suse Linux, a version of the operating system sold by Novell. The two companies have also agreed to develop technologies to make it easier for users to run both Suse Linux and Microsoft's Windows on their computers. The two companies are expected to announce details of their plan today at a press conference in San Francisco. In addition, Microsoft won't assert rights over patents over software technology that may be incorporated into Suse Linux, the people said. Businesses that use Linux have long worried that Microsoft would one day file patent infringement suits against sellers of the rival software.'

And on OSNews:

At a press conference in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is expected to announce a new partnership between Microsoft and Novell. The unprecedented deal will have Microsoft offering a degree of sales support for Novell's SUSE Linux while both companies work towards better interoperability between their respective operating systems. As part of the agreement, Microsoft also promises not to wield its patent portfolio against SUSE Linux. More here. You can follow the live webcast announcement, by Steve Ballmer, here. Also, Novell has put up a detailed FAQ about this deal.

Interesting. Very interesting. I have only one question: what good this can bring us?

Update: I found an article titled "Novell Sells Out" over at GrokLaw. It's good stuff.

This Is Halloween

2006-10-31T22:55:00.000Z

[SHADOW]
Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?

[SIAMESE SHADOW]
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween

[PUMPKIN PATCH CHORUS]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

[GHOSTS]
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It's our town, everybody scream
In this town of Halloween

[CREATURE UNDER THE BED]
I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red

[MAN UNDER THE STAIRS]
I am the one hiding under your stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair

[CORPSE CHORUS]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

[VAMPIRES]
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

[MAYOR]
In this town, don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise

[CORPSE CHORUS]
Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can
Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll...

[HARLEQUIN DEMON, WEREWOLF & MELTING MAN]
Scream! This is Halloween
Red 'n' black, slimy green

[WEREWOLF]
Aren't you scared?

[WITCHES]
Well, that's just fine
Say it once, say it twice
Take a chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night

[HANGING TREE]
Everybody scream, everbody scream

[HANGED MEN]
In our town of Halloween!

[CLOWN]
I am the clown with the tear-away face
Here in a flash and gone without a trace

[SECOND GHOUL]
I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"
I am the wind blowing through your hair

[OOGIE BOOGIE SHADOW]
I am the shadow on the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright

[CORPSE CHORUS]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Halloween! Halloween!

[CHILD CORPSE TRIO]
Tender lumplings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare

[PARENT CORPSES]
That's our job, but we're not mean
In our town of Halloween

[CORPSE CHORUS]
In this town

[MAYOR]
Don't we love it now?
Everyone's waiting for the next surprise

[CORPSE CHORUS]
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everybody scream
Wont' ya please make way for a very special guy

Our man jack is King of the Pumpkin patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now

[EVERYONE]
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

[CORPSE CHILD TRIO]
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

[EVERYONE]
La la-la la, Halloween! Halloween! [Repeat]
WHEE!!! Ha Ha Ha!

from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Windows Media Player 11 Released

2006-10-31T11:23:00.000Z

Microsoft has just released a new version of their Media Player application which has given the company a fair share of lawsuits in the past few years.

Besides the incorporation with the Mtv's URGE online music store, here are the other changes:

A visually driven experience using thumbnail and album art, an elegant and simple design, and customization capabilities for more personalized interaction
Improved device experience with new shuffle sync and reverse sync options, device exploration using the library view, and intuitive help icons that ensure seamless and intuitive syncing and burning of rights-managed content
Highly simplified navigation capabilities, enhanced shortcut options, and dedicated category views for all media types, including music, photos and video
Better access to content with deep integration of services that blurs the line between online service and media player experiences
Industry-first audio fingerprinting capabilities that recognize and import track information for unidentified or misnamed audio files
New formats for ripping and music playback, including Windows Media Audio Professional and WAV Lossless

The final version of Windows Media Player can be downloaded from the official website.

Via DailyTech.

The only interesting thing is audio fingerprinting capabilities. Maybe now people will have correct tags in the song. I hate poorly tagged songs. I hate it.

I personally don't use WMP. I mean, I always install the latest version, and than see how bad is it, so I keep it only for the latest codecs (maybe some poor soul use it, so I can see his/her work... Lam3rz!). I prefer Winamp and foobar2000 for Windows®. Muine and Rhythmbox are good choises for Linux/*BSD, or if you love the letter K - checkout amaroK...

Creative Commons Filmmaking Remixes Modern Cinema

2006-10-26T10:07:00.000Z

On Slashdot:

"Filmmaking experiment A Swarm Of Angels aims to create and distribute the first collaborative film released under a Creative Commons license. The project is using community participation and funding to make a film that would traditionally cost $3–4 million for a mere $1.75 million. The entire filmmaking process will be collaborative, from Wiki-based script creation to community voting on creative and marketing decisions. Is this just a scheme by the filmmakers to get funding for a pet project, or is it Hollywood's worst nightmare? More importantly, can 'open-source films' develop into a sustainable financial model?"

Very interesting thing. Open source films? Man, I'd like to watch that!

'From Redmond with Love'

2006-10-26T06:37:00.000Z

From OSNews:

This week the Mozilla Foundation released Firefox 2.0, and that occasion did not go by unnoticed at Microsoft's Internet Explorer team. "The Microsoft Internet Explorer Team sent us a cake for the upcoming release of Firefox 2! A big thanks to Redmond, Washington!" What's next, Stallman on a dinner date with Ballmer?

Can't. Stop. Laughing.

Such a good story! I like this kind of stuff. See people being so good to each other...

Firefox 2.0 is out

2006-10-24T06:31:00.000Z

That's right, baby! Fresh new version of Firefox is ready for you to download. It's worth it!

First Free Mobile-to-Mobile Cross-Platform Calls

2006-10-20T11:25:00.000Z

Read on Slashdot:

Barablu demonstrates free calling from Nokia Series 60 based phones to Windows Mobile phones and PDAs using a Wi-Fi connection. Both Nokia E Series and N Series Wi-Fi enabled phones tested, showing not only Voice but IM, video and conference calling.

This is very interesting news. I've been waiting for this to happen for nearly three years. I made a great device to control people's reading functions, but I had a lot of problems connecting to different systems on various mobile devices. Now, I'm ready to fully test it. And use it. Watch out world!

Flash Player 9 Beta for Linux Released

2006-10-20T07:32:00.000Z

Adobe has released a beta for Flash Player 9 for Linux.

While we are still working out exactly how to distribute the final Player version to be as easy as possible for the typical end user, this beta includes 2 gzip'd tarball packages: one is for the Mozilla plugin and the other is for a GTK-based Standalone Flash Player. Either will need to be downloaded manually via the Adobe Labs website and unpacked.

This is a great news! Finally, I can watch YouTube crap all day on my linux box...

source: OS News

NexentaOS GNU/OpenSolaris

2006-10-19T16:21:00.000Z

From the official homepage:

NexentaOS is a complete GNU-based open source operating system built on top of the OpenSolaris kernel and runtime. It is a result of our inspiration and desire to build a great system based on the best existing software: SunOS kernel and GNU software. We use Debian/Ubuntu - one of the best existing software distribution/packaging mechanisms - to glue the numerous pieces together.

NexentaOS is completely open source and free of any charge. It contains Apache, MySQL, Perl/Python/PHP, Firefox, Evolution, software update manager, Synaptic package manager, Gaim Instant Messenger, abiword, administration & development utilities, editors, graphics, GNOME, interpreters, libraries and many others. All of this is running on the state-of-the-art SunOS kernel.

For more info you can check out distrowatch.

I'm very interested in this OS. Very strong combo. I'll wait, though, for at least Beta release to install it on my greatest super-computer. Or a LiveCD of the latest Alpha 6 version. Also, pre-installed VMware image sounds nice.... No, no, no! LiveCD will be, nothing else.

How Warcraft Really Does Wreck Lives

2006-10-19T10:10:00.000Z

There's a great blog post about how World of Warcraft can ruin lives, it's written by a person that was for a long time a member of the largest council on what is now one of the oldest guilds in the world.

Is this for real? I don't belive that MMORPG games can do so much 3d8 damage... Oh, well, back to my Lineage II session.

Hooked on TV shows

2006-10-19T06:41:00.000Z

I downloaded yesterday the latest episode of Heroes. There are a few TV shows that I watch now regularly, so I've got less time for my evil inventions. I say, TV is Evil! I don't live in the US, therefore I have to use the Net. And I like it that way.

Other shows include Battlestar Galactica (season three), My Name is Earl (season two), Prison Break (season two) and Family Guy (season five). Man, it's just too much.

Last year I watched The Simpsons too, but I was so bad that I decided to stop watching the new stuff. Maybe I'm wrong? Never!

Internet Explorer 7 is here

2006-10-19T03:27:00.000Z

After 6 (six) years, there is a real update to Internet Explorer. New IE7 can be downloaded now, if you can do anything with that info, and it's only for Windows® XP SP2 / x64 / 2003 SP1 / 2003 x64. Nice... I say goodbye to old exploits and a big welcome to the fresh, new ones! Still, no full W3C support.

Root Exploit For nVidia Closed-Source Linux Driver

2006-10-18T09:57:00.000Z

From OS News:

A recent security advisory announced today by Rapid7 explains, "the NVIDIA Binary Graphics Driver for Linux is vulnerable to a buffer overflow that allows an attacker to run arbitrary code as root. This bug can be exploited both locally or remotely (via a remote X client or an X client which visits a malicious web page). A working proof-of-concept root exploit is attached to this advisory." The advisory goes on to note that the FreeBSD and Solaris binary drivers are also likely vulnerable and cautions, "it is our opinion that NVIDIA's binary driver remains an unacceptable security risk based on the large numbers of reproducible, unfixed crashes that have been reported in public forums and bug databases."

Damn, I thought that they won't find it for a few more weeks. Now, I'll have to go with the Plan B...

Protect your win box

2006-10-18T07:25:00.000Z

If you're forced to use MS Windows® or you just love to use it, you must protect yourself against intrusions that come all the time from that enormous pile of sh1t that we call the Internet. And, you can do it for free. Softpedia has one interesting article about three anti-virus software that are free to use, complete with screenshots.

One of tools that I also recommend is Spybot Search & Destroy. Download it or do a web search if you wish to find something like it, however, be forewarned that there are dozens of similarly named programs that are in reality just malware programs themselves. Be smart. Another great tool to remove your system from malware is Adaware. Spybot S&D combined with Adaware perform an almost certain clean-sweep to your system.

Protect yourself or I'll come and make all your bases secrets are belong to us me.

source: forevergeek.com

Windows Vista EULA

2006-10-18T06:01:00.000Z

So, I was bored this morning and I decided to read Windows Vista EULA. I know, I can do better, but not today ;-) Anyway, this was the thing I read first:

1. OVERVIEW.

b. License Model. The software is licensed on a per copy per device basis.

2. INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS.

a. Licensed Device. You may install one copy of the software on the licensed device. You may use the software on up to two processors on that device at one time. Except as provided in the Storage and Network Use (Ultimate edition) sections below, you may not use the software on any other device.

b. Number of Users. Except as provided in the Device Connections (all editions), Remote Access Technologies (Home Basic and Home Premium editions) and Other Access Technologies (Ultimate edition) sections below, only one user may use the software at a time.

Riiiiiiight.... Sweet, sweet stuff. I don't think that Vista will ever see the light of day on my precious computer. No way, man. If you want to read the whole document, you can find it here (PDF). Oh, how I feel good using open source apps...

My new world

2006-10-17T21:31:00.000Z

I've been busy spicing up this default template. I gave him a little love, it was so much needed ;-) I'm too tired right now to write anything good or bad. So, in the next few days I'll post first interesting stuff I see around me. Almost finished with my super secret device that will change many, many, many lives...

Alive!

2006-10-17T07:05:00.000Z

So, after my few other blogs died or went to /dev/null (whatever makes you happy) I decided to open it here, on glorious blogger.com! If anybody can remember those great blogs "My Life in Microuniverse" or "All I Can Do Tomorrow", I'm very sorry, but it's all gone now. But this one is going to be better, louder, smarter and uncut... :D

Welcome to Remotely Controlled Reality!