Entries Tagged 'Electronics' ↓

I haven't mentioned it here before, but shortly after the native SDK for the iPhone and iPod Touch was announced, I purchased a Touch.

Within a few days I had applied the original Jailbreak. I'm now running the latest firmware (thanks to ZiPhone).

The Touch is the best electronic device I've ever owned. I love it - the only problem I have with it is that I don't have Wi-Fi access everywhere, so a iPhone would certainly be a bonus. I'm going to wait until later this summer, expecting a hardware update by then.Now that the SDK has been released I'm thinking hard about what software I'd like to see, so I can begin building it now.

The biggest problem that I see with the SDK is that the apps will not be allowed to run in the background - that means of course that my favorite app, MobileScrobler, probably won't work.

So, maybe the Jailbreak community will still exist.

More posts when I decide what to build...

Yesterday, the day that Leopard was released for Macs, was also my white MacBook's eleven month anniversary. What better way to celebrate than to get the upgrade and a free shirt!

So on my way home I stopped by the Apple store near the house at 6:20 and found a short line stretching about 3 storefronts. The line moved fast and I had a good time talking to my neighbors about Macs and iPods.

Inside the store was packed, I saw at least a dozen black MacBooks checking out at once. I got a t-shirt and a copy of Leopard and I was back to my car 25 minutes later.

Back at home I backed up, tested the backup, rebooted, installed, waited about an hour, it rebooted, I logged in, I waited about another 10 minutes — and then, it finally booted.
I really like what I see so far. I have had the System Preferences app crash a few times, but over all I'm happy with all the changes.

I'd like to point out that Michael Tsai, creator of SpamSieve (my spam tool of choice) sent out an excellent email announcing his products compatibility with OS X and providing very simple instructions on how to re-enable the plugin after the update. Thanks, that went just as easily as described.

The surprise feature that I love the most is the updated Bluetooth File Exchange app.

I was able to browse the memory stick on my W810i and have been transferring the files (hundreds) for the last 20 40 60 minutes! In that time I've had two phone calls too. Once I get a folder that is in sync I'll automate the process and have it upload to my flicker stream too.
If you've got a Mac, get the update. If you don't have a Mac get one now — its better than ever.

these are the things that the iPhone needs before I'll buy one- offline AJAX apps- third party dashboard style apps- Stereo Bluetooth (how nice would it be to stream from all apple hardware)- full bluetooth support- video camera on front side for video chat- GPS (or availble GPS bluetooth support)- better camera (autofocus, flash, video)

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades: Joel Johnson Returns...to Spank Us All for Supporting Crap. Gizmodo is one of my favorite blogs. I love to get the instant news on gadgets, for me it is more entertaining than the latest news on celebrity deaths.

The real purpose of this post is to test posting from my RSS Reader to the blog.

I want to change the color of a room on a whim, or on a schedule, or in sync with music or a movie.
Someday, RGB lights will allow this cheeply and easily. Until then, I'm working on such a light in my free time.

I'm not a electrical engineer, so progress is slow. Late last year, I found RGBLED.org. There I found a kit that could control several lights at once, and it can use a serial cable to send colors from a computer. The site has downloadable code, and once I get the kit built I'll write my own controller for Windows.

A couple of weekends ago, I got started, but the first step was to solder some very small chips. I ruined the first two chips with to much heat - so I stopped. Last week I found the manufacture and ordered replacements and some extras.
Today, they arrived in the mail. There are 6 8 spots on each side of the chip that have to be soldered in exactly the right place. I'll give it a try, but probably not for a couple of weeks.

When I do, I'll keep you posted.