20080615
Dreams in Digital - Click!
June is the one year anniversary of the thrid greatest project I have ever completed. (The first greatest was obtaining my Eagle Scout. The second greatest was graduating college.)I still have plans for this machine. I am personally holding off any Linux upgrade until Fedora 10 comes around. (It would be so much easier if instead of every 6 months, the people at Red Hat released a new distro every year instead. On the other hand, I should really consider installing software from source code rather than waiting for binaries.)
One plan that sounds affordable for right now is a fan too cool down the hard drive. If the nuclear energy supporters want to make environmentalists happy, they would us a really fast graphics card to generate steam for electricity. Then again, what would they need to use to generate the electricity for the really hot graphics card? Reguardless, the part of the computer that I forsee will be the cause of its downfall is the graphics card. Remember, if your GPU is spiking around 65 degrees Celcius, your main fan is probably broken, or your graphics card is too hot! The print on the wires generally states that their is a heat limit of about 70 degrees C. The normal for the GPU should be around 60 degrees C or less, otherwise everything is going to get hot, slow, or worse break down. I believe that is what happened to the main fan a few months ago. The GPU literally cooked the wires. While their was no puddle of plastic goop in my machine, the insulation that kept the wires from burning up could not protect the wire from the relatively intense heat.
Until I can afford a really nice graphics card, I will try my best to keep the rest of the computer as cool as possible. The fan and raidator on the CPU keep the CPU coool. The main fan aswell as a couple other case fans keep the MoBo and the memory in good order. And I have a new fan that will keep the hard drive cool which was remarkably affordable.
Also on my honey-do list for the computer: replacing the DVD-R/W. This like the GPU is currently a short-term long-term goal. As I have previously stated, I am hoping that a Linux standard for Blu-Ray R/W comes out in the near future and that prices for Blu-Ray drop within the next year. I went to Office Max the other day and saw that a single Blu-Ray disc for Blu-Ray R/W was $20.00. You want to know how much that disc is really worth? About a nickel. That's SONY for you.
Another short-term long-term goal would be to add an infrared controller to the computer. I don't care much for Bluetooth. And secondly, why does SONY use Bluetooth for their controllers and remotes in the first place? Bluetooth has many security concerns, and since it is pretty logical to use the wireless peripheral that interfaces with the computer in the same room, Infrared makes more sense.
Now if you really want to use Bluetooth for something, how about this next project that is definletely long-term long-term. Because Bluetooth can be used in say the next room over, why not create a Bluetooth device for your apartment that aquires free-to-air satilite television to be piped in to your house.
Now I hear some of you say "But Bushido, we can get this from DirecTV or Dish Network." True, but what they are as well as the cable companies are are middlemen between the satilite from space to your house. And if you noticed in your house if you have cable, the signal from your TV that is directly hooked up to your TV rather than a cable box does not have a delay. Likewise, this is the problems with the satilite TV companies. Because they get their feeds from various satilites then bounce the signals back up into space and into your backyard, this delay is much longer. The critism with such a project is that the dish used would be about 3 feet to 6 feet large, or maybe larger. The fact is we have come a long way from the 1980s when my grandpa had this piece of what was then considered high tech equipment in his house. We now have DVB which allows for us to watch TV on cellphones. The truth is, we could probably watch that for free if the big telecom companies didn't charge to do what the satilite TV companies do. And if you think about it, why do you think the Cable company is like "don't swith to satilite" and the satilite TV companies are like "switch to us from cable". It is because both the cable and satilite companies use the same signal equipment to fetch TV signal using thier 30 year old 12 footh satilite dishes. Cable does not go out in a rain storm because they use the satilite dishes that are tuned to the frequencies that can penetrate the toughest rain cloud. This technology is portable to Linux under ITU DVB-S standards.
But why stop at just TV? Shortwave and Amatuer radio could also be combined. This is a little more compilcated as many people know about the size of the amatuer radio and CB radio antennas. What I don't understand is why satilite radio has a small antenna. There is some information about amatuer radio at this link. And don't forget the Internet!
Next question is how do we power this device? In this age with gas price through the roof and people starting to wise up to solar and wind power I was thinking about something that would power the device, but at the same time be grounded from lightening strikes. The grounding mechanism would also be required for the dish as well as the amatuer radio, assuming that there is no way to talke that out of the equation. A Big-Ugly-Dish (BUD) with solar pannels built into it would be perfect, but physics doesn't work that way. I saw on 60 minutes one time BUDs are still used in Iran as a way to override their government's TV broadcasting.
The idea is really good and very smart. It may be the satilite/cable/ISP-company-in-a-box, but first I would condiser the cost and make certain that the telcoms and the satillite/cable compaies don't foil my idea. I do like the idea. It is the most straightforward plan. But their would be some programming involved like telling where to point the dish and the solar-pannels (if any). Generally they point south, but for the first time use, or the poor soul who nevery used a compass in the Boy Scouts (or Girls Scouts). The prototype will necessarily be boatanchor size even though technology can get smaller and maller...but then again you don't want it to get lost or have some ignorant jerk steal it.
But I would like to see something like that be fore the end of the next decade. Maybe the end of this decade if feasable. Two and a half years is a long way to go and a lot of time to learn things.
Labels: blu-ray, bluetooth, diy, environment, freetoair, infrared, linux, radio, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 6/15/2008 09:02:00 PM (0) comments top
20080208
Taser rendered useless, Bro. - Click!
While currently only being sold for military and police use, expect to see protestors at the next G8 summit with an underground supply of ThorShield.ThorShield should be on the consumer market. Imagine if you have a mentally disabled relative who is an emotional train wreck whe Officer Fuzz tases him.
Then there is the school officers who are now packing tasers at school and prodding the unarmed student. Some 15 year old who has no intention of being the next Eric Harris and loves school but is being stunned because they principal does not like what he says or the teacher does not agree with his point of view in history class.
Children are not sheep that should be prodded or forced to comply with energy weapons. The taser's abuse is over!
Labels: anti1984, donttasemebro, freedom, resistance, security, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 2/08/2008 10:20:00 PM (0) comments top
20070424
GNU Radio - Click!
I really wanted to come up with a clever title that was a play on Wall of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio", but I just didn't have it in me.With 2007 nearing the midpoint, my self-made computer is nearly complete. All I need now is the memory, a backup power source, a little bit of thermal grease for the processor, and something to patch up that hole in the back where a TV or Graphics card goes.
But since I'm not interested in television, and because I don't play alot of video games to justify shelling $300 for a graphics card, I want to develop an interest in software defined radio (SDR).
It turns out this project will be more challenging that I thought, but I am still eager to find some way to do this project without breaking the budget.
I recently learned that many of the projects I want to do require an industrial level of supplies or components, be it a SDR or an electric generator. An eBay search does not return any results that satisfy my requests.
I spend alot of time working on my computer, but I also want to listen to the radio. Nearly every result returned some form of mediocre FM radio reciever that was part of a TV card. But I want something that listens to AM so I can hear Cardinal games and picks up the FM radio stations that don't play some rap station or top-40/emo crap on five other radio frequencies where my favorite stations are located. I want a radio card that can block out that crap and pick up my Red Birds and Industrial Rock as clear as a bell. Unfortunately, the consumer market appeals to the Lowest Common Denominator. So it looks like I will need to build what I want.
Despite the fact that I did not learn about things like Verlog when I took a computer logic course, I still have the textbook from that class and would like to put it to use. I may need to review my knowledge of assembly language which may be of no use since my new computer is a 64-bit dual-core machine. I'm starting to think that maybe I should have majored in computer engineering rather than computer science considering I have a very limited knowledge about programmable logic arrays (PLAs), but I am willing and open to learn.
Reading the requirement list provided by the GNU Radio website, I really did not want to pay $850 for a hardware device that with the right components can be made for far less. Who ever is running the GNU Radio project obviously is not thinking like a broke college student. Do I really need that many Logic Elements (LEs) for this project? A child can build a radio for a science fair project out of a couple of circuit and a paper clip. These guys are thinking in terms of the most expensive products out there. Altera does have some appealing products that are quite afordable and simple to program. But to place the project cost at $850?! Who's running this project? Kaz Hirai?!
As much as this is an important project, the requirements are full of oversight. I know I can do better at a fraction of the cost!
Labels: diy, hack, hardware, linux, mod, music, radio, science, SDR, software, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 4/24/2007 09:49:00 PM (0) comments top
20070304
Y2K7
Thanks to your elected leaders, both current (i.e.: George W. Bush) and past (i.e. Al Gore), computer programmers have a new problem, seven years after Y2K and thirty years before Y2K37. (That's when the UNIX clock runs out. Better do something about that, Linus.)Ever since Bush took office in 2001, politicians on both sides of the asle, especially those with something to hide, have tried to manipulate contol of the technology than is suppost to catch criminals (especially the elected ones) and make elected representatives be more honest (espeically the dishonest ones).
Ever since the tape recorder logged Richard Nixon's involvemant in the Watergate scandal, dishonest politician and lobbyists have been pushing more legislation to make Big Brother watch citizens more that their leaders.
While it is reasonable in this day and age to put security cameras in some places like inside shops, busy intersections, buses, and other places where a large number of people congregate, we never see these things inside the offices of public officials. If they can wire tap our phones and log our public internet records, why can't we spy on them?
While these questions should be addressed, it seems more suitable to ask the EFF.
Looking back since 2001, the FBI New York field office was destroyed on September 11, 2001, containing the largest collection of confescated devices created by hackers going as far back as the 1960s.
In 2002, the PATRIOT Act allowed the government to warrentlessly spy on citizens. It doesn't say anywhere to my knowledge that citizens can't sequester the government's privaciy, although common sense would excuse the part of the government that is truely defending this country. What kind of fool would brag about war stragegies that help our troops who risk there own lives to protect this country and to help opressed people in countries that do really like us but are fortunate that we are there to help them and to let them know "I didn't come here to serve the leaders of my country but to serve the people that I love just as you've struggled to serve the people you love."
Which brings us to 2003. I don't think I need to explain a whole lot about what happened that year. War was declared. As much as our country though they were doing the right thing, we actually screwed up. On one hand, we took out Saddam. On the otherhand, we created more problems than we solved. On top of that, just about everyone who had a passion or interest in history worldwide was pisted. Of course our adminstration wasn't going to be lectured by a bunch of history professors, archiologists, scholars, museum curators, or any smart people. Never mind the fact that despite all the troops we sent into Iraq, the leaflets we dropped out of the sky, and the fact that there were even generals at CENTCOM who knew that there is much more in the Middle East that sand and oil. But would it have killed someone to protect the Iraq National Museum of Natural History? Like a special ops team? A phone call? A box of locks to secure the doors? Nope, our leaders were too busy watching Saddam's 23 gold palaces. Thanks to our leaders, nearily every artifact that could tell us about the Cradle of Civilization has been lost, damaged, stolen, or destroyed. Even the Mongolians knew to protect certain places back when they invaded Baghdad in the 16th century. This was also the year gas started costing over $2 per gallon. Who needs an honorary presidential pension when you can steal money from people who have to work for theirs? Let's also not forget the lost of one of the space shuttles due to an underfunded space agency that our country likes to brag about but never supports.
In 2004, there really was no election. John Kerry never intended to win. That would betray his fellow Skull and Bone brother, George W. Bush. Kerry is no hero. When you join the armed forces, you sign a commitment to serve your country, NO EXCUSES! Bush got his daddy to write him a note. Kerry shot himself in the foot, then scraped himself twice. Kerry and Bush are no Vietnam Veterans. I don't see them in black vests, riding motorcycles, working down at the VFW hall, or going to The Wall to rub a crayon on a piece of paper over somebody's name. This was a set up. Another four years of misery. This was also the year that thanks to the Hollywood Elite, the Christian conservative-run FCC cracked down on censorship after an intentional accident during the superbowl and some F-bomb by some old-as-dirt musicians. Thanks for the mamories, you stupid rich people!
In 2005, Hollywood and the media (now known on this website as "the virus") continued to show signs of foot-in-mouth syndrome espeically in the midst of a myriad of disasters. A tsunami in the Indian Ocean in late 2004. A destructive hurricane season that lasted well into the beginning of 2006. The piss-poor response by our government to provide help to a city that was destroyed. While fear-mongers shouted "global warming" and racism, the government once again turned a blind eye. Starting that year, many cities and states began to develop new programs for disaster response, especially greater support for people in low income areas. It was this year, that we learned that the adminstration would leave us to die if the unthinkable happened. We made a statement that if they wanted to preach about how life was sacred yet start wars and let people drown then we weren't going to go down without a fight.
In 2006, elections occured. Stem-cell research (SCR) was approved despite the kicking-and-screeming response of the uberconservative and the hypocritical federal government. When the results came in and SCR got the go ahead, opponents claimed that we didn't know what we were doing or that we were confused. It is bad enough they call the scientist who work on this stuff murderers, but to call the people who know that life begins when sperm meets egg not when boy meets girl stupid should anger anyone who is religious. I'd gladly go back to church if it wasn't for the people who forced their believes upon me or violated their own canon laws. When I go to church, I want don't want to look at some protestor waving their framed fetus-in-a-womb posters. Meanwhile in 2006, Al Gore's head continued expand rivial that of nimrod conservative talk show host Bill O'Rielly. While their egos continue to throw off the Earth's axis, the St. Louis area was hit with three separate storms that knocked out the power in most of the area for over a week. If you want to know what life is like in a post-apocalyptic world, try going without power for nearly a week while the mercury is over 100 degrees or below freezing. Gas topped $3 per gallon, but there were no pumps to fetch it. This was also the year we learned the Internet was not a big truck, but a series of tubes. The inbred intelegence of the telecom industry does not see technology in terms of zeros and ones but a check with a lot of zeros.
So far this year, the egos of the "global warming" campaign continued to get stuck under overpasses as Gore got an Oscar, gas continues to hover near $3, the PS3 and Microsoft Vista suck, and thanks to the federal government's inability to conserve energy, use Abrams tanks that get less than one mile per gallon, and because they've punished California for using more clean renewable energy, we now have to spring forward two weeks earily and fall back two weeks later.
"That doesn't sound like a big deal. You made me read all that to tell me about changing my clocks?"
Wrong! This has much more to do than just clocks. Computers now have to update their timekeeping software because of a bill passed by the federal government extending daylight savings time by four weeks.
That 400 point drop in the stock market last week wasn't because of Far East financial problems. It was stock investors covering their ass because they haven't downloaded any software patches to be Y2K7 compliant. There have been several upgrades to Linux and UNIX time zone data, but no announcements by Microsoft or Apple about their software. Not to metion, no major corporations who home brew their operating system have made any announcements. So what are banks going to be doing way earily on Sunday morning around 2AM? Probably not paying attention to the cyber-prowlers taking advantage of the earily shift in time. I suppose we will find out next week.
Labels: business, dogma, fud, imho, linux, politics, rage, stlouis, tech, thevirus, tubes, weather, windows
posted by Bushido Hacks 3/04/2007 10:57:00 AM (2) comments top
20070302
CompUSA Crashes! - Click!
If there is anything true it is that nothing complementary is truely free or as good as they say. Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch posted on the front page of the business section that all three St. Louis Area CompUSA stores are shutting down. Nationwide, 50% of all their stores are closing their doors."Yeah, so why not go to Circuit City or Best Buy?" Because firedog and geek squad are posers! On top of that, a trip to Circuit City this afternoon offered none of the products that I need to continuing to build my own computer. What's the point of selling CPU cooling fans if you don't have any CPUs to sell?
It also doesn't help that places like Circuit City and Best Buy put their computer department next to the car audio or home theatre section where the base is turned up and making items sensitive to shock vibrate.
I have come to realize that geeks in this country are being forced into exile. Money makers see the computer nerd as a niche group sort of like they associate goths with Hot Topic or women to the Lifetime TV network. Unless you are part of the herd, they seek to exterminate strays and individual thought.
I will not stand for it! I've worked too hard to save up to build my own machine just so that one of the few resources that can actually help me can die.
This is a sad day.
Labels: business, diy, horror, mod, news, rage, stlouis, tech, wtf
posted by Bushido Hacks 3/02/2007 08:16:00 PM (0) comments top
20070203
Mobo Jojo
My beautiful black case came in the mail yesterday. Special thanks to BUYPCDIRECT for providing the first step in my journey.Building a computer is a monumental moment for any computer geek. It is like the same feeling that a wrenchead (one who likes to build their own car or motorcycle) has when they begin building their first vehicle.
My parents think that this project will occupy most of my time and that I won't stick to my regular work. Not true!
This project does cost money, and will need to be spread out over the next few months. This means I will still stay on task while I work on one of my greatest achivements.
That's another thing that concerns them: cost. My brother did a project like this a couple years ago. He ponied up for the biggest most expensive stuff that was out their.
I, on the other hand, have plans on building something a bit more moderate and less expensive.
While I have no interest whatsoever in Windows Vista, Microsoft has brought forth the need to upgrade to 64-bit computing.
In order to keep up with the Gates (as oppose to keeping up with the Jones), I have decided to build my computers based on x86-64 architecture.
If there is one thing that the people at Microsoft and the resistant group of geeks (including myself) agree on it is that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has the better architecture for this task. AMD has been working on 64-bit architecture for several years now, even while Intel was promoting the Pentium 4.
In 2005, one of the most significant competitions in the computer industry begain since the Browser Wars of the mid-1990s. This hype as we now know it is called the "Core Wars".
The "Core Wars" brought forth Dual-Core processing, an idea forged from the concept of parallel computing. Many of us have seen the ads for products from Intel.
For those of you who are not computer geeks, the products that Intel has advertized over the years are for computer chips called microprocessors. A microprocessor is nothing more than a piece of plastic with this little teeny-tiny switches on them that are arranged with such precission that a machine must be used to manufacture them. A computer has many of these devices embedded into them into a big circuit board called the motherboard, or mobo for short. One chip that is heavily advertised, and one of the most important, is called the central processing unit, also known as the CPU or "core". The CPU is "the brain" of the computer. It works so hard, a fan is attached to it to displace the amount of heat. On newer desktop machines, the CPU has its own fan separate from the other fan that keeps everything cool and well ventelated. Some cases have come with thermal gauges to monitor and regulate the amount of heat a computer puts out, especially the CPU.
Until last year, the concept of having more than one core in your computer was reserved for the highly skilled computer engineer or the hardcore gamer. To be quite honest, having one core is good enough for me. But the concept of multi-core systems, though more expensive, does have its advantages.
A computer with one core puts out alot of heat. If the heat is not pushed out of the system, other parts of the computer become warped from the high temperature. To alleviate the stress caused by such a high amount of thermal energy, computer engineers took a page from the supercomputer industry.
If the name is not enough to tell you, a supercomputer is a computer with such high amount of processing capabilities that only a select few research laboratories, industries, and the government use them. A supercomputer, despite the recent advances in miniaturization brought on by improvements in nanotechnology, is about the size of a phonebooth and put out so much energy that it needs its own room with a large fan to blow out the hot air and draw in cool air. I read in some computing magazine that because these machines put out so much wasted energy, some companies in California channel the hot air into the air conditioning system to heat up the building in the winter time. Another company developed another, more practical idea to circulate the air in the room by reusing the air using convection. Convection occurs when hot air rises out of a heat source, then cools down causing the air to sink back to the floor where it is sucked back in again.
A supercomputer is able to process large amouts of information while generating less heat using a concept called parallel computing. This means a computer with dual-core processing uses two processors that have half the processing power as a single processing unit but because they work together, they computer the same amount of processing power as the single processing unit.
Because two processor with half the processing capabilities as a single processor but work just as dynamic, Intel has hyped up the concept with their "do more advertisement." *in that loud Kevin Spacy as Lex Luthor voice* WRONG!. Dual-core processing does not allow you to do work twice as fast as a single-core system unless you purchase a dual-core system with two processors that have the same power as the single-core processor EACH!
So what about this hype about "quad-core" (4 CPUs on one CPU)? Same concept. One big processor divided into four smaller processors with about a quarter of the processing capability as the single processor EACH!
The entire concept of the CPU was to store all those teeny-tiny switches onto ONE microprocessor. They way I see it, multicore processing is a step backwards, that or the chip manufacturing industry trying to cut cost instead of trying to find way to keep the computer from possibly burning up without burning a hole in your wallet, or worse burning the house down. (I'm talking to you Dell Computers!)
The downside to x86-64 architecture is that everything you know about assembly programming (especially for 16 and 32 bit systems) needs to be modified to include 64 bit systems. Fortunately, C and C++ programmers won't need to change the way the program too much. But if you use low level programming, now would be a good time to brush up on 64-bit assembly as technology marches on.
Labels: C++, diy, fud, linux, mod, tech, windows
posted by Bushido Hacks 2/03/2007 08:46:00 AM (1) comments top
20070127
A new year, a new ride
The ride of any nerd is of course the computer. Today, I begin one of the first steps in a journey that only a few people I know have done: build their own computer.I bought a PC case, BLACK. Being a Linux nerd, I don't need to worry about things like Windows Vista which, all bias put aside, is really rediculous.
I went to the office supply store this weekend to pick up some supplies, and lo and behold there was the display for Vista already out there. Oh to have one of Adam Sessler's writers on hand to cut Vista up with a razor-like wit.
Big "whoop dee fricken doo" about Bill Gates. So don't bother metioning him if you are one of the three people who actually read this website.
Anyway, back to what I want to talk about. So I'm looking at the Vista display and the discription is as dismal as the Slashdot niche had imagined. Vista comes with less than what XP has as the big technology conglomorates still believes that proprietary software will work like the Bush Adminstrations plans for Iraq. (I'm not a hippie. I support our troops, but you don't need to be a dirty hippie anymore to see how those things pan out.) So while small businesses get the shirt ripped off their back for an operating system that two days from its release will have a billion problems, I'll still be using my current version of XP and current distro of Linux until I have all the pieces of my new ride assembled.
What's really going to burn the post-Gates Microsoft Corporation is that sales for their operating system will be less than what they were 10 years ago when Windows 98.
Labels: diy, linux, mod, shovelware, tech, windows
posted by Bushido Hacks 1/27/2007 07:46:00 PM (0) comments top
20070125
The Tubes
The "series of tubes" meme is still alive and well it seems.The Xbox 360 game Gears of War has a "series of tubes" hack. For the low tech nerds (Yes, you with the 20 sided dice), the card game The Spoils, has this card.
I'm not into TCGs, but I did find this quite amusing. Some guy is selling this card on eBay in Florida for $2.
Labels: ebay, games, tech, tubes
posted by Bushido Hacks 1/25/2007 09:44:00 PM (0) comments top
20061127
Book mark everything in this post
For those of you who have found my GCC & GLUT installation instructions extremely helpful, I thank you for your kind words and feed back.Sadily, I do not have the time nor the resources to show examples or syntax of C, C++, or OpenGL.
Fortunately, I have found these resources to be VERY helpful over the break.
- Fred Swartz has a copy of his C++ Notes available on his website. I'll add his page to my list of resources on the tutorial page later.
- Lars Haendel has many example of some advanced programming techniques that are very important if you plan on getting a real job as a computer programmer. His site deals with two topics that most C++ books and professors rarely discuss: Callbacks in C++ and Function Pointers
Other things I've picked up over the holiday include a few cellphone hacks for the RAZR. I was bummed out that I couldn't use that Blackberry I got on eBay. Never the less, I will be a sufficent backup device should my RAZR turn into a brick as I rage against Ma Bell. (Fight the machine! Woooo!)
First off, screw Ma Bell (Cingular) and her $2 ringtones and lack of work tools. According to Stephen Pierzchala in a May 2006 blog entry, the V3 has about as much processing power as one of the first 386 computers. This seems plasable considering that the Texas Instruments TI-83 graphing calculator could have easily replaced the command module on the Apollo spacecraft. I'm interested in doing the same thing to my RAZR that Pierzchala did, only without wiping the firmware. One program that I especially have my eye on is MIDPssh, a terminal emulator for mobile devices. Thus, over the Christmas break, I plan on doing some modding on my RAZR. A couple good RAZR mod sites are MotoModders.net and PlanetMotox.net. Hacker websites like Binary Revolution are also a good source for things that annoy the phone company.
Labels: blackberry, C++, hack, mod, OpenGL, phone, razr, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 11/27/2006 09:33:00 PM (0) comments top
20061122
BlackBerry + AT&T = Paperweight
I just recently bought a really nice Blackberry from a reputable local vendor on eBay. I figured, a 7100g would be compatible with my service and allow me to spend time my time more productively. Not to mention, organize my life better at a time where I really need this technology.However, there is one problem. In the eyes of Cingular, this device which I paid a pretty penny for is nothing more than a paperweight.
To the vendor who I bought the device from, I appreciate your business and whole heartedly know that you did not know that this device, which I know for a fact went on the market sometime in late 2004 (I mean, so late in 2004, all the copyright information says 2005 on it). The seller and the buyer both lost in this transaction? Why? Because Cingular considers this device "obsolete".
Then I figured "OK, what if I set my phone profile to another Blackberry that Cingular has listed?" As it turns out, all that they had in their database that was compatible with their network either was obsolete or did not support tethering.
Instead of allowing users to access the affordable data services that Blackberry offers, Cingular--or should I say MA BELL a.k.a. AT&T-- has decided to nickel and dime this service not by the megabyte but by the kilobyte. If I am currently being charged $5 per month for 1 MB of downloads using the MediaNet service. That is Half of one cent per kilobyte. As we are romanced by the harpies of entertainment content and are given a greater amount of bandwidth, it is ignorant for AT&T to charge people for the amount of data that customers download. Here they are encouaging consumers to listen to music on their cellphones and telling them they can watch video and TV and listen to FM radio (what about AM?) and they want to squeeze us of every penny. My cousin had to discontinue her phone service when she got a $600 phone bill in her mail for using it too much. On the other hand, I'm being charged over $50 per month, barely speak on the phone, but can't use the phone for what I need it for: DATA!
My BlackBerry is NOT obsolete. AT&T's billing practices are.
AT&T says they are brand new and have changed. The only thing that has changed about them is the use of lowercase letters in their logo. They are the same AT&T that they were in 1984. They have reformed their monopoly but have found loopholes in the government that allow them to rake customers and employees while they get away with spying on people from our own country. Don't tell me "they're doing it to prevent terrorism" because that is a bunch of bullsh*t! If AT&T had done the right thing, they would have tracked who bought or sold their prepaid cellular phones which are nearly impossible to track allowing the REAL terrorists to use them as triggering devices causing incidents like those in Bali, Madrid, and London.
They have used fear to justify their cause and in return we gave them obedience. Why don't they send people to come to our homes take a leak on our backs and tell us that it is rain while they are at it.
I will find a way to use my new phone freely and as the Blackberry people had designed it to be used, whether AT&T wants me to use it like that or not.
It may be their service that I use, but it is MY phone. And I will use it as I wish to use it. Not as some media fun-box, but as a tool for organization as was the original purpose for purchasing it.
Labels: blackberry, hack, phone, tech
posted by Bushido Hacks 11/22/2006 05:30:00 PM (0) comments top
20061120
PS3 Do Not Want
Man, this was PAINFUL TO WATCH!I was watched XPlay, read Maddox's Latest post, read Penny Arcade's review, and Slashdot even the business and technical aspects of the PS3. Then I saw it first hand myself.
The PS3 is not just a train wreck, it is a train wreck with a chemical chlorine spill at 3AM that kills everyone in the nearby town in their sleep.
The Business men say that the PS3 is a finanical loss. The game critics were floored by several of the games because they sucked so bad. Being an OpenGL programmer, the horrendous use of glOrtho (the function that controls camera angle and viewport) is enough to make me vomit!
You hear me! VOMIT!
I've never used such a word in my blog in the two years it has been online in such a literal context. The graphics in these games make me want to cry, and I'm a casual gamer who plays less than two hours of video games per week.
I mean, AWEFUL!
Vehimate (sp) words can only describe the PS3. It hurts so bad.
On the other hand, this proves that proprietary SHOVELWARE and overpriced five-minutes-ago technology suggested by the salarymen at Sony in order to "bring in a profit" ONLY TO HAVE IT BACKFIRE because more money went into advertising than supporting the programmers who make the games.
EVERYONE AT SONY SHOULD BE FIRED! NO EXCEPTIONS! And if they are not fired, the need to be struck down with the wrath of God.
The winner this fall: Wii and Xbox 360.
Labels: games, IBM, OpenGL, PS3, shovelware, tech, Wii, wtf
posted by Bushido Hacks 11/20/2006 04:56:00 PM (0) comments top
