rishel.org » Gadgets http://rishel.org My inane ramblings. Or acerbic wit. Take your pick. Mon, 26 Apr 2010 07:07:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Android Ponies http://rishel.org/2008/09/16/android-ponies/ http://rishel.org/2008/09/16/android-ponies/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:50:43 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2008/09/16/android-ponies/ I’m really liking what I’ve seen of Android, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to have one by November. Everyone seems to have a list of the announced apps they want to use but I’d like to find replacements for the following apps I’m pretty happy with in the Windows Mobile world.

  1. SSH client. right now I use PocketPutty, but development seems to have staled, so I doubt there will be any quick port to Android. ConnectBot looks promising.
  2. Flickr uploader w/ geotagging. Shozu is pretty awesome on Windows Mobile and Symbian, and they recently came out with an iPhone app. The Android devs have a sample app called Photostream to view Flickr photostreams, but it doesn’t appear to have upload capabilities.
  3. a podcatcher. I currently use Egress for Windows Mobile, which used to be my feed reader of choice as well, but I think google reader has taken over there and I just don’t bother with most feeds on my phone anymore. Google reader + google gears on android will be pretty killer. but I’d still want way to grab all my podcasts.
  4. Twitter client. TinyTwitter is doing a bang-up job on windows mobile and java phones. Twitterdroid looks promising and was recently open sourced.

So, since the majority of the geeks reading this already have iPhones, what useful apps are guys using that I should hope to find ports for an Android version? (that last sentence is horrible, but you get the gist.)

]]> http://rishel.org/2008/09/16/android-ponies/feed/ 0 Ubuntu from Dell “Day 2″ impressions http://rishel.org/2007/07/17/ubuntu-from-dell-day-2-impressions/ http://rishel.org/2007/07/17/ubuntu-from-dell-day-2-impressions/#comments Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:33:41 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2007/07/17/ubuntu-from-dell-day-2-impressions/ As mentioned earlier, Meg’s new computer is a Dell with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed. Overall, we’re still happy with the system, but I wanted to mention a few “gotchas” i’ve found since being able to poke around the system a bit more.

First, Meg’s system came with a widescreen monitor. X windows was only configured with one 16:9 resolution choice, so if Meg want’s to reduce the resolution, everything is stretched out. I know if this is a fairly simple xorg.conf fix, and Meg’s gotten used to the 1680×1050 resolution, so it hasn’t been a big deal.

Secondly, in an effort to conserve power, I enabled power management so the system would suspend after after an hour of activity. Most of the time, this works. Every few times, it doesn’t recover correctly and needs to be shutdown before coming back up. Other times, the network connection is unable to get a DHCP lease. I’ve turned this off to stop irritating Meg until I can get it to work more consistently.

Meg is busy taking grad classes and her only complaint about OpenOffice.org is the lack “WordArt” as seen in Microsoft Word. I’ll have to see if the Format > FontWork option does the trick for her.

Overall, I’m still very impressed. The screen resolution is a minor nit-pick, and I’m not even sure if that level of polish exists on the windows side of the world. Suspend or hibernate don’t work correctly on my own (older) system, so that fact that it works most of the time is still a good sign.

]]> http://rishel.org/2007/07/17/ubuntu-from-dell-day-2-impressions/feed/ 0 region free DVD player hack http://rishel.org/2007/06/15/region-free-dvd-player-hack/ http://rishel.org/2007/06/15/region-free-dvd-player-hack/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2007 22:30:48 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2007/06/15/region-free-dvd-player-hack/ The portable DVD player we’ve been using on the upstairs TV hasn’t been dealing with the heat lately, it kept locking up and it has been having trouble reading discs with my other player reads without problems. We decided to replace it with some of our remaining Target gift cards. I found a small (but not portable, next time I want a portable DVD player, I’m getting a new laptop.) cheap (right around $30) player at Target from Trutech. Model number T-600D ( I can’t find a link on target.com…) One neat little “feature” was a hack to make the player region free. There are a number of possible hacks for this model on that page, but the one that works for me was this:
1. Press SETUP
2. Press 8, 8, 8, 8
3. Press NEXT CHAPTER (4 times)
4. Current RC should be displayed , upper right
5. Select RC with LEFT/RIGHT (255= codefree)
6. Press SETUP
7. Turn the player off

]]> http://rishel.org/2007/06/15/region-free-dvd-player-hack/feed/ 0 Ubuntu from Dell, first impressions http://rishel.org/2007/06/08/ubuntu-from-dell-first-impressions/ http://rishel.org/2007/06/08/ubuntu-from-dell-first-impressions/#comments Fri, 08 Jun 2007 17:40:21 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2007/06/08/ubuntu-from-dell-first-impressions/ I order a new computer for Meg as her IDE controller appears to be flaking out. I decided to order one of the new Dells with Ubuntu pre-installed. On first boot up, I was asked to agree to the Terms and Conditions. This was before even the OS loaded, must be a BIOS thing. Once though this screen, Ubuntu 7.04 booted up, I created a user account for Meg and myself and we were up and running. I did an synaptic update and started to explore the system. Everything but my printer just worked. USB drives, Sound, flash installed right into firefox, no extra fiddling needed.

Extra work with the printer was to be expected and I was able to easily get it running with the lexmark driver and the directions from ubuntu forums. Dell did a good job on their blog explaining that they are only going to recommend certain printers. One odd thing was that the sales page for the linux systems didn’t let me select a printer at all. I guess they are still ramping up the system and determining which printers would be best to offer.

It was pretty neat to unpack a new Dell PC and only have this one CD in the box:Ubuntu

I’m going to let Meg play with Ubuntu a bit, but I think we may end up switching back to Kubuntu, as that’s what she’s more familiar with. I do have an XP CD sitting here as a backup in case she decides Open Office can’t handle her powerpoint needs or something else. I might try the Qemu > rdesktop trick if she decides this is needed.

]]> http://rishel.org/2007/06/08/ubuntu-from-dell-first-impressions/feed/ 3 My Present Is Our Future http://rishel.org/2007/01/15/my-present-is-our-future/ http://rishel.org/2007/01/15/my-present-is-our-future/#comments Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:53:14 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2007/01/15/my-present-is-our-future/ Meg just presented me with my, er, present for Valentine’s Day a bit early. Roomba is currently charging up for it’s trial run. I hope it likes pine needles. I am currently anxiously awaiting for my initial 16 hour charge time to complete. I have never been so excited to vacuum in my entire life. I just hope it’s not as sassy as Rosie.

]]> http://rishel.org/2007/01/15/my-present-is-our-future/feed/ 0 Midlets on MDA http://rishel.org/2006/12/11/midlets-on-mda/ http://rishel.org/2006/12/11/midlets-on-mda/#comments Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:00:30 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2006/12/11/midlets-on-mda/ One disappointment i had with my MDA, is that google’s mobile apps don’t work out of the box. Much googling later and I found my solution. Intent Midlet Manager for the MDA. I tried a few other J2ME engines before finding this solution and intent blows them out the water in terms of speed, features and integration with the rest of the system. I can now just download .jad files for, say, Opera Mini, and they will just run in the Midlet Manager without any futzing around. Life is good.

]]> http://rishel.org/2006/12/11/midlets-on-mda/feed/ 0 Bye-Bye T3, Hello MDA http://rishel.org/2006/12/09/bye-bye-t3-hello-mda/ http://rishel.org/2006/12/09/bye-bye-t3-hello-mda/#comments Sun, 10 Dec 2006 02:08:25 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2006/12/09/bye-bye-t3-hello-mda/ My Tungsten T3 palm finally wasn’t cutting it. the stereo port gave out.
I could have replaced the motherboard, but still would have had my beat up screen and battered case. I decided to bite the bullet and go PDA shopping this weekend. I first looked at the palm TX which is the closest offering palm currently has that is even close to the T3. It loses the awesome sliding design of the T3, but uses the extra case space to add wifi. I briefly checked out the treo options, but wasn’t happy with the form factor (too much like my blackberry from work) or feature set (it’s like palm with a crappy screen and phone stuck on the back). I decided to switch to the dark-side try out windows mobile. The T-Mobile MDA seems to do the trick, and I’m able to stop carrying a phone, PDA and blackberry for work. Now I’ll just have PDA/phone and the blackberry. Progress, people, progress.

I’ve ordered a 2GB miniSD card, and I’m been researching replacement applications for some of my favorites on the palm. Any of my Windows Mobile using readers have any killer apps I need to download?

]]> http://rishel.org/2006/12/09/bye-bye-t3-hello-mda/feed/ 1 Things I Want, 2006 Edition http://rishel.org/2006/12/08/things-i-want-2006-edition/ http://rishel.org/2006/12/08/things-i-want-2006-edition/#comments Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:27:47 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2006/12/08/things-i-want-2006-edition/ So, I kinda missed getting this up in time for my birthday, but the Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus DVD set I got from Meg is pretty awesome, and I wouldn’t have thought to ask for it, which makes it all the better… but if need some ideas for Christmas and I’m not too late posting this time, here is my wishlist for this year:

]]> http://rishel.org/2006/12/08/things-i-want-2006-edition/feed/ 0 Prius Nav Saga: Check The System http://rishel.org/2006/06/09/prius-nav-saga-check-the-system/ http://rishel.org/2006/06/09/prius-nav-saga-check-the-system/#comments Fri, 09 Jun 2006 13:14:09 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2006/06/09/prius-nav-saga-check-the-system/ On May 27th, I went to Stacie’s BBQ. You have to drive through the middle of nowhere and come out the other side to get to Stacie’s new house. On the way home, my navigation system didn’t turn on, instead it just displayed “check the system.” It had gotten pretty hot in the car, and after a few minutes of running the AC, the system kicked back in. I thought the problem was solved… But I was wrong. It was getting progressively worse. Basically, any control I would access via the touch screen became unavailable. Bluetooth phone access was unresponsive, but still pairing to the phone. There were many messages displayed like “check the system” and “External system not connected.” Also annoying is the audio cutting in and out and not being able to adjust volume or climate controls. A very frustrating experience.

So, I turned to google, and found that this is a known problem. And, I also found this helpful thread, and even though I’m out of warranty, I was able convince Diehl to replace the part and only charge labor.

On June 2nd they called me and said I could bring the Prius in. I dropped it off on the 3rd, and they called back saying they didn’t have the part and it was back-ordered. I’m still not sure why they bothered having me drop the car off, but now it’s a waiting game. Until then, on the rare instances I can get the Nav system to kick in, I’m trying to backup all my stored locations. Unfortunately, the best way I’ve figured out how to do this a phonecam pictures of the Lat/Long and Street Address. Bah.

]]> http://rishel.org/2006/06/09/prius-nav-saga-check-the-system/feed/ 0 The Cow Says Moo http://rishel.org/2006/03/15/the-cow-says-moo/ http://rishel.org/2006/03/15/the-cow-says-moo/#comments Wed, 15 Mar 2006 19:49:34 +0000 Jay http://rishel.org/2006/03/15/the-cow-says-moo/ Ever wonder why you never need to replace the batteries on your See ‘n Say?  because their aren’t batteries!  They’re just a fancy animal-sound-filled phonograph.  I always figured there was some microchip and a fly-wheel or Van De Graff based generator.  Now I Know.

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