ipod accessory: July 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

GBTV #0362 repost (small) | GeekBrief.TV

Our lease ends in a week on May 21st. We haven't found the right Geek Brief Mobile yet, so we're going to have to find a temporary place to live while we continue to look.

This Brief is an update on our goal to take the show on the road. Friends of GBTV keep pointing us toward the super cool CNN Election Express Bus. It's a mobile news bureau/studio and it's very cool.

Right now, we're looking at three very different buses. One is a 1985 Eagle that is very inexpensive but would require quite a bit of work. One is a 1995 VanHool that is nicely converted, but has some red flags. One is a well-maintained 1998 Prevost with low mileage.

We think of what we do as Open Source media. Taking the Brief mobile for a couple years is a big goal and viewers are rallying around the project. Companies are too. Like everything we do in comparison to big media, we think we can do something as cool as the CNN thing for a small fraction of the cost.

This episode is sponsored by Beck's Beer. It doesn't have a pre-roll. At the end of the brief, I invite beer aficionados to visit becksbeer.com and talk about a really cool job opportunity. Beck's is looking for an official blogger. Info about that is available at becks.com. Read more

NASA to hold Phoenix press conference tomorrow, water on the brain?

Filed under: Robots

It's been a while since we've reported about the doings of our robotic friend on Mars, but a press conference tomorrow (Thursday) could uncover Phoenix's first positive report of water on the red planet. NASA's conference will be held at 2 p.m. Eastern Thursday and we're hearing that Pheonix Mission is ready to report that water ice is not only confirmed, but the research robot has dug some ice out of a trench, heated it, and confirmed that it is, in fact water. If this all holds true, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be able to determine whether or not the atmosphere could sustain life and lead to manned missions to Mars. We call shotgun.

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Microwave process could cut cost of lithium-ion batteries

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While there's plenty of folks out there focused on making lithium-ion batteries safer and longer-lasting, there's also thankfully some dedicated to making 'em cheaper, which is especially welcome when we're talking about the expensive batteries powering cars. Among those in the latter camp is University of Texas at Austin professor Arumugam Manthiram, who has devised a method of using microwaves to heat a concoction of commercially available chemicals, which ultimately results in the Rorschach test of rod-shaped particles of lithium iron phosphate pictured above. While the use of lithium iron phosphate instead of the more commonly used lithium cobalt oxide apparently cuts back on the total amount of energy the batteries can store, it is apparently particularly well-suited to delivering large bursts of power, which should make the batteries ideal for use in hybrid vehicles. What's more, while the actual cost of the materials may not be much cheaper than other solutions, the sheer speed at which Manthiram's process works could allow for higher production rates from the same amount of equipment, which should result in cheaper batteries by the time they roll off the assembly line.

[Via Daily Tech]

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plankton's nailed USB drive: perfect for handymen, frustrated computer owners

Filed under: Storage

Be honest with yourself: has there ever been a time when you felt like taking a hammer to a computer of yours? Yes, of course. Apparently some of the clever minds at plankton figured out a way to let people live out that fantasy without totally destroying their partially functional machine. The "nailed" USB flash drive features 2GB of internal storage, an unmistakable design and a rather huge head to ensure that even novice nailers don't miss the target. Of course, it doesn't take any responsibility for damage incurred by inserting said drive in the previously referenced manner, but a few light taps should suffice in most instances. Pick one up now in galvanized or blued (okay, not really) for €29.50 ($46).

[Via technabob]

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Retiring the RSS blog

As of now, the RSS blog joins our list of retired and archived blogs. I recommend checking out Download Squad, our software and computer blog that covers many aspects of the on-screen lifestyle and user experience.

speaking of RSS, remember that many of our blogs (including Download Squad) off RSS feeds by category.

Thanks for reading!

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TUAW Tip: a shortcut to the Character Palette

Filed under: OS, Odds and ends

I'm not the world's most patriotic Englishman, and I'm also not keen on allowing icons to fill up my Mac's menu bar unless strictly necessary.

That's why I don't let the Input Menu flag hog space up there; one of the first things I do on a fresh Mac system is remove it (by unchecking the "Show input menu in menu bar" box in the Input Menu tab of the International preferences pane).

That said, there are occasions when I wish I had quick access to the Character Palette - which can normally only be reached via the Input Menu. Grrr.

Which is why I dug around online to find a script that would call up the Character Palette for me, and saved it as an application, and Bob's your uncle. Now I can get to the Character Palette, via Spotlight, by typing "Command+Space CHAR return". Excellent.

You can get the script from this page on Mac OS X Hints. Click the "Get this script" thingy and it will open in Script Editor. Click Compile, then Run, just to check it does what you want - then Save As... an app, or a script if you prefer.

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Hacker stuffs a wired 360 controller in a DualShock 3 shell

Filed under: Gaming

Console modders out there have been doing crazy things with controllers for a while now, and while this latest piece isn't as crazy as the one-handed Access Controller, it's still good for a double-take -- check out this wired 360 controller shoehorned into a DualShock3 shell, complete with green LEDs. THe modder, RDC, says it works great, rumble included, but that there's no headset connector and the L2 and R2 triggers aren't analog -- both things he's hoping to fix in the next version. We'd suggest keeping the DS3 buttons as well -- while the colorful 360 buttons look pretty hot against that black case, we'd rather break this thing out and blow minds stealth-style.

[Thanks, Aguiluz]

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Yahoo! Partners with Six Apart to Distribute Movable Type

Yahoo! has agreed to provide Movable Type as the default blogging solution in its extensive small-business suite of services. The other hand will get washed as parent company Six Apart directs small-business traffic to Yahoo! for a complete ISP/merchant/blogging package. There's nothing new about Web-hosting accounts with Movable Type pre-installed; the Movable Type site has a recommendation page for such services, to which Yahoo! has not been added.

When I first glanced at the e-mail press release about this announcement, I expected to read that Yahoo! had acquired Six Apart-that would be an appropriate complement to Google's ownership of Blogger.com. Of course, Yahoo! provides a newbie-friendly blogging experience with Yahoo! 360, which could possibly be interpreted as competition to the much more established (and feature-rich) Blogger. But Six Apart's three platform levels (Movable Type, TypePad, and Live Journal) cover all the bases and could vault Yahoo! into a whole new position in the blogging wars.

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Are iPhone 3Gs developing cracks?

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

In what appears to be an increasingly common problem, hairline cracks are beginning to form on Apple's new iPhone 3G. While most of the cracks are reportedly affecting the white model, this is likely due to the increased visibility of the dark fracture on the white case as opposed to any differences in materials between the white and black units. At the moment, the issue seems largely cosmetic and doesn't appear to interfere with the operation of the phone. Now bust out the magnifying glass and let us know if you're seeing the same.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read -- MacRumors forum
Read -- Apple Forum

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Cool Websites and Tools (edition #161)

Cool Websites and Tools (edition #161)
Check out some of the latest makeuseof discoveries. All listed websites are FREE (or come with a decent free account option). No trials or buy-to-use craplets. For even more app reviews subscribe to makeuseof directory. Want to submit your application to MakeUseOf directory ? See how here. (1) BookGoo - Highlight and annotate documents and web [...]

Check out some of the latest makeuseof discoveries. All listed websites are FREE (or come with a decent free account option). No trials or buy-to-use craplets. For even more app reviews subscribe to makeuseof directory. Want to submit your application to MakeUseOf directory ? See how here.

(1) BookGoo - Highlight and annotate documents and web pages online and then share them with others. Read more …

(2) Criminal Searches - Want to check if someone you plan to hire has a criminal record? Criminal Searches is the website you need. Read more (incl. video): Criminal Searches - Do A Criminal Background Check on Anyone.

(3) GasForFree - New website that lets you earn free gas by drivertising (displaying ads on the car). You’ll have to be apply to get accepted. Read more: GasForFree - Place Ads on your Car and Earn Free Gas.

(4) InfiniTube - Create automatic Youtube playlists that play videos matching certain tags, or non-stop music clips from your favorite artists. Read more: InfiniTube - Auto Play Youtube Videos by Tags.

(5) MoviesFoundOnline - Free website where you can watch public domain (outside of copyright restrictions) movies and documentaries. Read more: MoviesFoundOnline - Public Domain Movies and Documentaries.

(6) PutPlace - Backup important files from multiple computers to a single online account. Install PutPlace on each of your computers, tell the program what files and folders you want it to backup and forget about it. It will automatically keep the files backed up and up to date. Read more: PutPlace - Backup All your Digital Data to Web.

(7) QuickMaps - This handy app lets you add lines and label locations on top of Google maps. Annotated maps can be shared with others and even posted on any other webpage. Read more: QuickMaps - Create Maps With Directions.

(8) TextSnip - Share text or code (HTML, CSS, XML, etc.) online without loosing its original formatting. Read more: TextSnip - Easily Share Formatted Text or Code with Others.

(9) Vocaroo - Online voice recording app where you can record voice messages and then share them with others via email or on your online profile webpage. Read more: Vocaroo - Record Voice, Send it to Friends, Post it Online.

(10) WebToMail - Using WebToMail you can access favorite blogs and websites directly from your email. Send an email to send@webtomail.co.cc with the URL of the website in the subject line and shortly after receive a reply with the webpage attached. Read more: WebToMail - Access Blocked Websites via Email.

These are just half of the applications that were added to our directory in the last 3-4 days. To keep up-to-date on all directory additions subscribe to MakeUseOf Directory here.To subscribe via email click here.

Got a cool website? Here is how you can submit it to MakeUseOf Directory.

Sprint's Airave signal booster goes on sale nationwide

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Just as July began, we heard that Sprint would finally begin shipping its Airave signal booster nationwide before the month ended. It cut things close, but we can't deny that the rumor proved true. Starting right now, Sprint users with horrendous service in their own homes can begrudgingly cough up $99.99 to have the base station sent directly to you. From there, you'll have to throw down $4.99 per month for extending your coverage but still using your plan minutes, $10 per month if you're looking to make unlimited calls (through the Airave) with a single Sprint phone or $20 per month for unlimited calling for multiple lines. Critics have already harshed on the $50 increase in price from when it launched in Denver and Indy last year, not to mention the relatively high monthly fees, but we suppose you can take it or leave it depending on how regularly you drop calls from your couch. Oh, and don't even think of using this overseas -- the required GPS module makes sure you're in the US before enabling calls.

[Via PhoneScoop]

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Sirius, XM formalize merger

Sirius, XM formalize merger
Sirius and XM today formalized their FCC-approved merger, ending an approximately 16-month wait since the union was first proposed early last year. The combined entity will now be called Sirius XM Radio and has about 18.5 million total subscribers, turning it into the second-largest radio outlet in the US. The company says it will quickly live up...

Manage your money safely with ClearCheckbook

There are numerous ways to manage your money, Wesabe, Mint, just to mention a few but I have always found these to be a bit limiting. Mint for example requires your bank account information which is a major drawback. I always speak up against all this privacy obsession, but while I don’t care if someone [...]

ClearCheckbook logo There are numerous ways to manage your money, Wesabe, Mint, just to mention a few but I have always found these to be a bit limiting. Mint for example requires your bank account information which is a major drawback. I always speak up against all this privacy obsession, but while I don’t care if someone gets to my personal thoughts, I do care if they get to my money. There is a heated debate about Mint’s safety and policies and even if you don’t mind that part, if you have bank accounts outside the US, Mint won’t work anyway.

Enter ClearCheckbook, stage right, one of the best money management apps I’ve seen in a while that won’t require you to surrender all your personal info. Manage multiple accounts, savings, credit cards, cash, Paypal and so on easily, with overviews, statistics and summaries readily available. Of course the negative side of the app is that you need to do everything manually. You don’t have to share your info, but this means the app doesn’t pull anything from your bank account either. For me this is a huge positive side to things because it gives me much more flexibility. Let me show you a bit more about this extremely helpful application.

Setting up

I needed a simple but effective app to tighten my grip on my expenses and ClearCheckbook impressed me right from the start. With the simple few step process you will set up your accounts in no time, designating an initial sum for each. Since you are not tied to your bank accounts you can create “fictional” accounts for anything you wish. If you like to put $20 in a jar each month you can create an account named “jar” and designate an initial sum. You will be able to add transactions in the same way. While this seems like a weird use of the application it is very life-like, you could even use it to track a loan you gave to someone. To add an initial fund to a credit card account you will need to either withdraw or deposit that amount while all other accounts have an “initial amount” option. There are a few reasons why this is technically more accurate, but I see no reason why it is complicated. Nevertheless, it’s still pretty easy to set up stuff. You can even modify the initial sum at any time if you want to reset your account, or balance it.

Daily use

Of course setting up is all nice and easy, but the real task is to track your daily expenses right? I’ve only been using ClearCheckbook for a week, but since I have been moving I used it heavily. It manages to really help you, and not bog you down with micromanagement. Just click on add an entry, choose account, amount, date, category and name. Adding an item takes about 10 seconds for me, even if I add a new category and spend some time on the transaction name, so you won’t spend minutes and hours pushing sums about.

The Summary screen is also great for daily use, showing a list of recent transactions, which can be filtered by certain categories. You can also view your account balances and the total, a great place to get some at a glance info about how you stand financially.

The summary screen also enables quick editing of items (just click and go, nice inline editing implemented), you can modify every aspect, plus you get the option to jive an entry. Jiving basically means checking that the amount matches your bank statement. Since you aren’t pulling data from your account but editing manually, this is a nice function to have. However if you have a lot of transactions, I doubt you want to spend 3 hours each month to go through all your entries. If you find a discrepancy between your ClearCheckbook and your real account, just add correction transactions for the relevant amount.

Reports

Expenses report Actually reports are not that important to me, but they are a cool way to visualize your account and see when your earnings are going up or down in general. You can see total spending compared to withdrawals, then by account, you can even take a look at spending by category. My current standing there is Food - 90%, Hygiene - 10%. Is that something I should hide? As you use it more and more these statistics become more and more relevant and useful, if you have 2-3 transactions daily you should have some usable data within a month.

That’s about it for reports, which is enough for me, but what is a real help is the search option which let’s you find any transaction, at any time, for any amount. Searches are quick and productive, you’ll be able to find that “lost” transaction in seconds.

Management Tools

Transactions What surprised me are the amount of tools ClearCheckbook offers. CheckBot for example is a way to interact with your account using different platforms, like AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Gtalk, or even your mobile phone, which can be a great asset if you’re on the run.

You can also set up reminders and recurring transactions. For people like me this is a blessing, I am not the best in keeping track of my monthly bills and so on. Now I can just input them and off I go, worry free. Spending limits can provide the same auto-regulators that some people need, and while they don’t actually stop you from spending, they might make you sit down and think about it.

There are some other nice features like importing, a sort of notepad, refreshing accounts and so on, plus some basic features like managing categories and accounts of course.

Is ClearCheckbook right for me?

Well, this is up for you to decide. Give it a go and share your experiences, thoughts, rival products in the comments. For me this is the perfect solution since I can add any account from the cash in my hand to the money in my Paypal account to my allocated Poker funds.

There are no privacy concerns or at least ones that could compromise your real account and although you have to manually add stuff, this can be done pretty quickly and easily. I think I like this much more that other apps out there, but let us know what you think!

Daniel changes his signature lines all the time because although he has a blog about organization, Hack Your Day, he can be a bit all over the place at times. He also has a Blog management service called Blogtastique which helps newbie and pro bloggers in anything they need.”