Archive for: how-to
- September 30, 2010 2:29 pm
iTunes users running OS X, listen up: Do you hate the new vertical control buttons in iTunes? What about the new Ping drop down that pops up inline with every song in your playlist? Personally, I don’t mind either of the new additions. I do wish, however, that Apple would get a little more consistent with UI design choices. But that’s a discussion for another day.
Back on topic — If you are aching for the old look pre-vertical buttons/ping, you’re in luck. Mac Observer has two simple Terminal commands that you can enter to revert things back to the way they used to be. All you’ve got to do is stop on by Mac Observer, and within 1-2 minutes you’ll be back to computing like it’s 2010…August-ish 2010 that is.
Who doesn’t like glow sticks?! From E-rated to XXX-rated, glow sticks have uses for just about anyone and any purpose. Usually we just snap ‘em and watch them glow, not caring about the chemical background behind it. But glow stick science isn’t really that complicated at all — just a few chemicals and dyes really. You know what that means? They’re really easy to make at home. Hop on through to check out a video that details the painless process in detail…
Yeah, that percentage is total BS. The point however is not. The Droid Incredible may have become root-bait a few days back, but that method was hairy in a not so noob-friendly way. The new method still isn’t as simple as a single step or two, but it’s lightyears better than what it was mid-week last week. Android Central forum member “cnash6″ ” mejdam” has taken it upon himself to whip up a few batch files making the process wholly easier for the rest of us.
Not all of us a big readers though. As such, a handy walk-through video awaits your eager eyeballs right after the jump, along with the needed links and instructions as well. Oh joy, hop on in…
I love gadgets. Could you tell? With a vast amount of gadgets comes a lot of chargers and cords to keep track of. And believe me, I’ve got a lot of gadgets. Sometimes finding a computer or one of those nifty wall converters that turns a standard wall outlet into a normal USB port just can’t be done. So there you are starring at two completely capable and electrically charged holes in the wall yet no way to harness the energy. If you’re like me, spending a couple hours swapping out your standard outlets for the USB wall outlets above is a no brainer.
I’m not an electrician by any means though after reading through the self how-to I can honestly say anyone could do it with minimal effort. The benefits of such a transformation are obvious — easy and convenient gadget charging. With more and products gaining USB plugs, swapping out a few outlets for USB outlets doesn’t seem like a bad idea after all now does it?
Gear Fuse > Gizmodo
Before we really get your hopes up, we need to stress that this process isn’t exactly “download – click to install – enjoy”. But if you’re running any distro of Linux, I’m assuming your at least a fairly versed in getting down and dirty behind the scenes of the pretty UI into the heart of your machine. And that’s a good thing because that is exactly what it’s going to take to get this unholy union to kiss and make up. The image above is a nice graphical representation of what the installed software stack is going to look like when everything is firing on all cylinders. A rainbow for nerds! A quick highlight of what everything does:
- libusb-1.0: provides an advanced API to access USB devices under Linux, replacing the old libusb-0.1 API
- usbmuxd: coordinates application access to the device and talks the specific iPhone/iTouch USB protocol
- libiphone: implements the Apple-specific protocols that are tunneled through usbmuxd: it can launch services through lockdown, retrieve device info, send notifications, and access the filesystem via AFC.
- iFuse and gvfs-backend-afc: both provide access to AFC to regular Linux apps. iFuse does this by mounting via FUSE, while gvfs-backend-afc is obviously a backend for gVFS.
- libgpod: (the library that traditionally has managed music databases for iPods) is being extended to support the new SQLite format, the new hash, and also to talk to libiphone to properly put the device in to and out of sync mode.
- **Theoretically, actual music players such as Amarok and Rhythmbox will need none or very few modifications to work.
Still not sure what to do? If so, this may not be the thing for you to try as the full gist over at Marcansoft doesn’t get any easier. Still, if you’re a Linux user and an iPhone/iPod user looking for some iTunes sync love, you may just want to seclude yourself in a dark corner for an entire weekend and figure this grand hoop jumping thing out.
TiPB > Marcansoft
- October 23, 2009 10:13 am
With so many of your precious memories and important files stored in digital only form, having a back up is always a good idea. Much the same way, having a way to quickly and easily re-install your OS in the event of a catastrophic meltdown is again, something worth acquiring. Students often get some pretty good tech deals due to the fact manufacturers realize the cash strapped state students often find themselves in. The bone they throw however small is often well received. Microsoft’s latest Windows 7 student upgrade is a pretty good bone at only $30 for the full OS. Only problem is you get a download link without anyway to make a backup disc in case of an OS stroke. Transferring the downloaded file to a disc for backup/restore purposes can’t be that hard can it?
Nope! Many users should be able to handle this one as it’s about as bare bones as it’ll get — a mere three step process.
- One command line entry
- One program download
- Copy file to CD
See, an easy three step process. Hit up LifeHacker
The WSJ is one of the most widely read and highly regarded newspapers in the world. Because of their global success, the subsciption costs that are required to read said paper don’t deter many as it is again a very established and well respected newspaper. As far as actually spreading news and getting the word out there, having subscription costs and paywalls aren’t exactly the greatest method for Google popularity or subscribers as the people receiving the subscription payments are the only real beneficiaries. In order to be more indexable by Google, a sweet little back door is now open allowing anyone and everyone the ability to read any WSJ article online for free. While more technologically less intelligent people won’t ever stumble upon this wonderful backdoor, I’m letting you fine people know about it in order to “spread the open flow and movement of news”. Want to know how?
If you are the type who enjoys your privacy either because you have some secret agent job, or enjoy the more risque content the internet has to offer, Safari has an option just for you: “Private Browsing”. When activated it doesn’t store cookies, history, passwords, etc. After closing Safari from a private browsing session, upon reopening you will find that your past session is missing…as if it never happened. Now, would you like private browsing to be turned on as default? Sorry to break it to you but Apple has declined to include such an easy and obvious feature. However all is not lost. Come inside to figure out how to get around the slight road block and never again have to worry if you turned on private browsing mode.
Everything in life can assume multiple roles. Technology and gadgets often have very short life cycles and are always being replaced by newer, faster, and smaller products. Often times the device we dumped so much money for a few short months or years ago is now sitting on our desk or in our closet taking up valuable space. I’m sure most people have experienced the unfortunate occurrence of a failing hard drive. If you haven’t, I promise you your time will come eventually. With a failed hard drives comes lost work, memories, and fun. However not all has to be lost. Take that old *sometimes smoldering* and decrepit hunk of metal, plastic, and silicon and turn it into something useful again….a clock.
