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DIY: cinder block speaker stands May 21, 2008 |
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Okay, I know what you’re saying. Cinder blocks as furniture are for starving students and heavy beer-drinking guys that never grew up. Well, I’m not going to argue with that. But with a little extra preparation, I think that you can make some pretty nifty, and very functional items for home: Let me present my cinder block speaker stands.
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AT&T Unlocks Blackjacks for Free! May 18, 2008 |
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They get a lot of shit, but AT&T isn’t so bad in my book! For one thing, I’m happy they agreed to Steve’s terms and let him have control over the iPhone - something Verizon wouldn’t do (Steve went to them first!). For another, they’re now unlocking phones for free, all you need to do is ask. I have a Samsung Blackjack that my iPhone replaced; I just unlocked it with a bit of help from AT&T and it was super-easy.
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Stick WHAT up my nose? Groom Mate Platinum XL trimmer March 27, 2008 |
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So I guess it happens to the best of us. We wake up one morning, look in the mirror and realize in horror that we have to trim our nose hair!!!!!!
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How to get started in vinyl (records that is) February 7, 2008 |
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I’ve always been intrigued by records. Something about them always seemed so mystical. I didn’t really grow up with records. Sure, I vaguely remember getting a little record from McDonald’s (not sure if it was in the happy meal or what) and making my mom play it over and over, but for the most part my introduction into the world of recorded music started with cassette tapes.
Continue reading How to get started in vinyl (records that is)
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You Suck at Photoshop. February 3, 2008 |
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Have you seen You Suck at Photoshop yet? It’s hilarious:
It’s not often that something so hilarious is also educational, but these videos have actually taught me something about Photoshop. Oh, I see you noticing that videos is plural - that’s right, there are more:
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
There are clues in the videos suggesting Donnie might be none other than Dane Cook, but I never heard of him being a Photoshop whiz. The world may never know. Anyway, enjoy!
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Koss KSC-75: a great way to upgrade iPod headphones January 28, 2008 |
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The Koss KSC-75 Headphone is not a particularly glamorous set of headphones. These little clip on headphones reside near the bottom end of the headphone price spectrum. However, with a mere list price of $19.99, I think these headphones represent a huge value to anyone out there wanting to upgrade the headphones that came with their iPod or other portable media player.
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Markdown - Really Handy for Blogging January 10, 2008 |
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Though it’s been out since late 2004 I’ve just discovered Markdown, which is proving incredibly useful for blogging. Basically, it lets you write like you’re creating a text document, with some simple syntax for links and such, and then turn that (extremely readable) information into HTML with almost no effort. So far, I’m only using it for the most basic formatting and linking, but it can do much more. It’s available as a PERL script here.
I myself had no clue how to use a .pl file, but it turns out to be really easy. Actually, there are a ton of ways to use Markdown, check out the Wikipedia entry for a large list. I ended up using it through Textwrangler, which is totally free. To install, just drop Markdown.pl into
/~/Library/Application Support/Textwrangler/Unix Support/Unix Filters/
Then put some text into the document window of Textwrangler, and then go to the #! menu, select Unix Filters, and hit Markdown.pl - that’s it!
Apparently, it also works with VIM, which is pretty cool. Even cooler, it’s possible to make it function as a service under OS X!
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An in-ear-what now? Quick guide to headphones types November 15, 2007 |
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In preparation for some upcoming headphone reviews, I’ve decided to put together this little guide on what is what in headphone land for our readers who might not be versed in the lingo.
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Why I Love My iPhone Even Though It’s Not Finished November 5, 2007 |
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I love my iPhone.
It does what I need, and isn’t too big. Most of it’s flaws are software - the camera is decent enough, the lack of a GPS isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and EDGE is fast enough for most tasks and coverage is plentiful.
But the software is lacking.
For example, cell-tower triangulation could make the phone aware of it’s location, though not as precisely as GPS. But unlike GPS, it requires no extra hardware.
The lack of Multimedia Messaging is absurd, especially when someone attempts to send you one: you’ll receive a text message pointing you to a website to view the message, but the link isn’t clickable, and the page won’t open in Mobile Safari anyway. Is this some kind of joke perpetrated by Apple and AT&T? I hope someone is laughing, somewhere.
The list, sadly, goes on - but none of these shortcomings ends up being a dealbreaker: the phone is still fantastic. This is, perhaps, a testament to how crappy most smartphone offerings are.
I replaced a Samsung Blackjack with the iPhone. That phone could do almost everything: 3G data, MMS, run third-party applications, email, and a bunch of other things I loved having. The problem was, again, the software. Windows Mobile is the least stable OS I have ever used. Simple tasks, like deleting photos, became a hassle because the file browser would crash after each delete, and several key presses were required to get back into it. The OS lagged constantly - startup took a minute. The phone actually froze on me pretty regularly. It was bad enough that the iPhone is a huge improvement, even though it can’t do nearly as much as the Blackjack could.
Anyway, the iPhone should keep improving as software updates are released. Apple knows that the software needs improvement; they announced that Mail.app 3.0, which comes with OS X 10.5 Leopard, would sync with the Notes application on the iPhone. It doesn’t now, though it definitely looks like it should, which is baffling - but hopefully an update that allows them to sync will be out soon.
In the end, I’ve got a phone that was clearly rushed to the market with a very limited set of features, but I still love it. Part of it is simple gadget lust, but there’s more: Apple is actually rethinking the cell phone by starting with a minimal feature set and adding the things that people actually need. The iPhone doesn’t do as much as other phones out there, it just does what it does exceptionally well in most cases.
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Go Buy Halo 3 - You’ll Thank Me Later November 1, 2007 |
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Halo 3. Prettier and more polished; you’ll still feel right at home if you’ve whiled away a chunk of your life playing Halo and its sequel. Graphically, the game is fantastic - the world of Halo in all its next-gen glory. The single player campaign delivers a satisfyingly epic end to the story, with full support for co-op play. Adversarial multiplayer is still top-notch, both in gameplay and matchmaking. But, you expected all of this…
What you didn’t expect were all the little features Bungie added to the package. Take Forge, for example: a tool for creating custom levels - you can’t change the actual map, but the type, number and locations of items can be varied. Along with the ability to create custom rule sets for games, Forge practically ensures that people will still be playing Halo 3 years from now.
Also new is video playback - gameplay videos are recorded, and snippets can be excised and shared from your bungie.net profile, be they images or video. Features like this aren’t things that sell games, but they do make you wonder how other developers get away with charging $60 for games that feel bare-bones by comparison. If you’ve ever wondered why Gears of War has such an inferior matchmaking system compared to Halo 2, you know exactly what I mean.
The game plays how you would expect: massive firefights with seemingly intelligent enemies, massive firefights with seemingly brain-dead enemies, and wild rides in a variety of locales on earth and elsewhere. The weapon balance has been improved, making multiplayer matches even more interesting. A new class of items, Equipment, has been added - this includes items such as the Bubble Shield, which is paradise when your shields are gone and enemies are still shooting - at least until they run inside the shield and then shoot you. Other equipment, such as Auto-Turrets, have more offensive roles.
In campaign mode, Halo 3 picks up right where Halo 2 left off. There’s no recap, so a quick review of wikipedia might be a good idea to refresh your memory.
Finally, this is a game that everyone with an Xbox 360 should own. It’s a top-notch game in every sense: graphics, sound, story, controls, single player, multiplayer, and overall presentation. None of the new features are truly new to gaming, but they’re so well implemented that the result is a game that truly raises the bar for everything that comes after it. Simply put, it’s worth every penny of the $60 price tag.
