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fluffy
Seattle
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For a while now I've been using a pay-as-you-go feature phone for calls (around $5/month on Verizon) and an iPod Touch for the "smartphone" purposes. Usually this covers my needs just fine, but it helps that I can usually find Wi-Fi if I really need data access.
Are Feature Phones the Next Big Thing?
I did something unusual the other day and charged up an old Nokia phone that's been lying around the house for at least five years. After a few exhilarating minutes wasted playing Snake, I decided to try using it as my main phone for a while. And so -- on day three -- my fancy smartphone is s...
I dunno, that Journey game looks kinda fun!
¡Ay, caramba! El "Great Video Game Crash" En Español
</p> You can point your joystick a whole lot of directions to try to target the exact cause of the Great Video Game Crash of the early 80s. Home computers were on the horizon, reaching a level of sophistication that 70s era game console hardware couldn't touch. There were a couple of high ...
I meant something between the current Mini and the current Pro, of course. Obviously every new Mini is going to be better than the last.
What I meant, though, is I really wish they made a small sub-tower type system (ideally with multiple accessible hard drives) and the choice of both a high-end quad i7 AND a decent GPU. On the minis, you can get EITHER a quad i7 OR a discrete GPU, but not both (with a discrete GPU your best choice is the dual i7, which is what I ended up getting).
Basically, I wish they'd provide something with the specs of the iMac, but without the built-in screen.
They have a great low-end desktop (mini) and a great high-end desktop (pro) but in the middle all they have is this goofy all-in-one.
The Death of the Tower PC?
I last reinstalled Windows XP on my aging home-built PC in late 2009, vowing it would be the last time. The writing was on the wall, and a golden age of affordable and powerful ultra-notebooks and tablets was just around the corner. Almost three years later, my PC is still limping along. I ga...
Personally, I just replaced the MacBook pro in my studio with a mini, because I needed an upgrade and wanted to drive two external monitors (and no, the 15" screen in the MacBook wasn't cutting it) I'm pretty happy with it, although the pokey hard drive is definitely a problem. I just wish Apple had something between the Mini and Pro which isn't an iMac. A common complaint.
The Death of the Tower PC?
I last reinstalled Windows XP on my aging home-built PC in late 2009, vowing it would be the last time. The writing was on the wall, and a golden age of affordable and powerful ultra-notebooks and tablets was just around the corner. Almost three years later, my PC is still limping along. I ga...
Huh! If I still had my Korg 01/W I'd have to ask if that was supported, and if so, buy one. But I no longer have my Korg 01/W, so I'm thinking that if that is supported I'd have to buy another one of those and one of these, so it's probably better that I not know.
HxC Universal Floppy Disk Drive Emulator
The weak point in many vintage computer and music production systems is the floppy drive. They were unreliable when new, and getting a 30 year old drive to run predictably can be a massive headache. Floppy disks degrade with age and drives often fall out of alignment or fail once parts become ...
Android phones as of 2.3 Gingerbread have a TV Tube effect when their screens turn off. At first I thought it would be cute exactly once, but it's actually quite grown on me and doesn't actually annoy me as much as I thought it would. So now it's just cute.
TV Tubes Caught In The Act
Gary writes, "Here are some pictures of tube tv's the moment they're being switched off." I usually shy away from anything that an artist describes as "self-referential, concrete photography." But Stephan Tillmans' Leuchtpunktordnungen exhibit brings back memories of old tube TVs flickering in...
I don't actually like any of the magazine covers. The Light & Healthy cookbook cover was just so good because it had such a simple, elegant presentation of delicious-looking food that I couldn't look past all the cluttered, badly-composed, unattractive magazines. If I had to choose one I'd go for the Food & Wine one though, because it's well-composed and balanced and relatively simple and the text doesn't interfere with the visual subject too much.
January Magazine Covers Gallery. Plus: A Giveaway!
As our magazine subscriptions come in each month, we're always hyper-focused on what's on each cover. It's fascinating, really, especially around major holidays. Do they go with the turkey for Thanksgiving? The chocolate for Valentine's? How does each magazine set itself apart? We have no do...
Of course, as long as there's multiple ways that people can identify themselves that conflict and lead to identity fragmentation, and no good way to migrate that identity between services, then there will always be problems. The fact that there's so many equally-valid ways that I can authenticate to TypePad just to post a comment (TypeKey, Facebook, Twitter, and a dozen or so different OpenID brokers who all want to be my one true OpenID broker) makes it pretty hard for me to keep control over my identity. I could either keep commenting with my TypeKey profile to maintain the continuity there, or I could try migrating everything to one particular OpenID key (which is using an OpenID server that I control), or I could use one of my other services' identities.
It's great that Dreamwidth is making it easy for people to join in on Dreamwidth by just using their LiveJournal OpenIDs, but when LJ shuts down or starts charging for OpenID authentication or whatever, then all the trust networks and comment histories they've built up there are ruined. Also, OpenID as implemented most places is kind of cumbersome and is really just a substitute for a password but still ends up creating yet another account everywhere, and one that's pretty much fixed to a single OpenID URL (and I really hate how that URL is what LJ/DW/etc. show as your username and link to as the profile page, but that's an implementation detail). At least with a traditional account tied to an email address you can generally change email addresses.
Finding the missing personal blog
How have blogs changed, and what's there to miss about them? [fluffy just wrote][fluffy] some good thoughts that dovetail with a project I'd like to work on, so I thought I'd respond at a little more length. ### The current impasse ### Why does no one offer modern blogging with privacy and freedo...
Dang, VST/Windows-only? I was hoping for an OSX AudioUnit. Oh well. Guess I'll have to stick to making do with Logic's various bleepy softsynths, and occasionally use my SIDstation.
Emulating The Commodore 64's Sound Chip
The Commodore SID -- a 3 voice music synthesizer on a chip -- is probably the most famous computer sound generator of the early 1980s. Many of the kids who grew up listening to its distinctive sound never lost their taste for raw analog music, and it still enjoys a cult following. SIDizer is a...
I love that old candlestick phones are so iconic that we still recognize them as being phones. I wonder whether that image will outlast the AT&T rotary phone.
Best Phone Access Panel Ever
Tribune Tower is a Chicago landmark built in the 20's. It's a lovely building with lots of cool treasures hidden within. Check out this phone access panel (I think) on the bottom floor. My guess is that this is original to the building, but it's not a standard part that you'd order out of a ...
It's not JUST the current generation of consoles that are rediscovering this. The PS2 had the EyeToy, and to a much more limited extent, the GameBoy had the GameBoy Camera. And of course don't forget the Amiga and its Video Toaster.
Pantomation - Video Art The Way It Used To Be
I love old video performance gear. The real-time analog nature of the art form still holds exciting possibilities. Pantomation was a system from the 1970's that did some amazing stuff using what today would be considered a rather slow and low res video camera and a PDP computer. Pantomation w...
Kate,
It looks like Amazon has a Kindle edition. Kindle books are also readable on a wide variety of other devices, such as iPhones, PCs, Macs, and Android phones - no Kindle required.
Of course, I'm biased towards recommending this, as I worked on large parts of the Topaz conversion process which is probably what made this possible to begin with. :)
Goodbye, Hello? An Apology to Teens, Freaks, & Other Outlaws
My Dear Hearts, I am so sorry to tell you that it's really hard to find copies of my book Hello, Cruel World. Last night, I wanted to get buy a couple of couple of copies for friends. I'm watching my budget, so I went to Amazon, who carries the book at the lowest price. I found out that the book...
£1200?!
£1200?!?!?!?!
The Fate Of The Whomobile
You have to be a bit of a character to take on the lead role in Doctor Who. When Jon Pertwee took over, it was the series' first venture into colour. These new earthbound adventure brought massive popularity to the show and its star, turning in an impressively popular four year run. Known be...
Heh, I once owned a home which had a den that was set up in that way. The TV was old and horrible and not even cool-looking but I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. When I sold the home, the built-in TV was still there.
My "New" Retro TV
I've got a number of old TV's around (probably too many!) that I've shared with you in the past. The oldest ones either don't work, or I'm too fearful to plug them in so I'll never know. However my newest acquisition not only works, but is the most intact of all of my retro TV sets. Why? Beca...
The only device I can ever remember having with an N cell were some mid-90s liquid-crystal shutter glasses for 3D viewing on a PC. In that case it was clearly using the N cell for the size requirements. It was still pretty horrible though, and I ended up only using them about twice because the glasses weren't very, you know, good.
I'm glad that this new generation of shutter glasses just uses built-in rechargeable batteries.
N Size Batteries Can Go To Blazes
If you're lucky, you'll never need N sized batteries. If a device doesn't have its own built-in rechargeable battery these days, then it likely uses AA, AAA, and somewhat less frequently C, D, and 9 Volt. Today even button cells are easier to locate and cheaper than ever. Fair enough. The prob...
Yes, but is it bigger inside than out?
Time Machine Up For Auction
Up for grabs at Bonhams on June 23rd: "A complete Doctor Who Tardis prop, circa 2005. Of painted rasped wood panel and glass construction, the base having painted parquet effect floor, panels fastening using bracket and bolt, having a pair of hinged doors, on with Yale® lock, with windows to d...
Thank you for coming here to correct me two years later by saying nothing that actually conflicted with anything I said, but phrasing it as me being incorrect when really I just didn't go into a great amount of detail.
Also, that method that makes the CRT project onto the screen is this amazing device known as a "lens."
General Electric's 1978 Widescreen TV
Sometimes it's best not to keep up with the Joneses. Take 1978, for instance. Your spendthrift neighbors had just taken delivery of a monolithic new General Electric Widescreen 1000 projection TV and were showing it off to everyone who could be tricked into visiting. GE proudly marketed the s...
I used to have a module which would turn any metal-bodied lamp into a touch lamp just by plugging it in through that. I'm sure it worked by doing some scary grounding tricks. It worked okay, but like all touch lamps, it had issues with always cycling every time there was a power fluctuation (which, in the city I lived in at the time, was pretty frequent).
Forget Using Switches - Turn On Your Lights With A Duck
I remember that in the 80's or so, game shows started offering ugly brassy lamps as prizes. It wasn't merely an attempt to give homes that Raddison lobby aesthetic, there was an angle. Instead of a light switch, you merely touched the brass base of the lamp to turn it on. Subsequent taps woul...
Have you tried Hulu? Right now you can only (legally) watch it on a computer, but that includes a laptop hooked up to your TV, but there are other means of getting it onto a TV such as PlayOn (if you have an XBox or PS3), and I'm sure there will be more official means eventually.
Ode To Videotape
I really miss my VCR. It still lives under the TV in the living room, but it's only been used once this year. The reason is simple -- it can't record modern HD digital signals, making it absolutely useless. As the parent of a young child, I used to time-shift a lot. I know I could buy a Tivo,...
So knowing the formula of the show, that means that you'll have a couple of pretty intense scenes, and then suddenly you'll meet some untimely and ridiculous demise halfway through. Or will they finally have a guest character who could actually recur later?
Eureka!
I'm heading up to Vancouver later this week to shoot an episode of Eureka! The SyFy (I know they're my new employers, but it still pains me to write that) Channel put out the following press release this morning: Actor, author and blogger Wil Wheaton of the popular television series Star Trek: ...
Oh, and there was actually a quiet cost-reduction phase on the original NES which caused it to lose its bottom expansion port.
Junior-sized Video Game Consoles
When video consoles come out, banners fly, flags unfurl, and all talk is of the future. What kinds of things are you going to hook up to your game's special expansion port? What cool add-ons will keep away the grim reaper of videogame obsolescence? Flash forward a few years. We're near the ...
Sometimes the cost-reduced "junior" versions don't even have much in the way of an external redesign. The original GameCube came in a whole bunch of different colors and had a progressive-scan-capable component output; the later model only came in black and silver, and only had interlaced composite and S-video output. If you want to get component output on GameCube games now, you have to get a Wii.
Junior-sized Video Game Consoles
When video consoles come out, banners fly, flags unfurl, and all talk is of the future. What kinds of things are you going to hook up to your game's special expansion port? What cool add-ons will keep away the grim reaper of videogame obsolescence? Flash forward a few years. We're near the ...
Hm, that does look easier to program than my SIDstation, but the SIDstation has that whole retro-futuristic thing going for it, not to mention being gig-friendly.
HyperSID: Commodore 64 Music Synth For Your PC
The Commodore SID chip is perhaps the most famous sound generator of the 8-bit era. Its 3 channels of analog audio created kept Commodore owners from going slowly mad while waiting for their 1541 disk drives to load games at a snail's pace. As a result, the chip's distinctive sound influenced ...
How ironic is it for Sony to sell a chiptune library whose packaging clearly depicts a Nintendo cartridge?
8 Bit Weapon Chiptune Sound Library
Seth & Michelle from 8 Bit Weapon just let us know about their brilliant loop and music sample library entitled 8 Bit Weapon: A Chiptune Odyssey. The $39.95 collection includes sound and music from the Apple II, Commodore 64, Nintendo NES & Gameboy and the Atari 2600. Each system library has ...
Is the one in the top position supposed to be Troi? If so, it looks more like Lwaxana than Deanna.
Star Trek Action Marbles
Thanks to Chicago's retro TV station Me-TV, I'm getting caught up in Star Trek The Next Generation again. I haven't seen much of the series since it aired, but I'm reminded of how great it really was. Though it's heresy to say so, I think that TNG was far more consistent with good acting and s...
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