Wiimote on the Nokia N810

What can I say? It's the advantages of using a standard protocol for input devices... even though it took a lot of experimenting till "hackers" found out how to properly use all Wiimote functions.

If it's common to use Nintendos bluetooth Wiimote controller on the PC, this is slightly different: as you can now use it on your Nokia N810 MID.

Thanks to a small python script, your Nokia can now receive the Wiimote bluetooth commands and translate it into common X-Windows events (simulating keypresses and mouse clicks.)

Check the video:


Project page [WiiControl]

Optical Illusion

Here's another one of those puzzling illusions that show us how our brain doesn't always measure up to the task.

You may not believe it, but these three cars are all of the exact same size:




So... did you believe in me, or did you go and measured it yourself? :)

from [Moillusions]

Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron

The latest version of Ubuntu (8.04 a.k.a. Hardy Heron) is out, and if you feel like trying it out, there are a few steps you'll need to do as soon as you install it for the first time.

These steps are mostly described in the excellent HowToForge "Perfect Desktop" tutorial.

Though I also went a bit further in order to check my computer temperature, as well as setting up Compiz Fusion to my likings.

Though I'm yet far from being a Linux expert, I'm slowly but steadly migrating my Windows "addiction" to the Free and Open-Source world.

Spielberg on Wii

This is what you get when you let Steven Spielberg make a game:
Boom Blox for the Nintendo Wii.



Can't say it doesn't make me want to give it a try. :)

Build Your Own GPS Tracker

GPS Tracker... those simple words are sure to grab anyone's attention these days.

Its applications are endless: tracking vehicles, precious items, and even people!

The only thing keep it away from you was cost - but now things have changed, and you can easily build your own cheap GPS tracker to use as you want (provided it's legal!)

Welcome to the Open GPS Tracker, a project that aims to expand tracking:

The Open GPS Tracker is a small device which plugs into a $20 prepaid mobile phone to make a GPS tracker. The Tracker responds to text message commands, detects motion, and sends you its exact position, ready for Google Maps or your mapping software. The Tracker firmware is open source and user-customizable.

What are you waiting for? :)

Sony Happy Face

I don't really know if I should be smiling...

I think things are getting out of hand. Detecting people smiling to determine the best time to take a shot is one thing, but now I read about photo retouching modes like this Sony Happy Face Retouch, which "automagically" turns someone's face into a smiling clone.

My suggestion is: why stop there? Why not add a "hair retouch mode" to make you have perfectly combed hair? And what about a thinning mode, so everyone looks athletic? And a zit-free mode? - that would be a big success among teens!
And I can even predict that a "breast implant" mode would also be appreciated by girls and women alike...

via [gizmodo]

MSN Music Alienates Paying Customers

You can't imagine how sick I get when I read about this kind of stuff. This time is Microsoft's own MSN Music that will shutdown their DRM authentication server.

What does this mean?

Well, quite simply: you'll soon be unable to transfer the music you legally bought and own to any other device.

Sure, you'll still be able to listen to it on the current computer, using the current operating system. But don't even thing of touching that machine again. Upgrading to a new OS or new computer? Forget it! That music will be forever locked in that old aging computer... until it's gone for good.

As always, they'll probably suggest you burn your music into CDs and re-rip it.
But... what's the whole point of buying downloadable digital music???

What more does it take for them to see that DRM like this simply doesn't work?

Google Updater Service

I'm a big fan of Google. I don't mind a couple of ads in exchange for free services and software.

Not a single day goes by without me using Gmail, Calendar and Documents, the great SketchUp and - of course - Google Earth.

But that's exactly it: Google Earth. When I was about to download the latest version, something changed...
Instead of downloading the program I got this Google Updater thingy.

I never even thought twice about it: "Cool, an updater that will download just the changed bit and save bandwidth, proceed."
However, this Google Updater Service isn't just a Google Earth Update thing, it is a program that's installed as a service and keeps running on my computer 24/7!

Worst of all, it doesn't ask me if I want it to do that. There's no way to disable it from running.
Now... if I can turn off even more critical Windows Updates, why shouldn't I be able to disable Google from updating its programs?

Ok, some will say I'm being paranoid, that if I trust Google enough to keep all my emails, then I shouldn't complain about a small update service running in my PC.

Well, having an option, would be nice, wouldn't it?


Anyway, there's lots of ways for you to deal with it, manually.

Here's what happens when you install the updater.


1. When you try to download any Google program, you might end up with a Google Updater package installed at: "C:\Program Files\Google\Common\Google Updater".


2. This will add a service to your registry at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\gusvc

This "gusvc" service will be set to automatically start up whenever you boot your PC, causing GoogleUpdaterService.exe to show up on your task manager processes.


3. This means that "GoogleUpdaterService.exe" is always running on your PC for as long as it's turned on. We assume that most of the time it will be idle, doing nothing, and just check for updates every once in a while, but who's to say? Google only info about it is:

The Google Updater Service is a Windows service that updates Google software that users have chosen to install. It ensures users have the most current software available. It is being distributed to ensure users' Google Toolbar search bars are Vista compatible

Well, but I don't even have Vista, and I prefer to do my updates manually, so...?


4. So, what can you do about it? - That's easy. Just head to the task manager, and terminate the "GoogleUpdaterService.exe" service. However, if you reboot your computer, it will be running once again.


5. To make it go away permanentely even after rebooting, you need to execute "services.msc" from the command line and search for the "gusvc" service. Stop it and set it as disabled. The Google updater will still be installed, but it will no longer run when you boot your computer.

6. Of course, you can also uninstall do Google Updater; or dive into the registry delete the key shown on step 2.

7. One last alternative is to simply delete the executable file: "GoogleUpdaterService.exe"


As an added annoyance, after countless Google Earth updates, the one provided by this updater service continuously fails to run and properly update my Google Earth.

Father and Son Talk Sex

How times have changed...



I just don't know if parent should be more or less worried than they used to, in the pre-internet days.

Courtesy of [smbc-comics]

High Speed Ballon Bursting

Life at 2,000 fps would be very boring - but it would also allow you to see some very cool and amazing things, such as this water balloon bursting in super-slow-motion:

iPhone Visual Search

With the amount of devices capable of taking pictures I was surprised this didn't popup any sooner: Visual Search.

Why should you type something into a text box, when - as they say - a picture is worth a thousand words? :)



[Evolution Robotics]

iPhone Naked Case

Are you looking for a stylish protective case for your iPhone?

Well, I'm not much into over-protecting my gadgets, especially when those bulky cases start getting in the way of usability.

But no with this "naked case", which is barely noticeable.



Looks like the one I'll want for my iPhone.

And of course it allows you to keep using the touch screen... obviously.

via [Gizmodo]

When Linux Crashes

Ok, Linux users are always joking about Windows frequent crashes and the infamous BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) - however, sometimes... every now and then... the unthinkable happens: an application freezes on LINUX!

I came across these tips as I was moving my /home to a new partition.

So, what should you do when it happens? Should you immediately reach for the reset button? Should you panic and start screaming?

Well, here's the proper course of action to handle it:

1. Get a command line terminal and type “ps -A” to list the active running processes, take note of the Process ID (PID) of the guilty frozen app, and kill it using “kill PID”.
   
   
2. If you're lazy, try “killall” for example, “killall firefox-bin”
   
   
3. If even your window manager is frozen, and you can't use the menus to bring up the terminal windows, then press CTRL-ALT-F1. This will take you to another terminal, and virtually a whole new session. From there kill the culprit app using step 1 and 2.
   
   
4. You can also try restarting your GUI (graphic user interface) using the CTRL-ALT-Backspace key combination. Though this will kill the apps currently running on the GUI.
   
   
5. Invoke CTRL-ALT-F1 and do CTRL+ALT+DEL from there. This will perform a standard and orderly reboot.
   
   
6. Oh oh... nothing worked? Then, the final and last attempt before pressing the reset button is to try and Raise a Skinny Elephant.
   

Here is how you "raise the elephant", from the Mnemonic:
Raising Skinny Elephants Is Utterly Boring

Alt+SysRq+r ( The LEFT Alt key ) ( SysRq is on the same button as print screen )
Alt+SysRq+s
Alt+SysRq+e
Alt+SysRq+i
Alt+SysRq+u
Alt+SysRq+b

(Giving it a little time between keystrokes.)

The r puts keyboard in raw mode
The s for sync the disk
The e for terminate all processes
The i for kill all processes
The u for remount all filesystems read only
The b for reboot the system


Hope that will be of help.

Kohijinsha UMPC with integrated DVD Burner

If you've always put off the idea of owning an UMPC because you didn't want to carry an external USB DVD drive around, well... this Kohijinsha SR8KPO6S will be just the thing you've ever wanted.

Don't ask me how, but they were able to fit a DVD burner in there, keeping the same Kohijinsha form factor os their previous models.

So, if you didn't buy an Eee PC because of the lack of dvd drive, here's your nen "I want one of those" gadget.

Now, we just need to find out how much it will cost.

via [Gizmodo]

X-Gauge ODB for Smart

Do you have a Smart - or do you intend to get one soon?

If so, don't miss the opportunity to install an X-Gauge ODB Display.

The X-Gauge is a sophisticated electronic module with a 128x64-pixel graphic display that replaces the original module inside the cockpit clock of a smart® fortwo (city-coupé) perfectly. It can not only tell time, but also date, battery voltage, inside temperature and a number of engine parameters in real-time (see list below). These parameters are retrieved from the car's engine control unit (ECU) through the on-board diagnostic (OBD) interface. The module can also display and clear diagnostic trouble codes that the ECU might have stored.

There are many other ODB modules out there, but this one is designed fit perfectly into the original "clock" module - resulting in a perfect finish for your Smart.


Though I'd recommend you'd use a black background - it looks better:


You can order yours from Welte-Engineering.

Viewfinder - Photosynth on Google Earth?

Viewfinder offers a new and very interesting way to connect Flicker to Google Earth, but it's impossible to see the following video and not think about Microsoft Lab's own Photosynth.



Similar, but not quite the same. With viewfinder you can perfectly align your photos over a 3D environment like Google Earth.

• Google Earth has posed several hundred photos in Google Earth and has 4.5 million geo-located more photos to go;
• Microsoft PhotoSynth has an impressive way of automatically combining sets of photos from the same area but with no underlying 3D model and cannot handle most photos taken under arbitrary conditions;
• Yahoo Flickr taps the power of the community to create and organize an enormous free-for-all database but has no 3D world models.

If you want to properly place your photos over Google Earth, you can use a 2D mode:


As well as a 3D mode:


Projecto interessante. :)

On Chip Water Cooling

If you think electronics and water don't mix, think again.

IBM is researching the use of watercooling on a much smaller scale, on the chips itself.

Their new Power 575 supercomputer uses 448 5GHz POWER6 processors and ill be the first system to use their "Hydro Cluster" chip-level water-cooling to keep it from overheating.



As for the excess heat, it will be put to good use instead of being wasted.

Android on Nokia MIDs

So, are you looking forward to seeing how Android pans out?

Why wait any longer? Why not see it right now?

If you have a Nokia MID laying around, you don't have to wait any longer. Just head to this link to learn how to get Android running on your OMAP.

iWash for iPhone

No one can deny the constant innovation brought to us by Apple; just look at the iPhone.

However, one of its greatest advantages is also one of its greatest pitfalls. Its large touch screen is a magnet for smudges left by greasy fingers. However, if evertything works according to plan, there a new software in town, called iWash that will clean it up and make your screen look like it was when you first took your iPhone out of its box.



I just don't know exactly how this iWash will be rated in a WAF scale (Wife Acceptance Factor :)

Seekway 3D LED Cube

It has LEDs. It changes color.

That alone would be enough to interest me; but after seeing it in motion I think everyone will be mesmerized by this 3D LED Cube from Seekway capable of playing 3D motion sequences.

This particular cube is made of 16x16x16 RGB LEDs (that's 4096 LEDs if you don't want to do the math yourself) which - though they look nice on photos - look even better on video:



Seekway is already working on the next models, which will have up to 48x48x48 LEDs (that's over 110 thousand LEDs.)

I'll sure be looking forward to seeing it in action.

via [Gizmodo]

Self-Made Bed

You may have hear of inventions that promise to change the world as we know it... but nothing comes close to this; an invention that will finally solve one of humanities greatest problem: making the bed everyday.

Meet Selfy, the self-making bed.

Though you might be thinking this is one "lazy" invention, keep in mind that there are thousands of disabled people out there. For them, even the simple act of making their own bed is very hard or even impossible.

So, even if you buy such a bed because you're lazy - it doesn't mean this invention isn't really useful and helpful to many.

For me, after seeing how my bed looks after I allegedly make it, I think I definitely need one of these Selg-making beds! :)

[USA Today]

Photoshop Express Will Stop Stealing Your Photos

A lot has been said and praised about Photoshop Express,the free online version of the image editing software Photoshop (probably the most famous in the World.)

While this online version only has a reduced subset of the editing functions found on the desktop version, it's still more than enough for the majority of users wanting to do just some quick fixes.

There was only a small problem...
(that kind of problem that usually comes written in the smallest letters...)

Whenever you uploaded an image to edit, you were given Adobe the full rights to do whatever they pleased with your images!

This includes them claiming full ownership and being able to sell your photos as their own!

But finally, it seems they've realized they went too far, and starting on April 10, they're only claiming "those limited rights that allow us to operate the service" and won't "claim ownership of your content and won't sell your images."

[Photoshop Express terms of Use via Gizmodo]

iShield Your iPhone

I consider iPhone's amazing resistance to nasty scratches on its screen to be one of its most attractive features. (Who would want to buy such a gadget knowing it would easily get scratched under daily use?) However, there are always those who care for their gadgets, and prefer doing everything in their power to keep it safe.

If that's your style, here's a mirrored stylish protective case for your iPhone, the iShield.
(On the bright side, you can always dock it on your windshield and use it as a rearview mirror! :)

When the screen is off, this cover acts just like a regular mirror; when it lights up, you're able to see the underlying iPhone screen and use its touch functions as usual.
(Though I suspect you'll have a hard time seeing what's on screen on a bright sunny day.)

This can now be yours, and it's just $29.99 away.

via [Gizmodo]

Expandable Smart Car

The small Smart automobile is taking the USA by storm, but what most people fail to realize is that its 2-seat limitation is easily fixed, as you'll be able to see in the following 5th Gear video comparing a Mitsubishi I with a double-decker 4 seat Smart ForTwo.



Surprisingly, they had to really push it to achieve the result most of us were expecting right from the very beginning! :)

via [Autoblog]

Google Worldwide Wi-Fi

In a not so startling announcement, Google has just stated it intends to provide free wireless broadband internet access around the world.

With the recent "white-space" opening, and using the latest wireless technology (which leaves both WiMax and WiBro in the dust in terms of speed and coverage) people will finally be able to be "always connected" to the internet no matter where they are.

Although trials are already in progress, proving that you can indeed stream HD video from anywhere in world to anywhere else, analysts say that we should only hear more details about it when Android mobile terminals are ready to go to market.