tech.nocr.at » press

A Look At Android 3.0 – Honeycomb

Frank — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:17:27 +0000

Google gave everyone a sneak peak of the next version of Android (Honeycomb) at CES earlier this year. Today they released the SDK for the upcoming tablet geared OS. Here’s a look at what we all can expect from Honeycomb.

The biggest change is the UI. Older versions of Android weren’t geared towards tablets, Honeycomb changes all of that. You will now have more space on your home screen to accommodate more widgets and icons. As you can see from the image above, you will be able to fit all sorts of things on your home screen(s)

Home Screen(s)

The layout of the screens look much like older versions. There is a new 3D look to all of it that might cause problems with older hardware, the new Tegra 2′s should be able to handle it without much effort.

Notification Bar

The notification bar has been moved to the bottom ala Windows and they have added some new buttons that work like the capacitive hardware buttons on most Android devices. They have also added a recent apps button that will show you the current state of apps running the background.

Keyboard

The new keyboard is a great improvement over the older iteration with larger reshaped keys. They also include keys like “Tab” which should make the transition for desktop users easier. Copy and Paste has also seen some change. Much like iOS, a long press will select a word and you can drag the selector to choose more text.

Over all it looks like a great improvement, especially if you are running 2.2 on a tablet currently (like I am). A welcome upgrade if I ever saw one.

A Look At Android 3.0 – Honeycomb originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/26. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Yet More PSP Phone Leakage

Frank — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:29:58 +0000

In probably the worst kept secret of 2010 and 2011 the Sony Xperia, or PSP Phone has seen more press time than any other product I can remember and it hasn’t even been officially announced or acknowledged yet. This isn’t new for Sony – remember the PSP Go or the PS3 Slim that hit the interwebs months before Sony announced them?

As we see in yet another video of the soon to be announced (we hope) Sony Xperia PSP Phone; it looks just the same as all of the other videos we have seen. The only difference is that this one is outside and not on some Chinese assembly line or in the basement of some blogger.

It’s no long hype Sony, everyone and their brother have seen this phone. Time to put up or shut up and give us some good Android/PSP goodness.

Yet More PSP Phone Leakage originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Beer Catapult Robot

Frank — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 04:03:34 +0000

Remember the beer shooting fridge we showcased a few weeks ago? Well this one works on the same principle only instead of using an air cannon to send it your way (or in your general direction) it uses a catapult.

The beer catapult robot will pull a cold one from the fridge, load it up in it’s catapult and fling it at you. What is really impressive is all the mechanics behind it. Nice and smooth motion and besides an Arduino which controls it’s movement, it’s all mechanics. Check out the video after the break of it slinging some beer.

[Link to Beer Catapult Robot]

Beer Catapult Robot originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/14. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Review: eLocity A7 Android Tablet

Frank — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:18:35 +0000

I’ve been playing with this surprisingly fast Android tablet for about a week now and so far I am impressed. Stream TV’s eLocity Android 2.2 powered tablet might not be an iPad killer, but it sure puts up a good fight.

The solid 7-inch tablet is powered by NVIDIA’s dual core Tegra 2 processor, comes with Froyo out of the box, is rooted by default and can output a crazy amount of video formats at 1080p via it’s included HDMI port. Although it shows some impressive stats in the video arena, the eLocity does more than that. 4GB of internal storage, a USB port and a MicroSD expansion slot coupled together with the super beefy Tegra 2, the A7 acts more like a powerful computer in your pocket than a PMP.

Not only is the video playback smooth and crisp, this is the only Android device I have ever used that can actually do Flash well. Even when you are on a website with multiple Flash ads watching a video, the A7 came through without a single hiccup. Mix that in with the fact that the device is rooted out of the box, you have one powerful device that is open and free, unlike the “other” guy’s tablet. The only problem I have seen so far is the unit’s battery life. I’ve been able to get about 4 hours out of it with moderate use and only about 2.5 hours of video play. This is more than likely due to the processor as the dual core Tegra 2 could easily power a full size laptop.

The unit doesn’t come with the Android Marketplace out of the box, but a crafty hacker has already created an alternate ROM that offers the Marketplace as well as Ad Hoc networking support. The eLocity A7 is currently WiFi only, by using the Ad Hoc network you can tether your unit to an existing smartphone’s 3G connection. Stream TV is toying with the idea of partnering up with a carrier and offering a 3G model.

At time of print there still is no word on any accessories for the unit, but it does have an expansion port on the bottom that will probably be used for a dock at a later day. A dock would be greatly welcomed, the fact that it can do 1080p without a problem makes this device a perfect addition to your home theater setup.

If your looking for an alternative to the iPad and don’t want to pay a monthly cost for something like the Galaxy Tab, Stream TV’s eLocity A7 is perfect. Priced at $350 it’s a great deal for such a powerful little unit.

[Link to eLocity A7]

Review: eLocity A7 Android Tablet originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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10 Weird USB Drives

Frank — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 04:17:43 +0000

With CES going on this week and the tech media flooding the blog-o-sphere with reports of new gadgets and technology I thought I’d brake the mundane stream of press releases and “first looks” at gadgets that might never make it to market.

Here are 10 really weird USB drives that are sure to make you laugh.

The sperm drive. When you pull this out of your pocket you are going to have people wondering exactly what you were doing with your hand in your pocket in the first place.

The typical food item converted to a USB drive. Just don’t try to eat it, no matter how much wasabi you add to it.

I guess this is where the name “Thumb Drive” originally came from. Kinda creepy actually.

For those that just can’t let go of old technology. I just hope this USB drive has a greater storage capacity than it’s case did.

The clothes pin drive is creative and different, plus it’s great for hanging your shirts up to dry.

Maybe when you pull the sperm drive out of your pocket you can pull this poop drive out of the other one. That should really get the conversation going.

It’s the old “Teddy Bear jammed it’s head into the USB port” trick. You can’t fool me!

Probably one of the weirdest ones on the list. Not sure why would would want a spoonful of cereal to have a USB drive attached, but then again this is the Internet.

The eraser drive is perfect for fixing mistakes, just don’t try to run out your red underlines in MS Word.

This humping dog drive is sure to get the ladies. Plug it in and it actually starts to hump the side of your computer.

10 Weird USB Drives originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

CO2 Powered Nerf Gun

Frank — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:24:53 +0000

Instructables hacker Philysteak527 modified a Nerf gun, making it semi-automatic thanks to the modern marvel of compressed air. This mod isn’t for the faint of heart since it involves the design and manufacture of a bolt-action the fit’s the specific gun you are using.

Philysteak527 used some polyoxymethylene plastic and a CNC lathe to create the parts needed for the bolt. Toss in some brass fittings, a solenoid, tubing, and some electronics and your set. Check out the footage of it in action after the break. You will definitely be the big boy in the school yard with this. You might very well have the SWAT team called in as well.

[Link to Semi-Automatic NERF Longshot]

CO2 Powered Nerf Gun originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Hotlink Prevention In Nginx

Frank — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 05:52:59 +0000

Hotlinking, inline linking, leeching, piggy-backing, direct linking or offsite image grabs. No matter what you call it 99% of the time it’s wrong. Bandwidth costs money. I spent sometime over the holidays examining my logs and noticed that there were a ton of sites hotlinking back to images we had posted. Worst of all, most of them were profiting off the images.

Here at tech.nocr.at we run nginx as a front-end proxy to WordPress. Stopping hotlinking in nginx is as simple as adding a small snippet of code in your sites-enabled file. Add the following code inside your server statement.

location ~* ^.+\.(jpg|jpeg|gif|png)$ {
  root   /path/to/webroot;
  valid_referers none blocked server_names ~(yourdomain.com|google.|yahoo.|bing.);
  if ($invalid_referer)  {
  return 403;
  }
}

The above will allow images to be displayed if they come from your domain, google, yahoo and bing. If you have other sites you might want your images to be linked from just add them in the valid_referers statement. If someone tries to hotlink to one of your images they will receive a 403 error. If you wish to have a different image displayed instead of the 403 error, letting them know they are hotlinking, then you must replace the return 403; line with this:

rewrite  ^  http://yourdomain.com/hotlink.jpe;

Notice how the image file ends in .jpe? If it were you end in .jpg it would end up in a loop and never be displayed. Simply create the image you want to use and change it’s extension to .jpe before you upload it to your web host.

Hotlink Prevention In Nginx originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/03. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Top 10 Of 2010

Frank — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:51:37 +0000

Another year is almost behind us and thanks to our dedicated and loyal readers our 3rd successful year bringing you the latest in gadgets, gaming, technology and the bizarre.

We have brought the monkeys in (by monkeys we mean a crafty worded perl script) and have compiled the the most viewed posts here on tech.nocr.at. This list doesn’t just contain posts from 2010, it contains the top ten most viewed posts this year regardless of when they were created.

Without further ado, tech.nocr.at’s top 10 posts of 2010:

Let us know in the comments what were your favorite posts of 2010.

Top 10 Of 2010 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2010 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Tech News | Explore more in: 2010, ac, cable, cat, comments, distro, diy, door, ds, ea, game, Gaming, id, ipod, key, keys, knock, led, leech, linux, loa, lock, mobile, nginx, open, os, pen, press, ring, rip, secret, sega, shuffle, speed, tech.nocr.at, technology, vga, wifi, wordpress, wp super cache | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Doorbell Control

Frank — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 23:51:42 +0000

Do you find that your doorbell system lacks that little bit of luster? Tired of it doing nothing more than ringing when pressed? Hardware hacker Nicholas Skinner felt the same way and decided to do something about it. By using the Synapse RD Engine which is easily scriptable by using Python he took his door bell to the next level. His doorbell now does all these cool things:

Sense Bell Press – Allowing for triggering of other events on press, such as additional remote ringers in other parts of the house, computer popup notification and possibly cameras / camera display (e.g. via scart triggering on TV) etc in the future.
Disable Bell Ringer – From either a remote physical switch or PC (for periods when we do not want to be disturbed by doorstep salesmen).
Ring Bell – Allowing the bell to keep ringing for a certain minimum duration even if the button is just pressed quickly to save missing callers who do not hold in the button for an adequate duration.

Nicholas has a complete write up on his site here.

Doorbell Control originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/26. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

New Amiga On The Way

Frank — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:41:16 +0000

Looks like Commodore USA is just full of news this past week. It was just a few days ago that they announced the return of an updated Commodore 64 and now they are talking about the return of their 90′s mainstay; the Amiga. Looks like they will follow the same road as the new PC64 with cramming everything into the keyboard much like the old Amiga 1200, but according to the press release they are being mum on the hardware details.

Commodore USA has now taken a major role in not just supporting the future Amiga market with our many new products, but also in providing a new beginning for the enormous existing Amiga community. Our relationship with them, along with our support for the elegant, robust and lightweight AROS desktop operating system, will ensure that they and future customers will benefit from our new and exciting vision, and enable the legacy Commodore and Amiga culture to flourish. We look forward to bringing these new products to market, and welcoming a whole new generation of computer users to the Commodore and Amiga experience”
Read: Commodore USA Announce Plans To Relaunch Amiga Brand PC’s [Classic Computer Brands Making A Return, First The AIO Commodore PC64 & Now An Amiga Branded AIO Keyboard Computer] » TFTS – Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

As a former Amiga user who still to this day runs his Amiga BBS on an old 1200 I’m super excited about the news, but I hope they use something like OS 4 with it and not a Windows based system. We will keep a close eye on this and let you know if any other details surface.

New Amiga On The Way originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/09/03. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Leaked iPod Touch Video

Frank — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 05:38:20 +0000

We are only a few days away from Apple’s press event where it’s rumoured we’ll see an new iTV product and new iPod touch’s. Since it’s right around the corner the leaks just seem to be flying around.

At first glance the above picture might look like the front and back of an iPhone 4. but according to SmartPhoneMedic.com it’s the front and back from a 4th-gen iPod touch. If you belive the rumour then we now know that the new touch’s will have a retina display and glass back much like the iPhone 4 does.

A visual inspection reveals it to have the same fused design as on the iPhone 4, which naturally invites speculation that the retina display will be pulling some PMP duty as well.

Check the video out after the break and decide for yourself. Let us know in the comments what you think.

Leaked iPod Touch Video originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/26. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

VuQube Portable Dish

Frank — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 05:28:52 +0000

If you are a true satellite TV junkie and absolutely must have it everywhere you go then the VuQube is for you. I must warn you, it isn’t cheap.

This isn’t like you average folding dish that move RV and truckers use, this unit provides you with a signal even while your moving. The unit is also small and compact and can pretty much guarantee you a decent signal. The unit is compatible with pretty much any circular LNB provider like Dish Network, Express VU, and DirectTV.

So if you just can’t live without you DirectTV be prepared to spend $1699 getting it.

[Link to VuQube]

VuQube Portable Dish originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/26. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY ROV Submarine

Frank — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:54:00 +0000

This yellow submarine isn’t exactly the same one as John and Paul sang about but it is an extremely impressive DIY ROV submarine with built in camera.

Made completely out of PVC pipes with some pumps tossed in to help it move and sink, this project and easily be put together by anyone with some spare cash and time.

The entire sub is controlled by an Atmel Mega32 microcontroller. The video fee and system control is fed to the surface using a cable (they say that wireless video as well as leak detection and torpedos is a future add-on).

This is a great project that will bring you hours and hours of fun.

[Link to DIY ROV Submarine]

DIY ROV Submarine originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/03/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Digital Mixtape

Frank — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:36:01 +0000

Remember the good old days? When you wanted to impress a girl you’d spend all night creating her a mixtape? No, you don’t? Maybe I’m just old.

Justin Cole wanted to relive the good old days while still using modern day technology so he decided to mash together a digital tape adapter and a flash drive.

My new design uses a small mp3 player that I disassembled and placed inside a cassette tape adapter for an iPod. This allows for mp3′s to be played back through a tapedeck. This has all of the ease and technology of an mp3 player with the retro coolness of a mix tape.

[Link to Digital Mixtape]

DIY: Digital Mixtape originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Sucker Alert: Wattgate 381 “Audio Grade” Socket

Frank — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:23:22 +0000

Wow, there really is a sucker born every minute, but is there anyone out there stupid enough to spend $147 on a so called “Audio Grade” electrical socket?

The Wattgate 381 and claims to bring you crystal clean sound. I’m no electrician but doesn’t the quality of your sound actually come from the components inside your amplifier? WTF does electricity flow have to do with it? It’s not like this is some surge suppressor that cleans your power and makes sure that you don’t have power fluctuation. It’s a freaking socket.

I’m sure this will go perfectly with the $400 Monster Cable you bought and that $500 Denon Ethernet Cable.

If your stupid enough to buy one, you can pick it up here

Sucker Alert: Wattgate 381 “Audio Grade” Socket originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

ReelDirector: Video Editing For Your iPhone

Frank — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:44:57 +0000

If you own an iPhone 3GS then you know how nice it is to be able to trim video clips right on your phone. At the very least that should get you a somewhat semi-professional video that doesn’t have a lot of fluff at the beginning or end of your clip. What if you wanted to do more? What if you wanted to do a transition or add a title? You were forced to use a computer to do your editing. Well with the release of ReelDirector you will now be able to all that and more right from your iPhone 3GS.

Final Cut Pro or Express it’s not, but it does give you some nice control and some nice editing features. Think of it as a stripped down version of iMovie. You won’t be recording and editing an award winning piece with this app, but you will be able to clean up and add some effects to those short clips before you post them on you tube.

[Link to ReelDirector]

ReelDirector: Video Editing For Your iPhone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/22. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

PS3 Laptop

Frank — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:25:09 +0000

Our favorite gaming console modder, Ben Heck, is back at it again. We have already seen his Xbox 360 Elite Laptop mod and more recently his NES Cartridge mod and now his brings us this super sexy PS3 Laptop mod.

As light or as small as a netbook it is not but it’s still impressive how he managed to integrate a 17-inch HD display into the whole thing. Ben says that he could have made it smaller but wanted to use as large a screen as possible while still making it portable. Check out the video of the PS3 Laptop below.

PS3 Laptop originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Hard Drive Lock Pick

Frank — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:06:03 +0000

If your like me then you also have a huge pile of hard drives sitting in the corner. You know, the drives you really should through out but your waiting to build your massive multiple terabyte raid array with a whole bunch of 20 gig drives. Well, why not put one of the hard drives to use as a lock picking device? Yes, you heard me right, a LOCK PICKING DEVICE.

The Spanish guys over at sorgonet.com have done just that. By taking an old hard drive, an old mouse, a power supply and some screw drivers they built an impressive, yet odd looking, lock picking device. Take a look at the video after the break to see just how fast this thing works.

Lock picking has become a very addictive sport over the years, but remember it’s just a sport. Don’t build one of these things and use it for no good. Plus, I’m sure you’ll get some weird looks walking down the street carrying one of these.

[Link to translated How To Build A Hard Drive Lock Pick]

Hard Drive Lock Pick originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

RAAL Coffee Can Sound

Frank — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:31:49 +0000

At first glance you might think that this is a small set of steel drums or maybe just two tin cans stuck together but in reality these metal cylinders will impress you with with the sound they put out.

Each cylinder has midrange drivers mounted at each end with a ribbon tweeter mounted between the cylinders that reflects off of the aluminum surface for omnidirectional output. The two units are mounted on an arm that resembles a desk lamp with a third cylinder on the floor which acts as a subwoofer.

Production for the unit starts in a few months and all the speakers including the arm will be sold as a kit. With a massive $4000 price tag this unit better impress.

RAAL Coffee Can Sound originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/04. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Nintendo DS On Your Mac Or PC

Frank — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:11:11 +0000

DeSmuME is a Nintendo DS emulator for the Mac and for the PC that gives you the full functionality of the DS; buttons, touchscreen interface and even the Wi-Fi connectivity. It’s feature packed and allows you to play both Homebrew games and ROM images. It also offers some extra features that are not available on a physical DS like taking screenshots, creating movies from game play, loading cheat codes and even saving your game play.

It’s 100% free and can be downloaded from here. You might also want to check out NDS Homebrew for an impressive collection of homebrew games and applications.

Nintendo DS On Your Mac Or PC originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/04. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

GFI Backup – Free Backup Software

Frank — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:31:56 +0000

We all know we should do it. We have all said it enough times. Backup backup and backup. There is no better way to ensure that all of your pictures or documents will carry on if you don’t back them up. Well you really have no excuse now do you.

GFI Software just launched a free backup and recovery client for home users. The app gives PC users a few different options to safe guard your data like synching it with a remote location via FTP. Most other backup software uses propirtary compression algorithms which forces you to use their software to restore a backup. Not with GFI Backup Home Edition, it uses the uber popular zip format to store backups.

Give it a whirl, what’s the worst that can happen, you don’t like it?

[Link to GFI Backup Home Edition]

GFI Backup – Free Backup Software originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/05/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DSi Here By Next Summer

Ryan Yewell — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:06:36 +0000

The latest Revision of the Nintendo DS, the DSi (with its main new feature being 2 built-in cameras, with a more multimedia focus of pics/music), is now available in Japan.

But all of us North Americans want to know, when can we get our hands on it? Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, has said in a Reuters press release that in 2009 “an autumn or year end launch would probably be too late”. So, by some simple deduction it looks like the DSi will land in North America sometime this upcoming summer.

[Via Reuters]

DSi Here By Next Summer originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/11/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

UPDATE – Beatles Make It Into Rock Band

Ryan Yewell — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:35:40 +0000

At the time of this post, further details were yet to be announced, but it appears official, Viacom and MTV Networks (owners of “Rock Band”) have licensed Beatle songs for their Rock Band game.

This is a pretty big deal, since even major players like iTunes don’t even have Beatle songs yet. In fact, no subscription/download service has landed the Beatles yet, so this is a first. I’d say this is just another sign that gaming is becoming a big deal.

Rock Band and Guitar Hero are currently battling it out in your living room and on your entertainment consoles, so this could help cement Rock Band as the winner, we’ll just have to wait and see.

As mentioned, I’ll have more details later today on as many of the specifics as I can (i.e. what songs, if they will be downloadable, or a stand-alone disc, etc.) At that time there should be official press releases from both MTV and the Beatles record label.

UPDATE: As promised, here are some more details on the Beatles Rock Band deal.

First and foremost (and maybe obvious), this project has the full blessing of, and input from, surviving members Ringo Star and Paul McCartney, as well as from Yoko Ono (on behalf of John Lennon) and Olivia Harrison (on behalf of George Harrison). Hopefully that means great vibes/design all around for when you’re playing Beatles music on your plastic instruments in front of your TV.

Also, the Beatles music will be in a stand-alone game (not via downloadable content, at least not for now) and most likely won’t be in your hands until sometime late 2009 (i.e. just in time the holiday season, surprised?)

The official press release states “the game will be an unprecedented, experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of The Beatles”.

So, it appears the game will span the entire Beatles legacy, taking select songs from start to finish. As a bit of a side note, it looks like the music created by the members of the Beatles when they went into their solo careers will not be in the game, so no “Imagine” for us… At least not this time around. For those keeping score, the Beatles disbanded in 1970… Wow, nearly 40 years ago.

With all the hype, and legacy, that is the Beatles, I really hope Harmonix makes something at least borderline bleeding edge, because just slapping a coat of paint that is the Beatles onto a game design that is a few years old won’t do this project justice. We’ll all just have to wait to see how it turns out.

UPDATE – Beatles Make It Into Rock Band originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Netflix and Samsung Blu-Ray Team Up

Ryan Yewell — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:00:04 +0000

Netflix and Samsung recently announced that two of Samsung’s Blu-Ray players (the BD-P2550 and BD-P2500) now have the ability to stream the Netflix service. Samsung and Netflix also plan to bring the movie/tv subscription service to more of Samsung’s consumer electronics in the future.

To make it happen, the Samsung Blu-ray player communicates with Netflix via its internet connection, then a Netflix interface appears onscreen. You sign into your account, enter an activation code, and you’ll then be able to stream “dvd picture quality movies and TV episodes”. According to their marketing material, there are currently over 12,000 movies and TV episodes to choose from on Netflix.

It remains to be seen how many people own an HD/Blu-Ray setup that would be in the market for streaming DVD-quality movies through a subscription based model like NetFlix. One might wonder if a consumer already has a Blu-Ray player, and an internet connection (and
computer), they might already be getting their DVD content from, ummm… “other” sources.

[Link to Press Release]

Netflix and Samsung Blu-Ray Team Up originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

3DS Max Now Owns Softimage

Ryan Yewell — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:38:48 +0000

You’ve probably heard of 3DS Max, the software suite that creates a lot of the visuals you see in games these days (and other media). You may have heard of Softimage as well, another software suite that is used in making games (and film/television). Well, Autodesk (maker of 3DS Max) just bought up Softimage’s business for the price tag of $35 million.

Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment, states in the official press release that both products will “help us accelerate the work of our Games Technology Group, as we build the next-generation of real-time, interactive 3D authoring tools for games, film and television.”

Not sure if this is good news or not. Competition is healthy, but having the best of both worlds (and hopefully not the worst of both) being used in our entertainment mediums could be cool…

Autodesk plans to keep Softimage in the market, and continue to develop for it. Of course they also plan to take some of the Softimage technology and put it in their own product, 3DS Max. It remains to be seen how Autodesk will keep the 2 product lines both distinct and innovative.

You can tell that Autodesk senses some apprehension out there, and Marc Petit concluded the press release with these words, to calm those who use Softimage products… “we know users invest a lot of time and energy into mastering their favorite 3D product. To all 3D artists out there, I want to tell you that we understand your passion for the creative tools you use daily, and that with Autodesk, you can choose your passion.”

More info at http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?id=12022457&siteID=123112]

3DS Max Now Owns Softimage originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

E3 Revamp

Ryan Yewell — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:30:24 +0000

Well, it’s official. This year’s E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) will try and recapture some of the glory days before it was drastically downsized/neutered in 2007. If you were to talk to most industry professionals, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who actually like the redesigned format of the the last two E3′s, which is probably the main reason for this re-redesign.

The official press release of the upcoming E3 2009 states:

changes include increased booth sizes, increased qualified audiences, and an intensified focus on reinforcing the high-octane growth, innovation, and capitivating entertainment that are driving the computer and video game industry.

More details will be released in the coming weeks. The event will take place June 2-4, 2009, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For more info, go to www.e3expo.com.

Who knows, maybe this will be the start of the return to E3′s glory years, but many think those days are gone forever.

E3 Revamp originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Wirelessly Eavesdropping On Keyboards

Frank — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 04:02:19 +0000

Seems that every time you press a key on your keyboard a small burst of electromagnetic radiation is let out. So what you say? What if I told you that the radiation can be captured and decoded. Yes, some crafty hacker can sit near quietly and capture your key strokes without every touching or installing software on your machine.

11 different keyboards were tested and they were are vulnerable to at least one of the four different methods of attack. Tests have also shown that the data can be captured through walls and up to 65 feet away. It’s scary to think that someone could be be in the apartment beside you and logging everything you do without any type of attack. Think of it as a hack right out of the box.

They don’t list what keyboard are affect as they are finishing their paper on it, but as soon as get more info we will pass it on.

Wirelessly Eavesdropping On Keyboards originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/21. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DarthCast

Frank — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:26:11 +0000

Looks like Ben Heck has been raising some crafty apprentices. Only a few months after Ben Heck Forum member hellraizer churned out an impressive portable Nintendo 64, he has struck again by crafting an handheld Dreamcast using a Lazer Doodle shell like he did with the N64.

Inside the chassis he jammed a Dreamcast, Quantam controller, PSOne LCD screen, power supply and what must be some serious battery power. All-in-all you get about 3 hours of game play, which is better than what I get on my PSP. Check out the video after the break.

[Link to DarthCast]

DarthCast originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Slimmed Down Xbox

Frank — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:11:46 +0000

Once Microsoft decided to roll out the 360, they had no plans to offer a lite or slim version. One modder has decided to defy the laws of console gaming and build his own slim version of the original Xbox. The slimmed down Xbox is reduced by almost 2 inches in length, width, and height. With a total reduction in volume of around 60%, you know this unit has undergone a serious diet. The weight of the unit is just as impressive, 4 pounds down from a hefty 8.5 pounds.

The mods were possible with some new components – a slimline DVD, 2.5 inch drive, Wi-Fi adapter, and a pair of Iceburg4 Pro Chip Cooling fans keep it all nice and cool.

He should produce a slim kit that people could buy, with original Xbox units selling now-a-days for peanuts they make great media center PC’s since that can run XBMC or ever a MythTV frontend.

[Link to Xbox Slim]

Slimmed Down Xbox originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/11. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Use Your PSP As An External Display

Frank — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:22:45 +0000

With a simple piece of software you can use your PSP as an external display. The software, which is available to download on their site, allows you to use the PSP as a 960×544 display. The data is sent over compressed and then decompressed for display. Although this sounds like it would slow things down, the video above shows it working nice and smoothly. Currently only 32 bit Windows XP or older is supported.

[Link to PSP Display]

Use Your PSP As An External Display originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

VisualHub Discontinued

Frank — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:01:28 +0000

My beloved VisualHub, oh how I will miss you. That’s right, Tyler Loch (founder of Techspansion) has decided to close the door. Now I know there are a lot of tools on the Mac to help your compress or re-compress video, but none are as simple and powerful as VisualHub. For less than $25 you got Flash, DVD, mp4, divx, WMV and more, plus it is super easy to convert a video into a format that is friendly to the Mac family of products like the iPhone and AppleTV.

Tyler says that it was a difficult decision and is a personal one. He’s readjusting his priorities. He also has no current plans to move VisualHub into the open source world.

VisualHub Discontinued originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/03. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

iPhone Backgrounder – Multitasking For Your iPhone

Frank — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:43:56 +0000

Here’s a great app if you current run a jailbroken iPhone of iPod Touch. iPhone Backgrounder brings some much needed functionality that Apple doesn’t want to allow; the ability to run processes in the background.

After installing the App, hold down the home button on the app you want to preserve and it will keep running in the background until you tell it to stop with another home button press. You can also add some XML code and have an application run in the background by default, a neat trick for keeping IM apps open while you do something else.

There are some bugs in the app that still need to be worked out, but if you are willing to put up with them then you can grab the app via Cydia.

[Link to iPhone Backgrounder]

iPhone Backgrounder – Multitasking For Your iPhone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Apple Drops NDA

Frank — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:42:29 +0000

After much pressure from the community, Apple has finally decided to drop the NDA from released iPhone software. According to the company the NDA was an unnecessary obstacle for developers.

To our developers

We have decided to drop the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone software.

We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to protect, so that others don’t steal our work. It has happened before. While we have filed for hundreds of patents on iPhone technology, the NDA added yet another level of protection. We put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off by others.

However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone’s success, so we are dropping it for released software. Developers will receive a new agreement without an NDA covering released software within a week or so. Please note that unreleased software and features will remain under NDA until they are released.

Thanks to everyone who provided us constructive feedback on this matter.

Now I wish they would drop the gag order around iPhone app rejections so that developers can actually talk about it.

Apple Drops NDA originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Real Files Suit Against Studios

Frank — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:19:19 +0000

Well that didn’t take long at all. Within an hour of making its new RealDVD software available for sail, RealNetworks filed suit against all of the major movie studios and the DVD Copy Control Association. According to Real’s press release, the suit “asks the court to rule that RealNetworks Home Entertainment Inc.’s RealDVD software…fully complies with the DVD Copy Control Association’s license agreement.”

Hollywood sources confirmed that the MPAA plans on filing their own suit asking a federal court to stop RealNetworks from distributing the RealDVD software. Real has a real good case here because the software doesn’t break the DVD’s encryption when copying the DVD to the hard drive. It even adds a second level of DRM.

Real Files Suit Against Studios originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/30. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

NES Controller Sockets

Frank — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 02:18:06 +0000

Been hacking up various old NES units just to get a hold of the controller connectors for your mod projects? Look no further because for the very first time you can buy the controller connectors by themselves. Parallax has just released a 7-pin socket connector that is compatible with the classic NES. For just $2 a piece you can now start the process of jamming your classic NES in everything from a toaster to a pack of smokes (now that would be impressive).

[Via Make]

NES Controller Sockets originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Beer Keg Guitar Amp. Beer Not Included

Frank — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:05:35 +0000

This one is set to definitely impress your friends, if your in college that is. For a mere $119 you too can get your very own 20 watt Heineken mini keg amp. How cool is that.

You can use it as a practice app or on the street when playing a jam looking for some cash (although, I think the presence of the keg on the street will probably attract winos looking for something to drink). You don’t have to plug a guitar into it, you can plug basically anything into it, even your MP3 player.

[Link to Beer Keg Amp]

Beer Keg Guitar Amp. Beer Not Included originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Super Genintari – 4 Game Stations In One

Frank — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:43:43 +0000

Big retro gamer? Emulators no fun? The wife upset because you have 8 consoles hooked up to the family TV? Well then the Super Genintari is just right for you. The Super Genintari combines 4 classic arcade systems into one unit. An Atari 2600, NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis are rolled into one package.

You can have all 4 system cartridges plugged in at once and it only requires a single AV cable, which makes switching between Sonic and Super Mario Brothers a breeze.

The whole box measures about 14″x10″x5″ and is made entirely of transparent bronze acrylic, formed and shaped on a homemade strip heater. All of the openings for the buttons, cartridges and controller ports were carefully cut with a cordless Dremel. The face buttons are clear acrylic domes with each system’s logo epoxy glued in place and back-lit with orange LEDs when pressed. The entire system is incredibly easy to hook up, consisting of only one standard power cord and one A/V cable. It’s a little on the large size considering the room needed for all the boards, cartridge connectors and built-in transformer, and there’s also the fact that I refused to use clone systems since I wanted 100% compatibility and faithful reproduction. (No Yobos, Super Joys, etc.)

[Link to the Super Geintari]

Super Genintari – 4 Game Stations In One originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/11. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2008 | Permalink | 23 Comments | Read more in Gaming | Explore more in: 2600, ac, atari, cable, car, cart, comb, connector, console, control, controller, dremel, ds, ea, emulator, game, gamer, Gaming, genesis, heat, id, ir, led, make, nda, nes, open, os, pen, power, press, rc, ring, rip, rod, sega, snes, switch, tor, ui | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

RFID Poker Table

Frank — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:47:44 +0000

Have you ever wanted to host your own World Poker style tournament like the one on TV? With all of the bells and whistles including letting people see who’s got what, well now you can. This might not be affordable for the average “Guy’s Poker Night”, but I can see this being a hit at bars and clubs.

“The inspiringly-named Video Poker Table makes this possible. Beneath it’s perfectly ordinary looking exterior is a fairly impressive collection of electronics that uses RFID technology to track the movement of playing cards around the table, and superimpose this information on a video feed that’s generated automatically from 4 cameras in the table. We play with a standard deck of KEM cards that have been tagged with 52 RFID ’smart labels’ – thin and flexible enough that while they’re plainly visible they don’t affect the way the cards shuffle, deal or handle on the table. This game data, along with the camera feeds, is transmittted to a Windows PC via a USB cable and processed by a software application I wrote. The end result is a live, fully edited video feed of all the action, with pretty good quality graphics that show players’ hole cards, the board, and context-sensitive statistics during play. At the end of the game, the video is chopped up into individual segments, one segment per hand played, named according to the players in that hand and their cards, compressed and uploaded to a web server that players can later access to browse and play back individual hands. All of this happens automatically without any human intervention.”

If you even dare to build your own then you can get info on the project here

RFID Poker Table originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2008 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: ac, air, cable, camera, car, cat, ds, ea, electronics, game, graphics, hack, hacking, ical, id, ir, live, loa, make, mit, nda, os, pc, pen, poker, press, proc, rfid, rim, ring, server, shuffle, tag, technology, text, tron, ui, usb, video, wind, windows | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Airfoil 3.1: Stream Audio To Front Row

Frank — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:09:24 +0000

Front Row on the Mac has to be one of the slickest “Media PC” like experiences that a user can have, but when Front Row 2.0 hit the scene Apple mysteriously removed the ability to stream audio to it. Will Apple release an update that will restore the streaming functionality? Who knows, but in the meantime there is a solution that we can all jump on.

The great Mac folks over at Rogue Amoeba have released Airfoil 3.1 which works around the streaming problem in Front Row. Airfoil will let you send any audio to multiple Airport Express units and keep the audio between them in sync. The latest release also allows you send audio from any source to an AppleTV. The functionality doesn’t end there; you can send any audio from your Mac to another computer (Mac or PC) on your local network via the Airfoil Speakers program which is bundled with the download. You can also watch videos on the built-in Airfoil Video Player.

All of this streaming goodness can be your for $25 right here.

Airfoil 3.1: Stream Audio To Front Row originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: RC Helicopter

Frank — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:37:03 +0000

Building your own RC helicopter sounds like a hard tasl, but thanks to Ben Hui it’s as simple as building a few parts and following a step-by-step set of instructions.

Flying RC helicopter is really very exhilarating. Their versatility gives a RC pilot a complete access to the three-dimensional space in such a way that no other machines can! I have played RC helicopter for more than one year but still find that I have just learnt a few tricks that it can perform. There are generally two micro-helicopters ( indoor ) in the RC market. I have already planned to buy one of them as they can fly inside the living room and even take off on ours hand. Unlike those operated by gas, these electric helicopters are very clean and give out no terrible noise at all. In one nightfall, I visited a web site, which is about how to make a hand made RC helicopter. I was totally impressed and started designing my own helicopter.

[Link to Ben Hui's tips on building an RC helicopter]

DIY: RC Helicopter originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Neuros OSD – Take 2

Frank — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:00:48 +0000

We talked about the Neuros OSD earlier this year, well it now looks like the company has decided to mature the project and bring it into the HD age. The OSD2.0, which will be aimed at Linux PVR coders, will have an impressive list of specs.

D1(720×480) H.264 or SVGA (1024×768) MPEG4 + AAC/AC3/MP3 encoding
720P playback, up to 1080i with certain content
Support H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMV codec
Composite/Component Input: 2 composite input, 1 component input, all with dedicated stereo audio
Composite/Component/HDMI Video Output
RCA Audio I/O
2 USB ports in rear, 1 in front, and 1 internal to housing

The unit will be retailing for $249.99 and should be available by the end of the month.

Neuros OSD – Take 2 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: USB Switched Power Strip

Frank — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:26:23 +0000

Instructable user toymotorhead cobbled together this USB controller power strip to ensure that his devices turned off automatically when he shut down his computer as well as turn them on once he turned his computer on. All-in-all he spent about $30 on the contraption.

The unit consists of a solid state relay, some fuses, and some transient voltage surge suppressing diodes. The unit is also isolated from the motherboard to protect his computer from any unwanted nasty power spikes. The unit current just switches the power supply off and by by measuring the current of the usb connection and doesn’t use any fancy software to control the unit.

It’s a fairly easy project to build, but remember, your working with some high voltage here so make sure to take all precautions necessary so you don’t fry yourself.

[Link to building a USB switched power strip]

DIY: USB Switched Power Strip originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

MacBundleBox: 15 Apps, $50

Frank — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:11:14 +0000

It’s time for another Mac bundle deal, this time MacBundleBox is offering 15 Mac apps for $49.95. That’s an 85% discount overall. The apps included in the package are:

Headline – A full-featured RSS/ATOM feed reader with an ultra-minimal UI.
Mac Pilot 3 – A system optimization and customization utility.
iConquer – A game not unlike Risk.
Mahjong Forests – A traditional mahjong game.
Shoebox Express – A solution for organizing all your photos by content.
Caboodle – A way to collect random snippets of text or images on your machine.
Narrator – A program that will read out stories in multiple voices.
WriteRoom – A distraction-free word-processor, and possibly the most popular app in the bundle.
Scribbles – A simple drawing utility.
Money – An accounting app.
Operation – A simple project management application.
Aurora – An iTunes-integrated alarm clock.
Compositor – A CoreGraphics-based image editor.
Sofa Control – Allows you to control your applications remotely, using an Apple Remote.

You can head on over to their website to pickup the package if anything tickles your fancy.

MacBundleBox: 15 Apps, $50 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/15. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2008 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Mac | Explore more in: ac, alarm, alarm clock, apple, apps, arm, atom, bundle, cat, clock, control, ea, game, graphics, images, ir, itunes, lock, Mac, mac apps, macbundlebox, machine, mini, nes, os, photo, pickup, press, proc, remote, ring, rss, text, time, tor, ui, writer, writeroom | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

How To Speed Up WordPress With Nginx And WP Super Cache

Frank — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:43:16 +0000

Edit: Fixes suggested in the comments have been applied to this howto

We recently moved tech.nocr.at over to a bunch of VPSs in order to achieve some decent load balancing and speed. Even though SliceHost isn’t a sponsor, I’d like to give them a quick plug. SliceHost is easily the greatest VPS provider bar none. You pick the Distro you want, you tweak it, you set it up, all ports are available, you do as you wish. If you setup multiple VPS with them you can even have private IP’s between them in order to load balance or cluster. Prices start as low as $20/month. If you use them, click this link so that I can get some referral love. Now on to the article..

WordPress can be a blessing and a pain at the same time. It’s great for displaying dynamic content yet it’s displaying that exact dynamic content that can put a massive stress load on your system. WordPress’s query routines aren’t exactly the best. Let’s not even go into how much of a hog Apache can be, but for running dynamic content and prettying up your url’s, mod_rewrite can’t be beat. By using WP Super Cache to help reduce the load on your SQL queries and by placing Nginx in front of Apache as a reverse proxy, you’d be amazed and how quickly your site will load and respond, even enough to withstand a digg of slashdot effect.

Here’s what you are going to need.

This how-to system assumes that you have your Webserver running under a debian style distro like Ubuntu, but It can easily be modified for other distros like Fedora or CentOS.

Assuming that you already have WordPress running under Apache the first thing we are going to do is install the Wp-Super-Cache plugin and active it under your plugin folder of your WordPress installation. Pay close attention to the installation steps in the included readme.txt file, you have to follow each step properly in order to ensure proper caching.

Wp-Super-Cache creates static html files of your pages lessening the load on your SQL queries. Once you have it running and working let’s move on to our next step, reconfiguring Apache.

Apache can be a resource hog, especially when it has to span multiple child processes in order to serve up content. We are going to have to do some tweaking to apache’s conf file so that it will work behind Nginx.

Open up your /etc/apache2/ports.conf file

sudo nano /etc/apache2/ports.conf

We need to change Apache from port 80 to 8080 as Nginx will be server content to the real world via port 80.

Listen 8080

Next we are going to turn KeepAlives off on Apache since Nginx will be dealing with all of the actual browser connections. This will ensure that all of the child processes in Apache die quickly and don’t hang around chewing up memory

Find the KeepAlive entry in your /etc/apache2/apache2.conf file and set it to off

KeepAlive Off

Now that we have made the needed changes in apache we need to restart it so that they take effect.

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Next we are going to install Nginx which is a powerful and extremely lightweight http server that is perfect for reverse proxying or load balancing to backend servers like Apache.

sudo apt-get update | sudo apt-get install nginx

Once nginx is installed we are going to need to modify it’s config file located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Your conf file should look like this.

user www-data;
worker_processes  2;
 
error_log  /var/log/nginx/error.log;
pid        /var/run/nginx.pid;
 
events {
	worker_connections  1024;
}
 
http {
	include       /etc/nginx/mime.types;
	default_type  application/octet-stream;
	access_log  /var/log/nginx/access.log;
	sendfile        on;
	tcp_nopush     on;
	keepalive_timeout  3;
	tcp_nodelay        on;
	gzip  on;
	include /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*;
}

Now we need to move on to the actual site config file for our Nginx setup

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

Your file should look something like this (replace domain.com of course)

server {
        listen   80;
        server_name  domain.com www.domain.com;
        error_log   /var/log/nginx/domain.com.error.log;
        access_log  /var/log/nginx/domain.com.access.log;
 
# Main location (path to you blog, relative to your domain root)
        location / {
            proxy_pass         http://127.0.0.1:8080/;
            proxy_redirect     off;
 
            proxy_set_header   Host             $http_host;
            proxy_set_header   X-Real-IP        $remote_addr;
            proxy_set_header   X-Forwarded-For  $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
 
            client_max_body_size       10m;
            client_body_buffer_size    128k;
 
            proxy_connect_timeout      90;
            proxy_send_timeout         90;
            proxy_read_timeout         90;
 
            proxy_buffer_size          4k;
            proxy_buffers              4 32k;
            proxy_busy_buffers_size    64k;
            proxy_temp_file_write_size 64k;
        }
 
    # Static files location
        location ~* ^.+\.(htm|html|jpg|jpeg|gif|png|ico|css|zip|tgz|gz|rar|bz2|doc|xls|exe|pdf|ppt|txt|tar|mid|midi|wav|bmp|rtf|js)$ {
            root   /;
        }
	# if the requested file exists, return it immediately
	if (-f $request_filename) {
	break;
	}
 
	set $supercache_file '';
	set $supercache_uri $request_uri;
 
	if ($request_method = POST) {
	set $supercache_uri '';
	}
 
	# Using pretty permalinks, so bypass the cache for any query string
	if ($query_string) {
	set $supercache_uri '';
	}
 
	if ($http_cookie ~* "comment_author_|wordpress|wp-postpass_" ) {
	set $supercache_uri '';
	}
 
	# if we haven't bypassed the cache, specify our supercache file
	if ($supercache_uri ~ ^(.+)$) {
	set $supercache_file /wp-content/cache/supercache/$http_host/$1index.html;
	}
 
	# only rewrite to the supercache file if it actually exists
	if (-f $document_root$supercache_file) {
	rewrite ^(.*)$ $supercache_file break;
	}
}

The above (especially the if statements) help Ngnix pass the static html files that are created by WP Super Cache directly to the users thus freeing up Apache to do nothing more than handle the dynamic requests.

Now it’s time to restart Ngnix and get the whole ball of wax working

/etc/init.d/nginx restart

What we have essentially done is taken the load of serving static files like images, css, and js files off of apache and passed it on to Ngnix which runs a lot faster and leaner than apache for serving static content. All requests for any dynamic content like php still gets passed on to apache. Clean and simple.

In closing let me mention that this is just what works for me, i’m sure that there might be a better way to use WP Super Cache and Ngnix to speed up WordPress, but what you see above has really helped with the load on both of the tech.nocr.at front-end web servers.

How To Speed Up WordPress With Nginx And WP Super Cache originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/11. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2008 | Permalink | 33 Comments | Read more in Tech News | Explore more in: 4k, ac, ball, blog, boost, bus, cat, comments, debian, digg, display, distro, ea, eff, error, fast, fix, follow, hd, howto, hp, id, images, ir, led, light, links, live, loa, mid, mod, nano, nes, nginx, open, os, pda, pdf, pen, power, press, proc, processes, rc, remote, reverse, ring, root, server, speed, stream, string, tech.nocr.at, time, ubuntu, ui, Untitled, update, wordpress, wp super cache, zip | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

A PS3 Laptop Not By Ben Heck

Frank — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:56:51 +0000

Here’s another Playstation 3 laptop, and surprisingly enough, it wasn’t slapped together by our beloved modder, Ben Heck. This mod features a 17″ 720p HDTV, 320GB Hard Drive, built in speakers, and a keyboard.

Now if a modder could only shrink my 360 down to the size of an actual laptop, then I’d be so impressed that I would actually buy one. Would make portable gaming so much fun.

A PS3 Laptop Not By Ben Heck originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/11. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

11 WordPress Plugins For Professional Bloggers

Frank — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:35:13 +0000

In a world filled with enough plugins to make your head spin, it can be quite frustrating looking for that right plugin to do that job your after. Most bloggers have spent countless hours sifting through google or wordpress.org looking for a plugin to do something they are after but just can’t come up with the name that they need.

Everyone can probably name their favorite plugin. The trick is to name the plugins that are worth installing, ones that can actually add something useful to your blog. Remember, plugins tend to slow down wordpress blogs, so it’s a good to keep an eye on performance and only activate what you actually need.

Once we switched tech.nocr.at over to wordpress some time ago we too spent countless days tweaking and installing plugins, looking for the right combination to do the job. So here I present to you, the list of must have plugins for any pro-blogger. All of them are installed and activated right here.

The List

Of course, these plugins don’t make your blog an instant success, but they do add some important and needed feature to a blog. Concentrate on content if you want to attract readers and let the plugins do their jobs and help you along the way.

Must Haves

The following plugins should be install on any blog no matter what type of content you have or how popular your blog is. No exceptions.

Akismet
This one is a no brainer, I mean, who the hell wants spam on their site?
WP-Super-Cache
Once one of your posts hits the front page of Digg or you become popular on StumbleUpon you are going to be thankful of this puppy. This plugin stores a static file of each page in html, which is easier to show than dynamic content. It lowers the processing of PHP and the database hits that can kill you.
All in One SEO Pack
Want to have your site indexed properly on search engines? Let this puppy take all of the hard work off of your hands.

SEO & analytics

Google Analytics for WordPress
Probably the worlds most used analytics package. Install this one and you will be greeted with more stats than you can handle.
WP-UserOnline
Does exactly what it says, tells your how many people are on your site right now. Even gives you referring URL’s and spiders too.
Google XML-Sitemap Generator
Search engines just love sitemaps, especially google. This plugin will create a XML-Sitemap for you automatically and keep it up-to-date.

RSS Plugin

Feedburner Feedsmith
Feedburner is probably the industry standard for rolling out your feeds. This plugin will ensure that any link on your site to your RSS feed is redirected to your feedburner account.

Comment Plugins

Move Comments
This plugin in will give you the ability to move comments from one post to another. Keeps your commenters on track.
CAPTCHA
Just incase Akisment didn’t get em, this one will help you out.

Miscellaneous Plugins

Related Posts
Shows a number (set by you) of posts that relate to this post a users is one. This is a great plugin for giving people a choice of similar content on your site and having them dig deeper.
Maintenance Mode
If you ever need to tweak or upgrade your system, this plugin will allow your to show a static HTML page telling people that you are down for some upgrade and tweak love. The best part is if log in, you can still access your site to test those tweaks and upgrades.

Well there it is, this list of wordpress plugins that are must haves. There is always room for improvement though. If you have a must have plugin in that we should know about then let us know.

11 WordPress Plugins For Professional Bloggers originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2008 | Permalink | 2 Comments | Read more in Tech News | Explore more in: ac, amp, avi, blog, bra, case, comb, comments, digg, ds, ea, follow, generator, google, hp, ical, id, ir, job, jobs, led, make, mit, mod, nda, nes, number, online, os, pen, plugins, press, proc, rc, ring, rss, security, seo, stumbleupon, switch, switched, tech.nocr.at, time, tor, tweaks, ui, wordpress | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Worst MP3 Player Ever

Frank — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:49:37 +0000

I’ve seen my share of poorly built knock off mp3 players. I’ve even played with a few that I thought were quite off but still impressive but this unit takes the cake.

It’s marketed as a “dog doll” mp3 player yet it looks nothing like a dog. It’s more like a ball of fur on 4 rubber legs. I guess if you want to play a cruel joke on someone then this would be a great buy, but who in the world would want to be caught dead listening to music on this thing?

Worst MP3 Player Ever originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/06/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

EeePC Keyboard Backlight for $15

Frank — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 03:00:11 +0000

I’m a huge fan of my EeePC. So much so that I am actually writing this post on my 4G right now. The one thing that drives me bananas with the unit is the lack of a keyboard light, and when you are in a dark room trying to type, well you can just imagine.

Popular Science has a great article on adding a keyboard backlight to a EeePC for under $15

As we showed you in our May 2008 issue, Asus’s Eee PC has quickly become a favorite of hardware hackers around the web. Here, we offer the first installment of our Eee PC School series. Check back in the coming weeks for more tiny ultraportable tweaking.â€”Eds.
What good is that portable PC if you canâ€™t type anywhere and anytime? With its ultra-compact keyboard, even touch typing pros will be hard-pressed to avoid frequent mistakes on when the lights go out. To say itâ€™s a frustrating exercise in futility to locate the miniature F3 key in the dark is an understatement. Oops, you just lost WiFi contact by accidentally hitting F2.
Clearly, a keyboard backlight like those found in higher-end laptops is the answer to your nocturnal Eee PC typing woes. And for less than $15, such a backlight can be installed with minimal fuss.

EeePC Keyboard Backlight for $15 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/06/20. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

3G, GPS, MobileMe, Oh My

Frank — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:30:22 +0000

After all of the rumours (what else is new) the 3G iPhone is finally here.

Hits the shelves on July 11th (in Canada too!)
$199 for 8GB, $299 for 16GB
Black, with a white 16GB model
GPS

In a clear action of trying to play catch up to Google, Apple also announced a suite of software that will be revolutionary. (If they decided to roll it out in 2002). MobileMe is a much needed update to the .Mac system. MobileMe will let users log into a website using a billion dollar url; me.com, to access their email, address book, and calendar for a mere $99 a year, you know, much better than Google’s $0 a year charge.

On the plus side it will now be compatible with Windows, errr, oh yeah, Google’s bee there and done that too. Sounds like it should me meh.com and not me.com

For all of you hardcore, here’s the official Apple press release …

SAN FRANCISCOâ€”June 9, 2008â€”AppleÂ® today introduced the new iPhoneâ„¢ 3G, combining all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast* as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK. In the US the new iPhone 3G is priced at a stunning $199 for the 8GB model, and just $299 for the 16GB model.** iPhone 3G will be available in more than 70 countries later this year, beginning with customer availability in 22 countriesâ€”Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the USâ€”on July 11.

â€œJust one year after launching the iPhone, weâ€™re launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price,â€ said Steve Jobs, Appleâ€™s CEO. â€œ iPhone 3G supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync right out of the box, runs the incredible third party apps created with the iPhone SDK, and will be available in more than 70 countries around the world this year.â€

iPhone 3G gives users ever faster access to the Internet and email over their cellular network with quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA for voice and data connectivity around the world. iPhone 3G supports Wi-Fi, 3G and EDGE networks and automatically switches between them to ensure the fastest possible download speeds. The new iPhone 3G also makes it easier to multi-task with simultaneous voice and data communications, so with iPhone 3G you can browse the web, get map directions, or check your email while you are on a call.
iPhone 3G includes the new iPhone 2.0 software with both the iPhone SDK and key enterprise features such as support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to provide over-the-air push email, contact and calendar syncing as well as remote wipe and Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to corporate networks. The iPhone SDK allows developers to create amazing applications that leverage the iPhoneâ€™s groundbreaking Multi-Touchâ„¢ user interface, animation technology, accelerometer and GPS technology on the worldâ€™s most advanced mobile platform.

iPhone 3G includes the new App Store, providing iPhone users with native applications in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The App Store on iPhone works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi, which means it is accessible from just about anywhere, so you can purchase and download applications wirelessly and start using them instantly. Some applications are even free and the App Store notifies you when application updates are available. The App Store will be available in 62 countries at launch.
Additional features available with the iPhone 2.0 software include the ability to do real-time mapping and track your progress with GPS technology, mass move and delete multiple email messages, search for contacts, access a new scientific calculator, turn on parental control restrictions for specified content, save images directly from a web page or email them to your iPhone and easily transfer them back to your photo library on your MacÂ® or PC. iPhone 3G delivers an amazing 10 hours of talk time on 2G networks and 5 hours using 3G, with up to 5 to 6 hours of web browsing, up to 7 hours for video playback and up to 24 hours for audio playback.

iPhone 3G takes advantage of MobileMeâ„¢, a new Internet service that pushes email, contacts, and calendars from an online â€œcloudâ€ to native applications on iPhone, iPodÂ® touch, Macs and PCs. With MobileMe email, messages are pushed instantly to iPhone, removing the need to manually check email and wait for downloads, and push keeps contacts and calendars continuously up-to-date so changes made on one device are automatically updated on other devices. With iPhone, you can even snap a photo and post it directly to a MobileMe Gallery to share with friends and family.
iPhone 3G will be available in the US on July 11 for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 8GB model and $299 (US) for the 16GB model in both Apple and AT&Tâ€™s retail stores and requires a new two year contract with AT&T for qualifying customers. iPhone 2.0 software will be available on July 11 as a free software update via iTunesÂ® 7.7 or later for all iPhone customers. For further information about iPhone 3G pricing and availability in the US and internationally, visit www.apple.com/iphone.

*Based on 3G and EDGE testing. Actual speeds vary by site conditions.
**Based on iPhone 3G (8GB) and first generation iPhone (8GB) purchases. Requires new two year AT&T rate plan, sold separately.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

3G, GPS, MobileMe, Oh My originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/06/09. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Hot-Spot Shoe

Frank — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:22:04 +0000

This is one of those silly “I should have thought of this concepts”. A Step in the Right Direction is a prototype for a new shoe that detects Wi-Fi signals as you are walking. The shoe has integrated electronics under the tongue flap that is triggered via a pressure sensor so that it begins a scan of any W-Fi signals in the area. The wearer is then notified via LEDs on the outside of the shoe if there is a signal.

My kids have running shoes that light up every time they step, at least with this shoe the LEDs are actually useful. Now if they could incorporate some kind of GPS and logging system that you can then download via USB or Wi-Fi we’d have a complete worldwide layout of Wi-Fi hot-spots.

Hot-Spot Shoe originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/06/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication

Frank — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:35:42 +0000

Denso, a Japanese company that created a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system will start testing these units in April of this year.

The system is suppose to enable vechile interaction with another vehicle, exchanging this information over the UHF (699 and 679 MHz) frequencies.

There hope is to have cars talk to each other to improve overall road safety. Now if they could get the cars to drive themselves so that I can have more time to blog then iâ€™d really be impressed.

Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Star Wars: The Force Unleased

Frank — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:34:55 +0000

The upcoming release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will have some pretty impressive technology behind it. Three different technologies called Havok, Euphoria, and DMM (digital molecular matter) will bring the game to life like no game has done before. Check out the video below for a taste of all the fun.

Star Wars: The Force Unleased originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

How To Start A Fire With Air

Frank — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:30:19 +0000

This is one of those things that everyone should just have in their car for unforeseen emergencies. A fire-piston will allow you to start a fire anywhere at anytime without the use of a lighter or matches.

“The principle of increasing temperature by method of compressing air is explained by the adiabatic process in which the internal energy of a gas must increase when a mass of air is rapidly compressed or the volume of a mass of air is rapidly decreased. The resulting increase in internal energy results in a temperature rise sufficient to light an ember, just like the pressure produced by an ice skater’s blade is sufficient to increase the internal energy of the ice which turns ice under the blade into water.”

Link to making your own fire-piston

[Via Make]

How To Start A Fire With Air originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/31. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Dude Spends $15,000 On Star Trek Theater

Frank — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:46:04 +0000

Star Trek fan Gary Reighn held no punches back when building this incredible Star Trek themed theater. It took him 2 years and his entire basement to pull it off (and not being married probably helps). Featuring a projector, HD DVD play back and a PS3, what more can you ask for.

Now if he could get a working transporter then I would be really impressed.

Link to detailed Star Trek theater setup

Dude Spends $15,000 On Star Trek Theater originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

German Govt Skype Trojan Revealed

Frank — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:27:59 +0000

Wikileaks has released some scanned documents from the German police revealing the governments intent to intercept Skype voice calls. The publication of the documents is causing a massive storm in the German Press.

The first document is a communique between the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutors office about the cost splitting for the technology. The second document is an offer made by Digitask, the German company secretly developing the Skype interception technology, outlining pricing, licensing models, and other details. The technology includes interception boxes, key forwarding trojans, and anonymous proxies to hide police communications.

The parent company of Skype, Ebay, has always promoted Skype calls as being encrypted and secure, and has yet to comment on the documents.

This should bring some much needed attention to the overall security of any voip application. Big brother just might be listening.

German Govt Skype Trojan Revealed originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

First Looks At Mobile Firefox

Frank — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:42:04 +0000

Mozilla has just revealed a first look into its new Mobile Firefox interface. The new mobile browser will come in two flavours: one for touch screen devices like the iPhone and most PDAâ€™s, and one for non touch devices, like most cell phones.

Firefox mobile offers a familiar layout to all you iPhone and iPod touch users out there. Taking there cues from mobile Safari the main screen offers a similar layout. Back and forward navigation buttons, a bookmark button, and a retractable address bar.

There are some additions over Appleâ€™s mobile browser: a zoom button and a tab button that offers a different experience of the Safari one. When you press the tab button it will display up to four tab previews on the same screen for easy switching.

First Looks At Mobile Firefox originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Protect Your PC With A Magnet

Frank — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:12:46 +0000

Did you know that you could protect your PC or most other devices that use a power source from being powered on with nothing more than a magnet? All you need is a reed switch, a magnet and some duct tape. This is of course a basic protection and someone who really wanted to access it could simply remove the switch or replace the power unit in the PC, but this will protect you from people who want to casually access your machine.

Itâ€™s as simple as installing a reed switch inline with your motherboards power button cable and then taping the reed switch to the inside of the front panel of your case. Now when you press the magnet against the case at the position where you placed the reed switch the power button the PC will turn on.

Check this video out for an exact science behind the whole idea.

Protect Your PC With A Magnet originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

How To Make A Mic Flag

Frank — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:46:08 +0000

You ever hit the door of a big conference with all of your gear only to be rejected as press because your index card press badge that you wrote with magic marker and stuck in your hand just wasn’t cutting it?

If your looking to pass as legitimate press, this microphone flag (as well as some decent clothes, less swearing, and a business card) will be your ticket through the door. This video show you how to put together a quality mic flag for your microphone just like the big boys use.

It’s a lot better than one made out of cardboard with a magic marker. I’m sure that will get you kicked out of the White House press room in a hurray.

[Via DIYLIFE]

How To Make A Mic Flag originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Laser Target Alarm Clock

Frank — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:35:55 +0000

Most mornings I have to keep myself from throwing my alarm clock half way across the room when the buzzer goes off. My luck is that i’m still half ass asleep and can’t actually grasp it to throw it, so what makes me think I will be able to pick up a handheld laser gun and aim it at a bullseye?

If your actually interested in this then you can pick it up here but I forewarn you guys now, if you think you’re going to impress any female you might one day bring into your bedroom with this thing, you’re dead wrong.

[Via Gizmodo]

Laser Target Alarm Clock originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Maxed Out Mac Requires A Mortgage

Frank — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:21:57 +0000

Since Apple announce earlier this week new Desktop machines, and since I’m due a new Desktop to work on, I figured what the hell lets hit the Apple store online and see what I could build.

They offer so much, so many options, so many toys, so many bells and whistles. I figured let’s load this baby up, I mean let’s really see what type of bang we can get. I was floored when my sub-total hit over $23,000, that’s about the same cost we paid for our Xserve and XRaid unit combined!

I know I was dreaming, but I really did want to see how far I could push the envelope, how much Apple greatness could I get in a single box. So you must be asking, what the hell do you get for $27,000? I’m so glad you asked because here’s the list of all the goodies.

Two 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (8-core)
32GB (8 x 4GB)
Mac Pro RAID Card
4 x 300GB 15,000-rpm SAS
NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 1.5GB (Stereo 3D, two dual-link DVI)
2 x Apple Cinema HD Display (30â€³ flat panel)
2 x 16x SuperDrives
AirPort Extreme card
Quad Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel PCI Express Card
Apple USB Modem
Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse
Apple Wireless Keyboard
Mac OS X
Mac OS X Server (Unlimited-Client)
iWork â€˜08 preinstalled
Final Cut Express preinstalled
Aperture 1.5 preinstalled
Logic Express preinstalled
Canon PIXMA MX700 Office All-in-One Printer
AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac Pro

I really don’t think this one is going to get by the wife.

Maxed Out Mac Requires A Mortgage originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2008 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Mac | Explore more in: 3d, ac, air, apple, car, comb, display, drive, ea, gag, hd, id, intel, ir, key, keyboard, led, loa, Mac, mac pro, machine, mit, mod, mouse, nes, office, online, os, os x, pc, press, printer, raid, server, skin, tor, toys, ui, usb, wire, wireless, xserve | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

RFID Clothing

Frank — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:17:07 +0000

Sorting your laundry might just be a thing of the past. I can’t even count the number of things I have ruined in the wash because I didn’t pay attention to the care tag. You know, hot items in cold water, cold items in hot water, vodka instead of water, (I could go on and on).

The clothTag concept might just be right up my alley. Using RFID technology the tag can communicate with RFID enabled washing machines, dryers, irons, presses, and even dry cleaning equipment. All settings on the various machines will be automatically adjusted based on the information stored in the tag, you literally have to do nothing, just toss your stuff in the machine and shut the lid.

As RFID technology becomes more and more popular, I’m afraid to say it’s going to dumb all of us down, the less and less we have to do the lazier we become.

RFID Clothing originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/10. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Business Card That Calls For You

Frank — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:30:49 +0000

Tom Ward who designs electronics for a living wanted to create a lasting impression on people who he meets so why not create a business card that dials his number for you?

To use the card you simply hold the corner, which contains a small speaker over the phone’s mouthpiece. The card then emits a series of DTMF audio tones to dial the number for you.

Although a single card might not be that cheap you can get you costs down to about $2 a card if you produce them in large batches. At $2 a card you might not hand your card out to each person you meet, but if you want a lasting impression then it would make quite an impact.

Tom posted a very detailed step by step of this process over on Instructables. I wonder what they would say at airport security when you passed your card through the X-Ray.

Business Card That Calls For You originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

About

Frank — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 05:13:28 +0000

tech.nocr.at, founded on July 1, 2007, is a weblog dedicated to bringing you an unbiased clear cut view on all things related to technology. In addition, we bring you reviews of the hottest gadgets and gizmos. tech.nocr.at is edited by Frank Linhares and is currently seeking contributing editors. If your interested drop us a line with some sample work to jobs@tech.nocr.at

Frank Linhares (Founder, Managing Editor)

Frank Linhares, born and raised in the big smoke, Toronto, Ontario. ever since his younger years running around with a 300 baud modem he has always been at the bleeding edge of technology. be it the original newsgroups back in the day to bbs message networks. from good old school vax and unix hacking via war dialing, to being a 2600′er he’s been there doing what he can to advance the cause.

In 2005 Frank started the techPhile podcast and the simple reboot podcast. Since then he has moved on to co-host and produce a video show all about technology, Digital Underground.tv. Its a monthly tech based show covering news, view, and reviews in the world of tech. Frank has had the pleasure of interviewing many of the movers and shakers in the tech-world; Leo Laporte, Kevin Rose, Amber Macarthur, John C Dvorak, and Andy Walker just to name a few.

Frank has made guest appearances of the following programs talking about technology, new media and hacking: command-N, hak.5, This Week in Media, This Week in Tech, Lab Rats, and the Computer America radio show. Frank was also the regular hardware hacker on the Call for Help and Lab with Leo television shows which aired on TechTV in Canada and the US and on the How-To network in Australia.

Ethics

The tech.nocr.at editorial staff is bound by the following code of ethics:

Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.

Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.

Always question source motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.

Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent.

Never plagiarize.

Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid.

Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.

Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.

Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.

Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.

Disclose unavoidable conflicts.

Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.

Be open and honest about product reviews.

Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; avoid bidding for news.

Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.

Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

About originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2007/12/24. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2007 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in | Explore more in: 2600, ac, air, amp, audio, bbs, blog, boot, car, cart, cat, computer, ds, ea, error, exchange, follow, graphics, hack, hacking, hp, id, images, ir, job, jobs, lab with leo, led, leo laporte, lines, Mac, make, mit, mod, nda, nes, network, open, os, pen, photo, press, radio, rc, reboot, ring, rod, smoke, sound, tech.nocr.at, technology, text, time, tor, tron, ui, video, wrong | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Duracell Mobile Charger

Frank — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:50:55 +0000

It was only a matter of time for battery companies to get in on the business of charging you gadgets on the go. With that said Duracell has launched it’s Mobile Charger for charging any devise that is powered by USB.

Link: iLounge

Link: Duracell Press Release

Duracell Mobile Charger originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2007/10/04. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Are you secure: Secunia to the rescue

Frank — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Secunia.com has been a great resource of vulnerability and virus information over the years for Black, Grey, and White hat hackers alike. Recently they released a BETA project that looks promising and could be the first step into a “package manager” for Windows. In there own words:

A new addition to the Secunia Software Inspector series, the free Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI), is now available for BETA testing. Capable of detecting and categorising more than 4,200 applications.

So far, I have run it on a Vista Ultimate and XP SP2 box and it has come back with some impressive results. It found some software that I hate to admit, had totally forgotten about, on my system that was out of date. As for cons, I have only found two thus. One, it detected my Firefox install as 2.0.0.4 instead of 2.0.0.6. The second being, not so much a technical fault, but a person preference. It is not portable, you install it and it works on that box.

What they don’t tell you on the site is that when it detects out of date applications, it provides you a direct download link. This is good and bad, you are not seeing where this download is coming from, so you are trusting Secunia. It’s good for us lazy computer geeks though, because it is only one click.

Finally, they provide you a detailed write up on the out of date software you have and links to find out what vulnerabilities affect that software package.

In closing, this is a great piece of software that I will definitely keep tabs on and take around with me, along with my File Hippo Updater

Check out and follow this project at https://psi.secunia.com/

Are you secure: Secunia to the rescue originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2007/08/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Bluetooth Adopts New Core Version

Frank — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The board of directors over at the Bluetooth Special Interest Group announced the adoption of Core Specification Version 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate). The new spec is set to make device set-up faster and increases batter life of bluetooth devices.

Other key enhancements include…

Improved Pairing – The new pairing process enables all consumers to quickly setup their bluetooth devices. “Man in the middle” protection eliminates the possibility for an undetected middle man intercepting information.

Enhanced Power Optimization – The 2.1+EDR upgrade offers further optimized power consumption through a feature called Sniff Subrating which increases current battery life by up to five times in many devices like mice, and keyboards.

Link to press release

With all of these new snazzy improvements porn via bluetooth is only a step away.

Bluetooth Adopts New Core Version originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2007/08/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

PS3 to receive tuner, DVR capabilities before March 2008

Frank — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

It’s been rumored before, now Sony’s marketing manager for Computer Entertainment in New Zealand has apparently, and likely pre-emptively, unveiled Sony’s intentions to turn the PS3 into a digital video recorder. Sony’s Warwick Light is quoted in an interview with New Zealand’s The Press as saying, “We’re also hoping next year – about the same time that Freeview launches its terrestrial broadcasting service (expected to be in March) – to release a digital tuner for the PS3, turning it into a programmable TV recorder.” Sure, why not, but we’re going to need a hell of a lot more than 80GB or 120GB of storage to make that thing useful for HD recordings.

[Engadget]

PS3 to receive tuner, DVR capabilities before March 2008 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2007/08/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Philips Power2Go – Charge your gadgets on the go

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Philips just announced the Power2Charge and Power2Go chargers as part of their Power4Life line. These are USB based chargers, including the big mama-jama SCM7880 (pictured), can hold up to 60 hours of juice for all your usb needs. Charge your cell phone, iPod, Blackberry, and anything that charges via USB. It also has an LED on the front that will let you know how much juice there is left, and it also comes with six connector tips to hook all of those other gadgets that don’t charge via USB. So far only Europe for these bad boys, no word yet on it’s North America release. Philips

Philips Power2Go – Charge your gadgets on the go originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Emgeton Mini One – Windows Powered iPhone Clone

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

The Mini One iPhone clone is coming out at the end of this year. The most notable point is that it has a 720×480 display, which is quite amazing for a 3.3 inch size. Emgeton (a Czech company) claims that this phone is powerful enough to record (and compress) video at 30 frames per second.

It’s powered by Windows Mobile 6, which makes me ask: since when does Windows Mobile look so sexy !? This doesn’t look like Windows Mobile. Interesting fact: the display shows Asian characters, hinting at a possible first release in Asia.

Other specs:

GSM
Touch-screen
MegaPixel Camera
BlueTooth
TV Out

Emgeton Mini One – Windows Powered iPhone Clone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Robotic Bartender

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Now this is what I call tre cool. The MyFountain is a computerized bartending machine that sits on top of your bar and can automatically dispense booze, mixed drinks, soft drinks, beer, and wine with the press of a virtual button ala iPhone.

The virtual bartender comes preloaded with a library of mixed drinks or you can set all the proportions for your own deadly cocktail, there’s even an online drink recipe generator that will help you along the way.

A small fridge sits under your countertop holding dozens of types of alcohol and mixers. It’s also got lines for water, carbon-dioxide, wine, and beer. It also automatically sanitizes the drink lines with hot water when your done. The system also offers password protection to keep people from enjoying happy hour at your place.

My only concern is will it listen to all of my sob stories like my bartender does.

Digital Beverages is still wrapping up all of the small details and expects to have them on the market sometime in the Spring of 2008. Expect to spring $2500 USD for the unit.

[Via technabob]

Robotic Bartender originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Blackjack! Save $840 a year.

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Blackjack! The Samsung Blackjack is an awesome phone but when I tried to connect it to my computer on the road like I did with my old Razr, I hit a brick wall. So, what was wrong? After 45 minutes of hold time, you’d be surprised what I was told. Cingular “The new AT&T”, we’ll get into their name switching at a later date, told me that it would cost me an extra 70 dollars a month for their “Tethering” service. Tethering? You mean the thing I used to do for free? Well I am here to tell you how you can save $840 a year by using Internet Connection Sharing instead of the paid service.

Open up File Explorer (Start->Applications->File Explorer)
Press UP until you you get to root ( / )
Scroll down and select Windows
Now start scrolling, it’s alphabetical and you are looking for “Internet Sharing” (Use the down arrow, better on the joints, your joints)
Click on it and you are greeted by a simple application with only a couple options.
Select by pressing right or left Bluetooth PAN (Personal Area Network) or USB. USB is easier and powers at the same time, Bluetooth is a bit more difficult but it’s one less wire you have to worry about loosing

Now, I am not going to go into how to set up each, you have been shown the door, it’s your job to get it working how you want it to. Also, if you don’t want to keep scrolling every time you want to use it, hook up to ActiveSync, explore over to it, create a shortcut and plop it in your Start Menu. Easy simple access on the go.

And I can’t leave this last tidbit out: It works in Linux!

Blackjack! Save $840 a year. originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

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Duck Hunt on iPhone, without a hack

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Just a few days ago we talked about hacking up your iPhone so that you could run an NES emulator on it. Now super cool developer Deron Dantzler has created a full featured version of the great NES classic Duck Hunt that runs on the Safari browser on your iPhone. Instead of a light gun, the game uses your fingertip to shoot down those pesky winged critters. It takes a little trial and error to get used to the finger presses, but eventually you’ll get the hang of it.

Deron did a fabulous job on getting all the pieces to look just like the original NES game. It even runs quickly on an EDGE connection. Unfortunately, there’s no sound, but maybe someday Apple will just give us the Flash support we all want and we’ll be done with all this workarounds.

To play the game on your iPhone just point your browser here

Duck Hunt on iPhone, without a hack originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Apple and NBC get divorced

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Seems like NBC is getting a bit greedy, okay they are very greedy. Apple today released a press release noting that they and NBC would be parting ways. Apple stated that they have decided not to carry NBC’s upcoming season of shows since the contract would expire during the middle of the television season leaving iTunes users hung in the middle of a series.

NBC wanted to raise the price per episode to $4.99, let’s lay this out; $4.99 per episode, most TV shows usually run a 22 episode season, so $4.99 x 22 = $109.78. Are they on crack? You can buy most seasons for about $50 on DVD, a much higher quality that iTunes offers.

This is typical of old media, see an opportunity and then rape the consumer for it.

Apple and NBC get divorced originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Firefox: 400 Million Strong

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Firefox has made the 400 million mark, quite impressive. The open source browser has only been around for about 3 years, so achieving this number is quite impressive. There are reportedly about 120 million or so regular Firefox users, which makes me wonder what happened to the other 280 million went.

81% of our readers are regular Firefox users, good for all of you.

Firefox: 400 Million Strong originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Build your own laser listening device

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

This is one of those “it works, and it’s scary” hacking projects. Build your own laser listening device for about $3. Video after the jump.Via Funditor

â€œIn a microphone, sound waves (differences in the pressure of air) cause a diaphragm to vibrate back and forth, altering its resistance to an electric current. When an electric current passes through said diaphragm, the output forms a complex signal that can then be reinterpreted by speakers or a recording device as sound. The device shown here works in a very similar way. Sound bounces off of a window, causing minuscule vibrations (acting like the microphone’s diaphragm). When a laser is trained on the window, its reflection will vibrate with the sound. The laser’s reflection, if converted to an electrical signal can now be recorded as sound. I will outline how I made my own (cost me $3, hope yours is the same or less) – the technically savvy among you will spot the countless variations possible on this basic idea.â€

Build your own laser listening device originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 1999 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: ac, air, bounce, bra, car, convert, ea, flash, hack, hacking, hp, ical, id, images, ir, laser, listening device, lock, Mac, macro, microphone, mid, mod, os, phone, plugins, press, rc, ring, signal, sound, speakers, tor, train, ui, video, wind | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

How To: Build a Night Vision System

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s a great and cheap way to create your own Night Vision system for your video camera. You will need some cellophane and an old digital camera to pull it off, but once you do it’s quite impressive.

How To: Build a Night Vision System originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

PSP Heartbeat Sensor Hack

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me how great the PSP homebrew community is. A guy named Art simply soldered a coiled copper wire across the microphone input, which then allowed him to pickup a signal from a wireless heartbeat sensor. It’s not that impressive yet he hasn’t coded a GUI for it just yet, but once it’s all done it will add to the arsenal of the PSP diversity. Now, if someone could just code an iPhone emulator for the PSP I’d be set.

PSP Heartbeat Sensor Hack originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Free iPhone Unlocking

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Words can’t really express what you see above. AT&T gets pwned, that’s the best I can come up with.

Free iPhone Unlocking originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

WWSJD: What Will Steve Jobs Do

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Today is the culmination of all the iPod rumours. Today is the day that Steve Jobs will put an end to all of the endless rumours on the internet about the big Apple press event. I’m a big believer that we will see a new line of iPods since they have been due for a new release for quite some time, but today, while chatting with Leo Laporte he mentioned that this coincides with the anniversary date of Strawberry Fields by the Beatles and that we would see Paul an Ringo on stage. I’m sticking with my own home grown rumour, Steve Jobs will step down and pass on the Apple empire, who knows, weirder things have come true.

WWSJD: What Will Steve Jobs Do originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Rumour: New iPod Nano on Sep. 5th

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Infinite Loop is reporting that their sources â€œinsideâ€ Apple have leaked September 5th as the date of a press event. On the bill: New iPod Nano’s with wide screen and running OS X.

Earlier this week we reported on the leaked iPod Nano pictures (no Apple hasn’t asked us to pull them down yet, I guess we are nott big enough, lol) that were released.

I’m willing to bet on a new Nano since the school year is starting and we haven’t seen an update iPod in a while, but I’m skeptical as to it running OS X. Time will tell.

Rumour: New iPod Nano on Sep. 5th originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.