RIAA Ramps Up

RIAA is at it again and in full force just says after settling with Kazaa for $115 million dollars the record industry is at it again. And as you can probably guess they are after Limewire (seems about right... Kazaa was a P2P most of us used for a while then with the adware everyone switched to Limewire)

BetaNews | RIAA Sues LimeWire Over Piracy

And I do understand it. It is not fair to rip off music or movies but my twist on this is why can't we find a site/portal that we can pay for lossless/unDRM music? The only site I have found in my searching is allofmp3 and even they have been in litigation. I would be happy to pay $0.50-$1.00 for high quality songs I buy. Maybe someone out there can point me in the direction of some "legit" sites/portals that are running such a service and aren't being chased by the courts. People have pointed out sites as emusic but if your in search of very modern songs, for example things you just heard in your car, they don't seem to be the place to go.

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Google Radio?

No its XM Radio with Google Ads. Google has decided to venture into another avenue of marketing. At this rate we will have Google underwear, cereal, cellular, and cars before we know it... hehehe maybe that's a little much. Read the article below about the deal signed yesterday.

Google ads will stream out to XM listeners | CNET News.com

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Picasa Web Albums for Mac

I know I'm a little late but Google released yesterday a Google Picasa Web Albums "Test" (Beta) for Mac users.

The software comes with a uploader and iPhoto add-on.

But there are still users that want to see a Picasa version for Mac be a reality and after the recent release of their Linux version maybe they will.

Google Picasa Now for Mac, Almost

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What’s AOL Doing?

AOL announced yesterday that it would offer AOL for free.

Techdirt: About Time: AOL Goes Free

They realized that they are not going to stay around and keep customers charging them per month but will push more on their ADs. They are doing this as a strategic effort to offer free webmail to customers to hopefully retain the people they haven't already driven to their competitors (gmail, yahoo, hotmail, and lycos [who announced yesterday it would give customers 3GB storage space and no cap on attachment size]).

TechCrunch: New Lycos email tops Gmail in storage, attachment size

Today they are announcing that they will be offering 5GB of free online storage for all web users. This service will be using XDrive and will be available for customers around September. The link below will give you a run down on the service features and the lack of limits as it seems.

AOL to provide 5GB of online storage for free - Download Squad

So does this mean AOL is back in the game? Has Time Warner realized a better way to utilize AOL? Only time will tell.

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Setting up Phone As Modem on Samsung SPH-A900 in Ubuntu

Well I started playing with my new Samsung A900 yesterday in Ubuntu. I was able to pair the phone pretty easily so the next step was to configure it as a modem over bluetooth.

EVDO woes

Well decided to test the EVDO on my work laptop (Dell D610) running Windows XP (since I figured if any issues arose they would not help me much using Linux and I would have to use a USB Bluetooth dongle on my G4 desktop so I figured I would do my best to eliminate any issues prior to later testing ;-).

New Samsung A900 Arrives

Well the new Samsung A900 arrived. Very sweet looking. Spent a huge amount of time on the phone with Sprint trying to setup the phone and port the old number over. Not very much fun but is it ever? ;-) Next step after activated in a few hours is to test out the EVDO.

Switching wireless providers

Well after a little bit of thought and a long conversation today with my buddy (let's see if he makes an appearance here) I decided to finally do away with my Nextel (which I have only kept for this long and dealt with the high pricing, is for the PTT/Direct Connect). So I ordered up a new Sprint Samsung A900 phone with Phone As Modem service. Now we just wait til it arrives!!! :D

Dapper Drake Beta 2 (Ubuntu is the dist of choice)?

I have to start by saying I have always loved Debian and Debian based systems. Anyway back to the point. I went from starting with early version of RedHat (Manhattan) to Debian and then to a bunch of Debian based systems in the interim. Then finally started using Suse 9.2, 9.3, and up until recently 10.0 (still use on some of my machines).

Suse 10 Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird 1.5.0.2 updates

I have uploaded the latest versions of MozillaFirefox and MozillaThunderbird here: http://shadowsector.org/files/browse/suse/10.0/ If you have problems with Beagle.xpi please read previous update post here.

OpenSuSE 10.1 RC1 Arrives

After many beta and alpha releases there is finally a release candidate available of openSuSE 10.1. It is still not production ready and has known bugs (some with documented work arounds) but still something SuSE users are excited about and have been waiting for.

Google finally unveils Calendar

After months of speculation and leaked screenshots, Google finally took the covers off of their new calendaring app. Promising gmail integration, and the ability to work with the iCal format, this could be the answer to alot of people's prayers. Be aware that the Google servers are getting beat to snot today. Right now may not be the best time to go check it out.

Universal Firefox Update Released

Mozilla released a security update to 1.5 (1.5.0.2). This version does have some security and bugfixes but the biggest reason for this update is it now has "Universal" support for the new Intel Mac's. Mac Lover's rejoice ;-)

Hello world!

Welcome shadowsector.org. The Official shadowsector.org site can be found here.

Microsoft changing their filenames!?!

It appears that when Office 2007 is released all file formats as we know them will change. .doc, .xls, .ppt, etc will all be changed from 3 to 4 letter extensions. You can find the list of Office 2007 file formats on Aviran's Place. Biggest reprocussions I see of this change are: 1. Other 3rd party Office Applications will have to conform to Microsoft's new standard (since they are the leader in the Office market). 2. Anyone using older versions of Microsoft Office or the standalone products will be forced by Microsoft to upgrade since the formats will not be backwards compatible.

Is Windows Virtualization the way to go?

Now after the release of "Boot Camp" there is more more great news for those Windows users: Parallels has just shipped a beta of their Windows virtualization product today. As the rumor mill has it VMware is making the same venture under OS X as well. So no need for "Boot Camp" and dual boot when you can have "speedy" virtualization at your finger tips. Edit:
Here is a Related Article found:
Run Mac OS X and Windows simultaneously

Apple Releases “Boot Camp”

Apple has just released Boot Camp which will be final in OS X 10.5 Leopard. Boot Camp Boot Camp Beta: Requirements, installation, and frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Shakira’s Hot ;-)

I haven't posted a screenshot in forever..... and figured with the new background it was about that time ;-)

Upgrading Suse 10 to 1.5x Firefox and Thunderbird

Download these packages MozillaFirefox, MozillaThunderbird and install.

Update:

There is a problem with upgrading MozillaFirefox to version 1.5 because you will contantly receive messages when starting firefox about installing beagle.xpi.

Gaim2 + Guifications Beta3 packages

I have created and uploaded these packages here: SuSE 10.0 packages

Plate Ideas

LNX FAN (Linux Fan) LNXCWBY(Linux Cowboy) DO U GNU HEY RTFM (Hey Read The F*&%IN MANUAL) HEY FSCK (HEY FileSystem ChecK) LNX L33T (Linux Eleet) LNX L337 (Linux Eleet) LINUX4ME PERLSGR8 (Perls Great) TRU GEEK TRU G33K UBR G33K (Uber Geek) UBR GEEK (Uber Geek) VI RULZ (vi Rules) IM ROOT (I'm Root) UNIXINU (Unix forwards and backwards)

Could MS Office’s doom be a little app called Writely?

Could MS Office's doom be a little app called Writely?

Can Novell lift the Linux Desktop to the next level?

Can Novell lift the Linux Desktop to the next level?

Xandros claims first commercial Linux desktop with 3G wireless

Xandros claims first commercial Linux desktop with 3G wireless

Novell aims rebranded SUSE Linux 10 at enterprise desktops

Novell aims rebranded SUSE Linux 10 at enterprise desktops

Sorry, MacTel owners: Windows Vista won’t support EFI

Mac owners hoping to boot Windows on their new Intel-based boxes have been pinning their hopes on Vista, which reportedly would be able to boot using Intel's Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), the BIOS replacement implemented on the MacTel computers. However, those hopes were just dashed, as Microsoft has announced that EFI support will be delayed until the release of Longhorn Server, currently scheduled for sometime next year. Of course, all hope is not lost: guerrilla efforts to get Windows to run on MacTel boxes continue, and there's always the possibility that VMWare, WINE or a similar solution will make booting into Windows a non-issue. And if you really just need a break from OS X, there's always Linux. Read

Panasonic announces 4GB SDHC SD card

We're not sure why they keep working on ancient memory card formats like SecureDigital (if it's not thumbnail-sized or smaller, we're not interested), but advances in this venerable format continue unabated, with cards now trickling out that support the new SDHC (for SD High Capacity), or SD 2.0, standard. Panasonic has just announced a 2.0-compliant 4GB model that appears to fall under the class 2 category of the new format's rating system (out of 2, 4, and 6), which refers to the card's minimum transfer speed in MBps. SDHC cards, which are only compatible with FAT32-compliant current-gen readers, promise capacities as high as 32GB, while offering the DRM-friendly security features that content producers love to frustrate us with. Panny's first entrant into the SDHC game will be available worldwide this summer. Read

Apple to Offer Monthly iTunes TV Subscriptions

Posted on slashdot: sg3000 writes "Fans of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, rejoice! Reuters is reporting that Apple will provide monthly subscriptions to two of Comedy Central's most popular shows. One question, as TV shows become available for sale on the Internet, will this make it harder to share clips online, such as through Google Video? In your answer, ignore facts. Just go with what feels true." Read

Versora, CodeWeavers spin Linux migration bundle

Versora, CodeWeavers spin Linux migration bundle

Build a Six-headed, Six-user Linux System

"A Multi-Seat Linux Box: This tutorial shows how to build a multi-head, multi-user Linux box using a recent distribution of Linux and standard USB keyboards and mice. Xorg calls this arrangement a "multi-seat" system." Read

Engadget: Intel will ship WiMax cards this year

Intel's General Manager of their mobility group, Sean Maloney, has announced that the company is planning on shipping WiMax cards sometime during the second half of this year. WiMax, the long-range wireless broadband technology, looked to be further away from deployment than Intel's announcement now indicates, but Maloney says that "we are now at the point where there is a clear coalescing around the 2.3GHz to 2.5GHz, 3.5 GHz, and 5GHz bands" which should cover most of the planet. During his keynote, Maloney also gave the first public demonstration of a chip that is both WiFi and WiMax-capable, designed to give consumers an option during the predicted-three-year transition period. Read

Engadget: LG.Philips unveils 100-inch LCD display

The battle between LCD and plasma for domination of your media room may have just ended. LG.Philips has unveiled what they're billing as the world's largest LCD display, a 100-inch panel with a 5ms refresh, 3000:1 contrast ratio and 180 degree viewing angle. The new display bests the previous size leader, Samsung's 82-incher, and is just three inches smaller than the largest plasma display, Panasonic's 103-inch prototype. While none of these megascreens are going to show up in stores any time soon, they're going to continue to put the squeeze on plasma displays, which are already hurting from a price perspective, as LCD prices continue to decline. Read

Engadget: Hands-on with Intel’s UMPC prototype

Intel showed off its vision of the ultramobile portable computer today, and CNET got a good look at the mini-tablet, which has a 7-inch display, runs Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and offers full internet connectivity. While the devices -- which CNET referred to as "Origami-like" -- are fully functional, they're clearly prototypes: battery life is limited to a paltry 15 minutes. However, Intel execs said that early production models should have three-hour batteries and retail for under $1,000, while versions with all-day batteries and lower price tags (including that $500 sweet spot) should be available next year. According to CNET, versions of the UMPC will ship "in the next few weeks," so if you want to get your hands on one, you may not have to wait too much longer. Read

Google at work on desktop Linux

Google is preparing its own distribution of Linux for the desktop, in a possible bid to take on Microsoft in its core business - desktop software. A version of the increasingly popular Ubuntu desktop Linux distribution, based on Debian and the Gnome desktop, it is known internally as 'Goobuntu'. read more here...

modifying comments in wordpress

Here is a part 1 write up I found useful and you might too: ColdForged's WordPress Comment Template Deconstructed, Part 1

LaunchBar for Windows

After some searching on the web (and was found by reading recommendation by Alex King on his blog) I downloaded and am using approcket. It is a really slick app. You should try it out.:mrgreen:

wp-plugins added

Well I just added wp-last-visit, wp-grins, popularity-content, and wp-mobile. All of these are available via from Alex King's website.

dvd page

I setup my dvd page. I will add the rest of my dvd's when I get time and will try to keep it updated as possible. :twisted: -Later

resident evil

Updated my dvd wanted list. More will come. Should get these pretty soon I would think.

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 AND Linux

Well running Suse 10 and just bought this keyboard With a bunch of changes I got most of the "Special Keys" working. The only 2 keys I was not able to get working were Zoom and Back and Forward Arrows. Zoom doesn't work at all whereas Back and Forward buttons I was able to almost get working but they have strange behavior within Firefox To get these keys to work I ran:

cd /opt/MozillaFirefox/lib/chrome
unzip browser.jar

Then opened "contents/browser/browser.xul" in vi and searched for the following lines:

I added 2 lines after that:

saved the file and ran:

zip -rD0 browser.jar content/browser

restarted Firefox and it resulted in response by the browser but not "desired" response.