20 September 2010

livelist- iconic ass-kicking musical properties: guitar riffs of rock/instrumental loops of rap

ROCK
Beastie Boys - No Sleep Till Brooklyn
Rage Against the Machine - Sleep Now In The Fire
Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train
Black Sabbath - Iron Man
Metallica - Enter Sandman
AC/DC - Thunderstruck, T.N.T., Back In Black
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RAP
Notorious B.I.G. - Kick In The Door
Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.
Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Part II

04 August 2010

Torn...for the next mobile

Okay so having my Bold 9000 knocked into a mudpit at one of my fraternity's raucous pool parties, I've been succeeding in getting it to work anyways, albeit not with all cylinders firing... keys not working entirely, etc etc. Finally it randomly finally cut off. I disassembled it, cleaned the contacts, reassembled it and got it to fire up one last time to back it up to my laptop, right there in the car (clutch!) before it never turned on again.
Surviving on a trusty unlocked HTC Wizard 200 (WinMo 6.5 giving me a flashback to PocketPC 2002 days on the iPaq 3630...my first PDA haha), I'm now forced to choose. One would think my obvious choice would be the newly announced (today!) BlackBerry Torch 9800 slider. HOWEVER, being a firm believer in Costanzaism (facebook search it), and seeking a development platform for an App to control my senior design robot remotely, I was looking at both the iPhone 4 (hey gotta give it a chance at least) and Android OS. Samsung just released a gorgeous AMOLED-screen-having Galaxy S across all platforms...Motorola announced they plan to have a 2GHz (!) Android smartphone out by the end of the year...with nVidia Tegra dedicated mobile graphics (!!) but being as I dont see Moto crankin' out too many (read: 0) non-Verizon handsets as of late, I'd either go with the Captivate (AT&T version of the Galaxy S) or wait for Google's next 'developer phone'.

The only things i really hate about the Android phones are, 1, i'm forced to put my contacts list on Google's server, and thus connect my gmail account to my phone. and 2. not many of them customarily have any keyboard, which is irritating because you cant really text under the table in lecture so well when theres no textile feedback. :/

The good things about it (as opposed to an iPhone), from a developer's perspective, is:
1. $25 for a dev account (Apple is $100)
2. Java syntax, no need to learn Objective-C (enough issues to work out for senior design as is)
3. Multiplatform IDE (iPhone requires XCode, which is Mac OS X only) (all my group members can work on it, not just the mac-owners)
4. True multitasking

But I'm not going to lie to you, its not as pretty as the iPhone's interface.

More to come.

11 May 2010

Opinion: just for Hassan

So, people keep saying all around me "new iPad doesnt have Flash" "gotta have Flash" "what about Flash". Suffice to say, Steve Jobs wrote a letter & put it on the Apple website regarding Flash and their stance on stepping around it, and actually ripped Adobe a new one. It was like he had been saving up for a long time and finally just let them have it, its pretty amazing but he makes some good points, mainly toward what is considered "open" and what's "closed."
Apple has amazing clarity and vision toward the future, which puts them ahead of the competition constantly, and for that I'll give them credit. And while I'm not sure how the iPad's going to change everything, as I still very much enjoy keyboards over touchscreens any day, I will say that the next big step is going toward mobile devices that sip power and don't slurp it, and pick & choose how they handle processes, without delaying or going slow, and emit very little heat, compared to the machines of the past.
Adobe Flash does not fall in this vision. Its a general one-size-fits-all solution to run on everything. The problem is, when "everything" includes the small army of mobile devices that has already started to appear in peoples hands, Flash finds itself fading away because it really doesnt even run efficiently on some desktops. Yeah it helped by creating a way that anyone with a browser could watch video, but it decodes in SOFTWARE, which is unnecessary work for a computer thats got the gearing & fittings to do it in HARDWARE, saving both heat & energy. Furthermore, its incredibly unstable. Mr. Jobs talks about how its the leading cause of Mac OS X crashing, and I'll go one more and say that using it on Linux is a complete pain. First, they always leave Linux for last, throwing them a bone when they have to. Second, watching Flash video on Linux is the equivalent of making your computer go running for like 8 miles and then wondering why the battery dies, because if you're on a laptop, forget it. I had an old 700MHz ThinkPad and it could only play one Flash movie if nothing else was running, in Crunchbang (very minimal Linux distro). And the battery would last about 30min, and the battery was still good.
There's other reasons why Flash probably wont make it into the future, but these are the most outstanding IMHO, and Adobe should create something new instead of making people update their Acrobat 3,284 times for no reason or sitting on the CS Suite.

Favorite Running Songs...

There's always songs to run to but these are the ones that, over years, I always leave in the mp3 player because I never tire of them. SO, in no particular order:

Prodigy - Breathe
Rage Against the Machine - Sleep Now In the Fire
Cake - Never There (breakbeat mix) *
Bomfunk MCs - Uprocking Beats (Speed Garage Mix)
Metallica - Enter Sandman
The Prodigy - Outta Space (DJ Deekline Booty Space Mix)
Naughty by Nature - Uptown Anthem

*pretty hard to find, dont expect to see them on youtube

Theres LOTS of other songs I run to, usually House or Rock, or really fast rap, but these songs are a constant so I hope whoever reads this somewhat enjoys it

- X

04 February 2010

best characters

so in an effort to deviate from the usual technical BS, heres a list thats been in the back of my mind...

No matter how garbage the movie, most every time there's one side character that makes it bearable or even enjoyable to me. Here's the list
-----------
Monsters vs Aliens / B.O.B. / voiced by Seth Rogan

Dr. Cockroach: You must forgive my friend, but as you can see, he has no brain.
B.O.B.: Turns out, you don't need one. Totally overrated! I don't even have to...
[Starts gasping for air]
B.O.B.: I forgot how to breathe! Help me, Doctor Cockroach!
Dr. Cockroach: Suck in, B.O.B.
B.O.B.: [breathes normally] Thanks, Doc. You're a life saver.


Elf / Gimbel's Manager / Faizon Love

Gimbel's Manager: Why you smilin' like that?
Buddy: I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite
Gimbel's Manager: Make work your favorite. That's your new favorite.


Anchorman / Brick Tamland / Steve Carrell

Ron Burgundy: Last time I looked in the dictionary, my name's Ron Burgundy. What's your name?
Brian Fantana: Brian Fantana.
Champ Kind: Champ Kind.
Brick Tamland: Brian Fantana.
Brian Fantana: No, you're Brick.
Brick Tamland: Brian.
Brian Fantana: I'm Brian.
Brick Tamland: Veronica.


A Bug's Life: Tuck and Roll, the twin bugs

Tuck: You fired!
Roll: You fired!
Tuck: You fireeeeeed!
Rosie: [in disgust] Oh, will you *shut up*?
Tuck: Hey!
Roll: You fired!



The Simpsons / Dr. Nick Riviera


Dr. Nick: "Hi, everybody!"

Dr. Nick: "Hey, Mr. McGregg! If it isn't the man with a leg for an arm & an arm for a leg!"

30 January 2010

Update for the sake of an update

Well...what's new. Apple's tablet came out...as a half-developed premature ugly concoction. But they made it cheap to compensate...hahaha. All I will even be willing to say about it is, for now, it's literally a giant iPod Touch. Until that changes, i don't care. i want an actual computer. the tablet conversions that 3rd party companies do to macbook pros look pretty slick but they're incredibly expensive. just want something i can take notes on for class, that's all i ask. then again...if the iPad gets a SERIOUS note-taking/organizing app that can sync with my laptop, it doesn't sound so bad. we'll see.

irritated because i got fat over the break and i can't run b/c of a foot problem that's taking weeks to resolve due to the way the healthcare system works. its incredulous.

alright i'm late to hackmiami. new laptop on the horizon...not even sure if it'll be mac, to be honest. i see half-decent laptops (now that 7's out) for half the cost my macbook pro was. in a day of $1k 3-d laptops, its getting harder to justify MBPs. where else do you pay $2k for a laptop with a 120GB HDD. that was small when i bought it Jan 2008...now its intolerable when running 2 O/S's :(

been playing with Arduino and Processing...have to learn to get them to work together via serial comms. dreading learning programming for communications but ...here goes nothing

06 October 2009

BlackBerry stuff... since i'm restless

To make the most of my restlessness, i've decided to dedicate 15min to my BlackBerry, and extend the wealth to you all.

Someone once said "If you want a toy, get an iPhone. If you want a tool, get a BlackBerry." Indeed it's like comparing apples and...not apples (pun intended). In this case, the BlackBerry does all I need it to and much much more. i don't want games on my phone. i don't want a fart button on my phone. i don't want to edit video on my phone. I have enjoyed video, & MMS on my phones for years, and have enjoyed copy & paste since getting my first BlackBerry in 2007. Here's a list of useful BlackBerry apps and their addresses:

BlackBerry App World (needed for Pandora, iHeartRadio, Trapster, QuickPull etc.)


Messenger Progs (official clients)


Flickr Client


---non-App World progs (might have been added since this post)

Google Maps / GPS Navigation tool
http://google.com/gmm

MidpSSH for BlackBerry / SSH console client
http://bbssh.org/ota/

BBFileScout / enhanced File Manager

TwitterBerry / Twitter posting client
http://orangatame.com/ota/twitterberry

Opera Mini / alternate browser (serverside processing)
Foursquare for BlackBerry

Grooveshark for BlackBerry



---Sites---
List of very useful non-standard mobile sites you never thought of
National Hurricane Center (track storms)
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/mobile/

UPS (track UPS packages)
http://mobile.ups.com/ups/

FedEx (track FedEx packages)
https://fedex.com/mobi/


----
Finally for the nerds, a list of every phone i've owned (and learned inside out) in the last 10 years (as of next month)

RIM / BlackBerry Bold 9000 / GSM850,GSM900,GSM1800,GSM1900

After getting the 8830 (along with my 8GB MicroSD) stolen, rather than call in my last replacement, I used it as an excuse to switch to a GSM carrier. Shopped everywhere before finally settling on a Bold at Best Buy ($289 w/ contract, AT&T store wanted $499). Really just wanted a phone that could utilize a SIM card so that I could switch carriers whenever I wanted, both in the US OR in other countries. Worked like a charm in the Dominican Republic, showing me all the carriers I could choose from and choosing AT&T's counterpart ("viva") by default. (They had Viva, Orange, & Claro). Accepts up to 16GB MicroSD, superb media player, browser second only to the iPhone. No bluetooth FTP, but apparently thats by design so as to avoid security flaws inherent in Bluetooth. Amazing multitasking. Not uncommon for me to be running Pandora (into car stereo), texting someone, and tracking my whereabouts with Google Maps, all at the same time, without so much as a single wait symbol. Speakerphone excellent. Camera a little washed out but don't expect great pics, thats what Canon is for. Can't shut off corny "camera shutter" noise without nonfree app. Speaker is excellent, with discrete stereo coming from speakers pointing outward to the L & R sides. Faux leather back built in makes it easy to grip. People complain that its too big but makes it easier for me to type with chubby fingers. (After buying an iPod Touch, found out that i really prefer buttons to touchscreen...touch screen requires you to look b/c there's no tactile feedback).
_______________________________
RIM / BlackBerry World Edition 8830 / CDMA850,GSM900,GSM1800,CDMA1900 (US CDMA, EU GSM)

My mother left me this as a backup because she was going to toss it so when I got tired of the
Nextel dying and freezing I gave it a shot. Just when I happened to activate it they released a software update that apparently was years in the making (4.5?). Fell in LOVE. Had horrible RAM required-to-available ratio after the update, so it was constantly garbage collecting, but as long as I didn't run too much at once it was all good. NO CAMERA. Went to Ultra Music Festival, close to many many great artists, and had no phone camera. 50ft from The Prodigy and I couldn't take any pics. Full keyboard rocked my world.
_______________________________
Motorola / Deluxe ic902 / iDEN800,CDMA1900 (Hybrid Nextel/Sprint)

First Direct Connect phone. Direct Connect was pretty awesome except...barely anyone used it anymore by the time I got it. A Nextel phone that doesn't look like a doorstop so that was pretty cool. Had special bio-paint according to pamphlet inside box, to keep it from getting "smudgy-looking". A Nextel phone with removable memory, video camera, camera, etc. Had killer speakerphone (super loud, obviously because it already has that Direct Connect speaker). VERY buggy software-wise. Shame b/c the hardware seemed pretty badass to me. Huge color screen on the front. Only phone i've seen with a MicroSD slot in the door (receiever end of the clamshell) instead of the body. Horrible battery life.
_______________________________
Sanyo / SCP-8400 / CDMA850, CDMA1900


First phone with removable MicroSD card. Built-in phone number backup functionality was amazing. First bluetooth phone. Had PictBridge (print directly to printer via cable) but only used it once.
_______________________________
Sanyo / MM-7400 / AMPS850, CDMA850, CDMA1900 (last analog-capable phone)



My last analog-capable phone, I probably liked the feel of this one the best, with its contrast of metallic red faceplate-to-dark grey body. 70MB onboard memory. Had a feature where you could text a certain code to it and it would erase the phone. Had Sprint's prototype push-to-talk that didn't work all that well, tried it for a month with a friend. First video phone. Figured out that you could pause recording, and used it to make stop-motion videos (i.e. Robot Chicken) lol.
_______________________________
Sanyo / SCP-8200

This phone proved to me that Sanyo's may have shitty cameras but get excellent reception and furthermore, can take a beating. Got ripped in half on family vacation and kept on working. (had to plug in headset since receiver was gone). First speakerphone.
_______________________________
Sanyo / SCP-8100

My first camera phone. Pretty decent shots from this, including one of a UH-60 (Black Hawk) where the blades were spinning so fast they look curved because the CCD couldn't capture it fast enough.
_______________________________
Samsung / SPH-N400 / AMPS850, CDMA850, CDMA1900

First phone with a color screen. Froze a bit but pretty awesome bodystyle like the old one.
_______________________________
Samsung / SPH-N200 / AMPS850, CDMA1900

My first remotely cool-looking phone. Still monochrome screen. Wouldve been the MAN in 10th grade except no one at that age really cared about phones yet, especially compared to now.
_______________________________
Qualcomm / QCP-2760 / AMPS800, CDMA1900

First cell phone. Kicker: I was rockin AIM on this bitch. Yes, I know it was a 5-line LCD.

About Me

College student that wants to rant about tech shit without talking about it =)

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