Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to say, Merry Christmas everyone!

Horses or a Similar Spelling of the Word...

Well I found this while looking on Digg and thought I'd share it.

Due to it's possibility of offending you, doubt it but just in case, scroll down to view the image.

BlackBerry MediaSync for OS X

Well BlackBerry released a preview of MediaSync for OS X, while I have not tried it yet, I hear that it can screw up 3rd party syncing options such as PocketMac or MissingSync.

More can be found out here.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Gem TD Warcraft 3

Well one of my friends recently brought me back into the engrossing world of tower defense. We played multiple maps, but my favorite by far was Gem TD. It is an interesting take on tower defense. It is similar to many by creation of a maze to send the creeps through before reaching their target, however they have to reach 6 different arrows in order before reaching the final position. In Gem TD, you have to lie out 5 gems per round, then you pick which one you want to keep. The other 4 become mazing rocks to help create your maze.

My first time playing I didn’t do great but I didn’t lose either. However now that I’ve played through 3 times, I have greatly improved my strategy and on easy, I have done 282,502 damage to the final damage test.

The map can be found here - http://www.epicwar.com/maps/76458/

There is also a flash version of this game, which almost replicates it with very few differences. This can be found here - http://www.gemtowerdefense.com/

Finally, I have made a checklist for towers in this game, because it does get very confusing what gems make which special towers.

The checklist is either in full color, color coded for ease, or black and white if you want to print it. If you want an Excel or Numbers format of this, please email me at eqgelu@yahoo.com


Color

Black and White

New Firefox Update Out!

A new Firefox update is out, version 3.0.5! It has improved security and stability in this update!

No official release notes have been released yet, but when they are I will post them here!

Transferring Media to BlackBerry Storm with a Mac

Well I am a Mac user even though I have XP installed on Boot Camp, I tend to be too lazy to try and boot up and do things that way. Besides all my music and pictures are on my Mac hard drive. While it is possible to just pop out your MicroSD card and use the converter and a card reader to put it on your computer, you can also send media through Bluetooth.

I found this to be extremely helpful when I just wanted to transfer one song over to my Storm without restarting or pulling the media card. However, there is a certain way you have to do it.

On your BlackBerry Storm, you have to go to the media app, highlight whatever kind of media you want to receive from your Mac. If you want music, highlight Music, then click “Receive Using Bluetooth”.

After that you can send it easily to your device!

Good Luck and have fun with your Storm!

Need a Christmas tree but not the mess?

OS X 10.5.6 is here!

Well today Apple has released an OS update that many have been waiting for! This update has many modifications to Apple's core programs, such as iCal, Mail, and Safari.

Here is a copy of the update notes directly from Apple

Products Affected

Mail, Mac OS X 10.5, iCal 3.x, MobileMe Sync, iChat, AirPort, Safari

What's new in this update?

Address Book

* Improves reliability of Address Book syncing with iPhone and other devices and applications.

AirPort

* Improves the reliability of AirPort connections, including improvements when roaming in large wireless networks with an Intel-based Mac.

Client management

* Improves reliability of synchronizing files on a portable home directory.
* Fixes an issue in Mac OS X 10.5.4 and 10.5.5 in which managed users may not see printers that use the Generic PPD.
* Client computers that use UUID-based ByHost preferences now respect managed Screen Saver settings.

iChat

* Addresses an issue that could cause an encryption alert to appear in the chat window.
* Setting your iChat status to "invisible" via AppleScript no longer logs you out of iChat.
* Resolves an issue in which pasting text from a Microsoft Office document could insert an image rather than text.

Graphics

* Includes general improvements to gaming performance.
* Includes graphics improvements for iChat, Cover Flow, Aperture, and iTunes.
* Includes fixes for possible graphics distortion issues with certain ATI graphics cards.

Mail

* Includes overall performance and reliability fixes.
* Improves Connection Doctor accuracy.
* Fixes an issue that could cause messages identified as junk to remain in the inbox.
* Fixes an issue that could cause Mail to append a character to the file extension of an attachment.
* Addresses an issue that could prevent Mail from quitting.
* Improves reliability when printing PDF attachments.

MobileMe

* Contacts, calendars, and bookmarks on a Mac automatically sync within a minute of the change being made on the computer, another device, or the web at me.com.

Networking

* Improves Apple File Service performance, especially when using a home directory hosted on an AFP server. Important: If you are using Mac OS X 10.5.6 (client) to connect to a Mac OS X Server 10.4-based server, it is strongly recommended that you update the server to Mac OS X Server version 10.4.11.
* Improves the performance and reliability of TCP connections.
* Improves reliability and performance for AT&T 3G cards.
* Updates the ssh Terminal command for compatibility with more ssh servers.

Printing

* Improves printing for the Adobe CS3 application suite.
* Improves printing for USB-based Brother and Canon printers.

Parental Controls

* Addresses an issue in which a parentally-controlled account could be unable to access the iTunes Store.
* Includes general fixes for time limits.
* Resolves an issue that prevented adding allowed websites from Safari via drag and drop.

Time Machine

* Fixes issues that could cause Time Machine to state the backup volume could not be found.
* Improves Time Machine reliability with Time Capsule.

Safari

* Improves compatibility with web proxy servers.

General

* Includes Mac OS X security improvements. See this website for more information.
* Addresses inaccuracies with Calculator when the Mac OS X language is set to German or Swiss German.
* Improves the performance and reliability of Chess.
* Improves DVD Player performance and reliability.
* Performance improvements for iCal are included.
* Fixes an issue when running the New iCal Events Automator action as an applet.
* Adds a Trackpad System Preference pane for portable Macs.
* Improves compatibility with smart cards such as the U.S. Department of Defense Common Access Card.
* Updates time zone data and Daylight Saving Time rules for several countries.

BlackBerry Storm OTA Updates!

Well the new Storm update has been available for about a week now and it is awesome! It fixed a lot of little bugs like the sometimes temperamental accelerometer. You can download it now over the air.

To access this go to Options ->Advanced Options -> Wireless Upgrade

Wireless Upgrade is at the very bottom of the Advanced Options List, however if you are like me, it initially does not show.

There is a fix for this though!

To make it appear you need to go to Options -> Advanced Options -> Service Book

Then HIGHLIGHT Provisioning [OTASL]

While highlighted, click the BlackBerry button to pull up the menu

Now go to Delete, when it asks are you sure, click Delete

Now hit the Blackberry Button again and click Undelete

For some the Upgrade now appears, however I had to do a reboot and it was there!

Hope that helps solve the confusion of the OTA update!

BlackBerry Storm Tips

Well so far I have found many useful tips for the new BlackBerry Storm, so I’m going to begin posting these as I find them out!

BlackBerry Storm – Epic in a Phone

Well I finally got my BlackBerry Storm, and all I can say is, it’s AWESOME! It’s everything I expected to be and more. It may have a few little bugs but hey what phones don’t when they first come out. Yes people complain, “there are no apps, we want apps” well think about it. Did the iPhone have apps when it came out…no, not at all. Those came out more than a year later with the release of the iPhone 3G. You can’t expect BlackBerry to just magically create and awesome phone and a full on app store, while making the BlackBerry Storm’s firmware perfect. Well you can, but if that was to happen, the phone would never be released! They may have brought it out one update too soon, but hey we’re lucky now we can update things, unlike in the past where once you got a phone, you never updated it…ever.

I have used my iPod Touch a ton. I used it so much I would carry it around with me in my pocket with my other phone. I knew I needed to get a smart phone and without the desire to switch carriers, the announcement of the Storm was amazing to hear. Unfortunately, the Storms were way under shipped so I had to check back daily, and I finally got it last Tuesday! Opening the box, and seeing the amazing design, all black, was awesome. I have now gotten so used to using my phone for music and calendar and all that, that I forgot my iPod Touch at home when I came back up, and I didn’t realize I left it there for an entire week!

Now to reviewing the device. I love it. It did take me about a week to get used to typing on it, and now I type faster on it than on my iPod Touch. When I show my phone to people they try just tapping and the typical response is “oh this phone sucks, it doesn’t respond to me clicking it”. I then tell them to push the button and they are always astonished about how weird it is. Unfortunately now, so many are used to the iPhone, they aren’t willing to change or accept the change the Storm made, which is why many people dislike the device. Everything has worked perfectly. Even on my Mac, without using bootcamp, I can sync it thru VMWare Fusion to the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. I now have my calendars syncing thru iCal to Google Calendar to my Phone, all wirelessly, all automatically updating. If one changes, it will reach all others in under 15 minutes, however you can always force sync it. One complaint I have is that it takes a freaking long time to power on, however you never really need to turn the phone off. I’ve actually heard that you shouldn’t turn off the phone from various sources. Documents to Go, an app that comes on the phone, doesn’t like reading my documents from my Mac, but that isn’t a huge deal to me. Texting is a breeze, syncing contacts works amazingly well. The browser may run slow at times, but I mean it’s a mobile device, you can’t expect T1 speeds on it! I hope you enjoyed my review, if you ever try one, give it time, don’t expect the iPhone experience because it isn’t an iPhone, it is a totally different phone than you have probably ever experienced!

Round Up of Twitter Apps!

Well after my research done and my trials with many different twitter clients I now have a list for every one of twitter clients and my opinion of each!

Twitterific – Free with ads, $14.95 for full version



A small minimalistic twitter client with many great features, such as growl support when new tweets arrive and color-coding for direct messages and replies. Gives the basic function of allowing you to tweet from inside of it. It collapses nicely into the menu bar for when you do not want to view it, however when you receive new tweets it does reappear, little annoying but manageable. Unfortunately, there is a price tag on this twitter app, but the free version works just as well, except for the ads. It is a great app if you want something small, lightweight and gets the job done while looking good!

TweetDeck - Free

Expanded View


Single Column


This is my twitter app of choice. It may be large, however I have an entire space dedicated to it. It does a very good job of separating direct messages and replies into different columns. It runs on Adobe Air and is extremely lightweight. You can force update your tweets and send new tweets with this. It also provides automatic link shortening which is very handy when linking to my blog or elsewhere. There are many newly added features to TweetDeck that I don’t use yet because I just updated my TweetDeck. I recommend this app if you want a twitter app to do it all, but don’t mind its size. My one small complaint about this app is when you get a new tweet it just updates saying you have a new tweet and makes TweetDeck the targeted application, but this is very minor.

Twhirl - Free



Another twitter app that uses the Adobe Air platform. I used to use this app a lot, however TweetDeck replaced it. This app is very similar to TweetDeck and has many of the same features. It has its own notification system which you can customize to your liking. It does not update as frequently as TweetDeck does, which is one of my primary reasons for switching, however it’s size is much more comparable to that of Twitterific which is a plus. Twhirl also features link shortening along with many other useful tricks. I recommend this if TweetDeck is too large for your tastes and Twitterific is too minimalistic.

Hahlo



Designed to be used primarily for mobile devices such as an iPhone, it still works very well as a browser based twitter client. It is a very nice looking app, with a minimalistic theme. It does the essentials great for on the go tweeting. Hahlo and Ping.FM, which I will discuss later, are my two main ways to tweet on the go. I recommend using it on your iPhone or iPod Touch or even creating a fluid app of it. If you need help creating a fluid app of Hahlo visit http://fluidapp.com/ .

Ping.FM



This is not exactly a twitter client, but a twitter updater. You can use it to update your twitter status at the same time you update your facebook, myspace, or many more statuses. You can also use it to create a new blog post. It is available to use at ping.fm all you have to do is make an account and put in your information for whatever sites you want it to update! They have pseudo texting support by texting an email or if your mobile device has email, you can just email it. Ping.fm also has AIM bots for quick and easy status updates. If you are lazy and like to update all your statuses at once, ping.fm is the way to go!

TweetGrid



Shown to me by a fellow twitter user, TweetGrid is a very well designed web based twitter app. It is completely customizable. You choose your grid size from 1x1 to 3x3. Within this you can edit the sizes of columns and rows to customize to your liking. Once inside, you can view specific people’s tweets, everyone’s, and even update your own with rapid updating. If you just want something that works and gets the job done, TweetGrid is for you!

Wrap Up

Basically each of these twitter apps target a different audience.

• If you want an extremely minimalist app for your desktop use Twitterific
  
  
• If you want everything twitter has to offer plus more for your desktop use TweetDeck
  
  
• If you want a combo of the last two use twhirl
  
  
• If you want to use twitter on your iPhone or other mobile device use Hahlo
  
  
• If you want to update all of your sites with a status use Ping.FM
  
  
• If you want a full desktop experience in your web browser, while customizing it all use TweetGrid
  

I hope this list of twitter clients helps! If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at eqgelu@yahoo.com!

Pictures taken with Skitch

More Blog Posts to Come

Well I have been very busy but I am hoping to do more posting! Expect a good solid article about 3 times a week, but I am going to try and post at least once a day! My twitter post is coming either today or tomorrow!

Twitter Apps

Well I'm basically looking to see what everyone's favorite twitter applications are and then I will do a write up and compare so please let me know your favorite or favorites to best assist me in this process! Thanks!

Random Video of the Month!

This video is very well done, so have a look a let's hear what you think about it!

Through the Fire and Flames on Expert...Drums?

Just wow...

Ooo Shiny Gmail

Well I was reading about how themes are out for Gmail now and figured I would check it out on my Gmail account, and sure enough there it was! The cool new tab in settings called themes!





Supposedly I am one of the lucky ones, because it has not been rolled out completely yet

Also, some of the picture themes change based on your location and time! Very cool Google!

But here are some of my favorite themes!

Planets



Summer Ocean

Best...Video...EVER!

Not much can be said except that this is a super sweet video!

YouTube Trick

Well I figured I'd write a short post now about a little trick to make your YouTube viewing experience that much better. And it's only 7 characters!

1) Take your YouTube link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh80THugCjw

2) Add this string of characters to the end, without the quotes of course

"&fmt=18"

3) Your finished link should look like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh80THugCjw&fmt=18

Now here's the video of those links which is our half time show performance at Stanford, sucks

With "&fmt=18"



Without "&fmt=18"



And there you go, a quick and easy way to watch YouTube videos in Higher Quality!

Ahh the Weekender...

Well it's that time of the year and I actually get to go this time, so I will be gone starting tomorrow until late Sunday night so sadly this means I can't really blog :( But I can't wait to blog more when I get back.

Fight on!

Beat the Farm!

stupid farm...