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My webOS commercial

If you have ever talked to me about mobile phones and mobile operating systems you will know I am a big fan of webOS. I have never owned a webOS device but have convinced many friends to get them and would love to get one assuming the hardware gets an update. I came across webOSroundup because they are putting on a “PalmSpot Video contest” and decided after hearing the Engadget podcast bicker and moan about Palm’s horrible ads I would try my hand at creating an ad for the contest.
Just a preface for this video, I am not a video editor, film director, or obviously a music composer. This was also my first time ever using Final Cut. Let me know what you think about the video in the comments.

Also please share the video with everyone you know and watch the video over and over again between April 19th and May 3rd because the finalists are chosen by how many views the videos have during that period of time.

2010 Tech Predictions

It was fun doing this last year. So I thought I would have another go at it and see what I come up with.

Computers:
1. Netbooks/sub-12″ laptops will be even bigger than before because they will finally be useful. Atom/ULV processors, Ion/Tegra graphics, and touch enabled devices will make having a 17″ laptop a bad thing. Oh and used/refurbished laptops might play a big role in killing desktops once and for all.
2. Windows Home server will have a big update (based on server 2008 r2) and will include Windows Media Center backend and Zune software so you can plug your tuners directly into your WHS. This will also allow for great integration in Windows Mobile 7 and begin a new wave of extenders. I don’t think it will be out till Q3/Q4 though so extenders won’t make a push until 2011.
3. Someone will finally offer a true alternative to cable TV. It will probably come from Apple/Netflix/Boxee/Hulu/Microsoft and it will still be an expensive monthly charge but it will be possible to disconnect your cable/satellite. I am thinking Microsoft will begin a Zune Pass for TV which will integrate into Windows Media Center when WHS 2 and WM7 come out.
4. Apple will begin talks of their new OS, Microsoft will stay quiet about what they are working (and ride the good wave of Windows 7) on as long as possible, and Linux will be in a transitional phase while KDE and Gnome both get big updates.

Video Games:
1. Nintendo won’t come out with anything new. They are going to milk the Wii and DS as long as they can and plan for the Wii HD announcement in 2011. Microsoft will do the same with the Xbox 360 but they will probably hint that they are making something new before the end of the year.
2. Sony will hopefully focus on finishing their projects (home, media codecs, 3D, etc.) and open up the PS3 to 3rd party programs in 2010. Things like Netflix and Pandora streaming I don’t think are too far fetched and I really hope to see a decent browser come to the console along with Vudu streaming.
3. A new mobile console will come out. Probably in the form of a phone, but I expect a lot from Microsoft with Xbox Live on Windows Mobile 7.

Cell Phones:
1. Verizon will begin its rollout of LTE and Apple will announce a device for Verizon. I have always thought Apple would not make a CDMA device until Verizon starts rolling out LTE and that will happen in 2010. This also means that the device will work on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile in the US and many GSM carriers around the world once GSM networks start updates. With a device on Verizon Apple will have a huge hold on the mobile market. It won’t go unanswered though.
2. Android will become number 3 in the mobile world. That is no small feat however. Android is currently the bottom in market share, by a lot. They will win in 4 ways, 1. Cheap devices 2. Multiple options 3. Any Carrier 4. The decline of RIM and Windows Mobile. Windows mobile has already been stagnant for the past 5 months and RIM is losing it’s customers. I don’t think RIM is smart enough to announce something big so they will die off but will still hold a good portion of the market share through most of 2010. Oh, and an official Google phone and a crap load of more updates to the OS won’t hurt either.
3. webOS will gain market share thanks to Verizon but will still fail to make the impact that the new Apple device will. Palm’s only benefit will be that they will be on Verizon first because they will support CDMA. I really hope they come out with a new phone, but if anything I think they will only announce a new phone in Q3 but not release anything new.
4. Windows Mobile 7 will have features built in that will make any iPhone user gelous. I am not just talking about cool games, I am talking about ZuneHD player integration, amazing hardware, and media streaming galore. I think they will integrate with the new Windows Home Server/Media Center and will really make seamless media playback better than ever. Not only that but WM7 will be heavily integrated into social networks allowing you to be always connected to your facebook, twitter, email, etc. even more seamless than Android or webOS.
5. Apple Tablet will be huge at first, and then go the way of the Apple TV. Yes the device will be really cool, yes fanboys/blogs/tech sites will long for the chance to gaze upon the amazing apple logo on the back, and yes it will do really cool things with media playback and music streaming. But if even 1/2 of the rumors are true the device is destined to fail. A ~$800, 10″ tablet you carry around to watch videos, surf the web, listen to music, and play games on really just sounds lame unless I was at home sitting on my couch. And in that case I will just use my laptop or get a netbook preferably with Google Chrome for less than 1/2 the price. I feel weird talking about it when it is really only about a month from being announced. But in all honesty, I don’t see how this would be any better than a device you can actually carry in your pocket like say, a Google Phone. Oh and the tablet will have hardware issues in the first generation.

Other:
1. 3D in TV’s will have a big push. There are finally standards to allow for it and sales will be slow at first because there won’t be much content and prices will be ridiculous. Interest will rise when cable providers announce 3D cable TV offerings for launch in 2011.
2. Retail stores will begin to push online sales and start to lose services because consumers are getting smarter, or at least more resourceful. With Amazon having as big of a year as they did, stores like Best Buy, Barns n Noble, and Sears just can’t rely on people coming into their stores as much.
3. The Automotive industry will finally push for a standard in electric/hybrid cars. With so many companies going out of business, automotive makers can’t stay fragmented for long. They will have to agree upon something or they will lose to a up and coming company like Tesla.

Let me know what you think in the comments. Mostly I feel 2010 will be a year of recovery and not innovation. Although necessity is the mother of invention so maybe I am wrong.

2009 Predictions Follow-up

I thought I would follow up on my predictions for last year and see how I did.

Computers:
1. Multitouch – While this didn’t make as big of a push as I hoped, hardware development is very slow in a recession, there have been announcements of hardware coming out in 2010 that defiantly take advantage of multitouch inputs. Project Natal and the PS3 motion controller did surprise me though.
2. Linux Market Share – I cannot find a good answer on this one. But lets just say market share boomed but not where I thought it would. Android and webOS are both Linux based devices that saw a huge jump in market share from where they were in 2008. And there were also reports of Linux having a 30% market share in netbooks. Those numbers are good enough for me to say this is confirmed!
3. Microsoft Solutions – Windows Mobile was a failure still because WM7 got pushed back, the ZuneHD made huge progress and if weren’t for apps would be preferred over the iPod Touch in the tech world. Just the fact that I had 4-5 people ask me about the Zune this year makes me think it was a success. A year ago if you said Zune nobody knew what you were talking about. Windows 7 was a success but I think more than anything Microsoft no longer is the joke of the tech world, Apple is. Just getting their reputation back was a huge success for them.
Video games:
1. Wii – No it didn’t crash, sales are still relatively strong but with addons upon addons for the console and no new games that are any good. This will remain a console that collects dust in peoples entertainment centers.
2. PS3 – Totally confirmed! With the launch of the PS3 slim and a couple big games that finally came out sales jumped tremendously. From what I could find the PS3 actually surpassed the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales. And that is saying a lot considering how much the US and Europe loves the Xbox 360 and how much of the market share that accounts for.
3. Online play – Was it key? Not anymore than previous years. But the PlayStation Network is growing in popularity, and usefulness, and casual Xbox 360 games even needed to sign up for accounts for Netflix streaming, which I think is lame BTW.
4. PS3 3D – It is later than I thought but it is sill coming.
Other:
1. DTV transition – Wow, that was uneventful. I guess people were more prepared than I thought. It also helped that a good portion of OTA users switched to cable or satellite.
2. Streaming video – While this probably wasn’t because of the DTV switch. Many online video sites flourished, and some failed.
3. OLED – Besides a few mobile devices, OLED was unheard of in 2009. I blame that on the recession, that crap is expensive to develop. All in all though, there was no projector built into a laptop and pocket projectors just started coming onto the market. Stupid recession.
4. New site – Nope, didn’t happen. Twitter really took off but nothing to surpass the growth of facebook. Although MySpace is finally bleeding users.

Zune is changing its name

I just got back from checking out the new ZuneHD at Best Buy and they were handing out fliers at the door to encourage people to check it out.

At first I thought nothing of it, but on my drive home I noticed something else.

Is Zune is changing it’s name to Zine!? Is this another ilovebees.com? Or just a epic promotion typo fail? It is probably just a typo, but I still found it funny.

Screen shots of youtube.com/zine and youtube.com/zune below.

MR2 Head Job

On my way home one day I downshifted in my 1987 Toyota MR2 going up a big hill and downshifted a bit too far. I over-revved the engine and the engine died on me. I was able to get the car running but there was obviously something wrong. I did a little bit of troubleshooting the next weekend and found I had lost all compression in my number two cylinder. I didn’t have the time/money/place to fix it so I just let it sit for a couple months while I decided what I was going to do. However, with my DMV renewal quickly approaching I realized I had to do something. Last month I brought the car to a friend of my dad who does some mechanic work on the side. He quickly narrowed the problem down to something wrong with one of the the exhaust valves and I left the car with him to fix it. Of course this meant pulling the head, replacing gaskets, and obviously doing some head work. While he was going to be doing that, I gave him a few other things to look at since I knew the car would be there for at least a couple weeks.
I just got the car back last week, after many trips dropping off parts and getting status updates, and I don’t think the car has ever run this well since I have owned it. I just wanted to share a couple before and after pictures of the head in case anyone else is planning on having head work done on their own cars. In total the head machining cost $210 and included 2 valve replacements, a 3 angle valve job, and decking the head (making sure it is level). Enjoy the pictures, I think I might go for another drive!

How-to Fix a Video Card in the Oven

I recently happen to come across a video card that had problems with 3D rendering. I usually would just throw out the video card and get a new one, but when the video card is a Nvidia 8800 GTX I just couldn’t throw away the card no matter how bad it was broken. Luckily shortly after I got the card in it’s broken state I found this article over at Engadget about someone who was able to fix their Nvidia video card by baking it in the oven. Now of course I thought they were crazy but figured “it’s not like it can break my video card any more”. So I gave it a shot.
I was completely surprised that not only did it do no visible harm to the video card. When I plugged it in my test machine it worked flawlessly. I wasn’t able to test extensively because I don’t have a dedicated desktop that can handle any games that would really test this card. So instead I ran a 3D benchmark tool before and after I cooked the video card. Lets just say that before I cooked it the benchmark tool wouldn’t even start, and after it worked flawlessly.
I am not saying this is a fix for everything you might have wrong with your computer but you may want to give it a try if you have a video card on the fritz. The reasoning I read in the forums that this works, who knows if it is actually true, is that some cards will get micro cracks in their solder joints that cause bad connections between components. Solder melts at 365 degrees Fahrenheit so when you stick the video card in the over you are really just softening and filling in those micro cracks. I have some pictures of the card before and after (there wasn’t much difference) so you can see exactly how I set the card in the oven.
I cooked my card at ~385 for 8 1/2 minutes. We will see how long this card lasts.

In the forums there are probably 2-3 dozen reports of this working on other video cards. I have see 2 unsuccessful attempts out of all the reports I read, and I even saw one person unsuccessfully cook their motherboard to see if it would fix their problems. Let me know if you give it a try in the comments.

Netbook Bios Idea for ISO Files

So I was thinking the other day after I found this article over at Lifehacker about WinCDEmu that can auto-mount .iso, .img, etc. files into virtual drives in Windows. I know physical media is slowly dying out and it probably won’t be too long until we don’t have those formats any more. But wouldn’t it be cool if your netbook had an option in the bios to have a virtual CD/DVD drive? You could have a simple option in the BIOS to turn it on and then just point the BIOS to the .iso/.img file and boot off it like you would with any normal CD/DVD. I guess the option could exist to copy the file to a USB drive first (in case you are going to be formatting your hard drive). But overall it would just let you mount a file as a virtual drive in the BIOS level. This way it wouldn’t matter what OS you are running because even when you are booted to the OS the BIOS would be able to tell your OS that you have a new virtual CD/DVD drive and your OS wouldn’t know the difference.
I think this is something similar to what the MacBook Air has with its drive sharing, but that needs network and another computer that has the drive to share. I don’t know why that couldn’t be applied just to a file that exists on a USB drive or something. Although OSX already automounts .iso files inside the OS, and I applaud them for this, you shouldn’t have to have a OS running to carry out this basic task.
I just thought I would throw this out there because in my head it makes a lot of sense, especially with machines getting smaller and smaller, I think CD/DVD drives will soon be obsolete (especially on notebooks).
If this is already possible on computers, and I am just crazy, please let me know in the comments.

Twitter updates

• at disneyland california adventure today. No big lines getting in today so we are off to a good start. #
• 155,200 on Toy Story ride. Not too shabby and really fun. #
• I am excited for all the new technology that is going to be announce/released this week. Zune HD, Palm Pre, PSP Go just to name a few. #
• @erinlynneh It was new, according to wikipedia the next 2 weeks will be new episodes too. Sadly it is cancelled after that though. in reply to erinlynneh #
• NBC why you got to suck so much? You show the first two games of the stanley cup and then don’t show the last 5!! Not all of us get VS chanl #
• @geektonic IMO MS/Sony are competing with a dead console. Nintendo needs to come out with a new console next year if they want to live. in reply to geektonic #
• @erinlynneh ae you l looking for a job so you guys can move out? in reply to erinlynneh #
• Getting ready to record the next mintCast #
• Holy crap…is youtube down? #
• I am out paintballing today. The gun I am borrowing is insane!! #
• this is awesome. The whole field is just for our group. Friday’s are definitely the day to go. #
• @c_welker lets just say it had a setting for fully automatic. 20 paintballs per second. in reply to c_welker #
• I’m at the pick a part today looking for an exhaust manifold for my mr2. It is packed because its is a 1/2 off weekend. I hope I find it. #
• Penguins got PWND tonight. #

Twitter updates

• Finally going to go see Star Trek. #
• who would win: Gandolph vs. Dumbledore (#vs my first hashtag) #
• @Karolis I can see what I can do. To be honest I never looked for that setting before. in reply to Karolis #
• @Karolis I just changed the settings. That should work a lot better now. in reply to Karolis #
• Yay! My Logitech PS3 adapter is all set up and running. Now I truly have a universal remote. #
• tip of the day: if you are taking apart a mac mini for the first time, let it run for 30 min to warm up. It makes the plastic easier to pry. #
• tip of the day 2: don’t forget to plug in the front cable next to the speaker on the mac mini or your fan will stick at full speed. #
• @erinlynneh I will be down by you on saturday. I am going to bring you guys a new computer so I hope you are around. in reply to erinlynneh #
• @erinlynneh I am getting down there early to fix my car. Hopefully I will be done in the afternoon. in reply to erinlynneh #
• #vs who would win: mini me vs. willow #
• I could really go for some HDMI on my TV right now. I really want to play computer games on my TV but don’t want to get out 3 adapters. #
• WTF!! Antz on my computer!! #
• Holy holy crap! Top Gear is on Zune marketplace. That rocks! and it will look great on the Zune HD http://ping.fm/G63tZ #
• I am starting up Team Fortress 2 if anyone wants to join me. This is my first time playing. My steam account is xrothgarx #
• @erinlynneh dad knows a guy that is going to help me out. So I will be at his place most of the day. in reply to erinlynneh #
• Looks like the problem isn’t my piston ring after all. I probably floated a valve and bent it. At least it is a cheaper fix. #
• Am I the only one that didn’t know Pushing Daisies was on tonight? I must have missed something cause I don’t know what is going on. #

Twitter updates

• At Kohl’s trying to find new clothes; Remembered I don’t like clothes shopping. #
• Getting ready to record the next mintCast. #
• Listening to TuxRadar podcast episode 8. One of my favorite Linux podcasts. #
• Looking over training material for Red Hat certification. I have never used Red Hat though :-/ #
• LOL, just finished their Pre-assessment Questionnaire. Conclusion: Your knowledge of the materials at this skill level is spotty. #
• Daytime nighttime, anytime. Things go better with rock! –Autograph #
• Watching Total Recall on Scifi…classic! #
• Thanks for the C0D4 guys. It brings back lots of good memories. #
• @DownloadSquad if all you do is update what is on you site I am going to stop following. I already have RSS for that. Who’s with me? in reply to DownloadSquad #
• Yay for going home early! Boo for not being told to go home early till 30 minutes after everyone else already went home! #
• Catching up on Fringe using the fantastic @SecondRun program. #
• Working on the new mintCast website. Trying to transfer over all the old posts. #