Wifi on a Treo?

I can't read Spanish (or is it Mexican?), but on the PDA Mexico site, there's a video that shows that you can get Wifi to work on a Treo! There are folks who already got Wifi working on the Treo using an Enfora Wifi Sled. But using a SD Wifi card? That seems to not be possible. However, the video does show something interesting, i.e. a Treo 680 with a SD Wifi card and detecting wireless signals. Hoax or not, it's certainly interesting.

Fox challenging FCC in court

This is something interesting that can only happen in the US. Fox is challenging the FCC for their decency rulings. The problem here is that FCC does not allow indecent content, but does not say what is indecent. Hence, broadcasters have to resort to self-regulation/censorship. The point is that the broadcasters operate in a state of unknown.

Fox is confused because the FCC does not issue clear standards about what is and is not acceptable on TV and radio. The agency believes that doing so would amount to censorship, so they only sanction broadcasters once a show has aired. The obvious problem here is that broadcasters never know in advance if a show will be found indecent; the end result is self-censorship by networks trying to avoid the FCC's wrath.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Really interesting read on Ars Technica if you're interested in broadcasting content regulations in the US.

The Best Geek Quotes

Geeks love quotes of wisdom too. Head to this site to read the best geek quotes as listed and voted by Net folks. Here're some of my fave:

• If at first you don't succeed; call it version 1.0.
• I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code.
• My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.

Various versions of ‘Digg Mobile’

Digging is an addiction. For those who can't get enough of Digg, here's a list of mobile versions of Digg that will help you save bandwidth if you need to read Digg on your mobile devices. Nice.

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Things folks do for a Wii

The Wii is a great gaming machine, no doubt. Still, it is not that great such that you'll do some undesirable things for it right? Here, a Mother decided to get her kids a Wii for Christmas. To get on, she decides to offer oral sex and 250 dollars. Things people do... click on to read more.

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Games on the Wii Opera Browser

Now that you can browse the Net on the Nintendo Wii using the Opera browser, it's time to play those Flash games that are on the Net. This is a link to a list of games that works on the Wii Opera browser. More reasons to get the Wii!

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GremSpot on Vox

Someone left a comment on my post about my interest in Project 365, and recommended that I use Vox. I've given it a look and well, I think I will try it out. What I like is that there is a Palm app that allows you to quickly post your stuff on the blog. Putting up photos and videos are quite easy too. It is from the Six Apart folks so the interface on the Palm is similar to that for Splashblog.

Maybe I'll use my Blogger site for links and stuff, and the Vox one more for pictures. Actually, if there is a Palm Flickr app, I will gladly try it out. Using email to post on Flickr using Gmail is just not too consistent for me.

Christmas gifts for frens

Christmas gifts for frens
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Project 365 test-iPod in office

Project 365 test-iPod in office
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Trial run of Project 365.

My new Treo 680

During the recnt SITEX show, I upgraded my Treo 650 to the latest Palm-powered Treo, the 680. I figured that I'll do the upgrade because I've used the Treo 650 for close to two years, and that I'll probably get more money trading it in than selling it on the open market. My 650 is pretty scratched up so it won't be able to command a good price. Another reason for doing the upgrade is that I want to get a new phone, and the 680 is out. No stubby antenna is great and it runs on the Palm OS. Wonderful!
Here I have some unboxing photos of my new device. Getting a fresh new Treo in my hands is such a heavenly experience. The next step is then the setting up of the device and migrating the software and data that I have on the 650 over to the new phone. I wished that the Palm Singapore could have brought in the coloured Treos, but sadly, that is not so. I so much so like a copper version.
So what's my impression of the 680? Here goes...

The Good:

• It's antenna-less. Which means that it feels smaller and lighter. Looks sleeker too.
  
• Still running Palm OS-the simplest OS, and IMHO greatest, for PDA out there.
  
• Greater RAM. It has 64MB RAM so now I don't have to worry about running out of space.
  
• Using Blazer to surf the Net seems faster.
  
• The phone app-it is re-designed and looks better. (but... see below)
  
• Camera and Multimedia app looks nicer.
  

The Bad:

• The phone app-although the look of the new app is better, I kinda miss the way the old one works. On the 650, a single phone button press can let you select the dial pad and the call history. The Favourites page is also more convenient to use.
  
• Smaller battery. After a week's usage, the battery life seems to have improved, but it won't last as long as the 650. As an example, at the end of the day, the 680 gives me about 50%+ left over, while the 650 has 70%+. Guess I can live with that.
  
• I can't control the LED with Butler anymore. On the 650, I can set it such that an orange light means I have a message or missed call, while a flashing green LED is for alarm. This function is now lost.
  

The Bottom Line: Overall, there's not much about the 680 that I'm dissatisfied with. Given that Singapore will have free wi-fi hotspots from next year on, I did question myself if I should have went over to the darkside and got myself a wi-fi-enabled smartphone. Then again, I guess my stickiness with the Palm OS is too strong. Plus, it's a smarter looking Treo!

Project 365: A picture everyday of the year

Taking pictures is easy now that digital cams are everywhere, and don't forget that almost every phone comes with a camera. With that in mind, this project called Project 365 may be worth checking out.

This is a project whereby you take a picture everyday for 365 days. The idea here is that you will then have a documentation of something that happens in your life everyday. Hopefully, it will help you to become a better photographer. But most importantly, it'll have you see your life in a whole new way.

I'm actually contemplating starting this next year. I'll take a photo everyday with my Treo. Each picture should be unique in some way, and I'll post it up to my Flickr page and also post it to this blog as well. Will it work? Will I stop after a while, we'll see about that. Working in a 9-6 deskbound job, I suppose the hardest thing is to find enough interesting things to snap. Still, it may be worth a try to look at normal, daily routine things from a different perspective.

Wait for the first pict to hit the page.

Edit: I'm still deciding whether to use Flickr or SplashBlog to do this project. Sending photos to Flickr using my Gmail account using Versamail is rather flaky and seems like using SplashBlog is a more fuss-free experience. Then again, I would really like to use Flickr because it's more fun to use.

Sync your iPod with Windows Media Player

Love your iPod but hate iTunes? We don't know why you'd think that way but if you do, you may want to try out this free app called Dopisp. This is for Windows users only and it allows you to sync your iPod with WMP 11. With this, you can toss that iTunes out, but keep your iPod.

New U2 Video with Classic Footage of Musical Legends

U2 has a new video out for their single "Windows in the Skies". This is an excellent video which does not have the band performing in it. Instead, it uses footage of concert footage of many music legends and edit it in such a way that it looks like they are singing the song. The video sort of brings a tear to my eye when I saw Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, The Ramones and other greats in it. And it is not just rock legends, as there is Elvis and also Frank Sinatra. This will be a great video for spotting who's who in music. Oh... and the Irish Four appears in the audience if you look closely. Neat.

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Ten reasons against the purchase of diamonds

Diamonds... those shiny stones that every girls love (supposedly) and every man will buy when they are proposing to their GFs. I saw this article that was referenced by someone on Tomorrow.sg which is a list of reasons why you should not accept diamonds from anyone. It is not a tirade against marriage and the symbolism and ceremony surrounding marriage, but a list of myths about diamonds. In the list, some reasons given are that one's been psychologically conditioned to want diamonds, they are overpriced and have no resale or investment value, and that the diamond trade is linked to child labour, slave labour, environmental problems, civil wars, small arms trade, etc. Pretty grim picture, if you ask me. The problem is, I am not really sure the of the validity of this article but it seems to cite a number of references like World Bank and Human Rights Watch.

So should we place so much value on diamonds? Maybe someone can really enlighten me.

2006's Top 25 People in Gaming

Here's another list... this one's the top 25 folks in gaming. Compiled by Next Generation, here's a list of those who made significant contribution to the game industry this year. On the list include ESRB's Patricia Vance, the Penny Arcade folks and even Xbox's Major Nelson aka Larry Hryb. Hats off to all these folks who made it a great year in gaming.

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Lifehacker's best apps of 2006

It's that time of the year again for "best of" lists. Lifehacker.com has come up with their picks of the best apps in software and webby development this year. Wow... Google has two items on this list with Google Reader and Google Calendar. Maybe it's time I really check out how good Google Reader is.

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10 top RSS feed readers

RSS has been around for some time and most Net savvy users would have already used it regularly. But if you're new to RSS, you'd want to look for a capable RSS Reader to manage your feeds. The SplashCast blog has done a pretty good job in reviewing 10 great RSS Readers that you can check out. They also looked at the readers' ability to handle video, audio and images, something that's essential for a multimedia web experience.

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Train in The Force with Jedi Trainer

Think you're a potential Jedi Padawan? You can test your Force skills in this simple game web-based which lets you use a lightsaber to dodge and deflect lasers to hit those peaky droids. Train hard in The Force, young ones... and enjoy!

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Installing MythTV with MythDora 3.0

If you're looking for an open source way to turn your PC into a PVR, then MythTV will be a good bet. In fact, there's something called MythDora that will help make installing he software a breeze. On the MythPVR.com site, there an installation guide for MythDora and you can follow it to format your drive and install a fully functional MythTV system. Call it DIY PVR for dummies.

Harmony for the remote

Recently, I spent about S$450 on a universal remote by Logitech. It is the Harmony 885 Advanced Universal Remote. With it, I hoped that it will replace the 7 remotes that I already have cluttering my coffee table.The good thing about it is that I have successfully programmed the remote so that I now only need to use one remote to control all the devices that I have in my home theatre. The bad thing is that I had to spend about 2 days to get everything to work as I would like it. Well, it is not an entirely bad thing as once I finally got the concept of how the remote works and how to navigate the rather arcane web-based programming interface, everything was quite a breeze.The remote also comes with a cradle, which means that I can put it in the cradle to charge when the juice runs out. It runs on a rechargeable battery which means I don't have to worry about finding fresh batteries for it. With the LCD screen, it seems that if it was running on normal batteries, I will have to change them pretty often.My verdict for this device? I love it. It is one of my gadget purchase that makes things really easy to use. It is also something that my wife can use on a daily basis. The price is a bit on the high side, that's true, but this is a high end model with a colour screen.

Peanuts Meets Marvel

This is just simply brilliant. The folks at Statue Forum have reimagined Peanuts characters as heroes from Marvel comics. Click on the link to see more. It's just strange, but cute, to see some of the iconic Marvel comics scene with Charlie Brown and friends.

Playing DivX and Xvid content on Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is great for games and for viewing WMV content from your PC. BUt if are dealing with popular codecs like DivX or Xvid, then you're out of luck. And that's why you need this guide that is on the TweakTown site. It is a tutorial on how you can play those formats on your console and takes you through the requirements and the steps needed.

Use Psiphon to bypass firewalls

If you're facing a problem where someone (be it some software blocker or oppressive government) is blocking your access to the Net. You may want to try out Psiphon. According to the website it is

human rights software project developed by the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies that allows citizens in uncensored countries to provide unfettered access to the Net through their home computers to friends and family members who live behind firewalls of states that censor.

It is available free and open source. Is this proof that trying to block access to the Net is actually futile?