Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, July 12, 2010

MultiBootISOs Boots Multiple Operating Systems from a USB Drive [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5584856/multibootisos-boots-multiple-live-operating-systems-from-a-usb-drive

MultiBootISOs Boots Multiple Operating Systems from a USB Drive Windows: Can't decide whether you should commit your spare thumb drive to Windows recovery, Ubuntu, or some other live-booting OS? Run MultiBootISOs on your USB drive, and you won't have to choose—you'll just choose between them at start-up.

The folks at PenDriveLinux.com have created a Windows tool for creating what is basically a GRUB multi-OS bootloader on your USB drive, along with a nice long list of systems that work with it. All you have to do is grab an ISO file of the system you're adding to your drive, then drop the whole ISO file onto the drive (occasionally with special instructions). There's all the usual Linux cohorts—Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, etc.—but also some great rescue tools and utilities, like the GParted partition disc, Ophcrack password reset, and virus scanners. You could even load a Windows 7 installation DVD onto your thumb drive, if you had the room.

I tried out PenDriveLinux with Damn Small Linux, Ubuntu, and Gparted on one USB drive, and it worked like a charm. If you find trouble booting up, check out the page text for tips on creating a Master Boot Record on your thumb drive, and fixing other problems that can crop up.

MultiBootISOs is a free download for Windows systems, and we're definitely thinking about going back and adding it to the top 10 USB thumb drive tricks we just finished off.

Boot Multiple ISO from USB (MultiBoot USB) [USB Pen Drive Linux via #tips]

How to Access Internet With the iPad 3G Without Paying Extra [IPad 3G]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5583712/how-to-access-internet-with-the-ipad-3g-without-paying-extra

You don't have to pay AT&T twice to access the internet with your iPad 3G if you have an iPhone 4. You can use the iPhone 4 Micro SIM card as long as you introduce the use the settings above.

Just put the iPhone 4 Micro SIM card into the iPad 3G. Then go into Preferences, go to Cellular Data and change the APN settings to the ones above. Done. In theory, this should work with any provider as long as you have a Micro SIM and the adequate APN settings. [TUAW]

Guy With Metal Detector Finds $1 Million in Roman Coins [BuriedTreasure]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5584032/dude-with-metal-detector-finds-1-million-in-roman-coins

Considering how thrilled I was just to find this story, I can only imagine the delirious, all-consuming excitement felt by Dave Crisp, a British hospital chef, when his metal detector uncovered this pot of 52,000 Roman coins.

Crisp was lolling with his detector in a field in southwestern England when he made the discovery, eventually unearthing some 50,000 silver and bronze coins dating from 253 to 293 AD. Over 700 of them bear the face of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, a Roman general who ruled Britain and was the first to make coins in the region.

Crisp, a self-described "metal detectorist," explained that he would have to share the coins' estimated $1 million value with the farmer who owns the land on which they were buried. Still, I imagine that the prospect of a $500,000 payday will be enough to inspire a whole new generation of detectorists. [CNN]

Lego ML-Explorer 01 Not Practical, But Beautiful [Lego]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5584256/lego-ml+explorer-01-not-practical-but-beautiful

I can't see NASA clamoring to get this Lego design onto the Moon or Mars anytime soon, but man is it neat to look at when it gyrates across that glass table. [Catarino's Flickr via Brothers Brick]

LG is the Next TV Maker to Join Google TV? [TVs]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5584693/lg-is-the-next-tv-maker-to-join-google-tv

LG is the Next TV Maker to Join Google TV? Simon Kang, the chief exec of LG's Home Entertainment division, has said the Korean manufacturer is considering signing up to Google's TV initiative, fearing it could be left out of a web-connected TV BOOM if it doesn't. Saying he doesn't want LG to "end up as just a hardware provider" the move would make LG only the second TV maker to announce Google TV support—behind early adopter Sony. [WSJ Business]

Intel's smart TV remote will recognize you, tailor content to your wishes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/12/intels-smart-tv-remote-will-recognize-you-tailor-content-to-yo/

It's all about how you hold it, apparently. Intel's Labs have churned out a proposal for a new user-identifying system to be embedded into remote controls. Given a bit of time to familiarize itself with particular users, this new motion sensor-equipped channel switcher is capable of correctly recognizing its holder just by the way he operates it. Taking accelerometer readings every 100 nanoseconds, the researchers were able to build a data set of idiosyncrasies about each person, which would then be applied the next time he picked up the remote. Alas, accuracy rates are still well short of 100 percent, but there's always hope for improving things and for now it's being suggested that the system could be employed to help with targeted advertising -- which is annoying anyway, whoever it may think you are.

Intel's smart TV remote will recognize you, tailor content to your wishes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 07:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New Scientist |

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Branislav Kveton [PDF] | Email this | Comments

Pandigital Personal Photo Scanner/Converter cuts the cable, writes to memory cards

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/12/pandigital-personal-photo-scanner-converter-cuts-the-cable-writ/

Pandigital Personal Photo Scanner/Converter cuts the cable, writes to memory cards

The act of scanning a photo generally entails something along the lines of placing the photo onto a device, loading some photo software, waiting while the scanner groans away, cropping the resulting image, and then shuffling the resulting bits off into a folder somewhere. Pandigital's latest, the Personal Photo Scanner/Converter, helps to cut down on that process -- a little bit, anyway. You can simply feed documents through it (up to 8.5 x 11 in size) and have them written straight to memory card (SD, Memory Stick, etc.) at 600dpi resolution, which could certainly speed up your workflow and let you run through reams of photos without lugging that dusty 'ol album to your computer. (You can still connect it via miniUSB and do it the old fashioned way, if you like.) The one thing we're not seeing in the specs is a battery, which would make this thing truly portable, but for $149.99 you can't have everything. It is, at least, available now.

Continue reading Pandigital Personal Photo Scanner/Converter cuts the cable, writes to memory cards

Pandigital Personal Photo Scanner/Converter cuts the cable, writes to memory cards originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTube moves solidly into the future by supporting 4K content

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/09/youtube-moves-solidly-into-the-future-by-supporting-4k-content/

It's funny -- we remember the day that YouTube began supporting plain ole HD like it was yesterday, and we're guessing today will hang in our memory banks for quite awhile, too. Over at the VidCon 2010 conference, YouTube officially announced support for videos shot in 4K (a reference resolution of 4096 x 3072), which means that the famed online clip portal now supports "resolutions from 360p to 4,096p" (their words, not ours). Granted, only a handful of humans even have access to a 4K camcorder, and 4K projectors aren't exactly simple to find (or afford), but we couldn't be happier to see YT staying way ahead of the curve here. If you're up for putting a severe strain on your broadband connection (and just pretend that your monitor can actually support a legit 4K feed), feel free to hit that first source link and attempt to watch any of those videos at their "Original" resolution. Godspeed.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

YouTube moves solidly into the future by supporting 4K content originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google's Larry Page: Steve Jobs is 'rewriting history' by saying Android came after the iPhone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/09/googles-larry-page-steve-jobs-is-rewriting-history-by-saying/

Steve Jobs might have thought he was lightly playing down reports that the Apple / Google rivalry had dramatically changed when he said "they decided to compete with us -- we didn't go into the search business" at D8, but it appears that his phrasing didn't sit so well with Larry Page, who told Reuters yesterday that Jobs was doing a "little bit of rewriting history," and that the "characterization of us entering [the phone market] after is not really reasonable." Page, who was being interviewed alongside Eric Schmidt, also said that Google had been working on Android for "a very long time" and that the goal was always to develop phones with solid browsers to fill a market void.

That's true, of course -- Google purchased Andy Rubin's Android, Inc. in 2005 -- but it's also an equally slight distortion: when Android was officially announced in November of 2007, it looked nothing like the OS we know and love today, and the SDK emulator used an image of an HTC-built prototype that had much more in common with the traditional BlackBerry than the iPhone. (Fun fact: that device eventually became the Palm Treo Pro running Windows Mobile.) It wasn't until the G1 shipped almost a year later that Android started to look more like what it is today, and we'd even argue that it wasn't until Android 2.0 hit on the OG Motorola Droid along with Verizon's Droid Does marketing campaign that the platform grew into its own unique and successful identity -- an identity that is now powerfully differentiated against the iPhone and driving accelerating device sales every quarter.

So, does any of this really matter? To the tech historians, perhaps -- and Apple and Google clearly see what they're doing as historically significant. Apart from that, it's a pretty meaningless distinction; Eric Schmidt followed up Page's comment by saying that the market was big enough for the iPhone and Android to coexist, and we seriously doubt anyone's phone purchasing decision will ever turn on what platform was released first. But it's also clear that the competition between these two companies is at fever pitch, which is great news for the rest of us -- let's just hope everyone involved remembers that Jobs closed his D8 remarks by saying "just because we're competing with somebody doesn't mean we have to be rude."

Google's Larry Page: Steve Jobs is 'rewriting history' by saying Android came after the iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

DailyTech | source

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iPhone AT&T exclusivity lawsuit granted class-action certification, every AT&T iPhone customer included

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/09/iphone-atandt-exclusivity-lawsuit-granted-class-action-certificati/

Hey, remember that iPhone class-action lawsuit we poked around in a couple months ago and discovered Apple's lawyers confirming the original five year AT&T exclusivity agreement? Well, get ready to hear about it a lot more in the months to come, as the judge in the case has officially certified the case as a class action, meaning it now officially includes anyone who's ever bought an iPhone on AT&T. If you'll recall, the argument is that iPhone customers signed up for a two-year contract without being told that AT&T had an exclusive for five years -- thus in reality being held to the carrier for an additional three years without recourse. Sure, that sounds a little silly, but if you bought the first-gen iPhone and wanted to stick with the platform it's the truth -- discounting the fact, of course, that no one's required to buy another Phone after two years, and even then you have to sign a new contract. While we're definitely curious to see if the plaintiffs can get past that little logical hurdle and win something more than a token settlement, we're far more interested to see if they can get any more documentation from Apple nailing down its actual agreement with AT&T. Should be juicy -- we'll keep you in the loop.

iPhone AT&T exclusivity lawsuit granted class-action certification, every AT&T iPhone customer included originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wired, Court Order (PDF) | Email this | Comments

iTunes fraud takes trip to travel section?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/09/itunes-fraud-takes-trip-to-travel-section/

Here we go again, unfortunately. Both 9 to 5 Mac and Ars Technica are reporting a new spat of potentially-fraudulent apps climbed the iTunes charts today, now in the Travel section. This time, the culprit's purported to be Chinese-based WiiSHii and a series of "GYOYO" Chinese- and English-language maps. The two publications have a screenshot each showing the apps climbing the charts, as well as an apparent receipt from one customer who unwittingly found charges for the software on his or her bill -- and yeah, we see them, too, albeit not topping any charts as of this writing. So yet again, we advise caution and double-checking your payment history. Le sigh.

Gallery: iTunes fraud takes trip to travel section?

iTunes fraud takes trip to travel section? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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9 to 5 Mac, Ars Technica | Email this | Comments

HTC Aria update for AT&T enables mobile hotspot, sideloaded app support (update: partially working!)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/10/htc-aria-update-for-atandt-enables-mobile-hotspot-sideloaded-app/

Well, this is genuinely awesome: it seems AT&T is pulling back from its ban on third-party sideloaded apps on its Android devices, because HTC has just released an Aria update that enables them (either that or HTC just went rogue here, but we highly doubt it). While that doesn't have much practical implication for your typical smartphone user, it's a strong sign that AT&T might be ready to take a more reasonable stance on the openness of its branded devices that would put it inline with the attitudes Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile have all taken with their Android phones so far. Additionally, the update includes "the Mobile Network sharing function," which we take to mean a mobile hotspot app in the same vein as the one that's shipping with Froyo -- if we had to guess, it probably requires AT&T's 2GB DataPro plan plus the tethering add-on, which would put it in line with what they're charging on the iPhone. Onward and upward, AT&T.

Update: We got downright excited for a second there, but an HTC spokesman just called to inform us there's been a mistake -- this download is only for the desktop HTC Sync client and doesn't actually enable anything on the phone. We're working to get more information right now, but it sounds like the sideloading ball is still squarely in AT&T's court.

Update 2: HTC apologizes for the confusion, saying the update description was in error -- it was merely supposed to read that the Aria now works with the company's desktop sync client. On Monday, the text will be updated to remove every last ounce of false hope.

Update 3: Sideloading works after all! Read all about it.

[Thanks, Dylan T.]

HTC Aria update for AT&T enables mobile hotspot, sideloaded app support (update: partially working!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T handing out free 3G MicroCells to loyal customers?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/10/atandt-handing-out-free-3g-microcells-to-loyal-customers/

While we've no clue how widespread AT&T's generosity is, or how you might get one, it appears that the company's "most valuable customers" are now receiving free range-boosting femtocells. Today, loyal reader Jason got a old-fashioned paper letter in the mail, offering his iPhone-wielding family a 3G MicroCell with no strings attached. Driving down to the local AT&T store, he got the product, but the dumbfounded reps offered no explanation why. Though his calls do frequently drop at home, Jason says he wasn't terribly vocal about the issue and only pays around $180 per month for his family plan -- the only thing that might possibly qualify him, in his opinion, is that his contract was set to expire. We've reached out to AT&T for more information; in the meanwhile, see Jason's letter after the break.

[Thanks, Jason]

Continue reading AT&T handing out free 3G MicroCells to loyal customers?

AT&T handing out free 3G MicroCells to loyal customers? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cyanogen squeezes Android 2.2 Froyo into G1, MyTouch 3G

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/11/cyanogen-squeezes-android-2-2-froyo-into-g1-mytouch-3g/

Earlier this evening, we took the plunge -- now, we're rocking Froyo on our formerly old-and-busted T-Mobile G1. That's because Cyanogen's team of ROM hackers has come through once again for the little handset that could, serving early adopters with HTC Dream and Magic phones (as well as the Nexus One) with the first fully-functioning, stable build of CyanogenMod 6. Based on Google's famous frozen yogurt, the release candidate's got more fabulous tweaks than you can shake a stick at, but sadly doesn't seem to include Flash 10.1, and though WiFi and the camera are working great (as well as SurfaceFlinger and Chrome to Phone) many would-be shoppers in the Android Market are finding themselves faced with the dreaded force close. As usual, you'll find instructions at the source link if you understand the risks -- if you're not careful, you can easily brick your phone.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Cyanogen squeezes Android 2.2 Froyo into G1, MyTouch 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CyanogenMod, xda-developers | Email this | Comments

Confirmed: HTC Sync lets tethered AT&T Aria sideload apps

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/11/confirmed-htc-sync-lets-atandt-aria-sideload-apps/

Looks like more than HTC's description was erroneous yesterday afternoon -- we've just confirmed that the HTC Sync desktop client for the AT&T Aria allows users to install third-party apps on non-rooted devices, just as promised. We ran some quick tests, and while it doesn't actually enable anything on the handset end, it most certainly does allow those of you with Windows PCs (or VMware) to sideload APKs like Swype over USB with a simple drag-and-drop maneuver. Given how quickly the company sought to correct our original post on the subject, we'd expect HTC will be issuing a rather different version of the software soon, so hit up that source link, pound in your serial number, grab the EXE, and get while the getting's good.

[Thanks, Dylan]

Continue reading Confirmed: HTC Sync lets tethered AT&T Aria sideload apps

Confirmed: HTC Sync lets tethered AT&T Aria sideload apps originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Mobile Phone Support - HTC Aria | Email this | Comments

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