These are blogs of the techrestore crew, sharing our love of technology and other interests.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Hot tubs are so 20th century. For a truly rejuvenating experience, skip the chlorine bath and submerge yourself in colorful acrylic polymers instead! I actually haven't experienced this since I was about 10 but I'm seriously considering the installation of a ball pit, now that I have access to a calculator that will determine how many balls it takes to fill any given space. By the way, the geeky comics at XKCD are hilarious too!
Are those plain white earbuds of yours making you feel like one of the indistinct denziens of the underground world of THX-1138? If so, Budclicks are here to add pieces of flair to your otherwise drab and uniform appearance! Smiley's, bio-hazard symbols, and just about any other well known symbol are ready to adorn your ears for about $6-$16. Audacious ear ornaments for men and women - how's that for Future Shock?
searchme.com is still in beta, but you no longer need to sign up to access it! If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth a look. Imagine thumbing through web sites as if they were in cover-flow, on a Mac or iPod. Not only does it look slick but, on the practical side, it allows you to visually search for the website that you want (eg. that game site with the red background that you don't remember the name of). In addition to that, SearchMe also let's you thumb through stacks of photos or videos online. I have yet to try it out on an iPhone or iPod touch, but I'm guessing that it looks great!
Ever wonder what would happen if you drove over an iPhone. Wonder no more. This iPhone was run over by a car and all that was damaged was the screen, which has since been replaced. The iPhone that you see here is now restored to complete functionality!
It's a big news day for the iPhone. The 2.0 Firmware for all iPhones was released (sadly none for the iPod touch yet), the iTunes Music Store has iPhone applications for sale and, the first 3G iPhone take-apart photos have hit the net!
The 2.0 iPhone firmware update allows the installation of 3rd party applications on the iPhone and comes with some other minor updates, such as 3D buildings in Google Maps. Get the details on downloading and installing the free update here.
Once your iPhone is updated, head over to the iTunes App Store, to check out all of the cool games, communication and productivity software! Apps of interest include Smug Shot (a kind of Photo Booth that uses the iPhone's camera), Enigmo (an amazing 3D puzzle game), and Type Pad (a mobile blogging app).
If you don't yet have an iPhone, or you want to see how the new 3G iPhone differs from yours, check out the first 3G iPhone take apart in New Zealand (yes these guys flew halfway around the world to be the first to crack one open)!
It's time, once again, for another stop-motion TechRestore video! Today, we get a rare glimpse of group laptop behavior, as a line of MacBooks and MacBooks Pro perform a synchronized stadium wave, just like enthusiastic spectators at a sporting event!
In this era of digital entertainment, computer media centers make more sense than ever - after all, shouldn't your entertainment system do everything that an iPod does? The only thing keeping your Mac from becoming the center of attention in your living room is remote control. While the new Intel Macs come with remotes, chances are that a machine that powerful has it's own desk, if not it's own room. However, an older G4 Apple makes a great Apple TV substitute! With the addition of remote control, any machine that runs OS X will turn your TV into a hi-tech media center.
Here's what you need to remotely control your old Mac:
* An Apple Remote * A third party IR receiver (eg. the one made for Windows Media Center) * A shareware program that enables the remote, like Mira.
If you're running Leopard, then you can use Front Row, just like any Intel Mac - if not, then Mira has a launch menu that the Apple design team would be proud of.
Last night, I saw Crystal Castles live, at a small venue called the Independent, in San Francisco. The opener was a math-rock band called DD/MM/YYYY, which sounded a lot better live than they did online. Their odd time signatures and mathematically generated melodies were unique and fun. As for the headliner, Crystal Castles rocked and they knew it - otherwise the crowd would have rioted when they split, without an encore, after playing such a small set (barely an hour). The shy couple never appeared in full light, preferring the mystery of strobes and colored spots, but their performance was energized and flawless. Were it not for a few improvised lines and sound-effect breaks, I might have even suspected that they were just lip-syncing to their album. I think these guys are going to be big - at least as big as a band that sounds like an '80s video-game can get.
iPod CPR You'd think that, after repairing a thousand or more iPods and, after taking hundreds of tech support calls on iPod problems, I'd be able to take my own advice and reset my own iPod. Mine wouldn't turn on, it wouldn't mount when connected to my computer and it didn't appear to charge either. Although I was convinced that the thing had died, I resigned myself to go through the motions of following Apple's trouble-shooting steps, so that I would be able to qualify for some warranty service. Sure enough, plugging in my iPod and doing a two-button reset, snapped it back into shape! So, when in doubt, don't forget to hold down the center button and the menu button for a few seconds, no matter how dead your iPod seems.
There are few better indicators of success than gift baskets. When someone sends you a fancy package of overpriced food items, it's usually because you're involved in some kind of big-money deal with them. Here's a photo of the basket that we received upon moving in to our new building. Since we didn't get anything for our last building, I'd say we're movin' on up! (c; Seriously though, our new facility is doing wonders for the growth of the company. Just as fish grow larger in a bigger tank, so does TechRestore.
iLounge's new iPod & iPhone Book is hot off the virtual press and ready for free downloads. As usual, they have lots of fantastic product reviews and, this time, there's a great iTunes guide, that covers everything from basic to advanced usage! Get your PDF copy here.
It's time, once again, for my annual music recommendation! There's plenty of great bands out there but, every once in a while, one with a particularly innovative sound stands out. This time, it's Crystal Castles, a group who's sound, like it's name, is inspired by 80's video-games. Check 'em out on YouTube, or in the iTunes Music Store.
Our move is now nearly complete! We're pretty much down to sweeping out the old place. To give you an idea of how much we're growing, here's an aerial photograph illustrating the amount of space that we've gained (as you can see, the moving trucks didn't have to drive far). Aside from the cavernous ceiling of the new warehouse, you'd hardly even know that we have all of this additional space though, since our new, off-shoot company, ReBound, suddenly burst into fruition during the move. It's starting to feel like Amazon over here!
Today will be the first company BBQ at our new facility and, to mark this special occasion, I am preparing a vegetarian dish (at least, I'm pretty sure that the chickens were vegetarians*).
* We do respect the philosophy of vegetarians, in regard to eating low on the food chain and improving health, but meat just tastes too good for most of us to give it up!
The secret's out. TechRestore's amazingly inexpensive repair prices and lightning fast turnaround times are made possible by employing intergalactic aliens. Well, technically, they aren't employees, since they work in exchange for old parts (I understand that they have a fairly sophisticated recycling program out in Alpha Centauri...but I digress). This e-mail was sent in by a customer who discovered a couple of stow-aways in his RestoreBox:
Date: May 21, 2008 12:32:03 PM PDT To: help@techrestore.com Subject: Missing employees
These guys hitched a ride with Fedex to my place. Can they stay?
Things have been crazy around here. In addition to launching our new miniRestore and GameRestore services, we're upgrading to a larger facility! Here's a sneak peek of our new building (post-realist rendering courtesy of Shannon and Renee's kids):
Want to make your BitTorrent downloads 24 times faster? Here's an easy trick to make it happen. The idea is that by forwarding a range of port traffic (rather than a single port) to your download client, you can exponentially increase the number and speed of downloads! And, if you're looking for a place to find some movies you can check out mininova - just remember to only download non-copyrighted content, unless you want the FBI knocking on your door. (c;
The border between our virtual lives and our AFK lives (away from keyboard) is rapidly dissolving. We can access web sites through our phones almost anywhere - but who has time to log on to Twitter and update their status throughout the day? With Jott (a site/service that Shannon showed me), it only takes a minute to let the world know that you're "going shopping," or "taking a nap." By calling the toll free number, and telling the Jott computer "who" and "what," you can update your status, dictate a quick blog post or to-do list - even send a text message or email to a friend without typing (or thumb-typing) a single word! Check out the supported sites to see all of the useful possibilities. Now we're one step closer to being online 24/7.
Wow. The past three weeks have been crazy! TechRestore is expanding and launcing new programs. Not only are we in the process of moving to a larger facility, but we're expanding our services as well. Our new Game Restore service include overnight repairs and upgrades for X-Box, Sony PS2, PS3, Nintendo Wii and DS - it's not just for PSPs anymore! Also, we will soon be offering these same industry leading overnight services for Mac minis and Apple TVs.
HAN (Human Area Network) OK, back to the business of blogging. While scouting the horizon for Future Shock, I spied this gleaming gem: Firmo human area network systems, by NTT. Users carry an iPod sized device that transmits and receives data in the form of an electrical field on the wearer's skin! Imagine transmitting business cards with a handshake, or syncing digital photos with a hug. Conducting metal surfaces, such as door handles, could be loaded with information relevant to the room or building that you are about to enter. Unlike wireless networks, HANs begin with a phisical connection, immediately establishing relevance. For example, standing next to a car, might put you within range of the cars dashboard wireless network but, making contact with the electrodes on the steering wheel make it clear that you are intending to drive the car, so it will naturally download your user preferences for seat, mirrors and radio (rather than making adjustments for every passer by who walks within range of the wireless signal). It looks like humans are one step closer to merging with machines!
TechRestore is expanding it's presence in the virtual world, through social networking sites! We invite you to come help us make the internet a better place and let people know what kind of experiences you've had with us. You can share stories, photos and even videos. As a token of our appreciation, everyone who adds TechRestore as a friend on one of these sites, will receive a special discount code that may be used as often as you like!
Below you will find TechRestore's contribution to the MacTech DVD (which will accompany the April Issue). These are the same shorts previously featured here in Future Shock and on our YouTube channel, but in downloadable iPod video format!
Download: Laptop Drop!, 4.6MB An artist's PowerBook meets an untimely demise in the studio. Thankfully, TechRestore can fix it - overnight!
I just finished TechRestore's latest video promotion, which is the first in a new series of pieces that will depict laptops being destroyed. This poor PowerBook meets it's end for lack of the Mag-Safe power adapter technology enjoyed by his decendants.
Beware, no gore has been edited out, and the terrible crashing sound of Mac hitting concrete is entirely real!
It's time, once again, for TechRestore's round-up of the best shareware games. Even if you're not a big gamer, few applications show off your computers abilities like a game. The problem is that there's a lot of games out there that simply aren't worth downloading, but you won't know that until they're installed, so it takes a lot of time to find the gems. The games listed here are some of the best around though - enjoy!
We'll start with the geek favorite, Darwinia. In this graphically stunning strategy game you navigate a darkly futuristic virtual world to destroy viruses. The controls are pretty simple, though you will need to follow the help menus to figure it out. Download Darwinia, for Mac or PC.
In contrast, Plobb! is a game that is so simple that you can jump right in to the action. Basically, it's Asteroids with bubbles. But don't let the game's cute veneer fool you, this one's still a fast paced challenge. Download Plobb!, for Mac or PC.
Speaking of Asteroids, my favorite clone, Argonaut 2149, has been updated to work in Leopard. In this free-ware reinterpretation of the classic, shooting rocks is a form of mining, but watch out for pirates! Download Argonaut 2149, for Mac
Islands Mini-Golf is, a fantastic, super playable, 3D game - 'nuff said. Download Islands Mini-Golf, for Mac
Biofilm is a unique real-time strategy game, where you lead a set of microbes to petri-dish conquest. It's cuter than it sounds, and very addictive. Download Biofilm, for Mac
My favorite game on this list is an amazingly inventive interpretation of Breakout, called Break Quest, which propels the brick breaking genre to previously un-thought of dimensions (including moving Space Invader bricks that shoot)! Download Break Quest, for Mac
It's time for another MacBook Air video! This time, he's not on the operating table but, instead, break-dancing like a Rolly! Check out the stop-motion animated video on our YouTube channel and let us know what you think, here or there.
Sunday, I went to see the Olafur Eliasson Take Your Time exhibit at SFMOMA, with a friend. There were some fascinating installations there, but viewing them required quite a bit of waiting in line. One piece involved peering into a dark hole in the wall. This hole was about the size of a window, so viewers leaned on the ledge and bent over to check out what was inside. I joked that the real exhibit was everyone inadvertently displaying their rear to the people next in line. Inside the hole was a black wall and four opposing mirrors (on the floor, walls and ceiling). We saw hundreds of copies of ourselves peering into the darkness from glowing rectangular openings, for miles in every direction. If you've ever seen the movie 'Cube,' this looked the same as when the protagonists reached the boundary of their puzzle-like prison and peered out into the gap between the Cube and the endless wall that enclosed it, just a few feet away. I think I'm going to build a small version of this simple but stunning optical illusion at home.
Remember how much better video games were in the '80s? OK, if you've run MAME recently, you know that they weren't really better at all, but time has a way of making our memories of things seem better than they actually were. However, if those old vector-graphic arcade games had lived up to our fond recollections, they'd be sure to look like Neon Tango, the latest release form Freeverse Software, which they previewed at Macworld Expo in January. The graphics and sound are nothing short of amazing, and the game play is compelling, in spite of the simple controls. If you have a Mac, you can download a 3-level demo, and if not, you can get a Mac from us!
One day, watching films and video on flat screens will seem barely more engaging than a silent movie and, if you've sat through the full two hours of Metropolis, you know how taxing that can be on the attention span, (especially for someone from the ADD generation). The future of video is likely to be far more engaging and interactive. We're still a long way off from recording and playing back brain-waves, but Immersive Video is the next best thing. You've probably experienced a form of this technology in Google Maps' Street View, but actual video footage is far more engaging. It's like a moving Quicktime VR panoramma. You can look in any direction during the video, and even look around, up and down while playback is paused:
This is impressive technology even when viewed in a tiny window on a computer monitor, but just imagine how real it would seem, if viewed with motion-tracking video glasses!
Ever needed to convert a file from one format to another and been without the proper utility? Inevitably, I always seem to be in a hurry when I'm in this situation, so scouring the internet for shareware utilities is the last thing I want to do. Here's a few email addresses that you can send attachments to and get converted files emailed back to you:
pdf@koolwire- Converts Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint files to PDFs. Like the other Koolwire addresses below, it accepts files up to 10 MB in size.
doc@koolwire.com- Convert PDFs to DOC (Word or Rich Text Format files).
Our MacBook Air arrived today and our lead technician, Chet, promptly reverse-engineered it. It's amazing how small the screws are in this thing - it's like a big iPod. A lot of folks are dissing the, seemingly small, 80GB drive, but it wasn't that long ago that stock PowerBooks shipped with 80GB drives. I think that the Air is a fantastic innovation and bound to be the slickest mobile computing option available (until the tablet Mac comes out). Below is my stop-motion video of the unboxing and take-apart. Enjoy!
iTunes Movie Rental Review I rented my first digital movie from the iTunes music store the other day. Since it was a new release, it cost me $3.99 - about the same as a DVD rental at Blockbuster, if I remember correctly. It downloaded in a similar manner as purchased content, except that the transfer started immediately, rather than sitting in my shopping cart first. Once the movie was on my laptop, iTunes created a separate category, called "Rented Movies," so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a movie that I had purchased. I was also informed that I had 30 days to watch the movie, before it expired. As soon as I clicked the play button, iTunes told me that I had 24 hours to watch the movie (later it would tell me how many hours still remained before the movie would disappear from my iTunes). Naturally I was curious what would happen at the end of that 24 hours - would the movie stop playing, if I exceeded the rental period while watching it? The answer is no - and yes. As long as you don't pause the movie or otherwise change play settings, it will continue playing. Otherwise, the video greys out, and you only hear the soundtrack. I assume that iPods treat rentals similarly, though I didn't have one to check it on. The quality was exceptional, though I did miss the surround sound and special features. Perhaps Apple will offer these, the way they did on VHS tapes, before DVDs took over or, better yet, they could be encoded into a new format that supports interactive content! Value wise, Netflix or your local video rental kiosk is a better deal but, like pizza delivery, you can't beat the convenience and instant gratification of ordering from home (and, unlike pizza, these movies are delivered 24 hours a day).
Macworld Expo was an amazing success! We got to see tons of satisfied customers, who dropped by to say hi and tell us what a great job we do, as well as connecting with people who've never used our service before. You can see the TechRestore booth (and our friends from eunitech) in this Quicktime VR photo from Macworld '08. By now, you've no doubt heard of Apple's new roll-outs, including the MacBook Air (soon to be on our dissecting table) and the update to the iPhone and iPod touch that simulates GPS tracking by triangulating your position based on nearby WiFi hotspots! Exciting stuff.
Our Macworld booth is nearly ready! Today, we're putting on the finishing touches. This year, were in a ritzy neighborhood, by the Microsoft Blogger's lounge. Here's an early glimpse (a la phone cam):
Macworld Expo pass update: Our registration code keeps running out of free comps just as fast as IDG can up our limit. While I'd like to think that it's just because TechRestore is so popular, more than likely the code has been reposted elsewhere so, at this point, the best we can offer is a $10 registration, unless IDG ups our limit again. It's still a great deal though, with all of the amazing exhibits that there are to see and, by the look of the show floor so far, this year is going to be stunning!
iPhone 2.0 vs. FlatBook Pro Rumors about the announcement of a second generation iPhone, at Macworld Expo abound. Perhaps it will have GPS and record video but, either way, it's not all that exciting. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, the iPhone is to small for computing and too big to be a phone. I think the bigger announcement is going to be a tablet version of the MacBook (Pro), that makes use of the touch screen technology seen in the iPhone and iPod touch. Hopefully it will operate somewhat like the Microsoft Surface. Of course you can already get a ModBook, but it requires a pen and, besides, everything's more appealing once Apple reinvents it.
Everyone knows that GPS trackers are available, but few suspect how easy it would be for someone to secretly plant one on you or your vehicle, just like they do in the movies. The Super Pocket Track ($270) will log a hundred hours of GPS data and, once retrieved, the USB device plugs into your PC, where you can view the 3D path in Google Earth! If you want to be even sneakier, the Pocket Track Pro has a built-in magnet, that will keep it securely hidden in the wheel-well of any vehicle! Check out the video or Google Earth demo to see how it works.
