There are a few Mac programs I simply cannot live without. Some of them are free, some of them aren’t. But I highly recommend all of them! Trust me, I’ve tried a lot of Mac software, but these are definitely my favourites!
Read more to see what they are! » Read the rest of the entry..
A few weeks ago, I wrote about playing retro games on a Mac.
I’ve been getting back into gaming recently (I used to be a PC user) and tried to run Quake 4 on my MacBook. When I first tried, in September last year, I had no luck at all - it was virtually unplayable. But then Leopard came out and a few months after it came the Leopard Graphics Update. So I decided to try it again.
Now, it actually plays quite well! On modest settings, it is completely playable and enjoyable. It’s not 120 FPS, but who cares if it plays fine, right?
Read more to find out how I did it! » Read the rest of the entry..
Over the past few weeks, I haven’t been very good about posting and thats because a project myself and a friend, Geordie Barker, have been working is looking like it is finally coming to fruition! MiWiFi is a company we have created which aims to create and develop a wireless Internet network in Melbourne. Beginning in and around the Southbank precinct, MiWiFi will offer users cheap, affordable wireless internet with a level of free access for everyone to use.
We are really excited about this project - Australia lags behind the rest of the world in terms of Internet access and wireless hotspots. With the proliferation of wifi-enabled devices such as the iPhone, iPod touch, Nokia N95, etc, as well as 99% of laptops featuring wifi, the situation is rather deplorable. We are going to open the network in April, 2008.
Please head to MiWiFi.com.au for more information!
Update: Head on over to ZiPhone.org and download the version for your operating system. Now works for all iPod Touchs! No need for my steps below.
I’ve been trying for the past four days to jailbreak my 1.1.4 iPod Touch with the January Software Upgrade. Finally, I have succeeded. I tried everything! I tried using iJailbreak, ZiPhone 2.5 and downgrading to 1.1.1 and going from there, but nothing would work! I would always get stuck in recovery mode with the message “Spamming AT”.
How did I succeed? Easy! ZiPhone 1.0!
The tutorial below is for Mac OS X Leopard users. It has been tested on 10.5.2 with all the latest updates installed.
This is ONLY for 8GB iPod Touch!
Simply do the following:
1. Do a complete restore to 1.1.4. Turn off all syncing, but let it sync the January Software Upgrade.
2. Download ZiPhone 1.0 from here.
3. Unzip ZiPhone.zip to desktop, into a folder called ZiPhone.
4. Ensure your iPod Touch is connected to your computer, and that iTunes has been closed.
5. Open Terminal (in Spotlight, type “Terminal”)
6. Type: cd Desktop
7. Type: cd ZiPhone
8. Open the ZiPhone folder on your desktop in Finder.
9. Drag the ZiPhone.app file (the file named ZiPhone without .exe at the end) to the Terminal window.
10. Type: ziphone -j -v and press Enter. Ignore iTunes if it opens.
11. Your iPod will enter recovery mode. A whole lot of text will appear on screen. If it stops at “Spamming AT” then see below for restoring instructions.
12. If it doesn’t, it will restart and you will have “Installer” on the iPod Touch screen! Now it is Jailbroken and will sync as normal!
How to Restore
If you get stuck at “Spamming AT”, then do the following:
1. Unplug your iPod Touch.
2. Ignore the text on screen. It is simply saying you unplugged your cable.
3. Hold down the “Home” and “Sleep” buttons until the screen goes blank.
4. Stop holding the buttons down.
5. Plug in the USB cable and, just as you do it, hold down the “Home” button.
6. iTunes will open saying it has detected an iPod in recovery mode. Click OK and clock Restore and you’ll be fine!
Hopefully this will help a few people!
I don’t know why, exactly, I support Hillary. As an Australian, I have no voice, no say in who will be the next US President. But it effects me nearly as much as it effects American citizens. Australia has, increasingly, become a parrot for US Foreign Policy. Maybe this was solely a Bush & Howard thing, but I don’t want to take my chances.
Clinton, with her vast experience and knowledge of the inner-workings of the White House, is much better equipped to become the next leader of the free world (so to speak). Obama, on the other hand, will nod oubt make a fantastic President. Just not this year. He is too young, too naive and inexperienced. His meteoric rise can be attributed to Gen Y, a fusion of the MTV generation and the way our parents were in the 1970’s. We, like, you know, like our information in smaller chunks and stuff. Man.
Obama has been particularly light on detail. His campaigns have been all about rallying tropps of young supporters to pass a message of change. But how, exactly, does he plan on executing that change? How can one person, in four years (less, as one year is spent trying to get four more years), change a system that has been this way for centuries? Gough Whitlam tried to do what Obama is suggesting and look where it got him - he left a few legacies (like his support for Aboriginal land rights and the arts) - but his biggest legacy is being fired from office.
Where is the substance, Barack? Hillary as systemically outlined detailed and thorough plans. And her foreign policy makes sense. yes, she helped authorized the invasion of Iraq but, at the time, 80% of Americans agreed with her. Barack was the bad guy - he was the one standing in the way of “freedom”.
Obama’s campaign has been nothing more than a very well executed PR campaign for a product that doesn’t exist.
Clinton’s compaign has been a hit-and-miss affair. Like the introduction of New Coke, you don’t know what you got ’til its gone.
Current polls have Hillary 2 down in Texas, but 5 up in Ohio, with a 4 per cent margin of error.
GO HILLARY!!
There is so much stuff to watch on TV, at the movies and in the giant world of podcasting. When I got my iPod Touch in December, I remember scouring around trying to find the best video podcasts to take advantage of it. I’ve finally settled on some that I’m happy with! To find any of these, just search for them in iTunes.
Diggnation
Always recommended. Weekly web show with commentary on the most interesting stories from Digg.com. I joined the bandwagon pretty late, but its a great show. Really entertaining. It’s technology inclined, but very good, interesting viewing.
Sky News - Seven Days
Weekly wrap-up from Sky News on the lighter strories from the past week. Really entertaining and great for random trivia! Things you can tell your friends to make you look smart!
Good News Week
Aussie show, but seriously funny stuff. Its like a panel/game show about the news. Two teams compete (the points don’t really matter) in a series of games about the latest headlines. FUNNY STUFF!
At The Movies
Most Australians will have heard about this. Its a weekly movie review show, hosted by two film critics Margaret and David. Really thorough, honest reviews and they don’t always agree which makes it interesting.
For most of the summer holidays, I was a little bored with the rather slim pickings available for gamers using Macs. I’m a MacBook (later 2006) user, and my Intel GMA950 isn’t really that great for games. But I still should be able to have some fun! So I went back. Way back. To 1994. Now, I have Doom 1 & 2, Quake 1 & 2 and Duke Nukem 3D running wonderfully, in widescreen glory, on my Macbook. With Doom 3, Quake 4 and UT2004 all here as well (running quite well - more on how I did that later!), I’m quite set up as a mobile gamer.
Everything in this guide was made possible due to the release of the source code by the developers. This has allowed much smarted people than I to make these classic games run on modern computers and platforms. Someone has even converted Doom to the iPod!
Read more after the jump.
» Read the rest of the entry..
The amount of times I have wanted to start a blog but never have is truly bewildering. But now I’ve done it and this time I am seriously committed to it. I swear! So who am I? Well, I live in Melbourne, Australia, but I’ve lived in Sydney and Noosa (Queensland), and I’m a uni student, studying Theatre Production at the Victorian College of the Arts, majoring in Stage Management.
I also have an unnatural and unhealthy obsession with technology (before I got into theatre, I wanted to be a game designer). Recently, I’ve become really interested in how technology and the arts can work together more. The technology I use is not for show most of time - I’m genuinely looking for a way to make y life easier and usually technology has the answer (or at least part of it).
Besides technology, I also enjoy long walks on the beach movies (films for the purists), television shows and just generally hanging out. I’m not much of a gamer, but I do like blowing things up (virtually! Please don’t kill me ASIO). And I’m also into American politics. Hillary for President! So you can expect this blog to be a pot pouri of all of those interests, and more! Stay tuned! I have a million and one articles in my head, they just need to be written.