Jim Bassett's Weblog

Cebit wrap up with lots of pictures. This one passage caught my eye:

What is interesting is that voice over IP is becoming just something to add on to broadband. Several ISPs or pure-play VoIP operators were busy signing up people to flat rate telephony. There was also the faint rumblings of voice over WLAN for consumers. In fact, VoIP/WLAN could be sold and designed just like cordless phones: a base station that plugs into the wall (in reality an ADSL router and wireless node) and a cordless (wi-fi) handset. Looking further, video over IP (and video over WLAN) are becoming a not-too-distant commercial reality.

The emphasis is mine, and this sounds like exactly what I was asking for here.

Joi Ito: Full-Time Intimate Community.
- jim 3-27-2004 5:16 am [link] [6 comments]

NEC's resonate wear: "Near-Future Ubiquitous Networking Devices Visualized by Designers."

They aren't going to make any of these designs, but a few of them had some nice ideas. I really like the P-ISM.
- jim 3-26-2004 11:40 pm [link] [1 comment]

Holy cow. Did you know you can cmd-drag background windows in OS X? I can actually imagine that being useful. Looks cool too.
- jim 3-25-2004 12:40 am [link] [add a comment]

Three blurry long range spy photos of the new unreleased Danger Hiptop: 1, 2, and 3. Although it's hard to be sure from these shots, it looks like the snap around swivel screen has been replaced by a non snap around slide up screen. This is obviously not as cool, since spinning the old one open with a resounding thwock was really excellent. On the other hand, it looks like this lets them make the unit a little less thick which, I will agree, was necessary.

For me it will all be about the camera. And my gut tells me this one is still going to be VGA qualty (although I'm guessing they at least got it *inside* the unit this time.)
- jim 3-24-2004 4:31 pm [link] [add a comment]

Comment spam hasn't really been a problem for us here. Yet. But it is clearly just a matter of time. Sixapart, makers of the hugely popular Movable Type weblog software, are taking a shot at a solution: Typekey. Worth keeping an eye on. Details are a little thin, but it looks like a centralized identity infrastructure run by them, but open to all (with, it appears, some fees if you are including the technology in a non free product.)
- jim 3-21-2004 9:14 pm [link] [add a comment]

I've mentioned these before, but here's a picture of a virtual laser keyboard projected from a prototype Siemens phone.

I'm a little skeptical, but willing to give anything a shot. The keyboard problem is an increasingly problematic one as our devices shrink well past the size where you can include a real keyboard on the device. (I guess the Treo 600 form factor is about as small as you can go with a "real" keyboard - and it's even a little too small.) (via engadget)
- jim 3-19-2004 9:07 pm [link] [add a comment]

Best game mod as computer art ever? Or maybe I just mean I like this a lot.

I think that's the first worthwhile thing I've blogged in a long time. (via kottke)
- jim 3-16-2004 9:01 pm [link] [3 comments]

The calendar in the kitchen at Alias has March 17th marked as 'best day of the year' and March 18th marked as "worst day of the year."
- jim 3-16-2004 8:47 pm [link] [6 comments]

I was talking about wireless data connections at broadband speeds yesterday only to find that not everyone is a true believer (who knew?) Anyway, this is happening. I was saying 2006, but you can see how close we are today (at least if you live in D.C., or San Diego)

Verizon Wireless's BroadbandAccess [EV-DO] is the first wireless data service I've tried that could actually be mistaken for a cable or digital-subscriber-line connection. It routinely got me on the Internet in seconds, downloaded 600,000 bits of data each second and stayed online for as long as I wanted.

Will the tree make it to the next age where we carry it around in our pockets all the time? Is that a good or bad thing?

BitTorrent + RSS. This could be very big. I'll try to say something more on it later.
- jim 3-16-2004 5:05 pm [link] [add a comment]

Apple has released OS X 10.3.3. Doesn't seem like much. Mounted network volumes show up in the side bar now, which I think is a good thing. I'll wait a few days as usual to see if people have any problems.

Hopefully this was the hold up on the 970fx machines (although I don't really believe it.)
- jim 3-16-2004 3:25 am [link] [add a comment]

Uh oh. I just wrote my first AppleScript. That's a built in scripting language that comes standard on every Mac. In 10.3 all the Apple apps, including the Finder (that's the filesystem front end,) are scriptable with AppleScript. Yes, iTunes, Safari, iPhoto, not to mention Photoshop, Quark and all pro apps, are scriptable. You can get your hooks into everything. I knew this, and yet I had no idea. Damn it's powerful. I'm feeling a little dizzy.

The syntax is bizarre, and that's kept me from experimenting. But now I've found some resources on line and I've got one working (and useful!) script under my belt. So watch out, this might get ugly.
- jim 3-16-2004 1:45 am [link] [1 comment]

ncFTP is a powerful command line FTP tool for OS X 10.3. Really useful if you are trying to do client side FTP scripting on the Mac (auto uploading files to a specified FTP server when placed in a specific directory on the the client machine is what I'm doing.)
- jim 3-15-2004 8:25 pm [link] [add a comment]

Finally got outside yesterday for a good while. Walked all the way up to the park and met Mr. Wilson at the top of the reservoir. What do you figure, about 5 miles? Not very much, but when you've been sitting in front of the computer for a couple years it feels pretty good. A little stiff today, but not as bad as I feared.

I love walking in the city. I didn't have a particular direction in mind when I set out. I was just walking in a straight line, and then when I'd come to a Don't Walk I would choose either left or right and continue straight until the next Don't Walk. Pretty fun. I ended up just west of Columbus Circle before I abandoned that plan.

Come on spring time...
- jim 3-12-2004 9:12 pm [link] [1 ref] [3 comments]

366K photo of the earth taken from the Mars rover Spirit.
- jim 3-12-2004 8:11 pm [link] [add a comment]

Nokia Lifeblog software:

The Lifeblog software runs on a PC and, when a phone is connected to the machine, sucks down all the images, text and multimedia messages stored on the handset.

It will then populate a timeline with the information arranging it chronologically and annotating it with tags the phone records about when and where something was done.

The software works out where someone was using codes that uniquely identify cell phone base stations.

Images from digital still or video cameras can also be added to the collection of information.

"You want to keep everything so you can get a nice overview," said Mr Lindholm "so you can decide what you really want to keep or delete."

Very early stage software that allows (sort of, so far) the Treo 600 to record video clips. Woohoo.

Download. TreoCentral discussion.
- jim 3-11-2004 5:45 pm [link] [add a comment]

Looks pretty sure we'll get to 2 megapixel cameraphones this year. Nice looking phone, too. It runs Windows CE, though which I'm pretty sure gives me hives.

2.1 MP is what my first digital camera was. Plenty good for everything but printing at very large sizes (do people really do that?)
- jim 3-11-2004 5:42 pm [link] [add a comment]

If you use iTunes (on OS X) you probably want to download this. It does a few things, but most notably it allows you to play/pause iTunes with a key combination (option + space by default, but configurable,) no matter what application is currently active.

Sure, it's a little thing, but when the phone rings I can now pause iTunes with one key combo without first going to the dock and bringing iTunes to the front. And actually, that's not such a little thing. Mmmm, global hot keys.
- jim 3-09-2004 8:11 pm [link] [add a comment]

Motorolla has been going crazy lately releasing new cell phones. Here are some pictures of the new MPx-300. Interesting screen hinge, obviously. People are really worked up about this phone, but for once I'm not so sure. Seems maybe almost too clever.
- jim 3-09-2004 5:38 pm [link] [add a comment]

90 minute lecture by former Intel chief architect Bob Colwell, given at Stanford University. Wow. Very interesting. Even if you are just a spectator, like me, and don't have any real engineering experience, this is fascinating. I mean, I guess you have to know a little bit about CPU design - but not too much, the talk is mostly high level general industry direction type stuff. If you know what 'transistor count' and 'pipeline stage' means you know enough to understand everything here.

Shorter version: the race for ever higher clock rates is a no win situation, and this sort of thinking misses the (near) future direction of the industry.

He is not terribly complimentary towards his former employer and their CPU offerings.

The video is in .asf format.
- jim 3-05-2004 9:35 pm [link] [3 comments]

Pete Rojas has broken with Nick Denton, leaving gizmodo to join Jason Calacanis in starting engadget.
- jim 3-04-2004 7:31 pm [link] [3 comments]

Started getting this one in the mail yesterday: w32.beagle.k. Only a danger for Windows (w32 = Windows 32 bit,) but everyone can receive it and spread it. The only thing of note here is that it spoofs some sort of "management" account on the domain it is sending to, and warns that your email account is about to be shut down. That's a pretty good ploy. So, obviously, don't believe any email messages coming from management@, administration@, staff@, noreply@, support@ digitalmediatree.com.

The tip off should be that the "fix" for the non existent email account problem (i.e., the virus) is included as an attachment you are supposed to open. No real support staff would distribute a patch this way. A real email would direct you to a web page where you would download the patch.
- jim 3-04-2004 6:24 pm [link] [2 comments]

I need to learn more about this, but it seems like TowerStream offers fixed wireless broadband (up to 6Mb/sec!!!!) in NYC (100% coverage in Manhattan.) Prices look pretty good: fully synchronous 1.5 Mb/sec for $499 a month. Even better, they can apparently have you up and running in a couple of days (try getting a full T1 from the phone company in a couple days! Yeah right!)

I'm a little curious I haven't heard of them before.
- jim 3-03-2004 8:46 pm [link] [add a comment]

Apparently you can tweak the iTunes visualizer. Not that you'd be messing with that during the work day of course.
- jim 3-03-2004 6:13 pm [link] [6 comments]

Big NASA news conference happening now:

Dr. James Garvin, lead scientist for Mars and lunar exploration at NASA Headquarters, Washington, said, "NASA launched the Mars Exploration Rover mission specifically to check whether at least one part of Mars ever had a persistently wet environment that could possibly have been hospitable to life. Today we have strong evidence for an exciting answer: Yes."

So now we just have to get some of the sedimentary rocks back to earth (not part of these missions) and look for the fossils. I wonder if finding proof of "life as we know it" on another planet will be a big story or not.

"AMSAT-OSCAR 7 was launched November 15, 1974 by a Delta 2310 launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California. AO-7 was launched piggyback with ITOS-G (NOAA 4) and the Spanish INTASAT.... AO-7 was operational for 6.5 years until a battery failure ceased operation in mid 1981.� Then on June 21, 2002, Pat Gowen, G3IOR, posted this email message on AMSAT-BB:"

From: "pat gowen"
To:
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Lazarus?
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 22:30:54 +0100

I have just come across something most remarkable this Friday 21st June evening. Checking out interlopers in our 145.800 - 146.000 MHz space band with a new vertical now atop my 60' tower and working like magic, at 1728 UTC I came across a beacon at S.7 sending slow 8 -10 wpm CW on 145.973.8 MHz. It slowly Dopplered down to 145.970 MHz before going out at 1739 UTC. A full run of TLM went: -

Hi Hi
100 176 164 178
280 262 200 254
375 358 331 354
453 454 461 459
541 501 552 529
600 600 601 651
Hi Hi

It sounded VERY familiar, but, I'm dammned if I can recall which one it was. Obviously an OSCAR, but which had the callsign W3OHI? Oscar-6, 7 or 8? I think it was OSCAR-6. If so, we have a new longevity record, even beating RS-1!....

Could any veteran keen observers (who might look for it) please tell me what it was, as I feel sure that any old time AMSAT OSCAR devotee may have a far better memory than I!

73, Pat, G3IOR

To which Jan King, W3GEY, the AMSAT-OSCAR-7 Project Manager responded:

[AO-7] has a good set of arrays and the first BCR (battery charge regulator) we ever flew. It's the first spacecraft we ever had that was capable of overcharging the battery. When the battery failed the cells began to fail short. One cell after another failed and the voltage measured on telemetry began to drop. So, the cells were clearly failing SHORT. Now, after all these years, what happens if any one of the cells loses the short and becomes open? Then, the entire power bus becomes unclamped from ground and the spacecraft loads begin to again be powered but, this time only from the arrays. Now you have a daytime only satellite but, each time the sun rises at the spacecraft you have a random generator that either turns on Mode A or Mode B or whatever it wants. So, occasionally that 70cm/2m transponder transmitter and beacon must least work. From what you have told me (and without going back and decoding the old telemetry equations) I can tell you that the following things work in that spacecraft: The arrays, the BCR, the ISR (instrumentation switching regulator), the Mode B transmitter and beacon injection circuitry, the Morse Code telemetry encoder, and the voltage reference circuitry. The latter I know is working because the last telemetry value is 651. The "6" is just the row number of the telemetry value but the 51 means that the 1/2 volt reference is measuring 0.51 volts. I know that telemetry equation by heart since it was used as the calibration value for the rest of the telemetry system. So the telemetry has a fair chance of being decoded and making some sense!!!

Wow. Solar power is so cool. The idea that a 30 year old communications satellite is still up there, and operational when in sunlight, is pretty impressive. And scary.

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