Google is my New Cellular Carrier
Yep, I finally made the switch to using Google Voice as my primary number. My cell phone number hasn't changed though, I've simply paid google the 20$ carrier transfer fee and ported my number over to Google Voice. No more bills from Sprint. No more automatic charges. No monthly bill. Ever again. I expect to save 95% of the cost of my cell phone over the next year and lose absolutely none of the functionality.
How is this possible?
Using an Original SNES Controller and Cartridge with your PC, PS3, or Dockstar (Retrode Pre-Order glory)
I've mentioned the Retrode before, and if you don't know it's a terrific device by Matthias Hullin which allows you to use your original Super Nintendo and Genesis controllers with anything USB. I set out to use an original SNES controller and original cartridge to play Mario Kart. I ended up doing just that on a couple of interesting platforms, and I'm terrifically pleased with the finished product. Read on for more photos, videos of the PS3 and Retrode working together, and good times.
Apologies for the Site Hiccups!
Apolgoies for the site hiccups everyone, I've almost got it all straightened out. I've switched from godaddy hosting and domain registration to BlueHost. See my previous post for more on that, and stay tuned for even more site updates!
Registrar and Hosting Switch From GoDaddy Plus Shameless Plug For Dropbox Storage
So if you haven't been following the geek news lately, I'll sum it up for you. GoDaddy is a big jerk company that supports SOPA, helped to draft SOPA, and is exempt from SOPA. SOPA is the worst thing to ever happen to the internet, including goatse.cx. It would restrict our freedom of speech and allow pretty much anyone to take down a domain at the drop of a hat (complaint hat). So I encourage everyone to get off of GoDaddy, boycott GoDaddy, and boycott any company that supports SOPA. Oh and apparently the CEO hunts elephants, which I am also against. I found this out while searching for a good anti-GoDaddy image to post up (thanks Boycott GoDaddy Facebook Group!).
It's also therefore unfortunate that GoDaddy has been hosting my site and registering my domains for many years now. I've been pretty happy with their service, but only really because they are so cheap. SO, it's time for me to switch hosts and registrars. I'm on the fence between Bluehost, Dreamhost, or some combination of EC2 instances and namecheap registrar. This will be happening sometime this week.
One of the reasons I stuck with Godaddy was their 'infinite storage' plan, which allowed me unlimited transfers of large files for site traffic (those Z2 images, dockstar hacks, etc). I'm going to try and start hosting up storage on Dropbox, which has good uptime and some interesting features. Unfortunately, the free plan is a bit lacking in storage space (2gb, really?, my GMAIL has 8...). However, every time someone signs up for DropBox with me as a referral we both get an extra 250megs of space. This really adds up after 10 or 20 referrals, so if you want to help support my hacking releases do consider signing up for a free DropBox account with my referral code here. (http://db.tt/r45JYJPw)
A Cure for Dandruff That Will Save You Money
Ok, so I know that body hacking and personal hygiene are not my usual topics of choice, but hear me out. My entire life I've had dandruff, up till a few months ago. That's almost 30 years of dandruff shampoo, medicated shampoo, frequent showers, you name it. Up till a few months ago.
You see, that's when I got into no-poo (wiki link). It's not a constipation product, it's a movement of folks who have stopped using commercial shampoo. So for the past few months, I have washed my hair daily with warm water only. No shampoo, no dandruff shampoo, no conditioner, no medicated shampoo. By all accounts there has been no noticeable change in the appearance or texture of my hair.
Well that's not fully true. I lost the dandruff. Completely. First time in my life I've felt really comfortable wearing black shirts. I don't want to come straight out and say shampoo is a corporate scam designed to keep people purchasing an unnecessary product for the duration of their lives, but if the shoe fits....
Dockstar Stereo + Wii Frontend
Chris Irwin alerted me in a previous article about MPD, the music playing daemon. While I was planning on installing this as both a client and a server on the dockstar stereo, It turns out there's a MPD frontend for the Wii. I hadn't been giving my Wii very much love lately, being so active in the PS3 scene. On a whim I picked up a little tv to use as a monitor for the Dockstar stereo, and I hooked the Wii up to it to see how things were going in the Wii homebrew community. I was BLOWN away. Not only has the wii media center grown tremendously, (it streams from samba shares), all the emulators have been updated (ps1 games from samba shares!), and there's a tremendously dynamic game modification community (check out smashmods for some of the coolest in-ram game modification you will EVER see). The wii VNC client works quite well as a head unit for the dockstar stereo, but it's got a native MPD frontend that I thought would be fun to get running. Read on for the setup of MPD on the Dockstar Stereo (or any embedded arm linux).
Advanced Tips – Fun with VNC
While it will be a bit before my next full update in the"Using the Dockstar as a full Home Theater Replacement" series (conveniently shortened to Dockstar Stereo), I'm always tweaking and installing things. While these may not warrant a full update, they're usually fun little additions or tweaks that come in handy. While I mentioned in the last Dockstar Stereo article that you could run a video or Window Maker session over VNC, I never went into any details on the fun things you can do with VNC sessions. Read on for a couple of fun VNC tricks and tips that you may not have heard before. I assume you to be using a Linux installation. I'm running all examples on the 'Dockstar Stereo', an integrated arm board with limited memory.
Using the Dockstar as a full Home Theater Replacement – Part 1
As you're probably already aware if you are reading this, I've got a thing for embedded systems. I guess we all do now, what with Android and iPhone tearing up the sales numbers. That said, I've never before had the guts to try and replace my aging Sony Dream Theater stereo system that's hooked up to my beloved record player. Although the sound quality coming off the head unit is quite good (I replaced the speakers long ago with some good ones), it only has two extra inputs and no support for internet streaming or mp3 playback etc. I'd also like to be able to use standard remote controls (Sony HATES standards), Bluetooth devices, cell phones, network control, etc. Although I'm using the Dockstar, this tutorial would generically apply to any Debian (arm or otherwise) system. Read on for the first part in my new walkthrough series entitled "Using the Dockstar as a full Home Theater Replacement":
Want to see more Hacks in Action? Follow me on Google+
I never quite got into Twitter. The value proposition just wasn't there for me and it always seemed like a passing thing. Google+ on the other hand has already given me infinite photo storage, I can put animated gifs in my stream (oh the opportunity for last-frame gif bombs!), and I can choose exactly what messages go out to which subscribers based on circles. So I'm on Google+, and that's where I post a good chunk of my smaller hacks and tidbits of life. Want to know what I've been up to between posts? Curious to see my hacks in action? Want to get a sneak peek at my hacks before they're available to the public? Then you'd better start following me on Google+ hadn't you? Just head over to profiles.google.com/huntergdavis and add me to a circle today! Need an invite to Google+? Just ask!
Build Your Own Hide-A-Tablet Book
As you probably already know, I've got quite a thing for mobile devices. My newest favorite is the Tegra 2 powered Viewsonic G-Tablet. Load up a custom ROM and an overclocked kernel and you've got a dual core 1.5ghz android tablet that'll run with the best of them. Like most of the higher end tablets though, it's pricey and easy to recognize. This makes it a pretty choice target for thieves. Rather than lower the usability of the device and leave it at home, I set out to disguise the tablet in some fashion. After browsing through the tablet cases available, I figured I could do just as well by building a hide-a-book. And that's what I did! Read on for the full tutorial.
