Wulf-Pack Journal

Adsense Test

2009-01-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

Well I played a $3-$6 cash game with $50 at Soboba Casino. The play was a wash, but I was solid until Soboba put $100 in the pot in addition to our own blinds and bets.

To my credit I held a K4 unsuited paired a 4 on the flop, the turn and the river K 4 J J 3

With at least a hand (a pair of 4) I stayed in, with 2 other players, but in the end they split the total pot of over $250 ($125 per participant), I got none of it.

My game went downhill from there, I busted out with a pair of A with my AQ suited clubs to a set of 8 8 8.

With RC30, root access via telnetd is blocked

2008-11-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

Unjailbroke my G1, with the RC30 update. So no bad guys can slip in through Telnet. I would rather have access to root going through the device itself via the su command, not though a glitch in Android.

access to root on the G1

2008-11-05T12:39:00.001-08:00

Well the G1 has been rooted, access via Telnet from my Powerbook G4 to the coorisponding telnetd activated on the G1 via a neat little application named pTerminal.

Here is the lowdown, I must warn everybody, root is "hidden" for a reason so be carefull and don't make *any* modifications that could break the G1 and leave you with a $100/month paper weight.

PTerminal is available for download from the Android Market and can apparently be used to start a telnet connection on your G1 which can then be accessed from your PC - giving you root access to the device.

According to my sources, the instructions are as follows:

Turn on your phone’s WiFi. This gives your phone an IP you can reach it at.
Get to a command prompt on your device by using the PTerminal application from the Android Market. (adb shell does not seem to work with these instructions, telnetd does not start up)
cd system
cd bin
telnetd
netstat (get your phones IP), for some reason this did not work for me so I got the IP address from my settings Icon>Wireless controls>Wi-Fi settings
telnet into your phone’s IP from your computer
you now have root!

Whether a new ‘over the air’ update fixes this potential bug remains to be seen, but it might be a good idea to disable Over The Air updates if you decide to test this method.

The top 15 G1 Android applications (enjoy)

2008-10-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.pcworld.com/article/152384/in_pictures_15_killer_android_apps_for_the_g1.html

5 worst things about G1

2008-10-27T12:42:00.000-07:00

5 worst things about G1:

1
I don't care what anybody says the gPhone is Google's Beta phone, and the consumers are its Beta testers, fortunately the typical consumer of this type of device is more likely to fix its bugs than not. The iPhone, alternatively came out with a well crafted hardware device out the gate and has had time to mature and flesh itself out and keep the Beta testing to the Apple experts and its price point testing to the consumers.

2
Lacks applications, not really the fault of the gPhone, its just hard to develop for a hardware platform that is emulated and not real. The applications it does have need to be debugged better and should be screened for malicious wares since it is a free for all marketplace. This is where Apple's Market tariff of 30% could be arguable as justified, but with the "I am Rich" application slipping past their QA guard or the fire-walling of interesting, but competing, applications destroys the investment value of the 30% tax.

3
Battery Life sucks, but to the HTC's credit the battery is interchangeable. Thank you Apple for making it easier for us to make better decisions concerning non-removable, proprietary changing of lithium Ion batteries. At least its good to know that HTC thinks we have enough brains to swap out batteries by our selves. Battery life can be improved.

4
I have heard of the G1 has a lack of modem tethering and the 1gb cap, but I think I heard this was the ISP T-Mobile's call, while it this is not bad for the Android environment as it is fully capable of being programmed to allow tethering, etc. But when you deal with the ISP, (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) T-Mobile seems the best current choice since I passed their credit check with my FICO score in the low 600's and AT&T wanted some ridicules deposit to hold in their coffers for a "limited time" to prove my worthiness to their snobby iPhone "bitch plan". To AT&T I middle finger salute your offer and go with the German firm, T-Mobile.

I can't say I like the contract for 2 years and a $200 per line early termination "fee", but when you choosing between the lesser of two evils, at least currently until the networking options are sorted out, that is the current price of doing business.

5
Remote removal of code by Google, yeah its open. Why this would be a bad thing for the Gods are the same reason that makes it a good thing for the mere mortals. It levels the playing field, Now its a developers race. Gentlemen, start your Sdk/Eclipse engines? The real question is can *you* harden this open box of Pandora before anybody else does this for you.

iPhone Hacks, Quake 3 ( gPhone, the race is on )

2008-10-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

Jerry Seinfeld Microsoft Commercial

2008-09-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Brand New Site ( www.wulf-pack.tv )

2008-08-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the new site, after a total take over of www.wulf-pack.net , the new site is up at www.wulf-pack.tv

The new site is done in Flash and we are going to build some live streaming in the gallery section of the site, for our video pod-casts, demo client sites, and completely commented source code in C#, JAVA, PHP and ASP.

I want the user to experience wulf-pack.tv as a fluid and highly GUI experience.

Of course, one can get away with this in Flash, eventually we will put up a splash screen and give the user a choice between a HTML/Javascript page (for the old schoolers, you know who you are) or a full Flash page. Personally I like Flash allot, but I am wary to depend too much on it. While most browsers are fully flash functional I am noticing that many Linux .ISO images don't come with these pre-installed.

Since my new projects are iPhone and gPhone related we are building tutorials for building a iPhone/gPhone SDK and Eclipse image for a linux development .ISO image.

Quid pro-quo, Show me yours and I'll show you mine

2008-07-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

Now jobs and conventional employment are subject to problematic approaches in securing ones personal identity.

It used to be common place to require a social security number to be placed on the very employment applications a job seeker would apply on, this was used to give to the Human Resource department the tax data for payroll to provide to the IRS to make the appropriate tax deductions. In modern days, this can be a dangerous president as many different people could handle these paper applications, which not only have the social security number written directly on it but also with a full name, work history, current residence possibly a drivers license number and maybe even a date of birth. This data is the crux of what is required to apply for credit cards and purchasing things on credit.

Savvier applicants are writing "will provide social security number upon receipt of employment" however some employment kiosks REQUIRE this number just to begin the employment process (KMart, 99-cent stores and Walmart are just a few that does this). But some employers go even further and REQUIRE background and criminal checks on applicants which in-turn this MANDATES the requirement of a personal Social Security Number as a primary ID to check these types of records.

This is disheartening for the majority of applicants to these firms. One would think that a fair exchange of this type of data would be in order. All things being equal, would it not be fair to require the personal Social Security Number and back ground data of all the people involved with handling this data to do the background screening? Or even the personal social security number of the CEO and the board of directors of said company? After all, if they insist on doing back ground checks, drug screenings, etc., on you you should in-turn be able to do back ground checks, drug screenings, etc. on a company that one would work for? Not all companies are straight players, Worldcom, Enron, Countrywide, etc. where seemingly on the up and up but now the former employees know better and are impoverished as a byproduct of not doing the appropriate research.

One would be hard pressed to actually ask and receive any type of sensitive data from an employer or from the people that would handle a background investigation or a drug screening. To date, I am personally unaware of any prospective applicant that was able to request (and actually acquire) such information.

Businesses and corporations that would scrutinize a prospective candidate for employment should be looked at with great suspicion. After all, if they are adamant about conducting such a rigorous screening process without allowing an equally rigorous screening process to be conducted by a prospective employee then trust issues are evident and if they have these issues before one is even hired by them, then one could expect their internal management to be problematic at best and a company to avoid.

Beware of http://www.refurbishedxbox360s.com/

2008-07-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

Beware of this site it is a scam. I want to extend a special thanks to "elroyleday" on Yahoo answers to checking this out. Here are some links to his research. Take heed all gamers that are out there, and be wary. As the saying goes, if it is too good to be true then...its too good to be true.

Referbished XBox360...a calculated risk

2008-07-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

After mourning the loss of my 60 gb Playstation 3 for almost a year now (stolen right out of my house). I saw this site on the Internet. Asking a mere $34.99 for a refurbished XBox360 Premium with a 1 year warranty. Seems like a steal of a deal, and I am "tempted" to put my coin down and give it a try.

After spending an absorbent amount for my Playstation 3 ($1,000). I have been without a console and have been weighing the pros and cons of the major contenders (the Wii, the XBox360 and yet another Playstation 3).

I see the pros and cons in all systems and here is my assessment on them. I will start with my first love.

Playstation 3
I advocated for this unit from the beginning, knowing hands down that it was superior to anything on the market. The ability to install Linux sold me right away and backwards compatibility for Playstation 2 games was just cinch that made me pinch every last penny I had to purchase one. The Cell CPU and the 1080p capability along with being an inexpensive Blueray player (which is the current winner in the format wars, I won the bet with myself) made me a happy elitist to own one.

Why I am not getting one this time around...
Aside from the price, which after purchasing it at its high of $800 when I first got my hands on it. This platform has some limitations that has made me reconsider acquiring another one. First, it has a piss poor selection of games which drives me nuts. Second, the eternal delay of Home (Playstation's version of second life) has irked me to no end but the killing blow was their reversal to include backwards compatibility to Playstation 2 games. But the nail in the coffin was that Sony made no attempt to include a SDK to create games on the device like Microsoft did. This has made me sit on the fence just waiting for Sony to stop being such prudes and to get with the program.

Wii
Now the Wii was one I was really interested in, its price point is perfect, the games are interactive and fun especially in parties and groups. I have heard only good things about the Wii

Why I am not getting one this time around...
Ok, for all of its fun points, I still do not think it has the selection of games I really hunger for. Still I need a SDK to write my own games on this and no attempt to date has been made to do so. Yes, I will pass, but to the credit of the Wii it is in my next round of console purchases even over the Playstation 3.

The winner?
XBox360

Why?
Listen, the game console stability and horse power sucks when compared to the Playstation 3 it certainly doesn't have the full availability of fun and interactive games that the Wii has. But, it does score over both of them in two very distinctive ways.

First, it has the selection I like and has many RPG type games to ensorcel me for hours.

Second, XNA, the capability (for a price) for the common people to build games on.

Now red ring of death and overheating issues aside as well as the numerous complaints in the forums about having to return defunct systems and waiting weeks on end for another system that lasts for only a few months before it has to be returned yet again. I will spend the coin on a refurbished system until Sony gets its act together and the Wii becomes more competitive with its selection.

Where to go?

2008-06-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

Where to go?

It is hard now, our economy is diminishing, contracts are few and far between giving a feast or famine future and local prospects just don't recognize an entrepreneurial spirit.

I have been contracting as a web designer, since early 2000 and have been reassessing and shifting to freelance photography and even to shooting video trying to build my skills in a diversified manner that marks me as "indispensable" to future patrons. But the truth is, I am just a clone of all the other "hopefuls" that are doing the exact same thing.

The reality is, while knowledge of computers and enthusiasm for writing and creating videos are fun to do. They tend to leave one standing beside themselves.

While I have had dreams of working for Google and Apple, even to the extent of bettering my odds by actively promoting Google's technology with the gPhone and proudly attended the Apple's Developers Conference. Not a single offer has come to my table. Oh I get recruiters calling me to no end, promising me the moon and all the cheese it is made of but as the date progresses I am just another name and number for their little black book and I don't even know how many stars they give me.

So, I stick to my freelancer ways, insisting to contract out my professional services as opposed to delude myself into thinking that a job will really give me security, not that I believe that any corporation could truly provide anything more stable than I could.

True to my nature I find it hard to work for people than to work with them for a mutual business advantage. To be an employee seems to be a joke, not because I am adverse to working as a team or to work for a greater common goal of fiscal success, far from it. The frustrations of dealing with the politics of nepotism and playing favorites to under-qualified "buddies" of the manager is a constant theme of working a regular job, with regular people as opposed to an interesting gig that will allow for more dynamic possibilities.

All things being equal, I must confess hindsight being 20/20 I do not feel that my focus in freelancing endeavors are a waste of time or my resources. To be honest, I don't think I would of been introduced to the variety of opportunities (even if those opportunities did not land anything or go the direction I had hoped for). But that is just me.

So, would I ever consider conventional employment? Well, as strange as this may sound I do not see the distinction between a full time job or a contract that requires my full time attentions. The legal world seems to create a artificial circumstance for a full-time employee, a W2 employee seems to be more controlled and dummied down control of creativity and time (punch in the time clock, do work, clock out for lunch, eat lunch, clock back in for lunch, do more work, clock out).

As a contractor you have more control over this time to use it creatively and more efficiently and here in lies the problem as described to me by the CEO of Javaground:

I was interviewing with the CEO who explicitly told me that he would never consider incorporating me into his company as a contractor for the main reason that he could not have complete control over me. As an employee he could better have control over me and my loyalties would be more to his company and not my own consultancy.

I protested and told him that as a consultant, contractor he would have access to my entire professional network and as far as my loyalties to his company, Non Disclosure Agreements would legally prohibit me from playing the field and compromising secrets of his company. He still wanted me to be a regular employee, he still wanted that illusionary control over my time and loyalties. To my perception as a contractor/consultant the demand on my time and the loyalties to my new patron would be no different than being a regular full time employee.

My rational words fell on deaf ears, he didn't care, he wanted an employee and I wanted a business partner and I politely disengaged from further negotiations on the subject and consequently did not receive an offer to work for his company.

It would of been a cool company to work for, but in retrospect I am glad he never followed up with me. In my eyes if he was honestly that adamant over the semantics of my professional relation to him and his company then we probably would not of been able to work well with each other in the first place.

So, Where to go? Is probably not the right question to ask, more to the point should be the question Whom do I ally myself with?

Prius, our next car? biodiesel?

2008-06-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

Next car a Prius, NHW20?

The next car I would purchase is a Hybrid hands down. I would like to remove myself from purchasing gasoline all together, I have targeted Biodiesel as viable alternative, eliminating pure gasoline, to use the renewable biodiesel but i do not find very many viable selections for these capabilities in the US. Toyota's Prius is a stop gap measure, that has enough interest in the subject matter to spawn well versed enthusiast

I do however see cutting edge alternatives in other countries, specifically Germany and Japan. I asked my brother a top end mechanic, about diesel bikes and he did not know of any so I decided to Google my way to finding out.

The technology is certainly out there, but not really here. Of course, as expected, the cutting edge is not available to the US bubble we are living in. But a man can dream and really get serious research done so when I do step foot on a dealership I will walk in with a loan and the exact specifications for the vehicle I want.

Gas in the US is still "relatively cheap" at $5 a gallon, yes I know there will be a few to take issue with this statement. But my research is on a global scale and I base this on UKs prices (somewhere around $8-9 euros a gallon, also bear in mind that the cost for a Euro cost more than one american dollar at the time of this writing).

I am leaning to the 3rd generation Toyota Prius as it is clocking at 60 MPG and if driven with fineness this could be bumped to an even higher number and if hacked to increase the battery capacity it may be even higher MPG. Of course, any tricking to the vehicle's internals may void the warranty so I will have to take great care to read and understand the specifications as to not botch any modifications I do.

Hybrid Motorcycles

In October 28, 2005, at the trade shows in Tokyo, Yamaha, has a bike known as the Gen-Ryu it holds a light weight, compact YZF-R6 600cc motor AND a electric motor. Looks impressive and very savvy.

Well its 2008 and still no word on its price or if it is even being sold in the US. I would like to eventually get a bike like the Gen-Ryu, but for now (and for practical reasons) I have my sights set on the Toyota Prius

Reporting Life

2008-06-09T12:21:00.001-07:00

Hello again.

Well we are being called to a professional gig this week to take graduation pictures on the 11th, 12th and 18th for the classes of 2008. This should be fun.

I will try to post when I get time.

The Business of Scripts (movie and .php)

2008-06-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

Well we just finished our calling card website. I will be making some .php scripts while working on our movie scripts. We have 3D Animation (blender) on both of our MacBook machines. We have the tools and the talent, we are just looking to getting better tools, a 1080p camera and a 1080p monitor.

I am faced with whatever my camera can "see". The magick is in the editing to be sure. We are gathering our sound files into a Database (MySQL), and keeping them on a independent Harddrive. Thats the technical stuff I will post more on the source as it is developed.

Tip of the Hat to Dr. Rudolph Bertagnoli

2008-05-30T19:11:00.001-07:00

This is not really apart of my blog of Android, but I am very impressed with this doctor from Germany. He is a spine surgeon I heard about. He is so sophisticated and Uber that he has developed his own specialized surgical tools for his trade.

Now, to give my audience an idea of just how absolutely Uber this is (to me at least) I put him on the level of a Samurai that forges his own katana or a hacker that constructs his own specialized laptop or even a race-car driver who works on his cars engine.

I always had a dream of becoming a plastic surgeon and even attended UCSD for a few years (taking biochemistry and pharmaceutical courses). But my consultancy was making more money than attending my classes and it was a choice between eating and providing shelter for myself or completing my college courses...guess my stomach won.

Anyway, Dr. Rudolph Bertagnoli, I admire your elite methods that defy convention and by creating your specialized tools to enhance your surgical skills beyond that of your typical "American" doctors. Gives a special meaning to...a fine product of German Engineering. You get a tip of the hat from me.

Freelance Reporter for KZSW

2008-05-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, first blogger now freelance reporter, I feel like I am Peter Parker (Spiderman). I will be covering mostly Temecula area particularly the film festivals. Since this is a technology blog, much of my reporting will be based around that theme.

I will be seeking to interview technology businesses, green energy businesses and of course game businesses. In addition I would like to host a poker segment and commentary, discussing hand strategy, tells and where the best poker jack pots are locally.

More 3D models...PDM Young Actors Workshop

2008-04-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

This is some work that I did transcribing a blue-print layout for a Theatre design from the 2D layout to the SketchUp 3D image. The program (SketchUp) is a breeze to work with, not as complicated as conventional 3D programs (but also without animation, a plug-in is required and may cost some money).

I will report more as I create 3D objects.

Google's SketchUp, Learn it and Love it!

2008-04-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

I was playing with Google's SketchUp, and I have to say it rocks. You can build any 3D object with ease. This is one concept idea I had for a sub-stellar space craft called the Solar Surfer, made to hop local planets with in a solar system.

I certainly intend to port this into a game that teaches the planets just by hopping them on this craft.

Google's Summer of CODE

2008-03-18T01:03:00.000-07:00

Ok coders break out the technical manuals, buy a case of energy drinks and say goodbye to your social life (well outside of the geeks circle of course).

I got a link here that sorts the categories of the organizations. check it out and contribute and karma will thank you for it. There are some very cool projects out there very savvy ideas and its a great thing to add to your resume.

Not to mention that you will learn more about programming by actually doing programming for real world applications than writing a hello world program.

117 reasons why I hate IE 7 for Windows

2008-03-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, Microsoft, thank you for pissing off all of those hard working web developers and showing us all how much a multimillion dollar company can totally SUCK at fixing their own bugs and making us code-monkeys look like a bunch of complete idiots.

Not only did your non-compliance to standardization of any type, make my clients angry with me. But your stupid virus program that you call Vista just makes me even more pissed off.

Sure, I can boycott your inferior operating system and sing praises to Leopard (despite the 0% battery bug I have to look at every day, yes Apple I am looking at you too, but I will admit Leopard by and large KICKS ARSE)

If there are any Microsoft advocates that want to point the finger that Leopard has problems, I would implore them to point their browsers (use IE 7 at your own peril) to this link and read.

High Expectations For Android

2008-03-14T00:30:00.001-07:00

The great battle of the cellphones. iPhone vs./ Android (gPhone). This is a big deal for both companies both Apple and Google. Each company has advantages and disadvantages attached to them. Slashdot has a great link on the story.

Apple, well, put their iPhone on the market. Its a slick phone, with touch screen capabilities and a sweet GUI interface. Actually a nice phone. But it has some serious fatal flaws attached.

First off, Apple mandates AT&T as the sole service provider, yes the same AT&T that has a monitoring station in San Francisco for the Government ease dropping program. AT&T mandated the need for social security numbers just to activate one. In addition to the insane initial price of the phone itself $600, a 2 year minimum contract was required, figure at least $100 a month for 24 months...$2,400 + $600 = $3,000 total. I call bullshit on that.

Also, initially there was no SDK (Software Development Kit) for the iPhone. Well, now there is but the insanity of the Non-Disclosure agreement prohibits any other developer from advising or helping further the development of this platform. Are they serious?!?

The iPhone has been hacked only to be patched to turn the hacked iPhone into a bricked $600 paper weight.

Apple, did some very bone-headed maneuvers with the iPhone, but they have a real phone on the market. A phone that I have absolutely no desire to have.

Don't get me wrong, I love Apple's products. I have a PowerBook G4 (PPC) that I have had virtually zero downtime with and a MacBook (Intel) that, aside from a Battery Bug with Leopard that does not charge my battery. Works very well.

But, even with their newer systems like the Mac Air, altho beautiful, lacks an optical drive and has only one USB port!?! But I digress, back to the showdown between Apple and Google.

What does Google have to bring to the table? Well, nothing, but virtually something...the Android platform. Yeah, they don't have a phone, they have many phones that only need to be Linux compatible. Google, is smart, they have a actual open OS available to any and all that care enough to develop for it, literally any way they choose. Hell they even put prize money out to sway developers.

Now, I will be the first to say that Google is not just being altruistic, they are in business to make more money, just like Apple, but the main difference is this they are smarter about how they approach business. They know enough to give a little to get a little.

Resurrection of the Black Beauty

2008-03-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

My Mac is back, and with a full install of Leopard. I have been laying the foundation of this Uber unit over the weekend and so far, it is working like a charm.

Parallels, was one of the first programs I installed on this beauty, nothing says pie in your face to the Microsoft crowd like having Windows running on a Apple. I have XP pro corporate running in a Virtual Machine, I gave it 1GIG of virtual ram and about 30GIGs of expanding "virtual" space.

Ubuntu, is a Linux install I wanted to do next. But I ran into some issues with it, stalling and unable to capture screen resolution correctly.

I discovered this was not a unique problem. I had to install Ubuntu 7.04 (installing 7.10 has complications). Its always stupid little things, but thankfully Google saved the day.

Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses all disk encryption methods

2008-03-01T22:18:00.000-08:00

This is a very savvy exploit, according to the video and article the conventional wisdom of when you turn the computer off, the active volatile RAM is erased. However, it seems, conventional wisdom has to elaborate a bit more on the details of precisely how soon that data within the RAM disintegrates.

Apparently the "data" within the RAM slowly fades away when the power is cut, giving a window of opportunity to attack and crack any encryption on the hard-drive, by making a copy of the encryption key.

While no exotic equipment is required for this hack, software that reads the RAM may be required to implement correctly. SOftware of this nature should be readily available on the Internet. One thing is certain, there is always a way around security and this is a proof of concept video.

Check it out.

Enjoy.

Wife v1.0

2008-02-24T12:35:00.000-08:00

Girlfriend 6.0 vs. Wife 1.0
Comparative Trial

Last year a friend of mine upgraded from GirlFriend 6.0 to Wife 1.0 and found that it's a memory hog leaving very little system resources available for other applications. He is now noticing that Wife 1.0 is also spawning Child Processes which are further consuming valuable resources. No mention of this particular phenomena was included in the product brochure or the documentation, though other users have informed him that this is to be expected due to the nature of the application.

Not only that, Wife 1.0 installs itself such that it is always launched at system initialization, where it can monitor all other system activity. He's finding that some applications such as PokerNight 10.3, BeerBash 2.5, and PubNight 7.0 are no longer able to run in the system at all, crashing the system when selected (even though they always worked fine before). During installation, Wife 1.0 provides no option as to the installation of undesired Plug-Ins such as MotherInLaw 55.8 and BrotherInLaw Beta release. Also, system performance seems to diminish with each passing day.
Some features he'd like to see in the upcoming wife 2.0.

a "Don't remind me again" button
a Minimize button
An install shield feature that allows Wife 2.0 be installed with the option to uninstall at any time without the loss of cache and other system resources
An option to run the network driver in promiscuous mode which would allow the system's hardware probe feature to be much more useful.

I myself decided to avoid the headaches associated with Wife 1.0 by sticking with Girlfriend 7.0. Even here, however, I found many problems. Apparently you cannot install Girlfriend 7.0 on top of Girlfriend 6.0. You must uninstall Girlfriend 6.0 first. Other users say this is a long standing bug that I should have known about. Apparently the versions of Girlfriend have conficts over shared use of the I/O port. You think they would have fixed such a stupid bug by now. To make matters worse, The uninstall program for Girlfriend 6.0 doesn't work very well leaving undesirable traces of the application in the system. Another thing -- all versions of Girlfriend continually popup little annoying messages about the advantages of upgrading to Wife 1.0.

Bug Warning

Wife 1.0 has an undocumented bug. If you try to install Mistress 1.1 before uninstalling Wife 1.0, Wife 1.0 will delete MSMoney files before doing the uninstall itself. Then Mistress 1.1 will refuse to install, claiming insufficient resources.

Bug work-arounds:
To avoid this bug, try installing Mistress 1.1 on a different system and never run any file transfer applications such as Laplink 6.0. Also, beware of similar shareware applications that have been known to carry viruses that may affect Wife 1.0. Another solution would be to run Mistress 1.1 via a UseNet provider under an anonymous name. Here again, beware of the viruses which can accidently be downloaded from the UseNet.

Tech Support Suggestions

These are very common problem men complain about, but is mostly due to a primary misconception. Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 6.0 to Wife 1.0 with the idea that Wife 1.0 is merely a Utilities & Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is indeed an operating system and designed by its creator to run everything.

It is unlikely you would be able to purge Wife 1.0 and still convert back to Girlfriend 6.0. Hidden operating files within your system would cause Girlfriend 6.0 to emulate Wife 1.0 so nothing is gained. It is impossible to uninstall, delete, or purge the program files from the system once installed. You cannot go back to Girlfriend 6.0 because Wife 1.0 is not designed to do this.

Some have tried to install Girlfriend 7.0 or Wife 2.0 but end up with more problems than the original system. Look in your manual under "Warnings - Alimony/Child support". I recommend you keep Wife 1.0 and deal with the situation.

I suggest installing background application program C:\YES DEAR to alleviate software augmentation. Having installed Wife 1.0 myself, I might also suggest you read the entire section regarding General Partnership Faults (GPFs). You must assume all responsibility for faults and problems that might occur, regardless of their cause. The best course of action will be to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE. In any case avoid excessive use of C:\YES DEAR because ultimately you may have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the operating system will return to normal. The system will run smoothly as long as you take the blame for all the GPFs.
Wife 1.0 is a great program, but very high-maintenance. Consider buying additional software to improve the performance of Wife 1.0. I recommend Flowers 3.1 and Diamonds 2K. Do not, under any circumstances, install Secretary with Short Skirt 3.3. This is not a supported application for Wife 1.0 and is likely to cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

Best of Luck,
Tech Support

Microsoft vows to open up

2008-02-23T12:37:00.000-08:00

Microsoft says it will make available about 30,000 pages of once-secret technical information on its products. What will the company may be hoping to gain by giving out the documentation.

Check it out Market Place has the details.

Google's Android debuts at Mobile World Congress

2008-02-22T23:31:00.000-08:00

This is Android

Real Android powered phone demo

2008-02-22T23:05:00.000-08:00

This is cool, proof of concept for Android...

And on the old ARM

Boycott eBay

2008-02-20T13:46:00.000-08:00

Well I can say that the eBay bullshit is just too much for me (or my Paypal account) to bear.

The interface is clumsy, and amateurish. At the cost of selling your products, they tax you either way if you sell or not, they just tax you more when you sell. I found it hard to sell anything over a fucking dollar, eBay is truly a better buyers market than sellers one.

I am not only Boycotting eBay, but I am going to build a better eBay like site, but with blackjack and hookers. Then they own Paypal, and they hold your coin for an additional 4-5 days. Their stupid credit card won't work on the majority of 3rd party cash uploading sites.

Fuck them and fuck their Bank, I want options and I want my coin now!

I have a fuck-en business to run, not a clown to support.

Rogue, Dead Guy Ale

2008-02-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

Over priced, but worth most of it.

Has a kick to it in a nutty sort of way. This ale is, good, and gets its buzz on quickly. These premium, ales are better than that Bud beer. It certainly has the kick and the quality can't be beat.

I have the good fortune to rate beers and fine ales. On a scale from 1 - 10 I would award a strong 8, would of been a 9 if price was more competitive with the competition, but in their league there is little competition, maybe Samuel Adams.

I would buy this more often, If I could afford it, for now it is a treat for the cynosure in me.

Leo Laporte, my hero

2008-02-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

I often suggest people goto Leo's show (he has several). Because he is the tech guy. He has a capability to translate technology to end users. In a way that is not abrasive, but rather...friendly.

This guy rocks. I listen as much as I can, on off hours, when I am developing. Check out his pod-casts, I draw allot of inspiration from him. He convinced me Audio is key in the audio/video world.

He is a Mac user, but he works with the others I am sure.

Keep up the great work, Leo.

Microsoft to Give Away Developer Tools?

2008-02-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

Does it seriously have to get to the point where you have to give your tools away for new developers to tinker with them? Mircrosoft is giving away to students a full version of Visual Studio Professional Edition. About f*ck'n time, but if they really wanted to save face they would open up that offer to everybody.

They claim that there tools are more powerful, honestly any tool is powerful in the right hands, whether it is from the Cathedral Microsoft camp or the Bazaar Open-source camp.

Slashdot.org is reporting that Microsoft will make full versions of their development tools available to students.

"The Redmond-based software maker said late Monday it will let students download Visual Studio Professional Edition, a software development environment; Expression Studio, which includes graphic design and Web site and hybrid Web-desktop programming tools; and XNA Game Studio 2.0, a video game development program. Gates said students will want to try Microsoft's tools because they're more powerful than the open-source combination of Linux-based operating systems, the Apache Web server, the MySQL database and the PHP scripting language used to make complex Web sites. But Gates said giving away Microsoft software isn't intended to turn students against open source software entirely. Rather, he hopes it will just add one more tool to their belt."

Tools are tools, and Microsoft has tools a plenty. I would burn this, on my Mac in a virtual partition to test drive it, compare it to GNU and cc of the UNIX world and maybe come away with, Eclipse

Eclipse?

free

open source

mature

interactive IDE (code completion, debugging, refactoring)

supports multiple languages

Eclipse Rich Client Platform

easily customizable, modifiable, pluggable, more..

Linux is just an OS!

2008-02-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Skills with the Operating System, and how-to with Linux is what is at stake. The penguin certainly has a hold of the hacker community and for all the right reasons. I would say that all things being equal I would think of Lenovo from IBM. Just to be on the safe side for utility. (http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/)

Mac is nice, no doubt, I would certainly love to have their solid-state Mac Air. I am "disappointed" that their is no optical drive, no RJ-45 wired port and no non-proprietary battery.

I am already boycotting Apple's stupid iPhone because of the AT&T arrangement. gPhone is the winner in my book, hands down. A cell phone device, would be the only computer one would need for specialty operations, it runs Linux...nuff said.

Windows Wins? Linux Loses!

2008-02-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

It is decided, the mob rulez.

Windows is the champion in the OS WAR, aside from having an army of clones and nodes, with every worm, virus, and trojan known in hackerdom and a keystroke logger with a return email address to your proxy and ssl encrypted one time use email.

Now Microsoft has assumed that the users have become extra retarded with Vista, now the official retarded progeny of the Microsoft Empire, I will assume this is its flagship product, and a total slap in the face of the computer nerds who know anything.

But, for all its fatal flaws, it scores over Linux because of the obvious and the not so obvious things.

First, the obvious

Windows boots into the GUI from the start.

Without direction, Linux boots into command prompt.

The delicate surgical operation, to install earlier versions of Linux required more patience and through understanding of specific motherboard layouts, and BIOS settings. When I installed earlier versions of Linux (Redhat), I opted for the non-graphical installs as not to tax the computers resources and get a cleaner install.

Windows boots into a GUI from the start, from pretty every option on user friendly world of welcome. Pre-installation, means allot when you have a new system. 99.9% of the sheeple will never venture far from the start button.

But for the 0.1% that truly give a fuck, the command prompt of Linux gives a real time living example of its magnificence. but the weakness of having a patchwork of C code and no real direction of how to use it is the Achilles heel of Linux. Open Source, is only really open to those who know how to use it well. The more you know how things work the better Open Source will serve ones needs.

Windows, has at best one salvageable attribute, with XP pro, its a hacker's Tonka Toy playground. Linux, of course, is the hacker's weapon of choice.

The not so obvious

Linux is a surpassingly elegant Operating System once the learning curve is leveled its elegance becomes apart of its user. But it is a task, to become efficient and to have sufficient foreknowledge to make ones tasks meaningful. Linux is a toolkit for the professional more than a user friendly tools for the hobbiest that XP/Vista seem to be.

Bootable Linux, is a bootable toolkit ready for any system it is configurable with, whether old school CD bootable or new spy-school USB, every hacker worth her salt should always have at least one bootable USB.

Access to a uncontaminated Operating System, to target actual hard-drives that are connected to the net.

Windows, of course, will win. It is a virus that has infected the mind of the majority of its users. Microsoft wants to be a player, so they will invariably come up with something to make its comeback.

...it's a matter of capital punishment. If you have the capital, you don't get punished

Android, Mobile Device Emulator

2008-02-11T19:52:00.000-08:00

Android is the platform for the gPhone. The gPhone is Google's own Linux compatible, hardware platform. The device is not available to the public, yet, but the emulator allows programs to be written and tested be for the actual release of the gPhone itself.

Android, of course, is the complete solution for cellular phone services and specialized applications. This has the power of Linux on a cellular device, that trumps the iPhone, hands down.

I would trust Google to engineer this right, the first time. Since they have the stance of playing the field of cellular business, but not an actual "player" in the cellular business, meaning, they do not have any biases or ties, like Apple does with AT&T.

Google is offering a reward for applications developed under their Android system. It is very nice but still lacks in demonstrating very key features.

And now the downside...

No support for placing or receiving actual phone calls. You can simulate phone calls (placed and received) through the emulator console, however.
No support for USB connections
No support for camera/video capture (input).
No support for audio input (capture). Output (playback) is supported.
No support for device-attached headphones
No support for determining connected state
No support for determining battery charge level and AC charging state
No support for determining SD card insert/eject
No support for Bluetooth

But the upside, rocks.

Knoppix on a USB

2008-02-10T15:09:00.001-08:00

Check this link out. Knoppix on USB thumb-drives are fully bootable and operational computer systems that kick arse. This makes analyzing a new machine easier and less prone to mss-analysis when analyzing code from a compromised operating system on the machine.

Since thumb-drives are nicer than bootable CDs, less cumbersome and re-writable and now have insane memory capacity. I would put this on a 8 gig thumb-drive, 2 gigs for the Operating System (more than what it needs) and 6 gigs for "everything else". I guess I will always carry a CD-R just in case.

We are going to build Android development USBs on Knoppix memory-sticks, with full encryption.

The Weapon of Choice...

2008-02-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later (x86 only)
------------------------------------------
Apple is, in our opinion, the best commercial alternative, their shift to the Intel chip-set makes (with some minor configuration) OS X, usable on other Intel PC devices. Leopard, makes modern Macs a Uber Hacker elite just by having such a beautiful and elegant tool.

I got a 250 GIG drive for it, now trying to get my hands on Leopard 10.5.1
I got 2 GIGs of RAM.
150 gig harddrive space allocated to OS X
I will have 100 gig for temp media storage

This is important.

I would love to get the Mac Air, but Wi-Fi only access would not fly with the amount of utility required for major operations. and no optical drive?!? WTF!!! The battery....?

But you can't argue with its elegance, slim grace, and look. Its a beauty to behold, don't bring it to dirty parties, only black tie affairs.

The real deal is leopard, that cat is hard to get a collar for.

Android Supported Operating Systems

2008-02-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

Ok everybody, Android is OS friendly. Android will install on XP/Vista, OSX, Linux. Each has its own temperament and levels of friendliness. The feel of different Operating Systems are ones personal preference. I will offer my advice on this. Of the 3 major Operating Systems on the market.

Windows XP or Vista
--------------------------
As much as I dislike XP and Vista, I realize it is the standard. XP or Vista deserves to be put in a virtual cage, and stay there. XP should never be a base install on any hard-drive partition. Just to be safe. XP from its virtual prison is powerless to infect the rest of the system should there be any...complications.

Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later (x86 only)
------------------------------------------
Apple is the best commercial alternative, their shift to the Intel chip-set makes (with minor configuration) OS X, usable on other Intel PC devices. Leopard, makes modern Macs a Uber Hacker elite just by having such a beautiful and elegant tool.

Linux (tested on Linux Ubuntu Dapper Drake)
---------------------------------------------------------
XP is a prisoner in a Virtual cage, OS X is reported to be the best commercial alternative. Linux, simply, is the best alternative. The level of power Linux has in development is awesome as it is built with the power of kernel level granularity allows Linux to be the hands down victor as a Android Development platform.

For Futurama Fans

2008-02-08T17:39:00.000-08:00

Future Perfect, of XML

2008-02-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

link #1 (sites reliable news source)

link #2 (sites direct source)

The story so far. XML, aka Xtended Markup Language

PS3 Price Drop, Cell Hits 45nm

2008-02-07T14:37:00.001-08:00

IBM announced that the Cell CPU (used in the PlayStation 3) will soon make the transition to IBM's next-gen 45nm high-k process. 'The 45nm Cell will use about 40 percent less power than its 65nm predecessor, its die area will be reduced by 34 percent.

A practical up shot of this is the greatly reduced power budget that will minimize the amount of active cooling required for the PS/3 console, which in turn will make it cheaper to produce and even more reliable.

Sony's per-unit cost is the reduction in overall die size. A smaller die means a smaller, cheaper package; it also means that yields will be better and that each chip will cost less overall.

I would like this more if they allow PS3/Linux users to access 7 of 8 SPUs instead of only 6.

A price drop would be nice (though when compared to the Xbox360, the PS3 is very competitive), When is the PS3 slim appears, all the pieces will be in place for a slim.

Since Sony has been aggressively shrinking the motherboard in the PS3, and the chip size has dropped from 90nm, to 65nm and now 45nm. All that means less power (smaller PSU) and less heat (less fans & heat-sinks). Smarter design means a better product than its prototypes.

Dan Morrill builds a simple application on Android platform

2008-02-07T00:43:00.000-08:00

I just saw Dan Morrill's video on Youtube. He does a fairly good job explaining how-to program a simple application on the gPhone emulator.

Of course, the possibilities are endless, and the portability of J2ME devices would be seamless. Java is the, more intelligent, weapon of choice for this platform and Google has its own classes designed for the gPhone.

I am looking forward to more videos like this, specifically in relation to the OpenGL capabilities with this platform. I am sure some very wicked interfaces can be designed and enhanced upon to give it all the glitz and glamour of the iPhone with the full scale raw power of a Linux based smart phone.

Our Black Beauty, (intel) Mac-Book will be repaired and installed with Leopard ready to commit to some full scale Eclipse development. I would love to explore this for networked gaming possibilities, with the built-in capabilities of the device's GPS (global positioning system).

EEtimes Speculates on The Initial gPhone details

2008-02-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

I would encourage the majority of our readers to take a look at the detail link for the gPhone device. Android, of course, will be the platform of choice and the capability to port Java applications over to it makes it a nice segway into becoming a standard for the cellphone market.

If this does not show Google as a major player in the cellphone market I am unsure what will. Google had their eye on the spectrum market, and made the auction a level playing field as much as it could. Well, for the billionaires that could afford the minimum bid of about 4 billion.

I am excited to see where this is going and what we can do with this technology.

Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson on Poker

2008-01-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

The professor of poker. This guy rocks and I hope he is able to get the stupid law forbidding online poker in the US. I have always had a dream of developing a online mobile poker solution for the poker enthusiast, to play anytime and anywhere on a cellphone specifically on the Google Android platform.

The major obstacles are not technical ones, many online poker websites exist, but legal ones. I myself have lost $800 from my (now defunct) Netteller account when, with a stroke of a pen our infinitely wise president George W. Bush signed a law to make online poker illegal in the US.
I am sure other people lost much more.
Professor Charles Nesson discusses on the Goolge Tech Talks on Youtube about ways that poker can be used as a powerful tool for teaching core negotiation and business skills.

He is founder of the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS), an organization focused on developing an academic curriculum using poker as a teaching tool. I am a firm believer that poker can be used to teach important life skills such as game theory, strategic thinking, risk assessment, and money management in an engaging and interactive way.

Even Steven Colbert from the Colbert Report interviewed the professor.

PhoneCash/4Ray

2008-01-17T15:27:00.000-08:00

PhoneCash/4Ray, what I like about it.

J2ME, written in Java, object oriented, language at that. They got it running on a nice sexy black Motorola Razor. The interface is simple. I would like to see a developers version of this soon, a top bar menu GUI to do administration and auditing work to the PhoneCash/4Ray application.

Since it is in Java, porting the code to a Java compatable architecture would be the next logical step with this.

Here is a simple overview of how the PhoneCash/4Ray works.

Its simplicity and minimalistic design and the fact that they have developed predefined stored proceedures constrains the window of attack opportunity, for SQL injection attack as well as the user holding the key of authenticity in their crainium, even if the cell unit is compromized it would be usless without the correct pin number. This adds an extra layer of security.

I will post more as I explore this device.

Very cool project, credit cards on mobile devices

2008-01-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

This opportunity came to me and I am liking it more and more. I have corresponded with the partners and am testing the device today. This technology goes beyond the conventional mobile pay-point on your cell phone and will take it to a whole new level.

PhoneCash/4ray

Toraton Partners Inc.
PhoneCash/4Ray is an m-commerce/payment solution that operates with military grade encryption. It has been tested both domestically and internationally by carriers and OEM's with no breakage, and with zero risk of identity theft. The solution allows any user to make payments, check balances, transfer and receive funds and process credit cards. It allows multiple currencies, balanced on a daily basis and operates on all platforms. It is non-industry and non-niche specific which allows it to be customized to the needs of your clients, in any language. The solution is compliant with the Patriot Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, CISP and GAAP standards; it is ready for private labeling to increase your brand awareness and as a value added service to your clients.

I am testing the device today and will do reports as I explore its functionality and its capabilities.

Working out...and sweating the details.

2008-01-02T12:29:00.000-08:00

Yes this year I am going to workout for a year and join a gym.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday upper-body.
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday lower-body.
Everyday I take a walk.

The details (upper-body)

pushups 3-sets of 60
crunches 2-sets of 50
curls 3-sets of 13 @ 20lbs (each arm)
dumbell 3-sets of 13 @ 20lbs
20 minute aerobic

The details (lower-body)

pushups 3-sets of 60
crunches 2-sets of 50
squats 3-sets of 13 @20lbs
complete lower body stretching
20 minute aerobic

Current Height: 5'8"
Current Weight: 220lbs

Happy new year

2008-01-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

We are creating a new interactive look this year. We wish everybody a great and prosperous New Year.

Wii hacked at the Chaos Computer Congress

2007-12-31T12:07:00.000-08:00

Its only a matter of time before we will be able to have bootable Linux CD/DVDs working on the Wii.

Check out this link for the other neat stuff the CCC is doing this year.

The Day my MacBook died

2007-12-30T13:14:00.000-08:00

Merry X-Mass.

Yikes, I never thought I would see the day where a Mac bit the dust, but it has in fact done so. Specifically, the native hard-drive that came with the unit. I was able to save and back up the crux of my work but not everything.

This is a picture of the boot-up screen. I am now looking to get another SATA Hard-drive and a new installation of Leopard.

I am on my PowerBookG4 now, old faithful with a PPC chip-set (not the Intel)

It just goes to show that all machines are prone to wear and tear, I am not a snooty Mac user, and in Mac's defense it was just a hard-drive failure not a virus that bricked the thing.

Google's gPhone coming in February!?!

2007-12-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

When I got the word on this, I couldn't contain myself. This will give us a base of code that we can be relatively assured of working. With Google's "summer of code" and the colossus resources at their disposal its small wonder they are able to get this out early.

Gentlemen, install your SDKs, and get ready to rock. With hardware units specifically designed to utilize Google's gPhone platform, this will allow pretty much everybody to program just about anything one can imagine. In the immortal words of Han Solo, "I can imagine quite allot".

Having a platform like this rocks...

Windows lesson #1, install Cygwin

2007-12-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

This install is actually for our Android development. This will be a manageable development environment designed specifically with Windows users in mind. We are developing on the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE), we will be programing mostly in Java but will also program the lower device levels in C/C++ when Google releases accessibility to them.

This Windows clone will offer Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP (WAMP) integration, this is similar to Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP). Specially geared with specific applications to lessen the learning curve for new UNIX/Linux interfacing.

Windoze in one, SuSE, in another and Fedora 8 all housed in Tiger on my Mac.

Cygwin is a Linux-like environment for Windows

2007-12-19T00:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry to say this to Windoze, but without Cygwin XP would be severely gimped. Cygwin gives the full power of UNIX through your terminal window.

This is a good thing because the native C/C++ compilers allow programability from the get-go. I am looking at .NET to begin the testing of its integrity and security weaknesses. Keeping our Window proto-type in a virtual prison we are able to better safe guard our Windows specific applications and .NET web development.

We do this in sync with our open source equivalent, LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) on the Macs main operating system, since Macs are essentially BSD UNIX they already come with full UNIX functionality. The unfortunate fact of XP gimpness "mandates" the immediate install of Cygwin so XP would not suck so much.

Playing at being a game designer

2007-12-18T21:05:00.000-08:00

Making games or more specifically developing them is something most of the game players out there would love to get a gig in. The Uberly cool games that are out there now, Halo 3, GTA (series), and many others have a decent replay value, great graphics, and everything else that makes games fun. I have worked at companies that have had these dream gigs for the lucky few that can read and write Assembler and C/C++ in their sleep and do the code work of at least 100 engineers.

It seems that in this industry, you got to be a God of code just to get an entry level intern position. Yes it is very tough, to get a gig in the gaming world. Unless you have a unique idea that has not infringed on any proprietary or patented copy-writes and that has fully demonstrable with your own source code and your own graphics and your own story line half way to market. The studios will give you a snub look and thank you for your time.

Game studios can be hard on many aspiring developers. If you are new to the game of game development and you are seeking a gig in it, best assume that the "creative" (read non-engineering and non-programming) positions have already been accounted for, typically by a manager with an accredited degree in Business Management and absolutely no clue (or a desire to learn about) new game technologies. After all that is why they hire Gods that can code the work of 100 engineers, to deal with the meddling details of actually doing the work.

This blog is dedicated to the aspiring developers that would, in addition to programming and engineering, like to try the creative roles that have typically been doled out to the nepotism pre-hand selected clueless administrative managers that don't code a lick of C/C++ but can make unreasonable requests and impose ridiculous deadlines.

So what are we looking at to click into this industry? Build it yourself, if you are not a God of code (yet), find others who have specialized talents to contribute. Compensate them, preferably with money, but recognition and status can play just as well, especially if they are in the same boat of scoring a gig.

The business of games so often includes more than just developing them, this is a multi-billion dollar industry with budgets that are well over several million dollars for a very good, tight team of engineers that can make the impossible, slightly probable.

Of course, now with the Internet and really inexpensive international development labor, one can almost be ones own game development studio. It is not uncommon for giant game studios to collaborate with teams that have been already proven and just needing a nice contract to be financed.

Windoze where it belongs...in Parallels

2007-12-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

I installed Parallels right away, and in that Win-32 XP. This is one of the perks of having a Mac being able to run Windows in a virtually safe environment. I wouldn't run Windows on the bare metal of any box, but because most of the corporate world does windows I will to for show and when I want to get into the meat and potatoes of my professional operations I switch to MacBook mode.

I nuked my Mac...it's the only way to be sure

2007-12-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

Total resurrection of the Black Beauty, it is the only way to to be sure, and slimed me down 50 gigs on my harddrive!!!

The first thing I did was upload Tiger updates, I am still trying to get a hold of a .iso

The Game of the Game Industry

2007-12-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

The Game Industry is a dynamic and challenging environment. I have been engaging recruiters with various opportunities. In the midst of corporate uncertainty some want me to be a traditional employee with the traditional employee expectations under the typical employee constraints.

It is difficult for me to really figure out if being an employee is really any different than being a consultant. The same level of focus and commitment is typically required. I have always been of the opinion that contracting is always better albeit difficult sometimes more difficult to obtain. With the rise of recent layoffs being an employee gives a false sense of security and "permanent" positions are really not as permanent as as the pink slip holders would of hoped for.

I was recently contacted by several recruiters one in particular that supposedly has actual job offers for me if I would consent to becoming an employee and engage a permanent position, according to the recruiter I am having talks with apparently this is a standard practice in the industry.

I emailed off a Word resume (even though the same information can be downloaded from this blog). I have been curious about what this particular recruiter could bring to the table. The first time I had dealings with this particular recruiter, I was essentially told to buzz off and get some "real" game experience before he could help be land anything. So thats *exactly* what I did. Even went as far as to start my own development on the PS/3 and learn OpenGL development.

We will see just how permanent any offers that come my way will become.

Android (Java code)

2007-12-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

The code will, be in the Java tounge. The Objects will make our develompent very easy, and ready made.

Truth be known. we should start our GUI code right away

/* the GUI Graphical User Interface code */
/* */
import java.applet.Applet;
import java.awt.*;

...the rest of the code

Android Set Up...

2007-11-30T08:03:00.001-08:00

Ok, here is the first step, download the Android SDK, its freely available.

http://code.google.com/android/download.html

Also it is advisable to also download the IDE (Integrated Development Environment) called Eclipse, while it is not the only "option" out there some of the truly old school types can roll-there-own using emacs or vi as a text editor and maybe configuring by hand the Java path.

Here is the download link for Eclipse

http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

There is a plug-in that is required to develop Android under Eclipse

http://code.google.com/android/intro/installing.html

I myself can verify it installs and works correctly on MacBook (Intel) for both the Eclipse IDE, the Android plug-in and Android SDK.

On Windows it should install easily, but I do not have a Windows machine and cannot verify this.

On Linux, I am not sure, but if it installs on the Mac it should install on Linux platforms as well.

Google's Andriod

2007-11-14T14:30:00.001-08:00

We are going to go into Google's Android development in developing games. It's a very powerful system which includes its own Operating System, middle ware and surface applications. By our understanding this wins hands down over Symbian and Windows CE for the very fact that it is a open-sourced software platform that is capable of being placed on any linux based handset phone and is capable of incorporating the hardware features within the chip set of the phone devices.

This is very cool.

The fact that it is capable of utilizing hardware on the handset it is installed upon gives it great flexibility and capability limited only by the hardware it is on.

The official language is Java, using the Sun compiler, but it can also be developed at the lowest levels in C/C++ giving it added granular flexibility to modify the lowest levels of the Android Operating System.

I would like Python to be used as one of the primary languages to develop this in. With direct access to the graphics acceleration and even low levels of the device (bluetooth, WiFi, etc.) This will make for a power.
One of the more inreging features is the fact that it is capable of OpenGL and

LAMP...in depth look.

2007-11-07T18:07:00.001-08:00

The most popular open-source software is also the most free of bugs, according to the first results of a U.S. government-sponsored effort to help make such software as secure as possible. The LAMP stack of open-source software has a lower bug density--the number of bugs per thousand lines of code--than a baseline of 32 open-source projects analyzed.

The LAMP includes the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, MySQL database and a scripting language--PHP, Perl or Python. It has been pushing its way into mainstream corporate computing, a rival to Java and Microsoft's .Net.

In our analysis, more than 17.5 million lines of code from 32 open-source projects were scanned. On average, 0.434 bugs per 1,000 lines of code were found. The LAMP stack, however, seemed to show significantly better software quality, with an average of 0.29 defects per 1,000 lines of code. PHP, the popular programming language, is the only component in the LAMP stack that has a higher bug density than the baseline.

Other open-source projects we're scanned, we found that the Amanda back-up tool had the highest number of bugs per 1,000 lines of code, with a bug density of 1.237. The lowest was the XMMS audio player, with 0.051 defects per 1,000 lines of code.

In absolute numbers, most defects were found in X, the low-level graphical interface software for Linux and Unix. We found 1,681 defects in X, it said. With only six defects, XMMS also scored best in absolute numbers.

Our analysis looked for 40 of the most critical security vulnerabilities and coding mistakes in software code. The analysis can't be used to measure the security of open source code next to that of proprietary code because that code is not available for scanning without heavy de-compilations.

Linux Specific Development

2007-11-06T13:47:00.001-08:00

Linux has the highest learning curb, with the biggest level of control over the device. Slackware Linux, Fedora Linux (Redhat), Yellowdog Linux all work off the same kernel, and can offer a plethora of intresting setups for the development enviorment.

Linux does come with all the tools you need, but they are not initially a very user friendly GUI (Graphical User Interface) and IDE (Intergrated Development Enviorment) solution out the gate. Everything is configured through simple text files creating a complex level of simplicity, which unfortunatly to many is still quite complex. If you are comming from windows you may be expecting dropdown menus, checkable boxes, etc. with Linux instead of these easy identifiable menus, one has to memorize a vast array of command-lines and be savvy to the location of configuration files to get things done.

We have Linux Yellowdog installed on our PS/3 unit, but it leaves much to be desired. Without access to the GameOS, we are restricted to the framebuffer to do any thing with graphics.

Sony does not want linux developers writing games for the linux side of the PS/3 and some could argue not even for the GameOS side without a very heavy licensing agreement that can cost thousands of dollars.

Mac Specific Development

2007-11-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

With the Mac, the story is diffrent, and it is far from "standard" its enviorment is a hybrid of BSD UNIX and the GUIness of Windows, or vice versa. Macs are, well made and their OS really works well and solid. Like Linux we have had zero downtimes with these machines.

Game development seems amiss as the Mac is geared to just contemporary development. The tools are not "obvious" and may require some digging into the machine to find the right development tools, but they are there.

Macs do things just a tad diffrent than PCs, and its main interface has specilized tools Carbon and Coco that spins a slightly diffrent syntax than the core C++, but the Mac is capable of C++ programming with the C++ Tool framework.

We find that the development should be done through the OS's XCode, but the user is free to go the Linuxy gcc/subversion route, XCode gives a efficient veiw of the code, the source and binaries all in one place.

Macs are not known to be "game machines" but they are certainly capable of becoming them. OpenGL's direct compeditor DirectX obviously does not play well with the Mac platform. The only real way to "develop" with the .NET, XNA and DirectX suite is to either to install VMWare or Parrlles to actually run Windows or install Mono (the open source port to the .NET platform)

Wii Hacking direct from the CCC

2007-11-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

This was so cool I had to share it.

Ubuntu Linux

2007-11-01T21:38:00.001-07:00

For a change of pace we are exploring Ubuntu, a Linux distribution that has a Mac like quality. Since it has raised such a ruckus we want to see for ourselves.

Ubuntu is, at the time of this writing at version 7. The first time I personally installed it on my friends mini laptop it actually was pretty decent. Audio fired up without a hitch...Video, well was a bit more involved and complicated and required additional downloading and installing of the necessary CODECs because of the DMCA/MPAA bullshit.

Necessary evil, I suppose :/

....not

Linux will be a more influential Operating System without the encumbrance of any "commercial ties" that you have with Windows or even the Mac. With Vista being closed and still security "weak" by our standards and Mac, while still officially closed is close enough to an open-source model of the old standard UNIX/BSD to reference from.

It has more freedoms to do anything you want with it. One of our crew, is doing wonders with X. For a person who hates Graphical User Interfaces, being a line-command junkie its the best Graphical User Interface I have ever seen.

Stay tuned to our reports.

Game Developement...on Windows

2007-10-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I figured we could start on the platform that game development is mostly programmed on. Microsoft, or MS is certainly a strong contender for the place of development. With the inception of XNA, .NET and ActiveX games for the XBox are becoming easier and easier to prototype market.

PS/3 has much to learn about creating a user friendly development environment for aspiring gamers, but from what I am told one is in the works.

So lets look at what we have

Win32

Win32 is probably the most "standard" of development environments in the game development biz, the core .NET, DirectX and XNA has made very successful tools for getting into the game development world and as a consequence has been way ahead of Sony's PS/3 in the game variety department, hands down.

Altho Microsoft has their own libraries that enable the 2D and 3D rendering capabilities OpenGL can be run on Wn32 units with the GLUT and OpenGL frameworks, practice with simple C level code for a logical library of solid C code, built with solid practices.

In regards to C++ in Windows, Visual Studio is probably the best one for its class. The ticket price is in the low to mid thousands of dollars, the windows system is buggy and prone to viruses and trojans and would not be a good to use the unit as anything other than a development client and even then in a virtual box (Parallels, etc.).

PS/3 Development...Where we are at.

2007-10-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, everybody wants to know the "real deal" with the Linux-development-on-PS3.

And here it is....

There is none...yet.

Ok, lets be cool everybody, XBox in my book is the clear "current" winner in the development of games for there system. XNA kicks ass, period.

So you shelled out $600-700 for a PS/3, plus a wireless keyboard and maybe a game or two. Put it at a grand easy. If you have been following our blog, you should be at the point where you have Linux installed and the Wi-Fi working correctly, maybe even with Apache running....sweet.

But, you say, Halo3 is out and all my friends are playing the coolest game out. All I got was a PS/3 with little to no games and Linux running in very confined quarters that is governed by the Hypervisor.

Home, the Secondlife for PS/3 users has been delayed and GTAIV is delayed too.

So where do we stand?

Ok, lets look at the deal Sony paired us with.

Because of problems with access to the 2D and 3D acceleration on board the PS/3 their are complications involved with making the PS/3 as a game development platform under Yellow-dog Linux and developing in OpenGL.

So just what level of graphics support is available on the PS/3?

The short answer is very limited. At this point in time, Yellow-dog Linux runs in frame-buffer mode on the PS3, meaning there is no 2D no 3D acceleration and thus no direct support for OpenGL.

A work around is the x.org driver, as it is fully functional in its frame-buffer mode, offering quality support for a wide variety of hi-def televisions and computer monitors that comply with the PS3 video output signals.

The gameOS, of course has the full gambit of the device, the Linux side is severely gimped.

For now we are going to continue to develop OpenGL, but on our Macs or PCs. I will have instructions for both platforms.

A Gamer's Life

2007-10-18T18:09:00.001-07:00

The original installment of The Gamer's Life.

A gamer who makes a game of life.

I am happy with the PS/3, for the most part. Runs Linux and Apache well, just a bit tricky when you have a SDTV.

Now it comes to my attention that Sony has special plans for the PS/3 and development on it and boy I am excited. I will get more details by Friday, on this.

Yellowdog Linux, so far, is not too bad. Doesn't come with many bells and whistles, however, its great to get used the Linux-Line-Commands. X Windows starts up without a hitch, but my SDTV does the resolution absolutely no justice.

We are working hard to save for a nice Viso at Costco that is 1080p.

Planets in OpenGL

2007-10-16T14:43:00.001-07:00

Some new code, demonstrating spheres the large one, the Sun and the small one a planet.

Developed in OpenGL and GLUT with C. I modified the #include to accommodate Linux and Mac, this should compile on Win32 (Windows) systems.

I built this as a C++ tool, with Xcode and included the OpenGL and GLUT frameworks. I really like developing on my Mac, I can prototype code quickly and port it to other devices, including PCs and even embedded Linux devices, particularly cellular platforms.

Custom OpenGL games are certainly possible on advanced cell phones, units like Nokia's N93 & N95.

J2ME, is our current development platform for mass-production of OpenGL code ported from our C code.

Here is the source from our demo session.

robot.c from the OpenGL Redbook

2007-10-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is the screenshot on my Mac.

Well here it is fully compiled from the Redbook, we modified the #include statements to incorporate more "dynamics" from this code using C and C++.

Fingers, as the Redbook suggests and maybe some texturing to make this look like a real robot arm. The possibilities are virtually endless with 700 functions to choose from, OpenGL and GLUT.

I am more for space and virtually replicating accurate space travel, in tune with our understanding with Physics and Gravity.

The fundamentals are always great to draw from, graphics and 3D code are always more flashy than system administration and network programming. But make no mistake, just because its "behind the scenes" doesn't make it any less important.

OpenGL cube demo

2007-10-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody. Just finished with some OpenGL code to demonstrate the simple cube. This is the beginning of working with OpenGL and demonstrates color, shading, lighting, etc. Our source is available and is written in C using OpenGL and GLUT ported for the Mac.

I wanted to get this out so everybody could get there hands on the code and have fun with it. Our OpenGL and Game development group will demonstrate more OpenGL/GLUT code and also look into Microsoft's XNA. Our goal is to make some monster game developers for all platforms.

Also a big thanks for the giants at NeHe for their tutorials without which we would still be scratching our heads on how to make the cube spin.

Keep in tune with our blog for more details.

OpenGL oh, please do tell.

2007-09-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

OpenGL site is almost finished, I have been pulling all nighters just to get the demos ready and properly commented. Of course the crux of this project is to build games for all of the consoles. OpenGL allows for a higher granularity of manipulation of the graphic API.

In the interest of getting some local support we are having OpenGL meetings for game and console developers to meet greet and exchange ideas. I am going to do a old school step-by-step presentation on "L" Linux and "A" Apache of our LAMP for the Yellow-dog Linux on the PS/3 console platform series.

When we build install configure and test "M" MySQL and "P" PHP, we will continue our series in our future scheduled talks. Time and place still to be determined, I would welcome all donations and or sponsorships for a lecture hall rental.

XNA (Playstation 3, get a clue)

2007-09-24T17:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, XNA looks very impressive, from Microsoft?!?

Well we all have to learn sometime. Sony should get a clue from this. Allowing us to install Linux was taking two steps forward but their lack of support to aspiring game developers is taking one step back.

There is no argument from me that XBox360 kicks ass in the availability in the game development arena. Exclusive titles like Halo (need I say more?) gives the XBox360 the leverage that it needs to make its mark in the gaming community.

I will take sides with Sony on the quality of its system, the Other OS install option built into its menu. Absolutely no quams about that.

But I know a good *bet* when I see one with XNA, it writes half the code for you, so launching a game is very straight forward and ridiculously easy. But don't think that XBox360 will become a Linux server any time soon. The overheating problems still exist and Microsoft's official word is "You can make your games to play...if its done just how we say"

Wanna be in our XNA club? Cough up your dues.

Games on the Xbox 360 they will have to pay an annual fee of $99 (or a four-month fee of $49) for admission to the XNA "Creators Club".

Way less than Sony, but yet another bite into the starving students pocket book. My jury is still out on this, we are still working on the PS/3 console mostly due to the *lack* of games on it and the fact that, well, we have a working Linux server.

What a cool factor.

PS/3 Home...October

2007-09-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Well, we did not make the Beta for Playstation's Home. But its opening up to the commoners come October. We are looking forward to doing our Playstation 3 Development segment there as it will provide for a plethora of capabilities (video, audio streaming) built directly into it.

Of course, this will require a PS/3 console and should be a easy download (reports say about 500MB). Now we will of course do our streamining on our mother site (still under construction) and we provide links to follow along our creation of a PS/3 super console.

Apache2 on our PS/3

2007-08-28T15:32:00.001-07:00

We did it, we got Apache2 running on our PS/3 console running under Yellowdog Linux.

PHP 5.2.3 is next, MySQL is already installed but we are also looking at PostgreSQL also. From there we are going to install the Cell SDK.

So far the added functionality of a Web server and development platform is nice. The PS/3 is much more than a game console and can easily double as a solid linux computer and all of the power Linux provides for.

I also installed Apache2 on our Mac (PPC and Intel) units, all in the terminal through a series of Unix/Linux standard line-commands (gzip, ./configure, make, make install, etc.)

iPhone revisited.

2007-08-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

This is cool.

"www.wulf-pack.net"

2007-08-21T22:01:00.001-07:00

Well I got the domain "www.wulf-pack.net" with the hyphen (-). I checked out the hosting service Guildhome they have PHP installed on their servers so they should work out for us.

They said it should be up and ready in 12 hours, we will ftp some php test pages and design this site in real time.

Our concept for the Wulf-Pack is simply a place where we can educate and demo new games our students design and show boat them for all to see.

Linux Apache MySQL & PHP (LAMP) segment.

2007-08-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

I will take some time to go into PHP as much as possible. As we are setting up a PHP server both on our Macs and the PS/3 (Linux Yellowdog).

Our current technologies allow for some very power full tools to be developed. PHP v5.0+ is what we are working on. Yahoo uses PHP so scalability seems like a sure bet.

You can run PHP on what ever platform you have (Windows, Linux and Mac), the Windows version is very easy to install, Linux and Macs are more involved (but for all the right reasons). We are going to run this PHP experiment on our PS/3 on the Yellowdog partition and our personal Macs. One old (but stable) 17" PowerBookG4 and our black 15" Mac Book with the new Intel chipset.

We may do a Video demo for a Linux, Mac and Windows install in the future.

But this is the core of what we are dealing with

Linux, the Operating System
Apache, the Server
MySQL, the Database
PHP, the Browser scripting language

Linux
Yes Linux, don't be intimidated Linux has come a long way and can be hardened quite well. The operating system is quite versatile, but can be overwhelming. Their are various "flavors" of Linux, we are using Yellowdog Linux and Fedora Linux. There may be better "flavors" but for demonstrative purposes we will be working with just those two. Yes, Mac is included based on BSD so officially its UNIX.

Apache
The core web server provides the functionality for many scripting common language interfaces support mod_perl, mod_python, Tcl, and PHP. Popular authentication modules include mod_access, mod_auth, and mod_digest. A sample of security features include SSL and TLS support (mod_ssl), a proxy module, a useful URL rewriter (also known as a rewrite engine, implemented under mod_rewrite), custom log files (mod_log_config), and filtering support (mod_include and mod_ext_filter).

MySQL
The database to store ID_NUMBER, NAME, etc. anything from the price of the widget, the the amount of widgets in stock, the colour of the widget, etc.

PHP
The scripting language

N93 & N95 Development to port to PS/3?

2007-08-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

This market is very hot. The N95 (and N93) has onboard OpenGL, meaning that games developed for these (devices) have an easier time to port to PS/3 consoles.

The OpenGL ES-CM 1.1 is running on Symbian OS 9.2, S60 rel. 3.1 operating system.

Here is a link for the stats of OpenGL. This is a very nice feature for the more advanced cellular devices. Mobile gamming is a very hot area. More people can afford cell phones over high-end PCs or expensive game consoles.

The nice thing about the N95 is the Bluetooth capability, WiFi capability and a capability to become its own AP (access point), this is a beautifull beast.

Key Points to game development on N95 mobile phones.

MESSAGING: built in SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
BROWSER: WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
BLUETOOTH: Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
IR: Yes (lazy geeks remote)

More to come on our development.

Cryptophone, the wiretapping work around?

2007-08-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Phones are now a target for no holds barred, unrestricted compromise by the governmental agencies. With the new laws of Homeland Security, citizens are forced to resolve their communication methodologies by looking on the other side of the pond.

In Germany, a company called Cryptophone

Right off the back I liked that all of their source would be freely available to the customer.

I was very interested in the CryptoPhone 220

So what do we have hear?

Secures your voice's privacy.

Strong and secure algorithms AES256 and Twofish, 4096 bit Diffie-Hellman key exchange with SHA256 hash function, Readout-hash based key authentication, Encryption key is destroyed immediately after the call ends, Source code available online for independent security assessments.

Works in any 900/1800/1900 GSM network (AT&T, T-Mobile for the yanks), etc. that provides data call facilities.

Only problem is no Mac or Linux support and apparently only runs on Windows CE.

They reason this by explaining:

"CryptoPhone mobile phones run on top of a heavily modified and stripped-down Microsoft
Windows Mobile for Pocket PC/Smartphone ROM. The reason is that we wanted an affordable and well researched platform that offered sufficient performance for the speech encoding and crypto functions.A Pocket PC based system was chosen as the first platform for CryptoPhone because it was the only sufficiently fast device allowed us to do software integrity protection in ROM and the stripping of unnecessary functions."

They go on to say...

"The only commercially available alternative at the time of the necessary development decision was Symbian. Symbian is even more closed source (Windows CE is open source for developers in most parts) and was available only on a more expensive hardware platform. There was (and still is) no viable mass-market Embedded Linux based hardware with sufficient performance, stability, hardware integration and availability on the market at decision time, so we were not able to pursue this alternative."

Well, I will admit to this that Symbian is much more locked down than Windows CE. I have personal experience with trying to deal with Nokia and they make it extremely difficult to get *any* development information from them without paying for the privilege to even see their (non-updated) APIs.

As far as no Linux mass market, I firmly disagree. It is bigger than what they think, its just so "open" that nobody has approached the right manufactures with the right hardware specs to accommodate the lack of sufficient performance, stability, hardware integration.

But yes, Linux, is in its infancy not for being one of the oldest Operating Systems, but more to the fact of commercial refinement and ultimatly corporate acceptance.

And the price, oh yes, of course, the price...

You see, the Devil, is in the details and the Devil, apparently doesn't keep the those details on his web site. You have to goto through Hell to get them. I am still waiting for word on my last query.

PS/3 R&D for free?

2007-08-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is absolutely fantastic, and truly awesome. I have taken allot of flack from my friends over getting the PS/3. My argument was that, when utilized correctly, the system itself doubles as a cell development platform.

Yes, the system needs some "improvement" as far as the mitigating details on how to install, setup and configure the CELL SDK for the Yellowdog Linux operating system, but Insomniac has put their R&D notes out on the World Wide Web for anybody that wants to have a clue to have one.

Now thus far the only game (of Halo quality) I have seen out for the PS/3 is the Fall of Man series. They have tackled the tough challenges the PS/3 has need of developers to master.

In the CEO's own words;
"our current research and development in hopes of supporting the PS3 development community and enhancing overall development for its core technologies such as the CELL processor and RSX."

This is very encouraging for the development of future games, the "stand on the back of giants" method of R&D is a smart one. I would encourage everybody to check out their R&D notes their are no doubt issues they already tackled that will save future headaches for development of PS/3 games.

The iPhone (how does it really compare?)

2007-07-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

No argument of its elegant design, sleek style and look, it scores top in my book of toys. Yes you heard toys.

Forcing one to have only one provider is like an expensive form of indentured servitude. And to add a 2 year contract on top of that already overly high price gadget.

Cingular is AT&T if anybody is wondering.

So what if you choose not to go with Cingular and don't subscribe to Cingular? Then the iPhone has just become a very expensive non-functional paper weight.

I am holding off myself, let it run a few generations to work out the "bugs" no doubt happened when they rushed to to get it to market on time. Meanwhile its Linux phones for me.

For now its a rich man's toy, want to impress the ladies with your Uberdom just whip it out and you are an instant talking piece.

As for me, an exclusive Cingular contract sounds like a large price to pay for a modified PDA/cell phone I'll pass for now.

But if they open up their sources, allow other carriers to service me and as long as the device has a blue tooth keyboard, we're in business in the near future.

Rant Alert.

2007-07-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

[RANT]
Even when I have it I don't.

The capital was there, a deposit on Friday made me in accessible to over $3,500 of my clients check. A two day waiting period, I hate that.

Stuck me for the whole bloody weekend, fortunately I got the wheels specced out before and paid my associate before the weekend lock-down. I often think about how delicate a banking arrangement can be and am looking forward to banking in the UK for a while to test the waters there.

Sorry about the rant, it was just frustrating for me.
[/RANT]

We have Wireless....with YDL/PS3

2007-06-11T23:23:00.000-07:00

After a whole weekend we were able to configure the embedded WiFi device in the PS3. It was not out of the box up and working, there is a detailed method to "update the YDL kernel" and "configuring the WiFi device" on the PS3 using YDL.

The devils in the details of this and special attention needs to be placed in the WiFi device to be attached to. Specifically, the ESSID, the Channel, etc. Which needs to be retrieved by logging into the DSL/Modem itself.

We tried it with WEP, but it choked on that and gave an error message (but I did see the little green flashing light on the PS3 console sputtering so I knew it was trying to work.

So thus far we have an install of YDL on a 10 gig area allocated for it.

Our impression so far...its a work in progress. Although Sony has stepped up to the plate and made its PS3 unit more accessible to alternate operating system installs we are still looking for ways to access directly with the totality of this device.

Unless someone finds a hole in Sony's Hypervisor, it won't ever be possible to use hardware video acceleration in Linux on the PS3 without hardware modification.

The Hypervisor, in fact, does something valuable: it makes it possible to install any PPC (Power PC) version of Linux, without special modifications. Without the Hypervisor, Linux would have access to the entire hard-drive, and in theory, it would be possible to overwrite the GameOS when installing Linux, so Linux distributions would have to be carefully crafted to the PS3 before a new Linux install could be initialized. It would be important to avoid formatting the drive when installing Linux. With the hypervisor, Linux can't actually see the GameOS partition, and can't write to it, making Linux installations much safer.

Of course the obvious downside of the Hypervisor is that Sony decided to make it impossible to use the on board video card on the PS3 from within Linux, which means the PS3 Linux experience is disappointing, unless you wanted to use your PS3 for word processing. It makes a decent low-powered server, but not a very good home theater PC.

Yellow Dog Linux

2007-06-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

We decided to re-install with Yellow Dog Linux for its "built-in" wireless features specifically for the PS/3. We installed version 5.0.1 but were having problems with our SDTV. The screen would go blank while loading Linux.

This stumped us for a good day of scowering the forums for an answer. Finally, we found an artical explaining that installs of Yellow Dog Linux on a SDTV were diffrent than a HDTV. We had to type a specific "configuration" line-command.

We were able to resolve this by typing this line-command after the ' kboot> ' prompt.


kboot>ydl480i

PS3 with Fedora 6 Linux

2007-06-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well after many days of guesswork I finally picked up a PS/3 unit. Yes the choice was tough but I relented on the fact that installing Linux on it was on of the perks.

The PS3 has some nice features, if one could bear the brunt of its intimidating price tag of $700, first off it is one of the most "powerful" game systems out there, built in blue-ray making it one of the inexpensive blue-ray players. Powerful does not mean the best, in-fact the Wii is far more fun to play and the XBox360 has a greater selection of titles. We will get into DirectX development and XBox/360 game development in the future.

But the main deal is the capability to install other Operating Systems. This may seem quaint by some, but the fact of this exercise is to experiment with different methods of development of the games themselves.

Fedora 6, is the linux operating system we are utilizing. Installation of another variant Yellow Dog Linux, was our first choice but due to some anomaly in our original install we were unsuccessful in the installation.

So Fedora 6 it is.

After downloading the PPC version of the Fedora operating system, we then had to download the CELL Linux ADDON CD ISO image, which has the boot-loader (kboot/otheros.bld) and instructions needed to install the PPC version of Fedora Core 6 Linux distribution.

The installation went "well" and everything seems to work so far. We are having trouble with the wireless from the Fedora Linux side. Line-command usage may be required as the GUI (startx command) is awkward on our TV.

Now not everything is "perfect" with Linux on PS3, right off the back we are having issues with the built-in wireless adapter.

Welcome to the Wulf-Pack

2007-04-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Wulf-Pack