Archive for August, 2009

New PS3 Slim removes ‘Install Other OS’

Ugh….I kinda get this, but this was/is an awesome feature to have on the console….I guess after research they found this wasn’t being used by many or the Linux distribution wasn’t updated to accommodate the new hardware….so guess it got the chopping block, at least according to the UK press release.

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Removal of “Install Other OS” feature

The new PS3 system will focus on delivering games and other entertainment content, and users will not be able to install other Operating Systems to the new PS3 system.

Along with a vast line-up of attractive and exciting entertainment content with the new PS3 system, SCE will continue to further expand the PS3 platform and create a new world of computer entertainment.

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You can get the full press release here.

PS3 Updates hardware and software

PS3 Slim

Sony has finally confirmed a LOT of the rumors that were flying around and there is now a PS3 Slim and Firmware 3.0.  The price point of the PS3 Slim is $299.99 with 120GB hard disk.  That is totally awesome, tempting to buy a second one just so I can play my Blue-Ray movies in another room in the house.   Firmware 3.0 looks pretty cool, I like the animated wallpaper and I certainly like the way they updated the upper corner to include more information.  I hope there are some extra little bonuses that they didn’t mention, but for some reason I am a little doubtful.  I for one would like to see some MKV support and would like to see some expansion of the chat system.  I welcome any software update they do, seems a little weak, but that hardware update and price drop is a very welcome sight!  Hopefully they can get more development and heck more exclusives, after all, I think most of us pick up one of these for a little gaming action and well that certainly doesn’t seem to have a lot of focus like it should.

Wolverine (Video Game)

This was actually a really good game for a cross-over, it has been out for quiet awhile now, but I found that I got stuck on the very last battle (on hard) with Weapon 11Weapon 11 and seemed to constantly have an unlucky streak with him.  I however (last night) at complete random decided to pop the disk in and replay some of the game and on my very first run at him, I killed him without any issue.  I have to say that the laser he shoots almost makes you feel ripped off, I could still remember being frustrated with him last time I played.  So I’m glad I beat him and will probably never attempt to do that again.  But was one of those particular things that was satisfying after I watched his head get cut off and the chime of the trophy being received.  If you haven’t played this game, probably can get it cheap or it could make a great rental.  I grew up with the cartoons at Saturday and have many comics and I was very pleased to see the alternate costumes in the game (unlockable of course).

Creating a Custom Icon for iPhone

iPhoneI hadn’t really thought about this and actually thought that the iPhone used the Favicon.ico as the image used for the icon on the iPhone.  I noticed when I attempted this, it was instead loading a full screen of the website and ignoring the Favicon I had on the site.  A simple Google search resolved this issue, but thought I’d throw down some of the basics.

If you’d like your site to have a custom icon appear on the springboard when people add it, create a 57px-57px PNG, save the image as apple-touch-icon.png, and upload it to the root folder of your site.

If you don’t have access to the root folder of your site, or you’d like to put the icon elsewhere, add the following line to the <head> of your site:

<link rel=”apple-touch-icon” href=”/path/to/filename.png” /> (Don’t forget to upload the file to that path).

Once done, test to insure that it is working correctly.

TomTom for iPhone

TomTom for the iPhone is now available according to http://iphone.tomtom.com/, however I haven’t found a place that is actually selling the hardware yet.  I still haven’t seen anything that states if there is a monthly service fee like the majority of the navigation software for the iPhone and well I so far am going to take it that there isn’t.  The stand-alone units do not have a monthly fee, so I would assume this one won’t either.  The price is somewhat high, according to the store it is $99.99, but from all the early adopters, there are some really good reviews.  I’m really interested in the car kit though, so guess I’ll keep watching for that.  Don’t know if I’d bite the bullet for this yet, plus I already have navigation built into the car, so don’t really need this one, but I’m sure some friends would like to have it.

Using Growl and Fluid with Google Voice

This is a really cool method to get notifications on OS X and if you are familiar with Growl and Fluid, then this will be a breeze to setup.  If your not, there is an article with a complete walk-thru and some decent instructions.   You can go here to get everything setup and going:  lifehacker.com

You also can do this with Windows by using the code here.

Google Voice Widget

I ran across this Dashboard widget for Google Voice called GV Connect and it works great, it allows you to send SMS and make phone calls without having to go to Google’s website.  It also provides notifications for voice mail.  My favorite feature of this widget is the ability to pull directly from your Address Book and Contact lists by just typing out the name of the contact.  I highly recommend getting this application just for the ease of use alone.  You can also download it here.

GV Connect

FINALLY


Get your Portable ID!

PS3 Update to Playstation.com

OMG, according to Joystiq there is an update coming this week to the Portable ID…..it is about freak’n time. :D   I actually was wishing this would occur and blogged about it previously and wishing the UK’s version was here.  Very glad to hear this is coming…..add a crap load of Home rewards or tie them to the trophies and then I think we’ll finally be getting somewhere.  Happy to see this coming.

Workaround No GV App

Well since there isn’t a Google Voice app available for iPhone and may not be one, I thought I’d post one of the workarounds that I found at MacOSXHints.  The following code you will need to execute, make sure to update the variables located at the top of the code to reflect your information.

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set pin to "YOUR_PIN_HERE"
set gvnum to "YOUR_GV_NUMBER HERE"

tell application "Address Book"
  repeat with thePerson in people
    set nums to the phones of thePerson
    repeat with num in nums
      if the (label of num) contains "GV" then
        tell thePerson
          delete num
        end tell
      else
        set gvPhone to {label:"", value:""}
        set label of gvPhone to "GV" & the (label of num)
        set value of gvPhone to gvnum & "," & pin & ",2," & the (value of num)
        tell thePerson
          make new phone at end of phones with properties gvPhone
        end tell
      end if
    end repeat
  end repeat
end tell


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