Dave's Tech Blog

GTA IV Autodialer - We need more GTA IV cheats! - The Plan

2008-05-05T15:30:00.001-07:00

Nobody has found any new codes for GTA IV yet, and if you're like me, you're dying to see what else there is after playing for 3 days straight. Now I've been sitting on this idea for days, but I don't have a way to implement this idea. After searching Google without any luck, I'm now looking to the creative efforts of the Digg and Twitter community. Here's the plan....

The GTA IV AUTODIALER

1) Get or create a program for PC or Mac that will emulate an Xbox controller.
2) Connect it to the 360 via USB
3) Set a program or macro to auto-dial phone numbers, starting with the obvious ones (GTA) 555-XXXX
4) To dial each number, there will be a series of control buttons to hit keeping in mind that each time we start from the number 5. E.G. (The number 1 would be up, left, A, right, down. That way we would always be set back to 5. After 10 numbers, the dial button automatically sets, so the dial button would just be X.
5) Sit back and watch for the cheats to roll in.

The reason I can't do this is because I have no idea how to build something like that, but I bet someone out there does. It's such a simple but great idea and I can't let such a thing go to waste since I have no programing knowledge whatsoever. Please get this idea out there by spreading the word and Digging.

--Dave Koss

EDIT: To the idiots that read this and somehow don't realize that I'm talking about NEW cheats besides the obvious ones,
don't even try to understand what I'm explaining here. It will melt your brain.

GTA IV Autodialer - We need more GTA IV cheats! - The Plan

2008-05-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

I need help promoting my idea for a GTA IV autodialer. We need more cheats!

Free iPhone WiFi at Starbucks? O RLY?

2008-05-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

So, there have been reports of free iPhone Wifi at Starbucks. I went to one and logged on but it didn't have the option of "iPhone" like the on-line reports. I guess it doesn't work everywhere. The AT&T access point is there, but no iPhone option. I asked the Starbucks employees and they were like, "Yeah, we have T-mobile here." I was like, "Well I'm on your AT&T access point and there's no iPhone option." They were like, "Yeah the AT&T thing won't be here for a while." I said, "Well I went to the AT&T website and it lists you as a participating Starbucks and I'm here and there IS an access point. I know you still have the T-mobile Access Point, but AT&T is here too." They said, "Yeah, we have T-mobile here."

Why Windows Live is GAY!

2008-05-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Microsoft,

I can't log in to my hotmail address. I don't ever use this address accept for my Xbox Live account. I need this to log in to the new GTA IV site as well. All my passwords I would normally use do not work. The password question is something I wouldn't have selected. (Hijacked?)
The "mail your password reset" is a joke because it just mails it to the account in question. Who ever thought that was a solution? There is a question box under this option that says, "Why would they mail it to the address in question?" and that link just goes to another help screen that has nothing to do with it. It wouldn't be a big deal and I'd just get a new account, but this is the one associated with my Xbox Live account. And in order to change the email associated with the account on the Xbox itself, and transfer all my information, it asks for this password. It's a catch 22, and unfortunately there is no other way to fix this other than recovering this account. Please Help.

Getting Extra Geeky with Nasa

2008-03-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Watching Nasa TV, Viewing Maps, Mission Time, Data, and more using web clips in OS X. Then projecting it on to the wall to track the shuttle and its progress. Uber Geeky!

Another step closer to content filtering thanks to Time Warner.

2008-02-24T11:01:00.000-08:00

Well they did it!. My wife typed in a website incorrectly and Time Warner's Road Runner internet re-directed her to a page with a bunch of suggestions. This pisses me off so much! Of course, there is an "opt-out" button at the bottom, but it's hardly noticeable and the average user won't even know what's going on. Hey Time Warner, how about you concentrate on different things like making sure my internet speed sucks a little less and stop combing through DNS requests. How long until they start doing something stupid like using frames that have Road Runner internet around all the stuff you're searching for. That gets me on a whole other topic now. Now we know that Time Warner / Road Runner is specifically "looking at" or "filtering" every DNS request that goes through their system to see if it needs to be redirected to their "helpful" search site. If they're doing this and making ad revenue off of it, then they don't need to complain about losing money on bandwidth anymore. GOD, I'm so angry about this. It's so big brother-ish. Of course I'm sure they've always been like this, but now it's actually visible.

I opted out of this "service," but here's a link to what it looks like. Don't search or click on anything, or you'll make them money.

Viral Video Secrets & Marketing

2007-11-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

This is one of the best reads I've had in quite a while.

I can't believe that people are shocked in the comments about this. I think this was an awesome read! Probably the longest I've ever spent reading one article on Techcrunch. I knew this stuff was going on and have dabbled in it myself, but there were some very good ideas and techniques listed here. As advertising changes with technological advances (i.e. Tivo, and people skipping commercials), there have to be new strategies implemented. I see nothing wrong with using these techniques to create "infotainment." That's just how it is now, and our society is not going back. It's time for the consumer to face the fact that in order to get "free" entertainment, they'll have to endure hidden marketing.

iTunes music store addresses the writers strike

2007-11-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

Dear David,

As you may have heard, the Writers Guild of America, the union representing TV and movie writers, has gone on strike. Most TV shows won't be immediately affected. However, some shows produced daily, such as 'The Colbert Report' and 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,' have begun airing re-runs. The iTunes Store will not be re-delivering these episodes. Instead, you will receive the remaining episodes from your Multi-pass once new episodes begin airing again.

We will send you an email alert as soon as you have a new episode available for download.

Thank you for being an iTunes Store customer.

Sincerely,
Keith
iTunes Store Customer Support

Comcast is Evil

2007-10-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

So I've registered comcastisevil.com in light of the recent Bit Torrent issues. The only problem is, I need a really good idea about exactly what to put on the site. Maybe a collection of Comcast horror stories, maybe a bunch of links to the latest Bittorrent crisis news. What do you think? The person with the best idea will get a whole dollar!

WTF is Tmobile thinking with this picture?

2007-07-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

A Response To: What the iPhone Doesn't Have

2007-06-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

• Songs as Ringtones
I'll get over it or someone will find a hack.
Update: SOLVED! Here's the solution
• Games
There will be plenty of games on the internet
• Any flash support
I'm sure someone will hack this quickly as well
• Instant Messaging
There's already a great looking third party app that does that
• Picture messages (MMS)
You don't need that... it has email
• Video recording
How often do you really take movies with your phone? When you do, they look terrible.
• Voice recognition or voice dialing
Does anyone really use this? It always sucks.
• Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Streaming (A2DP)
WTF? Use headphones. You loose quality sound over bluetooth's bandwidth
• One-size-fits-all headset jack (May have to buy an adapter for certain headphones)
I doubt that. If your headphones don't fit, then they probably suck.

Stuff we already knew it didn't have
• 3G (EV-DO/HSDPA)
3G drops WAY more calls than EDGE. Good call Apple. Would have made you look bad.
• GPS
Turn by turn maps in Google. I'll get over it.
• A real keyboard
On screen keyboard with keys that won't fall off.
• Removable battery
Neither does the iPod, and I'm doing fine
• Expandable Storage
Geez, most cell phones are lucky to have a gig, and you want more than 8?
• Direct iTunes Music Store Access (Over Wi-Fi or EDGE)
So, you have to sync your computer. You gotta charge it anyway.

Almost Confirmed - Brushed Aluminum iMac

2007-06-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine ordered an iMac last week and it never showed up. When he talked to the Apple people on the phone they couldn't explain why. They said their only thought was that it may be that they're waiting until next week to send him the "Brushed Aluminum" version. I was skeptical about this, so I asked him what day they told him this. He said Tuesday... after the WWDC keynote. Which leads to my next question... when the heck are they going to announce this?

Edit: They straight up told him on the phone that there would be a new one.

A high-res version of the iPhone with Youtube

2007-06-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

There is now a high res version of the previous post. Has a build number with an old date. Could be an old draft or something. Who knows.

Holy Balls! Youtube on the iPhone!

2007-06-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me who sent me this link, but it confirms exactly what I was thinking. Freakin Youtube on the iPhone. It looks like someone took a snapshot of the official site that will go up this week after Steve's keynote speech. Apple already started encoding all Youtube videos to H.264 for the Apple TV. This seems like it was the logical step. Now I'm getting one for sure!

Apple changes their iPhone Commercials

2007-06-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Macenstein pointed out that the new iPhone ad had a slight continuity error. It seemed that there was a "missing app" that pushed the icons over. After checking the site again a couple days ago, I noticed that at the same timecode, Apple has replaced the shot with a completely new one. Rather than doctoring up the shot, they put in a whole new shot. Notice that the hand is in a different position. They left just enough of the app titles at the top so that you could see Calculator back in its original position. So why all the trouble? Gizmodo points out that "The phone has a super top secret feature that I can't even be told what is.." After reading this article I'm almost convinced that it will be a Youtube Viewer App. And as all the blogs say... I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

The Family Guy Digg Project

2007-04-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I'm tired of all the Family Guy clips on Digg.com being promoted to the front page. Nobody seems to care. Everyone has seen these clips over and over. We all have DVRs now and DVDs. Not to mention... Family Guy is on every night on one channel or another. Digg video is for new and interesting videos. Not to watch the same Family Guys clips over and over again. So here's what I'm going to do... I'm going to post every Family Guy clip I can find on Youtube to Digg and see what happens. How many will be promoted? Will anyone get pissed off? Will there finally be an algorythm update that slows the Family Guy clips from getting promoted? Let's find out. Here's what I am posting... Make sure you go Digg all of these to annoy the crap out of everyone and make Family Guy clips stop appearing every day on Digg's front page.

Libsyn merger complete

2007-03-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Dear libsyn users,
It's been a while since we've written, hope you all have been well. Last October we announced that we were becoming a public company. That move is now complete as we have merged Webmayhem Inc (the parent corporation of Liberated Syndication) with Wizzard Software Inc (OTCBB:WIZD) and formed Wizzard Media in the process. We wanted to explain what this all means to you.

The great news is, libsyn is here to stay and is only going to get better. We have now an even stronger foundation, and in addition to providing funding and corporate infrastructure, Wizzard Software brings some pretty exciting things to Podcasting, and in turn, to you the libsyn user. Wizzard is bringing a decade of industry leading experience in voice technology- that's voice to text and text to voice. There are lots of cool things we can do with this technology. A press release was issued this morning announcing the deal- (http://www.wizzard.tv/press_mar_01_2007.php).

The best news for everyone is that the days of 4 guys with day jobs trying to run a podcasting company on the side are over- we are 120% committed to nothing but libsyn now, and our team continues to grow. Yesterday, we (re)launched the Libsyn Soundoff- (http://soundoff.libsyn.com) our blog/podcast which will be updated daily to provide everyone an inside look on the goings on at libsyn HQ. Part of the show will be technical, part will be feedback and ideation on the upcoming libsyn developments. Our launch episode was yesterday-- we wanted to talk about this deal, but without doing the public press release we had to hold our tongues. This will all take some getting used to, but it will be worth it. We'll talk a bit about it today.

All in all, we'd like to thank you for your continued support and for being part of the history of libsyn. You have helped us build this network. We look forward to the exciting years ahead.

love-
the libsyn squad.

RIAA TERRORIST

2007-01-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

Terrorist

Screen shot of Digg Swarm after the Saddam Execution

2006-12-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

Watching the diggs go up and up on Digg.com was insane. I switched to Swarm and this is what it looked like.

Why the Apple iPhone will blow away other PDAs

2006-12-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

After getting into a lengthy discussion in a forum about why I prefer the iPod over other MP3 players, I began discussing the rumored Apple PDA and why it will be a great product for Apple to launch. I've had some really crappy non-apple players. This love for the iPod isn't fan-boy-ism. It's happiness after years of frustration that makes me want to recommend it to other people. I always try the crappy products and then end up dumping them for Apple. I've had tons of problems with phones. Now I have an HTC 8125 Windows Mobile PDA. It's ok, but there are so many things I wish it would do that could be so easy to integrate. If Apple comes out with a PDA that does these things I will buy it right away because I'm tired of trying to do it myself.
I wish my PDA had widgets or something like them. Right now if I want the temperature I have to get online and go to weather.com to find it. Same for weather maps. I'm sure there's some third party software that will do it, but buying all those little programs ads up. I wish I could get directory phone numbers and maps easy. Google's application locks up ALL the time and is very glitchy on my PDA. I want iChat that's easy to use and integrates with my address book quickly. It took me forever to find a decent AIM client that wasn't cumbersome or cost too much money, and even now it only works half the time. I also needed extra software to make it sync with my Mac the way I wanted it to. Another example is simplicity of use. To get to different things I use often takes many key strokes. If I want to look at call history I can't hit the down button like most phones. I have to go to phone mode, get out my stylus, click on phone history, and scroll and click on the number I want to call again. Also, programs stay open with Windows Mobile. Why is this? There's no fast application switching without another third party software and if your memory gets filled, you have to go through another thousand key strokes to find the memory manager and close the running programs. No EXIT button in a program? Why is this hard? There are a few programs with it, but not on the software that comes with Windows Mobile. It's been like this since Windows CE.
All that to say this. I'll bet good money that if Apple makes a PDA, they will take care of all of these problems and more and create a new flavor of mobile computing... Ease-of-Use. That's something that Apple wants to do and has done on all their other products. They don't have to do it to sell units, but they will anyway. Many companies just slap a product together to make a buck and don't care if it works well for the consumer. Microsoft is proof of that. Apple Gets It!

PS3 vs Wii Commercial

2006-11-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

Sony Ps3 vs Nintendo wii
Uploaded by kiflex

Best Podcast Ever!

2006-11-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

Disable Microsoft Office Multiple Copy Check on OSX

2006-10-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Open Script Editor

Run this script...

try
set theConfirmation to (do shell script ¬
"/sbin/ipfw add 0 deny tcp from any to any 3464" password ¬
"MyPassword" with administrator privileges)
set theConfirmation to (do shell script ¬
"/sbin/ipfw add 0 deny udp from any to any 2222" password ¬
"MyPassword" with administrator privileges)
on error
beep
end try

Put Digg Labs on your OSX Desktop!

2006-07-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

First, download IdleWeb for OSX. Use it to make Digg Labs your screensaver.
Then download Backlight 2. Tell it to make the IdleWeb Screensaver your desktop.
BAM! Digg Labs on your desktop!

Leopard Running Windows Apps!

2006-06-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

Leopard Running...

Windows Apps...