Far From Home

I caved: Hacking the Pre SDK install MSI works.

Yes, I said I didn't want to do it... and I didn't.  But I wanted to mess around with developing for webOS more, I decided.  So, I followed the simple instructions found at the link below, removing the User Mode Driver Framework step from the Palm SDK msi.

How To Install Palm Pre WebOS SDK On...

It worked like a charm, despite the instructions being intended for Windows 7 64-bit.  It's worth pointing out, however, that I had confirmed in my application event log that it was indeed the User Mode crap causing the problem:

Windows XP Wudf01007 installation failed.

Access is denied.

So far, I've been able to successfully run the Palm Emulator, install the HelloWorld sample application, run it, modify it as described in the tutorial, and see the results.  No issues.

...I know I'm probably being a jackass when I say this, but can someone please explain to me why Palm is having so much trouble fixing this problem when it can be so easily circumvented this way?  Obviously there must be some purpose to installing the UMDF that is keeping them from simply eliminating it from the install process... but it isn't obvious, and nobody seems to know.

Oh well.  Here's to hoping I don't run into issues as a result of my impatience.

Use Outlook? You need Xobni.

My boss sent me the link for Xobni when it had just surfaced, and I installed it.  I haven't used Outlook without it since, and in the rare cases that I've had issues with it (always brief), leaving me without it, I've felt totally lost without it.

Xobni makes it easy to instantly find any email in any of your folders, search your email in threaded format, find any attachment that you've ever exchanged with a person, and a crapload more.  It has a clever, intuitive interface that makes you want to use it, and use it you will...

Maybe it appeals best to people like myself whose jobs are extremely email intensive, with a need to constantly go back and find things quickly, but I'd think just about anyone that uses Outlook knows how easy it is to lose an email in the abyss, even if you are meticulous about maintaining your folders of archived mail.

Give it a shot, you won't be sorry.  If you don't like it, it's easy to uninstall.  

links:

Xobni Website

Don't forget your Facebook Vanity URL

If you care, and you might not...  Recently, Facebook has made one vanity URL available per account, first come first serve basis...

What's a vanity URL?  For example, my profile is now linkable at:

http://facebook.com/xenoc

Hurry up and grab your own at http://facebook.com/username !

OMG Drool @ Photo of Geek Heaven

...And I thought I had a lot of monitors.  This puts me to shame in a major way.

One can never have too much screen real estate.  Period. :)

Not much else to say here except goddamn!  If only they were widescreen.  And 24" each. :D  I wonder how many video cards this guy is using... or if they're hooked up to multiple machines.  I'd want them all on the same one.

Read the actual lifehacker article for more info.  I haven't even gotten that far yet. :)

[via lifehacker.com]

History of Xenoc

There are quite a few interesting old links from my dorky youth still kicking around the net, and often it isn't clear to others whether the 'Xenoc' in these links is actually me or not, as there are quite a few imposters around the net.

And when I say imposters, I mean imposters.  I've been using the screenname Xenoc around the net for over 15 years, and I have proof as far back as 1994.  If anyone out there has been actively going by "Xenoc" for a greater length of time, I'll eat my hat.  I certainly don't see any evidence of this, at any rate.  (No, I am not implying that these people are actually posing as me, so maybe "imposter" is the wrong word after all.)

Anyway, getting off track here.  The point of this post is to share some links from my past, but first, a bit of background info... after the jump.

Google Executives - Jail Time??

Four top Google executives face charges that could lead to jail time.  Why, you may ask?  

Simply put, someone in Italy uploaded a video to YouTube Italy that was deemed highly offensive.  The offensive video supposedly shows four young people teasing an individual with Down Syndrome-- content that sounds like it is certainly quite sad, and of distinct moral objection... but if anyone should face jail time, it should be the creators of the offensive video... and even that is debatable, having not seen the video.

Google quickly removed the video upon receiving complaints, but prosecutors claim that the video should never have been published.  

Dropbox - Sync Made Simple

Dropbox is, as stated on the official website, "the easiest way to share and store your files online."

In no way is this an exaggeration.  For quite some time, my DJing partner and I have been wishing we had a way to not only transfer files between eachother easily and without size limitations, but to do it passively.  In other words, I want to be able to drop files on his computer whether he is around or not, and vice versa.  Whenever he gets around to sitting down at his PC, they'll be there.  

Now, this isn't a brand new concept, just by far the most brilliant execution I've seen.  There's plenty of replication / syncronization technologies that could resolve this on some level or another, but without the online-storage aspect that Dropbox provides, only partial solutions remain, many of which are extremely expensive.

I have no doubt that there are other services like this, and I'm sure some of them are probably good, but given the fact that within minutes, Dropbox was up and running and working precisely as intended... well, you could say I'm impressed.  

It may initially seem like you have little need for something like this, but I'll bet if you think about it, you will probably be able to identify some creative ways to get value out of this app.  If nothing else, this is a stupid-easy way to keep your data backed up externally, and if you've never lost your data to a harddrive crash, you'll be certain to eventually in this technologically charged day and age.  Better safe than sorry.

Best of all, Dropbox provides accounts with 2GB of available storage for free!  If you want more space, you can upgrade to 50gb for $9.99 a month.

To download Dropbox, visit the official website.  Or alternatively, for more insight into what this app can do, check out the numerous Dropbox-related posts on lifehacker.com.

Natalie Dylan Update : Bidding Reaches $3.8m

This chick seems to be quite a saavy businesswoman, albeit one of clearly quite unorthodox methods.  Turns out she is actually organizing this deal through the famous Nevada Bunny Ranch... and has even landed a book contract?

I certainly haven't the slightest bit of moral objection to what she's doing, but I see it as like y having an indefinite impact on her professionally, which is a bit ironic considering her intentions to use the money for her education... but she seems to be a resourceful young woman.  

As for the individual willing to spend millions of dollars on Miss Dylan, particularly in times of such financial disaster...  I think you should make some contributions to my retirement fund, while you're at it.  You clearly can afford it. :)

So, if anyone is curious about the legal side of the story, this is interesting:

22-Year-Old Sells Virginity Online -- and Feds Can't Do a Thing to Stop Her (foxnews)

Or, perhaps, her hopes of Kim Kardashian making a bid?

"Natalie Dylan, the 22-year-old who’s selling her virginity online, says there’s just one celebrity she’d want to deflower her: Kim Kardashian.

“She’s really beautiful,” Dylan told The News’ Nancy Dillon, before adding, “but ... I’m heterosexual. I just admire her beauty.”  [from nydailynews.com]

Caffeine: Common Workplace Hallucinogen

This isn't in the least bit surprising, but it's funny:

"Research suggests people who drink more than seven cups of instant coffee a day have an increased tendency to hallucinate."

Frankly, if you aren't hallucinating after that many cups of office coffee, you probably have bigger problems than drinking too many cups of coffee...

"They studied 200 students who were asked about their typical intake of caffeine products.

Those who had a high caffeine intake were three times more likely to have the heard voice of someone non-existent than "low" users who consumed less than one cup of instant coffee or its equivalent.

Seeing things that were not there, hearing voices and sensing the presence of dead people were among the experiences reported. Researchers also found that people drinking as few as three cups of brewed coffee each day may experience mild hallucinations, such as hearing voices that aren't there."

This explains a lot about my average workday.  With the amount of coffee consumed by some people I've worked with, it's amazing they aren't speaking in tongues at least 60% of the time.  In all seriousness, many people are heavily dependent on it, which isn't a big problem, generally, but it falls into the category of behavior that probably has a negative impact on one's maximum life expectancy in some way or another, surely.

"Researchers believe the hallucinations stem from the caffeine, rather than the coffee. Besides coffee, caffeine can be obtained from sources such as tea, chocolate, "pep" pills and energy drinks."

Really, you think it might be the fairly powerful stimulant causing these effects?  Or is it the "coffee"?   What is this mysterious "coffee" in scientific terms?  Perhaps the aroma of the fresh brew is simply too intoxicating to handle. :)

Or perhaps this is a sensationalized repositioning of nothing more than the information found on a No-Doz(TM) warning label?  On wikipedia, a description:

"An acute overdose of caffeine, usually in excess of about 300 milligrams, dependent on body weight and level of caffeine tolerance, can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called caffeine intoxication,[71] colloquially "caffeine jitters". The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are not unlike overdoses of other stimulants. It may include restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation.[69] In cases of much larger overdoses mania, depression, lapses in judgment, disorientation, disinhibition, delusions, hallucinations and psychosis may occur, and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue) can be provoked.[72][73] "

At any rate, don't try this at home, folks.  There is nothing fun or interesting or amusing about the psychadelic effects that you might acquire from excessive caffeine consumption.  They would more aptly described as hellish and should be avoided at all costs.  There are significant cardiovascular risks when consuming such large doses of caffeine, as well.

[source: foxnews]

Crayon Physics Deluxe

My boss came over to my desk and told me to check this game out, which I haven't tried yet, because well, I'm at the office, and also because I lack a tablet-like device.  It looks really slick though, based on the video on the homepage.

The name makes it sound lame as hell!  Terrible name!  Seems cool nonetheless.  Anyone with a tablet feel like giving this a shot?

http://www.crayonphysics.com/