Category — Technology

Changing the Java version on OS X is extremely easy.

Simply navigate to /Applications/Utilities/Java/Java Preferences.App and launch the app.  There you can set the version of Java to use for both Applets and Applications.

Easy Java Version Selection in OS X

Keep in mind that running a java -version command from a terminal will only reflect the Java Preferences.App settings if you haven’t specified a JAVA_HOME in your .bashrc or .profile, etc.

As I write this post, I’m travelling 450 mph somewhere over Nevada, I think…

While airplane internet service has been around for a while, I’ve never had the opportunity to use it, as its only on select flights.  When they announced that it was available, I knew I had to give it a whirl.  So far…  Its the Internet, nothing more, nothing less. 

Here’s a SpeedTest Result:

SpeedTest Results

Not too bad for 30K feet!  Pretty cool!

Dang, that’s a lot of gold coins to collect!

Nintendo Makes Bank...

Mario maker banks $2.83 billion in net income, $6 billion operating profit; 26 million Wiis, 31 million DSs, 16 million Wii Fits sold during last fiscal year.

What’s even more amazing is that given the worldwide shortage of Wii’s, they probably could have sold twice what they did.  Amazing that an array of such underpowered gaming platforms have been so successful.  Just goes to show you that the casual gamer is here to stay!

The untimely death of my Linksys WRT45GXv2 as birthed a new gadget in the office – a new Linksys WRT400N.

Linksys WRT400N

Here’s the lowdown: this simultaneous dual band router means that one radio (the 2.4GHz one)  can handle all mixed traffic (802.11 B,G,N) and the other radio (the 5 GHz one) can be dedicated to 802.11 N  traffic only.

This is nice when working in a mixed environment, as any 802.11 network is going to operate at the speed of the slowest attached device.  That means that my new 17″ MacBook Pro can cruise in style on 5GHz N, while my older Dell is “limping along” at 54Mbps G at 2.4GHz.  Unless of course my wifey is online with her 802.11b laptop, at which point my Dell will suffer the consequences, but not the Mac.  Of course, the Dell is used to it, as that’s the way my single band WRT45X was working anyway.

Its a sweet compartmentalizing of wireless traffic that goes a long way towards real-world usability.  Who wants to shell out more $ for an N router only to have everything run at the same old G or even worse, B speeds?  Prior to simultaneous dual-band routers like the WRT400N, the only other alternative was to spring for N adapters for all wireless devices.  That adds up in no time, and isn’t even possible for some things like my BlackBerry Bold.

I’ve only just installed this so I can’t vouch for its reliability yet, but its functionality and speed are spot on.  Pick on up at our Amazon store for relative peanuts.

Just when you thought it was OK to like the French again, they go and screw it up with this crap.

If passed into law, the legislation would deal very harshly with any form of file sharing, be it video or audio. Alleged offenders will first receive an e-mailed warning, followed by a registered letter, and lastly with a 3-12 month suspension of internet service. The law will also prevent users from switching ISP’s to avoid punishment, and even public hotspots will contain filters. Additionally, home users will be required to lock down home networks, and will be legally responsible for its security.

In return the French will start receiving DVD’s in a more timely fashion, and music DRM will be drastically scaled back.

Now, I haven’t downloaded copywrited stuff in quite some time – not since I had a DVR installed, found Hulu and got a Live account with my new XBOX.  But, in the past, I did a fair amount of downloading of “catch up” episodes for TV shows that I missed – something that I still consider a “gray” area of use.  Of course, by the book, it isn’t “gray” at all – its illegal.  In fact, I’m actually glad I don’t have to do it anymore.  Truthfully, for a show that I really enjoy, I’d much rather pay $2 an episode than wait 3 days for a crappy quality download only to find out that it is dubbed in German.

Still, this bill scares the crap out of me.  I can’t believe people would be willing to give up their freedom for early access to entertainment.  Still, in socialist France, maybe the people actually aren’t, but the politicians are… One of the few things that I like about Obama is how tech savvy he seems to be.  You almost have to have personally bought content and been frustrated with trying to actually use it where you want to really understand this stuff.  Out of Obama, Biden, McCain and Palin, I would have definitely picked the O-Man as the one most likely to have done so.  Still, given his politics, I’m not sure that this will help us any.

One day, people will have the ability to have their own networks and crap like this won’t happen.  You already see it in big companies – very large WAN infrastructure that never actually touches the internet.  Some day that will spread to people, and you’ll have co-op networks that are completely private.  Its the only answer to crap like this and only technology keeps it from happening today.  I’ve personally knows folks who all live in the same apartment building that have wired their apartments together – not for the purpose of circumventing copyright law, but simply for the ability to share information and infrastructure more easily.  Why have four home servers when one shared one does the job for 1/4 the price?

Of course, in the current State-of-the-Tech-Union, you could only do that with people you implicitly trust.  One day technology will make that unnecessary – just as our current internet security technologies make it relatively safe to surf the net.  I think even the telecom companies would like that, as it removes them from having any liability whatsoever.  You’d still pay a monthly fee for your “line” – but it would likely be a simple direct link to the next person up the line, or something similar.  You may have private line aggregators that take a monthly fee from a number of people to allow for more bandwidth, etc.   Don’t get me wrong – this would likely be in addition to an Internet connection, but I think there is a pretty good chance of it happening at some point in the future.  It would take a ton of cash, a lot of technology and a critical mass of people, but its is indeed possible.  I’d call it a Private Public Network or PPN.

For those of you saying “impossible” – just remember that one dude, Linus Torvalds, started the unstoppable wave that became Linux.  Its amazing what can happen when fed-up people buck the status quo and go off and do something on their own.  Linus didn’t try to start a revolution, but his idea was so good that it happened anyway.  It may take years or even a decade or two (work on what became the Linux began in 1991), but it CAN happen.

Mark my words.

Can you say DROOL?

Engadget talks about the new QNAP line of NAS drives and a streaming media player.

Well, AT&T and I have made up.

Not willingly mind you, but I’m bound to them through the shackles of a corporate contract that is completely out of my control, so what can I do?

Surprisingly enough, even though my email to AT&T bounced back to me, apparently someone was listening.  I was contacted via email by a Premiere Customer Support agent who apologized profusely for my inconvenience and mentioned that they would forward my complaint on to their management (who, I’m sure, will take it very seriously… yeah, right!).

Anyway, glad that someone had heard my whining, I happily replied thanking them for contacting me, explained to them about the email bounce and then asked if they could contact me to help me upgrade my phone to the BlackBerry Bold.  I figured they had kept me on hold so long, someone could call me this time.

Well, wishful thinking.  They said “No, you have to call us…”

OK, fine… Remembering my golden handcuffs, I tried again.

This time, calling the service number put me immediately in touch with a representative who, while not very chipper, ended up actually being helpful.  They quickly understood my problem, explained it to me and then tried to get me off the phone.  When I protested and asked if they could simply take the order over the phone, they offered to walk me through the ordering process online.  I figured that was fine – I just wanted to order the darn thing.  Well, the Fates of Online Apps had something else in mind.  When trying to log in to the Premiere Site, it just wasn’t responding.

A loud sigh later, the agent offered to take my order over the phone.  Hmm – isn’t that what I asked for in the first place?  Oh well, as least they were going to do it!  After about 15 minutes of listening to the person mutter and yawn (yes YAWN), my order was placed.

When will it show up?  I have no idea.  She / he (I couldn’t tell, and they had an androdgenous name) didn’t know either, so I guess I wait.  They gave me an order number and the charge showed up right away on my card, so it should be official.

Yay.  I’m so happy.