Archive for the ‘Android’ Category

Ben Heck apprentice strikes again with DarthCast

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

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Look out Ben Heck, you don′t want to be overcome by one of your own followers, now do you? Merely months after the clearly talented hailrazer churned out a mighty impressive portable Nintendo 64, the guy has done it again by creating an on-the-go Dreamcast — using the same style of Lazer Doodle shell, to boot. After acquiring another chassis, a Dreamcast, a Quantam controller, PSOne LCD, power supply and some serious battery power, the DarthCast was created. Reportedly, the thing can go for around three hours before puckering out, and you’ll know your time is short when it starts sighing heavily in a muffled tone. Check the vid after the break, and pay your respects in the read link, son.

Continue reading Ben Heck apprentice strikes again with DarthCast

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Original post by Darren Murph

Wiimote strapped on guitar for wild effects, whammy bar gets totally jealous

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

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What can’t be done with a Wiimote? No, seriously. You can use the thing to control your vacuum, homegrown video games and your very own robotic sentry. Oh, and now you can use it to make yourself a better guitarist. YouTube member rockin1208 has hosted up a video of him executing all sorts of nasty pitch bends and whatnot thanks to a Wiimote strapped onto his Strat. Put as simply as possible, he pipes the Wiimote data to Max / Msp, which then sends MIDI data to a Digitech Whammy pedal. We know, you have no idea what we just said, so we’ll just encourage you to don your gnarliest cans and hop on past the break for an aural explanation.

[Via Hack-A-Day]

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Original post by Darren Murph

ATM skimmers: now with SMS notification built right in

Friday, October 10th, 2008

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Aw, how convenient! Now, when you purchase your next ATM skimmer, you don’t even have to risk being arrested when you wander out to retrieve it. For those outside of the know, an ATM skimmer sits on credit / debit card machines and swipes information as unsuspecting civilians pass their cards through. In the days of old, scammers would have to physically retrieve the skimmer in order to acquire all that precious information; now, models with built-in SMS notification are becoming available, meaning that numbers, expiration dates and that easy-to-forget three digit code on the back can be shot out instantly after the data is snatched. Word on the street has these devices going for $8,500 a pop, and they can dish out around 2,000 texts. Just another zany hack to be aware of in the wide world of ATM shenanigans.

[Via Hack-A-Day]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Gigabyte M912X hack makes a smarter, cheaper Modbook

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

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A fellow named Stuart Lowe installed Leopard on his Gigabyte M912X netbook / tablet hybrid, and we like the results. Though this isn’t the first Mac tablet hack, it’s a tightly wrapped little package: the interface seems smooth with either fingers or a stylus, and Inkwell’s onscreen keyboard allows complete functionality when the computer is folded into its slate configuration. Much of the necessary software functionality existed in Leopard already, and since installing OS X on something other than a Mac isn’t the challenge it used to be, we’re envisioning a pretty smooth ride for other would-be-hackers. We’ve embedded a video on the other side of the jump — take a look, and then cast your vote on what to call this niche category of netbook-like tablets.

[Via Slashgear]

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Continue reading Gigabyte M912X hack makes a smarter, cheaper Modbook

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Original post by Samuel Axon

OnState, the Skype Call Center functionality Enabler, Used by B4 Consulting

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Skype LogoI always find it fascinating to read about companies that take standard Skype and add additional features that make it a great solution for various business processes beyond just VoIP. One such company is OnState, the creator of OnState ACD for Skype, which adds ACD & call center functionality to Skype. They recently announced support for Zimbra,  a popular open source server and client software for messaging and collaboration - email, group calendaring, contacts, and web document management and authoring. The mashup of Zimbra and Skype will delivers a low-cost Unified Messaging solution.

Today, OnState has announced their multi-modal solution is being used by B4 Consulting. Specifically, B4 Consulting’s tech support uses OnState chat and call center capabilities to deliver 24ҷ customer support globally featuring VoIP, chat, voicemail, call recording, callbacks, CRM integration, and more.

To be honest, this is the kind of functionality that Skype should offer to businesses themselves instead of that joke known as Skype for Business. Skype gets a bad rap for being too consumery - and deservedly so because they haven′t added any features to Skype for Business worth mentioning. Fortunately, third-parties like OnState are extending Skype and adding business-class features. Another example is VAPPS, which offers high-definition conferencing that works with Skype. But Skype shouldn′t be relying on third-parties for business-class features.

In any case, check out the news…

OnState Communications, innovating new-generation contact center solutions, today announced a multi-modal call center solution for technical support services. The solution has been adopted by B4 Consulting, an SAP&reg channel partner that has achieved gold-level status, which uses the OnState CallCenter for Skype to deliver real-time customer support. The OnState CallCenter for Skype&trade is integral to B4 Consulting’s delivery of its global Application Management Services for the SAP Business One application, SAP’s affordable business management solution for growing businesses. B4 Consulting’s Web-integrated call center capitalizes on the full range of OnState’s multiple communications modes and customer contact options. This includes concurrent Skype chat and voice, Skype voicemail, dynamic call recording, and callbacks. Customers can initiate contact with agents via live chat, free inbound Skype calls, toll-free inbound lines, as well as non-Skype traditional landline and email. Additionally, the OnState CallCenter is integrated with B4 Consulting’s customer relationship management system.

“To deliver technical support services on a global basis, B4 is leveraging nearly every feature within OnState’s portfolio of customer contact solutions,” said Pat Kelly, president and CEO of OnState. “And, they are using them in a completely integrated manner and sometimes simultaneously to deliver highly-responsive support services to their customers using SAP Business One.” Moreover, as call center and support portal functions are Skype-based and Web-enabled, support can be delivered from anywhere at anytime. Therefore, B4 Consulting’s support customers can rely on call center agents who are subject-matter experts in SAP Business One.

“When we launched our Application Management Services [AMS] for SAP Business One, we couldn’t afford the time and resources to establish a traditional call center – yet we wanted to provide premium, enterprise-level services on a global basis," noted Frank Paetzold, vice president of delivery and AMS at B4 Consulting. "Establishing a sophisticated call center was quick, easy and affordable with OnState. The beauty of OnState, however, goes beyond affordability. Implementing OnState requires no server hardware or software and minimal agent-based client software installation. OnState eliminates barriers to communication, enabling us to give customers the freedom to decide how and when they want to communicate with us as well as the option for self-service through our online knowledge portal.”

B4 maintains that most customer conversations begin with voice and evolve to other communication modes, principally chat. “Currently, live chat is most often used by customers," noted Paetzold, "it’s a quick way for customers to communicate issues and an efficient information-gathering mechanism for our agents.” All customer contact, conversations, email, and chat exchanges are easily recorded in B4 Consulting’s CRM system for historical reference. “As the market matures, I’m sure customers will use a wider variety of communications methods,” continued Paetzold, “and find a lot of creative ways to use them.”


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Original post by nafiz

XO Anywhere Enhanced Mobile Features

Monday, April 14th, 2008

XO Communications has enhanced it’s mobile worker feature-set on their XO Anywhere platform. It bundles mobility and Unified Communications for customers with XOptions Flex, IP Flex, and IP Flex with VPN service. XO Anywhere allows your remote workers to work from anywhere as if they were in the office. It simplifies communications for mobile workers with a single Flex number that makes it easier for contacts to find them. It comes with an Outlook toolbar that allows you to manage your phone features in real time.

XO Anywhere Outlook Toolbar

XO Communications, today announced that it has launched XO Anywhere, a new service that helps improve worker productivity with mobility and unified communications features. XO Anywhere turns any phone into an office phone, providing an ideal solution for companies with mobile and distributed workforces.

A recent study from the research firm the Yankee Group shows that 44 percent of all employees today at small and medium-sized businesses are mobile workers. Of this mobile workforce, 49 percent are mobile professionals (senior executives, managers, IT workers, consultant), 31 percent are field workers (sales, technical support, and other field-related services), and 21 percent are specialty workers with varying degrees of mobile job functions. [1] “Solutions like XO Anywhere are necessary as increasing numbers of workers find themselves outside of the office,” said Steve Hilton, vice president of Yankee Group’s Enterprise Research Group. “Being able to maintain contact with customers and partners without regard to physical location will help increase worker productivity and positively impact a business’ bottom line.”

Mobility Features
XO Anywhere bundles a variety of mobility features to help companies improve the productivity of their remote and mobile workers:
Simultaneous Ring: Allows up to 10 different devices to ring at the same time, connecting the call to the first device that answers. Customers need only one number to be reached wherever they are.
Remote Office: Enables employees to set up a remote office instantly, make or receive calls from any device, display their office phone number on the caller ID, and charge all calls to the office’s XO service.
• Click to Dial: Provides seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook and web browers. Users to simply select and click on any contact or phone number to make a call.
Web-Based Tool Bar: Allows users to personally manage all features online at any time.

“XO Anywhere gives an employee the freedom to be on the road, attending a conference or working from home, and have the peace of mind that they will not miss an important phone call from a client or coworker,” said Nicola Jackson, director of IP and converged services at XO Communications. “We expect our customers to find XO Anywhere an integral tool for increasing employee performance, while their employees benefit from its ease of use and convenience.”

XO Anywhere is available now, and can be ordered as an additional feature for customers of XO IP Flex , XO IP Flex with VPN, and XOptions Flex. An administrator simply assigns licenses to users who are able to download the software and toolbar onto their computers.

If you recall, earlier this year, XO Communications introduced the innovative bandwidth-based pricing XO IPfolio. As I wrote then, "Instead of paying per minute for voice calls like both traditional TDM and even current VoIP offerings do, XO will be completely bandwidth-based pricing. Considering that voice is simply another application riding over IP, it certainly makes sense, but the premium of charging per-minute rates or per line rates even for VoIP calls is a hard habit to break."

According to XO, &quotIPfolio gives businesses and enterprises a broad range of IP convergence and networking service options, including XO IP Flex, XO SIP, XO One iPBX, XO MPLS IP-VPN, and XO IP Flex with VPN. In addition, XO Communications offers a new and groundbreaking pricing that simplifies how businesses can buy and scale IP services to support their communications needs. &quot

XO Communications is the first major nationwide service provider to offer an innovative pricing concept for converged IP services that eliminates pricing based on the number of voice lines. Unlike other approaches to IP pricing that still are based on traditional services pricing models, XO’s bandwidth-based pricing offers rates based on the size of the port, not on the number of voice lines.

Customers can simply select an IP port speed from 1.5 to 45 Mbps, a calling plan and any additional features. In addition, customers pay nothing for incremental lines or voice channels provisioned within the port speed they have with their service. This innovative and unique bandwidth-based pricing is now being offered with XO IP Flex, XO IP Flex with VPN and XO SIP. For more information about XO Anywhere click here.


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Original post by nafiz

Where’s My Cell Phone?

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

It’s happened to be best of us - we misplaced our cell phone and after frantically looking for it we turn to our spouse/significant other and humbly ask, "Have you seen my cell phone?" or accusingly "What have you done with my cell phone? I had it right here!".

Now if your cell phone is on you can simply call it from your landline and hope you can track down the ringing (assuming you didn′t leave it on vibrate). But what if you are like a number of people who have gone 100% wireless with no landline service? Well, you could use Skype if you have SkypeOut credits, but not everyone does.

So what to do? Well, head on over to www.wheresmycellphone.com and enter in your cell phone number and it will dial it for you for free. No doubt you’ll hear your lost cell phone ringing in your pocket or the sofa seat cushions.

Now of course there is potential for abuse. You can enter in the cell number of a person you want to prank call and it will dial their number while protecting your anonymity. You could even write a script that hits this page multiple times to barrage your victim with countless calls. Perhaps even schedule the script to run at 3am. Ahh the fun to be had…


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Original post by nafiz

Talkonaut 4.0 native Symbian S60 edition released

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

The GTalk2VoIP dev team just released their VoIP+chat application for Symbian S60 phones that runs as a native (.sis file) application. I should stress that several Nokia smart phones come with a SIP stack, however they are limited to WiFi use only and won’t work over your cellular network. You can thank the carriers for that one. Talkonaut on the other hand is not bound to WiFi only, allowing you to make calls over GPRS, EDGE, 3G or WiFi. Talkonaut has essentially developed their own VoIP SIP stack that allows Talkonaut users to make voice calls over most data connections your mobile phone might have, such as GPRS, EDGE, 3G and WiFi. The application also sports the ability to make free VoIP calls to Google Talk users, to SIP phones, to MSN, Yahoo, AIM and ICQ voice capable IM clients. I believe you can even chat with MSN Messenger, Yahoo, AIM, and ICQ users.

Here’s a list of the new features in the 4th release according to the release:

- Talkonaut 4.0 was entirely rewritten in C/C++ and now runs on Symbian S60 3rd edition based Nokia smart-phones. Moving from Java to native platform allowed to reduce memory usage, improved speed and to add some functionalities that were not previously available for Jave applications, like VoIP, access to file local system (improved file transfer) and interaction with other applications (Web Browser for opening URLs right from chat window).

- Using a set of narrow-band Speex codecs and relying on Jingle Audio extension to XMPP protocol (same as implemented in Google Talk), Talkonaut now brings to the world a very powerful combination of IM chat, Presence and VoIP calls made over data connection.

- Talkonaut 4.0 allows to make free VoIP calls to Google Talk users, to SIP phones, to MSN, Yahoo, AIM and ICQ voice capable IM clients, as well as to other Talkonaut fellows.

- Talkonaut 4.0 allows to receive free calls from SIP phones (or any other VoIP networks), from Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo, AIM and ICQ users.

- Talkonaut 4.0 allows to make cheap VoIP calls to any mobile or landline phone number in the world.

- Talkonaut 4.0 allows to define any number of SIP accounts and use them to make free or cheap calls over third-party VoIP/SIP carriers. A flexible Dialing Plan feature is helpful for choosing routes to destinations between different carriers.

- Talkonaut 4.0 is fully equipped with all the features previously available in J2ME version of Talkonaut 3.0, inherits the same graphical user interface and menu structure.

Talkonaut 4.0 runs on the following sets of Symbian S60 based Nokia smart-phones:
o 3rd Edition: 3250, 5500, 5700, 6110, 6120, 6121, 6290, ᬦ, ᬧ, ᬰ, ᬱ, ᬱi, ᬲ, ᬵ, ᬺ, ᭎, N71, N73, N75, N76, N77, N80, N81, N81 8GB, N82, N91, N92, N93, N93i, N95, N95 8GB

Talkonaut 4.0 can be downloaded over-the-air using mobile web browser from http://get.talkonaut.com/, or via PC from http://www.talkonaut.com/download.shtml.


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Original post by nafiz

Garmin nuvifone

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

Garmin Nuviphone
Garmin nuvifone Garmin is the big bad boy in the GPS market, but they’ve now thrown their hat into the mobile phone ring with the Garmin nuvifone (not nuviphone). Garmin recently announced the quad-band nuvifone, a full-fledged GSM HSDPA smartphone built using Garmin’s proprietary operating system. The nuvifone of course sports GPS navigation but it also adds web surfing, e-mail, and a built-in camera.

How Garmin was able to extend their "specialized" GPS operating system into something with full-fledged mobile phone and web surfing capabilities is an amazing feat. Though perhaps they started their operating system from scratch. Garmin has been mum on the technical details and the pricing will a release date set for the Fall. Though the fact that its HSDPA means AT&ampT or potentially T-Mobile.

Some might be quick to compare the nüvifone with the Apple iPhone. Like the iPhone the nuvifone will be 100% touch-screen with no button navigation. However, the touch-screen won’t be multi-touch like the Apple iPhone.

Garmin nuviphone

Garmin nuvifone 'Google Local results with Ratings However, the Garmin nuvifone has one up on the iPhone in that it it includes Google Local Search, which can sort search results based on your current location and give you star ratings. The iPhone uses inaccurate triangulation to figure out your location where the nuvifone gives a much more precise location via its built-in GPS. You can be walking down the streets of New York City and see local restaurants, stores, hospitals, etc.  Garmin espouses this feature when it says:

The nüvifone is Garmin’s first device to include Google local search capability, which harnesses the vast point of interest information available from the world wide web. Nüvifone users can search for locations like “coffee shops” and Google will sort the results based on the user’s current location and relevance. Information provided by Google includes a web-based rating so that users can select the most appropriate destination and route directly to it. In addition, the nüvifone includes a web browser incorporating premium features and touchscreen operation for an optimum mobile browsing experience.

Some cool features include an Ṃ and MPEG4/AAC video player. The MPEG4/AAC video player marks the first time Garmin has added video support. TomTom, Garmin’s GPS competitor, has had video capabilities for some time. Another neat feature is the ability to find your car in an unfamiliar spot or crowded parking lot by automatically marking the position in which it was last removed from the vehicle mount. I actually have used this "find my car" feature using my old PocketPC Destinator GPS when I visited Disney World.

Also, Garmin Online offers real-time traffic and the ability to take pictures that are automatically tagged with location information. Great for geocache hunts. Bluetooh and Wi-Fi is also included on the nuviphone. I really like Garmin products. I own a Garmin 2720 and have purchased a few Garmin nuvi 350 GPS units, including having to buy one to replace one stolen in Disney World. I will definitely have to get my hands on a nuvifone in the Fall and post a review. No mention of a VoIP application such as Skype, but my guess is there won’t be one since they will make a deal with a carrier such as AT&T to subsidize the cost. Further, there won’t be an SDK so unlike the Apple iPhone, the nuvifone won’t be hackable to add third party apps.

nuvifone features include:
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp • Camera, video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC
    • Google local search
    • Garmin Online services - traffic, weather, fuel prices, hotel discounts, etc.
    • nuvi-like navigation on the road or in pedestrian mode
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp &bull Email, text, and instant messaging (IM)
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp • Preloaded maps of North America, Eastern and Western Europe, or both
    &bull Turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions
    • Speaks the names of the streets
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp • &ldquoWhere am I?&rdquo feature displays your latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations.

Garmin Online service with dynamic up-to-date information:
    • Real-time traffic
    &bull Fuel prices
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp • Stock prices
    &bull Sport scores
    • News reports
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp &bull Local events
    • Weather forecasts

Google Features:
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp • Gmail
    • Google local search
    • Proximity, location based search (coffee shops near me)
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp • Access to millions of geo-located landmark/sightseeing photographs available through Google’s Panoramio picture sharing site

Nuviphone
The official Garmin release is after the jump…

Continue reading Garmin nuvifone…


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Original post by Ryan

IP Phones Destroying Planet Earth

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Ghostbusters
According to a news release I received, IP phones sold in 2008 will create 47 million kg of waste thus destroying Planet Earth, causing global warming and causing the beginning of the End Times. What I mean is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling. Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes… The dead rising from the grave. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria!

Ok, maybe not. (That’s a Ghostbuster movie reference in case you missed it.) But according to OnRelay, a UK telecommunications software company, why kill the planet by purchasing desktop IP phones when you can use Fixed Mobile Convergence technologies to leverage mobile phones instead?

There’s a big problem with this argument. First off, you assume employees are going to be willing to use their personal mobile phone in the office. Sure, sales personnel will be given corporate mobile phones, but do you really think the CFO is going to authorize call center agents, marketing personnel, the accounting department, etc. to each get their own personal mobile phone? I don’t think so. The expense of giving a mobile phone PLUS a mobile phone voice plan to these individuals is cost prohibitive when you consider they don’t necessarily need mobile connectivity. Granted, the idea makes sense for sales personnel though, but mobile phones still aren’t more &quotgreen&quot than IP phones.

Secondly, mobile phones typically last 1-3 years before they are replaced because they are obsolete or they break. Desktop phones (including IP phones) last 5-15 years or more. Thus, the TCO of a desktop phone is much better than a mobile phone. Not to mention when people throw away their mobile phones they are also throwing away a lithium-ion battery and other electronic components in their mobile phones that aren′t exactly great for the environment. In the time it takes for a company to throw away 1 desktop phone (15 years), if they were to switch to mobile phones I estimate they′d throw away 5X as many mobile phones in the same amount of time (new mobile phone every 3 years).

Anyway, still fascinating to see their analysis in their news release. Check it out after the jump…

Continue reading IP Phones Destroying Planet Earth…


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Original post by Ryan

DirecTV intros dual ATSC tuner AM21 to piggyback HR21

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

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DirecTV intros two ATSC tuner AM21 to piggyback HR21

If your DirecTV HR21 leaves you feeling empty because you want need to streamline your over-the-air ATSC side of the house, listen up. DirecTV’s AM21 is your answer. For $59, you can pick one up, stack it above or below your HR21, connect it via USB, and bask in the glow of dual tuner ATSC programming (integrated with your OSG, to boot). It’s not a bad looking little black box at all, and the price is reasonable. It’s being shown off at CES, and you can expect it to be available at the end of February.

 

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Original post by Steven Kim


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