Blackberry Download Limit Remover

September 1, 2009 by James Munns 66 Comments

On the standard Blackberry Web Browser, there is a fixed file download limit of 2.3MB. Many users avoid this by installing a 3rd party browser (such as Opera Mini, for example), but there is still that bitter taste for having an extra web browser around just to download decently sized files. This limit seems to be imposed by a certain WAP port that the Blackberry is set to use by default, which blocks any file greater than this. Fortunately, [0mie] has found a way to reconfigure the default Blackberry Browser to use a different port without this restriction. Step by step walk through, links to the file required, and screen shots of large file downloads are provided. [0mie] claims that this hack works on a number of different phones and OS versions, and we are sure he would appreciate a wider audience to test this with.

[Note: This hack seems to use a Chinese provider as a proxy, so there may be privacy issues, etc. As always, hack at your own risk.]

[digg=http://digg.com/mods/How_to_Remove_the_Blackberry_download_limit_Hack_a_Day]

Lubuntu 9.10 Alpha Image Available

September 1, 2009 by Mike Szczys 17 Comments

lubuntu_first_beta

The alpha version of Lubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala is now publicly availabile. The project brings together Ubuntu and LXDE, the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment. This combination makes for a lighter version of the most popular Linux distribution. Both Xubuntu (which utilizes the Xfce desktop) and Lubuntu are meant to run well on lower resource computers such as netbooks. With the ISO smaller than 400mb and using quite a bit less system resources Lubuntu looks promising.

Right now it looks like the original backup ISO link is down. If you can’t wait, try this torrent.

[via Softpedia]

Homebrew Carputer

September 1, 2009 by Jake W 26 Comments

Avbrand's Carputer

Though not from scratch, [Avbrand] integrated a powerful set of tools into his Subaru station wagon. The system was compiled from off the shelf electronics, such as a Compaq notebook, 3G USB modem, touch screen, and an assortment of other peripherals. It is based around Windows XP, though most of the carputer-specific applications, such as backup camera integration, Google Maps – based car tracking, and automatic volume control had to be custom coded by [Avbrand] himself. Perhaps the single most impressive and useful feature of the system is synchronization with highway traffic cameras. The system streams video of segments of the highway before [Avbrand] gets to them, allowing him to make more informed navigational choices. He documents it pretty well on his website.

Zelo, The Improbable Wooden Trike

September 1, 2009 by Phil Burgess 11 Comments

The earliest bicycles were made from wood. Nearly two centuries later, some garage tinkerers still turn to this most traditional of materials for their own creations, since welding one requires experience and tools beyond the reach of many. Resembling Gilligan’s Island props, the resulting bikes are both artistic and great fun, but not very practical for real use; often heavy, ill-fitting or lacking durability.

[Boris Beaulant’s] birch laminate Zelo, on the other hand, has cleaner lines than anything you’d see in an IKEA showroom. Not content with an ordinary two-wheeler, he’s tackled a three-wheeled recumbent trike, which requires even finer tolerances. Two months and over 1,300 miles later, the trike is still rolling strong through the French countryside, proving its mettle as legitimate transportation and not just a garage novelty. [Beaulant’s] build log (Google translation here) offers some insights into the development of this masterpiece, starting with prior woodworking projects (furniture, rolling toys and a children’s bike) and finding clever solutions to problems such as creating a mold of his own back for a custom-contoured seat.

Firefox Master Password Recovery Tool

September 1, 2009 by Matt Schulz 13 Comments

firemaster

It’s great in this day and age that browsers can remember our passwords for us, allowing us cross-site security without the hassle of memorizing a million different random passwords. It’s great, that is, until we forget our master password. Fret not, though; there is a solution. The folks over at Lifehacker show us how to use FireMaster to recover forgotten or misplaced Firefox master passwords. Perhaps a better solution is to just store those tricky passwords where nobody will find them.

Circuit Board Instrument

September 1, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 9 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8UzSVFUIc0]

[Moldover] decided to change up the way CDs are packaged for his album release. Yes, you still get a CD with some pretty sweet music, but the case can also play sounds. He custom printed a circuit board containing some LEDs, buttons, photoresistors, and what looks to be a piezo transducer which all combine to produce a strange whine like noise. But with the included headphone jack, he shows it can be used to produce some very interesting music – reminds us of circuit bending.

[Thanks Ferdinand]

Snow Leopard Ditches Real Math For Fake

September 1, 2009 by Mike Szczys 173 Comments

snow_leopard_fake_math

We’ve always felt that hard drive manufacturers were dirty crooks because of their use of fake math to make drives sound bigger than they actually are. Here’s a quick refresher for those who need it: Because digital information consists of 1’s and 0’s (two possible settings), digital architecture revolves around powers of 2. Long ago, when nomenclature was setup for measuring data the term kilobyte was adopted to represent 2 to the 10th power bytes (base 2, aka real math). The problem here is that 2^10= 1024 and when laymen hear the root “kilo” they think 1000 which is 24 byes less (base 10, aka fake math). So, if you have a 500,000,000 byte drive, base 10 math would call that a 500GB drive, but base 2 math would call that 476.8GB.

We understand why hard drive manufacturers use the base 10 system; larger sounding drives sell better. Now we find out that OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard is using base 10 math to calculate storage space. While base 2 math is the standard storage measurement for operating systems it may at first be difficult to understand why Apple would change to a base 10 system. But think about it once more, doesn’t Apple have a lot to gain if all the storage-containing-hardware they sell sounds bigger than it actually is?

[via Gizmodo]

Update: Force Snow Leopard to calculate storage in base 2 [via Gizmodo]