New iPod shuffle - Update

As you might remember, this past Saturday I became the proud owner of a 2nd Gen iPod shuffle.

Which began to tank on me; almost immediately.

Bummer.

So Tuesday night, as I wound down in bed, I played with the shuffle some more.

It started out fine and strong, but I noticed that as I adjusted the volume, particularly downward, it would often make a loud, static-like "pop" noise. Additional button pushing would sometimes result in it seeming to turn off. Sometimes I could get it going again by turning it on and off. Sometimes not. Finally, after a somewhat protracted session of song skipping, volume adjustment and switching from shuffle to non-shuffle play, it tanked again.

And it refused to come to life.

Based on my observations, it seemed that the issue was clearly related to a bad contact or switch in the unit itself.

So Wednesday I took it back to the store for an exchange.

I traded my original silver model purchase for a retro-green (Lavie says chartreuse) model this time.

I figured I needed some luck...and maybe picking a different color would help me avoid a bad silver batch...

So I got it home and began to charge it.

Some interesting things I noticed....

When I plugged it into my computer and opened iTunes, it displayed the unit as a green one, instead of the silver one from before. Pretty clever, that iTunes, being able to distinguish between unit colors!

Also interesting were the earbuds. See, the silver model I orignally had came with the old-style earbuds (just like my 4G iPod has) and the two-pair pack of black-foam cushions. I wasn't even aware that there were two models of earbuds. When I pulled the new ones out to put in, I automatically looked on the round bud-back for the "L" and "R" and didn't see them. I was worried I wouldn't be able to figure out which was the right (and left) ones! It wasn't until I spotted the "L" and "R" on the stems that I realized these were different than before...and no foam cushions.

Weird thing #3. When I had been charging my silver shuffle, it would blink yellow (to let me know it was charging while docked) then eventually it would go into a steady-green state. I figured that clearly meant the silver beast was charged.

So when I brought my new green model home and plugged it in, it went to the yellow-blink mode as it charged. It was still blinking when I went to bed, so I left the pc on and let it charge. Then I woke up briefly a few hours later to shut the pc down, and it was still blinking yellow. So I shut it down and then gave it another hour-charge before work. Still yellow-blinking....no steady green yet.

So I took it to work to charge some more.

By lunchtime while it was still yellow-blinking I began to worry. How long does an initial charge take? Most of what I found was just a few hours.

Oh no!

So I double checked the light codes on the Apple site and found a startling thing. The yellow-blinky when docked meant that it was connected and enabled for disk use...don't unplug without ejecting. Oh! (I would have been waiting a loooong time!)

I undocked it and turned it on..bright green which meant good charge!

So I've been listening to it for several hours now...and no issues, pops, tanks or otherwise bad behavior!

Based on my observations (ear buds and the like) it appears that I had originally brought home a very early issued 2nd generation iPod shuffle. Go figure. And a bad-one at that.

My 2nd pick seems to be working great and no issues.

Whew!

iPod Shuffle 2nd Generation Disassembly: Performing Disassembly ... (or) How to skin a shuffle!

iPod shuffle Fast Start: The New User's Guide to iPod shuffle - Since it doesn't come with a "real" manual.

iPod shuffle (Second Generation): Understanding status light behavior - (or) Morse Code for Dummies!

Apple iPod shuffle (2nd gen) -via the Gadgeteer. Nice review.

iPod shuffle Review - via Ars Technica. Awesome review. Technical points, as well as increasing attempts to destroy it by foot treading, 3rd floor drop, beer submersal, and hit-and-run.

Jammin' to my Japanese mixes!

--Claus

Tips for Google and Blogger, plus Two "Ultimate" Wallpapers

Google: Power to the People

Matt Cutts recently posted some thoughts about how good Web 2.0 folks should allow users of the service access to their data: Not trapping users’ data = GOOD

Basically what he is getting at is that many Web 2.0 depend on users and their data to work well. A good Web 2.0 model would allow users to take their data/content and move it elsewhere, instead of hoarding it to themselves and making it difficult for users to port it; to their local pc, to another web service, to a mobile device, etc.

Then he looked at Google and all the ways they let users of their services get to their data. Besides being a great exercise, it is a useful reference on exporting your Google stuff.

Gmail: -- POP access via other email clients.

Search -- you can retrieve your search history (assuming you search while logged in with your Google account), and even export it via RSS feed.

Google Docs and Spreadsheets allow multiple format exports...

Google Calendar,

Google Talk,

Google Reader (via OPML format)

Blogger (via FTP or SFTP and blog backup)

Google AdWords via AdWords Editor.

Google Groups, covered via CSV file export of the members list.

Create and manage a custom Google Search Engine.

Then there are all the goodies in Google Analytics ripe for download and analysis.

And finally the Google Webmaster Tools.

Neat.

Picture this Blogger Fan

While Google has been updating and making some news with the New Blogger system, they have been doing some work on the Blogger picture hosting end as well.

According to this old Blogger FAQ, the limit for picture uploads (hosted on Blogger servers) was set at 300 MB. I never got close to hitting that ceiling, but it worried me as I could never figure out how you could tell just where you were at towards that limit.

Now comes news: Blogger and Picasa Web Albums

Blogger has been working to convert their Blogger hosted images over into their Picasa Web Albums.

All Blogger photos uploaded to Blogger since December 2006 have been converted over. Older posted photos are expected to eventually be migrated over.

Why is this cool?

Well, now each Blogger's blog now has its own photo album..along with a photo management interface.

"All Things Blogger" Sensei Phydeaux3 shares some screen-shots on how the Blogger Picasa accounts look. Phydeau3 also passes on some some analysis and dead-helpful tips about how URL linking is working with the Blogger system. All Bloggers would do well to check out his post. More Blogger Photo Integration with Picasa

But more exciting than that...now Blogger posted photo's fall under the 1GB free size quota.

Wow!

And if for some reason you run out....you can upgrade to a paid account with more space.

Neato!

So About those Blog Photos...

Phillip Lenssen over on Google Blogoscoped had a great post on Tips for Using Images in Blogs.

Some of the better ones

• Use Flickr’s Creative Commons search to find photos.
• Use larger zoom images for those images that people may want to get a close-up of, but don’t necessarily use the exact same image.
• Think of the future – you’re creating an archive.
• Provide enough context in your photo (but not more).
• Use iconic images.
• Use the right compression.
• You don’t need to be an artist: the spirit counts.
• Don’t hotlink images from other servers.
• Use a white background, or use another color at your own risk.

In total all 15 tips are well detailed and worth the read for new and seasoned bloggers alike.

Rippin' Good Google Images

Here's a neat "hack" tip from the Download Squad gurus: Google Image Ripper: we don't need no stinkin' thumbnails

The Google Image Ripper website servers up Google images without the Google fluff and seas of thumbnails.

Enter an image search term, pick a image size, and let her rip!

Bonus--Beautiful Vista Ultimate Wallpapers

Well worth checking these out if you are a Vista fan.

Windows Vista Ultimate: Ultimate Downloads - Two different cool wallpapers from Microsoft: a Strands image and a Start image. All are downloadable in various aspect ratio formats.

I prefer the Strands images myself. Nice and dark with a slash of color.

But the backlit Start Orb image is cool as well...kinda has an eclipse look to it.

Then Windows watcher Long Zheng over at his istartedsomething blog posted Windows Vista Ultimate wallpapers remixed. Basically he did some l33t image cleanup on both of them and they look even better and now are sans the "Ultimate" branding. The background is darker and the "strands" are colored enhanced and almost glow.

I think they look especially good with the Zune Desktop theme from Microsoft.

Enjoy!

--Claus

iPod Shuffle Woes....

I recently posted about our two new family members...

Happily, Alvis's hamster is adjusting quite well to her new home. We are working on voice recognition. However, little Polka-Dot seems to respond much faster to the sound of seed-mix food dropping into her food dish, rather than our voices...so we are doing a Pavlov's dog type training gently and clearly speaking her name as we get her attention with food.

Time will tell.

Unfortunately, life is not the same with my iPod Shuffle.

We have two first generation iPod Shuffles in our home already. Both have been well used and continue to function without a hitch. Alvis can play hers for over a week between charges. And not once has either Girl or girl asked me for help.

However, three times now I have hauled my 2nd Gen iPod Shuffle off to work, only to find it quite unresponsive when I get to my desk.

I've let it fully charge until the green light came on.

I've confirmed it worked by playing a few songs.

I've shut it off for the night.

Then it was dead at work.

I know it works as I can listen to it fine right after charging. And each charge seems like it is doing a full re-charge. I'm not sure what I'm doing to discharge the battery. I have it off and can't imagine that wrapping the headphone cord around it off would somehow cause it to turn on and discharge. I'm stumped.

So tonight I did a full reset/restore..reloaded the latest software on it, reduced the number of songs so it wasn't quite maxed out...and am charging it again.

I don't know if the battery just isn't holding a full charge overnight...or maybe I'm doing some stupid noobie thing with it. Like I said...I've never had any issues with the two 1st Gen Shuffles we've had.

I've read the little help card several times to get down the lights. They seem to work fine after charging.

I've also read the little spread-out handout it comes with...mostly pictures...not too deep.

I've also read Apple's iPod shuffle troubleshooting and service FAQ.

I'm going to give it a bit more effort troubleshooting before I try to take it back for an exchange.

If I can get it working, I might just leave it on all-night at full volume (not in my ears!) to see how long the discharge lasts while playing...maybe that will give me some info.

Maybe I need to go with a different color....

--Claus

HijackThis 2.0.0 Beta Released--with a Twist!

I was checking my RSS feed for filehippo.com and was surprised to find that HijackThis was just now being offered at a 2.0.0 Beta level.

This was exciting stuff for a malware-fight'n dude...especially since the last release version has been at 1.99.1 for many years.

Then my socks came off!

Seems the developer, Merijn, had decided to sell HijackThis to TrendMicro under their TrendSecure online services label.

Wowzers

First I popped over to Merijn's website to see if this was true:

As some of you might have seen several IT news websites are offering Trend Micro HijackThis 2.00 beta. An official statement will be posted on their website soon, but since this is a public beta of theirs I figured it'd be best if I answered the question I'm going to get asked a lot, right now.

This is not fake, I sold HijackThis to TrendMicro. Their product incorporates all changes, updates and fixes that I was planning on adding in the v1.99.2 release. I made sure of that and I hope no one will be disappointed with it.

(edit)

I sold HijackThis because I had been sitting on an unfinished update for over a year and I still could not make enough time to finish it. My uni classes are taking up a lot of time and I want to set my goals a bit wider than just the antispyware business (though I still love it). Sitting on an unfinished product until it becomes obsolete is not useful, so I decided to transfer the responsibility to TrendMicro (who have also taken care of my CWShredder) so they can give it proper attention and support. Where the will take HijackThis, I do not know - but I am sure they will respect its goals and what it stands for.

Yep. How about that!

So I popped over to take a look at the the new Trend Micro Hijack This page.

Yep. Looks nice and slickly presented.

So I downloaded it and gave it a whirl.

So far...it's pretty much the same as before.

Some of my my initial observations are

1. It ran a fast scan (but not necessarily faster than the previous version).
2. There is now a button on the scan page to upload items to TrendMicro for "AnalyzeThis"
3. There is now a button on the scan page to return directly to the main menu.
4. Everything else looks pretty much the same.

While it is exciting in a poignant way to see that HijackThis is reaching what will (hopefully be) fresh development in the anti-malware arms-race...this 2.0.0 beta version doesn't have much to get excited about...yet.

Some on the web are posting about the death of HijackThis since it has gone "commercial". Others are wondering why Merijn didn't just make it OpenSource. I don't know. For now, I'm keeping an open mind and attitude and will wait and see. I've been using the last Merijn version (v1.99.1) for a long time and it has held up well. It will be floating around the Internet tubes for those unsatisfied with the "new" TrendMicro builds. So far, the 2.0.0 beta version seems like a nice development. I'm just sad taht Merijn couldn't keep it going himself. But I understand.

HijackThis is one of my "holy horsemen of the Apocalypse" of malware fighting and assessment tools. I never approach a compromised Windows machine with out this one. It isn't for amateurs, and there are many similar tool available now that do what it accomplishes...but it remains...in my humble opinion...one of the very best of it's kind.

So I wish the very best for Merijn and appreciate all he has done to develop this tool. And I look forward to seeing more development and enhancements to HijackThis from TrendSecure in the the future.

Happy hunting...

--Claus

Update: Here are the changes reported to be made to version 2.0.0 beta since the last version:

Latest Changes:
* AnalyzeThis added for log file statistics
* Recognizes Windows Vista and IE7
* Fixed a few bugs in the O23 method
* Fixed a bug in the O22 method (SharedTaskScheduler)
* Did a few tweaks on the log format
* Fixed and improved ADS Spy
* Improved Itty Bitty Procman (processes are frozen before they are killed)
* Added listing of O4 autoruns from other users
* Added listing of the Policies Run items in O4 method, used by SmitFraud trojan
* Added /silentautolog parameter for system admins
* Added /deleteonreboot [file] parameter for system admins
* Added O24 - ActiveX Desktop Components enumeration
* Added Enhanced Security Confirguration (ESC) Zones to O15 Trusted Sites check

Two New Family Members...

Been a busy weekend...to top off a busy workweek.

I've been having to stretch some mental muscles I haven't used for a while. I'm getting into shape with the special project work I've had to do, but I haven't been fun to be around at work.

Fortunately, I don't have to unusually bring my work home...so the girls have been spared...although I am staying up a bit later at night watching an anime or late night move to decompress.

Anyway...we have two new "family members" in the Valca home.

Somehow they ended up being very related...

This weekend I decided it was time to do some more clothing upgrades.

Emboldened at my success at finding jeans that fit me...I next decided to tackle my "undergarments" drawers.

I can't speak for other men, but generally I don't give much notice to my unmentionables. As long as they are clean (easy for me since I do the laundry in our household) and the elastic isn't frayed I don't give them much thought. I'm not sure when I made my last man-wear purchases...so I took it as a good sign that it has been too long.

My tube-socks were going a bit thin in the heels, my "drawers" looked a bit tired, and my undershirts were getting a bit out of shape. So I bravely decided to clean my dresser out and make room for the new.

A visit to the nearby clothing department store ended up costing more than I expected. Lavie and Alvis were inspired by my "refreshing" purge and decided to do the same. Who knew we could buy that much in undergarments?

Still on my shopping "high," we split up after loading up the trunk. The Girls went to a pet store and I ducked into the blue and yellow electronics store to grab a set of composite video cables...as the set I had on the DVD player had a flaky plug and could drop the reds at any given moment.

New Child #1

Going in alone to one of those blue and yellow electronics stores is always a dangerous proposition. It took me a while to find the reasonably priced composite cables in amongst all the ungodly high-priced ones. Finally I did. On my way to the cashier...however, I got sidetracked.

Somehow a iPod Shuffle caught my eye and begged me to bring it home.

So I did.

I have a big 4G 40Gig iPod that I haven't managed to make a dent on yet. So why my own Shuffle? Well...both the Girls have a 1G Shuffle and seem to like them. I really liked the small size and portability. The 4G iPod is large and heavy and I'm in fear of dropping it. Nor does it seem like a good item to bring on a run.

The new Shuffle is tiny-tiny and very light. It's almost like it doesn't exist. I got the 1Gig version and packed it full with over 380 of my Japanese anime soundtracks and a few podcasts. Now, many of those songs are short 1-2 minute music tracks from the anime series, but still that's a bunch of songs. The clip is cool, but several times I sent it flying across the room onto the carpet when it shot out of my fingers due to the sharp angle and strong spring. And the mini-dock for it is kawaii!

I didn't even consider getting the iPod Nano...price-wise for how I intended to use it, it didn't fit my needs. The Shuffle was perfect. Simple and practical.

So I walked out of the store...feeling guilty and fearing I would have to justify my impulse purchase to Lavie when my cell phone rang....it was Alvis...from the pet store....she had a "begging" tone to her voice..

Do you see were this is going? If so, you might be a parent...

New Child #2

Alvis was found to be standing in front of the hamster cages with her lip out better than I have ever seen her. She was so serious and so ready to gear up for a public begging and pleading match.

Now, in all fairness. Alvis has been doing her homework on hamsters for many years. Lavie and I had a few as newlyweds. Alvis had also been saving money for one as well, although we hadn't made a decision yet.

"It's a Dalmatian hamster!" (Which means that it is just a standard hamster that had an odd coat coloring...thus the pet store could jack up the price at least double than for a "golden" coated one.)

With dearest daughter beginning to put forth a case summary to rival the best delivery by Raymond Burr in Ironside or Perry Mason...Lavie silently grinning at me, and Dad's one impulse purchase guiltily hidden behind me in a yellow bag...I did what any strong-willed father would do in this situation...

I caved before Alvis could even get her tears worked up.

So for about the price of a 2nd iPod Shuffle...we came out of the pet store geared up for hamster.

While I haven't named my iPod Shuffle yet, the hamster's name is Polka-dot.

I must have done the right thing, as Lavie didn't say a word about the Shuffle.

Tech meets Hamster

I did have to "rig" the wheel a bit. It had a nasty bit of wobble to it. Besides being noisy, the wobble would also eventually lead to the comic ejection of the hamster from the wheel.

I used a old floppy disk shell to make a "shim washer" placed behind the wheel to stop the wobble.

It was a pretty funny scene. Polka-Dot was running around the living room floor in a plastic ball, I was seated on the carpet with a torn-apart floppy disk case, and was drilling a 1/4 inch hole in the center of one of the sides with my super-big power-drill so I could slide it over the spindle for the hamster wheel.

Lavie was just laughing as the hamster kept running into me. The plastic side of the floppy was just thick enough to make a nice shim and allowed me to trim it down to size (to avoid late-night nibbles) with a pair of scissors. Worked like a charm.

"Run silent, Run fast"...our new hamster's motto....

We spent the rest of Sunday tossing out the drawers from our drawers to make room for the new ones. Even Alvis got in on the act and emptied out her closet and dressers of "too small" clothing.

Not a bad weekend...

Mischief managed.

--Claus

Detritus....

This is the fifth post I am composing while waiting for Grand Stream Dreams to be cleared for flight by the Blogger gods.

Bits and pieces, nay, detritus of links...waiting for life to spring forth again....

Man Gear

Deutsche Optik - Tons of really cool gear and stuff. Every guy should have at least some conversational piece from this modern-day army-surplus store. How about the Swiss Army Teletype Tuning Kit, or maybe a Full Walkers Log Set. Forget that prissy Sharper Image stuff. This is Real Manly Man gear. Oh, yeah. Don't let the name fool you. That there is a good old US of A company.

Windows Tips and Tricks

How-to install VMware Server 1.0.1 on Windows XP SP2 - via Network Physics Although installing VMware Player or VMware Server really isn't THAT complicated, this is a bang-up tutorial (with pictures) that holds your momma's boy hand through downloading VMware's Server software to getting a virtual machine "appliance" up and running.

HOWTO: Install Windows Vista from a high speed USB 2.0 Flash Drive - So Kurt Shintaku gets clever and figures out how to speed the installation time of Vista by porting it from a DVD onto a heavy-big and fast Flash Drive. He reports seeing a Vista Ultimate install in less than 5-10 minutes.

Quoting from Kurt's post:

Why would someone want to install a client OS from a thumb drive instead of a DVDROM or over the network? One reason: Performance. Installing Windows Vista from a high speed USB flash drive is in my experience the easiest & fastest way to complete a Windows Vista install. This is much faster than using a DVD, gigabit Ethernet, or possibly even some external USB 2.0 hard drives, due to differences in access speed & transfer rate. To put this into perspective, y'know how installing Windows on a Virtual PC virtual machine from an .ISO CD image is really, really, really fast? Imagine something roughly just as fast, except for doing installations of the OS on to actual workstations.

Very clever indeed. Mileage may depend heavily upon motherboard support for USB drive system booting and speed of said Flash Drive.

Windows Live Writer Portable - TechLifeBlogged - I love using Windows Live Writer as my blogging tool. It is great...and not even out of Beta yet.

I haven't tried this "hack" yet to make Windows Live Writer portable, but it looks good and might just work. I haven't checked out the zip file either to make sure it is legit. So be careful.

I'll have to give it a shot and get back with you on it....although I don't really know how I would use this...I adhere to a very strict "no blogging at work" policy. (Though I might moderate a comment or two if it is really gross comment spam.)

For the Linux fans

klik - Linux Software Download - What is klik? Well. Simply put, it allows Linux users to download and use many popular software applications for Linux, without needing to actually install them onto the system. Kinda like portable-apps-on-demand for Linux users. I can see how some users might find this useful. Although, you need to have the klik client installed on your Linux system first for it to work.

I've been Mooned!

Did you remember the Lunar Eclipse tonight? Nope? I forgot too (darn-it!). NASA - Lunar Eclipse

But that did remind me to see if my two favorite astronomy applications have been updated recently, and they had!

Stellarium - (freeware) Now at version 0.8.2.

Celestia - (freeware) Now at version 1.4.1

Now you can be mooned too!

Just don't let the cops or the neighbors catch you at it.

--Claus

Anime Excitement....

Eureka Seven...the Seventh Swell Grows

So as Eureka Seven winds closer and closer to it's dramatic (I hope) conclusion (open-ended, I am sure). I am left calculating just how many DVD volumes I'm looking at having to add to my growing collection. I am currently at five...but volume six is coming soon.

Now, do I spring for the standard DVD or the Special Edition Box Set, with manga and T-shirt? Probably the special edition, as the girls got me the first Special Edition and that collector's box only houses about 6 DVD cases. So if I don't then the rest of my E7 DVD's will be unboxed.

See how insidious the marketing is?

Clever. Or is it Evil?

Oh My Goodness! It's more Goddess!

Among the anime titles out entire family delights in together, near the top of the list is Ah! My Goddess.

While I still prefer the charm of the original DVD series run, it didn't stick too closely to the manga (according to Alvis).

The movie was very good, and the animation quality, top-shelf.

Last year, Ah! My Goddess began a new life in re-release under the (TV) series label.

The animation was great, the voicework was smooth and pleasing. The dubbing was OK. Kinda a bit campy, but entertaining.

Alvis says this is keeping much better pace with the manga series.

Lavie and Alvis got me two of the three DVD's for this series that I was missing for Christmas. I got the last one we needed for the first season's run last month by mail-order and it was great.

Now comes word that the second season of Ah! My Goddess! (TV) has been picked up and will soon be issued here in the States this May! Hooray!

This is always a dicey thing for an anime fan. The original runs are usually in Japan on TV. If you are clever or a hard-core fan (something I am not) you can find the episodes floating around on the Net. It's frustrating because as a mid-core fan, I read about new series and favorite old-ones in my Newtype magazine, and have to wait months/years to see if they will get picked up and released here on DVD in the States.

So we were overjoyed to learn that the graceful Belldandy and her crazy goddess sisters would be returning soon.

Joy!

What was that about?

One of the things about being an anime lover is that often, references are made to Japanese events, holidays, festivals or terms that just don't have any context here in the States.

What's an otaku to do?

Consult The Anime Encyclopædia, of course!

Hosted by the folks at the Anime Cafe, it is full of helpful word translations, character information, and anime factoids. Although it doesn't seem to have been updated in many years, it is still quite useful.

Would you like to try some Paprika?

While I was catching up on the graphic arts scene over at the Drawn! blog, they had a gushing post about a new anime feature coming soon called Paprika.

Check out the trailer over at Apple Quicktime.

It shows some amazing animation work.

This isn't your (now standard) Pixar'ish animated fare. Not by a longshot.

Does the illustration style look familiar? It should. It is done by Satoshi Kon, the same director and designer for the anime movies Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and the strangely fascinating anime series Paranoia Agent.

The opening theme song and montage for Paranoia Agent, (Yume no Shima Shinen Kouen)" by Susumu Hirasawa still haunts me. Catchy little bugger.

I hope they will have a Houston screen release.

I haven't been this excited about an anime movie release since Howl's Moving Castle.

And for the Shuttle Fans

Here's a little bit of anime fan service for you Small Form Factor pc admirers.

Akihabaranews.com : The new DECORE Manga Shuttle

Isn't it too cute? (more here)

Probably not a good idea to to haul it into the LAN frag-party, though. You'll no-doubt end up having to go head-to-head against the guy who has got that wicked Battlefield 2 case mod.

Yeah, that wouldn't be pretty.

--Claus