@methodshop

Wil Wheaton, former child star (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stand By Me) and blogging pioneer, has officially come out in favor of US Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

In a post from his temporary "In Exile" blog (it's a long story. Wikipeida it if you really want to know), Wheaton begins his endorsement blog post by saying "not that my endorsement means much of anything."

He couldn't be more wrong. Wheaton may not think that many people find his opinion "influential" but his Presidential endorsement made the front page if Digg.com tonight. Most of us bloggers know how valuable making the front make of Digg.com is. The front page of Digg is a web traffic gold mine.

In Wheaton's endorsement post, he goes on to say "I believe that Barack Obama is the best candidate running for president who can begin to repair the damage inflicted on my country by George W. Bush. I miss my country, and Barack Obama gives me hope that I can get it back."



So in the grand scheme of things, what does Wheaton's endorsement really mean for the American Presidential race? I think Digg.com user ShemDaimwood put it best with this comment "To the online community, Wil's endorsement probably means more than Ted Kennedy's."

There's still now word on who Picard has decided to endorse. But to quote another Digg user, kete00, "...with Will Wheaton's endorsement, Obama can set his phasers to victory!"

We will see what happens in November. In the meantime, apparently Ron Paul firmly reins over the Digg community.

methodshop

Labels: internet

At 3pm EST yesterday, Fox News took a brief break from their wall-wall US Presidential Super Tuesday coverage and mentioned the MethodShop.com review of the Badonkadonk Land Cruiser. In case you aren't already familiar with "The Donk," it's a custom made mini-tank that looks like Jabba's Sail Barge from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

People were obviously intrigued by The Donk and wanted to read more about it. An hour later, the surge in traffic from Fox News killed our server. It was higher than when our Rejected iPod Engravings article made the Digg homepage.

So if you got an error page yesterday... we apologize. We've since redirected the Donk review to our mirror server on MethodShop.net. You can check it out here.

Thanks for your patience.




methodshop

Labels: gadgets, review, site news

I lied. These codes are really that secret. A quick Google search will return thousands of results, but these codes aren't exactly advertised or listed in the manual.

Most cellphones use special "diagnostic codes" - numbers that can be dialed to display various technical information about the unit, the user's account, the cellular network it's "registered" on, or the local network that's currently available. You might have dialed a few of these already while on the phone with tech support.

This is a list of iPhone specific codes. But some of these may work your non-iPhone phone. Some are AT&T or North America specific. The only way to know if they work on your phone is to try.

Feel like dialing some secret iPhone codes? I thought so. Enjoy.



*3001#12345#* and tap Call. Enter Field Mode.

Field mode reveals many of the inner settings of your iPhone, specifically up-to-date network and cell information.

*#06# Displays your IMEI. No need to tap Call.

IMEI is the unique identifier for your cell phone hardware. Together with your SIM information it identifies you to the provider network. It's like a SSN for phones.

*777# and tap Call. Account balance for prepaid iPhone.

*225# and tap Call. Bill Balance. (Postpaid only)

*646# and tap Call. Check minutes. (Postpaid only)

These 3 above are pretty self explanatory.

*#21# and tap Call. Setting interrogation for call forwards.

Discover the settings for your call forwarding. You'll see whether you have voice, data, fax, sms, sync, async, packet access, and pad access call forwarding enabled or disabled.

*#30# and tap Call. Calling line presentation check.

This displays whether you have enabled or disabled the presentation of the calling line, presumably the number of the party placing the call.

*#76# and tap Call. Check whether the connected line presentation is enabled or not.

State whether the connected line presentation is enabled or disabled. Presumably similar to the calling line presentation.

*#43# and tap Call. Determine if call waiting is enabled.

Displays call waiting status for voice, data, fax, sms, sync data, async data, packet access and pad access. Each item is either enabled or disabled.

*#61# and tap Call. Check the number for unanswered calls.

Show the number for voice call forwarding when a call is unanswered. Also show the options for data, fax, sms, sync, async, packet access and pad access.

*#62# and tap Call. Check the number for call forwarding if no service is available.

Just like the previous, except for no-service rather than no-answer situations.

*#67# and tap Call. Check the number for call forwarding when the iPhone is busy.

And again, but for when the iPhone is busy.

*#33# and tap Call. Check for call control bars.

Check all the usual suspects (voice, data, fax, sms, etc) to see whether barring is enabled or disabled for outgoing.

If you are looking for information and detailed instructions on how to use the iPod's Dianogistic mode, then click here.

methodshop

Labels: iphone, ipod

Mozilla is working on a mobile version of Firefox. Unfortunately, it probably won't see the light of day until end of this year. Well it's about time. I was wondering why this was taking so long.

In case you don't already run Firefox on your computer, get with it already, and get it. You won't regret it. Use it, love it. The thing that really makes FF so much more than just a web browser and more like a platform are the slew of extensions available for it. I've got easily over a dozen extensions that improve my browsing experience, makes me more efficient and adds tools that I can't live without now. After all, I blogged this entry directly in FF using an extension called ScribeFire, which rocks BTW.

Source: Gizmos for Geeks

Labels: internet

An article on ACleverCookie.com attempts to explain popular rap lyrics using charts and graphs. For example, the chart below obviously explains Dre's "Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks" theory which was later scientifically confirmed by Ben Folds.



Made me wish I was little bit taller, I wish I was a baller, I wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her, I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat, and a '64 Impala.

You can see more of the charts and graphs here.


methodshop | digg story

Labels: music

Rambo is back in theaters this Friday, and despite the fact that Sylvester Stallone is about 300 years old, we can all learn from Stallone’s and Rambo’s perseverance under pressure—whether we’re also ex-soldiers tormented about ‘Nam or just mindless office drones. See, Rambo can be a guide to handling anything, including the hassles you face in the office every day. Throw away your copy of Sun Tzu and the Art of Business and take a lesson from a true master of war.

Continue Reading: Rambo's Solutions to 5 Everyday Office Problems


methodshop

Labels: movies

This thirsty monkey is having the time of his life pissing in it's own mouth. Hey it's happy hour somewhere.



If the clip doesn't load above, you can watch it here.

Labels: video

Steve Jobs announced an update to the Apple TV at Macworld San Francisco this week as well as iTunes Movie Rentals, which were already rumored to be part of his Macworld keynote speech.

Jobs admitted that Apple's online video plan had been a disappointment and that users didn't take to watching online video the way Apple had expected. When Jobs first announced the Apple TV last January, Apple's initial video plan was too complicated for many people. Getting a movie or TV show onto your Apple TV required customers to buy the video from the iTunes Store, download it to their computer, then sync/stream the file using an Apple TV.



Although Apple has already sold 7 million movies, Jobs said: "That’s more than everyone else put together, but it did not meet our expectations."

Apple plans on overhauling their strategy by making 2 major changes:

1. Adding a new online movie rental service
2. Updating the Apple TV's software so that viewers can stream movies direct from the internet sans (that's Latin for without) computer.
   

Jobs thinks that viewers would prefer to rent movies, not buy them. As a result, the new Apple TV software will allow users to rent first run films from every major movie studio including Fox, WB, Paramount, Universal and Sony in HD. Jobs called it "A better way to provide movies to our customers." Blockbuster and Netflix can't be happy right now.



1000 films ready for rental will be available on iTunes starting in February. Going forward, movies will be available to rent 30 days after they are released on DVD. Broadband users won't have to wait for these giant movie files to download. Moments after you rent the film using your Apple TV, it will be watchable immediately via streaming. How much are movie rentals? $2.99 to rent older titles, $3.99 for new releases. Add one more $1 to those prices if you want to rent the movie in HD.

Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment, joined Jobs on stage at Macworld and called the rental service a "defining moment" for the distribution of digital video content. "This is really going to take things to the next level," he said.



The new Apple TV software features will be included in a free Apple TV update scheduled to be released in February. You can update your Apple TV by selecting "Update Software" from the Settings menu.


methodshop

Labels: tech news

According to a press release from Apple, the iTunes store has sold 4 billion songs to date, including 20 million songs this past Christmas Day alone. The store has also sold 125 million TV shows and 7 million movies.

What are people using to enjoy all this digital content? Apple also announced that iPhone sales totaled 4 million units in the product's first 200 days.


methodshop

Labels: itunes, tech news

I hope you didn't buy a new Apple laptop recently. Steve Jobs announced the MacBook Air at Macworld today.



The MacBook Air is the "World's Thinnest Notebook" - even thinner than the Sony TZ, which is 0.8 to 1.2 inches thick. It's so thin it fits in a manila envelope. Seriously. See the image below! Apple's goal was to make a high performance 3 pound laptop, with a full size keyboard, and large display.






The MacBook Air is so thin, it only has 4 ports: USB 2.0, Micro-DVI, headphone jack and a MagSafe 45w power adapter plug.

So what did Apple leave out? An optical drive. If you really want one, Apple is selling an optional external USB powered SuperDrive for $99. So how do you install software or get files off of CD/DVD? Apple has a new piece of software called Remote Disc which can be installed on any Mac or PC on your wireless network and will let you borrow that machine's optical drive.



MacBook Air features:

• Magnetic latch
• 5 hour battery
• multi-touch gesture trackpad
• 13.3-inch widescreen
• LED-backlit display
• built-in iSight for videoconferencing
• full-size keyboard
• 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  
• 2GB RAM standard
• 80GB drive (1.8-inch hard drive. Same as in iPods.)
• 64GB SSD option
• 802.11n standard WiFi (N is the most advanced wireless on the market).
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

You can pre-order the MacBook Air today. Apple starts shipping them in 2 weeks.



In addition to the MacBook Air, Steve Jobs also made the following announcements at MacWorld today:

• Time Capsule - a wireless backup hard drive companion to Time Machine
• iPhone & iPod Touch 1.1.3 software update - adds cell tower and WiFi location triangulation data amoung other things
• iTunes Movie Rentals - ability to rent new movies in HD
• Apple TV Take 2 - new Apple TV software allows you to instantly start watching movies you rent from iTunes
  

methodshop

Labels: tech news

I hope you didn't buy a new Apple laptop recently. Steve Jobs announced the MacBook Air at Macworld today.



The MacBook Air is the "World's Thinnest Notebook" - even thinner than the Sony TZ, which is 0.8 to 1.2 inches thick. It's so thin it fits in a manila envelope. Seriously. See the image below! Apple's goal was to make a high performance 3 pound laptop, with a full size keyboard, and large display.






The MacBook Air is so thin, it only has 4 ports: USB 2.0, Micro-DVI, headphone jack and a MagSafe 45w power adapter plug.

So what did Apple leave out? An optical drive. If you really want one, Apple is selling an optional external USB powered SuperDrive for $99. So how do you install software or get files off of CD/DVD? Apple has a new piece of software called Remote Disc which can be installed on any Mac or PC on your wireless network and will let you borrow that machine's optical drive.



MacBook Air features:

• Magnetic latch
• 5 hour battery
• multi-touch gesture trackpad
• 13.3-inch widescreen
• LED-backlit display
• built-in iSight for videoconferencing
• full-size keyboard
• 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  
• 2GB RAM standard
• 80GB drive (1.8-inch hard drive. Same as in iPods.)
• 64GB SSD option
• 802.11n standard WiFi (N is the most advanced wireless on the market).
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

You can pre-order the MacBook Air today. Apple starts shipping them in 2 weeks.



In addition to the MacBook Air, Steve Jobs also made the following announcements at MacWorld today:

• Time Capsule - a wireless backup hard drive companion to Time Machine
• iPhone & iPod Touch 1.1.3 software update - adds cell tower and WiFi location triangulation data amoung other things
• iTunes Movie Rentals - ability to rent new movies in HD
• Apple TV Take 2 - new Apple TV software allows you to instantly start watching movies you rent from iTunes
  

methodshop

Labels: macworld

Steve Jobs announced an update to the Apple TV at Macworld San Francisco this week as well as iTunes Movie Rentals, which were already rumored to be part of his Macworld keynote speech.

Jobs admitted that Apple's online video plan had been a disappointment and that users didn't take to watching online video the way Apple had expected. When Jobs first announced the Apple TV last January, Apple's initial video plan was too complicated for many people. Getting a movie or TV show onto your Apple TV required customers to buy the video from the iTunes Store, download it to their computer, then sync/stream the file using an Apple TV.



Although Apple has already sold 7 million movies, Jobs said: "That’s more than everyone else put together, but it did not meet our expectations."

Apple plans on overhauling their strategy by making 2 major changes:

1. Adding a new online movie rental service
2. Updating the Apple TV's software so that viewers can stream movies direct from the internet sans (that's Middle English for without) computer.
   

Jobs thinks that viewers would prefer to rent movies, not buy them. As a result, the new Apple TV software will allow users to rent first run films from every major movie studio including Fox, WB, Paramount, Universal and Sony in HD. Jobs called it "A better way to provide movies to our customers." Blockbuster and Netflix can't be happy right now.



1000 films ready for rental will be available on iTunes starting in February. Going forward, movies will be available to rent 30 days after they are released on DVD. Broadband users won't have to wait for these giant movie files to download. Moments after you rent the film using your Apple TV, it will be watchable immediately via streaming. How much are movie rentals? $2.99 to rent older titles, $3.99 for new releases. Add one more $1 to those prices if you want to rent the movie in HD.

Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment, joined Jobs on stage at Macworld and called the rental service a "defining moment" for the distribution of digital video content. "This is really going to take things to the next level," he said.



The new Apple TV software features will be included in a free Apple TV update scheduled to be released in February. You can update your Apple TV by selecting "Update Software" from the Settings menu.


methodshop

Labels: apple tv, itunes, macworld

It turns out that Andru Edwards from GearLive.com was right about the iPhone 1.1.3 update.

New features include:

• location data via cell tower triangulation (via Google) or WiFi triangulation (via Skyhook Wireless)
• Webclips - ability to make sections of web pages into widgets
  
• custom icon layouts for home screens (up to 9 total)
  
• SMS multiple recipients
• Chapters for video and subtitle/audio language options
• Karaoke mode (Lyrics displayable)
  

All these new features are available today as a free software update for every iPhone.



But what about iPod Touch owners? You can add Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes, Webclips and Weather... but it's a $20 upgrade! Come on Steve. That wasn't very nice.

You can watch the leaked iPhone 1.1.3 video here.


methodshop

Labels: iphone, ipod, macworld

This morning at Macworld 2008, Steve Jobs announced a new hardware companion product called Time Capsule for Apple's Time Machine backup software. Time Machine is part of the newest Apple operating system OS X Leopard 10.5.

If you are already familiar with Apple's current products, Time Capsule is basically an Airport Extreme with a hard drive.

Time Machine can now backup multiple Macs on the same network wirelessly to the same Time Capsule hard drive.

The Time Capsule hard drives come in 2 sizes: 500GB ($299) and 1TB ($499). Pretty aggressive pricing. Apple must be serious about helping people backup their computers.

Time Capsule starts shipping in February. You can read more about Time Capsule here on Apple.com


methodshop

Labels: apple, macworld

Ever sleep-in because your alarm clock wasn’t loud enough? With this hacked Fire Alarm, that is guaranteed never to happen again.



This hack takes a standard cheap alarm clock, some interface components and a fire alarm bell to get the job done right. Normally these small alarm clocks use a piezo buzzer to attempt to wake you up. The alarm signal is hijacked from the clock circuit board and used as an input to the interface board.

Contine Reading>>>

Labels: tutorial

Check out this warning sign from a public toilet in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Obviously people in Cambodia are not used to Western toilets.



Laugh all you want, but these signs are actually pretty important. If Cambodians use their "traditional method" on this style of toilet, they can slip and hurt themselves.

Wonder if they need to add a 2nd step to this diagram.


methodshop

Labels: offbeat, pics

Could it be true? Is one of the most traditional news organizations partnering with Kevin Rose's Digg.com?



This week CBSNews.com announced that they would be integrating with the social news discovery site Digg.com for their 2008 US Presidential election coverage.

Starting January 8th...

• political related stories discovered by Digg users will be featured on CBSNews.com.
  
• Digg buttons will appear at the bottom of all CBS News stories encouraging Digg users to Digg and comment on them
  
• Digg.com will start distributing CBS News’ "Campaign '08" video content.

The Digg/CBS News partnership is just the latest example of traditional news media linking to and driving traffic to other sites (even competitors). For example, recently the New York Times Web site has begun highlighting stories from various prominent blogs and even competitors such as The Financial Times.

Guess they learned that trick from the Blogosphere.

methodshop

Labels: tech news, TV

UPDATE:Paramount spokeswoman Brenda Ciccone made this statement in response to reports that Paramount is abandoning the HD-DVD format: "Paramount's current plan is to continue to support the HD-DVD format." The statement didn't specify if Paramount would also produce Blu-ray DVDs in addition to HD-DVDs. It will be interesting to see how this story pans out.

I just gave the bad new to one of the guys in the Toshiba booth at CES. He wasn't happy. Their HD-DVD focused booth looks a little silly now.

According to the Financial Times, Paramount is going to drop their support for Toshiba's HD-DVD after Warner Brothers pulled out of the HD-DVD camp last Sunday night. This will most likely put the final nail in the coffin of the HD-DVD format and end the biggest home entertainment format war since Betamax vs. VHS.

Why the sudden switch? Why did Paramount go over to Sony's Blu-ray so quickly? Insiders are saying that a clause in Paramount's contract allowed the company to drop HD-DVD in the event that Warner Bros decided to back Blu-ray.



Continue Reading>>

Labels: dvd, tech news

UPDATE: Paramount spokeswoman Brenda Ciccone made this statement in response to reports that Paramount is abandoning the HD-DVD format: "Paramount's current plan is to continue to support the HD-DVD format." The statement didn't specify if Paramount would also produce Blu-ray DVDs in addition to HD-DVDs. It will be interesting to see how this story pans out.

According to the Financial Times, Paramount is going to drop their support for Toshiba's HD-DVD after Warner Brothers pulled out of the HD-DVD camp last Sunday night. This will most likely put the final nail in the coffin of the HD-DVD format and end the biggest home entertainment format war since Betamax vs. VHS.

I just gave the bad new to one of the guys in the Toshiba booth at #CES. He wasn't happy. Their HD-DVD focused booth looks a little silly now.

Why the sudden switch? Why did Paramount go over to Sony's Blu-ray so quickly? Insiders are saying that a clause in Paramount's contract allowed the company to drop HD-DVD in the event that Warner Bros decided to back Blu-ray.

Paramount currently distributes DreamWorks Animation films and many believe that DreamWorks will probably follow Paramount over to the Blu-ray camp.




Blue-ray Members:

• Warner Brothers
  
• Walt Disney
• 20th Century Fox
  
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Paramount (rumor)
  
• DreamWorks (rumor)
• Sony Pictures
• Sony PlayStation
  

HD-DVD Members:

• Universal Studios
  
• The Weinstein Company
• Microsoft Xbox
  

Paramount would have been a major content producer for HD-DVD. Paramount has several major blockbusters being released this year including the latest installment in the Indiana Jones franchise.


methodshop

Labels: ces, events, tech news, video

While I'm getting over jet lag and waiting for the press office at CES to open so I can pick up my badge I thought I'd blog about the DVD format wars...

Last night, on the eve of the CES, Warner Bros. delivered what may turn out to be the decisive blow against the HD-DVD format.

Warner Bros. one of the largest publisher of DVDs in Hollywood, announced it will back the rival Sony-developed Blu-ray format exclusively starting on June 1, 2008. This means 5 of the top 7 movie studios have all gone Blu-ray.



Obviously the Warner Brothers announcement made the HD-DVD group (Toshiba/Microsoft/Intel) crap their pants. In fact Toshiba canceled a scheduled press event and claims to be "quite surprised" by the decision.

I don't know why people even argue for HD-DVD. Blu-ray has more storage. A dual layer Blu-ray disc can hold 50 GBs compared to HD-DVD with only 30 GB. Isn't more better?


methodshop

Labels: ces, events, video

American late night talk show host, Conan O'Brien, has been pretty bored since the WGA writers strike started.

Returning back on the air this week without writers, Conan roams the halls playing "Sunshine Of Your Love" and "Purple Haze" while other Late Nighters try to work — and follows that by playing and singing "Creep" while others jam along on Rock Band.

Oh yeah, then he sings "Sabotage" … if performed by Edith Bunker from All In The Family.



Here's a link to the clip on YouTube.


methodshop

Labels: video

This has to be the most elaborate Halo 3 suicide ever. I can't even imagine how much trial and error this must have taken.

The guy who performed this suicide won $400 in a contest.

Here's the clip.


An Even More Elaborate Halo Suicide - Watch more free videos


methodshop

Labels: games

Forget all the hype around iTunes movie rentals. Looks like something even bigger will get announced at MacWorld this year.

According to the rumors buzzing around the Interweb, Apple is launching a record label with Jay-Z, who's set to step down from Def Jam once his employment contract with Universal Music Group expires. Jay-Z has one more album left in his current contract with UMG. I wonder if he could just push out a quick greatest hits album?

Does that mean there might be another Apple vs. Apple lawsuit in the works? Not so fast. The last settlement between Apple, Inc. and Apple, Corps (The Beatles' record label), gave Apple, Inc. all rights to the name "Apple." Apple Corp. now licenses the right to use "Apple" from Apple, Inc.

Maybe now the RIAA will just lay down in the grave they dug for themselves during the Napster era and die already.

methodshop | digg story

Labels: itunes, music

According to reports, Apple is close to announcing plans to make Fox and Disney movies available as online rentals via iTunes (US). Apple CEO Steve Jobs is likely saving the official announcement for his Macworld Expo keynote on Jan. 14.

Customers would pay a fee to download titles viewable on computers, iPods, iPhones and presumably Apple TV devices that would expire after a short window of time. Netflix, Amazon.com and Blockbuster's Movielink are competitors in this space.

Wal-Mart, however, has thrown in the towel. Wal-Mart.com quietly pulled the plug on its video download service late last month as Hewlett Packard decided to discontinue the back-office technology that powered it. The service, popular with studios because it offered variable pricing, struggled with compatibility issues. Wal-Mart downloads could not be burned to DVDs or watched on video iPods.


methodshop

Labels: itunes

According to reports, Apple is close to announcing plans to make Fox and Disney movies available as online rentals via iTunes (US). Apple CEO Steve Jobs is likely saving the official announcement for his Macworld Expo keynote on Jan. 14.

Customers would pay a fee to download titles viewable on computers, iPods, iPhones and presumably Apple TV devices that would expire after a short window of time. Netflix, Amazon.com and Blockbuster's Movielink are competitors in this space.

Wal-Mart, however, has thrown in the towel. Wal-Mart.com quietly pulled the plug on its video download service late last month as Hewlett Packard decided to discontinue the back-office technology that powered it. The service, popular with studios because it offered variable pricing, struggled with compatibility issues. Wal-Mart downloads could not be burned to DVDs or watched on video iPods.


methodshop

Labels: itunes