From Jim Macdonald, in the RSS feed:

http://syndicated.livejournal.com/makinglight/267969.html

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Apparently, I need to upgrade my OS to MacOs 10.4.x to be able to sync my Motorola Razr v3c, with either bluetooth or USB. Turns out, no matter what I do, I can’t transfer files over USB – it has to be bluetooth.

So, the mini USB port on the phone is for charging, and for contact/calendar syncing only. Is it me, or is that stupid? I mean, allowing -some- data on the phone to be accessible via both connection techniques, but not all.

If you’re going to enable USB data transfer -at all- on a phone, just go whole hog. Let the filesystem be recognized as a USB drive. For serious.

I’m all for adding Bluetooth to my iBook, but it looks like I’m going to have to hack my Mac to do it. Or deal with an annoying little dongle/USB adapter.

Then again, this is certainly tempting.

That would mean the upgrade process would go something like this:

1. Replace dying CD/ROM drive with used Combo drive (from eBay).
2. Upgrade to MacOS 10.4 (from eBay), or 10.5, if it’s out by then.
3. Add aforementioned Bluetooth mouse with USB bluetooth adapter.

If I wasn’t planning on making these upgrades to my iBook eventually anyway, this would seem crazy. :) I still hold firm that old hardware is both useful and upgradable, especially with the miracle that is eBay.

Hell, I just got a 512 SODIMM for ‘s iBook (traded gaming books for it) for $28 on eBay.

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has a new website. A home page, even.

http://stormtheworld.us

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In the category of news that is also good, I have this guy now:

His legs have to be positioned -just so- to not look like they’re broken. Side-effect of his alternate mode, methinks.

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More later, I’m certain. :)

I bought the PS2 so that I could play both games (mostly PS1, though the access to both PS1 and PS2 libraries is fantastic) and watch DVDs in my office. I have a small TV (13″ or so), that happens to be a TV/VCR combo unit.

This was bought in 1995, so that I’d have a TV for my dorm room. The VCR combo bit was hugely convenient, as I love movies.

The VCR part eats tapes now. I’m gonna fix it, but it doesn’t work. I CANNOT record anything with it.

And yet, when a DVD is played through my PS2, I get copy protection retardation.

I CANNOT PLAY A DVD THAT I LEGALLY PURCHASED THROUGH A PLAYER THAT I LEGALLY PURCHASED ON A TV THAT I LEGALLY PURCHASED. Okay, that my parents legally purchased.

Now I have to hook up an R/F modulator (that I already own because I’m USED to this horse shit), and consume more electricity.

Irate isn’t even the word.

All this makes me want to do is tape DVDs, once the modulator is set up and the VCR portion is fixed, and give them to people. Not that I will, but I freakin’ WANT to.

Death and destruction.

Update: Since the copy protection trigger lies in the TV itself, the R/F modulator does nothing. The irony, of course, is that while our big-screen TV, inherited from , is dead, this thing just keeps going.

Lesson learned: Never, EVER buy a TV combined with anything else.

Holy crap, there’s a lot of email backed up in my Smart Networks account. Clearly I need to start making weekly time to get back on the horse for this. As it is, I’m working OT at LiquidWeb tomorrow, so tonight ended up being the only time.

Buying used has been a success today! I have scored:

• USB-to-mini-USB 5-pin cable for my Motorola Razr.(got sick of borrowing the one from Benny’s Palm)
• 512 MB of RAM for my iBook
• A Sony PS2, so that I can play games and DVD’s in my office. Now all I need to do is fix the VCR part of the TV/VCR combo, and I’ll be all set.

also scored in the upgrade-what-you’ve-already-got category by purchasing an LED upgrade kit for her mini Mag light. I’m going to see how hers works out, then will likely purchase another from ThinkGeek.

All of the money used to purchase this was gotten from selling off things that I don’t need to those that will find a use for them. This makes me unspeakably happy.

The other day, got me thinking about switching window managers from Gnome to FluxBox on my work machine. Considering, mind you. Mulling it over. Swishing it around, so to speak.

This got me thinking about other things. Things like LiteStep from back in the day. I couldn’t remember the name of it when I was thinking about it, but this article about ReactOS, linked to by SlashDot, had a reference to it in one of the comments.

Good article, by the way.

Now, on the original topic of window managers, I decided to check out KDE. I was all like, “Wait, that’s what Knoppix uses!” I’ve used it on my own machines, after being introduced to it at a Penguicon.

I got to wondering, what if the K in Knoppix stood for KDE? I mean, it’s pronounced as if the K wasn’t even there, right? Kind of like the G in Gnome (if you’ve ever played AD&D, that is). So, I wonder if there’s a Gnoppix! Well, there is. Not only that, but Gnoppix is based on… wait for it… Ubuntu.

What cracks me up is that Gnoppix, Knoppix, and Ubuntu are all derivatives of Debian.

Well, it cracks ME up.

UPDATE: Looks like that article on ReactOS got slashdotted. Whoops.

It’s done, and whoo boy does it fly.

Ubuntu 6.06 AKA Dapper Drake (how appropriate) is now installed on Magnus. I’m posting this after installing a nifty little LJ program called Drivel, and it seems just as sweet as Semagic or XJournal. Also, Ubuntu’s application installer is crazily user friendly. It even adds shortcuts in the menu system.

Besides keeping up on the dishes, I’ve also figured out how to make pizza sauce. Definitely having pizza tonight. :)

And now, without further ado, my horoscope:

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A few people look at the world through rose-colored glasses. Many, on the other hand, peer out through crap-colored glasses. Both are unable to see the world as it really is, but instead allow their perceptions to be filtered through a distorted lens. Your assignment, Taurus, is to take off the colored glasses–whatever hue they may be–so that you can gaze at your surroundings with fresh, lucid, fixation-free eyes.