Category Hardware

Hacking the Original XBox

Here is a truly fantastic Google eduTalk on the original XBox security system by the founder of the Xbox-Linux project. If you were or are casually interested in hacking this is great eduTainment. Don't miss it.

Hide it in a Zune!

At last the Zune finds its niche. Well, at least its 'shell' does. Oh and check out the FAQ on the right. :) [Update: For those that didn't get it, this is a gag. :) ]

Η Dell στην Ελλάδα

Κάντε μια επίσκεψη στον δικτυακό τόπο της Dell για την Ελλάδα. Δεν είμαι πελάτης της Dell όμως η εν λόγω εταιρία έχει κατα καιρούς παρουσιάσει ιδιαίτερα ελκυστικά προϊόντα (π.χ. οθόνες, PDAs, rackmounted servers) σε πολύ καλές τιμές και κατα συνέπεια τόσο για προσωπικούς όσο και για επαγγελματικούς λόγους έχω ασχοληθεί με κάποια από αυτά. Ο δικτυακός της τόπος της Dell για την Ελλάδα είναι πενιχρός. Μια κάκιστη μεταφορά του αμερικάνικου, με ένα μικρό μέρος του περιεχομένου στα Ελληνικά και το υπόλοιπο στα Αγγλικά, με σαφείς ελλείψεις ολόκληρων σειρών προϊόντων από τον κατάλογο (τα οποία όμως μπορεις να βρείς μέσω της αναζήτησης) και προβληματικούς συνδέσμους. Για παράδειγμα, παλαιότερα -- όπως συμβαίνει ακόμη και σήμερα με τα sites της εταιρίας άλλων χωρών -- υπήρχαν τρείς βασικές επιλογές για κάθε κατηγορία προϊόντων: 'ιδιώτες', 'μικρές και μεσαίες επιχειρήσεις' και 'μεγάλες επιχειρήσεις και δημόσιοι οργανισμοί'. Η πρώτη κατηγορία έχει εξαφανίστεί από ένα μεγάλο μέρος του τόπου, ενώ υπάρχουν ακόμη κάποια μέρη αυτού που τη συμπεριλαμβάνουν. Dell ή Hell; Ας σημειωθεί πως η Dell φημίζεται διεθνώς ως μια από τις πρωτοπόρους στην άμεση πώληση προϊόντων και υπηρεσιών αρχικά μέσω mail-order και μετέπειτα του διαδικτύου. Το Ars Technica πρόσφατα δημοσίευσε ένα άρθρο όπου ο Μichael Dell, ιδρυτής και CEO της εταιρίας δηλώνει πως θα είναι πλέον 'επιθετικοί' και στο λιανικό εμπόριο (μέσω μεταπωλητών). Καλή τους τύχη.

See you in court!

I had been planning on getting a new Merom MacBook Pro ever since I found out about the processor more than 18 months ago. In the end I never did. Right after my last trip to London in early December 2006 I wrote a long rant about how the displays of the, then new (and still current) MacBook Pro on show at the London Apple Store looked horrible; my complaints included uneven backlight, narrow viewing angles and a grainy display. I guess I was not the only one to notice these; these are supposed to be Pro machines used by Pro people after all. So now Apple is getting sued for false claims in its marketing/advertising material regarding the quality and capabilities of its displays. It's quite reminiscent of the G4 MDD Leafblower towers when it took an organised effort, several web sites and constant 'harassment' of Apple executives to pay attention and own up to their crappy hardware. Yet with so many fanatics spending money on Apple products without paying attention to what they're buying as long as it's got an Apple logo somewhere I'm not surprised Apple keeps ignoring its customers and the quality issues of their products.

OLPC: Τι απέγινε η μανιβέλα;

Στο τεύχος Απριλίου 2007 του περιοδικού του ΙΕΕE, Spectrum, παρουσιάζεται το OLPC, σε ένα άρθρο που καλύπτει τη τεχνική πλευρά του εν πολλοίς καινοτόμου υπολογιστή για παιδιά, αλλά που αγγίζει και κάποιες κοινωνικές προεκτάσεις αυτού. Ένα βασικό χαρακτηριστικό του υπολογιστή, πέραν του ότι είναι ανθεκτικός στις κακουχίες, αδιάβροχος και σχεδιασμένος ώστε να μπορεί να λειτουργεί […]

Two-finger scrolling For The Rest of Us

This is iScroll2, a modified ADB trackpad driver (based on the Darwin sources) that adds two-finger scrolling capability to those of us with older {i,Power}Books. Good stuff.

If we fail, it is because we positioned PS3 as the Mercedes of the video game field

An interview with Howard Stringer, CEO and President of Sony Corporation of America. Most of the info there is well known: How Sony's departments and engineering efforts were too fragmented for years, how politics made or broke products, how it lost the digital music media war before it even started. What really caught my attention is the fact that they still don't seem to know what's wrong with them. Take the PS3 quote from Stringer, for example. My response to it would be: I don't think so. If you fail, it'll be because you were arrogant enough to promise the world and didn't deliver, too late to respond and frighteningly incompetent with your marketing. Technically the PS3 is the Mercedes of the video game field. And if you are really keen on automobile metaphors, part of the problem is that it's too expensive and has a rev limiter at 2500 RPM despite its 700 horsepower, bi-turbo engine.

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

I admit it. I’ve liked microsoft’s split ‘ergonomic’ keyboards ever since they came out in the mid 90s. I had the original one. I loved the design, hated the feel. A couple of years later I replaced it with the smaller, more elegant Elite version that had the botched ‘cross’ arrangement for the arrow keys. […]

Almost 14!

The Apple Newton may have been canned by Steve Jobs as part of his efforts to get Apple out of the red in the late 90s, just when the most powerful and promising models were coming out. It might also have been criticised early on for its quirks. Many have openly stated that it was […]

Looking for a keyboard.

Ok that’s it. My almost two year old Apple Bluetooth Keyboard officially sucks. Bigtime. It has sucked for a long time now, but I always kept postponing changing it. This is kind of weird, as I recall the thrill I got after using it for the first time, in May 2005. Back then it definitely […]