Welcome Tanzania!!
Nothing unites the world like Jack Bauer. Since releasing the CTU ringtone for the iPhone, I've had over 10,000 visitors from 85 different countries. It has now topped my SpamHaus post as the top visited blog post of all time.
Given that the magazine 24 once referred to my company as the "Real CTU" (see image), it seems appropriate that this blog serve as ringtone central....
(Update Dec 20, 2007 - Now up to 15,000 visitors from 106 countries)
24 CTU Ringtone for Apple iPhone
My gift to all...Merry Christmas.
Just download the file and copy it to your iTunes ringtone directory.
Enjoy!
[RIGHT CLICK HERE (and select SAVE AS) TO DOWNLOAD THE RINGTONE]
By special request, here is the ringtone from the TV series The UNIT
[The Unit - iPhone optimized ringtone (Right click and select Save As)]
Learn more about my current projects at DEV Group or Follow me on Twitter.
The future has arrived...
Haft of the Spear found this gem. Which is only funny in the context of this paper "Information Terrorism: Can You Trust Your Toaster?"
Can you imagine a toaster hacking a computer? That’s true. In fact any kitchen appliance can be used for attacking your computer system, said Dror Shalev, a hacker from Israel, during the international convention of hackers ‘Clubhack 2007’ held recently.
In his demonstration at the convention, Shalev left the audience amazed by actually hacking a computer with a toaster. Shalev, who is a security expert at Check Point Software Technologies in Israel, was one of the foreign speakers at the international convention.
He said that any home device could be connected with a software prototype to hack a computer. “I read a senior scientist from Google saying there was no need to be afraid of a toaster at home,” Shalev told The Indian Express. “But as a hacker I came up with a toaster that could actually hack a computer. I call it a ‘Crazy Toaster’.” [Link--->]
Death of a Kindle (is the Kindle Krap?)
Having just written a glowing review of the Kindle which I was going to post on the blog and on Amazon when I landed, I decided to relax and read for a little while. I was five pages into my book when I noticed that in the upper left hand corner of the page several words seemed to be "printed" on top of each other. Hitting the next page button crashed the reader and has since rendered it useless. I can browse the device and select a book or newspaper, but trying to read it brings up a dialog box that says "Unexpected Error" and a close button. I can still see my newspaper subscriptions showing up in the directory (including a note from the San Francisco Chronicle about being late today), but nothing can be read.
An email to the Kindle support team resulted in a reply the next day saying to call them. When I called, I was transferred around and literally told they did not know what to do with me. They needed to discuss at Amazon and determine if my device needed new software or if they would have to send me a replacement. They offered that they would call me back within 24 hours. If I need a replacement, I am hoping they retained some stock so that I don't have to wait until after the holidays. I had planned on using the Kindle a lot to read papers and books while away for Christmas. I also hope they credit me for my newspaper subscriptions as the three I subscribe to are worthless to me if I can't read them the day they are released.
Ironically, in a few weeks of owning the Kindle, this is the first time I was really relying on the device as I am on travel to the west coast. My Sony eReader was unstable enough I used to pack a real book as backup, but I didn't do that with the Kindle. I hope I hear this is something that can be fixed with a remote software or firmware push so that I don't have to buy a book at the airport for the trip back.
If anyone else has had this issue, please leave me a comment.
Update: It turns out that posting about my troubles on Twitter and the TWiT channel on Jaiku is better than calling Amazon support. They had the problem solved by the time I woke up. Thanks all!
Apple frustrations...
I am a huge Apple fan and am typically pretty forgiving of their shortcomings, however, I must admit to being very frustrated by the Apple brand recently.
First, Leopard is not stable. I've had more issues with one month of leopard than the last year of Tiger. Funky wifi, lots of gray screens of death and it still isn't able to authenticate to network attached storage devices (the same devices worked brilliantly with Tiger).
Second, I just bought a new iPod classic. Aside from initially hooking it up to my mac, the iPod is unused. Tonight, I am trying to prep it for a plane ride to the west coast and it won't sync. It won't update. It won't restore. I've tried with different cables and different USB ports. I restarted iTunes and performed the assortment of steps one would go through to solve this problem. iTunes sees the iPod with no problems, it asks to update it, but then the update hangs and fails. A restore results in the same issue and syncing just doesn't work.
I have some content on the device, but not want I want, so it is basically worthless to me for my trip. Come on Apple, let's get your act together please.
From Obscurity to Mainstream in One Click
This is a great example of individual empowerment and how the Internet can drive success...
Nick Haley took just 30 minutes to pluck the Brazilian band CSS from obscurity and hurl it into the national spotlight.
In September, Haley paired the band's dance-pop song "Music is My Hot, Hot Sex" with his 30-second amateur video, displaying the capabilities of Apple's new iPod Touch.
The video ends with the lyrics, "My music is where I'd like you to touch."
"I was like, 'This song is too perfect,' " said Haley, 18, by phone from the University of Leeds in England, where he studies politics. "It's punchy, loud, fast and naughty."
Marketers at Apple headquarters in Cupertino were so impressed with the song selection and YouTube video, they arranged for Haley to travel from England to Los Angeles, where he helped advertising executives at TBWA/Chiat/Day produce Apple's newest iPod television commercial. [Link --->]
Skype encryption stumps police
Interesting...German police want to trojan suspect machines in order to engage in surveillance...
German police are unable to decipher the encryption used in the internet telephone software Skype to monitor calls by suspected criminals and terrorists, Germany's top police officer said.
Skype allows users to make telephone calls over the internet from their computer to other Skype users free of charge.
Law enforcement agencies and intelligence services have used wiretaps since the telephone was invented, but implementing them is much more complex in the modern telecommunications market where the providers are often foreign companies. [Link--->]
More Kindle Thoughts
I've been playing a little more with the Kindle the past two days, so here are a few more thoughts:
1) I've emailed myself PDF files (free book by Seth Godin) and MOBI files (free copy of Heart of Darkness) and both worked perfectly. I had to pay $0.10 to get the files to the device (the Mobi could be moved for free), but I didn't mind paying $0.20 to get two really good pieces of content delivered. There is a lot of complaining on the Amazon forums about the lack of PDF functionality, but it works fine for me. My guess is Amazon will release a desktop conversion tool as well.
2) There are thousands of free MOBI format books available on a multitude of sites like MOBI Free Books.
3) Battery life is great. Tonight is the first time I've charged the device and I'd say it had about 20% power left when I plugged it in. Amazon's claims of 30 hours without a charge seem accurate.
4) Accidental page forward button presses is an issue. I've seen a lot about this on the web as well and it has happened to me as well. It is a minor inconvenience at the price of being able to easily press the buttons with one hand.
5) Newspapers are still my favorite feature. It is just neat to wake up with papers to read first thing in the morning.
6) Purchased my first book with no problems (Dreaming in Code)
Overall, I am still very impressed and no buyers remorse yet!
Kindle - First Reactions...
The Kindle arrived today and I've spent a few hours playing with it. Here are some preliminary reactions....
1) I'd classify this as a knowledge device. It is meant to facilitate the consumption of knowledge in a consumer vice conversational format. Folks that complain that it doesn't have an email client or other interactive features are missing the point.
2) I like the fact that when I search I get results on my device (great if you are storing a lot of books/articles), on wikipedia, the onboard dictionary, and the web. In addition, I can trigger that same search term on the Amazon Kindle store.
3) The device interface is very usable. It certainly isn't an iPhone, nor will it ever be if it is going to meet the power requirements necessary to make this a useful device. The next page and previous page buttons are much more intuitive than those on the Sony eReader (which I also own). The menu system works....no manuals required. The only thing I will have to look up is how to lock the device when I put it in my bag so I don't bump the next page button by accident. There is one critical design flaw in that the OFF button is on the back of the device which is rendered inaccessible when the device is in its nice faux leather binder.
4) The Kindle store rocks. This is a dangerous device for an impulse buyer like me. I can purchase a book directly on the device or via the web and it will be on my device waiting for me next time I pull it out. No more waiting for the brown truck...this device facilitates instant gratification. Being able to download a preview of the book is a killer feature. I've read two sample chapters tonight and it is like being able to open the book in a bookstore before making a purchase. One book resonated with me, the other didn't. I also like being able to access Amazon reviews in real-time.
5) Newspaper implementation is fantastic. It is probably my favorite feature thus far. It will be great to wake up to the Mercury News, Investor's Business Daily, and the New York Times (Wall Street Journal and Washington Post come the old fashion way to the office, but I can see subscribing to the WSJ as well). Working through a paper in sequential order (you can jump around if you want) just works well for me. It is closely aligned with how I would typically consume the paper. Sure, I read lots of newspaper stories online already, but I don't "read" the paper online. The Kindle is different in a way that is hard to explain here, but definitely different in a very good way.
6) It is unlikely I will ever use the blog subscription feature. Sorry Amazon, the price points just don't work for me. RSS feeds stay on the iPhone for now. I may purchase one blog to test, but I can't see myself spending the money.
7) My publishing attempt was successful. I am now a published author in the Kindle store. I bought one of my own articles to test and it worked perfectly. This device will be perfect for premium content offerings in lots of niche markets. If you have content that is valuable and your target market has adopted the Kindle I think the revenue potential is very real.
I don't need to be sold on the need for a device like this. It works for me and I am definitely in the target market, having already bought a Sony eReader before. The Kindle easily dominates the Sony eReader with its integration with my Amazon account and the ability to push content to the device. I think this is a game changer for Amazon. If they can integrate PDF file conversion into the service, get rid of DRM, and solve the huge "ugly" problem they are facing, I think we will see a persistent increase in the adoption rate of this device.