The Crotchbomber: How One Person Really Can Make A Difference

On Christmas Day 2009, Abdulmulltalab earned himself the nickname “The Crotchbomber” when he unsuccessfully tried to set off a bomb with ingredients he hid in his underpants. While that in itself is indeed shocking, it is the fallout from this event that has me upset. Apparently, The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) believes that the incident happened because their security strategy was not tight enough, and has yet again clamped down on air travel passengers. In order to prevent such an event from happening again, the TSA has implemented a new security checkpoint at the gates of all departing international flights. Passengers boarding through these gates will be patted down and their carry-on luggage thoroughly examined. In addition to that, according to a new TSA regulation, passengers are not allowed to leave their seats or use any personal belongings during the last hour of flight.

All this, because ONE person ALMOST set off a bomb on ONE airplane. Realistically speaking, passengers on an airplane have a higher chance of getting struck by lightning than becoming victims of a terrorist hijacking. I understand that the TSA are just trying to do their job. Unfortunately for us, they are not doing it very well. These new “security” measures are the TSA’s knee-jerk reaction to their own failings. Whenever they fail to do their job right, the TSA punishes all airline passengers with ridiculous new regulations.

Instead of enforcing security through fear, the TSA should ensure a safe flight by hiring and training flight security personnel and putting them on all incoming international flights. If passengers know that there is flight security professional on board who has been trained to notice suspicious terrorist activities, airborne terrorism may eventually be nullified.

2000-2009: A Technological Retrospective

Wow, what a difference 10 years makes. In a couple weeks 2009 will be over, and with it a whole decade of technological innovations. This past decade brought us everything from the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console to augmented reality. Obviously, I cannot mention every single innovation that came out in the past ten years.  However, I can mention those innovations that were, at the time of their release, revolutionary in some form. The following is a list of just that:

2000

• Innovation:
  • Sony PlayStation 2

• How was it revolutionary?
  • The console not only played highly-graphical video games, but was also the first of its kind to play DVD movies. At the time, stand-alone DVD players were fairly expensive, costing $300 or more. The popularity of the PlayStation 2 helped push the DVD format into the mainstream market.

2001

• Innovation:
  • Apple iPod

• How was it revolutionary?
  • The original iPod not only helped bring Apple back into the forefront of modern technology, but also sparked the MP3 revolution. This is the device that pushed CD players out of the market and replaced it with hard disk based music jukeboxes.

.

• Innovation:
  • Microsoft Windows XP

• How was it revolutionary?
  • This is the operating system that most people and businesses still use today. It is a force to be reckoned with, even for Microsoft which has released two newer operating systems (Vista, 7) in more recent years.

.

• Innovation:
  • ReplayTV

• How was it revolutionary?
  • ReplayTV was the original TiVo,  in a matter of speaking. It was the first DVR to come to market that gave TV viewers the ability to pause, fast forward, rewind, and even record live TV broadcasts. Today, all cable and satellite TV providers offer DVR’s to their customers.

2002

• Innovation:
  • Mac OS X Jaguar

• How was it revolutionary?
  • The new version of Apple’s operating system included improvements in stability, speed, and added several new applications. The addition of Quartz Extreme processing allowed all graphical tasks to be handled by the systems Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), instead of the Central Processing Unit (CPU).

2003

• Innovation:
  • XM Satellite Radio

• How was it revolutionary?
  • Subscription-based satellite radio was the biggest change in radio since FM. XM’s main selling points were coast-to-coast channels and fewer commercials than FM radio. The service has become so popular that several automakers now offer it as an option in their vehicles.

• Innovation:
  • Intel Pentium M Processor

• How was it revolutionary?
  • Intel new mobile processor standardized wireless networking in laptops and spurred the growth of wireless hot spots. Today, free wireless Internet access can be found all over the world in coffee houses, restaurants, and even in airplanes.

.

• Innovation:
  • Apple iTunes

• How was it revolutionary?
  • By pairing their iTunes music program with their iPod MP3 players, Apple effectively figured out how to get consumers to buy music online, which is something the record labels themselves could not do. What made it possible was iTunes intuitive interface and the limited restrictions on usage.

• Innovation:
  • Camerphones

• How was it revolutionary?
  • Cellphones with built-in cameras, such as the LG VX6000 (shown), came to market in 2003 and were a huge hit. So much so that nowadays all modern cellphones, even basic models, are capable of taking and sending pictures.

.

2004

• Innovation:
  • Bluetooth

• How was it revolutionary?
  • The new wireless communications protocol made big waves in 2004 when Bluetooth headsets became the must have accessory for cell phones. A few years later, after their benefits were noticed by US governmental officials, use of Bluetooth headsets became mandatory in the US.

2005

• Microsoft Xbox 360

• How was it revolutionary?
  • Microsoft’s latest video game platform introduced their redeveloped Xbox Live service, which allows gamers to play against each other all over the world. The console has recently also become a social and media hub, with features such as Facebook and Netflix integration.

2006

• Innovation:
  • Youtube

• How was it revolutionary?
  • This video sharing site sparked an Internet revolution by allowing videos to be uploaded and shared for free.

• Innovation:
  • Toshiba HD-A1

• How was it revolutionary?
  • Toshiba’s original HD-DVD player sparked the movement to high definition movies at home.

2007

• Innovation:
  • Nintendo Wii

• How was it revolutionary?
  • The Nintendo Wii’s major selling point is it’s motion controls, which adds an extra level of interactivity to it’s games.

• Innovation:
  • Apple iPhone

• How was it revolutionary?
  • The extreme popularity of the original iPhone sparked the touch revolution, inspiring other phone makers to offer models with touch sensitive user interfaces as well.

2008

• Innovation:
  • Macbook Air

• How was it revolutionary?
  • The popularity of the Macbook Air inspired other notebook makers, such as Dell and Lenovo, to offer smaller and more portable notebook models.

2009

• Innovation:
  • Augmented Reality

• How was it revolutionary?
  • Augmented reality is a brand new technology that promises to change the way we see the world around us. It started this year with smartphone applications, such as Layar and Yelp, that provide users with information based on what they point their phones camera at.

If you have read this far, then you should realize by now that the past 10 years has brought a number of revolutionary technologies. I simply cannot wait to see what the next 10 years brings us. Look out for my next Technological Retrospective sometime in December 2019. That is, if WordPress and the Internet are still around….

How I Got A Mac For $30

First of all, I would like to thank TonyMac for putting together the guide that helped me get my Snow Leopard Hackintosh up and running. You can find his guide here : TonyMac

In the Hackintosh world, it seems as though everyone takes a different path to OS X, due to variances in hardware configurations and drivers. My path began this past October when I found out that installing the new version of the Mac operating system, Snow Leopard, was as simple as inserting the retail DVD into my computers DVD drive. Suffice it to say, it was not actually that simple.

I purchased the Snow Leopard installation DVD from Best Buy for $30, mainly because I was curious as to how well it would run on my newly-built computer. Unfortunately, I was unable to start up the installation program. After doing some research on the InsanelyMac forums, I found out that an installation method had not yet been developed for the Gigabyte P55 motherboards, and I had just installed a new Gigabyte P55-UD3R in my computer.At this point, I decided that my best option was to just be patient and wait.

A couple months later I returned to the InsanelyMac forums, where I came across TonyMac’s guide to installing Snow Leopard for Gigabyte P55 motherboards. In a nutshell, TonyMac’s guide uses a boot CD which allows my computer to load up the retail Snow Leopard DVD. After the operating system had been installed, I used a program called PC_EFI to make my Snow Leopard drive bootable. At this point, I had a functioning Snow Leopard installation, but my job wasn’t done just yet. I still had to find the audio and graphics drivers for my specific hardware. The driver that ended up working for my nVidia GeForce 8800 GS came from a program called EFI Studio. My audio drivers were provided by Taruga. Once I installed these drivers, I finally had a fully-functional Snow Leopard Hackintosh, and all for only $30.

If after reading this you are interested in getting a Mac on the cheap, I’d suggest doing some research on the InsanelyMac forums for your specific hardware. However, before beginning your research, you’ll need to know the make and model of your motherboard and graphics card. If you are unable to find an installation solution for your hardware, rest assured that the Hackintosh community will have one for you in the near future. If you require further assistance, I’d be more than happy to help. You can find my contact information under the About Me tab above.

The Start of The NEXT Era

What you see above is my new ride, a 2010 Honda Civic EX! Click the pic to check out the gallery. I didn’t know it until I saw it at the dealership, but that car is the true upgrade I’ve been looking for. When I was on the market for a new car, what I wanted was a model that impressed me not only with its exterior appeal, but also with its interior technology. The 2010 Civic’s  had the sporty shape I was looking for, and I especially liked the in-car technology on the EX models. This includes bluetooth for hands-free in-car calls, a USB interface for my iPod, and even a touch-screen / voice-controlled navigation / entertainment screen. On top of that I get XM free for 3 months. When I saw that car, the search had ended. Either the dealer offered it to me at a decent price, or I drive home in my Volvo. Suffice it to say, I was prepared for the latter, and I used the walkout as my tool to drive the lease price down to something I can afford. By the time I left, I was surprised that I actually had just leased a brand-new car for an amazing $280/mo. for 36 months.

The End of An Era

UPDATE:

Apparently my car is not the only one leaving my family, as my younger brother’s car has been having some serious issues as of late. My brother drives a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E320 that has been having some engine problems lately. His car has some history with our family. My dad purchased it in 1999, and I remember being surprised when my dad came to pick me up from school in it. It was a much bigger vehicle than his previous car, a Mercedes-Benz C Class, which he sold to get this new car. A few years later, after I turned 16 and got my driving permit, I was even more surprised when he gave me the keys to his car used it to teach me how to drive. Years later, my younger brother learned how to drive in that same car and since then has been using it as his own. Unfortunately, since the car is starting to show its age, we me have to get rid of it soon in order to avoid any more expensive maintenance costs.  They say that cars aren’t just vehicles, they’re our friends that we rely on to get to where we need to go. Well, it’s tough to say goodbye to good friends. Both The White Blur (AKA The White Bullet) and our Mercedes-Benz E Class will be missed.

The era of the car that came to be known as The White Blur will soon come to an end. In June of 2004, my dad bought me a 2001 Volvo S40 as a high school graduation gift, and ever since then, that car has been involved in many crazy adventures. In the past few years, my first car has been towed, got its headlight and tires busted, gone well over the speed limit, and even had a human body in the trunk, among plenty of other types of craziness.

No less than a week after purchasing it, my car got towed. I was going to my friends apartment to chill, and since there was no parking on the street I decided to park my car in the nearby 7-Eleven parking lot. I returned a few hours later and was in total shock when I did not see my car where I left it. I thought someone may have stolen it. I’ll admit that I was balling a bit a that point. My friends and I then went into the 7-Eleven and the clerk informed us that my car had been towed. One of my friends gave me a ride home, and after explaining to situation, my dad and I went to the impound yard. It cost around $250 to get my car back, but I was just glad that it was safe.

Later that summer, I got my first speeding ticket. I was going 60 mph in a 35 mph zone. It wasn’t habitual speeding at that point, I was just excited because my friends were throwing me a going-away party. Not knowing what my parents would do if they found out, I decided not to tell them at all. Fortunately, my dad soon found the ticket in my glove box, after helping me move into my new place in AZ. He told me to not be afraid to tell him when stuff like this happens, otherwise the legal consequences could be very bad.

A few years later, in Arizona, a few of my friends called me up to give them a ride to a house party that was on the opposite side of town. Before I go further, I should let you know that my Volvo can comfortably seat 4 people. That night, I had there were seven people in my car, including myself.  The seating arrangement were two in the front (myself and a friend in the passenger seat), four in the back, and one in the trunk. Yes, one of my friend rode across town in my Volvo’s trunk. Suffice it to say, I drove extra cautiously that night.

Those are just a few of the crazy adventures I will always remember having in The White Blur.

Computer & Network Upgrades: Afterthoughts

It took some time, but I am now done with all the upgrades to my computers and home network. To start, I had to move the all the components from inside my desktop PC (motherboard and all) back into the Compaq case they came in. If you are wondering why I moved those components into my own PC case in the first place, in a nutshell, the Compaq case was too small. I had some extra components I wanted to add to the computer, but simply could not since the case is so small. I then installed some awesome new hardware into my now empty PC case.Once all the parts were in place, I installed Windows 7 and configured it on both machines and installed Windows Home Server onto my test machine.

The Transplant Surgery

Moving those components back into the Compaq case was a lot easier than I thought it would be. After I ensured that I was properly grounded, in order to protect the hardware from short-circuiting, I disconnected the power supply from the motherboard and anything else it was connected to. I then removed all of the components that were connected to the motherboard, such as my video card, network interface card, and memory, and then unscrewed the motherboard itself from the case. At this point, I had to repeat what I had just done, albeit in reverse order and in the smaller case. That means, first placing the motherboard into the case, screwing it in, attaching the necessary components, and finally connecting the power supply to the motherboard and components.

The Upgrade

Once my desktop PC’s case was completely empty, it was ready for an upgrade. The first new part I added to my machine was a Gigabyte P55 motherboard. After the new motherboard was installed and connected to the power supply, I added my new Intel Core i5 processor and 6 gigabytes of DDR3 SDRAM to it. For video, I installed my old nVidia 8800 GS.

OS Installation & Configuration

I started this phase of the process by installing the 64 bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate onto my desktop PC. For those wondering, Windows 7 installation is much easier and faster than previous versions of Windows. After collecting the necessary information, the installation took around 20 minutes to complete. I configured this machine as my personal desktop, so it took some time to get all the programs I normally use installed. The Compaq is my new media center, so I installed the Slingplayer software on it and then configured Windows Media Center. Media Center in Windows 7 works really well, especially with a remote control.  I have this machine hooked up to my 47 inch LCD, so I can now chill on my couch and choose the movie/tv show/internet video I want to watch or music I want to listen to. Once my media center PC was properly configured, I installed Windows Home Server onto my test PC. Windows Home Server is a great OS  to install on an extra computer if you want a simple, centralized backup solution. You can also use it to share your media files with your friends and family over the web by enabling the Windows Home Server site and adding a guest account for each person. Another useful feature is that, since this is a server, it does not require a monitor once its setup and configured. The included connector software or Windows Remote Desktop Connection can be used to access the computer remotely.

Overall, this entire project of mine went pretty smoothly with minimal issues.

Computer & Network Upgrades

Being an IT savant, I enjoy enhancing and upgrading my computers and home network, which is exactly what I started doing this summer. My first upgrade was a Westinghouse 47 inch LCD HDTV which is being used as the monitor for my Media-PC, Xbox 360, Wii, and Playstation 3. Yes, I do have them all. Not only is it a great screen to game on, but it is also great for watching online and locally stored videos. My next major upgrade was a Cisco Wireless N router, which not only gave our network a wider wifi radius, but it also enhanced our networks transfer rates significantly. That is what I have done so far.

My next upgrades will be to my desktop PC. The upgrades include an Intel Core i5 processor, a Gigabyte P55 motherboard, and 6GB of DDR3 SDRAM. In addition to that, I will upgrade my operating system (currently Windows 7 RC 32-bit) to Windows 7 RTM 64-bit.

Once those upgrades are installed and configured, I will then install Windows Home Server onto my Test-PC. My Test-PC is the machine I use to test and become familiar with different operating systems. The mswhs.com site has some great tutorials on how to get more use out of the operating system, and I look forward to trying some of those out soon.

Check back soon for the latest updates on how I am progressing on these and other projects!

Guess Who’s Back, Back Again?

After what has been an amazing summer, I have finally returned to my world online. If you would like to find out what I was up to this past summer, I will posting those stories to the new Replay section. In a nutshell, you can expect to see stories in there about:

• My summer internship at Applied Medical
• The wedding reception that will not be soon remembered, lol
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review
• Terminator Salvation Review
• The Roscoe’s Adventure
• My day at Comic-Con 2009
• Meeting with a long-lost friend
• Public Enemies Review
• Funny People Review
• Inglorious Basterds Review
• District 9 Review
• Sunset Music Fest in Hollywood

On top of that, I will also be posting pieces about my current and upcoming projects, so check back for those soon!

Roll Your Own Firefox!

Do you use Firefox as your primary Internet browser? Would you like to get more out of it in order to make your Internet browsing easier and more productive? Then what you need are Firefox extensions! What are ‘extensions’ you say? Extensions are add-on for Firefox that can increase its functionality! If you are not using any plugins in your Firefox browser, you are missing out!

The following is a list of the plugins I am currently using:

• Download Statusbar
  • Instead appearing in its own window, Download Statusbar shows your currently downloading items in the statusbar at the bottom of the FIrefox window.
• FoxTab
  • If you have a number of tabs open, FoxTabs will make it easier to find the tab you are looking for by showing thumbnail previews of every open tab in one of four different views.
• Persona’s for Firefox
  • Persona’s is a fun and easy to customize the look of your Firefox browser.

Click here to go to the Firefox Add-Ons page and start downloading extensions!

Movie Review: Angels & Demons

There are a lot of great movies hitting theaters this summer and, before I saw it, Angels & Demons did not seem like it would be nearly as good as Star Trek and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I felt this way because it’s prequel, The Da Vinci Code, was a bit underwhelming, especially after all the hype it recieved before its release in 2006.  I am actually happy to say that I was completely wrong in my preconceptions of what will possibly be this years most captivating film.

In the movie, Angel & Demons, Tom Hanks returns to his role as Robert Langden, a Harvard symbologist who is called upon to unravel the mysterious clues surrounding a terrorist attack against the Church by its ages-old enemy, the underground society known as the Illuminati. The first thing that caught my attention in this movie was where it started, that being in the Large Hadron Collider facility. It was here where the Illuminati’s weapon against the Church, the anti-matter, was created and promptly stolen.  The film continues with Robert Langden solving various puzzles that take him and partner Vittoria Vetra to the four pillars of science (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, sorry no Heart so no Captain Planet, lol) around the Vatican where the preferatti to the papacy are to be murdered. I hope this doesn’t spoil it for anyone, but there is an awesome twist at the end of the movie that you will not see coming.

In my opinion, Angels & Demons is a movie that everyone should go check out in theaters, whether or not you have read the book or seen its prequel, The Da Vinci Code. Angels & Demons is another Ron Howard directorial classic.

Check out its trailer: