iPod Touch running 3rd Party Applications

Here are a few (very blurry) images of my iPod touch running 3rd party applications. The jailbreak process was very easy using this guide from TouchDev. It does require a bit of command line work so I’d recommend waiting if you’re uncomfortable with the command line. Several “one click” applications are now popping up, but I can vouch for any of them considering I haven’t tried them. Here is a Mac “one click” application called iJailbreak and a Windows “one click” application called TouchFree.

Neurons Avoid Talking to Themselves by Using 19,000 Forms of One Gene

Neurons avoid talking to themselves by using 19,000 forms of one gene:

A lot of effort has gone into exploring a key aspect of wiring the brain, the ability of nerve cells to form and maintain specific connections among the huge number of potential targets within the nervous system. Just as important, however, is the opposite question: how do these neurons avoid making inappropriate connections? Perhaps the most obvious form of inappropriate connection is the equivalent of a neural short-circuit, a case where a nerve cell forms connections to itself.

We propose that this vast repertoire of Dscam recognition molecules is sufficient to provide each neuron with a unique identity and homotypic binding specificity, thereby allowing neuronal processes to distinguish between self and nonself.

Very, very interesting article. Unfortunately the full text article is not available for one reason or another. So anyways, based on the abstract it seems that neurons are able to determine if they are in contact with there own cell body. There could obviously be issues (i.e., short-circuit like scenarios) if the neuron was to excite itself instead of other nearby neurons. I find it hard to believe that only 19,000 forms of a particular gene are enough to distinguish all the billions of neurons in a person’s brain. I’d imagine that some other factor (or factors) would be playing a role in making neuron’s even more unique. Anyways, very interesting article, but I wish I could get the full text for it.

Interesting Links 10.9.07

Interactive design: the next step for the CSS guru? – But RIAs are becoming more open and more standards based, so I think interactive design is a natural next step for the CSS ninjas out there.
20 Proxy sites to browse the net anonymously – There are several reasons why you want to browse the internet anonymously.
10 Terrific Troubleshooting Tricks and Tools – The bad news: PCs have been around for 30 years, and they still find in new and unusual ways to break.
Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age – pretty self explanatory.
Microsoft Windows Home Server OEM – Microsoft Windows Home Server OEM is now on sale at Newegg.com
How the RIAA tasted victory: a perfect storm which might not be repeated – In the aftermath of the case, it’s important to look at why the jury came to the decision it did, and why other cases may not play out the same way.

This is definitely an eclectic collection of links. I won’t talk about all the links. I’ll just say that Windows Home Server is one of the best things to come from Microsoft in nearly 10 years (since Windows XP). If you have ever downloaded any music *cough* illegally you will definitely want to read the article about how/why the RIAA won this particular trial. It could be very important for you in the future.

Web 2.0 Changed how I use the Web

Here is a short list (with a brief description) of Web 2.0 sites I visit on a daily basis:

Box.net – simple and generous free file storage, easily share files as well.
CallWave – voicemail the way it should be, similar to the iPhone’s so-called visual voicemail, but CallWave has been around for years.
Jaiku – similar to Twitter, but also lets you pull it outside feeds. I use Jaiku as a life blog instead.
Jott – Jott has a wide variety of functions, but you can send yourself reminders, send email to other people, post to your blog, post to your Twitter page, post to Jaiku, etc
Toodledo – simple to-do lists without extra fluff that gets in your way. Sure, it’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it also integrates into Google Calendar
Twitter– the original and the still the reigning champion for micro blogging. Does one thing (micro blogging) and does it very well, also has a better API better than any competitor.
Flickr – this almost doesn’t even need a description: easy, free, unlimited storage photo sharing/storage.
Google Calendar – I still prefer to use 30boxes, but the integration between Google Calendar and Gmail is pretty hard to beat.
Google Mail – I use Gmail, but not because I love it. Gmail is pretty much the best of the worst in my opinion.
Google Reader – Again, I prefer to read my RSS feeds elsewhere, but Google Reader’s integration with Gmail is though to beat.
Last.fm – track the music you listen to, see what friends are listening to, find new music, listen to a radio station custom made based on your music preferences
Netvibes – ful customizable webpage that lets you read all your RSS feeds in a single page, also several powerful addons to do other things like check mail, weather, Twitter.
Digg – Digg is one of those things that I hate to love. It’s a great site to find information, but I’d highly recommend not even looking at the comments for each posting…they are useless.
Streamy – I recently got into the private beta for this, and it’s great…just like Digg, but without most of the immature people (so far)

You get the point…Web 2.0 has pretty much changed the entire way I use the web today. Hate it or love it, Web 2.0 has been nothing short of dramatic.

My next computer, but which one?

So I am struggling with the decision to get a new computer. The only part of the process that I’ve really decided so far is the fact that I won’t be building this one from scratch (I just don’t have the time to). I am going back and forth between getting a Dell with Windows Vista (or XP) or getting a new Apple iMac. This isn’t an easy decision to make for a few reasons. Here is a visual breakdown of the 2 systems I am considering:

As you can see, the Dell wins in more categories than does the iMac. Dell wins three categories that are especially important: processor, memory and price.

The Q6600 Quad-Core will smoke the Dual Core, so the Dell definitely wins there.
The RAM in the Dell runs at 800MHz compared to the iMac’s RAM running at 667Mhz
The Dell also ends up being almost $400 cheaper than the slower iMac.
- Note: With a 22″ LCD, the Dell still only comes to $1,459 which is $100 cheaper than the iMac

UPDATE: Here is another comparison that includes the 22″ LCD with the Dell. I clearly stated this above, but people apparently can’t read.

Now, I realize that the iMac obviously comes with a 20″ LCD, but that doesn’t really matter to me considering I have 2 perfectly functional 17″ LCDs that I plan to use. I also realize that some people will say that Vista and OS X should not be considered a tie, but then again I’d tell those people to lay off the crack.
Part of the appeal of an iMac is the simplicity of an all in one solution, but I don’t think that simplicity is worth $400. The Dell also has a greater possibility in terms of future upgrades, whereas the only thing I could upgrade on the iMac would be adding RAM.
My point here is that while the iMac may look nice, it’s still far more expensive than a comparable (or actually superior) Dell computer. The stigma of “expensive Macs” continues, and for good reason. Now I just need to actually purchase this computer (hopefully in the next few weeks).

Review: 50 Cent – Curtis

Don’t ask how, but I’ve acquired a copy of the new 50 Cent – Curtis album. It drops on September 11th (like Kanye’s new album). To put it briefly: the album isn’t very good. Lyrically it’s weak, but it has some banging beats. The album has a much “harder” sound to it, and because of that I don’t see many of these songs making it on the radio. I am actually surprised, to be honest, because this isn’t nearly as pop music-ish as I thought it would be. Either way it’s not very good. The only single that I can see making it on the radio would be “Ayo Technology”, and that’s because it’s insanely pop music-ish (it features Justin Timberlake).
Save your money.
Rating: (based on the “retail” album)
[xrr rating=2.5/5]

Black Star – Respiration Remix ft Black Thought

Black Star is made up of Talib Kweli and Mos Def in case you didn’t know. Black Thought is a member of The Roots. This remix happens to be quite rare and hard to find…so I thought I’d share it.
[audio:Black_Star_Respiration_Rmx_Feat_Black_Thought.mp3]