Sunday, August 30, 2009

Movie 2009.08.30 - District 9

Some reviews said District 9 the best sci-fi movie of the year, and I tend to agree. Good movie plot aside, the technology described in the movie is believable, and in some cases, already available. I was put off a bit by the "home-video" style of filming, but the CGI is pretty good.

The movie is about aliens coming to Earth and living amongst the humans. They are discriminated against because of their race, or should I say species, and the "prawns" ends up living in a slum called District 9. MNU (Multi-National United) agents move in to relocate them to a newer settlement called District 10. Naturally, the aliens resist and this is where the fun begins. In the ensuing scuffle, Wikus, the evacuation team leader, got in contact with some alien chemical and starts to morph. Now the government and the Nigerians are after Wikus because his modified DNA is able to activate the alien weaponry, whereas human DNA cannot. Wikus doesn't care about all this. All he wants is to become normal again and get back with his wife.

Christopher, the alien techie, promises that he can reverse the transformation process if Wikus helps him retrieve the cylinder that MNU has taken from him. They blast their way into the MNU HQ and narrowly escapes with the cylinder. Wikus later finds out that the reversal process takes years, and freaks out. He knocks Christopher unconscious and tries to take off with the alien drop ship, but got knocked down by an MNU rocket. Fortunately for him, we was able to get into an alien battle suit that he used to fight off the MNU agents, the mercenaries, and the Nigerians. This gave Christopher and his son enough time to activate the tractor beam on the mother ship to lift up the damaged drop ship. Meanwhile, Wikus and his robotic suit is sustaining heavy damage from enemy fire to the point that the suit finally gave up the ghost and spewed him out. Just as the head mercenary is about to kill Wikus, the aliens move in and tear him to pieces.

At the end of the movie, the mother ship leaves Earth, the rest of the aliens are relocated to District 10, and Wikus, who has fully transformed to an alien, longs for the day he can be human again.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Hacking the TomTom One 130

Last time I hacked a TomTom GPS unit was years ago, and that was with TomTom One v3. Things have changed a lot since then. I started reading the forums about TomTom One 130 and trawling the download sites, but my usual hacking tools are nowhere to be found.

After a day of reading up, this is the easiest way of doing. Basically, you hack the navcore, so that it can make use of cracked maps. You might want to upgrade to the newest navcore to get the latest and greatest features. That said, not all navcores will work with all TomTom units, and only certain maps work with certain navcores. Best to check the compatibility chart.

So what I did, I wiped out the SD card and copied a cracked navcore from TTuser. Downloaded the latest 2009 Aussie maps and the updated meta.txt file, and used Albert's EasyActivator to crack the map. (If for some reason EasyActivator can't do the job, you might want to try BenBBS' TomTom Keygen 2009.) Remember to copy over the voice files and ttgo.bif prior to cracking. Somewhere along the way, you'll need to know your device ID, too.

I was pretty excited when I saw the new GUI and the mp3/ebook/slideshow support, and advanced lane guidance, assisted speech recogniztion, and IQ routes because of the new navcore I put in. Turns out my actual hardware can't do mp3 and ebook and spoken street names, etc. Bummer.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Nybble Issue No. 213

N Y B B L E M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R
A Free Ezine about Anything Tech and Everything Else
2009.08.24 Issue No. 213

Just when you thought digital point-and-shoots can't get any better, camera manufacturers come up with something novel. A few years ago, it's a race to have the most number of megapixels and the biggest zoom. Digicams started with 1 megapixels, then 3MP, then 5MP, then 7MP. Nowadays, (for the average user) there's no point of going more than 10MP. Optical zooms went from 3x optical zoom to 12x to 20x. Anything more than that, you'll need two tripods - one for the camera body and one for the protruding lens. As for features, you've got face detection, blink detection, Bluetooth to synch pictures with your computer, WiFi to upload pictures to Facebook, GPS to tag your photos with global coordinates. Just the other day, I read about cameras with blink detection. Coupled with face detection, the camera will be able to indicate that one of your subjects has blinked, so you can take another shot before everyone walks away. Another camera comes with dual LCD screens - front and back. While pointing the camera at yourself, you can compose pictures using the smaller front LCD. Handy for photographers who are loathe to ask other people to take their pictures. When will it all end?

Have an answer, comment, suggestion, or violent reaction? Send them my way by clicking on Reply or join nybbletalk@yahoogroups.com to discuss a topic. If you think Nybble is good enough, do tell the shutterbugs about it. Thanks.


_________CARBON-EATING GREEN CEMENT_________

A British start-up company developing a cement that absorbs carbon dioxide has raised 1 million pounds to fund its work, underscoring the growing interest in eco-friendly construction ventures. Novacem, a spin-out from Imperial College London, is one of a number of young companies tapping new technologies to reduce the cement industry's notoriously large carbon footprint.

The trick is to make cement from magnesium silicates rather than calcium carbonate, or limestone, since this material does not emit CO2 in manufacture and absorbs the greenhouse gas as it ages. Novacem Chairman Stuart Evans said the cash injection from Imperial Innovations, the Royal Society Enterprise Fund and the London Technology Fund would help fund a pilot plant that should be up and running in northern England in 2011. The company is working with Rio Tinto on the supply of raw materials and is in discussions with a number of cement makers on future commercial production, which could be around five years away.

With an annual production of more than 2.5 billion tons, conventional Portland cement is responsible for an estimated 5 percent of global CO2 emissions, more than the airline industry. Novacem estimates that for every ton of Portland cement replaced by its product, around three-quarters of a ton of CO2 is saved, turning the cement industry into a big emitter to a big absorber of carbon.


_________ARTIFICIAL BONE MADE OF WOOD_________

A new procedure to turn blocks of wood into artificial bones has been developed by Italian scientists, who plan to implant them into large animals, and eventually humans. Wood-derived bone substitute should allow live bones to heal faster and more securely after a break than currently available metal and ceramic implants.

To create the bone substitute, the scientists start with a block of wood -- red oak, rattan and sipo work best -- and heat it until all that remains is pure carbon, which is basically charcoal. The scientists then spray calcium over the carbon, creating calcium carbide. Additional chemical and physical steps convert the calcium carbide into carbonated hydroxyapatite, which can then be implanted and serves as the artificial bone. The entire process takes about one week and costs about $850 for a single block. One block translates to about one bone implant.

Wood-based implants would have several advantages over traditional titanium or ceramic implants. Since their physical structure is more spongy than solid, like many metal or ceramic implants, live bone should grow into wood-derived bone substitute quicker and more securely. Paradoxically, metal or ceramic implants meant to prevent bone breaks can sometimes cause them. Current implants are significantly harder than the bone that surrounds them. Natural bone can flex slightly. In fact, stress helps build stronger bones. However, wood-derived bone substitute are still not cleared for use in humans. The scientists are currently limited to sheep. Application in humans is likely years away.


_________PAPER-THIN BATTERIES________

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems, together with colleagues from Chemnitz University of Technology and Menippos GmbH (all based in Chemnitz, Germany) collaborated on the product development of printable batteries that pattern organic semiconductors onto paper-thin, flexible substrates. They are targeting applications such as smart credit cards with battery-powered displays to show balances and other account information.

Fraunhofer's batteries use zinc anodes and manganese cathodes, which react with one another to produce electricity. The materials slowly dissipate over the lifetime of the battery, making them suitable for short-term applications like greeting cards with built-in music players. The batteries are printed using a silk screen printing process in which a rubber lip presses the organic semiconductor materials through a screen onto a flexible substrate. The lithographic-like technique uses templates to pattern layer upon layer--each about the width of a human hair--of battery components until enough bulk has been achieved for a particular application.

Printable batteries for smart cards would weight less than 1 gram and measure less that 1-mm thick. The organic materials produced 1.5 volts per cell, like conventional batteries, but use no hazardous chemicals like the heavy metals in conventional rechargeable and alkaline batteries.

Fraunhofer researchers said their battery is working in their lab, and its partners estimate that the first commercial designs will be ready for beta testing later this year. The researchers are aiming at a price point under 10 cents per card.


_________DRUG-TAINTED PAPER BILLS_________

A team from University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth has found that bills from the US and Canada are highly likely to have trace amounts of cocaine, showing for the first time a growing prevalence in the abuse of the drug.

A worldwide study of bills from over 30 cities in five countries found a startling statistic: “cocaine is present in up to 90 percent of paper money in the United States, particularly in large cities such as Baltimore, Boston, and Detroit. The scientists found traces of cocaine in 95 percent of the banknotes analyzed from Washington, D.C., alone.” What is intriguing is that a study conducted two years ago showed 67 percent of bills had traces of cocaine.

How the drug gets on the bills is well-understood. Money changes hand during a drug deal (of course), but bills are also used in the consumption of cocaine as the drug can be rolled into a bill and snorted. The city with the greatest chance of finding traces of the drug was DC. Salt Lake City bills were the least likely to be contaminated.

In comparison, Canadian bills came back at 85% contamination while Brazil’s banknotes registered at 80%. China and Japan had the lowest levels, with China at 20 percent and Japan at 12 percent (though only 16 bills were studied from Japan). Despite the high incidence level in the US, researchers do not think there is a health concern among the general public when handling the bills. Experts say that for the most part, you can't get high by sniffing a regular banknote, unless it was used directly in drug uptake or during a drug exchange. It also won't affect your health and is unlikely interfere with blood and urine tests used for drug detection.


_________NEW DIGITAL ALBUM FORMAT_________

Forget WAV, MP3 and M4A – major labels have something new in mind, and it's called CMX. Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are reportedly preparing a new digital album format that will include songs, lyrics, videos, liner notes and artwork.

It's a file that you click on, it opens and it would have a brand new look, with a launch page and all the different options. When you click on it you're not just going to get the 10 tracks, you're going to get the artwork, the video and mobile products. However, this may be of little interest if CMX isn't compatible with iTunes, the default music software for iPods, iPhones and Apple computers. Whereas labels are eager to resuscitate the album format in an age of singles, Apple is concerned with selling hardware, including a tablet computer rumoured to be launching this fall.

The news comes just weeks after reports of a similar project, Cocktail, being developed by Apple. According to the Times, Apple rejected CMX and instead began work on an in-house alternative. It is not clear how Cocktail and CMX will differ, other than ownership.

The major labels plan to launch CMX, which is just a working title for the format, in November. It will reportedly be "soft-launched" with a few select releases.


_________PARENTS BAFFLED BY SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS_________

A recent survey of UK parents with children aged five to 16 showed that four in five have been stumped by a science question posed by their children. More than half of the 1,002 parents surveyed thought their children knew more about science than they did. And 20% of parents said they felt silly when they did not know the answer to their children's questions.

The top three most-asked questions were: "Where do babies come from?", "What makes a rainbow?" and "Why is the sky blue?".

The survey was carried out to mark the launch of a new website by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The website - Science: So what? So everything - gives information to parents on answering those tricky questions from children, as well as downloadable activity sheets and ideas of places to visit.

How to answer about where babies come from? The website explains that babies are created when a cell from the mother and a cell from the father join together or "fuse".
After the two cells fuse, the site goes on, they divide over and over again to create a ball of cells called an embryo that goes on to become a baby that grows inside the mother for nine months. The website explains how a rainbow is made from light and water - with help from the sun. And the sky is blue, it says, because the sun produces white light which is made up of all the colours of the rainbow. But a clear, cloudless day-time sky is blue because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more easily than they do red light.


_________LIKEABLE LINKS_________
Stop Playing Homework and Do Your Video Games - A Video Game Quintet

Omegle
Talk to Strangers!

io9
We come from the future.

Mindcipher: Challenge yourself...


_________QUESTIONABLE QUESTION_________
If two bits make 25 cents, then there are eight bits in a buck. But there are also eight bits in a byte. Does this mean a byte is worth a buck?


_________QUOTABLE QUOTE_________
Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.
~ Albert Einstein


_________TRIVIAL TRIVIA_________
Can you use a marinade again?
According to food experts, marinades for meat are for a one-time use only. You should never save and reuse a marinade.

Source: Arcamax Trivia


_________LAUGHABLE LAUGH_________
Two atoms run into each other. The first says: "Oh no, I've lost my electron!" The second says: "Are you sure?" The first says: "I'm Positive!"
Bonus joke: Two muffins are sitting in an oven. The first says "Wow it's hot in here." The second says "AAAHHHH! A talking Muffin!"


That's all for this week. Nybble is and will always be a work in progress. Please do send me your comments and suggestions on how to improve Nybble. Just hit the reply button to you know, reply.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Movie 2009.08.14 - Coraline

Read the book long before this movie came out. I liked the book by Neil Gaiman then, and I liked the 3D movie now. Yes, it is a bit creepy, with the giant spiders and trapped kiddie souls and sewed-up eyes, but that's just how the story is built up. Definitely not for kids. Too bad as the 3D effects are very cool.

The cast of characters apart from the protagonist Coraline and the antagonist The Beldam keeps the plot interesting. You have two washed-up actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and their dogs, retired Russian circus performer Mr. Bobinsky and his performing rats, and Wybie Lovat and his talking cat.

If you're here for the ending, Coraline manages to outwit the Beldam and frees her kidnapped parents and the ghost children. The Beldam's severed hand later came back with a vengeance. With the help of Wybie and the black cat, Coraline destroys the hand and drops it into a deep well together with the key to the magical door to the Other World.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

How to Jumpstart a Car

It's not that hard really. If ever your trusty Corolla starts sputtering when you're in a hurry to get to the office, this is what you do.

A few things to remember first:
  • Do this in an open area. Batteries produce hydrogen gas that is explosive, so don't smoke near the battery. Mobile phones are ok.
  • Make sure the good battery and the bad battery are of the same voltage rating. Common sense, but best if mentioned.
  • Do let the cars touch each other during jumpstarting. They can look at each other, but no touching.
  1. Find a another car with a working battery, and position it head-to-head with your dead Corolla. You can also do it side-by-side as long as the batteries are close to each other.
  2. Connect jumper cable from the red (positive) terminal of booster battery to the red (positive) terminal of the dead battery.
  3. Connect (another) jumper cable from the black (negative) terminal of booster battery to the earth of the Corolla. Any bare metal will do.
  4. Start the car with the booster battery. Let it run (not jog) for a few minutes.
  5. Start the car with the dead battery. Yes, I know the battery's dead, but trust me. Let it run for a few minutes.
  6. Disconnect the jumper cables in the reverse order. Actually, before you do that, turn on the headlights of the stalled vehicle, so that it will absorb the current spike when the cables are disconnected.

How to Jumpstart a Car

It's not that hard really. If ever your trusty Corolla starts sputtering when you're in a hurry to get to the office, this is what you do.

A few things to remember first:
  • Do this in an open area. Batteries produce hydrogen gas that is explosive, so don't smoke near the battery. Mobile phones are ok.
  • Make sure the good battery and the bad battery are of the same voltage rating. Common sense, but best if mentioned.
  • Do let the cars touch each other during jumpstarting. They can look at each other, but no touching.
  1. Find a another car with a working battery, and position it head-to-head with your dead Corolla. You can also do it side-by-side as long as the batteries are close to each other.
  2. Connect jumper cable from the red (positive) terminal of booster battery to the red (positive) terminal of the dead battery.
  3. Connect (another) jumper cable from the black (negative) terminal of booster battery to the earth of the Corolla. Any bare metal will do.
  4. Start the car with the booster battery. Let it run (not jog) for a few minutes.
  5. Start the car with the dead battery. Yes, I know the battery's dead, but trust me. Let it run for a few minutes.
  6. Disconnect the jumper cables in the reverse order. Actually, before you do that, turn on the headlights of the stalled vehicle, so that it will absorb the current spike when the cables are disconnected.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Garmin Mobile XT on Nokia E66

I managed to get TomTom Mobile running on some older S60v3 Nokia phones like the 6680 and the E65, but not on the newer ones with built-in GPS. I've been reading a few forums, and the general consensus is that TomTom hasn't released a version that can handle internal GPS yet. Solution? Garmin Mobile XT.

After a day of reading posts and downloading the required files and a night of installation, I've managed to get Garmin Mobile XT v5 working properly on the wife's E66, using the built-in GPS. This is how you do it.

Firstly, you'll need the following software:
  • Garmin Mobile XT
  • support files
  • basemap
These ones you can download for free from Garmin's website. The readme says that you need to have an existing copy of the application before installing these, but apparently that's not quite true.

Also, you'll need to download the maps that you want to use with the navigation software and a keygen/unlocker to generate codes to unlock the software and the maps. Obviously, I can't provide links or tell you where to download the maps and keygen, but as always, Google is your friend.

The first step is to connect your Nokia handset to your PC/laptop. Select mass storage mode instead of PC Suite. If you've lost your USB connectivity cable, simply use a microSD card reader. Run the Garmin Mobile XT installer. It should detect your phone as an external storage device. After installation, you'll have a new Garmin folder in your microSD card, and GarminMobileXT.sis file in the root folder. Execute this file to install the application into your phone.

Next step is to install the support files and the basemap, using the same procedure as above. At this point, you should have a new GMXT icon on your phone. Upon first run, it'll ask you stuff like whether you want to purchase a license or try for free, etc. Don't bother with those, choose the "Connect to a Garmin GPS" option, even if you don't have one. This brings you to the main screen, where you should select Settings --> About. This screen gives you important info such as IMEI, IMSI, and Card ID. Take note of this Card ID.

Using the keygen/unlocker, enter this Card ID into the Unit ID field and click Generate. Copy the generated code to an empty text file and name it SW.UNL. To unlock the map, make your choice from the drop-down list and click on Generate. Again, copy this code to an empty text file and name it GMAPSUPP.UNL. In my case, I've got the Garmin City Navigator Australia NT 2009 map (in gmapsupp.img format), so I have to select and enter the map ID of 358. Copy these three files to the Garmin folder, start up the GMXT application, and voila! Garmin Mobile XT on a Nokia E66.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Movie 2009.08.02 - Tracing Shadow

This movie is billed as a wushu comedy. If the producers have an ounce of honesty left in them, they should've called it a total waste of time. At least for me anyway. Should've used the money on packs of chips instead.

So you've got Francis Ng as director and one of the lead actors. Then you've got Jaycee Chan of Jackie Chan fame. Add in mainland hotties Xie Na and Pace Wu. Get lookalikes for Jet Li, Jacky Chan, and Andy Lau. What have you got? FAIL! Seriously, these guys don't know how to act. Francis Ng's a veteran, but he's content to play his erhu while the whole set burns. The story centers around this treasure map that all the kungfu fighters are after. After all the fights and the obstacles, the "treasure" turns out to be a hoe. No, not a hoe hoe, but a real hoe that farmers use. The only redeeming part of the movie is when all these lookalikes congregate at the Dragon Inn. You've got a bunch of Nicolas Tses, Ritchie Rens, Jackie Chans, Jet Lis, Andy Laus and a whole gang of Jay Chous. Funnee!