what's that sound?

While scrolling back through the discussions on irc.perl.org#catalyst, i noticed a discussion about last.fm. So I decided to check it out. The privacy policy is simple enough, so I signed up, downloaded the iTunes plug-in (that tells last.fm what music I have), and downloaded the last.fm music player (which is freely available for all major OSes). I'm still exploring it, but so far it seems pretty rad.

I might have to check that out. Know what you’re gonna do yet this fall?

Nope. Not for sure, anyway. Probably going to be substitute teaching in OC, but may do some other job on the side. Yay for student loans! ;)

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get a new skin

Slashdot post about artificial skin development, and the ability to allow for skin to sense even more things than human skin can (e.g., changes in humidity, light, sound, etc.). I'm wondering if the new skin will be available for burn victims, or for others who have lost skin. What kind of interface (assuming there is one) will there be with the nervous system to handle these new sensory perceptions? Or would they just have an exterior (computer) interface that notifies the wearer of environmental changes?

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what i didn't foresee anytime soon

here's a link from a link from macslash. it describes how to dualboot os x and windows on x86. since os x for x86 has been illegally distributed and hacked, there's been a lot of development in getting it to work on any x86 system. i'm really curious what apple is up to by now allowing (more easily, at least) their os to be run on unapproved x86 hardware...maybe playing hardball with windows? it is interesting that the deal between apple and intel popped up a couple months before microsoft released vista for beta testing...

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ogg vorbis

This /. article reminded me about ogg vorbis, a patent-free encoding technology. This means that, unlike mp3's, there will never be a royalty you have to pay for mass distribution. I used it as my primary audio format when I was back running linux, and used it on OS X up until I moved to 10.4. Since I haven't really been listening to much music on my computer lately, I sadly haven't noticed the absence of it. If anyone wants to know what programs already support ogg vorbis, check out this page. There is a QuickTime plugin, which allows you to play songs iTunes (but not via Airport Express). The plugin does not work with QT7 or Tiger, unfortunately, so if you have either you're as SOL as I am.

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revolution in speech-recognition software?

I just saw an article on /. that states scientists can now "read thoughts". Scientists have discovered consistent fMRI patterns for a given audio and visual input. In the news release,

Dr. John-Dylan Haynes of the UCL Institute of Neurology, who led the research, told the BBC News website: "What we need to do now is create something like speech-recognition software, and look at which parts of the brain are specifically active in a person."

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reminds me of a magic trick...

where sleight-of-hand is involved. Via /., quantum information can be negative. As I said, it reminds me of a slight-of-hand card trick, where the information you present actually makes the audience know less about what's really going on. It also reminds me of sci-fi and James Doohan's recent "beaming up".

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for those who have a pbook or ibook

I can't remember what I was searching for earlier today, but I came across this article. I found that this command was useful: ioreg -w0 -l | grep Capacity. Now, every time I fire up the terminal, I can see how close I am to having to get a new battery for my ibook. Mine has lasted two years already, and I must say it's longer that I thought it would last. (I think it has helped that I've mostly used "Better Energy Savings" mode in "Energy Saver...".)

Whenever possible, I try to compute plugged in. Now, what does this mean?

| | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=4400,"Amperage"=0,"Cycle Count"=58,"Current"=4318,"Voltage"=12429,"Flags"=1090519045,"AbsoluteMaxCapacity"=4400}) | | | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=4400,"Amperage"=0,"Cycle Count"=58,"Current"=4318,"Voltage"=12429,"Flags"=1090519045,"AbsoluteMaxCapacity"=4400})

Your battery life is great, Angelo! The "Capacity" is supposed to tell you how much charge your battery is currently able to retain, the "Current"is how much it is currently charged (from the looks of it, you're at 98%), and the "AbsoluteMaxCapacity" is how much the initial capacity was when it was shipped. My battery has really taken a beating (I used to "go wireless" a lil' too much). Just to realize how great a condition your battery is in, here's my current output:

| | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=2815,"Amperage"=0,"Cycle Count"=318,"Current"=2766,"Voltage"=12413,"Flags"=838860805,"AbsoluteMaxCapacity"=4200}) | | | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=2815,"Amperage"=0,"Cycle Count"=318,"Current"=2766,"Voltage"=12413,"Flags"=838860805,"AbsoluteMaxCapacity"=4200})

So even tho' I'm at 98%, my battery is still suckin' wind. Oh yeah, and the "Cycle Count" is the number of recharge cycles your battery has gone through. I beat ya by about 5 times in that count, but that's nothin' to be proud of. :) It's just a guess, but do you have a powerbook? Your initial capacity ("AbsoluteMaxCapacity") is a bit larger, and I seem to remember that powerbooks have longer battery life than ibooks.

Thanks, David! Yeah, Powerbook, which I must have had about 16 months now, I think.

This is a weird output I got for about a minute today:

| | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=2815,"Amperage"=0,"Cycle Count"=318,"Current"=2826,"Voltage"=12509,"Flags"=838860805,"AbsoluteMaxCapacity"=4200}) | | | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=2815,"Amperage"=0,"Cycle Count"=318,"Current"=2826,"Voltage"=12509,"Flags"=838860805,"AbsoluteMaxCapacity"=4200})

Within a minute, "Current" when down to 2815, but it just make me pause for a moment and think if there might be a way to exceed capacity. Then I read this article and decided not to mess with it. :)

When I detach my battery, here's the output: | | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=10000,"Amperage"=0,"Current"=0,"Voltage"=0,"Flags"=838860929}) | | | | "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=10000,"Amperage"=0,"Current"=0,"Voltage"=0,"Flags"=838860929})

Makes sense...

what os version/powerbook r u using? my daughter's 800mHz titanium, osX.4.2, has its original battery, and it's been running for about an hour on battery. the output of ioreg is: "IOBatteryInfo" = ({"Capacity"=65235,"Amperage"=18446744073709550742,"Cycle Count"=155,"Current"=63766,"Voltage"=14785,"Flags"=4,"AbsoluteMaxCapacity"=4000})

obviously f.u.:-( i've reset nvram, prom, et al, but it's still whacko...

Hi airdrummer,

I'm using 4.2 on a 900Mhz ibook. so i take it you're just curious about why the "Capacity" and "Current" are so high, and your "Flags" is so low? (Since you're running off of the battery, your "Amperage" looks about right.) Have you let your battery run down all the way until it enters into "sleep mode"? (I noticed that suggestion this, but it may be what you meant when you said "i've reset nvram, prom, et al"). I'd either try that, or even let it run down all the way to nothing (beyond "sleep mode"). I also noticed this posts by periche and Chulo here, which suggests it might just be a Ti issue. How long does your battery last, anyway? more than an hour, it seems. i'm afraid that's all i can suggest. let me know if nothing works, or if you find anything else out. :)

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minglin' wit' da mac

This article reminded me that at the end of next month I will have been using a mac for two years, too. I agree with many of his points (he doesn't have too many to begin with) and suggest those of you who are windows users to check out this important page. ;) Of course, there are improvements to be made for any OS, but I really do like the overall support (at any Apple store) and hardware quality.

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