DIY 3D Printer Build lets you build your own 3D printer

Have you ever wanted to get into 3D printing but did not know where to start.  This DIY 3D Printer build tutorial series shows you how to assemble a 3D printer from the ground up.  The advantage of videos like this is that you learn exactly how a printer is made.  If you were ever curious about them the step by step instructions here show you everything.

This is a completely open build as well.  You can download the full bill of materials, buy the parts wherever you feel is cheapest and assemble it at home.  You may need to use a local makerspace to print a few of the parts but if that doesnt work for you there is this video on building a 3d printer without plastic parts.  This video uses the similar build type and replaces the plastic parts with temporary wood structures.  I personally would opt for the local maker-space since they are worldwide to get the few parts printed.

Overall if you're looking to get into 3D printing this series of videos can give you the knowledge you need to get into the hobby.

Google Play Market on your Kindle Fire HD

I recently received a Kindle Fire HD 10.1 5th Generation tablet for Christmas.  I love the device and the price put it in the range of a nice Christmas gift to me.

I immediately wanted to start setting up a few things and customizing it.  The kindle however locks you out of just about everything.  I'm sure that is due to all the baked in advertising.  Even with the version that doesn't have the ads on the lockscreen I still see tons of advertisements in the launcher. I can turn off the ads but I cant change the launcher.  Reading around it seems the way to go is rooting the device.  I'm familiar with doing that but really preferred to not have to do that since this is really for casual surfing, books and media entertainment.

So putting the launch screen and lock screens aside I started to load in my standard apps.  Most were on Amazon however at least 30% of them were not.  Seriously Instagram is not available for the Kindle HD?  I also can't load Vudu?  This pissed me off.  So I started reading about how to download the APK using these shady websites, etc.  Not cool.  I needed a better way and I found one that works great.

You will need to have a smartphone or other device with access to google play.  This was simple I used my phone.

Now you need to download 2 applications to your smartphone or other google play accessible device.

APK Extractor
Send Anywhere

Next go to your kindle and install Send Anywhere on the Kindle.   Once you do that you need to enable APK's from 3rd party sources.  Google the instructions for this there must be 20 of the same articles about that already out there.  Once you have that enabled you're all set for installing any Google Play app on your Kindle.

Use APK Extractor to extract all the apps you want to transfer.  I found that almost everything worked right out of the gate.  The extractor will not harm any installations.  It just builds the APK file.

Once you have your apps all extracted fire up Send Anywhere.   Click send on the app and swipe over to the "files" tab.  Select that and you'll see your files.  Scroll down to apks (the default directory for APK Extractor).  Navigate into the folder and select all of them to send.  

Once you click Next in Send Anywhere you'll get a code.  Fire up send anywhere on the kindle and enter that code.  You'll see the files instantly start transfering to your kindle.

Once it is done simply click the APK file right inside Send Anywhere.  It will fire up the installer and presto, you install the app.

This was VERY simple and repeating this process is easy.  I found almost every application worked.  The few that didn't were ones like lock screen replacements or launchers.  Instagram, Vudu and nearly everything else worked great.

Hope this is helpful for those of you who like the kindle but wish the appstore had more to offer.  Now it does through the Google Play market. ;)

Cannon Selphy CP910 Windows 10 Drivers

I have several CP910 for a photo booth business and most recently upgraded to Windows 10.  Personally I have no need to keep the old operating system so the PC I started with was a fresh install.  The Cannon website said the CP910 did not need drivers.  Bullshit.  I had no joy trying to get it to work.

Several reboots later I decided I would try the windows 8.1. Drivers.  This was the trick.  All I had to do was download from Cannon the 8.1 in my case x64 drivers and install them.  All the printers showed up perfectly.  Printer pooling also works so I was happy as could be.

Hope this post finds its way to those of you with this somewhat nice but now aging and discontinued printer on Windows 10.

The Bourne Legacy

The Bourne Again Shell or BASH has a new remote code vulnerability CVE-2014-6271 requires your sysadmins to bust out the package manager and patch this.  The risk is that you could end up running an attackers code instead of your own.

Dropbox goes big with new 1TB of space for $9.99 a month

Dropbox today emailed me with the most awesome information. Dropbox has upgraded all of it's pro users to 1TB of space at no additional charge!

Hi Robert, We're excited to let you know that Dropbox Pro just got even better! What’s new with Dropbox Pro? We're giving you 10x the space — for the same price. You'll have 1 TB of space for your photos, videos, docs, and any other files you want to keep safe in Dropbox. With new sharing controls, we’re making it easier to manage access to the stuff you share. You can set passwords and expiration dates on your shared links and grant view-only access to shared folders. Keeping your stuff safe is our top priority. For extrapeace of mind, remote wipe lets you delete your Dropbox files off a lost or stolen device. Learn more about Pro changes

If you are not a Dropbox Pro Member you should become one now.

The escalation of cyber warfare

The Register website reports "Snowden on NSA's MonsterMind TERROR: It may trigger cyberwar".

Rogue NSA sysadmin Edward Snowden says his former employer has developed software that will automatically attack foreign computers deemed to be a threat –without checking in with a human first.

This only scratches the surface.  If the media is reporting this then you be assured that at a technical level it goes far deeper.

While I do not have specific facts to back that up what I do have is a ton of experience.   I know that throughout my career I have seen many things that have been downplayed for the people who had to receive the news.  This is done for a few reasons.  Most people don't understand the technology they are using beyond the user interface.  I still see people confuse hard drives with memory.  Most people don't want to know how the technology works.  Cell phones and personal computers are as mainstay as the television.  If I ask 10 people how a television works I am lucky if 1 can tell me.  Most people do not have the capacity to learn about computers.  Knowing how a computer works requires logic and math skills.  The large part of the population lacks math skills beyond pre-algebra.   That being said it takes a lot of dedication and education to become good with computers.

I personally think Snowden took a huge bullet for America and he is indeed a hero for doing so.  I have for a very long time known that the information on a computer is completely accessible to the government if they wanted it.  Most people in IT will share this same sentiment too.

So why the concern over this particular article you ask?  Simple they are reporting about an impending cyberwar that is already happening.   The reasons most people don't notice is I already talked about.  Let's take a quick look at just Wikipedia:

• Cyberwarfare in China
• Cyberwarfare in United States
• Cyberwarfare in Russia

Three heavy hitters there and these programs already exist and are currently operating.  Everyone hears about China and Russian hackers however your focus should include the Unites States.  The US culture has been feeding this machine at an alarming rate.  Cell phones are the biggest concern.  While most people have access to the internet we as Americans have taken this a step further to include our children.  The government wants you to have a cell phone because there is no easier way to track you than your cell phone.  Claims that "all Americans have the opportunities and security that phone service brings" may have applied in 1985 with land lines but this expansion into cell phones is unnecessary.  I know I personally grew up without a cell phone.

So how does all this play into Cyberwarfare?  Freely available cell phones and internet access makes it way too easy.  Large companies like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter all have backup locations where your data is kept.  While the production server may be impossible to hack chances are the backup data is easy to get at.  Companies often leave the front door open to their data.  I recently heard about an organization who has a credit card payment gateway in the basement of their office building.  The basement!  There is no secure facility involved here and this is your credit card data.  Everyone looks at high value targets like Google, Facebook as the places to get your personal information.  Fact is your personal information is stored without your knowledge in locations that would scare you. 

Cyberwarfare and in particular the article at The Register reveals a scary truth.  Bots (not humans) are out there capturing your data.  What happens when the bot gets the information wrong or a bug makes you out to be a terrorist instead of an activist.  When the human reviews this data they are not going to question the software that captured it.   Bots attacking targets is just as dangerous.  Misinformation could easily attack your company website without anyone knowing.  Bots could also attack foreign countries and cause escalation of wars without the government involved at all.  What would happen if this bot suddenly started attacking Russia right after the President released a statement condemning Russia's actions in the Ukraine.  Matthew Broderick 1983 portrayed a character who was simply playing a game but the W.O.P.R. (Whopper) took control and nearly started a war.  The WOPR while fictional at the time is becoming very real today. 

We have opened the pandora's box on this and it will never get closed.  The governments of the world will continue to spy on electronic data even if we pass laws prohibiting it.  People will continue to use cell phones and computers knowing they are being monitored.  This is a hard pill for people to swallow however the truth is that we need to just start accepting it.   We should be focusing our efforts on making sure we have legal rights to prevent the government misusing the data they already have.  It is more important right now to know you have rights and that the fourth amendment applies to your personal data.  This is far more important because once we have these laws in place even if the government has your data, they can't use it in court.  The cyberwarfare will continue but at least we will have some common rules of engagement domestically.  

Cutting the cord: Antenna vs. Cable and DirecTV

Most of my readers already know that I am all about cutting the cord on cable and DirecTV.  If it was not for cable internet I would truly have all cords cut coming to my house.  That being said I did a lot of trial and error on antennas for my home setup.  This is my personal experience and the products that worked well for me.  I am very cheap so the cost impacts much of my buying decisions.  I tried many indoor antennas until I finally invested into attic antennas.

First thing to know when buying an antenna is that today TV signals are digital.  They are still transmitted over an analog antenna but your reception will either be on or off.  There is no middle of the road with a digital signal.  The skipping you may see with some channels is simply your TV catching some of the signal on or off and doing its best to render it.    That being said don't get fooled into thinking that you need a signal booster.  In fact my experience with them is that they simply don't work.  They amplify both good signal and noise.  My best results were simply using the antenna itself.  Receiving signals from all stations requires that your antenna be able to receive both VHF channels (channels 2-13) and UHF channels (channels 14-51).  You can get an all-in-one antenna or you can get 2 antennas and combine the signals.

I recommend you take the multiple antenna approach.  The reason is that it is very unlikely the TV station will be transmitting both UHF and VHF.  This means the UHF stations may be in a completely different direction from the VHF stations.  Having two antenna's you can mount them on the same pole.

The antenna I used for VHF was this Winegard HD-1080 HDTV High Band VHF Antenna. I was able to mount this on a pole in my attic and avoid going outside.  This antenna instantly picked up all the VHF channels with no problem at all.

UHF antennas are a different story.  This represented only a few channels and they were more difficult to tune in.  I used a WINEGARD HD-9032 UHF High-Gain 35-Element HDTV Antenna.  I have no affiliation with Winegard they just happened to be low cost antennas on amazon that did the job.  They actually exceeded my expectations and I was able to mount both of these on a pole in my attic.

Once you have the two antennas mounted you can get this very cheap RCA Antenna Satellite Diplexer Splitter signal combiner.  The splitters also can be used to combine signals.  Combine the two antennas into one and then feed that into your TV/Media Center PC.  All of these parts on Amazon are less than $125.

Once you have this all hooked up in the attic have someone man the TV signals. Then adjust the direction of the antennas until all of your signals are coming in.  Sometimes a turn as small as half an inch makes the difference between getting the digital signal or not.  I had this on the UHF signals all the time.  There is some setup in making sure that you have a good signal.  Once you have this setup then you simply tighten up the mounts.  One more reason that I have these in the attic is that the weather does not impact my reception.  No blowing winds, snow or ice build up or connections that get moisture in them.

Good luck installing your antennas.  Please share or post this article if you found it helpful in cutting the cord.

Machines that control us and could kill us

You should be very afraid of bots. Most people think of bots as automated avatars in a game or perhaps that search engine that crawls the web.  Bots are much more than that and you should worry about the machines that control you.

I'm not talking about The Matrix where the human race is enslaved to machines but rather the control that machines already exhibit on you day to day.  Your phone sends you a reminder and you are forced to respond to it.  Your car turns on the tire pressure light and you check the air pressure while at the gas station.  The robocall that tells you that your Dr. Appointment is tomorrow at 11 instead of 3pm.  All these seem like widely accepted pieces of technology we never second guess.

So on your way to the appointment that was moved to 11 you are sitting at the light in the left turn lane.  Your arrow turns green and pulling into the intersection you are suddenly struck by a semi going 45.  The driver did not run a red light rather the light was still green.  The computer program controlling the lights was reprogrammed.  How?  Any number of ways.  Most people however would not second guess the green arrow.  In fact this was planned because someone had hacked into the Robocall system and the street lamp.  Why?

Hacked Road Sign

Today people talk about securing their private information.  Credit cards, medical records, finances are all secured with encryption and countermeasures to hackers.  Hackers can still get in but we make it more difficult for them.  Nobody ever thinks about the Robocall system or the street lights.  We implicitly trust these systems day to day and they are vulnerable to attack.

Systems that we trust implicitly and systems that control our lives can just as easily kill us.  That may sound far fetched but the Zombies Ahead sign could have easily said MINIMUM 45MPH into a work area with a 25MPH limit.

Take this principal of hacking into low security systems and imagine the possibilities.  Hacking into web cams, personal computers, street lights.  You could use some of the simplest of systems to not only control someone but kill them.  While this may sound far fetched it is so much closer to a reality than you think.

Daniel Suarez wrote the book "Daemon" that illustrates this in brutal detail.  Being in IT I have read this book several times and it should be on every adults reading list to see just how far anyone can be manipulated by a machine.  In Daemon and it's successor Freedom (TM) Daniel outlines very real and very plausible ways a computer can kill you.

Books like this are not just works of fiction either.  The Therac-25 killed many people because of a computer bug.  A Medtronic heart device was found vulnerable to remote attacks in March 2008.  You can read about many major software bugs and vulnerabilities on Wikipedia's List of software bugs.

Does this mean we should be paranoid about computers controlling us?  Certainly not.  We should simply be looking at security and taking a holistic approach to it instead of securing systems at high risk.  A perfect example of this is the recent Russian hacker attacks and stealing of 1 Billion passwords. Security is often an afterthought.  It should be built in with everything that we do.  Sadly it's not.  We should also have some common sense about using technology but sadly we don't.  The only real way to combat this problem is to educate people.  Daniel Suarez does that in his book and I'm doing that on this blog.  I challenge everyone to review their own security and see just how hackable your life is.

Chances are Russians hacked your password!

Chances are at least one or more of your passwords are probably hacked.  How?  Quite simply there is not enough security surrounding your password or security in most websites.   You can change this behavior easily and without having to remember a 28 random character password.  In fact it is quite easy to do.

Stories like this one where one billion passwords were stolen illustrate why most passwords are a poor way to secure information.   Passwords are hackable through any number of means.  From simple cryptography decryption to guesses with common words against hashes. Storage of the password is often very insecure.  For example you have web hosting as cheap as $1.99 a year.  You can be assured that security is not at the top of the list for that hosting company.

Getting your password is not that hard in most cases.  Open source software often can have exploits in it that hackers can get the password file.  Most of the time it is a MD5 hash or SHA1 hash which can not be decrypted.  However it can be guessed easily if you use a password like "snookie24" or "sean2014" using very common words.  You may have signed up on a discussion forum and used the same password as your bank account or even your kids school website.  Using weak passwords which use common dictionary names/words with numbers is very limited in protecting you.  Why?  I can show you rather easily.  Let's say you're using "goldmine" as the password for your bank account.  You also use that password for 5 or 6 other sites including a discussion forum.  Open source for a while has been using a simple MD5 hash to store a signature of your password.  While the password itself can not be pulled out of the hash, the hash can be created and compared against the password database.

To see what I'm talking about just use a simple MD5 Hash Generator to create a hash for "goldmine".  The hash for goldmine is 73f74ce5596373a5c4b5cb43486015ef.  So how do hackers get your password from this?  Easy, a database with dictionary words.  You create a database with 2 columns the password in plaintext "goldmine" and that hash "73f74ce5596373a5c4b5cb43486015ef".  Then you simply compare the database you created with all the hashes against the stolen password file.  It's that simple.  Adding numbers before or after the word don't help much as they are usually 4 digits or less.  That being said you only added a little less than 20,000 more variables which are very easy to check for.

So my password is hacked now what?  There is some hope.  First if possible for accounts like Gmail use the 2 factor authentication.  This will send you a text message with a 6 digit code that makes it a lot harder to hack your password.  The odds of a hacker stealing your phone and your password is very low.

Make stronger passwords to protect yourself.  Yes, everyone says this but how practical is it to enter a random string of 12 characters and remember it.  This is where I have a very simple trick that will allow you to enter better passwords.  I call it the per-site-password method.  This means that even if my password is hacked its only hacked for that one site.

To make an easy to remember but harder to hack password simply add part of the website domain to your password.  Then use something easy to remember for the rest of the password.  Let me show you how we can make that "sean2014" password considerably more secure with almost no work at all.

So lets say we're going to create a password for facebook.com.  Look at the domain name and use that as part of the password.  You can use "Facebook" you can use "fb" or you can use "f.com" or any number of easy to remember ways to add the domain to the password.  Just make sure whatever method you use, its consistent for all websites.  That way you know it should be in the format you remember.

Now take that domain information and inject it somewhere, although consistently in your password.

fb.com-sean-2014

sean-2014-fb.com

sean-fb.com-2014

There are 3 versions that add considerable amount of complexity in decrypting or running hash databases up against it.  This gives you something unique per site.  It's unlikely an attacker is going to know how that works and track you down on another site.  You can even be more creative and add in multiple words before and afterwords.  For example .nets use "steve", .com's use "sean" and .orgs use "charlie".  So long as you know how the password is created then your password is going to be considerably more secure without having to remember complex passwords. 

I also suggest you start changing your passwords.  The russian attack at the top I cited is using passwords and logins to send spam.  I'm sure your family and friends will appreciate you changing your passwords instead of your facebook account sending them a message about ED medicine. 

Uninstalling Facebook Messenger is as effective as a tinfoil hat.

Tinfoil protection against Facebook

This article has been gaining popularity and has been reposted on facebook numerous times.  Claims that Facebook Messenger can spy on you. I've seen my friends re-post this and try to uninstall the application.  I have seen comments from many cursing Facebook and a few others commenting that it is completely inaccurate.  I finally could not take any more and had to blog in response to this article which is inaccurate and full of conjecture.  It is time to stop this hoax in its tracks.

I have been working in IT over 20 years.  Sam Fiorella (the articles author) from what I can tell from his biography has no real experience in IT.  What his bio claims he does have experience in is Influence Marketing.  Clearly his article proves that he is able to influence a lot of people through conjecture and scare tactics.  I don't claim to know anything about Marketing but I can say I know a lot about IT and software development.  I also like to think I know when someone is trying to pull one over on you. 

Sam's article is completely preposterous.  Sam states, "Facebook Messenger's attempt to collect so much information and take control of our devices is unprecedented and, quite frankly, frightening". First, none of this is unprecedented.  This is all based on some permission settings which authorizes the application to control your phones camera, audio, text messaging and calling functions.  He states that 1,000,000,000 users have downloaded the app and it is "alarming insight into the future of mobile apps".  This really is nothing new in the mobile world.  

Let me explain quite simply why Sam's article has no substance to it.  We will put the article aside for now and we will presume for a minute that this nefarious application is  hell bent to steal your information.  First lets figure out why we would want your personal information.  The only purpose I can see for any of your personal information is for marketing & sales.  Your phone could in theory report stores you went to, people you socialize with and interests you and your friends have.  However you give all this information up freely to Facebook all the time.  Through posts, likes and your biography , Facebook already has the information it needs and it uses it to target you with relevant advertisements.  Tracking cookies contain far more information about you.  I am sure that you have noticed that when you visit a blog like this after doing some shopping the sidebar fills with ads from that store you last visited.  It's not magic is tracking cookies and remarketing.  The Messenger application is not involved in any of this.  Yet this seems to be of little concern in the article.  

Actual photo from inside my pocket

Application permissions are used to grant the application access to many things.  Android is good at telling you what you are letting an application do to your phone.  If you happen to have an iPhone, don't expect the same treatment.  Sam completely missed that point and indeed iPhone users have been having their data used by Apple and other partners without consent for some time now.  Facebook Messenger may have the ability to record audio, video, SMS and make phone calls but the bottom line is that it doesn't.  How do I know you ask?  Very simply it is too much information for even Facebook and Google to process.  1 Billion downloads of messenger right?  Let us cut that in half to 500 million.  1 minute of HD video is approximately 60MB.  1 Minute of audio at 160Kbps is approximately 1MB in size.  So for just 1 user, for 1 minute you're looking at 60MB of data.  Now multiply that by the 500 million users for a grand total of 30,000,000,000,000,000 bytes per minute.  Or roughly 30 Petabytes of information every minute.  This much information in one minute would not only crush every server Facebook owns but it would likely crash every cell carrier on the planet.  This becomes even more insane when you think about 24 hours in a day.  I can tell you that my phone personally is looking at a ceiling or a nightstand for 8 hours a night.  Then for another good 8 it is on my desk at work.  So for 16 hours a day all you would record is blackness or a ceiling.  Then the 8 I sleep you can hear me snore.  The other 8 you can listen to me at work.  We shouldn't forget all that time my phone is in my pocket either. I frankly am honored that Mark Zuckerberg finds me that interesting.  If you still think Facebook is using your camera, audio, SMS and phone then you probably put on the tinfoil hat.  The lawsuits that would be generated by gathering this information would put Facebook out of business.  Here is another thought, if all this information was being sent to Facebook wouldn't your data usage be off the chart?  

Image: wikimedia/Jangelo9397

Your privacy is important.  I am in no way minimizing privacy for individuals.  You should have privacy but expecting it on a social media platform is ridiculous.  I am surprised that the Huffington Post article gained so much attention.  The news has had far more interesting privacy issues.  Hold Security reported 1 Billion passwords have been hacked.  This barely hit the radar with most people.  What is amazing is that most people have maybe one or two passwords.  Instead of focusing on real threats to your privacy we have an article that bashes Facebook.  Seriously?  

If the fact that Russian hackers likely have your password doesn't scare you then you should stop over at Packet Storm Security and read some articles there.  This is where the real news is regarding your privacy.  Facebook is protecting your data far more than it is using it.  If you are still concerned by all means stop using Facebook Messenger.  You might also want to stop using your phone all together.  All those pre-installed apps that you have on your phone have the same permissions as Facebook.  Oh yeah and the phone manufacturer can do even more. 

The media is not helping anyone by creating sensationalism and using conjecture to scare the public.  People without IT backgrounds certainly should not be suggesting that we uninstall applications to protect ourselves.  Uninstalling Facebook Messenger in no way is going to make you more secure on the internet.

Help me tell Skype & Microsoft you want options!

I was an avid user of the IMO instant messaging application for Android.  I loved this program and I even blogged about it.  About a month ago they stopped supporting Skype.  They claimed they could not connect to the Skype servers anymore.

Skype is a closed protocol which means nobody else can communicate on the Skype network unless you're a partner or you've hacked your way onto it.  Everyone else has a somewhat open chat network, Google, Yahoo, AIM/ICQ, IRC, etc.   Skype for all that is provides doesn't give developers a way to openly communicate with the Skype servers.  So if you want to send a Skype message, you have to use Skype.   This sucks because the Skype app for Android blows, and the desktop apps are not far behind.

When IMO couldn't get Skype fixed I was really bummed.  I love IMO because it's free with a small footprint and it works.  More than Skype can say.

So, I started a petition that I hope everyone will share with their friends and hopefully we can make a change.  Please sign this petition to Skype and Microsoft then share it with everyone you know!  The only way we are going to get Skype and Microsoft to listen is to show them that the community wants the freedom to use something other than the Skype bloatware!

Glass gets closer but it's not for kids!

From the moment I heard about Google Glass I thought back to Daemon by Suarez, Daniel

If you have not read that book and the follow-up FreedomTM you really should read it.  Besides one of my favorite books the book illustrates basically Google Glass used to augment reality.  The latest videos of glass in action are just that as well.  Augmented reality that soon will become reality for many people.  I look forward to the time when I can have Glass use facial recognition and tell me who I am looking at.  Perhaps even a call out above their head that tells me their reputation in the world.  Daniel Suarez truly has a vision and Glass could be the Science Fact from the Science Fiction.   

Glass however doesn't seem as if it will be for everyone.  This is from the google website. 

Glass isn’t for everyone. 

Like when wearing glasses, some people may feel eye strain or get a headache. If you’ve had Lasik surgery, ask your doctor about risks of eye impact damage before using Glass. Don’t let children under 13 use Glass as it could harm developing vision. Also, kids might break Glass or hurt themselves, and Google’s terms of service don’t permit those under 13 to register a Google account. If Glass is not for you and you wish to return it, do so before the end of the applicable refund period.

The fact that children won't be able to use glass is very disappointing to me.  I think that they could benefit from being able to use glass in lets say an educational way.  As image recognition points out "Trees" or "Zebras" using image recognition software words and sounds could be associated with it.  Almost subliminally teaching children how to read at a young age.  I really hope the technology advances so children are able to use it. 

It looks like glass will be available for about $1500 and it should be out late 2013 or early 2014.  I think it will take off like a rocket ship.   Why?  GoPro HD Hero3 is just an example of why.  People want to video their life and what they do for fun.  There are just tons of videos using this on you tube.  I think Google will have a hard time keeping these in stock. 

The other really cool thing I like about glass is that it takes social video recording to a new level.  I think there is real value in videos captured by people with cell phones.  I think glass will make that even easier.  I think it will help reduce crime as well since "anyone" could be watching, not just big brother.  From across the street you could record a crime and the villan may never see you.  

The applications for Glass are really endless and I'm very excited to see this come to fruition. 

Grab some real air with Leap Motion

The Leap Motion Controller has to be one of the coolest things I've seen in technology ever.  This ranks right up there with Kinect and Google Glass.  The small 3" device has the potential to change how we interface with computers forever.

I knew when I saw Minority Report one day we would get there but I had no idea it was going to be this year.   If you saw the film you could not help but be impressed with the curved plexiglass computer Tom Cruise controlled with the slick light up gloves.   Flick something out of the way, grab a spinner knob for your video and zoom in with two hands.  That was a slick bit of special effects.  I have to admit it impressed me but I thought that it would be a long time before we could do that.  Was I ever wrong.

The new Leap Motion Controller will bring that slick technology to you very soon.  This summer for around $80 you'll be able to use your hands for more than typing and clicking.  You won't even need those fancy light up gloves (although they look cool). You can actually pre-order the device now.

Watch the video for yourself and you cant help but be impressed.   I know from reading the Leap hype that they are partnering with companies like Acer to bring this into your next laptop.  I think this has the possibility of making something like Windows 8 usable.   I won't digress into my hate for Windows 8 but what I will say is that this could turn any laptop Into a touch screen tablet by touching the air.  Throw in some of the multi touch gestures from the Mac and you have something really great.

I would love to see this embedded is into something like Google glass.  If we can do that we will have taken a huge leap in how we work with computing devices.  Daemon by Daniel Suarez illustrated just that type of technology.  Where users of the "Darknet" could wear glasses and interact with items in a virtual "D-Space".  I would like to think that the "Darknet" is 10 years away but after seeing how much progress Google Glass has made and now with Leap Motion I have a feeling this could be closer than we think.

Overall, I think this product has some real potential.  Since users are becoming more interactive with touch devices I think this can really bridge the gap between laptops and touch screens.  I've always said that touch screen laptops and PC wont work because the screen will have fingerprints all over it.  If you can touch virtual buttons in the air though, you now can make that laptop a touch screen withutThe potential to swipe your hands in the air wearing a pair of glasses allows you to compute wherever you are.  The sky is really the limit when you think about the possibilities.   Frankly I'm excited to see what sort of apps come out of this little device.

Unlocking Technology Becomes Legal Again; Thanks to “Unlocking Technology Act of 2013″ Bill

Unlocking Technology Becomes Legal Again; Thanks to “Unlocking Technology Act of 2013″ Bill

Ultimate Wifi Arduino! $39 of amazing fun.

I was totally pumped to see this project on Kickstarter today.  Here you have an Arduino with embedded WiFi.   What this means is that instead of a huge board with WiFi as an add on, you have something you can stick right in a breadboard and work with.  This is still a kickstarter project and they expect them to come out in September sometime.  This for sure is going to hit my list of must have items.  There is a lot of possibilities and I want in on the ground floor of the $39 super Arduino and WiFi called Spark Core.  Check out the Spark Core Kickstarter page.

Red or Blue? General Electric's New "Matrix" Commercial 2013 HD

This commercial is absolutely brillant!  Matrix fans cant help but love this.

How to Save Big at Best Buy

I am always surprised by how many people shop at Best Buy.  Their prices are generally higher than most online stores or even retail chains like Wal-Mart.  If you're looking to pay more Best Buy is the right place to go.

In all fairness Best Buy is getting better with their pricing in a lot of areas.  TV's, Blue Ray players, etc are competitively priced.  Here are some tips on how you can shop at Best Buy and make out like a bandit.

First don't EVER buy a cable from there.  Certainly do not let some sales man talking you into buying a "Monster" cable for your HD TV.  You'll hear things like "You just spent $1500 on a TV you want to have the best picture possible and lower priced cables may give you a poor picture." - BULLSHIT it's HD and all digital.  Which means your cable is either going to be rated to work or it wont.  Monster cables are no better than the cheap ones.  Case in point, the cheapest 6' HDMI cable I could find at Best Buy was around $25.  "Five Below" a $5 and lower store across the street sells a 6' HDMI cable for $5.  Guess what, works like a dream on my Xbox.  It's also fully rated for 3D TV.   You can also get them at a reasonable price at Amazon.com.   However my favorite place for cables is monoprice.com. They sell cables of all types dirt cheap.  Cat 5, HDMI cables you name it.  If you can wait a few days for shipping you can save a lot on all sorts of things from there.  Don't let some salesman convince you otherwise.  The same applies to optical and coaxial DVD connectors.  Digital transfers 1's and 0's.  

Best Buy does price matching just like Wal-Mart and most other retail chains.  What most people don't know is that Best Buy will match Amazon's pricing.  It's the only brick and mortar store I know that actually will match Amazon.com's prices.  I've saved, $20, $30 and even more on products by pointing out that Amazon sells it for cheaper.  Now if you have an Amazon Prime membership you can get shipping for free and get it in two days plus you dont have to pay sales tax.  That is the best savings but some things like a TV you might not want to received from UPS's fine delivery staff.  You can however go right to Best Buy and point out it's $200 cheaper on Amazon.  The only catch is you're on the hook for sales tax but hey, you can get it same day.

Another good use for Best Buy is on fixed pricing items.  These are items like a new Wii, Xbox or Playstation.  They will cost the exact same amount regardless of where you go.  That way retailers all make the same amount on the item despite which retailer you go to.  Best Buy though has a rewards program that Wal-Mart doesn't so if you do end up buying a lot of equipment you can end up getting a few perks in the way of some free cash to spend at Best Buy.  Something for free is always better than nothing.

Competition is tough these days with electronics retailers.  Information like this should give you an edge when buying new equipment.

Impossible indeed!

One Week Without A Smartphone? Impossible

Yes a week without a smartphone could be my demise.

Defiance - A Western in SciFi Disguise

When I first heard about Defiance coming out I was excited to see another new Scifi series coming out. I have been waiting for Falling Skies to start up and thought perhaps Defiance might give me a good scifi fix while I'm waiting for that to start.

So far it's been a mixed bag which generally is not the most reassuring.  The concept was somewhat exciting.  Rebellion of survivors the loner joins forces and helps the colony.  Felt just like Terra Nova when that came out and we know what sort of success that was.

The two hour pilot to me was a huge let down.  Here in the first interaction ever with the protaganist Jeb Nolan he manages to find amazing alien energy tech only to have to use it in a huge battle against an army of mechanized warriors sought on destroying Defiance.  Once he uses the energy device and blows away the bad guys he is offered the job as Sheriff which he accepts.

I am horrified that this could be the best episode all season.  They threw absolutely everything into the pilot.  Epic battles, incredible alien tech, intriguing love story and even a boxing match.  While I say that scifi fans are the biggest bunch of hypocrites around, this story does not hold up.  It's way overdone and over the top.

I'll continue watching it and I may end up eating crow if the show improves but I dont have my hopes up.   Rockne S. O'Bannon is the writer on the show and except for Farscape the rest of his shows have been utter failures.  The new V which while it could have been so cool, failed miserably.  Alien Nation was "ok" but seaquest DSV was just terrible.

I think the show is going to run out of gas quick.  I don't see this as anything but a cheezy western.  How cheesy?   The Sheriff's name is Jeb.  We just need now is Hoss, Little Joe, Adam and Ben and we'll have Bonanza all over again.

I can hope that this show improves but I don't think it will.  I should have known better with a video game that goes with the show this was all over hyped.  My guess is that in another year the game will be at GameStop for $3 and the show will end up getting cancelled.

Twitter peeking at your tweets to target ads.

Appy Geek is reporting that  Twitter will mine people's tweets to target ads.  Scanning your eMail and Tweets is starting to become the norm these days.  Google has been doing it for some time, now twitter is going to start doing it.  

There are whole army of people against this and I posted about it with the Scroogled.com website.  I still don't see the issue with this.  If you feel your electronic information is safe you are living under a rock.  Information Security is a very false sense of security.  Hackers, employees, social engineering it all comes down to one thing.  People.  Your data is only as secure as you think it is.  

Try this social experiment. Walk into a McDonalds and sit a table next to a group who just received their food.  Wait about a minute then walk up to the counter and say "Yeah, I'm with the group over there, we were short one double cheeseburger".  See if you get one.  9/10 times you will with no questions asked. 

Your security works the same way.  I personally know that with a little dumpster diving you can grab a bank statement, and call the bank and find out all sorts of things about an account.  In fact you can even ask to have a duplicate debit card sent to you because the magnetic stripe is wearing out.  They wont deactivate the old one just ship you a new one.  I have had the bank tell me "Make sure you destroy the old one because both will work.".  Now if I was a malicious attacker I could use your debit card (The new one I requested) while you were able to use yours.  

The whole point here is that Twitter and Google are mining your data to target ads to you.  Frankly I'm ok with that.  Why?  Its better than random nonsense or tampon ad's when I have no use for them.  I dont mind seeing ads for cool gear I might be interested in.  

Microsoft though better get on the ball and register Twittled.com or something so they can strike fear into twitter users to use Bing.