Monthly Archives: November 2008

The size of the Bailout package

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The size of the bailout plan is truly staggering. Not just a little bit huge but immensely massive. Did you know it was larger than the following combined:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

As a matter of fact, the only single thing that comes even vaguely close (but still isn’t as huge) is the entire US cost of WWII!

the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion

Enable emoji

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It’s Apple cripples your 2.2 software update but hack it time! This time it’s the emoji, which only Japanese iphones got. So if you want it on your iphone or ipod, try the following:

You need to edit the file /User/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Preferences.plist on the device -> whether you use a jailbreak to achieve this or merely some iTunes backup editor is up to you.

Add the following boolean key as ‘true’: KeyboardEmojiEverywhere

[Update: Cydia has added this change as a package: See here for more]

e-gold spanked by US judicial system

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In a surprise move, e-gold was dumped on by the US justice system because prosecution stated they must have known crooks were using the system to transfer money. Doesn’t this now mean that all banks in the US have to be slapped in the face, because, well, let’s face it – there are a load of crooks and they all need to put their money somewhere. Which means that all banks know their services are being used by crooks.

[HowTo] Enable Street View on Touch 2.2

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Because Apple are dicks and have disabled streetview on the 2.2 ipods in a pathetic attempt to make the iphone somehow more exclusive than the ipod, someone has had to come out and discover how to fix this 🙂

i’ve found the trigger so this is probably the easiest way for the time being…

1. get this file via ssh: /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/N45AP.plist
2. convert to xml at http://iappcat.com/plist/bin2xml
3. add

key>telephony /key>
dict>
key>maximumGeneration /key>
real>2.5 /real>
/dict>

underneath

key>standAloneContacts /key>
true/>

4. save then using that website again reconvert to binary
5. rename original file N45AP.old
6. copy new N45AP.plist in (make sure permissions are 644)
7. reboot ipod
all new Maps features work however you get a searching for service (replaces the word ipod in the top left) and waiting for activation message that pops up occassionally also music slot in prefs disappears (hjrry)

Hopefully someone can patch the frameworks or springboard which wouldnt require this to be done! Anyway if you’re desperate to try it out, thats all that needs to be done theres nothing wrong with stability or anything so you’re not going break anything permanately trying this out.
enjoy

[HowTo] Enable Street View on Touch 2.2 – iPod touch Fans forum

Static Stretching

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It turns out that static stretching – holding a stretch for 20 + seconds – causes you to lose around 30% of your muscle power. It also doesn’t help limber you up and thereby help prevent injuries. Dynamic stretching – stretching your muscles whilst keeping them moving – is much much better: you don’t lose muscular power and can stretch them further afterwards, allthough the jury is out whether this helps prevent injuries.

Mcor 3D printer

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Mcor Technologies has a 3D printer which is remarkable in that it uses paper and glue to make the models. This makes the models themselves a whole load cheaper to produce, so you can print MOAR! The printers themselves are going to be sold for a “reasonable” price, whatever that is… They do have the following in their FAQ though:

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
The total cost of ownership (TCO) offers a final statement reflecting not only the cost of purchase but all aspects in the further use including materials and maintenance of the machine.
For example:
Regardless of the initial capital price point of the various machines, the maximum build (9.4litres or 316.33oz) of the Mcor Matrix costs under €94.00 ($135.00) to build, while a competitor having a cost per cc of €0.4 ($0.58) would be €3760 ($5,416.00). Any differential that might have been saved on the capital price of the machine is quickly lost.

What is the cost per cc of the Mcor Matrix?
The cost per cc for the Mcor Matrix is €0.01 or $0.0144.

How does your cost per cc compare with your competitors?
Our cost per cc is up to 40 times less expensive that our rivals.

Italy wants to prosecute four Google Execs

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Why? Because they own youtube. Which posted a video of a kid with Downs Syndrome being pestered. Why those four execs? No idea, really. Why they think the execs who provided the youtube service are liable for the content on it? That’s like saying knife manufacturers are personally responsible for every stabbing that has ever occured. Or car manufacturers for every driving accident.

US Missle Sheild Upgrade

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The missile shield will be upgraded by multiple kill vehicles being carried up by as a single payload in a rocket. There are two competing tenders: Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Lockheed guides the mini rockets from a central command unit, Raytheon’s system has each of the warheads acting as a seeker / controller in theory, but one of them becomes a master after launch and transmits the targetting plan to the other vehicles.

Laser Cinema Projectors

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Previously lasers weren’t used for projection as they had a speckle effect. The Chinese Academy of Science has found that fusing three lasers (RGB) into a single white laser and then using traditional DLP technology to break the beam up into RGB again and the mirrors to put the picture onto the wall cancels this speckling. The resultant image can display around 80% of the human visible colour range compared to traditional wet film, which only catches 60% and is considered the ‘gold standard’ in these things. So. We have vibrant colours. But we also have a power consumption of only 35% of traditional xenon lamps in these projectors. Only the initial cost is very high.