OBDII and iMFD Data Logging

Any car built this century has an OBDII interface. This allows mechanics to plug in their laptop and get real time engine data. Lots of information about the running of the car. Nowadays there are quite a few USB / Bluetooth OBD-II connectors, which allow streaming of this data to your laptop, Garmin navigation system or iPod / iPhone.

PLX Devices Inc. sells the PLX Logger Software, as well as devices to show the data on.

ODBCOM has software going for only $85,-

Scantool sells software as well as displays. The software goes for $120,-

Its dashcommand software ($40) allows you to create custom skins and settings for your own digital dashboard

Auterra has the DynoScan Windows software going – including a google earth interace

It also sells a display unit

Then there’s PCMScan by Palmer

All these tools have different featuresets and support different cars…

Apple makes big fight with everyone!

Hot on the now allready very old news about the Apple vs Microsoft TV ads (where Apple has just released it’s answer to Laptop Hunters) and the Apple vs Palm Pre Itunes Sync and the Apple vs Palm “let’s make an illegal agreement not to poach each others’ employees any more” comes the latest installment: In a fit of pique, Apple now no longer supports legacy Palm devices in its’ latest OS, Snow Leopard. Fortunately no-one really cares, as no-one really uses Apple Macs anyway, but still cute to see Apple stamping its’ tiny little foot so angrily. Yes, you look cute when you’re angry, Jobs!

Snow Leopard takes a bite out of support for legacy Palm OS devices.

Concert Hands

The way this system works, is wrist straps on a rail guide your hands to the right place and then zap the finger with electricity to indicate that you should press it.

You load up the software with midi files and it’ll make you play it. I guess the idea is that if you build up repetitive memory, you can learn how to play the piano quickly this way.

Concert Hands.

Installing Homebrew Apps op the Pre

The aptly-named “WebOS Quick Install” from our very own Jason Robitaille. It’s a simple desktop Java-based app that you can download and install on a Mac, PC or Linux machine. First, install the webOS SDK (Update, version 1.1 has just been released and it uses the Recovery ROM – take a quick look at the notes on the linked post), then you just need to put your Pre into Developer Mode and then run the app on your desktop (Mac users note the small caveat in the readme file). You can drag and drop files downloaded from our Homebrew Apps forum into the app, click install, and you. are. done.

via Installing Homebrew Apps: Desktop Drag ‘n Drop, On-Device too! | PreCentral.net.

There’s a second way to install Pre apps in there as well called filecoaster…