Sat, 04 Mar 2006
Weird Hacker Patches Proprietary Code and Tells All
This is totally bizarre. This guy reverse engineered some CPU detection
code in the Skype binary executable and used a Windows API "feature" to bypass the
CPU check. The end result is some feature that the Skype corporation only
intends for Intel CPUs can run on AMD CPUs too. This is a blatant violation
of the
Skype EULA and this guy will most likely get a cease and desist
from Ebay (who owns Skype). But if you can catch it,
read his expertly written
blow by blow of assembler instructions and how to modify them. Oh yeah, and
like, download the patched binary if you use Skype.
posted at: 22:58 | path:
/hacking |
permanent link to this entry
The Palm Treo. Functional or the Emperor's New Clothes?
I got a Palm Treo 650 from work. I wouldn't have bought it myself but the
possibility of having internet connectivity and an ssh client in a hand held
device was quite appealing. This is obviously an extremely niche application
for something so heavily hyped as a producitiviy lifestyle device. Here's a
moment to moment account of getting it to function both with and without a
desktop system.
Voice and Data Service. This is pretty straight forward.
Verizon makes a deal with Palm for a bazillion dollars and ships branded phones
provisioned to connect with Verizon's
proprietary wireless network. This includes voice and data. The strange thing
about the Treo is the PalmOS functionality and the voice/data functionality are
split. By holding down the power button for three seconds, the phone part turns
off but the PalmOS keeps running. This is strange but whatever, it's probably
related to the bazillions of dollars.
PalmOS Applications. By default, the phone appears to
have a lot of neat toys built into it. Not toys that are fun but toys are will
make your life simple and streamlined. This is mot true. Here is the laundry
list
- Camcorder
- Calendar
- Camera
- Contacts
- Palm HotSync
- Mail
- Media file browser
- Text note pad
- MMS composer
- RealPlayer
- SMS composer
- Tasks
- Web browser
- Verizon Wireless Sync
- World Clock
So...this phone can take pictures and videos. These two things are the
same application but appear twice in the main menu. It can keep contacts with a
neat photo feature. It can sync to Palm Desktop software and perhaps other
applications that support this protocol. It should read email but the Mail
application is useless since it involves some mail store on the service
provider's side for actual message delivery. In other words, it's not an IMAP
client. The note pad doesn't do handwriting recognition, which seemed like a
staple of the PalmOS since the mid 90s. Real Player...heh, cool. MMS is a
format that I have no idea how many phones actually support. SMS is on every
other piece of crap cell phone you can get for free for signing a contract.
Task pad and Calendar are cool if they can sync to iCalendar compliant
applications. The web browser is some thing with a funny name I don't
recognize. Verizon Wireless Sync doesn't make any sense. It should be an over
the air sync gateway or something but I'm not sure.
posted at: 19:30 | path:
/pda |
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It's fucking cold. For real.
This is my new
link
section, where I don't write that much but only talk
about the things I did and link to them.
If you haven't heard, it's fucking cold in New York right now. When you bike
everywhere you really feel it but in a different way then the chumps walking on
the street or taking the subway, you feel it in, like, a pain way. All of you bikers in the
city, get this
Pearl
Izumi face mask.
After using the face mask to great lengths, I arrived at
Hotel QT for a
birthday party. It was stupid but fucking hell, there's a pool in the bar!
Prior to that I ate dinner at
Zen Palate. If you go upstairs,
it's just like the part in Kill Bill where all the Yakuza guys get chopped up
by The Bride. Oh yeah, and the food is vegan and
awesome!
And finally, go to see
Harry and the Potters perform. You won't be
disapointed.
posted at: 03:40 | path:
/wrap |
permanent link to this entry
