FocuSoft Tech Blog |
- Is this the new iPhone?
- DIY WiFi radio built with ASUS WL-520gU router, sweat and tears
- Gizmodo’s iPhone 3.0 Coverage Roundup [IPhone 3.0]
- Scosche tapSTICK adds hard buttons, purpose to new iPod shuffle
- Facing A Lawsuit And Complaints From Celebs, Twitter Launches Verified Accounts
- Happy 25th Birthday, Tetris [Anniversaries]
- Lengda shows off stainless steel X10K netbook, 11.1-inch CULV model
- How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]
- Palm Pre Disassembled, Cost Estimated at $170 [Palm Pre]
- Repo Man Takes Lear Jets and Jumbos, Even from Armed Neo-Nazis [Airplanes]
| Posted: 06 Jun 2009 02:49 PM PDT
 Sure, it’s Palm’s big day, but that doesn’t mean the Apple rumor mill is taking a break — check out this pic of what might be the new iPhone set to drop on Monday. Yep, that’s a matte black casing with no chrome border, a what looks to be a front-facing camera, and iPhone OS 3.0, so it certainly lines up with what we’ve heard — but it wouldn’t exactly take a Photoshop master to do this one up either. One more pic at the read link — anyone believing this? Filed under: Cellphones Is this the new iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| DIY WiFi radio built with ASUS WL-520gU router, sweat and tears Posted: 06 Jun 2009 01:57 PM PDT
 Are you just now coming to the stark realization that you’ve nothing whatsoever to do this weekend? Calm down, there’s no need to freak out. Thanks to Jeff Keyzer over at mightyOhm, you can now get to work on your very own DIY WiFi radio. In one of the most elaborate how-to guides we’ve ever had the pleasure of gawking at, Jeff has detailed exactly how to turn an ASUS WL-520gU router, a few spare pieces of wood and a couple of unwanted knobs into an open source internet radio streamer. Sure, there’s always Pandora for those who aren’t inclined to get their elbows dirty, but seriously, what fun is that? Roll up those sleeves, grab whatever tools your pop gave you when you left for college and hit the read link. Pronto. [Via Hacked Gadgets] Filed under: Portable Audio, Networking DIY WiFi radio built with ASUS WL-520gU router, sweat and tears originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Gizmodo’s iPhone 3.0 Coverage Roundup [IPhone 3.0] Posted: 06 Jun 2009 01:00 PM PDT
• The Complete Guide to iPhone 3.0 Unconfirmed Features Walkthroughs How To Jailbreaking
Here is the original:
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| Scosche tapSTICK adds hard buttons, purpose to new iPod shuffle Posted: 06 Jun 2009 12:42 PM PDT
 We appreciate Apple’s efforts to make the iPod shuffle into something that no one’s ever done before, but seriously, the no-buttons approach is sort of, um, annoying. Thankfully, the good guys and gals over at Scosche are totally in agreement, and thus, they’ve taken the time to develop the remarkable tapSTICK. Put simply, this 3rd-gen iPod shuffle case protects one’s player from the elements while adding hard buttons that simulate the commands on Apple’s own VoiceOver-friendly earbuds. The result? An MP3 player that’s not partial to lackluster white ‘buds, not to mention one that you can actually control with relative ease. Too bad it’ll cost you $29.99, but we suppose that’s the going rate these days to extinguish frustration. Full release is after the break. Continue reading Scosche tapSTICK adds hard buttons, purpose to new iPod shuffle Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio Scosche tapSTICK adds hard buttons, purpose to new iPod shuffle originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Facing A Lawsuit And Complaints From Celebs, Twitter Launches Verified Accounts Posted: 06 Jun 2009 12:31 PM PDT
Twitter has faced harsh criticism from celebrities, including Kanye West, about impersonators creating unauthorized accounts on their behalf. Tony La Russa, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball franchise is suing Twitter claiming that someone is pretending to be him on the site. Today, Twitter’s co-founder Biz Stone responded to the lawsuit, adamantly stating that Twitter will not settle with La Russa, calling the lawsuit an “unnecessary waste of judicial resources bordering on frivolous.” Twitter, as it has done with other similar situations, suspended the account in question. But in response to the problem of impersonators of brands and famous people, Twitter is giving us a sneak peak of an experimental feature they call “verified accounts.” Twitter says it will start rolling out the beta of this feature this summer for a small set of public officials, public agencies, famous artists, athletes, and other celebs who run the risk of impersonation. Businesses will not be included in the initial beta testing of the verification seal. As you can see from the image, the account holder’s page will have a “verified account” official seal in its profile box. Impersonation is a problem on the web in general. Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler recently tried to sue a group of anonymous bloggers for pretending to be him, which proved to be futile. Facebook, like Twitter, is another platform where impersonators can create unauthorized pages on behalf of celebs and public figures. Of course some Twitter impersonations can result in amicable situations. During the Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN race to a million followers, it was revealed that CNN didn’t own the CNNbrk Twitter account. CNN ended up taking control of the CNNbrk account, under the agreement that the original account holder, James Cox, would act as a “social media consultant” to the network. While Twitter’s verification seal is still in an experimental phase, it seems like a step in the right direction. Information provided by CrunchBase Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Here is the original:
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| Happy 25th Birthday, Tetris [Anniversaries] Posted: 06 Jun 2009 12:15 PM PDT
In honor of the only game to be branded with “FROM RUSSIA WITH FUN!”, let’s all take a minute to let the Tetris theme song burrow its way into our brains one more time.
Go here to see the original:
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| Lengda shows off stainless steel X10K netbook, 11.1-inch CULV model Posted: 06 Jun 2009 11:34 AM PDT
 Lengda isn’t exactly one of the best known netbook manufactures around, but it looks to have made a decent enough showing for itself at Computex, where it had its new stainless steel X10K netbook on display (pictured above), along with its new 11.1-inch CULV-based M11A laptop. The former of those is basically your average 10.2-inch netbook, but with a bit of added weight from that stainless steel enclosure (and interchangeable cover), although the company is apparently also looking at producing an aluminum version. The M11A, on the other hand, looks to be among the first CULV laptops with an 11.1-inch screen, and sports a more traditional glossy plastic exterior, along with a few bonuses like an extendable TV / 3G antenna depending on the model. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but you can get a closer look at both of ‘em after the break courtesy of the folks at Netbooknews.com. Read - Netbooknews.com, “Lengda X10K stainless steel netbook” Continue reading Lengda shows off stainless steel X10K netbook, 11.1-inch CULV model Filed under: Laptops Lengda shows off stainless steel X10K netbook, 11.1-inch CULV model originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To] Posted: 06 Jun 2009 11:30 AM PDT
Why should you upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5? Disregarding the mixed coverage the OS has gotten—which tends to compare it to more modern software like iPhone OS and Android—6.5 is much, much Dozens of Windows Mobile 6.5 Beta ROMs are floating around the tubes, collected, tweaked and prepared for your use by the kindly souls over at XDA Developers, from whom I’ve adapted this How To. Despite their unofficial-ness, they’re really quite good—the fancy new interface elements are buttery smooth, and as a whole, and enough bugs have been stamped out to make 6.5 solid enough to use as your day-to-day OS. This How To is based around my experience with a GSM HTC Touch Diamond. The process is largely the same between the few handsets that can run 6.5, but for the sake of brevity, I’m sticking to one handset, and its QWERTYed brother, the Touch Pro. For further guidance on other phones, head over to the XDA forums (CDMA Touch and Pro, Touch HD, Sony Xperia, Samsung Omnia) Also, the necessary disclaimer: this tutorial reaches deep into your phone’s software, which means there’s a risk that you’ll brick your phone, should anything go wrong. If you’re worried, read up on the risks here. Otherwise, follow closely and you—and your phone—should be just fine. What You’ll Need: • An HTC Touch Diamond or Touch Pro (GSM only. Folks with CDMA handsets—that’s you, Sprint and Verizon—go here or here.) Before you get started, you’ll probably want to back up your contacts and personal info. I’d recommend PIM Backup, which I’ve used for years. Or you could try Microsoft’s new, free online service called My Phone. This How To will replace all your device’s software, so if you have anything worth keeping, you’ll need to back it up.
Many of you have probably updated, or “flashed” your devices before, but this will have been with an official, signed utility from either your carrier or handset manufacturer. What we’re doing today is installing unofficial software, something which your handset isn’t currently set up to do. Our first order of business, then, is to install a new bootloader, called HardSPL, on the device, which will allow your handset to load software from third parties, i.e., your sweet, sweet Windows Mobile ROM. Let’s go: 1. Connect your phone to your PC, and establish an ActiveSync (on XP) or Sync Center (on Vista, or Windows 7) connection to your device. You don’t need to set up any sync rules—just makes sure the connection is active. You can check this by looking for a bi-directional arrow in your phone’s taskbar. 2. Extract the bootloader you’ve downloaded, and note the location (see “What You’ll Need” for links) 3. Find your extracted files, and run the executable file (usually called “ROMUpdateUtility.exe” or something like that.
5. Wait! You’ll see paired progress bars on your phone and computer screen. This part of the process doesn’t take that long, since you’re only updating a small piece of software. 6. Restart your phone. The small text in the corner of your Windows Mobile splash screen will have changed to something unfamiliar, but don’t worry about verifying your new bootloader. If you ran the utility to completion and the device restarted on its own, it’s more or less a sure thing that you’re upgraded. Installing a new device radio: This is the most esoteric part of the process, so I’ll try not to get too deep into the nuts and bolts. Basically, your device has firmware that manages its various antennae, letting you connect to cellular networks, GPS, etc. Installing a fresh Radio onto your device usually won’t make much of a change in how your phone works. it just lets us—or rather, your soon-to-be mobile OS, manage your phone’s communication capabilities freely. Some radios can improve reception on certain networks, or even connect to entirely new mobile bands. For more info on that, I’l refer you again to XDA. You’ll probably notice that this process is seems an awfully lot like the last stage: that’s because it is. Since we’re “flashing” different parts of your phone’s software in each step, the core utility, and general technique, is quite similar. Anyway! 7. Pair your phone with your PC, like you did in step 1. 8. Extract your downloaded radio files and note their location 9. If the radio came with its own bootloader, skip to step 12. 10. Extract your downloaded bootloader, noting location. 11. Copy the extracted radio file—it should have an .NBH extension—to the directory where you’ve put your bootloader. 12. Run the bootloader, as in step 3. 13. Follow the instructions, as in steps 4 and 5. 14. Let the phone restart. Nothing much will have changed, but you may need to perform some minor network setup. Don’t worry too much about that now, since you’re about to wipe your whole device.
This is when we get down to actually installing our new OS. This is the step that’ll take the longest, and it’s the biggest leap of faith, since you’re replacing your device’s main software. Luckily, if you’ve come this far, it’ll be a snap. Same process, different .NBH file. Onward! 15. Pair your phone to your PC (this is the last time! promise!) 16. Extract your downloaded bootloader, again, to a different location. (Or you can use the same copy you used to flash your radio; just make sure you delete the radio file from the directory) 17. Extract your Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM, which should be an .NBH file of about 80-100MB, to the same directory that your bootloader is in. 18. Run the bootloader, and follow the instructions. Same warnings as before—don’t let your PC or phone sever the connection at any point. 19. Sit and wait. This time it’ll take a bit longer, but shouldn’t top 15-20 minutes.
21. WinMo should automatically guess your carrier and apply the appropriate connections settings. If not, you can do it from the device’s Settings page, found in the top level of the new start menu. As for the settings parameters, Google is your friend. Conclusion: Resources: • XDA Developers So that’s about it! Please add in your experiences in the comments-your feedback is a huge benefit to our Saturday guides. Good luck with your flashing (firmware only, please), and have a great weekend!
Read more here:
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| Palm Pre Disassembled, Cost Estimated at $170 [Palm Pre] Posted: 06 Jun 2009 11:28 AM PDT
It looks like a reasonably painless disassemble job, at least at first, though they don’t recommend removing the heat shield. Once all the parts were arranged on a table, the guys at Rapid Repair estimated the hardware cost of the Pre at just about $170, which makes the smartphone’s $199 price tag a pretty good deal for us consumers. Go check it out if you like seeing your gadgets unadorned and forcefully stripped. [Rapid Repair]
Read more here:
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| Repo Man Takes Lear Jets and Jumbos, Even from Armed Neo-Nazis [Airplanes] Posted: 06 Jun 2009 11:00 AM PDT
That’s just part of “The Lear Jet repo man“—the story about a man who is making millions by repossessing airplanes—by Marc Weingarten. Yes, not Porsches from garages, but full airplanes including everything from expensive private jets to Boeing 747s. And not from any garage, but from “rich” people in the US, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. His experiences, as you would expect, are fascinating. And with “fascinating” I mean “this guy has balls the size of Texas.” [Salon—Thanks Roger]
Originally posted here:
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![d745a556b8ardhat Gizmodos iPhone 3.0 Coverage Roundup [IPhone 3.0]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/d745a556b8ardhat.jpg "Gizmodos iPhone 3.0 Coverage Roundup [IPhone 3.0]")
With new iPhone hardware all-but-certainly arriving on Monday, we need to make sure we’re up to date on the current iPhone software, 3.0. Here’s a roundup of our 
![2e8ba085feris 7 Happy 25th Birthday, Tetris [Anniversaries]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/2e8ba085feris-7.jpg "Happy 25th Birthday, Tetris [Anniversaries]")
Tetris, our favorite non-vodka Russian export, turns 25 today. Unquestionably one of the greatest games of all time, Tetris is a bona fide cultural institution, responsible for wasting innumerable hours of time worldwide. ![99861a2dc4nt5top How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/99861a2dc4nt5top.jpg "How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]")
The bad news: ![80cc2edf4aotload How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/80cc2edf4aotload.jpg "How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]")
Installing the bootloader:![1ce39424a3obey How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/1ce39424a3obey.jpg "How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]")
4. Follow the instructions, carefully. The software performs lots of checks to make sure you don’t goof this up, but make sure you a.) have at least 50% battery left in your phone b.) the correct bootloader c.) a host computer that won’t shut off, go to sleep or otherwise interrupt the process. Heed! Or else there may be bricking.![137b21dc9eloader How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/137b21dc9eloader.jpg "How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]")
Flashing the ROM, i.e. Installing Windows Mobile 6.5![85abbd94b3nit 01 How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/85abbd94b3nit-01.jpg "How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]")
20. Your phone will reset, and you should see a fresh Windows Mobile 6.5 splash screen. It might look hacked or unprofessional—don’t be alarmed! The guys who so graciously put together these ROMs, which often take a good deal of tweaking, leave their marks on the software in various ways. Anyhoo, you’ll have to let your phone run through a set of initialization routines for a little while. Just follow along.![042c893a5ccf0036 How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/042c893a5ccf0036.jpg "How To: Install Windows Mobile 6.5 Right Now [How To]")
Congratulations! You are now the proud, semi-legal owner of a Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone! It’s hard to imagine wanting to switch back, but if you do, just repeat the above process with a different ROM. There are plenty of 6.1 installs, including the official carrier versions, available from the ![7d739ea4e8lete 1 Palm Pre Disassembled, Cost Estimated at $170 [Palm Pre]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/7d739ea4e8lete-1.jpg "Palm Pre Disassembled, Cost Estimated at $170 [Palm Pre]")
You know the deal—as fast as companies can churn out ![bafc519d9astory Repo Man Takes Lear Jets and Jumbos, Even from Armed Neo Nazis [Airplanes]](http://www.focusoft.biz/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/bafc519d9astory.jpg "Repo Man Takes Lear Jets and Jumbos, Even from Armed Neo Nazis [Airplanes]")
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