July 2004 Archives

Currently, I'm 33 years old, so unfortunately due to my age, I have only gone to a drive-in theater maybe 4 times my entire life before they pretty much disappeared - but not before making an impact on my psyche. I remember the terrible quality mono speakers that you rested on your car window sill. In fact, I remember my parents having to drive to 3 different parking spots once just to find one that actually worked. I remember intermissions and the opportunity to get a refill of my drink or popcorn and hanging out with friends.

As few times as i went, I still have fond memories of the times I went. Now it appears that drive-in theaters are making a come-back and not the way you think. People are setting up "bootleg" drive-in theaters using the back of warehouses, parking garages, etc. as a screen backdrop as well as utilizing DVDs, LCD projectors (which are coming down in price), and even iPods for transmitting the audio on an FM frequency for your fellow listeners to listen in on.

I guess they logon to some website and figure out the "meetup" times and places.

Of course Hollywood isn't too happy about this. But I for one can't wait for the day when i can watch a movie without sitting through 20 minutes of commercials and 10 minutes of movie previews before the movie actually starts.

Actually, I don't mind the coming attractions, it's those damn commercials that really irk me. I feel trapped in the theater and forced to watch these damn commercials with nowhere to hide, and no remote control to change the channel.

I keep reaching over into my empty drink cup holder for a remote control to fast forward, but to no avail. Forget about a TV remote control jammer, which I recently blogged... I want some sort of hacker gadget to fast forward the movie projector past all those damn commercials. I bet the audience would clap and cheer and give me a pat on the back as I Tivo past the commercial garbage. Forcing us to watch commercials at the movie theater is just wrong. Heck, I'll pay an extra $2/ticket to recoop their costs if they'd just remove the commercials. It has tainted a piece of Americana. Childen growing up today probably assume it has always been that way, but it has not. Why a rebellion or protests against commercials in theaters haven't started from this i do not know. Maybe I will be the One to start the rebellion...

But I digress. Check out the full news story of DVD drive-in theaters below and post your comments.
The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > Now Playing, a Digital Brigadoon

HP recently announced a really cool GSM/GPRS-enabled iPaq that also supports WiFi and Bluetooth, making it one of the first to support all 3 wireless protocols.

The iPaq h6315 was developed in partnership with T-Mobile USA Inc. and allows users to make phone calls over T-Mobile's GSM/GPRS (Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service) network.

Most importantly, it can switch between those wide-area network technologies and LAN connections provided by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth chips.

What does this mean? Well, in theory this means I can use a VoIP softphone client on this PDA, such as Xten's SIP-based softphone. The HP PDA should use my home wireless Wi-Fi connection when I'm home (free calling using SIP or reduced calling rate via a SIP service provider), then it will "roam" to the cell phone carrier's wireless network (GSM/GPRS) when I leave the vicinity of a WiFi or Bluetooth connection.

I doubt it will seamlessly switch a live VoIP call between a WiFi connection and GSM/GPRS. They will be assigning different IP addreses for one thing. But perhaps someone will invent a PocketPC SIP client that automatically reconnects a disconnected call if it determines a change of IP address when the call is disconnected.

You can view some more info here:
InfoWorld: HP announces new GSM/GPRS-enabled iPaq: July 26, 2004: By : HARDWARE : NETWORKING : TELECOM : WIRELESS

The iPaq h6315 was developed in partnership with T-Mobile USA Inc. and allows users to make phone calls over T-Mobile's GSM/GPRS (Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service) network. It can switch between those wide-area network technologies and the LAN connections provided by Wi-Fi chips, and also use wireless peripherals equipped with Bluetooth technology, said John Dayan, senior director of HP's handheld and wireless business

I've been meaning to blog "Pac Manhattan" for some time now. Since i grew up in the 80's, Pacman was one of my favorite video games. No other video game (in my opinion) has matched the hype and has had the cultural impact that Pacman had. (Yes, that includes Legend of Zelda)

This game was played by kids and parents alike. Heck, I even saw a 70-year old grandma playing this game in a Kmart store once. I don't think you'd see her playing the latest encarnation of Doom 3! Pacman even had its own TV cartoon show.

I remember I had a "cheat" book that actually mapped out the paths to move your Pacman to beat the game. Most didn't know, but the ghosts actually move in predetermined paths if you move in a set path and in the exact same manner (if you stop or make a single mistake in the memorized path, then you can't use the memorized path any more. The reason is the game didn't have a computer "randomizing" function (Ms. Pacman a later incarnation did have a randomized to make it impossible to memorize predetermined paths). I had the paths (up to level 9 I believe) memorized, so needless to say I was pretty good at this game.

Well, some guys in Manhattan decided to invent a human-version of the popular Pacman game. One guy is assigned to be the Pacman (in full Pacman costume get up) and 4 friends are assigned to be the ghosts, namely Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde.

They all then use cell phones to call a command center to report their positions. The ghosts then attempt to close in on their prey by running through the streets of Manhattan. Too bad GPS can't be implemented due to the tall buildings. It would be cool to look down at your PocketPC or Palm or hybrid phone PDA and actually see a game board with all the players positions on it.

Of course, this game sounds like an advanced version of hide-and-seek or "chase" to me. As cool as this game sounds, I'm wondering what would possess adults to want to play hide-and-seek and secondly, I wonder how they dodge taxi cabs and other cars? Sounds like this could be some sort of twisted Darwinian logic to me.

Check out the full details (including videos) of this human Pacman via this link:
Pac Manhattan

I saw this posting yesterday on the VoIP Forums about Packet8's new firmware.
VoIP Forum and other Technology Forums: Latest Packet8 firmware for download

(Just click the link above to found out where to download the latest Packet8 firmware.)

Then just today I got the press release attached below from Packet8 talking about the same new firmware! Looks like this forum poster scooped me! Bastard. Maybe I should ban him from our VoIP forums? ; )

______________________________

8x8 ANNOUNCES NEW FEATURES FOR PACKET8 VOICE OVER IP TELEPHONE AND VIDEOPHONE SERVICES

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 27, 2004 -- 8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT) the Packet8 broadband voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and videophone communications service provider, today announced the availability of popular new features for its residential broadband telephone and videophone service.
The new features are provided at no additional cost to all Packet8 subscribers and work on both the standard residential telephone service as well as the new videophone service. They include:
• Call Return, *69, a service that allows a subscriber to automatically call back the last incoming local call, whether it was answered or not, without having to dial the number;
• Call Waiting Disable, *70, a service that allows a subscriber to disable call waiting on a per call basis and send all new callers to voicemail;
• Do Not Disturb, *78/*79, a service that allows users privacy without missing important messages. When the "Do Not Disturb" feature is activated, calls are routed to voicemail. A modified dial tone is presented to the subscriber, indicating do not disturb is enabled;
• Anonymous Call Blocking, *77/*87, a service that allows a subscriber to block calls from anonymous callers. If a caller has their identity blocked or sends unidentifiable information to a Packet8 number and anonymous call blocking is enabled, the caller will get a busy signal or voicemail depending on the subscriber account configuration. A modified dial tone is presented to the subscriber, indicating anonymous call blocking is enabled; and
• Local Number Portability (LNP) allows Packet8 subscribers to retain their local telephone, cellular, or internet telephone service providers' phone numbers when switching service providers. Packet8 offers this service free of charge to new or existing subscribers. This service is available only in areas where Packet8 has local exchange availability and may not be available to all subscribers.

The new services can be activated by downloading and installing the latest version of software for the Packet8 DTA (Desktop Terminal Adaptor) at www.packet8.net/upgrade. Packet8 support is available 24x7 to assist customers who have questions or need assistance.

"We are pleased to announce the release of these new features to our subscribers," said Dr. Barry Andrews, president of 8x8. "These are some of the most requested features and we expect to announce additional value added services and features in the future. Our goal is to provide the best possible, high quality service with exceptional customer support at a great price point."
______________________________

The new *69 call back feature is pretty cool. One point I should make is that I have heard complaints about Packet8 making promises about E911 (Enhanced 911) capabilities and that they don't back it up. That is to say, when you go to sign up on their webpage and you enter in your area, the website says "green" (E911 is supported in your area) but in fact when you sign-up, you come to find out that it does not support E911.

Bear this in mind before making E911 support your deciding factor when choosing between Packet8, Vonage, Voicepulse, etc.

I love Shunra’s emulator and network tools! In fact, we have Shunra\Cloud 4.0 in TMC Labs which we use to inject latency and packet loss when testing VoIP products. They also have another product called Shunra/Storm which enables users to emulate any network behavior including latency, jitter, packet loss, duplication, fragmentation, bit error rate, frame relay flow control, and more, giving users a true picture of application functionality under any network condition.

Apparently Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has also learned about Shunra’s powerful network emulator tools and is using Shunra\Storm to proactively ensure that multi-player PlayStation 2 games are optimized for network gaming, including the Internet.

SCEE uses Shunra\Storm to test its internally developed PlayStation 2 games as well as those of licensed independent PlayStation 2 game developers. Shunra\Storm emulates a typical Internet environment, including the real-world network and remote-end-user conditions, particularly upstream bandwidth limitations and irregular periods of high latency. Games are then played in this environment to test functionality, performance and scalability. Through these tests developers can quickly and easily isolate and resolve any network related problems in their games’ code well before retail release, and assess the quality of the users’ experience under real-life Internet conditions. Additionally, the results of these tests help set Internet connectivity specifications for optimal gameplay.

“We found Shunra\Storm to be the best and most flexible solution to test the PlayStation 2 games under real life network conditions, and to help us optimize performance for our end users. Plus, its set-up was very easy, the user interface very complete and understandable, and the emulation technology very accurate,” said Kavallierou.

Through its PlayStation 2 Developer Network, SCEE is creating a knowledge-sharing user forum for network gaming testing. The purpose of the forum is to help developers test their network games more accurately, and expedite the testing process. It will provide expert advice, testing procedures, and access to Shunra\Storm’s network scenario files collated by SCEE, which developers can use during their own development and testing cycle.

Additionally, the forum will allow developers to download and use Shunra Software’s network recording technology so that they can capture their own network scenarios directly from actual end-users. These network scenario files will be shared with other developers and integrated into SCEE’s own tests. Through this collaborative testing process, SCEE and the game development community can ensure that PlayStation 2 games are tested under the most accurate and true-to-life conditions possible, and deliver high quality games that are optimized for network play well before titles are released onto the market.

“We are delighted that SCEE has standardized on Shunra\Storm to assure the quality and experience of the widely popular PlayStation 2 network games,” said David Hochhauser, VP Marketing at Shunra Software. “Furthermore, by establishing a user community around Shunra Software’s technology, SCEE is taking the lead in addressing distributed performance issues amongst online game developers. This forum will enable the PlayStation 2 developer community to test their games more accurately and completely, and deliver more stable products to market, which will ultimately benefit their customers.”

Now if only I can convince my boss that I need to buy a Playstation 2 to test Shunra’s testing capabilities in the labs.

I just thought I would share a couple of links about Ken Jennings amazing run on Jeopardy. This man's trivia knowledge is incredible and he has puts my trivia knowledge to shame.

The cult of Ken Jennings (kottke.org)

How I defeated the seemingly unbeatable Ken Jennings

First we had Michael Jordan who was a cut above anyone else. Sure I could thow on my sneakers and have a playground game with some friends, but I had no illusions of being in the same league as MJ.

This year we had Lance Armstrong, once again, a cut above every one else. I used to have a paper route and rode a 10 speed faster and better than anyone on my block, but once again Lance can ride circles around me even in my heyday.

But at least I could hold onto the knowledge that my brain was filled with more useless trivia than most people. At least I could consider myself better than most people at trivia. However, Ken Jennings has smashed my misconceived notions to smithereens. I am not worthy...

Time to tune into some other show where I can imagine I'm better, stronger, more handsome, or smarter than the contestants. Maybe I'll watch Extreme Makeover instead...

Here's my great blogging tip of the day. It seems to me that pinging weblogs.com fails more often than not, which means people won't find my new blog posts as easily. I recently learned about a better site to ping.

Here's a link to a suggested "ping aggregator". It pings several of the top blog ping sites.
Ping-o-Matic! » MetaPinging
(exact link: http://rpc.pingomatic.com/)

Some other important blog tips to live by...

Top 10 11 Blog Tips
1) Be opinionated.
2) More is less - don't be wordy
3) Link like crazy. If you link to others, they'll link back to you
4) Make your headlines catchy
5) Be witty/funny
6) Write lists (top 10 lists, Best of lists)
7) Write with passion
8) Use a consistent style
9) Use tons of keywords within your blog posts
10) Use graphics, sounds, and videos
11) Monitor the blogosphere (techmeme, technorati, digg, etc.)

I've seen a few news stories claiming that Cisco in on the verge of a breakthrough to block spam at the router level. You know, for the technically unsavvy, it's the place where all the IP packets get routed across the Internet? For those even less technically inclined, it's those magical little boxes that send & deliver data across the Internet. Ok, for the really technically challenged stone-agers who still pay their bills with envelopes and stamps (and not online like any sane person), think of routers as kind of like the postman that routes mail to you.

Imagine if the postman had the ability to automatically throw away junk mail for you before it reached your mailbox. Hey, wait a minute, that's a great idea! Unfortunately, the postal service makes a lot of money on those junk flyers. Maybe my postman can be bought off to screen my junk mail. Is bribing a federal United States Postal carrier a crime? Hmmm... I wonder.

Anyway. If memory serves me correctly, Cisco claims the Internet is 80% Cisco routers, which means in theory Cisco could block a heck of a lot of spam before it even reaches your mail server.

Well, if Cisco has found a way to block spam at the router level, then a Marine "Hoorah" is in order! Or a Homer Woohoo! Take your pick... I'll be screaming both of these if it's true. I am an anti-spam zealot to the extreme!

Or as this article states, "Come on, the Cisco kids! ... Go Cisco go!"

LOL! They're cheering Cisco. That's kinda like cheering for Microsoft, but I'm with them, go Cisco GO!!!

Check it out:
Cisco on verge of anti-spam router breakthrough?

Well, first it was AT&T, now another major carrier is jumping on the broadband VoIP bandwagon. Verizon has announced residential VoIP over broadband to compete with Vonage and AT&T's offerings (amongst others, i.e. Packet8, VoicePulse, etc.).

Vonage still reigns as king, and Vonage has a much more flexible pricing structure than either AT&T or Verizon (which is more expensive @ $39.95 per month or $34.95/month if you have Verizon DSL). Vonage offers $29.99/month unlimited as well as $24.99 Unlimited Llocal + 500 long distance, as well as a Basic 500 plan for 500 Anywhere minutes at $14.99/month. They also have business plans available.

Verizon actually partnered with deltathree to provide a suite of back office integration and management services including: account sign-up, billing, account management, credit card processing and fraud management, as well as VoIP telephony features. deltathree will also provide its Customer Service Interface (CSI) for customer service functionality.

Here's the press release:
Verizon Rings In Next Generation of Voice Services With VoiceWing Broadband Phone Service

I just got some interesting news this morning. Apparently, Voiceglo and eDonkey have partnered to offer Internet Phone service to millions of eDonkey network users. Personally, I'm a fan of the open-source eMule client called eMule Plus.

Looking at the press release (pasted below) it's unclear if VoiceGlo actually leverages the eDonkey P2P network or if VoiceGlo simply bundles their software client with the eDonkey program. If it does use the P2P eDonkey network, then VoiceGlo has "one upped" Skype, which uses its own proprietary P2P network of users.

Unfortunately, it looks to me that VoiceGlo is simply a client download on the eDonkey network and not integrated into the eDonkey network in any fashion. It would be cool if Voiceglo copied Skype's technology which uses P2P to optimize the voice over IP traffic (i.e. each P2P client dynamically participates in traffic routing, processing and bandwidth intensive tasks that would otherwise be handled by central servers.)

Here's the release:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (JULY 26, 2004) – Voiceglo, a global, full-service Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications company, today announced an exclusive strategic distribution agreement for its innovative PC and Web-based phone product – the GloPhone  with eDonkey, a leading global P2P network provider. Through this partnership, GloPhone will now be available on the eDonkey network, enabling its customers to use the Internet to make and receive low cost – even free – phone calls throughout the world.

Along with the Mp3, video and data files shared on the P2P network, over 2.7 million eDonkey users worldwide will now be able to also download the GloPhone and connect with friends and family anywhere - without experiencing the high phone bills that traditionally accompany long distance calling. eDonkey is currently the leader for P2P networking in Asia, Europe and Africa and is becoming the dominant P2P provider in the United States.

Through upgraded calling plans, customers can call or receive calls from anyone outside of their peer-to-peer network, using GloPhone much like a traditional telephone. Subscribers can opt for conventional phone features such as voice mail, call waiting, call forwarding, missed call information, caller ID and conference calling for significantly lower cost than traditional phone company services.

VoIP is hotter than ever with everyone and his brother looking to get a piece of the action. So just how do you get into VoIP? Most likely you are going to need to hire VoIP developers or become one yourself.

Well I have some good news for you if you are looking to educate yourself on developing VoIP applications. The VoIP Developer Conference is just around the corner (Aug 3-4th). This is the first time anyone has had a VoIP show strictly for developers.

It's located in San Jose, CA. (Silicon Valley) so there should be plenty of tech-heads filling the classrooms. If you haven't checked out this show, you should do so now.
VoIP Developer Conference

This article says that the ever-popular Skype has a security risk. Essentially, Dmitry Goroshevsky, founder-CEO of Popular Telephony, which has a server-less peer-to-peer VoIP software called Peerio, stated that Skype is a big security risk for corporate networks.

I'll have to investigate this some more, but for now, check out the article.

Om Malik on Broadband » Skype, a security risk for corporate networks?

I just received a press release from Voiceglo that states: "Voiceglo... is encouraging people to ‘Talk It Up’ with friends and family this summer using Voiceglo’s free Internet phone, the GloPhone, and possibly win one of this year’s hottest cars in the process.

Hmmm, wonder what kind of car they're talking about? Is it a Dodge Viper? A Lamborghini Murcielago? A Bugatti 16/4 Veyron?

Alas, the grand prizes include the winners’ choice of a PT Cruiser, a Mini Cooper, Volkswagen Beetle convertible, a Chevy SSR convertible, or a Jeep Wrangler Sport convertible.

It's no Viper or Lamborghini, but it's still pretty cool though. I see iPods listed as a prize as well. Hmmm, maybe I should go sign-up for a Voiceglo account.

Here's the full press release:

Voiceglo Launches ‘Talk It Up’ Internet Phone Sweepstakes
Consumers Have Chance to Win Their Choice of This Year’s Hottest Cars

(FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA) July 22, 2004 - Voiceglo, a global, full-service Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications company, is encouraging people to ‘Talk It Up’ with friends and family this summer using Voiceglo’s free Internet phone, the GloPhone, and possibly win one of this year’s hottest cars in the process. The company today kicked off its “Talk It Up Sweepstakes,” giving people yet another reason to take advantage of its browser-based GloPhone, that enables users to call each other anywhere in the world for free. The contest will be the first in a series of four sweepstakes contests Voiceglo will be holding throughout the year, with grand prizes that include the winners’ choice of a PT Cruiser, a Mini Cooper, Volkswagen Beetle convertible, a Chevy SSR convertible, or a Jeep Wrangler Sport convertible.

The first sweepstakes contest is running now until August 31st, and anyone activating a GloPhone at www.glophone.com/sweepstakes will automatically be entered into weekly drawings for Apple iPod® minis. Additionally, each winner is entered into a drawing to pick the car of their choice. As an added incentive, customers will receive bonus entries into the sweepstakes for each person they refer to the service who activates a GloPhone before the end of August. There is no limit on the number of sweepstakes entries an individual can be awarded. Other cars and prizes will be given away in subsequent contests each month from September through November.

With the GloPhone, customers can use the Internet to call other GloPhone users anywhere in the world, for free. Through additional calling plans, GloPhone customers can make calls to and receive calls from people anywhere with any phone. Available features include voice mail to email, call forwarding, call waiting, and caller ID. GloPhone users also get to choose any phone number they would like from the more than 190 U.S. area codes available within the Glophone service areas, allowing them to establish a local number that friends and family can use to contact them anywhere, anytime, with no long distance fees. No matter where people are this summer, friends and family on the GloPhone network will always be able to ‘Talk It Up.’

To learn more about how the ‘Talk It Up’ sweepstakes, please visit http://www.glophone.com/sweepstakes. Winners are subject to official sweepstakes rules.

I was watching NBC News and heard about JibJab's hilarious political cartoon that makes some really funny jabs at both of them. So whether you are in the Bush camp or Kerry camp, you'll find this pretty fun due to it's even-handed ribbing of both.

I could not stop laughing. Good stuff!

Still image of the video

The cartoon is located here:
JibJab Home Page
Unfortunately, the site is down due to tremendous bandwidth hits. It's sweeping the Internet right now - lots of people are forwarding emails discussing this video.

So I have a few solutions for you to view the JibJab Bush-Kerry shockwave file.
1) Use Google's cache and go here: (UPDATE: Google updated their cache, so now this just redirects to Atomfilms. Too bad since the Google cached version loaded pretty fast!)
2) You can try AtomFilms - but they too seem to be up & down.
3) http://albinoblacksheep.com/flash/thisland.php

Let me know in the Comments if you loved or hated this video.

I promised awhile back (this Disney World blog entry), that I would post some GPS coordinates that I captured while down in Orlando, Florida. Someone trackbacked to my blog entry and reminded me that I hadn't posted the GPS coordinates as promised. Well, the time has come!

Disney World's Mission Space Ride

Before I give the GPS coordinates, check out this video I captured of EPCOT Mission Space. It's a centrifigal spinning ride (causes strong G-forces) with a high-resolution screen that displays the simulated rocket ride to Mars. Amazingly it doesn't feel like you are spinning, but that's probably because you are in an encloded pod and you are told to focus straight ahead on the simulator screen. Those that don't follow these instructions and turn their head to either side often get off with motion sickness and well... let's just say the Disney staff keep a mop handy.
(To Save to Hard Drive, right-click, Save As on this link)

I downloaded the Disney World GPS coordinates from Destinator1 and Microsoft Pocket Streets 2003 programs. It includes stuff like the coordinates of the entrance to Space Mountain, Dumbo, the Haunted Mansion, the new Mickey's Philharmagic, Sammy Duvall Watersports, some rest rooms, and more. I should have mapped out more restrooms and restaurants, but I think my wife would have thrown my iPaq at me!

I then used GPSBabel from SourceForge. This is one nifty utility for converting GPS coordinates from different GPS file types! To quote their website, GPSBabel converts waypoints, tracks, and routes from one format to another, whether that format is a common mapping format like Delorme, Streets and Trips, or even a serial upload or download to a GPS unit such as those from Garmin and Magellan. By flatting the Tower of Babel that the authors of various programs for manipulating GPS data have imposed upon us, it returns to us the ability to freely move our own waypoint data between the programs and hardware we choose to use. GPSBabel runs on Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and XP plus POSIX OSes such as Linux, UnixWare, OpenServer, Solaris, FreeBSD, and OSX."

Using GPSBabel I've converted the Disney World coordinates to several different types. I didn't know the file extensions for some of them, so I
just made something up similar to the name of the product I was converting to. So just rename the file if need be. You can also convert one of these using GPSBabel as well. I highly recommend it.

If you use my collection of Disney World GPS coordinates let me know if you liked them or if they were useful.
And if you want to copy & host these files on your website, all I ask is that you give me credit and put a link to my blog.
(Note: Make sure to do a right-click, Save As.)

Disney World GPS Coordinates