Scientific American (sciam.com) has a new post covering a patent that includes a very familiar name: Mr. Bill Gates. The patent is relatively new but the technology is not: an electromagnetic combustion engine. The exact details as to the reason for the patent are as yet unclear. You can check it out here:Gates’ New Green Patent

Time Warner has begun trial runs of a limited bandwidth, gigabyte-regulated, metered broadband service. Additional fees for exceeding your bandwidth limit start at $1/GB. (The metered service is still in preliminary stages so the pricing structure has yet to be confirmed).
The plans include various maximum usage limits, the exact details if which are still sketchy, but it appears the low end will start at 1GB, with the higher end around 20GB.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve exceeded 20GB in a single day, easy. Your average music album is around 300MB if it’s a quality MP3 rip (that’s about one third of one gigabyte/ GB for the n00bs) , with your average standard DVD in the range of 700MB to 1GB, HD rips (such as Blu-Ray) can weigh in anywhere from 1.5GB to 8GB in average. For comparison, the latest Batman flick weighs in around 4.5GB for a MP4 version in HD and your average episode of CSI or similar hour long TV show is around 1.5GB in HD.
Keep in mind, while Time Warner may not like Bittorrent and other file sharing programs due to wide-spread piracy, there are legitimate media downloads, such as those from iTunes that will easily test the limits of this metered bandwidth, such as that last episode of American Idol that could easily suck up your 1GB limit in less than an hour.
Oh, and all that cash you were going to save streaming movies from Netflix? Forget it. Streaming is like downloading the file, only you don’t get to keep it, but it still counts toward your bandwidth. One rented HD/Blu-Ray movie would easily have you paying overages on the 1GB limit. Add this to about three albums from iTunes, a few streamed episodes if your fav sitcom or drama, a few more Netflix rentals for the weekend and a regular update or three from Windows Update and you’re already pushing 15GB.
You can see how easily your average and above-average Internet users could get into bandwidth surcharge territory with what is quickly becoming the norm for broadband usage.
Time Warner did provide a reason for the rating changes, citing increased cost to maintain their broadband network and claiming their profits have been negatively affected by the weakened economy. There’s only one problem with that: according to the company’s own financial reports, Time Warner showed a 10% increase in profits in their broadband sector. Does anyone smell greed? It’s quickly becoming common, for obvious reasons, to use the economy as a scape goat.
Don’t like the idea of counting your gigabytes like you used to count cell phone minutes? Or falling victim to corporate schisters who are willing to take advantage of a scared and financially weak American (and world) population? Well you’re not alone. And you may not have to worry now.
It appears Time Warner has pulled the plug early on it’s trial run of the service, according to an announcement today by U.S. Senator Chuck SchumerRochester.
New York Congressman Eric Massa has been hot on the trail of the metered bandwidth situation and is attempting to get legislature passed to ban this practice.
If you are affected by this or even just a concerned broadband user, contact your congress person ASAP to voice your support for Massa’s bill. This is the best way you can help keep power over the Internet in the hands of the people it should be and always has been: the end user, the people.

Who hasn’t considered how green they are?  Maybe you just recycle cans and bottles and whatever fits in the recycle bin.  Maybe you started using Ethanol in your car instead of premium (not recommended to do without easing your car into it, by the way).  Chances are, something you do today is more “green” than it was ten years ago.  But is that enough?  I guess it depends on a few key items:

1)  How much do you care?  (Are you environmentally conscious or not so much?)

2)  Whether or not you care, we all like to save money.  How much money do you think you could save if you got a little greener?  Do the math (don’t worry, we’ll help with that).  You might find a new car in between the pennies you can pinch from just a few changes.

3)  If a power outage occured this summer, on the scale that happened in the New York area not so long ago, or the outages that occured for those in flood areas just last summer,  how prepared are you to deal with no power for a week or more?  If not at all is the answer, you definitely have some greenage to do.

4)  What is your car’s in town milage?  Highway?

5)  How often should you get a tune up on your vehicle in order to maintain the best fuel efficiency, and what items need “tuning” when this maintenance is done?

6)  On dollar scale, how much power does each of your major electrical items use?

7)  Which household items can be shut off at key times into order to improver power usage and how much money will that save on the electric bill?

8)  How efficient are your water appliances?

9)  If you used an alternate or supplemental power source for your home, what would you choose and why?

10)  What are the financial benefits to being “off the grid”?

If you don’t know the answers to the above questions, its more than likely that you could be saving some cash, and maybe even some serious cash, not mention helping the environment.

Think about these questions and how they apply to you.

Geek Tech Today is going to begin compiling sources around the web where you can learn quickly and easily about how to green up your life and we may also create some handy calculators to be used in the power:dollar number crunching.  Primarily, we will focus on technical, hardware-based changes you can make to things like everyday appliances and how you use them.

Check back for updates.

Yes, I laughed for a minute, too, but its true.  Wired.com has a new blog post about pig poo’ being used to create a new, and apparently clean new biofuel with the help of a little green plant called “duckweed”.  Check it out.

(links in pic & after jump)

Pig Power

Article, Wired.com: Tiny Flower Turns Pig Poop into Fuel

An update has been posted (okay, for like a week now) but in case you don’t know, it IS possible to jailbreak the new iPod Touch 2G (that’s 2nd generation, nOObs) for the most recent firmware for the device, version 2.2.1.

The jailbreak has been “official” for over a month now, but the “update” is actually a new version of Quick Freedom.  This is a free application that anyone can use to jailbreak their iPod Touch 2G.  Its user interface is simple and straight forward with specific instructions and a point-and-click approach to everything.  No fancy coding or hacking on your part.

Screenshot of Jailbroken iPod Touch 2G 2.2.1

The memory instruction-based exploit is explained in geeky detail here, for those that wish to understand the details.  Unfortunately for those that wish to continue to jailbreak, as explained in the lower portion of the wiki, its likely that because of the “leaked” jailbreak method (blamed on a specific certain someone in the hacker community) the exploit will be blocked or repaired in future iPhone and iPod Touch generations.  As this is a memory instructino exploit and fundamental to the function of the firmware, it will not be possible to repair in current versions.

Check it out, but use at your own risk!

Wired.com has an interesting article on a new device, the 2nd generation of Fonera.  Fonera 2 combines a router into a downloading, network accessable storage unit.  It also gives you the option of connecting with other Fonera users to share on the Fonera network, allowing free access to millions of gigabytes of data.  It also means that instead of lending your friend your copy of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” on Blu-Ray, you can share via network access without the requirement for an illegal download.  Check it out:  Wired.com – Fonera 2 Combines Wi-Fi Sharing, BitTorrent, Network Storage

And no, before you ask, I don’t mean “online” gaming.

OnLive is a new entirely online gaming service.  What it means is that in a very short time it will no longer matter if your buddy has an Xbox or a PS3 or even a PC.  Right now, its PC games only, but Xbox and PS3 are [supposedly - if the rumor mill is right] not far behind.  Think of OnLive like a Netflix streaming service only for video games.  You pay a subscription fee and get to play whatever without installing the game on your PC or console system and without any downloads.

The downside for a lot of users is they likely don’t have 1.5Mb/s cable connections, though this is slowly becoming a standard speed for cable.  If you have DSL, before you ask, no you don’t have 1.5Mb/s, not even close.  Even if your DSL *download* speed is rated for 1.5Mb/s its not likely you get the full monty most of the time, and even if you do, your *upload* speed is simply not close to cable’s and likely not enough to handle the OnLive requirement.  If you pay more than $50/US for your cable connection, you BETTER have 1.5Mb/s  (or higher) or your getting shafted.  What this means is that a lot of people will need to move up a step or two on their cable connection as the average household actually has a 1MB/s or slightly lower cable connection.  This might be a problem in some areas where bandwidth this high isn’t even available yet.  Gamers in Europe, which has converted a large portion of its internet connections (and yes even residential) to fibre optics will have no problem taking full advantage of the OnLive service.

If you want to stream in HD, the situation becomes a little worse for the US.  OnLive minimum bandwidth requirements for HD gaming?  A hefty 5Mb/s.  Unless you have a very good cable connection, i.e. a LARGE ISP like Time Warner [maybe] (and no, DSL’ers you don’t stand a chance – your connection is like dialup to cable at this point) or a T1 running up to your house, you’re not gonna come close.  So that means that flatscreen you just bought will not do you much good until your internet service improves as you’ll only be able to game at Standard Definition (SD) resolutions.

Bandwidth limitations will certainly affect the marketshare for OnLive at launch, which is scheduled per their website for “Winter 2009″.  As stated above, the average household will not be able to take advantage of this service due to current bandwidth limitations.  Even in areas where 1.5Mb/s is available, which are increasing in number slowly, 5Mb/s is still a pipedream.  Users with a 5Mb connection are still pretty few and far between, so the likelhood of OnLive killing consoles  in marketshare is still a ways off, but bandwidth is still progressively increasing.  Will Xbox, PS3 and Wii face serious competition within the next year or two?  Or will they adapt and create their own service using their current or maybe a modified version of their console user interface?  We’ll just have to wait and see.

Interested in trying OnLive?  The Onlive Beta Program begins “later this year” according to the confirmation window you’ll see after you sign up.  Its free, so why not check it out?  You’ll need to know your bandwidth for your broadband connection so if you aren’t sure, visit Speedtest.net and run a free bandwidth test.  Then double-check your cable bill and make sure your results match pretty close to what you’re paying for.  Keep in mind if you pay for a 1Mb/s connection, but your test comes back as 0.95Mb/s, network strain means you don’t always hit your max.

Computer Hardware, Overclocking and Modification Sites

Wired.com has a cool article on Hacker Spaces, the new coolest geek hangout.  No, this isn’t a Myspace for hackers.  And no, it also isn’t a coffee shop that doubles as a Linux Club meetup.

If you’ve ever torn apart your electric guitar and rewired the pickups and switches, maybe added a switch or two, just to achieve a new tone setting (not that I’ve ever done that or anything ), or maybe programmed your own robot switch board, or maybe just even used a soldering gun, or programmed a program or ten, or maybe you want to make a vest with built in proximity sensors (like one of the girls at Noisebridge, one of the Hacker Spaces mentioned in Wired’s article) you’d definately enjoy your geek side at a Hackerspace.

I shouldn’t imply that this is only for hardware geeks, either.  Hackerspaces are for novice and expert alike.  Even if you know nothing about programing, computer hardware, wiring or soldering or anything like it, you are still welcome to come and learn.  Check out the article @Wired or if you’re interesting in learning further, check out some of the links below.

(these are great sites to learn about computer hardware so if you’re a computer novice you can still start here)

Overclockers.com

Overclock.net

ClubOC.net

Anantech.com

TweakTown.com (not a site about meth )

Hacker Space Sites:

Noisebridge – San Francisco, CA

NYC Resistor – Brooklyn, NY

An Introduction to Arduino, Hardware Programming for Anyone – Great for anyone interested in making their own *anything* that contains computer hardware.  Anyone can do this.

None of these sites should scare you aware even if you know nothing about software or hardware.  The intent and purpose to is to expand knowledge on these subjects and to share what you know or have someone who knows more than you share it with you.

The MPAA (Motion Picture Assoc. of America – better put that in there lest they sue me) is suing RealNetworks (creator of the Real Player and Real Media format) for creating DVD copying software that allegedly crosses some lines under copyright law by breaking the built-in copyright protection included in newer DVDs. Wired.com has an article here on this subject.

However, there seems to be a lack of communication with the MPAA and Apple. Select upcoming Blu-Ray DVDs and some that were just released within the last couple of weeks now include a “Digital Copy” disk that has a copy-able format of the movie that can be transported to iTunes for your digital enjoyment on portable media devices as well as on your personal media server, such as Tversity (found here). You can [legally] do whatever you please with this file (short of sharing a copy with others) for all intents and purposes. This seems to be in direct conflict with the allegations made by MPAA against RealNetworks.

There ARE both legal and illegal reasons to make copies of your media. I for one have definately taken to the habit of getting a new CD and ripping it immediately, then putting it back in the case, never to touch it again unless I need to rip it again (like after a fresh Windows install, for example). I recently made backup copies of a few DVDs that were in serious risk of becoming coasters because of the amount of damage done to them after playing over and over. These are all legal reasons to copy a DVD or CD. What is illegal is still somewhat unclear. We know file sharing copyrighted music is illegal, the same goes for movies. But to what extent does this copyright extend?

For detailed US Copyright Law information, I suggest heading over to copyright.gov. There is some very useful information for ALL of us. If you’ve ever written, recorded or performed ANYthing, check it out. You just might be able to claim copyright.

What do you think?  Should you be able to make backups of your media?  Take our poll on the right and tell us!

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself trying to get that rockin’ song up just a little louder when listening to my iPod only to find that I’ve maxed out the volume already. No, I’m not loosing my hearing, some songs are just recorded at, or possibly encoded with, a volume that doesn’t satisfy.

For me, its most songs in my iTunes library that don’t quite hit that sweet spot or take the full volume of the iPod to do it.

I’ve got an easy fix for you. Now keep in mind, in this article I’m only going to raise the volume on a single album, but you can easily select your entire library and do it all at once.  For advanced users, you likely already know how to do this.

Start by selecting the songs (or albums, artists, etc) who’s volume you’d like to modify.  To select more than one item, click the first item, hold the shift key and select and item below or above the first one, this will select both of those items and everything in between.  To pick and choose when selecting multiple items, use the same method, but use the Control or Ctrl key when you click on each additional item.  This will add only the individual items you choose.  To choose your entire library, click on any song and then hit Ctrl+A (that’s Control and the A key at the same time).  Keep in mind, if you update settings on more than one file, especially your whole library, it might take a while.

Once you’ve selected the items you wish to change, Right Click in the libary (see pic above) and select “Get Info”.  For a shortcut, you can hit Ctrl+I at this point for the same result.  You will then see the screen below:

At the top of this box is a tab that says “Options”.  Click on this.  Under Options, the first setting is “Volume Adjustment”.  Now, again keep in mind if you’ve selected multiple items in your iTunes library, this may take a while.   Also consider that you are changing the volume adjustment for ALL of the files you selected by doing this one change, so you may want to use a small increment; i.e. don’t max out the volume on your whole library because a). its likely they don’t all require this much of an increase and   b).  you’ll almost definitely end up with a lot of distortion on quite a few songs.

I recommend going no more than  75% of maximum, or half way to the +100% marker.  Obviously, if you have a song or ten that are too LOUD, you can drop the volume using the same setting.  Be sure whatever you change, that you keep in mind the middle, or “None” will leave the song(s) at their default volume.

You can always go tweak certain songs later, and more than likely if one song on an album is kind of quiet, then the whole album needs to be bumped up.

Hope this helps your music listening enjoyment to be a little more enjoyable.