A $59 router for only a buck?

Just got my FON router after 18 agonising days of waiting, or should I say a FON-firmware reflashed WRT-54GS (the most expensive flavour of the WRT-54G series). First thing I did was to register my $1 router (FON subsidised the difference; the $1 even included FedEx shipping!).



This router, which would normally retail for 55 times as much, was found by yours truly to be around $65 on Ebay. Goodness me. Why don't people do a little hunting before going to ebay (Amazon.com, NewEgg.com, TigerDirect.com). This is what puzzles me about Ebay.

Oh well. I have already been a bad boy by reflashing FON's firmware on this machine with a more powerful one, DD-WRT, thereby rendering FON's subsidising my router useless (their goal is to create a planet with free hotspots). Oh well. Maybe I'll flash Linksys's original firmware and cash it in on Ebay ($50 profit after shipping and handling and Ebay and PayPal's cut of the share). Muihaha.



UPDATE: Fon is now shipping routers for $5 but you have to add shipping charges of $8 if you are in the continental US. Europeans have to fork out more but it still is a rather good deal. Should be interesting to see if Ebay gets flooded with WRT-54Gs ...

Support TPB! Send a free postcard to the RIAA /MPAA / Anti-Piracy Bureaus

Sending emails MPAA/ RIAA/ Anti-Piracy Bureaus ineffective? Well, I suggest you use snail mail (i.e. a postcard) to get the message to them. Best of all, the whole process is free (yup, postage and the postcard).

4 Simple Steps to send a postcard to those folks for free.
1) Find a free postcard, from a hotel or airline, lying around (usu. 10 * 15cm). I used one from Singapore Airlines.


2) Print out the The Pirate Bay postcard (pdf). Link
Trim off the unused white parts of the A4 sheet until you get the following.
Then glue the cut-out onto the postcard. Stapling it is optional :)


3) Go to stamps.com to get free stamps (wait for the stamps.com kit to arrive and then print out the maximum postage you can print ($5 worth, not $80 as they claim; the fine print).


Be sure to print out a 24-cent stamp for the postcard.



4) Affix the stamp to the newly created postcard and fill in the address and whatever message you want those RIAA/ MPAA/ Anti-Piracy folks to hear. (Long live TPB?)


*Don't forget to cancel your stamps.com account after 4 weeks. I cancelled mine after I maxed out my free postage (i.e. print all your free postage at one go), being 5 days after I signed up, and I advise you to do the same.*

If you have money of course, you can purchase the real deal at http://www.cafepress.com/boombam.59960454

List of Addresses
MPAA
Office of the Chairman and CEO
Washington, DC
1600 Eye St.,
NW Washington, DC 20006

RIAA
1330 Connecticut Ave.,
NW Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036

Anti-Piracy Office
One Executive Blvd.
Suite 455
Yonkers, NY 10701

Microsoft not honouring Mystery Solved Windows® licensing USB Promotion

Guess what I got in my inbox today after waiting some 7-8 weeks? Good job Microsoft.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your interest in the Mystery Solved Windows® licensing promotion. We've received your request for more information to help clarify Microsoft® Windows Desktop Licensing pre-loaded on the USB drive. Unfortunately, this Mystery Solved promotion was available in the U.S. only and while supplies last. Supply is depleted at this time, so we encourage you to please utilize the online alternative today. Simply download* the Windows Desktop Licensing reference files directly at: www.microsoft.com/mysterysolved/corp To help simplify Windows Desktop Licensing, keep these points in mind: There are two legal ways to acquire a full Windows Desktop license: through your hardware vendor (OEM/System Builder) or Full Packaged Product. Volume licensing covers Windows Desktop operating system upgrades only. OEM operating system licenses live and die with each PC–they are not transferable. Again, thank you for your interest in Mystery Solved and for helping us spread the word about proper Windows licensing. Sincerely, Microsoft Corporation

Cool Google Maps hacks

As Google released APIs to devs, just expect the no. of Google maps hacks to increase. Here are some of the cool ones:

Best of both worlds, satellite and map- http://www.kokogiak.com/gmaps-transparencies.html
WiFi hotpots- http://california.metrofreefi.com/city/San+Francisco.htm
Virtual Crime Map- http://www.chicagocrime.org/zipcodes/60615/
For those in the housing retail market- http://www.housingmaps.com/

More Google Earth wonders

The beauty of God's creation from the celestial heavens now made possible thanks to Google Earth. (I will add the more screenshots from time to time)


Click on the image(s) to zoom

Click on the image to zoom

Click on the image to zoom

Google Earth- A 3D world in your hands

Google has just released Google Earth free to the public. A pro version is also available.

Say goodbye to .doc, .xls, and .ppt

Microsoft announces new file format based on .xml

Jean Paoli was bouncing around the offices here in building 18 today. Who's he? One of the co-creators of XML. Why was he happy?

Because Office just announced their new file formats all built in XML.

"We just turned on 400 million new people to XML," he told us.

Other reports?

Mary Jo Foley and a bunch of other reports. More will be appearing on Microsoft's Office XML page.

This is big news for developers.

Here Brian Jones, program manager on the Microsoft Word team, talks all about what it means.

This is a HUGE change for the Office team. For the first time the default file format will be open and accessible by anyone.

Brian gives us a demo of how you will be able to look inside the new file format at 19:30.

So, what was announced?

Word, Excel, and Powerpoint will get a new file format all based on XML.

The extensions will change from .DOC, .XLS, .PPT to .DOCX, .XLSX, .PPTX.

The new file format is actually enclosed in a ZIP file. Change the extension name to .ZIP and you'll be able to double-click and get access to all the pieces of the new format (Brian in his demo shows what it looks like).

The new file format will be usable on existing versions of Office.

Video clip of the presentation

Liberated Games

When a game is liberated, its publisher releases it to the public for free, often because production and retail of that game is long over. Games like Grand Theft Auto 1 and 2 and Quake 1 and 2 are the stars on this list. To check out the whole list of these liberated games, check out http://www.liberatedgames.com/gamelisting.php

You can also find other free games on this Xfire thread:
http://www.xfire.com/xf/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5262

Free Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 Pack

For all you developers out there, here's a chance to preview the next-generation Visual Studio. Microsoft is giving free copies of Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 Pack (shipping is also paid by Microsoft, meaning a $0 monetary cost to you). It includes the following:

• Microsoft© Visual Studio© 2005 Team System Beta 2
• Microsoft© Team Foundation Server Beta 2
• WeFly247 training DVD
• Microsoft© SQL Server™ 2005 Standard Edition Community Technology Preview
• The Beta Experience newsletter (6-weekly, terminated with the launch of the final version of Visual Studio 2005)

For those in the Americas, visit https://www.getthebetas.com/profile.aspx
If you live in Europe, the Middle East or Africa, visit here: http://www.microsoft.com/emea/msdn/betaexperience/enxu/order.aspx

Google Personalized

Is this a step towards Mircrosoft's My MSN and Yahoo's personalized front page? With Weather, news, access to the latest messages to your Gmail account and the word of the day, it sure looks a lot like the latter. But how about the more sophisticated former? Though it doesn't have some of My MSN's more advanced features (like importing RSS feeds and creating several pages of personlized contents). It does however beat My MSN in several of these respects: 1) It's way faster than My MSN and 2) its sports the Google hallmark of simplicity. Plus you can access that same page wherever you go (in the same way Google's My Search History works). The only major downside for now is the lack of weather support for non-US cities.
LINK: http://www.google.com/ig


Screenshot of what MY personalized Google page looks like, click on it to enlarge. I didnt enable the Weather Tab and the financial tab since 1) It only supports US cities for now and 2) I frankly dont care about stocks and shares.

Google Web Accelerator

Speed Up the Web for Broadband users

Google Web Accelerator works with your browser to help web pages show up in a snap. Learn more.

Google Web Accelerator is...

•	Designed for Broadband – Web pages load even more quickly on DSL and cable connections
•	Easy to use – Simply install and enjoy faster web browsing in seconds

Free copies of Win XP for whistleblowers

Microsoft will now provide customers in the U.S. that bought counterfeit versions of Windows XP with free genuine Windows copies. There is one catch, however: customers must first file a report on the reseller. How cool is that? Link

Adobe Photoshop CS 2 released

Can't wait to start using the new features of the CS 2 version!

Star Wars Revelations

"Panic Struck Productions have just released their first Star Wars movie, 'Revelations.' The movie has been produced on a not-for profit basis by a team of volunteers and is available for free download. Despite its humble origins, the production appears extraordinarily professional. The film is over 40 minutes long, complete with space battles and lightsaber fights -- need I say more? See more details at the official site, or jump straight to the download mirrors." (The dvd artwork and soundtrack can be downloaded gratis from their official website.)

Partner Pack for Windows XP

Microsoft has released yet another free goodie pack for Windows XP users under their Windows XP Reloaded scheme (to compensate for the lateness of Longhorn, the next version of Windows that has been delayed twice until Q2 2006).

Included in this pack are ... The Partner Pack applications can be downloaded after your computer has been updated. Click on the more information button to learn more about the applications.
Play Super Slyder™ Serpentine™ Share PhotoSite™ Microsoft Time Zone Protect Computer Associates eTrust™		Explore Google Deskbar™ Desktop Media Gallery™ Onfolio Express Do More Post-it® Software Notes PayPal Payment Wizard Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager

Google's My Search History (Beta)

Don't take this personally, but Google wants your Web search history.

A new feature offered by the Internet search leader invites people to save and view all the Web searches they conduct at Google.

Launched in trial form Wednesday, Google's "my search history" is designed as a kind of Internet memory aid, giving people new ways to find information they previously saw online and to repeat previous searches.

The search history is an optional feature that requires people to sign in, so Google can store their searching histories online and make them available later from any computer where they might sign in. People who already have an e-mail address from Google's Gmail site or have registered at its Google Groups site can use those log-ins; anyone can also sign up for a new account (www.google.com/searchhistory).

This history feature is surprisingly detailed, showing not only what terms you entered into Google's search box before, but also which matching Web sites you clicked on, along with date and time stamps. A calendar view lets you browse through previous searches chronologically as well.

While Google tracks your searches whenever you are signed in, you can ask it to avert its gaze temporarily by clicking a "pause" button. You can also sign out entirely to stop all recording activity until you sign back in. A "remove items" button will erase all or some of your prior searches.

Google is far from the first Internet service to save people's searches, though it offers a few more choices with its implementation. Yahoo, America Online, Ask Jeeves and Amazon.com's A9.com also offer search history services.

All provide a basic ability to scan through prior search histories while people are signed in, allowing them to limit a new search for, say, "cave men" to all the previous pages Google has shown them in response to prior queries.

(Posted below are some screenshots I took of the new Beta service)

Welcome to Google's My Search History (Beta)