theoutro.com

Duke Nukem is Back?

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:58:08 +0000

The Brett Favre of video games is once again rumoured to be ready for distribution to disheartened and disillusioned masses. Duke Nukem was spotted in a tweet and will be demonstrated (sigh, again) at PAX.

Give it up guys. You've been promising us this since 2000. The prick from Guns 'n' Roses (no, not that one, the other one; No the other-other one) released Chinese Democracy already. We have flying fucking cars, now. And who are we kidding? They've been promising us that shit for 50 years. If this keeps up, you guys will be beaten by the Second Coming of Christ. God, it's like cock-teasing people libraries and aspirations. Just fucking stop and leave us with titles you had the decency not to yank from us Lucy van Pelt style.

Tesla Fined for Non-Emission Standard Compliance

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:53:51 +0000

Tesla, the electric car company, has been fined for not complying with the EPA's emissions certifications under the Clean Air Act. Link.
Now, before anyone else posts it:

Cee Lo Green - FUCK YOU (Official Video)

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:00:56 +0000

Fitch has discovered Internet Time Travel.

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:00:35 +0000

Secret Android codes!

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:50:53 +0000

DISCLAIMER: This information is intended for experienced users. It is not intended for basic users, hackers, or mobile thieves. Please do not try any of following methods if you are not familiar with mobile phones. We'll not be responsible for the use or misuse of this information, including loss of data or hardware damage. So use it at your own risk.

Recently I got a Google Android mobile phone "Samsung Galaxy I7500". While I'm loving playing with it, I also found some interesting secret codes which can enable/disable lots of hidden settings in the mobile phone. These codes can also show many useful information about the phone.

So in this topic, you'll get several hidden secret codes which can be used in any Google Android mobile phone to access things which are not accessible by default.

FYI These codes have been obtained by decoding various .apk files present in the phone firmware.

*#*#4636#*#*

This code can be used to get some interesting information about your phone and battery. It shows following 4 menus on screen:

Phone information
Battery information
Battery history
Usage statistics

*#*#7780#*#*

This code can be used for a factory data reset. It'll remove following things:

Google account settings stored in your phone
System and application data and settings
Downloaded applications

It'll NOT remove:

Current system software and bundled applications
SD card files e.g. photos, music files, etc.

PS: Once you give this code, you get a prompt screen asking you to click on "Reset phone" button. So you get a chance to cancel your operation.

*2767*3855#

Think before you give this code. This code is used for factory format. It'll remove all files and settings including the internal memory storage. It'll also reinstall the phone firmware.

PS: Once you give this code, there is no way to cancel the operation unless you remove the battery from the phone. So think twice before giving this code.

*#*#34971539#*#*

This code is used to get information about phone camera. It shows following 4 menus:

Update camera firmware in image (Don't try this option)
Update camera firmware in SD card
Get camera firmware version
Get firmware update count

WARNING: Never use the first option otherwise your phone camera will stop working and you'll need to take your phone to service center to reinstall camera firmware.

*#*#7594#*#*

This one is my favorite one. This code can be used to change the "End Call / Power" button action in your phone. Be default, if you long press the button, it shows a screen asking you to select any option from Silent mode, Airplane mode and Power off.

You can change this action using this code. You can enable direct power off on this button so you don't need to waste your time in selecting the option.

*#*#273283*255*663282*#*#*

This code opens a File copy screen where you can backup your media files e.g. Images, Sound, Video and Voice memo.

*#*#197328640#*#*

This code can be used to enter into Service mode. You can run various tests and change settings in the service mode.

WLAN, GPS and Bluetooth Test Codes:

*#*#232339#*#* OR *#*#526#*#* OR *#*#528#*#* - WLAN test (Use "Menu" button to start various tests)

*#*#232338#*#* - Shows WiFi MAC address

*#*#1472365#*#* - GPS test

*#*#1575#*#* - Another GPS test

*#*#232331#*#* - Bluetooth test

*#*#232337#*# - Shows Bluetooth device address

*#*#8255#*#*

This code can be used to launch GTalk Service Monitor.

Codes to get Firmware version information:

*#*#4986*2650468#*#* - PDA, Phone, H/W, RFCallDate

*#*#1234#*#* - PDA and Phone

*#*#1111#*#* - FTA SW Version

*#*#2222#*#* - FTA HW Version

*#*#44336#*#* - PDA, Phone, CSC, Build Time, Changelist number

Codes to launch various Factory Tests:

*#*#0283#*#* - Packet Loopback

*#*#0*#*#* - LCD test

*#*#0673#*#* OR *#*#0289#*#* - Melody test

*#*#0842#*#* - Device test (Vibration test and BackLight test)

*#*#2663#*#* - Touch screen version

*#*#2664#*#* - Touch screen test

*#*#0588#*#* - Proximity sensor test

*#*#3264#*#* - RAM version

NOTE: All above codes have been checked on Google Android phone Samsung Galaxy I7500 only but they should also work in other Google Android phones.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5628369/use-technicians-codes-to-diagnose-your-android-phone

Preview of Samsung Tab with specs.

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:57:36 +0000

Samsung Galaxy Tab preview

After a week of painful teasing, Samsung has come clean about its Galaxy Tab 7-inch Android tablet. We got the nitty gritty specs, along with some quality time with the device, and we like what we're seeing on both fronts. Follow along after the break as we break it all down, including some hot hot video of the thing in action!

View it all + specs: http://www.engadget....xy-tab-preview/

Pelvic Exams on Anesthetized Patients

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:49:55 +0000

This actually made me feel sick reading it.

Quote

Medical student Hilary Gerber of Mom's Tinfoil Hat was offered the chance to perform a pelvic exam on an unconscious female patient by an operating room nurse at the local hospital not affiliated with her school. Wrote Gerber: I participated in a dilation and curettage on a woman who was experiencing an incomplete abortion. I was in the room before the procedure and the OR nurse offered to let me do a pelvic exam on her, since the patient was already anesthetized.

Gerber declined the offer.

Although I was fascinated by the opportunity, and initially was tempted by the learning experience, I didn't want to do it without her permission, and made myself consider her as a patient and a person, not as a pathology or anatomy in front of me. Yes, I knew she was going to have a pelvic procedure that she already consented to, and I even had the opportunity to introduce myself to her before she was anesthetized, but I knew it wasn't diagnostic for me to do a pelvic on her in this situation, wouldn't change the course of her treatment, and questioned the ethics of it.

She is not alone in her unwillingness to perform a pelvic exam on an anesthetized patient without her consent. Dr. Michael Greger, author of Heart Failure: Diary of a Third Year Medical Student, refused to perform nonconsensual pelvic exams on anesthetized patients as a student. This 2003 interview with Michael Greger is archived on the now inactive ShamExam.org website:

Read the rest, including a very interesting Q&A: http://www.theunnece...hetized-pa.html

Hayseed Dixie

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:42:12 +0000

So i was talking with Ed yesterday, and bluegrass came up. I asked if he had ever heard of "Hayseed Dixie" before. Well (like most people) he hadn't. So here is me introducing you guys to the greatest bluegrass band ever (which isnt saying much, but if anything, you should get a laugh out of it).

Firefox Mobile 2.0 alpha (aka Fennec) hits Android and Maemo

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:37:06 +0000

Firefox Mobile 2.0 alpha (aka Fennec) hits Android and Maemo
by Jay Hathaway (RSS feed) Aug 27th 2010 at 1:00PM

Bleeding edge Firefox fans will be happy to know that an alpha version of Firefox mobile 2.0 (aka Fennec) has just landed on Android and Maemo devices. If you're running Android 2.0+, or if you've got a Nokia N900, you can download and test out the latest version of Mozilla's mobile browser right now.

Highlights of Fennec 2 include navigating through tags via swiping gestures, rendering pages with the same engine used by the desktop version Firefox, and support for add-ons. It also syncs bookmarks, passwords and open pages and tabs with Firefox on your desktop. (That last feature will be familiar to anyone who's tried Firefox Home on the iPhone).

Our friend Brad Linder at Mobiputing recommends moving some components of Firefox to your SD card on Android, because this is the first version of Fennec that will let you do that. Also, remember that this is still alpha software, so speed and stability should improve drastically by the final release.

Source: DownloadSquad

Power Supplies

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:29:07 +0000

Is there a particular brand of psu that you guys would most recommend? I was gaming on my pc earlier this evening when my computer crashed as if it were about to give a BSOD, but my monitor stayed dark and crazy sounds were still coming out of my headphones. As I turned off the computer, i could detect the distinct smell of burning electronics. I took apart my pc, and the only thing that smelled was the power supply, so i'm assuming that it's the issue. I haven't yet tested other components to see if they're working or not, but i'm pretty sure that i'll at least need a new PSU. Any Recommendations?

Album Art Grabber Makes Your Android's Music Library Nice and Pretty

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:46:26 +0000

Album Art Grabber Makes Your Android's Music Library Nice and Pretty

Android: We've had a premium Album Art Grabber in the Market for awhile, but Tim Clark's new Album Art Grabber app is not only free, it's better, featuring an easy-to-use interface and searching from both Last.fm and MusicBrainz.

The app is pretty self-explanatory: just start it up, and it will present you with a list of all the albums on your SD card. You can hit the "Grab!" button to automatically download all the missing art in your collection, as well as tap individual albums to pick the art yourself. It will give you the choice of searching Last.fm or MusicBrainz, and let you pick which cover you like best from the results.

I've found that not only is the interface a bit cleaner than the premium grabber, but it consistently finds better art (mostly through Last.fm). So if your library is still dull and grey, you have no excuse not to fire this up and get it looking snazzy. Note that this doesn't actually edit the ID3 tags, so if you add art to an album on your phone, it won't have that art if you transfer those songs back to your computer.

Album Art Grabber is a free download for Android devices.

Album Art Grabber [Blog Tim] Send

Is that a Cannon in your pocket, or are you just pissed to see me?

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:48:17 +0000

Netflix for the iPhone is now out.

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:10:50 +0000

Netflix adds iPhone and iPod touch compatibility in latest app version
By Vlad Savov posted Aug 26th 2010 4:48AM We knew this was coming and here it is: the Netflix application, heretofore reserved only for iPad users, has trickled down to iPhone and iPod touch devices. Version 1.1.0 makes the TV show and movie streaming app universal -- so long as your universe is known as iOS -- and looks to massively expand the available audience for Netflix's mobile effort. What are you waiting for, go get it already.

[Thanks, Michael A.] iTunes

via Engadget

Amazing 330 sq ft apartment in Hong Kong

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:30:33 +0000

Google Voice is now VOIP via Gmail!

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:14:26 +0000

Google introduces Voice in Gmail, free calls to US and Canada
By Sean Hollister posted Aug 25th 2010 12:45PM Breaking News

Rumors have been buzzing about since June, but Google just made it official -- the company's baking Google Voice calls right into Gmail today. Like the Google Chat text, voice and video chat integrated into the web-based email client last year, full phone calls will also be an option. Google's demoing the service for us in San Francisco this morning, and it's looking like it's not free, but fairly cheap -- a product manager just called Paris for $0.02 a minute. Incoming calls pop up as a chat window in Gmail (and ring your Google Voice-equipped phones simultaneously) and you press a "Call phone" button that appears near the top of the Chat window to send an outbound call, at which point a dialer appears where you can copy/paste numbers or tap them in manually. Users can screen incoming calls or send them to voicemail with a single tap.

Google just announced you'll be able to make calls to US and Canadian landlines completely free of charge. You'll be able to buy prepaid credits using Google Checkout for international calling, with credits available in a few weeks, but the Voice in Gmail service goes live today in the US and will begin rolling out to users immediately. Google's only committed to free calls to US and Canadian landlines through the end of the year, as paid international calls are the sole revenue stream here: "Our hope is we'll be able to make enough margin on international calls to keep offering it at that low price," a product manager told us.

Source: Google via Engadget