Hey NBC (and Universal.) I’d like to thank you for saving me about $40 in a Season Pass ticket from iTunes and for giving me a higher quality version of your very entertaining show. Man, the details are so much better than what I was getting from iTunes that I can’t wait ’til I start downloading The Office, too!
Now since I’m on a Mac and your true intentions was not about the viewer (as you tried to tell the world), I had to go elsewhere besides Amazon.com or Hulu to get my season premiere of Hereos. Elsewhere meant going to this fine site and using Miro for the download. Miro nicely displays not just the most recent episode, but all of them including entire seasons! Now granted, you have to wait for all the seeders to get busy, but once that happens, it’s only a few hours and I have my free episode of Hereos…in 720p HD! How nice is that?!
Now, would I have done all this if NBC was still on iTunes? No. ‘But what about the HD?’ you ask. Well, while the high def is nice, iTunes is still faster and more convenient. I also do want to pay for my videos; however, if the provider that once gave me a paying way to do so and then takes that option away, what’s a hooked fan to do? You gave me no choice, NBC!
I’m sure we’re going to be seeing a spike in torrent traffic and a massive drop in NBC’s bottom line for downloads after this is all done. It’ll be fun to watch NBC come back to Apple like a dog with its tail between the legs. Man, is Steve Jobs going to have a fun day at work when that happens.
Okay, I have to get back to this free show on my Mac. L8.
Pitty the fool that spends 99 cents for a song and then another 99 cents to make it into a ringtone for their iPhone. Why a fool? Because they could be doing all this for free! We told you about the insane easy iToner last week and now we’re going to tell you about the just as easy MakeiPhoneRingtone. MIR if you’re nasty. With MakeiPhoneRingtone, you simply drag your AAC files (rename those MP4s to AAC if you’ve got ‘em) and MIR automatically takes care of the rest. Next thing you’ll see is your newly dragged music in the Ringtones section of iTunes. It does the “hack” magic all in the background!
Now, some have experienced some odd errors (like the inability to change the extension of the file…an important part in getting those files on your iPhone), so we recommend you use the latest 1.1 version. It uses the more stable “stik” method of “converting” your files into iPhone ringtones and it cleared up our problems lick-a-tee split.
Rouge Amoeba promises to keep up with this free application even if newer version of iTunes breaks this great trick. As of now, it sees no reason to charge for this application, so get it while you can!
Aaah, you’ve got to love hackers. Yup, hard at work to make sure that their activities can be done undercover. Now we aren’t saying the hackers that hacked the iPhone to run SSH do bad stuff undercover, but just like us here at SvenOnTech, we don’t want our network traffic to be wide open on the Internet. No sir, we want high encryption and we want via SSH! Well now we have it and it ain’t half bad for a web-based application.
WebShell is a web-based SSH client that you point your iPhone Safari to an installed SSH “server” on your system (WebShell supplies the install package.) You then use this “proxy” to execute SSH to another host. Now the key here to make this work is to use SSL via https in Safari. Note the s on the end there, folks. If you don’t well then you’re kinda defeating the purpose of SSH. 
While not a true SSH client on the iPhone, this a great work around until an API is released for the iPhone. Give it a try. It’s free.
You can’t blame Verizon for trying to repel against the iPhone frenzy of June 29th, but in truth, short of giving phones away tomorrow, no carrier will be able to steal Apple’s spotlight away from it. Try, try, as it may, Verizon is flaunting how it is open all day tomorrow and giving a deal on the VCAST LG VX9400 phone. The deal? $50 off and a free “Music Essentials Kit” which includes, “a stereo headset, a cable for music transfer from a PC to the LG VX9400 and a 2GB memory card that can store up to 1,000 songs.”
So if you’re not lucky enough to get an iPhone tomorrow by 6:05 when all 20 at your local AT&T store sell out, you can drive over to the Verizon Wireless store and grab a true 3G phone instead.
I use LogMeIn for all of my clients PCs but have actually had to drop some of them from my companies support services when they moved to a Mac due to the lack of OSX support. Well, I’m happy to say, LogMeIn now offers a preview release of its superb remote control software for the Mac! Working on both PowerPC and Intel chips, LogMeIn will allow you to log into any Mac from any Mac or PC with an Internet connection. From within your browser, you’ll be able to click, drag, and type on your remote Mac’s screen. Help friends, family, or clients with computer issues by logging into remotely or connect to your Mac and edit files while away from your Mac. All for free.
I’ve already installed it on a Mac and tested the remote control feature from my Windows XP PC in Firefox as well as from my MacBook Pro’s Firefox browser. Like any other PC I’ve worked on, the Mac version worked like a charm. All features supported on the PC are replicated on the Mac, too.
Users will be able to install LogMeIn for free on any Mac by simply creating a free user account. Monthly subscriptions are offered as well which gives you features that IT departments thirst as well file transfer and printer use for a smaller monthly fee.
Thank you, LogMeIn for bringing your awesome software to the Mac! Now lets fix the screen redraw problem in the Java Viewer for the Mac!
SIPphone Inc. announces a free service that lets users receive international calls from any phone worldwide. Local numbers, commonly sold for $5 to $30 per month for each number, are now being offered as a free service in over 20 countries. Using free local numbers, mobile and landline phones can directly call any computer for the price of a local call. Users can also receive calls on their mobile or landline phones using call forwarding.
Free local numbers offer significant cost savings over traditional local number services. For example, to setup the same international local numbers with Skype could cost a user $100’s per month. SIPphone now offers local numbers around the world for free. Users can even assign multiple local numbers in multiple countries. See a complete list of countries at gizmocall.com/countries.
At gizmocall.com, users can assign a local telephone number to any mobile or landline phone worldwide, for free. When a local number is called, the incoming call can either be answered on the user’s computer or from a user’s mobile or landline phone when they enable call forwarding.
Assigning Free Local Numbers:
1. Go to gizmocall.com and identify a friend or business you would like to talk to.
2. Enter their number and a local number will be assigned to them so they can call you.
3. When the local number is called it can ring either your computer, mobile or landline phone.
Users receive up to 120 minutes per day of free inbound calls from local numbers and up to 240 minutes per week. Users need to purchase Call Out credit to extend calling beyond the free calling limits or to receive forwarded calls. Call forwarding is free to setup. Call forwarding does not require users to be logged in to Gizmo Call. Rates are based on where calls are forwarded to and the type of phone receiving the call. See rates at gizmocall.com/rates.
Local numbers are available immediately at gizmocall.com. Gizmo Call supports Windows and Macintosh operating systems and works with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera browsers. Linux OS support is expected within 14 days. Gizmo Call requires Adobe Flash 9 to be installed on the computer.
Shavlik Technologies announced today that Microsoft Corporation has selected Shavlik to provide Microsoft’s customers with vulnerability assessment capabilities for those Windows systems that have traditionally relied upon Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) V1.2.1. Microsoft has retired MBSA V1.2.1 as of April 30, 2007, which currently provides vulnerability scanning and detection for several older Microsoft products not supported by Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).
Shavlik NetChk Protect Limited for MBSA is now available for immediate download at no cost to Microsoft customers, and just like MBSA today, will identify needed security updates. Customers will also be able to upgrade to Shavlik’s enterprise versions of NetChk that offer more robust tools for full vulnerability management lifecycle needs such as automated remediation, intelligent patch targeting, and granular policy and compliance reporting.
“Shavlik Technologies was an easy choice for Microsoft to go to for providing continuity in supporting the complete detection for customers who are using some of the older products,” said Stephen Toulouse, Group Program Manager at Microsoft. “Shavlik has an intimate knowledge of security detection requirements since they helped develop the first version of MBSA for Microsoft.”
Shavlik and Microsoft have a history of working together to ensure a more secure computing environment, as Shavlik Technologies originally developed the core scanning and detection technology used as the basis for MBSA. First released by Microsoft as two separate tools back in 2001, as MBSA and HFNetChk, this capability was considered groundbreaking as Microsoft was the first OS vendor to offer network patch check tools.
“We are pleased to be able to continue our security relationship with Microsoft and offer customers solutions that complement and enhance the capabilities offered by Microsoft Update,” said Mark Shavlik, CEO of Shavlik Technologies. “Microsoft and Shavlik have worked together to ensure that we provide users of older products a single, familiar and easy-to-use solution to assess their security state.”
BeInSync, a company that provides an all-in-one solution for consumers and small businesses to access, share and protect their data, today announced BeInSync Pro Version 3.0. BeInSync Pro Version 3.0 includes new simplified file sync, instant file sharing, remote access via a Web interface, automatic online backup and support for Microsoft Windows Vista. BeInSync leverages the Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) from Amazon Web Services as the solution’s underlying infrastructure to provide its users with up to 5GB of highly reliable performance and available storage.
Managing personal and business data can be difficult and time consuming. Many users work on multiple computers and in multiple locations, travel frequently, interact and share files, needing to maintain the integrity of their data. BeInSync Pro Version 3.0 relies on patent-pending, secure peer-to-peer networking technology to create a user’s own private data network that makes it easy to stay connected and always in sync with colleagues and friends, remote files and computers. This technology eliminates the need to install costly servers, configure complex Virtual Private Networks or other remote access solutions in order to mobilize data.
Key features of BeInSync 3.0 include: Read the rest of this entry »
Relient K will be playing a FREE acoustic show Saturday April 14th, at The Apple Store in Downtown San Francisco, CA! It’s all part of Absolutepunk.net’s AbsoluteAcoustic series! The show starts at 1PM is open to the public. For details and directions, check out the AbosluteAcoustic web site..
Every time EMI and Apple are mentioned in the same line, everyone thinks its going to be a pending Beatles catalog announcement. Well, that’s what happened this weekend when word was sent out from EMI that it had a big announcement and Steve Jobs was a special guest. Once the let down of the absence of the Beatles catalog was realized today, EMI fronted to the world a new way to purchase its existing catalog on iTunes: DRM free. Not only will there be no digital protection on the music files you will be able to download for $1.29 each at the iTunes store, but the quality will be twice that of the current DRM versions with a bit rate of 256 kpbs.
“We are going to give iTunes customers a choice—the current versions of our songs for the same 99 cent price, or new DRM-free versions of the same songs with even higher audio quality and the security of interoperability for just 30 cents more,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think our customers are going to love this, and we expect to offer more than half of the songs on iTunes in DRM-free versions by the end of this year.”
If desire to upgrade your current EMI iTunes-downloaded music to the new higher grade ball-and-chain free versions, you can for a mere 30 cent upgrade per song.
Apple intends to have more than half of its offerings in DRM-free AAC format by years end. With this announcement, any music player such as iPods, Zens, and music players on computers such as Windows and Mac OS will be able to play the new version from iTunes. Further, digital network players, such as the Sonos music player, will be able to play your purchased music from iTunes without any worry.
We here at SvenOnTech applaud EMI and Apple and urge the rest of the record industry to follow suit…now!