Jailbreak

Got an iPod Touch? Visit jailbreakme.com in Safari on your iPod, click on the button at the bottom, wait for a bit and then boom, you’ve got root access to your iPod and you can start installing apps all over the place.

If you hunt around a bit you can get some of the apps from the iPhone that aren’t on the iPod (such as Mail.app, Google Maps, Stocks.app and Weather.app) and you can pretend like you have the convergence device you’ve always wanted.

And you get to end up with a screen like this:

So very cool.

TIP: To get Australian stocks into Stock.App, use the 3 letter ASX code for the company followed by .AX e.g. BHP.AX. Actually, that tip will also work for the Stocks widget in OSX as well.

Apple TV and iTMS

With the introduction of the new iPod Touch and the addition of the iTunes Wireless Store for both the new iPod and the iPhone, does that mean that there’s an update for the AppleTV coming soon that will let us browse and purchase music/tv/movies online? Surely that’s got to be the ultimate. Sit on your couch, purchase an album and listen to it within 3 minutes, all using a remote.

Mist

Mist
Originally uploaded by Jordan Brock

So I bought a new Nokia N95. Rather sweet indeed. Apart from the 5 megapixel camera (!), the wifi, the HSDPA and the huge screen, it’s got a GPS! A freakin’ GPS. Which of course means I now walk around a lot with my phone out in my hand, looking like I’m watching a portable TV.

I got the phone through 3, mainly because of their data packages ($30 for 1GB). I’ve not really cranked it up though. A year on Telstra has made me fear doing anything other than call people … mainly because of the enormous bill that you receive at the end of the month, just for trying to check your email every now and then.

Of course, the iPhone is due for release soon (in the USA at least) but it’s over 18 months away in Australia, and unless it gets a fairly major specs upgrade in the meantime, it’s going to be one of those “nice, but only if it had … ” types of things. I mean, a 2MP camera? That’s so 2007.

Car Dealer

The other day a warning light appeared on the dash of our 2003 Mini Cooper, saying something was wrong with the ABS, which doesn’t go a long way towards inspiring confidence in a vehicle. It also didn’t make me too happy based on the fact that we just spent $1500 on tyres for the car and here was more money needing to be spent.

So anyway, I’m sitting in the dealership waiting for the diagnosis and the dealer who sold us the car walks by. He now happens to be the general manager of the entire dealership. We get to talking and apparently they sell about 100 vehicles a month: 30 minis, 20 BMW bikes and the rest in normal beamers. That’s a lot of finance!

And the problem with the ABS: faulty sensor. Cost: $380.

Unplanned

Sometimes you wake up with a list of things to do in the day. Things that you need to do. Today my list included such wonderful activities as washing the dogs, getting my eyes tested, washing the car, doing some food shopping and other little chores here and there. Of course, these plans never work out.

I get back from walking the dogs, have some breakfast, put the dogs into the car to take them to get washed and I notice the front tyre of the car looking a little flat. “Oh well, I’d better pump that up at the petrol station” I think to myself.

I reverse the car and something is wrong. Of course, the mini supposedly has the wonderful auto flat sensing warning light, so I wonder why that’s not doing what it was supposed to do. We’ve got the special run flat tyres that let you drive on them, so it’s not the biggest problem, but of course, my immediate thoughts are on the $300 it will be to replace the tyre.

So I head off to Bob Jane to get a new tyre fitted. After some confusion about whether or not they can be repaired, and some other issues about the age of my tyres, it becomes apparent that I need to replace the tyres. All four of them! And what are the only tyres available?

For $1400!

Sigh!

So we end the day about 1 house repayment behind where we started. Totally unplanned of course.

DittyBot: DJ to your phone

Such a cool use of technology, combining AppleScript, Automator and Skype

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000420047100/

Basically, you can email yourself the name of a song, and your computer will mail it back to you! So damn cool.