ArmoryTech Blogcast

This Jolly Roger covers Adobe Express, Orcale free downloads, Disk enclosures, bookreviews, and a short Baghead Video!
Show Notes:
http://www.Photoshop.com/express
http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/index.html
http://www.newegg.com
http://tv.abobe.com

Google is has released “Android” the first complete, open, and free mobile platform.  This is going to be the OS on your phone in about a year.
There are 4 reasons why Android is going to be on your phone in the future.

It’s Open!

Android allows you to access core mobile device functionality through standard API calls

All applications are equal

Android does not differentiate between the phone’s basic and third-party applications — even the dialer or home screen can be replaced.

No Boundaries

Combine information from the web with data on the phone — such as contacts or geographic location — to create new user experiences.

There are going to be a ton of applications

The SDK contains what you need to build and run Android applications, including a true device emulator and advanced debugging tools.

To help developers get started making applications for Android Google has released the Android Software Development Kit.  Developers can create applications for the platform using the Android SDK. Applications are written using the Java programming language and run on Dalvik, a custom virtual machine designed for embedded use which runs on top of a Linux kernel.  An here is the best part, the SDK is free! To start learning about the Android platform click here.

You should see quake on this phone :) Check out this youtube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FJHYqE0RDg

Did I tell you Google is giving away 10 million dollars in prizes for best programs?

Have you ever downloaded a video from the internet that your system would not play?  There is a fix; you can watch the dirty little bit torrents you pulled down by installing the Combined Community Codec Pack. 

This pack was created with the goal not to break anything on your system.  “…the CCCP was created to replace the filter packs provided by several anime fansub groups into a single reliable pack capable of decoding practically any group’s files - without breaking compatibility for other formats.”

CCCP is super easy to install,  and the defaults are set for the average user.  ”goal of CCCP isn’t to decode everything, but to support sensible releases. ffdshow can decode more video formats than listed here, but most of the formats are turned off with the CCCP default settings. If you need any of them, you can turn them on yourself in the relevant filter configuration dialog.”

One issue you need to know about is that if you install this on a system where the users do not have admin then there are a few more steps to the install process.  Click here if need.

The CCCP includes audio and video codecs for: 

If you need a decoder for your video CCCP is the exe you have been looking and it is free.  They do except donations.   

 The CCCP is only for windows 2000, XP, and Vista.  No linux CCCP, use mPlayer. 

Have you been thinking about learning scripting?  Well if you work in IT the answer should be yes.  I bought Microsoft Windows Scripting Self-Paced Learning Guide by Ed Wilson a few months ago.  I didn’t have a driving project so I took my time reading it.

Pros:  This book starts with the basics.  If you don’t know anything about scripting this is where you should start.   This book walks you through the scripts and explains what each part does.   The biggest pro is that you really learn scripting.  $29 for a techie book is not a bad price.  You can buy it at Amazon.com

Cons:  Some parts were repetitive, once you have read parts there are whole sections you can skip later on in the book.   Understand this is not a scripting “reference.”   If you are looking to perform some specific task chances are it is not in this book.  

Over all if you don’t know scripting in just a few weeks you will be writing scripts to create folder structures with corresponding global groups or a script to find double dead ends in your TradeWars 2002 game.    I enjoyed it and now I have added a new skill to my IT War Chest.

What you don’t know what Trade Wars 2002 is?  Well that’s for a future blog.

-Malt Liquor