ArmoryTech Blogcast

Show Notes: 

Filmed in the AT basement studio at 5:30pm on 11-21-07

This week on the Jolly Roger we cover how to make a basic cantenna and the new Fedora 8. 

Cantenna links (formulas and parts)
Http://www.RandallCole.com/dish
http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html
http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=1549&cat=264&page=1
Linux Links
http://fedoraproject.org/
http://www.opensuse.org/
Http://www.unbuntu.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?

You will have a hard time if you try to buy a Zune 2 because they are out of stock all over the place.  This is much different than last year when the Zune seemed like a flop.  We the big difference from last year’s sales and this year may be 365 days, one big price cut and a firmware update.     
I saw a news story on Business Journal about the Zune outselling the Ipod on amazon.com. 

 Microsoft has now cut the price of the Zune to $134.00.  One can argue that the wide screen Zune is a better product and now has more bang for the buck than any of the iPods.  You only have to go to the MP3 page and sort by best sellers at amazon.com for the proof.
The Zune is a solid media player and is worth taking a look at.  The Zune is enterprise friendly.  One very cool aspect of the Zune that no one talks about is that Zune updates are deployable via WSUS.  This means that updates can be deployed by System Administrators to computers where the end users do not have local permissions.   

In the December update for the Xbox 360, it looks like they are going to be adding the option to download original Xbox games for about $15 a piece.  All I can say is, it’s about time.  Wii and PS3 have had this feature for a bit and I think MS finally realized that people might want to have this option as well.  No word if multiplayer games like the original HALO will have added LIVE support, but hey… we can all hope.

For those of you like me who have a Zune, (or one of the 30,000 + Zune purchasers from Woot.com) the firmware for the Zune has been upgraded from 1.4 to 2.2.  The Zune software has also gotten a shiny coat of paint as it has been re-built from the ground up.

The folks at Gizmodo have done a pretty thorough review of the software/firmware upgrades here: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/complete-zune-guide/complete-guide-to-zune-2s-software-and-firmware-321605.php

I am still pretty disappointed that they have not figured out a way to do downloadable movies for the Zune like they have integrated with the 360 through the marketplace, but I am sure that is coming.  I am probably going to have to break down and get Vista as well since I am really curious to see how easy the TV Show syncing to the Zune goes.

But I must say, playing with the new firmware on my Zune 1, it is quite smooth.  Much smoother than 1.4.  Most of the 30 gb Zunes are pretty cheap at places like Buy.com and Amazon.com (hey, pick up an Armory while your there too).  I would recommend them as they are a pretty sturdy media player.  The Zune 2’s look flashy too and if you have the extra $$ the 80gb designed especially through zuneoriginals.com with the slide wheel looks pretty pretty good.. :)

Microsoft has recently updated the Virtual Server 2005 to add more support for Linux guest systems.  MSVS 2005 is a very impressive product and deserves some testing in your lab.  Now not only will Linux distributions run on MSVS2005, but Microsoft will support it.
You can install these Virtual Machine Additions components in your Linux guest operating systems to improve the following operating system capabilities:
·         Guest and host synchronization for time synchronization, for heartbeat generation, and for coordinated shutdown operations
·         Mouse driver
·         Display driver
·         SCSI hard disk emulation