Space Quest prequel!
Sierra made some excellent adventure games back in the 80s...and now a fan has created a new SpaceQuest prequel based on their AGI framework! Sure takes you back in time.
June 30, 2003
June 24, 2003
FLAC archiving
Have been looking at how to digitally archive all my CDs in a lossless way so that I can have scripts to re-encode to appropriate bitrates as I get new audio devices.
Looks like the current best solution is EAC -> WAV and then use a WAV -> FLAC encoder. Setup Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-M1502 fully in EAC with REX profile + offset. Iomega wasn't listed in their drive guide so I skipped setup of this device.
Guide to High Quality Audio Replication
Still need to investigate if gapping is going to occur between tracks which are mixed together (Oakenfold, etc).
June 22, 2003
CAV GT40
Apparently GTD is no longer developing the GT40 kit and CAV is pushing hard with many distributors in US. Rave reviews on the fit and finish of the car.
CAV offers 6-speed ZF direct at a good discount (www.gt40s.com, Mar 21 '03 post by Dan Dinverno). ZF is *EXTREMELY* expensive ($16k brand new 6-speed...rebuilt ones for about half that), Audi Getrag is $2k new but only handles max of 400hp! NOTE: The engine sits 2 inches lower with the ZF vs Getrag and the ZF was one of the original trannies used in GT40s.
351W engine stroked to 396 preferred by many over 302, plus 48 IDA carbs are available. The standard 351W is ~385HP, $5200 @ 2gmotorsports.com and recommended that only ZF is used.
Dealers:
Virgina - http://www.2gmotorsports.com/
Options:
Gulf fender flares and deck vents $2000
Gurney bubble $800
Roll cage $3000
Twin nostril panel ?
4 x 48IDF $2995 (what about IDA?)
Detailed review of the CAV GT40
http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=112&i=7318
Good used source is the Club Cobra forums...several have been forsale recently there:
http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=8258d462cb6120d1e9f1695cf1293200&forumid=24
June 19, 2003
Deciding when to forget in the Elephant file system
Interesting paper on an approach to version controlled filesystems mentioned during an interview with Hans Reiser:
"Modern file systems associate the deletion of a file with the immediate release of storage, and file writes with the irrevocable change of file contents. We argue that this behavior is a relic of the past, when disk storage was a scarce resource. Today, large cheap disks make it possible for the file system to protect valuable data from accidental delete or overwrite.
This paper describes the design, implementation, and performance of the Elephant file system, which automatically retains all important versions of user files. Users name previous file versions by combining a traditional pathname with a time when the desired version of a file or directory existed. Storage in Elephant is managed by the system using file-grain user-specified retention policies."
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Comment from Slashdot interview with Hans Resier:
"I'm going back to school this fall, and in a year I hope to be admitted into a Masters of Computer Science program. I'd like my main research focus to be on filesystems.
I'm preparing by reading everything I can find: I'm working on Tanenbaum & Woodhull's "OS Design & Implementation"; I've read "Design and Implementation of the Second Extended Filesystem"; Steve Pate's "UNIX Filesystems" is waiting on my shelf; and of course, there's the FAQ and ReiserFS v.3 Whitepaper at www.namesys.com [namesys.com]. Specific questions: what branches of math are useful in this line of research? Any books, articles, etc., that I haven't listed that are a 'must read' or 'should read'? Those who have succeeded in building a better filesystem: what have they done that I should also do? Any mistakes I should avoid? Anything that no one told you about filesystems that you wish you had known up front? And are there any special tricks (above and beyond mastering your subject) to getting hired in this field once a degree is in hand?
Hans:
I was never able to get hired in this field, so I am probably not the one to ask about how to get hired.;-) Hmmm. Oh I know one! Don't tell your potential employer that you are working on your own file system nights and weekends, and you will retain all rights to it, and you won't stop work on it once they hire you.;-)
You should probably read about Plan 9, and about namespaces generally. The literature on namespaces seems to be just about hierarchical namespaces, but the notion present in that literature that they should be unified is a good one. I rather liked Gerard Salton's book on automatic text processing. Ted Nelson's Xanadu project was interesting reading, and you'll want to read Codd and Date about databases. Mikhail Gilula's book about set theoretic databases is a good one.
In regards to math, study the design of new mathematical models. Study closure, and its importance to various models ranging from algebra to relational algebra. Understand why mathematical models were designed to have the structure they have rather than learning what those structures are, so that you can learn to construct your own models. I don't know of any courses that teach that, but it is what is important to learn.
Are you sure that it wouldn't be better to hang out in cafes and bookstores for 4 years, and at the end of it write some piece of a filesystem? Cafes, bookstores, and attending random seminars will educate you better, and writing some piece of a filesystem will employ you better."
June 18, 2003
Supersprint vs Stromung
Since my BMW muffler has rusted out and fails to pass inspection it's time to find a suitable _performance_ replacement. I like the throaty sound of my rusted out muffler (aka a "hood-rich" performance muffler).
TC Kline sells Supersprint and Stromung but really recommends Stromung as slightly improved throughput on their dyno tests. Only downside is that they are custom built at time of order and take 4-6+ weeks to arrive.
http://www.tcklineracing.com/OPC/exhaust.html
As a side note, also ran across a site that debunks many of the BMW snake oil upgrades...
http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/upgrade/Recipe.htm
June 17, 2003
Valentine V1
From funcarsonline:
Pretty easy installation. I have mine just to the left of the mirror using the supplied suction cups. Power cord: from where you want to hang the V-1, push the power cord behind the windshield molding with a plastic putty knife. Once you get to the dash, its easy to run the cord across the underside of the dash using existing wires and accessories to hide the cord. Gently pull off the small LH side leather panel and the carpeted panel on the console. Also remove the batwing panel on the front. You can then remove the CD holder and storage tray by pulling them gently toward you. In the console you will find either a green and black or green and brown wire. That is a "switched" wire. Tap into that wire using the V-1 supplied clamp. It is difficult to find a suitable ground but there is a console mounting screw that attaches to metal on the LH side of the console. I used that screw for the ground. Once you get it hooked up, turn on the ignition. Hopefully, you'll hear the V-1 power up. If it works, replace all panels and trays and you're done. Took me less than 30 min.
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http://www.geocities.com/porschecarrera996/v1Install_files/v3_document.htm
http://www.industryfigure.com/berkeley/Porsche/Accessories/valentine.htm
http://www.986faq.com/7-0/v1.asp
Mobile Scanner & Detector Laws:
http://www.afn.org/~afn09444/scanlaws/
June 16, 2003
Wireless LAN performance improvement
Greg Linden forward me an exhaustive list on various tweaks to improve wireless LAN performance/security.
http://www.tomshardware.com/network/20030502/index.html
Format string attacks
Who knew an incorrect printf statement could actually allow someone to spawn a root shell (using %n). Several docs pointed out by Cyrus Durgin on format string attacks.
http://www.lava.net/~newsham/format-string-attacks.pdf
http://www.team-teso.net/releases/formatstring-1.2.tar.gz
The first is a little light on content, but very well written. The second is full of content however many of the code examples are poorly written (also note that many were written with Sparc Solaris specifics).
Custom car guage faces
Green Guages provides a service to those who like to customize that allows you to design your own automotive gauges, custom templates for existing cars. Interesting article cover a 911 re-done top to bottom and really nice 50s style nice custom gauges were installed.
June 15, 2003
Normalizing MP3 volumes
Found MP3Gain, a nifty Linux and Windows tool to normalize volume levels across a collection of MP3 files. MP3Gain does not just do peak normalization, as many normalizers do. Instead, it does some statistical analysis to determine how loud the file actually sounds to the human ear. Also, the changes MP3Gain makes are completely lossless. There is no quality lost in the change because the program adjusts the mp3 file directly, without decoding and re-encoding.
http://www.geocities.com/mp3gain/
June 14, 2003
Sony Ericsson T610
Apparently AWS won't sell the T610, only T616 which doesn't work as well in Europe due to no 800 support (they use 850 due to a contract with another wireless subcontractor). T-mobile apparently will sell the T610 and will even unlock the phone w/ service. T86i seems like the phone to go with for now since the price has dropped and it's not drastically different than the T610 feature wise (the T610 is just much more stylish and has a more polished UI).
FYI, T-Mobile/Amazon.com has the T68i for $99.99 - $100 rebate if you sign up for service!
Nifty features include Bluetooth/USB, E-mail client, picture phonebook, SIM support, Java app support, MMS, games, browsing. Volcanic Red case is sweet.
Decent reviews:
http://www.howardchui.com/modules.php?name=Sections&sop=viewarticle&artid=136
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/sonyericsson-t610-en.shtml
Great overview of what makes this phone the coolest:
http://clubsonyericsson.com/en/products_t610_review.htm
And a great overview of what sucks:
http://mobile.burn.com/review.jsp?Id=391