ByteEngine: February 2008

Thursday, February 28, 2008

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Ok, so my tumblelog claims that part of the subject matter includes cheeseburgers, but I’m relatively sure that up until now I haven’t posted a single story about cheeseburgers. Why? I’ve been waiting to inaugurate the occasion with a personally purchased (and subsequently eaten) In-N-Out Double Double cheeseburger. And on February 29th, no less.

Mmmm.

Let the cheeseburger posts begin!

Installing Rails on Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)

http://hivelogic.com/articles/ruby-rails-leopard/

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

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The latest Google Android platform?? demo.

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If you bought a MacBook Air, and have been carrying it around in an actual manilla folder, you can stop it now. Wonder Threads has developed laptop sleeves that look like manilla folders, but are built to cradle your baby in comfort. And the best part? Comes in sizes for the Air and Pro.

Check it out: Wonder Threads MacBook Manilla Folder Sleeve

How to avoid a disastrous (Rails) launch

http://railsontherun.com/2008/2/28/gumgum-launch-or-how-to-avoid-a-disastrous...

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One of my favorite obsessions is reading about how other technologist launch/run/scale web sites. This is clearly an area where those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it, and while I’m occasionally guilty of that crime, when it comes to tech solutions I’m a voracious reader.

Matt Aimonetti, on his site “Rails on the Run”, talks about launching GumGum, a licensing and distribution platform for online content. Good stuff.
Check it out: Rails on the Run: GumGum Launch

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Apple???s ???iPhone Software Roadmap??? Event: 3/6??

Via TechCrunch

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

iPhone 1.1.4 boosts cell signal strength

http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/02/26/iphone-114-boosts-cell-signal-strength/

Hope this is true. I’ll let you know.

Update: This is completely anecdotal, but I watched my signal strength during my train ride home, and I did have more/full bars where the iPhone would traditionally have a degraded/lost signal. Bonus. I’ll keep my eye on it, but so far, this myth appears to be “confirmed.”

Adobe is working on a project that would allow C, C++, Java, Python, Ruby, etc. to be cross-compiled to ActionScript byte code. That means you’d be able to (sorry) “Write once, run anywhere.”

Monday, February 25, 2008

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1979 BMW M1 (via eBay Motors)

glTail.rb - realtime logfile visualization

http://www.fudgie.org/

Awesome. (via neonarcade)

Castanaut ?? Script-based Screencasts

http://gadgets.inventivelabs.com.au/castanaut

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From the site: “Castanaut lets you write executable scripts for your screencasts. With a simple dictionary of stage directions, you can create complex interactions with a variety of applications.”

Check it out: Castanaut Via RubyInside

Saturday, February 23, 2008

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Zero Sign-On with OpenID & Client Certificates

http://drnicwilliams.com/2008/02/22/zero-sign-on-with-client-certificates/

Via Dr. Nic

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Optimus Maximus keyboard in action.

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Ruby???s creator Yukihiro ???Matz??? Matsumoto speaking at Google on February 20, 2008.

IBM's "Many Eyes" Data Visualization Project

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Cold boot attacks on encryption keys. Awesome.

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If you’re a politico, this really says it all, in so many ways.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

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Running iPhone v1.1.3? Nate True figured out how to add a speed dial web clip to your home screen - no jailbreak necessary! Check it out on Hackszine.com:

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Do you want to know how un|popular you really are in the world of Social? Google’s ‘Social Graph API’ allows developers to “utilize public connections their users have already created in other web services.” Essentially, Google’s API takes already public information, and leverages XFN (XHTML Friends Network) and FOAF (Friend of a Friend) markup to understand connections between people and web sites.

Check it out: Google’s Social Graph API

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A beginner’s guide to PIC micros. Sometimes I wish there were more hours in a day. But only sometimes. Via Make

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Total Lunar Eclipse: February 20, 2008

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html

Microsoft Office Binary File Formats (doc, xls, ppt)

http://www.microsoft.com/interop/docs/OfficeBinaryFormats.mspx

Whoa.

Ducati 1098 : 2008 IBOTY

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/20/ducati-1098-named-the-2008-international-b...

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Ok, so unless you have Tom Cruise money, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever be able to afford a??Desmosedici,??but considering that it just won International Bike of the Year, I’d (ahem) settle for a 1098.

Via??Autoblog??

Monday, February 18, 2008

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‘Snap Circuits’ are electronics learning kits for kids. I had something similar when I was a kid, but it was from Radio Shack, and used springs and wire. I spent HOURS playing with and creating all different types of projects, ignoring TV all the while. I’m definitely going to get this for my son!

Snap Circuits @ Elenco