iPhone tracker app (download iPhone tracker here). It shows you which towers I’ve connected to most frequently and you can play back the results day-by-day if you are seeking to really stalk someone.
Oh, one other bit. See that travel across the border into Shenzhen? Interestingly enough I had swapped SIM cards up there and used my China SIM card. Apparently the gadget doesn’t care what SIM you are using–it just tracks it no matter which card is in there. So while you may escape a trace effort from the phone company by removing the SIM, should they get your phone or your desktop, they’re going to find out where you were.
And for those who wonder, the way to disable this is to turn off your phone (though I suspect some hacks will come out shortly to improve this option).
Here is a 20 minute interview about how the file was discovered.
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Facetime (Free on your iPhone/iPad or .99¢ on your desktop) is a nice high resolution way of doing face-to-face conferences between any two people in the Apple iOS environment. Want to Facetime grandpa from the iPhone? It can be done (with a wifi).
But with such a nice interface, the question has arisen throughout the net “Can I use Facetime as a Baby Monitor?” and “Can I use Facetime as a security camera”. The problem was that Facetime required you to actively accept an incoming request, much like you have to pick up a phone to speak to someone who is calling you.
Intrepid hackers moved quickly to find a solution to the auto-answering Facetime question. A simple Applescript solution has been posted for a few months now that enables, when running, Facetime to answer an incoming call without any human interaction. But after just a few minutes of playing with this script (hanging up, reconnecting, failing, etc) I discovered it wasn’t the be all end all of answers.
Wouldn’t you know, there is a much more elegant solution, thanks in large part to Apple’s foresight (and possible future software upgrades). Hidden in the preferences for Facetime at the configuration file level is a function for Auto Accept incoming calls. Typing this simple command for example would enable your Facetime to start automatically anytime Steve Jobs sent you a request, simply by opening your terminal and typing in this line:
defaults write com.apple.FaceTime AutoAcceptInvitesFrom -array-add [email protected]
Now the slightly more confusing bit is that you should probably have a second Apple ID tied to the Facetime you intend to use as a security camera. I used a second email address and registered a new Apple ID to tie to that computer running the auto-accepting Facetime.
But I can confirm it works. I have a monitor now set up in the living room so I can check on the boys as they terrorize the nanny and the neighbor kids. Works so well that I’m now thinking of getting a higher resolution camera (Logitech 1080p Webcam Pro C910) to record their crimes for future prosecution.
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My first doctor was the fourth doctor.
Tom Baker, the curly haired long scarf wearing Doctor Who ate copious amounts of jelly babies candy, was the doctor when I started to watch Doctor Who. His assistant was Sarah Jane Smith, and unfortunately today she passed away after a long battle with cancer.
The character Sarah Jane Smith stretched across multiple doctors. She was involved not only in the original series from the 70s, but also the resurrection of the show, and the eventual spinoff of the show into her own kids-based program called “The Sarah Jane Adventures“.
She left behind a husband and a daughter. The full obituary is running on the BBC’s website.
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recent review of Suckerpunch, I thought I’d continue along the same vein of films that in which I was “sold” based in large part on scenes from the trailer. For example, the picture along the right here probably goes a long way to explaining why I wanted to see the movie Gantz.
Gantz is a manga series in Japan that has developed quite a cult following. The storyline is basically follows two lead characters, childhood friends who after a long absence find themselves rescuing a drunk from a subway track moments before they are both hit by a train. They die, but rather than end up in an afterlife their stuck in a rather odd sort of a limbo in the shape of a small condo in Tokyo filled with a half dozen other recently deceased and a giant black orb. Eventually, after the arrival of a naked woman shown on the right, the orb tells them they have a mission to hunt aliens (for points that can eventually set them free) and it arms them with weapons and special suits (see the pic, again).
Yada-yada-yada.
The film was ok. Nothing to change my view of the world or lose sleep over (unless of course I have dreams of the aforementioned picture on the right). The story was ok, though some of the special effects ranged between interesting and sort of low-budget.
What made Gantz rather infamous was the fact the graphic novel was very graphic. Extremely graphic. If they made a movie true to the novel it would probably be rated-X for violence. It’s also pretty sexual in nature (I think in one of the books they have a sadistic rapist reincarnated who takes pleasure raping aliens before he dispatches them). Some have pointed out that the lack of extreme violence has watered down the film to a point that true fans will be turned away and new fans might be a bit alienated.
That’s not to say it’s splatter free. You don’t just kill an alien with a sniper rifle. They have to be shot with a blaster that blows up all different colors of slime. But compared to what some might be expecting I gather this was quite a bit tamer to sneak in with a PG-13 rating or below. Personally, the last thing I felt like watching was a vivisection film, even if they were alien arms and legs.
[caption id="attachment_3398" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="If your friend has a coffee table that looks like this, be afraid."][/caption]
What might turn away casual fans is the dubbing into English. Apparently the guys who did 1970’s kung fu dubbing have been pulled out of retirement to create one of the worst dubbings I’ve seen in quite some time. Ridiculous pauses and verbal intonations render this at times laughable.
But in the end I got what I expected. A quick movie about the world of Gantz (which will be followed by a sequel released in Japan later this month). I have to say the extreme gore of the manga is probably keeping me from be a more fanatic follower of the series, but it was worth checking out as a stand alone film and story. I will watch the sequel just to see more of the woman on the right (despite whatever plot twists might occur in the next film that I won’t reveal) but don’t expect me near the comic book shop anytime soon buying the book.
UPDATE: There is an iPhone app for Gantz.GANTZ movie – T-Basic. Inc.]]>
recent developments by the Cable companies are a sign that might soon change.
So let’s go through a list with a few reviews:
Individual StationsAl Jazeera English Live – Livestation — (Traditional Broadcaster) — AJE is an international news service that has really made a name for itself during the Arab revolutions of 2011. While it is still criticized by some in the West for ‘biased’ reporting on issues such as the US invasion of Iraq and the Arab-Israeli peace process, AJE has established itself internationally as a major player in the international news community. AJE is now viewable on cable TV in most parts of the US (due to the aforementioned controversy) but their iPhone app is a must have for any news afficiando. AJE has really gone to great lengths to get their voice out on non-traditional communication’s channels such as mobile phones, the Internet, and streaming media players like the Roku
FRANCE 24 – France 24 (Traditional Broadcaster) — France 24 is France’s answer to CNN and the BBC World Service. Broadcasting from Paris in English and French, France 24 offers a European take on the international news and is definitely worth adding to your iPhone collection.
DW–(Traditional Broadcaster)–Deutsche Welle is the German international broadcaster offering a mix of English and German programming throughout the day (often the same exact show just in different languages). Streams and podcasts of their programs are available through this app.
CCTV (CNTV) — (Traditional Broadcaster) — CCTV is the Chinese state broadcaster offering a wide variety of programming from sports to those long episodic soap operas. They have an English-language service but this app gives you access to a wide variety of the official government programs from China.
NHK WORLD TV Live – NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) (Traditional Broadcaster)–Made far more relevant by the recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, NHK World’s iPhone app gives you English-language programming from Japan. Sometimes you get an HD quality stream too.
SKY TG24 — (Traditional Broadcaster) — This is a Turkish broadcaster broadcasting in Turkish news and other programming from Turkey. I haven’t watched it very much but the production quality looks rather professional.
AJE Sports — (Traditional Broadcaster) — Al Jazeera has a full time sports programming which includes quite a few soccer matches from middle eastern nations. Occasionally they’ll have some other sports programming but generally you’ll see football most of the time.
BFM–(Traditional Broadcaster – French). This is a 24-hour news channel based in France with a worldwide satellite audience. The coverage tends to be about French news and France or EU-related
Collators
TVU Player iPad (Lite and Full) This is one of my most important apps as it gives me access to literally 100s of traditional broadcasters from around the world. You won’t find BBC or CNN in there [ usually 😉 ] but there is plenty on this app to keep you occupied. If you are a sports fan, particularly a soccer fan, than this app is a must have. They carry a number of matches from around the world on this app and you’ll have plenty of content to keep you busy. They also have some movie channels airing some copyright expired movies.
PPTV is another good app, eventhough most of the instructions are in Chinese. Originally I thought there were some live channels but on further inspection it appears most of it is ‘on demand’ movies, some of which you kind of wonder ‘do they really have the re-broadcast rights for this’? American and European movies along with tons of Chinese films are found throughout this app.
ELTA TV This is a Taiwanese app that has a number of pre-recorded programs, but occasionally has some sporting highlights from the NBA or MLB.
W.TV iPad–This one is wild. It has all sorts of content, of questionable copyright, filling it’s directory of live and on demand movie programs. It’s in Chinese, but not all the movies are Chinese–some are still in the theaters in the USA.
Livestation (Web) This is one of my favorite websites for watching television. I strongly recommend their mobile site, m.livestation.com as a bookmark on your homescreen as they offer a number of channels in iPhone and iPad compatible streams. Euronews is on this channel, something I watch frequently to get the EU perspective on things.
Internet OnlyTWiT – ShiftKeySoftware–This week in Tech is a great app with great tech-related content. It’s also a massive warning shot to any traditional broadcaster. Leo Laporte and his crew have patched together ‘a tv station’ with not much more than a lot of bandwidth and a number of TV cameras. They broadcast daily, live and then stream repeats throughout the night. I would love to emulate this model with other content–just have to buy some nice bandwidth and get started. Maybe next week.
Oh man this list is going to be long. I think I’m going to have to take a break before it gets out of control…
Here are a few others worth investigating on your own:
YUPPTV–Indian programming
RAYV TV–Random TV channels
MOSS–Random TV channels (a few good ones too)
I.TV–Links to some streams
SPB.TV–Some German or French channel.
netTV Lite–Random TV channels, paid version has more interesting bits.
MobiTV–Works in the US. Subscription model.
GrandLille TV–French Channel.
Xfinity TV–Comcast app. Works in the USA
We Stream–Random TV channels
Zappo TV–Random TV channels
MTS TV–Random TV channels
SMC TV–Chinese channels
Infinity TV–Random TV channels
On Air Live–Random stuff
Tai Seng–TONS of Hong Kong dramas and movies on demand.
UStream–Random TV and user channels
JustinTV–Random TV and user channels
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This will be updated throughout the day. Going to make a massive list of links today related to the Royal Wedding, since it’s on here and it’s the middle of the day. Feel free to add links to the comments.
Live Video Streams
Youtube Royal Channel
Youtube Monarchy
CNN (USA): Also coverage on the CNN App for iPhone (U.S.) and CNN App for iPhone (International)
E Online (USA): Also coverage from their Live From the Red Carpet app.
TVB Hong Kong
BBC One (UK)
BBC Multiple Camera Angle Options
Associated Press
PBS (Ustream)
MSNBC
Hulu (USA)
CBS News
ABC News (Australia)
CBC TV (Canada)
Live Blogs
BBC America
Daily Mail (UK)
Other Bits:
Royal Wedding Program (PDF)
Royal Wedding Site
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Intrepid hackers moved quickly to find a solution to the auto-answering Facetime question. A simple 
) to record their crimes for future prosecution.
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My first doctor was the 
