mattcraigschultz's blog

I'm Posting From My Wii

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 04:39:38 -0600

I just thought I'd let you all know that the Wii version of Opera 9 is available for download and I'm writing this on my Wii. Looking for a reason to pick one up? Well, the thing is like a $250 mac mini mixed with a gamecube and bundled with sweet bluetooth hardware. Seriously, this is the coolest feeling you can have while sitting on your couch. 10 out of 10. (And an arm workout, too!)

Modcast Radio

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:23:41 -0600

Just thought I'd let you all know that I started up a SHOUTcast radio on the old PIII sitting on my desk. Feel free to tune in at http://76.185.100.238:8000/ and let me know what you think. I'm open to suggestions on music and any input you might have for me. This is just a little project to use up my bandwidth that doesn't get used. Hopefully I'll get around to bringing modcast back, but I'm currently working on another project with my buddies over here in Dallas.

Wii: A Short Review

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 02:48:54 -0600

Of the past 3 days since the Wii came out, about 15 hours of it have been spent playing or watching my friend's Nintendo Wii. Of all the systems I've played, it is by far the most innovative, intuitive, fun, and easy to use system by far. The controls are crisp and responsive, the graphics are exactly as I expected, and the functionality of it is tenfold what I thought it'd be. Even the defacto game that comes with it, Wii Sports, is downright addictive. Red Steel, a first person shooter is also hours of fun. But the best experience yet has been the new Legend of Zelda. I just finished the first temple of the game and I had to pry myself out of the chair to leave.

FIFA's Skewed Business Model

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 14:07:16 -0500

Since when did the interests of sponsors become more important that the customers? Perhaps FIFA needs to go back to business school, because last I heard, the customer is always right, not the sponsor. Just take a look. The story goes; Budweiser is an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2006. Dutch fans, as any real fan would, put on their country's colors for the game; but some wore pants with one of Budweiser's competitor's logo on them. Apparently, this offended Budweiser's execs, who told FIFA, who in turn, forced the Dutch to take off their pants for the game.

Modcast Update: 04.02.06

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 13:55:20 -0500

So we didn't meet the assumed release date stated in the previous update, and for that we're sorry. However, Modcast is slated for release in August now, and with even better projects at hand. The first episode is always the most difficult, and once we get it out of the way, things will only get easier. Since everyone here at Blogcadre is always so nice, I figured I'd give everyone an inside look at the projects we are working on for the first episode.

Installation and configuration of Kismet wireless sniffer with Festival text-to-speech support.

What Movie Does Your Computer Run?

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 19:16:17 -0600

Last night a friend of mine asked me what the big differences among Windows, OS X, and Linux are. After talking my way through it for a while, I thought it would be best to use an analogy to describe it. So this one's for all of you out there who are new to computers: think of your operating system as a movie. The way I see it, the following movies relate to the type of movie stated;

Windows - The everyday, nothing-special, run-of-the-mill movie. These are usually the movies that fill up the box offices that everyone goes to see, but don't really care about too much. Think chick flick, teen comedy, horror, and action movies. Tons of people see them (just as tons of people are running Windows), but the don't get good reviews, and really aren't expected to. Some of them will get a lot of hype, but then let down everyone who goes to see them. Your friends see them, your family sees them, they keep the movie industry going, providing most of the income at the box office.

Incredibly Small Power Supply

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 15:51:41 -0600

This is really cool, an extremely small, ATX-compliant power supply for PC's. The thing can crank out 120W of power and is roughly the size of the 24 pin connector that supplies power to the motherboard. With stuff like this coming out, it won't be too far from now when we can fully functional and customizable computers anywhere we want.

More Mechanical LEGO Computing!

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 18:55:57 -0600

Yep, you read it right: more mechanical LEGO computing! This time it's a difference engine. This time, think Babbage's difference engine in LEGO. Not exactly programming, but computing nonetheless. Maybe someone should start a mechanical LEGO computation group...

It's Official, Modcast is Coming Back

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 00:54:24 -0600

After much thought, I have decided to bring Modcast back to life, but this time there's a twist. The show will no longer be a podcast, but instead, a videocast. I'm working on the intro graphics and other media as we speak. We're trying for a release date of mid-March, this year. Any input on content to cover or mods to do would be very much appreciated. The aim of the show will be not only to showcase mods, but to give tutorials, interviews, and reviews of new products.

Can't A Man Get His, Uh, Man... Meat... Nevermind...

Sat, 04 Feb 2006 00:31:04 -0600

Ok, so the title didn't exactly come out the way I wanted. (Disclaimer: I would just like to enforce the fact that I am in no way, shape, or form homosexual or bisexual.) Anyways, on to the content: apparently tribes around the world aren't very happy because human flesh doesn't fit into their low-carb diets. No fear though! Now they make HuFu! Something about this is very, very disturbing: human flavored tofu. It's not so much the cannibalistic part that scares me, more the fact that health nuts and vegetarians have infiltrated even the most remote regions of this planet. What's next, HuFruit Smoothies, Caramel Intestine Frappuccino? I'm not sure, but I know it can't be good. Ugh...

P.S. Someone should throw a dinner party and serve HuFu ladyfingers or something, and not reveal what they are until people try it. Maybe I'll make some HuFu Cordon Bleu some night next week, and see how the family likes it.

When Marketing Goes Bad

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 00:50:29 -0600

I was watching the television today, and I saw the most idiotic commercial ever. The commercial was for a pair of HD Sunglasses. Let's look at that acronymn HD for a second: H=high, D=definition.

Now, why is this stupid? Maybe only someone with knowledge of what the term HD really means would think this is ridiculous. What is HD? High definition is a term associated to television or video broadcasts or files that are of a resolution higher than that of NTSC or PAL standards. Since real life optics have no pixel-by-pixel resolution, this makes no sense.

Crazy Car

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 14:55:08 -0600

I was browsing makezine and found something I thought you guys should see.

This has got to be the coolest car mod I have ever seen. It is made to look as though it is driving backwards, and it can drive almost sideways. Kinda makes me want to get a Fiat and try this out myself.

Is the iPod the Next Cellphone?

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 22:04:14 -0600

I was browsing the web, looking for some cool news, and I came accross this. Apparently, you can now order iPods pre-loading from this company with engraving, pictures, music, and video from you wedding in both his and her models. This got me thinking. If people are willing to make iPods a part of their weddings, then what is next for the little media device? It seems that as time goes on, iPods are becoming a necessity, rather than a cool gadget that only a few people have. It seems to me as though everything Apple releases is now "cool," "hip," or "tredny." Now I have nothing against Apple at all, and the only reason I don't have an iBook or PowerBook is because I don't want to buy all of my software again for the mac, as all of my licenses for high-end programs (i.e.

This One's for You, Jason

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 23:49:18 -0600

I know, it's been a while since I've posted here, and I really should change that. But when I came accross this, I immediately thought of Mr. Striegel, the main man here at blogcadre.

I was browsing digg for some cool content and came accross something amazing; a combination of electronics and LEGOs. No, I don't mean LEGO Mindstorms sets, nor do I mean any sort of third party robotics for LEGOs. The site is a demonstration of logic gates, commonly used in electronics and computer science, with LEGO pieces.

Own A Piece of Space History

Sat, 17 Sep 2005 12:48:26 -0500

Have you ever wanted to own a monumental piece of Soviet space history? Wouldn't it be great to have the actual boosters used on Russian rockets sitting in your garage, or one of those nifty looking space suits the cosmonauts wore while orbiting the earth, maybe even Sputnik? Well. now your dream has come true. Thanks to eBay, you can now buy the pants worn by Soviet monkeys for testing purposes during the 1950's through the 1960's.