iPhone running AFP
April 20, 2008 Posted by Al Castle
add a comment Categories: Castle, OSX, Picture of the Day, Puter Stuff, iPhone
A screenshot of my Macbook Pro connected via AFP (Apple Filing Protocol) to my iPhone with a ClamXav scanning the files for giggles.
See this post at Modmyifone for more information on doing this.
adult spider bot poking my web
April 20, 2008 Posted by Al Castle
add a comment Categories: Castle, Puter Stuff, Squirrels, TimeWaster
I tend to keep a tail open to my web logs, much in the same way I usually keep the TV on as background noise. My highly tuned Über brain keeps a look out for odd traffic for me to go easter egg hunting with.
Just a minute ago I saw three unusual direct hits, no referral, no other requests.
64.27.21.2 “GET /2006/10/15/crossover-revisited-osx/ HTTP/1.1″ 200 23337 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)”
64.27.21.2 “GET /2006/12/18/cowboy-al HTTP/1.1″ 200 24358 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)”
64.27.21.2 “GET /?attachment_id=79 HTTP/1.1″ 200 21207 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)”
A whois gives us this.
Hollywood Interactive, Inc. HOLLYWOOD-INTERACTIVE (NET-64-27-0-0-1)
64.27.0.0 - 64.27.31.255
AirlineReservations.Com, Inc. HWLD-AIRRES-005 (NET-64-27-21-0-1)
64.27.21.0 - 64.27.21.255
Yeah. Right. AirlineReservations is a great domain name, but it’s just a series of Google Ads pages with nothing of its own. More of a ruse than anything.
Accessing 64.27.21.2 on port 80 gives us a page titled “Adult Search”, without any search functionality, just a list of adult sites with thumbnails.
What’s funny is look at the pages they wanted from me. I’m guessing these are quality adult keywords?
- crossover-revisited-osx
- cowboy-al (this could also be a regex looking for cowboy-gal?)
- attachment_id=79 (not sure on this one. My page is about Audio Hijack so who knows).
Nothing terribly exciting for a lazy Sunday morning.
bellingham public library audiobooks block ipod users
April 20, 2008 Posted by Al Castle
1 comment so far Categories: Must Listen, OSX, Puter Stuff, Travel, Web Design & Dev, gnash-teeth, iPhone
This evening I finished reading a book and was investigating whether the next book I’d like to read is available from the Whatcom County Library. I notice on their horrifically designed and sluggish website a blurb about audio books, now available. It is with some joy that I follow the link to Northwest Anytime and read more. Then the let down comes crashing down like a Bengal tiger to the groin.
At this time, OverDrive Media files cannot be used on iPods or Mac computers.
Our media titles, provided by OverDrive, Inc., use DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection technology from Microsoft Corporation. Unfortunately the iPod (and Mac) currently support neither DRM-protected Windows Media Audio (.wma) files nor Windows Media Video (.wmv) files.
OverDrive, along with hundreds of online media providers, is hopeful that Apple and Microsoft can reach an agreement that would enable support for Microsoft-based DRM-protected materials on the iPod/Mac.
To review a list of devices that are compatible with OverDrive Media, click here.
You may also want to check device documentation to determine if a device supports DRM-protected Windows Media content.
Reading through their FAQ…dear god. This wonderful software that you are required to use supports everything from Windows 98 on up. Oh, and in case you didn’t catch it, the company/product name for this wonderfully backward media software is called OverDrive. Is this a joke? Someone has to be playing an elaborate joke on me.
OverDrive has this tidbit on its website.
The OverDrive Team is a group of innovative, passionate masterminds who build and distribute technology solutions for the real world.
What twisted dimension did these guys crawl out of? Ok, I’m straying a little here. Back to the Library and its suckiness.
Ah here we go, apparently iPods are far too modern. Lets support the Palm!
Can I use OverDrive Audio Book titles with my Palm device? OverDrive Audio Book titles may be transferred to certain Palm devices with the help of a third party application called Pocket Tunes….
The iPod (& iTouch, iPhone, Shuffle) is decidedly the most prevalent portable music listening device on the market. Why then is the Bellingham Public Library, choosing to use a Windows Media Audio format and DRM solution that locks out the most widely used device for Mac and Windows users?
Yes, I would agree that Windows is what is running on the majority of desktops, but who really listens to audio books at their desktop? In your car and on your mp3 player are the more likely of places. Why the sites main blurb contains this statement.
Transfer audiobooks to your MP3 player or burn selected titles to a CD for listening on the go.
The press release for this service has this mention.
“This service is great for travelers, commuters, and for those who like to listen to books while they exercise,” said Joan Airoldi, Director of Whatcom County Library System. “With so many best-selling titles available, there’s sure to be something for every listener.”
Again, the majority of people are using iPod family products. The release goes onto say,
Beth Farley, Head of Information and Reader’s Services at the Bellingham Public Library, listens to audiobooks when she goes on vacation. “No more piles of CDs to keep track of on the airplane,” she enthuses, “I’ll be able to fit several entire novels on one tiny MP3 player.”
Alright, what the hell? I fly a lot and I’ve never seen anyone with a stack of CDs on a plane. And please tell me Ms Farley what sort of MP3 player do you have? Sounds to me like most bureaucratic organizations and companies, someone out of touch with the market and technology is making the decisions.
I really wish I wasn’t so agitated and it wasn’t so late. Otherwise I’d write a more coherent piece on why not only this is a very poor implementation of great idea, but also on the correct course of action the library, publishers, and most importantly authors should have taken.
