Brad's Blog

Published: 2009-12-13

Ubuntu Audio, YES! Windows XP, NO.

Hardware Linux Ubuntu audio

I run a dual-boot Ubuntu64[1] and Windows XP system. The windows partition really exists for a single purpose, and I occasionally just reboot the machine, choose the XP partition from the Grub menu, and all is well.However, a few weeks ago, I upgraded Ubuntu, but when I rebooted the machine and chose the XP partition, I noticed the sound[2] stopped working. What!? The audio worked fine in ubuntu!The Secret: I had to completely power down the ...


Published: 2008-09-23

hack your iphone earbuds...

Fun Hack Hardware iPhone

I've been complaining (inwardly) about my iPhone's earbuds since I first tried them on. Who knew it was so easy to just hack them!iPhone / iPod Touch Headphone / Earbud Replacement


Published: 2008-09-13

Pondering a Robotic Lawn Mower

Fun Hardware robots

Last weekend my gasoline powered lawn mower died. This prompted a search for a new mower, during which I stumbled upon some of Friendly Robotics' Robomow; a line of battery-powered robotic lawn mowers. Now, I have to admit that for the past 15 years or so, every time I've mowed a lawn, I've thought about the possibilities of a robotic lawn mower, and I'm not at all surprised that there's a company producing these. At first ...


Published: 2008-07-12

Why Bluetooth headsets didn't catch on in the '90s

Fun Hardware


Published: 2007-03-05

Mac mini disassembly

Hardware Mac

I've been a mac user since my wife bought me a Min in 2005. During that time I've enjoyed being a Mac user, but until now I've not performed a lobotomy on my little mac. I finally decided to upgrad to 1Gb of Ram, and thanks to NewEgg, this was fairly inexpensive. Also, thanks to Russel Beattie and smashsworld.com, I found it fairly easy to get into the mini.Though I only upgraded the RAM, I ...


Published: 2006-12-23

My Wife's New Laptop

Hardware

Well, the semester has ended, so I've been working from home (trying to catch up on all of the "extra work", and, while out to the gym, My wife gives me a call and starts asking about laptop specs!? It turns out she's got her eye on a nice little bundle at Radio Shack!It seems they had an HP Pavilion dv2000 notebook (Turion 64 - 2Ghz/512Mb Ram/100Gb HD/nvidia Geforce go 6150) with a bundled 6 ...


Published: 2006-06-30

ebay?

Hardware

I recently thought I'd look through ebay for a low-end, cheap laptop... Possibly something for around $200, just fast enough to comfortably run a light-weight window manager (like fluxbox). While there were plenty from which to choose, I couldn't help but wonder at some of the (notice the quotes) "advertisements" in the descriptions!One item was listed as something like: Super Fast Dell Laptop - like new!. Then, in the specs, I found things like this:Processor: Super Fast ...