SMS/MMS/Data Backup for Windows Mobile Devices

So, I stumbled across this today, and sure appreciate freeware:

Anyway, sure beats having to pay to backup all of my text messages and attachments from my old T-Mobile Dash.

Program's called: PIM Backup 2.8
http://www.dotfred.net/default.htm

UNetbootin

I need to setup a couple of DNS servers. Because they are DNS servers, performance isn't critical, so I would like to employ some older machines (does that count as green?)

These servers will be headless and since one of the easiest pieces to fail (because it's one of the few components that have mechanical parts) is the hard drive, I would like to eliminate it altogether.

I've booted diskless clients before, and it wasn't as easy as I'd like it to be. Also, that just moves the onus of the hard disk failure to another machine, it does not eliminate it.

The solution I've come up with is to boot from a USB flash drive. The biggest issue with this is persistence of my settings, but they've pretty much taken care of that recently.

I'm going to use UNetbootin to accomplish the installation of the OS to the USB drive.

I also think I'm going to use DSL for the OS, as it seems to be recommended by this post.

ThinkGeekWeek #2

So, I know, story of my life... I fall behind on the posts. :)

N E way...

Here's the newest cool thing to show from ThinkGeek!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/games/b077/

Rubix Mirror Block Cube


Pretty dang cool, huh?! I think that could be really fun to play with. Wonder if it's as easy to figure out as the original!

Temporary Email Address

Ever wanted a temporary email address? As in one that could expire in 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours? Well, Melt Mail is your answer.

Also, remember that you may not need to register for every site you come in contact with. Bug Me Not is also here for you.

7 Deady Linux Commands

If you haven't already, you might want to make yourself aware of these 7 Deadly Linux Commands.

These range from wiping out your home directory to "total loss of data".

I had no idea that `:(){:|:&};:` could be so bad. :-/

Darik's Boot and Nuke

Waiting for that special moment where you need to wipe everything off your hard drive?
Yeah, me too.

Not wanting to spend the money for the Fujitsu 500GB drive that can erase itself entirely in under a second!

Here's an easy way to do it.

Be careful, this isn't a toy. If you do boot this CD, it will nuke your machine.

Backup Directory to CD or DVD

Here's a quick way to backup a folder or directory to an ISO:

mkisofs -V LABEL -r directory | gzip > cdrom.iso.gz

ThinkGeekWeek #1

So, inspired by Peter, Think-Geek and the incoming holiday season... I've decided to (try and) post daily Think-Geek products that us nerds just love. It's a love not easily explained, as to most these items may seem terribly ridiculous (and in all actuality, we do to an extent too), but regardless, it takes some creativity to come up with some of these things!

It all started when I bought a fun t-shirt off of Think Geek's website one Christmas, and from that point on, they've sent me catalogs around the holiday shopping season.

I got mine in the mail this past weekend... WOO!!

So, to head things off, I'll post an item that at first made me laugh really hard (I had to contain myself in the coffee shop), but it's well suited for the time of the year...

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/a823/

Laser-Guided Scissors

Yeah, questionable. Firstly, Don't cut my hair with those thick scissors, and secondly, I'm not sure the laser really adds anything to the whole thing... I mean, really, it's projecting where you'll cut, when the blade is only an inch away from the surface anyway; so... yeah, hmm. :) Maybe not.

Gmail Backup

Like having your Gmail email available?
Wonder what it would be like to not be able to access it anymore (I know, Halloween is over, but scary things are still out there).

Well, this might be the solution to your problems.

It's called Gmail Backup.
It works via command line or GUI (although it's CLI only for you Linux and Mac OS X people), and will backup your emails in one click.

You can use it to switch your emails over from one account to another, or just retain a backup.

The Unofficial List of Unusual Units of Measure

Thanks to my buddy Angelo, I thought I'd share!

My favorites:

Area
Barn: 1.0×10^-28 m²
Nanoacre: 4 mm²

Time
Jiffy: 0.01 seconds

Fame
Warhol: 15 minutes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement

Visual Voicemail

Here is Fusion Voicemail Plus. This awesome application works on phones that run Windows Mobile (and I think Dingleberries).

Basically this is an application that allows you to view a list of your voicemails. You can then scroll through them, choose whether you want to reply to them, or listen to them, or just delete them without even listening to them!

If that wasn't cool enough, it gets better. This service allows you to forward your voicemail from other phones (home, office, etc.) to the same service. This way you will get notifications for voicemails from all of your lines on your cell phone.

Sweet.

I've seen this work, as I setup my friend's phone to use this service. It works by waiting until you don't answer your phone (if you don't answer), or you aren't available (your phone is off), and then forwarding the call to some other number somewhere. The call is then answered by the computers there, and a greeting is played (a greeting which you can record if you wish). The voicemail is then recorded as an MP3 and a txt message is sent to your phone. The txt message is picked up by the Phone Fusion application, which parses the information, adds it to the list of voicemails, and then makes your phone vibrate or ring or whatever, telling you that you have a new message.

Not cool enough?? -- It gets better!
You can listen, delete, and look at your voicemails ONLINE! That's right, you can go to the website, login, and then listen to your voicemails!

Oh, and did I mention it's all FREE!

Patent Number WO/2006/068865

Here it is: Patent Number WO/2006/068865.

Yup, that's McDonald's trying to patent the "method and apparatus for making a sandwich".

And you thought that Microsoft attempting to patten the Page Up/Page Down buttons was ridiculous.

Super Computers

Here's the list of the top 500 super computers.

The Sandia/Cray Red Storm system came in at 9th place!

And do you know what took 8th? (of course you do, you're a huge nerd) -- Jaguar, which just DOUBLED it's performance!!!

So what's number 1? That would be Roadrunner.

Just a quick bit about Roadrunner:

Made from Commercial Parts. In total, Roadrunner connects 6,562 dual-core AMD Opteron® chips as well as 12,240 Cell chips (on IBM Model QS22 blade servers). The Roadrunner system has 98 terabytes of memory, and is housed in 278 refrigerator-sized, IBM BladeCenter® racks occupying 5,200 square feet. Its 10,000 connections – both Infiniband and Gigabit Ethernet -- require 55 miles of fiber optic cable. Roadrunner weighs 500,000 lbs.