Datensklaven

Photos and captions by Tom Carey

Instead of ten different places I like to shoot, I am choosing ten photos from one place I like to shoot: Indonesia. These are water shots from a trip during the Kustom Airstrike, with five guys getting two photos each. The air-wind and progressive surfers made for some of the best photos I’ve ever shot on a trip.

Chippa Wilson. On this trip everyone was really blown away by how technical he was. Dudes were almost bummed because he landed so many tech airs.

I really like this photo of Chippa. It makes the wave look like coping for these guys. I’m sure he pulled this too. The guy did not fall this trip.

Clay blew my mind, too. He probably doubled everyone’s wave count out there. He’s a genius and is so interesting to watch.

Clay at one point rewound some of Mitch Coleborn’s flips in BS! and watched him pull that crazy backflip. I swear the next day he went out and pulled the first or second one he tried. There’s nothing he can’t do.

Jay Davies is a big unit. The guy was riding a 5’6” Dwart and going berserk. He wanted that 50g’s so bad that he left the trip in a wheel chair.

Jay pretty much broke his ankle doing the biggest alley oops you’ve ever seen. I can’t comprehend how a guy that big can punt that high. He’s a legend.

What can you say about Josh Kerr? He’s so damn good. From 2-foot beachbreak to slabbing 10-footers, he’s a madman.

Here’s another backside Indy grab. Josh pulled this one and another massive one. No one does backside Indy grabs. He’s next level.

Mitch had a blown knee most of the trip. It’s a bummer because he did some of the biggest backside airs I’ve ever seen. He was so close to nailing that 50 grand. But you’d see his knee give way each time.

Mitch’s style is so mental. Its like Luke Egan and Marzo put together; just so polished. I hope he brings back that massive mustache again too. Mustache ride anyone?

I distinctly recall a bit of maneuvering when Joe Daileda, head of sales and marketing at MEElectronics, contacted us about reviewing some of their earphones. Joe seemed particularly keen on getting a pair of their ceramic CC51Ps in our hands, but I wanted none of it — being the armature junkie I am, I was fixated on their armature-powered A151s ($75). Joe eventually ended up sending us three models (impressions of the unique, modular SP51 coming soon to a review near you).

Joe’s favoritism may have been entirely in my head — I get like that sometimes; but true enough, the CC51Ps turned out to be a stunning revelation. The A151s? Not so much.

The Bad:

I’m going to break with convention here and list the bad stuff first. There’s a lot I need to get off my chest.

Let’s start with the fact that they’re not particularly comfortable. The tips are partly to blame: Like the sets that come with the CC51s (and common to other IEMs from smaller manufacturers), the surface of these tips have a kind of roughness to them that made inserting more difficult. Tip shapes are also fairly standard — three sizes of round, and two variety of flanged tips — with no foam (we love foam tips!) option included.

Also, the long flanged tips are actually longer than the housing nozzle, which made them practically useless as the pinnacle of the tip just sort of flopped around when I tried inserting it into my ear. Argh.

Then there’s the fact that the A151s aren’t equipped with a microphone or control button like many other IEMs these days. Which is fine, if, after all the sacrificing, they sound great — because then it’s all been worth it, right? Unfortunately, good sound isn’t in the cards here.

I was pretty surprised at how lackluster this set sounded. They exhibited little of the realism, clarity and smooth, even tone good armature-driven IEMs are so highly regarded for. Instead, sound was comparatively muddy; bass was there, but lacked good definition, and highs were dull. Soundscapes seemed compressed, with instruments on top of each other.

The Good:

The earpieces themselves are designed to be worn s that the cords can hang down or wrap around the top of the user’s ears, and apart from the tip issue, work well either way. The cord is also one of the most tangle-free in the biz.

Verdict:

If you’re looking for a good set of armature-driven canalphones, check out the matchless Ultimate Ears 600vi; if you want to sample what MEElectronics has to offer, try their marvelous CC51Ps instead. Either way, give the A151s a miss.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

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Another important cause has come to light, one that needs our support just as much as fighting SOPA or any other anti-freedom attack brought by greed. An extremely important and personal part of owning tech, is having the ability to play with it, learn from it, and improve it. Not everyone sees it this way, and some even want to restrict what you can and can not do to these tech products well after you’ve purchased them and taken them home. There are many greedy companies out there that wish to keep users shackled to their products, and claim things like jailbreaking or rooting violates Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a massive piece of copyright legislation that, among other things, prohibits “circumventing” digital rights management (DRM) and “other technical protection measures” used to control access to copyrighted works, or providing tools to help others do so.

Thankfully, in 2010, the Copyright Office said jailbreaking smartphones doesn’t violate the DMCA, but the problem is, they must reconvene every three years to consider granting these exemptions or they will simply expire. That time is upon us, and the EFF is asking for our help in getting the Copyright Office to renew that exemption, as well as to expand it to cover tablets. The EFF is also asking for a new exemption to allow jailbreaking of video game consoles. In order to have these exemptions granted, the Copyright Office must hear from real people, about real world cases of how jailbreaking or rooting is essential to their work, research, or basic right to do with their device as they please.

The EFF has outlined the steps for getting your comments to the appropriate Office, along with any other information you may or may not need. Comments need to be submitted by February 10th at 5PM EST, so we recommend you get started now. We’ll provide you will all the appropriate links to point you in the right direction, but remember, it’s up to you to keep the fight alive.

Imagine a world where you couldn’t tinker with the things you buy. Half of the world’s inventions would cease to exist had all the brilliant minds been thrown in jail for taking apart their creations or playing with their code. How many of you remember hacking together your first device or mod? How awesome and inspiring was it to explore all of the inner workings, to discover the possibilities, to watch your Frankenstein come alive!?. Don’t let that die, head over to EFF and make your voice heard.

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation

Image Source: www.jailbreakingisnotacrime.org

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A new jailbreak tweak by the name of Sireet has surfaced in Cydia. Developed by Tyler Nettleton, Sireet lets jailbroken iPhone 4S users tweet natively with Siri.

This free tweak is about as simple as it gets. There are no settings to configure. Sireet uses your iOS 5 Twitter info to set itself up automatically. Once you’ve installed Sireet from Cydia, say the word “tweet” followed by your message and Siri will do the rest. You don’t even have to confirm the tweet. Obviously, you will need to need a jailbroken iPhone 4S for Sireet to work. If you haven’t already, you can jailbreak your iPhone 4S by following our tutorial.

Follow @AlexEHeath

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Above: Macworld organizer Paul Kent on why the show is being rebranded as iWorld 2012.

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD/IWORLD 2012 — In an era when trade shows are almost extinct, Macworld is a dinosaur. And that’s in a good way.

Now in its 28th year, Macworld has survived when other trade shows haven’t. That’s largely because the show has been quick on its feet, switching focus and venues as times have changed. It’s transformed from a business-to-business show into a consumer-oriented one.

This week, the focus is entirely on end users, as Macworld attempts to rebrand itself iWorld. It will be about the Apple-oriented lifestyle, highlighting apps, art and music. Attendees can see what people are doing — or they can do themselves — with their devices.

In the video above, organizer Paul Kent talks about the transformation into iWorld. Below, he explains what to expect at the show this week.

Above: What to expect at Macworld/iWorld 2012.

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Motorola Mobility sued Apple in a Florida court on Wednesday for violating 6 wireless technology patents found in the iPhone 4S and iCloud. The patents in question relate to antenna, software, data filtering, and messaging technology.

Google recently acquired Motorola for $12.5 billion and is in the process of merging with the company. While Google is not directly involved with this specific case, Motorola’s lawsuit can definitely be seen as another attempt to protect patent ammunition for the ongoing legal war between the top smartphone manufacturers. In fact, this is the closest Apple and Google have ever come to fighting in the courtroom.

Reuters reports:

Motorola said the patents cited in the latest lawsuit are the same ones it is fighting to protect in a different Florida lawsuit. This complaint is against two of Apple’s latest products, the iPhone 4S and Apple’s iCloud remote storage service for music and other media, Motorola said.

Google had to sign off on this lawsuit, but Motorola Mobility is not owned by Google yet. This lawsuit shouldn’t be interpreted as Google indirectly suing Apple. If anything, Google is letting Motorola protect its intellectual property because those patents will one day belong to Google. The search and ad giant’s business model isn’t hurt by the lawsuit, and Motorola gets to stand up for itself in court.

Why not put some chinks in Apple’s armor before you have to clean the sword and claim it as your own.

(image via TheTechJournal)

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Jaspreet Kaur Walia:

Lighting units or lamps have the tendency to change the mood of an area with the charm they come smothered with. How about investing in a unit that will not only spread warmth, but will also embellish the area like a beautiful piece of art? Refik Burak Atatur has come up with a decorative lighting unit, which has been crafted with utmost precision and has a bewitching style.

Dandelion Lamp

Read the rest of this entry »

Asmita Prasad:

The most common gloom and doom scenario envisioned by sci-fi enthusiast is that earth in the future would be too polluted to live in and the human race would have to escape to other planets and build bases there to survive. The Mars Rover 2050 project came into being at the heels of such a vision where humankind needs to find new resources on other planets to avoid pending extinction.

Mars Rover

Read the rest of this entry »

Asmita Prasad:

What do you get when you put together a backpack, a cow’s skull and the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics concept car? For a common man, the answer to that query would be a very Gothic piece of auto-branded luggage. But for designer Adrian Candela, the combination of these disparate entities brings on the vision for a futuristic mobility solution he likes to call The Backpack.

Form backpack

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Brown Bear:

The concept:

Here is an innovation from the Israeli company, Lumus, which specializes in the Light-guide Optical Element (LOE) technology. LOE technology helps in the design of ultrathin lens that are uniquely capable of holding very tiny, see through elements right in front of the eye. When incorporated into goggles, it presents the user with information, messages and emails that can be seen and dealt with on the move. The images do not block the actual view. The concept as such has received mixed responses though.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nikonian Bar:

The 2012 Detroit Motor Show had a pretty parade of cars. Almost all the leading auto companies including Audi, Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai, Porsche, Toyota, Mercedes and Volkswagen introduced their green designs, giving the glimpse of green and healthy future. Among them, however, were a few cars that were definitely a cut above the rest. Here are the 10 best green cars from the Detroit Motor Show 2012.

We can’t help but love a good zig-zag — it’s fun, edgy and looks great on everyone. Here are some of our favorite zig-zags, all with their own flair.

Undrest

Cia Maritima

Despi

Quiksilver

Salt Swimwear

Billabong

Acacia

Luli Fama

Vitamin A

Vitamin A

$760.00 from Goldsmith Gallery
This cute and practical ring will ensure that you never forget that special date (e.g. your anniversary) again! The thing heats up to a mildly uncomfortable temperature once a year, 24 hours ahead of time… just in time for you to make a dinner reservation! Even more amazing is the fact that the ring’s internal clock and heater are powered by the heat of your own hand. We think it makes for a wonderful wedding ring, and not simply for its geeky practicality. It’s also quite touching to think that somewhere out there, your significant other is burning for you too.

Even though OS X supports more and more applications every day, there’s still some software out there that can only run on Windows. That’s where Wine comes in. Wine is a free application that allows you to run many Windows applications on Mac OS X. While it’s not flawless, and it doesn’t support all applications, it’s pretty neat, and can be helpful if there’s a certain piece of Windows software out there that you really need to run on your Mac. Heck, it even runs Minesweeper. In this video I’ll show you how to get Wine up and running, as well as how-to convert Windows applications into OS X apps.

You can download wine here.

Here are some apps that work with Wine.

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A Cydia package by the name of SiriToggles brings functionality to Siri that Apple should have included from day one. With the free SiriToggles tweak on your jailbroken iPhone 4S, you can launch any app, change your system settings, and even turn your iPhone off with your voice.

While Apple has restricted Siri to a limited set of capabilities by default, SiriToggles liberates the virtual assistant for jailbreakers.

Not only can you launch an app with your voice (“Open Maps,” for example), but you can toggle your iPhone’s settings quickly with Siri. The developer, Hamza Sood, has included multiple system toggles that the average user accesses daily. SiriToggles will let you toggle your iPhone’s Bluetooth, WiFi, Airplane Mode, and Data settings with your voice. Simply say either “enable/disable” or “turn on/turn off” followed by the setting and let SiriToggles work its magic.

You can get your iPhone’s battery percentage by saying something like “How much battery do I have left?” or “What is my remaining battery percentage?” or “What’s my current battery level?” Your screen’s brightness can even be changed with Siri by saying “set/change backlight/brightness to x%”

After using SiriToggles for more than a day, I haven’t noticed a drain on battery life or performance. This tweak is a great addition for any jailbroken iPhone 4S, and I highly recommended downloading it now in Cydia. If you haven’t jailbroken your iPhone 4S yet, follow our tutorial.

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