3pm Injection [27]

This week on 3pm Injection we'd like to get to know your music tastes. Tell us your current number one track you like in your music collection or any song you've heard recently and would like to share with other 3pm users. For me, I've been into a little dub, a little Gnarls Barkley, a couple Lady Sovereign tracks, and some Mos Def. My top played track has to be Mixmaster Mike - Skanner 13.

Mixmaster Mike


Remember NET9 viewers, this is the last time you'll see 3pm Injection here. From now on all future 3pm goodness will be exclusive to 3pm Overdose, so be sure to bookmark it if you haven't done so already.

3pm: "You were going to look for it anyway"
Goose - Whoop Somebody's Ass [Techno Mix]
Justin Timberlake feat. Will.i.am - Damn Girl
Lady Sovereign - Random
Method Man And Redman - Y.O.U.
Yoko Kanno - Piano Black

Previous Injections
[More] [24] [25] [26]

Nokia All In The News

It sure looks like Nokia is testing new waters with its new multimedia enabled phones. Even the 770 gets an honorable mention with a possible hint of things to come for the device.

"The big story to come is Linux on mobile devices. Not the kind of Linux that most people talk about, because it isn’t really open and you can’t change it. I’m talking fully open Debian Linux. Our 770 [Internet Tablet] plays with Linux."

Now that the 770 has pretty much been well received by the Open Source community and early adopters, one must wonder what future Nokia has in store for their newly created mobile niches.

Talk To Everyone

Google Talk has just been opened up to any and everyone. It used to be only available to Gmail users, but now you no longer need to have a Gmail account to use the service. Of course certain features such as chat history and mail notification will only work for Gmail users, but this is still great news. I know a few people that weren't interested in Google Talk because of the fact that they had to sign up for Gmail. Looks like they don't have much of an excuse to use it now.

Links: [1] [2] [3] [4]

La Fonera Unboxed

Well, that was quick. I received my La Fonera router from FON yesterday, and have taken shots of everything for you all to check out. Even though the pictures speak for themselves, my quick review will hopefully answer any questions that remain about the device and its features. So let's get started...

The box art is clean and simple...

Everything's packaged nice and neat...

Contents include the router La Fonera, power supply, flat CAT5 cable [6 ft.], quick installation guide, and software CD. [There was supposed to be two FON stickers, but they somehow failed to make it into my kit]

The CD contains the quick installation guide [pdf] and a [2 year] warranty statement.

As you can see, the antenna is the standard detachable type. [Someone was bound to ask about it]

Here's a size comparison of the access point next to the Nokia 770. [really small]

Here's an "in-the-hand" view to further show how small it is. [I think I have average size hands]

Okay, on to the main review...

Everything was pretty simple to set up. I connected it to our Linksys Compact Wireless-G Broadband Router without a hitch. I had to tweak a few security settings to get it recognized by the FON service, but nothing too heavy. The web-based configuration is clean and allows you to change various settings, but it's just as easy to change settings from the FON website. The firmware version is 0.7.0 r2 for those wanting to know.

I was surprised at the signal range of the little router. It's a bit stronger than the Linksys router that has an external antenna. The new FON router sports dual SSID and uses WPA for strong wireless encryption for the private "MyPlace" side of things and an unsecured "FON_AP" on the public access point side. The router itself is 802.11b/g at 2.4 GHz.

The people at FON might have a winner on their hands with this little guy. The build quality is good, it's simple to set up, and is amazingly compact considering it's more like two access points for a fraction of the price for just one [$5 + tax and shipping]. They may not sell a whole lot of these things as secondary wireless solutions for those that already have a wireless router, but they may have a potential market with wired network owners and small to medium sized business owners that want provide yet another service from their offerings. I could also see ISPs bundling these into their services as well. With all that said, I think FON did it right.

Well, that about covers it. All questions about the kit are welcome.

Links: [digg story]

News 09.25.2006

Bloglines Gets Even More Mobile With Skweezer
Bloglines Mobile now has integrated Skweezer technology to make surfing through links on mobile devices easier by optimizing web content for the smaller screens and giving users various image and language options to choose from. While Google has a way to this as well, Skweezer provides many other mobile services than just search.
Links: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

PSX-P: First Step Towards A PS1 Emulator For PSP
It was pretty obvious the PSP homebrew community would produce a PS1 emulator before Sony could come out with their official emulator. Although this is more of a "proof of concept" solution for playing PS1 games on the handheld, it could very well eat into any profits Sony have planed to make from their still yet to be seen solution.
Links: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Could We See Zune Sell For $99?
There's some interesting speculation going on about Microsoft possibly subsidizing the Zune in order to gain market share and reach a critical mass needed to dig in to Apple's dominant iPod sales. It's a great idea, but the likelyhood of Microsoft pulling something this "inteligent" seems quite slim to me. That said, it may be the only logical way for the Zune to become the "iPod killer" it's been hyped up to be.
Links: [1] [2] [3]

3pm Injection [26]

Well, if you haven't noticed, 3pm had a lot of links go "dark" this week with the recent stampede of digg users. We did an emergency update to help everyone separate the good mp3 links from the bad ones, and we are working hard to get some new music for you. Remember to show your support by buying something from the 3pm Store, and tell your friends and family about us. Also, if you know of any artist, song, or other mp3 you'd like to share with us or want to see on 3pm, let us know. What sounds good to you sounds good to us, and we mean that. Don't be afraid to try some of the mp3 links that are still standing on 3pm, as a lot of them are really good. Enjoy the music and stay posted for more great things to come to your ears in the very near future.

NET9 visitors, if you haven't heard the news yet, 3pm Injections are being migrated to 3pm Overdose. The next Injection you see here at NET9 will be the last, so be sure to bookmark/subscribe to 3pm Overdose for all your future 3pm Injections. Thank you.

3pm: "Spreading music to the masses"
Coxa - Amorita Drive
Dead Prez - Propaganda
Fergie - London Bridge [Buckey Remix]
Gnarls Barkley - The Last Time
Green Lantern feat. Dead Prez - Impeach The President
Lady Sovereign - 9 To 5
Lil' Wayne feat. Robin Thickie - Shooter
Yu-Tang Clan - Torture

Previous Injections
[More] [23] [24] [25]

Some Fun With The FON

I've been a fan of the FON idea from the beginning, but the recent news of FON starting to sell their new wireless router for $5 is the deal setter for me. I went ahead and ordered mine yesterday, and will give my review of it once I've had some time with it. Previously, FON users had to use a handful of specific routers with the FON software in order to join the FON movement. With the new La Fonera router, you get a compact sized router that offers two wireless network signals [SSIDs], one private and one public, the private signal being encrypted for complete security and the public signal only accessible to Foneros [members of the FON community].

Foneros are made up of three types:

Linuses - Foneros that share their wifi in order to get wifi for free anywhere there's a FON access point. The concept of Linuses comes from the Linus Torvalds way of thinking with Linux.

Bills - Foneros that want to make money from Aliens and advertise their business on their personalized FON access point homepage. In return they get a %50 share of the money that Aliens pay to access the community through their FON access point. The concept of Bills comes from the Bill Gates way of thinking with Microsoft.

Aliens - These are people who don't share their wifi yet. Aliens pay €/$ 3 for a Day Pass to access the FON community.

Stay tuned for my review of "La Fonera" router.

Related Links:
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Google Up In The Apple Tree

Engadget gets some Digg-like features, and Apple may get some Google features in the near future. While the first news is pretty big by itself, the latter could change the entertainment industry as we know it forever. Though it's still not solid enough to bet your life on, it's safe to say "something awesome this way comes". I hear a lot of people saying they have no use for Google Video on Apple's iTV [this is still the code name apparently]. I think it's a great idea. There's so much more content on Google Video than the iTunes Store, and it's collection is growing day by day. It will definitely be interesting to see what changes, additions, etc. come to both sides of the deal. That is, if there even is one.

Getting Online Video To The 770

Andrew Flegg has a service called VidConvert that allows you to convert video files for use on the Nokia 770. The service works with Google Video and YouTube videos up to 50MB, and you can download or stream videos once conversion is complete. You can even upload your own videos for the converter to do its magic.

Source: Nokia 770

All Play And No Work...

Rhythmbox for the Nokia 770 is in development and near completion according to the (void *) blog. He's even got screenshots of the app in action. It looks really good, and I can't wait to try it out. By the way, is it me, or are there way more media players than productivity apps for the 770 these days? I mean, there's the built in audio and video players, Streamtuner, MPlayer, Media Streamer, Ogg Vorbis Player, Park Cast Player, and soon Rhythmbox. It sure would be great to have this many web browser options or even VoIP options. And I'm sure most 770 users will agree that there's a need for an email client alternative for the device. Anyway, I've become attached to Rhythmbox in Ubuntu, so a version for the 770 is definitely welcome.


Speaking of media players, the new Creative ZEN Vision W may give the Microsoft Zune [1] [2] a run for it's money in a "who's killing who?" media player showdown that includes the new iPod family. It's a gadget slaughterhouse over here!

3pm Injection [25]

This week we launched 3pm Overdose, the official blog of 3pm. For those of you who are new here, 3pm is a free mp3 music download site that's like no other. It's set up to easily find, download, and even listen to great music from around the web within a single page. With an intuitive and dynamic navigation interface, you'll be playing or downloading great music in a snap.

As for the blog, it's there to bring 3pm users to another dimension of what the site has to offer. We'll continually bring the latest and greatest music news and content that we hope will compliment and enhance the 3pm experience.

What started out as a NET9 exclusive, will now be a regular feature. The 3pm Injections that many have come to enjoy will be making a smooth transition to the 3pm blog to make sure new, as well as returning, visitors know where to expect to see them in the future. The 3pm experience doesn't stop here though. Go mobile with 3pm LITE and be sure to check out the merchandise at the 3pm Store. Remember, "Get your Injection here, Overdose at 3pm".

Welcome, and enjoy.

3pm: "It's not just a time, it's a state of mind"
Blackalicious - Paragraph President
Junior Boys - Like A Child
Kriss Kross - I Missed The Bus
Missy Elliott - Really Hot
Mystikal - The Man Right 'Chea

Previous Injections
[More] [22] [23] [24]

Opera Gets More Mobile

Opera Software said Wednesday it is teaming up with SoonR to develop mobile applications that would be able to leverage AJAX technology, the same technology used to develop Web 2.0 applications like Google Maps and Amazon’s A9 search.

read more | digg story

ParkWifi Software From Nokia

Some new applications are now available from Nokia for N80 or N91 mobile phones and the 770 Internet Tablet. Since I only have the 770 out of these three wifi enabled devices, I'll show screenshots of what it looks like on the tablet.

ParkWiFi Detector [v.1.0]
Much like the built-in wifi scanner that works quite well, the ParkWiFi Detector does the job of getting you connected quickly.


Park Channels
Currently there's no version of this application available for the 770, but from the description it seems to be more of a simple media browser for the N80 and N91 phones.

ParkCast [v.1.0.1]
This application is similar to the built-in audio player, but only allows for the streaming of channels, in which you can also add your own.


My thoughts after trying these apps out are that they are definitely good to have on the 770, but so similar to the built-in apps that Nokia would be better off including them in the next version of the Internet Tablet OS.

Please, No Wires

Airport Wireless Internet Access Guide
For all you wireless nomads out there, TravelPost has hammered out a very useful guide to US airport wireless connections and free airport wifi. This is quite handy to have in case of those last minute breakfasts before jumping on a flight and knowing if you should find a nearby hotspot [free of course], or you can catch some waves [802.11 that is] in the terminal. Could save some money, some of those prices are just crazy ridiculous.

Helium Digital HD-880 Bluetooth Headset
Wow! This thing would be nice to pair with the 770 for VoIP calls. Too bad the 770 doesn't support bluetooth headsets yet. It just proves there's still some tricks that the Internet Tablet can learn.

Apple Going Bad?

Well I don't know how everyone else feels about the recent Apple announcements, but I was underwhelmed by a lot of them. Not all, but most of them. The video iPod got a bigger hard drive, a brighter screen, longer battery life, some games, and search functionality [oh and it's $50 cheaper]. That's nice, but it's still not the touch-screen and wireless enabled iPod most of us had hoped for. The new iPod Nanos look like the older iPod Mini and Nano got busy in bed. It got a few upgrades as well, but looks a little to retro for my tastes. The iTunes Store gets movies [finally?] and iTunes 7 is working with a bag of new tricks. Too bad most of those tricks will only amuse small children and maybe an animal or two. Really folks this has useless DRM written all over it. On the bright side of things, the new iPod Shuffle looks pretty slick. Watch as it shrinks before your very eyes [lets just hope it isn't so small that it disappears before your very eyes]. The upcoming iTV is the most interesting though, with it's wireless and HD capabilities bringing the iPod experience to the television. But once again, DRM could very well chain it to Apple Store walls for me to laugh at come Q1 2007.

I hate to say this about such a great company, but Apple could be loosing some of it's luster these days. It's looking more and more like Palm was not long ago. It won't fade into the wind, but the leaves on this Apple tree are taking a beating. Maybe some strong competition could do them some good. The question remains who will do it? Google? Microsoft? I doubt it. Until they come with a better offering, Apple today keeps this buyer away. I'm open todiscussion on the topic, so give me your best shot.

Samsung releases 32 and 64GB CompactFlash cards

Samsung announced today that it has developed the world's first 40-nanometer memory device, allowing for 32 and 64GB CompactFlash cards. According to the company's press release, the new design uses a Charge Trap Flash architecture, which "reduces inter-cell noise levels.

read more | digg story

GamePark poised to release "XGP kids" handheld

Many people look upon GamePark's GP32 handheld console as a revolutionary product in the world of videogames -- it was, after all, one of the first platforms to actually encourage homebrew and emulation -- and now DCEmu is reporting that the company is poised to launch what it's calling the GP32's successor, the "XGP kids."

read more | digg story

Too Much Of A Good Thing...

Hey 3pm fans, we've gone ahead and done it. 3pm now has it's very own blog, 3pm Overdose. That's right, now we're gonna bring you more 3pm goodness than you can handle. Giving NET9 some space back and 3pm its own room to grow will make this deal twice as sweet. NET9 will continue the 3pm Injections for the next three weeks as we transition to Overdose eventually hosting them exclusively. But that's not all we have in store for the new blog. We're going to have lots of music related news, videos, pics, and more. So if you're still reading this you're waisting precious time! The party has already started over there!

3pm Injection [24]

- It's funny how Microsoft is patching its DRM faster than fatal security flaws in its OS and web browser. I guess they've got some big money riding on the Zune and iTunes Store "killer" after all. As the war on DRM continues, we will continue to update you on who's winning.

- Here are a couple other music related links for you all to keep your ears happy without DRM to hold you back:
The Hype Machine - Best audio blog aggregator I've seen so far. you can even download playlists for your favorite media player.
Brain Yoga - Yeah, that's right you need to stretch your brain before any strenuous activities too. Here's the mp3.

- As for the next 3pm update... let's just say "We Know Something You Don't Know".



3pm: "Fighting in the war against DRM"
Cee-Lo - Gettin Grown
DJ Sonix - The Psy Generation
Lenny Kravitz feat. Outkast - Again [Remix]
Paul Cooper - Unpoison
Tohuwabohu - Spiritual War

Previous Injections
[More] [21] [22] [23]

Worth Holding On To

After some of us have begun to lose our grips on the current Internet Tablet hardware, I realized it must be about time Nokia started thinking about introducing a new tablet model. It's getting close to a year since the 770 launched, and unlike other similar mobile devices, it has been solitarily fighting for mobile superiority the whole time. The Internet Tablet software catalog is continuing to grow larger and stronger everyday and still has room to do so, but the hardware is beginning to show its age and it is just a matter of time before we reach the limits of what the device is capable of.

Don't get me wrong though, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat should anything happen to it, I just would like to have some other option(s) before my birthday. So, hint to Nokia...there's only so many "out of tablet experiences" we can deal with 'til we start looking for replacements.

Open Flash? : Opera aims Flash Player at Linux devices

Opera Software will resell Adobe's Flash Player 7 SDK (software development kit) to customers of its Opera for Devices SDK. The agreement should simplify the licensing picture for Linux device designers interested in deploying a "full Internet" browser that supports Flash-based browsing, or Flash-based user interfaces, the companies say.

- Could we see Flash 7 on the Nokia 770 soon? This is great news if that's the case.

read more | digg story

SanDisk Launches V-Mate Video Flash Memory Card Recorder

The ground-breaking V-Mate is a video memory card recorder, allowing users to record video from video inputs such as over-the-air television as well as cable, satellite, DVD players, personal video recorders like TiVo and video cassette recorders onto their flash memory cards.

read more | digg story

RIM reveals its BlackBerry Pearl

Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry e-mail devices popular among executives, said on Thursday it is pushing into a wider consumer market with the BlackBerry Pearl, its first phone with a camera and music player.

read more | digg story

A Quick Announcement...

I don't know if anyone remembers my "Foundations Of The Future" page, but it has been updated and changed to The Way. The Way is meant to be a fairly basic portal to all the sites in the NET9 portfolio. I'd like to thank the good people at Google for the Google Page Creator service which allows me to share my ideas with the world, and CafePress for providing me with a way for others to enjoy my ideas as well.

Sony Updates UX-180p UMPC After Only Eight Weeks, Now the UX-280p

Either Sony has adopted an expedited release cycle or they're tacitly admitting that they rushed the UX-180p to the market since they've quietly gone ahead and have updated it to the UX-280p.

read more | digg story

HP's new iPAQ rx4000 goes widescreen

"A quick glance at the spec sheet of HP's new iPAQ rx4000 Mobile Media Companion doesn't really show it as a force to be reckoned with, but a quick look at the device itself reveals it to be quite a new thing entirely for the iPAQ line."

read more | digg story

Pimp My 770

ThoughtFix has remixed his Notebook 770 project into the Nokia 770 Laptop Conversion, which looks much more contained and professional looking than the previous version. I have to say, this guy has mobile hacking running through his veins. This is pure inspiration to build my own tricked-out setup, and I'm definitely looking forward to his next project.

Media Streamer For Nokia 770

As proof that Nokia hasn't stopped loving the 770 Internet Tablet, they've slipped an interesting program into the Application Manager for the 770 called the Media Streamer. It's a UPnP AV control point and player application and it has just been announced. The app has a unique user interface, a first for the 770. It works by the screen basically sliding horizontally to show various parts of the application and the action can be achieved using the directional pad or the touch screen. Using SimpleCenter software on a Windows 2000/XP PC, you are now able to stream media to your 770. This is likely to be an exciting addition to the 770 application catalog. I would love it if Nokia released the code for this UI to the development community. It would be nice to see this implemented in the various applications that normally require tabs or several windows. Applications like Google Talk and Gizmodo come to mind, and even combining bookmarks and the Opera browser would be nice. There will be plenty of time to think about the possibilities later, let's get to what you came here for...


Edit: After playing with GMediaStreamer for Linux it seems other UPnP server software works with Media Streamer. More screenshots to come later [the 770 battery needs a recharge after a full day of use].

3pm Injection [23]

With so much great music on 3pm today, and more on the way, a lot of people have been asking me "why do this for free?" Well today I answer this question for the masses. For the same reason there are art museums, libraries, and gardens. Great things should be shared in great ways. I know what you're thinking, these places are in no way completely free. No, and neither is 3pm. I put a good bit of my time spare time into 3pm every week which is hardly free. True, my use of the free Google Page Creator account is an exception, but the biggest cost goes to the hosts of all those mp3 links we've come to love. They pay for the hosting/bandwidth of all that music. At first this seems a little unfair to them, but is it fair for them to have an artist's work online for the world to find?

Some have said to me that this is "media scavenging", and that may be true, but scavengers play an important role in any balanced ecosystem. I don't do this for the few dollars made from the Google AdSense ads or even from the 3pm Store sales, I do it for the love of music. Are we supposed to cover our eyes in the presence of a priceless painting? Are we to stop thinking when reading a popular novel? Are we to hold our nose from the smell of a beautiful flower? We have our senses for a reason. What will become of the world when we set a price to how much we are allowed to use each of those senses? Let me know what you think.

3pm: "Proof that music is still alive"
The Pussycat Dolls feat. Snoop Dogg - Buttons [Remix]
Areosmith - Dream On
Etta James - At Last
N.E.R.D. - Thrasher
Slowdive - Souvlaki Space Station [Live]

Previous Injections
[More] [20] [21] [22]