My personal haven, An escape from the hoi polloi.
Archive for August, 2010
Jailbroken iPhone 4 Users Having An Issue With The New Facebook App Not Working? Let’s Fix It!
Aug 20th
After installing the much anticipated latest update to Facebook’s iPhone app I realized that uhm well it no longer worked, At all, In fact I couldn’t even log into Facebook using the Facebook iPhone App and I read about many users having an issue logging in or simply getting “Error try again later” every time they tried to view their news feed etc etera
Do you have an iPhone 4?
Is your iPhone Jailbroken?
Do you have BiteSMS installed on your iPhone?
Is your new Facebook App not working?
If you answered yes to all of the above then let’s fix this issue 
You can either uninstall BiteSMS and respring your phone (or restart it if you don’t know how to respring) -OR- you can follow the directions below.
Open SBSettings
Click Mobile Substrate Settings
Disable biteSMSsb
Respring your phone (or restart it if you don’t know how to respring)
Poof! Facebook AND biteSMS are both now fully functional!
Any questions don’t hesitate to ask as usual, Thanks!
T-Mobile G2 Spotted In The Wild
Aug 20th
Today some shots of the T-Mobile G1 predecessor the G2 have been leaked we don’t have much on the specs of T-Mobiles next big smartphone other than it appears to be an americanized version of the upcoming HTC Vision it looks like you can expect a 3.7 inch display and a sliding QWERTY keyboard but we don’t have any specifics on its internals yet, As always we’ll keep you posted.
Nokia’s New Cell Phone Leaked And It Looks Oddly Familiar, See Apple :)
Aug 19th
Nokia’s new sliding QWERTY loaded smartphone running the MeeGo OS leaked today and it looks oddly familiar, MacBook Pro anyone? As soon as all the information is available we’ll update and repost but for now here are a few photos and basic information to hold you over.
Nokia N9
4″ screen
8MP camera
New MeeGo OS
Microsoft’s New Mouse Input Device Revealed, Their Take On Apple’s Magic Mouse, The Arc Touch.
Aug 18th
Microsoft has a new input device coming to market in the USA in the near future and they call it the Microsoft Arc Touch from the limited data available it basically looks to be Microsoft’s more ergonomic take on Apple’s Magic Mouse from the look of the device they just might have a winner on their hands but that is yet to be seen, We’ll certainly be first in line to review it on release day so we’ll keep you posted on this promising new device as details become available.
Reported Mouse Features To Date:
Touch Scrolling
Battery Indicator
Track on almost any surface
2.4ghz nano transceiver
$69.95 rumored price point
Apple Magic Trackpad – My Final Thoughts
Aug 18th
It’s been a few weeks since I picked up my shiny new Apple Magic Trackpad a product that I had been dreaming about since my first MacBook pro that came with the Glass Multi-Touch Trackpad, As soon as I got my hands on the gesture enabled MacBook Pro Trackpad I knew it was only a matter of time before they released a version of it for our desktop PC’s and just two years later my dreams came true in theory the Apple Magic Trackpad is exactly what I wanted it was a larger version of the MacBook Pro Trackpad with clickable feedback legs and a nice angle for use on the desktop and of course it was built amazingly well as all Apple devices are in my opinion but as soon as I started using my new Apple toy I thought it was perfect, Exactly what I had been waiting for It had Jitouch compatibility out of the box adding a plethora of new functionality in gestures and its size was perfect not to mention it looked amazing sitting next to my shiny Apple Wireless Keyboard and it matched it perfectly as if the two were destined to sit side by side and they are however fast forward just 2 weeks and as I look down at my desk I realize something my shiny new Apple Magic Trackpad is now laying almost out of reach entirely underneath my 30 inch Apple Cinema Display and its been replaced by my beloved Logitech Performance Mouse MX at first I thought nothing of it as I had only put my old Logitech mouse in that position to do some gaming as I had always known that no mater how amazing the Magic Trackpad was it would never be able to stand up to a gaming mouse when it came to gaming so I replace the Logitech mouse with my new Apple Magic Trackpad and then something happened I realized after using it for about 2 hours that the reason I hadn’t switched back to the Magic Trackpad after gaming was because my Logitech mouse is comfortable enough to use for 24 hours straight on those long endless nights programming (and playing games in between of course) however the Apple Magic Trackpad starts to hurt your wrist just a little and it begins to generally annoy you just enough to make you go back to your old trusty mouse after a few hours of use and all of the super cool gestures and shortcuts in the world can’t make an uncomfortable device comfortable so this being said I feel that the Apple Magic Trackpad does have its place especially when it comes to graphics editing and short term use for browsing and such but it will never be a true mouse replacement especially not when compared to a mouse as amazingly responsive, customizable and comfortable as the Logitech Performance Mouse MX.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The Apple Magic Trackpad is as perfect as a trackpad input device can be in my opinion and while it certainly has its place in the input device market it’s not for everyone and I believe that even the people it’s geared towards will find that even while they love their new Magic Trackpad most users will find themselves using their beloved mouse more than they do their new Magic Trackpad after a short period of time.
What are your thoughts on this subject? Speak up!
Logitech Performance Mouse MX [$99.99]
Apple Magic Trackpad [$69.00]
Apple Wireless Keyboard [$69.99]
Jitouch [$5.99]
Toshiba’s New Dual Touchscreen “Laptop” (Foldable Touchpad) Windows 7 System
Aug 16th
The new Toshiba Liberetto W100 is a cool new take on an iPad style touchpad device with its two 7 inch folding touchscreen displays, 1.2ghz U5400 Pentium processor, 2GB Ram and a 64GB SSD with Windows 7 Home Premium loaded on it they just might have a winner -if- they lower the price, As it stands this new niche system prices itself within the range of much more powerful portable systems however should the price become more comparable to that of the iPad and like products then Toshiba really might have a future winner here. Photos and videos below.
Windows Users Can Finally Make Their System Look And Feel Like Mac OS X :)
Aug 15th
This software is perfect for those who just like to play with theming their Windows look or users who run multiple OS and prefer them to feel and look more uniform, Finally a nice Mac in Windows theming solution.
Snow Transformation Pack will change the appearance of your whole system, including the login screen, icons, wallpapers, sounds, dock, dialog boxes, and other UI elements. You’ll need to disable User Account Control to install it, so you may have to run the installer twice, once to disable UAC and then again (after restarting) to install the package. On installing, you’ll get a few choices as to whether you want to install a few extra background apps that add extra graphics, which is nice if your computer isn’t necessarily a powerhouse (so you can turn them off to keep performance up).
Hackintosh i7 Desktop Vs MacBook Pro i7 Benchmark Results
Aug 15th
I recently built a 2.8GHZ i7 intel Hackintosh and I wanted to benchmark it versus my 2.66GHZ i7 MacBook Pro, Lets see what the results look like but first some basic information on the two machines.
System 1: “Hackintosh i7″
2.8GHz Intel i7-860
4GB Ram DDR3 1333MHz
Complete Specs and Build Guide And Parts List Here [TUTORIAL]
System 2: “MacBook Pro i7″
2.8GHz Intel i7-860
4GB Ram DDR3 1333MHz
Complete System Specs And Reviews Can Be Found Here [CNET]
The New Verizon iPhone Codename N92 Nears Production – It’s Official!
Aug 12th
Apple’s long rumored and long awaited Verizon compatible iPhone (CDMA Network iPhone) codenamed the N92 is in its last phase of testing before production known as the EVT (Engineer Validation Test) stage, Once this is completed it will go directly into production we presume for its long rumored January 2011 release date then again with it moving forward at this pace maybe we can expect a 2010 release date in the not so distant future? Regardless this is great news for those who love the iPhone 4 but despise AT&T or who simply prefer Verizon (everybody? yes thought so.) we’ll keep our ears to the ground and keep you posted on the Verizon iPhone and no people it will not be called N92 on release date that’s simply its in house codename at it’s testing facility.
Future Product: Microsoft Adaptive Keyboard Prototype
Aug 12th
Microsoft’s Prototype Adaptive Keyboard is basically a large touchscreen LED with a led driven keyboard below it, This prototype keyboard will likely be on the market in the next 12 > 24 months at much more reasonable price than its only competitor on the market the Optimus Maximus and it will have more functionality as well. Check out the videos below and let us know what you think.
Build Your Own i7 Hackintosh System For $862 That Will Run With Apple’s New $2,499 Mac Pro
Aug 12th
First let me start by saying how much I love building my own computers and how much I love Mac OS X I’ve been working with computers for about 19 years now (professionally for the last 15 years) and for the first 8 or so years of my professional computer based career I relied solely on custom built PC’s running Windows but a business partner and great friend of mine Ryan Johnson (RJ2 RIP) reluctantly introduced me to Mac OS and Apple hardware in 2003 and I’ve been a die hard fan ever since so I think it’s only natural that I combine my love of building computers and my love for everything Apple and Mac OS in this beautiful i7 Hackintosh Build
(The Complete Parts List Can Be Found At The Bottom Of This Article)
Ah today is a great day! Just 2 days ago I ordered my custom i7 rig piece by piece from NewEgg.com and today while watching a movie the UPS guy knocks at the door and I answer with a smile on my face
Now that we’ve got our build parts I think it’s important to start randomly stabbing the packages until the parts are shattered all over the floor, No but seriously take your time and open and unpack the boxes carefully there’s all kinds of little parts and random stickers and such that can be missed in NewEgg’s bubble packaging if you’re not careful, It would also really suck to be in a rush and scratch your beautiful new Lian Li case now wouldn’t it
After a minute of sifting through all the bubble packing in our box it looks like everything made it here on time, weehoo!
By sure to take your time and unpack each item making sure not to let any of the electronics sit anywhere that static may be able to effect them (such as the bare floor etc) you shouldn’t have any issues if you just unpack them and place them on the boxes they were shipped in at a handy distance for building the system.
Note: Items such as the motherboard and hard drive that come wrapped in anti-static paper should be placed on top the anti-static paper on top of the box until you’re ready to install the items into the case and motherboard.
Now it’s time to put this bad boy together lets start by making a coffee (this step’s optional) now lets open up the case and take the screws and such that are sure to be found in a box taped to the inside of the case somewhere and lets lay those out in an easy to reach place, We’ll need them for the build obviously. Building a computer is very easy but if you haven’t done this before there is tons of information on the actual building of the system all over google so just take a look or just give it a shot, Honestly if you’re cautious you can’t really mess anything up just take your time and see what goes where as each part only fits in one place on the motherboard it’s pretty basic a lot like playing blocks as a kid, the square only fits in the square and the circle only fits in the circle, Yes it really is that easy the more difficult technical part comes later when installing OS X on this by default unsupported hardware.
Ahh she’s a beauty!! I think I’ll call her Butters #2 after my lil pup Butters lol Now time to see if she runs as good as she looks on the first try!
Now it’s time to setup the BIOS, Boot your system into BIOS (When you turn it on It will say hit Delete now to enter BIOS so just hit Delete when asked to) once BIOS is loaded up the easiest way to get it configured to run as a Hackintosh is to “Load Optimized Settings” then goto “Integrated Peripherals” now you’ll want to change your boot order to boot CD/DVD first then boot Hard Drive also change “PCH Sata Control Mode” to “AHCI”, “SATA Port 0-3 Native mode” must be DISABLED and set “HPET” to “64-bit mode” this should be all you need to change to get this method of Hackintosh install to work for your new Gigabyte board.
(Note: Different motherboards require different configuration and some are simply not compatible)
Once your BIOS is properly configured you’ll need to burn an iBoot iso to a blank CD, Download the iBoot.iso here once you’ve burned the iBoot.iso to disk insert your iBoot disk that you’ve just created and reboot the computer, When the system loads off the iBoot disk you’ll see a screen that says iBoot in the middle of it with a picture of a CD, Now simply eject the CD and put your Max OS X install DVD into the DVD drive and Press F5 now select your Mac OS X Install disk to boot off of.
Note: There are many random errors you can get while doing this such as “mac os x can’t be installed on this computer.” this error in most cases simply means that the Mac OS X install disk you’re trying to use isn’t valid for this time of Mac (aka Our Hackintosh) for example the install disk you’ve most likely borrowed is an install disk from a MacBook Pro and won’t work with a Mac Pro (what our system will likely register itself as post install) long story short google your error codes should you have any and find out what the issue might be and try another Mac OS X install disk if all else fails.
After the Mac OS X Install boots and select your language it will bring up the main install screen make sure you launch Disk Utility and partition your hard drive to GUID Partition Table then format your hard drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) once this is done go back to the step by step Mac OS X install screen and complete the install. It’s important to note that after the install you might get a screen that says “Install Failed: Mac OS X Cannot Be Installed on this Volume” this is normal just restart as it says to and select your new Mac OS X boot drive at the chameleon boot screen.
After a successful install you’ll need to setup your new Mac OS X install with the proper drivers which are called kext files on Mac OS X and the easy way to do this is using MultiBeast 2.0 so Download MultiBeast Here you’ll also want to Download The Mac OS X 10.6.4 Update Here and you’ll need the custom DSDT.aml file for your motherboard which you can Download Here if you have the same motherboard we did in this build however if you used a different motherboard chances are you can find the proper DSDT file Here.
Once you’ve got the necessary utilities download simply place the DSDT file on your Mac OS X desktop then open MultiBeast and check the UserDSDT option also check the System Utilities option in the install menu but do -not- start the install yet, Now open and run the Mac OS X Combo Update you downloaded earlier, At the end of the install it will ask you to click Restart do not do this at this time you want to finish the MultiBeast install, Once the MultiBeast install is complete you can close MultiBeast and select reboot from the Mac OS X Combo Update screen.
Your new Hackintosh should be up and running with all onboard hardware working properly however if it’s not (as one of my installs wasn’t) odds are you’ll only need to fix your audio and ethernet at the most and if this is the case all of the files you’ll need can be Downloaded Here
If the Audio isn’t working make sure you first try going to System Preferences and going through selecting all of the Output Devices and testing them to confirm you didn’t simply have the wrong Output Device selected, If you’ve confirmed that the audio is in fact not working simply do the following:
1. delete all LegacyHDA driver in /Extra/Extension
2. delete AppleHDA.kext and HDAEnabler.kext in /System/Libarary/Extension
3. Using Kext Utility to remove the driver cache
4. Using Disk Utility to repair the permission
5. Install the AppleHDA.kext and HDAEnabler.kext using “Kext Helper” (which was previously installed to the application directory with MultiBeast)
6. Run “Kext Utility” which was previously installed to the application directory with MultiBeast
7. Run “Disk Utility” and select your hard drive with Mac OS X Installed on it then click “Repair Disk Permissions”
8. Reboot and your audio should be working (if it’s not simply try all of the output devices again and it should be working, If it’s not just post on this blog or email me for help I’ll do my best to help you out)
If your ethernet isn’t working simply install the RealtekR1000.kext using “Kext Helper” (which was previously installed to the application directory with MultiBeast) then run SnowR1000 which was also included in the “Extras” download then run “Kext Utility” from your applications directory then run “Disk Utility” and select your hard drive with Mac OS X Installed on it then click “Repair Disk Permissions” then reboot and your ethernet should be working perfectly (if it’s not retry this process and this time use RealtekR1000SL.kext and it should be working, If it’s not just post on this blog or email me for help I’ll do my best to help you out)
That’s it folks! I hope this Hackintosh tutorial helps someone out there build their dream system, If you have any questions or input on this topic please feel free to post on this blog or email me I love getting feedback from the community, Thanks!
| Qty. | Product Description | Savings | Total Price | |
| 1 | 
PNY XLR8 GeForce 9800 GT VCG98GTEE1XEB Video Card |
-$5.00 Instant $15.00 Mail-in Rebate |
$109.99 $104.99 |
|
| 1 | 
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard |
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card | $139.99 | |
| 1 | 
ASUS 24X DVD Burner – Bulk Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS |
$19.99 | ||
| 1 | 
LIAN LI PC-A05NA Silver Computer Case |
-$10.00 Instant | $99.99 $89.99 |
|
| 1 | 
Intel Core i7-860 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor |
$289.99 | ||
| 1 | 
COOLER MASTER GX Series RS750-ACAAE3-US 750W Power Supply |
-$30.00 Instant | $109.99 $79.99 |
|
| 1 | 
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory |
$93.99 | ||
| 1 | 
Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AADS 500GB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Hard Drive |
$54.99 | ||
| Grand Total: | $878.92 | |||
Very useful external resources:
Complete iBoot and MultiBeast install guide step by step by the creator of iBoot and MultiBeast
iPhone iOS 4.0.2 Released, PDF Exploit Fixed, JailbreakMe No Longer Works.
Aug 12th
Apple released its new iOS 4.0.2 simply to fix its PDF exploit and by doing this they have also blocked JailbreakMe.com the latest Jailbreaking method from working so only upgrade if you’re happy with a non jailbroken iPhone for the time being.
I’ve Been Playing Starcraft 2 For A Week Straight And It Kicks A$$
Aug 10th
As a fan of RTS (Real Time Strategy) games as well as a fan of Blizzard I’ve been awaiting the release of Starcraft 2 since the very first time I played the original Starcraft in March 1998 and even though I’ve been hyping it up to myself for 12 years the wait was worth it and the hype was all real, and then some. I’ve been playing this game for about 5 days straight now and I absolutely love it. When you get started in Starcraft 2 it will ask you if you’d like to play the tutorial and unless you’re a total n00b at RTS’s I’d say don’t waste your time with any of the tutorials except maybe the HUD tutorial (the tutorial mode gives you an option to play a number of tutorials) I suggest starting out with the Campaign before jumping into multi-player online games to get to know the game and besides that the campaign is amazingly fun which I honestly didn’t expect but the story line is great and in between battles and missions you can run around a number of rooms on your ship and speak with the people of the ship and upgrade weapons and research races it’s very fun and keeps the game from feeling uber repetitive, There are many, many hours of gameplay in the tutorial, I’ve been playing for almost a week and I play hours each day and I’m still not finished with the campaign. The multi-playing playing is VERY challenging even when playing against the computer you’ve got to take some time to get to know how to start your build properly so that you can build fast enough to defend the opponents first attack and the online playing is insanely intense and very difficult as many of the players have been playing the beta for months and are very good at the game so it will take you a LOT of time to get competitive in online vs mode. Overall this game is absolutely amazing and I highly suggest every gamer out there give it a try I even believe this game will certainly convert a lot of console gamers into PC gamers as well.
Next Gen iPod Touch Rumored To Have Dual Cameras And Retina Display To Launch In A Few Weeks!
Aug 10th
We all know how the Apple rumor mill flows around here but this rumor comes down the usual info channel thats proven to be very accurate in the past and since it only makes sense that Apple would finally revamp its iPod Touch and add the well received dual camera and retina display we certainly believe this rumor to be right on point, iPod touch users get your wallets ready this is sure to be a must have upgrade.
(but really, why not just upgrade to an iPhone 4 and ditch the double device wielding all together?)
Install Flash (Well Frash) on Your iPhone 4 and iPad, Finally!
Aug 9th
Let me start by saying sorry but this Flash method for your iPhone 4 and iPad only work on Jailbroken devices with that being said if you haven’t jailbroken your device yet it only takes about 60 seconds just Click Here.
To Install Frash (Flash for your iDevice) simply follow these directions:
1. Open Cydia > Manage > Sources
2. Edit source and add http://repo.benm.at
3. Search Frash and install it.
I also think its important to note that Frash will not make ALL Flash content work, I’ve heard it only makes 30% of Flash content work but I have no data to back this up but even if that’s the case would you rather have 30% of Flash content work or no Flash at all?
Automated TV Series Download Management Software [TORRENT DOWNLOAD UTILITY]
Aug 8th
TED is software for Windows, Mac And Linux that makes downloading and managing your favorite TV shows as easy as it gets, This software automatically checks for new episodes and downloads them using torrents. For anyone like myself who using their computer to download movies and TV shows this software is most certainly worth checking out and best of all it’s free!
![Screen shot 2010 08 08 at 12.42.19 AM Automated TV Series Download Management Software [TORRENT DOWNLOAD UTILITY]](http://www.mattbrandenburg.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Screen-shot-2010-08-08-at-12.42.19-AM.png "Screen shot 2010-08-08 at 12.42.19 AM")
Evolution Of The Smartphone, The Next Logical Step In Mobile Technology?
Aug 6th
Prototypes like this Sony Ericsson stamped detachable multi-directional two piece smartphone by Yanko Designs is one of the reasons I love writing blogs and reviews, This design is fairly simplistic yet brilliant I’m certain that in the not too distant future a smartphone along this line will be designed (most likely by Nokia or Sony Ericsson as they have always been the first to try the riskier form technologies in the past see the Nokia Communicator Here, And before you ask yes of course I had one lol) I could see a device like this coming out with the Android OS in the next 5 years that’s probably just wishful thinking but lets hope not!
New Mac OS X Software MenuEverywhere Does Just What You’d Guess, It Puts A Menu Everywhere.
Aug 6th
MenuEverywhere for Mac OS X puts a global menu of the selected application at the top left of the application window, Check out the video above for a better understanding.
I don’t believe this application to be for everyone but power users and users with large monitors certainly might find appreciation for MenuEverywhere.
Download MenuEverywhere Here For Free (With Nagware) or $7.00 [USD] For The Nagware Free Version.
iPhone 4 Jailbreaking Revisited By Request, To Jailbreak Or Not To Jailbreak That Is The Question.
Aug 6th
I’ve had a lot of people inquire as to the benefits of jailbreaking and if it’s for them so I did my best to gather the most asked questions and answer them as basically as possible so people can try to determine if jailbreaking is for them or not, I hope this video helps.
Bottom line: Jailbreaking isn’t for everyone and if you’re unsure of it’s benefits for you after watching this video then jailbreaking probably isn’t for you.
You Can Now Unlock Your iPhone 4 For Use On Any Supported Network You Like!
Aug 4th
Now that it’s legal to Jailbreak and Unlock your iPhone new software is quickly popping up to take advantage of and make it easy for your average iPhone user to be able to Jailbreak and Unlock your iPhone and just 3 days the easiest possible Jailbreak method for the iPhone 3G / 3G(S) and yes even the iPhone 4 is now available by simply going to JailBreakMe.com on your iPhone’s web browser and today the first easy Unlock method was released, Once your iPhone is jailbroken simple open up the Cydia app store and install “ultrasn0w” (that’s a zero not the letter o) and your phone will be ready for use on other cellular networks!
After you’ve Jailbroken your iPhone simply open Cydia then goto “manage” and click “Add Source” and add “repo666.ultrasn0w.com” this will make it so that you can search for and download “ultrasn0w” in Cydia which will Unlock your iPhone 4 baseband 01.59 and 3G/3GS basebands 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01 and 05.13.04.
