Taylor's Online Tech World

Top 5 Jailbreak Apps for iPhone 3g

2011-05-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

#1 Has got to be Winterboard! It lets you theme (skin) anything on your iPhone, from skins for the keyboard, to the music player (iPod.app) Heres an example of a theme i found:

#2 is deffinietly Quickreply for SMS ! I love this little tweak, it lets me reply to a txt easily from within any app. It simply pauses the app, and asks if you want to read, ignore, or reply. If you choose reply, it pulls up the keyboard and you can reply from inside whatever app you have running, it can be safari, to Angry Birds.

#3 is All Sources it merely installs all the sources it can find into cydia

without even opening an app.

#4 is SBSettings. it allows for quick access to commonly used settings. Once installed, swipe your finger from your wifi indicator, to the other side of the screen (horizontally) and viola! you have SBSettings open! hit more to change what toggles are shown!

#5 is MxTube it allows you to download Youtube videos to you phone! simply open the app, and use it like the normal Youtube app, only it asks if you wish to Download the video, or Stream it!

Acer Aspire One 531h 5th day impressions

2011-04-27T20:08:00.001-07:00

Ok, so Saturday I received my Aspire One 531h. I came with 1GB of ram which is now up to 2GB. And I must say, its pretty speedy being two and a half years old. Eventually it will be able to push through some older games running at lower screen resolution than native, but still be playable. Games such as Half-Life 2 and Team-Fortress 2 should be playable in its current state. However, an SSD will make a great improvement, while making a hefty dent in my wallet. But at the moment it is chugging along with Google Chrome, Windows Live Writer, Tweetdeck, Live Messenger, and Foobar 2000 running just fine. Like I said the difference in 1 vs. 2 GB of ram is HUGE. The specs on my current configured Aspire One are:

Intel Atom n270 @ 1.60GHZ

2GB RAM w/ 2GB Readyboost in expansion bay.

Intel GMA950 OC’d to 400MHZ Variable down to 166MHZ with GMA Booster.

148GB (formatted) HDD @ 5400RPM

Windows 7 Professional x86

When School Gets Closed, Class Moves to Facebook

2011-02-03T15:41:00.001-08:00

Today's guest blogger is R.S. Zaharna, an associate professor of communication at American University who experimented with hosting class on Facebook during a snowstorm last week. (University profile)

The first e-mails about the threat of snow came in shortly after noon, not from the university but from the students: "Professor, supposedly we are getting 5-8 inches of snow this evening, and I'm worried about getting home from class. Do you know if we are still definitely going to hold a session? If so I will obviously try my best to make it."

I doubted there would be 5 to 8 inches, but I knew that it was possible classes would be canceled. In Washington, D.C., just a few inches of snow are enough to send the nation's capital into a tail spin, snarl traffic and otherwise endanger students who commute to the American University campus where I teach. Last year, we had two back-to-back blizzards that shut down campus for a week. This year, colleagues farther up the East Coast are getting their turn.

Last year's blizzards, nightmares though they were, forced me to take a second look at technology, especially the part about connecting and interacting. Coincidentally, I had just written a book highlighting connectivity and interactivity as defining features of the global communication era. In theory, I know about the potential of using new technology to connect and interact. The problem was, I had never put theory into practice. But that February 2010 storm, dubbed Snowmageddon by the media, gave me long, house-bound days to re-consider not what the technology could do for me, but what I could do with technology.

I took some tiny steps. The snow melted. I went on sabbatical. And, that was it.

Two weeks ago, I returned from sabbatical. Last week the snow, and the panic, returned.

Soon after the first student e-mailed me her snow advisory, others started e-mailing their "what if..." weather-related concerns. I was trying to deal with this blizzard of e-mail, and the snow hadn't even started.

That's when I remembered our class Facebook page. I posted an update on the page and told the students I would only cancel if the university canceled. That way I did not have to reply to every single panicky request.

Setting up this Facebook page was one of the first things I did after I created my spring syllabus for this class, International Public Relations. It wasn't my idea; it was something I learned from students and junior colleagues when I returned from sabbatical. After eight months of being in research la-la land, stepping back onto a high-speed, wi-fi campus was like moving from the cave wall paintings to, well, digital walls. I attended a one-day university-sponsored teaching symposium and zeroed in on technology sessions to get myself up to speed. The line that really stuck with me was: "If you want to fish, go where the fish are." The fish, is seems, were all on Facebook, and I wanted to cast my net.

I set up our "AU -- International Public Relations/Communication" Facebook page. I'm not a "digital native," so followed my notes very carefully: Facebook sign-in. Left column "Groups." Open/private, secret. Click "open."

There it was. My line was in the water.

On Wednesday, I used the page to post my own "Snow Advisory.". The snow had finally started, but the e-mails suddenly stopped.

Wow, it works!

Then the official word came. The University would close at 3 p.m. My 5:30 p.m. class was canceled - at least the on-campus version was canceled. A student posted this news on the class wall.

My next Facebook post: "I'm thinking ... stay tune..." (Yes, it should have been stay tuned, but I was into digital speak.)

At 4 p.m. I alerted students that I would post a "creative challenge" at 5 p.m. I also sent e-mail alerts and posted an announcement on the traditional teaching site.

Their assignment: Students would use the cultural assignments that were due for that night's class to re-design a brochure for a digital storytelling summer camp for teens to better appeal to diverse ethnic communities. I had planned to do this in class, with students working in groups.

Then I realized I didn't know how to upload the brochure they needed for the assignment.

I clicked every which way I could think of. Right. Left. Center. Drag. Scroll. Then I remembered "visual" - photo - jpg. How to convert pdf to jpg. Digital speak. Google it.

It worked.

At 5 p.m., I posted the "Creative Challenge." To keep the spirit light, I switched it from a "must do" assignment to a "try to" effort.

"Class" began as scheduled at 5:30. Students were online. They were posting. They were into the assignment.

I was giving feedback, posting my comments. No, wait. I wasn't posting comments. I was writing them, but no one could see them. Then, I accidentally hit the "return" key. My posts were up and I was back in business.

I tried to keep the discussion going with prompts and questions, but I need more tips on providing quick online feedback. Resorting to "wow" and exclamation marks has its pedagogical limits.

I tried to keep comments short .... tried to remember the dots... to signal "ongoing, please continue"...

GREAT experience! (Three exclamation marks in digital speak.)

I learned a lot, and the students did an incredible job. They provided solid, thoughtful answers that referred to their reading and research. And they seemed to enjoy the experience. One even participated while she was riding the Metro. Not everyone made it to my virtual class, but those who didn't were catching up, posting their ideas the day after the storm.

So the next time it snows, I won't be ice fishing; I'll be Facebook fishing.

(And you can read the full class transcript on Facebook.)

(Re-Posted from HERE)

I think that’s pretty dang cool. I mean, if your snowed in, your prolly gonna be sitting around on Facebook anyway… >.<

Jamin' with Lil' Jamz - Lil' Jamz by Monster Ear Buds Review

2011-01-29T13:37:00.001-08:00

OK, so you saw my SkullCandy FMJ review, those have since broke since review time (DON'T GET THOSE!) however today, I received THESE!

I would take a photo on my own, but these just sound so dag-gum good, I don't wanna stop listening to them! The Bass is absolutely AMAZING! the Frequency Response goes down to 10HZ for Deep bass. The highs are amazing as well, up to 22,000HZ, you cant even hear that high of a frequency. Right now I'm listening to D.O.A. by Jay-Z and its just AMAZING!

Anyway, these Ear-Buds are amazing! I HIGHLY recommend picking a pair up if you re in the market for a pair of mid to high end ear buds.

Pick a pair up HERE!

Raz3R Mamba Review

2010-11-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

so, let me start by saying this very well might be the BEST WIRELESS gaming mouse on the market. while priced a pretty high price point of $129.99, it might be a keep dreaming item for some. But if you have the cash its well worth it.

This mouse, while at a glance may look like a Deathadder with the wire pulled out of it, WRONG. this is definitely really close to the Deathadder, but it has 1 (2 if you count it by button, not cluster) easily noticed visual change, but also and invisible change, that makes a HUGE difference.

The visible change I mentioned would be an additional button cluster a the very top left of the mouse. as well as the same cluster that is on the Deathadder.

The other "invisible change" is the MASSIVELY upgraded 3.5G laser sensory for the mouse at 5600DPI, that's a lot of dots! Also, it can be set to any DPI from 1000-5600. Even adjust the Polling Rate up to 1000HZ!

The Boxing on this mouse is amazing also, armored like a tank, but then also on a pedestal like a diamond.

as you read earlier its WIRELESS, so no more getting tangled up around Monster Energy cans! wireless mode does however require a cable going to the Dock, to the PC/Mac (Yes, it works on Mac too!) but that's not an issue, the cable is quite long. The dock is also how you charge the Rechargeable battery pack in the mouse, simply set it on top of the dock and it charges.

Ok, so youre probably wondering, that's all fine and dandy, better than when Duck Hunt came out, but, is it ugly? No, no, and NO. this mouse is beautiful, picture below.

SkullCandy Full Metal Jacket EarBuds Review

2010-10-29T12:02:00.001-07:00

So a while back I got these Earbuds 50% off at the AT&T store and I love them. they are $69.95 on SkullCandys website at the time I bought them they where $80 there. but now that they’ve dropped in price with the release of the Holua earbuds. They are Fairly LARGE earbuds with a speaker diameter of 11mm yes, I said it, 11mm! that’s 1.1centimeters! HOLY CRAP! so as the speaker diameter might tell you, these things BANG, and I mean BANG. Ive got SRS Audio in my laptop with SRS Audio SandBox and I could probably get them to vibrate across the table if I wanted to take the risk of destroying them.While their not flimsy what so ever, ALL speakers have a limit, and I don’t intend to find out the limit of these until I grab some Holua’s from BestBuy. ok so heres the specs

Speaker Diameter: 11mm
Magnet Type: NdFeB
Frequency Response: 16-20k Hz
Impedance: 16 ohms
Max Input Power: 500mW
Cable Type: Nylon Braided
Cable Length: 1.2m
Plug Type: 3.5mm Gold Plated

And the physical size of these earbuds are almost as big as the sound. but its well worth it. the size of one earbud, minus the ear tip is just over 3/4 of an inch. with it, it is an inch on the dot.

The price of these earbuds is too low if you ask me, these earbuds EASILY out sound the BOSE earbuds. wich are $120 I think. but deffinetly worth hunting some down localy, or buying a pair online. They also have a built in Mic wich is quite handy. per youre using it on a smartphone.

THANKS!

Apple iPhone 3G Review (8GB) (short and 2tp)

2010-10-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

Herro!

PROS:

Downgradable

Somewhat durable

Good Sound Quality

Tons of games avalible

WiFi

Bright screen compared to the previous iPhone

SIM Contact Import

Unlocks EASY!

CONS:

slowish

Mushy volume buttons

could have bigger storage

no Micro-SD slot

Bad Loudspeaker location

not so great mail app

PICTURES:

I DO NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR MOBILEGAZETTES PHOTO

Social Media Club Meet Up - St. Louis

2010-08-23T18:52:00.001-07:00

The 140 conference Roadtrip in St Louis was tonight, it was really fun. I go. To meet Jeff Pulver, the little bit I talked to him he seemed pretty awesome. More to come when I get home

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Robust wine bar and cafe

Astraware Casino iPhone App - Review

2010-06-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

I just recently got an iPhone 3G. I have had an iPod Touch for a while now, but I now get more apps for my iPhone. This post will show you the basics of the Astraware Casino 11 games in 1 app.
Pros -

-Simple to figure out
-Great UI

-Ability to learn how to play certain games in the app.
- Medium sized App (21.3MB in windows Explorer)

Cons -

- Uses Open Feint (I just don't like it xD)

- Hard to tap the game you want to play, they are a bit smashed together.

- Not Free

Screen Shots my Minions MUHAHAHAHAHA!

Mmmmmm showgun!!

2010-05-18T10:05:00.001-07:00

Eating at showgun is da shizzz yall!!! It's awesome Japanese food. The steak and the shrimp is amazing! You should deffinetly try it! Location should be on the post. Least I hope so. .. Lol! I cannot wait for my food to get here! I got the New York Steak with extra rice. Nom nom nom!

Location:Zumbehl Rd,St Charles,United States

Tweetdeck for iPhone Review

2010-04-16T16:47:00.001-07:00

Tweetdeck for iPhone might just be one of the best iPhone Twitter apps yet. It has all the features of the desktop version of tweet deck. Here is a screenshot of the "create tweet" screen.

Then you have your Coloums...

This free app makes tweeting from your iDevice so much easier. It has it's downsides though. I would really like to see the no/slow Internet warning be disabled. Maybe I just wanna catch up on tweets from a hour or so ago. But if u ask me this is much better than twitphone or the others.

Tech Video Blog - Epicsode #1

2010-03-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

iPod Touch 3rd gen 8GB review

2010-01-04T18:34:00.001-08:00

Schecter Guitar Research - Omen 6 (WSN) Reveiw!

2009-12-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

First off let me just say this guitar KICKS ASS! I stepped up to this Omen 6 from a Washburn X-10. This Schecter is a MILLION times better. This has got to be one of THE BEST guitars under $350. the total price on this guitar was just over $300. that has got to be the best deal on any guitar I have ever seen. I was also looking at the $200 Jackson King V they just released. the value was horrible. I'm not sure if Jackson just cant set their guitars up at the factory, or the guitar just sucked. This Schecter is prettier too. it is a Satin Walnut color, just dark enough to where you cant see the wood-grain from a distance. I think now is a good time for a looksy, don't you think?

As you can see this particular Omen-6 has no tremolo. I was either looking for a guitar with a Floyd Rose style tremolo, or none at all with a string through body. this is exactly what i was looking for. absolutely the best guitar for $300.

Tap Tap Revenge 2 iPhone/iPod Touch App Review

2009-12-23T20:20:00.001-08:00

If your a fan of the Guitar Hero series then this game is for you. the idea is simple, tap the circle that a note is in. simple as that. i found this app to be very addicting. here are my main thoughts about it!

GOOD:

simple
good graphics
comes with song
multiple difficulty levels
free

BAD:

waaaaaayyyy to addictive
low sound quality while using built in ipod speake
comes with only one song (would like to see the app come with more songs installed)
unable to use songs from your ipod libarary

Aside from the that this is possibly one of the best free apps on the App Store. i highly reccomend it to any ipod touch or iphone owner.

my Holiday Wishlist - Will edit post as needed!

2009-11-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

Left 4 dead 2 - xbox 360 (game)

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 - xbox 360 (game)

battlefield: Bad company - xbox 360 (game)

Call of Duty World at War - xbox 360 (game)

Need For Speed: Shift - Xbox (game)

Mirrors Edge - xbox 360 (game)

skate 2 - Xbox 360 (game)

120GB xbox 360 hardrive

itunes gift cards

best buy giftcards

xbox 360 chatpad

xbox 360 wireless headset

xbox 360 VGA HD A/V cable

xbox 360 Power supply

xbox live 12 or 3 month card

gamestop giftcard

bestbuy gift card

money

Microsoft - LifeCam NX-3000

Razer - Megalodon USB Gaming Headset

Z-5500 Digital 5.1 Speaker System

G19 Keyboard

Asus G60VX-RBBX0 Laptop

Asus - Eee PC Netbook with Intel® Atom™ Processor - Black

XFX GeForce 9500 GT Video Card - 1GB DDR2, PCI Express 2.0, w/DVI, VGA Support Low Profile<------ MUST BE LOW PROFILE!!!!!! +++

Ultra LSP450 450-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, 135mm Fan, Lifetime Warranty

WORLD Video Editing Device DVD Maker 2 USB 2.0 Interface - Retail

newegg part no. N82E16815260016

Apple In-ear earbuds with mic and remote

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MA850G/A?fnode=MTY1NDA1MA&mco=MTA4NDA3NTk

Keep Your Mind on the Road!

2009-11-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

I took a pledge on another blog today. It is deffineitly a awesome pledge. the mail idea of it is to keep people from txting while driving. you can take the pledge here

http://www.momsmsg.com/my-blog/2009/10/take-the-keep-your-mind-on-the-wheel-pledge.html

i HIGHLY recommend you take the pledge and DON'T txt and drive. it has been proven that it makes you a worse driver than if you where drunk! so, DON'T TXT AND DRIVE!!!!!

Sweet & Sour Filled Twizzlers - Mmmmmmm!

2009-10-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

very good twizzlers!

EA and Maxis in San Fran

2009-08-30T20:06:00.001-07:00

The trip to San Francisco was Epic. We got to go to the Electronic Arts Campus; we also got to visit one of the Maxis Games studios too. I didn’t like the 3 flights too much, but it was totally worth it. The one thing I wanted to know about the Airplanes was what the Cockpit looks like, I’m hoping it looked like this

That would be be awesome if it looked like that. Anyway, on to what we did…

First night we went straight to the Hotel room, the beds were soooo comfortable. The second day we went to Maxis, We got to meet some of the Game Developers and play Spore Hero, and Spore Hero Arena. I However only played Spore Hero. As I do not care for the DS much, The third day we were at the EA Campus playing the EA PLAY division, which has their Hatboro and Pogo games. Not really my thing, but if I was to recommend any of the games on saw on that day, it would be Pogo and to moms.

The other games such as Nerf and My Sims Agents were very good the console they are on. Pogo had a really cool story about some girl whose chimney in her house fell on top of her and she asked for help on pogo. Pretty cool!

In other words, I’m very happy I went and got to see the sights of EA and Maxis. Oh, and some of San Francisco too…. LOL

A New Me

2009-08-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

I was always afraid of doing many things. I was always afraid to get my ear pierced, so i had it pierced on Friday. I realized, I'm probably afraid of a lot of things that i shouldn't be afraid of. So, I'm going to try to be more adventureus. I hope I can go through with it. I know i will though. I used to never take risks, now, I'm going to take more and more risks as i continue to figure this out.

Simple Grilled Chicken Parmesan

2009-06-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe for the group of working folks. Who may have kids, and work full time. this recipe took me about 25 min. here's whats in it.

Boneless Skinless chicken breasts THINLY SLICED

Thick Spaghetti

Garlic Powder

Ragu Tomato Garlic and Onion CHUNKY

Salt and pepper to taste

Texas Toast Garlic Bread

Parmigano Regiano cheese

instructions to make this great simple recipe

get 3/4 of a pot of water boiling
add pasta
warm RAGU
saute chicken
salt, pepper, and garlic powder chicken
after 5 min. of pasta cooking put the garlic bread in oven
Add some parmigano regiono cheese on top of ever thing (on plate)

once all is done, ENJOY!

Xfire Contest....

2009-06-12T15:15:00.001-07:00

haha! i love that pic!

My D3LL c521 Small Form Factor PC

2009-05-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

THIS THING IS MODDED! its so awesome with the blue and green lights, the antec VCool (FTW!!) and the nVIDIA 7300GTX video card, great machine!

Tweet Tweet Tweeter TWITTER!

2009-05-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

Twitter is a Micro-Blogging site wich can be very handy for sharing short messages with the world, or somebody across the planet, check it out at

WWW.Twitter.COM

feel free to follow me

@Failchesterz

Steam - Gaming Super Star

2009-05-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

I have become very fond of STEAM lately, keepes all my gaming stuff in one program. Its also very handy for buying games, TONS of games and demos on it. Check it out at

WWW.Steampowered.COM

Betta fish activitys - 1/13/08

2009-01-13T19:45:00.000-08:00

5:00PM - light turned on

6:30PM - attacked tank and purple dragon in tank

7:30PM - hid in dragon

9:30PM - swam around in a circle

9:40 - ate

NOW - Attacked tank again...

WoW Shadows?

2009-01-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

I wish you could turn the Shadows completely off. and not have the little round dot even. that would help my PCs run WoW a lot better. ever since the WotLK patch, I only get 25FPS on my desktop MAX, or 40 on my laptop (reviewed last night). It would be SO nice if there was an AddOn to turn shadows all the way off to where there was no shadow...lol or is there? TELL ME!!!!!

Acer 6930 Widescreen Laptop Review

2009-01-12T17:54:00.000-08:00

I just got an Acer laptop and i love it! I am the kind of person who likes all the bells and whistles like lights and touch sensors. This laptop satisfies all my wants. this is a $650 laptop, however it is wonderfull. it runs awesome! it has tons of bells and whistles. it also preforms well for business and play. here are the specs.

Intel Core 2 Duo T5800
2.0GHZ 800MHZ FSB 2MB L2 Cashe

16" LCD Display (gorgeous)

1244 Intel Graphics Accelerator 4500MHD

3GB DDR2 RAM

320GB HDD

DVD-RW Super Multi DL

802.11 a/b/g/n WLAN

Internal Subwoofer

_______________

This runs World of Warcraft better than my Dell desktop. I can get about 30-40 FPS soloing a quest. About 10-15 in Stormwind. only 5 in Dalaran though. I can 3 on my desktop, so its an improvement. this is running on low detail, you can get in touch in-game with me if you like. i play on the "Alleria" server and my toons name is "Minirouge", OR if you just got an transfer to the new server, Garrosh, my toons name on that server is "Ardussian". So get in touch!

Hiya!

2009-01-12T17:45:00.000-08:00

Hi! I'm Taylor. I will be trying to make at least one blog post per day. I will definitely try to review some things I already have, and new things I get. This is my first blog for actually blogging, i have several private blogs for personal lists etc. I am going to get started on a review of my laptop. See you soon!