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Ok so the Alltel Touch got a new ROM update that added EVDO Rev. A. It also fixed some BlueTooth issues and added video messaging.It didn’t however, include aGPS (wierd huh?)

While Sprint users are waiting (and waiting) for the Windows Mobile 6.1 update that we assume will have REvA and GPS (only WM6.1 was officially announced) apparently some craft folks over at PPCGeeks have managed to take the Alltel ROM, rip it apart and get it to install on the Sprint Touch. So… if you’re comfortable with it you can now get not only RevA but GPS on your Sprint Touch as well!

• Sprint Rev A + GPS
• Verizon Rev A + GPS - some have reported this isn’t totally stable yet

My name is Paul… and I’m a geek. Seriously, like in need of a 12 step program kind of geek.

Geeks like us spend a ridiculous amount of time browsing the Web. We get our nerd news online, we converse with like-minded individuals online, we get ideas online, we learn about new products online, and so on. We live and breathe the mighty cloud.

To feed your surfing habits, ExtremeTech presents a list of 25 of it’s own favorite sites.

Read the rest of this entry »

Another cloud service is coming, this time on your phone. Dashwire is intended to mirror your phones content onto a web based interface. I’m sure the power users are thinking “I can already do that with other 3rd party apps. Yes, you can… but Dashwire is probably not intended for the ultimate power user and it does do a good job of providing a clean, easy to use web based interface for accessing for phones information. Some of the things they list that Dashwire can do today via their Web-based interface:

• Send and receive text messages (SMS)

•  Add and edit phone contacts

•  Easily organize your photos and videos

•  Listen to voicemails

•  Set Internet favorites, ringtones, speed dials, and wallpapers for your phone

•  Transfer contacts and settings to your new phone

•  Automatically upload photos and videos

•  Find friends and people you want to follow

•  Create a personalized web page to share your media

• Add comments and star ratings

• Single click photo upload to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Bebo

The interface is smooth, grey, and very attractive looking. The fonts are large and everything is easy to read.

On your Dashwire dashboard are your photos and videos, contacts, bookmarks, and SMS and call history laid out in movable AJAX tiles. You can click to play on your ringtones (I found this a very easy way to manage ringtones. There are tiles for phone, and text messages and you can reply to them with your keyboard. Even with a Treo or Blackjack you can’t bang out an SMS as fast as you can on a traditional keyboard. You can e-mail photo links from Dashwire, too, without your friends having to sign up to the service to view them online. Contacts you add online materialize in your mobile address book. Essentially, Dashwire is allowing you a web interface for interacting with your phone, while at the same time making an online backup of some of the most important “data”. It’s not backing up your programs, registry settings or anything like that, but all your critical stuff like contact, messages, etc.

Now it’s time for the secret sauce: how your content gets there. Dashwire begins as a mobile app that most users will probably download over the air. It installs, and then syncs to your personal page on Dashwire.com, which you’ve configured by registering your screen name and number on sign-up. The synching takes FOREVER, and might take more if your mobile network is lagging. Photos and videos take the longest to upload, and even longer the more you’ve got. I only have the “stock photos” that came with my phone and I’m sure that’s the part taking the longest. I wonder about the value of that (personally) though for people unfamiliar with other backup solutions this might be a great alternative.

The video they put together gives a great overview of what Dashwire can do, so check it out and see if this is a solution you could use. The accounts are free (not sure yet how’ll they monetize this service yet) and it’s in open beta. Some improvements they could make are faster backups. Even once my phone was sync’d it still take a LONG time during the sync process… and I wonder… why? For the moment, it only supports Windows Mobile 5 and 6, and subscribers have to specify their carrier and device model when they register. Dashwire doesn’t manage files or programs, or perform certain small tasks like deleting photos from the phone or reading and initiating e-mail. Those would be welcome additions. Dashwire also has a setting to update your status on Facebook and Twitter… though I haven’t seen HOW this works or any instructions on their site for making this interaction occur. Still… for a beta it’s not bad and definetly worth checking out.

The new software update allows gamers to buy new musical tracks, released weekly, without having to use the Xbox Live front end. The store is no more and no less than a full-fledged music service for Rock Band; you can browse available songs by artist, by song title, and later, by album. Many of the tracks are shown with album art, the name of the CD they’ve been taken from, as well as detailed information about how difficult each song is to play on each of the game’s four instruments. A preview function is also available, allowing gamers to hear each song before they pay the dollar or two to download the tracks for use in the game.Couple of important points… if you didn’t catch it this means you can do all of this within the game, AND you can preview the song before you buy it. That’s something I always thought was lacking from RB.

This is a new way to get at a demographic that doesn’t seem to see the worth of paying for music: add the same song they’re willing to download for free into Rock Band or Guitar Hero and see people pay $2 and up for the track. Put a set of three songs by new bands together one week for a lower price, and gamers looking for new content will try them out, allowing you to spread the word about new artists. Gamers are a prime market for music and this is a way to get them more involved in new bands.

It seems like somebody finally gets it. Music sales are in sharp decline because for years now the cost to MAKE music has dropped substantially, people are tired of being raped on the cost of music and would rather just steal it. Here’s a cool idea, provide the music in a way the consumer can interact with it! Kudos… I can’t wait to download more tunes.

“In July 2007, Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group (BD+ Standards Board) declared: ‘BD+, unlike AACS which suffered a partial hack last year, won’t likely be breached for 10 years.” Bold statements huh? When will these people learn, copy protection never has and never will work against the people you’re trying to protect your content from. Yes, general users will not be able to copy your products, but they will also not be able to make fair use backups either. Often copy protection causes other headaches in terms of usability as well.

So… only eight months since that bold statement, and Slysoft has done it again. According to the press release, the latest version of their flagship product AnyDVD HD can automatically remove BD+ protection and allows you to back-up any Blu-ray title on the market.”

To celebrate Easter, SlySoft is offering a 20% discount on all products (except upgrades and t-shirts)

To redeem the coupon just enter the coupon code: easter