03:43 PM by ignatz in Miscellaneous | Lounge

There have been a few interesting references lately to the "numbers stations," those shortwave radio stations that broadcast series of numbers, letter, or even musical tones. It is widely assumed that these are set up for intelligence agencies to communicate with agents in the field, though many other explanations are possible. An independent record label called Irdial in Great Britain has released 4 cds of these recordings under an open license. They are free to download and use for nonprofit purposes. I find them mysteriously compelling.

the home of the Conet Project at Irdial

Mirror of all 4 numbers station cds (If you go up to the parent directory you can find all the cds released openly by Irdial. I haven't tried any of them as yet. If you do, let us know what they're like.)

boing boing story on Irdial's lawsuit against Wilco

05:45 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

AllOfMP3.com is a Russian-based company which offers (legit) music to download in just about any format you want for a mere $0.01 per MB. The site has recently been updated to include an English section. Payment options are credit/debit card (it's Russia, so think twice before sharing your CC), Paypal, WebMoney, or gift certificate.

04:11 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Danger Inc. will soon make a lot of people happy with their release of the new SideKick II. Sidekick II connects seamlessly to wireless networks, which gives you the ability to browse the Internet, exchange instant messages, and send and receive email with image attachments. Other features include a full-featured phone, personal information management (PIM) applications, access to a personal Web portal, a catalog for downloading ringtones and applications to your device, and a built-in camera.

To raise your appetite: the FCC has made available pictures and reference guide.

03:50 PM by Zire in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Hey All,

I just noticed a new game out called Frutakia so I thought that I would give it a try. So far I like it and recommend it to anyone who needs to kill some time. What I like most about it is that you play the game using a slot machine to line up objects (cherries, bells, etc). I like the sound effects and the graphics are very clear. I only played the game for about 5 minutes but will play more on the train. I will report back to tell you guys if it is infact a keeper. Happy Gaming!

Edit 6/23/2004: I like this game! Even got looks on the train because of the sound effects. When you hit spin all the slot machine revs up like the jetsons car. In Frutakia mode you can bet your score similiar to a regular slot machine but this game is shorter and you need to buy the game to play this mode. The regualar mode is good and if you like slots then this is right up your ally. When you're in the casino and pull the one armed bandit don't you wish that you could manipulate the fruits, bells etc to line up? Well in Frutakia you can! Either use the sylus or the hard buttons to move the fruits, bells etc up and down. This does have an impact on your life but it's still fun.

Further information can be found at http://www.crazysoft.gr/frutakia.htm

09:02 AM by sUnShInE in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

CNET reports that cellphone maker Nokia has dumped cash into Mozilla in the hopes of the group producing an Open Source-based cellphone browser. In response to the funding, Mozilla has created the Minimo project.

The goal of Minimo (or Mini Mozilla), is to reduce the footprint of the Mozilla browser to a size suitable for small consumer devices. Mozilla has already produced a preview release based on the 1.7a Mozilla code. If all goes according to plan, Nokia will stake an incredible return on its investment if it could use a browser free from licensing fees on its handsets (think Netscape). In the end, it will not only benefit Nokia, but all handset manufacturers -- not to mention end-users.

Minimo v0.1 is part of the Handhelds.org stable feed.

Read the CNET article.

08:28 AM by ignatz in Miscellaneous | Lounge

musicplasma has a lot of interesting potential. You enter a musician or band into the search and you get a visual result showing similar bands arranged by how alike they are and showing visual links based on style and relative popularity. Not sure how music is judged to be similar, or how popularity is calculated. I've already found a handful of bands that I need to check out. And the application is real eye-candy and very configurable. Recommended!

05:37 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The new company on2go Ltd. aims to provide "live, rich intelligent content" on mobile phones. on2go is a java-based content delivery system for mobiles that combines the immediacy of SMS with a richness that "far surpasses WAP."

Stock prices, football scores, ski reports, traffic information, racing results, last-minute travel deals, multi-player games, email and Instant Messaging – is the kind of live information on2go is striving to provide you.

If you'd like to be involved in their Beta program, you can send them an e-mail to register your interest.

05:16 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

Brahamt brought the first news a week ago, and now it is official: Today, BMW and Apple unveiled the first adapter (link1, link2) that directly interfaces the iPod with a car stereo system. The BMW iPod Adapter can be installed in 2002 or later models, including the Mini Cooper. It supports up to five unique BMW playlists, which simulate the car's CD changer.