Category: Tech Talk

Unlimited Music and skips on pandora

TrackerLeave a comment

Graphic of a digital sound on black bottom

Alright if you are anything like me you really like to listen to music but I myself can not afford to buy enough songs to satisfy my diverse listening choices. Because of that I use Pandora… A lot….

So much in fact that my  radio in my truck automatically connects to my phone and starts playing pandora by default and I dont even know what radio stations are around me in my area . As a result I run out of time on pandora quickly and I cant stand not being able to skip songs when one comes on I do not like. This post is to help those like me learn how to bypass the system and get no ads and skip as many times as your heart desires on multiple platforms including Windows computers, Android devices, and iPhones.

THIS POST IS IN NO WAY CONDONING THEFT OF MUSIC OR PIRACY. IT IS SIMPLY EDUCATIONAL TO SHOW HOW IT CAN BE DONE . WHAT YOU DO WITH THE KNOWLEDGE IS PURELY UP TO YOU AND YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES  OF YOUR ACTIONS

First I am going to start off with the simplest and easiest one to do.

Windows:

This one was extremely simple

Goto THIS SITE and download the Saver2 bundle

Once installed there will be a couple icons listed. To listen to Pandora just click the Listen Only icon, log in, and enjoy. Simple as that. Your regular media controls will work so you can skip songs and pause while in the middle of what ever game you so desire to play!

Android:

This one is still fairly simple I will outline the steps below (this is for both phones and tablets)

  1. Uninstall current pandora client!
  2. Enable 3rd party installs by going to settings (on my device its under settings>more>security>Unknown sources
  3. Use your phone to browse to http://bit.ly/1mnk4aC
  4. Install and enjoy!

You use this client just like the one off the app store but it does not stop you from rapidly clicking the skip button to your hearts content! (although I would recommend some sort of self control)

iPhone:

This one requires you to jailbreak your iDevice. Don’t know how to do this? CLICK HERE be sure to read up on the risks and the proper way to perform the jailbreak and above all DO NOT PAY A WEBSITE TO DO IT!

  1. Jailbreak device
  2. Open cydia
  3. Click the “Manage” tab
  4. Select Sources and click edit on the top right
  5. Select add
  6. type in cydia.xsellize.com/ and press add source
  7. Follow directions on the screen to add
  8. Scroll down and click Xsellize
  9. Scroll down more and find “Pandora Skip hack”
  10. Enjoy!

Enjoy the tunes!

-Tracker

p.s. HOLY CRAP!!!! I MADE A INFORMATIVE POST!!!!

Rii mini wireless keyboard/mouse (HTPC)

TrackerLeave a comment

Ok, so we haven’t been having many updates lately. So starting with this, we will have a few back to back posts to curb your techno appetite :). Bet you’re wondering what in the world this little thing is…well for those of you that LOVE your controllers that are add-ons for your electronic gadgets like HDTVs, Xbox 360, ps3, Wii, or just a gaming PC, all of which you can see on DotBeasts product reviews or you may already know (or own one); this is a awesome, relatively cheap wireless keyboard/mouse combo to further enhance your PC enjoyment.

This is the features:

  • ·Wireless(RF 2.4G) connection, smart & portable size
  • · To enjoy PC Multi-media Entertainment at home
  • Convenient & efficient for Conference, Presentation & lecturing
  • To share large TV and projector screen
  • Large PAD for handwrite
  • Built-in lecture laser pointer
  • Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
  • Backlight function with a handheld keypad
  • Support Window 7 / Vista / XP / 2000, Linux (Debian-3.1, Redhat-9.0, Ubuntu-8.10, Fedora-7.0 tested or above)
  • Operation range: up to 30 meters
  • Dimension: 151 x 59 x 13mm (approx.)
  • Weight: 103g

With the Rii remote comes a USB cable, USB receiver, and of course the manual 😉 This remote comes equipped with a lithium-ion battery that has a standby time of 500-700 hours! It charges quicker and works longer. If you want to run it dead, it will more likely than not last you about a month before needing a charge.  Also for those of you that either love teasing animals, or actually are looking to purchase a cool business one, this remote has a laser point on it!

I’m sure you’re wondering how much this sweet little box costs, right? Well, right now through Amazon it is ON SALE…was $65.00, and is now $35.00 USD. I own one, and have to admit it’s a pretty fun little gadget to have.

Build a Hackintosh Mini on the cheap!

Tracker1 Comment

 

Ok so you want a mac… [if not then don’t even read the rest of this post] but you don’t have the extra funds laying around to buy a brand new shiny mac. Sure you can go get a used one but where is the fun in that?

Well I have the link you need…. LifeHacker posted a great informative post on how to build and configure a hackintosh from start to finish for under $600.00

Now the only trick for me is finding my hidden stash of money in the back yard…. where did I put that shovel…

-Tracker

Hard Drive Failure? Part 1

TrackerLeave a comment

Ok so about a month ago my hard drive began to fail. It was not completely gone but it wouldn’t boot either. So that is what my next series of posts is going to be about.

The series is going to be as follows.

1. What Causes Hard Drive Failure

2. How to prevent data loss

3. What to do when your disk fails

4. The conclusion.

So lets get started…

WHAT CAUSES A HARD DRIVE TO FAIL

Just like a car your hard drive will eventually fail. Moving parts break down over time. The time it takes for it to fail is different for every drive. I have a drive in my computer right now that has been working for over 5 years while the old drive I just pulled out lasted just over a year.

The internals of a drive are very sensitive the drive heads [what reads the data] float a micron above the platters [the disks that hold the data] and when a drive is put through a lot of vibration the heads can become offset causing a hard drive to fail.

Heat is also a problem that can cause a hard drive’s life span to be shortened. It is important to make sure your computer is in a cool room and there is enough air flow inside the case of your computer.

Static is a major computer killer. This one mostly only applies to people working on computers. It is extremely important to make sure you don’t transfer static to your hard drive. When ever installing components into a computer make sure to wear a static wrist band. If you don’t have one make sure to touch the side of your computer.

Power Surges are also a point of failure. To help prevent this make sure that your computer is ALWAYS connected to a name brand surge protector. [not the cheap ones you can get at the dollar store]. Most surge protectors come with some sort of insurance. For example if my computer failed while plugged into its surge protector and its because of a power surge I have upto $100,000.00 of coverage on it.

In my case my drive had a head / platter issue. When it would try and read I could hear a clicking sound from the heads trying to read.

In part 2 I am going to talk about Data Recovery Hospital and how to prevent data loss mostly by way of proper backups and disk clones.

-Tracker

Show Off Time…. My Ride :P

TrackerLeave a comment

Ok so I am trying to get back in the grove of posting again so here is one…. its me showing off my truck 😛

Ok so I bought this 1998 Ford F-150 back in august and was happy because it was my first truck/car. It has a 4.6L V8 engine that currently has 140k miles and is white with regular cab and a short bed. Well I was not satisfied with the radio in it… So how do you fix that? NO!!! You dont take it to a shop and have them put one in… you do it yourself 😛

[The radio that was in the truck we were about to take it out]

[Had to replace the speakers in the door]

[the truck is white with a LED underglow kit that changes from blue to red green teal white purple and a couple shades in between it also has different flashing and strobe patterns… Illegal as hell to strobe blue or red tho :P]

[The control module for the underglow kit… It even has a mode where it strobes to the music in the truck]

[Gotta have a good radio right? 7 inch motorized flip up touch screen DVD player with USB and SD card inputs. It also has AV inputs on the front and back of the unit for xbox / digital converter box…ect..ect..ect. It also has a hookup and mode where when you put the truck in reverse it activates a rear view camera. Oh ya and bluetooth for handsfree cell phone use with a mic that was ran up next to my sun visor on the drivers side.]

[Cant have a system in a truck with out an amp and subs right? I have 2 10″ subs with 2 different amps… Ya they dont match. One is a PPI 400 Watt amp powering a 10″ Alpine Type S sub. The other is a Crosfire BMF 600watt powering a 10″ Dual Voice Coil Power Acoustic sub. There is also a 2 FARAD Power Acoustic  capacitor and a cheap power distribution block. Along with about 700FT of hot ground remote and RCA wires all hidden running through the truck for the subs amps and capacitor]

All in all I spent about $700 on stuff for my truck between the system and underglow kit and I am not done yet… I am considering tossing 2 15″ Powerbass subs in the bed of the truck [I have a topper to put on it] along with ANOTHER amp. I also have a friend who is talking about air ride and NOS!!!! 😛

Ya I know I take to much pride in my truck

-Tracker

Xbox Slim Makes Me Feel All Warm And Fuzzy Inside

Tracker2 Comments

500x_P1020180

Yes people still use the old original xbox and this guy here gets major 1337 points for turning the old mammoth of a console into a sleek sexy media playing machine.

The console lacks a optical drive however that is something that is not a huge deal breaker because the games can be played from the 320gb laptop harddrive.

It does run a bit hot but that is to be expected when you cram it into that small of a space.

[Source: Xbox Scene]

-Tracker

Windows Server 2008 + Exchange 2007 + All your contacts = Fail

TrackerLeave a comment

Ok so I have an exchange email account that I use for all my email and contacts to sync between my iPhone and my pc. [mostly mobile email and contacts because I use imap on my desktop for emial] well my exchange host had to move boxes today and thats fine no big deal. However they failed 😛

They switched from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008. In this process it borked exchange causing my computer to no longer sync.

They are correcting it should be fixed by the time I am done with this post but in any event I am gonna give you guys the fix as well [as stated in the link that was sent to me by the host]

To make the long story short, simply unselect IPv6 from the properties of your NIC AND (it’s very important) make a changes to the HOSTS file. Simply open up your hosts file and make the following changes:

  • Comment out the line “:::1    localhost”
  • Add the following two lines:

<IPv4 address>    <hostname of the computer>
<IPv4 address>    <FQDN of the computer>

That SHOULD correct the issue

You can confirm that this works by doing a “telnet localhost 6004″.

[Source: Network Admin Knowlagebase]

-Tracker