Todd Boss

Google Maps Adds Bike-Friendly Directions and Trails

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:57:26 -0500

Google Maps Adds Bike-Friendly Directions and Trails:

They’re still missing a few bike paths in my neighborhood, but it’s a great start.

Leave No Trace: How to Completely Erase Your Hard Drives, SSDs and Thumb Drives

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:43:38 -0500

Leave No Trace: How to Completely Erase Your Hard Drives, SSDs and Thumb Drives

Ubuntu dumps the brown, introduces new theme and branding

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:48:04 -0500

Ubuntu dumps the brown, introduces new theme and branding:

The new “Light” theme looks really nice. I don’t think Canonical ever truly realized how much the default brown theme was holding Ubuntu back. First impressions are huge; you can make the best OS in the whole world but if an average user’s first reaction is “wow, that’s sorta ugly” it won’t go anywhere.

Google Releases Gesture Search for Android

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:44:21 -0500

Google Releases Gesture Search for Android:

This app is pretty smart. Even in this early experimental release it’s already an improvement from the built-in contacts search. You can also use it to launch apps and browser bookmarks, which is a nice bonus.

Should Open Source Be An Enemy Of The State?

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:31:56 -0500

Should Open Source Be An Enemy Of The State?:

U.S. Trademark groups have decided that Open Source is an enemy of the free market, and therefore also an enemy of Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Well, that and it keeps their clients from making a few bucks.

Pete Hoekstra sings about turtle fences on YouTube thanks to Auto-Tune the News crew

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:05:33 -0500

Pete Hoekstra sings about turtle fences on YouTube thanks to Auto-Tune the News crew :

It’s not overtly political; it’s just funny.

Holland urges residents to petition Google for fast fiber Internet connection

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:52:10 -0500

Holland urges residents to petition Google for fast fiber Internet connection:

Check out the BPW’s page for details on how to nominate Holland for gigabit Internet service from Google!

Super Mario Galaxy 2 hits 5/23: Yoshi! Drills! 2D gameplay!

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:22:43 -0500

Super Mario Galaxy 2 hits 5/23: Yoshi! Drills! 2D gameplay!:

Check out the trailer…it looks like they managed to take the best parts of Super Mario Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros. Wii (minus the multiplayer) and combine them into one solid new title.

Conan O’Brien Officially Joins Twitter

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:49:08 -0500

Conan O’Brien Officially Joins Twitter

Best Tech Guy caller EVER with Leo Laporte (via onlinecrane)

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:46:40 -0500

Best Tech Guy caller EVER with Leo Laporte (via onlinecrane)

Absolutely...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:22:46 -0500

hitmark: is it me or is americans in love with absolutes?
Pharmboy: You are 100% correct. Anything less would be un-American.

Video: ABC News compares Holland to 'a city still living in the Norman Rockwell world' in report about second happiest place in U.S.

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:09:47 -0500

Video: ABC News compares Holland to 'a city still living in the Norman Rockwell world' in report about second happiest place in U.S.

NPR News Android App Now Streams Local Stations Live

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:45:12 -0500

NPR News Android App Now Streams Local Stations Live

Economics Improve for First Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Plants

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:17:40 -0500

Economics Improve for First Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Plants:

Creating fuel from non-edible plant products like corncobs and switchgrass is becoming economically viable. This could help to get us off of our dependence on fossil fuels without using up food and contributing to world hunger.

How to Run Transport Tycoon Deluxe in Windows XP, Vista, 7 and Linux with OpenTTD!

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:50:48 -0500

Back in the nineties, I wasted many joyous hours playing Chris Sawyer’s classic simulation game Transport Tycoon. That game was the seed that eventually resulted in the very successful Rollercoaster Tycoon franchise. A year or two ago, I got the urge to play it again, but was disappointed to find that installing it on newer versions of Windows wasn’t particularly easy as the original was a DOS game.

After a bit of searching, I found that there is a great project called OpenTTD which is “an open source remake and expansion” [wikipedia] of Transport Tycoon Deluxe. OpenTTD has made many significant enhancements to the original gameplay, and it runs on Windows, Linux, and a few other operating systems.

Installing the game requires two steps:

Download and run the installer or archive from OpenTTD’s site (or your Linux distro’s repository). This page should give you the correct download for your OS. If you’re an Ubuntu user, APT will give you a somewhat current version.
Check out section 4.1 of the readme file (currently available here) to figure out which, if any, files you will need from the original TTD (Note: if you are using the Windows installer this may be unnecessary). After installation, you will also want to use the in-game downloader to install some opponent AI.

Once you’ve gotten everything running, you may want to read some strategy tips at the excellent OpenTTD wiki.

Enjoy!

Note: this is a follow-up to my previous post on the subject. I noticed that I was getting a lot of hits to that article, so I thought I’d update everyone since I ended up going in a different direction afterwards.

Windows patch cripples XP with blue screen, users claim

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:27:49 -0500

Windows patch cripples XP with blue screen, users claim:

Better headline:

PC Repair Technicians Laud New Microsoft Patch as “Pennies from Heaven”

Fair - Disappearing World

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:08:25 -0500

Fair - Disappearing World:

My favorite band, Fair, released their new album this week. You can hear the full album here: http://bit.ly/dwfair

Fair’s first album, The Best Worst-Case Scenario, was an absolute masterpiece. I shared it with a few friends and it invariably ended up in heavy rotation on their music players. The new release, Disappearing World, is a little darker and has a bit of a retro feel to it. I’ve listened through it a few times now, and while I’d have loved a clone of the first record, I like how this one turns the “poppiness” down just a touch and introduces a bit more track-to-track variety.

If you’ve only got time for one song, check out track 4, “One Last Time”. It’s a straight-up rocker and reminiscent of my favorite song, “Cut Down Sideways” from the first record.

The other two “catchiest” tunes on the record are “Walking in My Sleep” and the title track. However, the one that is really growing on me is the most “retro” of the bunch, “Take Some Risks.”

You can buy their CDs from their label (Tooth and Nail) here. Digital downloads are available from iTunes.

Multiple Michigan beers, brewers and establishments, including Bell's and Founders, rated best in the world

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:24:23 -0500

Multiple Michigan beers, brewers and establishments, including Bell's and Founders, rated best in the world

Google Voice Chrome Extension Makes Calling and SMS Even Easier

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:09:25 -0500

Google Voice Chrome Extension Makes Calling and SMS Even Easier:

This is great. Now when I find a phone number online, I can just call it from whichever phone I want via the browser without having to transcribe it from the screen to the phone keypad.

Bill Gates Joins Twitter

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:39:30 -0500

Bill Gates Joins Twitter