It’s funny today I was looking at Engadget and I saw an ad for the Palm Pre Launching on June 6th and it had a countdown timer. The countdown timer said 46 days and counting?Huh? I don’t know about you but it’s seems like someone screwed up their math here. Is it that Palm moved the date up because of the Apple’s WWDC conference announcements.

click on the picture and you can see for your self. I included the time and date on my machine.

Ok, with a lot of frustration over the last two days over AT&T admitting they were behind the blocking of Slingplayer on 3g network. I have decided to document on how to get Slingplayer working on 3g. This does not require you to Unlock your iPhone it only requires you to Jailbreak. Which is much safer.

Couple things first:

1. This tutorial is to jailbreak iPhone 3G running iPhone firmware 2.2.1.  In the future I will document how to do it for 3.0 Beta 5 which I have installed on one of my developer phones.

2. This guide is for users of Windows that would like to jailbreak their phones.

Preparatory steps before jailbreaking your iPhone 3G.

1. Please take a backup of your iPhone.

2.  Please ensure that you have upgraded iTunes to iTunes 8.0.2.

3. Please download QuickPwn 2.2.5-2 for Windows from any of these links and unziphttp://foskarulla.com/QuickPwn-225-2.zip

• http://downloads2.touch-mania.com/QuickPwn-225-2.zip
• http://www.applei.ph/devteam/QuickPwn-225-2.zip
• http://phonenews.com/phones/gsm/apple/QuickPwn225-2.zip
• http://rabstalk.bplaced.net/mirrors/QuickPwn-225-2.zip
• http://www.evil-crew.de/QuickPwn-225-2.zip
• http://daniel14.com/QuickPwn-225-2.zip

4. Please download firmware 2.2.1 for iPhone 3G using this link.
5. You need to install  .NET Framework runtimes and associated files (if not already installed) for Quickpwn to work. You can download it from Microsoft’s site.

Update your iPhone 3G to iPhone Firmware 2.2.1:

1. Please note this method does NOT preserve the baseband, so by updating to iPhone firmware 2.2.1 using this method will result in your iPhone 3G’s baseband will also get updated from 02.28.00 to 02.30.03.  You will not be abel to Unlock your Phone after this unless you downgrade your baseband. AT&T users this is not an issue.
2. Connect your iPhone 3G to your computer via USB cable and launch iTunes and select your iPhone.



3. Hold the SHIFT Key and click the “Restore” button. iTunes will launch a file dialog for you to select the firmware file. Locate the iPhone1,2_2.2.1_5H11_Restore.ipsw file that you have downloaded in step 5 of the preparatory steps and click “Open”.



4. iTunes will then restore your iPhone with firmware 2.2.1 which takes sometime, please wait for the process to complete.

Once your iPhone 3G is updated to iPhone firmware 2.2.1, you are ready to use the QuickPwn tool to jailbreak it.

Jailbreak iPhone 3G using QuickPwn 2.2.5-2:

IMPORTANT BPLEASE READ THIS BEFORE STARTING: PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE NOT SYNCED YOUR FIRMWARE 2.2.1 WITH AUDIO AND VIDEOS AND APPLICATIONS. OTHERWISE USERS HAVE RUN INTO ISSUES OF THE IPHONE FREEZING WHEN BOOTING UP REQUIRING A RESTORE.

1. Launch QuickPwn from the unzipped folder to start jailbreaking your iPhone 3G.
2. Please ensure that your iPhone 3G is connected to your computer. QuickPwn will automatically detect it and enable the blue arrow button, click it to continue.



3. In the next screen, click browse and select the iPhone firmware 2.2.1 that you had downloaded in step 5 of the preparatory steps and click Open.



4. QuickPwn will check if the firmware file selected is the same as the one installed on your iPhone 3G, if valid it will enable the blue arrow button, click it to continue.



5. In the next screen, you will be prompted to install Cydia, Installer (both are preselected) and if you would like to Replace the Boot Logos. Install both Cydia and Installer as you will need it to install jailbreak apps.



6. QuickPwn will again prompt you to ensure that your iPhone 3G is connected to your computer via USB, click the blue arrow button to continue.



7. QuickPwn will now automatically put your iPhone into recovery mode. Once its in recovery mode you will be prompted to: Hold the Home button for 5 seconds, Hold the Home and Power buttons for 10 seconds, then release the Power button and continuing holding the Home button until your iPhone is in DFU mode.



8. Its important that you follow the instructions carefully, if it does not work and get an error message then try again, once your iPhone 3G is in DFU mode QuickPwn will start the jailbreaking process.



9. QuickPwn will inform you as soon as the jailbreaking process is successfully completed.



10. After your iPhone 3G reboots, it will be jailbroken and will have Cydia and Installer apps installed and visible on your iPhones Home Screen.

Getting Slingplayer Mobile to run on 3g on iphone

Note: This versision doe snot reuire you to SSH in and modify any files. This is automatically done for you.

1. Run Cydia and search for Tricker3g

2. Install Tricker3g by selecting install.

3. Run Slingplayer with Wifi off and you are done.

Enjoy fellow Slingers. Do not worry this is very straight forward and now you have freedom once again.

Well according to Techcrunch and a few Twitter friends it looks like the day has arrived where Sling Media will launch the Slingplayer Mobile for iPhone. The only large rumor is that it will be Wifi Only. I am sure glad that my Slingbox  Pro HD got delivered in the Mail today. Thanks AMEX Rewards!!!

Now the question comes. Why is it that a Blackberry user can use 3G but iPhone usage is limited to Wifi? This is going to create a huge issue with user’s that Apple or AT&T are biased to developers especially Slingmedia. I would think that a Class Action lawsuit could be put against AT&T if they only allow streaming via Wifi.  I understand that they can not stop the Blackberry App since they can not control the sale of the app but this seems very restrictive to there highest paying customers.  I would think that an Anti-trust lawsuit could be filed since if Apple would not let a user stream via 3G on a case by case basis then there would be a serious issue with the way they are treating people. It’s a monopoly.

Well, enough ranting on Apple and AT&T. Let’s hope that we are pleasantly surprised when we wake up in the morning that we are blessed with 3G Slingplayer iPhone. As expected I would think the price will be set at $29.99 but if it is wifi-only then I think they really need to drop the price to $9.99. It is to limiting and really not fair especially after hyping that you need to upgrade your old slingboxes.

Mechdyne Corporation and Scalable Graphics SAS have entered into a partnership for sales and integration of advanced visualization software and services. The companies have complementary software products that offer a combination of performance enhancements and display and interaction options for viewing and manipulating desktop computer graphics applications, such as CATIA, Pro/Engineer, NX, 3ds Max, Solidworks, ESRI, Google Earth, and more in large-scale, high-resolution display environments.

(4/30/2009)

Scalable Graphics is now a reseller of Mechdyne’s software products with particular emphasis on ConduitT. Mechdyne’s Conduit software enables OpenGL applications to be displayed in advanced visualization environments including multi-wall and multi-projector systems such as the CAVET, PowerWallT, Tiled Walls, and Reality Centers. Users can stream their desktop visuals to any of these environments, enhancing perspective and promoting collaboration for faster, more intuitive design reviews and visual simulations.

Mechdyne now offers the Scalable Graphics Direct Transport Compositor (DTC),which enables display of complex computer models at higher frame rates with improved interaction speeds and image quality. DTC incrementally accelerates an application’s performance by distributing the rendering across any number of CPUs and GPUs to produce a single composite image.

DTC can reduce image artifacts through distributed anti-aliasing techniques that can smooth jagged edges for improved image quality, says a representative. Conduit and DTC can be used together for scaling of both performance and displays. With a combination of these two software tools, users can review large models faster and experience them in ultra-high-resolution advanced visualization environments.

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A brand new version of QUIDAM, the famous 3D character creation software, is now available.

QUIDAM 3 has been empowered with a multitude of new features and top quality content to bring you the whole toolset to create all kind of outstanding characters.

QUIDAM becomes even more Professional and Creative than before!

New Features include:

- New catalogs system

- Higher performance

- AutoMapping and On-Model UV Twicking

- Direct bridge to 2D programs (including Photoshop)

- QUIDAM Prime including licensing rights for applications and games

To learn more about the new features and about Quidam 3 vist there website here

Disney’s ABC Enterprises just announced  that it has entered into online-video joint venture Hulu, currently a partnership between NBC Universal, News Corp., and investor Providence Equity Partners.

This means that TV shows from Disney-owned channels like ABC, SoapNet, and ABC Family will be coming to Hulu. Among them are “Lost,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Ugly Betty,” and “Scrubs.” There will also be Disney movies available on the ad-supported streaming video site, but a press release did not name any of them. Content will be available “soon,” the press release explained.

I ran across a company called Yellowbird that has done some interesting work where they are creating 360 degree videos and integrating them within Flash to allow a user to freely move around in the Video environment. It is a very cool effect and something that I have been looking for on a project that I am doing for the Boeing 777 aircraft. I would love to give the ability for users to see the aircraft from all angles as you are moving through a Virtual walkthrough.

This technology from YellowBird allows the user to play a video like an interactive panorama. That is where the “bird” name came from: it will seem to you to float like a bird, flying through the scene where the video has been recorded.

Some highlights:

Total Immersion - By using a Google Streetview-like camera, a system with six lenses, not as a photo but as a video camera, an all-encompassing picture is captured. This 3-D video can then be played online on any computer. An example can be found on the yellowBird website at www.yb.nl. The viewer will experience total immersion in a film, an event, or a special environment. From the point where the images were recorded, the viewer can look in any direction, let his eyes wander through the crowd, or stare at the ground or the air, which makes viewing a video an experience without boundaries.

The outcome, as you are able to see in this page, is a streaming video played with the usual Adobe Flash plug-in.

BOXX Technologies has announced that the new RTX motion media workstation has been chosen by two leading software developers, ASSIMILATE and IRIDAS, as the hardware platform for demonstrating stereoscopic workflows at NAB 09 in Las Vegas at the moment. ASSIMILATE will feature SCRATCH running on the RTX, while IRIDAS is employing RTX to showcase its FrameCycler and SpeedGrade applications.

Available in April as either a rack mount system with 24 SAS or SATA drives, or a desk-side model with 10 storage drives, RTX models feature a number of hardware RAID storage configurations. The RTX workstation is engineered for high resolution motion media workflows, allowing users to review digital dailies (at a range of frame rates) in uncompressed HD, 2K, 4K and 2K stereo resolutions. It supports DI tasks such as color grading and conforming, as well as visual effects and compositing workflows.

“RTX provides tremendous support for our applications with outstanding bandwidth for color correction and uncompressed playback of high resolution media,” said Patrick J. Palmer, COO, IRIDAS. “The capabilities of FrameCycler and SpeedGrade are truly enhanced by the performance of this exceptional motion media workstation.”

FrameCycler lets industry professionals review their work and view digital dailies, while SpeedGrade allows filmmakers, postproduction artists, and colorists to create, edit, and share color grading sessions with flexibility and speed.

SCRATCH provides digital film professionals with data management, high-speed conforming, review and playback of digital dailies, integrated color grading and finishing, color management, and final mastering to any format.

“RTX is an ideal platform for SCRATCH, providing outstanding support for digital film workflows and delivering crucial bandwidth for color correction and uncompressed playback of high resolution media,” said Lucas Wilson, Director of Business Development, ASSIMILATE.

RTX will be available in both single socket (Intel Core i7) and dual socket (Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series) “Nehalem”-based configurations.