forenoon filings: April 2005

some unique t-shirt sites

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

If ever you are on the lookout for some unqiuely designed t-shirts, then perhaps you many like to try some of these sites. Each of these sites produce their T-shirts in low print runs, so you can be sure that it will be unlikely that .

Threadless: This site offers more abstract prints, in limited print runs.
Print Quality: 4/5 Fabric Quality: 4/5

Pixeltees: This online store allows every account holder to submit their own designs and host their shops from the website. The number and subject matter is wide, so it is certain that you would find something to match your tastes.
Print Quality: 3/5 Fabric Quality: 4/5

UniForm UK: High quality fabrics and prints. This is an offshoot of a UK based Design consultancy. Most of the designs have musical or computer related inspiration. Each range of designs are quite limited, so once they run out, thats it!
Print Quality: 5/5 Fabric Quality: 5/5

(There is an ulterior motive to this piece - Forenoon Filings will be launching it's own Pixeltees shop by the summer time)

i park like an idiot

We have all had "off-days", or maybe even been slightly absent minded... If this describes your parking abilities, then don't be shy - tell everyone!

homebrew handhelds

In case anyone is feeling a touch of psp envy, or suffering DS withdrawal, lets be thankful to the Mr Benjamin J Heckendorn.

For longtime gamers, it may have always been a pipe dream to be able to carry around a handheld machine that was almost as powerful as a home console (say a PS1 or N64 back in '99). And that is where the pondered question ended.

Well how about, er.. carrying around a portable PS1 or N64?!

This guy has kept on with these projects making a long line of large and very heavy home consoles small enough to be carried in the comfort of your own (slightly oversized) pocket.

mac osx security

Monday, April 25, 2005

This will be especially useful if you are a PowerBook or an iBook owner; if you are new to Macs or don't have a detailed knowledge of how Unix systems work, and who better to dish out that advice than the NSA?

Their guide is quite detailed, but to sum it up in short, Mac OS X comes with many powerful security features built in and enabled. But if you really are going to remember a few important points, they are:

1. Password protect your screensaver: Its bad enough someone walking off with you Power/iBook but don't make it easy to access your system as well!

2. Disable root: Unless you live in the world of bash or Terminal, then it is unnecessary for most Mac users to have this account activated. The first administrator you create is more than sufficient for installing and removing programs.

3. Enable FileVault: Again, this is much more relevant for mobile users, or those who often use open networks; FileVault is a means of transparently encrypting and decrypting your home directory files. This is protect by AES 128bit level encryption, so peace of mind can once again reign!

(older) iphoto tips

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

While on the subject of photography, this article was posted by a fellow blogger about how to make a life poster from a selection of your photos in iPhoto.

It's a very clear and easy to follow guide which was written in January (so you may have already come across it), but it has been on my 'To Try Out' list for over a month now.

These kind of life posters would make great personalised gifts or decoration for your work area. It is a satisfying feeling to be able to look at a poster hanging on your wall and say "I made that!"

Also, as of today, this blog has now been added to my recommended blogs sidebar!

make a transparent desktop image

A tutorial has been posted about how to simulate a transparent desktop for your laptop. The trick is to make sure that your table top isn't too cluttred with small objects, and you have to be pretty sure that the things on your table will be staying stationery.

But as you can see the results are very good (assuming your laptiop is positioned 'just right').

e3 speculation

Monday, April 11, 2005

The annual E3 Entertainment Expo is almost upon us and as usual, speculation is beginning to circulate about what may or may not be announced. The current top predictions doing the rounds are that:

Predictable News
1. Both Sony and Nintendo will be unveiling or at least giving a detailed technical announcement of their next consoles. For Sony this will be the PS3 although it is unknown what the next Nintendo machine will be called - it is currently codenamed Revolution. Microsoft will unveil the new XBox - although there are conflicting ideas what it will be called. XBox360 and XBox Next appear to be the top two names with XBox2 being a no-no (apparently because Xbox2 sounds less powerful than PS3). We expect to see some surprising developments in interface/controller design from both Microsoft and Nintendo.

2. EA will be announcing new versions of FIFA, Burnout, John Madden, NHL, and just about every other conceivable franchise that they've got their hands on!

Unexpected News
There is likely to be a number of unexpected surprises as well (I hope?). Some unxpected software or announcements which would be great, is news that:

1. Cave will announce that they are releasing a new shmup for the PSP. As with the Atari Lynx of yesteryear, this game will play be playable in a vertical mode (a sort of handheld TATE mode) making great use of the PSP's widescreen.

2. Namco will announce a PSP version of Ace Combat. This will be a next generation homage to the spirit of Afterburner II and will be playable in head-to-head or cooperative missions.

3. Both Nintendo and Sony announce that they will use their new handhelds in-built wirless networking to connect to their own respective score-ranking servers so you can good you really are at Lumines or Meteos!

Incidentally, where have Treasure gone lately? After Advance Guardian Heroes, the hardcore gamers' favourite has gone quite quiet. This may hint at an upcoming deluge of annuncements regarding new material being readied for launch. DS owners could be in for a treat (as the Treasure boss was on the record in EDGE #? stating that this was their handheld console of choice).