How to block the obnoxious Apple January Software nag screen in iTunes 7.6 (Part 2)
Ok, so I finally got frustrated with the whole situation in my previous post and decided I would try to revert my firmware back to 1.1.1 (what the iPod Touch shipped with when I bought it). It was slightly tricky but not too difficult. In a nutshell, you will need:
* A Windows computer (can be 2000 or XP)
* iTunes 7.5
* The 1.1.1 firmware
* Nerves of steel
Just kidding about that last one. Seriously, I don't understand why you can't do this on a Mac, but whatever.
First, download iTunes 7.5 from here (link) and install it.
Next, download the 1.1.1 firmware from here (link) and put it in a safe spot.
Now, the fun part. Hope your iPod's data has been backed up. Connect your iPod to your Windows machine with the USB cable. iTunes will tell you it belongs to another library and that you will need to erase it if you want to sync it to this computer's library. Go ahead and do so. I think you can probably ignore the warning but I'm not sure if the iPod will show up in iTunes.
Once that's done, make sure you are on the iPod sync screen. Next, hold down both the home button and the power button at the same time. The home button is the round button at the bottom of the iPod and the power button is the small square button at the top. Once the iPod disappears from iTunes, release the power button but continue to hold the home button. A screen should appear saying you're in recovery mode. Bingo!
Now, hold the shift key on the keyboard and click the restore button on the iPod sync screen. You should now be able to select the firmware file you just downloaded. Select it and let iTunes restore the firmware. Now you're back in business! You can now re-jailbreak your iPod (if that's what you wanna do) or just bask in the glow of not having to see that annoying nag screen again. If you buy music from the iTunes store you will want to follow my previous post to undo the changes you made to your hosts file. Though, if you're as frustrated as I was, I doubt you'll want to anymore.
As an aside, I find it a bit saddening that Apple is becoming the new Microsoft. They really have changed into something I no longer like. I remember early this decade when Mac OS X first came out and it seemed as though Apple was the little guy who had finally had some legs to stand on. Now they just want to sell you overpriced hardware and could care less about treating you as a customer. I guess when you're winning you don't care who you walk all over. Lame.
The Home Network of 2012
" The home network of 2012 is delivered and controlled by the service providers, says Motorola’s Jed Johnson." Sound funny to you too? Apparently, quite a bit of this is already in the works, according to this article. It's a vision of what home networks will be like according to three industry prognosticators. Considering that most people with less than 1 Mbit DSL are content to browse web sites and check email, I find it hard to believe that we'll have IP-enabled thermostats in 2012. Also, the DRM scheme in the article would never work because people are finally realizing that DRM is a nuisance, not a feature. Favorite quote: "While much of the population is enjoying services piped over 100 Mbps-plus broadband connections, slower 512K-1 Mbps broadband is available to everyone under nationwide subsidized programs." They obviously aren't talking about broadband in the U.S.
Does Apple still care about G5 owners?
I've happily been using the PowerMac G5 I bought in mid-2004. During this time, Apple has released many, many updates (some specific to the G5). These days, not so much, especially now that all their machines have Intel processors.
One nagging thing about the G5 (and the Mac Pro, from what I've read) is that the internal fans are controlled by the operating system. Yes, there are benefits to that, but there's one major drawback which has yet to stay fixed as far as the G5: The annoying fan rev-up problem.
This has been quite a contentious issue since the G5's release and seemed to particularly impact the late 2004 (Rev B.) G5s. I own a dual 2 Ghz G5 and this problem is still a... problem. For those that aren't familiar with the the fan rev up problem, basically it is this: every so often, no matter what you do, even if it's just mousing over the dock, your fans will spin up, sometimes sounding like a 747 taking off. This is the definition of annoying.
I can remember countless forum posts on the topic when it first arose and the solutions offered. The one solution that seems to actually work to this day is to change your processor speed setting from the default Automatic to Highest under Energy Saver under System Preferences. While I'm glad this does work (well, the fans don't go supersonic, but they do rev a little occasionally), I don't think I should have to fix the problem myself. I happen to like the Automatic setting because it clocks down the CPUs as needed, therefore keeping them cooler and using less energy.
In Mac OS X 10.3.8, the problem was at its worst. Apple finally responded and fixed it in 10.3.9, which I was happily using until Tiger (10.4) came out. From then on, it was fan rev city. As of this post, the latest version of Mac OS X, 10.4.9 still does not fix this. I can't figure out why this hasn't been completely fixed, but it sure is annoying. If anyone out there knows of a better, more permanent fix so I can go back to using the Automatic processor setting, I'd love to hear it. For the record, my Apple Hardware Test disc reports no problems.
Updated the lab
I've updated my Cisco lab a bit. Today I added both ISDN BRI and PRI interfaces, completing my WAN setup. I can now fully do all the labs for the BCRAN test. Check it out here:
And if you want to go to the extreme, check out Scott Morris's lab here. No, I'm not going to go that wild with it. I use my equipment for the sole purpose of passing Cisco certification tests. Scott uses his for that as well as consulting and developing CCIE study labs.
Intel Admits To Falling Behind AMD
Nice...
Intel Admits To Falling Behind AMD: "Slashdot has the scoop on Intel admitting that they've fallen behind AMD and what they plan on doing about it. On Thursday, CEO Paul Otellini unveiled a sweeping restructuring plan for the chipmaker, and announced his intent to cut $1 billion in spending between now and the end of the year."
(Via 2CPU.com.)
Samsung develops drive to replace hard disk
Sweet! Finally a shimmer of hope for Solid State Disks! Samsung has created a 32 GB flash-based drive and has shown off a prototype laptop. Read about it here.
Magnetic Processors – Computing’s New Future?
Magnetic Processors - Computing's New Future?: "metalcoat writes 'For the first time researchers have created a working prototype of a radical new chip design based on magnetism instead of electrical transistors. As transistor-based microchips hit the limits of Moore's Law, a group of electrical engineers at the University of Notre Dame has fabricated a chip that uses nanoscale magnetic 'islands' to juggle the ones and zeroes of binary code. Wolfgang Perod and his colleagues turned to the process of magnetic patterning (.pdf) to produce a new chip that uses arrays of separate magnetic domains. Each island maintains its own magnetic field. Because the chip has no wires, its device density and processing power may eventually be much higher than transistor-based devices. And it won't be nearly as power-hungry, which will translate to less heat emission and a cooler future for portable hardware like laptops.'"
(Via Slashdot.)
New washing machine washes, dries, and irons.
New washing machine washes, dries, and irons.: "This thing is being touted as a housewife's dream, but I think a lot of you single guys would appreciate it more."
(Via digg.)
Why Apple Really Ditched PowerPC
Why Apple Really Ditched PowerPC: "Apple wants to make their switch to Intel chips seem like a no-brainer, but the reality of it was a lot more complicated than just faster chips for Macs. Apple's claims of their Intel systems being '4-5x faster' than their PowerPC systems is a little much to swallow, especially with Intel Macs landing in users' hands and failing to live up to the hype. So if these Intel chips aren't really that much faster than the G5, why did Apple make the switch? The answer to this question is a lot more interesting than what Apple's telling you.
"
(Via MacSlash.)
Playstation 3 Cell Architecture explained
I'm not a console gamer, but if this article is any indication, the traditional x86 processor may well have a new, fierce competitor coming soon. A snippet from the article:
I for one quite like the idea of watching "Contact" on my TV while a PS3 sits in the background churning through a SETI@home [SETI] unit every 5 minutes. If you know how long a SETI unit takes your jaw should have just hit the floor, suffice to say, Cells are very, very fast [SETI Calc].
Yowsa... The goods (in the form of a 5 part article) are here.