Tuesday, January 19, 2010

My +fav FREE iPhone Apps



First off i wanna let you know I do not use my iPhone as a phone... WHAT? I have verizon and AT&T is still too expensive for less service. So, this app list is based on non phone prtocol and non 3G use. I like to think of it as a mini tablet pc in my pocket :-) and for this reason i stopped checking my e-mail on the computer, so my first app of choice is:

Stock Apple Mail App: very easy to setup and handles multiple accounts and ever has the ability to read attachments. I frequently send books to my own e-mail account so i can read them right on iPhone, the only thing that's lacking is some sort of bookmarking system for big .PDFs But, mail app has all the features one would need for forwarding, replying, and composing multiple e-mails from multiple accounts.

Camera: keep in mind i do not have video iPhone (3GS) but camera app is better than my old digital camera and twice as cool. I constanly take pictures and upload them to my various social sites and blogs. +1 for camera

Pandora: keeps me listening to fresh tunes as some of my "ipod" ones get old after a while. i just hope they make an app for grooveshark soon cuuz i hate listening to pandora radio adds

Songbird Remote: Allows you to control any computer's music with songbird running! very awesome. i love being able to turn my music on and off from the toilet and even rate the song as i poo!

Pear Pad Lite: very awesome app that lets you use your iPhone as a mouse and keyboard for your computer. only drawback is you have to install the software on your computer too.

Mocha VNC: Another remote access app that uses ur iPhone as a full VNC client. which means you can see what's goin on on ur computer from anywhere in the world and make it do things you want from afar.

DropBox: great multi-platform file synchronization app. carries all my stuff i need on the go so i can upload from my phone if I need to. 2GB of free space!

LEGO Photo: awesome new photo manipulator that cam out recently. It turns your photos into pixel like images with different colored legos. most impressive free app i've seen in a few months :-)

Games: I play alot of chess and there are a few different ones out there, but chess is chess plain and simple. Just make sure you can castle. I also play Connect Four and Air Hockey a lot as well as Unblock Me, Dots free, and Geo defense is awesome!

News: I get all the major newspapers as well as hockey and reddit to stay informed onto the level I need.

Misc Cool Apps: Weird Laws, Cool Facts, doodle apps, Relax Alarm Clock, iHandy level, Spawn Lite, etc.

THE BEST THING IS, THEY ARE ALL FREE!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Awesome KVM Switch


I've always wanted one of these and finally, thanks to Santa, It's on the way to mi casa via UPS. Right now it's somewhere in Illinois. Hopefully it will be here by the end of the week. A KVM switch allows for one keyboard, one mouse, and a monitor to be hooked simultaneously to, in my case, 4 COMPUTERS! Now i don't have to deal with crawling under my desk and unplugging my monitor every time i wanna jack into another tower. Thank you computer god's and 101010010001001001010011110010101 to you

Tuesday, July 7, 2009


Here's a sketch of what I really want to turn my iBook G4 into. Its a Mac tablet! they have these at Axiotron but they only work on Intel based macs so I decided to take it upon myself to make one. Wish me luck :D

Monday, July 6, 2009

Lynx 5 Typing the Alphabet


Here's a nifty program I wrote; Video of my Lynx 5 typing the alphabet. Maybe soon I can get him to start writing the programs for me :D

BoeBot Demo

So I finally got around to posting my Boe-Bot demo. So far he's got the tank tracks and the PING))) sensor attached. I'm working on the dual-axis accelerometer and infrared sensors. Hopefully I can free up some time to write the master program soon. Kinda looks like Wall-E right?

Saturday, February 14, 2009

lynx 5 robotic arm micro servo


0209091743.jpg
Originally uploaded by ajpetrella68
I was operating the arm normally, picking up and dropping an object and all of the sudden: SMOKE! i immediately switched off the power input and upon my dissection of the micro servo i found all wires and micro processors fried like chicken with cheese armor. good news is lynxmotion.com is covering it under warranty! finally one thing in my life goes right...

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Lynx 5 Arm from lynxmotion.com


0122091937a.jpg
Originally uploaded by ajpetrella68
Lynx 5 Arm from lynxmotion.com ; so far i have put it together sucessfully and found that it really can't hold that much weight as it is constructed of inferior plastics and servo motors that don't hold much. i have already stripped the micro servo used for opening and closing the claw but the good news is lynxmotion has good customer service but on the other hand, pricey parts and shipping. i'm also looking into getting another micro servo and bracket used to rotate the claw 360 degrees. so far i'm having fun breaking it....