Tag Archives: Support

[PS3] Sony To Remove Linux Support for PS3

Leave a reply

According to Sony’s Blog, the upcoming Playstation 3 firmware update 3.21 will cease to support the “Other OS” option. It will be released on April 1st, 2010.

Sony says disabling Linux comes from security concerns. This is an immediate result from the efforts of GeoHot’s attack on Sony’s hypervisor protection and the release of XorLoser’s PS3 Exploit Toolkit.

Consumers and organizations that currently use the “Other OS” feature can choose not to upgrade their PS3 systems, although the following features will no longer be available;

  • Ability to sign in to PlayStation Network and use network features that require signing in to PlayStation Network, such as online features of PS3 games and chat
  • Playback of PS3 software titles or Blu-ray Disc videos that require PS3 system software version 3.21 or later
  • Playback of copyright-protected videos that are stored on a media server (when DTCP-IP is enabled under Settings)
  • Use of new features and improvements that are available on PS3 system software 3.21 or later

For those PS3 users who are currently using the “Other OS” feature but choose to install the system software update, to avoid data loss they first need to back-up any data stored within the hard drive partition used by the “Other OS,” as they will not be able to access that data following the update.

Find Sony’s blog entry here…

[FreePress] Wikileaks Offline

1 Reply

What is Wikileaks

Wikipedia‘s definition of “Wikileaks”:

Wikileaks is a website that publishes anonymous submissions and leaks of sensitive governmental, corporate, organizational, or religious documents, while attempting to preserve the anonymity and untraceability of its contributors. Within one year of its December 2006 launch, its database had grown to more than 1.2 million documents, leading to many front-page newspaper articles and political reforms.

Achievements

Since their going public in December 2006, Wikileaks have won several significant Awars like the “New Media Award 2008” by the Economist magazine. In 2009, Wikileaks won the Amnesty International UK’s Media Award for their 2008 publication “Kenya: The Cry for Blood”.

In 2008 Wikileaks published documents of business practices of Swiss Bank Julius Baer. The documents contained allegations of illegal activities of the Bank on their Cayman Island branch. Julius Baer sued Wikileaks, and Wikileaks.org was taken offline, but remained accessable thru its various world wide mirrors. Eventually the case was dropped, after a coalition of major U.S. newspaper publishers and press organisations filed a motion protesting the censorship. As of today the documents remain available on Wikileaks mirrors.

Financial problems

While Wikipedia managed to collect 8mill US$ within the last few weeks to keep up operational, Wikileaks has major financial issues. According to their spokesman Julian Assange Wikileaks requires about 600,000US$ per year only to maintain their services.

Main Page Offline

To underline the necessity of financial help, Wikileaks has gone offline until Januar, 11th. The website currently states:

To concentrate on raising the funds necessary to keep us alive into 2010, we have reluctantly suspended all other operations, until Jan 11.

Find more information on how you can (financially) support and contribute to Wikileaks here…

[Muzaq] Experiences with In-Earphones AKG K 324 P

1 Reply

The problem with the manufacturer equipped iPod earphones

You know the situation: you got an iPod, but the earphones sound so horrible that you wonder why Apple still includes them in the packages. So you go to the store and buy some very nice in-earphones – like the AKG K 324 P ones.

AKG’s K 324 P in-earphones

Everybody who’s into (making) music uses AKG. AKG simply assembles the best head- and earphones. Overall the K 324 P in-earphones sound outstanding clear. It in no way a comparison to the original Apple equipped earphones. Those simply sound horrible. In the case of the K 324 P the sound is a bit too much bass-accentuated, but this is typical for in-earphones and it can simply be adjusted from within the iPod.

For people who are not used to use in-earphones this is quite new, but after finding out how to plug them into the ears, you will never miss that amazing sound again. The K 324 P comes equipped with three different sizes of earpads (l=large, m=medium and s=small) to match the actual size of your acoustic meatus.

In the end: we would say there are no better in-earphones for less than 50€ like the K 324 P.

The issue with the earpads

The good thing is: you can apply those earpads who actually match your acoustic meatus, but this also means you can easily detach them. The thing is they sometimes detaching by themselves. For instance when having put the earphones into your backpack or bag and you try to get take them out in a hurry. Of course AKG anticipated this issue and included a little box for the earphones, but you know it: you don’t always use such a box. And after a while it comes you have lost one of the earpads.

How to obtain substitute earpads

Now you got two choices: go to Thomann and try to buy them (they are getting sold for 2,50€/item – which really can only be a joke for this little plastic) or try something else.

We tried something else. We simply called the german distributor Audio Pro (helpdesk for AKG products +49.(0)7131.2636-492). And a very polite woman named Heike Kubicki asked us how she may help us. We really wondered since politeness is not too typical for Germany. We told her, we lost one of these earpads and how to obtain substitutes. And guess what she said: “No problem, I will send them to your place FOR FREE. Please tell me your address and I will send you 2 pairs of your actual size”…

And what do you think? We think this is grade A++ for one of the best support hotlines having had to call during the last years. We swear we’ll never buy any other head- or earphones but AKG!!! Outstanding…