The age old cat and mouse game between Apple and us... Who are we? Well, it's easy, we are just a bunch of iPhone owners who want the most out of our devices. We want to push them to the limit and make them do things that no one ever thought of. Is it wrong, NO.... Is it fun, YES... I'm not going to waste your time with another boring tutorial about how to accomplish this task. It's way more fun when you figure it out on your own. I am going to give you all the keywords and let you fill in the blanks.. enjoy..

the only thing you need is curiosity, the ability to read, Google's search engine, and the following key words.

• blackra1n
• geohot
• dev team
• saurik
• cydia
• cyder 2
• iphone browser
• ifunbox
• .ipa
• .deb
• hackulo
• installous
• sinfuliphone
• dtunes
• sbsettings
• backgrounder
• mywi
• rock
• 3Gunrestrictor
• mobile substrate
• pdanet

This is all you need.. Research, Experiment, Learn, and Hack Away my little kiddies ;)

Should the cameras be rolling at a moment like this? You be the judge? because millions clicked to watch it on the web.

Last night I watched a video from twitter via the winter Olympics (here). Nodar Kumaritashvili, a Georgian, was on a practice run when something went horribly wrong. Nodar was thrown from his Luge and hit a metal beam and instantly suffered extreme impact trauma. Medics were instantly on the scene but the injuries were too much to repair and Nodar died on the scene. This tragic death was real, it was extreme, and it will be watched by millions via the web. Why will they watch it? Is it wrong? Am I a bad person for watching this video? Can I even hit the play button? Will I replay it? These are all questions you must ask yourself before you watch someone die right in front of your computer or phone. 


In the past you would have never experienced this event unless you were literally on the track that fateful night because censorship and control of the media has stopped it up until this point. Social Media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Buzz are making this material available to anyone, anytime, and any place. This is not only changing are expectations, but it is challenging our morals, values, and what we think is right or wrong. I think I'm at a point, personally, where I want to see whats REALLY happening in this world, good or bad, no matter what. If it disturbs me then I feel like I need to deal with it and realize that it's not a perfect world and bad things are happening. 

A result of war, could this be your daughter? Think about it because it's real, this is not fake.

Especially in America we tend to live in a bubble world where nothing bad happens and if it does it's surely somewhere else on this planet, and in that case we will just send money and go back to feeling good about ourselves. My biggest hope for this coming awareness is that we all gain a better sense of "us". This planet has extremes... Deserts to snow, mountains to deep sea trenches, but no contrast greater than the haves and have nots...


So watch that video, then watch a video of people dieing in Haiti, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and while you're at it just throw a dart at the world map. Odds are there is some really messed up stuff going on there right now and you either don't know about it or you don't WANT to know about it, either way it means you're not aware of the real world you live in.

A result of war, These men probably had children who needed them.

I am not writing this to make anyone mad and I am not writing this to gross people out. I am writing this because it's REAL regardless if you like it or not. Judge me if you want, call me a horrible person for putting these images up, or even unfollow me, I don't really give a shit. Why you ask? Because while you are drinking your $5 cup of coffee there are some pretty messed up things going on and people are struggling to survive. Just be real, don't lie to yourself, and watch, listen and learn about YOUR world.

We are now beginning to understand more about our brain, how it works, and what it might be capable of doing. This untapped potential has kept Doctors and Scientists busy for many years wondering just how much of our brain do we actually use? In this article I will introduce a very ground breaking technology that you might not be aware of yet, Brain-Computer Interface...

The Brain-Computer Interface captures brain signals and translates them into commands that allow a brain to control devices such as computers, robots, rehabilitation technology, and virtual reality environments. This is not theoretical technology or science fiction, this is real proven technology that works. For a brief demonstration of this technology please watch this segment from CNN.COM.

What does this mean? What are the implications? Recent studies have shown that individuals that we thought were in a vegetative state may now be totally aware and cognitive. This technology would allow you to communicate with a loved one that can no longer use their body but would still be able to communicate to you with their mind.

What else can this technology provide us? briefly:

• Control your prosthetics via brain waves (Lost limb victims such a veterans)
• Steer a wheel chair via brain waves (ground breaking for individuals with total paralysis)
• Update Twitter, Facebook, E-mails, Text Messages, and much more via brain wave (again total paralysis) 

Computer technology has continued to progress at an ever increasing rate. This process was not accepted quickly by the world and since each country has developed differently it has been even more difficult to link society together via the internet. The past couple of years has been HUGE for this interconnected link that the world is soon to be fully connected to. We have made great progress and there is a lot of work to be done, but the mobile web will be the next step in bringing everyone together with real-time connections.

Twitter is probably the biggest change we have felt by giving us real-time news, contact across the planet, anonymous internet introduction,  and a FREE platform to communicate anything, anytime, and anyplace. This is truly a beautiful thing and soon countries like China, Iran, and many others who screen out content and prevent full uncensored expression will have no possible way of controlling their citizens from pushing through the curtain of a dictated, non free, selfish leadership.

GEO/GPS based applications are also paving the way to bring us closer, more aware, and productive. These GEO/GPS aware apps will report traffic, help us meet for a drink, find friends in a crowded concert, get to that meeting faster, or just explore the world even better with fully detailed information about where you are.

Once we develop more advanced display systems and move away from 2D flat displays we will be able to integrate real-time data and notifications, geo/gps aware apps, advanced video communications along with wireless power solutions. This will bring us even closer to a real-time world, completely connected from one continent to another. This real-time uncensored access will change the way countries are ruled, developed, and how we live in our everyday lives. I just hope I will still be kicking when it happens because it's going to be pretty sweet.

Cheers, Dustin ;)

Let's Take a quick glance at the first form of wireless power called Resonant Magnetic Coupling.  In this picture you will see two giant fan looking things, these are coils, and one has a light bulb attached to it. The first coil receives electricity from a standard outlet and converts it into a magnetic field, then it's transfered to the other coil, converted back into energy and the light can now be powered on. This energy is very safe for humans, in fact the Earth is immersed with magnetic fields that keep us from being burned up by solar flares, deep space radiation, and other space related tragedies. If you want more detailed information on this brilliant ground breaking technology then goto WiiTricity Technologies.

There is also a very cool Ted.com presentation on this technology and a great demo of it's capabilities.

The second form of wireless power is Amplified Signal Conversion. Wifi is an amplified signal that delivers very handy internet to our laptops and wireless devices. This amplified signal can be received, converted to DC power, and used as regular everyday electricity to charge our phones, computers, and maybe even more. In theory this will also work with broadcast TV and radio signals, HAM radio, and any other amplified signal you can get your hands on. The more power the signal has the more power you can convert into energy. Currently there are not a ton of companies pursuing this but RCA has developed what they call "Power Harvesting Technology". To read more about RCA's latest wireless technology just visit this site.

The implications of this technology are jaw dropping to say the least and it would result in a total paradigm shift in energy delivery and consumption.

Cheers, Dustin ;)

I want to thank @24k @tnawara @Vegasbill for the great conversations about this new technology. Thanks!!!

After my first semester in college my Brother Chad and I, along with friends Kevin and Todd, drove from Indiana to Colorado in search of true adventure. The goal was to climb some mountains, explore the outdoors, and maybe even some fly fishing. I actually went with them at the last minute and really didn't even have initial plans to go but when the opportunity presented itself I figured why not.

We drove the whole way, stopping in Hayes, KS to meet some of Kevin's friends and eat one of the best cheeseburgers, and corn nuggets, I have ever had. Once we were done in Hayes we loaded up and wouldn't stop again until we reached pay dirt, Estes Park, CO. For those of you who have never been to Estes Park I would surely encourage you to stop by and visit this truely beautiful place at least once in your life.

We popped out our tents at the camp ground and setup base camp then started looking at our maps. We had a semi game plan but when you have four young guys on an adventure then everything is subject to change. We all went our own direction for a while just exploring the area. The base camp was surrounded by some really beautiful streams, trails, and wildlife.

We planned some hikes, then a smaller mountain climb, and then finally a real mountain climb, Longs Peak. At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak is not a small object, in fact the climb is 15 miles round trip and although it's not the most technical climb out there, it's surely not the easiest. We enjoyed the downtime very much and tried to hike some small trails throughout the week.

After enjoying the trails, and the small climb, we were finally ready to begin climbing Longs Peak. We got our camp licenses, checked in at the trail point, and headed to our camp site half way up, the camp was called Battle Mountain. We setup a new base camp here, found a stream to collect some fresh water, and cooked up some dinner. The plan was to wake up at 5:00am and begin the scramble to the summit. I was not feeling good at all... Dinner didn't like me and I had a huge migraine. Chad read the symptoms to me and told me I just had a touch of altitude sickness and it was totally normal.

5:00am came and guess what, Todd and I decided sleeping in and enjoying the vacation was more important than climbing to the top. So we both hit snooze and Chad and Kevin continued on as planned. Later on around 8-9 I woke up, ate some breakfast, and climbed the Boulder Fields to the Keyhole pass to wait for Chad and Kevin. From this point I was only about 2 hours away from the top but unfortunately they would be coming down as I was going up, so it wasn't going to pan out. It seems my laziness had took a cool summit experience away.

At the time I didn't really care about getting to the top... I was in the mountains, out of school, on vacation, and life was great, but little did I know that years later I would regret this moment a lot. So I'm writing this post to let Chad, Kevin, and Todd know that I think we should go back, and do it again. I feel like I left something up on that mountain that I should have came home with and it's bothered me ever since.

Let me know if you guys want to go... I don't know when but I would prefer to climb it in the winter season and use Crampons and Ice Axes..

Cheers, Dustin

It's a bird, it's a plane, NO!! It's a Super Phone!!!  Ok, Ok.. I know that's a bit dramatic but super smart phones are pretty much at our door step. Super smart phones will give us a true mobile desktop experience wherever we go. Android OS is paving the way for these super/tablet phones and one of the first versions came out to play at last weeks CES in Las Vegas.

The Dell Mini 5 Slate looks absolutely amazing. It's a large, techy, sexy, high quality video playing, 3G using, widget master fool, and I want one.













China Mobile is launching a 7" Android powered tablet that will have full 3G connectivity, voice and video calling, full web experience, email, SMS, MMS, and a giant screen for a rich high quality media experience.



The Motorola Sholes Tablet XT701 looks very promising as a full tablet phone.

Cheers, Dustin ;)

For years people have labeled hackers as evil doers, thieves, and pirates of the digital world, and although some of these claims are rightfully supported, most hackers are only pushing the envelope of technology, security, and awareness.

A perfect example of how hackers are positively affecting the technology sector is the case of the Apple iPhone. Apple designed and released the iPhone and it was truly a brilliant device, but once it found it's way into the hacker community it would be forever changed.

Immediately the device was pushed way beyond it's defined boundaries and an entire "hacked iPhone" subculture was created out of thin air. This iPhone hacker community became quickly organized, efficient, and effective at modifying, creating, and redesigning iPhone functions and capabilities. The best part of this innovative process was that Apple did not spend billions on facilities, R&D, and human capital, it was done for free, by hackers.

Apple has redesigned the iPhone a few times since the original version and you can thank hackers for some of the most advanced features on the newer units. If you stop, think, and add a little perspective to it then you might see the beauty. Some companies only dream of reaching the efficient production, coordinated delegation, and shear volume of code, marketing, and support given out for free in the hacker community. It's a well oiled machine designed out of natural selection.

So the next time you think about a hacker don't jump the gun and paint them as the devil right away, because that hacker may be creating, innovating, and changing the face of technology for tomorrow.

I was laying in bed today putting Boston down for a nap when I began to day dream about past adventures in the Mountains of Utah and Colorado and of my island travels throughout the Caribbean, especially the US & British Virgin Islands. I have been out of the adventure game for a while now since I have turned into a responsible person ( adulthood sucks).   So while I normally write about tech stuff I figured I would think out loud and tell you about some of the things I read and listen to that keeps my adventurous spirit alive, because one day I will be an explorer again... One day ;)

     One of the staples of adventure for me is listening to the creative genius of Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy may not be the most talented musician on the planet in terms of technical ability, but when it comes to creating an imaginary world of travel, adventure, danger on the run, and pure escape from the real world, Well nobody does it better. He has written countless albums full of island fantasy and I myself have boarded his musical flight more times than I can count. Jimmy has also written several great books of which my favorite will always be "A Pirate looks at 50", click on the title to read it now for free via Google Books.

     Another recent explorer that has peaked my adventuring spirit is Nicolas Rapp of transworldexpedition.com and his overland travels. Check out this site because he is really putting a lot of content up and letting you live through him on this awesome adventure. Here is a quick excerpt from Rapp's site:

"In the summer of 2009, Nicolas Rapp decided to take a break from his Art Director job at The Associated Press to attempt a one-year overland travel around the world in a Toyota Landcruiser."

      I have talked to Rapp via twitter a few times and we almost met up for dinner as he traveled through New Orleans but unfortunately we were not able to meet up before he moved out. Rapp did not leave New Orleans without experiencing our great food and historic French Quarter. What makes this guy special is he is not just jumping in a car and driving as fast as he can around the world. His mantra for the trip is brilliant, He drives anywhere from 3-7 hours and then gets out and experiences the local culture, meets regular everyday folks, and enjoys his travels... It's not a race.. It's a true adventure..

    There are obviously a ton of cool explorers I could talk about but I wanted to keep this post brief. I wanted to recommend one last book for those of you looking for a great adventure read. My all time favorite travel book is call "Dont Stop The Carnival" by: Herman Wouk

I'm like most of you out there... I ran out and got the iPhone ASAP because I wanted the latest and greatest mobile technology out there. Don't get me wrong, the iPhone is sweet and it's still pretty bad ass, but I am switching to Android for some good reasons. 

I am a Linux user... Apple hates Linux... So I have to jump through a million hoops to sync my songs, pics, and etc... This makes me sad because Apple could be such a cool company and play nice with Windows, Mac, and Linux.. Why not work with Linux? It's just going to give Apple better market share.. #fail

     Apple loves locking and holding features hostage just so they can make more money off of you later when they release a new iPhone. iPhone 3G was released with full video capture capabilities but instead of turning that feature on they decided to hold out and make you pay for it when the 3Gs was released. This created the jail breakers.. Hacker teams started deploying root hacks just so they could enable such features. Apple became angry but if they would just give us what we want then we wouldn't have to take it. #fail

     Android is built from an open source perspective, which means if you want to customize your phone, design software for it, or make it work with any operating system then your in luck because Android makes it easy.. #win

     Although Android phones are just now catching up to iPhones I predict that by 2011 Android will be the big player on the block. One problem Android faces is that Apple already has a ton of apps in their store, but here is where good old capitalism comes to the rescue for Android. iPhone developers made a lot of apps and now the competition is becoming increasingly difficult, so how does a programmer diversify their product? Make it work on Android too, that's how... So now iPhone developers are building the same programs they have already designed on the iPhone, but in Android, and it's beginning to grow the Android app store with large numbers.

     I still have some time on my contract with AT&T so I have a little time to decide witch phone I'm going to get. I'm excited about 2010 because it seems like a huge year for mobile gadgets and a huge year for Android.

              Cheers, Dustin

One of the saddest examples of our global society is that we can innovate with such creativity, passion, and success but we can leave others behind to die in the process as we prosper. Why is this? Why do we ignore things that we can easily change and fix? Water is the most basic necessity but Nearly 1 billion people don't have safe water to drink. A child dies every 15 seconds from a lack of clean water and 1 in 4 children who die before age 5 worldwide, die of a water related disease.


     This means we need leaders to create the technology, nations to embrace it, and the people to put it into action. We have the first part covered... There are two men who have really innovated and created some great fully working water purification systems. These systems both work portably, efficiently, and at high volumes of production. In the past all three of these functions were not achievable, but with innovation and advanced technology we now have the ability to solve all the fundamental problems of water purification deployment.


     Below I will list the two leaders and their presentations... Please watch them, take it in, and realize that while you may not be able to help in the physical deployment of these technologies you CAN learn about them and then inform more people. Right now you are reading this and your gift is that your involved in social media... So do your part and pass this technology on and let everyone know.. These guys need our help, and so do the 1 billion people without water...