Bitshift

Glenn Jones of A2 Retro Systems has developed an Ethernet card for the Apple ][, ][+, //e, GS, III, etc. It works with Contiki, which includes drivers for the card and a TCP/IP stack. You can watch an embedded YouTube video of Contiki and the Ethernet card in action here. He's also working on a way to get a USB port onto an Apple II.

Fire up those old Apple IIs, and get some old-school web-browsing done! For starters, you might want to check out Apple2.org or Apple2History.org. Personally, I prefer the latter, as the former -- while full of useful information -- is a real pain to navigate.

The folks over at Jay is Games have compiled their list of the Best of Casual Games for 2006. It includes many of my favorite Flash-based games this year, including the addictive fl0w, Dice Wars, Line Rider, and many I wasn't familiar with. I recommend paying them a visit and getting in some end-of-year enjoyment!

I'm really looking forward to the movie adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, 300. It tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the last man to hold off Xerxes and the Persian armies, numbering in the millions. It's an epic battle, described in Herodotus' Histories.

The trailers are available, and look absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. For some reason, Apple doesn't seem to have the theatrical trailer (trailer 1b) on their website anymore. They did the other day, but now their links to trailer 1b just go to the teaser, trailer 1. You'll have to go to the official movie website to see the theatrical trailer, which is a shame because it's much better than the teaser. However, the size available from the official website is smaller than what you can generally get from Apple.

The music in the trailer is Nine Inch Nails' "Just Like You Imagined". No, the Battle of Thermopylae is not scored by Trent Reznor as I imagine it, but it works nonetheless.

A few weeks ago, I picked up a few of these new rechargeable batteries from USBCell. They seem to work quite well, and are a welcome replacement for bulky battery chargers. The concept is simple: The positive terminal of the cell is actually a cap covering a standard USB connector. Remove the cap (it's connected to the cell with elastic cord, a nice touch to ensure you can get the cap out of the way), plug the connector into an available USB port, and an LED comes on letting you know the battery's charging status.

They seem to fit everything I've tried them in so far (including the battery-hungry Wii remote) and appear to last roughly as long as conventional rechargeables. The only downside (besides price) is the recharge time, which is typically several hours. I'd heard this prior to purchasing, so I made it a point to pick up two pairs, so I could always have one pair charged and ready to go.

Apple once again have a falling snow screensaver chugging away in the Apple Stores. They did this back in 2002 with the SnowSaver program (which, alas, only works with PPC Macs), and they're at it again. This time, it's a program called Snowfall, and it's really nice. Grab it!

As a holiday present, Lady Ada has released her open-source cellphone/Bluetooth/portable phone/GPS/WiFi jammer. The site contains everything you need: Parts lists, parts sources, prices, schematics, firmware, PCB layout files, instructions for getting your boards etched professionally, links to theory, tools list, yadda yadda.

No more sitting through movies in the theatre while the teenagers three rows back yack the entire time! (NOTE: Operation of such a device is illegal. The jammer, not the teenager.)

I've been a huge fan of Waterfield sleeves for several years now, after someone recommended them to me for a 15" Powerbook. They're incredibly well-made, they're a local San Francisco company, and the owner is very friendly and responsive. I've since bought Waterfield sleeves for all my notebooks.

It appears they now have a case for the Nintendo DS, and it looks to be of the same high quality that I've come to expect from Waterfield, and if their notebook sleeves are anything to judge by, your NDS will be extremely well protected in this case.

I was recently introduced to a performance of 'O Holy Night' so singular, so memorable, so bed-wettingly, shirt-rendingly traumatic I felt compelled to share it with a wider audience. This page contains the story behind the rendition, along with the full recording itself. Be warned that it will live on in your memory forever. It may also sterilize neighbors, clean the waxy build-up from your linoleum, cause low birth weight, fetal alcohol syndrome, and rampant heebie-jeebies.

Welcome to the newly redesigned Bitshift! I'd let the old site succumb to the ravages of time, and a revamp was long overdue. Hopefully this redesign will carry us through 2007, and beyond. Enjoy!