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How to keep Homebrew and XQuartz updated automatically
If you use Homebrew (and you should), eventually you may need to install XQuartz, "open-source effort to develop a version of the X.Org X Window System that runs on OS X. Together with supporting libraries and applications, it forms the X11.app that Apple has shipped with OS X since version 10.5." The trouble is that brew won't install XQuartz, and it won't update it once it is installed, but it will complain if it isn't installed or is out of date. What I needed was a way to install it, if it isn't installed, or update it if it is out of date. Also, brew is constantly being updated, which means that you should update it every day. Something you need to do every day? Do I even need to say "automation"? Wait. I said it... but you would have guessed it. I have faith in you. There are three parts of this: 1) a shell script to update XQuartz, 2) a shell script to update brew, and 3) a launchd plist the run the script. You could combine #1 and #2 into one if you want, but I like keeping them separate. launchd Let's start with the easiest part: I want this to run automatically when my satellite quota is loosened, so I have a launchd plist to run my shell script at 3:03 a.m. every day: Why 3:03 a.m.? Because my quota is loosened between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., but I don't want to have to worry about Daylight Saving Time, so after 3:00 a.m. seemed like the best way to do that. The Shell Script(s) The updatebrew.sh script has two pieces. The first is di-xquartz.sh which will (d)ownload and (i)nstall XQuartz: Another detail: if you want to be able to run that script without needing to enter your administrator password, you'll need to add this line to /etc/sudoers using sudo visudo: %admin ALL=NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/installer The only time you should do this is if you are the only administrator user on your Mac, or if you understand the risks. Next you need to run the two commands to update brew and any outdated brew utilities: brew update and brew upgrade, followed by brew doctor to make sure everything is OK. You want it simple? All you really need is this: Note that this script includes the di-xquartz.sh as well as the brew commands. That's pretty bare-bones, but it'll get the job done. Just be sure to check the log file. If you want something a little more (robust? complicated?), you could send the log to your iPhone using Pushover. As my Computer Science professor used to say, "the rest is left as an exercise for the reader."
Motorola Facebook phone resurfaces as Motokey Social, destined for Telus? (Update: official product page found)
If you thought we'd forgotten all about Motorola's little Facebook Phone that could, you'd be incorrect. Only known previously as the EX225, it appears the portrait QWERTY may have a final destination and name. According to YS Tech, the device seems set for a collision course with Telus as the Motokey Social, a prepaid feature phone that offers basic access to Gmail, Facebook and Twitter. The leaked specs are right on the money with what we've heard already: 2.4-inch touchscreen, 3MP camera and a proprietary platform (read: not Android), which means this could be an inexpensive option to appease the kiddies during the holidays. No official announcement has been made yet, so we don't have any idea of pricing or availability. Time will tell, as always. Update: It turns out that Motorola does, in fact, have an official product page up for the Motokey Social. We've added the link to our sources below, so feel free to peruse the specs if you're so inclined. [Thanks, Faaris]
Mobile Miscellany: week of October 3, 2011
This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of October 3, 2011: The Pantech Hotshot featurephone (above left) launched on Verizon this week. It's a full 3.2-inch touchscreen with a 3.2 megapixel camera and video capture. It's offered for $100 with a two-year contract. [PhoneScoop] AT&T launched the Pantech Link II (above right) this week, a follow-up to the popular Quick Messaging Device. It features BREW mobile 1.0.2 and is available for $10 with a two-year commitment. Cincinnati Bell launched the HTC Sensation 4G for $250 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate. The HTC Amaze 4G is heading north. Canadian carrier Telus has given the device its own piece of real estate on its site, having it listed as "coming soon." [AndroidCentral] According to benchmark tests, the Sony Ericsson Nozumi actually has a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm CPU and uses Android 2.3.5. [LandofDroid] Open Range Communications, a WiMAX provider in the Denver area, is laying off more than a hundred employees, shutting down its WiMAX service to new customers and the CEO resigned. [PhoneScoop] Prefer the Washington Post over the New York Times? The former has its own Android app now available in the Market for free. [AndroidCentral] The Nokia N9 is now officially for sale in Australia, on Telstra. Vodafone and Optus haven't put the device on sale yet, though both companies have announced intentions to do so at some point. [ComputerWorld]
Qualcomm ships one billion BREWs, Verizon thirsty for more
Qualcomm isn't finished with the dumbphone just yet. Even after announcing that 250 handsets with Snapdragon cores are in the pipeline, CEO Paul Jacobs slapped his Uplinq 2011 audience with a stunner: over one billion BREW-enabled devices have been shipped. For its part, Qualcomm is continuing to stoke BREW's flames, and Verizon seems perfectly willing to stay aboard. The carrier will introduce several BREW MP devices over the coming months, and the majority of these phones will feature a new storefront for mobile purchases -- oh joy. In addition to getting recommendations, shoppers will be able to test drive many applications before making purchases. This is all well and good, but we'd prefer Jacobs had previewed some of those new Snapdragons. Follow the break for a joint PR from Qualcomm and Verizon.
HTC Freestyle for AT&T hands-on
Like its relative the Inspire 4G, the HTC Freestyle on hand at the outfit's table here at CES this evening unfortunately isn't much more than a paperweight. Still, despite its inability to power on -- no real word on exactly why -- we were able to get a feel for this low-end phone. For starters, it's got a 3.2-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen and runs HTC's home-brewed Brew MP platform. There's also a FM tuner built-in, and a specialized FriendStream social networking interface -- no doubt an attempt to appeal to the younger set. For now, all we've got to quell your obviously whetted appetite are the hands-on shots in our gallery below. %Gallery-112858%
Modu reveals the T, a tiny modular Brewphone, keeps us waiting for the Android-based W
Modu Mobile finally came clean about the T-phone today, but we're afraid it's bittersweet news -- it's not the lilliputan Android device we've been lusting after for months (that's coming "in the near future") but rather a Brew-based tri-band phone with a 2.2-inch QVGA touchscreen on the relatively old QSC6270 chipset. Thankfully, it does have a host of modular accessories that up its geek quotient radically. You can "camerafy" your Modu by sliding it into a 5 megapixel shell, "sportfy" it with an exercise armband sleeve, "boostify" by slotting it into a combo speaker dock / base station, or even "textify" by adding a vertical QWERTY keyboard. Considering the phone is apparently still Guinness-certified as the lightest touchscreen device in the world, we imagine these combinations will be similarly svelte, but we'll still be waiting for the Android-infused Modu W to appear, thank you very much. PR after the break. %Gallery-104718%
Exclusive: HTC F8181 is AT&T's Brew MP-equipped dumbphone
We'll admit, we'd kinda figured that HTC's venture into the seedy underworld of dumbphones with the introduction of the Smart earlier this year was a non-starter and that it'd quietly fade into the night before 2010 was out, but apparently not -- at least, not if you ask AT&T. We've been slid a couple shots of a new handset from HTC for Ma Bell going by the model number F8181 (it'll have a fancy name like "Bacon," "Double Rainbow," or "Nilay Patel" by the time it launches, obviously) that runs the Brew MP platform Qualcomm has been pushing this year for the sub-smartphone category; of course, it seems to us that smartphone hardware is getting cheap enough to push through nearly every price segment, but if we can expect this to be free on contract, we suppose there might be a market here. No word on dollars or dates just yet, but naturally, we'll keep you in the loop.
HTC Smart is, ironically, company's first dumbphone
Remember that Touch.B that leaked a few weeks ago? Well, it's real now -- and amazingly, it turns out that the rumored non-smartphone status is totally confirmed. This would be the first time HTC has released a device that doesn't run a true smartphone operating system in the traditional sense of the word, instead going with Qualcomm's Brew Mobile Platform -- the very same setup AT&T's standardizing on for its dumbphone range starting later this year. It's got 256MB of RAM and ROM, a 3 megapixel cam, Euro-friendly 3G plus quadband EDGE, and the now-familiar Sense UI that the Smart shares with its WinMo- and Android-powered siblings. Look for this puppy to launch across Europe and Asia this Spring -- likely at a very, very competitive price point, if we had to guess.
WRUP: Ziebart craves brains edition
Well, here we are at the weekend, and yet again we're all in danger. Alex Ziebart has been bitten by the dread PTR and is stalking the halls of Wow.com central, craving our succulent brains and/or posts about patch 3.3, while we struggle to survive. Or to provide him with PTR posts and patch details like, say, Quel'Delar, This weekend, it's not just a game, it's a battle to survive against a fiend more dead than alive! Well, until he gets his morning nosh, then he's usually okay. Woe betide thee that denies said nosh! A peckish zombie is a fearful adversary. Luckily, I have a character skilled in dealing with the undead and he just got himself a new toy.But what about the gaming, you ask? I'm glad you did, because I'm awful at segues. Seriously, just awful. I mean, look at this one, it's just atrocious.
It came from the Blog: Brewfest 2009 recap
We came. We saw. We drank. Well, actually, most of us just put Synthebrew Goggles on. Elizabeth Harper and Mike Schramm both attended, and we had a lot of fun with those who were able to make it at that late hour. Some Achievements were achieved, some tokens were earned and some quests were completed. I have chronicled the festivities in the gallery below.Stay tuned for more It came from the Blog events in the near future!%Gallery-74356%
Reminder: It came from the Blog Brewfest event tonight
Don't forget that the members of It came from the Blog are Brewfesting together tonight: When: 11:30pm EDT (8:30pm PDT, 9:30pm Server Time) Tuesday, September 29 Where: In front of Orgrimmar on Zangarmarsh (U.S.) Who: Any Horde character How: Send a tell to Robinella or any It came from the Blog Lurker to join the guild Much fun will be had and all are invited. Unfortunately, we don't have the funds for an open bar, so bring enough cash for food and drink. If you are planning to attend, please read the event guide after the break.
[Updated] No Wolpertinger and Pink Elekk quests for Europe
Blizzard has confirmed that the absence of the Catch the Wild Wolpertinger and Pink Elekks on Parade quests on European realms is not a bug. These "get drunk and see creatures" quests were removed to comply with "regional game rating requirements". We can surmise from this that at least one of the European countries is unwilling to allow virtual inebriation in a game partially targeted to teenagers.We usually think that the U.S. is more prudish about these kinds of non-violent topics than Europe, but obviously that is not the case here. Personally, I think these quests are pretty innocuous and the near blindness you get when you get hammered in-game isn't exactly encouraging young drunkenness. But I do see how some would disagree with me.We are researching this, but in the meantime, do you know which region(s) are causing the removal of these Brewfest quests from Europe?Update: Wednesday morning before the restart, many people were able to do these quests. But after the restart, the quests disappeared again as intended. It looks as though those who did the quests were able to keep their tokens.
August's Brew of the Month: Draenic Pale Ale
It's a new month, which means it's time for a new brew. August's Brew of the Month is Draenic Pale Ale, the final brew in the series of 12 brews. We've seen every last one of them now, starting with Binary Brew, through Izzard's Ever Flavor and Blackrock Lager, and now we end with the Draenic Pale Ale.When you drink this brew, you'll start seeing pink elephants. It doesn't happen every time, but pretty close to it. More rarely, you'll get to ride a pink elephant as you see in the video above. It lasts about thirty seconds, which is a bit longer than the Parading Elephants that just follow you around. I don't know about you guys, but if a giant neon pink elephant appeared under me after drinking a beer, I'm pretty sure I would swear off alcohol for life. Seriously. Talk about psychological trauma.
HTC adopting Android on 50% of its handsets in 2010?
Uh oh Microsoft, this can't be good news. HTC, the premier manufacturer of Windows Mobile cellphones is rumored to be shifting half of its handsets to Google's Android OS in 2010. To put this in perspective, HTC lists 28 devices on its European website and of those, just 2 run Android, the rest are WinMo. DigiTimes' sources also claim that HTC is on track to make 30% of its 2009 handsets Android-based which means that several of Andy Rubin's 15 to 20 Android handsets coming this year would have to be HTC branded for this to be true. DigiTimes also claims that HTC will launch a handset that's simultaneously a "high-profile 3G handset" and "entry-level model" with touchscreen and TouchFlo 3D / Sense UI. HTC is said to achieve this seemingly contradictory feat by basing the handset on Qualcomm's BREW Mobile Platform when it launches in September or October. Of course, none of this is confirmed, but will undoubtedly be a topic of discussion when HTC reports earnings on July 30th.
BrewTroller simplifies homebrewing, makes it doable while inebriated
It's been a mystery for ages, but at long last, it seems a simple DIYer has found a solution. We all know that the best beers are the ones brewed at home, but after a given amount of "test sips," things can easily get a little out of control. In order to simplify the homebrewing process, the brilliant BrewTroller was concocted during a short stint with sobriety. In essence, the system utilizes a Sanguino microcontroller platform which was inspired by the tried-and-true Arduino in order to give brewers complete control over temperature and the like. When connected to a simple menu-driven display, it removes the need to bang out a paragraph of code while tipsy in order to tweak the flavor ever so slightly. Hit up the read link to have a look at the progress, but make sure you strap on those Beer Goggles first.[Via HackedGadgets]
Zeebo heading to Brazil in May, India and Russia next year, China in 2011
We've talked about the Tectoy-backed Zeebo before, but now we've got a little more insight into its plan of attack straight from its presentation at this week's Game Developers Conference. The Qualcomm-powered, 3G-equipped game console is heading to Brazil first a little earlier and cheaper than initially anticipated -- it'll launch in May for the US equivalent price of $200, about one-third the cost of buying a Wii locally. It'll come bundled with a handful of titles and give you the option of download the original Quake and a few others for free. All the rest will presumably fall under that US $3 to $13 price range they announced in November. Following that, expect it to show up in Mexico later this year, India next year, and Eastern Europe sometime in the middle of 2010. China is expected to follow sometime in 2011. No word yet on when or if the company's planning to try its luck in other regions.
UPDATED: Brew of the Year removed from Brewmaster achievement on PTR
EDIT: Bornakk says that the achievement will be replaced in the meta achievement with one that requires you to simply sign up for the Brew of the Month Club. And for those who doubted my psychic powers: Noblegarden achievements are being added to Long, Strange Trip.Following the pattern of removing achievements that take a while to complete from the holiday meta-achievements, Blizzard yanked Brew of the Year from Brewmaster on the current 3.1 PTR. This means that anyone who was missing it now has yet another fair shake at getting their Violet Proto-Drake for completing all of the other holiday achievements for What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been. I'm pleased that players who missed that one achievement can still have a shot at the big prize, but man, there seems to be an awful lot of meta-achievement caving lately. It just creates the impression that complaining about something will get it changed, and I don't think that's what Blizzard wants players to believe.To be fair, it was physically impossible for Death Knights to get this achievement until sometime in 2010. This is a good change for them and I'm okay with that. And no, I'm not against Blizzard removing unfair achievements from reward-bearing metas. This was also the only achievement which was impossible to complete during the event itself. We'll see if the pattern holds after people miss another impossible-to-miss achievement in the Noblegarden set. Grats to those for whom this achievement change will make a difference, and early props for your purple dragon.
March's Brew of the Month: Aromatic Honey Brew
It's brews like the Aromatic Honey Brew that make the whole Brew of the Month membership worth it. Sure, all of the bodily fluid/fume brews are pretty boring, but this month's brew? Beautiful. I can finally fulfill my lifelong dream: Get drunk while on fire and covered in bees. Alternate caption for the image above? I like my ale like I like my women. Covered in bees.I'm sure those of you that haven't tried this month's brew are pretty confused right now. What the hell am I talking about? Well, every Brew of the Month has a proc that goes off now and then when you're chugging down the booze. This month, the proc is a buff called Honey Touched. The sweet, sticky honey in the brew gets all over you, and you attract some friends. Horrible, stingy friends. Friends that put you under a Fear effect for 7 seconds. I think this rivals BigRedPriestess as my favorite Brew of the Month. If I'm gonna get wasted, I might as well do it in style. Mead and bees. Bees are stylish, right?As an extra little note, the fact that there's a new brew out means that it's the beginning of the month. If you're the sort of person that will take all the freebies you can get, you can pick up your free gems from the Consortium in Nagrand. They're Burning Crusade gems, but maybe you'll find some use for them.
February's Brew of the Month: Izzard's Ever Flavor
We're a day late here, but that's alright. February's Brew of the Month, Izzard's Ever Flavor has hit vendors, and you know what that means. More jokes about bodily functions! This time around, burping! The video above displays how it works pretty well, though I can't claim credit for it. Credit for that goes to LostShard on Wowhead (or YouTube, I suppose).This month's brew works a bit like last month's in that it uses a buff, and when the buff expires it triggers another effect. Drinking the brew will sometimes proc Gassy, and when Gassy expires (or you click it off), you belch. When you do that, anybody in front of you will be a little unhappy.Can't say I'm a fan of the brew this time around, at least not as much as last month's Wild Winter Pilsner. It got a chuckle out of me, but I probably won't carry a stack around at all times like I did with the last one. Definitely does not topple BigRedPriestess.
Brew of the Month: Lord of Frost's Private Label
Ah, just the thing we needed in the middle of winter in Northrend! A drink to cool us down! Wait, what? Crap, that's not we need at all! Oh well, I guess we're out of luck. This month's brew from the Brew of the Month club is actually a drink we've seen before. It's the Lord of Frost's Private Label, previously only acquired from Lord Ahune's stash during the Midsummer festivities.What do this month's brew do? Not a whole lot. Like I said, it cools you down. Really. After drinking it, you can see your character's breath for awhile. Which... you probably won't notice in Northrend at all, because almost the entire continent makes you do that anyway. If you prefer getting your drunk on in Ironforge, this drink is perfect and you can pick some up in the usual places in Orgrimmar and Ironforge. If you're looking for a drink to warm you up on a cold Northrend night, go for a Northrend staple: Mead. It's all over the place up there.Edit: Apparently this drink can also proc an iceblock that you get locked in for a little while, but in my experience it must be pretty rare? I've gone through a stack and a half of the stuff and haven't had it happen to me yet, but many of our readers have mentioned seeing it. I think the booze is playing favorites.
