Sony to unveil 82in LCD TV — The Register

According to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun report, Sony will unveil its prodigious panel at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

We (I) want a flat-panel TV over the fireplace in the living room. I have to think that an 82″ screen might overwhelm the room, though.

Note: This post is from December, 2005. For current information on using Opera Mini on Palm Treo devices, visit OperaMini.com.

Opera Quietly Ships Mini Browser — PCWorld.com

Users of Java-capable cell phones anywhere may find browsing the Web easier and cheaper now that Opera Software is allowing anyone to download its Opera Mini application. The official worldwide launch of Opera Mini is planned for January but Opera has quietly lifted restrictions that previously allowed only residents of some Nordic countries and Germany to download the application, a spokesperson has confirmed.

The PCWorld.com article doesn’t actually link to the Opera Mini information page, and doesn’t mention the necessity for a specific Java VM. I ran into some trouble installing Opera Mini on my Treo 650, and so I’m documenting the process which ultimately resulted in a successful install.

1. Start by reading the instructions and information on the Opera Mini page.
2. On your phone’s WAP browser (Blazer, if it’s a PalmOS phone), go to http://mini.opera.com/. If it doesn’t load the first time, keep trying; it took me three attempts to get to the download. Heavy traffic, no doubt.
3. Click Get Opera Mini and answer “Yes” to installation messages. When the download is complete, click [Save and Open] and accept the application.

Opera Mini is now installed on your phone. Find and run the “operette” launcher under “Applications”. If you get a message saying “Please ensure that IBM’s WebSphere Micro Environment Java VM is installed”, read on. Otherwise, you can skip to the end.

*** NOTE *** The following instructions assume a passing familiarity with your PalmOS device, and involve a “hard” reset. While you will be HotSyncing before the reset, I am not responsible for your data. Make sure you have a current backup before proceeding!

1. Perform a HotSync.
2. On your computer, find and open the palmOne user folder for your account. On my Windows XP PC, it’s under C:\Program Files\palmOne\RichA; your configuration may vary.
3. Under the user folder, open the Archive folder. Look for either of these items:
   • J9_Java_Launcher.PRC
   • JavaVMCheck_enUS.PRC

   or anything else named “Java” or “J9″. Move these out of the Archive folder–perhaps into a Desktop backup folder, or another safe backup location. You shouldn’t need them again, but you never know.

4. Back under the user folder, open the Backup folder, and look for the same items. Again, remove anything named “Java” or “J9″.
5. On your PalmOS device, perform a hard reset. Once again, please note that a hard reset will erase all your data and third-party applications. You’ve just HotSynced, so you shouldn’t actually lose anything, but I cannot be responsible for your data. Only proceed if you are comfortable and confident with your data backups.
6. When the hard reset is complete, perform a HotSync. This reloads your data and applications, sans the previously-installed Java components, to your device. Follow the onscreen instructions on your PalmOS device to soft-reset when the HotSync is complete.
7. Download and install the WebSphere Everyplace Micro Environment, following the specific instructions for your platform. Don’t forget to HotSync!
8. Perform a soft reset. While this may not be strictly necessary, I found it helpful to allow the Java VM and Opera Mini to “discover” each other.

When I completed these steps on my Treo 650, I was able to launch Opera Mini.

Upon first launch, Opera Mini will ask for permission to use airtime and data transfer. I have an unlimited data plan and a reasonable airtime plan through Sprint PCS, so I allowed it to continue. You may want to wait until an evening or weekend to try out the browser.

Now that it’s launched and running, time to try it out! Opera Mini renders several Web pages I tried faster than Blazer, but the top and bottom frames were quickly annoying and I couldn’t find an option to disable them. Hopefully that will be addressed in a point release.

Note: This post is from December, 2005. For current information on using Opera Mini on Palm Treo devices, visit OperaMini.com.

Bush’s High Crimes — The Nation

For the generations who came of age after the mid-1970s, it is worth recalling why warrantless domestic surveillance so shocks the political system. It needs to be repeated that the same arguments cited by Bush–inherent presidential power and national security–sustained the wiretapping of Martin Luther King Jr., unleashed illegal CIA domestic spying and generated FBI files on thousands of American dissidents. It needs to be repeated that in 1974, the articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon included abuse of presidential power based on warrantless wiretaps and illegal surveillance. It needs to be repeated that a few months later, presidential aides named Cheney and Rumsfeld labored mightily to secure President Ford’s veto of the Freedom of Information Act, in an unsuccessful attempt to turn back post-Watergate restrictions on homegrown spying and government secrecy.

Indeed, I only know of Watergate from history texts–though I do have dim memories of watching the hearings on a black-and-white TV in the basement of our house in New Jersey–but the parallels between the crimes of the Nixon and Bush administrations are becoming more clear.

The Hidden State Steps Forward — The Nation

There is a name for a system of government that wages aggressive war, deceives its citizens, violates their rights, abuses power and breaks the law, rejects judicial and legislative checks on itself, claims power without limit, tortures prisoners and acts in secret. It is dictatorship.

It’s just unbelievable to me that this administration can continue to get away with these blatant abuses. Good to see that even the Republicans in Congress are beginning to show interest.

Two new entries in Project Insomnia Restaurant Reviews: The Blue Bayou and Tortilla Jo’s, both in the Disneyland Resort. Colleen also reviewed the same two places.