Breaking News: The iPhone Has Been Unlocked

George Hotz, a freshman at the Rochester Institute of Technology, spent his summer unlocking the iPhone. His success has landed him international press coverage, a consulting job, and a car [Indy Star].

Hotz has detailed his 10 steps in unlocking the iPhone over at his blog.

But, note: An unlocked iPhone will only work with GSM-enabled carriers --such as T-mobile. And attempting to unlock your own iPhone is... probably still a bit too risky.

Speaking of Sexual Predators...

Speaking of sexual predators, whether they be on MySpace or not...

If you're going away to college this year, in a new city or state, you might want to check out Vision 20/20's Offender Locator.

You can input the address of your dorm and find the location, information, and picture of all registered sexual offenders within 1 mile, 2 miles, 5, 10, or 20 miles away from you.

I searched my address, and I found 60 within 1 mile. Scary, but I'm glad I know.

How To: Not Look Like an American While Abroad in Europe

Chris, our friend Scott, and I arrived in Germany the last week. Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been acquainting ourselves with the local beer--but not the local women quite yet, unfortunately. While it's a tad pessimistic and unpatriotic, not looking like an American has its advantages. You are less of an obvious target for pick-pocketers, for one. Although looking like an American every day does lend itself to spontaneous conversation.

A quick apology for our international readers; hopefully you can derive some humor out of this post and help out if we're missing anything. Here's a few things I've learned while in Dusseldorf, Germany:

1. Dress the part. Let's face it, most people in Europe dress better. Avoiding hooded sweatshirts, flip-flops/sandals/slippers, athletic shoes, non-New York Yankees baseball caps will help you blend in a little bit more. Collared shirts, a nice jacket, and "European" shoes will have locals asking you for directions.


2. Don't have your travel guide/translator/language dictionary in your hand at all times. Duh.


3. Don't take pictures of every single new thing. Shit looks different outside of the U.S. Get over it.


4. Try to learn everyday language. As my friend puts it best, "It's the effort that counts."


5. Make a conscious effort to keep your voice down. For reasons unbeknownst the world, Americans tend to talk louder. Much louder. You'll get that feeling like you're the only one talking in a public place quite a bit.


6. Get a messenger bag. Backpacks are dead giveaways. Just because the phrase is "backpacking around Europe" doesn't mean you have to use a backpack.

Did we miss anything?

Stay tuned for "How To: Look Like an American in Asia (and Why This is a Good Thing)."

Firefox Campus Edition Now Available

The previously mentioned Firefox Campus Edition is now available for download! The new edition comes with three extensions pre-installed:

FoxyTunes - allows you to control your media player from within Firefox. FoxyTunes can also find lyrics, covers, bios, videos, and more.

StumbleUpon - helps you find different websites, videos, and photos based on your interests from within Firefox.

Zotero - a research tool that collects, manages, and cites your sources from within Firefox.

If you are already using Firefox (and if your reading HackCollege you probably are) you can just download the extensions individually from here: FoxyTunes, StumbleUpon, and Zotero.

Firefox Campus Edition is still absolutely free to use and can be download here.

Are You on Facebook or MySpace?

Danah Boyd, a PhD candidate at the School of Information at University of California - Berkeley, recently wrote a short essay on the apparent social class division between MySpace users and Facebook users on her blog.

In her essay, she begins with a quick distinction between the users of each social network:

The goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes, or other "good" kids are now going to Facebook. These kids tend to come from families who emphasize education and going to college. They are part of what we'd call hegemonic society. They are primarily white, but not exclusively. They are in honors classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by after school activities.

MySpace is still home for Latino/Hispanic teens, immigrant teens, "burnouts," "alternative kids," "art fags," punks, emos, goths, gangstas, queer kids, and other kids who didn't play into the dominant high school popularity paradigm. These are kids whose parents didn't go to college, who are expected to get a job when they finish high school. These are the teens who plan to go into the military immediately after schools. Teens who are really into music or in a band are also on MySpace. MySpace has most of the kids who are socially ostracized at school because they are geeks, freaks, or queers.

When Facebook first came online, it was limited to Ivy-League students. Soon, however, more colleges were added, yet a college-style .edu email address was absolutely required. (Though this restriction has recently been lifted)

MySpace, on the other hand, started off primarily with bands and artists seeking their own "web space". Teenage concert goers flocked to MySpace to view their favorite bands' profiles and to create their own accounts. No college education required. Absolutely none.

And although both currently allow every Internet user to join, MySpace houses all the sexual predators. Are there none on Facebook?

With neither social network now requiring a college education, is the class division Boyd sees still in place? Is the strict Facebook layout more appealing to the upper-class student, with the flexible MySpace layout more eye catching to the lower-class student? And what does that say about you if you're on both social networks? Or neither?

Let us know in the comments: Which social network do you ascribe to?

How To Construct a Loft Bed

The following guest article comes from Tom Dudeck. He enjoys woodworking, college sports, and currently works for campusloftbeds.com. Thanks, Tom!

So, you have moved into your dorm room, unpacked your belongings and suddenly it hits you that there isn't as much space as you thought in your room. Then your roommate shows up, and it only gets worse! So how do you get the most out of space in your cramped dorm room? Build a loft bed, of course! This article will go over the general do's and dont's of loft bed construction and design to make sure your bed building experience is a smooth one.

Better Check the Rules

Before you start, it is best to check with your college's housing authority. Many dorms have strict requirements for what you can and cannot build. Some schools even require students to submit forms and preliminary plans. While some of the requirements may seem a little over the top, they are what separate you from your loft bed, so you might as well follow them.

Some popular residence hall requirements include: clearance between bed and ceiling, leg size, and cross-bracing requirements. It is also important during this stage to think about what you want your loft bed to do. Are you going to store things under it? Are you going to put a couch below it? Is it a jam space for your band? Once you have a general opinion of what the loft will be used for, you are ready to create a plan.

Creating a Plan

Before you begin building, it is best to have a plan. Your plan can be fairly basic, but there are a few items to pay attention to. To begin with, it is important to understand lumber dimensions. Lumber is dimensioned in nominal dimensions. This means that the dimensions of lumber are not their actual dimensions. So for instance, a 2x4 is really 1 ½” x 3 ½” in size. To view actual dimensions for a variety of different lumber sizes, see this lumber dimension chart.

When creating your plan, pay particular attention to connections. Whenever possible, use bolted connections. Wood screws often do not provide a rigid enough connection that is needed to provide
stability. I would recommend using a 1/4" carriage bolt as a minimum, but preferably a 3/8" bolt at each connection. The great thing about bolts is that the entire bed can be dismantled at the end of the year and re-assembled the next year. If you are unsure where to begin, some excellent loft bed plans can be purchased online for just a few dollars.

Wood Design

Designing wood is a fairly difficult task. Instead of going through the rigorous process of design, some general rules of thumb can be used for your design. The first rule to remember is that even the softest of woods (e.g. Southern Pine) can carry a fairly substantial load. It is often unnecessary to design the loft out of anything than a wood such as Southern Pine.

Most of the members that make up the bed can be constructed from 2x6 dimension lumber. This includes legs, stringers, and any lateral braces. Minor members that make up the loft such as ladder rungs and any railings can be 2x4's or smaller. Lateral stability is a huge problem with loft beds. This is the beds inability to stop movement from side to side and forwards and backwards.

The side sway problem can be solved by notching the legs. To solve the problem of sway along the length of the bed a lateral brace needs to be added. This can be added in the form of cross bracing or a member attached along the back of the bed. The lower the member is on the legs the more it will inhibit sway. Both the notches and lateral brace can be seen in the picture below.

Purchasing a Loft Bed Kit Online

If you are confused on where to begin or think the whole construction bit is over your head? There are a variety of vendors online who will sell you a prefabricated loft bed kit. Buying a loft bed online can be a great solution if you consider the cost of the materials for a loft bed are about $100. Shipping is rather affordable as well and can be delivered straight to your dorm room!

Unorthodox Advice for Freshman

From the Study Hacks blog comes some unorthodox advice for freshman that you will never find in any handout, packet, binder, or book your new school will ever give you. We at HackCollege agree whole-heartedly.

How unorthodox is the advice? Well, try the suggestion to "party twice as hard the first two weeks." We'll leave the rest to you:

Back to School Advice You Won't Find in Your Freshman Handbook

Facebook Marketplace Adds Books

A few hours ago, Facebook rolled out their "Books" functionality to their "Marketplace." This was, as HackCollege feels, the last major function that Facebook needed before becoming the be-all-end-all website for college students. Half.com might even go out of business because of this. Campus bookstores will go out of business. (Thank God.)

As it should, the Books Marketplace uses ISBN numbers to make everything easy. List books that you need for your classes, and it will notify you as those books become available at your school. Too cool. Too Neat.

So start saving some money and dismantling some money-grubbing corporations:

Facebook Marketplace Books