There’s apparently very little like posting a complete story via one’s own Nokia N810. It’s made even more special because I’m not typing it in using the in-built keyboard. Nay, I’m using an Apple 2nd Gen Bluetooth Keyboard, the tiny little silver one. Uaing this little battery-powered wonder allows me to type a long closer to my regular speed, and on the miniscule N810, its even more portable. I’m working on a Wi-Fi connection, but I can easily imagine doing this via a data connection on a phone. I would not say however, that this is a replacement for a lappy, but its working damn well for what it is. Earlier today I used “rdesktop” to connect to a Terminal Server which then runs Windows in a remote session., Loathe though I am to admit it, it was quite nice to see it working so well. I’m going to be posting a late-season review of the Nokia N810 soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
Come July 11th there will likely be a mod at your local Apple and AT&T stores with nerds and norms alike waiting to upgrade their Rev 1.0 device to the latest and greatest Apple has to offer your hand. We’ve all heard the hype and we’ve seen Apple deliver before and there’s little to no reason to believe that his Steveness won’t pull it off again. Apple has been in the “Zone” for years now, and with Microsoft losing face with consumers and Linux starting to pull out all the stops (take a gander at Ubuntu and the newly released OpenSUSE 11 if you don’t believe me) Apple is in a real position to start making real strides into a larger marketshare. The iPhone, that little black and silver rectangle you cradle so delicately in your hand, is the catalyst of that growth, too. Continue reading »
A sea change is welling at the source, and Microsoft is not in a good place to weather it well. Now, before you start tossing rocks in my general direction, I’m not going to suggest that Microsoft is going away anytime soon. After all, anywhere from 96-84% of all PCs in the world (depending on who you speak to for statistics) is running anywhere from Windows 95 to Windows Vista. Part of the problem, however, is that most of them are running Windows XP and Microsoft doesn’t want that. No, indeed. Its no surprise that Vista isn’t doing well, mostly because it sucks and people know it… okay, so Microsoft itself doesn’t seem to get it yet.
Where, then, does Linux come into the picture? Do you see all of these tiny little lappies hitting the market? OLPC started it with their little green bug and kicked it into gear when they started offering the Buy-Two-Get-One deal where one goes to a child in a 3rd world country and you get the other one. ASUS saw something in that and ponied up the Eee PC, a tiny little lappy with a 4GB solid state hard drive and an eensy weensy price tag. Buyers freaked and they flew off the shelves, and other fabbers took notice and made their own. They are called MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) and are meant to be companions to your online life. Continue reading »
While Sprint is laughing all the way to the bank a bit early, Apple is about to unveil what will almost undoubtedly be the 3G iPhone 2.0. Sprint thinks its laughing because its Instinct, announced earlier this year, will feature 3G and GPS, and they’ve made no bones about creating videos slamming the iPhone for lacking those features. I have a feeling, though, that Sprint has stopped laughing a long time ago, seeing as how Apple’s iPhone 2.0 should have both of those features and, ironically enough, before Sprint releases its Instinct. It makes you wonder why Sprint and other companies don’t adopt the same PR approach as Apple.
After all, what is the point of one-upping Apple when your efforts fall flat on their face anyway? I beg your pardon if I’m hammering at this point, but what purpose did it serve Sprint to pre-announce the Instinct as an iPhone killer? They must really feel like asses now, or at least they will come Monday when Jobs whips out yet another “One More Thing”. His Steveness, after all, has created a PR system which doesn’t talk, doesn’t proselytize, doesn’t dole out freebies to anyone who asks, and isn’t warm and fuzzy. Apple PR is cold, efficient, quiet, and very, very effective. Continue reading »
The Attack of the MIDs will be in full swing soon, now that Intel has started shipping its Atom CPU and VIA is making hay with its C7-M CPU, so what will that mean? Are we moving into a exciting, new, dynamic market where technology now suddenly does more for us than it has before? Does it mean that computing will change forever? Does it mean we’ll all have tricorders in our pants and robots tending yard? The short answer is no. The slightly longer but still not quite as satisfying answer is we’re not quite there yet and what we have on our hands is the Second Coming of The Apple Newton MessagePad. Is that terrible? Yes and no. Read on and I will explain. Continue reading »
Am I the only one who finds it hilarious that AT&T is completing their 3G network now, just ahead of the WWDC? In case you don’t see the humor, I find it a laugh riot because everyone was absolutely sure that the reason Apple didn’t include 3G in its first hardware release of the iPhone was over battery life considerations. Apple certainly wanted to guarantee a long battery life, yes? It appears that the answer to that would now be no. The new 3G iPhone is likely going to be thicker, meaning more radio and more battery, and there’s a switch which allows the owner to turn off 3G. So, if all of this turns out to be true, then the real reason Apple waited is so that AT&T could finish its 3G network. Did anyone have any clue that AT&T was still building their 3G network? I certainly didn’t!
I must say that I love me some Mike Rowe, the host of Discovery Channel’s hyper popular show, Dirty Jobs. Mike goes around to work on jobs around America and show everyone the filthy jobs people do which make our lives easier, and some are quite nauseating. It appears that I, too, have a job which is unpleasant but the results of which are coveted by people; reviewing products.
Why do I have this job? I cannot tell a lie, but I do what I do because I love gadgets and small gear and I enjoy having such stuff around me. I started in 2001 with PDA Handyman and migrated to the new name in 2007. In the seven years I’ve been online and expressing myself I’ve reviewed at least 200 products. No, not one of those reviews has ever involved gutting a fish, scooping poop, or scraping barnacles, but on occasion I get some really thick and noxious mud slung at me. Continue reading »
I’ve been mulling over this idea that has been postulated amidst the Psystar dust-up regarding the idea that Apple’s EULA restrictions could constitute a monopoly. I’ve come to the conclusion that it cannot. The definition of the word ‘Monopoly’ yields many clues to how this is possible:
mo•nop•o•ly
n. pl. mo·nop·o·lies
Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service: “Monopoly frequently … arises from government support or from collusive agreements among individuals” (Milton Friedman).
Law A right granted by a government giving exclusive control over a specified commercial activity to a single party.
A company or group having exclusive control over a commercial activity.
A commodity or service so controlled.
Exclusive possession or control: arrogantly claims to have a monopoly on the truth.
Something that is exclusively possessed or controlled: showed that scientific achievement is not a male monopoly.
Exclusive possession or control: arrogantly claims to have a monopoly on the truth.
Something that is exclusively possessed or controlled: showed that scientific achievement is not a male monopoly
Somehow, I just don’t see how Apple’s EULA falls into this definition. Continue reading »
No, its not a new spin-off of Chris Rock’s popular sit-com, its the harsh reality of Microsoft’s plight as people more ardently voice their opinion of the new OS from Redmond. In general, people hate it. Microsoft, however, is not being swayed by these outspoken users who are displeased with Windows Vista’s seeming inability to work reliably. This isn’t stopping Galen Gruman, a technology journalist in the Washington D.C. area, from starting a new campaign to push Microsoft into maintaining support for Windows XP until the next version of Windows comes out, sometime in 2010.
My own personal experiences with Vista have been spotty. I currently have Vista Ultimate installed in an 80GB partition on my MacBook Pro, but I rarely use it. Besides, there’s nothing ultimate about it, just one of the many reasons consumers are unhappy with Microsoft. With the Ultimate version, Microsoft promised that there would be loads of exclusive content available for people who opted to pay the premium for the special version. So far, however, Microsoft has mostly failed to deliver anything except a silly card game, the BitLocker security tool which has dubious functionality, and a series of video-based background images which are useless and drain CPU cycles.
All is quiet on the micro lappy front. There has been very little additional movement and some pundits are wondering if this was just a short fad. I, for one, don't believe so. Watch out. Intel's Atom and VIA's Isaiah will change the way we buy PCs.
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No, its not a new spin-off of Chris Rock’s popular sit-com, its the harsh reality of Microsoft’s plight as people more ardently voice their opinion of the new OS from Redmond. In general, people hate it. Microsoft, however, is not being swayed by these outspoken users who are displeased with Windows Vista’s seeming inability to work reliably. This isn’t stopping Galen Gruman, a technology journalist in the Washington D.C. area, from starting a new campaign to push Microsoft into maintaining support for Windows XP until the next version of Windows comes out, sometime in 2010.
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