What's 'Ubuntu edge' and why the buzz around it??

All of us were excited when we first heard of ubuntu for phones and I am sure many of you already checked out the unveiling of the ubuntu phone at CES 2013 (it was running on a nexus 4 I believe).

'Ubuntu Edge' is the name for the ubuntu phone that Canonical plans to come up with. And it's making news because Cononical has started a crowd-funding campaign to make this possible. Guess what..they are asking for $32,00,0000 (bn)!!! to make this happen. At day 5 as I post this they have raised 6bn.

Check out this video. This guys explains it beautifully in 6mins. 

Do check out the links given on the same page to know more.

Pringle chips and Wi-Fi

It has been a long time since I did a DIY project. But yesterday when a friend mentioned that a pringle box can act as a pretty good Wi-fi catcher. The poor chap had spent a thousand bucks to get an external (usb) wi-fi booster, but that did not seem to help in his hotel appt. Finding me there, he made it a point to remind me that I was afterall an engineer and should take a look at his problem.


Well, there is nothing I remember of those 4 years of engg. forget about building wi-fi antennas. But I did spend some time yesterday to find out how easy (difficult) it was. My friend seemed to suggest that I just wire the empty can and connect to his external adapter...

Here is the exact method of building it, from the person who is credited to have tried it out in the first place
http://www.netscum.com/~clapp/wireless.html

It's not that simple afterall.. Well if I had enough time then...sigh!!!

Best looking laptop

The best looking ones don't come cheap. But I spent the whole day drooling over these gorgeous pieces. Which one can i go for!!!!!!

1- The Dell XPS

2-Sony Vaio

3-Alienware m15X - too too good
4- Simply MacBook


5- or a Acer Ferrari

My new crush

I have been toying with the idea of getting myself a projector. My friends tried reasoning the need for one, but I am convinced about its value proposition.

If you

• Live a highly mobile life
• Have regular parties at home ;)
• Love playing those wonderful games (PS/Xbox or simply PC games)
• Belive that eccentricity is a word invented by people who never stood out from the crowd

then you really really need it..

Nothing geeky about it..you cannot buy a big TV because you keep shifting between cities every few months. the laptop screen has its own limitations. If fitted all the above 4 then you probably have laptop with lots of brawn power..for processing as well as graphics but went with a small form factor to suite you life style.

Now just imagine...5 friends meet up at your place to catch up over a drink or two and watch that all important match.. how abt a big screen..

I think you can figure out the rest yourself. Enough talks.. here goes the beauty..


You can find out the specs from 3M site..
http://www.3mmpro.com/default.aspx

Why do I call it my crush..I may finally make a more sensible decision based on a more holistic view and not just the size..

Samsung SP-P400B seems to be a nice one.. For the first time I came to know that manufacturers have shifted to using LEDs which can give a longer life to your projector. That should mean much lesser brightness...need to check that...

my project projector WIP...but i love this samll piece..a must have.. (less that 400$ as google tell me as of today)

Surface

Remember Tom Cruise in Minoriyt report working on flat display infront of him. No keyboards, no mouse, just his hands and of course his voice.

Well seems like we are one step closer to it. This month as Steve jobs unvieled his Mac Air, the audience was thrilled as he enlarged a photgraph using a gesture on the mouse pad. And today I got a mail from a friend with a link to Microsoft Surface

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

Surface computing has arrived. Have a look and you would surely like it.

And just to share what came to my mind as i saw it. What a nice tool to play an Age of Empires/Rise of Nations match.. Anyone interested..

Mac Air

You might have already read about it. So did I. But nothing like hearing it from Steve himself.

Macworld San Francisco 2008-The MacBook Air Intro (Pt. 1)
and there is a part 2 to it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIV6peKMj9M&feature=related

try this or just search youtube..


The second part..

------------------------------------------------------------
It had just been a day since i landed in US. Second day in office and I woke up at 6 AM. It looked really dark outside and the temperature must have been something like 2-3 degrees Celcius. I was thinking this is crazy. Turned on a local channel showing Bay area news.. N it was streaming live videos of people waiting outside the MacWorld show. In freezing temperature..a full hour before sun was to come up, people waited to see this wonderful gadget...

how do you show you geekiness off

What a wonderful thread..

http://sharkbait.computerworld.com/?q=node/1357&source=7234

Read through and you would be inspired to find some innovative way to show off...

I have immediately changed my desktop wallpaper. Customized by me ... Has a small stick up notice....in German...

ACHTUNG!

ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!

DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN.

DER MASCHINE IST DIGGEN BEI EXPERTEN ONLY!

IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.

ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN.

What does this mean...I am sure you are geek enough to find out..
Else just sit and watch the blinking lights :)

Cracking open the Apple iPhone | TechRepublic Photo Gallery

Cracking open the Apple iPhone TechRepublic Photo Gallery

These guys are really good. Take a look at the interiors of the iPhone

Best camera phones - CNET Reviews

Best camera phones - CNET Reviews

All the models discussed here seem to be available in India..
Since Nokia N95 is rubbished I wanted to check Sony Ericksson K790i (its i in india). But frustratingly the page for that model is not opening as of today (8th may 07).

Motorokr E6: Shortlisted

Well I had seen those ads by Abhisekh but did not quite get the essence of it. Just came across this one yesterday and believe me it looks real cool. The wireless headset is really worth the money. After I tried out the Sony walkman phones last year i had thought nothing like the sould quality that sony provides. Well the motorokr has has real good sound coming out of it.

Seems to fit into some of my requirements.
PDA style touch screen to give that feel of a business phone...
Biz Card reader, handwritting recognition software..
2 mp camera
expandable memory upto 2GB
Built in FM radio
Can be used as a web-cam
And i guess its Linux based OS. (waiting for reactions frm experts on that)

The price:
Bangalore - Rs 18000 (thats what the shopkeeper quoted. I am told u can get it for 17,500)

But hold on that's not all. The catch is that this set for 18000 does not include the wireless headset. And there is an 1gb sd card bundled with it.

The one with the headset is 23000 bucks... and that includes the 2gb sd card.
Does not seem value for money. Especially considering that the headphone works on bluetooth and all of us know how much of battery it eats up. The headset itself, I was told by the shopkeeper has a talktime of 5hrs... but i am probably going to use it for listening to music so it could be lesser.

The handset itseld has a talktime of 2hrs. which is as per my needs quite less.



here are some links if u want to check out what i am talking about:
http://www.motorola.com/consumer/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=dc25cb5685221110VgnVCM1000008206b00aRCRD&show=productHome

Review
Youtube video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6d92GkohqI (Really good guys check it out)
http://www.66mobile.com/phones/motorola/Motorola-ROKR-E6.html

You tube:
Those who missed abhisekhs ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6d92GkohqI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvofvoosf0g

Microsoft Zune to take on iPOD

Apple sparked a revolution in the portable media market with the iPod and iTunes. Microsoft hopes to capture a share of that market with its Zune media player. We've all seen the iPods, iPod Mini, and even iPod Shuffle.

This seems to be the next hot thing in the market.. Add it to you cool gadget database...

Check out the link below

http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-22_11-62202.html?tag=nl.e101

The pics out here will give u some idea what MS is upto..