Featured Threads
Great iPhone App : Knocking!
Dec 3rd
Knocking, a new application for the iPhone, got a pretty big “wow” out of me — it lets you share footage from your iPhone camera with friends who have the app.
Let’s say you’re at a store and you want to ask your spouse which product they like better. You could turn on Knocking, “knock” on their phone, then they would get a message saying you want to share. Then you just turn your camera on the different products you’re looking at, and it shows up on their phone. Here are a couple other examples offered by Brian Meehan, co-founder of Point Heads Software, the Danbury, Conn., development studio that created Knocking: If you’re fishing, you could use Knocking to share the great view, or if you’re stuck in traffic you could use the app to show family or coworkers how bad things are on the highway.
Knocking Application
I haven’t tried the application myself, but I have seen a live demo as well as a video, and both suggest the video quality is decent, if a little jerky, and is broadcast with only a few seconds’ delay. Neither fact undermines Knocking’s essential coolness.
Pointy Heads actually released a more limited version of the Knocking app in November, which focused on photo-sharing. The full version was rejected from the App Store due to some user interface features that Apple said fell afoul of its policies. (Meehan was a bit vague on the exact violation.)
It seems like this is becoming a common story among iPhone developers, but Meehan decided to take his concerns straight to the top — he sent an email to Apple chief executive Steve Jobs recounting his history as a lifelong Apple fan, and outlining his concerns with the decision, such as the fact that other apps live in the store seemed to offer the same feature that got Knocking rejected. Shortly afterward, Meehan said he got a call from Apple “upper management,” who said they were calling about his email to Jobs. A few more phone calls later and the app was approved without any revision from Point Heads.
“It was a great feeling to know that they are listening and they do care,” Meehan said.
Knocking is available as a free app for the first 50,000 users, and will then cost $2.99. Pointy Heads plans to demonstrate a version for Android phones at the Consumer Electronics Show next January.
Pointy Heads is self-funded.
Acer claim to become first to launch Chrome OS Netbook!
Dec 3rd
The world’s second-largest PC maker has designs on being the first to offer a Chrome OS Netbook.
Acer Chairman J.T. Wang said in an interview with Digitimes that he’s “confident” his company will be first out of the gate with Google’s open-source operating system pre-installed. The earliest it would be available is mid-2010, according to Digitimes’ unnamed sources.
Acer was just one of several hardware makers previously announced to be working with Google on implementing Chrome OS, along with Asus, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and Toshiba. Dell, which hasn’t committed to it fully yet, has released an experimental version of Chrome OS based on the source code that will work on the Dell Mini 10v Netbook, though it’s not an official product.
Though Wang didn’t offer details or specifications for Acer’s Chrome OS Netbook, the guys behind Chrome OS have already let on what they’re expecting.
At the OS’s first public demonstration last month, Google said its vision includes slightly larger keyboards and screens than what’s currently available, x86 or ARM processors, solid-state drives, and 802.11(n) Wi-Fi chips.
Google wave invites!!!
Nov 30th
Hi friends,
I have 8 google wave invites. Anyone who is interested please leave your email in the comments below and I will send you the invites. Remember it is first come first serve.
Regards,
- Harris
What exactly is a Netbook?
Nov 29th
The term netbook is a slight misnomer: a netbook isn’t a glorified device for browsing the web, but a lightweight laptop that has a lower specification in terms of its processor, operating system, hard disk and memory.
This has twin benefits. The first is that most netbooks usually cost under $400 including VAT, making them an attractive purchase as a second computer.
The second is that they weigh much less than a conventional laptop: typically between 1kg and 1.5kg compared to between 2kg and 3kg for most modern, fully featured laptops.
The term netbook is popular for good reason, however. These mini laptops are excellent at browsing the web, with a compact screen offering just enough width to house websites – namely 1,024 pixels. The compromise is that the screen is usually 600 pixels tall, as opposed to 768 or higher for a traditional laptop.
This size of screen is perfect for emails as well. If you’re hoping to view and edit spreadsheets, on the other hand, you’ll be disappointed: 1,024 x 600 pixels means you’ll be scrolling around the screen to an irritating extent.
This isn’t the only factor that rules out netbooks from being your main computer. You’re most likely to find Intel’s Atom processor inside a netbook (VIA’s Nano processor has made a recent appearance and has a similar, low amount of power) and it isn’t designed for speed.
Instead, with a relatively low clock speed of around 1.6GHz and typically just 1GB of memory for company, they will feel slower than a modern laptop. PC Pro’s benchmarks have shown a laptop with a dual-core Intel processor will typically be twice or even three times as fast as an Atom-powered netbook.
This limited specification is one of the reasons you’ll also find Windows XP powering most netbooks, as opposed to Windows Vista (you may also find Linux laptops).
There are two final characteristics of netbooks you should note before buying. One is the limited amount of ports: expect to find a D-SUB output for connecting to an external display, a headphone jack and either two or three USB ports. Usually no RJ-45 ethernet port. That’s all you will get!
More crucially still, netbooks very rarely include an optical drive (such as a DVD writer). As such, if you want to install software you’ll either have to download it, use a USB thumbdrive or install it over a network.
Dual Display Netbook!
Nov 29th
Kohjinsha DZ dual-display netbook shipping December
Kohjinsha’s dual-display netbook was one of the stars of CEATEC back in October, but the company was quiet on whether the prototype would reach shipping stage. Strong feedback has obviously tipped their hand, however: you can now preorder the netbook, freshly named the Kohjinsha DZ, with a Japanese delivery expected on December 11th. Your 79,800 yen ($921) netbook has two 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 LCD displays which sandwich together into the lid for ease of transportation, as well as rotating all the way around to face backwards.
There’s also AMD’s 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 processor with the company’s S780MN chipset and ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics. Standard RAM is 1GB (4GB supported) and there’s a 160GB hard-drive, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, gigabit ethernet and a fingerprint reader built into the screen bezel. Japanese buyers will also get a 1-Seg TV tuner.
Ports include three USB 2.0 and audio in/out, and the standard battery is a 6-cell 5,200mAh pack which Kohjinsha claim is good for up to 4.5hrs use. It’s unclear whether that’s with both panels active, however; you can use the DZ with just one screen visible and turned on. As for weight, it comes in at 1.84kg which is unsurprisingly slightly heavier than we’re used to from a netbook.
