I really wanted to like the Dell Streak – 5″ of Android/Wi-fi/HSDPA/HSUPA/Gorilla Glass, but WTF, Dell? So it’s still not out and when it does ship, it’ll ship with Android 1.6 (though they say a Froyo OTA will be out “later this year”) and for $299 on AT&T? So this is going for more than an iPhone4 or a Samsung Galaxy S (on contract)? Not to mention it has to sit on AT&T’s network… It’s a shame because I think this really could have been a slick little device, but with Evo 4Gs/iPhone4s/GalaxySs all out with ~4″ screens, is there room for a 5″ brother? I’m thinking that might be a bit too close and people will want something at least 7″ (Cisco Cius?) or 10″ (iPad) to fill the gap to their desktop/laptop. I definitely could still use one (as a gadget hoarder [whore?]), but wouldn’t go out of my way. The lack of T-mobile support ain’t helping either. Best of luck, though… I think they really could have had something a few months ago…
Dell Streak – probably too little too late
Chemically – what caffeine does to your body
Thought this was one of the better reads in awhile from Lifehacker – a brief synopsis of an older book called Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine (which might be picked up soon!). They actually discuss the chemical changes that occur causing the feelings of ups and downs related to caffeine ingestion and subsequent withdrawal. If you have the time, definitely check it out!
Cisco goes Android/Tablets
Cisco Live (aka Networkers) is going on now in Vegas and among all the other technical training and insights going on, Cisco has announced the Cius and the Home Energy Controller, a pair of Android-based tablets.
The Cius is undeniably cool as a portable HD videoconferencing device with other abilities to access cloud-based apps, but I gotta wonder what niche this will fill especially when it does come out. I think I heard it was rumored to come out in 2011Q1 so we might have a ton more interesting things to look at when that rolls around. I think it is cool enough to make some CxO/execs want it just “because”.
The HEC looks a lot more practical than the Cius and uses Zigbee and presumably 802.11 wireless to control and report on your home and its energy utilization. Priced (or subsidized) correctly, this could be an interesting and arguably the “sexiest” way to monitor your utilities.
Sprint Overdrive – Houston coverage/review
By now, most of you know (or have heard of) the Sprint Overdrive. A small shiny black box about the size of a deck of cards is all you need to get up to 5 devices online via wifi backhauled to Sprint’s Wimax 4G network. So how good is the coverage in Houston?
Short answer: Pretty damn good.
I’m no pro photog, but damn I wanna learn – and these will do…
Sony officially released info on its new compact dSLR-wannabe cameras (no, not micro four thirds, because Sony is Sony) but damn, they’re pretty damn hot…the thinnest body to date of a camera with dSLR speed. Yes, it’s missing an optical viewfinder, but the LCD on this is pretty impressive with multiple viewing angles/positions.
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at photography and I think I have a decent eye for shots but since I’m no pro, I’m using a nice (at least I think it is!) Fuji superzoom which does the job, but even a fast point-n-shoot is no match for the truly instant (and repeatable) snapshotting that an SLR or dSLR can do… I want!
Check out the better pictures on Engadget’s hands on, and of course the official Sony press release below.
F.lux – get your circadian rhythm on
Some recent and not so recent studies (maybe sparked by anti-iPad propaganda?) are recommending not staring at a laptop/iPad/PSP late at night saying the proximity of the light-emitting screen are throwing off your circadian rhythm and not allowing your body to produce the melatonin it needs for a restful sleep. These studies argue that TVs are somewhat better (since they’re typically further away from you) and that ebook readers like the Kindle/K2/Nook/etc. are even better. Of course, there’s the old-school paper book O_O. I’m not sure if i’m the best candidate for this (rarely get through an entire night uninterrupted anyway) but it sounds fairly reasonable to me.
If you must work (or “work”) on your computer late, it might be worth looking into F.lux – a brilliantly simple program that uses your location (it guesses, but you can give it exact coordinates) to adjust your LCD to appear “warmer” at night so it won’t burn out your eyes. It seems like a really good idea and if you’re just browsing/reading late on your lappy/netbook/etc. and not doing any color-sensitive work, it might just be the thing you’re looking for to allow your body to wind down.
Swype – pretty freakin’ sweet
Swype – the alternate input method to make touchscreen keyboards just THAT much better is getting more popular now and being bundled with some new phones. I’ve just recently had a chance to mess with it, and I tell ya, it’s pretty sweet!
For those that aren’t familiar with it, instead of hunting and pecking and trusting the predictive text, you basically just swipe your finger across the keyboard from letter to letter, and the Swype keyboard can predict pretty accurately what you’re trying to type based on the letters that you change direction on. Check out the site for more info. If you have a WinMo phone and want to try it out – don’t worry that it’s not included in your ROM! The fine folks at xda-developers might have a working cab for you. It’s working great on my HTC TouchPro2 and I’m starting to use the built-in keyboard less and less…. which means I could be happy with an HD2 =)
Fixed!! Spread the word! Keep those PS3 “phats” OFF!
Jeez, get the word out please! Apparently there are some PSN issues that are causing the PS3 phats to lose data, etc. Again, this doesn’t affect the PS3 slim versions. If you’re like me, keep your launch Ps3 60gig (yeah that’s right, HW PS2 compatibility) off until further notice!
Updated: Looks like it was a version of a Y2K10 bug! The PS3 phats were treating 2010 as a leap year and the date change pushed down from the network didn’t jive with its internal calendar or something…. regardless, it’s fixed!
No mo’ Skype for WinMo
Well, no more new releases at least – according to Skype, neither WinMo nor their Java client provided a good experience. Though I won’t argue that point too much, it was a useful tool for me and I guess this says a lot about the sorry state of Windows Mobile. Hopefully Windows Mobile 7 series-something something fixes it.
Lenovo Thinkpad Edge AMD-version info / benchmark
Thinkpad Edge
Those looking for a decent cheap laptop that’s portable and powerful with a great (albeit new design for Lenovo) keyboard really may need to look no further. I was looking for a thin/light that was better to use everyday compared to my MSI Wind U100 netbook and easier to carry everywhere compared to my Gateway 7905u gaming monster. Looking at the Dell Vostro v13 (very nice by the way) and the Thinkpad Edge, I was intrigued by the lower cost AMD-powered option that Lenovo had but couldn’t find any benchmarks for it. Since it was significantly cheaper than the Intel version, I took a gamble on it. If you check out the Engadget and Gizmodo reviews, it looks like the Intel version is a pretty good ~1600 or so on the GeekBench overall score. I haven’t installed anything yet (besides Chrome) so I closed all apps and ran GeekBench. Two runs produced a 1567 and a 1598 score which is pretty darn good considering this is the 3gig RAM version with the 5400rpm hard drive. A quick swap to a 7200rpm or SSD would help boost performance even more!
To clarify the stats on mine: AMD Athlon Neo X2 L325 dual cores @ 1.5ghz, 3gigs RAM, 250gig 5400rpm hard drive
I don’t want to rehash what’s already been well-said at the other review sites, so in short:
- Great choice for a thin/light laptop with adequate power for day-to-day usage
- Aesthetically pleasing (to me, at least!)
- Good value since the AMD versions can be had for < $600 with free shipping from some places
I may update this later as I add VMware and probably dual-boot Linux or FreeBSD to let you know how those work out!