May 2007 bring health and happiness to all!!
Nokia N80 Internet Edition … longer term use
I am really liking the N80 now that I’ve had it for a while. Thanks to Andy, I’ve been able to overcome a few glitches it seems were perhaps pilot error than the fault of the device….
For starters, there is a zoom function in the camera — you just use the 5-way and press either up or down to zoom. Easy. I was getting a bit used to the more advanced functions on the N73 and N93 to realize this was right there – doh! The pictures are not as good as either the N73 or N93, but quite good for a camera phone…
Disabling Birdstep, smartroaming has made a drastic difference in my battery life. In fact, since disabling it I have not seen the low battery message. I charge each night so I can’t tell you exactly how long the battery does last but in my case a full day is sufficient with limited WiFi usage.
I’ve also been able to get Gizmo VOIP working – confirming an issue on my home network. I spent the last couple of days in Philadelphia and successfully activated Gizmo on both my parent’s and sister’s home networks…
Technorati Tags: Gizmo Project, N-Series, N73, N80, Nokia, N93, VOIP
WordPress Wii Edition
I just enabled a new plugin for my blog…
WordPress Wii Edition is a plugin that shows an interface designed for the Nintendo Wii when visitors come to your site on a Wii with the Opera browser. Wii’s are automatically detected, there is no configuration needed. Inspired by Alex King’s Mobile Plugin. [David Harper’s Different Things]
The process like most WP plugins took about 30 seconds. After a quick FTP and trip the the WP Admin, I was ready to view on the big screen… Seems to work very well. The Wii browser displays your posts as a text listing similar to mobile viewing, but when you then click on a post, you can see pictures and the full details.
Aliph Jawbone – Military Noise Cancellation & Ultra Modern Design
As much as I like my Nokia BH-800 headset, the Aliph Jawbone is suddenly something seriously worth considering. Aside from the Yves Behar design styling, you get the benefits of DARPA noise cancellation research which seems to actually work and make a rather profound difference in call quality in extremely loud environments. Check out the videos on the Jawbone site for yourself… Cingular is going to be the first carrier to sell it and I think the price is supposed to be around $120 for your choice of silver, black or red.
If the Aliph guys are reading – I’m game for a test unit. Red Please. 😉
Technorati Tags: Aliph, Bluetooth, Cingular, DARPA, Headset, Jawbone, Noise Cancellation, Nokia, BH-800
Barcode to Phone to YouTube to Blog
I snapped a pic from my N73 into the newly released barcode reader which prompted Shozu to want to upload to YouTube… I did and then posted it back to my blog. I would have actually done it all from my mobile, but YouTube did not allow me to login from either the main browser or services app…
Regardless of what you think of this actual video the notion of what I just did is pretty amazing. Snap a pic, which links to a download. Save it and upload to another site via wireless service.
The mobile is far more than just a phone.
Not a Submarine
This tank is getting buried in the ground at our house to power a generator we’ve just had installed.. should be online by next Wednesday — just in time for the force of Winter.
Note the cigarette butts… thanks electricians!
Kill two Windows servers with one Xserve
Tom Yager at Infoworld reviews the xServe and it’s nothing short of stellar. If money was no object here at atmaspheric HQ (aka my house) I’d love to be running one of these babies from my pending equipment rack going in the basement.
A few of the finer points from the review:
I have tested, and continue to run in a production setting, two instances of Windows 2003 Server hosted by Parallels Desktop, running on OS X Server 10.4.8 on a 3 GHz Xserve. To skip to the punch line, it works, and it’s as fast as all get-out. Parallels does not stretch the truth when it claims near-native performance; Xserve is capable of knocking off any two-socket Netburst (Pentium 4) Xeon server going back at least two years. Compared to Xserve, those Intel boxes eat more electricity and give off more heat than they give back in capacity for work.
Parallels Desktop is a client solution, but I’ll tell you how to deal with that. Parallels also carries with it all of the caveats and shortcomings of host/guest virtualization–in which a full OS is required to support virtual machines–but Parallels and Xserve uniquely turn some of those issues into advantages.
Consolidating Windows servers with Xserve is an edifying and productive exercise. I’ll tell you how it’s going, and exactly how to make it work for your Xserve, or for any Mac that you press into Windows server consolidation duty.
Technorati Tags: Apple, xServe, Virtualization
Grand Central Station Holiday Lights
Here are a few pics of the Holiday Lights in Grand Central from last night… taken with the Nokia N73
Technorati Tags: Flickr, Grand Central Station, Holiday Lights, N-Series, N73, New York, Nokia, Shozu
Sample N80ie images
All taken outside a few days back. In general, the camera is easy to use, but the lack of any zoom control makes it a tad frustrating. Still the results are good… Indoors requires some considerable light as with most phone cameras… I’ll try to snap some shots this weekend to share.
No 3G for me…at least not today
Low Battery!
The low battery message is unfortunately something I’ve seen on all the Nokia mobile phones I’ve used (E61, N91, N80) that have WiFi except the N93, which I suspect is because it has the largest battery. It seems it’s just something you need to understand how to limit in order to maximize the battery, but it’s still something that makes we wary about having a full day ahead and no charge capability. Tomorrow I’ll be on the go for the day and expect to use my phone for a few important calls, a lot of email (GMail Mobile) and probably a bunch of other things like Shozu and SMS.
Today I was a bit heavy on Gmail, had 2 calls and tried to take a few pictures and was in the process of uploading to Flickr with Shozu when I got the low battery message — it was only 2:30pm. I had charged the N80 overnight as I do almost every day with all my in rotation phones and was not psyched to see this…
The only thing that comes to mind immediately here is the Smartroaming app which I have set to use Wifi if I am in range at home. WiFi scanning is set to off… GMail does not auto-refresh so it’s unlikely that this is the demon, but man something is seriously draining the battery.
Given my current comfort with the N80i this week I’ve decided to bring the N73 instead. I recently spent the better part of the weekend with Gmail, SMS, Shozu and some calls without a recharge … It feels like a few days to a few hours. Not good.
Technorati Tags: Nokia, N80, Gmail, Shozu, Flickr, WiFi, N-Series, N73
Nokia N80ie Overview
Mobile Usage Habits
I’ve been using a lot of mobile devices lately and it struck me today somewhat obviously actually, but I am a massive data user — far more than voice. Consider this – since getting the N80ie yesterday the only phone number I’ve added to it was actually my YouMail voicemail number — not the Cingular number (or my phonebook) stored on the SIM. Instead of even thinking about syncing my addressbook over, I instead focused on getting my core apps installed so the device would be familiar to the way I’ve been using all the N-Series devices. Here’s the basic list of apps I use everyday:
- GMail Mobile
- Handy Taskman
- Handy Weather
- Handy Clock
- Shozu
- Birdstep Smartroaming — with WiFi you want to be able to use a single access point and let the device find the quickest available wherever you are.
- GooSync sync profile so I can sync my calendar from Google…
I get text alerts from Google Calendar for when I need to be somewhere and YouMail also sends a callerID text for voicemails which is quite nice.
Apple and Nokia unlikely but …
Today’s crazy rumor regarding a partnership (no sources of course) with Apple and Nokia essentially enabling Apple to license the N95 months after Nokia’s own release is silly, but does get one thinking.
The lustworthy N95 will be an absolutely killer device. It’s the uber-smartphone and will be the one to beat in the high end device market. My guess is that Apple is shooting more in the mass market (ala iMac and iPod) with their iPhone, Going after the super high end and high cost will make it more difficult to be attainable in the same way the iPod is and I believe that the is what Steve Jobs is really shooting for. Apple needs another big time hit to follow the iPod. iTV will likely serve to extend the iPod marketplace – an ecosystem play if you will … The iPhone will be uniquely Apple – not someone else’s tech – as it needs to be in order to remain true to the controlled user experience we all know and respect.
I’ve debated whether I’d even want one for quite a while given the amount of time I’ve spent considering the N95 and for me, the thing is going to have to really have some VERY compelling features – beyond sync – that make it worth my while. I’m sure it will be great – but insanely great is another level.
The Areas of My Expertise
John Hodgman (Get a Mac, Daily Show) has released an audiobook for free on iTunes … check it out!
Technorati Tags: Audiobook, John Hodgman, iTunes
Nokia N80ie First Thoughts
I received my Nokia N80 Internet Edition yesterday via the Nokia Blogger relations program and have been very happy using it for the past 24 hours. It’s a tad chunky compared to the N73 but quite a bit shorter. As you can see it’s a slider style device so the number pad is initially hidden underneath the main function buttons.
The N80ie is essentially the same as the N80 though the Internet Edition designation includes some built in apps right from the get-go.. The N80 has a quad-band radio so you know if there’s a signal you’ll connect, plus the addition of WiFi for those beefier data needs like VOIP with Gizmo Project which comes ready to be installed with a few clicks. I’ve actually installed it, but for some reason cannot activate the service. If you’ve solved this one, please let me know.
My only gripe is that with WiFi on, you’ll have a tough time making it a day on a single charge. If you use it judiciously (like only when you really need it) you should be fine.
I’ll post some more later tonight including a video I shot…
Technorati Tags: Gizmo Project, Mobile, N-Series, N80, Nokia, VOIP
Cingular 3G Launches in NY, CT, and MA
Most excellent news today!!
Cingular has officially launched 3G HSDPA networks in most of the NY metro area, almost all of Connecticut, and most of Massachusetts. [The Boy Genius Report]
I’ll have to start checking my various Nokia phones to see whether I am connecting at more than EDGE… I just check the coverage map and parts of Jersey and all of Manhattan are lit up. Nothing north (where I live) yet, but hopefully soon. I’ll be in the city later in the week and am hoping for a speed boost!
Technorati Tags: 3G, Cingular, HSPDA, N-Series, N73, N80, N93, Nokia
Google Apps authentication issues today…
I’ve noticed that my Google notifier (menu bar) and Mobile app have both stopped working today. It actually seems to be Gmail not calendar that’s causing the issue… I’ve had to quit the menu bar application in order to prevent constant login prompts… no biggie as the browser tab refreshes as often to notify new mail, but the mobile app is a real loss. The mobile web UI has nothing on the slick java app for phones. I get the following error:
Network Error
java.lang.RuntimeExeption: Unexpected server response: 500 Internal Server Error
Hard drive meltdown!!
I am currently suffering a hard drive meltdown…
All my digital bits are surprisingly ad hoc and the drive that is failing currently stores ALL my digital music — about 160GB give or take a few GB 201GB. It’s a 250GB Ximeta Netdisk that I’ve been running in USB mode to a Mac Mini and the drive seems to be whirling up and down without a reliable connection. I’ve gotten it to connect to my computer a few times, though the finder has actually locked up while in the process…
I’ve got two other drives here, though only my 200GB LaCie Firewire can handle the content — once I kill or move what’s on it. That drive had a backup of an older iPhoto library (moved to my 120GB drive now) as well as a slew of archived DVDs which I am actually deleting as I own them and can re-rip. I’m hopeful that the Ximeta will stay connected long enough to transfer the content over, but I am not that hopeful unfortunately. All my purchased content is on my iPod so that’s cool and most of the collection is ripped from my CDs, which are sitting in my garage in “storage†while our basement is being worked on.
UPDATE — I’m screwed unless I can figure out a very creative plan. I’ve got the drive mounted, but there is way more stuff than I’ve got room to move at the moment. I think I’ve figured a consistent technique for getting the Ximeta back online, so I feel reasonably comfortable taking it offline tonight in order to let it stay cool, but I need a new hard drive in the am in the worst way.
Take some advice here kids — get a backup plan going…
I’ve been eyeing a nice Infrant NAS RAID which really would be saving my ass right now if I had just purchased it a month ago.
Technorati Tags: Backup, NAS, LaCie, Infrant, Ximeta, DVD, music
Pay by Mobile…
If you are a current Cingular subscriber, live in the New York Metro and also happen to have a Mastercard with PayPass, you can sign up for the next phase of the system which will give you a new Nokia phone capable of working within the PayPass system. I’ve got two of the three covered, but without an existing PayPass account I can’t sign up… Gearlog has a few more details, or you can sign up right here.
This seems like a pretty cool implementation. I hope it does not really change the physical aspects of the mobile too much to incorporate the PayPass system… too bad you need a new phone to play.
Technorati Tags: Cingular, Marketing, Mastercard, New York