For the longest time I thought, wow the ZuneHD user interface is by far the best looking of any mobile device currently out there! Just perfect.
aaaahhh... Today we got good news! Microsoft brings the Zune UI to phones and calls it Windows Phone 7 Series! So the next months I'm looking forward to Sony Ericsson's announcements for matching Xperia hardware in Q4 2010. I just really really hope they'll pack a decent camera with xenon flash into the thing - hdmi out for 720p vid is also very high on my wish list.
The main hardware buttons will be reduced to three: home, search and back - similar to how Symbian and Android phones work these days.
Allthough Ballmer has no objections to Adobe flash, the first release of Windows Phone 7 won't come with flash support. As does Win7, the OS itself supports multitouch for up to 4 fingers.
At the moment the videos are enough for me. If you feel like wanting to read more about the OS, I suggest this good read @ pcworld / oder auf Deutsch gibt's natürlich bei heise was zu lesen. Here's also a short introduction to the next symbian^3 > quite good looking as well.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Firefox with Windows Aero glass effects
Pretty long ago I wrote down, how one could allow Firefox to make use of Windows Vista's or Windows 7 Aero effects. Meanwhile you can choose between some glass add-ons. Basically they're all mods from the original glasser add-on.
Since the hide menubar function has been integrated into Firefox 3.6, all you need for the good looks is the All-Glass add-on. It also renders your tabs fully transparent - that's how I prefer it. To sum it all up:
.
Some of you might be interested in the Firfox 4 Mockup Theme. Allthough it looks good, to me it's still "to alpha" ...
Since the hide menubar function has been integrated into Firefox 3.6, all you need for the good looks is the All-Glass add-on. It also renders your tabs fully transparent - that's how I prefer it. To sum it all up:
- All-Glass for the Aero effect
- Kempelton for great looking icons
- Scroll Zoom Button (because I'm to lazy to hit Ctrl+0 while browsing)
- to hide the menubar > right-click and deactivate it. Press Alt to make it visible
.
Some of you might be interested in the Firfox 4 Mockup Theme. Allthough it looks good, to me it's still "to alpha" ...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
No Adobe Flash in iPad and iPhone
Media is full of possible answers why Apple hardware doesn't support Adobe Flash. Mr Jobs goes on pointing out bugs and stuff. Makes me angry. Use your common sense people.
If their devices would support flash: endless games would be available for free, endless music vids would be available ... for free. A serious threat to their revenue plan and app store delusion I guess.
all Flash bashers should consider:
- it brought sound to the mainstream internet
- animation for the masses
- video for everyone without additional plugin
- first to bring HD Vid to the masses (no breakthrough for the divx plugin)
- first internet mainstream app to access my GPU's power for HD vid decoding
So everyone thinks all current devices will render HTML5 easily? doh.
maybe in two years from now. html5 rendering asks for a lot processing power
whereas flash works TODAY.
While Jobs' hardware does a lot of other things right, I personally have a problem with Apple's arrogance.
If their devices would support flash: endless games would be available for free, endless music vids would be available ... for free. A serious threat to their revenue plan and app store delusion I guess.
all Flash bashers should consider:
- it brought sound to the mainstream internet
- animation for the masses
- video for everyone without additional plugin
- first to bring HD Vid to the masses (no breakthrough for the divx plugin)
- first internet mainstream app to access my GPU's power for HD vid decoding
So everyone thinks all current devices will render HTML5 easily? doh.
maybe in two years from now. html5 rendering asks for a lot processing power
whereas flash works TODAY.
While Jobs' hardware does a lot of other things right, I personally have a problem with Apple's arrogance.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Jacob Blaylock
"...that would be interstellar"
Mich nervt manchmal, wenn die Medien zu dick auftragen und unterschwellig eine pseudo pazifistische Grundhaltung transportieren wollen.
Doch diese Geschichte auf Spiegel.de geht schon etwas unter die Haut. Ist schon zwei Jahre her, aber das Thema ist eigentlich zeitlos und nicht an irgendeine Nation gebunden. Einigermassen lesenswert.
Fazit: Beziehungsprobleme, Alkohol, Krieg? Zusammen ein beängstigendes Paket.
Von den 175 Rückkehrern der 1451. haben vier im ersten Jahr nach dem Dienst Suizid begangen. Zum Vergleich: in der Schweiz gibt es pro Jahr 1 Suizid auf 5260 Menschen. (Bundesamt für Gesundheit – 15. April 2005)
Seine Musik & er über sich selbst
Artikel in NY-Times, da steht haufenweise Zeugs, das es nicht in den Spiegelbericht gebracht hat.
Bildserie bei Indystar anderes Englisch als bei der NYT
Video - Homage an Jakob Blaylock
Mich nervt manchmal, wenn die Medien zu dick auftragen und unterschwellig eine pseudo pazifistische Grundhaltung transportieren wollen.
Doch diese Geschichte auf Spiegel.de geht schon etwas unter die Haut. Ist schon zwei Jahre her, aber das Thema ist eigentlich zeitlos und nicht an irgendeine Nation gebunden. Einigermassen lesenswert.
Fazit: Beziehungsprobleme, Alkohol, Krieg? Zusammen ein beängstigendes Paket.
Von den 175 Rückkehrern der 1451. haben vier im ersten Jahr nach dem Dienst Suizid begangen. Zum Vergleich: in der Schweiz gibt es pro Jahr 1 Suizid auf 5260 Menschen. (Bundesamt für Gesundheit – 15. April 2005)
Seine Musik & er über sich selbst
Artikel in NY-Times, da steht haufenweise Zeugs, das es nicht in den Spiegelbericht gebracht hat.
Bildserie bei Indystar anderes Englisch als bei der NYT
Video - Homage an Jakob Blaylock
Sehr leiser Core i5 PC
Nun hat auch Kumpel Fank einen Core i5 PC zusammengebaut, im wesentlichen steckt das Zeugs drin, das auch bei mir verbaut wurde . Er kann fast nicht glauben, wie leise das Teil arbeitet! Zudem hat er sich für eine ATI 5850 entschieden - auch die ist im Windows Desktop Betrieb kaum hörbar, bietet bereits dx11 und sehr hohe Performance (pro Watt).
Ich war bis zum Release der 5000er Serie aus diversen Gründen gar kein ATI-Fan, die letzten 4 Jahre hatten sie nur miese Hardware produziert, die Treiber waren problemlos reproduzierbar zum Absturz zu bringen. Ende 2009 sieht's aber anders aus: mit dem 5850er wurde sehr vieles richtig gemacht. Nvidia dagegen? Die bieten ausser der GTX260 momentan bekanntlich keine zeitgemässe Grafikkarte zu einem anständigen Preis/Leistungsverhältnis. Seit September ist der Preis für GTX275 zudem um unanständige 25% gestiegen... unglaublich! Das bei einer Supermarkt-Teuerung von minus 3% im 2009 ;-)
Wer kann, soll warten bis im März/April 2010 der Nachfolge-Chip des GT-200 released wird.
Aber bitte nie vergessen!! Wer keine Spiele startet und kein Photoshop ab CS4 nutzt, soll niemals mehr als $60 für eine Grafikkarte ausgeben!
Hey - womöglich wäre der kleine Finger beim Brand Nvidia dann sogar in einer etwas maskulineren Stellung? hehe
Update Sep 2010 > Preise aktualisiert, siehe Spalte rechts
Nachfolgend der aktualisierte Vorschlag, Preise in CHF:
CPU, Intel Core i5 - 229
Board, ASUS P7P55D - 171
RAM, 2x 2GB - 125
HD Samsung F3 1TB - 104
GPU, Nvidia GTX275 - 269(329) read
oder
GPU, ATI 5850 - 379 read
DVD Writer - 38
Case, any Case u like - 105
Power, Cooler Ma- 133
-------------------------------
totals ~ CHF 1284.-
+
Windows 7 home prem 64bit - 119
Display,Samsung 2494LW - 279
CPU-Cooler, AC Freezer - 44
very nice Keyboard - 42
very nice 5star Mouse - 129
.
Wer kann, soll warten bis im März/April 2010 der Nachfolge-Chip des GT-200 released wird.
Aber bitte nie vergessen!! Wer keine Spiele startet und kein Photoshop ab CS4 nutzt, soll niemals mehr als $60 für eine Grafikkarte ausgeben!
Hey - womöglich wäre der kleine Finger beim Brand Nvidia dann sogar in einer etwas maskulineren Stellung? hehe
Update Sep 2010 > Preise aktualisiert, siehe Spalte rechts
.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Modern Warfare 2 NAT strict or open
It's hard to believe how much crap is posted these days, when it comes to Modern Warfare's NAT status > strict / open.
and nope - I wouldn't turn on my router's UPnP function. Why?
To solve the MW2 issue you need to do three things only:
(described for PC but i guess it basically works for xbox and PS3 too)
In my case I had to go through an unusual extra step. My Netgear router has an additional security feature called "NAT Filtering" > I had to change it from 'secured' to 'open' to allow things to work.
BTW if you're not happy with the given default port 28960 you may use any other available port for the PC version of MW2. In Steam right click on the game, select properties, select Launch Options. Then enter +set net_port 61499 to tell MW2 to listen on port 61499 for incoming connections. This is helpful when your sister or brother want to host their own game within the same family network.
Short explanation
Actually you might go nuts configuring your devices! Ask your befriended computer wiz to help you with above's steps, the pro knows immediately what to do. Keep your router password and your admin account handy before he arrives at your home.
Why do you have to go through all this?
These days almost all broadband connections make use of a router. With its default setting internet works fine, but you won't be able to host services like webservers or games etc. Generally that's a good thing because it keeps your comp environment a bit safer from outside attacks. But it usually prevents you from hosting a game.
Your ISP lends you 1 TCP-IP address every time you connect to the internet, the router grabs this address. Let's call this address "A"
and nope - I wouldn't turn on my router's UPnP function. Why?
To solve the MW2 issue you need to do three things only:
(described for PC but i guess it basically works for xbox and PS3 too)
- make sure your router ALWAYS assigns the same tcp-ip address to your computer, open your PC's command prompt and type: ipconfig /all - the physical address is the mac address you'll need for this step - log into your router and look for "reservation" now reserve the address for your PC. (or assign addresses to all your home devices manually)
- in your router, look for something called Port Forwarding, then add an entry (aka add a custom service) with the following value: Forward UDP / port 28960 / "to your PC's tcp-ip address"
- make sure your firewall isn't blocking the incoming traffic to your application or game. Check this in the firewall advanced dialog > inbound rules
In my case I had to go through an unusual extra step. My Netgear router has an additional security feature called "NAT Filtering" > I had to change it from 'secured' to 'open' to allow things to work.
BTW if you're not happy with the given default port 28960 you may use any other available port for the PC version of MW2. In Steam right click on the game, select properties, select Launch Options. Then enter +set net_port 61499 to tell MW2 to listen on port 61499 for incoming connections. This is helpful when your sister or brother want to host their own game within the same family network.
Actually you might go nuts configuring your devices! Ask your befriended computer wiz to help you with above's steps, the pro knows immediately what to do. Keep your router password and your admin account handy before he arrives at your home.
Why do you have to go through all this?
These days almost all broadband connections make use of a router. With its default setting internet works fine, but you won't be able to host services like webservers or games etc. Generally that's a good thing because it keeps your comp environment a bit safer from outside attacks. But it usually prevents you from hosting a game.
Your ISP lends you 1 TCP-IP address every time you connect to the internet, the router grabs this address. Let's call this address "A"
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Intel Core i5 CPU cooling
When I unboxed the Core i5 750 CPU I went like "huh? this tiny cooler is going to cool down this number cruncher?!" So at first I was very surprised, how quiet my Core i5 system would work. While dealing with everyday tasks such as writing protocols and reading online stuff, the boxed cooler will never turn faster than 1100 rpm, it's nearly inaudible. The main reason lies in low clock rates. The cpu would hardly ever run any of the four cores at more than 1,2 GHz - remeber: the nominal speed is 2.66 GHz with a designated possible max of 3,2 GHz for individual cores in certain situations (Intel calls it turbo frequency).
So what happens when you bring the cpu close to it's thermal limits by running more demanding tasks? The boxed cooler goes wooooOOOOOOO! The sound would annoy me to no end because suddenly the boxed cooler is rocketing to 2600 rpm. Time to look out for alternatives. Screenshot on the right shows values for Intel stock cooler / one of the cores at 3200 MHz
The Zalman product I had in mind is not available in Switzerland yet, so I bought the cheapest substitude: an Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme rev.2 for just CHF 44 / €28. What can such a cooler do for you? Isn't that obvious when you look at the following picture? The smaller cooler is the Intel cooler shipped with the Core i5 750.
To me it doesn't make much sense to write a lengthy review since I'm not into overclocking. Just let me tell you, that I'm totally happy with the performance of this cooler. While using firefox it runs @560 rpm (ASUS cpu cooling set to silent profile), at full load it still remains absolutely silent @1200 rpm. You really can't hear the thing at all. While I only care for the noise level - even at those low rotational speeds the cpu temperature is 10°C lower.
I will soon publish a video, to let you hear the difference between the two coolers. >> Update nov 09 - done!
So what happens when you bring the cpu close to it's thermal limits by running more demanding tasks? The boxed cooler goes wooooOOOOOOO! The sound would annoy me to no end because suddenly the boxed cooler is rocketing to 2600 rpm. Time to look out for alternatives. Screenshot on the right shows values for Intel stock cooler / one of the cores at 3200 MHz
To me it doesn't make much sense to write a lengthy review since I'm not into overclocking. Just let me tell you, that I'm totally happy with the performance of this cooler. While using firefox it runs @560 rpm (ASUS cpu cooling set to silent profile), at full load it still remains absolutely silent @1200 rpm. You really can't hear the thing at all. While I only care for the noise level - even at those low rotational speeds the cpu temperature is 10°C lower.
on the left: values for arctic cooling freezer xtreme rev.2 / one of the cores at 3200 MHz
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 announced
So it's offical now, the Xperia X10 was announced by SE and presented by pretty Ullis Norström:
You'll find the full press release and a lot of details about the device here.
I'm very surprised how accurate all the rumors and leaked pictures were! Some of us now need to decide between the X10 and the Satio. Both are packed into a very classy design, but X10's user interface brings more of Sony Ericsson's style and Android 1.6 OS, which simply has more appeal to many out there. When the phone will finally be released to the market it hopefully features Android 2.0. (since 1.5 and 1.6 still lack some common things: for one currently it's not possible to transfer files via bluetooth, because MANY of its profiles ain't supported yet. In our office that was the main method for quick phone2phone file transfer.) Update Nov 12.2009: The phone will be released with Android 1.6
But the commercial video shows something essential: we might just focus on the simple questions and cut the geek crap, does the phone look good? does the user interface look good? Is the touchscreen responsive, does the camera shoot good pictures, can we sync our appointments and address books?
Sony Ericsson however introduces the so called UX Platform, a comprehensive way, how the user can access contact information and media stored on the device, plus also on the internet. They split this function into two new productnames: Timescape for contact information and Mediascape for songs and videos; they are accessible through the infinite button. The press release tries to explain it to us - but one has to wait and see how the functionality and performance develop during the next 4 months.
Xperia X10: has Android 2.0 and a very fast cpu, no Xenon flash, display can only show surprisingly few colors, Video Recording 854*480 16:9 / xxfps, truly multitouch capable? No automatically changing Wallpaper on X10? ds ds ds well all these features will be delivered by you or the android community I guess. Then there's timescape and mediascape ... and possibly a very hefty price tag, around €600-700.
Update 26.12.2009: sample pictures and movies taken with Xperia X10 (8MP)
Satio: has Xenon flash, 12 MP (only 9MP when shooting in 16:9), Video Recording 640*480 / 30fps, superb address book and messaging client, very good value for money.
for a rather complete comparison of Satio and Xperia X10 click here [sony ericsson UK]
You'll find the full press release and a lot of details about the device here.
I'm very surprised how accurate all the rumors and leaked pictures were! Some of us now need to decide between the X10 and the Satio. Both are packed into a very classy design, but X10's user interface brings more of Sony Ericsson's style and Android 1.6 OS, which simply has more appeal to many out there. When the phone will finally be released to the market it hopefully features Android 2.0. (since 1.5 and 1.6 still lack some common things: for one currently it's not possible to transfer files via bluetooth, because MANY of its profiles ain't supported yet. In our office that was the main method for quick phone2phone file transfer.) Update Nov 12.2009: The phone will be released with Android 1.6
But the commercial video shows something essential: we might just focus on the simple questions and cut the geek crap, does the phone look good? does the user interface look good? Is the touchscreen responsive, does the camera shoot good pictures, can we sync our appointments and address books?
Sony Ericsson however introduces the so called UX Platform, a comprehensive way, how the user can access contact information and media stored on the device, plus also on the internet. They split this function into two new productnames: Timescape for contact information and Mediascape for songs and videos; they are accessible through the infinite button. The press release tries to explain it to us - but one has to wait and see how the functionality and performance develop during the next 4 months.
Xperia X10: has Android 2.0 and a very fast cpu, no Xenon flash, display can only show surprisingly few colors, Video Recording 854*480 16:9 / xxfps, truly multitouch capable? No automatically changing Wallpaper on X10? ds ds ds well all these features will be delivered by you or the android community I guess. Then there's timescape and mediascape ... and possibly a very hefty price tag, around €600-700.
Update 26.12.2009: sample pictures and movies taken with Xperia X10 (8MP)
Satio: has Xenon flash, 12 MP (only 9MP when shooting in 16:9), Video Recording 640*480 / 30fps, superb address book and messaging client, very good value for money.
Slashgear Demo Video
for a rather complete comparison of Satio and Xperia X10 click here [sony ericsson UK]
| General | Satio™ | Xperia™ X10 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 112.0 x 55.0 x 13.0 mm | 119.0 x 63.0 x 13.0 mm | |
| Weight | 126.0gr | 135.0gr | |
| Available colours | Black Silver Bordeaux | Sensuous Black Luster White | |
| Screen | 360x640 pixel 16,777,216 color TFT touchscreen | 480 x 854 pixels WVGA 16,536 color TFT touchscreen | |
| External screen | |||
| Memory | SanDisk microSD™ support | Phone memory 1GBSanDisk microSD™ up to 16GB, 8GB included | |
| Networks | GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSPA 850/900/1900/2100 | GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSPA 900/1700/2100 | |
| Performance GSM Standby time: Talk time: Video call: | 11 hours 0 min 360 hours 0 min 0 hours 0 min | 0 hours 0 min 0 hours 0 min 0 hours 0 min | |
| Performance UMTS Standby time: Talk time: Video call: | 4 hours 50 min 340 hours 0 min 2 hours 20 min | 0 hours 0 min 0 hours 0 min 0 hours 0 min |
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