A few minutes ago, Lorand Minyo uploaded Steve Jobs’ keynote from MacWorld 2008.

I can’t write more right about now as I am extremely anxious to watch it myself, so for all of you who did not see it yet, you can do it here: Macworld 2008 Keynote Address (high quality)

(outside link)

Actionec has released the official information on the zControl since my previous post.

Actiontec’s product interconnects any devices that use the Z-Wave protocol such as Motion Sensors, Cameras, Doors, Thermostats, Blinds etc. Z-Wave operates at 900Mhz with a range of 30 m and a bandwidth of up to 40Kbits/s. Although the through output may seem small, it is more that enough to send and receive status information and issue commands.

Interaction with the zControl is done via its a Web-based interface and may be accessed virtually from anywhere (assuming you have an Internet connection in your home and your router/gateway is properly configured to access the zControl remotely). Discovery of your Z-Wave enabled devices can be either automatic or a configuration wizard can be used for that purpose.

Now I’m looking forward to a review of the zControl in a real-life environment. I’ll keep you posted if I find anything. Until then, enjoy these two demos: Z-Wave World and Z-Wave.com.
Njoy your day!

Just the other day I was flipping the manner switch on the iPhone to kill time only to notice this weird landscape-like-rotation of the ringer icon.
Of course this could mean anything from an all-landscape GUI gone wild from it’s factory OS lock, to whatever conspiracy you might want to go blurbing about. Comments section open for your ranting pleasure.

Don’t you just hate it being somewhere with your laptop, enjoying internet access on a free hotspot and the battery runs out of juice? What is the normal load for a normal battery? 3 hours? maybe 5 hours if you get a bigger battery, and set your usage profile to minimum? Well, I have some good news for you: Batteries are going to last a whole lot longer!

According to Next Energy News, your laptop battery can last up to thirty (yes, 30) years!!!

The US AirForce Research Laboratory reviled the betavoltaic power cells, which are constructed from semiconductors and use radioisotopes as the energy source. As the radioactive material decays it emits beta particles that transform into electric power capable of fueling an electrical device like a laptop for years.

Apparently you can’t build a nuclear weapon out of it even if the description has some pretty scary terms inside (radioactive, isotopes etc), and it’s quite safe on the environment.

Read more about this here

Won’t wireless be even MORE fun like this?!

It’s true! Done! Basta! I did it! It took me less than half an hour! My iPhone is unlocked!

It’s maybe the first trully unlocked iPhones in Romania and among the few in the World by this method! But I can attest it works! Brilliantly!

Kudos to the dev team and the guys at Engadget who pointed this out. To have yours unlocked, go over to http://iphone.unlock.no/ and follow the exact steps. It’s the method I used and the one that now gives me full use on Vodafone RO and Orange. Simple!

Here’s a screenshot I took of the unlocking process:

Don’t come here! Go to Engadget! They cover this Apple event aplenty! :P
I love you, my dear readers, but I’m there as well! Or go to Apple.com and start spending.

But do come back for sugga-lovin-thrills about what the above all means! I’ll make sure you’ll find that unique insight here!

To tip you off, focus not so much on the new hardware, but drool on the new iTunes WiFi Music Store! That’s where history is now being written! ;)

I recall a few years back, when computer experts experimenting with the original xBox discovered a method by which they could replace a piece of hardware within the unit and transform it from mere gaming machine to a full-featured computer. Folks began to manufacture and distribute the replacement chip, and laypeople could modify their xBoxes to create a powerful computer for a fraction of the cost of building such a machine from component parts. Microsoft’s strategy included taking a hit in profit on the hardware of the console, betting that they would more than recover the loss in the form of licensing software games, and they were not pleased about the popularity of this modification. Microsoft got litigious, claiming that the modifications were illegal manipulation of their intellectual property (i.e. the insides of that xBox); defendants claimed that since they had paid to acquire the unit, the hardware was completely their property to modify however they pleased. It was awkward for a while, as Microsoft sought to protect their empire while alienating their supporters.

I thought of this story not in relationship to any current weirdness with Microsoft, but rather with my currently uneasy relationship with Apple Inc. You see, I want an iPhone, but I frankly don’t give a damn about the phone function itself. While I am willing to pay the hefty price tag for what is allegedly the world’s greatest iPod/mobile internet/email/PDA device (with functionality over WiFi), I am not willing to pay a dime to AT&T for service (let alone the $59 x 24 months = $1,416 for the most meager minute allotments).
Read the rest of this entry »

Yes! Finally I have my geeky hands on the all-mighty Apple iPhone! Remember the already famous “iPhone release date“? I lived to see it available then in my pocket!
I’m sorry I won’t be writing more on it but this thing is too darn addictive to ‘waste’ time blogging. Going back to playing on it! :)

Pics were uploaded via computer, but this text is *proudly typed on an iPhone*! Enjoy!

Working in a big company means calling a shit load of people everyday. Most are internal contacts, a geat deal external. After quietly building a giant address book with numbers for these contacts you realize you call some more frequently than others. You’d think of speed dial as a solution, I guess.
Well, I love the way iTunes gives me the chance to rank my songs. It’s a 5-star system that allows you to rank your fav music that can be later sorted by this criteria. iTunes also has a special playlist called ‘Top 25 Most Played’!

Now this is where it gets interesting… For I haven’t used speed dial on my mobile phone since ‘99! It’s something based on option and not relevance, thus useless for my purpose.
But I would love a mobile phone that would track and *rank* my most frequently called numbers/contacts and display them in a secondary call list starting with my most dialed destination and descending to my least called. This system would save a great deal of time and aggravation. I’d smile more at the office, joke and be more friendly all of the sudden. It’d help me win more brownie points and improve responsiveness calling girls that count the seconds! Really, phone guys! Gimme this feature! And remember to trackback ;)

After using a new Macbook for about four months I can definitely say it’s sub-par to a December 2005 iBook I owned and exploited (this is nice talkin!) for a year and a couple of months.

I switched for all the good reasons, ranging from wider and better screen to faster system and iSight. Now all these are cool but I could not go over the fact that the overall performance somewhat degrades over time, a lot faster than in a G4-based system. I did not run benchmarks, nor will I do. But I can tell when my system is not as responsive as it used to be. And no, I don’t have a fetish installing various software, but instead I like to use a panel of tested apps from IM clients to productivity tools - all clean!

Aside the shitty slowdown that brings a dual core to its knees, comparable to an old G4, the Macbook lacks case endurance. Bye bye really space-age durable polycarbonate the iBooks had. This shit is sub-par by factor ten! The case is all scratched, has discoloration and spots all over. The iBook had not. Not even after a full year of taking it in hundreds coffee shops where smoking was allowed. The Macbook was lucky to live a near-desk life. At home -> a protective bag -> the office. Seldom WiFi’ed coffee shops and business trips. All controlled environments.

The crappy trackpad displays tracks of wear. Key caps as well. Sure, the iBook had the same problem, but not after 4 months - more like 8 months later.

Should there be a Macbook Pro with the same screen size I’d buy it today! Yeap! If you want a notebook to last and survive harsh environments, get a freakin iBook or a Macbook Pro. Sadly even 13.3″ felt big when 12″ was what I was craving for. I carry this damn machine all day long in a backpack that hangs heavy. I want a slender, lightweight road buddy. The Macbook Pro it’s definitely not that. The Macbook is somewhat there.
Would I tell you guys to stop considering a Macbook? Not really! But I sure don’t recommend it as warm as I recomended my dear Carolina, the Dec 2005 iBook 12″!

Be wise, gents! Be wise!

My good blogging friend Dennis Smith made early morning honors today at Starbucks and I felt I could not miss the opportunity to prove that, even if Frisco (US) and Bucharest (RO) are 8 years walking distance apart, good habits have the same brown sugar taste!

“I’m doing my Dan Berte imitation this morning, as there’s nobody I know who spends more time doing what he loves, and doing so via Wi-Fi with a strong cup of coffee in hand (Dan - I raise my Venti Rift Valley Blend in your honor!).”

Needless to say that my WiFi habits rock! And Dennis knows that well so he was following! He was riding T-Mo wireless and I was using Vodafone’s. He gets free Venti at SBX. I don’t! :P

Lovely Friday! :)

a picture is worth more than 1mil iPhones!
I hate you, AT&T! Apple basher!

Tonight was one of the rare occasions to play with all these beauties at once. Will spare you of too much introductory stuff and jump right into the testing results.

[+] click picture to enlarge

Toys in test:
1. Reference RDS/RCS 1Mbit cable connection via 54Mb WiFi - http://www.rdsnet.ro/
2. Vodafone 3G/HSDPA 3.6Mbs Huawei USB ‘SmartModem’ - http://www.vodafone.ro/ [product page link]
3. Orange 3G/HSDPA 3.6Mbs Option ICON II USB Modem - http://www.orange.ro/ [product page link]
4. Zapp Mobile 2.4Mbs Z010 CDMA 1xEV-DO wireless modem http://www.zapp.ro/ [product page link]

Testing machine and area:
1.83Ghz Core 2 Duo 2GB RAM Apple Macbook with a/b/g/n - enabled Airport WiFi card.
All tests were performed in a residential area in Bucharest, RO. Time 11:00ish PM. Moderate network loads.
Additional testing was performed on a WinXP Dell 1.6Ghz Core2Duo machine. Performance obtained was about 30% lower!!

Testing on:
- Local (short path) download - Zapp data driver library
Test file - Software image WL-500gx - Deluxe (v 2.1) - 1x/EV-DO [3.20MB]

- External (overseas) download - Revision3 / Diggnation
Test file - diggnation–0108–2007-07-26multipass–large.h264.mov [108MB]

- Ping to google.com

Without further ado, the results:

============================================

The control RDS cable connection needs no introduction or explanations. It performed as expected, capping out at the 1Mbs mark. Response times were great -inline with expectations- but maybe reported a tad lower as the WiFi router adds its own slowdown. This said, here are the screenshots.
Short path:

Overseas:

— google.com ping statistics —
12 packets transmitted, 12 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 67.475/68.679/71.692/1.056 ms

============================================

The Vodafone HSDPA SmartModem. I had a really good experience using this modem with speeds in excess of 300KBs (3-4Mbs). Unfortunately I was unable to replicate the performance tonight. Granted, and this goes for the other two players, the quality of the link, signal strength, network load and cell performance affect the max speeds attainable. Vodafone RO provides 3G+ (HSDPA) 3.6Mbs service in major cities and a guaranteed minimum of 1.4Mbs. What I managed to get was a not-so-flashy minimum with an excellent signal strength.
The proof-
Short path:

External:

— google.com ping statistics —
12 packets transmitted, 11 packets received, 8% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 278.274/313.286/609.070/93.856 ms

Notes: The application (Vodafone Mobile Connect for Mac) needs to be downloaded from the VF website. It weights around 15MB and it’s fairly easy to install and use. The drawback is that an additional “Activate” click has to be performed in order to enable the connection in the pref pane. The link is pushed through a VF APN proxy that strongly compresses the traffic (esp JPG images). That adds a certain lag and forbids use of some web bandwidth testing apps.
VMC:

[+] click to enlarge

============================================

Orange touts a fresh 3.6Mbs capability in its network. Although generally slower compared to Vodafone, with a poorer link quality, the very ugly Option modem has performed on par (if not a tad better) with its competitor. Here is the proof:
Short path:

And overseas:

— google.com ping statistics —
12 packets transmitted, 12 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 267.750/283.606/298.381/8.540 ms

Notes: Orange has performed notably better than VF in the response time test, with almost half the average round-trip time. Great news for VoIP applications. Its Mac application I had to request at Orange Customer Service and was later forwarded in an email. The whole process took around 10 minutes. GlobeTrotter Connect weighs around 2MB and is spartan. It required a restart (not typical for OSX) to work without asking for one. The traffic is also routed through a proxy but optimization is only provided through separate APN.
Orange took no pride in customizing the packaging of their modem, sign of eagerness to take it to the market. More so, the documentation has Mac screenshots of an app you expect to find in the package but can only get separately, on request.
Not so cool!
The app:

[+] click to enlarge

============================================

Zapp…oh Zapp…used to rock when its antenna was in good shape. Anything between 1.4Mbs and 2.0Mbs was possible. It’s generally a connection that can handle many streams at a time without degrading the ongoing transfers. It scales in an intelligent way. Plus, unlike Vodafone and Orange, the connection is direct without a pass trough a proxy for compression.
On the short path the Z010 would usually do 150KBs and on the diggnation file it would normally fly at a sustainable 180KBs!
I’ll add the screenshots though, but with a big fat disclaimer: this is not how a *healthy* Zapp modem performs!
Local (their own freakin servers):

A la longue:

— google.com ping statistics —
12 packets transmitted, 12 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 254.470/386.584/1362.356/296.632 ms

Notes: It breaks my heart to bash Zapp so badly after serving me 140ishKbs downloads for years in times when Orange/Vodafone only had shitty EDGE (150ishMbs) with this poor performance due to the faulty modem. Yet I think the ping results are relevant, the Z010 still doing good at 254.470 minimum round-trip time! Mkay… we have some spoilers here as I knew what to expect of some modems in test. Also sadly reporting that the CDMA modem was only here for a broader image of the competing technologies, less for actual results. It’s had a long service life feeding my mobile lifestyle and unfortunately it has the antenna bruised, which translates in very poor reception - read performance!
The Z010 needs no drivers for Mac running OSX, a compatible driver already rests in the OS’s library. With the connection set up in the pref pane, call is initiated in 2 clicks and established in less than 3 seconds! No other apps involved! Sweet!
Unfortunately the Z010 is no longer offered by Zapp but can be purchased by special request. It features a battery of its own that improves overall performance and lowers the drain on the notebook battery. It also has a b/w LCD screen that displays data such as signal strength, time/date and battery level. SMS can also be received on the device.

============================================

The conclusion is optional for a buying decision. Both Orange and Vodafone do well in normal-real life tests! Both offers are compelling, reasonably and approachable priced for near-unlimited traffic (8GB/month). Both modems come free with subscription and are both Mac and PC compatible. If on the PC counterpart the modems have PnP installation - the drivers are stored on the modems themselves - you’ll have a little more trouble getting them for your Mac. Be advised! Request those drivers before you are on the road and need further internet access! :)

Not surprisingly, both modems do shitty jobs on Bill Gates-flavoured machines. With Orange capping downloads at around 85KBs I went no further testing and lit up the Mac. And there numbers started looking like the ones on the marketing fliers. ;)

Overall brief: sexiness/performance/ergonomic; grades from 1-5

Vodafone 3G/HSDPA SmartModem: 5 / 3 / 4
Orange 3G/HSDPA Option ICON II USB Modem: 1 / 3 / 3
Zapp Z010 CDMA 1xEV-DO: 3 / 4 / 3

===== 5 cigarettes were smoked during the making of this review. please do not try this at home. smoking is bad for your health!! =====

Cisco will kill the Linksys brand. Boo! No further comments.

What happens if you jump from entrepreneurship to full time corporate dude? First, you cease good ol’ habits such as doing email where rubber meets the road in the wireless industry - the WiFi’ed caffe!
Luckily sometimes big guys that work in tall buildings come back to the streets to smell that roasted coffee flavor and sniff those 802.11 airwaves, hopefully one of them free. Had my chance for a couple of days to bring the love back so here I am, feeding heavily on all that online stuff that makes me smarter and more competitive, at Bourbon Cocktails&Coffee in the lovely harbor city of Constantza.
Usually people would be sunbathing and stuff here but instead I’m wirelessbathing in all free nets I can find and hop on.
During my two day stay I ran across plentiful networks to do my job on, all ranging from 1Mbits to 6Mbits, all in key locations such as rep building, hotel, cafe and… parking lot!

Of couse both my N70 and my HSDPA SmartModem from Vodafone could have taken over in case there was no WiFi to grab. But for some reason I love WiFi and simply like to enable the Airport on my Mac and enjoy it from there.

Now missing a more portable device to play with nets for when taking the Macbook out feels cumbersome. I’m considering one of those new HTC touch smartphones. Anyone tried one?