electro^plankton: techness: September 2006 Archives

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September 27, 2006

I Don't MySpace, I Wallop

Software giant Microsoft is not content with being left behind in this age of online social networks and blogging so instead of buying up established networks like Friendster and MySpace (both of which have already been bought by other companies), they went out and created their own.

The service is called Wallop - and as they put it; "discover an exclusive social experience like no other". So let's dissect its features, shall we?

For one, the design is slick. It uses almost every arbitrary web 2.0 design rule; glassy interfaces, big type, lots of rounded edges, and icons. Throw in a bit of Windows Vista and you pretty much can picture what Wallop looks like, or you can click on the image above to see a bigger version. Overall it puts MySpace and Friendster to shame. Just like the aforementioned, Wallop lets you keep and organize a list of friends, blog and store photos. However, it goes a few steps beyond by allowing you to share music, web links and features a fully integrated chat module (we'll get into what modules are later) and email system. The most important feature is customization.

People LOVE to deck out their MySpace and Friendster pages. Unfortunately, most of them have no design sense or coding skills so pages end up bloated, bogged down, and left looking like some rudimentary web design 1.0 class project. This is where Microsoft's strength weighs in. The interface looks like a desktop application. Every component (friend's list, pictures, music, blog, web links, chat) lives in a widget like window. So in essence, you basically have a computer desktop environment where you can change the desktop background and re-skin all the modules or widgets. This allows everyone to personalize their page without compromising on functionality. The friend's sorting feature seems particularly interesting. It allows you to group your friends into different communities, i.e. family, work friends, drinking buddies, ex-b/f's, etc. Each group and each person sprawls lines to other people they know or are connected to. It's sort of a visual diagram of the 6 degrees of separation theory. There's a lot more to it but with those features, it makes your ordinary friends lists look antiquated.

Wallop is devoid of advertisement banners but features a new system for people and companies to make money by creating cool widgets or modules and selling them thru what they call the Wallop Modder Network.

Wallop looks to be a fully fledged online social community that addresses many of the issues with current communities. The service is beta right now and accepting new members by invitations only, sorta like what Google did with their mail service. With Microsoft as it's daddy, I'm sure we'll see tons more features and services launched once the site goes public. For now, enjoy MySpace and Friendster because Wallop may just be the next big thing in online social communities.

September 26, 2006

ebook Readers Finally Good Enough

I'm a pretty avid reader of fiction and I have tons of books I reference when I work. I don't always read consistently (except bedtime) nor do I need to carry all those books around with me. I've seen and read about ebooks but they were overpriced (still are) and weren't small enough.

It seems ebooks have finally come to a point ready for mass market consumption. All my gripes with them have been addressed. Number one, being size. ebooks should be no bigger than any standard hardcover book. They should have memory expansion to add more books. They need an easy drag-and-drop application to help organize all your books. They need excellent battery life. They need to be wafer thin. Most importantly, they need to simulate the reading experience as best as possible - meaning high contrast and no crazy back lighting to hurt my eyes.

panasonic_wordgear_01

There are two solutions on the market (or soon to be). The first of which is the Panasonic Word Gear. The Word Gear has a 5.6" 1024 x 600 color touch screen with an SD port. Navigation is handled thru a unique soft grip touch pad on the side (which I've yet to understand) and the whole thing weighs 325g. It's an awesome product for those who would read all their publishings in a digital format, i.e. books, comics, newspapers, and magazines. On the down side, because of its high powered screen, it only gets 6
hours of battery life and costs almost 350 dollars.

sony_ebook_01

A better option for someone who only reads books would be Sony's ebook Reader. The ebook uses the latest electronic ink technology that is so high in contrast, it looks like print. The display is slightly bigger at 6" and the technology uses so little power that a single charge can last for 7,500 page turns. The ebook comes with both MemoryStick and SD card ports for you to store not only books, but RSS feeds, pictures and
even music! Navigation is a little more straight forward with dedicated page buttons and chapter markers. There's even a cool little button that dog-ears a page - bookmarking it for you. The only negative mark would be the Sony Connect Store and price of $350. I was hoping Sony would open the platform to allow ebooks from other services but at least the connect store is very well organized and currently has over 10,000 titles.

The future looks pretty good and I'm anxious to see when the educational markets will jump in. All those heavy ass books from college could have been saved on a single SD card all in one device. Since publishers set the price, I don't know why they shouldn't jump on the ebook bandwagon.

more pictures after the jump

panasonic_wordgear_02
sony_ebook_02
sony_ebook_03

September 20, 2006

Heat and Roll

Dough Heat Towelrack

The aroma towel rack by dough-heat ltd has heated side vents from which you can hang your towels to dry. You can even control the temperature via the pop-out dial on the left. Once dry, you roll them up and place them in the center. It looks great and functions. I would love to get my hands on one (since I'll be moving soon) and this would look great in my new bathroom.

Engine on a Chip

Engine In A Chip

The Gods that roam the hallways of MIT are at it again. Unhappy with current power hungry microchips, they are planning a chip with a built-in engine. The engine will be made from tiny bits of silicon that spin at 20,000 revolutions per second. They estimate each chip will be able to produce 10 watts of power!

They envision this technology integrated into current silicon microchips, extending the battery life of devices by 10x!

I bow to MIT.

USB CELL

Usbcell 01

These batteries from MOXIA are more than meets the eye. Aside from being rechargeable, they recharge via. . . wait for it . . . USB!

Yes - flip up the green top to reveal a USB plug. Pop it into your USB 2.0 laptop and charge the batts. I can see great uses for the traditional cylinder and 9 volt batts, but the cell phone one has me perplexed. Isn't it easer to charge your phone with its supplied cable instead of removing the battery cover each time?

These actually would go great with my Nintendo Wii console since the wii-mote uses 2 AA batteries. I could just plug the batteries into the Wii's USB ports to charge up. One issue I have with these batteries are they are not green; meaning environmentally friendly. Put in some green technology and I'll buy 'em.

$24.99 for a 2-pack of AA's. Get them here.

another picture after the jump

Usbcell 02

September 18, 2006

Oh SNAP! Photovoltaic OLEDs

Photovoltaic Oled

Organic light emitting diodes or OLEDs are heralded as the future of LCD technology, for its ability to turn electricity into light with very little loss of energy, making them appear brighter and more efficient.

Scientists decided to think backwards and realized if you reversed the process, (light turning into electricity), you get a photovoltaic cell. They put that theory to the test and found OLEDs can not only generate light but also recover some of the energy lost by turning light back into electricity.

Just think about it! Imagine your cell phone screen bright as it wants to be, when it's in idle mode, the screen captures ambient light and recharges your battery. The same tech can apply to everything from TV's to windows. Soon, OLEDs will offer both low-cost lighting and low-cost energy production.

via ecogeek

September 16, 2006

Zune Zune Zune

There's PLENTY of news out about Microsoft's Zune player, Zune store, Zune platform. People who know me know I'm an admitted iPod fan. The iPod's design is beautiful and functional and Apple's created a great platform for the iPod to exist on; the iTunes store.

So now Microsoft has its own platform and the Zune seems to be addressing all the problems other MP3 players have, while one-upping the iPod. But I already have some issues with the player.

The design is hideous. I don't know if Microsoft or the Zune's manufacturer Toshiba designed it, but it's a horribly dated design. Toshiba's Gigabeat is heads and shoulder a better design study both aesthetically and functionally. I don't understand the desire to frame the screen in another color. Don't they understand when you have a screen bleeding flush into the edge, it actually looks bigger? The scroll wheel isn't even a scroll wheel. It's a directional pad like those you might find on a game controller. A HUGE design no-no is to imitate design but not functionality. If I see a wheel, I instinctually want to be able to scroll. Perhaps they should have used a 4-way directional pad like the Gigabeat, since that's what it really is. Now I want to go back to the screen. Some would have you believe that Zune's screen is widescreen, but it's not. It's the same 4:3 aspect ratio found on the iPod and the same exact resolution, just turned sideways.

Zune Ipod Screens

Microsoft's decision to use Wifi instead of Bluetooth is also another boo-boo. There's no way the battery life on that thing can sustain music, movies, and wireless transfers for more than 3.5 hours, unless Microsoft has some magic battery and since they refuse to release official battery life numbers, it leaves me wondering. The official battery life estimates are 12 hours for music playback and 3.5 hours for video. Just as a note, the 30 gig iPod does 15/6 and the 80 gig iPod does 20/4.

Zune Packaging

But I will say their packaging is nice. Apparently the days of a gazillion screencaps, stickers, text blurbs and logos on Microsoft products have missed the Zune factory because the box is clean and def. stands out. I for one am Happy Microsoft has finally entered for foray. If anything it pushes Apple to better their design and services. The future of MP3 players looks good.

Dirt Dog

Irobot Dirtdog

I've been wanting to turn my living room into a workspace to do my pattern making and sewing. Unfortunately I haven't done so mainly because it would be a TOTAL MESS. All those pins, needles, paper, thread, and trim would make my Hoover roll over and play dead. So I've put off the work room idea until I move into a place with hardwood or concrete floors.

It comforts me to know that iRobot, makers of the super duper Roomba, have just released their heavy duty robot vac called the Dirty Dog. More power, bigger bin, and more robust brushes make the Dirt Dog able to pick everything from dust to big nuts and bolts. It's perfect for any shop or work room and just like the tamer Roombas, it's totally autonomous. Best of all, it's only $129.99. Will somebody buy me one? :)

September 13, 2006

TiVo Series3

Tivo-Series-3

Amidst my disappointment with Apple's "sneak peak" of their new streaming entertainment set-top box iTV, I turned my attention to something I've always loved - TiVo! The new TiVo Series3 is out and it's a huge upgrade.

First off, those who were anxiously awaiting for HD support, now you've got it. It can record two HD shows while you watch a 3rd at the same time. No other DVR on the market does that right now. It also has two CableCards slots so TiVo 3 was designed not to complement your cable box, but to replace it, FINALLY YAY! The last bit concerns HDMI, currently the ONLY DVR to support the soon to be component standard for anyone with a flat panel TV. Of course the new OLED screen and redesigned controller complete with backlight buttons is a nice touch too. It's $800 right now so its HELLA expensive. Just give it about a month or two, then you'll see all those special holiday deals drop in.

September 3, 2006

Gimme Samsung!

Samsung P310

UPDATED:
In response to numerous emails, the phone is not slated for release in America. However it operates on GSM tri-band frequencies so you could easily import one and use it with Cingular and T-mobile. Sorry Sprint and Verizon users - no CDMA support announced.

In my book, Sony Ericsson is still the best at combining features, technology, and build quality but Samsung (whom many of you have attested, bested Sony) is quickly climbing up my "I GOTTA HAVE IT" scale. However, there were several reasons why I never jumped onto the Samsung bandwagon.

First off, my first experiences with Samsung phones were negative. They were very plasticky. The buttons sometimes felt really loose in their socket rocking back and forth. The user interface wasn't intuitive and the inability to reprogram shortcuts and soft keys got on my nerves when I had to press 3 buttons just to get to a particular application or change volume settings.

On the positive side, Samsung, like Sony, are technophiles. They pack their phones with the best screens and cameras. They make sure every wireless protocol is covered, from infrared to bluetooth. I've never heard anyone complain about slow software, freeze-ups, or firmware errors. On top of that, Samsung phones were and as we will discover unusually small and compact and have extraordinary battery lives.

So I think I've found my next phone, (until Apple releases whatever it is they're working on). It's the next-gen version to the credit card size P300. The P310 updates every feature its predecessor had and throws in some tech other phones have yet to capitalize on. Best of all, it's still credit card size and the design has greatly improved.

Current Known Specs:

OLED 256k color TFT portrait display with 220 x 176 pixels
Micro SD card slot, supports up to 4 gigs
Bluetooth 2.0 A2DP (full stereo support)
AAC, WMA, MP3 support
Stream music to and from your computer via bluetooth
2 megapixel camera with auto-focus, 30 fps video capture
SMS, MMS, full email support
Latest version of Samsung's user-interface (vastly improved)

All the tech is there and still more yet to be announced. Based on the old P300 model which only had a 1.3 megapixel camera, but still managed to take some very clear shots, this new 2 megapixel version should be a joy to use, especially since it now has auto-focus. The other exciting feature is the screen. OLED screens are vastly superior to current screens on mobile handsets, with the exception of Sharps VGA Aquos screens. There's nothing in Sony's, Nokia's, or Motorola's arsenal that comes close.

The P310 packs in all the features while remaining INCREDIBLY SMALL. Expect it this October. No price set yet but the P300 retailed for $400 when it first launched so I assume this to carry the same price tag.

more pictures after the jump

Samsung P310 3 Samsung P310 4

September 1, 2006

PSP GPS, It's Official

Psp04

I think I've been waiting for this thing for how long now? Damn near a year, but Sony has finally released info regarding its GPS module for the PSP. The receiver has a determination renewal time of 1 second, which is pretty good and will retail for $51.

Huh? $51 dollars??? Yea it sounds like a good deal but here's the catch, no software included. Sony has designed the module for both gaming and utilitarian function so it's really all up to first and third party software developers. Not to worry tho, Sony promises there are already a handful of apps ready to go and will be showcased September 22, at the Tokyo Game Show.

For us statesiders, we won't be getting it until December. Bummer I know.