Cotton Candy Is A Sweet Pocket-Sized Dual-Core Computer | Gizmodo Australia

Cotton Candy Is A Sweet Pocket-Sized Dual-Core Computer | Gizmodo Australia

This looks pretty cool. Amazing what they can fit into a tiny device.

Dymocks Online needs fixin'.

When I bought my Acer Iconia Tab, I also received as part of an Acer promotion a $100 voucher, which could be used with the Dymocks online bookstore.

I excitedly went online, eager to purchase the electronic version of  "The Game of Thrones" by George Martin, as I had just recently finished season 1 of the excellent HBO TV series and was anxious to read the book upon which it was based.

To my dismay, Dymocks only offered the physical book, no online version.  Bummer.

Oh well, perhaps I'll get one of the newer books in the Dexter series (again due to my love of the TV series..does anyone see a trend here?) but ba-bow. Not even a physical version of this one.

Obviously, I have committed myself to using up this voucher so against my better judgement bought "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" which I dutifully read on the train with my tablet for the next 2 weeks and promptly wished I had those 2 weeks of my life back.

Hope has now been restored however, with my next purchase "Moab is My Washpot" by Stephen Fry being most enjoyable.

I have to say though, given the struggle I have had to find anything worth reading, I don't think Dymocks will be keeping my business for much longer once the $100 has been spent and given this is there idea of spelling, then definitely not:

- a vigorous dispute between 'intelligent desing' and Darwinsim
- hard-hitting, impassioned rebuttal of region of all types.
- He eviscreates the major arguments... shows how religon fuels war, foments bigotry and abuses children.

Movember update

The mo' grows and so do the donations...$70 so far but I urge everyone to keep adding to the total. Please see my previous Movember post for the link to my mo page.

VOIP - Complete!

Well, I never knew this VOIP thing would be so easy.

Box received, and plugged in to modem.

Phone plugged into box.

A few settings entered and Bob is an ISP's stupid name for a modem!

Now to port my phone number over and be rid of landline rental forever!

Movember - Please give!

In support of men's health awareness, particularly prostate cancer and depression, I am growing a moustache and raising money for movember.

To donate (and check out my bodacious mo), please follow the link below

http://mobro.co/churchado

VOIP - First 2 stages complete

So, stage 1 & 2 completed.

VOIP account done - I have signed up to https://www.mynetfone.com.au/ for a Whirlpool Saver Account ($0 monthly fee and 10 cent local calls)

ATA box purchased - I have ordered a Minitar MVA11A VoIP ATA today from http://www.jmgtechnology.com.au/.

Now the wait begins....

VOIP

After finding out my home phone bill is going up I have decided to bid adieu to the old phone line and give VOIP (Voice Over Interent Protocol) a go.

I'll keep blogging on my experiences as I go and hopefully will be reporting back on the ease of use and high quality of calls that VOIP provides.

The first step is to buy an ATA adapter - this is a box that connects my phone handset to my modem. I just went to 6 shops in the Sydney CBD (including 4 specialty computer stores) and none of them have them.  You wonder why everyone does their shopping on the internet these days!

I had already found two sources on the net but thought maybe I could save on the delivery fee. Ha, no chance.  So off websurfing I go!

My photo

So, I realised that perhaps my photo at the top (taken completely in jest..really I don't look like that all the time) may have been scaring a few people off so i removed it.

We'll see whether it affects my stats at all. Ha, doubtful - nought + nought is still nought.

Apple Now Has A Patent On Slide To Unlock

This is just bloody ridiculous...

Apple Now Has A Patent On Slide To Unlock

Food for thought

Today, with the ridiculous queues of people lining up to fork over a great deal of money to have the dubious honour of being one of the first to buy a new phone, it’s worth remembering that there are a lot of people in this world unfortunate enough not to have enough to eat, let alone pick up a phone with an S added to the end of its name.

Perhaps those of us who are considering upgrading should put that money into a World Vision donation and keep the old phone for another six months. Just a thought.

iCloud – iSlow!

I updated my partner’s iPhone 3gs last night with the newApple operating system, IOS5. I have to say it was the most painless update so far.  Every previous update with her phone has resulted in crashes/ restores/reloading of older versions of iTunes etc to the point where when I ask her if she wants me to update her phone she winces and asks whether it’s the worth the hassle.

Anyhoo, this morning I setup the ‘backup to iCloud’ function. I must say I was a little bit bemused to see an estimated finish time of 17 hours! I know my upload speed on my cable internet is pretty slow but that sounds a bit ridiculous. Particularly because as far as I can see it’s only backing up contacts and photos and videos captured through the phone.

As it only works over wifi and she is going out this morning, I’m not even sure if it will recommence once she gets back within our wifi range or whether the whole slow process will begin again from scratch.  Hopefully, this is a one-off for the first time and future backups will be quicker. Otherwise I’ll be reverting to ‘backup to PC’ very soon.

Big in Russia

I just checked my blog stats and am surprised to see a fair percentage of visits from Russia. Not expected, that's for sure and curious to say the least.

So, to all my Russian friends, I say 'Zdravstvuj!' and pass the vodka.

Apple's 'new' phone - worth the hype?

In one word, no.

In two words, not really.

In lots of words, it seems OK as a upgrade from 3gs but I would be holding out for the iPhone 5 if I already had a 4.

I'll be interested to see how the voice recognition (Siri) works in the real world. Personally, I've had massive mixed responses from the Android version of voice recognition.  From walking down the street and reciting a short text message which came out word perfect (a lovely feeling I can tell you when you just have to hit send) to other occasions where I try to say 'do we need any milk?' and it comes out as 'Dire needs for many ilk'.

Maybe it's my strine.

If Apple can pull it off it's a pretty cool trick.  First phrase I want to try is 'does my bum look big in this'. The answer better be no or the phone won't be long for this world.

new iphone hype

Oh God, there's a new iphone on the horizon. ho hum. For God's sake there's even been articles in the media such as 'which rumours will be true'. Apple publicists must piss themselves laughing at the ease they can get the media hyped up over a hardware update.

Death of the blog?

I thought it might be slightly ironic to post this..

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/rip-blogs-lapsed-bloggers-last-post-20110921-1kjzn.html

Amazon tablet announced

vs

So, the rumours were true..Amazon today announced the Kindle Fire, a 7 inch tablet running on Android (funny, can't see any mention of a version in the press release).

Since my previous post yesterday, I've had some second thoughts about what this new tablet means to the marketplace. As an Android user (both my phone and tablet) I find the OS superior to Apple's. The Android system gives me, as a user, a much greater degree of flexibility; be it modding the interface, file transfers, USB plug ins...the list goes on, so it continually annoys me to read the press in Australia fawn over the 'i' products (pad, phone, pod) and use terms such as 'wannabe iPads' as I saw in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

I wait with bated breath (what does that expression mean anyway?) for the moment where something comes to the market that finally makes gadget writers of the mainstream press kneel down in front of and declare the ‘IPAD KILLER’ (possibly a good name for a future serial killer?). As I said yesterday the Kindle Fire is not it, but now I realise that's not a bad thing.

My fundamental mistake in yesterday's post was thinking the war was Amazon v Apple where in Amazon's mind it is clearly Amazon v Barnes & Noble. The Fire has been produced to compete against B&N’s Nook. The Nook has been eating into sales of the Kindle in the US (Amazon’s biggest market) as it is basically a colour Kindle. This does not surprise me in the least as my first thought when I saw a Kindle was – “but it’s black & white – who would want that?” It just felt to me like a step back akin to going out and buying a 10 inch B&W TV set.

Expect to see a shedload of these new tablets in people’s hands on trains, buses, trams etc when they come out, particularly if the pricepoint is as low in OZ as it will be in the US. With a library of over 100,000 movies and TV shows, 17 million songs, 1,000,000 books and Amazon’s android market for games and apps who wouldn’t want one?

This can only be a good thing for Android users everywhere as the more people wanting Android apps, the more developers will concentrate on providing products. Then maybe those Apple fanboys will stop bleating about how many more apps Apple have vs Android once and for all.

New Amazon tablet on the horizon - iPad Killer? Perhaps not..

So apparently Amazon is going to release a tablet shortly.  Rumour has it that it may be a bit of a haphazard job merely to get one on the market.  This, in my opinion, is a bit of a poor decision by Amazon. One just has to look at the buzz in the media about an 'iPad killer' to realise that what a company needs to do is release a tablet as good as, but preferably better, than the current iPad for a lower price.

If anyone is in the position to do that right now, it is Amazon. They have shown by their earlier pricing strategy for Kindle that they are prepared to release a product at a low price in order to get a foot in the market. If they sat back an waited a bit and did just that, the word iPad may just be a distant memory in years to come.

Scientists Reconstruct Video Clips From Brain Activity

Cool....I've always wanted to record my dream activity. OK, it's still not here yet but it seems to be a distant reality. I must say though, some of the things I dream are definitely for my eyes only.

Imagine if celebrity dreamtapes started flooding the internet. It could make celeb sex tapes look very tame indeed. Hmm..maybe I should buy celebritydreamtapes.com before anyone else thinks of it..

Scientists Reconstruct Video Clips From Brain Activity

Free shoes? Doubtful..

I just spotted a bargain at Ozbargains. Paul's Warehouse having a sale where Asics runners are $0 + 10 delivery.

Surely it's an error on the website but I bought two just in case.  After all it's 'buy one get one free'.

Will they honour this purchase? Doubtful...

UPDATE: Just received this email..

Dear valued customer,
Unfortunately overnight on the 19/09/11 our website www.paulswarehouse.com.au had a computer malfunction that reduced Asics footwear to $0. This was totally out of our control and we were unaware it happened until this morning. We are writing to inform you that this stock is not available for $0 and we will be refunding your $10 shipping as soon as possible.
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding.
Your Paul's Warehouse team

Oh well, it was worth a try!

UPDATE 2:

Just got this follow up email..

Dear Valued Customer,
We appreciate your patience and understanding in regards to our pricing inconsistency, which took place on 19th September.
We wish to notify you that your order has been cancelled and the appropriate shipping fee reminiscent on your order has been refunded in full as of 21st September.
Pauls Warehouse is at no time in possession of credit card details, as the purchase takes place online and in real time via our merchant account with St George Bank.
In order for us to have processed the refund, the Credit Card number was neither required nor viewable to us, but only the transaction number was used to complete the refund.
Our website is fully automated and connected to our inventory system like most eCommerce systems online today. During an automated update process which took place over night, a technical malfunction transpired after hours which resulted in specific Asics footwear models being wrongly priced at $0. The inconsistency was realized the morning of 20th September and immediately resolved.
Pauls Warehouse, in good faith and honesty, sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience caused and is offering you a one-time only 30% discount off RRP on NEW ARRIVAL items and further 10% off our BUY ONE GET ONE FREE range.
In order to receive this discount, please order online and send us a copy of this email to orders(at)paulswarehouse.com.au. We will then refund you the appropriate difference.
Your Paul's Warehouse team

Very nice of them (and good marketing) but as I was just a no-good bargain hunter and not really that interested in actually paying for shoes I don't think I'll take them up on it.

I want to fly on this!

Beats flying cattle class any day..


http://www.smh.com.au/travel/flight-test-emirates-business-class-20110915-1kaxr.html

China

I just completed a unit as part of my Accounting course which focussed mainly on the emergence of China as the new leader for world production (yes, accounting is not just all about numbers).

I had my own personal example of what the Chinese can achieve recently, and why Australian businesses should be worried:

After purchasing my Iconia tablet, I wanted to pick up a micro HDMI cable to enable me to hook it up to my fullHD TV.

I checked out local shops such as JB Hifi, Dick Smith etc and was surprised to find they don't even stock them. When I did finally hunt them down, I was confronted with a price of $59.95 for a 6 foot cable.

Embracing the power of the mobile internet via my newly acquired tablet, I checked out ebay and found the same thing from a seller in China for $3.95 delivered!

Honestly, it beggars belief that they can possibly be making a profit from that.  Surely it costs more than $3.95 just for the international postage.  One week later, the parcel arrived and the cable works as promised and I even got a paper pattern to stick on our window for 'good luck all year'.  Australian bricks and mortar stores just can't compete with that! In fact even the online ones would struggle.

My tablet - update

Typing this on my tablet and have to say it is my favourite new gadget for this year. A couple of forced shutdowns of apps has been the only issue I have encountered so far and that is more to do with honeycomb than the hardware.

All in all it's a great device which I have no regrets buying.

New tablet - Acer Iconia A500

So, I took the plunge the other day and snapped up an Acer Iconia A500 tablet whilst it was on special for $386.  I also took advantage of a special offer AMEX were holding where they give you $50 back if you purchase something over $250 from particular outlets.

So in the end it ended up costing me only $336 which, considering the RRP was $579 when they first came out,  I consider a bargain. 

First impressions are pretty good.  It's pretty zippy and has a good crisp display with excellent colours.  I have seen some reviews that suggest very high definition movies don't play too well on it but I am yet to try that out. So far I have had no issues with other formats.

One thing that always stood out for me with the Iconia vs other tablets is it has a USB input.  This is invaluable, in my opinion, as you can plug in a thumbdrive, or an external HDD or even a keyboard to type with.  Fantastic.

I will give further impressions as I get to test out more features.

From the Parramatta hostage siege yesterday, this photo appeared today in SMH with a caption "Police officers escort the young girl from the building"

Escort, drag...and she was the innocent party.

50 billion websites

According to http://www.worldwidewebsize.com/ there are approximately 14.3 billion web pages.

This makes me think a few things:

• Geez, that's a lot of web pages..
• I wonder how many are porn..
• It's no wonder that no-one reads my blog.

It also begs the question, if there are so many websites out there, how come I generally visit about 5 regularly?  Am I missing out on some fantastic stuff or is the rest just crap or sites about things that just don't interest me like Teapots from Around the World?

For those who care (there must be someone out there), the sites I regularly visit are:

Sydney Morning Herald
LifeHacker
Whirlpool Forums
Gizmodo
Commonwealth Bank

Lab Chimps See Daylight For First Time

I love the way the chimps hug each other..

Lab Chimps See Daylight For First Time

Still posting even though nobody reads this

So a couple of weeks in, and no one has signed up to read my blog. Not even my partner cares to have a look..although come to think of it, I don't think I've told her about it.

So basically, I'm writing this to myself.  Hi me.

If you are reading this please let me know.  Comment, or sign up.  I promise it will get better over time.  PROMISE!

Continuing my tablet obsession..

And some would say my toilet obsession also..

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/08/tons-totally-tooting-while-tweeting-from-tablets-taken-to-toilet/

Ha! I knew it!

I found this whilst surfing the net at work...

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/08/surfing-the-web-at-work-can-actually-make-you-more-productive/

HP Touchpad- ba bow.

I had the day off yesterday. I have a Harvey Norman 5 minutes up the road from my house. I didn't know they were selling HP Touchpads for $98. Bummer. Below is the old price (which by the way is still being displayed at Town Hall Station on 24 August).

Apple - it's the vibe

Apple's recent injunction against Samsung over the similarities between the ipad and the Galaxy Tab is a bit of joke in my opinion.

One of the things they are claiming has been infringed is 'the look and feel' of the ipad.  Such a vague catch-all phrase can't help but remind me of the Australian movie 'The Castle' with "it's the vibe".

Hopefully commonsense will prevail otherwise I can't really see how any company can produce a half decent tablet under these conditions without being sued.

In other news, Apple is suing the Sun as it has a patent for a big hot fiery thing in the sky.

Google plus

So I've been on Google plus for a few weeks now and can't say it's really doing it for me.  It doesn't help that 99% of my Facebook friends can't be bothered switching over. Actually, if it was a case of switching over they'd probably do it but the annoying thing about it at this present stage is the fact you pretty much need to do double the workload.  Update your status on Facebook, do it again on Google+...

There are a few Chrome extensions that are supposed to do that for you but I haven't been able to get any of them to work which means I usually end up doing it on Facebook and that's it.

Yvonne the cow

This story is just strange..

http://www.smh.com.au/world/holy-cow-search-for-runaway-yvonne-gathers-force-20110820-1j37z.html

Liking bigots

I just came back from my neighbour's house across the road. They are a very friendly couple in their late 50s or early 60s and I get on with them quite well but occasionally they come out with a pearler of a comment that reminds me 'oh yes, I'd forgotten you're a racist'.

For example today Keith (not his real name) commented on how he shouted at some 'Arabs in pyjamas' that they don't belong around here.

My dilemma is this: Regardless of all this I still like them and I can't be bothered arguing against their bigotry (mainly because I know their opinion won't change).

Should I care?

Too many Passw0rds!

My god. If I have to think up one more password I will die. Or perhaps  that should be d1e. As God forbid I choose a password without a number! I am so sick of thinking of a nice password that I might remember 5 minutes later, only to be told it needs to have a capital letter, between 8-15 characters long, must contain a number..blah blah, you get the idea.

I know that security is important and using "password" is probably not ideal but last time I checked I live in a democracy so if I want a hopelessly easy to crack four letter password all in lower case then I should bloody well be allowed to have one!

As an example, this is the password criteria for one of my online universities I "attend"

• Between 8 to 16 characters in length.
• Consisting only of letters (a-z, or A-Z) and numbers (0-9).
• At least two numbers, one upper and one lower case letters within your password.
• Passwords must not contain your given name, last name or student/staff id.
• Cannot have been used in the previous 12 months.
• Minimum two character change from previous password.

Best deal I've seen for an Android tablet - Toshiba AT100

I saw this on OZbargains today http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/51142.

If you combine it with the $50 AMEX credit card rebate deal https://amexnetwork.com.au/retail/home/?cid=auhome_network and  the 5% discount on first purchase deal (just signup to Bing Lee newsletter) you can end up getting a Toshiba AT100 tablet for $376.55!!!

I reckon the Toshiba tablet is not half bad and seeing its RRP is around $550 you could sell it on ebay for a profit if you didn't like it.

Not that any of this logic will convince my scrooge of a lifetime partner to part with our hard earned wages!

She seems to think you need to 'need' something in order to buy it.  Crazy talk!  As if anyone needs a tablet!

Welcome

Hi,

Welcome to my new blog. 

This blog is for me to add anything I feel like adding..it could be cool things I've read about on the web, gadgets I like (or want), things that annoy me..the list is fairly endless.