- October 22, 2009 10:31 am
While Nokia would like us to believe they own a plethora of the technologies that make the iPhone what it is, their latest lawsuit against Cupertino instead comes off looking more like a last ditch effort by a company who has failed to make anything exciting (save for the N900) at any point in recent memory. You know the old saying: “If you can’t beat ‘um…sue ‘um”. Based on the poorly constructed copyright system we have here in the states, Nokia claims Apple infringes on GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN standards. Wow. As if that isn’t so mind numbingly general…
More specifically however, the suit alleges that Apple is stealing information relating to wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption on mobile devices. Apparently, these technologies are licensed from Nokia by a rather large number of manufacturers throughout the world. A list that Apple refuses to join. Could it be because the patents are too overly general and essentially useless? Perhaps. I’m not a patent whiz so if someone would like to clear it up a bit it would be much appreciated. In the spirit of a good jovial atmosphere, let’s take a poll: Will Apple (A) Settle or (B) fight them in court? Leave it below in the comments.
Pocket-Lint
Image Source
- September 22, 2009 10:09 am
Beer beer beer. How I love beer. Another love which I’m also become increasingly addicted to is Twitter. What better way to show of your geeky chops than to combine the two. That’s exactly what SparkFun Electronics did. They took the company Kegerator, which was becoming increasingly difficult to monitor and keep full, and tapped (pun intended) into the real time tracking benefits of Twitter. The SparkFun Twitter account tells you such things as pull count, beer temp, and beer level giving anyone who needs to able to remotely monitor their kegs a leg up on the situation. Collecting and organizing all of the information is done with four pressure sensors (one one each leg) to monitor remaining beer, a temperature sensor (self explanatory), and a magnetic switch/sensor located by the tap handle to keep track of handle pulls.
I have definitely got to get myself a keg and try this out! If all you want is SparkFun keg updates and you’ve got nothing else to do, add @SparkFunKeg to your Twitter account. But, if you want a more in depth, “how-to” look at this shinning example of innovation and geeky beauty, SparkFun is your stop.
I didn’t think beer/Twitter could get any better or be used more interestingly. Did you?
The Awesomer > SparkFun Electronics
- September 3, 2009 7:29 am
**Image taken from Mashable**
Look back in time to the year 2008 (so long ago…I know) and try to remember when a little browser called Chrome was released into the spotlight. At first, there was a ton of fanfare and downloads as geeks and even non-geeks alike rushed to download this new hyped up browser. After the hype faded, it seemed that only geeks and internet junkies kept using Chrome. Through the trials and tribulations this past year, Google’s wonder browser has accomplished some mighty impressive feats. On this historic first birthday for Google’s internet baby, they shared the following:
Since September 2, 2008, there have been:
– 51 developer releases, 21 beta releases or updates, and 15 stable releases or updates
– Over 20,600 bugs filed (4367 of them were duplicates, 3505 have been fixed, which leaves a whole lot left to go!)
– 11 external committers and bug editors, 46 external code contributors
– 50 Chrome Experiments
– 26 posts on the Google Chrome blog
– 12 Chrome Shorts, a collection of short films about Google Chrome
– A sequel to the comic in Japanese
More importantly, we’ve improved by over 150% on Javascript performance since our initial beta.
Definitely some pretty darn good progress, though, in a years time, Chrome has managed to grab a paltry 2.84% of the browser market. If you have trouble with numbers and graphs, I’ll give you a hint — It’s not that good. Still, Google charges on. And charge on they should. Google brought with it dramatically faster performance as well as a new style that while not everyone’s cup of tea, has many other browser developers rethinking their own styling, the latest examples being Safari 4′s failed attempt at tab-on-top design as well as rumors of Firefox 4 getting a dramatic overhaul.
After one whole year, 365 days, 8766 hours, 525,600 minutes, or 31 556 926 minutes (depending on how you look at it), Google Chrome has achieved quite a bit in it’s infancy. Again however, it has quite a ways to go before it can claim fame like bigger contenders such as IE and Firefox. Even more exciting builds inside of me as I await more information and the eventual release of Google’s next project: Chrome OS, a web based OS of sorts. With the start of a great browser, a web based OS can only help if executed properly. So here we wait.
I for one am hopeful. Hopeful that Chrome doesn’t just become another tech flop. A hope that Chrome can grow, innovate not only itself but continue to cause other browsers to innovate as well. For as we all know. Competition benefits all.
Source: Mashable,
Take all of your other novelty calendars and even functional calendars and throw them in the trash because that is exactly what they are when compared to the world’s coolest calendar, the Ink Calendar. Designed by forward thinking Spanish designer Oscar Diaz, the Ink Calendar brings a whole new level of innovation and sophistication to an otherwise mundane project and duty. The gist behind this time teller is the ability to display the date with nothing but a bottle of ink and 28-31 paper material numbers. A mere bottle of ink placed at one end with an end of the paper dipped inside and a lot of time are all that is needed to show you what day it is. Really it’s so simple yet so cool — the ink getting absorbed into each number easily and reliably tells you the exact day. Pretty cool if you ask me. So who wants 10? *Raises hand*. If you are lucky enough to reside in Madrid, stop on by the Circulo de Bellas Artes and marvel at this truly unique time piece/day keeper, take a picture, and share it with us! Take a minute to stop inside and gander at a few more screenshots of the action in action..
If you’re going to spend hours upon hours in front of your computer, staring blindly at the millions of little red, blue, and green dots, you might as well look stylish doing it. Right? If you have a geeky obcession as well as a fetish for all things flight related, the Airplane Engine Desk will set you over the top. The innovative and original thinking designers based out of L.A., “MotoArt” create some of the coolest and most unique pieces of art that functions as furniture. As the name implies, the Airplane desk is crafted from real engine pieces of old, dying, and decaying airplane parts such as B-52′s and 747′s. The desk and accompanying chair will add a unique sense of style and originality to your humble geek pad. As the saying goes: “One mans trash is another mans treasure”. So very true it indeed…
Source: Geeky-Gadgets
I just got done reading one of, if not the best articles ever written in regards to a company that is losing sight. Boy Genius an avid BlackBerry user has voiced what so many BlackBerry users feel everyday — that their beloved CrackBerry is awesome in the hardware department. However, the software department is a joke, a downright failure. Now the OS is more than capable…three years ago. Putting it up against your Mobile OS X and Android shows just how behind RIM is in software terms.
The article by Boy Genius is definitely worth a read. I highly suggest you check it out, even if you don’t use a BlackBerry or iPhone.
Boy Genius: What happened to Research In Motion and where are they going?
