If you are using an Android phone, chances are that your phone feels 'sluggish' after a few days. Basically over time, apps consume more and more memory, making your phone crawl and lagging between screen actions. Use an app called Advanced Task Killer to free maximum memory.
Download Advanced Task Killer from the android market here. Be default the Security Level is set to Medium. I would suggest change it to Low and you would notice considerably more free memory.
On my HTC Incredible S, before using this app my free memory was always below 200MB. But now with the Low setting I usually get 400MB free memory.
Check it out.
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HTML5 Logo released
The good guys at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have released a logo for Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) 5. HTML5 is the newest version of HTML and probably the biggest release since HTML originated. It should be supported by IE9, FF4 and Chrome browsers.
Its highly uncommon for organizations to brand certain versions of their releases, especially programming languages. Perhaps W3C is trying to create a site compatibility awareness around it, just like CSS or XHTML. Check out the logo,
It actually looks like the Superman logo with the 5 looking more like a S.
W3C is also selling HTML5 Tshirts. You can order here. You should see HTML5 compatility logo's sprunging up all over the web as new sites embrace it. Read more
Its highly uncommon for organizations to brand certain versions of their releases, especially programming languages. Perhaps W3C is trying to create a site compatibility awareness around it, just like CSS or XHTML. Check out the logo,
It actually looks like the Superman logo with the 5 looking more like a S.
W3C is also selling HTML5 Tshirts. You can order here. You should see HTML5 compatility logo's sprunging up all over the web as new sites embrace it. Read more
Intel Sandy Bridge line of processors to have built in DRM
Intel has announced in partnership with Warner Bros, that its new line of Core i series CPU processors 'Sandy Bridge' will have built-in Digital Rights Management (DRM) for digital multimedia content along with faster speeds, integrated graphics support and lower power consumption.
The Sandy Bridge series would provide serious competition to AMD, by providing blazing speeds, support for 3D graphics and the ability to overclock without overheating. The processors are anticipated to be demoed today at CES 2011 in Las Vegas.
Most importantly Intel would also add a new hardware security layer onto the processors to support DRM which would restrict users from copying multimedia content. This is the biggest leap for DRM as the processor is as deep as you can go to embed a unique hardwired DRM key. This would enable consumers to stream videos to their PCs, without the ability to copy or share them. This is till someone finds a workaround it.
Along with general consumers, Blockbuster, Netflix and most major hollywood studios would benefit from this new Intel release. Sandy Bridge should go on sale incrementally starting Q1 2011. Read more
The Sandy Bridge series would provide serious competition to AMD, by providing blazing speeds, support for 3D graphics and the ability to overclock without overheating. The processors are anticipated to be demoed today at CES 2011 in Las Vegas.
Most importantly Intel would also add a new hardware security layer onto the processors to support DRM which would restrict users from copying multimedia content. This is the biggest leap for DRM as the processor is as deep as you can go to embed a unique hardwired DRM key. This would enable consumers to stream videos to their PCs, without the ability to copy or share them. This is till someone finds a workaround it.
Along with general consumers, Blockbuster, Netflix and most major hollywood studios would benefit from this new Intel release. Sandy Bridge should go on sale incrementally starting Q1 2011. Read more
Starbucks downgrades their branding - No text in the logo
Starbucks have released a new branding logo, without the words Starbucks and Coffee. The new logo looks ok and less in terms of clutter. But surely a piece of history has just been wiped off.
Less is more but I think the old logo conveyed more in terms of a strong branding presence. Most of the other people I have shown the logo to seem to agree. Thankfully the lovely starbucks queen still exists.
I think the Starbucks branding guys have downgraded their branding presence (not the first though) since Starbucks is most known for their Coffee. We wish them best on any new future endeavours with/without the coffee. Read more
Less is more but I think the old logo conveyed more in terms of a strong branding presence. Most of the other people I have shown the logo to seem to agree. Thankfully the lovely starbucks queen still exists.
I think the Starbucks branding guys have downgraded their branding presence (not the first though) since Starbucks is most known for their Coffee. We wish them best on any new future endeavours with/without the coffee. Read more
100th post!!!! And we are back!!!!
TPin is back guys. Sorry about the lul, have been busy with other projects. Keep on supporting us with your patronage and feedback. Peace.
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Google is 1% Software, 1% Hardware and 98% Maths
For quite some time I have been researching on Google. How does it work? and most importantly how does on God's green earth does it return accurate results 99% of the time, searching through billions of pages and that too in split seconds. Serious stuff.
The following is my personal opinion and conclusion after reading and understanding Google.
As a software engineer I appreciate and understand that software and programming has its limitations. No matter how sophisticated or juiced up your hardware is, the software can only do so much, with so much speed. So basically hardware and software remain out of sync.
But getting back to Google, the amount of data on the net is just mind bogglings. We have millions of sites, made up of billions of ever updating content. Now finding all this content, indexing it and finding exactly what I need, in the context of what I need, just cannot be accomplished by software. I think its a fact or limitation of software and we have to accept that. But once you start applying mathematical formula's to this content and organizing content accordingly, and then retrieving results mathematically, it doesn't seem all that difficult. Add to this sophisticated hardware which can load balance your bandwidth, and you have a winner.
Have you ever wondered why most of the smart guys behind Google's success are PHDs. They might not know software but they sure know research. It is through research and pure mathematics, Google is what it is today. Its just not possible to create Google using software, we need the backing of some smart formula's, cutting edge research which can solve the most complex problems using numbers and calculations.
From an end users point of view, we assume everything on the net is just pure software. Not in the case of Google. I personally think only its UI is software. From the moment you press the Search button, its maths all the way, till you get results back.
Go Google! Read more
The following is my personal opinion and conclusion after reading and understanding Google.
As a software engineer I appreciate and understand that software and programming has its limitations. No matter how sophisticated or juiced up your hardware is, the software can only do so much, with so much speed. So basically hardware and software remain out of sync.
But getting back to Google, the amount of data on the net is just mind bogglings. We have millions of sites, made up of billions of ever updating content. Now finding all this content, indexing it and finding exactly what I need, in the context of what I need, just cannot be accomplished by software. I think its a fact or limitation of software and we have to accept that. But once you start applying mathematical formula's to this content and organizing content accordingly, and then retrieving results mathematically, it doesn't seem all that difficult. Add to this sophisticated hardware which can load balance your bandwidth, and you have a winner.
Have you ever wondered why most of the smart guys behind Google's success are PHDs. They might not know software but they sure know research. It is through research and pure mathematics, Google is what it is today. Its just not possible to create Google using software, we need the backing of some smart formula's, cutting edge research which can solve the most complex problems using numbers and calculations.
From an end users point of view, we assume everything on the net is just pure software. Not in the case of Google. I personally think only its UI is software. From the moment you press the Search button, its maths all the way, till you get results back.
Go Google! Read more
Firefox 3.6 dialog boxes are inconsistent - To Escape or Alt+F4?
I have been using Firefox 3.6 (FF) for quite some time now and without a doubt love it. But I am also a big fan of the escape (ESC) key and usually 'escape' a pop-up/dialog box whenever I want it shut, whether its withing Windows, my browser or in general on the net. But FF seems to be inconsistent in this behaviour.
In FF 3.6 pop-up dialog boxes don't seem to like to follow a consistent approach. For example;
I think this inconsistency is confusing and time wasting. From a usability point of view, its a good idea to allow a user to 'escape' the pop-ups or dialog boxes rather than Alt+F4'ing them. It also speeds things up and I don't have to us 2 fingers ;-).
Most of the software applications I have been involved in, use this principle and allow a user to close a Window/pop-up/dialog box using an escape key, which basically implies that I don't want to change anything on this screen and just close the pop-up without saving my changes.
What say Mozilla? Peace. Read more
In FF 3.6 pop-up dialog boxes don't seem to like to follow a consistent approach. For example;
- Tools -> Options - Can escape, Alt+F4
- Tools -> Add-ons - Can escape, Alt+F4
- Tools -> Downloads - Can escape, Alt+F4
- Tools -> Options -> Content -> Block pop up windows -> Exceptions - Only Alt+F4
- Tools -> Options -> Content -> Load images automatically -> Exceptions - Only Alt+F4
- Tools -> Options -> Content -> Enable Javascript -> Advanced - Can escape, Alt+F4
- Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Accept cookies from sites -> Exceptions - Only Alt+F4
- Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Show cookies - Only Alt+F4
I think this inconsistency is confusing and time wasting. From a usability point of view, its a good idea to allow a user to 'escape' the pop-ups or dialog boxes rather than Alt+F4'ing them. It also speeds things up and I don't have to us 2 fingers ;-).
Most of the software applications I have been involved in, use this principle and allow a user to close a Window/pop-up/dialog box using an escape key, which basically implies that I don't want to change anything on this screen and just close the pop-up without saving my changes.
What say Mozilla? Peace. Read more
Android now more popular than Apple
Android is slowly becoming a popular alternative to Symbian, RIM, and Apple based smartphones. According to the BBC, Android shipments increased by 886% for the last year. Thats right, that figure is in three digits.
According to the report, the Android market share is still very small (2.8%) as compared to Symbian (50.3%) and even Apple (13.7%), but its growing quite exponentially. One of the biggest factors for its growth is probably the Android App Market, which is giving Nokia and Apple a good run for their money.
HTC has realized the potential of Android and already has a few great Android phones such as the Desire, with more to come. Not to mention Android is FREE and backed up search king Google.
I think Android is a great OS and will go a long way and its exponential uptake is a testament to this.
Read more about the BBC article here. Read more
According to the report, the Android market share is still very small (2.8%) as compared to Symbian (50.3%) and even Apple (13.7%), but its growing quite exponentially. One of the biggest factors for its growth is probably the Android App Market, which is giving Nokia and Apple a good run for their money.
HTC has realized the potential of Android and already has a few great Android phones such as the Desire, with more to come. Not to mention Android is FREE and backed up search king Google.
I think Android is a great OS and will go a long way and its exponential uptake is a testament to this.
Read more about the BBC article here. Read more
Does anyone still use Windows XP?
I have long migrated to Windows 7 and so has nearly everybody I know. Even at work we have upgraded to Windows 7. But I recently visited a client site and they were still using Windows XP with IE6. Is that still common?
Windows XP came out in 2001 and has been very popular (probably the most popular Windows). Nevertheless Windows 7 came out and I instantly upgraded and so did a lot of individuals and companies. Regardless Windows XP is still a very stable OS, but isn't it a bit outdated. Its nearly 9 years old now.
So does anybody else use Windows XP and I wonder why. Apart from the cost of upgrading, anything else holding you back. Look forward to replies. Read more
Windows XP came out in 2001 and has been very popular (probably the most popular Windows). Nevertheless Windows 7 came out and I instantly upgraded and so did a lot of individuals and companies. Regardless Windows XP is still a very stable OS, but isn't it a bit outdated. Its nearly 9 years old now.
So does anybody else use Windows XP and I wonder why. Apart from the cost of upgrading, anything else holding you back. Look forward to replies. Read more
HTC hire this guy or at least buy his design...
If you want to look at the prototype of a true iPhone killer, check out the HTC1 design my Andrew Kim. The only one word which comes to my mind after looking at the design is just, brilliant.
Its not a real phone, just a prototype design by Andrew. But it definitely shows us what a good thoughtout design can look like. We all know that the iPhone is not just about functionality but also about looks. No matter how hard HTC, Blackberry, Nokia, Samsung or even Google try, they just cant match Apple in creating a beauuuuuutttttttttiful device. IMHO the HTC desire and Google Nexus both look bland, blackberry bold is just too chunky and Nokia and Samsung are just too candy.
I would request the HTC executives to have a look at Andrew's design and perhaps hire him to design the next HTC phone. Or if he is too expensive :-), at least purchase his design. I can tell you it looks great and could give the iPhone a run for its money. I can even suggest a name iHTC ;-).
But dont trust me and check it out yourself here and be your own judge. Peace. Read more
Its not a real phone, just a prototype design by Andrew. But it definitely shows us what a good thoughtout design can look like. We all know that the iPhone is not just about functionality but also about looks. No matter how hard HTC, Blackberry, Nokia, Samsung or even Google try, they just cant match Apple in creating a beauuuuuutttttttttiful device. IMHO the HTC desire and Google Nexus both look bland, blackberry bold is just too chunky and Nokia and Samsung are just too candy.
I would request the HTC executives to have a look at Andrew's design and perhaps hire him to design the next HTC phone. Or if he is too expensive :-), at least purchase his design. I can tell you it looks great and could give the iPhone a run for its money. I can even suggest a name iHTC ;-).
But dont trust me and check it out yourself here and be your own judge. Peace. Read more
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