Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Imagine typing out a text message, tapping in “reboot”, and wondering why your phone actually rebooted. That’s a quirk caused by a hilarious—but serious—bug affecting G1’s running on the RC29 firmware revision. I totally understand why Ed Burnette called this the “Worst. Bug. Ever.” over at zdnet.com. A bug that ultimately gives a casual user complete access to your smartphone if you happen to leave it unattended is a very bad thing indeed.

At the same time however, Ed’s discussion of the issue also shows the advantages of open source, and why being able to share info quickly over the internet is a great thing:

Because Android is open source, the problem was quickly tracked down by users to a couple lines in the system file init.rc. My guess is that this was accidentally left in during device debugging. Thankfully the fix is trivial; you can probably even make it yourself if you’re so inclined (just comment out the offending lines described in the reports above and reboot).

Here’s a workaround I just discovered: Open the keyboard and type these 5 keystrokes: -c-a-t-. That will cause the phantom shell to not listen to commands any more, at least until the next reboot. [italics mine]

Let’s go over that again, shall we? First, Ed highlights the open-source nature of Google’s Android OS, facilitating the discovery of the problem’s source by users. At the same time, through his own blog, Ed quickly shares his own solution to the problem. Now, what more could you ask for?

By the way, a fix for this is part of RC30. So any (legit) ˇ users out there, feel free to update as soon as possible.

Tags: advantages, Android, Ed Burnette, G1, Google, Open Source, RC29, Rᩊ

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Original post by Rico

On a recent trip to Singapore, I was taken aback when a random Chinese guy approached me. He realized, through casual observation, that I was trying to access the public WiFi network, which was apparently accessible throughout the city. “Don’t bother”, he said with a thick accent, “it’s really slow, and good luck connecting”

That made me wonder: is free public WiFi sustainable? No doubt, it can be a great help for an increasingly net-savvy populace, and especially me right now, as I compose a post for this blog (offline on E71) while waiting for a my girlfriend. Public and free WiFi would’ve allowed to go online with my laptop, and write the post right on this blog’s admin.

But since connectivity is easily maximized (everyone’s into downloading nowadays), free WiFi isn’t sustainable. Whether supported by government money, advertisements, or even charity. That’s because as more people discover a “need” to be online on a regular basis, they start becoming addicts for connectivity. Imagine how attractive free WiFi is to this new breed of cravers.

So usage multiplies tremendously. Some people even try maximizing their of the access, selfishly grabbing as much bandwidth as possible. Even a relatively small percentage of users doing this will be enough to bring the network to its knees, as the power users crowd out the casual ones.

So the service provider starts increasing its capacity, hoping that economies of scale will keep the costs down, or even make the venture profitable. But as the user base grows, more power users will rise to make up the slack. The vicious cycle will continue until the service provider cannot expand, due to infrastructure limitations or a simple lack of cash.

This is apparently what happened in Singapore. The provider stopped expanding for practical reasons, leaving a mostly unworkable network, maintained at a significant cost. Worse, if the free net access is provided by the government, doesn’t that represent a heavy financial burden on the national budget? Guess how governments try to raise more cash? That’s right: more taxes.

The dream of free WiFi is a great one, because it theoretically allows anyone to experience the wonders of the net. But is providing a sustainable? For the reasons discussed above, I don’t think so.

Tags: free net access, Free WiFi, freebies, MuniFi, Public WiFi, sustainability

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Original post by Rico

For every fireman with an axe and artist with a paintbrush, geeks are known by the tools they lug around. For some reason, I believe these are/should be the following:

Laptop

The veritable nexus of any geek’s world, the laptop lets them compute anywhere—so long as there’s a plug within an hour or two’s reach. Laptops allow geeks to do their thing, typing up blog posts for the world to see, or waste time through Plurk and Wikipedia.

Must-Have Features: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The former for showing off at your local coffee shops, the latter to copy stuff between your gadgets. A multi-format card reader also helps.

Cell Phone

From high-end kitchen sinks to basic models, the cell phone isn’t only required for geeks, but for anyone living in modern civilization.

Must-Have Features: In this regard, I’m not really picky, though it helps to have a phone with WiFi and Bluetooth at least. Again, BT’s for transferring stuff quickly, and WiFi-capable phone doubles as a hotspot sniffer. And of course, the phone should handle calls and texts pretty well.

Camera

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a camera will save the geek from having to write anything. Just snap a barely interesting picture, slap on an interesting caption, and you’re set! Also, pictures make showing off all your toys and their specs that much easier.

Must-Have Features: Compact size and long battery life. If your camera no longer fits into your pocket, you will be hereby known as a “photographer” (or a wanna-be photog). Long battery life saves you trips to the nearest socket, while rechargeable batteries will definitely save you lots of money.

Portable Gaming Console

Who needs a portable media player when either the PSP and DS can play your music and video—with some modifications in the case of the latter? On top of that, you get to have something to do while waiting for someone. And, if a hot-chick happens to use the same gaming console (a rarity to be sure), you have the perfect opportunity to interface with her!

Must-Have Features: Pretty simple. Your portable gaming console should double as a portable media player (can play music and video), and have a wide selection of games. Anything else simply isn’t worth it.

Headphones/Earphones

Earphones keep everyone from finding out about your Britney Spears collection. Higher-end models also let you hear the awesome bass almost always lacking in external speakers.

Must-Have Features: Something that doesn’t sound tinny, and fits your ears (or goes over them) comfortably.

External Hard Disk

Flash drives are so 2007! With everyone exchanging files that would easily fill-up a 16GB thumb drive, why not be more efficient and go for the portable hard disk route? Most models already with your laptop out-of-the-box anyways, and they also double as great (if relatively vulnerable) back-up devices.

Must-Have Features: A small size keeps the hard disk portable; the capacity should match your needs. My 250GB laptop hard disk is backed-up on… a 250GB portable hard disk.

These are the few items you need to be a loud-and-proud gadget geek. Feel free to suggest additions.

Tags: Gadgets Every Geek Should Have, Geek gadgets, Geek tools

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Original post by Rico

Filed under: Cellphones

We had a feeling we’d get a mixed bag of reviews as soon as we first saw the Motorola Krave ZN4 — it’s one of those love it or hate it type things, you know? In some cases, reviewers chose to focus on the positives, noting that it was cute, unique, a good music player and a phone that would last and last without a recharge. Another batch of critics couldn’t hold back the whip, pointing out that it lacked WiFi, packed a lackluster browser, included yawn-worthy software and offered a keyboard that was “straight-up awkward.” As expected, overall ratings hovered between just below average to just above average, and it seems this phone will be exactly what you make it out to be. Moto fans will likely have plenty to cheer about, but those without a dog in the fight may want to give the writeups below a more thorough glance before dropping $149.99 and agreeing to a super-sized 2-year commitment.

Read - PC Magazine
Read - PhoneScoop
Read - Laptop Mag
Read - DigitalTrends
Read - CNET

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Color us as unsurprised as ever, but Motorola’s unique, if not fancy, Krave Z̐ just got official. The touchscreen-based flip phone is launching today on Verizon Wireless, bringing with it two layers of touch — one on the interactive clear flip outside and another with the full 2.8-inch touchscreen inside. You’ll also find support for V CAST Mobile TV, V CAST Video, V CAST Music with Rhapsody and VZ Navigator, not to mention the 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, HTML browser and visual voicemail capabilities. It’s in stores today for a buck fifty after signing away your cellular soul for two years and waiting ages for a $50 mail-in rebate to arrive in your mailbox.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: GPS, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Oh my. Look at what Lenovo is cooking up with the help of Intel′s newest Atom processor. Unveiled at Intel′s IDF in Shanghai, the new Ideapad U8 device features a 4.8-inch touchscreen display and bullseye, optical mouse for (supposedly) one-handed operation while surfing the web over EDGE or 3G data — presumably China’s TD-SCDMA. The device also features “Live GPS,” hand writing recognition, and support for MS Office applications. We’re guessing it’ll also make a phone call or two with that 12-key numeric pad. And with Intel calling this a MID, don’t expect to see a Microsoft OS riding that Atom, this pup’s looking Linux to the bone. Check the video after the break.

[Via UMPC Portal]

Continue reading Video: Lenovo’s Ideapad U8 MID teases with Intel’s Atom

 

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Laptops

Pencil thin laptop? Check. Floating with drop shadow? Check. Catch phrase in Helvetica Light? You bet. “Thinnovation″ may have become “The art of thin,” but there’s no mistaking the implication of this new Lenovo web ad for the ThinkPad X300. “No-compromise” and “Everything else is just hot air?” Them’s fightin′ words.

[Thanks, Amerist]

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Displays

Lenovo certainly hasn′t been shy about its recent obsession with green wares, and apparently, it’s unveiling two more LCD monitors to join the environmentally-friendly farm. Curiously enough, Lenovo spent so much time glorifying the low power consumption of the EPEAT Gold qualified L174 (17-inch) and L197 Wide (19-inch) monitors, that it completely failed to dish out even a lackluster specifications list. Apparently, it’s hoping that you’ll feel so convicted by this duo’s attempt to go easy on Mother Earth that you’ll just hand over your $239.99 / $259.99 without even concerning yourself with petty things like “resolution” and “response time.” Oh, and that’s the (likely similar looking) L194 pictured — remember, focus on the green factor, people.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, CES, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Iriver’s been pushing out all sorts of product at this year’s CES, but this is the biggest surprise from the company yet. The “iriver GSM phone” is an iPhone-esque handset featuring a 3-inch 480 x 272 touchscreen, and a Linux-based UI that is practically mimics the iPhone feature for feature. The actual hardware is quite similar to iriver’s own W7. According to PC Mag, the phone has 4GB of flash storage, Rhapsody and other media support, a two megapixel camera (with video, take that Apple), Adobe Flash support, GPS and mobile TV (it’s unclear what type). While we’re not sure what sort of wireless options this has, like WiFi or 3G, and what carriers will support it, iriver has committed to bring this to the States. Iriver’s Owen Kwon promises the phone will be “more affordable” than the iPhone, but otherwise there’s no other info on release. There’s video of the phone after the break.

Continue reading iriver 3-inch touchscreen “GSM phone” headed for the States

 

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Original post by Paul Miller