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The latest album by South African band Watershed was produced together with UK outfit James. The idea was to make Watershed sound more progressive. To some degree, the collaboration is a success. Track 4 “Close my eyes” reminds of Coldplay. It’s a pity that the hit single “Live another day” is the opener – no other track on the album is able to come close to it. Mosaic lives up to its name: a mix of different tunes that certainly deserve a second or third listen to work their way in. Not as good as their last album, though.

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Thanks to Pieter for the use of his 3G datacard for testing purposes over the past weekend! It was difficult not to eat away at the available data cap he still had available this month! According to all the research I did on the web and in-store, the location of the new Batcave is not in the coverage area of either the MTN or Vodacom 3G networks. I was quite surprised to discover that there is indeed a weak signal which allowed me to get online within seconds and start surfing. There seems to be little difference in the signal quality whether inside or outside, or whether or not I attached the stubby antenna. The installation and use of the Vodafone-branded 3G datacard is simple and straightforward. Price and the fact that it’s a PC-card device may make it less attractive once I’ve had a chance to try other offerings. Applicable rates are R599.00 per month for the 3G One bundle (that’s 1GB of data transfer) or R350.00 per month for the 3G 500 bundle (that’s 500MB of data transfer). I’m hoping to get a chance to investigate iBurst sometime this week.

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As if travellers aren’t confused enough already given the recent name change from Jan Smuts International to Johannesburg International, our local council is currently discussing a new name for our airport. If this country had no other problems I’d have no issue with this. Instead, government wastes valuable time and money on trivial issues to deal with history. Get over it already! Johannesburg International is a good enough name: at least everyone knows where they’re going!

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The FIA has released the F1 racing calendar for 2006. For once, the season opener will not be held in Melbourne. Germany hosts two races as in the past: one for the German Grand Prix and one for the European Grand Prix. The rest is pretty much as it always has been. The new circuits in Bahrain, Shanghai and Turkey are included. Still no word on South Africa’s chances…

Date Place Country 12 March 2006 Manama Bahrain 19 March 2006 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 2 April 2006 Melbourne Australia 23 April 2006 Imola San Marino 7 May 2006 Nürburgring Europe 14 May 2006 Barcelona Spain 28 May 2006 Monte Carlo Monaco 11 June 2006 Silverstone Great Britain 25 June 2006 Montreal Canada 2 July 2006 Indianapolis USA 16 July 2006 Magny Cours France 30 July 2006 Hockenheim Germany 6 August 2006 Budapest Hungary 27 August 2006 Istanbul Turkey 10 September 2006 Monza Italy 17 September 2006 Spa Belgium 1 October 2006 Suzuka Japan 8 October 2006 Shanghai China 22 October 2006 Sao Paulo Brazil

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I’ve been quite keen to discover the winner of the 2005 IT Personality of the Year title. Professor von Solms was my supervisor during my PhD studies, so I’m happy to congratulate him on his winning the ICT Leadership award for 2005. He’s already done a fair bit to further IT and computer science in South Africa and will certainly push hard for further development.

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Some new regulations and proceedings have been announced for the 2006 F1 championship. A new qualifying format will see five drivers drop out after a first 15 minute knockout session. A further five drivers drop out after a second 15 minute session. The top drivers will battle for premium grid positions in a final 20 minute stint. Whatever fuel is on board after the qualifying session is to be used to start the race. That adds an element of strategy. This coupled with a possible return to slick tyres and mid-race tyre changes will hopefully result in some exciting racing.

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Given the results and feedback from the recent car-free day, our Minister of Finance has done well to indicate increased spending on infrastructure and public transport during his medium term budget policy statement yesterday. This is particularly important for the hosting of the 2010 World Cup. A relaxation in foreign exchange controls is also on the cards. All indications are that the South African economy is doing pretty well. It seems as though an interest rate hike may be on the cards in December, but there are hopes for additional tax cuts next year.

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Another Internet browser has entered the fray. The developer preview of Flock 0.4.9 is available. Based on the Mozilla core that powers Firefox, this new addition to the browser market boasts integration with del.icio.us, Technorati, allows storage of bookmarks online and offers an integrated blogging interface that supports WordPress, amongst others. I’ve had the day to play with it and am quite impressed. Good response times and no crashes. I’m disappointed that there is no option to import bookmarks directly from Firefox, but I guess that’ll be offered soon. The features integrated into Flock may just make it a contender for some market share.

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I had access to a pre-release version of the new Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket LOOX N500 last week. My playtime was cut short by a low battery warning and it was not possible to recharge the unit as a compatible charger had not been provided. Hope they fix that in the consumer version! Although a number of reviews have already appeared, I thought I’d chip in with my comments.

The N500 has a 312MHz PXA270 processor and indicated that roughly 50MB of storage were available. The built-in 128MB storage is divided into RAM and ROM. A single SDIO slot for MMC or SD cards is available. The integrated GPS receiver provides a reason for the unit’s naming: N as in Navigation. The N500 provides little in the way of connectivity. Bluetooth and wireless connectivity is missing. This is a pity, as a PocketPC is very useful for retrieving Email or browsing the Internet on the move. A separate purchase of a suitable SDIO card is required for this functionality. Infrared communication is available, but is starting to be less useful given the proliferation of Bluetooth on many devices. Fujitsu-Siemens are targeting those seeking a low-cost navigation solution. I consider the QVGA display resolution somewhat disappointing at only 240×320. Obviously the display is the most costly component and had to be trimmed down. In my opinion, the graphics capabilities are serviceable but not impressive.

The operating system is the new Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0. New applications included with the Mobile 5.0 release are Activesync 4.0 and PowerPoint Mobile. Excel Mobile, Word Mobile and Outlook Mobile are provided, as is the Pocket Internet Explorer. Simpler network management and a Microsoft error reporting application are present.

A new feature that should prove useful is the ability to redirect audio output to BT headsets, cradle connector, speaker, receiver or headphone. This provides options for listening to navigation software voice prompts or other audio content.

Verdict: limited connectivity is probably the downfall of any mobile device. In this case, the lack of wireless or Bluetooth is a pity. Using the SDIO slot for a wireless card means that map data may have to be removed if on a storage card. The QVGA screen is a step backwards, especially since the primary use will be navigation. The device is small, lightweight and easy to pocket. All things considered, the N500 will serve those looking for a cheap navigation solution well. Depends on the price of course, and whether or not navigation software will be bundled to keep the total solution cost down.

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Our city is becoming service-centric! A new website has been launched to enable citizens to access various services online. Registration is simple and usability is reasonable. It seems that a couple of features, most notably map access, are restricted to those few still using Microsoft IE My first port of call: outstanding traffic fines. Result: none. What a relief

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