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The year that was 2007. It’s pretty much the first year in about 14 or so that I’ve not traveled anywhere significant. The Land of Sand doesn’t really count, though there were a couple of very brief visits there. There was a distinct lack of conferences and other events. Not that that is such a loss. Nowadays, it’s difficult to find an organized event from which a lot of value may be gained. Other than that, more of the same. I’ve been unable to find a proper solution that enables synchronization of my various calendars. Most of the issues have nothing to do with the lack of software or its sophistication. Rather, crappy firewalls and ridiculous security policies are at the heart of the matter.

The work on the house continues, but we are making good progress. Slowly the focus is shifting to get the garden under control. Some day I’ll sit back and wonder what on earth to do with my spare time. For now, there is none. Alexander’s interest in Lego has allowed me some time to rediscover a favourite toy. It’s still not really the right time to break the MindStorms kit out of the box, though.

From a blogging point of view, this year has seen the shift to a new hosting provider. I’ve tried to maintain my post-a-day concept, with a few missed entries here and there. Though it’s never been a focus, I was flabbergasted to see a number 1 position on Blog Top Sites. Strangely, that web site ceased to operate about a day later. I’m not into conspiracy theories, but spent some time pondering the reason for that. I grabbed a screenshot of the badge, just for my own edification

On SATopSites, I’ve noticed a general shift into the top 50. Again something I don’t focus my attention on, but it is a barometer. Maybe some of the more popular blogs have switched to a rating system I’m not aware of? Best position so far:

2007 was filled with some interesting and useful gadgets. My favourite tool is the Bosch IXO cordless drill. The newly acquired Dremel 300 is in use occasionally and is so far adorned with more accessories than I’ll probably need (more to come). Top gadget of the year is the Nokia E90, a replacement for the N95. The N95 was a disappointment. Not as a device, but as a device that could perform all the functions I require. Happily, it’s found a new home. Katana is an excellent home PC, running 24/7 or as much of that time as Eskom allows. The APC UPS helps keep shutdowns clean, should the need arise. A second hard drive and another 2GB of RAM will make the system ready to run as a Netweaver system.

I changed from Ubuntu to Fedora as my primary desktop operating system and started experimenting afresh with the possibility of moving all my computing to that platform. It is more and more possible to co-exist in a Microsoft world using Linux – that’s my goal for 2008. It’ll be a challenge in certain ways, but an absolute pleasure in others. My apt is as good as my yum and I have no issue with either of those packaging methods, nor with those in use by other distributions. My leaning towards Fedora is simply due to a long history of using Red Hat.

The biggest gadget conundrum I have ever faced continued from 2006 all the way through 2007 and will surely continue well into 2008. Console wars. I have never had such difficulty in selecting a platform. If this were the USA, it’s likely I’d already have 2 out of the 3 available (Wii, PS3 and XBox 360). Though prices have fallen, it is still not an easy decision: PS3 can run Linux, has a lot of technical advantages but a distinct lack of games. Except Ridge Racer is available. And I like it. XBox 360 has great games, but is locked down from a hardware point of view. The Wii is plain fun for the entire family. But I’m only interested in some of the sport games. It’s a difficult choice…

That’s about all for 2007, then!

I wish you all a prosperous new year!

According to GPS And Co, Asus is preparing to launch a new Windows Mobile smartphone that borrows many design cues from Nokia‘s E90. The Asus M930W has a 520MHz Marvel processor, 128MB of RAM and 265MB of ROM and is HSDPA-capable. The camera shoots at 3MP and the MicroSD slot can read memory cards up to 32GB. The usual connectivity options include wireless LAN, Bluetooth and USB.

I’m not sure whether the images below are mock-ups or taken of the real thing. In the closed state, the M930W is usable as a phone and probably provides access to applications.

When opened up, the larger keyboard and (hopefully) larger screen is available.

GPS And Co seems to think that the device may be available early on in 2008. Maybe this will be one of the announcements at the upcoming 3GSM conference in Barcelona. The other highly anticipated announcement is an actual Google phone running Android. A prototype of that device has been captured by the team at Gizmodo. Seems like it could be an interesting year for gadgets

Netscape was an early alternative to Microsoft‘s IE and appeared in 1994.

In 1999, Netscape was acquired by AOL. Around about that time, the core of the Netscape Communicator was being transformed into an open source initiative under the Mozilla banner. The result of that is the Firefox browser. Due to issues with the code, the original Netscape code was completely re-written for Firefox.

With little additional development having taken place, it is only natural that Netscape is no longer featured in the browser world. For that reason, AOL has indicated that support for Netscape will cease on 1 February 2008. Their advice: download Firefox and apply a suitable theme to make the browser look like Netscape Communicator. Amazing that a browser that at one point in time held a share of almost 80% of the browser market is dead.

This is a decidedly quirky and off-beat animated adventure. I’d say it’s aimed more at an adult audience able to discern the comedic elements, though kids will certainly enjoy the colourful adventure of Barry B. Benson. Barry is an unsatisfied bee, unable to make a split-second and lifelong career choice in the hive after graduation from Bee College. Instead, he decides to take up the pollen jocks’ dare to fly outside and see the real world. Barry breaks the golden rule: he speaks to a human being and befriends Vanessa. Joining her on a shopping jaunt, Barry discovers that humans eat honey and profit from the bees’ efforts. A lawsuit ensues and Barry eventually has to save the day when all bees laze around and no longer work to produce honey and pollinate flowers.

It’s a lot of fun and the quirky story was not something I expected. This is certainly no B-movie

My faithful camcorder, a Canon MV5i-MC is finally having some serious operational issues. It’s a great camcorder – small and lightweight, except that it uses DV tapes and has always had lousy battery performance.

I’ve endured real-time recording to Pinnacle Studio once too often. An hour just to pull content to disk for editing or viewing is a pain. A replacement unit will have to be hard disk based or use flash memory cards. I need good battery life and the unit needs to be easy enough to be used by the rest of the family. Not too expensive either.

Any suggestions?

This is an interesting book for all fans of James Bond. The premise is that James Bond actually exists and is interviewed by the author to delve a bit deeper into what agent 007‘s life was all about. Borrowing heavily from Fleming‘s attention to detail, especially where clothing, food and drink and women are concerned, the authorized biography of James Bond recounts the adventures of a young Bond during his formative years and his eventual posting to the British secret service.

Pearson had strong ties to Bond-creator Ian Fleming, having worked with him at the London Sunday Times. Pearson is also the first author to pen a biography of Ian Fleming. His close co-operation with Fleming positions him well to write this entertaining, if frivolous, book of 340 pages. The book has been republished, but was initially released in 1973.

M is displayed as the cantankerous bastard he probably is, Bond as the happy-go-lucky agent who never tires of adventure, good food and affairs. It’s basically little else than a new Bond novel. If you enjoy those and are fascinated by the lore of Bond, you’ll probably enjoy this one too.

New media formats are a boon for the movie and music industry. Like many, I’ve upgraded my Star Wars VHS collection with the boxed DVD set.

Watching the movies in decent quality is great. The fourth DVD contains many hours of special footage and image galleries. The Empire of Dreams segment tells the story of George Lucas’ struggle to produce the movies that made him famous against all odds. Luke Starkiller became Luke Starwalker and Lucas managed to hang on to all rights to the merchandising, an unheard of feat in a time where crappymovies are produced simply to sell crappymerchandise.

The first movie almost never made it, due to time pressures and lack of resources. Lucas’ iron will enabled him to persevere and the trilogy saw the light of day to critical acclaim.

Great entertainment, regardless how often one has seen these. Can’t wait for the release on HD or Blu-Ray. Or whatever next comes along

My Nuvi 300 spends all its time in-car. Since I’ve unpacked it, there’s been nary a consideration to check for any type of firmware update. It’s a good idea to check for such an upgrade – Garmin has made that process somewhat easier with the introduction of the Garmin WebUpdater.

The WebUpdater is a small program that is installed on either Windows or Mac. The download is quick, as is the installation. As with most software, click the ubiquitous Next button to get going.

Of course, the GPS unit needs to be connected and ideally charged up. There is another Next button…

The current firmware level is determined and a potential update sought.

In my case, the update is from 2.40 all the way to 5.20. That’s a bit and a half. I’m expecting some new features! Read the rest of this entry »

May you have a merry Christmas and enjoy the festive season.

I hope you find a gadget or two beneath the Christmas tree Then again, gadgets aren’t everything. Spend some time with the family instead and stay away from technology for a while…

Any gadget lover’s heart beats that bit faster when the word multitool is uttered. Combine that with the well-known Dremel name and you have a sure winner. This then, is the gift from dad to dad Of course, serious DIY applications are planned. What else would one want to purchase a new gadget for?

I selected the Dremel 300, which has ten variable speed settings and is able to fit almost all attachments and accessories. It is not cordless – those models are handy, but much more expensive and don’t offer the extensibility of the 300. The Dremel 300 is packaged in a plastic carrying case and includes 25 accessories and a wrench to attach and manipulate said accessories.

The 250W motor runs between 10,000 and 33,000 RPM, great for most applications and projects. It is recommended that the tool be run-in at high speed for about five minutes or so, with no load placed on the motor. That’s for the brushes to settle. Behold the low humming noise the device makes… After five minutes of running at high speed, the small power tool does get a tad hot. Not overly so, though. Holding the Dremel without covering the motor’s air vents also takes some practice. At first, cradling it in the hand and working with the tool clasped between thumb and forefinger is somewhat awkward. The 300 can also be held much like a pencil, albeit a rather thick one.

The cost of this budget model is quite reasonable: about twice the increase of my car insurance. The cost of the accessories varies, but is reasonable in my opinion.

Of course, the 110 piece accessory kit is a must have. You can’t ever have enough accessories, right? Right!

Drill, polish, engrave, cut, file and then some. It’s all here. My first cutting task is already behind me, carried out without breaking into a sweat and demonstrating the viability of the purchase to my spouse. This is an important step in the buy-in process

Of course, a number of additional attachments are available. The next one on my shopping list is the flexible shaft. For getting at those hard-to-reach places:

Maybe time for some DIY dentistry?

The Dremel is a welcome addition to my toolbox.