04.11.09
Touchphones vs buttons
Just bought myself a nokia e 71 and is the third nokia e that i am using. What i found interesting is that compared to two years ago the choice i had to make was huge. The main difference was the availability of having touch screen phones with a huge feature set. 2 touchphones that i got to play with were nokia 5800 xpress and the iphone. To be completely honest i think both had some plus points. I also did not feel like both were phone material. also the iphone might have been a strong media device but as a phone its ease of use was highly questionable. i think the huge screen watching videos and surfing were definately the best on this device. Yet i would not buy a phone to do this as i usually expect my phone to be a quick communication device — sms, rss, mail, CLEAR phone calls. The Nokia 5800 – I actually found the touch interface super to use (and easier to adopt to than iPhone). I felt browsing was better in the iphone though. I thought they were both equally difficult to sms even with the virtual keyboards opened up. I still think traditional physical keyboards are the best. After peeling open my e71 and configuring podcasts, rss, mail and everything else on it I am ready to go. Coupled with a good battery life the phone is quite feature packed. blackberry connect would have been a plus but seven is the alternative i guess. Along with the Nokia SIP stack and mobile vpn this phone has covered almost every angle. Lets see how this device performs as the unified communication tool 
08.12.08
Linux makes you lazy —- Windows drives you crazy
Most people I know who have migrated to Linux love the terminal. I had to recently work with a Windows Vista system. I m not going to debate the Linux – Window war. This particular experience I had with Vista was very unpleasant. The system was high end and it took quite a while to start, open windows and move around. I was not happy and wasted a lot of time. It drove me crazy. I then realized that I was so used to Linux and the terminal so my irritation was lost on everyone else. A very simple example was loading a chat program or opening a document — well vista took its time.
With Linux there are a few straight advantages with the terminal. First if you don’t know the command but only know the first few words of the whole command you could type in “sk… ” and then press the TAB key and you would have all your suggestions. The TAB can also be used to help you navigate through the linux file structure — if you wanted to know what the directories under /usr/bin – just hit the tab. The same tab principle can be applied for opening up an individual file with an application (like Vim)
Another thing that Linux now makes very very easy is updating packages for your linux version. If you know what you want to install just pop open your terminal and type in “apt-get install” and you are well on your way. If you are working with a rpm package manager like Yast or Synaptic use the search function find the package and then update. This beats going to a site and downloading an exe file.
Above are just a few examples of how the terminal makes life easy. Linux also has A LOT more choice. Desktops like KDE, GNOME — are heavier but feature packed and then if you want something light you have ICE. In terms of Applications like players, editors, mail user agents etc you have a variety to choose from. You can run mplayer from the terminal or Amarok from the desktop — the choice is yours.
Linux has brought back ease and choice to computing .. yes there is the argument that you need to install it, understand the filesystem and hardware compatibility etc, etc ,. That is such a small price to pay for a system that is dependable and quick. Linux has finally brought back Power to the User
04.27.08
Enter the Terminal:
since the last article I have completely migrated to linux as being my
everyday os. I run a standard PCLOS package on a Toshiba A100 and all
the hardware is recognized and works out of the box. Initially for the
first 4 -5 months spinning windows using beryl, compiz and sorting out
transparency seemed to consume alot of my time when tinkering with my
system. A few months later when I had learned how to use Linux
comfortably I realized that I was playing around in the terminal window
more and more. Below are a list of terminal based programs based on
PClinuxos. Some of them are available straight of the repository others
were compiled on the system.
1)a) Mutt — an email program (available on the PCLOS repository)
To configure Mutt which the MUA ( mail user agent) — the following have
to be configured also.(b) Fetchmail — (the transport agent that
downloads the POP and IMAP email) and (c) Procmail (the delivery agent that
filters the email to their respective mail boxes) both need to be installed
with Mutt. Mutt itself can be configured to download pop mail but if you
are running multiple accounts then you are better off setting up
Fetchmail and Procmail.
2) Elinks — Again down loadable through your PcLinuxOS repository.
Browse the web using your terminal especially with the ‘/’ search
function you can save a lot of time.
3) irssi – An irc chat client available on the repository. If you work
on terminals and need a terminal low bandwidth connection to stay
connected this is definitely worth trying. With Bitlbee integration you
could then connect all your other chat protocols like yahoo, gtalk, icq,
aim and with a with a special plug-in available for skype.
4) snownews — rss feed for news. Still not enough experience with this
to leave an opinion.
5) Raggle — another rss feed that can run off the terminal. Have not
tried it out yet.
6) Bashblogger — blogging from your terminal. Easy to setup.
7) nano text editor — this is my favorite text editor and basically
use it as default with all my applications that require an editor.
Though most of the terminal setups are quite straight forward I think setting up Mutt and irssi with bitlbee might deserve another blog.
Have fun with your terminal !!
Tags: Linux, terminal, elinks, mutt, snownews, bitlbee, fetchmail, procmail, bashblogger, irssi, nano, raggle
11.11.07
PCLinuxOS — Linux for the masses
Linux generally creates an impression that if you were a geek you would have tried it and if you were not a geek well… .
A lot has changed since the start of Linux. Its not just about about being the ultimate server. Linux has stomped into desktop territory and PCLinuxOS seems to have conquered it quite well.
I don’t aim to write a rave review. I’m sure there are enough of those around the internet.
How I got here:
Well very simple I was tired of constantly trying to make windows work. Especially when you use your computer on a regular basis Windows tends to crash too often. A server is up 24 hours a day. The way most IT professionals use their computers for 12 -14 hours with different development environments tends to bring the BSOD ( blue screen of death ) up on a regular basis.
I first thought I would try with Ubuntu. Ubuntu was easy to install, and the migration tool was definitely cool but… once you were in Ubuntu to configure your hardware was quite difficult unless your really knew the command line inside out.
I had dabbled with Mandriva 2007 for a while and really found the hardrake ( hardware configuration tool for Mandriva) one of the easiest to use. So when I read about PCLOS on www.distrowatch.com I was curious. PCLOS uses hardrake too!
I have installed PCLOS on the major partition of my Toshiba A100.
The Toshiba A100 is an intel core 2 Duo with WLAN/ Bluetooth. I have been running PCLOS on this particular system over the last 4 months. PCLOS is definitely a fantastic system. Hopefully over the next few months I ll have more in depth articles on how to set up different segments of PCLOS and some other linux based software I m running on my desktop.
Every device on my Toshiba A100 is compatible with this distro. My only hope is that soon other hardware manufacturers other than Dell and HP will start supporting OEM versions of such a great product. Having a linux desktop is good but configuring it is NOT easy !:)
PCLOS — download now http://www.pclinuxos.com/.
For those who want to look at hardware compatibility issues before setting it up http://www.pclinuxoshwdb.com/
Have fun!!
Tags: PCLinuxOS, linux, technology
11.11.06
Me and my E!!!!!
It started with a really good deal. I was on a trip. The sign said SALE. They were willing to exchange. Voila I was the owner of the new E 61. So that’s when my little adventure started.
Lets say that when I bought this phone I had a completely good and functional Nokia N 70. The only reason I bought this phone was the sale and exchange offer that added up to a wonderful deal. As I walked away with my purchase I began to wonder if I had done the right thing.
So after starting with an incredibly pessimistic attitude I went home and turned it on. I m not going to go into technical details too much. My last experience with a pda – phone was TRAUMATIC. On the first day I installed everything from my machine and the basic software that came with the phone. Then the next day I had to leave …. so I left with no instruction manual, no gurantee card and no confidence in my new found gadget.
Software on the phone is the popular symbian series 60 3rd edition software. On my N 70 the software was slow at times but on this thing it flitted between screens like it was dancing. Calls were easily made and easily received. Quad-band is something any phone should have and the signals were always strong. Voice quality good. The ear piece is set in an angle so sometimes if you don’t place your ear properly you can’t hear what others are saying too well. The external speaker is on one side and if your finger or any object were to cover it dampens sound.
Lets talk about connectivity. The Nokia E 61 is ALL ABOUT CONNECTIVITY. While I sat in the airport (without the manual) I half expected not to be able to configure this thing. Wrong !!!! 15 mins later I had assigned an access point and was surfing. The Nokia E 61 is not just about connectivity but making it all easy. This phone has all the standard rah rah. Bluetooth, Infrared, Wifi (b/g), 3G is all part of the package. But when I mean easy … it can only be given by examples. Getting that important number through an email and then smsing/ calling straight from reading the mail. Attaching documents/excel sheets to mails. Using the “Ctrl C” “Ctrl V functionality on the keypad to cut and paste between email, sms, documents. etc,..Configuring each account individually. Being able to constantly change access points on the fly. The list is endless . Oh yes lets not forget Internet telephony, configurable with an Asterisk server.
Another feature that I liked was when you connected the E 61 it could be used like a usb memory stick. This was a nice feature for me since I am always lending/loosing my memory stick. Of-course the full suite of office applications excel/ word/ power point make reading and viewing documents on the go a pleasure. A large bright screen that lets you view texts and images without squinting is definitely a bonus.
The Qwerty Keypad is Incredible!!!!! I really thought I was going to hate this keypad thing especially after trying out a treo and a P990i but ……… I was wrong. I think the keypad is perfect and hope Nokia sticks to this design. Usually my sms’s are 3 words ( Call you later)… not anymore.
Last but not the least to mention the materials used in the E 61 make it feel superb. I really like the look and feel. Yes it is a bit broad but I think the E 61 grows on you. Superb battery life — about 2 days with heavy usage.Oh VERY VERY important … you can do firmware updates over the internet so you dont have to go to the Nokia authorised Dealer each time you have a problem to get the latest firmware flashed in.
Well like every device the E 61 has its flaws. To start with I really miss a camera. The standard argument is that business phones don’t need cameras .. I disagree. Also the speaker phone quality could be improved.
I would say that the E 61 is an exceptionally good phone and worth the investment. If you are looking for a work horse then the E 61 should be on top of your list this Christmas.
