Windows

Windows 8.1, previously code-named Windows Blue will be available for public preview from June 26th, but the final release date has not been confirmed.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/14/windows-blue-details/

Google

Glass

You really can’t expect me to hold off buying one after seeing this reaction, can you?

Storage bump

15 GB now shared between Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos.

These changes to Google Drive storage will roll out over the next couple of weeks

All Access (Paid, US Only)

If you are in US, you might want to try All Access from Google Music. It is similar to Spotify and most people seem to think it is better than Spotify. Being in India, I can’t use the service without making quite a bit of changes in how my computer connects to the internet, but you might want to check it out. At least use the 30 day trial. If you sign up for the trial before June 30, you can a $2 discount on monthly subscription

https://play.google.com/music/listen

Mysterious Google Device

Google has filed for a patent with FCC for a media player. The model number is H2G2-42 (Geeks think it is a reference to Hitchhiker’s’ Guide to the Galaxy). Considering the AC/DC option, it is likely to be something you could attach to your home entertainment system. Maybe it will allow you to stream music, movies and TV Shows.

Via DroidLife

Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts is the unified messaging interface for your Android, iOS as well as for your computer. If you have not been prompted to update to Hangouts, you will be soon, but in the man time, you can update it yourself for your Android, iOS and computer from the below link http://www.google.com/hangouts/

Android

Duolingo

Ever wanted to learn a foreign language? Duolingo would be one of the top rated language learning app, but on Android you would be forced to use the browser. They have been teasing about an android version for a long time and now we have a date. Set your reminders!

If you do not wish to wait, you could try using Bussu or Babbel.

BBM not just for Blackberry any more

“BlackBerry has just announced that its hugely popular BBM messaging service is going multi-platform: it will be released for Android and iOS as a free app this summer. BBM will support iOS hardware running iOS 6 and above; the Android version will be compatible with version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above. “It’s time to bring BBM to a greater audience,” CEO Thorsten Heins said in announcing the expansion, “no matter what mobile device they carry.”

Via The Verge

Samsung S4 Google Edition

I have started looking at Samsung to set the benchmark when it comes to device hardware and I guess HTC is not far behind. But I would pick a Nexus device any day if given a choice. Most people are used to the Android that comes bundled with their phone, that they would not understand the fascination an Android fan has towards pure Android experience. I used a Nexus One until a few months back. It was first in line to get the GingerBread update and once it became clear that Google won’t be providing IceCream Sandwitch for Nexus One, I rooted the device and installed Cyanagen Mod. It served me very well till I decided that I needed a faster processor and more RAM.

Unfortunately for me, Nexus 4 was having supply problems and it was not available in India. I decided to take a chance and bought a XOLO X900 which has an Intel processor. It is a great phone, but it would seem that the company is not interested in updating the software to JellyBean. I have decided that I won’t be buying another XOLO/Lava brand phone unless they provide me with a timeline for software update. I am tempted to buy Nexus 4 right now, but I am waiting to see if they are going to make changes to the hardware and bump it up a notch as the Internet seems to think.

Now Samsung is going to provide the same pure android experience as Nexus on its flagship product, S4. No bloatware and faster updates. I just hope they will provide update as soon as they become available. But if you have $630 for a phone, this is the phone you should buy even if HTC One has a great camera. you could buy it from the end of June or wait until you hear more from HTC (see below). If $600+ is too much to spend on a phone, Nexus 4 is a great phone.

Via The Geek

I just came across a news that HTC One is also planning to release a Nexus version of their flagship phone. It is still a rumor, but if it is true… You should keep all your phone buying plans on hold.

Via AndroidTelegraph

Nvidia Shield

If you are into gaming, watch the following video, and watch the video on The Verge site. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Via The Verge

Kindle

First there was the black e-ink kindle and then there was kindle fire without the e-ink. Ask anyone who has used e-ink, it is the best for reading text. Very soon your eyes could get used to the comfort of e-ink without feeling color blind. Amazon has apparently bought color e-ink technology from Samsung. I am guessing we should be able to see the new line of product before thanksgiving.

Via The Verge

Daily roundup is a summary of interesting news and articles I read with or without my opinion. You might find it interesting or you might want to skip it altogether, but ever since I cut down my Facebook usage, I have been using my blog to catalogue interesting pieces of information that I find.

Google/Android

Expect some improved gaming experience. New leaked APK suggests multi-player gaming, leaderboard and more on Android. Via AndroidPolice

Gaming

Rome: Total War is available from Greenmangaming for $2.49. Use the coupon GMG20-GGN5D-FC3NA for 20% discount (Effective price $2.00). And yes, you need Steam to download and play the game. If it makes any difference, I bought it. Referral Link Direct Link

Strange News

Science, Space and everything Geek

• WHERE ARE THE VOYAGERS?

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/index.html Location: Voyager 1 and 2 are currently in the “Heliosheath” — the outermost layer of the heliosphere where the solar wind is slowed by the pressure of interstellar gas. Voyager 1

Daily roundup is a summary of interesting news and articles I read with/without my opinion. You might find it interesting or you might want to skip it altogether, but ever since I cut down my Facebook usage, I have been using my blog to catalogue interesting pieces of information that I find.

And The Mountains Echoed

The Kite Runner and A thousand Splendid Suns author Khaled Hosseini‘s new book is out and the reviews are great. His books are worth reading just for the description of Afghanistan.

Android

Are you thinking about buying a tablet? If you are looking at Android options, then you might want to wait for a week before making your decision. Google is expected to make an announcement at Google I/O 2013 about the upgraded specs for Nexus 7. According to “leaked” information, the following should be expected

• 7-inch LTPS display with 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) resolution
• quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor (APQ8064)
• 5-megapixel camera
• HD front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• NFC
• 4000mAh battery with Qi wireless charging support
• Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is interesting because there is another rumor about the Key Lime Pie, which could either be 4.3 or 5.0, but I guess we should expect that with the next version of Nexus phone sometime in October.

On a related note, Android phones now rule the mobile world. You can read more about it here.

Games

Hitman Absolution is available on Amazon for a huge discount. $4.99 for Standard Edition and $8.99 for Profession Edition and according to gaming community this is a really good deal. I am not buying it because I don’t know when I will get around to playing it. Make sure you are selecting the PC instead of PlayStation 3 or XBox 360.

This available only for those with US mailing address, but that can be easily managed and the code has to be redeemed through Steam, so expect a huge download. Watch the gameplay below

Amazon Deal Page

Science, Space and all things Geek

•  Emergency space walk on the ISS to fix an ammonia leak about to happen LIVE!

NasaTV

Emergency space walk on the ISS to fix ammonia leak

In a statement earlier on Friday, Nasa said crew members had spotted small white flakes floating away from an area outside the craft before reporting the incident.

The space agency said on its website that while the rate of ammonia leaking from the station’s truss structure had increased, the “station continues to operate normally otherwise and the crew is in no danger”.

“Ammonia is used to cool the station’s power channels that provide electricity to station systems,” Nasa said, revealing that the leak was coming from the same general area it did in a previous episode last year.

“This ammonia loop is the same one that spacewalkers attempted to troubleshoot a leak on during a spacewalk on November 1, 2012,” the statement said.

“It is not yet known whether this increased ammonia flow is from the same leak, which at the time, was not visible.”

The ISS is currently crewed by six staff, under the command of Canadian Chris Hadfield.

Source: Telegraph UK

Being Human

And I belong to this species

(via Wikipedia) Kola Superdeep Borehole project attempted to drill as deep as possible into the Earth’s crust. Drilling began on 24 May 1970 using the Uralmash-4E, and later the Uralmash-15000 series drilling rig. A number of boreholes were drilled by branching from a central hole. The deepest, SG-3, reached 12,262 metres (40,230 ft) (2.21 leagues) in 1989, and is the deepest hole ever drilled, and thedeepest artificial point on Earth.^[1] For two decades it was also the world’s longest borehole, in terms of measured depth along the well bore, until surpassed in 2008 by the 12,289 m (40,318 ft) long Al Shaheen oil well in Qatar, and in 2011 by 12,345 metres long Sakhalin-I Odoptu OP-11 Well (offshore the Russian island Sakhalin).

And there are times I think humans will become extinct in my lifetime.

Computer Tip

• Want to invert the selection in Windows 7? Great when you want to copy/cut/delete everything except the ones you selected.

ALT+E+I

• The Complete Guide to Turning Your Video Game Console Into a Living Room Media Center (XBox, PS3, Wii)

Trivia

“That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind” – Neil Armstrong, 1st man on the moon. (Source)

“Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me.”  - Pete Conrad. 3rd man on the moon, referring to the fact that he is short (5 feet 6) (Source)

Tech Support Humar/Horror

Customer: So I think my computer has a virus!
Tech: Ok let’s have a look here…
Opens computer
Tech: Well ma’am it actually looks like your screen is cracked.
Customer: No way!!!
Points to gigantic crack going all the way down the screen
Customer: See! That’s a virus!
Tech: Ma’m that’s not a virus….

One Rare Shot

A diver at the bottom of the ocean with a Southern Right Whale

I logged out of Facebook, not just closed the tab, but logged out. If I need to check Facebook, I have to log back in instead of just opening the page.

Facebook is a place where you meet fake friends and I’m tired of all the people who doesn’t care about me. I know, I’m a lonely person.

Any idiot can have opinion on anything. I know, because I have. But on Facebook, even those idiots who are incapable of having a coherent thought can copy half-baked thoughts from someone else, a photoshopped picture would attract those mindless nitwits faster than honey attracts honeybees. I wouldn’t mind it so much, if they had the ability to listen to reason and correct themselves.

Those handful of people who I consider friends don’t need Facebook to contact me and I don’t need facebook to remember their birthdays.

I would probably log in once a day, because there are many companies, developers who post updates on facebook, but you will not find me on facebook every time you log in and your friend stream will not be littered with things I find interesting.

Now that I won’t be wasting my time on Facebook, I might have much more time to post on my blog, and maybe post all those “interesting” links here, where you won’t be forced to look at it or even like it.

-Posted from WordPress for Android

I am not a management guru, but I did learn something about management and corporate responsibilities. Recently on Facebook I came across a post from Robert Scoble about how US market is the market that counts. He was talking about an article which reported that the iPhone 5 sales have helped Apple to take climb up the sales chart atleast in the US. I agree with him on the point that US market is one of the major market there is and being the leader there counts for something. But I would like to take a look at the bigger picture.

According to reports, the the individual parts of iPhone costs less than $200, yet it is sold at over $600 unlocked. Is that a 300% markup? Probably not. Though $200 is not the exact price and Apple would obviously get more discount based on the fact they are ordering the parts in bulk, let us round it off to $200. This is the fixed cost to produce an iPhone. Whether Apple makes just 1 unit or a billion units, there would not be any change in this amount. There are different variable costs associated with the product, R&D, salaries, marketing expenditure, shipping etc. But this cost is not associated to a single unit and when you allocate this amount to the number of units produced, the per unit cost decreases when quantity increases. If the total spent of Apple was 1 Billion dollar, and it produced 1 iPhone, Apple would have to charge one Billion and two hundred dollar for that single unit to break even, that is $1,000,000,200. But if Apple were to produce 1 Billion units of iPhone, then Apple could sell it for $202 and still make a profit of a billion dollars.

We could take a look at Apple’s account statement and see how much they have spend on Research, development, marketing and after looking at the profit they have made, we could come to certain conclusions as to how much profit Apple is making on one iPhone. Though the findings might be interesting, we would not be going into it. And it would take someone with much better knowledge about accounting to get to such a figure, if it hasn’t been done already.

The question here is, who benefits from this huge margin? Investors obviously. marketing firms, various relatively small business which are involved with the operations of Apple, few companies outside the US who manufacturer and assemble the product, various small industries over there providing supporting services. My friend Monica introduced me to Dependency Theory and how poor countries would always be providing resources to the rich countries whereby the bulk of the benefit is collected by the rich country. To me it sounds like an exploitation system, but it is how the world works. So, going by the dependency theory, only a fraction of the cost is given to companies outside the US for manufacturing iPhones. Again, who benefits? Most of the benefit is for the investors. Advertising, marketing, distribution channels gets their share of the profit, because they are part of the “core”. I would assume that the profit a a retail store or an online store gets from the sale of 1 iPhone is more than the profit that is earned by the company that assembled the iPhone in the first place. Do not forget that there are more people involved in making an iPhone where as to sell it, you just need one person. The wage that “manufacturer” gives to its employees, if you take per unit, would be a very small fraction of what the retail store receives in commission.

Now the question is, who pays for it. The 3rd world country which does most of the work doesn’t. They are making money, however little it might be, to buy food and live. These people have children who I hope are studying well. Since iPhone is sold mostly in US, it is the American public that pays for this. The American public is purchasing an over priced product that will make the rich even richer and they keep buying it year after year. Is that aesthetics of iPhone worth the premium pricing? I am sure that someone will argue that this money is being invested again and that is driving the American and World economy. But the cycle keeps repeating over and over with different products. I am sure Apple is doing its bit as part of a responsible corporation, but I am not sure whether it is charity or hospital or something else. But is that all that is expected from Apple, the company with the most market capitalization in the world?

Now let us look at Google. Android is developed by Google as an open source software. Any company in the world can use it for free and modify the code as they suit fit. If you are not happy with the way the Android development is happening, you can start another branch off it and develop it as you see fit. Where is the profit for Google in this? It will certainly have a impact on mobile search, some of the Google products would be used by consumers, but is it worth creating a new OS which is given away for free? They could have created a closed system and given it as a free license or at a lower rate than other companies do. Yet, the price is free. Is Google evil that they have an ulterior motive in doing this?

Let us try to figure out where Google is heading. Google is not a company with a Midas touch. There are numerous failed product and many of its Utopian ideas have been shot down. They might have learnt their lesson and might be making small moves so as not to scare other existing players. The first android phones were low powered and would have had very little impact on the mobile world, if it were not for loyal followers who hoped this was the start of something good. At some point Google realized they had to take matters into its own hands, and released the Nexus One. It tried to break away from carriers, but was not very successful. I purchased the Nexus One for $520, cheaper than Apple, but still expensive. Recent release from the Nexus stable Nexus 4, Nexus 7 are high end devices, but the price has come down drastically. Though the sales numbers are not available, the demand has been much higher than Google anticipated with stocks being sold out within a few hours, on its online store. The same store which failed when it tried to sell Nexus One.

What has happened during the period? Nexus One raised the bar, and mobile phone manufacturers responded. Powerful Android devices where designed by all the manufacturers. US consumers became aware of the alternative to iPhone at a lower cost. During some time Android over took iPhone as the dominant mobile OS. Google had peeled a layer to show what Android is capable of. It then removed another layer, showing how cheaper the hardware could be. Google is yet to reveal what it plans to do with its acquisition of Motorola. Google may just want to send a message to hardware developers that they are taking a stake along with others with the lawsuits flying all around, or they may want to raise the bar in hardware too.

On one hand, Google has given companies like Samsung and HTC an even playing field along with Apple in the US market. These companies are not from US, and the profit they make are for its investors. By reducing the price for its Nexus line, Google has indicated what kind of price the market should expect from other companies. Premium pricing is bad for the economy. Does anyone doubt that mobile phone price is going to drop when the demand for Nexus continues?

I said on one hand, here is the other part of it. Android has made iPhone like capabilities available worldwide. There are phones which cost around $40-50 which run on Android. They may not be the most powerful phone, but they do have the functions expected from a smart phone. Cheap tablets like Aakash are made which gives students from 3rd world countries an equal footing with their counterparts in US who carry an iPad to school.

15 years ago, I used to travel 15 Kms (almost 10 miles) by bus every week to nearest decent libraries (2 of them) to get 5-8 books. I used to spend 1 to 2 hours every morning going through the two newspapers that we used to get. This was the extend of my quest for information. The same information can now be made available to the poorest of children at the tip of their finger tip. As a kid, I once wondered how many intelligent minds are lost each year because they are not identified and nurtured. These are the kids should grow up to develop future technologies, economy, their nation and the world.

Would I be out of line if I said that Google has made the poor richer in education. Does this knowledge it not outweigh the billions donated by Bill Gates. If it were not for Google and Android, would it not have taken many more years before such technology was made available to what the world considers as poor? Economically they might be poor, but as human beings, they are equal to the richest person and their potential to contribute to the world is as good as anyone else.

Apple is exploiting the existing market, Google is not just developing new market, it is creating market creators. Let me ask you now, “what is corporate responsibility?”

Related articles

• Google and Motorola rumored to be working on X Phone to once again take on the iPhone (imore.com)
• Google’s Next Target…the iPhone (atlantablackstar.com)
• 10 Reasons I Chose Android Over an iPhone (digitizd.com)
• Why Apple Needs a Really Expensive iPhone (cultofmac.com)
• The Magic of Google Now and Thinking Different (kbskobac.blogspot.com)

Sky, back from the cleaners

There is a very interesting Doctor Who story, from the 80′s, “Full Circle“. I had read it as a child and for some reason I thought about the story today. With the help of Google, I was able to identify the name of the episode and the book that I had read. The story revolves around the planet Alzarius where the Doctor and his companions found themselves stranded.

The planet (or rather the area) is inhabited by a humanoid civilization which crashed their spaceship 40,000 generations ago. They were trying to fix their spaceship, “Starliner” all this time. The complete story is not relevant to the point I am trying to make today. But the Doctor discovers that the spaceship was repaired centuries ago. The problem was, there was no one who knew how to pilot the ship. The leadership team, consisting of 3 self-elected “Deciders”, had over the centuries kept up the charade of repairing the ship, rather than admit that couldn’t fly even though the ship was fixed.

Imagine people replacing each part of the spaceship over and over, generations upon generations, with no clue about their fate. Think about what you do at your job. Are you fixing a problem only to repeat it 6 months into the future? Is it your fault or has the top-level management lost track of its objectives? Think about what is happening in your country and all around the world. Are we repeating the mistakes of our previous generations?

The human race has the ability to learn from its mistake, we should, considering we can put 1 and 2 together and call it 3 instead of 12. We have backtracked our history to 3500 BC and beyond to a certain degree. Watching the documentaries of Michael Wood, I would say there are people who understand the mistakes of the past civilizations. Are our world leaders so short-sighted that they can see only 5 years into the future? Are the “wise old men”, The Elders, of the world sitting back on their chair sighing at the mistakes of the present generations?

“Strong leadership has never been more needed than it is today”.

Out of context, but true. Source

Do a favor to your grandchildren. Let us not force them to do the same thing that we are doing. Don’t wait for someone to change the world, but ask for a change. It starts from one, becomes the need of many, until it becomes the need of the nation and the civilization.

• The Elders are an independent group of global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering, and promote the shared interests of humanity.
• The Elders are Martti Ahtisaari, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Lakhdar Brahimi, Gro Brundtland, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Jimmy Carter, Graça Machel, Mary Robinson and Desmond Tutu (Chair). Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi are honorary Elders.

And I will give you 10 years of bliss!

If you could live 10 years of your life in total bliss – with NO pain – but in the end, not remember any of it – would you do it?

via A Happiness Tip From Aristotle | Psychology Today.

I was stumbling, after a long time, when I came across this question. And according to Aristotle, you should say no. I would agree with him for various reasons.

I am the sum of my experience

The individual that I am, is not just a 3 dimensional figure frozen in time. I would have to say that every atom that is present in the universe has its influence on me, and so has every thought that goes through the minds of other people. The interaction between 2 or more objects (living or non-living) would have an impact on who I am and how I think. Even a piece of rock could make me think and channel my thought. The sight of two people fighting might make me think of peace, and diplomatic conversations might make me think of taking up a rifle.

For better or for worse, the influence that the world has made on me is part of who I am, and I would not want to lose any part of it, whether it is 10 years or 1 second.

You evolve when you are forced to

If you have total bliss for 10 years, those are 10 years you have wasted. A person who has failed in everything he did in 10 years would have learnt more than you did and he would have been richer for the experience. If you know that you will have total bliss for the next 10 years, why would you try to do anything to ensure your happiness? At best you might save something to keep you going after the 10 years.

What would happen if you release a wild animal into the forest after giving it food for a year? Do you think it will be able to cope?

Happiness v/s Pleasure

Don’t say you are happy when you watch a movie or hear a joke. Your brain is tickled into giving you pleasure. If it is a really good movie, you might feel something close to happiness, but it is still an illusion. The pleasure from a movie, joke, good food etc are fleeting. True happiness is achieved through your accomplishment, or accomplishments of those you care about, be it a fellow human being, a group or a nation. When you set out to get something, there are challenges that you have to overcome and the sense of accomplishment and the happiness you derive from it is based on the perceived difficulty of those challenges.

Imagine a person climbed Mount Everest. Don’t you think he would have faced challenges? At the top of Everest, he would literally be on top of the world. Compare that with watching an inspiring movie. What do you think will last longer? The pleasure of watching the movie or achievement of climbing Mt. Everest?

Let me illustrate something else with the same example. What if that person was set on top of Everest,  call it divine intervention! Will he be able to climb down? The descent is much more dangerous than the ascent and the ascent prepares you for the descent. Do you think you will be able to live 10 years not knowing what will happen and what you should do, when you don’t remember what happened in the last 10 years?

Glider-logo

If instant messages reduced the number of e-mail that you sent, social networking sites (facebook) has brought it down to virtually zero. A quick check at my sent items in Gmail shows that in the last 20 odd days I have sent barely 4 emails without counting e-mails related to work. But the amount of mails that I receive has increased with every passing year and its mostly junk. A study conducted on the impact of spam mails showed that a considerable amount of time is spend deleting spam mails. What about those mails which are not considered spam, but are still unwanted? I got thousands of unread emails just because I don’t know why I got it and I found it useless. If I had time, like I did pre-2005, I would categorize each of those mails with relevant labels and then forget about them.

Even with the Gmail Labs’ SmartLabels, I still have too many bulk mails and few important mails mis-categorized as Bulk/Notification. There were times when I wished Google would take steps to make e-mail more relevant and useful. Apparently I am not the only one who thought so. Glider is one company who wants to make email better for you.

Glider, an email client that automatically sorts your messages based on context. -Facebook Page

Glider processes and categorizes your email, privately and securely. - glider.io/learn-more

Disclaimer: This web-based e-mail client is still in beta and the features might not work as it should, yet. If you are brave enough you could ask for an invite on their website Glider.io or through their Facebook Page or through their Twitter account.

Conversation View- Glider

Your conversations with others should show up here. For me, it shows up as Recent Contacts  and unfortunately its mostly bulk emails.

Notification Center - Glider

All those notification mails from your Twitter/Facebook should show up here and that seems to be working well for me, though it is without those thumbnails.

Mailing list is another Box which I have in my Glider Inbox. It lists all those mails I get from various mailing list I am in and that is working pretty well.

Do you have a method of keeping your inbox organized or are you looking for something like Glider? Let me know.

Box.net Upgrade

Box.net is giving a free lifetime upgrade for everyone who uses their android application. The lifetime upgrade will give you 50GB of space, instead of the usual 5GB, and and increased file size from 25MB to 100MB.

I would never say no to free space. The 1GB space in Picasa,  7683 MB in Gmail, 3.25GB in Dropbox etc is never going to be enough. My first hard disk was a monster at 20GB, in 2000. Today that is barely enough to install Windows 7. That is the reason why I jumped up looking for my mobile when I saw the offer from Box.net.

Android Market - Box QR

What you see on the right is a screenshot taken from my Nexus one after installing the Box.net appplication.

Here is how you can get 50GB of free space with Box.net. Trust me its very simple.

1. Download Box.net application from Android Market Place or use the QR code. You can use Google Goggles to scan that QR Image on the left (Select Market instead of browser, if you are prompted).
2. Install the application and log in if you already have an account. If you do not have a Box.net account, just register.
3. Your Box.net will be upgraded to 50GB.

As I said, quite easy.

This offer is available till Friday, March 23, 2012.

Quick tip: Did you know the new version of Dropbox for Android can upload files automatically to the cloud? And they give up to 3 GB of additional space to upload those as you use it.

Related articles

• Box Offering Free 50 GB Space for Android Users (techie-buzz.com)
• Sony Ericsson Offers Xperia Users 50 GB Free Space on Box.Net (techie-buzz.com)