Exploring new horizons - Ipad and new places

[ The picture represents in some way the topics I will be discussing in this post, besides the fact that it's super cute ]

Well nothing is completely official till it happens, but one of the members of the Rubuska team will be undergoing some significant lifestyle changes that will, in my opinion, result in a positive effect on this blog, or at least I hope so. Not going to go public yet about it until it happens but I'll probably be going somewhere else in the summer. Nonetheless, what did I say in the blog post title? You read correctly, Ipad. Interestingly enough, let me take the opportunity to quote myself from the last post:

• "Now with the HTC Evo being released soon, I am already considering changing phones since the Android + HTC Sense combination has worked out so well. Not to mention that cameras in phones are a great plus for me because I dislike having to carry a digital camera with me, so the fact I can record in 720p is quite a treat. Having the phone work as a mobile hotspot is also attractive, and I might just get such data plan if I get a higher specced netbook/laptop/tablet later on."

• "
  Who knows, maybe I'll even get an Ipad too... though I have a feeling that if I do that, Uska will get an Android powered tablet..."

To be honest, I've been let down by what the Android tablets have had to offer, or more precisely, the lack of things to offer. Not only have they've been slow to appear on the market (Notion Ink Adam anyone?) Android's fragmented nature does not support it's case in the market as well. Considering it is a mobile OS, you can not really compare it to something like other mobile operating systems like Ubuntu Netbook Remix, Jolicloud and even Meego that have a higher support for software variety and development. Truth be told though, on most of these tablets it's probably not hard at all to install the mentioned options, but at what price and hassle? I was a big follower of the development of the Notion Ink Adam for many reasons, considering that it offered a lot in terms on specifications, competitive price, and even features. Ever since I've made a full switch to a Linux distro for my everyday computer use, I can't help but realize the irony of it all that I am considering a device that is by all means a product from one of the most - software-wise and hardware-wise - closed companies. But what has convinced me to I prefer the Ipad over the Notion Ink Adam (other than the fact that the Adam is nowhere to be seen or heard of and it's June)?

After using the HTC Hero for two months now, I have become better acquainted with the Android OS in a deeper level. Putting aside the version fragmentation dilemma that I don't doubt Google will solve, there's still the problem of apps. Android is still an infant OS unlike the Iphone/Ipad OS which has been polished considerably over the years. Not only does it look better, but the OS is indeed very smooth, but beyond that there's also something very important: app development. I am not saying Android can not in a year or two catch up on Apple's lead on app count, but the fact still remains that by being an open mobile platform, it is not unified. If it is ported to tablets, they will not have the same marketplace as a smartphones. It will be up for the developers to take care of that front. That is due to the fact that most, if not all Android tablets will be running on custom versions of such OS. Unlike Linux though, where there exists more unity in the propagation and programming

of software among different distros, Android does not have what we could call the modern and completely open package/repository system. I am no expert software analyst, but such a model would greatly diversify app options on android but would break to some extent the consumer micro transaction model of buying apps. My experiences with Ubuntu, Fedora and more traditional Linux distros support this idea, which is one of the reasons I'm a strong advocate of Open Source Operating systems like Linux and my favorite flavor: Ubuntu or more precisely, Debian derivatives.

So yes, the Ipad indeed does exceed in what I would call a strong foundation despite its shortcomings regarding hardware specifications, and probably my biggest gripe is the lack of built in camera for video conferencing, which I have no doubt that it will be solved more sooner than later through an add-on, and the Apple development community is quite active and imaginative to when it comes to overcome many of the OS's imperfections.

So deep down my decision to choose the Ipad over an Android powered tablet is simply the fact that I don't think Android is ready to enter such market. That does not mean Android is an excellent choice for smartphones as it has proven till now. I prefer the more open oriented nature of the OS, such as the ease of use as external storage, freedom to transfer media without the need of obligatory software unlike the Itunes - Apple product relation, better notification system, widget system, greater integration to social networking among other features. For me Android, as does WebOS, show great promise in the smartphone market and are more to my liking than the Iphone OS. The good thing is we have variety, and I think that's good since everyone uses phones differently.

Another reason why I've taken a liking to the Ipad is because it reminds me of the first months I had my first netbook, the Eee PC 701 2GB Surf with the custom Linux Xandros OS. The ease of use, fast connectivity to the world wide web, instant messaging and voice/video chat were all things that seemed pretty ahead of it's time since it felt like it was all there right now at my fingertips, and I have to hang it to the Apple promo guys that make a strong point of this concept that's similar to that of the Xandros OS example and Ubuntu Netbook remix (and it's many flavors). Apple's OS is stable, smooth, aesthetically pleasing and has that instant feel to it. Not only that, but probably what I most like about tablets in general is that I consider them a step forward from netbooks in terms of portability and instant access to web content and productivity tools. That does not mean they'll replace laptops anytime soon, but the market is changing as technology advances, and it's hard to deny it.

What I think we should all be looking forward to is the day tablets advance hardware-wise to the level of current day laptops. This would give a greater amount of freedom in the selection of Operating systems we could use without worrying of being tied to one option. You may have noticed I have not mentioned at all the interest in a Windows 7 based tablet, simply because Windows has proven again and again that it is not quite there in the sense of accommodating itself to tablets, and with the death of the Courier concept, I don't see Windows becoming more predominant on tablets anytime soon. Not to mention that I simply do not use Windows at all with the exception of gaming given the Direct X empire (would be interesting if something happened in that area similar to the current Flash vs. HTML5 debate).

As a final note, depending on how things develop, I will probably be pretty busy this summer but I will make an effort to keep posting on the blog, especially when I get my Ipad :)

Till next time,

Rubi

Tech files and more

I was planning on starting the entry with a video I took with my cellphone of an Xbox 360 in Babbage's suffering from the red ring of death error but sadly I lost the vid :P Anyways let's continue.

The main topic today in this entry is the Asus eeepc, possibly the cheapest laptop (or closest thing to a laptop) that you can get. Categorized as an Ultra Portable PC, the Asus eeepc seems to be a strong contender in the mobile computer market. Its strongest points are price and value and its weakest is probably the screen size and keyboard. Though mine has yet to arrive (should probably arrive by 5:00 ) I'm pretty hyped about it. Despite its small disk space (I got the cheapest one due to limited budget ;P so I have to settle with 2gbs till I buy a new SD card) the Asus eeepc manages to take on multiple OSs without much effort like Windows XP and Ubuntu. Still it brings a linux OS which does the job for the things an average user does, aka internet (myspace, facebook, messaging) and word processing. The system is also surprisingly good for some light video games and I've read about people playing World of Warcraft and Counterstrike on it with reasonably good framerates. I'll probably be aiming to test Anarchy Online on it since its a relatively old MMO with very scalable visuals, but generally, I don't think I'll use this PC for anything other than basic internet and media functions, not mentioning the casual retro emulators.


Sadly, to my surprise I thought the models were all the same other than the webcam and disk space quantity but they're actually different. The 2g, which is the cheapest lacks webcam and brings 2gb space, which I didn't mind cause I have a webcam at home and I never use it, plus the difference between 2gbs and 4 gbs didn't seem that big to me seeing that I'd need to buy an SD flash memory card anyways if I want to install other OSs. But the major fault of the 2g is the soldered ram, which leaves upgrading the laptop to bare minimum possibilities. Still, considering that I was never interested in this PC cause of its processing power, it isn't as painful as it would be to others (though it would put a hindrance on any plans that are related to playing 3d games ;P).



From you can see in the video, it also manages the desktop effects suite Compiz Fusion amazingly well for such a modest PC O_o; Also brings basic codecs like divx and xvid, though to play the newer mp4/h264 codecs you need to downgrade the mplayer, which is surprisingly an easy process. Well, stay tuned for pics (and video? ;O) of my new PC later in the week.

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I was surprised this morning upon reading that AKFG was releasing a single in Feb ^^ Not to mention the new album due in March which I'm definitely getting ><; The new single is quite good, and even though its a slow song, its in no way boring. So check out the PV below and see you in the next update :)

The digital loss & PCs in an online social world

Losing your PC can be a really painful experience... Similar to losing precious data like Uska did, losing a PC due to hardware being either broken or burnt can bu equally painful. My PC died around October, it was quite random too. Good news is that only the processor seems to have died and the data and other hardware is intact. Still, I've suffered from PC withdrawal for the last 3 months. Something that didn't happen since I had my own PC 4 years ago, so now I'm back to the sharing days. Right now I can say that it hasn't been as hard as I thought, due to my lack of online social life which is nothing compared to how it was in my teens.

My dead PC

Online social life is an important aspect in a world where the internet is everywhere, and so it was for me, especially in such years where one tends to be so emo and lame but still in need of social acceptance never the less. Whether it is online games or forums or IRC, I experienced all 3 of them, each with its own 'Golden Age'. The first one was PSO. Though I started with EQ and played other MMOs like DAoC, AO, AC2, Lineage2, etc; PSO stood as the pinnacle of online gameplay in a highly social environment. I, who was an outcast pretty much throughout all my junior high and high school life, found a lot of comfort, support and fun in such game. Then there'd be the forum and Sunday meetings which increased my interaction with new people. It also served as a means or me and Uska to spend time together when we sometimes couldn't meet up to hang out. PSO also stands out as the only constant online game that I played for around 5 years.

Now those were the days.

Forums and IRC came next, where I would spend there hours either being idle or chatting about nothing. Still it probably filled the gap in the more lonely years of high school, and overall, I had some good laughs in #Noated ^^; Plus there were the staff channels in Uska's fansub groups. I'd always be on standby for many projects but I had bad luck D: I timed two episodes, one having its release cancelled and the other being released even though they forgot to put my name in the credits -lol-.

Some of the conversations really were pointless.

Anyways after that came a sudden fallout of anything related to social interaction through online means. College had a lot to do with this, probably because it consumed more time and the drastic change of environment had its consequences, in a extremely positive way. So the need for social interaction lowered and after passing through so many experiences, I've come to a point where I lurk some forums sometimes, play some online games here and there and I sometimes chat with some old online friends.

Still thinking of myself today without such a techy based background in my teens and childhood is pretty hard. It's also interesting to note how I was able to experience the birth of the internet, online games and communities first hand one by one. Starting with the Sega Genesis and our first Packard Bell PC to having the courage to build my own computer and being fully inmersed in an online world. PCs and technology are in that way really amazing. It gave me the ability to socialize in many ways with people around the world in times where social anxiety used to pretty much dictate my life -hehe- Today though, I'm still a loner and I dislike being in big groups but not in terms of fear but in terms of taste really. I'm picky with who I hang out with but I enjoy having a conversation with strangers. The online social life helped me in acquiring confidence when it came to who I was and gave me the chance to have a social life that wasn't ruled by the same standards of the majority. If I were to lose my PC in those days, I'd be suffering a lot ^^; So yeah, technology is a big deal today, and its implications in the development of a person's personality and psyche are significant, for bad or for worse.