Archive for the ‘ tech ’ Category

Google Chrome Beta (Somewhat of a) Review

So, I downloaded the Google Chrome Beta and since I haven’t spent THAT much time with it, I am only calling this a “Somewhat of a Review” review, or a Halfway Review. Like a what I think of it so far review.

Let me get this out of the way, It’s a beta. With that cleared up, now let’s REALLY get to the review.

Anay and I both love Google stuff, and it’s not a bad thing, they have bad-ass stuff. So don’t think I am only taking cheap shots at Google when I say the cons.

It’s sleek. It’s awesomely cool looking. It… well… it looks like chrome. The design is compact and the special pages are awesome. It’s very convenient and just plain awesome. The color is classic Google blue and it works very well with the design. It’s fast (most of the time) and it is very protective. So, now to the cons.

Now, nothing in the whole world is perfect. The downside with the design is since it’s compact, it’s a lot diffrent then other browsers. It takes a bit getting used to. After you get used to it, it’s worth it’s digital weight is gold. Now, this next con I might of just had, so if it was just me, sorry. Everyone is saying how it’s so fast. For me, it was fast most of the time, but after a bit of web surfing, it would start to slow down, load pages halfway, and then eventually crap out and not load the pages at all and no loading bar at the bottom doesn’t help at those times.

So, you have to remmeber, I didn’t spend THAT much time with it, so I will post a full review later.

Final Verdict: It’s Google and it’s awesome, safe and very helpful. But, it really shows that it’s a Beta and there is a lot of room for improvement. Should you download it? Well, it is free. If you only have IE on your computer, then PLEASE download this. If you have Firefox, just wait a bit, maybe a few weeks, let them fix a few bugs, and then get it. In the mean time, just keep using Firefox.

Dell confirms its version of the ‘netbook’

 

This is their pretty awesome netbook

This is their pretty awesome netbook

People have been praising thinds like the eepc, for their portability and their ease of use to do everyday tasks like internet and e-mail. Apparently, Dell wants their share of this business and is launching the Inspiron 910, (Rumored to be names the Dell E). It’s actually a pretty nice portable laptop, with Dell’s own souped up version of linux,like Palm with the foleo, and Windows XP. A 8.9 in scren too. Also an easy webcam and SSD option. Obviously the SSD will have less space, but won’t break because of it’s flash coolness :P .  In short summary: 8.9 inch laptop with fruity color options and a 1.6 GHz processor. Not much except for the type of people who are ‘road wariors’ Righ travelers can have this.

My 15 Minutes With The Macbook Review

Ok, so I spent about 15-30 minutes with my brother’s Macbook, and I know Tech is sorta Anay’s terf, but I’m also gonna review what I could use of it.

First Off: If a program is made by Apple and on a Mac and a PC, it’s different on a Mac.

Second: I wasn’t connected to the internet, so I didn’t test any of the online stuff, but I will later.

Let’s begin.

The Design: I love the design of the Macbook. It’s sleek, glossy, rounded, and just all around sexy. The keyboard is one of the best, if not THE best keyboard on a laptop I have ever used. The whole laptop is flattened and so the keys are raised, making the response a lot better when you hit the keys, and make a more satisfying result with hitting any key. The screen is big enough to fit any crap you want, but small enough to take up just the right amount of space. It’s big and it’s bright. Oh, and there’s the built in webcam right above it.

The OS: Leopard is awesome. I am an Apple fanboy, so I know I may be a bit biased, but I love it. It’s sleek, the toolbars help a ton, and for everyone who says it’s slow, that’s just because you have never tried it. It’s almost faster than my PC.

So, in my 15 minutes, I didn’t do much, but I loved it and I hope to spend more time with it in the future.

My bro is home… with his new Apple stuff.

Yes, my bro is in college so he had to get a laptop. He got a Macbook. I hate him for it. I am going to see if he will let me mess around with it so I can put up a review of it. Oh, and he got a free iPod Touch with it so I will also ask if I can mess around with that. 2 reviews from one man!

Greatest thing evah!

[pic courtesy of engadget and imobile.]

Engadget got the inside pics of some secret spy shots of the dream, in it’s T-mobile costume. Without Mr. Blurry cam too! These pics match the FCC specs and leaked videos, but there has been no pictures that match the detail of these. The phone looks good but not excellent. The keyboard looks really nice, but the metal design reminds me of those metal squares on airplaine seats on the arm rests (Random, I know. That comment isn’t negative or positive though). Head on over here to see more pics.

New Apple patent shows off a touchscreen tablet computer

Apple files patents a lot, but this one is one of the most detailed computer ones. Apparently, Apple must be planning on a desktop version of the iphone. This latest patent is 52 pages long, with details about working it and etc.  If I were going to bet the future of this item, I would say it’s not coming for a long time But hey, you never know.

P.S: Creepy demonic hands are a regular in Apple’s patents.

Garmin NuviPhone sneaks up in another show.

[Pic courtesy of engadget.com]

Garmin is being very idiotic about the nuvifone. No official carrier but it’s showing secretly in trade shows. Engadget got a hands-on of the phone at the IFA. It’s still a proto., but it hit the iPhone head-on in navigation but it crashed one or twice. Even though there is no official carrier, Garmin said that the phone will be out by early 2009. You can see engadget’s hands-on here.

HTC’s Dream a super skinny QWERTY bananaphone?

While we can’t confirm the authenticity, several details including that arcing base certainly dovetail nicely with the images found in the original FCC filing. It’s also a near-perfect match to that early reference design seen kicking around the Googleplex courtesy of Andy Rubin. While not obvious before, we can clearly see that the arc belongs to the handset’s rigid, non-sliding “chin” with lots of logos from HTC, T-Mobile, and Google fighting for visibility.

Notably, the right-most image contains measurements which can be applied to the rest of scale model as well. This confirms the 115 x 55-mm height and width shown by the FCC yesterday as well as a new, approximate, 16.35-mm depth after applying the calipers. That would make it fatter (as expected) than the 12.3-mm iPhone but skinnier (and a hair wider) than the 18.1-mm HTC Touch Pro and 17-mm Xperia X1. Not bad. Now let’s get to it boys, else there won’t be much left to announce in September.

[Courtesy of engadget.com]

Kevin Rose unearths facts of new ipod’s and OSX

A few days back, Kevin Rose,internet extrordinaire, released a video on his blog talking about some stuff. He thinks he has found out what the new Ipod Nano’s and the new version of OSX will have.

New Nano?

New Nano?

 The new Nano, he says, will have tapered edges and it’ll be curved. He also says the ipod line,(all) , will undergo some big price cuts. He also says the iPod Touch will get some cosmetic changes and be the first device to carry the 2.1 operating system (new revision in the software of the iphone/ipod touch). He also adds the next gen of OSX will have blu-ray support.

Listen to his words people, he might be right!

Rumor: Microsoft = Rip-off Artists.

So, does everyone remember that one old picture that shows that bird on the back of Banjo-Kazooie acting like his controller is a bigger version of a Wii-mote? Well, we have some more gas to fuel the fire.

1st: Everyone heard that in a IGN walkthrough video with Ken Lobb, the Creative Director at Microsoft Game

Umm... thats a 360 remote, it cant tell youre shaking it... YET.

Studios, he said, and I quote: “The primary function that Kazooie has in the game is she carries this wrench and the wrench is used for many different things. One of the things that the wrench is used for is to turn these devices. So you basically grab with the wrench and then you twist the controller around and it’ll move different things in the game.” Yes, he SAID THIS. And it also seemed like he paused for a moment to see if he would get a reaction from the guy from IGN, which happened to be day dreaming about getting home so he could play Rock Band because he didn’t say a WORD about it.

2ed: BUT WE HAVE NEW INFO. On Xbox360fanboy.com, they seemed to get new info from their “inside man” that Microsoft is planning to have a special Xbox 360 bundle that comes with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Yes, it is rumored to have a Xii-Mote. For you who don’t know, that’s a Xbox version of a Wii-mote, only shaped like a regular controller.

We’ll bring you up to date as more news unfolds, and it may seem confirmed, but, for now, it’s still a RUMOR.