Windows 1.0 Review - Blast from the Past - Byte 1983

Windows 95, 98, XP, Vista, Windows 7... so many versions of the most popular operating system of all times: Microsoft's Windows.

But... do you remember how all this started? Where were you back in 1983 when it all began?

Things were quite different back then. Windows was just one more program running on top of DOS 2.0, and computers had dual 5.25" floppy drives (each capable of holding 360Kb of data) and computers had about 256KB of Ram (go on, laugh all you want :)

However, in those old text console days, Apple was already pushing forward with its Lisa, and MS couldn't afford to be left behind - hence, Windows 1.0 was born, allowing you to mix text and graphics in freely resizable windows.(All this makes me remember just how much the Amiga was an amazing achievement when it popped up just a couple of years after this.)

Check out what they say in the conclusion of their review:

It is natural to wonder whether Microsoft Windows ability to run in limited memory and off floppy disks will result in noticeable delays during execution. Even Lisa with its megabyte of memory and 68000 microprocessor frequently asks the user to wait. Is the ease of use worth the waiting? Will Microsoft Windows somehow ingeniously avoid the problems of these delays?

Can you believe that? They worried about having to wait for the computer... while we now live in an era where computers spend most of their time waiting for us. That alone is enough to show anyone just how much things have evolved. :)


Read more about it in Windows 1.0 review made by BYTE as it was done back in December 1983.

Apple Awarded Multitouch Patent

If you loved when MS patented Page Up/Page Down, you'll love to hear what Apple just got: a patent on multitouch gestures.

You can now understand why they've been throwing threats left and right.

If you want to implement swipes, pinch, and rotation in your project (basically all the gestures everyone grew used to since the iPhone first showed up) you better think twice, as you'll likely receive a letter from Apple.

I do understand that companies need to protect their intellectual property, but when it comes to patenting keyboard presses, double clicking on a mouse button, and a gesture done on a touchscreen... I think this has gone too far.

Just in case, I guess I'll apply for a patent on the method of staring at an object and receiving visual information through your eyes... Meaning: if you're reading this, you owe me some serious money.

iPhone Update 2.2.1

It was about time - though this still doesn't bring us the much-need-but-continuously-ignored... (all together now) COPY-PASTE!

This firmware update for the iPhone (2.2.1) is mostly about Apple's favourite stuff, as in: "various bug fixes and improvements."

However, we're pleased to see that Safari is supposed to have improved general stability, and they fixed a problem when saving images from Mail.


I also hope one of those improvements might have to do with its memory management, so that Safari doesn't keep using up around 20MB of precious Ram when it's supposed to be closed and we need it for other memory intensive apps like games, or using VNC and Remote Desktop...

7 Worst Technological Predictions of All Times

In a highly technological world as the one we live in, it's hard to remember that - not that long ago - some "enlighted" visionaires predicted a few things that... well... you better read it yourself.


#1
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, president of IBM, 1943

Sure, he was talking about computers that took an entire (large) room to install... how could he predict we would be carrying around more computer power with us today (in our cellphones, wristwatches, etc) than they had back then?


#2
"Television won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."
Darryl Zanuck, executive at 20th Century Fox, 1946

... couldn't agree more!


#3
"Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality within 10 years."
Alex Lewyt, president of vacuum manufacturer Lewyt Corp., 1955

Not only he was wrong, as we unfortunately would now need super-duper vacuum cleaners to clean messy situations like chernobyl... :/


#4
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

Certainly not!


#5
"Almost all of the many predictions now being made about 1996 hinge on the Internet's continuing exponential growth. But I predict the Internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse."
Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com, 1995

The Internet did - in fact - go Supernova... so, he was only "half wrong", about the all "collapse" thing...
This case was more interesting because he promised to eat his words if his prediction turned out to be wrong.
... and contrary to what you might believe... he really kept is promise and ate a printed copy if his words at his keynote speech at the International World Wide Web Conference in 1999.
(If all politicians were like that, I'm sure we'd live in a much better world.)


#6
"Apple is already dead."
Nathan Myhrvold, former Microsoft chief technology officer, 1997

... will someone let him know they seem to have came back to life?.. oh.. I'm sure they've noticed it by now.


#7
"Two years from now, spam will be solved."
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, 2004

... yes, right along viruses and Blue Screens of Death...
(hmmm... I wonder why he didn't promise to eat his words like the other guy?)


via [MSN]

...  Just keep in mind that, just as you're laughing from these predictions right now, you might be hearing (and believing) something similar someone is saying today. So... be sure to always keep an healthy dose of skepticism... no mather what anyone tells you.

Sanyo revamps Xacti cameras

Even though Xacti are still quite popular - Sanyo doesn't want to be left behind, and has annouced some new models that will certainly interest you.

Among these models you'll find cameras that can shoot in FullHD 1,920 x 1,080 at 60fps, waterproof cameras, and a few that can shoot stills at 10megapixels.

They should be around this February - meaning you'll have a lot of time to serious consider it before your next Summer Holidays.

How to free Memory on the iPhone

Remember my last post about that Free Memory App for the iPhone?

After some testing from a friend of mine (the best #1 novelty tester for anything iPhone related - and more :) here's what he found out.

It's not uncommon for the iPhone to drop to sub-5MB free memory every once in a while. There are several official Apple apps that seem to keep running in the background, using precious memory (Safari, Email, Contacts, etc.)
Even if you don't have the Free Memory app, you'll most likely feel some of its symptoms: opening apps takes slightly longer, the keyboard takes longer to show up, some "lag" from the moment you lock the iPhone to the moment you actually hear the locking sound - the same for the vibration after switching to silent mode.

Well, the real "discovery" was that apparently you can free some memory even without using this specific (and paid) free memory app.

By simply turning the WiFi off and on again, it freed about 20MB of memory!

(I guess using the airplane mode should have a similar effect.).

You should immeditaly notice a faster feedback whenever you lock your iPhone, set it to silent mode, or use the onscreen keyboard.
Althogh this isn't an excuse - Apple better deal with this in the next firmware update - it might save you a reset in order to run some memory intensive app.

(It doesn't get us the free 40MB we get after resetting, but... it's a start.)

Apple Denies iPhone Nano

If you've been delaying buying an iPhone waiting for the rumoured iPhone nano, you might have a long wait ahead.

According to Tim Cook (Apple's COO) it makes no sense to split the successful iPhone App Store market by creating unecessary product segmentation. He says Apple's goal is to keep making the best smartphone out there, not the cheapest or the smallest.

Software is the key ingredient, and we believe that we are years ahead of our competitors. Having different screen sizes, different input methods, and different hardware makes things difficult for developers.

(That's what I've been telling my friends...)

But, as he mentions software, I do take this oportunity to remind him there's still a lot to be done to fix some urgent iPhone issues: not only the infamous copy-paste, but also a better SMS management (why can't we delete a single SMS message?), and a better system to organize apps - try and find the one you want in the middle of 7 or 8 screens filled with icons... (folders, maybe?)


As for an eventual Apple netbook, he also denies it - at least for now.
I think it would make more sense to launch a netbook-shell, something you could dock your iPhone into and have a keyboard, larger LCD, maybe even an extra battery. That's something they could certainly provide at the same cost of a regular netbook and still attract lots of users wanting to type larger documents in their iPhones. At any moment you would just pop it up and place it in your pocket and keep going... True mobility with none of the hassle of having to deal with syncing, extra wireless internet access plans, etc.

Asus shows Eee Touch Interface

As I've been saying: the most important thing to turn a touchscreen into a useful feature... is all about the interface and the software behind it.

I'm glado to see ASUS pushing these interfaces forward, forcing the competition to "keep up, or else..."

Check the following video of what you can easily do on the new Eee PC "Touch".

Amazing Mathematical Mirrors

If you think you've seen it all, mathematician Andrew Hicks at Drexel University, has something really amazing to show you.

Tired of looking at the distorted image oi its bicycle rearview mirror, he figured he could put his knowledge to good use and engineer a better mirror.

The results... are impressive.
You can see some of his mirrors in the image above. The small square one in the middle is a mirror that reflects an "unmirrored" image!
If you raise you right hand, your reflection will raise its right hand as well - must be really awkward to look at! :)

Of a more pratical, he has designed an enhanced vehicle rearview mirror that eliminates the dreade "blind-spot" effect.

From this:

you get to see this:

Besides seeing a lot more, the image remains undistorted (no "curvy" vehicles or bended straight lines.)

I was surprised to find out that curved mirrors aren't allowed in vehicles in the USA. They say that as it alters the sense of distance to the objects, they're not safe to use while driving. Only exception is using it in the passengers side, with the famous warning: "Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear."

I'm glad Europe prefers a "broader" image in its vehicles.
Hope these mirrors get here soon.

via [Philly]

Open Street Map - 1 Year of Updates

Practically everyone knows about Google Maps. What you might not be aware of is that there's a similar, but open-source project that hopes to achieve the same goal: Open Street Map.

Besides data from official entities, these maps are the work of thousands of volunteers, that painstakingly trace their neighborhoods with GPS units and insert it into this gigantic project.

The following video shows just how much was accomplished in a single year of OpenStreetMap .


OSM 2008: A Year of Edits from ItoWorld on Vimeo.

Exponential Times

A must see video, that will certainly make you think about it for a while.


Did You Know? from Amybeth on Vimeo.

Seagate Firmware Bug

Ask anyone* for a reputable computer hard drive manufacturer, and the chance that they'll tell you Seagate is highly likely.

However, just as IBM once found out (with its infamous click-of-death plagued models) even high-quality brands can have a streak of bad luck.

Fortunately, this time it seems there's no risk of losing your precious data. It is just a bug that makes some Barracuda and Diamond MAX models stop working or work very slowly under certain circumstances.

The worst part was Seagate denying all issues at first, and only recently acknowledging it. But... better late than never, right?

If you have a Seagate hard drive, you better check it isn't one of the affected models and update its firmware - if necessary - as quickly as possible.

WARNING: DO NOT UPDATE THE FIRMWARE!
Seems like the "fix" is making things worse!


*anyone = anyone knowing what makes a computer "tick". :)

iPhone Free Memory - Why we shouldnt need it!

Here's the kind of program that shouldn't even exist: Free Memory for the iPhone is a small app that allows you to free memory (I guess you figured that out already) allowing you to run other memory intensive programs without "jumping back to the main screen" - something most of you have probably experienced by now in some apps.

The problem is, although the iPhone has 128MB of Ram, most of that memory is used app by its operating system and official apps that keep running in the background even after you've exited them.

It's not uncommon for it to have less than 10MB free after browsing the web, writing some emails and checking some contacts. That's why many games even refuse to start when you start them; and that's why so many developers insist on you resetting your iPhone before running their apps.

When you restart your iPhone, you get about 40MB of free Ram, allowing you to run any app without problems.



So - not that I don't appreciate what these developers have done with this app - I guess this is the kind of stuff we shouldn't need a paid app to do. This is something the operating system should do right from the start. Why can't it free those 40MB of memory by closing all "official" running apps when we're trying to run a game or other memory-intensive app?

I hope the next firmware version fixes this and makes these programs obsolete.

Windows 7 Multitouch Video

Another video showing off some of the multitouch features of the upcoming Windows 7, including the new and improved on-screen keyboard.



And, if you're a keyboard shortcut fan, don't forget to visit Brandon's windows7 shortcut cheat sheet.

MMS on the iPhone

If you've never considered an iPhone because of its lack of MMS capability... rejoice!
The iMMS app from Vodafone is already up and running, and it allows you to send and receive MMS in your iPhone.

Though I don't personally miss MMS, there are people who use it a lot, and now they'll have no excuse to rule out the iPhone.

iMMS from Vodafone... available now, in an App Store near you.

Portugal Public Spending

Portugal, a country I love... with lots of sunny beaches and warm inviting people...

Unfortunately, also one place where public spending is done without any sense of responsibility - there are people using our tax money in completely insane ways - and something must be done to stop it and bring them to justice.

I'll introduce you to how things work around here when it comes to public spending. As we're talking about precious tax payer's money, public institutions usually have to make public inquiries whenever they need anything.
"Hey, we need 3 computers with these specs" - and several different suppliers make their best offers, with one being selected (the one offering the best price/services package - usually, but not always... but that's another matter.)

However, there are things that often fall out of that regime and can be chosen directly by the "directors" bypassing that public inquiry stage. Meaning: they can buy things directly from who they want - at any price they see fit!

Our government makes all that information public, but in a site that is nearly impossible to use; where you can't really search for anything interesting and analyze the data.
Fortunately for all of us, some people had a better idea... they scraped all the public data and made it easily accessible to anyone wanting to find where all our money is going into. That site is called the "transparency portal" and it's already a very big hit.


In there you can find things like:

1) spending over 10.000,00 euros in a GPS unit for a public school - in a country where we're told there's no money to help students have lower school prices.


2) Buying:1 cabinet; 2 computer tables; 3 chairs: 97.560,00 Euros(!!!)


3) In a place called Vale de Cambra, if you think a Ferrari is expensive, just wait to see how much their 16 seater mini-bus cost: 2.922.000,00 €
Almost 3 million euros!?! I sincerely hope that's just a typo!


4) In Alentejo, repariring a photocopier is an expensive proposition:
Reparing 2 WorkCentre Pró 412 and one WorkCentre PE 16: 45.144,00 €


5) In Alcobaça, the town hall at least had the children's best interest at hand: 8.849,60€ in toys


6) Back in Alentejo: 375.600,00 Euros get you "14x 3 chair modules + 10x 2 chair modules"

Let's do some quick math... 14x3 + 10x2 =  62 chairs.
That makes about 6.058,00 Euros per chair!
But, in a country where you spend more time at an hospital waiting, I guess they're just making sure you wait comfortably...


7) In another town hall, 3 computers plus accessories cost "just" 380.666,00 €
(I'm guessing they're buying supercomputers to do some heavy office work, like browsing the internet and writing documents and spreadsheets!)


8) Talking about computers... if you're wondering how Bill Gates and Microsoft became such an "empire", look at one of our expenses: License Renewal for Microsoft software: 14.360.063,00 €
(Now, do you understand why so many governments are betting on free-open-source-software solutions?)


9) Just one other, nearly comical example: In one of our Universities, the Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa spent 5.806,08 € for 9072 rolls of toilet paper!

That may not seem much (and is fact peanuts when you compare it to the millions spent on Microsoft software), but bare with me.
A quick search revealed that I can get toilet paper at about 0,16 Euros each roll from any ordinary shop.

But, even when buying such a large quantity, the best that university could do was buying toilet paper at  4x that price: 0,64 Euros/unit!

Can't I just point them to the right supplier and demand the price difference? Wouldn't that be good? I could even offer them a special 50% discount!

Update: a colleague has checked this out and found out that, at least in the students bathrooms, they use those larger "industrial" sized paper rolls - that might help explain the higher price - though I sincerely think they sure could get a better deal when buying over 9,000 of it!



The list for incredible and unbelievable deals goes on and on:

There are people spending over 650.000 euros in red and white wine.

"Flight for 1 person - Faro / Zagreb and return ticket from Dec 3 - Dec 6,  2008" - 33.745,00 euros.

"Christmas lighting for the city of estremoz" - 1.915.000,00 euros

"Rented Tent for Museum opening" - 1.236.500,00 euros

"6 piaggio Fly bag kits for scooter" - 106.596,00 euros
(you could buy 6 full cars for that amount!!!)

Not to mention a very mysterious "Router" that was bought for 35.000,00 Euros. A router you can find online being sold for around 400 euros!

Even fixing a simple door can be enough to make you want to cry... when they charge you over 140.000 Euros for it!



This is just data pertaining to the last 4 months or so... you can't help but wonder what else we'll be able to find if we dig a little deeper into it...

I'm sure some of these records are wrong, due to bad descriptions, typos, etc. But even so, there's a lot to be looked at. And I just want people to start taking notice of what's going on.

Pocketable Sony Vaio P?

The new Sony Vaio P really looks attractive, but Sony really needs to learn that you have to be careful with what you try to say in the ads these days.

That's because Sony has recently shown its Vaio P to fit in a pocket:

Something that Japanese users don't quite agree on, and quickly made their own campaign:

 

Which quickly led to things like this:

:)

Capture.NET for Windows

If you're the kind of person that always carry around a swiss army knife with you, you'll love to hear about this Capture.net for Windows.

This small program (takes just about 8MB Ram when running) is a life saver when it comes to do lots of the "small stuff" that often takes so long to do with other programs.

In its main screen you get a calendar and pixel-ruler:

But you also get a screen capture tool:

A multi-mode color picker:

And a privacy-cleaner as well:

But that's not all, there still a lot more this small programs does that might save you a lot of time and effort: from a post-it note editor, reminders, secure deletion of file, and much, much more.

If you want to try it out:: Capture.Net

Methanol Internet Viewer from Toshiba

We're often reminded how close we are to the "future" when you least expect it. Just have a look at this Internet Viewer from Toshiba.

Besides looking like a futuristic MID, the most impressive part isn't its style but the time it can stand away from a power outlet.

Thanks to its DMFC (Direct Methanol Fuel Cell) technology, you can use one of these for about a week at a time on each methanol recharge.

And as you can see in the video, this is a real working unit - which makes us believe we can actually see one of these out in the streets sooner than we might expect. (Lets hope so!)

Marbles - How is it Made?

Have you ever stopped for a second and wondered how marbles are made?

Well, if you want to learn how those small glass spheres are made, just watch the video below.

Quad-Core iPhone

It seems that Apple might be working in an upgraded quad-core iPhone.

Considering all the recent movements and buzz surrounding Apple and some specialized hardware companies, I think that's not without merit.

Just imagine an iPhone with a unique quad core CPU, where each core might be suited for specific tasks. In idle mode it could be running from a very efficient extra-low power core; and activate the remaining higher power cores only when needed.

The same thing would happen with the new next generation PowerVR 3D graphics chips.

Mix that with the new custom molded batteries presented in their new laptops, and we could end not only with a higher performance quad-core iPhone - but one that would last longer as well.

I find it much more likely they're working on such a thing than the rumoured iPhone Nano.

Who knows, the new iPhone can even have a front facing camera hidden behind its display.

At least, I think it's only logical that they keep up focusing in a "single" base model than start spreading their resources through a miriad of different models each with different specs.


Let's hope that the new 3.0 firmware will also squash some of the quirks that keep the excelent iPhone experience from becoming virtually "perfect."

For instance, how can they explain we still can't do something as simple and common as deleting a single SMS from a list of SMS received from/sent to one of your contacts?
Why can't we send someone's contact information to another iPhone in a simple and intuitive way (without using a 3rd party app)?

And worse still - in a technical point of view - how can there be Apps warning us of "iPhone is low on memory, please reboot it"?

Let's face it - that might be common on a Windows Mobile device, with who-knows-how-many processes running in the background; but... on the iPhone? C'mon!?!
If you don't even allow a process to run in the background, why can't you make sure the free memory is always "free" when a program ends running?

Don't take me the wrong way - I was used to resetting my WinMo Pocket PC every week or so, while I can't even remember the last time I rebooted my iPhone; but I can't stop feeling cheated when I open one of those more memory intensive Apps like the Remote Desktop client and get a "your iPhone is low on memory" - which almost always ends up with me being thrown back to the home screen. (Which is a thousand times better than crashing the iPhone, I know, but... where is that used memory going? - Please fix it Apple.)

Obama-Mobile Cadillac One

At last, the soon-to-be american president Obama will finally have a car Batman would be jealous of, and that even Jack Bauer would be proud.

Beside 8in thick doors, it can withstand rocket impacts and is completely sealed from the exterior to prevent any contamination to the inside in case of bio-attacks.

And at 8mpg, you can't say it isn't ecological enough (for such a "tank") - though I'd expect its next generation to be an hybrid, fully electric, or hydrogen powered vehicle to keep up with a greener world. ;)

Sony Vaio P

Not that I'm particularly fond of this brand (SONY) that keeps pushing us completely uneeded formats (Memory Stick, Blu Ray, etc.) but to deny that every so often they do come up with something really cool...

Just take a look at this Sony Vaio P, which doesn't quite fit into the cheap netbook category we all all know and love, but that doesn't keep us from admiring it in the following photos:

Standing over a MacBook Pro:

Ando, the Sony Vaio P compared to the 7" and 10" Eee PCs.

Look rather nice, but for a toy costing $1000 I would ask for an OLED screen like the one OQO has introduced in their new 02+ Model (which also starts at $999.)

ASUS Eee Keyboard

It's nice to see Asus keeping up the good work and pushing computers and technology forward. After introducing us the first Eee PC - and starting the netbook revolution - I hope this Eee Keyboard might have a similar effect despite its new format.

Do you remember the days where you had the computer integrated with its own keyboard? Computers like the ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, Amiga 500, and others, had it.

So, how do you think a new approach to this old concept would work?

From what I can see from its pictures... it will work rather well!

There's isn't much info about its specs, but Wireless HDMI is a given - meaning this small keyboard can soon replace your computer in any living room with a suitable TV.

I just hope Asus can deliver this at a competitive price, so this device can soon initiate the new "netbook" revolution.

Picasa for Mac

At last, Mac users can now enjoy Picasa, the free photo management program from Google.



If you've ever used Picasa before you'll feel right at home, as this Mac version is exactly the same as its Windows version.

Secunia Personal Software Inspector

Although Microsoft has integrated update services included in its operating systems and software suites, a lot of people have it disabled and/or don't have a permanent internet connection.

This small Secunia Personal Software Inspector program is a valuable tool in finding critical software problems that can usually be updated with a single mouse click.

I'm not a big fan of this kind of software inspection programs, but coming from Secunia I'm willing to give it a shot..

Also available in online version.

Wireless Bluetooth Webcam

I'm surprised no on had thought of this before, but apparently this BT-1 webcam from Ecamm is the first to use bluetooth for wireless video transmission.

And just because it needs no wires, don't think it can't handle decent quality content, as it can stream 640x480 H.264 video with 48 kHz AAC stereo audio for 4 hours between charges.

As always, you can't expect this sort of stuff to come cheap: $150.
But, if you really can't stand wires running across your desktop, I'm sure you'll find a way to justify it. :)

iSteam for iPhone

Have you ever thought of taking your iPhone into a sauna?

... as that isn't advisable, the next best thing is to play with iSteam:

Android running on Eee PC

It was just a matter of time until someone had Android, google's mobile operating system developed for smartphones (and more), running on one of the most popular netbooks in the market today: the Eee PC.

Apparently, porting Android to run on the Eee PC 1000h took just a couple of hours - which shows just how easy it was. Android may soon become a serious contender for netbook operating systems, alongside the aging Windows XP and the various tweaked Linux distros.

Now, they just need to add Chrome to the mix, and the netbook platform will have everything it needs.

A-Data Dual SSD/HDD USB/SATA Enclosure

There's only one thing better than one SSD... two SSDs in Raid configuration.

And that's exactly what A-Data is doing with its new 3.5" enclosure box capable of using two 2.5" drives inside (either SSDs or traditional HDD) and making it a single RAID drive. 

You can then connect it to your PC via USB or Sata.

Thats a very good way to get rid of any surplus 2.5" notebook drives you may have laying around...

Internet Overtakes Newspapers... TV is next

It certainly should be no surprise for you guys (after all, you're alerady reading this on the internet) - the Internet has overtook newspapers as a news source.

While this may sound like bad news for newspapers, the truth is - as more and more people are internet-connected all the time (with the iPhone and other mobile internet devices) who would want to read about yesterday's news when you can have all the latest info right when you want it?

... take a look at that chart, I wouldn't give it more than a couple of years for the same thing to happen to TV.