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Famous Cars Through History: The Mini

August 5, 2010 by J. Angelo Racoma

250px-Mini_cooper.jpgThe Mini is undoubtedly one of the world’s most memorable cars. No, it’s not as upscale as Aston Martins, Porsches or even Ferraris. And it’s not as aggressive as Hummers, Land Cruisers or even Range Rovers. The Mini is an ultracompact car that’s designed to be economical, both fuel-wise and with the parts used for construction. But it has become a 20th century icon, and this may as well extend to the 21st century, with the introduction of a “New Mini.”

Mr. Bean drove a Mini. Minis were featured in Austin Powers films, too. And the story of the 1960’s Italian Job and the 2000’s remake revolved around the Mini. The Mini seems to have been a Hollywood favorite, especially with renowned purchases by the stars in the late 1960’s.

The Mini is a small car that was produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 to 2000. The most popular British-made car it … is considered an icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers. In the international poll for the award of the world’s most influential car of the twentieth century the Mini came second only to the Ford Model T.

250px-DSCN1609.pngThe beauty of the Mini is in its simplicity. It was designed to contain as less parts possible, for easy maintenance. Even the suspension system used compact rubber cones instead of traditional steel springs. Space was maximized, so that even with its diminutive size, you can seat at least four full-size adults.

But what was revolutionary with the Mini is the use of the FF layout–or the front-engine, front-wheel drive layout, which introduced such a layout to a new generation of cars. Most passenger cars today are FF, save for pick up trucks, most SUVs, and large sedans and wagons. The FF layout saved on space, since there is no longer the need to connect the engine to the rear wheels through a transaxle. There is also no need for differentials to be installed on the rear axle. And given the physics of running front wheels on a front-mounted engine, this also saves on fuel consumption.

The Minis also had excellent handling, thanks to the FF layout and the wheels being pushed out to the car’s corners. This gave it an edge in rally racing, and in fact, the Mini has won many a championship in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The Mini has since been replaced the New MINI, manufactured by BMW. It shares some of the retro aesthetics of the original Mini but is pretty much a whole different car, in terms of size and amenities. It’s no longer the spartan, but fun vehicle the Mini was, but is instead aimed at young upscale consumers. Still, you can see Minis in various states and conditions around, and you cannot help but marvel at how such a simple little automobile represented feats in engineering and had captured the hearts of auto enthusiasts and motorists alike.

Filed Under: Cars Tagged With: Cars, Mini Cooper

What Gadget Will You Gift Your Loved Ones this Christmas?

December 17, 2008 by J. Angelo Racoma

It’s the holiday season once again, and one tradition I cherish is gift giving (especially for one like me who has kids). Since my kids are just preschool-aged, though, most of our purchases are toys. But I know that a lot of folks are thinking of giving their loved ones gadgets this Christmas. An iPhone? Netbooks? Game consoles? You name it–retailers are facing the rush!

Now many of these gadgets surely need battery juice to power up. That’s why Gadzooki is raffling off five packs of Energizer Advanced Lithium batteries (4 cells each pack).

Most gadgets today would have their own battery packs, but a lot would still need the regular cells like the AA batteries we’re raffling off. Thinking of the gadgets I own, I would find the Energizer cells useful for my Canon 430EX speedlite (flash), my Canon point & shoot digicam, my television remote controls, and a host of others, not to mention the toys the kids will get this Christmas.

So if you want a chance to win the Gadzooki gift pack, leave a comment below, answering the question:

What gadget (or gadgets) will you be giving to your loved ones this Christmas?

We’ll select one at random by 11:59 p.m. December 21st, and ship the five packs of Energizer Advanced Lithium cells for free. Only one comment per participant, please! And don’t forget to include your email address in the email field so we can contact you if you win!

Filed Under: Energy, Gadgets Tagged With: contests, Gadgets, holidays

Gimme Golf: Combining Golf, Gaming and Social Networking

March 21, 2008 by J. Angelo Racoma

Golf is not just a game. Business deals are often made over a few rounds between associates and business partners. Friendships are strengthened. So basically golf is a social network–though not the usual online social network one would imagine.

Web app developers have been finding interesting ways to combine the power of social networking and the niche interests of Web users. And in terms of golf, Skill Technology has developed Gimme Golf, where users can compete with other online users, with the possibility of playing tourney (and winning prizes!).

Gimme Golf

The grass just got a lot greener for casual gamers. Gimme Golf, a new online golf game from Skill Technology, allows players to connect with friends and compete in tournaments for cash.

The socially interactive site allows players to experience several 18-hole golf courses featuring hand-painted graphics that create a never-before-seen golfing world.

During a 20 minute lunch break, players can compete in a foursome with friends, or in a tournament of up to 50 people. Entry fees start as low as $1 and cash winnings can be up to $1,000, although the game can be played anytime for free as well.

“We wanted to create a site that would combine the best of both worlds,” said Jeff Clapper, president, Skill Technology. “Gimme Golf offers players a virtual golfing community and the option of playing for real cash.”

To add some flair to the fairway, a cast of highly stylized, in-game characters feature real world quirks, diverse golf skills, and distinct personalities.

Filed Under: Games, Gaming, Online Gaming

Online Work Makes One Platform Agnostic

March 11, 2008 by J. Angelo Racoma

As I write this, I’m running Windows on my laptop, here at the dinner table. It’s been almost a year since I worked on Windows, meaning actually running it for a few hours and doing real work with it. With my computers usually running some flavor of Linux or Mac OS X, Windows has mostly only been run only in those rare instances I need to run Windows-specific software. My most recent acquisitions, being an Asus Eee (running on Linux) and a Mac desktop, have brought me farther away from Windows, I was almost tempted to wipe it out from my laptop.

And yet here I am. I’ve booted up good ol’ Windows XP because my wife wanted to play Sims 2 (to get ideas for home remodeling). Looks like I haven’t forgotten how to use it.

Or perhaps it’s because I’ve learned to be platform-agnostic when it comes to work-related matters. With a lot of apps these days running over-the-web instead of locally, you would learn to be such. A lot of my documents and spreadsheets are hosted on Google Docs, so I could access them from any computer of mine, anywhere. My task list is on TaDa list, and my schedules are on Google Calendar. Let’s not forget Gmail. And then there are the instant messaging apps, which you could actually run online, or through cross-platform software (like Pidgin).

Then, of course, most (if not all) sites I work on run WordPress. So it’s usually the same thing no matter where I access the sites from, no matter what browser I use. Sure, there would be some differences in how shortcuts or keystrokes would be used on a Mac compared to a PC (such as the big CMD vs. Ctrl issue), or differences in the workflow (such as using alt-tab instead of Expose). But it’s essentially the same.

Still, being platform agnostic in terms of blogging means I would have to be well-versed with other blogging software as well, instead of just WordPress. I’ve had my share of using Blogger, Typepad and Movable Type, though not as extensive as my experience with WordPress. Managing a blog network with all blogs running WordPress I would have to be an expert (or try to be). But working mostly with Web apps, the Web browser has been my main “platform” so the operating system it runs on becomes a secondary concern.

And so as I close this, I would probably move back upstairs to my home office to fix some sites on the Mac, or perhaps even on my Asus Eee (small screened as it is, you could still squeeze out lots of productive time due to the fact that you can take it anywhere). Different OS, but because I’ve made the browser my “platform” I don’t think I would need much adjusting.

Filed Under: Computers, Editorial, Linux, Mac, Windows

Can Solid State Drives Help Extend Battery Life?

December 1, 2007 by J. Angelo Racoma

Asus Eee PC

Notebook designers and manufacturers have long searched for the holy grail of power efficiency. For this reason, the architecture of portable computers has evolved so much since the advent of laptop computers. And one of the main ways to conserve battery life is by reducing hard disk spinning.

Recently, the trend is going towards solid-state storage. This means drives that have no moving parts. Most popular of these is flash memory. They’re cheap, durable, and can hold data even without power (unlike volatile RAM, which loses data when power is off). Since flash memory can allegedly reduce consumption caused by spinning hard drives, some manufacturers have switched to using solid state drives for their mobile computers. There are also flash-based hard drives meant for notebook computers that users can replace their existing drives with.

One such example is the Asus Eee PC (related blog here), an inexpensive ultraportable introduced just late this year.

There is still question, though whether reducing the power consumption of storage media will drastically affect battery life. The answer may be no. While using flash drive reduces consumption, much of a laptop’s power consumption lies elsewhere.

ZDnet has done actual testing to compare consumption between using a conventional hard drive and a flash drive. The findings:

The maximum power difference between a flash drive and a 2.5″ disk is 3 watts. If you average about 3 hours battery life, a flash drive would save at most 9 watt hours (wh). That’s 29 minutes with a 55 wh battery. Less than 20 if it isn’t seeking constantly – and less than 10 minutes if the drive spends half its time in standby mode.

The biggest power sink in my notebook is the “everything else” that stays on when nothing is happening – 13 watts. Next is the CPU when it is busy. Then the display if you keep it above minimum brightness, the DVD/CD player and finally, just above Wi-Fi, a busy disk.

Flash drives have a real advantage in shock resistance over disks. But the performance is about the same as a disk, the power savings minimal and the cost disadvantage huge. They make the most sense for premium ultra-light notebooks with low power CPUs and small screens as well as hand-held devices.

So this means power savings from a solid state drive may be marginal. What’s important is that the computer’s architecture itself is power-saving (i.e., as with how a Pentium-M based processor can throttle down to save on power use, while a Celeron-M based processor does not). Also, it’s in the applications you use.

Still, I personally am hoping that someday our laptops (or other mobile computers) can run more than the usual two- to four-hours they do these days. Maybe 10 hours is good enough. Or maybe a whole day of computing without plugging in? Or perhaps I’m just dreaming.

Filed Under: Computer Peripherals, Editorial, Energy, Featured Articles, Hardware, Hardware and Gadget Features, Mobility, Notebooks

Nokia Recalls BL-5C Batteries

August 14, 2007 by J. Angelo Racoma

nokia-bl5c.pngNokia has announced today the recall of BL-5C battery packs manufactured by Matsushita for the period December 2005 to November 2006 for risk of overheating or explosion due to short-circuiting (rare cases, but potentially realy harmful). The affected phone models are as follows:

Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60

According to the press release, approximately 100 incidents of battery-related mishaps have so far been reported. This is due to the chemistry of Lithium-Ion based batteries, which can be volatile if not packaged or handled properly. Li-Ion cells found in laptops and other devices also pose the same risk. But you don’t need to worry if you handle your batteries properly (e.g., by not subjecting them to extreme temperatures, shocks, punctures, and the like), and if these are not found by the manufacturer to have come from a defective batch.

If you own any of the above-cited phones, you can check whether your battery is part of the recall by entering in its 26-digit serial number on the Nokia recall page.

Filed Under: Cellphones, Mobility, News

Fake Steve Jobs’ Identity Revealed

August 6, 2007 by J. Angelo Racoma

If you’ve been following the ramblings of Steve Jobs on his blog (not the real one, but instead Fake Steve Jobs), then you’re in for a disappointment. The magic has gone. The suspension of disbelief has been, well, suspended. Fake Steve has been outed.

It didn’t take sleuthing bloggers to discover his identity. Nor was it Valleywag (which tried several times, much to the amusement of Fake Steve). It was New York Times Journalist Brad Stone who did the research, and allegedly after just a week’s time was able to correctly find out Fake Steve’s real identity. So it’s good ol’ journalistic research that did the trick. So much for new media, huh?

Fake Steve is, in real life, Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes. What started out as a blog aiming to parody one of the more illustrious CEOs of our time grew to be one of the most popular blogs on blogspot.com, which even other high-profile CEOs like Bill Gates and even the real Steve Jobs himself do check out.

And what does Fake Steve have to say?

Well it had to happen. Honestly I can’t believe it’s taken this long. But as you may have heard, I’ve been busted by a newspaper reporter. My cover has been blown. Guy named Brad Stone, who works for the New York Times. Have you heard of him? Well, tip of the hat to you, Brad Stone. You did the sleuthing. You put the pieces of the puzzle together. You went through my trash, hacked into my computer, and put listening devices in my home. Now you’ve ruined the mystery of Fake Steve, robbing thousands of people around the world of their sense of childlike wonder. Hope you feel good about yourself, you mangina.

And I thought it was really Steve.

[via the Blog Herald]

Filed Under: Mac

Zonbu: The $99 PC

July 26, 2007 by J. Angelo Racoma

I recently came across a review of Zonbu, the $99 PC that runs on Linux. It’s sort of the Mac Mini of the PC world–it’s just sold as the CPU itself, without input/output devices nor peripherals like a monitor, keyboard and mouse. However, what’s really compelling about Zonbu is the cost.

zonbu_box.jpg

Looks like Zonbu broke the $100 barrier. At $99 you get a networkable PC that runs the latest open source software, has plug-and-play functionality with popular devices and gadgets like iPods, digital cameras and the like, and other features you would expect from a full-fledged computer (which the Zonbu actually is). One added benefit is that the subscription model includes secure, remote storage of your data and configuration, so you can be assured of the safety and security of your stuff. It’s like a cross between a thin client and a full-fledged personal computer, since you get to have data stored online instead of just residing locally.

Some quick specs.

  • Via C7 ULV @1.2Ghz chipset
  • 512 MB RAM
  • Ethernet 10/100 Mbps
  • PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, VGA display port and 6 USB ports
  • 4GB CompactFlash (CF) local storage
  • Graphics up to 2048 x 1536 with 16 million colors – hardware graphics and MPEG2 acceleration

Ron Miller has a review on CIO.com, and he highlights that while the Zonbu is aimed at home consumers, there is potential use in the business environments, too.

However, there is a catch. The $99 selling price is actually just for the base unit itself. You will be asked to pre-pay two years of the $12.95 monthly subscription fee (prorated refunds in case you decide to cancel subscription) for the lowest plan. Or, you can buy the Zonbu outright for $249.

And then, of course, there are the other costs like the broadband connection, and peripherals and I/O devices. Still, it’s a good start if you’re looking for cheap computing.

Filed Under: Desktops, Hardware, Linux

GUI for Firefox about:config

June 19, 2007 by J. Angelo Racoma

about:config is the bane for Firefox users looking into getting deeper with configuring their browsers. This is great, since you have direct access to FF’s registry, without having to open another application. Just enter about:config into the URL field and you’re in. Thing is, you have to be pretty sure what you’re doing or you might end up breaking your installation or at least messing it up. Or perhaps you’re not adventurous enough to sift through thousands of lines of registry options.

Lifespy links us to a GUI for configuring Firefox.

Configuration Mania will definitely change the way we approach the about:config settings in Firefox. For one, it gives you a GUI and classifies the different configuration settings into sections from the browser, to security and network, the UI and debugging. That rids the guesswork on preference names and what they do. Plus, each feature has some explanation to the customizable values.

You can download the Firefox addon here.

Filed Under: Software

The Real Deal With Safari’s Font Rendering

June 13, 2007 by J. Angelo Racoma

The word is out. The next major release of Apple’s web browser Safari–version 3–is upcoming, and a public beta has been made available for download. And an even bigger news is that there is now a version available for Windows! I think we had this coming. Ever since Apple switched over to the dark side (Intel, that is!), theoretically most (if not all) of their software can be run on Intel-compatible PCs.

I’m actually surprised it took Apple this long to release Apple for Windows. I’m of the opinion that the next software wars will not be fought on the desktop, but online–on the browser. And while the browser used doesn’t matter as much as the applications/sites it’s being used on, it still pays to have a hold over part of the market.

At any rate, much has been said about the high points and low points of Safari, particularly the Windows port. Ia recently reviewed it here, and gave it a dismal 0.5 rating (meaning it’s more or less neutral, leaning a bit to the positive side). There have been a lot more reviews on the blogosphere, but here’s one thing in common that I see: Windows users are very bothered by the on-screen font rendering.

People say it’s horrible. It’s blurry and it’s not crisp at all. The typeface also looks fatter than usual, and occupies more space than it should.

mac-vs-windows-typeface.png
Image from joelonsoftware.com.

Okay, coming from the tech agnostic (really?) camp, meaning one who uses Windows and OS X side by side on a day-to-day basis (sometimes simultaneously navigating both laptops with both hands), I can say the difference is there, but it shouldn’t be such a big deal. For one, I’ve always known the Mac to render typefaces beautifully and as if faithful to the written/printed word. Windows, meanwhile, has focused more on the screen.

Joel Spolsky writes an excellent analysis here. He writes that this difference stemmed from Apple’s roots in desktop publishing. Microsoft’s approach is more pragmatic, though.

The difference originates from Apple’s legacy in desktop publishing and graphic design. The nice thing about the Apple algorithm is that you can lay out a page of text for print, and on screen, you get a nice approximation of the finished product. This is especially significant when you consider how dark a block of text looks. Microsoft’s mechanism of hammering fonts into pixels means that they don’t really mind using thinner lines to eliminate blurry edges, even though this makes the entire paragraph lighter than it would be in print.

But in the end, it’s psychology that will be the real deal breaker. Joel sums it up here.

… Apple users liked Apple’s system, while Windows users liked Microsoft’s system. This is not just standard fanboyism; it reflects the fact that when you ask people to choose a style or design that they prefer, unless they are trained, they will generally choose the one that looks most familiar. In most matters of taste, when you do preference surveys, you’ll find that most people don’t really know what to choose, and will opt for the one that seems most familiar. This goes for anything from silverware (people pick out the patterns that match the silverware they had growing up) to typefaces to graphic design: unless people are trained to know what to look for, they’re going to pick the one that is most familiar.

It’s not a question of which is better. It’s a matter of which you are used to, and which you would rather stick with. So this means Safari’s font rendering is not weird and wrong. It’s meant to be that way; there is a reason.

Now I was thinking designers and web publishers would have one reason to celebrate–they no longer need to buy new hardware (Macs) just to test browser compatibility. I for one, have found Safari to be helpful in weeding out inconsistencies in coding and design work (e.g,. missing/misplaced closing DIV tags. Damn those DIV tags).

Filed Under: Editorial, Mac, Software, Software Features, Windows

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