EDsight

When I received a call the other day about another long-lasting IT publication folding, I was greatly saddened. It seems that at least one major IT media company/title fold each year.

Are electronic media, blogs and other social network sites really taking over from mainstream print media? While these have proven to be interesting sources of news, thesse should supplement but not kill off traditional media.

What’s happening to journalism? In today’s world, practically anybody can be a media person. Sigh…

All electronics and computing gadgets are dependent on one thing — battery. And battery life — or rather its limitation — is a bane for many.

While computers are getting faster and mobile phones are sporting more fancy features, battery technology does not seem to be flowing with the time.

The typical battery life of a notebook was about two to three hours in the 1990s and it is still the same today. Even netbooks come with battery life of around three hours — unless of course, an extended battery is added — but that adds up to the weight and size.

Oh, what I would give to enjoy longer battery life without having to deal with bulky batteries.

In the telecommunications industry, a one-year delay is the launch of a product is a very long time. One must wonder why Garmin is postponing the launch of the nuviphone, which was first announced this January.

Garmin’s first mobile phone was supposed to be available in Q3 this year but the date has slided into Q3 of 2009. Just what is it that’s causing this delay? According to reports, Garmin is customising the product according to telcos’ requirements. But, surely one year is a long time to do so.

Its competitors may launch other products during this time frame and leave very little space for Garmin to play with.

I must say I was excited when I first read about the phone. While others are phone makers adding the GPS feature, Garmin is a GPS specialist moving into the mobile phone arena. Initial rantings on various sites even rate the nuviphone as a potential iPhone killer.

However, whether it can do so will not be known for another year.

Two things I never thought I would do — work on an under 10-inch screen on a notebook and using Unix. I’ve got nothing against either. It’s just that ultra lightweight notebooks are so expensive while Unix is not even on my radar — such is my bondage to Microsoft.

However, this changed three months ago when I laid my hands on the Acer Aspire One. Drawn by its affordability and an aching shoulder from my travels, I decided to venture into the netbook arena. After studying the specifications and price of various models, I picked the Acer Aspire One for its value.

Having used it for three months, I rate its most impressive attributes as screen resolution, light weight and speed of booting up and shutting down. The screen is bright and clear, making it a joy to work under most lighting conditions. My only peeve about the screen is that it is very loyal to finger prints — touch it and you can easily leave an impression.

The netbook is so light — about 1kg — that it makes my Dell notebook feel like a ton of bricks. I’m looking forward to bringing it with me on my trips.

Running on Linux, the Acer Aspire One took under 30 seconds — 27 to be precise — to book up. That’s very fast and impressed this Microsoft Vista user greatly. Shutting down is just as fast.

While some may consider the keyboard (about 95% the normal size) small, it is touch typable and firm.

On the downside, the battery life is short (just over two hours) and the applications are limited — what you have are what you get.

Bottomline: The Acer Aspire One offers great value and is one of the better options available now. For frequent travellers, you can bring this netbook around and stay connected without straining your shoulders — and at a low price to boot!

When my Jabra Bluetooth headset ran out of battery life, I decided to switch to the wired headset that cam with my Treo 750v. That was until I received a Motorola H12 as a present recently.

If first impressions count, then this headset wins hands-down. Besides looking stylish and light, the Motopure H12 comes with a delightful casing that can be used to store it when not in use, as well as for charging.

I must say that besides looks, the headset is easy to use and performs very well. It’s definitely lighter than the Jabra and a clip holds in securely in either ear. The big button at the side enables easy pick up and hang up of calls, while the buttons at the top enables easy volume control.

Battery time is good, providing standby time of about a week and usage time of around five hours.

On the flipside, the much hyped-about CrystalTalk technology with its noise-reduction and adaptive-speaker capabilities wasn’t quite what it was claimed to be. On many occasions, in particular when I am outdoor, either my recipient or I struggled to hear each other clearly. Another pain is that this headset was just like to Jabra and needs to be re-paired from time to time as sometimes, no amount of powering up and down seem to work.

Bottomline: The Motopure H12’s lightweight and style is sure to turn heads and more than compensates for the little challenges associated with Bluetooth technology.

In our tech savvy society, many of us take many things for granted. When we power on our notebook, we expect it to work properly.

I never realised how much I appreciated a full functioning keyboard until mine went a little cranky due to a water spill.

When I pressed “2″, the screen showed “24″. “9″ and “0″ were not working at all. What’s worse was that all of a sudden, commas started running across the page.

Accessing any website that required password authentication was a nightmare as only the black dots appear when I keyed in the password. Since “2″ was faulty, I had error messages appearing so many times when I tried to log on the the intranet and bank sites.

By God’s grace, after a few days, the keys started functioning properly again.

This episode has taught me two valuable lessons — one, do not place water next to your notebook, and two, be more patient.

Alright, I now own a iPod Touch. It’s not because I have gone out and bought one but because it came with my renewal of the broadband contract. The nifty device came in a compact packing with a USB charger and headset.

When I tried looking for a user manual, I was shocked to find out that we had to download it from the web. Talk about cost cutting!

Not one to waste time downloading, I tried to recall what I have seen on the iPhone coverage on how to use the phone.

And voila! It’s not that difficult after all, just a downward stroke to scroll up the screen and an upward stroke to bring the screen down. Pinch the screen the image is reduced. Spread your fingers and it’s enlarged.

This is great! Now I know why Apple decided not to include the manual — apart from obvious cost savings on its part.

The things that people do to get what they cannot have never cease to amaze me! What am I talking about? The iPhone.

The Apple iPhone has taken the world by storm — though it’s currently available only in selected countries. But that has not stopped people in other countries from trying to lay their hands on the phone.

A case in point are three of my friends, who managed to get iPhones. But, they had a slight problem. The person they bought from forgot to “unlock” the phones. Currently, these phones are nothing more than just expensive MP3 players.
What is it that drives them to spend money to buy an iPhone when they already have some of the latest phones available back home?

I guess it must be just the thrill of owning the latest gadget and having the bragging rights — at least, until the iPhone is finally available in our country later this year.

As for me, I’ll just wait and even then, I may not switch. Why? Because for all its status symbol appeal, I will only upgrade when the new device offers features that I need, not just what the maker offers.

I believe that the pioneers of information technology (IT) are brilliant folks. And mobile phone makers are fast learners.

Why do I say so? Well, how often do we upgrade our PCs and notebook computers or buy the latest versions of applications and games? More often that we need at most times. The industry drives us to buy the latest even though what we have has served us well and is probably enough to get back for a while more. But, the incessant pace of development compels us to upgrade every two years or even earlier is many cases. This, in turn, ensures that IT companies continue to remain profitable.

Mobile phone makers have done likewise. Launching a new model every other month, users are lured to upgrade their phones. The truth is that just like computer applications, most phones come with new features that are not fully utilised. Many people buy because they want to be seen to be hip and carrying the latest phones. How many really use 3G phones for video calls? Practically none of those I know. It’s a “good to have” feature but not a necessity.

Oh the flip side, how often do we change our television or hi-fi set? My two televisions are eight and 10 years old. But, my phone is four months old while my notebook computer is considered “ancient” at three years of age. Guess, it’s time for an upgrade .

Practically everybody can be a journalist today. With blogging, anybody with an Internet access can give their two cents’ worth online.

This trend has made it even more challenging for corporations — in particular their public relations folks — to manage information flow. While previously, they had to manage a select group of media that covered their beat, now they have to be even concerned about what a hobbyist is saying on his blog — even if the person happens to be a student — because of the speed and reach of the web. Even the slightest information leak on an upcoming product would be greatly lapped up by other sites and spread like wildfire in minutes.

My hats off to today’s PR folks because blogging has just made their jobs more exciting.