Day 3 without a mouse

I'm 3 days into my week without a mouse challenge (which I'll probably extend to two weeks). At the start I found adapting to performing everyday tasks without a mouse to be very hard I found that after just a few hours use it became much simpler and I've been flying along without a mouse ever since.
Now for the problems. In the past two days I've had 3 major problems, two of which are more tiresome than restrictive, but the third severely limits how far I can go without a mouse.

Problem 1 - Some websites have WAY to many links. When you're using the tab key to cycle between links missing a link can cause huge problems, especially when you have to cycle through over 200 links to get back (I just refresh the page). These problem with these pages isn't just that I have to cycle a lot to get to links but that the page often takes forever to render just due to the sheer amount of data on it.

Problem 2 - A lot of tasks aren't designed to be performed without a mouse. Though there are keyboard shortcuts to right click try closing minimized versions of Skype or uTorrent without a mouse. It's absolutely aggravating and I often just resort to opening the task manager and killing the program.

Problem 3 - FLASH DOESN'T WORK WITH A KEYBOARD. This past weekend I had to enroll in driving classes but the website was coded so that the links were inside a Flash animation and try as hard as I could I simply couldn't access it so I had to cheat and resort to a mouse. While Flash does make some parts of the internet better its impossible to use without a mouse.

So far the challenge is going great and apart from being unable to play Minecraft I'm not even missing being unable to use a mouse. Stay locked for my next article where I'll talk about some of the great keyboard shortcuts I've found that I'll continue to use come the end of this challenge.

A week without a mouse

When I was in 7th grade to stop me from using my computer my mother would take away my computers mouse. If the same were to happen today I'm well versed enough with a keyboard to perform basic operations. But just how well versed am I?

Back in the day, when computers were serious business and science tools, the keyboard reigned supreme. In fact the mouse as we know it today didn't exist at all. Hell the Commodore was an entire computer built into a keyboard.

All that changed when Apple and Microsoft *cough* borrowed *cough* the concept of a graphical user interface from Xerox and computers, as we know them today were born. And between iOS, Android, the iPad and Windows 8 tablets the physical hardware keyboard is bordering on extinction.

To test if keyboards are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago I'm going to go a month without using a mouse. I've taken the battery out of my run of the mill Logitech mouse and handed the mouse itself to my friend. Yes I use a laptop which has a built in track pad but it sucks and for the sake of the challenge and the sake of my own sanity I'm just going to avoid it. Its there only for emergencies.

I'll write updates every second day as well as a conclusion article and share any tips I pick up from my time away from a mouse.

The Power of the Nexus

The Nexus. That fabled device that runs Google's newest Android OS. In it's stock form. The phone that is supposed to set the tone for all phones coming in the near future. And it is an important phone indeed.

First introduced in 2009 with the HTC Nexus One three generations of Nexii have been released to stronger support with each iteration, the latest of which, the Galaxy Nexus, has been not only a success among developers but with consumers too. Being awarded the contract to design the next Nexus is a prestigious honour and often reflects the state of the Android market at the time of it's release (noticeably that HTC was awarded the first Nexus due to it's strong start and Samsung has been awarded the subsequent two). However, with the latest Nexus, I feel Google has passed up an opportunity to weild the power of the Nexus in the face of the OEM's and has allowed the name of the Nexus to become diluted.

Last week a report claimed that Samsung was the forerunner in the bid to design the 4th generation Nexus device. While I agree that with the present state of the market Samsung rightfully deserves the next Nexus,
doing so would anger the other OEM's and perhaps cause discontent in manufacturers who are already looking at alternatives. They would rightfully (in my eyes) claim that Samsung is being given preferential treatment and taking over the Nexus as one of it's own. For instance, the 3rd generation Nexus, the Galaxy Nexus, places the emphasis on Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones rather than Google's Nexus line. If Google was in the drivers seat over making the decision they should have insisted the phone be called the Nexus Galaxy (as stupid as it may sound). If the point of equality of OEM's is to stand Google can not give Samsung a semi-exclusivity over the Nexii simply because it is the leading Android manufacturer.

What Google should remember is that the point of a Nexus phone is the Software, not the Hardware. Google can use the Nexus to tackle arguably Android's biggest problem, fragmentation. Google should use the Nexus as a sort of cattle prod awarding the contract to the company who, along with providing excellent hardware (which all the major OEM's barring LG do), provides timely software updates and are regular in honouring commitments to smartphone buyers. The Nexus allows the chosen manufacturer extra time with Google's latest offering before competitors get their hands on it, a big advantage that neither have taken so far. Google releases a new Nexus every winter. Assuming it takes a manufacturer 6 months to design and manufacture a phone from scratch Google could award the newest Nexus to the manufacturer who is most regular in issuing software updates and promoting Google's OS. This means for the first 6 months of the year, right when a new update has been releases you'll have OEM's rushing to appease Google by actually issuing updates.

 

If we look at today's market, where 5 months from the release only 4.9% of devices run Ice Cream Sandwich, we can see just how much of a problem timely software updates are and truly understand the power of the Nexus in helping end fragmentation. Hopefully Google sees that power too.

Camera Stand

Anyone who has seen any of my videos may have noticed that the camera was a "little" bit shaky. So far I've either been asking someone to hold the camera for me or I've been doing the video one-handed, camera in the other. The problem is once I start recording I focus less on the camera and more on what I'm actually doing and the camera goes haywire from thereon. 

Also those of you who know me know that when I get bored I like to play with Lego and build crazy things which I'll promptly dismantle to start on my next build. Today I decided to build something a little more permanent that would rid me of shaky shooting for the rest of my life....or until I realize I should just go out and buy a tripod. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty hard to build especially since I didn't want to damage the camera  yet still wanted the stand to bend like a yoga master. After 3 hours, 5 design changes and one heated argument with my sister over whether I had finally lost my marbles (she's now decided to call me "different" - I'll take that as a win) I managed to complete a fully functional camera stand.

The stand consists of 3 parts, a camera holder which holds the camera snugly and rotates 360 degrees, a stand for raising the holder and a base which also turns a full 360 degrees. I had originally wanted to make the height of the stand adjustable but I ran out of pieces along the way so I can only raise or lower it a couple of centimeters. To give myself full control over tilt of the camera I added a small gear to the tilt mechanism which slows down the speed at which the holder pivots allowing for far greater control (the gear also prevents the weight of the camera from tipping the holder sideways). Since the tripod mount isn't going to be used I even added a small axle to hold the camera in spot.

When I finallllllly thought I was done I realized I had 2 problems. The first was relatively minor - I couldn't charge the camera in the stand, which I rectified by adding a door to allow me to remove the camera with ease. The second - that I couldn't hit ANY of the buttons - was slightly more severe. I ended up adding axles which can be pressed and in turn press the buttons and added little knobs at the end to make it looks better. The best part was after making these minor adjustments I can actually remove the camera holder leaving the rest of the stand in case I want to use a different camera - which I'll have to build a separate holder for - which is not happening!

AND I WAS DONE. I now have a camera stand that rotates 360 degrees vertically and horizontally and should (hopefully) rid me of unsteady camera shooting for the rest of my YouTube career.

13" MacBook Air Unboxing

I unbox the 13" MacBook Air. Currently one of the thinnest laptops on the market, the laptop has a premium feel to it while being extremely thin and light. The OSX interface takes a while to get used to if you're switching from a PC but is extremely quick and fluid to use. 

The laptop doesn't come with much in the box, but includes everything you'll need and the packaging is absolutely wonderful. The Solid State drive is a great addition to the laptop as it offers extremely quick boot-up times and application load times. The overall package leaves you with no doubt as to why PC makers are replicating the design with "Ultrabooks" and I hope this thin and light trend continues for a while.

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Weekly Updates

Over the last 4 weeks I've been busy studying for my Board Exams which will conclude on the 24th of March. Until they conclude my mind is focused on studying for the exams and I haven't been able to concentrate on my blog. I apologize for this but a month isn't a lot in what will be a long future ahead. Till then keep locked on the site for weekly updates and round-ups on the latest news.

Wireless Home: Keeping it in Sync

Now that you've got all your content in place and your Hubs set up its time to get it all in Sync. In this guide I'll give the best way to make sure that you always have your content wherever you want whenever you want it. Unfortunately all these methods use your home's wi-fi to sync your data so those devices which don't have wifi are out of luck. Before starting I know that man of you will have a lot of songs, having ripped all your CD's so I recommend making two playlist, one personal playlist with all your favourite songs and one with just the songs you want synced to your devices.

I'll break the sharing into four parts to make it easy to set up all your different devices -

1) Syncing your iDevices: 

Fortunately for me Apple has made syncing these devices very easy. Since most of your content is in iTunes select the device you want and choose all the content in iTunes you want synced to the device. For devices running iOS 5 or higher enable wireless syncing and every time you charge your device it should automatically sync any new data (provided iTunes is open on your central computer and both are connected to the same wireless network). To wirelessly stream content in iTunes open Settings>Music and enter your Apple ID and Password. Then fire the Music or Videos app and and click more and you should be able to see your library from where you can access all your content.
For devices incompatible with iOS 5 or for the audio and video formats Apple does not support I recommend the use of Air Playit. Install the free app on your iDevices, install the Air Playit Server on your computer and direct it to where you store all your content. Fire up the app and you should automatically find your computer. If it doesn't you can manually add it on the device using the information provided by the server on your computer. Once they are connected, if both devices are on the same wireless network you should be able to access all your content wirelessly on your devices.

2) Syncing Android devices:

While most manufacturers offer their own unique syncing fixes there isn't one, unified way to sync your Android devices. Since most of the content is managed by iTunes I set out to look for a syncing solutions that works well with the content stored in iTunes.
 By far the best alternative I found was DoubleTwist with AirSync. The DoubleTwist app itself is free but the Airsync option cost $5 which I found to be quite reasonable for the features it offers. You will also need to download the DoubleTwist program onto your computer and set up each device with the password you can find within the application. The entire process take about 5 minutes and once you're done you can choose what content you want to sync whenever your device is charging. Similar to syncing your iDevice DoubleTwist needs to be open and both your computer and your Android device need to be connected to the same wireless network for the syncing to work.
You can also stream content to your Android device using Air Playit the same way you would with your iDevice and it works just as well. It's the best way to stream your content to your Android phone or tablet.

3) Streaming to your TV Hub:



Open Windows Media Player and open the stream menu. Select all the devices you recognize (it will be helpful in the next part) and choose to "Allow" streaming those devices. Now when you go to the Picture, Music or Videos sections you should be able to see your computer and you can select any item you want to stream.
For Mac's download Rivet which is free software that acts as a server to allow your to stream content. Once the software is installed you should be able to access all your content in the Picture, Music or Video section similar to when you stream from your PC.

4) Transferring data between PC's and Mac's:
If all the computers have iTunes installed in the Advanced menu enable Home Sharing and put in the same Apple ID and Password and all your computer's libraries hould show up in the left panel where you can stream and copy content between computers.
The fastest, safest way to transfer conent between Windows 7 computers is to set up a Homegroup. Set a password that's easy to remember and connect to the Homegroup. Once they are all connected you should be able to access all your content between your computers and wirelessly stream it.

For transferring files between Windows and Mac's your safest bet is still to access different computers on your network and to manually look for the files (which isn't that hard if you've organized your files properly.
Overall this is the easiest set up while sharing your files as it doesn't actually require any additional software.


Unfortunately trying as hard as I could I couldn't find a good solution to wirelessly sync and stream to Blackberry devices and that is why I haven't included it in my guide. If I find a solution I'll be sure to include it in it's own piece.

All the software mentioned can be found at the following links:
a) Air Playit - http://www.airplayit.com/
    Air Playit App for iOS - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/air-playit-streaming-video/id449212860?mt=8
    Air Playit App for Android - http://www.airplayit.com/download/airplayit_android.apk
b) DoubleTwist - http://doubletwist.com/
    DoubleTwist App - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.doubleTwist.androidPlayer
    Airsync App - http://bit.ly/wVlss9
c) Rivet - http://thelittleappfactory.com/rivet/
d) iTunes - http://www.apple.com/iTunes
I hope you've enjoyed this guide and you've been able to create your own "Wireless Home" Please leave a comment if there's any device you'd like me to add.


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The Wireless Home: Building Physical Hubs

In Part 1 of my Wireless Home guide I wrote about getting all your media in place to make its sharing as easy and seamless as possible. In Part 2: Building Physical Hubs, I will be talking about actually setting up the devices you want to keep in sync and how to organise them to get maximum utility.

As I have done in my own house, I will be separating these devices into four "Physical Hubs."

Hub 1: The Mothership

This consists of two components, namely your wireless router and the main computer which holds and controls all your content. These are the two most integral components of your wireless home, as one controls the contents and the other is the means to distribute the content. While they are part of "The Mothership," both can be placed anywhere and integrated into other Hubs for convenience. The components you'll need are:

a) Router - For those of you who have routers 4 or more years old, I recommend an upgrade. For the best performance the router should run on 802.11 - N.  For most people any standard router should do the trick, but you should make sure it has a unique name and is encrypted with the best possible encryption. I personally upgraded to the Belkin Share N300 prior to starting this series and an very happy with the boosted performance
    Approx Rs 1,500 upwards

b) Central Computer -  The computer need not necessarily be the most powerful computer on the planet. Any computer with low power consumption will do as it needs to be on all the time. The computer should either have a hard drive with high storage capacity or an external hard drive as digital content tends to accumulate very quickly.
    Approx Rs 10,000 upwards for the computer; approx Rs 4,000 upwards for a 1 TB hard drive

Hub 2: The Music Hub

We all love listening to music and we all have homed music systems that have been languishing in misery now that our phones and iPods give us our music on the go. It's time to resuscitate our music systems with a few accessories that allow us to make full use of our devices in our Music Hub. 

Items required: 

a) One or more Aux cables based on your need.
    Approx Rs 200-300 each

b) Universal iPod dock from your music system's manufacturer - this can sometimes get very expensive (almost Rs. 6,000 with my Bose system) but allows you to control the music playing with the music system's remote control rather than having to physically choose the song on the iPod.
    Approx Rs 1,000 upwards  

c) Other specialized media docks for important devices - I was gifted an iPad dock and didn't use it much at first but I have found it is an extremely convenient way to use my iPad as a large touch screen device for selecting songs (more in Part 3).
    Approx Rs 1,000 upwards

d) Aux cable splitter - If you have multiple docks, use a cable splitter to avoid having to switch the cable between docks.
    Approx Rs 200-500
e) Power strip - By plugging all the devices into a single power strip, you can turn on the entire Hub with just one switch. For more control you can get a power strip with power buttons for each plug point.
    Approx Rs 500

Set up is simple. Just plug the aux cables into the aux splitter and the aux splitter into your music system's aux port. Plug the other end of the aux cables into your various docks and plug your docks' chargers into the relevant sockets. Always try to set up the components so the extra lengths of wires are tied up and the wires are as out-of-the-way as possible.

Hub 3: The TV Hub

Now that we have our audiophilic needs satisfied, it's time to set up the dock around the center of our lives, the TV hub. By setting up this hub we will have a convenient way to stream and play all our videos as well as watch all our TV. As this is a very subjective hub, I will talk about how I have set mine up as it should cover most people's bases.

a) DVD player - The purpose of the DVD player is quite self explanatory: it plays DVD's. As long as you bought your DVD player in the last 5 years, you should be OK. For those whose DVD player is bordering on prehistoric and love watching HD movies, I recommend looking into a Blu-ray player if you have the money to spend.
    Approx Rs 1,500 - 2,500 for a DVD player; Rs 8,000 - 12,000 for a Blu-ray player

b) Set-top Box - As you may know from my earlier review ,I have, and love, the Tata Sky + HD box. If you are really serious about setting up a top-notch hub, you should definitely pick up one of these for your TV Hub as it is, in my opinion, the best in the Indian market at the moment.
    Approx Rs 1,000 - 4,000

c) Streaming box/Game console - I've purposely clubbed these two together because in India there aren't too many options when it come to streaming digital media. For me the two best options are the XBox 360 and the PS3, both which of offer great gaming experiences as well as allow you to wirelessly stream your digital content. As this article relates to the best way to experience your content, I'll lean towards the PS3 as it offers a built in Blu-ray player. 
    Approx Rs 15,000 for the base model of the Xbox 360 or PS3
d) Computer - The TV Hub is a great place to keep your central computer (if possible) as it will make viewing content on your TV much easier. Note: The computer should either be a small laptop or media PC like the Mac Mini else it might be too large to keep near the TV.
    Approx Rs 10,000 upwards
e) Power strip - By plugging all the devices into a single power strip you can turn on the entire Hub with just one switch. For more control you can get a power strip with power buttons for each plug point.
    Approx Rs 500


Set up is relatively easy if you are familiar with the different types of wires needed to connect all the devices. Wherever possible you should use HDMI wires but otherwise the regular RGB wires will work just fine. Most of the wires have colour coded tips or are labelled so you know where to plug them in. If you aren't able to visually identify the wires and can't see any clear markings on them, it's time to break out the manuals so that you don't make any mistakes. Always try to set up the components so the extra lengths of wires are tied up and the wires are as out-of-the-way as possible.


Hub 4: Various Computers

Most people have multiple computers around the house. So this hub isn't a physical amalgamation of computers but a way to share the data among these computers. I'll elaborate in sharing data and the software you'll need in Part 3. Just make sure these computers have something to keep them juiced (read: charged) but other than that there isn't much you need on these computer apart from iTunes. I know many people have both PC's and Macs at home so I will give methods of sharing data between the two.


Thanks for reading and I hope this helped you get all the items you need to set up your physical hubs.


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NOTE: You will already have most of these items available at home so don't buy something without checking whether something else can be converted for use.

Amzer Hard Crystal Case Review

I review the Amzer Hard Crystal Case on my Motorola Razr. It's a great case with an amazing matte finish that doesn't attract fingerprints and gives the phone a nice look and feel in the hand. The sturdy construction means I'm no longer scared of damaging my phone if I drop it and the case has a small lip on the front so the screen doesn't touch any surface. It's a great case which comes a a small selection of colours and can be found online at www.flipkart.com or www.amzer.co.in

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Blackberry Bold 9700/9780 Charging Pod Unboxing and Review

I unbox and take a first look at the Charging Pod for the Blackberry Bold 9700/9780. It's my favourite accessory for the phones as its very easy to sit the phone in and pick it up without worrying about wires. There are similar docks for almost every Blackberry model and I recommend picking one up for whichever model you have.

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Apple iPad 2 Dock Review

I review the Apple iPad 2 dock. It's an amazing accessory for your iPad for listening to music, charging and a stand for using your iPad as a photo album. For productivity folding the Smart Cover is still better in my opinion but the dock is great to keep on the desk as it's easy to put the iPad in and take it out. The only gripe I could find is that you cant use the Smart Cover with the dock but Apple probably didn't intend the two to be used together anyway.

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The Wireless House - Media Hub

Before we get started sharing all our content between all our devices we first have to make sure we really do have all our content ready to be shared. That means two things, first digitizing all of the content we own which is on, now, outdated media, and second organizing all our media so that it becomes easier to find what you are looking for on different devices.

Step 1:

Collect all the CD's, DVD's and other outdated media you might have and organize them based on the importance you give to having each one of them preserved eternally. Put the ones which you know will take the longest right at the top so that you don't have to pay much attention to the actual process of burning. Use this opportunity to get rid of those songs, movies and TV shows you're never going to watch again. For the sake of simplicity I will only illustrate the most prevalent forms most of us will have, cassettes, CD's and DVD's.

Step 2:
Start ripping the content to your computer. This is by far the longest portion of building the wireless home and you might feel like giving up time and again, but preserve as the end result is the most seamless, out of the way interaction you will ever have with technology.

a) CD's - To rip CD's simply pop them into your computer's drive and open iTunes. The CD will show up in the left hand pane of iTunes. Click on it and at the bottom right of the screen open the "Import Settings" menu and choose MP3 importer with the quality set at 192 Kbps. Close the pop up and hit the "Import CD" button.
 The settings will remain for all the rest of your CD's so simply keep switching out your CD's as they finish importing. If iTunes doesn't get the names of the songs as you go open the "Advanced" menu and select "Get Track Names". If that doesn't work you'll have to manually right click on every song as it imports, click "Get Info" and fill out the data yourself. (Out of over 1500 songs I only had to fill out about 40 songs)

b) DVD's - To rip DVD's first download Handbrake at http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php Put the DVD into your computer's DVD slot and fire up the software. Click the "Source" button and select the DVD name from the drop down menu. Once it's done scanning hit "Start" and wait for it to finish burning. I personally didn't rip all my movies as most of my recent purchases have been digital.



Step 3:
Once you're done take some time out to correctly label all your files and put them into proper folders and import them all into iTunes by clicking File>Add Folder to Library and directing iTunes to the folder directory.

Congratulations. You've successfully completed the most tedious step in the process of creating your wireless home and you're on your way to having your content everywhere.

For Part 2: Building Physical Hubs check back tomorrow and for more news, articles and videos stay locked on the site.

The Wireless Home

I've noticed that as time goes on and on, I keep collecting more and more electronic gadgets, and with each purchase my home becomes further fragmented. With four people in my house, each with their own set of devices and a few common devices, there are occasions when I'm ready to tear my hair out due to the large amount of data that invariably ends up getting transferred between them. A week ago I decided enough was enough and I have undertaken the process of building "A Wireless Home". In the coming weeks I will be detailing the steps I undertook and writing a detailed guide for those who decide to ease the headache of constantly transferring data and adopt the idea of "The Wireless Home".

In the guide I will include - 

a) The items or tools required for each step

b) The cost of any items that need to be bought

c) Alternate methods (if any) for performing the task

d) The quickest possible way to perform the task

e) Pictures or videos of the steps required for building your "Wireless Home"

The Coming of the Ecosystem..... Wait a minute!

In the 90s it was the coming of the internet to every household. In the 00's it was the emergence of mobile technology. Coming in to 2012 most tech guru's predicted that the next few years will see an emergence of "the ecosystem", where all our devices will run similar software and communicate with each other to make our lives more seamless. They claim that the change has already started and that it will soon take over our daily lives. While I wholeheartedly agree with them I only have one problem; this revolution isn't hitting India just yet.

 The problem with this revolution is that it hinges on two key element, the first of which is the internet, something that, believe it or not, is very much in it's infancy in India. I am on one of Airtel's "high speed" internet plans which gives me internet speeds of 2Mbps, until I hit 30GB when they limit my speed to 256Kbps. Every month, without fail, I cross my high speed limit and an relegated to dial-up speeds. While there are better plans most are too expensive for the average consumer to choose and generally top out at 4-8 Mbps. In the US an "average" plan offers speeds of 42Mbps and download limits of 300GB. If the so called broadband in our home isn't slow enough for the coming revolution, the speeds we're getting on our mobile devices is far, far lower. With not even 10% of the country switched over to 3G, while many countries are looking to switch to 4G, we truly are in the dark ages of mobile internet. It take upwards of half a minute to load up the Facebook app on my phone! 

The concept of the ecosystem is that all our devices are in some way linked. When we get content on one device it magically appears on all the others. This brings me to my second problem with this "revolution". When we have the ecosystem set up all around us we need something to fill it with. In India there is almost no way to legally download digital media. The furthest companies have gotten is allowing us most apps which aren't banned in India by their developers. If they haven't realized, maybe they soon will, that this is why most people download pirated songs and videos. This is why the music industry is suffering so badly in India.If there were a way to purchase music legally at a reasonable price I'm sure most people would, after all we know that the artists deserve compensation for their work. But there isn't.

The ecosystem is meant to make our lives easier to use but the key aspects are missing in India. Why has India been relegated to the back end of the revolution when there are 1.2 billion people who can potentially take part? The era of the ecosystem will come but first India has to truly undergo the changes other countries have experienced in the last 20 years, we need the Internet to become a ubiquitous entity without someone holding us back and we need access to the content to fill our ecosystem. If companies like Apple, Samsung and Google try to bring their ecosystems to India they WILL fail at capturing the larger audience because they will be too early.

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Irregularity of Posts

I know it's been a long time since I've written about anything or made any new videos. I apologize but at the moment I am studying for exams and am having a hard time finding time to write. I have decided that I will try to write at least one article every evening, as that is the only time I have free for the next two months. I will also try to push out two - three videos each week. So for those who visit the site regularly I apologize and ask that you check back in the evenings or the following morning for articles and I will update you when I find more time to regularly post articles. If there are any specific topics you would like me to write about sound off in the comments.
Thank you for your support and keep locked on the site for more articles, reviews and videos.

Tata Sky + HD Software Review

After taking a look at the hardware of the Tata Sky + HD in the Unboxing it's time to take a look at the software and see if the entire package is worth the upgrade.

Interface:

With the old Tata Sky box the interface was getting old and clunky and I'm glad that with the new box they freshened it up a little while keeping the basics the same. The colour scheme has changed from light gray to a see through black in an effort to make it look out of the way and the effect is very effective in that aspect. When you press the "Guide" button, rather than taking up the whole screen with the channel listings, the interface superimposes the menus over the top left of the screen, with the channel listings taking up the bottom third. This allows you to keep watching your program of choice while allowing you to set other shows for recording or browse upcoming shows. Overall, the interface looks much nicer and cleaner and as they say "It's the little things that make all the difference."

Navigation:

With the Tata Sky + HD box they've super-sized the remote and with it, super-sized my problems with the system. The remote is by far the worst part of the experience. Its large, cluttered and very unintuitive to use. The remote has a staggering 39 buttons which I can understand if it could control my TV and DVD player as well, but since it can't do either of those things it needn't be so complicated. Tata Sky needs to understand that the remote needs to be intuitive and that buttons can have different purposes in different places. They've tried to do that with the four colour buttons but those are the most unnecessary buttons on the remote themselves. They are unmarked and the main reason I use them 99% of the time is to go forward or backward 24 hours, something that the fast-forward and rewind buttons could easily be used for. On the navigational pad you would think that like the old box the up button would show you the next channel it doesn't, the right button does that (go figure). While one does eventually get used to the navigation it is overly complicated and need a dramatic overhaul even if it means killing half the buttons.


HD content:

The HD content on the box is abolutely amazing and I would recommend that if you have an HDTV you should  definately upgrade to the Tata Sky + HD. That said all HD isn't created equal and while one can clearly see that the Star channels are clearly upscaled and oversaturated the quality on channels like National Geagraphic and Discovery is the best I've seen. Though there aren't too many HD channels (for a full list look here: http://www.tatasky.com/hd/what-can-watch.html) they all offer a no-ad experience which will last until many more HD channels are available. The entire show plays without an add and they give previews of other shows in the remainder of the time. I hope that in the future more popular channels are available in HD or that it simply becomes standard even though that will mean the re-entrance of ads.


Recording Capabilities:

My favourite feature of the box is the recording capability. You can set the box up to record the entire series of a show so that you always have it to watch or just record individual items. The box automatically adds a set amount of time at the beginning and end so you don't miss anything due to a miscalculation of time. When you switch to any channel the box automatically records whats playing so you can rewind if you've missed anything but wont save the recording unless you specify that it should. You can pause live TV, which is useful in HD channels as they have no breaks and the box asks you if you want to switch channels if you are lagging behind on your current channel as it will delete the recording once you switch. My only gripe with the recording function is, once again the button layout. To access your recorded shows you have to press "Plan" which makes absolutely no sense as the button should just say "Recorded". Also to save the current recording one has to go through a relatively long process which detracts from the show.

Conclusion:

The box is an absolute wonder to own and apart from my gripes with the navigation (which one eventually gets used to) it is definitely worth spending Rs. 4000 if you already own an HDTV and I would recommend it to anyone at the drop of a hat.

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XBox 360 with Kinect Unboxing and Harrdware Overview

I unbox and take a first look at the XBox 360S with Kinect. This is the 4GB model which comes without Microsoft's proprietary 250GB hard drive. It comes with a free game but is it worth the buy at Rs. 23,000? Find out in the unboxing.

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The Boat with a hole gets a new Captain

     After a disastrous two years the co-CEO's of RIM, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, have decided that the company was ready for a change and have stepped down. To replace them the board of directors have appointed current COO Thorsten Heins to helm the ship.
   
     In its prime RIM controlled the corporate sector and its BBM service captivated consumers. However in recent years they seem to have lost their way, refusing to innovate in times of heavy market competition. In an open letter a senior executive disclosed what a struggle it had been to combine the CEOs to incorporate music players and cameras into the phones. They have also refused to upgrade the components in their phones sticking to 2 year old processors when competitors were switching to dual core models with high definition screens.

     The company is transitioning and plans a huge expansion with its Blackberry 10 OS and a redesigned Playbook and I hope that this change shifts the thinking within the once great company.

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Your get out of Apple jail free card

For many having an Apple device in the house has become a status symbol, while for many it is just a convenient way to listen to music, make calls or view your content. Whatever the purpose of your iDevice
the normal configuration limits a lot of the potential of really good device to make it simple for the masses to use. To get around this lockdown a team of hackers has been working ceaselessly since the first iPhone to "jailbreak" these iDevices and let people truly make them their own. Having used a variety of iDevices I understand just how many people want their experience to be unbounded and in that goal I have created this jailbreak device.
Please select your device and follow the guide for a limitless iDevice.

1) iPhone 4S or iPad 2 (iOS 5.0.1)

2) iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 4G, iPod Touch 3G, iPad 1 (iOS 5.0.1):

3) iPhone 3G, iPhone 2G, iPod Touch 2G, iPod Touch 1G (iOS 4.2.1): 

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There's an App for that!

There's an app for that

This often quoted line could not be more relevant than it it today. Or will be tomorrow. Or the day after that. Everyday over 1000 applications are developed across all smartphone platforms and are tantalizingly displayed to us so that we can click that download button. When the app is free then we show no hesitation in getting it beamed down to our device. But, the horror of having to pay for something! How could we even begin to deal with that, to swallow our pride and hit that pay button?