November 2011
4 posts
Time-Lapse Videos
It seems that time-lapse videos are all the rage these days. Literally every tech blog or even normal news blog seems to showoff one or two time-lapse videos every week that some reader or photographer posted. Though I’m not in the photography scene, I would imagine that the prevalence of all these videos has now angered the photography faithful. What was once an artistic representation...
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October 2011
4 posts
10 tags
The Longevity of Windows XP
Despite my being an Apple fanboy, I can’t deny that Microsoft had numerous products and services that changed the world, specifically Windows XP. Ten years after its launch, XP is still the most used operating system in the world. That is absolutely incredible to think about. The only other product or service that I can think of that has had XP’s longevity is the Sony Playstation 2,...
12 tags
Buzzkill
It was reported a few days ago that Google Buzz is going to be discontinued, and frankly I couldn’t be happier. I barely ever used Buzz, and I am one of those people who finds messages in an unread inbox (you know, the boldface and the number in parens) extremely irritating, so I literally used to click on Buzz and click back just so that the left side of my Gmail would be clear and...
Steve Jobs and Michael Jordan
I’m obviously writing about this a little late, but better late than never, since there’s no way I couldn’t talk about Steve Jobs. As a techie and admitted Apple fanboy, I idolized Jobs because of what he stood for, how he did things, and what he accomplished. The man was a legend in the tech industry. It was a sad day for the world when Steve Jobs passed from pancreatic cancer...
7 tags
ThatNewJoint
A friend (shoutout Ankit Desai) and I, in our quest to find good new hip-hop music (leaked tracks, new releases, etc.), ran into a wall when it came to quality websites and blogs. A lot of them had poor designs, too much fluff just to listen to the song, slow response times, and popups.
In order to rectify this, we decided to start our own hip-hop blog, ThatNewJoint, that has a simple interface...
September 2011
7 posts
12 tags
Surf the Web without Using Data?
A cool little application on Android called Smozzy has taken the mobile app. space by storm in the past few weeks (or maybe it hasn’t, what the hell do I know?) I’m a little late to the party, but I think this app is really cool. In a nutshell, it allows you to surf the web without ever using data. Yes, that’s right. You will not have to use a data plan in order to get content...
11 tags
Printing Food?
I came across this article a few weeks ago, and was quite befuddled by the concept. Researchers at Cornell are saying there’ll be machines in the future that will be able to “print” food, so to speak. This is literally the lazy man’s dream come true. Imagine pressing a button and getting a full-fledged meal in just a few minutes. I know what everyone is thinking. Why would...
12 tags
White House Under Fire...
Recently, I watched the national news and they had an entire expose about Solyndra, the thin-film solar company in Fremont, CA that filed for Chapter 11. The title of the piece was known as “White House Under Fire.” Now, this bothers me a lot; the piece itself wasn’t irritating, but the ideas being championed from the politicians were.
Many representatives highlighted how Obama...
9 tags
Facebook Vibes
I’m back. I took a little hiatus during our move and general change in schedule. I’m probably going to be doing this a little less frequently due to my not having as much time, but I’ll still do my best. Without further ado:
A recent survey has suggested that people believe Facebook is higher than the toilet on the list of things “that you can’t live without.”...
11 tags
NASA = Over?
It’s sad that NASA has taken such a large plunge over the last decade. It used to be a haven for scientific innovation and technological advancement, but unfortunately it is now seen as a waste of energy, resources, and taxpayer money.
They halted the shuttle program earlier this year, and it looks like NASA’s future looks bleak. In the 1960s, it was the symbol of American achievement...
7 tags
Online Music
Since I’m big into listening to music, I’ve started to do some research on online music databases.
As of now, I can’t really see a difference between Grooveshark and Spotify. Grooveshark seems to have all of the songs that anyone has ever known right in its library, in addition to a recommendation service. Spotify seems to have an extensive library too, but no recommendations....
August 2011
23 posts
12 tags
AT&T and T-Mobile - Done?
Today the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to block AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile. As far as I can remember, this is the only time I’ve ever seen a major corporate deal halted by the government. It’s not over just yet, but it seems more and more likely that AT&T will not be able to acquire T-Mobile, which is very much a victory for consumers since T-Mobile has...
6 tags
“If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger.”
– The architect Frank Lloyd Wright said the above quote. We sit down for countless hours during the day using the computer, then we come back and sit down even more to eat and watch television, then we sleep, and rinse and repeat five days a week. Since tablets and smartphones, in which the...
9 tags
Teaching Computer Science Early
Given how dependent we are on our devices (computer, phone, tablet, etc.), I think it’s important that we understand how exactly these devices work. Obviously it would take entire lifespans to comprehend every nook and cranny of how they operate, but more importantly, it’s about knowing how concepts are created in such an abstract field as computer science.
I really had no idea what...
10 tags
Jobs and Cook...Obviously
I know everyone has probably read dozens of posts regarding Steve Jobs’ resignation, but frankly, I can’t not talk about it.
As both an Apple fan and a tech geek, I believe Jobs’ departure from the CEO position is a very momentous event in consumer technology. But first, it must be made clear that he is still the chairman of the company’s board, so his input will continue...
5 tags
Earthquake Range
It has been noted that the range of yesterday’s earthquake in Virginia was considerably higher than any quake that occurs in California, as “shakes” were felt as far north as Maine and as far south as South Carolina.
Apparently there’s a pretty basic reason for this: the difference in crust. The main factors that determine how far a seismic wave propagates are temperature...
12 tags
Internet TV
It seems like Internet TV, namely from such companies as Google, Apple, and Sony, is slowly picking up steam. I wasn’t much of a believer before, because for some reason, I felt that the software interface was a bit too clunky and the box-top device itself seemed outdated. At least from what I saw of Google TV, it basically looked like Android blown up to the size of your TV, which is...
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
– The above is from inventor and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, and it couldn’t be more true. It still blows my mind how loads of data move from device to device. It’s magic.
7 tags
Trains in the U.S.
A lot of my friends and family know that I love trains. The train is one of the coolest modes of transportation because you can travel at high speeds while still staying on the ground. They are also much more spacious than airplanes. I remember thinking while in Europe that the U.S. should have a more extensive rail system. They are so convenient and punctual.
Sadly, ours is a car-crazy nation...
6 tags
More Battery Life →
This article above from IEEE Spectrum highlights two companies, one in England and one in the U.S., that have discovered a way to increase the life of batteries in consumer electronics. I have to say that this is a major breakthrough, as battery life has become a big issue when we use our devices.
The technology eliminates graphite from the anodes, which apparently has reached its peak in charge...
“Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.”
– The above quote is from Pablo Picasso. Despite being into technology, I have to admit that this is one of my favorite quotes about computers. The thought process behind it reminds me of when you have a meal with your friends in which you’re discussing something or having a debate about who is...
9 tags
Having Less Energy
A recent Technology Review column brought up the idea that venture capitalists are now veering back toward investing in smaller-scale, low-risk energy projects as opposed to the large, possibly revolutionary cleantech companies that require great initial capital and structure. Governments have also scaled back in their support for these companies that require large initial costs.
This is a sad...
9 tags
Google Mobile
This morning’s biggest news headline should be “Apple and Microsoft trembling.” The reason: Google bought Motorola Mobility today for a cool $12.5 billion. It seems that Google made a surprisingly vertical move as they realized that they needed to leverage their popular Android OS in a more focused manner.
What this means now: Google is a device manufacturer - a mobile device...
Beats by Dre
I don’t know if I’m the only one who has noticed this, but in the past year I’ve seen pretty much every young music (often hip-hop) enthusiast rock Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. It has been absolutely appalling just how much popularity these headphones gained in such a short period of time.
I remember first seeing the commercial and thinking, “That’s great, Dre...
WatchAbove is a video of Boeing’s dynamically dimming windows in its new 787 Dreamliner. At first glance, it doesn’t seem particularly functional, but it’s cool. It could be pretty awesome when at the end of a red-eye flight you see the windows lighten to see the majestic sunrise in the area you’re landing, without your having to do anything. I understand that it’s nice to...
7 tags
Patent Lawsuits
One interesting phenomenon in the past year has been the rise in lawsuits in the tech industry, specifically among the massive corporations such as Google, Apple, HTC, Samsung, and Facebook. Now it seems that little players are also getting involved for a chance at some lucrative sum. Please take a look at that link, and proceed to laugh, or shake your head in complete disgust at how the American...
10 tags
The Complexity of Gaming
I remember our first video game console was the Nintendo (NES) in the early 1990s, well-equipped with some of the greatest Mario games known to man (Duck Hunt was no slouch either.) Then, we moved onto Super Nintendo a few years later, which had so many classic games, a very simple interface, and the quick “blow on the cartridge” approach to troubleshooting. I was not part of the N64...
Daily Rounds
After waking up in the morning everyday, I do what I like to call “my rounds.” This is the daily array of news and blogs that I must read in order to keep up with the world. I go to different sports, news, and political sites during this activity too, but I wanted to reveal specifically the tech blogs that I frequent. Undoubtedly everyone has a variation of this, so the following is my...
9 tags
Austin, TX - How?
I posted the following question on Quora about a month ago, “Why has Austin become a recent hub of technological innovation?” I received a few answers, but I still haven’t been convinced that Austin is able to set itself apart from basically any other city in the United States. Part of me believes that it is somehow pure luck.
A few factors come to mind as to why Austin would be...
Mapnificent →
Above you’ll find a link to a new service called Mapnificent. In light of our moving to the city soon and my obsession with maps, this new site is a dream come true. You can choose a location on the map (Google Maps interface), set an amount of time that you are willing to take to go from said location (e.g. 30 minutes), and then it gives you an interactive region around the location that...
11 tags
Privacy and Locationgate
A few months ago, it was discovered that Apple (Google also had a similar problem) was tracking all iPhone users’ locations and storing this information in a database for unknown uses. I believe they claimed that these data were never used in a malicious manner or for any corporate gain, but despite those statements, there was uproar from consumers and government officials.
My question is...
San Francisco and New York
Since I’ve been getting some comments about how wireless communications is putting people to sleep, I’m going with a different post (don’t worry, wireless comm. will be back in no time :P).
As many of you know, I was in New York for the past year, and I basically fell in love with the city. Since I love San Francisco (I’m referring to all of the Bay Area as San Francisco)...
7 tags
Increase Capacity by 1000 Times? →
The above link goes to an article in Business Week (thanks Alex Rusnak) regarding a new technology that may revolutionize last-mile access between end users and cell towers. In essence, it will allow for extremely high data rates and unprecedented reliability. I’m still a bit unsure as to how this technology (DIDO - distributed input, distributed output) is so significantly different from...
July 2011
5 posts
iPhone 5 on AT&T - Not Worth It to Upgrade
As many of my closest know, I’m a pretty big Apple fanboy. From my getting an Intel-based Macbook six years ago (and it’s still alive and kickin’), I have converted my entire family (including my tech-challenged mother, who now can’t stop using her iPad2). But I’ll be reasonable when I have to be: the iPhone 5 is not worth upgrading from the iPhone 4 (at least for...
Where does Google+ Come In?
My first non-wireless related post. Hopefully it’s more interesting and accessible.
Now that Google+ has stormed onto the social networking scene, it has raised an interesting question about when consumer overload will occur. At this point, I check Twitter (concise recap of all news and thoughts) and Facebook (begrudgingly), but I still don’t have it instilled in my mind to check and...
Is it the Easy Way Out?
AT&T’s potential acquisition of T-Mobile has become a hot-button issue in not the only wireless industry, but also in general technology and business. The questions that many detractors suggest are a few: (1) It will make the duopoly of AT&T and Verizon even more pronounced, which will decrease the options and benefits that consumers receive, and (2) AT&T is taking the easy way...
6 tags
Fastest Broadband Connections in the World →
Check out the above link. It bothers me that several East Asian countries and many countries in Europe are ahead of the United States in overall broadband connection speed. Out of the top 100 fastest cities, Asian cities account for 2/3 of them. That there are only 18 U.S. cities in the top 100 is a stunning statistic.
Forward-thinking infrastructure changes used to be a unique quality of the...
6 tags
Dynamic - The Term for the Future
In order to inaugurate my coming back to the Bay, I’ve decided to overhaul my general blogging approach. First off, I’m actually going to write again - I think my break of over a year has been enough. Secondly, while I may pepper in little anecdotes that have no direction or focus whatsoever, I am going to try to make my posts strictly about technology, specifically in the wireless...
December 2010
2 posts
“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”
– Mark Twain
Live on Tumblr.
I needed to migrate my domain from Blogger since they don’t have FTP support anymore. This seems to work on Tumblr.