Archive for the ‘bitstrip’ Category

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted a Bitstrips. Today I was inspired.

Me and my brother really enjoy going to breakfast every now and then. What was better – there was a restaurant that actually had Wi-Fi access. Therefore, we both would take our laptops and surf while eating.

That was two weeks ago.

Now we have smartphones that have wireless access. Of course, I have the iPhone 3GS and he has the Blackberry 8330. So why do we need the Notebooks? Heck – we can go to any place that serves breakfast because the Wi-Fi access selling point is null.

The only thing we cannot do is run any program that requires Flash. That means no Bitstripping while at breakfast with the phone. So we still need the computers and access at one point. That is, until we get netbooks with 3G access….

The next few weeks are going to be do or die for the Palm Pre. With it’s release of June 6th, we will see if this new phone from Palm is going to be able to stand up to the Apple iPhone. Especially when the new 3.0 version comes out by the end of the month.

iPhone has had a very strong showing. It knocked down Motorola’s RAZR and brought the world of Smartphones to the forefront of mobile technology. You can pretty much do anything you need on the phone from take photos, to record and listen to music, check mail and even turn your life over to this amazing device. That is, if you can afford the mobile plan.

Palm has been around for over 10 years in handheld organizers. There have been some reorganizations of the company – changing to PalmOne, for example. Nonetheless, Palm has some technologies and patents they can update and re-use to model this new competitor.

Both have Application stores. Both run 3G and have GPS capabilities. Both will have a 3.0 megapixel camera, WiFi 802.11g and Bluetooth.

Palm will have the advantage for the few who like the Tactile response with a built in QWERTY keyboard. Palm will also have a standard USB port; hopefully I can hook up my standard USB car charger to. iPhone will have the memory advantage with 16 and 32GB of memory where the Pre will only have 8 (7 GB in all reality because the OS will need a part to run).

Both will be expected to have a $199 price tag – if you get a 2 year plan with it. It’s just a question of whether you want Sprint, AT&T or if you know how to unlock the phone to use on your favorite carrier.

Of course we would be remiss if we didn’t also talk about the Windows Mobile phones, the Blackberry phones and Android. However, in the last 3 years, only Blackberry has been able to really dent the iPhone market, but they skew the numbers with their 8 versions of phones.

I already hear people talking about how they are going to make the switch. The biggest complaint for the iPhone is the AT&T exclusive contract. I know that in some parts of Wisconsin, I can’t even get service from the AT&T phone. What good is a smartphone if it’s not smart enough to connect to another tower?

I am going to weigh the options in many ways. First of all, we’ll see what happens with the Pre in the first couple weeks – if there is a major problem, it will surface quickly. Second, we’ll watch the financial reports. Palm was on the verge of bankruptcy not more than 9 months ago. They have a lot riding on the Pre. If that fails, they might be up the proverbial creek.

The Palm Pre also has another battle to worry about. That is the Sprint factor. Sprint has not been doing that well itself and they are riding on this phone to make people switch. We’ve seen companies turn around before and this could tip the scales in Sprints’ favor, but you have to remember that this could also topple like a house of cards.

Next, we’ll watch the App stores. One thing that seems to be good business is having a App store with good programs in it. Apple claims they have earned 20-25 million for the Apps alone. That is a good infusion of cash to keep things going. This will be a good infusion in the Palm company.

End result – There will be a good challenge to see who can prevail. Of course I believe that both can survive. The true tests is when Android comes out with their next phone and when Windows Mobile 7 gets released.

In the meantime, enjoy this weeks’ Bitstrips. Then answer the QOTW – Will you get a iPhone or a Pre?

Shorter show because still at the old Place. I’ll tell you why – TVazine videos doing well – Weekend in Grand Rapids – Summer of Geekazine Contest going on. Win an Epson Artisan 700.

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I – S.U.N. (Straight Up News)
Android II – T-Mobile announcement
Apple Sued – Actus has Electronic Tokens
Kindle buys E-INK
Google’s new Search Appliance
News from E3
-PSPgo
-Wii Pacemaker
- Everyone wants to be a Wii – Natal

JOTW – Three lead programmers of Google decide to jump ship and apply at Yahoo. They tell Yahoo they have the ability to recapture the #1 search engine spot for Yahoo. Yahoo calls one of the programmers in and after 20 minutes, he walks out of the office all distraught. The other programmer turn to him and ask “What did they say?”. The programmer turns to them and replies – “They said they already got one”.

II
Shoe Google – Google taking on e-books
Bing – Microsoft Hits a Home Run
-Why Bing will Fail – What is a Discover Engine?

CTC – Scarpar
QOTC – Do you like Bing?

III
Twitter Spam – We’ve only just begun.
Win Tickets to Playboy Mansion

Extras:
NeatDesk – Paper trail to go away?
OCZ SSD – Up to a Terrabyte in size
QWERTY Handlebar grip
Iomega E-Go – 1 gig in 15 seconds
CarGo

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The Geekazine Weekly Podcast is produced every week for distrobution on Wednesdays. Feel free to contact Geekazine for more information. You can also Twitter – Plurk – Myspace – Facebook Group – FriendFeed or Digg the Podcast. The Geekazine Podcast is under a Creative Commons no-deriv license

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:11 — 13.8MB)

This week I thought I would do something different for Bitstrips: A Caption Contest.

It all started when I got the weirdest text message on my phone. I searched the Acronym database for what it could mean, but was stumped. Sometimes I think people are TOO lazy.

Nonetheless it got me thinking – what would be the strangest SMSA (SMS Acronym) that you could get. Would you lol or say wtf?

Last week in this place. I ate a lot of Brats this last weekend. Goodbye to friend ‘Supergirl’. Show Prep on Google Docs. Still need an iPhone App developer.

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Hotline – 608-205-4378 – geekazine (at) gmail.com

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I – S.U.N. (Straight Up News)
Lenovo S12 on ION
Kumo or Bing – Microsoft in a transition
The 10 TB Disc – All your music and movies on a DVD
Win 7 Netbook Strategy Rethought
iPhone Painting on cover of New Yorker
Hulu LIVE – Dave Matthews Concert is the first
Aneesh Chopra CTO – Senate approves
Apple Accepts Eucalyptus – a win for an iPhone App
Followup on Craigslist Lawsuit
Google U Libraries
Diamond Encrusted Nokia
- Palm Pre – $549

JOTW – I don’t know what I’ve been told… Vista is the Army’s Gold….

II
Twitter TV? – TV in 140 characters or less.
The Vista Army – What are they thinking?

QOTC – Will you or do you have a Netbook?

III
Will Netbooks Fail? – Will we find a Happy Medium?
Circuit City Return Policy – Be ready to give up Junior.

Extras:
Red Bull Diet – Good for you?
The New Soundwave – Transformers USB 4 port hub

Steampunk PC

Bud Adjustable Workstation

YouTubin:
Dell Mini 10v on Ubuntu, Android and XP

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CMSExpo Videos – SDRNews

The Geekazine Weekly Podcast is produced every week for distribution on Wednesdays. Feel free to contact Geekazine for more information. You can also Twitter – Plurk – Myspace – Facebook Group – FriendFeed or Digg the Podcast. The Geekazine Podcast is under a Creative Commons no-deriv license

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:10 — 21.1MB)

This week it’s all about packing and moving. Got the living room all straightened out. The Kitchen was easy. The bathroom just needs to be cleaned. But what could be left?

OH YEAH. The computer stuff.

It becomes an interesting ritual of what I am going to keep and what is going to Goodwill. Computers themselves are not accepted there, so I have to find other means for them. Really, the best thing is to strip them and dispose of them in a proper mannor.

I thought at one time of turning motherboards into things like art and clocks, but then I realized with all the harmful chemicals on a motherboard, would that be wise? Plus I would have to take time to build clocks and I really don’t want to do that.

The most interesting thing is the cables. You know – you needed that one special cable to run the item, so you paid $50- $100 or more for it? I remember I had to buy a SCSI cable for a 4x CD-R I bought back in 1998. The cable (50 micro-pin SCSI) was expensive (Not to mention the CD-R, which was $300 at the time). Now, I am finally parting with the cable, which is in the box to Goodwill. I figured I could have needed the cable while the CD-R was replaced with an HP 9100. That was replaced with a Sony DVD -/+ RW.

I have a tote for all Geekazine products to review. I have a tote for all computer books I need. I have a tote for all my computer cables. I haven’t even packed my computers. There is a tote for computer software.

As a musician I am used to having a lot of stuff. It’s been a 50 /50 trade between music equipment and computer. In this move, the computer equipment has definitely taken over.

Therefore, I am dedicating this weeks Bitstrips to the move.

This week I take Bitstrips to a new level and give a proper send off for the game Duke Nukem. 3-D Realms closed it’s doors last week. Although I don’t think it will keep the next version of the Duke Nukem franchise down (After all, Take Two Entertainment still owns rights to it), it will definitely add to the “Wait” time of the newest version of game. We’ve been waiting since 2001.

Duke Nukem was best known for Topping Year end Vaporware lists of Duke Nukem Forever as the “Game that never was”. There was some resurgence this last year, but that all ended when 3D Realms said they will be closing the company due to the economy.

Therefore, in tribute, we give you the Duke Nukem: Bitstrips style. Better yet, here is the video on how I created the strip.

Commandment #1 – Thou shalt maketh thine iPhone App compatible doth 3.0 versions….

OK, it does make sense – If you make an iPhone app or if you want to keep the iPhone app in the store, you must update it for the new version of the software. For some, it may not need any real updates – just someone to test and say; “Yeah, it’s 3.0 compatible.”

It does get frustrating when you look through something like Firefox plugins and see an add-on that hasn’t been updated in a very long while. Even the plugins for this site: sometimes you have to watch what you install, or else you might just break the system.

Therefore, we submit this: These 1 Bitstrips for you all to obey… or at least get a chuckle out of.

You only get 140 characters. How do you get your point across in that amount? Well, sometimes, you have to make some sacrifices. Great becomes Gr8. Punctuation sometimes is taken out. message names and hashtags are implemented. Proper grammer is – well, not proper twitter.

This weeks Bitstrips takes us to Twitter U, where you can learn all the cool terms the kids are using today.

The other day I decided to play with the Beta version of CamStudio. The new beta version seems to be more stable and very useful. I like it a lot.

What I decided to do was record this week’s Bitstrips – a how to model. I created a simple face on the site. However, I used a method a lot of Bitstrippers are applying. It’s called the “Moon Method”, or what I like to call “Moonwalking”. Basically, you use the Moon Prop to create art.

The best part about this program is that you sometimes have to find ways around the art to create what you want. A good example was last weeks’ Segway article. And of course, this weeks Moonwalking comic.

It’s not much the picture as it is the accompanying video. The background music is by a band called “Sunspot“. It’s my favorite SS song – Scott Bakula. Enjoy!

It’s gotten really obvious that soon, unlimited Internet will be the thing of the past. As we get into faster speeds, it will be easier to download more and let friends connect up to download more. In the next 2 years the average persons’ internet usage will go up significantly.

This cap hurts those who work hard to keep you entertained on the Internet. While you won’t just get disconnected (well, unless your a Comcast customer), you will find the Internet will mimic your cell phone plan – overage fees to total in the hundreds or even thousands depending on what you do.

It might even affect little mom and pop shops like Geekazine. Think about it. If you ration your internet, you might find sites that have all the content you need and not specialty stuff. Even a site like Bitstrips can see some loss in users simply because they cannot be online.

Maybe someday this will re-regulate where internet usage is not important. Until then, we have to deal with this growing pain or get shut off.

Therefore, here is a little comic I wrote: