Phone, Tablet and Gizmo Thread #0x02

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 11 Apr 2013 23:16

mahadevbhu wrote:raja bose jee

not that easy.....

What is not easy ji?

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 11 Apr 2013 23:18

KJoishy wrote:Is it possible to get Hindi channels like Sony using a Roku?
My Comcast cable bills are through the roof and I need some succor!!

Yes for parents I use Roku to stream Sony/Sab/Zee ityadi. Just use http://www.dishworld.com/.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Apr 2013 05:39

Anybody know if/when Miracast will get supported in Nexus7? It already has HW support and JB 4.2 has the Miracast stack.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 12 Apr 2013 05:52

Mort and others who responded to my post of losing sound on my Home Theater after connecting the optical cable, I have an update.

Recently I changed over from comcast to att. So when the tech came in, I was telling him about the sound and I moved the cart forward to show him I connected the optical audio cable and found that the cable has come loose

We plugged in and the sound is good now. Also, for the DVD, I had to plug in the red-white pair as my DVD player is not outputting Digital Audio - when only the optical was connected the rcvr kept saying "analog only". I may have to take closer look at things before the summer vacation or may be not as we will be doing college visits and biking outside, gardening etc. may not have much time to watch TV/Movies.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Apr 2013 07:18

NYT

The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler — Olympic rowers, nemeses of Mark Zuckerberg — are laying claim to a new title: bitcoin moguls.

The Winklevii, as they are known, have amassed since last summer what appears to be one of the single largest portfolios of the digital money, whose wild gyrations have Silicon Valley and Wall Street talking. The twins, the first prominent figures in the largely anonymous bitcoin world to publicly disclose a big stake, say they own nearly $11 million worth.

Or at least $11 million as of Thursday morning — when trading was temporarily suspended after the latest and largest flash crash left a single bitcoin worth about $120 and the whole market worth $1.3 billion. At one point, the price had plummeted 60 percent.

To skeptics, the frenzy over the bitcoin network created by anonymous programmers in 2009 looks more like the mania for Dutch tulip bulbs in the 1600s than the beginnings of an actual currency.

“To say highly speculative would be the understatement of the century,” said Steve Hanke, a professor specializing in alternative currencies at Johns Hopkins University.

Whatever else it is, bitcoin has become the financial phenomenon of the moment.

In addition to the identical twins, Silicon Valley investment firms, while not holding bitcoins, are starting to show interest in the technology.

On Thursday, a group of venture capitalists, including Andreessen Horowitz, announced that they were financing a bitcoin-related company, OpenCoin.

The Winklevosses say this week’s tumult is just growing pains for a digital currency that they believe will become a sort of gold for the technorati.

“People say it’s a Ponzi scheme, it’s a bubble,” said Cameron Winklevoss. “People really don’t want to take it seriously. At some point that narrative will shift to ‘virtual currencies are here to stay.’ We’re in the early days.”

While little is known about the creator of bitcoin, or if it even was a single person, the work involved serious programming chops, building a system that could live on borrowed computer space around the world. It was determined that only a finite number of bitcoins could be created — the count is currently around 11 million. New coins are “mined” by programmers who solve mathematic riddles and can sell their coins on upstart exchanges.

For now, there are few places where bitcoins can be used. One marketplace is an online bazaar, Silk Road, where narcotics are reportedly the main wares for sale. But bitcoin believers imagine a future where the e-cash can be used at their local Starbucks. The Winklevosses have paid in bitcoin for the services of a Ukrainian computer programmer who has worked on their Web site.

“We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error,” Tyler Winklevoss said.

This is not the brothers’ first gamble on an unproved technology. As students at Harvard, the twins founded a social networking site, ConnectU, and enlisted their schoolmate, Mark Zuckerberg, to help them build the company. After Mr. Zuckerberg went off to start Facebook, the brothers sued him, accusing him of stealing their idea — a story that was dramatized in the movie “The Social Network.” The case was settled with the brothers being given $20 million in cash and Facebook shares that are now worth more than $200 million.

They have parlayed that fortune into Winklevoss Capital. Their first two investments were in Hukkster, a start-up shopping Web site and SumZero, an online community for professional money managers.

The brothers began dabbling in bitcoin last summer when the dollar value of a single coin was still in the single digits. To keep their holdings secure from hackers, they have taken the complex codes that represent their holdings off networked computers and saved them on small flash drives, putting the drives, in turn, in safe deposit boxes at banks in three different cities.

It’s hard to verify how the Winklevoss holdings compare with other bitcoin players, given the anonymity of accounts, and the twins say they believe that some early users of the system probably have holdings that are at least as large.

A Maltese company, Exante, started a hedge fund that the company says has bought up about 82,000 bitcoins — or about $10 million as of Thursday — with money from wealthy investors. A founder of the fund, Anatoli Knyazev, said his main concern was hackers and government regulators, who have so far mostly left the currency alone.

These investments were all in an uncertain state on Thursday after the big price swings and the shutdown of trading on Mt. Gox, a Japanese-based company that claims to handle 80 percent of all bitcoin trades. Mt. Gox said in a statement that the problems were a result of the currency’s popularity, making it impossible to process all the incoming orders. It added that it was not the victim of hackers but “instead victim of our own success!”

The 6-foot-5 Winklevoss brothers were unfazed. The brothers said they took advantage of the low prices to buy more.

“It has been four years and it has yet to be discredited as a viable alternative to fiat currency,” Tyler Winklevoss said. “We could be totally wrong, but we are curious to see this play out a lot more.”

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Apr 2013 07:22

^^^They are the poster children of what Harvard wants its alumni to look like - the very definition of TFTA. Meanwhile their literally SDRE partner Divya Narendra is quietly trying to make a fortune.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Apr 2013 07:25

^ and that sharp brazilian guy Eduardo decamped for singapore the moment it seems GOTUS was about to tax his fortune. must be having a whale of time on clarke quay and raffles club with a tall cold one.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Apr 2013 07:40

^^^I have noticed that there are very very few 1st gen immigrant SDREs who are successful in the startup business. Most are dominated by WASPs and some joos whether on the founder side or on the VC side. I guess for 1st gen immigrants by the time they roll around to GC and a stable immigrant status as a minimum safety net they are already too old and burdened with wife+kids+debt so only a few venture out. For 2nd gen immigrants there is already a de-facto safety net of citizenship and family so one can strike out for a while just like Gates/Allen/Woz/Jobs/Zuck ityadi did. Folks like Deer Glandular Secretion (DGS) mullah are rare....very rare.

In context of race, VC and startups is still very much a white man's game (wimmens and other races are allowed in but not to the high table). In words of one well known VC, "There were these 2 white guys with a great idea. What could go wrong?" (he was answering the question as to why he invested in Google).

----

BTW those Winklevii for all their TFTA bearing actually come across as fairly dumb - or perhaps it is their nawabi blood talking given they were born into wealth. SDRE Narendra is way more Chankian and is instrumental for even going after Zuck and getting some payback.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 12 Apr 2013 07:50

In DGS, G stands for Gundetra?

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 12 Apr 2013 08:09

pandyan wrote:Goog charges based on number of maps requested per day...it might be a simply ploy from AAPL to stop paying $$$$$B to google for Apple map app. since goog released the app on their own, fruit customers get the same data...but fruit saves $$$$$B

That is for third party apps which use Maps API. Google products which use Maps API is free. Users dont pay anything to use maps.google.com in the browser -- desktop or mobile. FruitCo Google Maps was also considered Google first party product, though chacha had very little to do with coding the app itself.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 12 Apr 2013 08:11

Singha wrote:^ and that sharp brazilian guy Eduardo decamped for singapore the moment it seems GOTUS was about to tax his fortune. must be having a whale of time on clarke quay and raffles club with a tall cold one.

The actual story that I heard from little birdies was quite benign. Fellow's move was not just for the tax reasons -- he was actively courted by economic development board there. The press as usual decided to pursue the tax angle to give them more viewership.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 12 Apr 2013 08:13

Anybody saw the new Sammy mega annoucement. Apparently they will introduce a 5.8 and 6.3 inch phone. I think Sammy started at 3.5 inches and introduced a phone in 0.3 inches increments, so they have like 200 models between 3.5 inches and 10 inches. Those fellows are certified nuts! But ofcourse, coming from a consumer electronics background, this must be the norm there. If you are looking to buy a LCD monitor, usually there will be 1000 models each named VZPAQ3300RSQ with a few digits changed here and there and you have no idea what the difference is.

They are doing the same to phones.

hanumadu · Post by **hanumadu** » 12 Apr 2013 08:41

Raja Bose wrote:^^^I have noticed that there are very very few 1st gen immigrant SDREs who are successful in the startup business. Most are dominated by WASPs and some joos whether on the founder side or on the VC side. I guess for 1st gen immigrants by the time they roll around to GC and a stable immigrant status as a minimum safety net they are already too old and burdened with wife+kids+debt so only a few venture out. For 2nd gen immigrants there is already a de-facto safety net of citizenship and family so one can strike out for a while just like Gates/Allen/Woz/Jobs/Zuck ityadi did. Folks like Deer Glandular Secretion (DGS) mullah are rare....very rare.

In context of race, VC and startups is still very much a white man's game (wimmens and other races are allowed in but not to the high table). In words of one well known VC, "There were these 2 white guys with a great idea. What could go wrong?" (he was answering the question as to why he invested in Google).

----

BTW those Winklevii for all their TFTA bearing actually come across as fairly dumb - or perhaps it is their nawabi blood talking given they were born into wealth. SDRE Narendra is way more Chankian and is instrumental for even going after Zuck and getting some payback.

There used to be a steady stream of Indian start up stories during the dot com bubble and even later. I wonder if we will see start ups by second generation Indians soon. Also some of them will r2i and have their own start ups at some point. Inmobi is one such company which got a 200 million $ series C funding recently.

Most are dominated by WASPs and some joos whether on the founder side or on the VC side.

This is an understatement of the decade

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Apr 2013 09:03

pls add in the samsung galaxy win which was also annouced. slightly smaller than the galaxy grand..4.7" rather than 5"

http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20130411 ... announced/

fills the 5K "gap" between their galaxy duos and the galaxy grand

at this rate even customers will have a tough time choosing...they better introduce some easy to read charts with drawings, specs, prices in a linear row to make it easier in the shops.

member_20292 · Post by **member_20292** » 12 Apr 2013 10:44

Raja Bose wrote:
mahadevbhu wrote:raja bose jee

not that easy.....
What is not easy ji?

G@@nd phatt ke haath main aa gayi hai jeee.

So many screen resolutions ...designing buttons and layouts for all of them is a big pain in the you know where.

To top it all off..the android developers website is itself written in not so simble english.

any other resources??

sampat · Post by **sampat** » 12 Apr 2013 11:54

if you are only looking for basics then why not try some introductory video tutorials?

http://www.lynda.com/Android-2-tutorial ... 825-2.html

http://thenewboston.org/list.php?cat=6

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Apr 2013 12:35

Beta, the Android developer website is written in fairly simple terms - thoda haath ganda to karna padega.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Apr 2013 12:36

matrimc wrote:In DGS, G stands for Gundetra?

DGS mullah Gundotra ka baap hai. He eats Gundotras for snacks.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Apr 2013 12:39

was he associated with SUNW earlier...?

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Apr 2013 13:59

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Apr 2013 14:19

the mysterious DGS you were pointing to?

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Apr 2013 14:36

Singha wrote:the mysterious DGS you were pointing to?

No saar. The name DGS should give you enuff clue - he is not one of the old Valley fogies. He is loh purush onlee (non-BJP).

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Apr 2013 18:51

gmail has caught a stupid webex messaging type bug - the compose instead of bringing up a full sized compose area brings up a instant messaging chat type window on bottom right today. they claim the old compose will go away soon.

well bye bye gmail....it was never a refined product anyway....I think will shift to yahoo mail or even outlook.com

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Apr 2013 20:58

I get the strong feeling that a criminal mastermind of highest caliber someone like a darkside grigori perelman cooked up this bitcoin thing as a huge scam...and once he made some real money off it, or is otherwise satisfied, will pull the rug one day and vanish.

Tfta munnas are likely out of their league in dealing with that level of mind.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Apr 2013 21:06

^^^your spider sense is most likely on the money.

Somebody has been effing up the gmail UI for past 2 years - 1st the stupid scroll bar+collapsible list on the left side for the folders which doesn't appear unless the mouse hovers (I mean who in their right mind designs a UI based on direct interaction principles for exclusively mouse based use?!) and now this compose window which occupies useless space. Why break stuff which don't need fixing?

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 12 Apr 2013 22:49

yes, I hate the gmail's invisible or dynamic scroll bars popping things.. and real hard to get it working. wtf designed that should be sent to asylum. another one, is the new email send/edit popups.. where I can't discard it anymore... further there are no paragraph/format controls for text alignment and adjust. wtf one designed would take away something is really used? not user friendly at all..

the previous architect from whom i took reigns, was aghast in his strategies, that i had to fix so many issues.. and now gone beyond repair and entered buckle zone. he joined google. i can imagine!!!

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Apr 2013 23:55

SaiK wrote:yes, I hate the gmail's invisible or dynamic scroll bars popping things..

BRF-itis strikes again. I read the above as:

SaiK wrote:yes, I hate the gmail's invisible or dharmic scroll bars popping things..

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 13 Apr 2013 01:17

Marten mulla, 822 is VZW variant no? Whatcha doin with that in Bangalore, Kerala?

I am waiting for the 928.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Apr 2013 01:45

dharmic scrolls should beat the heckuva lot over dead sea ones.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 13 Apr 2013 03:29

Surprise! Jeff Bezos explains to Amazon investors why no profits are a good thing

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 13 Apr 2013 04:13

So, where is the 2013 letter? The article talks about 2011 and 2012 letters. What is the kindle model he is holding in his hand in the photo?

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Apr 2013 05:15

can the wacom product used for presentations? like draw to project on the screen live?

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 13 Apr 2013 05:20

^^^You mean draw directly on the screen? For that they have separate (more expensive) products. In such a case you are better off using a Surface PRO.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Apr 2013 06:34

huh.. these gizmo guys are chew masters.. they will make you hate to have all in ones at mullah prices

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 13 Apr 2013 19:02

Raja Bose wrote:^^^You mean draw directly on the screen? For that they have separate (more expensive) products. In such a case you are better off using a Surface PRO.

Too bad the Surface Pro screen is too small to be effective for anything useful and that too for a relatively expensive price. No one is buying the Surface Pro, savvy users are waiting for Windows OEMs to come out with more touch screen laptops at lower prices.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Apr 2013 19:08

I am irritated at this model of every other release MS still continues to work on the framework of chewing customers, and enabling a better feel alternate release. This is a monopoly driven strategy. Mr. Gates will see heaven and will enjoy hell onlee.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 13 Apr 2013 21:30

Mort Walker wrote:
Raja Bose wrote:^^^You mean draw directly on the screen? For that they have separate (more expensive) products. In such a case you are better off using a Surface PRO.

Too bad the Surface Pro screen is too small to be effective for anything useful and that too for a relatively expensive price. No one is buying the Surface Pro, savvy users are waiting for Windows OEMs to come out with more touch screen laptops at lower prices.

Actually for a pen based experience, the Pro turns out to be pretty good - I use it regularly as a sketchpad (some of the cartoons posted on BRF were drawn/finished on it). The on-screen inking/drawing experience on it is surprisingly better than Wacom's Intuous (the digitizer/pen is still Wacom but drivers are different) and the Wacom tablets with equivalent functionality cost ~ 2x/3x. One complaint I have is the baseline pressure sensitivity threshold needs to be lowered to the level of Wacom's non-display tablets like the Bamboo. As for the price, as Chacha's ChromeBook Pixel demonstrated it doesn't get cheaper than that right now. Chacha's ChromeBook Pixel also demonstrates something I have talked about in the past - gimping software functionality does not decrease the BOM cost becoz the components which dominate the cost are not the ones which are affected by reduced software functionality. This is the fundamental reason why products like the Celio RedFly, Palm Folio and Motorola Atrix Dock were DOA despite anal-e-cysts getting multiple orgasms when they were introduced.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Apr 2013 21:34

Basically the requirement is this.. I have PPT presentations, and in between I need to explain and use the pen device rather go to dry erase white board. I want to use the computing device, connected to whatever touch/pen input system, and then concurrently use it either on the presentation or open a note book or drawing/paint surface while the projector is just presenting what I pen or draw.

Furthermore, I don't want to use laser pointing device.. I want to use the mouse/pen as pointing device. so, the end objective is that all these can be video taped, and the presentation is more real and visually easy to understand.. for example if the same presentation on camera, hardly one can notice the laser pointer on the video.

KJo · Post by **KJo** » 13 Apr 2013 21:41

Raja Bose wrote:
KJoishy wrote:Is it possible to get Hindi channels like Sony using a Roku?
My Comcast cable bills are through the roof and I need some succor!!
Yes for parents I use Roku to stream Sony/Sab/Zee ityadi. Just use http://www.dishworld.com/.

What do you pay after the inticement rate is over? Looks like it is $29.99 for a package of 2 channels that we want (Sony and Star). Not really cheap compared to Comcast...

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 13 Apr 2013 21:42

If you want pen instead of just touch onlee and want the ability to use mouse+touch+pen+display out, then the Surface Pro+touch/type cover looks like your only option right now afaik. There used to be and probably still are those convertible tablets with pen input (Wacom digitizer) but they typically had resistive screens so the touch/display sucks - I used to have a YechPee one. If you just want touch and want to draw with finger onlee instead of pen, then get any of the touch screen laptops or a large touch screen display like the Dell 23 inch which allows you to slant it like a drawing board.