Nokia N80 IE update

After (re)flashing the firmware, the "please insert SIM" error message didnt appear yet. So I'm keeping my figures crossed and hope that solved the problem!

Nokia N80 IE

My Nokia N80 Internet Edition phone started to give me trouble today. The phone mysteriously say that there is No SIM card in the phone and insist that I insert a SIM card.

My first reaction is to "reboot" the phone by powering off and on. That seem to rectify the problem - or at least I thought it did. Moments later when I wanted to use the phone, it again showed the same "Insert SIM card" message. I was annoyed, and hence not over power off the phone, but removed the battery and SIM card, and re-assemble them back together again.
This time, the power up looks ok again and I thought the problem is resolved once again - perhaps a loose SIM?

Another 20mins later when I wanted to use the phone again, the same error occurred. I'm really annoyed now - I repower the phone and it appears ok again. When I went home, and was looking at the phone, it mysterously rebooted - and after rebooting, it says no SIM again. I rebooted a few times and the problem is resolved temporarily.

I've just backed-up the data on the phone (just in case), and then re-flashed the Firmware even though I've already got the latest firmware V 5.0719.0.2 dated 24 May 2007 RM-92.
I'll give further updates is the phone continues to give problem. To check your firmware, just key in *#0000# code.

Favourite Gadget

What is your favourite gadget? ipod? iphone? zune? webcam? gps?

EverythingBinary Wishes you a very Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. It has been almost 3 months since this Blog started.
The readership hasnt reach any level yet. In any case, it is the holiday season, and we all can be thankful for what we have.

What will this "EverythingBinary" blog evolve to? I'm not sure. I'll probably try to get this into a more specific forum type thingy rather than a blog. Any comments welcome.

Interesting list of Graphics software

http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=112059&b=3

The interesting ones to me so far are :

http://www.artofillusion.org - ART OF ILLUSION - Open source program used for modelling, animation and raytracing that has many features contained within high-level commercial software. Well worth checking out.

http://www.leadwerks.com/ - 3D WORLD STUDIO - $59.95 For Standard Edition - The absolute best world creating program available.

3D Animation Software

I would like to poll the population to see what 3D package is the easiest to pick up for a beginner :



1. 3D Studio Max

2. Maya

3. Daz 3D

4. Others



Please leave your comments. I've been toying with the free Daz 3D, but can't figure out how to use it.

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

Homeplug for your home?

Anyone interested in gettng 200Mbps Homeplug (powerline networking).

HomePlug AV compliantISO/IEC 802-3 (ANSI/IEE802.3i) 10 BASE-T EthernetIEE802.3u, 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet

200 Mbps HomePlug AV1. Power:100~240V AC, Universal2. Power Consumption: 4.5W (Maximum)3. Dimensions: 103 x 72 x 39mm

---

DimDim to challenge WebEx?

http://www.dimdim.com/ A free web-based conferencing software?

US$400 35x optical zoom DV camcoder?

If you're still shooting MiniDV then you'll be stoked by this, the budget GD-D850 DV camcorder from JVC. This "Baby Movie" cam features a 2.7-inch LCD with auto-adjusting brightness, 16:9 or 4:3 NTSC recordings, and the ability to capture your little Poopie Puddles in as little as 1-lux of light without the eerie, green glow of a spoiled debutante. It also features a 35x optical zoom for peeping things you probably shouldn't. Expected to hit Japanese retail priced at ¥45,000 (about $397) in January -- then the US quickly thereafter we presume.

Apple website

If you're an Apple fan, check out http://www.9to5mac.com/

Nanowire Battery 10 times better than Li-ion cells

Stanford claims its latest advances in silicon nanowires have it building batteries with 10 times the capacity of existing Li-ion cells. Apparently people have been trying to stuff silicon -- which has a much higher capacity than existing materials -- into a battery for decades, but since it swells when charged with positively charged lithium and shrinks during use, the silicon has a tendency to "pulverize." Who knew batteries could be so dramatic? Oh, right. The advancement at Standford, led by Yi Cui, builds the battery in the form of silicon nanowires, giving the silicon room to grow and shrink without damage. A patent is being filed, and Yi Cui is already considering forming a company or licensing the tech to a manufacturer.

D-Link DIR-655 Wireless N Router update

D-Link Singapore just released the firmware for it's Gigabit Wireless-N Router DIR-655 bringing the version number to 1.10. The firmware is available for download in it's website at http://www.dlink.com.sg/ . Please note that firmware for US version of the router is not to be used for Singapore bought routers. The most current US firmware is at version 1.11

Product Description:


BEST-IN-CLASS FEATURES

The D-Link Xtreme N™ Gigabit Router (DIR-655) is a draft 2.0 802.11n compliant device that delivers up to 14x faster speeds* and 6x farther range* than 802.11g while staying backward compatible with 802.11g devices. Connect the Xtreme N Gigabit Router to a cable or DSL modem and provide high-speed Internet access to multiple computers, game consoles, and media players. Create a secure wireless network to share photos, files, music, videos, printers, and network storage.

Powered by Xtreme N™ technology and equipped with three external antennas, this router provides superior wireless coverage for larger homes and offices, or for users running bandwidth-intensive applications. The DIR-655 also includes a 4-port 10/100/1000 Gigabit switch that connects Gigabit wired devices for enjoying lag-free network gaming and faster file transfers.

XTREME N™ ROUTER BENEFITS
Intelligent Wireless Prioritization Technology.
Xtreme N technology allows for farther home coverage*.
Secure your wireless network using advanced WPA™ or WPA2™ encryption.
Easy to get started with D-Link’s new Quick Router Setup Wizard.
Supports Good Neighbor Policy – will not interfere with other wireless networks.
Backward compatible with 802.11g devices including game consoles and digital media players.

The Good Ear Boy

Finally, you no longer have to mess with annoying bone conducting headsets to get your message heard in noisy environments. A Japanese company called NS-ELEX has created a new type of earpiece / microphone called the "e-Mimi-kun" (good ear boy), which utilizes air vibrations in the ear to deliver your voice to the other end of the line. Apparently, the design reduces outside noise by a factor of six, and a Sanyo chip used in the device further reduces sound levels, making things up to ten times quieter. The earpiece can be tethered to a phone, or work wirelessly via Bluetooth. No release date or pricing info available right now, but we're pretty sure stock brokers will snap these up like hot-cakes.

-From Engadget

Can Ear Phones go Wireless?

Apparently YES, Look at this product from Kleer (another fabless semiconductor company) :
http://www.kleer.com/pages/wirelessearphones.html

It's suppose to provide up to 10 hrs of listening pleasure out of these tiny burgers!

Photodex's Proshow Producer 3.2

Launch just recently, this version of the slide-show making software takes another leap forward. See the demo of one of it's new advanced features : http://www.photodex.com/sharing/spotlight/demoshows_advancedmotion.html

Blu-ray BD9

You can burn your HD content on a regular DVD media, and still be able to play back the HD conent using your Blu-ray player. The format is called BD9. Nero 8 should be able to create such a format for you.

Windows 7

Windows 7 (formerly codenamed Blackcomb, then Vienna) is a future version of Microsoft Windows. It is expected to be the successor to Windows Vista. Microsoft has confirmed that the planned development time frame is at least three years, putting the release date around 2010. On July 20, 2007, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 7 is "the internal name for the next version of the Windows Client OS".


On December 11, 2007, Hilton Locke, who worked on the Tablet PC team at Microsoft and is currently working in the Windows PowerShell reported that Windows 7 will have new touch features.

“ I will say that if you are impressed by the "touch features" in the iPhone, you'll be blown away by what's coming in Windows 7. Now if only we could convince more OEMs that Windows Touch Technology is going to drive their sales.

Ricoh Camera

Singapore Post is having a Christmas promotion right now. One of the offer is the Ricoh R5 featuring a 7.24 megapixel CCD and a whooping 7.1x Optical Zoom (28mm - 200mm).

The Offer price of S$348 even includes freebies like 2GB SD card, mini tripod, cleaning kit and screen protector.

The 1st 500 customers may even get a free Binoculars (worth $19.90)

Whats the catch? Cant cash and carry. The camera will be delivered!

Any comments on this offer?

Merry Christmas

http://www.thecompassgroup.biz/merryxmas.swf

Toshiba's SCiB by March 2008

Press Release

The main merit of SCiB (Super Charge Ion Battery)
1. High safety

SCiB is difficult to cause the internal short circuit and the thermal runaway with the new cathode material and the adoption etc. of the electrolyte of the high flash point whose thermal safety is high, it is the electric battery whose possibility of explosion and ignition quite is low.

2. Long-lived efficiency

After approximately 3000 charging and cycles due to quick charge condition, capacity decrease is under only 10%. Approximately, repetition charging and which exceeds 5000 times being possible, 10 years or more it can use over again with the charge of 1 day 1 time.

3. Boosting charge efficiency

It can guarantee high safety and because heavy-current charge (50A) it is possible, the SCiB cell, both standard module, it can complete the charge of 90% or more of battery capacity in 5 minutes.

4. Takaide power efficiency

We have the input/output efficiency where like the electric double layer capacitor is high, it is optimum to the use whose big power is necessary.


5. Low temperature efficiency

Minus 30 ℃ and sufficient discharge is possible with low temperature environment, it is suitable in the use where use at cold area is anticipated.

ARTiGO, the fancy name given to the new barebone by VIA will give the world another ultra-compact desktop PC to the consumers.

The "ARTIGO Pico-ITX " builder kit, is a complete VIA-based system that you can snap together in the privacy of your own home. The bundle includes a Pico-ITX motherboard with a VIA C7 1GHz CPU, support for up to 1GB of RAM, IDE and eSATA connectors, VGA output, four USB ports, audio line in / out jacks, and 10/100 ethernet. The package includes everything but a hard drive and memory, and is available right now for around US$300.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/embedded/artigo/index.jsp

Blue Screen Compositing

Youtube selection

Hi guys,

http://sinlg.dlinkddns.com:8000/base/forumdisplay.php?fid=25

Here is a forum where selected youtube videos are posted. You may wish to post videos that you think the community would be interested in.

Cheers
Steven

Webcams

Well, I've bought a Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 and have been using for a few months now. So time for a review :

What I like about it :

1. Glass lens, gives very nice and sharp photos and video
2. Autofocus
3. Wide Angle Lens
4. Built-in Mic is good too
5. Software added effects are fun
6. works very well under low light

What I didnt like

1. a little pricy
2. the autofocus sometimes doesnt focus correctly. At times I have to turn off the autofocus
3. The wide angle is nice, but sometimes I want to do close-ups. And the "software" zoom really reduces the sharpness of the picture/video. I guess the next step is to introduce optical zoom.


All in all, I'm quite happy with the cam, and would recommend folks who want a good webcam.

The Power of Photoshop

So what gadget should I get for Christmas?

Ooyala's Backlot

http://www.ooyala.com/backlot

Ooyala Backlot is a video management platform that gives you control over the delivery, organization, analytics, and monetization of your online videos.

Asus Eeee PC

http://event.asus.com/eeepc/microsites/en/index.htm

Nice!

BluRay & HD-DVD format wars

It's no secret that Michael "Transformers" Bay prefers his high definition optical discs in the Blu variety, but what we didn't know was how convinced the man is that the whole format war is nothing but a stalling tactic, with Microsoft pulling all the strings. Responding to a commenter angry over Paramount's decision to burn Optimus and friends onto HD DVD only, Bay claims to have the inside track on the "corporate politics" at play here, suggesting that "Microsoft wants both formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads." He goes on to claim that Redmond has only been financially backing HD DVD over "superior Blu-ray" to create "confusion in the market" until such time as high def digital downloading goes prime time. In other words, if you believe Bay, Microsoft is backing a known loser in order to prolong a war it doesn't want anyone to win. Pretty wild theory, if you ask us -- hey, this guy should make movies.

Nokia to give free music for a year!

So here's the deal. Nokia just launched a "Comes with Music" program. No, not software, but a deal which allows you to buy a Nokia device with a year of unlimited, subscription access to "millions of tracks." Once the year is complete however, customers can keep all their downloaded music -- it doesn't disappear just because the subscription is over. What's the catch? Don't know yet. We know it's limited to Universal Music Group tracks for the time being but there's no mention of any fees, DRM, advertising, or other restrictions. We'll update you as soon as we get more.

Adobe Photoshop and it's plugins

Anyone use Photoshop out there? I'm wondering what are the best plugins people use?
There are so many out there, so let's categorize them into whats the best.

So far, personally, I think Alienskin has the most interesting set.

Free Online RPG game

http://www.warriorepic.com/
Warrior Epic takes online games and the action RPG genre into new territory. To begin, the game is free to download and free to play online with no strings attached. Choose several warriors from a large group of specialized classes and play cooperative campaigns or slug it out with friends in PVP. All of this can be set up in a matter of minutes. We are dedicated to bringing out new content such as players, monsters, equipment, and stories every month.

Sitex 2007

Its official. I missed Sitex 2007. Singapore Expo is simply too far to get to, not to mention too crowded. This is probably a good thing, keeps me away from impulse buying. When will the next show come around again? I'll just watch the Chrismas sales that will come in by waves.