MiFi gained a lot of attention these days, dubbed the main reason for the problems at the presentation of iPhone 4. It is a convenient way to have mobile internet everywhere with you. It is a compact wireless (Wi-Fi) router, which uses a cell-phone network (3G) for internet connectivity.
The concept is several years old, with traditional WiFi routers’ manufacturers implementing a GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/CDMA modules in some of their products. These routers are very convenient for setting up mobile sites like mobile teams, outdoor events, etc. where only the presence of electricity is needed. Like traditional routers, they usually offer combined wired and wireless access.
MiFi is an enhancement of this concept – it’s a self-sufficient device, designed by Novatel, that has its own battery. You can carry it in your pocket or bag, and use wireless internet about 10 meters (30 feet) around. The battery has enough capacity to provide about 5 hours of active internet access and 40 hours of standby. It automatically switches into standby when it detects it is not in use, thus saving power. It can be accessed by 5 devices simultaneously (wireless only, no wired ports), sharing the same internet connection. And when the battery is down, you can plug it in an electricity outlet with the provided adapter, or charge it from your laptop via USB, to continue surfing.
On June 7th, Apple introduced its newest iPhone – the long rumored iPhone 4. It’s completely redesigned, has a better screen, better camera, better battery life, but one of its best features is it now supports multitasking. It enables you to run several applications simultaneously and switch between them without having to close them. It also features FaceTime – full-screen video conversations with abilities to switch between front and back camera. The camera is now 5MP with built-in flash and HD-video capabilities – it can record 720p videos.
You know how search works – you open your favorite search engine, type a keyword or two, and there – a list of thousands of pages, containing info about your topic of interest. There even is an image search – you go to Google images and there again – hundreds of images, corresponding (better or worse) to the keywords you entered. But what if you do not know what you’re looking for? What if you have an image of a painting and want to know who painted it? Or a photograph of a place, you want to know where?
TinEye is the “reverse image search engine” you need – you just have to upload your image (or give the URL-address, if it is published on a webpage), and you will get results from other pages, containing the same image. It gives you the chance to learn what it is, since you will probbably get pages, containing info about it. Here is how it works:
It is also a good tool to see who is using your images
It requires a compatible laptop (some of the new Intel Core i7 / i5 / i3 processors, an Intel (Advanced) N wireless adapter, 64-bit Windows 7, and some specialized Intel software), a wireless TV adapter and a TV with a HDMI or composite A/V input. Look for the WiDi icon to find compatible devices.
So far, the announced compatible devices are:
Laptops:
Dell Studio 15z
Sony VAIO S Series
Toshiba Satellite E205
Wireless receiver:
NETGEAR Push2TV Adapter for Intel Wireless Display
There are numerous sources of knowledge on the Internet. Among the eLearning resources, specialized reading, focus groups, portals, etc., you can find the topic that is of interest to you and spend a lot of hours reading and watching videos on the subject.
I am also very keen on learning new things and gathering knowledge in various spheres of life. So, I was very excited, when several years ago, one of the most prominent universities in the IT sphere – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), decided to start an innovative project – to make the courses, taught to MIT students, available online. Since then, many universities have made this step, and as a result, you can now “attend” top universities’ courses from the comfort of your own home, to mix and match content according to your own interests and needs, and to design unique curricula for yourselves.
So here is (hopefully, an ever growing) list of links to the publicly available university courses and other knowledge resources:
Feel free to propose other valuable resources, that belong to the list. Also, be sure to revisit this article, as it is my intention to keep the list updated as I find other valuable resources.
Today is going to be a big day for technology. Two major technology events are going to happen at the same day – January 27th, 2010:
Sun + Oracle merger: At 9:00 AM PST (17:00 GMT) There will be an Oracle + Sun Strategy Update Webcast. It is entitled “Transforming the Way You Buy, Run, and Manage Your Business Systems”. The Sun acquisition by Oracle is by far one of the most significant transformations in the Enterprise segment, making Oracle an even bigger giant.
And then comes the most awaited event by the general public:
Apple: The long awaited announcement of a “major new product”, as dubbed by Steve Jobs, is going to happen at 10:00 AM PST (18:00 GMT). All rumors in the tech circles point it’s going to be the public presentation of the mystical Apple tablet, called iTablet, iSlate or iPod Tablet Edition. There is no live feed from the event, but rumor has it there is going to be a video on Apple’s website as soon as it’s finished.
A friend asked me today: “Do you have a Facebook?”
My quick answer was: “Of course not, I am a geek!”
Then it made me think, what is it that makes geeks hate the new social networks hype? It’s not like we are unfamiliar or feel uncomfortable, come on, we create these things for breakfast! And there definitely is an issue with geeks and social networks – all my geek friends avoid them, at least the fashion ones. It does not matter where everybody is, I just don’t care if I get a thousand invitations to Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, etc. And it is not like we don’t have social contacts also. It’s more like “you go into that fancy place and mingle with the fancy people. If you want to contact me, come where I am”.
So far so good. But then again, where am I? And most importantly, what makes it different from the other places where people communicate on the Internet?
I am on Twitter, I even have 2 accounts – one personal and one for the blog. I am on LinkedIn. I am on Jamendo. I may even be on some, or even most of the other social networks, but I am not really on them.
What is common between all of these places – they are not commercial. Even though Twitter is so popular, it is somehow clean. No marketing, no spam, no SEO bullshit. It got out of nowhere, some people were just having fun, others thought it is fun too. Another thing common is privacy – you are not bugged 20 times a day with invitations for mindless activities, fake causes and not embarrassed by someone, who thought it is very funny to share a picture of you when you had a bad day. Without asking you do you mind, or giving you any choice. And it is more personal too. You are not part of the crowd, it is like going out with friends.
What do you think about it? How is it for you? And don’t forget to share this within your social network!
MiFi gained a lot of attention these days, dubbed the main reason for the problems at the presentation of iPhone 4. It is a convenient way to have mobile internet everywhere with you. It is a compact wireless (Wi-Fi) router, which uses a cell-phone network (3G) for internet connectivity.
There are numerous sources of knowledge on the Internet. Among the eLearning resources, specialized reading, focus groups, portals, etc., you can find the topic that is of interest to you and spend a lot of hours reading and watching videos on the subject.
A friend asked me today: “Do you have a Facebook?”
And there definitely is an issue with geeks and social networks – all my geek friends avoid them, at least the fashion ones. It does not matter where everybody is, I just don’t care if I get a thousand invitations to Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, etc. And it is not like we don’t have social contacts also. It’s more like “you go into that fancy place and mingle with the fancy people. If you want to contact me, come where I am”.
