Author Archives: Fordiebianco

The daily commute or how to keep yourself happy.

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Image courtesy of  Donjuanna on Flickr

I have discussed my daily commute before. As it is bloody cold, wet and dark at present, I have ceased my cycling for the moment and am relying on the combination of walking, train and tube again. Every morning when I stand waiting for my train, I marvel at the numbers of commuters cramming every 10 minutes into the train to London. These trains are not little 2 wagon affairs, now, they are appropriately 300 meters long and apparently have about 1000 – 2000 commuters  on it. As you can imagine, finding a seat can be very difficult, especially when the trains are late and everybody is trying to cram into the last standing space to be at work on time.

So, depending on the amount of space I have, I have devised an entertainment strategy to get through these mind numbingly boring 30 minutes in the morning (and evening)

What you need:

  • One Guardian (The Independent has become unreadable for all its ads and lack of content. It’s soon going to be extinct anyway)
  • One FM-radio enabled media player (or phone, in my case)
  • One media player containing podcasts and music
  • One book (preferably small paperback)

When the train pulls in, you quickly have to decide what will be the best way to entertain yourself, depending on the amount of passengers waiting with you and the amount of passengers already on the train.

A rough guideline would be:

  • Easy standing space (sharing the dedicated standing space in the middle of the carriage with maximum 4 middlesized men {women always find a seat. don’t ask me why. It’s a cosmic mystery}):  Fully extended Guardian plus some wake up tunes from the Ipod)
  • Moderate standing space (ca 6 men sharing): G2 and Music
  • Awkward standing Space: (ca 8 men sharing): Paperback and Music. This necessitates a paperback that can be held and used with only one hand.
  • Crammed standing space: (8+ men, no space to move whatsoever): Either Mediaplayer with a long podcast (30 minutes+  so you don’t have to touch the Ipod dial) or Radio 4’s “Today” show on FM Radio)

If you follow these easy guidelines, you too can have an entertaining and educational commute.

Just don’t forget to brush your teeth and use a bit of deodorant. For the rest of us.

The Xperia X1. Useful.

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I have been on the market for a new mobile phone for some time. I have been scouring the net for advice, read reviews, and ended up wanting a Nokia E71. Unfortunately this little machine wasn’t available for individual accounts at Vodavone here in the UK.  So, I had to think again. A Motorola phone was out the question after my V3x flaked out on me too often (mainly hardware problems with the USB port).  An Apple Iphone was an interesting choice, but too many of my fellow train travellers already had one and were obviously always struggling with emailing using the touch screen. On top of that I already own a Ipod touch AND resolved to get out of my “Apple only” policy that kept me locked in for too long in Steve’s steely embrace. With my reliance on Apple products gone, I was free to pick and choose anything that would work (i.e. synchronize) across the operating systems and machines I own (Ubuntu/OpenBSD/Windows/Ipod(s)).

With the E71, Motorola and the Iphone out of the question, there was really only Sony, LG, Samsung, HTC and the Android left. The Android – while geeky – is just plain ugly and rather enormous. As I wanted a ‘proper’ external keyboard (I never really achieved proper texting speeds on a numeric keypad), only some of the more exotic HTCs and the Xperia were left. I had a Sony before and was always impressed by its solid build, so the Xperia it had to be (yes, I know, built by HTC, but there you go) .]

 

Image courtesy of Paul at Modaco.com

First impressions: it’s much smaller than the ads make you believe. It’s also pretty good looking. The slide out mechanism of the keyboard is easy to use with only one hand and the keyboard is ok even with my enormous sausage fingers. I was a bit apprehensive about using Windows Mobile 6.1, but so far it seems to be doing ok. It is responsive, the email client Opera Webbrowser works well, and the panels are just gorgeous. The connectivity options are mindboggling:  GSM, UMTS, HSDPA, Wifi, Bluetooth, Carrier Pigeon (with an extra carrier bag). This baby does everything. The Camera is pretty spiffing and easy to use: just hold the phone horizontally between your hands and off you go. Autofocus works well.  Here’s a little pic I shot in Inverary:

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Now that’s not bad for a phone camera. Not bad at all. It’s quite intuitive to use as well. There are plenty of apps out there for Windows Mobile, and thanks to DVD-Rip  and my built in 4GB MicroSD card I have 3 movies on there at any time. It also has an FM Radio.

Am I happy with it?

Yes. It has given me as much functionality as I need with some cool software, has not locked me into Apple and  plays my movies, my music, manages my contacts, does my email and even can take my phonecalls.

What else do I need?

Back from Holidays

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Back from a refreshing week in North Argyll, there is nothing much to blog about at present (apart from the usual mayhem that is going on in Gaza and that frustrates me so deeply that I rather leave it alone), so let me welcome you all back with a picture of Wilhelmine, the late great grandmother of our rabbit family and wish you a splendid 2009.

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C-Media 8738 / 8768 drivers

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I recently built a new PC, mainly to play my favourite games from yesteryear,  from some moderately oldish parts lying around, and unfortunately found out that the used mother board I got from e-bay had a problem with its sound, as one of the channels didn’t seem to work. Not to fret, I thought and went straight to the next PC-World to get some cheapo 5.1 soundcard. I think I spent 15 pound on this no-name, white box model based on the  C-Media 8738 / 8768 chipset and quickly found out that the accompanying Windows driver was terrible shite and buggy as hell.

Well, you get what you pay for.

Then I found a open, free (new BSD license) actively supported driver by a mysterious bilingual gentleman calling himself  ”dogber1” that works absolutely terrific and has resuscitated this machine. Good documentation, easy install and a goof community site make this an excellent choice for your old soundcard.

Another example how open source can deliver excellent quality to the masses.

The Revo iBlik Radiostation

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I hope you all had some good pagan holidays.

This year the best girlfriend and I decided to hold a credit crunch Christmas (ccc) and limit the presents to the appropriate sums for a general recession. Nevertheless there was something on my mind for some time: I always wanted a small, ‘all in one’ solution for the bedside: It needed to be small, be able to dock my Ipod, play music from my media server via uPnP, stream from the internet, play DAB stations and FM. Tall order.

Or so I thought.

Enter one the most ridiculously named products ever, the Revo iBlik Radiostation.  Revo are a Scotland (Lanark, to be exact) based company specialised in DAB/Multisource devices, and the afore mentioned device does it all. So, I can listen at night not only to Radio4, but also to my podcasts on the Ipod, and, even more amazing, my beloved Radio New Zealand National via wi-fi or ethernet.

It all does it from a stylish little box with an antenna, an ethernet connector, a headphone adapter and, crucially, a stereo cinch connector that can hook up to an amp and a set of proper speakers, making this a very delectable choice for the living room as well.

So, does it work?

Yes. All of it, every bloody feeature. No bugs yet, and I have to admit that I am mightily impressed.At 180 pounds (that’s really favourable in Euro, btw) it doesn’t come cheap, but it does everything it should do, with so much more flaire and style than the other multisource options out there, like the ridiculously expensive and ugly as hell Phillips Streamium. Honestly, good hardware does not have to look like something out of ‘Star Trek: The next Generation’ and does not have to be as expensive as a dilithium chrystal either.