Posts Tagged technology
First Impressions: Windows 7
Posted by Avinash Shetty in technology on February 1, 2010
I was one of the early adopters of Windows Vista. My mistake was to choose a newly designed OS from the ground up and then choose it in a 64-bit architecture. There were two main reasons why my Vista love was short-lived. Lack of drivers and too many annoying security questions. I lived with XP ever since.
Windows 7 finally made it to my laptop about a month back. I’m very impressed. Drivers so far have been no problem but for some I did have to dig a little deeper. Jump lists, Aero peek etc are all new and exciting features all built in making the need for 3rd party software redundant. The UI is clean and stylish making it at par with Apple’s OS if not marginally better. Boot times are quick (though not scientific, I feel it is significantly faster than XP on the same laptop with the same configuration). While the default security options are quite obstructive and chatty, it was easy to disable (unlike Vista).
Other than the obvious features, there are some minor ones I really love. Since I didn’t stick with Vista long enough, its hard to say if they were introduced in Vista and I just happened to find in 7. For example, I love the fact when I can vertically maximize windows by pulling one edge to the end of the screen. Hovering over taskbar items shows a little preview of all open windows for that app and keeping your mouse over it for a while makes all other windows except that one disappear. You also see similar effects with Alt+Tab. Process handling is by far the best thing about it. If an application hangs, 7 will grey out the app making it clear to the user that it isn’t responding. Also if you try continue to use (maximize, close etc) an app that isn’t responding, 7 will prompt with a dialog asking if the app should be terminated or diagnosed for problems. This is much more convenient than having to bring up task manager and find and kill the app.
Overall, I’m very pleased with 7. I highly recommend giving it a spin.
When droid doesn’t
Posted by Avinash Shetty in technology on January 5, 2010
I’ve been comparing V’s iPhone to my G1 for a while now. If you are wondering who wins, its my old Sony Ericsson dumbphone. If you need a phone that does everything that a phone should do, it does it better than these smarter guys.
The iPhone looks great. You can’t beat how even the worst apps look so good. However, if you want a smart computer in your hands, this isn’t it. Sure you can check email and browse but you can’t background apps, everything is tightly controlled by Apple making it very frustrating for a tech buff like me to appreciate.
The G1 shine in these areas. However, it’s also its pitfall. I’m running cyanogen’s modified ROM. It gives me the latest and greatest in Android releases which I cannot get officially. But I also get random crashes, extreme slowness at times and other quirks that make the phone unusable at times. You could argue I could stick with the standard Google ROM. But then I’m running software that is a year old. Also, by running the official ROM, it does resolve all my issues. I can still run multiple apps in the background. This still makes the 500Mhz processor crawl to a halt at times. Since Android cannot control what apps are good or bad, or how much processing times each app takes up, it ends up making the phone unusable. If I stop all backgrounding apps, the phone is useful again but then, its just the iPhone.
So does iPhone have it right then. Yes and no. The ‘closed’ Apple policy has advantages. It can control things like user experience by blocking on not providing certain features (ie backgrounding, full bluetooth control etc). Users end up with a phone that works well under most circumstances and with ample battery life.
Android provides users with the platform ‘openness’. However, this leads users frustrated with a phone that could potentially run terribly slow or drain the battery within hours of use.
I think Android has the right approach. A lot of the problems are limitations of hardware. A faster processor, better battery can go a long way to alleviate the current issues. The openness is a more important aspect to maintain. Early adopters will feel the pain.
In the meantime, if someone has an old SE phone, I’d love to have it.
Directions please
Posted by Avinash Shetty in technology on December 19, 2009
Online maps and directions are great. However, how does something like this work in India where most streets don’t have names (they probably do) but more importantly most people haven’t the faintest idea what they are.
Well, here is the solution. And it is of course from Google.
Planned migration
Posted by Avinash Shetty in technology on November 1, 2009
I’ve been planning to migrate to my new server for months now and it had been pending forever for several odd reasons. I finally have it up and running and the blog has been migrated so its almost fully functional. Some bits are still missing however this will get time as and when I find time.
Highlights of the migration
- New RAID 6 server so my data is secure.
- Centralized LDAP Authentication system. No duplicate/multiple registration.
- Email. Yay! I finally I have own email and don’t need to rely on Google or anyone else.
- Space. This is relative to my old server. Currently This is at 2TB after RAID but there is provisioning for a lot more.
Sour Apples? Maybe, but you are hurting yourself
Posted by Avinash Shetty in technology on July 28, 2009
Apple may be slowly driving away its customer base by controlling its app store check-ins. The latest reject is Google Voice. Two clear reasons for this. One its an app by a competing phone OS and two AT&T would have twisted Apple’s arm (though it wouldn’t really need to) so its keeps its revenues where it belongs.
However, unlike the desktop/laptop OS’s where Apple can be rigid about policies, the phone market isn’t where Apple can afford to keep up with these nuisances. For one, this market segment has much more competition. Also, things can change quickly with a year or two. There is a minor wow-factor with the iPhone but that is quickly fading with better Andriod sets coming out and Palm, Mircrosoft among others pushing their own OS’s which are just as competive.
First Impressions: Android
Posted by Avinash Shetty in technology on May 21, 2009
After much deliberation I finally picked up an HTC G1 android phone. A month into using it, my first impressions are GOOD.
I was a Sony Ericsson (not smartphone) user for a long time. I tried various other models and none seemed to match up to the Sony Ericsson in terms of usability. I think the interface was simple, placement of menu items was very intuitive and in general just easy to use.
The Android OS does just that. Everything is laid out in easy to read, intuitive places, Menu options are short and do not overwhelm. Enabling and disabling services is easy.
Most of the things I dislike about Android aren’t really the OS’s fault. It is the HTC G1. It is big and bulky, feels cheap and just lacking glam. However, the OS isn’t without its flaws. Considering it is currently at 1.5 I understand it has plenty of time to develop. However
* There is no support for WPA-Enterprise. The browser doesn’t support bookmarklets. I think these and others like these are basic functionality and needs to be addressed.
* The menu button provides additional options for the app or the OS in general. For one, this isn’t intuitive. Moreover, the options are still very basic. Furthermore, the options cannot be user configured. For example, if you are using the browser and want to go to the home page, you need to click Menu -> More -> Home page. If I want Home page to show on the main menu, there is no way to do this.
* The battery like is terrible. Not the OS fault but it contributes. Backgrounding processes keeps them running and keeps the battery draining. I’m not a fan of push notifications really, but something needs to be done.
* Wifi pickup is weak. Don’t know what the cause is but at coffee shops where my laptop works fine, the G1 doesn’t pick up the SSID or picks it up briefly then drops.
There are tons of other minor things but I suppose those exist with every phone out there.
It’s not all grey. As a smartphone, Android is great. It’s interface is clean. The usability is great. Most apps in the market are free and good. There are tons of those great little features that I really like and make the phone fun to use.
Overall, I’m sticking with it. Since I haven’t used the IPhone intensely, this won’t be a shootout. But I dislike the way Apple arm-wrestles the market, the apps, and its users and I don’t want any part of that.
Finally, one thing to point out is I’m using the G1 with no data plan. While most people I met say this defeats the purpose, I disagree strongly. Wifi is predominant in most places and increasing daily. Besides the two places I spend most of my time has wireless access. So I don’t miss out on anything.
Overall rating 3.5 stars.
Software moves like porta-potty.
Posted by Avinash Shetty in technology on November 6, 2008
I recently discovered portable apps. And I couldn’t be happier. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is precisely what the name suggests. Applications written with portability in mind. You can copy the app to your USB drive and move it to another PC and there you have it; setup exactly the way you want it, all set to go. I’ve spent hours working on other people’s PC, downloading stuff I need, configuring, setting everything up and then having to clean up everything when I’m done. No more. Just plugin a USB drive, everything is all set and ready to fire. Firefox alone, with addons saves me tons of time. Better yet, whenever someone remote tells me their firefox isnt working as desired on certain sites, I say download mine and run it. See if it works. And it usually does. Also, I don’t now need to carry my PC around when I travel. With all my apps on a USB, all I need is a host PC on the other end and I’m all set.
Another obvious advantage is that since apps are not installed on the PC, your registry stays slim and running faster. the files are not scattered all over the place, only where you installed it. Uninstalling is as easy as deleting the folder where you installed it. No more registry cleaners, orphan files all over taking up space. Overall, I find my system snappy with little to no bloat and yet everything there at my fingertips.
Now, if only everything else in life was portable. At leasy potty is.
OS Shootout.
Posted by Avinash Shetty in technology on September 19, 2008
Mac (Tiger/Leopard), Windows (XP/Vista), Linux (Ubuntu). The whoz who of OS, take periferral. This is a desktop shootout because in my opinion, the server shootout is pointless. Linux wins hands down there. So lets take aspects of desktop needs and compare the OS’s.
Eye Candy
Out of the box, Mac is a clear winner. It’s clean, functional and good looking. The dock, minimalistic yet functional toolbar, gorgeous icons are all craved for and replicated across other OS’s. Ubuntu comes in at a distant second, closely followed by Vista. XP just looks plain ugly out of the box.
However, when it comes to customizing the UIs as per user needs, Mac provides little help. Ubuntu comes with compiz, AWN/cairo docks (among several others) and plenty of other UI tools providing the user with a ton of options to tweak the UI as needed. Vista/XP also has freeware apps such as Uxtheme patch + msstyle themes, docketdock/object dock and freeware shell replacements that provide plenty customization. If done right, I’d say Ubuntu is a clear winner here. Mac still comes in second and XP/Vista last because of the lack of good/reliable freeware apps. However is you are willing to pay for software, XP/Vista are just as good if not better than the competition.
Winner
Novice: Mac
Expert: Linux
Ease of use
This one is a toughie. In my opinion, Windows is probably the winner here. Out of the box, its just plain usable. Installation compared to other options is a breeze. Program locations are in a simple start menu. Mac is a very close second. Although the layout of mac is better, apps such as Finder do a poor job of File System access. Spotlight is great but a little messy is showing the data and doesn’t search system folders by default. Ubuntu has come a long way from its Linux past. Gnome’s bloat is reduced, the layout is clean and thunar/nautilus are good file managers. Apt is a good installer app, but problems with installation means digging into the CLI and figuring out what happened. For beginners, this usually equates to game over.
The other aspect of use is what happens when you hit issues. Web searches will usually reveal good solutions for Windows. Ubuntu forums are quite good but novice users will find it hard to fix some complex issues. Mac, in my opinion is the hardest to find help online. The search results don’t usually yield good results.
Winner
Novice: Windows
Expert: Linux
Software
This is easy. In my opinion, Windows is a winner by a long shot. People have been making software for windows forever now. Which everyday apps is a close call, specialized software is almost always made for windows. For example, cell phone sync software, universal remote software, firmware upgrade for audio/video compoenents, wireless etc. However, if we narrow the field down to freeware standard software, I think Linux wins. Almost any software for windows has a free mac equivalent that work as good, if not better than its windows counterpart. Mac is probably lacking here overall. This is some really good stuff on Mac that is better than Windows/Linux but a lot isn’t available at all. However, with the switch to Intel hardware, this is changing rapidly. I think pretty soon, they’d reach parity. However, Mac will face similar issues as Windows where you will have to pony up the dough for the good stuff.
Winner: Linux
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