Category: Technology

If you’re like me and always on the look out for stock imagery, or photo ideas, take a look at Open Photo, where all images are released under a creative commons license, under Attribution-ShareAlike as a standard. CC licensing is mandatory and going through their archives this morning there’s so real nice stuff in there…

Digital Rights Ireland has an interesting article on the Gardai leaking confidential mobile phone records to the press following on from the recent hunger strike in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin…

Take a read…

OK… so this may be a little more applicable to US phone models, but despite the difference in numbering, checking out the pictures you will likely recognise some of these phones from passing your local Carphone Warehouse or O2 store…. (not to implicate either I might add…).

But, a recent study has revealed the ten highest radiation mobile phones, in the US, and low and behold – Motorola are up there with 8 out of 10 phones. (Insert applause here). I see the Treo 650 made its way onto the list as well for you PDA fans…
Check out the list here…

Via Reuters…

Seems like the big guns in Europe are out to stomp out piracy, something which is still a problem in this country be it movie, music or software. The punishment? At least four years in prison and a €300,000 fine. So far, the ruling, which should be approved in place of existing laws throughout all member states is only looking at those items available commercially (physical property for sale), and not download via online services or P2P services.

One amazing figure coming out of China is that they reckon that 90% of their DVD/Music/Software market is pirated goods. Anyone got that figure for Ireland or know where to get it?

October 24th I made a post highlighting a phone I was looking at in time for Christmas but never bothered… until today. My P900 which has served me so faithfully for the past 15 months just isn’t cutting it any more, mainly with web and email access that I couldn’t really utilise unless going through a web mail front with expensive GPRS charges 😉

Anywhoo, I’ve decided to splash out and pick up the HP HW6515 Mobile Messenger (running Windows Mobile 2003) to replace the P900 through Komplett, if all was well in the world I’d have it Friday but I’m a patient guy. Being able to pick up WiFi access will be a major plus, but does anyone know if there’s Irish maps available for TomTom or MS Streets?

I’m sure I’ll blog it once I get it…

If anyone had ever considered the phone, the price tag on Komplett is very competitive for the sim free option, almost 70 euro cheaper than Expansys and about the same if you were looking at a secondhand / refursbished model on eBay….

O2 are recalling their X1 handsets because of a potential charging fire hazard, so it seems (via Gizmodo with original story breaking on Mobileburn). Seemingly they’re also going to render all original X1 handsets useless via the handsets IMEI numbers and you’ll be able to get a free upgrade to the X2i by returning your handset. This is affecting users in the UK, no mention of a direct link to Irish mobile users but there’s always the possibility.

First time I’ve heard of this, though anyone I know with an X1 doesn’t have many problems with it. Still, a free phone is surely better than a smoking phone…

Update – O2 Ireland are recalling the handsets as a precaution for all handsets sold between December 2003 and June 2004… more details here

Back in January I made a post about Dell readying to launch the XPS Renegade…. well the moment of truth has arrived, and if you’re living in the United States its gonna cost you around $10,000.

Of course you’ll get a 30″ flatpanel monitor thrown into the mix for your money but you’re looking at around 8 grand for the unit sans monitor. Announced today at the Game Developers Conference 2006 (via BusinessWire), Dell are now taking orders on the machine that is set to revolutionise PC gaming.

If you fancy donating one to the Ken McGuire Wannabe PC Gamer Fund you’re most welcome, you’ll find me through the contact page 😉

“At CES Dell was the first to demonstrate the power of NVIDIA(R) Quad-SLI(TM) graphics technology on the XPS 600 Renegade. Customers using four NVIDIA GeForce(R) 7900 processors on two controllers now can play complex 3-D games at the highest video settings, without sacrificing realism or on-screen performance. They can run applications at 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, for example, on the included Dell 3007WFP 30-inch widescreen flat panel monitor for a truly high-definition experience.

Dell also gives gamers the extra speed they crave by overclocking the latest Intel(R) Pentium(R) 965 Extreme Edition processor up to 4.26 GHz, backed by specialized XPS support technicians via phone, e-mail or chat.

For enthusiasts who demand the latest technologies, Dell also today added the physics controller as an option for its XPS 600 gaming and XPS 400 high-end multimedia desktops. Games and applications designed to take advantage of the physics technology are expected to be widely available later this year.”

–quoted from this article

Looks like its going to be quite a year for advancements in PC gaming!

XPS details from Dell here

I missed this story breaking during the week and immediately started to thinking along the “Is it a bird? Is it a plane?” line of things….

Samsung have gone and announced a 10 megapixel camera phone which was to be launched at the CeBIT last week. Now, not only does that phone boast a 10 megapixel camera element, but it features 3x optical zoom, 5x digital zoom and a 1/2,000 shutter speed. Not only that, but it boasts a 2″, 16.1m colour TFT LCD.

Now, when it comes to photography, I shoot a Nikon D70. Friends of mine in the compact digital range shoot anywhere between 3.2 and 6 megapixels. So why, in the name of God, would you want a mobile phone that boasts a 10 megapixel camera? Is there really that much of a need for this kind of technology on the streets? It seems to me like they’re turning cameras into mobile phones rather than the other way around…

Remember hearing about the contest to dual boot Windows Xp and OSX on the new Intel chip based Macs? Well, its finally happened. The prize fund was being driven by the participants, starting out from nothing and stood at US$13,854 when it was nabbed yesterday by a pair of Californian programmers. (Contest Site Here)

Why anyone would want to dual boot the two on the one Mac is beyond me but fair play to them for sussing it out. Get the best of both worlds out of the one machine. I’m amazed that its been done but to be fair, nothing is beyond reach these days. Colin Nederkoom has also posted the solution online allowing people to download a how-to guide along with any additional files and drivers that are needed.

Could this mark the end of the PC vs Mac days? Concentrating on one machine…?

For a console thats gonna cost Sony almost 900 bucks per unit, its no wonder that the release date for the PS3 keeps slipping away, all the while the XBOX 360 continues to soar. By the time the PS3 hits Irish stores, the ‘360 will have had almost 12 months of the market to itself in terms of next-gen consoles.

The tentative date for the release of Sony’s new silver monster is November of this year and they’re going to go global as well instead of the originally planned phased launch (Japan first, then the US, then EU).

Whats so good about the PS3?

• Blu-ray technology
• HD Support
• DSL Ready
• Wireless connectivity
• 60GB HD

No doubt it will be topping the big boys Christmas list this year… though I’m still set on picking up an XBOX 360, albeit I’m quite happy with my current XBOX.

After all the rumours and blog posts and news coverage, it isn’t really a shock to hear that it’s being held up for another few months, just a bit of a disappointment. I know there’s a hardcore PlayStation following, but I’ll be real interested to see the war between Microsoft and Sony when it all comes to launch.

Is it possible?

It might just be! (Thats not a sound of excitement by the way) 😉

Check it out…

For those creative techies amongst you, you might be interested in the Adobe roadshow, ‘Fully Loaded’ which hits Dublin on April 25th.

There’s four main sessions, so you can choose whatever turns you on. From classical print and hard techno web design to funky digital video and rockin’ digital photography. It’s inspiration for the creative nation. Online booking is available by clicking here. M sessions commence promptly at 9.30am and finish at 12.30pm (registration available from 9.00am) PM sessions commence promptly at 1.30pm and finish at 4.30pm (registration available from 1.00pm). Its on in the Burlington as well.

In the war for supremecy between the Xbox and PlayStation, I’m starting to wonder if Microsoft has finally gained the upperhand in the whole console war thing?

The Xbox 360 is spreading like a bushfire, massive pre-Christmas sales, people simply couldn’t get a console, strong post-Christmas sales keep the 360 going and going – they seem to have all the angles covered, even with the hefty pricetag. Then along comes Sony, hyping up the PS3 since ever, yet now it seems that they may well be facing a delay of anywhere up to six months, or maybe beyond to twelve months.

Doing some blog surfing at the weekend, I came across Merrill Lynch’s report via engadget that cost-per-unit of the PS3 is going to run around $800 in the US, provided of course that they can get the technology they need (including Blu-ray) ready for their estimated spring launch. With a retail price being touted in the region of $400-$500 it would seem that Sony are going to take a massive hit come launch day.

Yet, reading through Reuters this morning (article published yesterday) it looks like the console might not hit Irish waters for another 12 months.

Most analysts took the report in stride as they already expected Sony to launch the PS3 this summer in Japan, followed by a U.S. launch before the Thanksgiving holiday in November. They expect a launch in Europe in early 2007.

With all this extra breathing room it looks like there’s plenty of time for Microsoft to continue converting fans of Sony’s console over to their way of life. Wouldn’t you think?

Ireland are still lagging in terms of broadband usage, of which the level of penetration stands at 5.34%, compared with a high of almost 24% in the Netherlands.

Great what you come across reading Aertel.

It is a bit shocking though in fairness. God knows we’re slow to get the ball rolling on most things in this country but you’d think people would slowly start to come around to the idea with all these new companies offering BB connections springing up.

A report from the EU says obstacles remain in Ireland with regard to the further development of competition in the fixed and roadband markets. It says this is especially so because of the limitations on ComReg’s power to enforce decisions.

Between dodgy Luas lines, a sinking port tunnel and countless other activities that are falling behind time, you think we’ll ever get on top of this whole broadband uptake?