tech·no·philes

He has a better future in politics. BTW Adobe dropped prices the next week!!

Since the day SnapDeal delivered the MMX A116, I have gone back to the XDA-Developers bookmark every evening hoping that someone would post instructions to root the phone. All of you would agree that jailbreaking/rooting your phone/iPod/Tab is totally worth it if you are a power user. On Feb 27, Abhishek Kumar and senior member made a breakthrough and posted not only instructions to root A116 but also a custom ROM (JELLYSMARTv1.0). I had anyways installed Lotus Traveler and that was creating its own set of challenges. So I though what the hell, I have nothing to lose (other than the phone itself, maybe). I would post that bit of research later, but I want to vouch for something that I found - The A116 is totally unbrickable. Yes, you can mess it up as much as you want, but there is a way to start fresh. Long story short. I now have a rooted phone that allows me complete control on what I put on it and where and I have a shiny new ROM (JELLYSMARTv1.1 - as 1.0 has some minor i...

FOGALE nanotech Sensation Technology, Multi touch, Multi Touchless and a real hovering technology.  This is it!!! The dreams of virtual world is turning into realty. Fogale's nanotech sensation technology was the talk of town in MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2013...Hope to see final product soon.   Here is the demo : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11xHtVJhb6k      

I booked my piece on Feb 14, 2013 at 00:02 hrs and boy aint I happy I did that. 13 minutes later it was sold out and those who tried to book one the next day got a delivery date of Mar 15, 2013.  It reminded me of the time when my dad booked a Maruti 800 in 1980s. He was wait-listed and the car arrived few months later.  I have been using the MMX A116 for over a week now and have had only few complaints. Thankfully none of them have to do anything with the phone. This phone's the BIGGEST bang you can get for your buck (at this time). My complaint is of retailers hating this phone (for obvious reasons) and refusing to stock basic accessories like screen guard and flip covers. Another gripe I have is that the phone's not reached the larger geek community and hence does not have working rooting instructions or custom ROMs on any of the Android forums. All this would eventually go away, until then I just have to be satisfied playing out with the ADB runni...

My God knows how much I like Nitrozac & Snaggy for The Joy of Tech . Here is one such nice vision they've shared:   Reference; http://tapastic.com/episode/1976

Ever since ~S~ announced the reincarnation of technophiles, I am carving to write my first post...So I download the "blogger.com" app on my iOS....well must say, it very intuitive, user friendly and comes with an ease of use...the standard Google signin process allows to integrate information from Google servers to the app seamlessly.. A single tap allows to jump on blogging mode rightaway....The settings are damn simple without any frills. We've options to Switch Blogs, Change Image Reolution and Posts Orders (how blog posts are sorted)... My first take is quite positive. An app for bloggers not for tech wizards.. Would share more as I explore more: Some screen captures for reference:

Aug 15, 6 years back is when we posted last on this blog. Life and technology took numerous, mostly interesting and some shocking turns. I have no doubts about us not having any followers. So maybe my co-blogger would be the only other person who would ever read this. I was posting something on a blogger based site when I noticed that it had picked up my old Blogger/Google id (thanks to the Lenovo password manager on my Thinkpad). Without really thinking anything I clicked my profile link and landed into "Technophiles". A blog that two wannabes set up 6 years back and  not surprisingly died an early death. A lot has happened since then, and maybe that is why reading those old posts got me thinking, "Why not give Technophiles a new lease of life?". After all, no matter what changed, something's constant; We are still a pair of technophiles. So here you go "EYE OF THE TIGER" this one is for you. Welcome back to "TECHNOPHILES"!!

Seems ages ago.. when I gave up on my 15 incher, dug deeper into my pocket and brought home the Samsung 955DF for around 13K (INR). Three years later I still do not have a reason to replace it. It's as good as new and seems to be doing better than when I first switched it on (thanks Displaymate!!). At 100 Watts/hr, this 23 KG giant still leaves me lots of room on my desk. Room for what??? Well that's when I got this crazy idea. Why not do away with application switching? I was hooked onto multi-monitor rigs from the days of Swordfish . Guess What! I plan to retire the 19" CRT and replace it with 2 x 20"/22" LCDs by end of this year. Currently I am watching LCD prices drop. I may not be able to duplicate what John did in Swordfish, but I do plan to have something like what Chris Pirillo has --> http://www.flickr.com/photos/lockergnome/454273055/

One of my fav. blogging website introduced me to the whole new world of Videopedia . Confused? Amazed? Don't worry, I have already experienced these in just 5 mins...... The website that confused me (and then amazed me) is 5min . It is a place to post/search short practical solutions. The whole idea is very simple: "We can explain any solution in just 5 minutes" . This website allows users to share their knowledge by sharing visual guides. The areas are Arts, Business, Sports & Health etc. Here is what 5min says about itself: - For starters, the Smart Player. To compliment the Videopedia vision and bridge the gap between textual and visual information, we developed a special player that allows viewers to watch the video in slow motion or frame by frame, zoom in and out, and more. - It gives the video creator the option to make a storyboard that helps others better understand the demonstration. - Each creator has a personal promotional Studio – a space to showcase t...

Amazed with Sci-FI movies (I am talking about i-Robot, MI series & Minority Report)? Here is a big STEP in the way we communicate! NFC (Near Field Communication) from FINN Mobile gaint Nokia . NFC is a short-range wireless technology mainly aimed to be used in mobile devices. With NFC we would be able to use our mobile phone as e-money (bye-bye to credit cards), e-tickets & smart wallets.... Wanna know more about NFC? Here you go: http://www.nokia.com/A4305081 http://www.nfc-forum.org/home

LeeKoo of CNET started an interesting poll couple of weeks back. We discussed boot times and how h/s-ware config changes it. That's when I got out my stopwatch and timed mine. From push-on power to a usable desktop took under 60 seconds. If I used hibernate instead, the lag went down to 35 seconds. Am pretty satisfied with my results. Only the quad-cores seemed to do better ;) Of the many postings made, one I found really interesting. It was by Lenny. And he says.. ... But no matter what I'm doing, whether it being booting up or a project, I have a strict rule: NEVER sit and wait for the computer! It needs to be a tool, not a black hole for my time. What are your boot times?

..not because their ads are crap! But coz they had the nerve to charge me for it. How else can I explain the price of a 2.4 GHz AMD dual core, half of that of Intel. Granted that Intel C2Ds are clocking better than AMD X2s, but to me its just throwing good money away. (Intel E6600 is about 11K while AMD X2 4600+ is 6K). I don't consider myself a power user. So now I'm on the AMD bandwagon and loving every moment. The upgrade was flawless (thanks to a colleague). The performance has been more than what I would have expected out of a 6K CPU. Dual Core really works!!! ;) Part of the credit goes to the ASUS M2N-VM DH mobo (which actually cost me more than the CPU). It has a built in WiFi and turns my rig into an AP allowing my wife to share the internet connection wirelessly. I've also hooked up a 8 port switch for times when my system isn't on. With 6 channel sound, DVI-D, RAID and a plethora of connectivity options & feature - this is one mobo I would highly recommend...

@AOL.in rare email IDs are up for grabs! I got mine yesterday. They have a clean mail interface and some really neat options I dearly miss in Y! & Gmail. AOL US & UK provide IMAP access, but that would be expecting too much considering the service is free.

Google is always experimenting with new features aimed at improving the search experience. Check out the latest buzz @ http://www.google.com/experimental/index.html Good Luck!

I don't remember how I first heard about TOR. But then I was forced to use it. No! not because I wanted to send a threat mail to the govt, but because I wanted to download stuff off a web drive that refused me downloads due to my IP. Since TOR masks your IP (among other neat things it does), I guessed I could fool the download servers into thinking that I was someone else. IT WORKED!!! That's when TOR really got me interested. been using it since 2005 and am continually amazed at how the system works (thanks EFF!!). So here I share TOR with you today. While its a great system, I would discourage you from testing it on a Govt agency. I will not take responsibility if you get yourself implicated ;) So hHere's how TOR does its stuff Though it looks pretty simple, its not! The system is so secure that even a person running a rogue TOR node will not be able to track the origin of the request no matter how sophisticated packet analysis he is capable of. For a low-down on how this...

VeriSign, Inc . the domain name registry that controls the .com domain (as well as .net and others), has notified all the registrars of the domain name fee change. VeriSign has announced a fee change for .com & .net domain names w.e.f Oct 15,07. For .com domain names new price would be $ 6.42 from $6.0. Domain registrars would be paying $3.85 for .net domain names. As per the last report, VeriSign has 65 million .com domain names registered worldwide. With this fee increase , VeriSign would have better balance sheets for 2007-08. For details: http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg04682.html

Google Labs is back with a bang. A new product called Goog-411 into Google Labs today - a free telephone based information service that could replace toll 411 calls. Google Voice Local Search makes local-business search accessible over the phone in the easiest manner. We can do the following with this baby: search for a local business by name or category. get connected to the business, free of charge. get the details by SMS if you’re using a mobile phone. Goog-411 or Google Voice Local Search can be accessed by dialing 1-800-GOOG-411 . The product is completely automated and there is no way to talk to a human for additional or clarifying information. You tell it your city and state, and then ask for a specific business or business category. To know more Catch the Buzz @ http://labs.google.com/goog411/about.html

Zenzui (an independent Mobile Web company also), developed by Microsoft’s Redmond Research lab is a new mobile browser. This application aims to make surfing the web on your mobile device easier through widgets. It lets you surf over a 6×6 grid of website widgets by panning and zooming around the grid. To learn more check out this promotional video:

I just found a real USB Desk Lamp that is made in a more traditional fashion. I am so impressed with the concept that I have added this as my wishlist item. Called the USB LED Desk Lamp this gadget has a flexible neck, four LED bulbs and an on/off switch on the lamp so you don’t have to unplug to turn the light off. The lamp is about nine inches tall and works with and USB port. The biggest surprize that its cheap at $8.0. Read More: http://www.everythingusb.com/usb_led_desk_lamp_12187.html

News Corporation & NBC Universal would launch the largest Internet video distribution network ever assembled with the most sought-after content from television and film. This video-rich site will debut this summer with thousands of hours of full-length programming, movies and clips, representing premium content from at least a dozen networks and two major film studios. AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo! will be the new site’s initial distribution partners. Their users, who represent 96 percent of the monthly U.S. unique users on the Internet, will have unlimited access to the site’s vast library of content. This media alliance will offer consumers free long- and short-form video and create a compelling platform for advertisers, targeting the rapidly growing audience of online video consumers. Charter advertisers include Cadbury Schweppes, Cisco, Esurance, Intel and General Motors . Google Team, here is the challenge for you! This may kill  YouTube ! Read More: http://home.businessw...