iPad Now Available For Pre-order

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If you are waiting on being one of the first to get the Apple iPad, well today will get you one step closer as Apple is now taking pre-orders. Apple has restricted the pre-order limit to two iPads per customer and will be delivered on April 5th if Saturday, April 3rd delivery is not available. … Read more

SPB Software Ports Its Most Addictive Game to Symbian Touchscreen Phones

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SPB Software, a leading mobile applications and games developer announces the release of the Symbian version of SPB Quads – an extremely addictive mobile game created to help killing time with use. Now the users of touchscreen Symbian phones have a good way to spend 5 boring minutes in line or challenge their Windows Mobile … Read more

Cell Phone Jamming to be Debated at International Wireless Communication Expo

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I really have not gotten into the Jamming issue much, but I am concerned about the level Jamming Technology, where it will become available, and who it will be used by. And it looks like that will be exactly the point Howard Melamed, CEO of CellAntenna Corporation will be discussing at the International Wireless Communication Expo. There are already a ton of retail jamming devices that start as low as $99 dollars, but the real issue that they will be discussing is: “whether jamming the signal is the right solution for combating contraband cell phones in prisons. The panelists will also discuss the implications beyond prisons and if hospitals, schools or even retailers can choose to jam signals at their own discretion”

The IWCE event will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in South Halls 3 and 4 and is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. through 12:10 p.m. EST on Friday, March 12, 2010. Contact information can be found after the break if you want to attend.

Read the Press Release After The Break:

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Deer Versus Cars

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I painted that masterpiece of Rudolph in the fifth grade by the way. Didn’t go over well. So Bossman Doug Smith who told me from the beginning that I can write about anything I want just sent his armada of authors a plea to ramp up production while he deals with the fallout that comes with deer and their poor automotive judgment. I’ve been busy myself, not abreast of the issues that affect your phone, didn’t have much to write about in response to his request but I do have my own deer story that’s apropos. Nothing whatsoever to do with technology but I’m curious what happens if I post it anyway.

Once upon a time I was driving after dark on a windy unlit road in Westport Connecticut and as I got close to a blind curve on a hill I noticed a car pulled over on one side of the road and an incapacitated deer in the middle of the other. I did some calculations in my head and determined that traffic headed toward that deer wouldn’t be able to see him in time to make an evasive maneuver and that the deer, whom I’ll go ahead and personify for narrative effect as Mister Deer, was presenting a major hazard so I thought I’d do a good deed and pull over to drag him out of the way for the deer scooper man to deal with later.

As I approached Mister Deer, I saw that he was alive and conscious. I heard a car approaching, bam, the deer tumbled underneath and was now twenty feet further away from me and the car kept going (Toyota maybe?). I was briefly relieved that there was no serious accident and that the deer was surely dead this time but as I got closer I saw that the deer was still alive and kicking. Five seconds pass, history repeated itself and if you can believe it he was still alive. Resilient little fella. That has got to be some kind of Westport deer record for surviving so many abrupt introductions to fenders, windshields and tires.

Depending on how your mind works this is going to get a little more disturbing. Don’t judge me.

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OpenMobileMaps- Opensource Maps

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OpenMobileMaps is an app that is being developed by Cipher over at XDA. This app is very similar to GoogleMaps but it relies on openstreetmap.org. Some of the features of this app are: showing map in fullscreen finger friendly user interface map tiles are automatically downloaded if internet connection is available map tiles are stored … Read more

Opera Mini 5 Beta 2 For Android Released

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Opera Software today launched the newest beta version of the world’s most popular browser for mobile phones, Opera Mini 5, on the Android platform. Opera Mini 5 beta for Android brings a fast and cost-efficient Web experience to any handset built on the Android platform. Opera Mini, with more than 50 million users worldwide, enables … Read more

Cell Phones for a Unix-head, part 2

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*** Warning: I rip quite a few companies a new one in this blog post, due to this post’s content, I recommend that no one reads it ****

So I went to the AT&T dealership after leaving work early, hoping that at 2:30pm, I’d be able to beat a lot of the traffic there.  Well I get to the dealership and I notice there are a lot of people in there, every sales person is occupied with a line waiting for the next available.  I stood around the iPhone equipment, looking at accessories, looking salesmen in the eyes with a look of “I’m willing to shower you with money if you’ll give me 5 minutes of your time”.  Did I get attention?  Not for 15 minutes, when someone FINALLY took my name and put it in the queue….wonderful.

After about 10 more minutes of waiting, I finally got a salesman, not exactly Johnny Enthusiasm, but whatever.  Whole transaction took 10 minutes.  Registering the SIM was probably the longest part.  Salesman didn’t even have to migrate my contacts for me (phone was FUBAR’d anyways, hence my need for a new one).  But, I have the dang thing, finally.  I miss the days where you could just walk up and pay someone for something.  Now there’s a whole process to it. So I have the piece of crap and I’m taking it home, kinda itchy to play with it, but no one in this state can freaking drive so I had to keep all attention on the road (and don’t start in on me about “no texting” laws, I REALLY don’t want to hear your communist banter).

And when I finally get it home, I start going app-happy. Then I notice.  There aren’t any free SSH clients.  WTF?!?  Seriously, no free SSH applications?  The majority of the logic code is already done and F/OSS, the only thing left to do is integrate it with Apple’s GUI and you Mac lovers brag about how easy that is anyways.  So I fork out the cash for a premium SSH client (might as well go big while I’m going to have to pay anyways), and download a few other pay apps (equation reference for math/physics/etc, XMPP client, IRC client, etc), and then go a little crazy with the free apps.

Yes I did download a fart app thank you.  I’ve earned my man points for the year, and now I don’t have to watch pro football on Thanksgiving, thankfully. Also got a few music apps (Pandora and Slacker).  Please note however, that I am an audiophile.  I’m one of those guys that spends the absurd amounts of money on high end audio gear and even makes my own stuff all in the pretense that a high-hat will sound a little less like someone blowing their nose into a crunched up aluminum can. And ON that note, I will note that the audio connector on the iPhone sounds like crap.

More crappy writing after the break.

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Google Maps Gets Updated With Bicycle Directions

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If you are a biking nut like I am, this is some very cool news indeed. Google Maps has just released an update that adds Bicycle Directions and will be unveiling this new feature at the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC. Google says: “This new feature includes: step-by-step bicycling directions; bike trails outlined directly on the map; and a new “Bicycling” layer that indicates bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly roads” and

The new bicycling layer for Google Maps, accessible via the “More…” drop down menu at the top of the map, will display an overlay of the various bike-friendly roads and trails around town. The layer is color-coded to show three different types of paths:

  • Dark green indicates a dedicated bike-only trail;
  • Light green indicates a dedicated bike lane along a road;
  • Dotted green indicates roads without bike lanes but are more appropriate for biking, based on factors such as terrain, traffic, and intersections.

Check out the video that Google released as well:

Even though Google Maps with Bicycle Directions has only been released to desktop versions, Google says a Mobile Version is planned. If you want to learn more about Google Maps with Bicycle Directions, jump after the break for the Google Press Release, or check out the Google Maps web page or CLICK HERE.

 

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Sprint and Walsh Wireless Launch M2M Device to Drive Usage-Based Insurance for Vehicles

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Increasingly automobile insurance companies are adapting the way they charge customers, basing rates more on individual vehicle use and driving behavior. This is known as Usage-based Insurance (UBI). Sprint (NYSE: S) and Walsh Wireless today announced the certification and availability of a solution developed to meet this unique and growing market – the Walsh Wireless … Read more