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I saw the little yellow icon in the system tray the other day signifying a system update of some kind. As it turned out, SP3 for Windows XP had arrived. I thought, “Cool, maybe a couple of improvements and a speedier machine”. I proceeded to wait for the download to complete, then initiated the installation process.

I don’t know what made me hit the cancel button. Maybe it was the fact that it if anything should go wrong with this major update, all my precious files and settings will be gone. Or maybe there was a part of my mind that kept visualising the Blue Screen of Death. Or maybe I still remember that sinking feeling in my stomach from the last time.

Whatever the reason may have been, I left that little yellow icon sitting there waiting patiently in the tray. Meanwhile, I planned to read a few reviews to see how the update went for everyone else.

I wasn’t in a hurry, so it took me a while getting round to reading the reviews. I guess it was a good thing too, because it gave the “beta testers” a bit of time to properly assess the situation. So, what did they have to say about it all?

Do not install Service Pack 3!

The general consensus was that the system became slow, unstable and in some cases unresponsive. It seemed there was a lot of grief to be had by many who took the SP3 path. You know the situation is dire when there are reports of that Blue Screen of Death.

There was not one positive review. OK, maybe there was one…

downloaded the xpsp3, and wow, i mean wow, it hauls sweet digital blood thru and thru. faster, smoother, almost intuitive, it knows what i’m going do kinda. just love that microsoft group, they have placed the data at our finger tips. what a blessing. sorry, so many are having trouble. i run multiple systems from dos3.1 to dos6.o to windows3.0 to windows95,98,98se,win2kpro,xp prem, xp pro, vista ultimate, and a variety of mac os’s, iphones, and palm’s everything is tied together working fine. - guest

I’m not sure if he used rope or twine, but I think I will let that little yellow icon sit in my system tray a little bit longer.

Should you be running Windows XP and still keen on Service Pack 3, here are the reviews.

LM3labs have come up with a technology they call ubiq’window. It reminds me of the interactive displays from “Minority Report”…

Holographic Interactive Museum Exhibition

Holographic Google Earth

It certainly looks fun! When will it be available? And more importantly, how much will it cost?

I want one of these…

Read more about the T-Rex.

…or this!

Read more about the full scale, working Tumbler replica from the movies Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

I’ve recently changed phones from a Samsung E700 to a Nokia N73. I had the Samsung E700 for a while, but I grew tired of it, plus it died on me. The phone hardware was great, but the firmware on it was second rate. At the time, it seemed, Samsung were not interested in the minor details when it came to user friendliness. You had to make a dozen key presses just to get the phone to do a simple task.

Anyway, I got sick of it and opted to go back a Nokia phone. I have always thought Nokia phones gave the best user experience. They were user friendly, with a very intuitive interface. Things worked the way you expected them to work.

That was then, this is now. Ever since moving over (upgrading isn’t the right word) to the Nokia N73, I’ve had mixed feelings. I thought, the N73 has been out for a while, so it should be a pretty solid piece of technology by now. Maybe not.

Off the top of my head…

The good:
- Camera: Great camera with flash.
- Memory: It’s great to be able to add more memory to the phone.
- Applications: So many add-on applications to expand the phone’s capabilities, such as Google Maps.
- Music: Great multimedia device.

The Bad:
- Alarms: the alarms I am used to allow the user to set the day(s) which I want the alarm to fall on, with the option of repeat. This is usually standard in a phone of this calibre. Not for the N73, although there are 3rd party commercial applications available.
- Voice Tags: Nokia, do you seriously expect everyone on earth to speak with the EXACT same voice as the synthesised voice on the phone? In the past, Nokia phones allowed the user to record their own voice tags, so there was generally a 90% hit rate. Now, the voice tag is automatically generated. Even when I try to speak like the synthesised adult male voice generated by the phone, the hit rate is about 0%. Maybe they might address this shortfall in a future firmware update, but I won’t be holding my breath.
- Speed: It is bloody slow! I am used to pressing a button on the phone and having things happen instantaneously. With the new Symbian system on this phone, I press a button, then wait for the phone to render and draw the graphics on the screen, that’s if it hasn’t crashed already.
- Operating system: The Symbian operating system is quite unstable. I’m not used to phones crashing on me, so having it happen on a regular basis is quite a shock. There’s nothing that puts me off using a device more than the fact it has a poorly designed and slow operating system. Why couldn’t they just stick with the old Nokia operating system? I was playing with an old Nokia phone today and thought, “Gee, this is so much better than the new phone I have!”
- Camera: Slow camera start-up. By the time the camera is ready, the moment has long gone.
- Multimedia Button: Only works half the time.

The Ugly:
- Pop-Ports: No 3.5mm jack for my head phones!
- LED: In power saver mode there is a VERY bright blue LED that flashes every 3 seconds. It’s great if you are in a disco, but when you are trying to sleep…
- Keypad: The keys are a bit small. I’m not sure how many times I’ve sent a half finished text message because I pressed the send button instead of the “1″ button.
- Speed: Did I mention how slow the N73 is?

So, there it is. My opinion on the Nokia N73. It’s not very positive as you have gathered, but why should it be? I expected the great features that were present in previous models to at least remain, or be improved upon, not get worse! I hope Nokia addresses these issues, otherwise I might jump onto the iPhone band wagon.

What’s the use of having a great piece of hardware, only for the software to fall so short of the mark? Get your act together Nokia!

Update:

I found some discussion about the N73’s voice recognition abilities. Apparently the phone “learns” to recognise the owner’s voice over time. But when I am in a hurry, I don’t have the time and patience to “train” the phone. That’s the whole reason of voice tags - to make it more convenient, not less so.

Ever wondered what the mobile phones of the future are capable of? Have a look at what Nokia has in store for us…

It bares a passing resemblance to a phone, but is it a phone, or much more than that?

Recently I have been searching around for a replacement cellphone. Currently I am using the Samsung SGH-E700. It does the job, but is below par when it comes to certain features. It takes too many button presses to do simple everyday tasks. It has a very limited predictive text dictionary. Another basic feature missing from the E700 you can’t send contact information to another phone.

After a brief look around the web, I found an interesting idea for a cellphone. How does a Bluetooth enabled watch cellphone sound?

I have to admit it does look impressive, but I think they need to reduce the size of the phone a little bit if they seriously want people to wear that thing on their wrists. I think I can get the same effect by using some duct tape with my current phone.

There is one phone that I would really like to get my hands on right now and that is the new Nokia N82. It has a candy bar form factor which is what I prefer - less fidgeting to access common functions. It comes with integrated GPS, a 5MP camera and a host of other features.

I want one now!

I was just reading the morning papers today and came across an article about an air car. Running on compressed air alone, it can travel for 150km before it needs refuelling. If supplemented with ethanol or diesel, it is possible to travel from Perth to Brisbane without refuelling. It has a top speed of 110km/hr. The car can be refuelled by plugging it into the compressed air supply that is found at most service stations. Costing less than $8,000, the car is part of a five-year $1.5 billion planned roll-out across Australia showcasing air engine technology.

A car that is inexpensive, cheap to run, while environmentally friendly. I would definitely think about buying a car like this.

Article: Air car to call Melbourne home

I used to read sci-fi novels that featured hard core technology such as exoskeletons, but never would have thought that kind of technology would become reality within my life time…

A Japanese version…

The US government is urging scientists to develop technology that will allow control over how much sunlight reaches the earth. It says techniques, such as space mirrors and reflective dust pumped into the atmosphere, would help to reduce global warming.

Yeah, good idea. Let’s keep burning the fossil fuels. We won’t have to worry about the green house effect, because those big ol’ mirrors up there will reflect the sun’s rays away into space. Who needs sunlight anyway? Smog is way better…

If you were a farmer you might need sunlight. What would happen if the mirrors malfunctioned? Not enough or too much sunlight and things won’t grow.

How hot could it get if all the mirrors were directed at a certain spot on earth? Did you ever fry little ants with a magnifying glass as a kid? They pop. I’m sure that’s an exaggeration, but you catch my drift.

It’s no use continuing current emission trends and then trying to reduce the damage done with reflective crap in the atmosphere or space. Band-aid policies and stopgap measures only work to a certain point and do more harm than good in the long run.

“The first thing the federal government can do is recognise that climate change is real,” Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd said today.

“Mr Howard’s cabinet still has in it an industry minister who only a few months ago said climate change was a pile of hogwash.”

“We need global leadership on climate change, and instead Mr Howard follows (US President George) Bush in ignoring the Kyoto protocol and ignoring practical programs of action which will help deal with, and turn back, the challenge of climate change.”

The only way to reduce global warming, is to reduce emissions by adopting clean renewable energy.

Articles:

• US bid to block sun to stop warming
• US climate scientists pressured on climate change
• Americans ‘least concerned’ about climate change
• Activists scale Eiffel Tower
• Soaring temperatures ‘unstoppable’
• ‘A disaster for life on earth’
• Scientist’s ‘Russian roulette’ climate warning
• Reef ‘facing extinction’
• Climate alert disturbing: Rudd
• UN report turns up heat on PM
• 2500 scientists, 1200 pages, and one quibble
• Key climate report sparks global call to action
• Australian states commit to greenhouse gas cuts
• ‘Sunshade’ for global warming could cause drought
• Pentagon backs plan to beam solar power from space
• Australia ‘back on the map’ with Kyoto decision

Thinking of buying someone a Swiss Army knife for Christmas? Why not get them a Giant Swill Army Knife?

A friend pointed out that trying to use the pointer would be quite an interesting exercise. I told her, people would probably be more focused on the thing she was holding!

Hmmm…come to think of it, imagine trying to use any of those tools!

I think there’s a fine line between practicality and completeness. This knife has crossed that line, but if you are collector it would make a great addition to your collection I guess.

You can tell your grand kids one day, “Back in my day a knife was a knife and this is what I call a knife!”, as you whip out your Giant Swiss Army knife.

“But grandpa, I’ve got one and it has a kitchen sink as well!”