Android Phone??? Not Necessary!
Every since the Google Android phones reached the UK shores on the Vodafone network, as the HTC Magic, I have always wanted one. Since, I use Google for pretty much most of my online services, it made sense to use the Android platform. Although, due to the cost of the contract to own a HTC, it was out of my reach.
In the past few days, I have been able to satisfy my need. Mainly due to a contract change and three java apps for my powerful 3G Sony Ericsson K800i. Google have produced two apps, Google Maps and Google Mail, which basically do what they say. Google Maps provides all the maps in the world on my phone, with turn-by-turn directions. Google Mail provides access to my inbox, as well as sending emails. Both these apps provide exactly want I need, without the need for Andriod. Opera Mini is the best of the lot. An application which I never thought would be possible on a mobile phone. It provides the full web on a phone, which is lighting quite over 3G. Opera compresses the website, with no loss of quality, to speed it up and save on bandwidth. It provides tab support and an excellent user interface.
These applications are incredible useful on my phone and for my needs. This promoted a contract change to take advantage of these apps. Unlimited Internet was needed. Which I have managed to get off Vodafone. £15 per month, 300mins, Unlimited Texts and Internet!
I now understand why everyone wants/enjoys having the full Internet on their phone. Its so convenient to quickly get onto the Internet where ever you are. On the bus/train or out in town. Who needs an Android phone when I can get good web browser and email on my phone.
Opera Mini 5
nVidia ION is Brilliant!
Have been playing around with the capabilities of my Acer Aspire Revo. I have tried out some 1080p HD videos and 3D games, and it has coped with the issues what so ever!
1080p videos played perfectly, no shutter at all! The CPU usage sits at 7%, while playing these videos. 3D games have played fine, still keen to try out a few Source games and Company of Heroes! All this is possible, thanks to the nVidia ION, you have to remember that all the ION is a GeForce 9400 card, so it is very powerful.
To show you how brilliant the ION is, this video shows you the ION playing a 1080p video and Call of Duty 4 at 30-40fps!
Got a Acer Aspire Revo!
Not going to be a review, more about my Revo. It is a brilliant computer! It does have a Intel Atom cpu, but combined with the nVidia ION graphics chip, it is
The Acer Aspire Revo! (click to enlarge)
blazing quick. Its pretty amazing, the ION is very small and designed for low cost/low power computers, but deliveries full HD 1080p playback and DX10 gaming! The computer is very good looking, very "Mac-Mini look-a-like", so small.
It cost me £140 for the Revo R3600 from Ebuyer.com. Intel Atom 230 (1.6Ghz), 1GB DDR2 RAM, nVidia ION, 160GB HDD. Comes with Linux, but was quickly removed for Ubuntu and Windows XP (only installed to use Access for my course). Dual boot worked fine, only issues was getting the Windows XP to install. Had a struggle with putting XP on a flash drive, I used a piece of software called WinToFlash. Next I had an issue, trying to get it to boot off the flash drive, I had to set the SATA controller to use IDE emulation. Final hurdle was finding the drivers for XP, they can all be found here. As always, Ubuntu had no trouble installing and setting up, 'It Just Worked!'
The Revo R3600 is brilliant piece of kit, very fast, thanks to nVidia's ION chip and so cheap to buy!
My Thoughts on Firefox 3.6
Today has finally arrived, the release of Firefox 3.6. This new release, builds upon a great web browser, by adding a few great additions. Mozilla has this time around focused on four key new features; Personas, Web Technologies, Speed and Plugin Support.
Personas in Firefox 3.6 (click to enlarge)
Personas is a new way to theme or “skin” Firefox. This feature has been out since the development of Firefox 3.5, but was just an optional plugin. It works like the themes we have been able to use in Firefox for years, but instead of themes be able to customise the buttons, look and feel of the browser. Personas just change the 'background' look of Firefox. There are thousands of Personas available at (www.getpersonas.com), just find the one you like and install it instantly. This new feature is a brilliant way to fully customise the browser. My only complaint is the amount of poor quality Persona skins, some of the best ones are designed by Mozilla. However, it is support by the community, so anyone can make a skin.
Like with Firefox 3.5, tons of new web technologies were added to the browser. This release is no exception. Improvements have been made to HTML5, which now can support full screen video. Improvements to CSS3 and Web Open Font Format (WOFF), still the only browser to support it. These advancements, does push the Acid3 score to 94, but still not beating Google Chrome or Safari which have scores of a perfect 100. It is all well and good that Firefox supports all these different technologies, but it is unlikely the end user will see these in action. With most websites which design themselves around the Internet Explorer user, HTML5 and WOFF is unlikely to be used much, since IE8 does not support them. At least, Firefox will be ready for the future, lets hope for the next release, Mozilla can hit that magically 100! Further advancements have been on the JavaScript engine. According to Mozilla, users should expect to see a 20% increase in performance over Firefox 3.5. Can not complain here, we all love performance increases! Sadly, Firefox is still not as quick as Safari or Google Chrome.
Plugin Updates (click to enlarge)
Firefox add-on support is second to none. There are tons of add-ons to choose from, and since Firefox 3, support for add-ons has been improved with the ability to easily manage and update them. Finally, Plugins have received the Mozilla love. Firefox will now check for updates on all plugins installed, such as Adobe Flash, Silverlight, Shockwave and many more. I love updates! So having the ability to check for the latest plugins, is a huge bonus for me.
Firefox 3.6 builds upon, in my opinion, the best web browser. With improvements in looks, technologies and speed; it is a great update over Firefox 3.5. Its a shame that more features were not added, or that more improvements could have been made to speed up JavaScript or get closer to 100 on Acid3. Both Safari and Chrome beat Firefox in this area still. It is a excellent update over Firefox 3.5, however I am not going to suggest that you upgrade immediately if you prefer the stability of Firefox 3.5. It is a nice improvement, just in time as Internet Explorer users look for a new web browser! 
Me!
Ed Hewitt, 19, Studying @ Derby Uni, Blogger, Ubuntu user, Columnist & Podcaster for FCM, Gamer, Admin on Gfire.- Spotify is saved. Usa by the end of the year!
- Back home from work. 2:30am, time for IT crowd!
- Half way through my shift. Time for a double expesso.
