So, Tablet Computers. iPad’s & Android’s wtf?

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When the sneak peak of the iPad came out about a year ago now, it really did not excite me. The concept was good because we all can imagine the potential of handheld tablet computers, but Apple (unsurprisingly) were a bit light on the features and heavy on the price. I certainly was not adding one to my wish list – but I was definitely interested to follow the market. A few months later I got my hands on one for a proper play with it, and wow, I was very impressed. This thing is slick – like really cool. I was very surprised by how much I like it – and so many of the apps were absolutely captivating and very impressive to use. Also as a business productivity tool its amazing. However the price was still extortionate – starting at €499 for the basic 8GB & wifi – going all the way up to a crazy €799 for 64GB with 3G. So, it was stilll a pass for my shopping list, but i was excited to see what the competitors would come out with. And it didn’t take long….

There have been a multitude of new tablets released onto the market like the Samsung Galazy Tab, the Dell Streak, the Archos 101 – all varying in sizes and capabilities – but all these, not being apple, run Google’s mobile operating System called “Android”. However because the market is still quite imature – none of them aren’t exactly cheap for something you may only use as an occasional toy – surfing the web on the couch instead of on the PC – or keeping you amused on trains & planes. Thankfully, it did not take long for a whole host of Chinese versions to hit the market. Like a lot of these Chinese imatations, most of them are rubbish…. Apart from one…

Zenithink ZT-180

The Zenihink ZT-180 looks just like an iPad with a 10″ screen – although it has a slightly more widescreen format screen. It has a pretty fast processor, 256mb and 4gb of internal storage – but unlike the iPad this is easily expandable by up to 32GB with a Micro SD card. it has Wifi and a full accelerometer as well which is great for games. Also unlike the iPad it has a full size USB port which for me is a massive plus! It runs Android 2.1 but can be upgraded to 2.2 Froyo. The battery like is not going to be as good as the iPad’s but from waht I hear you can get about 4-6 hours depending on usage. Some stat’s say more but many say less.  It does not have 3G but I’d be unlikely to even get an iPad with 3G due to excessive data charges in Ireland (it’s cheap in the UK). With a small Hack you can get loads of apps from the Android Market – and this upgrade improves battery life too apparently.

But the best thing about this, is the cost. I just bought this lovely little unit for a total price of €134 including express delivery via DHL – a tiny fraction of what you would have to pay for n iPad. Ok now its definitely not going to be quite as Good as an iPad – however it does have some advantages like USB & SD etc – however the iPad does have a nicer Capacitive screen – but overall its a great value package.

Buy from Here using 5% discount code: 15450

Google is developing Self-Driving Cars! Wow!

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This rocks: Google has been working on a secret project to enable cars to drive themselves. I shit you not! And they haven’t done it on a computer simulator, or in some controlled lab, they’ve been out on California roads testing this out.

“Our automated cars, manned by trained operators, just drove from our Mountain View campus to our Santa Monica office and on to Hollywood Boulevard. They’ve driven down Lombard Street, crossed the Golden Gate bridge, navigated the Pacific Coast Highway, and even made it all the way around Lake Tahoe. All in all, our self-driving cars have logged over 140,000 miles. We think this is a first in robotics research,”

So how does this work? The automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors, and a laser range finder to locate everything around them (these are mounted on the roof). And, of course, they use Google’s own maps. But the key? This is all made possible by Google’s data centers, which can process the enormous amounts of information gathered by our cars when mapping their terrain.

Google says it gathered the best engineers from the DARPA Challenges (an autonomous vehicle race that the government puts on) to work on this project. They also note that these cars never drive around unmanned in the interest of safety. A driver is always on hand to take over in case something goes wrong, and an engineer is always on hand in the car to monitor the software. Google also says they’ve notified local police about the project.

So has it worked? Apparently, yes. There has been one accident so far, but it was when someone else rear-ended one of these Google cars.

Google notes that 1.2 million people are killed every year in road accidents — they think they can cut this number in half with the tech. It will also cut energy consumption and save people a lot of time.

I want this yesterday. This is all kinds of awesome.

Google Computer-Driven Prius from Ben Tseitlin on Vimeo.

Why Android kicks the iPhone’s Ass

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When the iPhone4 was announced, I was pretty excited and I was definitely going to buy one. I am definitely not a Mac Fanboy – but when I got an iphone about 2 years ago – I totally fell in love with it. However, right before I was about to pick one up, I saw this video – and suddenly my interest changed. If you don’t know, Android is an operating systems for mobile devices made by Google. Amazingly there are more Android smartphones in America than iPhones, but it has not kicked off in Europe so much for some reason. It’s 100% open source meaning anyone can get the source code and change the way anything works to the way they like it. This means no ‘having to do something one way’ like the way Windows and Mac OS work. There are also lots of good phones, HTC being the main manufacturer. The “Google Phone” that came out a while ago was made by HTC branded the Nexus One by Google. I bought the HTC Desire which is more or less the same phone with a few updates.

So, the main differences: The HTC Desire has 4 buttons at the bottom. I LOVE this. Apple sometimes try to over-simplify things – and always touching can be annouying. The Home button always bring you to your main home screen, the Menu button is a menu for whatever screen/app you are in – same for search, its specific to what you are doing, and then there is a back button (which is nice but sometimes its easier to swipe back than reach down and press the back button – but again this is changable). It’s also lighter and has a nice feel to it in your hand. The screen is absolutely superb too.

The Desktop / Homepage: On iPhone you just have a few pages with icond on them. BOOOORRRINNGG. On Android you have a “Desktop” with Widgets. I have a weather widget, a time/alarm widget. A search box that give you both phone and web search results. I have a strip of icons that with one click turn on or off your wireless/bluetooth/data/gps etc – which on ipohe you have to go into 3 or 4 menu levels. You have a total of 7 screen that can have anything on them. Facebook, Twitter, Gmail – basically anything! Instead of having to click back and forward between 7 screen, pinching the screen will bring thumbnails of the 7 screens and click one one to zoom back in. You can also change the background photo or have “Live Wallpapers” which are cool animations that change depending on e.g the time of day or weather, or it can even be a map of where you are at any time!


Click for bigger version

Integration: Google is not just available as apps etc, it is fully integrated into the whole OS. You contacts can sync with your gmail account. Also facebook & Twitter if you want – when you look at your list of contacts/phone numbers – it automatically pulls in the persons photo from Facebook if you are friends with them. It will also pull down their updated contact details if they have it on facebook!

Notification: Whatever it is, all notifications are in the one place. If you get email, texts, updates, downloads, etc – you get an icon at the info bar at the top of the screen. Touching this bar and dragging it down, give you full details of this and you can clickc to jump into each one!

The Keyboard: The keyboard is way better. You can touch and go to any point, not just the end of a word. Holding on one letter for a second give you a second option, like a number, question mark or exclamation point etc. The predictive Text is also way better, giving you several options of what you might be trying to type, not just guessing one which the iPhone does.

Change the OS: Since Android is Open Souce, there are several different versions/flavours of it available to download and put on – basically they are all changed in certain ways so find the one that suits your needs best and use that one! Some are very simple and made for speed and battery life, some have loads of extra programs and features!

Other Random Stuff: It is FAST!!! Like properly fast. the 1Ghz Snapdragon processor is amazing. Android also has a massive range of phones available in different formats. With iPhone you can only choose hard drive space. It has REAL multitasking. And its easy to kill background apps in one go. The Android market is better. Not as many apps but its more open. You can take off the back cover and change the battery (a huge plus – since the battery is not great) – and also it has a removable SD Card for your apps and data. It also works like a big USB key as you can store anything on it when you connect it to a computer. Also, the cable to connect it is simply “Micro USB” which is the de-facto standard for all phones going forward (a new agreement from all the phone manufacturers – except apple funnily enough – groan). You don’t need iTunes although it will work with it if you want. Android supports Google Voice and Voice Actions so you can navigate your phone, call people, send texts, update twitter and facebook, all through voice recognition!!!

iPad / Tablet PC’s: Just like the iOS on the iPad – Android works on other mobile devices like tablets. iPad is obviously the first one that has become massively popular, but in the next 6 months a huge amount of manufacturers are going to come out with their own versions of the iPad – but they will be running Android! I can pretty much guarantee that these devices will be better – way more features for a lot less money than the iPad. They will have USB posts, Cameras front and back, Multitasking, Removable SD Cards, File Transfer, Flash, HDMI, GPS. All the things the iPad does not have (on purpose BTW, apple do this so that they can bring out versions 2, 3 and 4 over the next few years to keep demand/desire high for their newest line of products – knowing that a large percentage of their Fanboy customer base will buy each one – groan…)

So, in conclusion, I am so so glad I did not get an iPhone 4. Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone 4 is a great piece of kit, and for some users it might even be the better choice – its better at being a phone + an iPod for example. If you have an interest in technology and enjoy the techy/nerdy part of it, the Desire is 100% definitely the way to go. But even if you are not, this is a really fantastic phone for everyone. Mainly though, is the fact that Android has come from nothing to a real game changer and challenger to the iPhone in a very short space of time – it’s just so much more open and versitile. So, give it another year or so of innovation, plus another few new phones to be released, and I don’t think iPhone is going to have a chance…

Here are a few video’s worth watching:
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100 ways we could have spent Anglo’s 25 BILLION

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Anglo Irish bank is costing the Irish Taxpayer €25,000,000,000. Do you ever wonder what else you might have been able to do if we had that 25 Billion to spend ourselves…. he SBP complied a list of 100 things we could have done eith the money, here are a few of the best ones.

Ireland could make a major contribution to fight global poverty:
96 Buy up and extinguish the national debt of Bangladesh
93 Asphalt every trunk and regional road (110,000km) of substandard countries in sub-Saharan Africa
Ireland could become a world science and technology hub:
92 Start our own space programme, with 20 €1.2 billion space shuttles
91 Foot the bill for a century of global research into nuclear fusion (the current 30-year global ITER project is expected to cost between €5 billion and €10 billion)
86 Build a space elevator
We could decide to give ourselves a break:
84 Pay the interest on everyone’s mortgage for four years (€147 billion of mortgages at 4 per cent is €5.88 billion a year)
82 Offer everyone on the live register €100,000 to emigrate (we could afford a 50 per cent take-up by the 466,000 on the dole)
78 Scrap fares on all forms of public transport, intercity and commuter trains and buses for 33 years
We could treat ourselves:
77 Run the world’s best ever lottery – every Irish citizens is entered into a draw where 25,000 people become millionaires
75 Fly the adult population of Ireland to Las Vegas, and give everyone €10,000 to gamble with
71 Buy a 32GB iPhone, a 64GB iPad, a 13’’ 2.13GHz MacBook Air and a 27inch iMac for every person living in Ireland
We could treat the world – it might make the rest of the world like us more:
69 Buy a pint of Guinness for everyone in the world to celebrate Arthur’s Day (and it would count as exports)
66 Send 225,000 people to do the Harvard MBA
We could truly become the world’s biggest sports fans:
65 Buy the world’s 20most valuable football clubs, worth €9.6 billion, wipe out their debt (€2.3 billion) and move them to Ireland, building each a 75,000seater stadium (€600million each, based on cost of Aviva Stadium)
61 Buy 83,300McLaren supercars
60 Buy the entire stock of tickets and merchandise for all premier league clubs for the next 12 years
We could decide to become a major player on world markets. Banking and finance got us into this mess. Surely they can get us out . . .
59 Buy €600 billion in credit default swaps on Ireland (could pay off nicely in the next few years)
58 Buy two of Asia’s largest banks –Bank Central Asia and Malayan Banking
57 Recapitalise all the banks in Europe that failed the stress tests
We could just do it because we can . . . ten ways to really spend €25 billion:
51 Buy Steve Jobs (€25 billion is the actuarial value on his life) and get him to work for Ireland Inc
50 Buy gold plating 1.75mm thick for O’Connell Street
44 Hire Bertie Ahern to speak for 95 years
43 Purchase carbon credits to allow us to burn 3,000 square miles of hardwood forest
42 Build 20 copies of the Burj Khalifa Dubai, the world’s tallest building
We could just splash the cash
37 Build 50 cruise liners akin to Carnival Splendour or Queen Mary 2
32 Endow one university to the level of Harvard
23 Buy every house and apartment listed on Daft.ie and still have €12 billion left to refurbish them
We could transport ourselves out of this mess With €25 billion in our back pockets, all those pie-in-the-sky superprojects would no longer be pie in the sky. Here are ten ways Ireland could put itself on the global superproject map:
22 Construct our own channel tunnel from Rosslare to Pembroke (based on the cost of the Jack Lynch Tunnel)
19 Build 11,150miles of dual carriageway
15 Build 12 new Luas lines
We could pay for improved public services – here are some slightly more practical ways to spend €25 billion:
9 Pay for cervical cancer vaccines for every girl going into first year for the next 8,333 years
8 Reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools to 1:10 for the next 20 years
7 Give an ultra-high-speed fiberoptic broadband connection to every single house (including those in ghost estates)
1 Or we could buy one broken bank.
Oh, hang on. . .

How to deal with religious ignorance

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In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.

The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a US man, and posted on the Internet. It’s funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination … End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors.
They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14) I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I’m confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan,
Author unknown

The Most Dangerous Drug in the world.

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What would you say is the most dangerous, terrifying drug in the world. Heroin? Cocaine, Meth-Amphetemine? Not even close. It’s something much, much worse… Scopolamine is a made in the northern region of South America from a very normal looking pretty looking flower. When processed down it looks much like cocaine, but people do not use this recreationally. There are no good aspects to this stuff at all, it’s basically like the worse ‘roofie’ you can possibly imagine.

Scopolamine basically eliminates your free will and removes any ability you have to look after yourself. You remain completely conscious and articulate, but you are completely open to suggestion and will do anything anyone tells you – and you will not remember any of it the next day. This terrifying substance is being used in Columbia to take advantage of people and rob them – what what seems to be full consent – and they have no idea what is going on around them whatsoever.

Have a watch of these two video’s and some of the terrifying stories that are coming out of Columbia – and just thank God you do not live there…

New Native Instruments ‘Kontrol’ 4 Channel Midi Controller for Traktor Pro

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So, looks like Native Instruments are doing exactly what I predicted (hoped) they would. It’s a 4 Channel controller specifically for Traktor with jog wheeels, effects, samplers, and on-board sound card, and lots of other goodies. YES!!! I’m so buying this, I just hope it won’t be as expensive as the Xone DX.

Looks like the release may be accompanied with a new release of Traktor Pro too.

From: http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/07/21/traktor-pro_controller_new/

  • There is a new software on the way with 4 loop players/samplers
  • This will be a 2 deck/4 channel mixing console much like the new Xone DX
  • It has a built in sound card and will be around the same price as the DX ($1200 ish)
  • The decks are switchable from a-b c-d
  • Lots of good LED feedback
  • What looks like 4 cue pads per deck
  • NI is calling it a Traktor System (Hardware and Software combo)

The questions remain – What is it going to be called? Kontrol X2? Kontrol X3? Kontrol X4, Kontrol X5?
And how much is it going to cost? Says $1,200 above other sites have said it’s going to be €799 which would be right on the money..

Screen grabs form the video

Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol Traktor pro

Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol Traktor pro

Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol Traktor pro
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Breaking Bad – the best drama series on television

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I don’t watch a massive amount of tv or follow a huge amount of shows, but once in a while something very very special comes along and just utterly grips you.

“Breaking Bad” is a series by the AMC network in the US. Not many people have heard of it over here but I cannot understand as it is one of the most fantastically made pieces of television ever. Basically it’s about a ordinary unassuming middle aged man (the Dad from Malcolm in the Middle) who’s a high school chemistry teacher, until he find’s out he’s got terminal cancer. To provide for his family after he dies, he tams up with an ex student come drug dealer, and starts producing methamphetamine – and subsequently becomes a massive drug kingpin in his home town of Albuquerque new Mexico.

It’s now just come to the end of it’s third series, I cannot wait for number 4. I spent many a night staying up to 2 or 3 in the morning as it is just so gripping I was unable to resist the temptation of watching ‘just one more episode’… It’s got many Emmy nominations and awards and it widely acclaimed. I really do not get why its not on more of the stations over here.

Check out this trailer, and just go watch it…

Laundry’s new Residency in Kennedy’s

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I’m really excited about some news we just got – Laundry now has a new residency in Kennedy’s – Every second Friday starting 16th of July. We’re teaming up with a group of guys called Fibre to launch a night of quality house & techno in The Underground in Kennedy’s.

Laundry Dublin Kennedy's

Entry is a recession busting €5 but give me a shout and I’ll throw you no the guestlist if you are bringing a crew…

Fore more info see www.laundrydublin.com and make sure to check us out on facebook too!

Feeling tired in the mornings? There’s an app for that!

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Sleep Cycle iphoneDo you ever go to bed early to get loads of sleep, yet when you’re alarm goes off you feel like a corpse? Chances are you got rudely awoken in the wrong part of your sleep cycle. The brain goes in cycles during the night between deep sleep, dream sleep, and being close to being awake. Depending on where you are in this cycle will have a large affect on how tired you are in the morning.

Enter “Sleep Cycle” – and app for the iphone. This amazing little gadget uses your iPhone’s accelerometer to monitor your movements during the night and determine when you’re most likely in and out of a dream state. Before you go to bed, set the app’s alarm clock, then place your iPhone on the corner of your bed. As you move around during the night, Sleep Cycle records your activity and, over the course of two or three nights, gradually learns your sleep patterns. Beginning about 30 minutes before your alarm is set to go off, the app begins watching for the lightest portions of your sleep cycle and gently prods you awake with your choice of soothing preset sounds.

I’ve been using this for the last few nights now and honestly I’m amazed! I did not really believe it would work but at 79 cent I thought it was worth the try. Every time I have used it, it has an uncanny ability to wake you up, just as you feel you were about to wake up naturally yourself! You set the latest time at which the alarm can go off, and it will wake you up some time before then. So not only do you get woken up at the time when you are going to feel the best, but it might be earlier than you expected so you have more time in the morning too – and will feel more awake than if you slept those extra 20 mins anyway!

No Place Like Dome 2010 (NPLD)

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NPLD No Place Like Dome 2010
I’m finally recovered from what had to be of of the best little Irish festivals ever. No Place Like Dome or NPLD is a very small music and arts festival in Sligo, this was its second year ever and it was a great success. It was organised by a small group of friends who just thought that Ireland needed something new and fresh on the festival scene. basically a bunch of lads went to Burning Man in the US and were so blown away they wanted to do something similar in Ireland, and they did just that. The first year was a tiny 250 people, so basically a big extended group of friends, and this year it was expanded to 600 – but it still felt really small and intimate. It’s basically anti-commercialism so you cannot buy anything there – you bring everything you need and you barter for anything else – or basically get given it as it happened as everyone was so friendly. Tickets are cheap at €80 but you get lots for your money.

Myself and the Laundry DJ’s were delighted to be asked to play at it this year. We had just played at Life Festival 2 weeks before and that was a truly incredible weekend, I can’t remember having had so much fun. NPLD was quite different, also great fun but it just had something a little more special. It’s super relaxed atmostphere made it feel more like a big friends party than a commercially organsied event (and in one way that’s exactly what it was). There were loads of great bands and DJ’s all playing for free, such is the spirit of the gig. There was the main dome, the Bass Bunker which was absolutely brilliant – a fantastic place to play a DJ set, a Liquid tent as seen in Life Festival with a Funktion One system, and then the accoustic stage where they burned a big campfire to keep everyone warm at night. There was also a set of decks set up in the Tea Station – a little hut where they gave out free tea and chocolate to everyone!

All in all a fantastic weekend and I cannot wait for next year! Here are a few random pix I found online, I’ll try to add more soon