My Mobile Phones In The Past Decade

One night I was fiddling with my Treo 650 and out of the blue I suddenly recalled one after the other all the phones I've ever used. Technology has come a long way in the past 10 years. I thought I'd share my personal mobile phone history with you all.

Motorola CD930- my first phone. Bought 2nd hand in 2000 from a friend who swore it came from Europe. I had no reason not to believe him. At the time, close to 99% of phones sold in the Philippines were Nokia. The display had a very luminescent green backlight and finer dots compared to the blocky text on yellowish-green backlights the Nokias screens had. I had to buy a new phone when the battery decided to call it quits and I couldn't find a replacement anywhere.

Nokia 3310 - bought a few months after getting a steady job. It was a practical choice. Accessories for Nokias had started to flood the market making it cheaper to maintain. This was my 'ligaw' phone. It spanned 3 relationships, the last one heralding a new chapter in my life. I spent a small fortune in 300-peso call cards on this thing calling my wife-to-be. It paid off as you can tell. I got married to her ;-)  Incidentally, I bought my first ever ringtone for this phone. Hazard a guess? It was Shaggy's It Wasn't Me.

Nokia 7110 - the Matrix phone, as I called it. This phone lured me into subscribing to a postpaid plan. I just had to have it. It was so cool releasing the keypad cover on that phone to take a call, Neo style!

Nokia 3210 - downgraded to this hand-me-down when I needed cash and sold both the 3310 and the 7210. Darn, now that I think about it all the Nokias back then always ended in '10'. Like it was a last name or sumthin'.

Nokia 3100- got this brand-spanking-new after I renewed my contract. This thing lasted a really long time. After I stopped using it, I gave it to my mom. It died last year after 2 power buttons, 3 batteries and at least 10 face plate changes. I don't even remember how old it was!

Motorola E398 - the version of the Moto ROKR that wasn't tainted by the curse that was iTunes 4. It was the 1st phone to support TransFlash (eventually renamed MicroSD). I had to ask a friend in the US to send me one because the MicroSD cards sold locally cost twice as much. The music I loaded on the thing kept me happy despite the absence of an iPod in my life.

Palm Treo650 - this was sent as a gift by an Aunt of ours. 4 years old and still going strong. It's got dents, peeled paint and occasional button lag but it's still my fave. It introduced me to threaded SMS and apps on a phone. The apps meant I could read ebooks, edit spreadsheets, look up a word in a dictionary or cover MPG to KM/L. That got me hooked into Smartphones. Thing  is once you get hooked there is no turning back. Stuck with it and just recently bought an HTC to replace it. After a few days I missed it, so I bought a prepaid SIM just go on using it. Now I have 2  phones I love.

Sony-Ericsson K530i - it was my 1st 3G phone. It had a great cam for it size. Browser was great, Opera Mini was even better despite the smallish screen. Also had a good MP3 player, but I hated that it took only MS-Micro cards. Those cards are expensive. I had to relinquish it to my wife as she had lost her phone at the time. It lived a short life. It died a few months out of the box when it was dropped into a bucket of water. Don't ask me, it wasn't me. I was using the Treo650 when it kicked the bucket. :-p

Samsung SGH-E590 - originally bought this for my mom to replace the Nokia 3100. It had a great camera for the price. The screen was great too. I ended up using it for a while. But my joy was cut short when it died 3 days after I got it. The battery would heat up and it couldn't get a signal whatever I did. I was able to return it to Smart, but the replacement took close to a month. It was working for another 3 months then had the same battery and signal problem. I had it fixed under warranty and it's been fine since then. My wife uses it now, because while waiting for a replacement unit I bought a Nokia 1208 for mom. And because of the bad experience and anecdotal info that Samsungs were known to have battery problems, I've swore never to buy another Samsung again.


Nokia 1208 - the cheapest phone I have ever laid my eyes on. I got it for Php 1,400. Fearing another lemon like the Samsung because it cost half as much, I used it for a few days before turning it over to my mom. It's about as basic as you can get. The color screen only supported 3 lines of text. Both text and graphics appeared big and blocky. It's keypad was rubbery and the numbers felt like they'd fade in a matter of months. I used it mostly for calls and it was great. Texting was another matter though, because of the rubbery keypad. Battery life was outstanding. It could last close to five days if all you did was send text messages and an occasional 2-minute call. It's most important feature was up on top -- it had a flashlight!

HTC Tattoo - after waiting around for prices to come down, I found the Smartphone I couldn't pass up on. It's got all the things I wanted -- a large screen for reading ebooks, mail + calendar sync, 3G, WiFi, GPS, a Linux OS and tons of free apps! Android is tha Bomb!

So, what about you? What phones were you using 10, 5 and 2 years ago? Leave a comment. Let's reminisce about old kit.

Chuck CD's / DVD's with Private Info Safely

I've been looking for a way to dispose of my old CD's and DVD's. Over the years the discs have accumulated. I have data back-ups and Linux installers mostly. I no longer need most of these discs. I've updated my data back-ups with the latest versions of files or discarded some which I no longer needed. The linux CD's and DVD's are also outdated. Linux development moves fast and these installers have already been superseded many times over since they were burned. I even have Warty Warthog  and Mandrakelinux 10.1 in one of those CD wallets somewhere.

Anyway, one of my first ideas was to look for some recycling center that could take my optical media. I was even willing to pay for shipping. It's been three years since I started asking around and I still haven't found one. If you know of one located in the Philippines, please leave a comment. One thing you need to worry about though if your sending your discs to the recycling bin is privacy. If you have any sort of private information in your data back-ups, you should render the discs unreadable before chucking them to the recycle bin. You can do that by scratching the discs enough that the reflective coating on the read side can't be read by any drives. But remember to keep away from any filings, because the materials used in coating CD's and DVD's can be hazardous. There are tools like the DVD/CD Destroyer that scratch the disc just deep enough to damage the outer film protecting the chemical coating (which has the data after you 'burn' a disc).

You can also go break, hammer or cut the discs to make it physically impossible to read the discs. That tends to be messy and you might injure yourself doing it. You might as well just shred the discs with one of those multi-purpose shredders that can take paper, credit cards or discs. Both Shredder Shark and Fellowes' Powershred line have one of those small personal crosscutting shredders that can shred your discs and documents to confetti-like sizes. There are dedicated DVD/CD shredders too, though you'll get the most use from a multi-purpose shredder.

These are just a couple of ideas on how to ensure your personal information remains safe as you dispose of your media. There are many other ways to go about this. If you have your own media disposal ideas, post comments so we can discuss them.

TWIT 144, OpenLibrary and Little Brother

I was able to finish listening to TWIT 144 this morning before going to sleep and they were talking about OpenLibrary.org. Brewster Kahle, the guy who heads this project is also responsible for the Internet Archive project. He talked at length about how OpenLibrary.org was helping preserve old books for future generations. Their main efforts were in getting books scanned and translated into digital forms to preserve them electronically. It's a great effort and it should be supported. Too bad their funding from Microsoft stopped. They would now have to source their funds from the public. It's a worthy cause, you might want to consider donating to it.

On the topic of free books, they got to talking about Cory Doctorow's new book towards the end of the podcast. I didn't know he gave away free eBook copies of his work. I went to Craphound.com to get me an eReader copy of Little Brother. A for-pay copy is available in audio form, an excerpt of which they played after the credits on TWIT 144 (kinda like the way that extra scene was shown after credits in Ironman - hehehe). Anyway, if you would like to support the author and listen to the audiobook version, click on the graphic below:

Package Tracking Thru Twitter

Found out through a tweet from John C. Dvorak that the twittering public can track their packages through Twitter. Following the instructions, the way to do it is to follow @trackthis on Twitter. You then send a direct message (and not @reply) containing your package's tracking code plus a short phrase describing the package (useful when you start getting the updates). A direct message will be sent to you every time your packages moves locations. The service currently supports FedEx, UPS, USPS and DHL tracking. Neat, huh?

Yet Another Green Discovery

Oh, yes. Surprises never seem to end when you just plain know how to use Google. While looking for other small low-powered PCs, I found this video of the Via Artigo. As opposed to the options that I outlined in a previous blog post (on my tech blog), the Artigo is a builder's kit. It comes with almost everything you need, but you put it together yourself. That is in direct contrast to the PCs I mentioned in my other blog, that are shipped completely built up.

It's already available for ordering online and it's supposed to be available in several large retailers in the US and UK (including Fry's Electronics, Logic Supply). It's already listed ready to order from LogicSupply for $279 US but will only ship after January 7. That just means they're not stocked up yet, but are expecting enough to fill initial demand. This would be a great machine to play around with. The price isn't that lower than the Zonbu or Koolu that sell for $299 each and both present better value for money by including system memory (RAM) and storage. But then again, for me there's nothing better than building a PC with your own hands, even if it does come in a kit.

And just to prove how tiny it is, watch this video. You'll be amazed at how small this thing is:

Low-Power "Cloudbook"

Just as I was almost resolved that the Asus Eee PC would be the best solution for a low-power solution for the home, news of a new Everex notebook slowly filtered into the Net. Here's an article from LinuxDevices.com: http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS6962839488.html

Here're a couple of pics:



This tiny notebook will have a 7-inch screen much like the Asus Eee. It will be powered by a Via C7 ultra-low voltage processor and will come outfitted with 512MB of memory. It will differ with the Eee in that it will have a 30GB hard drive instead of the Eee's 4GB solid state disk. Power consumption seems to be almost at par with the Asus Eee's 18 watts, somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 watts.

Those spec will make it more flexible than the Eee when it comes to what you can load onto the disk. More space will mean more options.

Geeking Out With Lean PCs

Here are two articles from George Ou, who geeked out and assembled a PC and a home-made VESA stand for a weekend project . View and pictures and instructions and you'll say to yourself, "now there's a project any weekend geek warrior could put together with a little elbow grease."

View the articles here:

• Updated sub-$400 all-in-one dual-core LCD PC images
• The all-in-one dual-core VESA Stand PC mod

More on Green PC's

I've just posted an entry on my tech blog about the "green" PC's I've found online. I really am looking for a low-power alternative to my desktop and would like to replace it in the near future.

For more on my search for a "greener" PC, read this post from my other blog : More "Green" PC's

Top 5 Reasons Your Friends Say You're Addicted to the Web

5. You maintain multiple blogs - You have a blog for personal issues, one for technology, one for your favorite band, one for news commentary, one for your club, one for making money and one for ummm....'private' interests (like porn).

4. You've ditched AIM/ICQ, MSN and Y! Messenger for a multi-protocol IM/Chat solution - Maybe you use Trillian on Windows? Running Adium on your MacBook? Or do you stick to Meebo.com on your favorite browser? Maybe you like the exotic and customize stuff with Miranda IM? Aha! Pidgin!

3. You have an email address for each of your activities - You have an email address for emailing friends, one for all your blogs, one for mailing lists and forums (with a twin account for bashing people you fight with in the forums), one for ad revenues and affiliate programs and one for other ummm... 'private' activities (porn). You will typically have one from each of the big players (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL/AIM/Netscape), a couple or more from niche providers (Hushmail, Fastmail, Bluebottle, Hotpop, Mail.com) and one for work (lest we forget!).

2. You have multiple browsers - You have Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Netscape, Maxthon and Browzar (for 'private' browsing of ummm... porn) on your MS-Windows systems. You also have Firefox, Opera, Epiphany, Galeon, Konqueror, Swiftfox, IceWeasel, SwiftWeasel, Kazehase and IEs4Linux on your Linux system. If you're a true- blue Linux geek, you'll go one step further and install Lynx, Dillo and may even browse sites using Emacs/W3. Then to maintain your social networking, Flickr, Del.icio.us and blog accounts you rely on Flock.

1. You have a blackbelt in Google-Fu - 'Nuff said.

Blogged About The decTOP

Posted and entry to my tech blog about the decTOP. It's a very small PC appliance. As I mentioned in several other entries, I am looking for a low-powered PC solution. This one takes the cake at 8 watts. It's amazing! This is where my search for a green PC may end. To read more on my entry go here or copy this link http://techthroes.blogspot.com/2007/10/dectop-formerly-amd-pic.html .

Cut Down Those Electricity Bills

Posted something on my Tech blog about another "green" computing idea. This would make a great torrent machine, D.I.Y. NAS or home server:

Low-Power Computing, On The Cheap

Getting Green on Computing

I've been following a lot of news about conserving energy lately. I
feel a tinge of guilt that the PC I'm using is contributing to
generating more greenhouse gases. It's not so efficient, is why.
That's why I've been looking at some sites that sell power-saving PCs.
Given that these PCs aren't that powerful, they are adequate for most
of the common things we do with PCs. I'm not really editing videos or
pics, so I guess a 1GHz machine is powerful enough.

The DSL (Damn Small Linux) Bargain machine is a good example of what I
would want. You can check it here:
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/store/Mini_ITX_Systems/Mini_ITX_BareBones_Computer.
It runs on less than 30 watts of power. A 14-inch TV probably sucks
more juice than this baby. It accomplishes such a low power draw by an
ingenious combination of parts. It has a low-power motherboard and a
fanless chip, flash storage (no moving parts, less energy needed), and
an operating system that's frugal on RAM. Its only $245, plus $75 for
the 1GB flash drive with DSL already installed. If only this thing
could be shipped to the Philippines! I'd love to get one for
Christmas!

IMified's Changing My Life

Well, it isn't THAT profound a change. But imagine posting to Blogger, Wordpress or Typepad blogs..Posting to Jaiku, Tumblr or Twitter...Adding events to your Google Calendar...Adding links to you Del.icio.us list... All thru IM. The IM is powerful again ;-)

Jeff Hawkins

This is an old article but still interesting
(www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.03/hawkins.html). I never knew that
the geek who started the handheld craze was really a visionary in his
own right, and that his vision extends to creating truly phenomenal
artificial intelligence.

Working Around

I've had issues with permissions for the longest time. That is, in Windows XP. I've never really studied them in detail. In Ubuntu, its all a 'sudo' away. Very convenient. And there's a one-stop resource you can depend on in the Ubuntu Guide. I did with the help of a few web forums find a way around my 2 most common problems.

One was getting around having to download Nero's Burn Rights to burn media even if you're using a non-administrator account in XP. See, the last time my PC got a virus, I had to nuke the hard disk with DBAN before it returned to normal. That was before I was able to back-up my precious data. So I was left without a copy of Nero Burn Rights. After desperately trying to download it for several days, I gave up as all the mirrors hosting it seemed to be non-responsive. I could not download that one file, while all other files downloaded with nary a hitch.

Turns out there is a simpler way to do that. Try this if you're having the same predicament: Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy in classic view). That path opens up a new window, and on the left pane where the navigation tree is select Security Options if it hasn't been highlighted by default. To the right, look for the entry "Devices:Restrict CD-ROM access to locally logged-on user only", double-click the entry and select Enabled and click the OK button. This setting disables remote users ability to use the optical drive on your PC. It's neat side effect is that you can burn media while logged on to a non-admin user account. Only users currently logged in can then use the burner from then on.

Another lemon I've had for the longest time was USB thumb-drive permissions. I had no problem writing files onto them but have had problems when I wanted to format them. which explains why I got a virus in the first place. Long story. Anyhow, same work-around saved me some grief. Almost the same, that is : Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy in classic view). Click Security Options on the left navigation tree. On the right pane look for the entry "Devices: Allowed to format and eject removable media", double-click it and select "Administrators and Interactive Users" from the dropdown menu and click the OK button. That should fix it.

Do-It-Yourself Media Center...

I'm itching for another device. The Mediagate MG-35. Three reviews after I see an ad and I'm convinced this would make a great media device for my home. I've been wrestling with storage lately, as three years worth of burned media is starting to pile up. I already have three large CD wallets stealing closet space from my wardrobe. I just bought a fourth one from CDR-King. I'm having second thoughts about storing my music and movies on my PC, since I usually reformat my hard drive regularly. My first thought was to get a NAS, and that idea I've given up on. It would be extra handy if I could carry my storage device around.

Then I see an ad in PC Buyer's Guide for the Mediagate MG-35 and the idea grows on me. I can solve several problems with one device. It's small enough to lug around. It connects to PCs for managing media. It doesn't require MS-Windows to manage that content :-)) It can connect to your LAN, you can use it as network storage (NAS). It can play movies or music on it's own and supports the main plethora of codecs you'll need, including Ogg Vorbis, Divx and Xvid. Its outputs can connect to your TV or stereo. It supports (at max) a 500GB hard drive. This is one flexible device. I want it! There is the question of money, though. Haha... It's a bit too expensive for my means. So I'll have to be content with writing about it and why I want it.

BTW, here are the reviews that I read:

• http://www.hardwarezone.com/news/view.php?cid=5&id=5823
  


• http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/article.asp?SCID=&CIID=36918


• http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/index.php/taxid;2136212605;pid;199;pt;1

Geek Becomes Wife's Hero

Rarely do we find geeks being hailed as heroes. Here's one good example of a wife changing her mind after her dear geek hubbie finds her stolen laptop: Missing laptop found in ET hunt

Protect Your Wireless Network

I recently saw several news articles online about drive-by pharming. Researchers posted a proof of concept online and the attack is made possible by the fact that so many people use their routers with the default passwords on. Because of the nature of my work, friends often ask me how they could secure their home networks or how they could set-up wireless at home. To them I offer the following advice (just sharing here) :

1. Change the router's default username and password - this should be the first thing anyone should do. As indicated in the news article I linked to above, you'd be securing yourself from a lot of exploits just by changing your password. Router defaults are well-documented in user manuals and help forums online. Anything from default passwords to factory settings can be found online. Even lesser known models will have some obscure user documenting his use of it somewhere in the vast Internet. So change the default password 'admin' on that WRT54G, right now.
2. Change the router's SSID - a brand name is a start. These default SSID names are well-documented online. Once snoops know what router your using, they could choose the best attack to speed up breaking into your network.
3. Disable SSID broadcasts - don't advertise your network to the neighbors. Routers with SSID broadcast turned on inform every computer or wireless device nearby that your router is there. Piggybacking on your connection is just one concern. What if they're bright enough to break into your network and snoop on your computer? If its there, with big signs and bright lights, its bound to catch some bad guy's attention.
   
4. Turn on the firewall - when you set your router up, it will in most cases ask that you set rules for your firewall. Routers are great firewalls because they're "dumb". They don't reply to strangers knocking on the door. If some other computer on the Net wanted to connect to yours, the router simply ignores the request if it were unexpected and doesn't reply back. The effect is the other computer will think nothing is there.
   
5. Use WPA-PSK, not WEP - WPA-PSK is quite a common feature now in wireless routers. WEP is older and easier to hack into. WPA2 only comes in the newer (and more expensive) routers. So right now WPA-PSK is the best choice. How to use it? Go to this Windows guide, a bit old but the basics are still the same. For Ubuntu, the Ubuntu Guide provides a kernel of wisdom in that direction. One additional piece of advice I can give is to use a Pre-Shared Key by generating a random one from https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm. This page generates very strong random passwords that you can use on your router. I use the 63-character printable ASCII set because that's what most routers (I've tinkered with) accept. Note:the more random it is, the harder it is to crack it.

These are not professional grade tips but rather lessons I've learned while tinkering. I hope they prove as helpful to you as they have been to my friends. :-)

XM and Sirius Are Pushing a Merger?

The uneven ground upon which the XM-Sirius Satellite radio merger stands was clarified in a news article on the Washington Post. I was first exposed to XM radio stations when I stumbled upon it while using AIM. I never really gave it much attention until I realized how good the music selection was in their channels. So naturally, it interested me when I found out that XM's merging with Sirius, its direct competitor in the satellite radio business. Anti-trust and monopolistic concerns aside, I think the merger can make a difference in their collective bottomlines. Competition between the two has gotten so worse that they're losing a lot of money and satellite radio isn't taking off that fast. Investor confidence wasn't taking off as well, that is until they announced they'd merge. If they get past all the regulations and do merge, I hope their next step would be to go international. Maybe accept subscriptions from some country near the Pacific with long historical and cultural ties with America? ;-)

Anyway, I was just thinking. If everybody had such a wide selection of music playing on good high quality radio, wouldn't that discourage file-trading? Wouldn't it be easier to just change the channel instead of downloading music online from strangers who's computers might be loaded with viruses and malware? Convenience would be another advantage. I play music from my phone's MP3 player. I have the CDs tucked away somewhere. It's a hassle to juggle the files around when your mood suddenly changes and you want to listen to something different. Ho-hum.... If only satellite or hi-def radio were available here. I'd buy something like this to keep on me-self or something like this in the car. If only...

AMD Updates Athlon 64 Line

AMD beefed up its line of processors with new models. They released the 45-watt Athlon 64 single-core processors in 3500+ and 3800+. They also introduced the AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor 6000+, yet another option for all you speed fanatics with deep pockets. These newer models are continuing the trend of low-power high-performance chips that AMD churned out the later half of last year. Everything looks promising. Looks like the days of dual-core Semprons (budget chips) are drawing nearer.